But after the Battle of Pingliao, the Ming Dynasty built an army of over 100,000 well-equipped and powerful troops, and was no longer afraid of the northern nomadic peoples.
Strong troops were assigned to the northern border towns to pacify Liao, and only 10,000 cavalry were retained in the capital, with the rest being dispatched to the border towns.
These strong armies were both models and seeds, and soon led to an improvement in the combat effectiveness of the entire border town army.
The end of the Liaodong campaign and the easing of the northward advance allowed the border towns to receive a greater supply of weapons and equipment. Flying Cavalry Battalions and Lance Cavalry Battalions were successively established, and the mobility was sufficient to compete with the nomadic peoples.
To say that we are competing is to be modest, or even conservative.
According to the estimates of the frontline generals, victory is already certain if they start a war against the Mongol tribes. However, the vast grasslands make it easy to defeat the Mongols, but it is difficult to completely eliminate the disaster.
The emperor thought so too, and although he still warned them not to underestimate the enemy and not to advance rashly, the Mongolian cavalry was indeed far behind with their muskets, artillery, and cavalry wall tactics.
However, now that we have launched a large-scale war with the Mongolian tribes, which requires a lot of investment, the benefits we can get are far less than those in the southwest and Southeast Asia.
"Xiong Qing, in future battles, how about turning in half the spoils of war and giving the other half as rewards to the soldiers?" The emperor took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "This would make our Ming army happy at the mention of battle. Isn't this a good idea?"
Xiong Tingbi was stunned for a moment. When he heard the emperor say "I am happy to hear about the war", he knew that this was not a sudden idea, but something he had thought about for a long time before launching it.
Historically, there were a few dynasties in the Central Plains that rejoiced at the news of war, such as the Qin Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and the imperial guards of the early Tang Dynasty. More often, it was nomadic peoples, such as the defeated Jiannu, who fled north in disgrace.
It is actually not difficult to be "happy when hearing about war". The simplest thing is to be profitable, or to have material incentives.
For example, the Qin Dynasty's military merit system linked salaries and rewards to military merit. Therefore, from generals to soldiers, everyone in the Qin State was delighted when they heard about fighting.
Generals get promoted and make fortunes, soldiers earn money and support their families, all thanks to war. If you say opportunity comes, who wouldn't want to seize it? Therefore, the Qin army is truly a force of tigers and wolves, and they are all madmen on the battlefield.
The same was true of the palace soldiers in the early Tang Dynasty. When fighting against foreign tribes, they killed people without mercy and robbed money and treasures without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, the Qin and early Tang dynasties can indeed be used as references, but the north-south wars were not very balanced." Xiong Tingbi thought for a moment, then bowed and said, "I am somewhat concerned about this."
The enemies in the Nanyang Campaign and the Southwest Campaign were not powerful, but the supplies and money seized after the victory were not small.
As for the north, whether it was the remnants of the Jiannu or the Mongolian tribes, it would be an exaggeration to say that they were paupers, but they did not seem to be rich.
The emperor nodded slightly and said, "What Xiong Qing said makes sense, but you're a bit overthinking. The imperial court already has ample food and pay to support the army. Wouldn't it be even better if we could get some of the spoils? Although the Northern and Jian Lu are poor, they still have something. If it's hard to calculate cattle, sheep, land, people, etc., why not let the Chamber of Commerce intervene and convert them into silver coins?"
Xiong Tingbi blinked his eyes, thinking that the emperor had made a very clever calculation. The Chamber of Commerce would naturally lower the price in silver, but the donation to the court would definitely not be small.
Otherwise, why would the court give you such a profitable deal?
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