Why is Song Jiang so keen on recruiting soldiers?

Among the three generations of leaders of Liang Shanbo, Song Jiang was the most accomplished one, and Shuibo Liangshan became bigger and stronger in his hands. It can be said that without Song Jiang, there would be no power in Liangshan that shocked the government and the public. But Song Jiang is also a controversial figure, because he was later recruited, and Liangshan's one hundred and eight generals suffered from the southern and northern wars. In the end, when they returned from the southern expedition to Fangla, only twenty-seven people were left. Readers are secretly sad after reading this, and they will invariably associate this tragedy with being recruited, thinking that if they were not recruited, such a tragedy would not happen. This may be the case! But if all the heroes in Liangshan are not recruited, can a hundred and eight generals really be able to live happily in Liangshan, drinking a lot of wine and eating large pieces of meat? In fact, things are not that simple, because those days of full of pride will not last long. Song Jiang had difficulties in being recruited, and he did it out of necessity, which can also be said to be inevitable. This is also the right choice that Song Jiang made after he had to change his thinking after Liangshan became bigger and stronger.

"Big bowls of wine, big chunks of meat, and gold and silver sharing" were the conditions that originally tempted many people to go to Liangshan. Black Whirlwind Li Kui was the most enthusiastic about this condition. It was also the first time Song Jiang and Li Kui met. He conquered Li Kui by satisfying his appetite. Therefore, in Liangshan later, there was a strange job like arranging banquets, and Song Jiang handed over this task to his brother Song Qing. This shows that Song Jiang attaches great importance to this job, and it is a bit uncomfortable to let others do it. rest assured.

We can imagine the scene on Liangshan Mountain at that time. One hundred and eight generals were sitting in the Juyi Hall, eating and drinking heavily around dozens of tables of sumptuous bowls of wine and large pieces of meat. Only Wu Song and Lu Zhishen were For two people, one meal requires two jars of wine and four to five kilograms of cooked beef; outside the hall is a place where many little bosses enjoy their drinks, and it is also a sea of ??meat and wine; although the little guys in each village are sitting on the floor, But it was also a big piece of meat and a big bowl of wine, which I drank happily.

There is no exact number given for how many people there are on Liangshan Mountain. Taking the regular personnel who can go to the battlefield as the calculation unit, one hundred and eight generals will lead an average of 300 minions each. Then At its peak, Liangshan had more than 30,000 people, not including support staff such as chefs and grooms who raised horses. If these more than 30,000 people consume at this level, how many cows, how many sheep, and how many jars of wine will they drink in a day? Although the exact number is not written in the book, the number must be huge. We should be clear that it was an era of agricultural economy at that time, and all the heroes ate green food. Farmers raised pigs, cattle and sheep on an annual basis, unlike today's livestock that are fed with growth hormones, fattening agents, and clenbuterol. It can be slaughtered in two months. Moreover, cattle were still a production tool at that time. Excessive slaughter would cause damage to agricultural production. Therefore, in ancient Chinese society, which was dominated by farming economy, the slaughter of farm cattle has always been expressly prohibited. The heroes of Liangshan are a special group of people who cannot be managed by the ruling class. Such provisions cannot restrain them. In order for them to eat large pieces of meat, it must be commonplace for them to go down the mountain to plunder cattle.

But don’t forget, although Liang Shanbo was known as Eight Hundred Miles, the economic conditions at that time could not support the consumption of these 30,000 people! In "The Years of Burning Passion", the meal of braised pork Shi Guangrong treated the villagers of Ganniu Village to eat gave the villagers the impression that they were richer than the richest landlord in the village! It can be seen that most landowners in ancient Chinese rural areas could not afford a big bowl of wine and a big piece of meat for every meal! Therefore, the lifestyle of the heroes in Liangshan is an advance and will not last forever! Once a big bowl of wine and a big piece of meat are no longer available, will Li Kui agree? Does Wu Song have any opinions?

The leaders below can only focus on the present and not worry about food, rice, oil and salt, but as the head of the family, Song Jiang has to think in the long term. Recruitment becomes a way to get the best of both worlds, because recruitment can not only keep the brothers. The friendship between them can also allow the brothers to continue to live a life of big bowls of wine and big meat in the future. Song Jiang knew in his heart that if he stayed in Liang Shanbo, the days of big bowls of wine and big meat would come to an end sooner or later. Once there was no more wine and meat in his rice bowl, his best friend Li Kui would fall out with him, let alone others. There will inevitably be civil strife in Liangshan at that time. But recruitment is different. After recruitment, all brothers will have a good job to do, and wine and meat will not be a problem.

The key is to expand the consumption area, and turn the eight hundred miles of water to supply the heroes of Liangshan with large pieces of meat and large bowls of wine to the people of the country at that time. After all, the emperor's treasury is richer than Liangshan!

Having said this, one has to admire Wang Lun’s foresight. When he first came to Liangshan, how happy was he leading seven or eight hundred people? The target is not big, only seven or eight hundred people, and the court will not go out of its way to fight with him. If he can feed seven or eight hundred people in a lake of 800 miles, he will be rich with a big bowl of wine and a big piece of meat. Wang Lun was a bit embarrassed when 800,000 Forbidden Army instructors joined the group, because he knew that Lin Chong was someone who wanted to do big things. He would make Liangshan Bo particularly eye-catching. Once there were many people, he would not only become a thorn in the side of the court, but also destroy the land. Breaking the relationship between supply and demand of the population will inevitably increase the burden on the farmers around Liangshan. Therefore, Wang Lun would rather offend his benefactor Chai Jin than drive Lin Chong down the mountain. This has to be admired for Wang Lun's wisdom.

Song Jiang was a bit of a loser in this regard. As soon as he entered the water, he wanted to make big moves. He desperately recruited troops and even knelt down to beg people to join him. Later, there was a three-mountain merger, just like today's big companies. , tried their best to expand the scale, but did not consider the market demand. Later, they were unable to make ends meet and had to rely on borrowing to survive. The final outcome was the outbreak of a financial crisis. Later, Song Jiang attacked Dongchang Dongping Mansion just to engage in lending! Because the production capacity of Liangshanbo can no longer satisfy the needs of more than 30,000 people with large bowls of wine and large portions of meat.

If Song Jiang expands its territory and establishes a new regime to confront Song Huizong, it will also be able to preserve the brothers' lifestyle of big bowls of wine and big meat, but this is not easy, because Liang Shanbo is known as " It is possible to build a small group with "loyalty", but it is simply impossible to use loyalty to establish a political power. Huang Chao and Li Zicheng relied on loyalty when they first established the rebel army, but in the end they failed Being able to get rid of "loyalty" is the main reason for their failure. Liu Bang killed Han Xin, punished Pengyue, and challenged Yingbu; Zhao Kuangyin released his military power with a cup of wine; Zhu Yuanzhang killed heroes; they were all completing the transition from loyalty to the political system. After they completed it, they became winners! Huang Chao and Li Zicheng did not complete it and became a loser.

It can be seen from the way Li Kui put on the county official uniform to hear the case that Song Jiang's One Hundred and Eight will not be able to walk out of Liangshanbo in an independent form, because Liangshan is completely composed of "loyalty" , once political atmosphere is added, Liangshan will collapse. Song Jiang, who has been a small official, understands this, so when Li Kui shouted "Kill that bird emperor and let Brother Song be the dragon chair", Song Jiang quickly stopped. He knew that impossible.

So, it was loyalty that brought the heroes of Liangshan together, and it was also loyalty that sent them to the point of no return. The reason is that "loyalty" cannot establish political power.