It took Li Xiang about an hour to arrive at the training ground of Wuqing Prefecture. Looking at the pale and skinny soldiers in front of him, Li Xiang finally had a preliminary understanding of the situation here.
The Zhenguan period was a time when the Tang Dynasty's national strength rose. After Li Xiang arrived, he saw that the people of the Tang Dynasty were living a decent life, but this was only limited to the area around Chang'an. If it were in a poor place like the southwestern border, one can imagine how hard the people's lives would be.
Many people here have never known what dry food tastes like since they were born. They can only eat two meals of porridge every day from childhood to now, so their bodies are very skinny. Once they have any high-intensity labor, they may fall down directly. Because they don’t eat well and their resistance is not very good, they will have no chance to stand up again after falling down.
When he came here, Li Xiang had looked up some information. The average life expectancy here is only 38 years old. You should know that in the 21st century, 38 years old is a person's prime time, and all careers have just begun, but in this place, at least half of the people have already died.
Food shortage is also one of the reasons why the population cannot grow. At this age, you have become a burden on society and need young people to support you. How can you promote the development of local society?
"I've met Mr. Fu Wei."
Looking at these people saluting sparsely, Li Xiang could only let them stand up first. Before, he had thought that the people here had no fighting ability, but he didn't expect them to be so weak.
"Are all the soldiers from the three prefectures here?"
Li Xiang frowned and said, according to the court's organization, the three Zhechoufu have a total of 3,600 people, but can there be 360 people in front of him?
"To answer your Excellency, everything is here."
An old man should be the clerk here. He put a booklet in front of Li Xiang. Since the sixth year of Zhenguan, the local soldiers have never been fully staffed. It is not that the local officials did not work hard, but that there are too few people around who meet the requirements, and most of them have become refugees.
To be honest, during the Zhenguan period, you couldn't join the army just because you wanted to. Being a soldier was actually a good job. You would be given a certain amount of land, so soldiers from all over the country lived a pretty good life.
But the natural environment here is rather harsh, and the crops produced in the fields are simply not enough to feed people, so every household here doesn't have many children. Even if there are many children, they are directly taken away by human traffickers and sold, which is much better than staying here and suffering.
Over time, the local military resources were insufficient, and the authorities had no way to transfer young and strong people from other places, so the gap here became larger and larger. If it were not for the Tuyuhun army invading the border, perhaps no one would have known about this matter.
"Have you done the physical screening?"
Li San arrived here earlier than Li Xiang. Li Xiang asked him to undergo a physical fitness screening first. Those who are really not strong enough should just go home to avoid affecting our combat effectiveness on the battlefield.
"Except for the twelve over there, no one else can pass the physical fitness test."
Li San pointed at a dozen people standing in the distance. They looked quite strong. Li Xiang really didn't know what to say. In the entire three prefectures, only a dozen useful people were picked out, and the rest were not physically fit enough.
No wonder the emperor had to dispatch troops from Chang'an whenever something happened. If he relied solely on these local troops, I'm afraid the country's southwestern gate would be lost.
"Don't those people look strong? Why didn't they join the palace soldiers?"
Li Xiang saw some people climbing a mountain in the distance. From their appearance, he could tell that they were much stronger than his men.
"To answer your Excellency, those people are the children of wealthy merchants and bureaucrats. Every year when the imperial guards are selected, they always send gifts early..."
The old man said somewhat embarrassedly that it was naturally the children of poor families who served in the army. How could the children of rich people and officials come? Although these people had to be drafted according to the law, they had various ways to evade conscription.
"This is simply outrageous. The imperial court stipulates that those with honors and achievements do not have to serve as palace soldiers. Do all of these people have honors and achievements?"
Li Xiang sneered. He had originally wanted to ask the local wealthy businessmen to contribute manpower and money. Now that he has such a good excuse, don't blame him for not doing things properly. You don't care about the local military situation. Once the Tuyuhun people rush over, can you protect your property?
"Sir, if you have conflicts with the local gentry since you just arrived, how can we expect them to help us when the war is about to start?"
The old man’s name has been forgotten. Everyone calls him Old Man Zhao. He is a clerk of the local government soldiers.
"Even if I establish good relations with them, do you think they will come to help me? They have long since distanced themselves from the matter, believing that fighting the enemy is the court's business and has nothing to do with them. If that's the case, why should I give them face? Bring those people to me. I want to see. Since you are so strong, why don't you come to serve your country?"
Old man Zhao knew that what Li Xiang said was right, but he didn't know Li Xiang's identity. He only knew that they had a new captain. You know, in the past year, they didn't even have a captain.
Li San rushed forward with dozens of his cavalrymen. His men were stunned. They had not seen such elite cavalrymen for a long time. Those tall horses alone were beyond their reach. It seemed that we would have a good life in the future. At least this young general did things promptly.
"You bastards, where did you come from? Don't you know who I am? My uncle is the county magistrate here. Let me go quickly, or I will kill you."
When Li San brought these people back, they had run such a long way, and each of them was still full of fighting spirit. At first glance, their physical condition was very good. Wouldn't it be a waste of energy for such people to run to climb mountains? Of course, they should join the army and contribute to the country.
"Let them all learn some manners."
Li Xiang was too lazy to waste time talking to these people. When he finished speaking, Li San and his men immediately pulled away the whips in their hands. Before these guys could understand what was going on, they were already hit. When they wanted to curse, they immediately shut their mouths because Li San and his men raised their hands again, saying, "If you say anything more, we will whip you..."