Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

Even if the matter of disarmament is settled like this.

At this time, in addition to Di Qing's 30 new troops stationed in the big camp in the suburbs of Beijing, there are also hundreds of thousands of forbidden troops who eat nothing but do nothing.

Back then, when Kou Zhun was preparing to train the new army, he had thoroughly investigated the real members of the imperial army camp.

In theory, there should be 80 troops stationed in the Forbidden Army camp, but in fact only about 50 people live, and the remaining hundreds of thousands are paid by the officers.

Among the 50 people, only 30 people meet the minimum requirements for being a soldier of the Imperial Army-a strong and strong man.

The remaining 20, some older and some weaker, were separated from the new army by Kou Zhun, and they were still placed in the Forbidden Army camp, and their salaries were paid as usual.

It's not that he doesn't want to eliminate these unqualified soldiers to save the country's money. It's because he has already offended the Sanya military general who actually commanded the imperial army and was paid by the army when he checked out the real soldiers. In addition to being supported by righteous men from all walks of life, coupled with his own powerful power.

It is impossible to make other major moves, such as disarmament.

So he could only drink his hatred for the time being, and feed these 20 people with good food and drink for the future.

When he, Duke Lai, freed up his hand, the first one to clean up was this group of redundant soldiers.

Kou Zhun thought eagerly.

As a result, before he could free his hands, the tomb of the first emperor was inexplicably stolen, and he was inexplicably resigned.

The heavy task of disarmament fell on Zhao Yiyi's head.

In the meeting hall, Zhao Yiyi patted Di Qing on the shoulder with a smile: "Nice job! This time, we will lay off all the 20 redundant soldiers in the capital at one go, take a breather, and then slowly lay off the local army."

Di Qing said: "It's a matter of my duty."

Zhao Yiyi said: "How much food, grass, and money is wasted for raising 20 troops for nothing? This time, their salaries are saved, and they can be directly used to build a ship for Jiang Ping. When the ship is built in the spring of next year, it will be ready to launch. From now on, the accessibility of the north-south waterway will be improved, and our life will gradually become easier."

Unimpeded north-south trade will lead to more developed trade. Once the trade volume increases, are you afraid that you will not be able to collect commercial taxes?

After the scale of commercial tax reaches a certain level, enough to cover all the country's expenditures, he can even exempt the world's agricultural tax.

For thousands of years, it has never been heard of any dynasty or emperor who sympathized with the people to the point of exempting agricultural taxes.

If he really achieved this step in his lifetime, he would be recorded in the annals of history as a wise emperor through the ages.

In the meeting hall at this time, apart from Zhao Yiyi and Di Qing, there were also Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng and Pang Ji.

Pang Ji has returned from his tour of the north.

Zhao Yiyi asked him with a smile: "Pang Qing's family, how do you feel when you go back to the north?"

Pang Ji bowed his head and saluted: "The people in the north are all peaceful and educated, but some officials are hateful, and I have educated them for your majesty."

Zhao Yiyi secretly thought, Cheng, this kind of moral education, I am afraid that within three to five years, the official circles in the north will change their faces.

He pointed to Bao Zheng and said, "I still want to entrust Qing's family with something. Bao Qing is about to leave for the north. He is not familiar with the northern officialdom. Please ask Pang Qing's family to write a letter introducing the officials of northern states and counties for him." Guide, when he arrives at the place, he can take action."

Pang Ji was puzzled: "Is Bao Yushi going to the north too?"

Zhao Yiyi smiled and nodded: "Yes, go with Di Qing."

When he addressed other officials, he would either address the Qing family, or address them by their surname plus official title, and seldom directly address them by their names.

Because it is the privilege of the elders to call them by their first names, there is some disrespect in it.Although he is an emperor, he is only 17 years old this year. Most of the officials are older than him, and he is even a former minister of the former emperor's court, so he is still his elder.

Since he wanted to act like a corporal, it was not easy for him to address people by name.

But Di Qing was different. Di Qing was single-handedly promoted by him, and he was also his cousin.

Not only is it not inappropriate for a cousin to call his cousin by his name, but it even makes him feel closer.

He said: "There are many army camps in the north, and Di Qing is going to inspect the army where the army is stationed. Those who are weak and short, who do not conform to the military regulations, will be dismissed on the spot. As for Bao Qing..."

He smiled and said, "You will know in two days."

Since we want to abolish redundant troops, we can't just ax the hundreds of thousands in the capital.

In the Song Dynasty, the local garrisons and the troops in Bianliang were almost in the same position. Generally speaking, as many troops as there were in Bianliang City, the sum of the troops in each place was almost the same.

There are 20 redundant soldiers in Bianliang City that need to be dismantled urgently, and the local redundant soldiers will only be more than this and will not be less than this.

Only by laying off all the local redundant soldiers can the Song Dynasty's finances be truly rescued from the quagmire of military expenditures.

The redundant soldiers in Bianliang had been dutifully picked out by Kou Zhun before, and they were not mixed with the new army, basically they were not in the same formation.

At this time, the emperor wanted to disarm the army, and it was just a matter of one sentence. From now on, the salaries of these 20 people will not be paid, and it will be over when they move out of the barracks within a time limit.

This is not a good thing in the local area. The old, weak, sick and disabled live together with young and strong soldiers, and the establishment is also together.If you want to disarm, you have to get rid of these people first.

How to remove it?To local officials?Or tell the army to purge itself?

Zhao Yiyi couldn't believe it.

The army would definitely not be willing to lay off its own staff. After all, one more soldier could receive an extra salary from the imperial court, and senior officers would have an extra chance to get paid for it.Who would have trouble with money?Who would cut their own fortunes?

The result of letting the army clear itself can only be that the military officers wrote a letter claiming that all the members of the army under our rule are elite soldiers, and none of them can be dismissed.

Moreover, we have sacrificed too much to raise soldiers for the country.The cost of raising soldiers is really too high, I hope the imperial court will give us more food, grass and money in the coming year...

Zhao Yiyi has had enough of all parties crying for poverty, and it is impossible to make himself unhappy like this again.

And ask local officials to supervise the disarmament...

In the Song Dynasty, civil and military were separated, and civil officials did not know martial arts. Most civil officials had never touched a sword, gun, sword or halberd in their lives.Tell them to supervise the disarmament. It would be good if they don't lay off themselves.

It is necessary to send a military officer of sufficient status and weight from the Bianliang court, so that the soldiers from all over the country can be restrained and the army can be completely rectified.

"Since the matter of disarmament was brought up by Di Qing at the court meeting, it is only natural for him to be responsible to the end. He is also a privy envoy, in charge of the military affairs of the world, and also leads the empress dowager to train the new army. Naturally, he can travel around and read about the army. Bad cut."

Zhao Yiyi smiled and said: "Speaking of which, we are able to have today, thanks to the Empress Dowager."

Without Liu E's strong support at the court meeting, he would not be able to settle the matter of disarmament so easily anyway.

After all, he, the emperor, was still too young, and it would be difficult for him to achieve any truly shocking achievements in two or three years, and it would be difficult to suppress the court.

If he wanted to do something slightly out of line, the first reaction of the veterans in the court was to object.

But Liu E is different. Liu E's qualifications are old enough and he has experienced enough wind and rain.Even if she doesn't care about any business anymore, as long as she is still sitting behind the bead curtain in the Chongzheng Hall, she will be the Dinghaishenzhen of the Song court.

When the emperor's prestige can subdue the government and the public, when the bead curtain is removed, it's time for the empress dowager to formally return to power.

Fan Zhongyan also smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager has worked hard."

Zhao Yiyi said: "I will pay more respect to the Empress Dowager in the future."

Under the two-pronged supervision of the emperor and the empress dowager, Zhongshu province quickly drew up the decree for disarmament, which was directly approved by Zhao Yiyi and passed.

The disarmament decision was only made in the morning, and the order had already reached the camp in the suburbs of Beijing before dusk.

After learning that they were about to lose their iron rice bowl that guarantees income from droughts and floods, the guards couldn't sit still.

Di Qing was called to the tent by officers above the rank of lieutenant general and colonel, and announced to them the fact that the emperor was about to disarm the army.

Generals and above are considered high-ranking military officers, and they also have a share when they usually eat empty pay and drink blood from soldiers.

Unlike ordinary soldiers, they benefited more from the bloated military system in the past.The more benefits you get, the harder it is to let go.

Sure enough, after hearing that the emperor was going to disarm the army, one of the generals raised his eyebrows: "What? Disarmament?"

Di Qing nodded: "That's right. All the episodes you are in are being abolished. From now on, the entire Forbidden Army camp will only maintain the current number of the new army."

"Could it be that our brothers in the imperial army are going to drink the northwest wind?"

Di Qing said: "This is the decision of the officials of the Chongzheng Palace, and you must not have any objections."

"However, Lord Di..." The general showed embarrassment: "It's always been good. When the Duke of Lai was governing the army, he didn't say that we would be disbanded. Why did he suddenly say that we were going to be disarmed? Is there someone in the court? What kind of bad things did they say about us in front of the family, so that the officials will hate us? We are all rough people, and we can't reach the heavens. Master Di is a noble person, and please ask Master Di to say something good for us in front of the officials. Please, the officials Compassionate and sympathetic to the difficulty of raising soldiers for our country..."

Di Qing couldn't help laughing secretly, no one said anything in front of the officials at all, it was the officials who wanted to abolish you wholeheartedly.

Why is it so difficult to raise soldiers - out of the expenses allocated by the imperial court every year, seventy-eight out of ten are used to raise soldiers.If you really have raised some elite soldiers for the court, you won't complain about the money spent.As a result, such a group of wine bags and rice bags have been raised, and it is not easy to say that it is not easy to raise soldiers.

Di Qing said: "This will make things difficult for me. How could the disarmament set by the official Jinkou be abolished because of me alone?" What's more, he was the first to propose the disarmament. The matter is a foregone conclusion, and there is no room for change. Why don't you go back and explain this matter to the brothers under your rule. From today on, the salary will not be paid, and you will move out of the camp within half a month. It is best to start cleaning up from tonight. .”

"Master Di!" the general said angrily, "Even if the officials want to lay off us, they have to give us the money and food for the winter! It's going to be winter soon, and it will be freezing cold. With so many of us, how can we be Are you starving to death in Bianliang?"

Di Qing said with a smile: "The government is kind, so naturally they won't watch the brothers starve to death. In fact, the way out is far away and close at hand. You know the boss Jiang who runs the match factory and the cement factory next door, right? We need to open a new factory to build steamships—that is, the kind of giant steamship built by Qingbei University that travels thousands of miles a day, and can make a round trip between Bianliang and Yangzhou within four days.”

The general said: "He built his own factory, what does it have to do with me?"

Di Qing said: "I don't know you all the time? Each of you has a shop and a farm in your home. What do you do with this little salary for serving as a soldier every year? There is not enough for drinking and drinking. Now that the army has been laid off, you will all return to the fields and work together. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a rich man? It’s also less tiring to practice every day.”

These generals and officers usually lie to their superiors and subordinates, crying to the court that it is not easy to raise soldiers, and cheated them of food, grass and money.Facing the soldiers, they deducted their salaries and enriched their own pockets.They were even happier when some soldiers fled due to the hardships—wouldn’t it be nice to have an extra quota for empty pay.

Even if this source of income is cut off in the future, the money they have saved over the years is enough to make them rich for a lifetime.

But people’s hearts are not satisfied. In the past, when they sat still, there would be white money coming from the sky. Why should they give up this way of making money now, and live on their laurels in the future?

This is not good, you have to make another fortune while you are at the end!

That's why Zhao Yiyi didn't plan to give the soldiers subsidies such as resettlement fees for this disarmament.

I also want to know how much of this money will be embezzled by the most corrupt senior officials of the Forbidden Army.

Holding the mentality of "making a fortune in the end is a fortune", it would be nice if they could leave a mouthful of soup for the soldiers at the bottom.

So Zhao Yiyi simply saved this sum of money.

Anyway, after these soldiers go to work in the shipyard, Jiang Ping will remember to give them benefits.

"You are all rich, so naturally you don't need to find a livelihood for yourselves to support your family. But as you said, so many brothers in the Imperial Army have lost their jobs. If they don't have a livelihood, they will starve to death? It just so happens that Boss Jiang's We set up a shipyard, and it's time to employ people. Our brothers in the Imperial Army..."

He thought about his words: "Our brothers in the imperial army are all able-bodied, and it is more than enough to go to the factory to work as a job. Boss Jiang has a lot of money, and you all know that. How often do you not give out rice and meat during festivals? Brother It’s not a grievance if you leave us and go to work in that factory.”

When Kou Zhun selected the new army back then, he spent a lot of effort.

Not tall enough, don't.If you are not in good shape, don't.If you can't speak clearly, don't. Under 15, no. Those over the age of 45, no.Those who have hidden wounds, don't.Alcoholic, don't.

Pick and choose, don't want anything with a little flaw.

But I heard that Jiang Ping's factory is much more tolerant.

Boss Jiang's family has a big business, and his subordinates are in charge of several factories. The lack of people is so lacking that he is going crazy.

But any living person who can breathe can find a place in his factory.

Those who are physically strong can smash rocks, those who are weaker can pack matches, those who can read and count can be used as accountants, and those who can't do anything can go to watch the night.

According to the emperor's wishes, the newly opened shipyard is to build at least fifty steamships by the spring of next year.

Compared with the one that went to Yangzhou before, these fifty steamships can only be bigger, not smaller.

In half a year, fifty steamships were built.

Di Qing recalled the huge ship he saw on the Bian River and the complicated drawings of the "steam engine" he saw at Bai Yutang, and he couldn't restrain his sympathy for Jiang Ping in his heart.

I heard that after Boss Jiang learned that the emperor wanted to build fifty ships within half a year, he turned around and jumped into the Bian River without saying a word, and didn't come up for half an hour.

At that time, Eunuch Liu, who was next to the emperor, came to deliver the decree. After seeing Boss Jiang throwing himself into the river, he calmly found a flat stone and sat down by the river.

After waiting for half an hour, Boss Jiang finally climbed out of the river, and added slowly, but the government has prepared 20 workers for you.And after next spring, there will be a steady stream of workers entering your factory from all over the country.

Only then did Jiang Ping pull himself together, shake off the water on his body, and go to plan a new factory building.

The shipyard must be built on the edge of the pier, so that the ship can be launched directly after it is built.The pier had to be a deeper pier, otherwise a steamship tens of meters long and wide would not be able to moor.

After searching and searching, there is only a suitable pier nearby Yan Shu's Qingbei University, which is the place where Xia Yuqi's sea trial was done before.

Jiang Ping deserves to bite the bullet and ask Yan Shu for this piece of land to build a factory building—it must be known that President Yan, as a noble literati, is very displeased with their mercenary, profit-seeking businessmen to affect their normal Qingbei University teaching.

Once the shipyard is built like this, one can imagine how much noise it usually has, and how many students and idlers it has to attract to watch the fun.

Who doesn't know that Qingbei University has built a self-propelled boat that can travel thousands of miles a day.Not to mention other people, even Yan Shu's own relatives from his mother's family wrote to inquire with great interest.

Sure enough, after Jiang Ping found Yan Shu to explain his intentions, he was severely scolded. First, the match factory, cement factory, and printing factory that had been established near Qingbei University for many years had damaged their teaching environment in Qingbei University. Experiments in Tsingbei University blew up several houses and no funds have been approved to repair them. The ruins and walls just stand in broad daylight. Those who don’t know think that Tsingbei University is a den of bandits!There are so many things like this, it’s okay if you, Jiang Ping, don’t feel ashamed and feel ashamed, how dare you come to ask me for land to build your shipyard?

let me tell you!this is the last time!Once again, Yan will definitely write to the government to send you and your factories to the Far Evil Military State!

Thinking of Jiang Ping coming out of Yan Shu's principal's office with drooping brows, Di Qing couldn't help but want to laugh, and seeing that he was still in front of these Forbidden Army generals, he suppressed his smile, clenched his left hand into a fist, and brought it to his lips , coughed lightly: "The brothers who have been disbanded from the imperial army can all go to Boss Jiang's factory to find their own way out. Boss Jiang must be willing to give our brothers a way to survive. In this way, we will have no worries."

He stood up and patted the shoulders of the generals: "Okay, let's all go talk to the brothers and start packing up from today. Boss Jiang's factory is about to be arranged. If there are brothers who are in a hurry to start work, You can come to the door tomorrow. After all..."

Di Qing said with emotion: "After all, Boss Jiang will always have work to do, and it will never be finished."

The generals and school looked at each other, and they all walked out the door obediently.

After watching them go out, Di Qing sneered, and said to his personal guards: "I don't think they can calm down so easily. Take a few teams of smarter brothers and go to their camp to keep an eye on them. You must not let them have trouble. .”

Since ancient times, the army has been most afraid of mutiny by soldiers.

You must know that sometimes even giving soldiers a few bites of food can provoke a mutiny. Now if you want to smash their jobs, no matter how much trouble they make, it is not an overreaction.

The Forbidden Army camp is in the outskirts of Beijing, at the foot of the emperor, in the heart of the empire.

If there is a mutiny here, it will not be considered the end if a few senior officials above the third rank are killed.He, the privy envoy, was the first to bear the brunt.

The personal guards took the order and went to the old camp of the forbidden army with several new troops with well-equipped armor.

Frightened by the sharp blades of the new army, the imperial guards of the old battalion did not make any trouble after all.

After all, the reason why they were not selected into the new army at the beginning was that they were not physically strong enough. Now facing the former comrades-in-arms with swords and guns, it is even more difficult to toughen up. appointed.

Besides, isn't there some boss Jiang's factory to go to?

Boss Jiang's factory is quite close to Daying, and they have always walked there before, and they know the requirements for recruiting workers there-everyone who can breathe can do a job, and Boss Jiang can't finish his work.

Although they are not elite soldiers, they are men with sound limbs. Although the rice worms have basically lost their ability to take care of themselves after living for so many years, they are still able to work when they are pushed.

What's more, Boss Jiang's factory pays a lot of wages, which may not be worse than the salary of the imperial army.

The salaries of the imperial army will be deducted by the chief, but the wages in the factory are actually paid to him.

Thinking about it this way, the feeling of losing the Imperial Army's iron rice bowl is not so sad.

The new army is a strong force that has experienced on the battlefield. The swords and guns in their hands have really killed people. Standing there is a murderous look. It is still easy to deter a group of so-called "Forbidden Army" who probably have never killed a chicken.

Seeing that nothing happened on the first night, Di Qing was relieved.

Forgive that this group of forbidden soldiers can't do anything before they make a decision. What he was worried about before was that they suddenly heard that they were going to disarm, and he lost his source of livelihood. In a rage, his blood surged. In the air, tangled into teams to attack the tents, or more frighteningly, to attack the capital of Bianliang.

Since they endured it the first night, the anger must have dissipated.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted.Without this resentment, it would not be so easy to make trouble under his nose.

Letting go of this heart, Di Qing can pack up and prepare to go to the north to inspect the garrison.

Moreover, he had to bring Bao Zheng with him on this trip.

The emperor asked him to take Bao Zheng out to ensure his safety, but he didn't tell him what Bao Zheng's purpose was when he left Beijing.

Di Qing thought casually.

what is it then?