Hearing this term from Zongze's mouth, a complex look suddenly flashed in Wang Zhen's eyes.
But just when he was about to speak.
Suddenly the servant's voice sounded outside the door:
"Guests, your dishes have been prepared. Can you please allow me to come in and serve?"
When Wang Zhen saw that, he put away the wine bag first, then drank the half cup of distilled wine that was not finished, and then replied:
"come in."
"okay!"
After getting Wang Zhen's approval.
The waiter immediately pushed open the door and walked in. He quickly took out several dishes from a red lacquer niche that he carried with him and put them on the table one by one:
"This is the Jade Sunflower Fan..."
"This is a joy to take the lead..."
"This is..."
The young man's eyesight was extremely high. After realizing that Wang Zhen and others had something to talk with, his movements and speech speed accelerated a lot.
Not long after.
Six dishes, one soup and several bowls of rice were placed on the table.
Then Wang Zhen explained a few more things about the entourage table, asked the boy to serve Zhang San and Zhang Yuan some food, and then motioned for him to leave.
After the boy leaves.
Wang Zhen first took the initiative to put some food into Zongze and Xu Yun's bowls. After guessing that the boy had gone far, he sighed and said:
"Brother, although Wang is killing enemies on the Western Front, some words cannot deceive you - everything on the Western Front can be summed up in one word, chaos!"
"chaos?"
Zongze was slightly startled and asked:
"Brother Wang, when Zong was on his way to the capital ten days ago, passers-by said that the Western Army had returned with a great victory and that the Qingtang region was about to be recovered. Why did you say such nonsense?"
Wang Zhen sighed and shook his head.
He took out the wine bag, poured himself another glass of wine, and took a leisurely sip.
After drinking the wine, the smell of alcohol was exhaled along with the turbid air:
"Brother Zong, you don't know something. The chaos on the Western Front can be divided into two types: internal chaos and external chaos."
Zongze quickly made a gesture of listening, and Xu Yun on the side also pricked up his ears with interest.
Although he is a time traveler from later generations, much of the information about this era only remains at the macro level.
For example, he knew that the Northern Song Dynasty would perish in 26 years, and that the Tamra Kingdom next door had just been plundered by Goguryeo.
I also know that there is a country called the Holy Roman Empire tens of thousands of miles away. At this time, their emperor and pope are fighting for the succession of bishops and are almost losing their minds...
But when the target is refined to a certain region or a certain front, he will encounter extremely strong information barriers.
Because the recorded content of history books is limited, it is impossible to describe many things in detail - unless you created the Internet in the Song Dynasty and cultivated a bunch of coders who could type.
So in terms of details.
Wang Zhen is undoubtedly a huge, new source of information.
Then Wang Xun took a bite of food, drank some wine, and continued:
"The so-called civil strife refers to the many shortcomings within the Western Army, the first of which is empty pay."
"Brother Zong, allow Wang to ask a question - Wang's position in the army is Zhiguo School Lieutenant. He is a seventh-grade official and can lead a battalion of soldiers."
"Now there are a total of 497 people in Wang's account. Guess how many of them are true and how many of them are empty accounts?"
Zongze glanced at him, thought for a moment, and tentatively reported a number:
".....three hundred?"
Wang Zhen shook his head, dipped some wine from the wine glass with his index finger, and wrote a few traditional Chinese numbers on the table:
One hundred and fifty-nine.
Zongze's pupils suddenly shrank and he said in surprise:
"This...is only one-third true?"
Wang Zhen nodded heavily:
"Yes, you must know that the place where Wang is stationed is along the western edge of Tao. On average, there will be a small battle every ten months."
"If such an important place is occupied and empty, what do you think the entire Western Front will do?"
Zongze was silent after hearing this, and Xu Yun also sighed with a heavy face.
Empty rates.
This was also one of the topics he had discussed with Xiao Zhao before.
The truth that Xiao Zhao confided while drunk at that time was also an important factor in supporting him in making a certain decision.
During the Northern Song Dynasty.
Everyone knows that the Zhong Family Army and the Zhe Family Army have strong combat effectiveness. They can even fight one against three with the same formation.
Of course, there is the training effect of Lao Zhong and others, but what cannot be ignored is that these "X family troops" are basically in full strength for a long time.
For example, it is also a paper establishment of 1,000 people.
Let's not say that the amount they put out is full, at least they can have a real person of 900.
But the other combat modules that are free of charge only have three to four hundred people, so how can they achieve combat effectiveness?
For example, when the Jin army attacked Bianjing later.
There were 200,000 registered soldiers in Bianjing. In fact, except for the 30,000 soldiers Zhang Shuye later brought, there were only more than 20,000 soldiers in the entire Bianjing city.
The ratio of free wages is close to nine-tenths. Can you believe that this tmd is the imperial army guarding the capital?
Then Wang Zhen paused, then walked to the window vigilantly and took a look.
After confirming that there was nothing abnormal, he returned to his seat and continued:
"Besides empty pay, another civil strife is... the withholding of military merit!"
As he spoke, he took out a few pieces of official silver from his pocket, bumped it in his hand, and said with a wry smile:
"Brother Zong may not believe it. Wang has been in the army for dozens of battles, and this is the first time he has seen so many silver rewards."
"In the past, whenever the imperial court rewarded officials with 10 taels of silver, they were sealed in a book. In the end, only one tael was obtained."
"Hmph(^), that doesn't make sense!"
Zongze hated corruption most in his life. Hearing Wang Zhen's words, he couldn't help it:
"Brother Wang, is it possible that there is no one in the army who can appeal for justice?"
Wang Zhen smiled bitterly and shook his head, looking at him with a look of "you are so innocent":
"Justice? How can it be so easy?"
"Those people are smart. They are never greedy for pension money. They are only greedy for silver. How much silver can an ordinary soldier get?"
"Whenever the sergeants receive a letter from home and learn that the family members of their compatriots who died in battle have received all the pensions, and know that their posthumous affairs are guaranteed, who will care about the reward money?"
"Even if a sergeant does file a complaint, the complaint will never reach the eyes of the officials - although our dynasty emphasizes civil service over military affairs, there is not no intersection between civil and military affairs. Those people have already taken care of everything."
When Xu Yun on the side heard this, a name suddenly came to his mind:
Li Gang.
Of course.
This Li Gang has nothing to do with the Li Gang of later generations.
He was a figure in the late Northern Song Dynasty and a typical representative of the conflict between personal morality and ability.
Li Gang organized the Battle of Bianjing and fought a sharp struggle with the capitulation faction led by Wang Boyan and Huang Qianshan. He was a typical representative of the resistance faction.
In addition, he was also one of Zongze's staunch supporters, and he supported Yue Fei in his fight against the Jin Dynasty until his death.
From a contribution perspective.
He was a well-deserved good minister in the Southern Song Dynasty, and the plan he proposed could even be regarded as a "revival strategy."
But in sharp contrast to his contribution ability is his personal morality.
Let’s not talk about the stain of slandering Lu Haowen. This person’s greed for money is also quite serious:
On the one hand, he supported the rectification of military and political corruption and promulgated the 21 New Military Rules. On the other hand, he spent 70% of the compensation compensation on corruption in a blink of an eye...
When he was serving as a tax collector in Sha County, Nanjian Prefecture, he also imitated the Western Army in engaging in corruption and embezzled more than 50,000 yuan in four years.
Actually, Li Gang's situation is not an exception.
Among the generals on the western front throughout the late Northern Song Dynasty.
In addition to Liu Fa, Lao Zhong, and Lao Zhe, even Wang Hou, a well-known veteran, has also committed corruption...
"Wealth and silk touch people's hearts..."
Zongze sighed and shook his head, exchanged glasses of wine with Wang Zhen, and asked again:
"Brother Wang, apart from internal strife, what is external strife?"
This time Wang Zhen still did not answer his question directly, but asked instead:
"Brother Zong, you have been a magistrate in a border area, so you should know where the foreign troubles of our dynasty mainly come from."
Zongze nodded.
The place where he first served was Damingfu, which was also an important border area:
"I am facing Xixia on the west front, and the Liao people are watching in the north. Apart from the two, the remaining Qiang people and Japanese pirates are no better than the dead bones in the graves."
Wang Xun nodded slightly:
"Of course."
If the territory of the Song Dynasty were compared to a person.
Then the sea is on the right side of this person, and the Liao Kingdom is directly in front of him.
At ten o'clock is Xixia, and on the right are Tubo and Dali.
Among them, the biggest threat to the Song Dynasty was Xixia and the Liao Kingdom. Among them, the disputes between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom were less - not because the Liao people were Buddhists, but because 95 years ago, the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom signed the famous Chanyuan Agreement.
alliance.
Some people think it is a loss of power and an insult to the country, while others think it is a wise move.
In short, after the signing of the Chanyuan Alliance, the apparent disputes between the Song and Liao Dynasties became much less frequent, and a relatively prosperous cross-border trade even developed.
But peace be peace.
Just like the eagle and rabbit in later generations, in the eyes of Song people like Zongze, the Liao Kingdom was still a potential enemy.
Listening to the resentment revealed in Zongze's mouth, Wang Zhen was silent for a moment and said slowly:
"So... I would like to ask my elder brother, have you ever heard of the Jurchen clan?"
"Jurchen?"
Zongze was stunned, pondered for a moment, and said slightly uncertainly:
"Could the Jurchens that Brother Wang mentioned be the Zhuta people south of Liaoyang?"
Wang Zhen nodded:
"Yes, it is this clan."
Zongze blinked when he saw this and said doubtfully:
"Brother Wang, Zong heard that after the Liao Dynasty wiped out the Mo Ta people, the Zhu Ta clan was divided into two."
"The two tribes are named Sheng Jurchen and Mature Jurchen respectively. They seem to be somewhat similar to the Qiang tribe that submitted to our dynasty."
"Why, according to Brother Wang, the Jurchen clan seems to be quite a threat?"
Wang Zhen shook his head gently:
"It's just a hunch. When Wang was fighting on the Western Front, he heard that there was a warrior named Wanyan Aguda from the Jurchen tribe, who was said to be unparalleled in bravery."
"In recent years, Emperor Daozong of the Liao people is probably dying. Nine years ago, Yelu Yanxi was appointed as the successor of the Liao Emperor. Once Daozong dies, this person will definitely take over."
"But this person is stupid and cruel. It is said that the Jurchen tribe within the Liao people has quite a lot of complaints."
"At present, there seems to be some voices in the DPRK and China. I hope that the officials can give the Jurchens some support and support them to create some trouble for the Liao people..."
Xu Yun was eating melon obediently at the side, but when he heard Wang Zhen's words, he was shocked and couldn't help but interjected:
"Master Xiaowei, the imperial court plans to support the Jurchens?"
Wang Chen sighed. It was obvious that he was not very supportive of this plan:
"It seems so..."
Xu Yun's brows suddenly wrinkled.
In his later generations, historians have never come to an accurate conclusion as to whether the Song Dynasty supported the Jin Kingdom - because there are too few historical materials for reference.
Some people believe that the Jurchens were entirely supported by the Song Dynasty themselves and were self-inflicted.
Some people believe that the Song Dynasty proposed cooperation only after seeing that the Jurchens were powerful.
But no matter which of the above points of view, it is certain that Zhao Ji did do something sexy:
In the autumn of 1109, Zhao Ji once gave the Jurchens a large number of siege equipment, production drawings and craftsmen.
Plus an uncertain amount of food and grass, we still took the Goryeo Waterway...
Although there are no more detailed records to show that Wanyan Zongwang used exactly the same siege weapons when he attacked Taiyuan.
But analyze it from a logical perspective.
When the Jin army attacked Taiyuan, as long as they kept their wits about them, they would almost certainly use these extremely efficient weapons from the Central Plains, and no matter how bad they were, they would be improved versions based on them.
How can you not sigh for such a great gift?
"The situation is so difficult..."
Wang Zhen seemed to have reached the point of depression, and shook his head again:
"Nowadays, there are frequent wars on the Western Front. The Xixia traitors have strong cavalry and many war horses, but our court has very few war horses.
Some war horses have been running and fighting for a long time, and their hoofs and feet have been severely damaged. Even if their physical strength is still good, they have no choice but to retreat to the rear and serve as transport horses or even pack horses..."
"?"
Before Wang Zhen finished speaking, a question mark appeared on Xu Yun's face:
"The hoofs and feet are seriously damaged? Mr. Captain, aren't those military horses on the front line equipped with horseshoes?"
