Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong raised their heads at the same time, their eyes sparkling: "We are all ears."
They suddenly understood the meaning of Chongzhen's words just now.
That is not holding someone accountable, but a warning before re-employment!
Chongzhen's gaze lingered on the two of them for a while, and he said seriously: "I will give you two tasks: recruit soldiers and train them."
Li Xingzhong was startled and asked subconsciously, "How many soldiers does Your Majesty want me to recruit?"
"Fifty thousand cavalry."
"Five...five...ten thousand? Cavalry?" Li Xingzhong's eyes widened as he almost squeezed out the last two words.
Chongzhen nodded: "Yes, 50,000 cavalry, is there a problem?"
Li Xingzhong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
This is not a small number.
It's not about people, it's about money.
Since he was asked to build cavalry, it must be based on the standards of the Guanning Army.
What are the standards of the Guanning Army?
The monthly salary was two taels of rice, plus half a stone of rice.
If all of it is converted into silver, each person would get two taels and five cents of silver per month, or thirty taels per year.
This does not include the cost of war horses.
Each warhorse needed fifteen catties of grass and three liters of beans every day, which was equivalent to about one ounce of silver per month. In a year, each horse consumed twelve ounces of silver.
Fifty thousand men and fifty thousand war horses cost two million one hundred thousand taels of silver every year.
wrong.
Li Xingzhong shook his head, not yet counting the money for purchasing war horses and equipment.
War horses can be good or bad.
The price of a top-quality horse is about 15 taels.
In addition to human armor and helmets, war horses also need to wear half armor. There are also bird guns, three-barreled guns, waist knives, bows and arrows, etc.
Just for the equipment, a single person and a single horse would need twelve taels of silver.
The cost of 50,000 cavalrymen in the first year was as high as 3.45 million taels of silver.
After Li Xingzhong finished the first calculation, he thought he had made a mistake and quickly recalculated in his mind.
After confirming that everything was correct, he said, "Your Majesty, I have no problem with this, but the amount of silver consumed is too large. I am frightened by this number."
"How much?"
"In the first year, we need 3.35 million taels of silver! This is just for one person and one horse. If each cavalryman is equipped with two war horses, the cost in the first year will be as high as more than 4 million taels."
After hearing this number, Chongzhen's eyebrows twitched slightly uncontrollably.
Damn!
Cavalry is indeed a very expensive branch of the military.
But there's nothing I can do.
The real enemy of the Ming Dynasty was not Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong.
But it was the Jiannu and Mongols outside the Great Wall.
Only magic can defeat magic!
The Jiannu and the Mongols have a lot of cavalry, so if you want to defeat them you have to rely on cavalry.
Infantry can only fight positional warfare, while cavalry is the protagonist of mobile warfare.
"Recruit soldiers according to this standard, and the money will come from the treasury." Chongzhen stood up while speaking, "Do you know what I mean by this?"
Li Xingzhong's brain was working rapidly.
Paying money from the treasury shows that Your Majesty is not asking him to recruit soldiers for the court, but for Your Majesty himself.
In the future, they will no longer be government troops, but your Majesty’s imperial guards!
Li Xingzhong whispered, "I understand what you mean. But... 50,000 cavalrymen cannot be hidden from the ministers in the court."
Li Xingzhong began to back down.
The meaning of his words was very clear. Once this matter was known by those civil officials, the consequences would be serious.
Since the Battle of Tumu, the emperor has lost his military power.
Not having military power does not mean that the emperor cannot mobilize the army, but that he cannot directly command and mobilize the troops without going through the Ministry of War.
Once discovered by that group of civil officials, memorials impeaching him for gathering troops for rebellion would fly into the capital like snowflakes.
He can't explain it clearly even if he has a mouth.
This emperor was easily deceived.
In the end, it was Li Xingzhong who suffered the most.
Chongzhen smiled faintly: "I have made up my mind and will not regret it."
"Don't worry about those civil officials. You and Li Xianzhong will both recruit soldiers in the name of the Yongwei Camp."
"During the siege of the city by the bandits, my Yongwei Battalion suffered heavy casualties, and it is time to replenish the troops. By then, you will recruit soldiers from other places, and Li Xianzhong will recruit soldiers in the capital. Even if the ministers in the court know about this, they will not know the number of recruits."
"Even if I knew the amount, I can't say anything. Because I'm spending my own money, not the treasury's money!"
"Before the Dragon Boat Festival next year, I must see at least 30,000 cavalrymen. By the end of next year, I cannot be short of even one of the 50,000 cavalrymen."
"By the end of next year, this cavalry should be able to fight, right?"
Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong looked at each other and said at the same time: "Your Majesty, no problem."
There are many items in cavalry training.
Dong Wenbing, a famous general in the early Yuan Dynasty, once said: Shooting is a matter of a hundred days.
Cavalry can master horsemanship and archery after a hundred days of training.
But it's just mastery.
In addition, training in fighting skills, formations, and tactics is also required.
Generally speaking, you can achieve some success after half a year of training.
One year of training can lead to great success.
It takes two years of training to be considered elite.
By the end of next year, the first batch of cavalry will have been trained for as long as one and a half years and can even be called elite.
"Okay," Chongzhen nodded in relief, "After you go back, prepare to recruit soldiers. Armor and weapons will be supplied by the Armory of the Palace. Don't contact the Ministry of War for the purchase of war horses and food. I have my own way."
After giving some more instructions, Li Xingzhong and Li Xianzhong left the imperial city.
Outside the imperial city.
The Li brothers felt like they were dreaming.
Especially Li Xingzhong.
When Chongzhen told him that he wanted to revive the glory of the Liaodong cavalry, tears immediately burst out of his eyes.
Liaodong Iron Cavalry...
This name is so ancient that even he, a descendant of the Li family, has almost forgotten it.
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