Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

On the fifth day of September, the sky was high and the clouds were light.The heat of the year has all dissipated, only the coolness of late autumn lingers over Bianliang.

The cold dew has passed, and the frost will come soon.Farmers in the countryside are busy with autumn harvest and winter storage in the fields, but the charming people in Bianliang City don't care about this.

They don't have any land in the countryside, so they don't have to worry about farming, and they don't have much stake in whether they get a good harvest or not.

At most, after the autumn harvest, there will be more new rice this year on the market, so I can buy some and go home to make arrangements for the New Year.

They are concerned with another matter.

The pier on the outskirts of the capital is crowded with Bianliang people who love to join in the fun.

"Did you say you're coming back today?"

A middle-aged man in a soap-colored short coat elbowed the person next to him: "Why is there no sign at this time?"

Indeed, the sun was rising three poles, and it was almost noon.The cruise ships on the Bianhe River come and go like weaving, and it is extremely lively, but there is no trace of the legendary self-propelled boat that should return from Yangzhou today.

The people around him replied: "Don't worry, it's not even noon yet. The boat travels extremely fast, and can go thirty or forty miles in an hour. I can't see it yet, maybe it will come in a while."

"I don't think so." The middle-aged man in soap clothes muttered: "Such a big ship can go back and forth between Bianliang and Yangzhou within five days, and when it comes back, it will bring a part of this year's tax and food from Huainan Road. .Think about it, how is it possible? This is faster than the five hundred li express delivery, right? "

Five-hundred-mile urgent delivery is an emergency military post system developed during the battle between Song and Liaoxia. It is specially designed to deliver important documents and secrets. When the bell rang at the handover place, people and horses were dispatched to handover immediately without any delay.

People and horses rush to deliver, day and night, and they don't dare to delay for a moment to pass a light document, but it can only reach the speed of four to five hundred miles in a day.

"Yangzhou must be more than 1000 miles away from our Bianliang, right? When the ship arrives in Yangzhou, it has to stop anyway, so that it can be loaded with food somewhere else? Then it will be a day to meet with the transshipment envoy over there. I heard that this boat burns coal, and it has to stop from time to time to fill it with coal. Let’s count how many miles it takes, and the boat has only been running in the water for four days? Four days is more than a thousand miles, which is more than The urgent delivery was so fast that I don’t know where it went. How could it be possible for such a huge ship. I don’t think we need to wait here anymore, it’s justified to go home and rest.”

The person walking with him smiled and waved his hands: "If you want to go home, you go home. I will wait here."

The man in soap clothes said anxiously: "How can you be so stubborn!"

The man said: "You haven't seen this ship at Qingbei University. My child is studying at Qingbei University and took me there on the day of the trial. That boat is really magnificent, and it runs like the wind in the water." Well, none of those thousand-mile horses can run as fast as it does. If this ship can go back and forth a thousand miles in four days, I don’t think it’s impossible. Wait until..."

He suddenly kept silent, listened attentively, and happily said: "Here we come! We come!"

Without his reminding, the people on the pier also heard the melodious sound of horns coming from afar.

The self-propelled boat was as fast as the wind, from the faint sound of the horn to the time when the huge hull slid to the edge of the pier, only two quarters of an hour passed.

Other cruise ships on the Bian River docked one after another, leaving the waterway to this behemoth.

The people who had seen the sea trial at Qingbei University hid behind others before the big ship docked. Sure enough, the huge waves stirred up by the huge ship on the side of the ship did not splash on them.

People who were splashed by the water complained loudly, and wiped their heads and faces that were still dripping with the same wet clothes.

A group of policemen in black appeared on the pier, separated the restless crowd, and cleared an open space on the shore.A section of gangway was thrown from the big ship, and the police helped to fix the gangway.

After the gangway was fixed, several groups of officers and soldiers came down from the ship one after another, escorting several large boxes loaded in carts and covered with black cloth, which should be tax money from Yangzhou.After that, there are some people in brocade clothes surrounded by servants. They should be officials who came to Bianliang from Yangzhou to escort the tax money.

After the tax money is in the treasury, these officials can enter the palace to face the saint and report the harvest of Huainan Road for a year.

In the Chongzheng Hall, Zhao Yiyi was flipping through a memorial from the Huainan Transit Envoy.

There was no sound in the hall, and the drop of a needle could be heard.

After a long time, Zhao Yiyi threw the memorial on the table in front of him.

"Everyone, this year is sad!"

This sound broke the tense atmosphere in Chongzheng Hall, Fan Zhongyan came out and said: "Please make it clear from the officials."

Pointing at the memorial, Zhao Yiyi said heartbrokenly, "Look at it, all of you! Come on, Liu En, pass it on and tell them all to look at it."

Liu Enying, commanded Xiao Huangmen to take down the memorial and handed it to Fan Zhongyan, who stood at the head of the officials, and told him to read it before passing it to the next person.

Zhao Yiyi said: "Have you seen it? The grain sent by Huainan this year is [-]% less than last year. Don't underestimate the [-]%; the north has reduced a lot of taxes. This year, we will focus on the grain work in Huainan. The [-]% of the food has been reduced, and this year is going to be difficult for us."

"I don't need to talk about myself. I am the emperor, so it's okay to suffer. The big deal is that everything will be simple this year, and there will be no lantern festivals in the palace. It's Chinese New Year. But what about you guys?"

He said: "I know that you all have big families. There are hundreds of people in the family including wives, children and servants. They all count on the salary and rewards at the end of the year to celebrate the New Year. But now that it is like this, I am afraid we have nothing to reward this year." That's right. My family has a simple population, and I have released all the palace maids and eunuchs I can let go, one queen mother, two or three concubines, one eldest princess, one queen, and two princes and princesses. Seven or eight people, no matter how they can Get through this year. But how are you going to celebrate the New Year?"

After reading the memorial, Fan Zhongyan said: "The ministers are willing to tide over the difficulties with the officials."

Zhao Yiyi smiled and said, "Your family is simpler than mine, so what you say doesn't count."

Then he asked the rest of the ministers: "What is your plan?"

Another minister came out: "The ministers are willing to tide over the difficulties with the officials."

The rest of the courtiers followed suit one after another. They all said that if there is no reward this year, there will be no reward. Everyone tighten their belts and spend a poor year with the emperor.

Zhao Yiyi looked at them and nodded: "It's great that you all have this awareness. But it's not you who I'm most worried about."

He said: "What I am most worried about are those officials who are not here today."

The court meeting in the Chongzheng Hall is said to be a court meeting with hundreds of officials, but in fact it must be at least the officials of the fifth rank or above in the hall. If the officials below the fifth rank want to participate in the court meeting, they need the emperor's grace and special permission.

Therefore, those who can stand in the Chongzheng Hall at this time are either high-ranking officials or dignitaries, or they are deeply favored by the emperor.These people's usual salaries and rewards are not a small amount, and those who know how to manage even buy houses and land outside the city, with rich family resources.

Occasionally, there is a person who does not get a salary reward for a year or two, but it is actually irrelevant to these people.

That's why they agreed so readily.After all, the emperor has talked about this for the sake of it. If you don't express your willingness to go through difficulties with the emperor, be careful that the emperor will write down your name and settle accounts after the autumn.

But for low-level officials, those who really live by their salary and New Year's rewards, I'm afraid they won't be as easy to talk to as they are.

Zhao Yiyi said: "I also have to be considerate of their sufferings. It is not easy to live in Chang'an. I know it is not easy to spend a year in Bianliang City. You have suffered a lot, maybe it is just a few things for your family servants New clothes, they suffer a lot, and they may not be able to eat meat this year. How can this be done? It’s not good to just reduce your salaries and rewards, and treat them as usual. This seems a bit unfair. If you want to suffer, everyone must suffer together Well, tell me, what should I do?"

The ministers looked at each other.

Di Qing suddenly said: "Officials, I have something to say."

Zhao Yiyi looked at him curiously: "The privy envoy has something to say? This is really strange. Please tell me!"

As a privy envoy, Di Qing is eligible to participate in the court meeting according to regulations.It's just that his situation is a little bit special. There was a bloodbath for his appointment before, and the Eight Wise Kings attacked him every day at the court meeting, so he seldom went to the court.

At this moment, the Eighth Sage King retreated to the second line, so he came back.

All the officials focused their eyes on him, as if they wanted to see what the young privy envoy had to say.

Di Qing straightened his back: "I ask the officials to save money and cut unnecessary expenses. Today's imperial court spends a lot of time, if it can be cut off, let alone [-]% of the grain in Huainan Road goes to Beijing, even if it is less. [-]% to [-]%, the officials and you adults can also have a good year with peace of mind."

Zhao Yiyi said: "Private Envoy! Didn't I reduce the fee? Anyone can say nice words, but no matter how much you reduce it, it can't make up for the current shortfall!"

Di Qing said: "That's where the officials didn't really find out where the redundant expenses were spent. The officials cut down the expenses of the palace, cut down the annual rewards of the adults, and saved a little money through hard work, but they didn't hesitate. Throwing it in a useless place. A minister is not worthy of being an official."

Zhao Yiyi said: "Then tell me, where is the real redundancy? Where do I need to reduce the redundancy to really make up for the shortfall?"

Di Qing said: "Nowadays, sixty-seven out of ten of the state treasury is spent on military expenses. And there are many unscrupulous people in the Forbidden Army. They can't fight when they go out, and they can't do hard work when they go out. They are full of food all day long. They have nothing to do and waste the people's energy. It is extremely abominable. Please ask the officials The family cut down the imperial army and the Xiang army, and only kept the brave and capable troops, sweeping away the dirty atmosphere of the past."

Before the words fell, there was an uproar.

An older veteran, after hearing the words about disarming the army, was almost suffocated with anger, pointed at Di Qing tremblingly and said, "Zhuzi! You...you have ulterior motives!"

Zhao Yiyi saw their reaction in his eyes, and also acted shocked: "Disarmament? How can this be done! The Imperial Army guards the capital, and the Xiang army is under labor. Once disbanded..."

"Officials!" Di Qing sternly said, "Don't the officials still understand? When Lai Guogong served as the privy envoy, why did he train the new army? It was because no one could use the imperial army. Why did the flood of the Yellow River make the north All the prefectures and counties were flooded? It was because the Xiang army was incompetent and could not be diligent in fortifications. If the forbidden army is good at fighting and the Xiang army is diligent, why did our army not have a single victory in the previous battle with the Liao people? Why were the river embankments in the north defeated? , no place can withstand the flooding of the river?"

Zhao Yiyi hesitated and said, "This..."

Di Qing continued: "Duke Lai sent troops to defeat Xiazhou's rebellion, relying on the newly trained new army. As for the rest of the forbidden army, there is no one available. The officials are building concrete dams all over the country, relying on the locally recruited civilians. As for the Xiang army in various places, they cannot serve. Since the Xiang army and the imperial army are not available, why not dismantle them? It is necessary to waste the state money to support them, so that the treasury is empty, and let the officials cut down on food and clothing, and share the difficulties with you adults. ?”

There is no difficulty to overcome, why create difficulties out of thin air to overcome for yourself?

An old official came out to accuse Di Qing and said: "According to what the privy envoy said, the Xiang army and the forbidden army are all abolished, leaving only the so-called new army under your account? ?”

Zhao Yiyi said: "Okay! The privy envoy is dedicated to the country, so there is no need to guess him like this. But the matter of disarmament, in the end..."

He turned his head and asked Liu E behind the bead curtain, "What's your mother's opinion?"

Liu E said: "I think the privy envoy's words are justified. The money and food in the treasury are, in the final analysis, the people's taxes. The people's taxes are used to support the army, and they must be beneficial to the people. If it is true, as the privy envoy said, the imperial army cannot Combat, the Xiang army can't serve, so it's really inappropriate for us to support them with the fat of the people. But..."

She said with a smile: "The Privy Councilors are young people after all, young people, hot-blooded. Even if we want to disarm the army, we can't do it all. It should be noted that the new army today is the training of tall and strong men selected by Duke Lai from the previous imperial army. They came out. There may be good seedlings that can be cultivated in the current Imperial Army and the Xiang Army. Since the Privy Envoy is a disciple of the Duke of Lai, why not follow your teacher and select these strong men and train them well. As for the other incompetent The younger generation will be laid off if they are cut off. What does the emperor think of this?"

Zhao Yiyi said: "The mother's words are reasonable."

He said to Di Qing: "Your Majesty told you to train the new army, have you not thanked your Majesty?"

Di Qing bowed to Liu E and said, "Thank you, Madam."

According to the story of the Song Dynasty, the privy envoys did not have the authority to directly manage the army.

The reason why Kou Zhun was able to directly command the army when he was a privy envoy before was because he had exclusive power, and because he was about to go to war with the Liao State at that time, he had to follow the power urgently.

Later, Kou Zhun came back from the north to train the new army with great fanfare. Liu E was so happy that he plunged into military affairs, so he didn't stop him.

When the 30 new troops were trained, Liu E knew in his heart the importance of this strong army to the Song court—without an army that could win battles, how could it be possible to save their lives while surrounded by powerful enemies?

This new army was trained by Kou Zhun, and besides Kou Zhun, there is no other person who can manage this army well.She was reluctant to hand over the only human-like army in the Great Song Dynasty to others for ruin.

So she turned a blind eye.What kind of privy secretary can't command the army...Anyway, Kou Zhun can't really rebel, so let him go.

At that time, Kou Zhunquan was in power, enough to compete with Liu E.Liu E didn't care about his military affairs, so no one dared to make irresponsible remarks to him.

Later, Kou Zhun resigned, and Di Qing, as his deputy, took over the new army logically and managed it quite well.

Neither Liu E nor Zhao Yiyi intended to replace him, so they acquiesced that he would continue to command the new army as a privy envoy.

But this is a matter that has not been put on the table. If you really think about it seriously, Di Qing should really hand over the power of commander of the new army.

Today, Liu E gave Di Qing the task of training the new army, which is tantamount to bringing this matter to the fore.From then on, it was justifiable for Di Qing to lead the army.

... Who told the Song Dynasty that the official system was chaotic, and what assignments he got had nothing to do with his own job.Not to mention that Liu E handed over the task of training the new army to Di Qing, even if she handed over this task to Bao Zheng, Bao Zheng could go to the new army camp to take up his post the next day.

Liu E laughed and said, "Thank you for what I did, and I didn't give you any rewards, but it just added a few more burdens to your shoulders."

Di Qing said: "Although there may still be able-bodied men in the imperial army and Xiang army in various places who can be used as new troops, but now in the imperial army camp, in addition to the 30 new troops, more than 20 people have been born. , are left over by the Duke of Lai, and have nothing to offer. It is a waste to feed them all these years. If the government wants to cut the army, it is better to start with these 20 people. Now it will be During the Chinese New Year, this year’s military salary has not been paid yet. If we lay off them now, we can save a lot of money and food.”

Zhao Yiyi asked Liu E, "What does the queen mother mean?"

Liu E cleared his throat: "The privy envoy has lived in the barracks for a long time, so he naturally knows the situation there best. Since the privy envoy has said so, it must be worthless for these 20 people. If that's the case, let's lay them off. Just save This year's military salary, I will spend a good year with you adults."

Zhao Yiyi said: "Then according to what the queen mother said, 20 forbidden troops will be abolished. Come here, plan..."

"Absolutely not!"

Kneeling people in the Chongzheng Palace: "Officials, Queen Mother! The system of raising soldiers is the old rule of the ancestors. How dare you change it without authorization? Please take back the orders of the officials and the Queen Mother!"

Zhao Yiyi said angrily: "How dare you disobey the Queen Mother's order?"

An old official said to Liu E with tears in his eyes: "The empress dowager, the system of raising soldiers established by the Taizu in the past, must be followed by all ages. Even the Emperor Taizong has not changed it in the slightest. We are ministers and descendants. How dare you repent of your ancestor's will if you only obey the order of your ancestors?"

Even Emperor Taizong, a traitorous official who murdered his brother and usurped the throne, did not change the Taizu's system of raising troops after he came to power.

Liu E said coldly: "When Emperor Taizu enacted this law, how many troops did the country have in total? How does it compare with the nearly one million forbidden troops today? The army at that time was so brave and good at fighting that the so-called forbidden troops are far beyond the reach of today's so-called forbidden troops." Emperor Taizu was concerned about the fact that the country was surrounded by powerful enemies at that time, and the country had few soldiers and could not resist, so he wanted to raise elite soldiers to strengthen the country and resist foreign humiliation! But now? The strong enemy is still there, and our soldiers are too many. The only ones fighting the war were the new army trained by the former Duke of Lai! Why, these moths are not allowed to be abolished, but they must be raised with real money. The country has been dragged down, how can it resist foreign enemies? Do we have to wait until the Liao people iron their heels? When you step into Bianliang, will you be willing to change the Taizu system?"

The old minister burst into tears: "Empress Dowager, I have no such heart for the country!"

Fan Zhongyan came out and said, "The empress dowager calm down."

Zhao Yiyi also persuaded: "Mother, please calm down, it's not worth it to be angry."

Liu E said angrily, "Emperor, tell me, should this army be laid off?"

Zhao Yiyi said: "Should, should."

Then he said to his highness and ministers: "Look at you, how angry the queen mother is! In my opinion, what the privy envoy said is reasonable, and what the queen mother said is even more reasonable. The system of raising troops that Emperor Tai Zu said, raising soldiers They are elite soldiers, not idiots! I have lived in the deep palace for a long time, and I have heard some rumors, and it is difficult for me to say it in the court meeting. In short, it is to slander the current imperial army, saying that they are really not what elite soldiers should be. In this case, Let’s abolish them all. What the queen mother said is that every penny in our treasury is the tax of the people. The people pay us taxes, and we have to use all the taxes for practical purposes. Support a group of people who can’t fight What good does a rice bucket do to the common people?"

Some of the ministers agreed, and some still insisted: "Emperor Taizu is wise, powerful and far-sighted, and we can't talk about it. We should abide by Emperor Taizu's system, and we shouldn't make trouble out of nothing. , to change the system.”

Zhao Yiyi secretly thought, what kind of martial arts is wise? "How can you allow others to sleep soundly on the side of the couch"?

Much ado about nothing?Sixty-seven out of ten of the country's finances are used for military expenses, and [-]% of the military expenses are used to feed the rice barrels, resulting in year-on-year deficits in the national treasury. , It’s all this far, and the abolition of the army is still causing much trouble?

Fortunately, he moved Liu E out in advance.

No matter how you say it, Liu E is also the widow of the first emperor and Taizong's daughter-in-law. She still has confidence in front of this group of veterans, and no one dares to rely on her to sell her old.

If Liu E wasn't around and he, the emperor, faced the officials alone, it wouldn't be as easy as it is now.

Fan Zhongyan said: "Officials, in my opinion, it is feasible to abolish the army. But if 20 forbidden troops are suddenly abolished, how will these abolished soldiers live? The sky will immediately cool down. If these 20 troops are frozen Starving to death is against the teachings of the sages. What's more, the forbidden army is stationed in the capital. If these 20 people are dissatisfied, it will be another trouble to attack the capital. Before asking the officials to disarm the army, they should first think of a good place for these people. "

Zhao Yiyi smiled and said: "It's not difficult. Have you seen the self-propelled boats that came back from Yangzhou earlier? I plan to build a batch this winter. These 20 people can just be used as shipbuilding workers. "