Chapter 216 Wei Chengyi and the others’ predicament
"This is some information about surgical techniques. It also includes some drawings of human veins, blood vessels, and internal organs that I drew myself. You can familiarize yourself with them first. If you have any questions, ask me."

In the small study, Shen Xiangwan pushed a thick stack of books and drawings in front of Mu Yunran. These were what she had been preparing slowly when she decided to train a medical child. The content inside covered almost all the knowledge related to surgery. Mu Yunran's original intention of learning medical skills was to be able to help in the future, so starting with surgery was undoubtedly the most appropriate. Once she had fully mastered the surgical techniques, she could systematically learn the four methods of observation, auscultation, questioning and palpation, and by then she would be able to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

"so much?"

Mu Yunran exclaimed subconsciously and picked up the top book and opened it. She really didn't expect that Wanwan not only took her affairs to heart, but also sorted out so many things.

“Is this too much?”

Leaning back in her chair, Shen Xiangwan smiled, thinking back to when she was studying medicine, she had read at least ten or a hundred times more books than these. At that time, she really felt like a nerd. It was not until she devoted herself to the research of applied medicine that she gradually broke away from the ocean of books and achieved the title of the youngest doctor of medicine step by step through research and innovation.

"Wanwan, thank you."

After closing the booklet, Mu Yunran thanked him sincerely.

"Why are we being polite to each other?"

They are friends, and being polite would make them seem awkward.

"Thank you then."

"Hahaha···"

Mu Yunran readily changed his words, and Shen Xiangwan could not help laughing, and the laughter could be heard faintly outside. Zhao Yuping, Yun Mengyi and the women of the Yan family who were gathered in the main hall also smiled one after another. After meeting and supporting each other on the road of exile, and then to their reunion and common progress today, and the fact that the mistresses of the two families get along well with each other, their relationship has become closer.

"What are you laughing at?"

Wei Chengyi's voice suddenly rang out, and under his leadership, Yan Lang and his son, Qingying, Yuan Xiu, and Yuan Shu entered the small study room one after another.

"Nothing, are you done?"

Sitting up slightly, Shen Xiangwan asked with some confusion. They had been discussing matters almost from morning to night these past few days, and the guards were often coming in and out. They must have been sent out to convey or execute their orders.

"How can I finish my work? Let's take a break for a while."

Pulling a chair and sitting next to her, Wei Chengyi rubbed his brows with a headache. The study was really too depressing, so they decided to go out for a walk.

"What did you discuss? Is there anything I can help with?" Shen Xiangwan leaned over and rested her elbows on the armrest of his chair, frowning almost imperceptibly, with unmistakable heartache swirling in her eyes. She believed in their abilities and basically didn't ask about what was going on outside. Judging from their looks, it seemed that they had encountered great difficulties?

"It's mostly military stuff."

Speaking of this, Wei Chengyi couldn't help but feel even more headache. Until he completely took over the army of nearly 50,000 people, he realized how useless they were. No wonder they were completely unable to deter the nomadic peoples outside the Great Wall, causing them to enter the Great Wall every year to plunder and brutally kill people living on the border. They were already discussing a large-scale disarmament and how to replenish the troops in the shortest time possible.

"army?"

Hearing this, Shen Xiangwan frowned even more tightly. Was it a problem of food or money? Or was it that the quality of the soldiers was too poor?

"Well, there are less than 50,000 soldiers in the army at present, one-third of which are old and weak, and the rest are rookies. Their discipline and combat effectiveness are extremely poor. They can deal with ordinary rabble, but it is impossible to deal with the nomadic people outside the Great Wall.

Moreover, the imperial court was not willing to allocate more food and money, the Chenzhou government kept crying poor, and the army had not received its salaries for several months, resulting in the soldiers having no enthusiasm.

Military horses, the most important strategic weapon against nomadic peoples, are also extremely scarce. An army of more than 40,000 people only has less than 10,000 military horses, most of which are old horses or newly born foals. We counted and found that there are only 3,000 adult horses that can really go to the battlefield. "

There was nothing they couldn't talk about, and Wei Chengyi didn't hide it. Nearly 50,000 grains, military supplies, and military pay were not a small amount. Even if they had savings and made a lot of money from the ice business during this period, it was still far from filling that bottomless pit. If the morale of the soldiers couldn't be raised, how could they become an invincible army? And there were war horses. To deal with nomadic peoples, cavalry was necessary. Where could he find so many war horses in a short time?

"The quality of soldiers is more important than their quantity. The old, weak and disabled soldiers, as well as those who refuse to obey discipline, should be laid off. What's the point of keeping them?"

It seems that the army has a lot of chronic problems. Shen Xiangwan paused for a moment and continued, "As for food and military pay, I can help you find a solution. As for the war horses, let the soldiers take good care of the foals. They will grow up eventually, so we can deal with the old horses. Selling them to the public is also a source of income, right? If there are only 3,000 war horses available, why not train 3,000 cavalry first? And then find a way to buy good horses from the public?"

She didn't know much about military affairs, but she knew that an army like the one they took over must undergo drastic reforms. Otherwise, not only would their situation not improve, they might even be dragged to death. By then, those tens of thousands of people would not be military power, but a death warrant.

"Nearly 50,000 people's food and fodder is not a small amount. Cheng Yi just said that the court has not only stopped supplying food and fodder to the army, but also owed the soldiers several months' salary. Therefore, whether we want to reduce the army or train them, we must first pay the soldiers, and we must pay them every month, so as to maintain the enthusiasm of the soldiers."

It's not just Wei Chengyi who is having a headache.
The same goes for them, Yan Lang took over the conversation helplessly. It is not easy for any individual to feed an army of tens of thousands of people, not to mention that they owed so much military pay before taking over? If they want this army to truly return to their hearts and be invincible in the near future, they must bear all their expenses, including the share owed by the court.

They have already invested a lot during this period, but it is a bottomless pit. Even if they still have some savings, they dare not be too extravagant. They have to keep some for emergencies, right?
"Also, Madam, you may not understand that three thousand war horses can only train one thousand cavalry at most. Let's not even talk about whether we can buy good horses from the public. Even if we can, the price will definitely not be cheap. Moreover, we don't need one or two horses, but tens of thousands. This is not a small amount of money."

At the end of his speech, Qingying felt powerless. He knew that Shen Xiangwan was rich, but what they lacked was not small amounts of money, but mountains of gold and silver. Therefore, from beginning to end, he never took Shen Xiangwan's words about bearing the cost of military pay and food to heart.

【End of this chapter】

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