In the dilapidated military camp, there are overgrown vegetation and broken walls. Birds and animals make nests in the vegetation. There are occasionally intact houses with a few beggars living inside.

"Zhifu Cao, is this the training place you prepared for us?"

Ning Fu sneered and asked Cao Yu.

"This...this..."

Cao You was also sweating profusely, and at the same time he cursed Gao Gongna in his heart.

Speaking of which, Cao You was wronged. It was Gao Gongna who was responsible for preparing the training ground. Cao You was also here for the first time, but he didn't expect Gao Gongna to prepare such a place for Ning Fu.

"Ahem, I think this must be because my subordinates are not doing things right. Don't worry, Uncle Qingping. I'll have someone make preparations again right away!"

Cao You soon realized what he was doing and immediately assured Ning Fu.

It's not that Cao Yu is weak, but that he knows the rules of the officialdom. It's okay to embarrass Ning Fu, but you can't let others take advantage of it. For example, like the military camp in front of you, this is not embarrassment for Ning Fu at all, but a slap in the face of His Majesty the Emperor.

If Ning Fu directly brought this up, Cao Yu would definitely not be able to bear it if the court blamed him.

"Tomorrow! If you don't see the new military camp tomorrow morning, go and explain to the officials then!"

Ning Fu snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and turned around to leave.

Cao You was also extremely angry. On the one hand, he was angry with Ning Fu for not giving him any face, and on the other hand, he was even more angry with that bastard Gao Gongna for digging such a big hole for himself.

That night, Ning Fu and others camped outside the city and did not even enter the city.

Cao You and others did not sleep at all that night. After all, Ning Fu had put down his harsh words. If the military camp was not prepared the next day, and he would send a memorial to Da Tian for listening, the officials here in Daming Mansion would definitely not

There is good fruit to eat.

So that night, the entire officialdom of Daming Mansion went crazy, especially Cao You, who went directly to Gao Gongna and had a big quarrel.

Ning Fu didn't care what Cao Yu and the others did. When Ning Fu got up the next morning, there were already officials sent by Cao Yu waiting outside.

Then the other party led Ning Fu and others to another military camp.

Compared with the dilapidated military camp last night, this military camp is much more orderly. You can even see some tattered clothes and bedding left by some soldiers in the room. Apparently this place was just vacated last night.

"The entire Qingshan camp has 700 rooms. There are several wells in the camp, a school ground, a dining hall, a warehouse, etc., which are enough to accommodate tens of thousands of soldiers. I wonder if Uncle Qingping is satisfied?"

The young official introduced the entire military camp to Ning Fu in great detail.

This young official's name was Li Jie, and he was serving as a promotion official in Daming Mansion. Cao Yu didn't want to come to see Ning Fu again, lest he would be upset again, so he sent Li Jie to lead Ning Fu and others to take over the military camp.

"It's not bad. Where are the supplies needed by the army?"

Ning Fu asked again.

"Everything has been sent to the warehouse. I'll take you to check it out!"

Li Jie said again, After saying that, he took Ning Fu and others to the warehouse.

As expected, the warehouse was filled with all kinds of supplies, including armor, weapons, food, etc. These were the same as the military camps and had been ordered by Zhao Xu a long time ago.

Ning Fu asked someone to check the supplies. After all, Cao You and Gao Gongna were not good people. Ning Fu was also worried about what they would do with the supplies.

After confirming that the supplies were correct, Li Jie saluted Ning Fu again and said, "Prefect Cao has ordered my subordinates to fully assist Uncle Qing Ping in training the new army. If you have anything else to do, just ask."

"When the new army is established, the first step is to recruit soldiers. I would like to ask Li Tuiguan to distribute the official recruitment documents to all states and counties to recruit people with lofty ideals to join the army!"

Ning Fu was not polite and gave the order directly.

"It's okay to post recruitment notices, but..."

Li Jie suddenly showed hesitation at the end.

"But what?"

Ning Fu asked next.

"Actually, Uncle Qing Ping, you should have heard about this. It has always been quite difficult for the imperial court to recruit soldiers, especially if you want to meet the military requirements, it is even more difficult. Therefore, in order to recruit soldiers over the years, many standards have been lowered again and again.

It’s still difficult to recruit enough troops like this.”

Li Jie answered very calmly.

The Song Dynasty worshiped literature and restrained martial arts, and even the status of sergeants in the army was very low. In addition, the salary in the army was not high. If you met a harsh boss, even the salary would be deducted at every level. Many sergeants could not even support themselves.

.

This saying that a good man should not be a soldier dates back to the Song Dynasty.

Although the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty was once said to be in the millions, anyone who knew the inside story knew that God knows how many of the million Imperial Army were eaten by others as free money?

Therefore, one of the new laws is disarmament. In addition to removing some old and weak people, the most important thing is to clear up empty pay so that military supplies can be used for practical purposes.

But even so, it was still very difficult to recruit soldiers in the Song Dynasty. The saying that a good man should not be a soldier has long been engraved in the hearts of the people. When Hutou wanted to join the army, his leg was almost broken by Aunt Wang. This shows that the people's attitude towards the army

bias.

Originally, when the Song Dynasty recruited soldiers, some tall and burly soldiers would be selected to look like soldiers. Soldiers' appearance should be used as the standard for recruiting soldiers in various places.

It is a pity that with the difficulty of recruiting troops, the soldier appearance has long been a fictitious one. After all, if all the troops are recruited according to the soldier appearance, I am afraid that even 10% of them will not be satisfied.

Therefore, the recruitment standards have been lowered again and again in recent years, and prisoners in prisons have even been recruited into the army.

Even in order to prevent the soldiers in the army from escaping, they have to tattoo their faces, which is like treating the soldiers as prisoners. What kind of combat effectiveness can such an army have?

"I know, just do your best!"

Ning Fu felt heavy when he thought about the above, and finally said to Li Jie.

The purpose of establishing the new army is to eliminate the long-standing shortcomings of the old army. Recruiting troops is only the first step. If even this step cannot be taken, then there will be no need for the new army to exist.

"I obey my orders!"

Li Jie immediately agreed, and then left some people to help clean the military camp before saying goodbye and leaving.

"Xue Zheng, it's easier to recruit troops in the northwest. After all, the northwest is constantly war-torn. If we don't serve as soldiers, we won't be able to keep our people alive. If we can't recruit troops here, how about sending people to the northwest to recruit them?"

Zhe Keshi had been listening by the side just now. When he saw Li Jie leaving, he immediately stepped forward and suggested.

"This is also a way, but the distance to the northwest is far away. Even if you are willing to serve as a soldier, I am afraid that you will give up because it is too far away from home."

Ning Fu shook his head at the end.

Transportation in this era is so inconvenient that you may never come back from a long trip, let alone a war. Therefore, soldiers are usually recruited locally. After the training is successful, they will be rotated to other places.

It changes every year and does not last forever.

"Then what should we do? If we can't recruit enough troops, we won't be able to practice at all?"

Qikeshi frowned and said again.

"Don't worry, I've already prepared it!"
Chapter completed!