Professional army?

Huo Guang was shocked by these four words. This was a direction he had never thought of.

In fact, it's not just him. The feudal dynasty lasted for so long, and few dynasties were able to build a professional army.

Seeing Huo Guang didn't seem to understand, Liu Tan explained, "They are troops specifically used to defend the country. All they need to do on a daily basis is hone themselves and the entire team. They are the vanguard of the Northern Border!"

Huo Guang was shocked by him. It was specially used for fighting. This was too shocking.

Huo Guang asked solemnly, "Have you thought it through? Do you really want to do this?"

No one has done this before, so if Liu Tan does this, it will be a mixed bag. If the result is good, he will become a solid wall on the border of the Han Dynasty. If the result is not good, not to mention whether he can do it, Chang'an will think he has ulterior motives, and he may end up in a miserable situation.

Liu Tan sat there and said solemnly, "I've thought about this for a long time, and I know it's risky, so I'll write to my father and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to make it clear. But I won't change my mind. I'll take all the responsibility, good or bad."

Huo Guang said casually, "If you've made up your mind, just do it. As for responsibility... As the Prime Minister, I can't escape responsibility since I've agreed. There's no need to explain it further."

Liu Tan smiled. The reason he dared to tell Huo Guang this was that he knew that although Huo Guang seemed to be doing things in a conventional way, he was actually not such a rigid person. He was just too used to arranging everything in an orderly manner.

So he does things in an orderly manner without rushing, which is one of the reasons why people think he is too steady.

Liu Tan said, "Military expenses will be paid from the portion of taxes that are needed for me. Well, the money from making the sight shouldn't be used up, right?"

Huo Guang felt somewhat powerless after hearing this. His prince's hobby was too special, and he was the most powerful among the princes when it came to spending money, but he just couldn't persuade him.

Finally, Huo Guang said, "This matter was a spur-of-the-moment decision, Your Highness. Even if Your Highness insists on it, you should give it a try first. Therefore, in my opinion, you can put off writing letters to Your Majesty and the Crown Prince for now. There is no need to recruit troops across the entire Northern Border. Instead, you should first select a few areas, such as Dunhuang County, Beidi County, and Xi'anyang County, which are relatively close to Shuofang."

When Liu Tan heard about Xi'an Yang County, he suddenly remembered Sang Qian, who he had sent there to serve as the acting county magistrate, and asked, "How is Sang Qian now?"

Huo Guang smiled and said, "As expected of the son of the Grand Minister of Agriculture, he manages the county in an orderly manner. At least he is better than the previous county governor."

Liu Tan stroked his chin and said, "It's a pity that letting him serve as a county magistrate is a demotion, otherwise I really want him to be the county magistrate there."

Huo Guang said, "Why would that be so difficult? Just give him a title. His rank will remain the same, but his actual position will be that of a prefect. Give him a salary based on his title."

Liu Tan thought about it and thought this was not a bad idea, but the problem was that this method might work for people with no background, but for Sang Qian... Liu Tan was also worried that Sang Qian would write a letter to Sang Hongyang to complain, and then Sang Hongyang would cause trouble for him in Chang'an.

He already had one enemy, Liu Qumao, the prime minister, and he didn't want to add another one, the Minister of Agriculture.

But Huo Guang's proposal really tempted him, and he finally said, "Xi'an Yang County is not far from here anyway, so why not have him come over and report on his work? I'll ask him what he thinks."

Huo Guang nodded and continued, "In that case, Your Highness, please recruit a thousand men in the initial stage."

Seeing Liu Tan about to speak, Huo Guang said, "Your Highness, don't think it's too little. Let these 1,000 men reach your goal first, and let us also feel that it is feasible."

Liu Tan thought about it and it seemed to be true. He knew how powerful these professional soldiers were, but Huo Guang and the others didn't know, so they would definitely doubt whether it was worth spending so much money to support these people.

What's more, they probably can't imagine how to train.

You have to know that the current situation is that new recruits and veterans are usually mixed together and go directly to the battlefield. Once they survive one or two battles, they are considered experienced and are veterans.

So the so-called battle-hardened army at this time may actually be composed of a group of European emperors. If they can survive countless times on the battlefield where various accidents may occur, what else can they be but European emperors?

Liu Tan said confidently, "Don't worry, I will definitely surprise you."

Although there were only a thousand people, it was much better than Liu Tan had thought before. Originally, Liu Tan thought that Huo Guang would not agree, so he was prepared to argue with reason.

Unexpectedly, Huo Guang had almost no objection, but his cautious character made him stop Liu Tan from recruiting too many soldiers at once.

After Huo Guang left, Liu Tan turned around and started writing a training plan.

The first thing to consider is the conditions for recruiting soldiers. If there are only a thousand people, he will want to adopt a policy of elite troops.

First of all, based on the current average life expectancy, people over 30 years old and those shorter than five feet nine inches are not accepted.

This height is about 1.65 meters when converted to later generations.

This height is indeed not good enough in the future and may even be ridiculed as short, but it is very suitable at the moment. Moreover, this is the bottom line and Liu Tan does not want to be selected for the honor guard.

Then, those with disabilities, criminals, and those with Hun ancestry are not accepted.

Liu Tan hesitated for a long time before finally writing down the last point: there are many mixed-race people in the Northern Border Country, or rather, near Shuofang City.

After all, they had been on the front line facing the Huns for many years. Some young ladies were abducted and escaped back, while some were not taken away at all.

There is no concept of abortion in this era. Even if there is a concept of abortion, most people would not choose it. Not having an abortion and giving birth smoothly would just be an extra burden. Abortion is likely to result in two deaths.

It is true that they are all pitiful people, but it is also true that Liu Tan cannot afford to gamble.

What if an ungrateful person sneaks in and becomes an officer? If his biological father comes looking for him and it happens that his biological father is powerful in the Xiongnu, he might turn against him on the spot.

Liu Tan has many secret weapons in his hands, and if any one of them is leaked, he will be in big trouble.

These conditions combined can basically confirm that the person is a good citizen with a clean background. As for the conditions such as political review and three generations of direct blood relatives cannot have committed crimes, they are basically not necessary.

Collective punishment is popular these days. Minor crimes don't matter, but a major crime will kill the whole family. Even if the young man is not old enough to be killed, he will be thrown into slavery, so there is no need to worry.

Then there is physical fitness. Those who do not meet the physical fitness requirements will not be accepted. As for the physical fitness assessment, Liu Tan has already thought about what must be included, such as push-ups, pull-ups, short-distance running and long-distance running.

As for the others, as long as they meet the standards, we will collect them, and leave the rest for training.

In other words, if the people you recruit know everything, what's the point of training them?

As for the training plan, Liu Tan had to put it aside for the time being.

After he finished writing this, he pulled out a document from the desk, which contained all the things he needed to do.

A good memory is not as good as a bad pen. He has to write down everything he needs to do so that he won't miss anything.

It’s a pity that plans are not as fast as changes. According to his original plan, conscription and other things would not be carried out so early.

As long as Shoujiang City does not lag behind, Shuofang City actually does not have to do much. At most, it can provide support for military supplies. Therefore, developing people's livelihood and economy is the bottom line.

Just keep things like fighting the Huns in mind. A steady player like Liu Tan would not go head-to-head without absolute strength.

To put it simply, develop slowly and don't waste time.

Then he was broken down by an imperial edict from Liu Che. Now he could only pray that Zhao Po Nu would be able to adjust his mentality after the crushing humiliation suffered by Lu Xuan in Dayuan, while working hard to put the development of armed forces first.

He looked at his own plan. He had originally planned to develop the armed forces five years later, but it was pushed forward by five years. It was really frustrating.

On the third day after the wall of Shuofang City was built, Zhao Po Nu finally arrived with his 20,000 troops.