"Your Majesty, there is no definite news from Lu Wende, and there has been no further movement after the Mongolian army gathered. Xia Jiangang's imperial army will reach its destination in two days."
I frowned slightly and said: "Master, sir, the speed of this forbidden army is too slow. As the saying goes, rescuing troops is like putting out fires. If the Mongols really launch a war, wouldn't it be a delay in the war? Besides, Xia Jiangang is leading all troops who are known as the elite of our dynasty.
of cavalry.”
Jia Sidao cursed secretly in his heart, Xia Jiangang, this idiot, always brags about how powerful he is, but always falls behind at critical moments.
"Back to Your Majesty, the rain has been constant recently, which has caused the march to be much slower. The old minister has sent a message urgently, telling him to arrive within two days."
"Really?" I stared at Jia Sidao and suddenly smiled, "What the teacher and minister said is not unreasonable. The heavy rain for days is a natural disaster and cannot be resisted by human beings. However, our Imperial Guards should also beat them.
.”
"Bang, bang, bang? What do you mean?" My understatement made Jia Sidao slightly surprised, and he didn't know how to respond for a moment. Since my last inspection of the Navy, Jia Sidao had smelled a clue. Could it be that this time?
Is it really coming?
In the struggle for imperial power, with my strong rise, Jia Sidao also felt that his control over the court was becoming weaker and weaker. Although it was not yet powerless, it was no longer as powerful as Lizong's later period.
The times are generally getting better. This is like a duel between two martial arts masters. In terms of momentum, I have vaguely gained the upper hand.
In history, Jia Sidao's strategy was the same as mine. He also tested Song Duzong's bottom line step by step and constantly crossed it, causing Song Duzong to give in blindly, collapse in confidence, and simply hand over the government. Although this is inherently inferior to Song Duzong
Related, but fundamentally
The reason lies in the weakness of his willpower. As Song Duzong became weak, the later powers and neutral factions no longer viewed the imperial power favorably. They either catered to the prime minister, or were indifferent or even decadent and retired, which ultimately forced Song Duzong to reorganize his power.
Having fun every day will lead to death in your thirties.
"Your Majesty, I, Lu Xiufu, have written a memorial."
Just when Jia Sidao was a little confused, Lu Xiufu came out of class to play at the right time, interrupting the awkward situation.
Jia Sidao said helplessly: "Yes, Your Majesty, I will follow your Majesty's orders and beat the Imperial Army."
"Well, Lu Aiqing, what's the matter?"
"Your Majesty, recent heavy rains have caused a sharp decrease in grain production, and Your Majesty has used our reserves to calm the price of rice. This coincides with the gathering of the Mongolian army. If a war breaks out, the North Korean and Chinese armies will be short of food and grass. To avoid this situation, in line with the principle of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure,
In principle, I propose to reduce the size of the Xiang army."
"Reducing the army?" I still pretended to be surprised.
"Exactly, your majesty, the number of Xiang troops in our court today is huge. The sum of the Xiang troops from various places has exceeded the imperial army. However, most of them are old, weak, sick and disabled, and there are many people who are empty-handed. The original defensive and suppressive functions of the Xiang troops are mostly useless.
They are borne by the border troops, and since they are not properly trained, they can only be used as soldiers."
Among the military systems of China's past dynasties, the military system of the Song Dynasty can be said to be the most complex and changeable. Its main categories are "regular soldiers" and "militia". The names are also divided into forbidden soldiers, Xiang soldiers, rural soldiers, and Tibetan soldiers.
, archers, etc. The Song Dynasty adopted a recruitment system. They first joined the Xiang Army and then were replenished to the Forbidden Army after training. The main functions of the Xiang Army have three aspects. One is to
Internal suppression (local inspections and public security) and external defense; the second is garrisoning, and the third is providing troops for the imperial army. During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Xiang army also played a certain role, but in the late Southern Song Dynasty, with the decay of the imperial court, the Xiang army
The army was gradually reduced to a military force, similar to today's engineering corps. However, the number of engineering corps actually exceeded that of combat troops, which is incredible.
"Ai Qing, what are your detailed plans?"
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, I think this can be done in two steps. The first step is to re-calculate the number of people and resolutely put an end to the practice of empty pay. The second step is to eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled. The third step is to mobilize some Xiang troops to serve in local government offices."
, maintain local public security, and the remaining ones will pass the assessment and stay in the Xiang Army to serve as soldiers or auxiliary soldiers; in the second step, the establishment of the Xiang Army will be completely abolished, and those who pass the test will be incorporated into the Forbidden Army or the Border Army, and those who fail will be discharged."
"Lu Aiqing, please give me the detailed plan and I will consider it carefully."
"Your Majesty, there is something wrong with this." Ma Tingluan came out of the squad and said, "First of all, the structure of the Xiang army was decreed by Taizu. Secondly, if there is a local riot, how should we deal with it?"
"Ma Aiqing, I ask you, why did the riot happen?"
"Well, it's because some unscrupulous people with bad intentions took the lead in causing trouble."
"Yes, there are indeed some unruly people causing trouble. The number of these unruly people is very small, but why do so many people follow them?"
Ma Tingluan thought for a while and said: "There are two reasons for this. One is that the unruly people are very inflammatory, and the other is that the people who follow them don't have enough to eat."
"Well, what Ma Aiqing said makes sense. Throughout history, our dynasty has had the fewest riots. Basically, there have been no large-scale riots. This is because our dynasty's economy is relatively developed. Our royal ancestors were people-oriented, and most of the people can live and work in peace and contentment.
, will naturally lead to far fewer followers than in the previous dynasty. This is what the ancients said, people who live in warehouses know etiquette. Master, do you think so?"
"Ah? Yes, Your Majesty is wise." Jia Sidao didn't seem to have recovered yet.
"An ancient sage once said that the king despises the people. What does this mean? I think this is telling everyone that any dynasty is like a pagoda. The base of the pagoda is the people of the world, and I am the top of the pagoda. What about you, you are all pagodas.
The connection point between the base and the spire. As long as the people are important, the base of the tower is strong, and the connections are continuous, the tower can stand firm. In the history of China for thousands of years, which dynasty's subjugated kings did not rebel against themselves?
Where is the cornerstone? This has been true from the distant Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties to the once glorious Han and Tang Dynasties." At this point, I raised my voice and continued, "My dear friends, you must remember this. Officials should have the common people in mind.
, can make our dynasty prosperous. We cannot just laugh at history, but more importantly, we must not repeat the same mistakes. History tells the future that only those who learn from it can have the last laugh."
The more I spoke, the more excited I became: "It has been half a year since I came to the throne. I have read through all the books left by the late emperor, and I have learned a lot about how to govern the country. I will not hide it from you dear friends. At the beginning, I felt that my confidence was seriously lacking.
We have powerful Mongolian enemies outside our country and there are voices of discord within our country. It is really unsustainable. However, today, I
But I am full of confidence. There are three reasons. The first is that it comes from the dream of the late emperor. The late emperor told me in the dream that if our dynasty can be restored, there will be a solar eclipse on that day. Second, after reading these books
, I have understood the way to be a king, and based on the current situation, I have also figured out the advantages and disadvantages of our Song Dynasty. My dear friends,
You must all think that our dynasty was not as prosperous as the Han and Tang dynasties. The Han and Tang dynasties were indeed prosperous, but the foreign invaders of the Han and Tang dynasties were all clan alliances and could not be called a country. However, our dynasty has gone through the three major empires of Liao, Jin, and Mongolia.
The country's political system still survives today, which is enough to prove the advantages of our country. As long as we can make use of our strengths and avoid our weaknesses,
The restoration of our dynasty is just around the corner. Third, there are the loyal people in the government and in the opposition, such as the late emperor's old ministers Jia Aiqing, He Ji, He Aiqing, etc., the backbones such as the ministers of various ministries, and the newcomers such as Wen Tianxiang, Lu Xiufu, etc. are all unparalleled talents.
I am very pleased to have everyone’s help. You and I, the monarch and my ministers, are of the same mind, so why worry about not accomplishing this great thing?"