Time Travel: The Foolish Lady is Forced to Become a Female General

Chapter 138 Xia Xia's Great Reform (2)

Xia Qin was not very familiar with the official system. She only carried out the simplest and most superficial reforms based on the situation of the Great Xia Kingdom and the feudal dynasty of her previous world.

But as a modern person, these are almost common sense about military organization, talent selection and taxation system.

Xia Qin thought to herself that the current peace was temporary and rare, and if she wanted to reform, now was the best time.

Once the idea came to her mind, Xia Qin immediately found her brother.

"Do you also want to make some changes to the military system?" Mu Jinyu asked after listening to Xia Qin's idea.

Xia Qin nodded and immediately took out the prepared architecture diagram and handed it to her brother.

Unlike his unfamiliarity with the official system, Mu Jinyu was very familiar with the military system, as he grew up in a military general's family and joined the army with his father at the age of fifteen.

Xia Qin explained her thoughts: "Brother, even if we recruit more soldiers, we will definitely be at a great disadvantage in terms of numbers compared to the imperial army. We must increase the coordination of various arms to compete with them."

"The imperial army has been fighting for years. Even local garrison troops like the Yancheng Army have gone to the northern border to resist the enemy. Their combat capabilities and experience are definitely much stronger than the Japanese pirates, so we must change."

Mu Jinyu nodded silently: "Xiaoyan, tell me how you want to change?"

Xia Qin said seriously: "If a war breaks out, the enemy will definitely attack from multiple directions, and we will have to split into multiple armies that can fight independently."

Mu Jinyu was puzzled and said, "Now our army is also divided into three thousand units, led by a captain, and his subordinates have Qu, and Qu has a military marquis."

"Brother, this is just the current military structure of the Great Xia Army. What I mean is that each division has the ability to fight independently."

"Does it mean that we can divide the army into several groups like the imperial court? Each of them will lead an army to fight against enemies from different directions?"

"Not really," Xia Qin shook his head and explained patiently, "Brother, let me give you an analogy. We are now forming a new army of 20,000 people. You are the commander-in-chief, and under you are Brother Shaoqing, Brother Huo, Wang Rulong, Cen Hua, and Tang Kekuan, five captains."

At this point, Xia Qin simply squatted down and drew a diagram on the ground: "Originally, they commanded different arms and followed your military orders. After the reform, they still follow your military orders, but there are two changes."

"First, each of their divisions and songs is equipped with a variety of soldiers, including infantry, cavalry, archers, and the Night Owl Squad that carries bamboo mines. Even a squad of 100 people can independently deal with various enemy forces and situations. Second, they are an army that can complete tasks independently, and can also quickly cooperate to form a large army according to changes on the battlefield. Under your command, we can accomplish our goals together."

Although it was a bit complicated and obscure, Mu Jinyu, who had been fighting for many years, understood what Xia Qin meant.

"Xiao Yan, your idea does increase the combat effectiveness a lot, but now each unit has 4,000 people and each group has 1,000 people. 20,000 people need 20 generals who can independently command the battle. It's difficult!" Mu Jinyu sighed, "If it's about executing military orders, it's naturally a piece of cake, but if you let them command independently, there are very few such generals."

Xia Qin understood this truth, and she said confidently: "So, we need to train more soldiers and select more generals, especially now that the battle with the Japanese pirates is relatively easy, so that they can command more independently. In addition, we will conduct theoretical study every ten days and let the generals of the Buquguantu (the fourth level of the Great Xia Army) participate to improve their ability to lead troops."

"We can give it a try!" After listening to Xia Qin, Mu Jinyu thought it was feasible. "It's a good opportunity to let Cen Hua, Wang Rulong, Tang Kekuan and others lead their armies separately and practice!"

After discussing with Mu Jinyu, Xia Qin called Sima Zhiru and Haifeng over. Sima Zhiru is now the chief of the Ministry of Personnel of Jinghai County, and Haifeng, who was rescued from the Japanese pirates that day, is now the deputy chief of the Anbu.

"Sima Zhiru," Xia Qin looked at the neat-looking scholar, "I have something I want to do in the next few days. I'm afraid it will be troublesome for you."

"Please give your orders, Lord."

"I need to recruit some talents. Right now, everything is in ruins. There will be more wars in the future. We should make some preparations early."

"Your Excellency is right!" Sima Zhiru was thin, but his face was sharp and angular, and he looked upright and resolute, and he was serious about his work. "Should we ask the noble families and county officials to recommend candidates from today?"

"Not recommended." Xia Qin replied indifferently.

"Not recommending?" Sima Zhiru was stunned. "I don't know what you mean by that, Lord?"

"Prepare an exam paper with ten questions. Two questions will test character, four will test knowledge, and four will test the ability to handle general affairs. Prepare five hundred exam papers and post notices. Anyone can sign up to take the exam. Five days later, set up an exam hall in the county and conduct an open selection."

Sima Zhiru's expression became complicated, but he smiled in relief: "Your Excellency is wise! No wonder Master Mo asked us to take you as our master, saying that we can learn a lot from you. I am really looking forward to the future now."

Xia Qin blushed a little when she was praised. After all, she had only simply learned the formalities of the imperial examination and had not even established a complete system. She couldn't help feeling like she had gained something by stealing someone's work.

Sima Zhiru continued, "My Lord, if this method is feasible, we can make it a custom and conduct selection every six months. We can also set different test questions and selection methods based on the different talents needed."

Xia Qin was relieved and impressed when she heard Sima Zhiru say this. He was indeed a talented person. "Sima Zhiru, you are the head of the Ministry of Personnel. You will be in charge of this matter. In addition, Haifeng, you should take people to investigate the backgrounds of the applicants. Do not let anyone with ulterior motives get involved."

"Yes, Mr. Fu!"

After the two left, Xia Qin let out a long sigh. Everything was finally arranged, with only one thing left.

"Xia Xia, it's time to take a break~" Mo Ye walked into the lobby of the county government office at this time.

"Where have you been?" Xia Qin pretended to be angry. "You disappeared so early in the morning. As the head of the Anbu Department, you don't know how to protect me?"

"As for me, I'll arrange for someone to pick up some friends." Mo Ye said with a grin, "Don't be angry, Xia Xia, don't we have Brother Huo Jinying and the others?"

"Friends? Do you have any friends that I don't know about?"

Mo Ye said mysteriously: "They are not my friends, but Brother Jin Yu's friends. You will know when they arrive."

"Always acting sneakily. After today's work, I can have a good rest for a few days. But my brothers will have to work hard!" Xia Qin sighed as she leaned back in her chair.

"Are you done?" Mo Ye ran behind Xia Qin very consciously and gently massaged her Jianjing acupoint.

Xia Qin said softly, "Almost done. There is only one last thing. I will ask Gongsun Xin to do it. From now on, the taxes in Jinghai County and Wu County will be levied at 12% of the tax. There are too many land taxes, head taxes, and corvée taxes. In addition, as long as the adults in the family undergo military training for one month every year, the family tax can be reduced to 15% of the tax."

"Reduce taxes and mobilize all citizens to become soldiers. My Xia Xia is really smart. It will be such a waste for her to live in seclusion in the mountains with me in the future~" Mo Ye said with hidden meaning.

Xia Qin opened her eyes and looked at him: "You sound like it's appropriate for you to live in seclusion in the mountains. By the way, the Mu family has already moved in. Aren't you worried about Uncle Su and the others?"

"I have arranged for someone to deliver a letter to the Su Mansion. Once your tribute to the emperor arrives, father will retire and return home while the emperor is in a good mood."

"Mo Ye, you're really always scheming every day~" Xia Qin looked at Mo Ye, her tone full of heartache.

"We can't let my Xia Xia worry about these trivial matters, right?" Mo Ye smiled maliciously, "By the way, the governor of Yangzhou will come to cause trouble in a few days."

"Hmm?" Xia Qin looked at Mo Ye's expression and suddenly remembered the governor Yuan Tan.