Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have specially prepared something small. It is on the square outside the palace. Your Majesty, please move and take a look!"
Zhao Gou suddenly became interested and said happily: "I would like to take a look."
The guards surrounded Emperor Zhao Gou and walked out of the palace. Hundreds of ministers also followed. When they reached the steps, Han Shizhong clapped his hands heavily. He only heard the war horse roaring loudly, and a tall and strong guard rode out on the war horse. , holding a short spear in hand, the cavalry is tall and powerful, with an impressive momentum.
Han Shizhong explained: "Your Majesty, his weapons are all made of wood, please don't worry!"
Zhao Gou asked in confusion: "What does Han Aiqing mean?"
"Reporting to your majesty, the horse the guard is riding is an old retired horse from the Western Army. It was sold to the public. Weichen spent a lot of effort to buy a few horses back. The armor and weapons he wears are all standard Western Army cavalry. A, this bodyguard is similar in stature to an ordinary cavalryman of the Western Army, but this person is selected from more than a hundred guards in a humble position."
Xu Xiantu nodded and said loudly: "What Taifu Han means is that what we see now is an ordinary Western Army cavalry image. Is this what you mean?"
"That's what it means!"
Zhao Gou also nodded, "What then?"
Han Shizhong clapped his hands again, and saw a cavalry running from the opposite side. After running in, everyone realized that this cavalry was a lot smaller than the cavalry just now. The war horse was short and the soldiers were not tall. The two cavalry were lined up side by side. At the same time, the short cavalry looked really miserable.
"Your Majesty, this is our cavalry. There is no special selection for the low-level position. He is just an ordinary cavalry. Most of the cavalry are just like him. The horses are short and the soldiers are not strong enough. Moreover, all the Western cavalry are skilled in bow and horse and use their legs. Controlling horses and releasing arrows while galloping are exactly the same as Jurchen cavalry, but only generals can do it. In actual combat, one cavalryman from the Western Army can defeat two of our cavalrymen. This is what I have seen with my own eyes, and it is absolutely true. ."
There was a low discussion among the ministers. Zhao Gou's face was really ugly. In order to fight against the Jurchen cavalry, they had trained 70,000 cavalry in the past few years and paid a huge price in terms of national power. One war horse required twenty soldiers. There are acres of land to grow pasture, and the cavalry's salary is twice that of the infantry, as well as the equipment of the cavalry. The money spent on the cavalry every year is nearly 4 million guan.
But in the end, it was discovered that the cavalry they trained was still far inferior to the Western cavalry.
"Your Majesty, we have also spent a lot of food, land, manpower and money to raise horses. The cost of a war horse is much higher than that of the Western Army, but the effect is very poor. What is the reason? This is actually The oranges from Huainan were planted in Huaibei. The south of the Yangtze River was not suitable for raising horses. There were no conditions for raising horses, and the output was very small. There was no room for selection. However, the Western Army and the Jin Army both had vast pastures, and they could raise millions. horses, and then selected tens of thousands of strong and tall horses to be used as war horses.
So no matter how hard we try, we can't compete with the Western cavalry and the Jurchen cavalry. Every time we are defeated in one battle, this is the reason."
Zhao Gou returned to the hall and sat down, and the ministers also came back one after another. Everyone's heart was heavy. Han Shizhong gave them a vivid gift. The contrast was too strong.
Qin Hui asked: "Taifu Han, are you sure that everything you said is true? It was not chosen specially by you?"
"Reporting to Qin Xianggong, I have never chosen this position specially. I am willing to guarantee it with my life and fortune!"
Qin Hui then said to Zhao Gou: "Your Majesty, we spend 4 million yuan and 1.5 million acres of land every year to raise 70,000 cavalry. If what Taifu Han said is true, Wei Chen suggests that the cavalry be abolished."
Qin Hui was struggling with financial shortages during this period. He demolished the east wall to repair the west wall, so he wanted to disarm. The burden of an army of 500,000 was too heavy, weighing him down. Now Han Shizhong pointed out that the cavalry they trained did not
Qin Hui immediately seized this opportunity and demanded that the cavalry be abolished.
The abolition of the cavalry is a big deal, which means that their hard work in the past ten years has been in vain. Zhao Gou couldn't make up his mind. He looked at Xu Xiantu and asked, "Where is the opinion of the Privy Council?"
Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that all the cavalry be gathered in Lin'an for a drill. We'd better take a look with our own eyes. If it doesn't work, we can retain the best and eliminate most of them."
Zhao Gou nodded, "I am ready for this plan. The drill will be held next month, sooner rather than later. It will be led by the Privy Council, and the Taipu Temple and the Driving Department will cooperate!"
Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "I obey the order!"
Zhao Gou asked again: "Has Taifu Han finished speaking?"
Han Shizhong shook his head, "Being humble is only half the story."
"Master, please continue!"
Han Shizhong continued: "In the battle of Xuzhou, Wei Chen's elite army could not withstand the Western Army's attack for an hour, and the entire army was defeated. Only then did Wei Chen understand that the Western Army's ability to seize the Hedong Road and the Henan Road was not accidental, let alone
What luck, but they are strong enough to fight the Jin soldiers and fight on land. Our army is not as strong as the Western Army and not as good as the Jin soldiers, but we also have our own advantages, that is, most of our soldiers are good at water.
Wei Chen investigated the Huainan Army and found that 90% of the soldiers could swim, and their water quality was very good. Good water quality was not only reflected in the water, but also on the boat. No one got seasick. They walked on the boat as if they were walking on flat ground, while Jin Bing and Xi
The army is not good at this, this is our advantage, and it is also our opportunity to defeat the Jin soldiers and the Western army in the future. We must give full play to this advantage and seize this opportunity."
Han Shizhong glanced at Zhu Shengfei and Qin Hui again and said: "I know that Zhu Shengfei and Qin Xianggong will definitely say that there is insufficient finances. In fact, they are abolishing the cavalry, converting the cavalry into naval forces, selling war horses and the land where they are raised to the private sector, and gaining access to
The money can be used to build ships, or we can even directly purchase the Wanshi Fortune Ship from the Maritime Merchant. The Fortune Ship itself is extremely strong and can be used as a warship with a little modification. The key is that time is saved."
.........
Han Shizhong was well prepared, and even the financial problems were solved. He had good reasons and evidence. It was more cost-effective to raise a navy than to raise a cavalry. No one could object.
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More importantly, everyone saw that it was the emperor who wanted to form a naval army, so Han Shizhong was the first to introduce it and persuade everyone. Qin Hui remained silent, and Zhu Shengfei also learned the lesson of negotiation and no longer objected.
Since there was no objection, Emperor Zhao Gou immediately announced the establishment of a navy army. Han Shizhong would serve as the navy commander, and Wang Gui would serve as the deputy governor. Two navy camps were established in Taihu Lake and Zhenjiang Prefecture to prepare for the navy. All naval forces
Generals are appointed by the Privy Council.
Zhao Gou had his own principles in employing people. When Han Shizhong cut down the vassal, he cut down the Han family army. Once the Han family army disappeared, then Han Shizhong was loyal to him and could of course be appointed again.
More importantly, Zhao Gou institutionally suppressed the conditions for the formation of the Han family army, that is, the power of personnel appointment and dismissal was returned to the imperial court. All generals above the commander level were appointed by the Privy Council. At the same time, Han Shizhong was not allowed to raise his own military expenses. All required military expenses were provided by
Due to the burden of the imperial court, Han Shizhong's personal soldiers were also limited to 300 people, so that the Han family army would no longer be formed.
Zhao Gou thought highly of Wang Gui, but in fact he had realized that he had listened to Zhang Jun and Qin Hui's slander and transferred Wang Gui back, which led to the fall of Xiangyang.
Zhao Gou immediately appointed Wang Gui as the commander of the capital in front of the palace and General Yunhui. This was a third-rank official, which could be regarded as a kind of compensation for Wang Gui.
Zhao Gou immediately summoned Han Shizhong in the imperial study.