The remaining 500,000 marines are all under the command of Li Xiu. They are stationed overseas all year round to maintain the Ming Dynasty's overseas interests.

Now if we want to control Central Asia, which is more vast than the Western Regions, it will definitely not work without garrisoning troops. Moreover, it will definitely not work if there are fewer garrison troops.

Expand the army!

This has always been what the former Ministry of War and now the General Staff want to do.

All the officers of the Liao Army have the potential of Han Xin.

To lead troops, the more the better!

Li Xiao didn't speak, and others didn't dare to speak either.

Looking at the scenery outside the window, Li Xiao was helpless and silent.

This is where the butt determines the head. Wherever you sit, you will seek benefits for that place.

The Ministry of Revenue is also in favor of military expansion, but if you want money, there is nothing you can do.

The so-called money is not at the expense of one's life, but that's what Ai Husheng is talking about.

"Expansion of the army...! No money!

The Ming Dynasty only had so much money. Now it needs to build railways, roads, and bridges on the Yangtze River and Yellow River.

It’s not just these!

We still have to run schools and educate!

The current national policy implemented by the Ming Dynasty is still to keep wealth among the people.

With light corvee and low taxes, the annual tax revenue is very limited.

The empire now relies entirely on plundering resources from all over the world and then dumping industrial products for its money and food.

Tell me, how can we expand our military under such circumstances?"

"What a handsome man!

We all understand the truth, but now you want to control Central Asia. This person... is really irresistible!"

"this……!

Can we recruit some Gurkhas and other Indians to come to Central Asia?"

"Indian? Gurkha?"

"yes!

We can recruit them and serve in Central Asia for three years before returning to the small states in India.

You can go to work as an errand in the Yamen!

Didn’t the Ming Dynasty have many mines there? Those who served the Ming Dynasty could enter the mines as managers.

When these people are in Central Asia, they only need to receive a small military allowance every month.

Under such circumstances, we can feed a large army with very little money." Li Xiao thought for a long time and finally thought of a way.

In Central Asia, there is actually no need for combat. In most cases, we still maintain law and order or maintain the presence of force.

In fact, there is nothing to maintain law and order. The elders in the tribe can handle matters within the tribe.

If Ming intervenes rashly, it might cause bad consequences.

"Commander!

Not to mention, this method is feasible.

If you serve the Ming Dynasty for three years, you will have an iron rice bowl when you return. Those Indians will definitely be willing!

We can also recruit people from Cochin, Japan, and Korea in the same way."

Shi Dewei's eyes lit up. What Li Xiao said was indeed a good method.

"Forget it about the Japanese, they finally managed to win over their warriors. We can recruit some Koreans!"

The last time we expelled foreigners from Liaodong, we did bully the Koreans. This can be regarded as preferential treatment for them!

As for the Cochins, Burmese, and Siamese.

They are not suitable for the climate here, so we should not recruit them."

"promise!

The General Staff then formulated a plan to recruit soldiers from the small states that separated from India, as well as North Korea.

We in the Ming Dynasty can set aside a squad of platoon leaders to serve as officers there.

Do you think you can have a choice about what job you can be assigned after serving for three years and what job you can be assigned after four years of service?

What kind of work can be assigned after five years of service!

In this way, some people will be willing to serve for a few more years."

"Yes! This is feasible!

Moreover, we need to be nicer to these people.

These people will all be grassroots officials in various places in the future. If they treat them well, they will cooperate with them in class on weekdays.

They will have endless yearning for the Ming Dynasty and have a natural closeness to the Ming Dynasty.

This will be of great benefit to our country!"

"Yes, yes! Marshal, you are right." Stewie nodded, already having further plans in mind.

Things in the world are like this. In the eyes of others, it is a big deal. Between big shots, it is just an inspired conversation.

"This method can recruit 200,000 troops for our Ming Dynasty.

It doesn't need to be how good they are at fighting, as long as they look scary. The main force is still the Fourth Division.

These people will also be under the control of the Fourth Division in the future.

As for the Western Region, a cavalry division can be deployed to garrison in the Western Region.

The vast Western Region is more suitable for the training of the First Cavalry Division. In future battles, the First Cavalry Division will be the main force.

The road conditions in the Western Region are not very good. It would be good to let them adapt to that area.

Having said that, this time I passed through the Western Regions. I found that the colonists did a good job!

At least, there’s no problem with hitting the ground.”

"No! I will send a telegram soon and ask the General Staff to make a plan for the commander-in-chief to review."

"Um!"

The train kept running on the newly built Central Asia Railway. This time, Li Xiao was also inspecting the Central Asia Railway.

I have to say, this guy Stanai is really a talent.

In just two years, the railway has been built to Uralsk ahead of schedule. We are just waiting for the Russians to complete it and then it can be closed in Uralsk.

That guy Stanai should be exploring the Hanzhong Railway now.

The reason why it was able to be completed ahead of schedule is because the workers who built the railway in the Ming Dynasty were all workers who built the Western Region Railway.

Many of these people have been laying railways for ten years. To them, railway repairing is as skillful as eating and sleeping. It has even become instinctive.

Moreover, Li Xiao also added 10,000 foreign slaves to them.

These slaves from Egypt were very hardworking and hardworking, and they seemed to be well adapted to the Central Asian environment.

After two years of railway construction, only 30% of the people died.

Compared with before, this is a lot less.

When the train arrived in Uralsk, it could no longer move forward.

Because the railway on the Russian side was still a hundred kilometers away, Ekaterina promised Li Xiao that it would be completed within three months.

Li Xiao wanted to know how they could complete the project within three months.

Although the railway was not repaired, reinforcements sent by Catherine had arrived first.

The last defeat was a disgrace to the Russian Empire.

Catherine sent her best troops, equipped with the best weapons.

But the result was that they were severely defeated by those Chechens.

"Pa" "Pa" slaps you in the face!

Ekaterina felt her face was a little swollen!

This time, Yekaterina sent her old coach Kutuzov, who led Yekaterina's bodyguards!

Kutuzov vowed to regain Her Majesty the Queen's lost dignity.

Li Xiao didn't care about Her Majesty the Queen's face, but he still met Kutuzov.

I have to say that the old guy is indeed an idol. He was the only one who could defeat Napoleon in the era when Napoleon was rampant.
To be continued...