Chapter 65: Battle Report

Chapter 65: Battle Report

"This medical camp is far more useful than I expected!" Li Shiji said in the military camp as he turned to speak to Li Jing. "Under their care, the survival rate of wounded soldiers is as high as eighty percent, and seventy percent are able to return to the battlefield. With these figures, actual casualties in every war can be drastically reduced. This is truly wonderful news. It is only a pity that their full potential cannot be realized on the attacking battlefield. If it were a city defense battle, the resilience of the defending soldiers would likely more than double!"

In conventional warfare, no matter how supreme a military genius one might be, it is impossible to wage a campaign without any losses. Generally, in a large-scale clash of hand-to-hand combat, even the victorious side suffers at least a five percent fatality rate. Furthermore, the wounded typically account for fifteen to twenty percent, which results in over twenty percent of soldiers being forced into retirement. A major reason for this was untimely medical treatment, leading to non-combat attrition.

Usually, the primary losses in warfare occur among new recruits, making this the most alarming stage for troop reduction. However, once they cross the threshold of becoming ten-battle veterans, they essentially know how to protect themselves on the battlefield, and the probability of dying in action becomes relatively low. Such veterans are the most favored targets for reinforcement across various legions, as they can immediately generate combat power upon joining.

For renowned commanders, the greatest significance of the medical camp was that it reduced the number of soldiers forced to retire. Although some individuals whose arms or legs were severed might not be able to remain in the military camp, it still allowed seventy percent of the injured soldiers to return to the ranks. Having walked the line between life and death, these individuals could essentially be regarded as veterans, and their rate of growth was astonishing.

This not only made a legion of veterans who had survived ten battles a matter of course, but it also made the prospect of a legion of veterans who had survived a hundred battles no longer an idle fantasy.

Hearing Li Shiji's words, Li Jing raised an eyebrow and said thoughtfully, "It is indeed a remarkable invention. It is only a pity that once the fighting is over, they must return to Chang'an. You cannot keep them!"

"Hmm?" Li Shiji was slightly puzzled and asked, "Are they not part of the army?"

Li Jing replied, "They are not considered part of the army. Besides, raising one or two is fine, but building a scale of five hundred is no easy task. The military system of our Great Tang is the Fubing system; ordinary soldiers are hardly even cultivated, let alone them! Moreover, these people were trained by the Prince of Yue's Agricultural Academy. The senior and prudent ministers in the court will not allow them to enter the military camp."

Hearing Li Jing's words, Li Shiji was stunned, but then he let out a helpless sigh.

It must be said that both Li Jing and Li Shiji were intelligent men, and many things could be understood with just a single hint. If the inventor had been a high-ranking minister, everything would be easy to discuss. But since it was invented by the Prince of Yue, the senior court ministers might tolerate the medical camp accompanying the army during wartime, but they would never allow it to become a permanent fixture stationed within the military, nor a standing force within the armed forces.

However, observing the such effective results of the medical camp, Li Jing felt that whenever a medical camp appeared, it would inevitably become a force in the military that could not be ignored.

"Putting this aside for a moment, you commanded your army to frontally withstand the attack of Jiali Khan and successfully held off the Turkic Tiger Division. Your army must have already acquired a legion talent, right?" Li Jing asked, looking at Li Shiji.

"Ten-Event Decathlete," Li Shiji replied calmly. "After arriving in Bingzhou, I found that the soldiers here are exceptionally well-suited for this talent. This ability seems to be engraved in their very bones; after just a little training, this talent was successfully brought out. However, if one wishes to continue walking further down the path of this talent, it becomes uncharted territory. Since the path is too long, one can only rely on time to slowly grind it out. The emergence of the medical camp makes me feel that we can rely on veterans to accelerate the growth rate of the 'Ten-Event Decathlete', which can be considered a glimmer of hope, at least!"

"Ten-Event Decathlete? Being proficient in everything yet excelling at nothing, possessing neither explosive power, obvious flaws, nor distinct characteristics—it can still be useful when dealing with regular infantry. As an elite troop type, lacking sufficient explosive power feels like it falls a bit short. I wonder what level it can reach if it becomes a decisive-battle troop type," Li Jing evaluated this type of troops. "You certainly placed a heavy wager on such a troublesome troop type!"

"If the strength of the troop type is insufficient, it can be compensated for by the commander. Furthermore, the 'Ten-Event Decathlete' talent itself signifies that they have no obvious shortcomings. Therefore, although I have only a single legion, I can conduct mixed formations, which is sufficient to cope with various situations on the battlefield," Li Shiji said with confidence. "Moreover, this troop type is not only used to train the soldiers, but it is even more like it is used to train the commanders."

"Train the commanders?" Hearing Li Shiji's words, Li Jing could not help but ask with a hint of perplexity, "How so?"

Li Shiji explained, "The 'Ten-Event Decathlete' talent is truly mediocre, but at the same time, it opens up a vast direction for development. If a commander's foundation is lacking, soldiers with this talent can, by steeling their hearts, help supplement and complete the fundamentals of troop training. If one can truly train the 'Ten-Event Decathlete' to its ultimate limit, one will basically be able to cultivate the ability to modify the legion's talent according to needs."

"Interesting!" Hearing Li Shiji's words, Li Jing remarked, "It is quite similar to a certain troop type I once saw in the south!"

"What troop type?" Li Shiji asked with a faint trace of curiosity.

"The Yangzhou soldiers, perhaps?" Li Jing thought for a moment and said, "When I served as the Senior Administrator of the Yangzhou Grand Protectorate's Mansion, the locals frequently engaged in conflicts due to internal strife over water or other resources. If the people selected from these groups are not subjected to targeted and deliberate training, they very easily generate a cooperative coordination talent. Back then, Fu Gongshi's subordinates were predominantly composed of these troops. This troop type should be quite strong when matched with military formations; it is a type of troop that assists commanders in rapidly mastering battle arrays."

"Yangzhou soldiers?" Li Shiji fell into contemplation. It was a pity that he was far too distant from Yangzhou.

To be honest, when Li Jing and Li Shiji met, there was more than a little mutual appreciation. Whether in terms of their extraordinary military talents or their political stances, the two men were actually quite alike. Although the Great Tang was blessed with a brilliant array of renowned generals, besides Li Shiming, the only one who could truly rival Li Jing was Li Shiji.

Although Li Shiji's background differed from Li Jing's, leaving him somewhat inferior to Li Jing in basic foundations, Li Jing felt that through persistent study of the "Ten-Event Decathlete" legion talent, Li Shiji would be able to make up for whatever foundation he lacked. In ten or twenty years, Li Shiji would undoubtedly become the most dazzling star among the military generals of the Great Tang.

After continuing their discussion for a while, the two went off to handle their respective affairs.

Li Jing and the others tallied up their losses and gains, placing special emphasis on the role of the medical camp in their report to Li Shiming. Although Li Jing knew that writing about the function of the medical camp would undoubtedly bring him a certain amount of controversy, the utility demonstrated by the medical camp was simply too immense. As a commander-in-chief, it was naturally impossible for him to turn a blind eye to it.

Moreover, in Li Jing's view, since the Prince of Yue alone could manage to get the medical camp up and running, as long as the court had the intention and dedicated a portion of investment into it, providing a medical camp of five hundred men to every legion was ultimately achievable.

Relatively speaking, however, the most important task was to dispatch people to deliver Jiali Khan and the emperor of the pseudo-Sui dynasty to Li Shiming first.

With the war fought to this extent, the battle report could be written however one pleased. Having Jiali Khan and the pseudo-Sui emperor as spoils of war, Li Jing was well aware that his contributions could not be erased no matter what.

This application for military merit traveled all the way through the biting cold toward Chang'an.

However, Chang'an was not entirely tranquil at this time, for another annual imperial examination was about to commence. Consequently, Li Li's primary focus once again shifted to devising ways to select talents from among the failed commoner scholars to enter the Agricultural Academy.

No matter what, compared to its first year when the future of the entire Agricultural Academy seemed bleak, the Agricultural Academy led by Li Li was now assisting him in governing Gaoling in a well-ordered manner, presenting a scene of flourishing prosperity.

Several department heads of the Agricultural Academy had made their mark: Ma Zhou had been recommended by multiple prime ministers; Du Chuke had attained official status owing to his management of the Gaoling docks; Li Chunfeng was clearly slated for heavy promotion under Dou Jing; Liu Shenwei had headed north to join the army with the medical camp and might secure military achievements; even Yan Qinli, who appeared to be the most ordinary head of the liberal arts department, was organizing and compiling literature within the library.

Once the literature compilation was finished, it would undoubtedly be another massive merit. Even if the imperial court showed no regard for face, the aristocratic families certainly would!

Under such circumstances, the previously unappealing Agricultural Academy instantly transformed into a highly sought-after prize!

For the failed examinees, even if they failed this imperial examination, walking the path of the Agricultural Academy seemed to be a viable alternative route.

However, after a year of operation, the Agricultural Academy was actually no longer short of temporary workers. Yet, with the year-end approaching, the Agricultural Academy needed to expand recruitment across various departments for the rollout of next year's projects.

Li Li intended to recruit four hundred teachers, among whom one hundred were intended to form a legal studies department. There was no profound meaning behind this—it was simply to ideologically arm these students. After all, only by knowing the law could they apply the law; otherwise, once they went out into the field, they would only end up being beaten black and blue by others unilaterally.

As for the newly recruited teachers, their first year would be a probationary period, with a salary amounting to only eighty percent of a regular teacher's pay. The emolument for a full-time teacher was approximately fifty shi of grain per year coupled with a monthly stipend of two guan.

The salary structure for a ninth-rank official in the Tang dynasty consisted of grain stipends received annually and monthly stipends, which were the two most crucial fixed sources of income. Later on, when combined and referred to over time, they were collectively called emoluments.

Among these, the grain stipend was received on an annual basis, while the monthly stipend was naturally received monthly.

Taking Li Chunfeng's former rank of Gentleman for Meritorious Service as an example, he occupied the absolute lowest tier of official ranks in the Tang dynasty as an unposted "Gentleman for Meritorious Service," so he basically received fifty-two shi of grain annually, though his monthly stipend was generally only 1.5 guan.

Of course, the monthly stipend was not solely disbursed in direct cash; sometimes items such as fish, meat, fruits, vegetables, soap, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were distributed. However, the overall value generally hovered around the price of the monthly stipend without fluctuating too drastically.

For Li Li, however, he would rather choose to disburse a bit more cash and figure out a way to have them spend it within Gaoling—earn it in Gaoling and spend it in Gaoling, without letting a single coin be taken back home.

Apart from the monthly stipend and grain stipend, another source of income was called "official fields." This was not tied to unposted ranks, but rather to substantive official posts. For officials who held actual duties, the imperial court would allocate farmland to them. You would hire farmers to cultivate this field, though there was a limit on the rental yield per mu.

To use a modern analogy, it was somewhat akin to being granted state-provided housing to rent out during your tenure in an official position. The rental income formed a part of your salary; you could exempt the tenant from rent, but the maximum could not exceed a certain amount.

There was yet another component known as labor commutation, a project配套ed with corvée labor. Aside from surrendering grain, the commoners also had a portion of labor owed to the government, serving as corvée.

The security guards assigned by the court to officials for guarding their homes, standing sentry, and the retinues surrounding officials as they went out were sometimes composed of these temporarily conscripted commoners.

Still taking Li Chunfeng's rank of Gentleman for Meritorious Service as an example, the imperial court would generally assign him two labor-service quotas to assist him in handling miscellaneous domestic chores, enabling Li Chunfeng to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to serving the Great Tang.

However, if the conscripted family happened to be relatively wealthy, or if they did not wish to work under Li Chunfeng, or if Li Chunfeng preferred traveling alone and living unencumbered, he could proactively approach his superiors to decline these conscripted adult males, having the court directly disburse a sum of money to settle the matter instead.

This was labor commutation.

Here, it still adhered to the ideology of the "taxation system of rent, service, and cloth." The court permitted this, and furthermore, the court stipulated the fees for labor commutation. Generally, it would not be too high—amounting to roughly two hundred wen per month, which added up to only two or three additional strings of cash per year.

Therefore, serving as a teacher here under Li Li was slightly inferior to being a genuine ninth-rank official, but being comparable to a ninth-rank official was already quite remarkable. Even if one was not a civil servant, it was at least a secure institutional position within an established establishment, with future opportunities to attain official posts.

Thus, once these conditions were dropped, those failed scholars were considerably tempted, especially the commoner scholars who had utterly no other prospects. Having a place with food and lodging to settle down in a place like Chang'an was immensely crucial.

More importantly, because the Agricultural Academy was established by the Prince of Yue, it held a distinctly encouraging attitude toward teachers within the academy wishing to take the imperial examinations the following year. For instance, Department Head Lu Cai was rumored to have registered for the exams again this year, and the Prince of Yue had made no attempt to stop him.

For commoner scholars, because the examinations of the Great Tang did not employ the practice of masking examinees' names, unless one had noble patronage to build up momentum, wanting to pass the evaluations and enter the imperial court of the Great Tang was truly as difficult as ascending to heaven. Practically none of the genuine commoner sons could successfully leap over the dragon gate.

Now that there was an alternative path carved out by Li Li, although it was slightly rugged, it appeared traversable.

Consequently, these commoner scholars naturally harbored some thoughts and aspirations to try walking it.

However, Li Li understood that while initially it had been these failed scholars choosing him, now it was he who was choosing these failed scholars.

He put the failed scholars through two rounds of examinations. The first round tested mathematics and adopted the systems of masking names and copying scripts.

Mm-hmm, Li Li simply favored mathematics; many of his projects required mathematics for support. Therefore, from then on, Li Li firmly grasped mathematics as the foundation, and those whose cultural literary skills were superior could only be said to lack an affinity with him.

In short, six hundred teachers were selected from the pool. For the second stage, he organized interviews for the teachers across various departments.

Through these two rounds of selection, each department managed to recruit a sufficient number of teachers. What remained was to consult them one by one based on their mathematics scores to see if they were willing to accept deployment, continuing until all four hundred teaching positions were completely filled.

This matter was naturally handed over to Lu Cai to execute. In handling these chaotic administrative affairs, Lu Cai was surprisingly capable of putting everything in perfect, orderly shape.