Zhao Bing understood that in addition to the political reasons, the impact of the economic environment should not be underestimated. The treatment of the Song army soldiers was indeed not good in the past. At that time, soldiers usually only had 200 coins and 2 and a half meter a day, and the money had to support their families and maintain equipment, which was obviously short of money. As an economically developed region, Wu land sold fish, shrimps or chopped firewood, and the entire 200 to 300 coins a day was a low income. When a sedan chair carrier carried a sedan chair for someone, he could even earn 20,000 yuan a month!

Compared with this income, most ordinary people naturally do not want to join the army. Therefore, those who take the initiative to join the army are basically idle people who are idle and are always ready to become deserters, while the rest are unlucky people who take the initiative to join the army. It is said that an important reason for the failure of the Kaixi Northern Expedition is the source of troops. Let's put it that way, the better the living environment, the more self-interested, narrow-minded, and weak the personality of a person is. And there is paradise and the underside of Suzhou and Hangzhou, which has also created a large number of self-interested and narrow-minded cords like Qin Hui and Jia Sidao.

Some people may say that forcing soldiers to join the army has happened in all dynasties, and the modern British navy, which once killed all directions, also captured squads! Who said that there would be no combat effectiveness if they arrested squads? In fact, Zhao Bing knew that although the British navy arrested squads, they still mainly captured sailors. Although it was dangerous to be a navy, the safety of merchant ship sailors was not much better, but the treatment of joining the navy was relatively guaranteed. Not to mention, the British navy had a strict training and discipline system and advanced naval technology.

At present, Zhao Bing feels that under his leadership, the status of the military people in the Song Dynasty is constantly improving, which not only changes the previous system of joining the army for life. The treatment is also getting better and better. Military expenditure has always been priority, and he never defaults on wages in the most difficult times. In recent years, with the improvement of the financial situation of the court, his salary has also increased steadily. Even the salary of newly enlisted recruits is sufficient to ensure the food and clothing of a family of five. Although he has not achieved a well-off life for a few years, he is better than ordinary families.

In addition, other benefits are difficult to match in the outside world. Not only are food, clothing and housing provided by the state, but there are strict standards. Free treatment for illness, pensions for deaths, people with disabilities, and money for retirement. Family members can also enjoy preferential treatment such as land allocation, tax reduction and exemption during their resignation. In addition, the upward channel is also open. If you do well, you can be promoted or even transferred to civil servants. After retirement, the court will arrange work. Zhao Bing dares to say that this treatment is the best, but it is definitely first-class in the ancient world.

Of course, Zhao Bing is not a philanthropist who supports a group of people to play. Good treatment must be responsible for fighting for the country, abide by strict military discipline, and have the awareness of sacrificing for the country at any time. Then again, iron discipline and rigorous training, coupled with leading weapons, also ensure that they minimize casualties and can go home alive on the cruel battlefield.

Therefore, Zhao Bing felt that the current environment and the improvement of treatment could still change the customs of the people. This year, it would not be as difficult as recruiting new recruits in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Many people voluntarily actively join the army. Moreover, the local township soldiers have been established, and those who join can also receive training and recruitment. This shows that the Wu people also felt the crisis that the Mongols and Yuan would still invade Jiangnan at any time, which also changed their concepts. Cowardly war will eventually become a past time, and the large population of Jiangsu and Zhejiang will also become an important source of troops and the main force of the Northern Expedition...

Zhao Bing slept well without dreams all night, but he knew that it was not because he was too tired recently, nor because he drank some wine last night, but because he had been on the sea. Since he came to this world, he has been chased and only when he floated on the sea could he feel safe. This seems nothing compared to the unpredictable storm on the sea, and he has sat down from that time on.

‘dong,dong,dong…’ Zhao Bing’s good dream was still awakened by the sound of war drums. He rubbed his eyes but saw that the sky light had shone into the cabin through the bed curtain. At this time, he also felt that the ship seemed to have stopped and could hardly feel the swaying of the warship.

"The official family is awake, why don't you sleep for a while?" Hearing the movement in the cabin, Wang De hurried in and saw that the little emperor had sat up. He knew that he had been busy with military weapons and had not had a good rest for many days. It was rare that he slept well last night, but he woke up early, and he said with a heartache.

"Why are there any war drums outside? Have you encountered the enemy?" Zhao Bing raised his legs and got out of bed, asking while wearing shoes.

"Hey, it turns out that those unsightly guys quarreled with Qingmeng in the official family. They are all young and deserve to know them!" Wang De then reacted and said a little resentful.

"What the hell is going on? Why did the boat stop?" At this time, the sound of war drums continued. Zhao Bing pulled his shoes and went straight to the porthole and asked.

"Don't be anxious, we had already entered Taihu Lake last night and moored the boat at the dock of the navy training camp. It was not the enemy, but the drums were the new troops practicing." Wang De hurriedly explained when he saw the little emperor roaring.

"Oh, so that's it!" Zhao Bing stopped after hearing this, nodded in disappointment.

"It's still early, the official family will sleep for a while. The young man will tell them to stop." The little emperor's silent eyes naturally could not escape Wang De's eyes. He knew that his loneliness after leaving the battlefield was still eager to lead the army to fight on the battlefield and recover the old land. But he also understood that this was not something he could help, so he could only persuade him.

"No need, I can't sleep!" Zhao Bing waved his hand.

Wang De also quickly sent someone to serve the little emperor to wash, change clothes, and clean up. Zhao Bing couldn't stay in the cabin, so he simply came to the top deck of the cabin to move. Taihu Lake, he had been here several times and was very familiar with the terrain here. The position of the ship was the camp where Chen Renweng trained the inland water army, and later it was changed into a naval recruit training camp. New recruits who had just joined the army had to receive basic training here before being assigned to the army.

The destination of Zhao Bing's trip, the Military Vessel Supervision Shipyard, is also located in Taihu Lake. The water surface is vast, the water surface is relatively flat, and the transportation is convenient. Suzhou is a distribution center for various materials, which is a good port for building warships. The trial production of the two new ships is also arranged here. At the same time, a group of sailors were also drawn from the Imperial Navy to participate in the construction. One is to be familiar with the structure of the new warship as soon as possible; the other is to use the built deck model for simulation training so that the use of new sail cables can be mastered as soon as possible.

Zheng Yong moored the fleet in the training camp, mostly for safety reasons. After all, it was a military camp, and it was difficult for outsiders to enter and exit at will. In addition, it was very close to the yard, which was convenient for travel. But he ignored one thing: the army had to be trained every day, but it disturbed the emperor's dream. But Zhao Bing had no intention of blame. He leaned on the railing and watched a group of new recruits advance under the command of the golden drum, retreat, concentrate, and disperse.

"The official family, the wind is cool in the morning, and it's very noisy here again. Let's go back to the cabin!" Wang De leaned forward and draped a long gown on the little emperor and said.

"Haha, what do you know? Don't underestimate this golden drum. The so-called survival and safety lies in the siege, which is what Zhao Bing said." Zhao Bing turned around and smiled.

"What the official said is too serious. Isn't it just that I go forward when I hear the drum and retreat when I hear the gold? The younger ones still know a little." Wang De said in a bit dissatisfied.

"It's not that simple. I've learned a lot here. You have been scattered in the army for so many years. You still don't understand the principle of killing the drum and killing the reins!" Zhao Bing curled his lips. When he first came to this world, he was actually like Wang De. He thought that the "beating drums and marching" and "singing gold to withdraw troops" often used in novels made him feel that the ancient Chinese army had only two signals of attack and retreat. However, after being in the battle formation, he realized that he was too simple.

In his previous life, Zhao Bing had a debate about the role of the golden drum. Some people once believed that the use of musical instruments in war was more to boost morale, just as the European army always had to create huge sounds to deter the enemy before attacking. In fact, in the ancient Greek army, musicians who played double-tube recorders were also equipped in the front line of the troops when marching.

In addition, in some shoddy film and television works, ancient Chinese troops were similar to armed parades. A large number of unorganized and disciplined soldiers marched in armed parades with various musical instruments. After the aristocratic chariot war or cavalry decided to win or lose, everyone rushed up or scattered. In these film and television works, the role of a large number of infantry seemed to be the same as that of medieval peasants, but only existed as war scenes.

In fact, this concept is a big mistake. Zhao Bing also realized that war is a collective act, and an unorganized army is naturally low in combat power. An army that can only complete such simple tactical actions can naturally not be called an organized army. In fact, the two words "beat the drum to advance and "speak the gold to withdraw troops" are just a literary simplification of the ancient Chinese command system.

Sun Tzu pointed out in the Art of War: "The golden drums and flags are the eyes and ears of the people... The brave ones are not allowed to advance alone, and the cowardly ones are not allowed to retreat alone. This is the method of using the masses." It is clearly stated here that the golden drums mainly play the role of maintaining order, and the use of drums alone contains the transmission of several types of information:

The first is to express command information at different levels through the different sizes and tones of the drum. The tone of the drum is Shang, and the tone of the drum is the corner. These are all strict distinctions between using drums for commanders of different levels. During the war, military orders are conveyed from the snare drum of the chief general to the subordinates in turn, so as to command the military formation to complete tactical transformations at different levels.

The second type is to indicate different attack speeds through different frequencies of drum sound. There are generally three different frequencies of drum sound: one step and one drum require a neat pace and a slow step forward. Ten steps and one drum sound require a fast step forward. When the drum sound is continuous, it means to launch a charge.

The third type is to use different drum beat orders to command different arms. The seven drum techniques proposed in "Sima Law" include: "drums, flags, drum chariots, drum horses, drum disciples, drum soldiers, drum soldiers, drum pawns". This shows that during combat, the commander will use different drum beat orders or special drums to conduct precise command of a special single arms, which means that the military division and military cooperation of ancient Chinese troops have reached a very high level.

The fourth type is to use drums to control all aspects of military life. The novel often talks about one drum to rectify weapons, two drums to practice arrays, three drums to eat, four drums to check, and five drums to arrange arrays. This shows that the sound of the golden drum has included all aspects of the entire marching process.

In addition, drums must cooperate with other instruments to issue more complex instructions. The "gold" in the sound of gold and withdrawal of troops is not just a piece of metal as performed in some film and television works. There are four types of musical instruments called "gold", and the usage methods are also varied. Each instrument has its own commands, and it must also be used in conjunction with drums. Using gold horns and drums, using gold bracelets to connect drums, using gold bracelets to stop drums, using gold bracelets to mix drums, using gold bracelets to control drums during marching, using gold horns to stop drums during marching, and using gold horns to command snare drums to work together.

In addition to the coordination of musical instruments and instruments, the golden drums must also be matched differently with the flags to complete different formations. For example, the drums are made of black flags and curved formations, etc. These make the command signal more complex and the meaning of expression is more accurate. At this time, the Chinese army further developed the already very complex golden drum system.

The marshal of the central army beat the frown drum, and the commanded drumman drums three-way drums, two Simas shaking the Duo, the military commander shaking the flag, and the soldiers changed from sitting posture to standing posture. The drumman beat the drum continuously, and the army advanced forward, and the company horse beat the bracelet to adjust the spacing of each step of the soldiers. The drumman beat the drumman shaking the Duo three-way drum, and the two Simas covered the Duo mouth with their hands, and the military commander lowered the flag, and the entire army stopped advancing. The drumman beat the drum, and the head of the pawn beat the buck, and the entire army began to retreat.

During the Warring States Period, the influence of the trick on military development became more and more obvious. In many cases, generals could confuse opponents by changing their usage habits to create fighter jets. For example, temporarily exchange signals for advance and retreat, and launch an attack when the enemy thinks that they are retreating. Or deliberately disrupt the rhythm of the golden drum to make the army look disorganized, induce the enemy to attack, or disrupt the order of drum beats to consume the enemy's physical strength, and even command instead of flags in night battles.

It is precisely because of the high importance attached to military organization and command that the ancient Chinese military operations attach great importance to the Golden Drum. Complex command tools and command systems not only mean that generals must have a considerable level to perform more complex operations, but also require soldiers to undergo stricter training. An army that focuses on the art of command, has a perfect command system, perfect soldier training, and has sufficient combat experience will inevitably be an army with combat effectiveness.
Chapter completed!