I will never be Renzong

Chapter 108 Candidates

At some point, several palace lanterns lit up in the Qifang Pavilion.

Zhao Zhen got out of bed to get dressed, Ren Qing'er struggled to get up to serve, but Liu Meier frowned slightly, unable to exert any strength in her body.

"Okay! Don't get up! Take a good rest!"

Zhao Zhen held down Ren Qing'er who wanted to get up.

After Zhao Zhen got dressed, he lowered his head and touched Ren Qing'er's little head.

"What! Now you know how powerful I am! Next time I will see if you dare to tease me! You should rest well, I will go back to Funing Palace to review the memorials!"

Zhao Zhen turned and left.

Ren Qing'er looked at Zhao Zhen's leaving back, her face turned red, and she thought: It's comfortable, it's just that the officials are too troublesome!I'm afraid I won't be able to recover within three or two days!
The delicate flowers were too much to bear, and Zhao Zhen was a little dissatisfied. He wanted to go to the talented Liu Yingying to discuss the mysteries of life, but suddenly remembered that Liu Yingying was not feeling well these days. Actually very bottomless.

After returning to the Palace of Funing, Zhao Zhen began to think about his current situation. Although he was in power, it was far from the time when he could make a promise. Although the Song Dynasty has not established the country for a hundred years, since Song Zhenzong defeated his family almost , The three redundant problems have gradually emerged. Redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses are the direct reasons for the poverty and weakness of the Song Dynasty.

Originally, it was not too difficult to deal with these three major problems, but the Song Dynasty emphasized civility over military affairs. If he came up with a knife against civil servants, he was afraid that a coup would be caused if things went wrong. It is just around the corner, and the Great Song Dynasty is also full of natural and man-made disasters. If all-round reforms are rashly implemented, one bad thing is that the country will be ruined and the people will be in dire straits.

The great men of later generations once said that political power grows out of the barrel of a gun, so Zhao Zhen finally decided to start with the reform of the army. Only when Song Dynasty has an army that is invincible and loyal to him can the foundation for reform be laid. .

For the newly formed Xiaocavalry Army, he did not adopt a modern organization to manage it, nor did he copy all modern training methods. Apart from emphasizing the updating and building of weapons and equipment, he only made a few suggestions.The first is that military discipline and military regulations must be strict, and the second is to shape the military spirit. Zhao Zhen also formulated military songs, and soldiers must sing military songs before training!

Of course, the formation of the military spirit is not a one-day effort, the most important thing right now is to rectify the army.

Cao Wei led the army to guard Lingzhou. Although the Xiaocai Army had Di Qing and Zhang Kang, they were still generals who had never been on the battlefield. They were obviously not suitable for training or even expanding the new army.

Due to the recruitment policy and conscription system formulated in the early Song Dynasty, the army of the Song Dynasty was like a snowball, and it got bigger and bigger. Now all the troops in the country add up to more than 130 million people, and there are more than [-] forbidden troops. There are more than [-] Xiang and Fan soldiers, and there are probably not even half of them who can fight, and the Song Dynasty obviously cannot afford to support so many troops, so military reform is imperative.

Cao Wei and Li Zunxu are undoubtedly suitable candidates for the reorganization of the army, but it is estimated that it will be difficult for the two of them to return to Beijing for a while. Apart from these two, Zhao Zhen is thinking about who should be in charge of the reorganization of the army.

"Officials! It's late at night! Rest early!"

Thrush came forward and exhorted.

Zhao Zhen glanced at her and wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't say anything.

The next day, in the Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Zhen summoned Cao Li and Zhang Zhibai.

Zhao Zhen glanced at the two of them first, and then said worriedly: "In the early days of the founding of my country in the Song Dynasty, there were less than 20 armored soldiers in the country, but now it has only been more than 130 years, and the army has reached [-] million. Compared with the past, it has been increasing every year, but there is no surplus, but a lot of storage is posted every day. If things go on like this, what should we do?"

Seeing this, Cao Lili said: "Officials! If you don't increase the taxes of the common people and merchants in the world, it will be solved naturally!"

Zhang Zhibai hurriedly said: "Officials! Don't increase taxes at will. In the past two years, first the Yellow River burst, and then there was severe cold. The people's lives are already stretched. If we increase taxes, it will cause civil unrest. Wouldn't it be worth the loss! "

Cao Li said disdainfully: "I'd like to see who dares to make trouble. If so, I'm willing to lead an army and fight against it myself!"

Zhao Zhen couldn't help chuckling. The Song Dynasty fought a mess of foreign wars, but it can be said that it was relentless in suppressing peasant uprisings at home. In the 300 years of the Song Dynasty, there were more than 400 peasant uprisings, but no matter which one was successful After the suppression continued, it must be said that the Song Dynasty's policy of guarding the inside and leaving the outside world was implemented meticulously.

"People's lives are already very difficult, and if taxes are added, it will inevitably lead to rebellion. The army of our Great Song Dynasty is used to resist foreigners, not to suppress the people! I summoned the two of you today to discuss the army. The problem of reorganization! In short, the Great Song Dynasty cannot afford to support so many troops, so I decided to abolish the army! As for how much to abolish, it needs to be discussed with the ministers!"

Zhao Zhen said bluntly.

"Officials! Last year when the Yellow River burst, there were hundreds of thousands of refugees. The resettlement problem has just been resolved. Now the soldiers are going to be dismissed. I'm afraid it will be difficult to resettle them?"

Cao used to speak out.

Zhang Zhibai said: "Officials! According to the usual practice, every time of disaster and famine, the imperial court will select a recruit from among the refugees. Those with good physique will be incorporated into the imperial army, and generally they will be filled into the Xiang army. Because the military salary is not low, many families They all rely on their military salaries to survive, if they abolish too many troops rashly, there will be civil uprisings if things go wrong! I hope the officials think twice!"

"I understand what the two gentlemen mean, but I've lost my mind, and the two officials don't need to persuade you anymore."

Zhao Zhen replied.

Cao Lili and Zhang Zhibai looked at each other and thought: Now that the officials have made a decision, why do we need the two of us here?
Zhao Zhen saw what the two of them were thinking, and said just now: "As the saying goes, those who want to rule an army must first choose generals. I not only want to abolish the army, but also strengthen the training of the army. Therefore, I urgently need generals who understand military affairs. Do you two have any recommendation?"

Both Cao Lili and Zhang Zhibai were stunned. They didn't expect Zhao Zhen to find them for this matter. The two knew that Cao Wei and Li Zunxu were undoubtedly the most suitable candidates. It is impossible for them to come back.

"What position does Zhong Shiheng currently hold?"

Zhao Zhen asked suddenly.

Cao Li hurriedly replied: "Go back to the official's house, Zhong Shiheng is serving as the general judge in Fengzhou!"

"Well! I heard that he is very good at military affairs. If he is transferred back to Beijing, I will check it out! By the way, where will Wang Deyong serve?"

Zhao Zhen asked again.

Zhang Zhibai said: "Back to the official's house, in the first year of Tiansheng, Wang De used the Bozhou Regiment as a training envoy to know the Guangxin Army. The city wall of the Guangxin Army has been damaged for a long time and has not been repaired. After Wang De took office, , personally led the imperial army to increase the city wall, and the imperial court issued an edict to praise him. He was promoted to the prefect of Jizhou!"

"Isn't Zhang Fei embroidering a majestic tiger general to serve as Zhizhou? It's too wasteful, go, transfer him back to Beijing, and temporarily serve as the commander of the Longwu army!"

Zhao Zhen thought for a moment before saying.

"promise!"

Cao Lili knew that Liu E had never fought against the young official in front of him, so he didn't dare to oppose the official's order.

"Officials! I still think that the matter of disarmament should not be too fast, and should be carried out slowly. I hope the officials will think twice!"

Zhang Zhibai remonstrated again.

"Your words! I will consider it! Well, let's go to work!"

Zhao Zhen waved his hand.

(End of this chapter)