Beginning the Plan (II)

Regardless of whether Kong Daqian's words contained any flattery, at least they sounded pleasing to the ear.

At the same time, it had to be said that Kong Daqian's speech had indeed hit the nail on the head.

The overall level of development on both sides was more or less the same, but comparatively speaking, Great Zhou possessed a stability the other side completely lacked.

Although there was fighting on the front lines, the people living in the rear had basically suffered little impact.

Setting aside the minor factors, the reasons for this could broadly be explained from three aspects.

The first aspect was the conscription system.

Great Zhou followed the elite-soldier route and did not seek victory through sheer numbers.

The daily consumption, weapons, equipment, and other provisions required by one hundred Great Zhou Soldiers were enough to arm a five-hundred-man force for other powers.

Their training period was also longer. After being recruited, they served for extended periods as professional soldiers.

When war broke out, the force they mainly mobilized was this standing army, rather than going door to door to seize able-bodied men and make up the numbers. The overall investment was completely different.

The benefit of doing this was not merely that it produced higher-quality soldiers for the Great Zhou army. It also greatly reduced the requisition and mobilization of internal labor.

The surplus labor could be used for Great Zhou's internal development, indirectly contributing to its internal stability.

The second aspect was grain production.

Simply put, their internal grain output was very high. Zhao Geng, the exceptionally capable head of the Agriculture Department, had made outstanding contributions, while the existence of the Plain Farms provided suitable growing environments for large quantities of crops and increased their yields. These were also crucial factors.

Thus, even in