On the way back to the city, it suddenly started raining.
There seems to be a lot of rain this year. According to Si Tianjian's report, April is mostly rainy. I don't know if it's because of the leap month.
"If this continues, it will affect the harvest of crops." Wen Tianxiang said suddenly.
"Well, it is possible. Come with me to the Imperial Study Room to discuss it later."
Returning to the imperial study room of Ningqian Palace, I opened the window and took a look. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the patter of raindrops kept making a sound.
"Xiao Qi, send a message to Si Tianjian after tomorrow afternoon and ask him to change the weather report from the original one every ten days to one every three days. If it rains continuously in April as Si Tianjian said, then we have to think about it. Find a way and pay attention to changes in food prices at any time."
"Yes, official."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After I sat down, I looked at Wen Zhang who was thoughtful and said, "Wen Zhang, how do you feel about the trip to the Forbidden Army?"
"Your Majesty, I have two thoughts."
"Tell me and listen."
"Your Majesty, from the two incidents of the Forbidden Army's trip and the suppression of bandits in Jinhua, I believe that training in combat is the best way. The momentum of the cavalry and archery army cannot be trained in the military camp. I have also done this before. I heard from the master that Marshal Meng has a divine arrow battalion, which is the only one that dares to fight against the Mongolian cavalry in the wild. This kind of momentum can only be gradually formed between life and death, so I boldly asked the emperor for instructions and sent Zhejiang to the cavalry. All the tasks of suppressing bandits on Lu are handed over to the Young Guards, who will be tested in the blood-drenched flames of war. Another thing, I just had a vague idea to split the Young Guards into different arms."
"Divide the troops into different types?" I thought to myself. This is what I thought after reading the summary of the Youth Guard, and I was planning to train the Youth Guard into a special force similar to that of later generations.
"How to distinguish?"
"Your Majesty, the Forbidden Army has three armies: horse, infantry, and archery. This cavalry and archery army requires two or three years of skill to form an army, and it is difficult to surpass the Mongolians who grew up on horseback. They can widely use muskets. Later, the young guards of the minister were all musketeers, and there was no need to spend time training archers. In the battle of Daliu Mountain, if there were more soldiers like He Quchen who were good at rock climbing, he would not have to go deep alone. As for the specifics I haven't thought about how to divide it yet."
"Wen Zhang, the first point is no problem. I promise you. The second point is a very good idea. Among your young guards, there should be those who are good at climbing, some who are good at swimming, and some who are good at lurking and fighting in the wild. , and even those who are good at assassination. In short, there must be talents in all aspects. After the guns and artillery are equipped, some new skills will appear. You should think about these carefully before reporting to me. Your idea is correct. But one thing must be remembered, the basic quality of all personnel must be strengthened. No matter how the arms are divided in the future, physical fitness and ideological quality are fundamental. As for your performance in this bandit suppression, I am quite satisfied, Shen Mo said it well, what I want is General Wen Zhang."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please keep this in mind."
"Jun Shi, is this cavalry and archery army the only one among the Forbidden Army that can be called an elite soldier?"
"Back to Your Majesty, according to what I learned after entering the Ministry of War, the Forbidden Army has not participated in a war for nearly ten years. Its current strength can be divided into three categories. One is veterans like the Cavalry and Archer Army who have experienced the test of life and death on the battlefield. Approximately Less than 10,000 people, half of this group of people were brought back to the capital by Jia Sidao from Meng Shuai's army, and the other half came from the border troops from various places; the second category was like Xiaoxiong and Xiongwu armies, both of which were composed of Composed of strong soldiers, the army looks very powerful, but has never been on the battlefield. According to my opinion, it can only be regarded as useless. There are about 20,000 such soldiers. The above two types of soldiers are treated better than others. As high as they are, they are highly regarded by the Privy Council. The remaining approximately 50,000 imperial troops are of mixed quality. Most of them come from Xiang armies from various places, and some are newly recruited civilians. Overall, their combat capabilities are far inferior to those of the Yangzhou frontier army. Even though It is a cavalry and archery army, and if you stay in the capital camp all year round, your fighting spirit will be drained and you will become ordinary."
I nodded and said, "Put the matter of the Forbidden Army aside for now. Jun Shi, look for opportunities to have more contact with the generals of the Forbidden Army. Among those people today, Wang Sheng and Wu Songhan don't seem to get along with the others. Maybe we can make friends with them." "
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"As for the Xiang Army, I plan to change the original plan and gradually dismantle it. Part of the Xiang Army from inland areas can be transferred to the state capitals to serve as government servants, and the other part will be disarmed and returned to the fields. In the early stage, the state capitals will only retain those with less than a thousand people based on their size. The establishment is to deter the small-time gangsters, and is under the unified management of the Ministry of War. Those in the border areas will all be included in the border army. Song Rui, Jun Shi, what do you think?"
"I think it is feasible, but this will inevitably lead to a conflict with the Privy Council."
"Of course I know this, so I have to wait for the opportunity."
"Your Majesty is Holy Ming."
"By the way, Song Rui, have you finished building the one hundred muskets?"
"Back to Your Majesty, everything has been completed. Lan Yu has sent Yun Zhongfei to lead fifty guards and fifty young guards to secretly escort the muskets to Kuaiji this morning. According to the plan, the young guards will stay in the villa to receive musketry training. Yun Zhong I will take Mr. Shen Yiqiu back to Lin'an later."
"Well, let Quanjue stay at Qiuquan Villa for a while, and then come to the capital after Zhang Shijie's place is established."
Lu Xiufu said: "Your Majesty, when it comes to Zhang Shijie, the detailed report sent to his hometown to investigate a few days ago shows that everything Zhang Shijie said that day is true."
"Very good. Quan Jue wrote a letter a few days ago and said that Zhang Shijie very much agrees with Long Ya's purpose and is willing to contribute to the rise of the Song Dynasty. I think it's time for him to join. Jun Shi, please let me know about this. Someone from Longya Intelligence Department notified Quan Jue to allow Zhang Shijie to join Longya."
"Yes, Your Majesty, do you want to tell him that the head of the Dragon Fang is Your Majesty?"
"Can."
Zhang Shijie is a character, perhaps he has already guessed it from Quan Jue's identity.
"Song Rui, is Yun Bofei's development of the second-generation musket progressing smoothly?"
Wen Tianxiang said: "Your Majesty, everything is going well. All supporting facilities are in place. According to Mr. Shen's suggestion, three large punch presses were built under a waterfall on Luoshi Mountain. The use of water energy can greatly increase the power of the machinery and improve the efficiency of the machine. The accuracy of the musket molds and the speed of manufacturing.”
"Well, very good. When Shen Yiqiu arrives, I will go to the Gunpowder Department to have a look, Xiao Qi."
"The little one is here."
"Inform Concubine Quan that it's time to go to Ningkun Palace."
The rain was still falling, although it was much lighter. We walked around the corridors of the palace. Although we walked a few more steps, we didn't have to walk in the rain.
Xie Daoqing smiled as soon as he saw me and said: "Guan Jia, your way of writing these numbers is really good, what about 1, 2, 0, ah, concise and clear. After Jiu'er taught me, I have been doing calculations and gestures on paper recently when I have nothing to do. Playing cards with you and my concubines these past few days will make it much easier to calculate winning and losing."
I laughed secretly and said, it turns out that the Arabic numerals I pirated were first used for gambling: "The mother finds it convenient, so she plans to promote it nationwide."
"Of course it needs to be promoted so that our subjects can easily keep count. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. My mother supports it. Officials, please give this counting method a name."
"These numbers were given to the subjects by the Queen Mother. Let's call them Xie's Numbering Method."
Xie Daoqing laughed and said: "The official family is becoming more and more popular with the Queen Mother. Well, the Queen Mother will borrow your achievements."
"Well, I will arrange for the Ministry of Household Affairs to promote it nationwide tomorrow."
After everyone sat down, Yu Xiurong laughed and said, "Guan Jia, every time the Queen Mother finishes playing cards recently, she always praises Guan Jia's method."
Xie Daoqing pretended to be serious and said: "That's right. Otherwise, like before, I would be deceived by you girls every time I calculate the winning or losing."
"Queen Mother, there is no such thing. Sister Quan, you think so." Yang Meiren and Concubine Hu smiled together.
Quan Jiu smiled and said nothing.
"Jiu'er is not like the three of you." Xie Daoqing looked at me and said, "Guan, you must be hungry when you go to the Forbidden Army camp today. Let's eat first and let's talk while we eat."
Everyone responded together: "Well, it's time to eat."
"Guan family, the Young Guards' trip to Jinhua performed very well this time, but the number of Young Guards is too small. The Queen Mother thinks it is better to expand to a thousand people."
I said happily: "The queen is really wise, the child is just about to ask the queen for expansion."
Xie Daoqing laughed heartily and said, "It seems that my mother and son have the same mind."