"The army is stationed in the local area or is undertaking labor, so how can it be moved?" Zhao Zhen said in a little unbelievable at this time. After all, he had just been in power and his understanding of some aspects was only superficial. For example, he didn't know much about the situation in the army, otherwise he would not have said such words.

"Do you know how many imperial guards there are in the Song Dynasty and how many wing troops there are?" Li Zhang suddenly stared at Zhao Zhen's eyes and asked.

"This..." Zhao Zhen was stunned when he heard Li Zhang's inquiry. He hesitated for a while before he spoke, "It should be hundreds of thousands, right?"

"So far, there are 720,000 imperial guards. When the Empress Dowager was in power, they have nearly doubled the imperial guards. The number of the Xiang army is smaller, but there are nearly 500,000, of which there are more than 200 numbers of the Xiang army alone. Moreover, whether it is the imperial guards or the Xiang army, as long as they become military, they can only serve as soldiers for generations in the future. In other words, the army of our Song Dynasty is almost impossible to reduce, and there will only be more and more!" Li Zhang said at the end, his face also showed a sad look.

The three redundant was the biggest disadvantage of the Zhao and Song dynasties, which was also recognized by later generations. Among them, redundant soldiers and redundant officials were direct causes. These two reasons combined together led to the problem of redundant expenses. Therefore, if the problem of redundant soldiers and redundant officials could be solved, most of the problem of redundant expenses would be solved.

"There are so many!" Zhao Zhen couldn't help but scream when he heard Li Zhang's words. He used to know that the number of troops in the Song Dynasty was huge, but he didn't expect that the imperial guards and the wing army combined to reach an astonishing 1.2 million. Such a huge army was simply a bottomless pit, and no matter how much military pay was, he might not be able to fill it.

"It's not scary to have a large number. If this million army really can have the combat effectiveness of a million army, it is actually not a bad thing. However, our Song Dynasty has raised so many soldiers, but it is at a military disadvantage. Not only does the Liao Kingdom often use force to blackmail, but even the small tribes such as Dangxiang and Tubo also raise troops to invade the border from time to time. In my opinion, our Song Dynasty is like a fat lamb. Anyone can come over and take a bite, but we don't even have the strength to resist!" Li Zhang said heartbrokenly again at this time.

When Zhao Zhen heard Li Zhang's words, he fell into silence at this time. Although Li Zhang's words were a bit harsh to him, the emperor was also the truth. Not to mention anything else, although the Chanyuan Alliance was called a covenant, the Song Dynasty had to send annual monies to the Liao Kingdom every year to seek peace. Although the annual monies were very burdened to the Song Dynasty, and even the peace on the border could bring more benefits to the Song Dynasty, this humiliation in the national standard could not deceive people.

Seeing Zhao Zhen silent, Li Zhang said again: "Instead of spending a lot of money to raise such a huge army every year, it is better to reduce the number of soldiers and concentrate more money and materials to cultivate real elite soldiers. As the saying goes, "Your Majesty should understand the truth that "there are ten hundred soldiers to raise ten hundred soldiers, and you can raise ten thousand soldiers to get ten when you are in trouble."

When Li Zhang spoke at the end, he bowed to Zhao Zhen very seriously. When the Song Dynasty arrived at the throne, various problems were actually very serious. Sanrong almost reached its peak during Zhao Zhen's rule. This is also the reason why Fan Zhongyan later launched the "Qingli New Deal".

Although Qingli failed in power, some contradictions were all alleviated. Until later, during the Shenzong period, various contradictions reached their peak again, which led to a more thorough "Wang Anshi Reform". Unfortunately, it failed in the end, which also made the Song Dynasty lose the last opportunity for reform and laid the foreshadowing for the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty in the future.

After hearing Li Zhang's words, Zhao Zhen finally woke up from his thoughts. He looked at Li Zhang with a complicated expression, and then said, "I didn't expect that the problems in the army have become so serious. The court spends so much money to support soldiers every year, but it has not met the expectations of the court at all. It seems that I am too careless and turn a blind eye to such a big problem!"

At the end, Zhao Zhen showed a look of self-blame. Li Zhang hurriedly persuaded him a few times, but Zhao Zhen quickly recovered and then asked Li Zhang again: "Cousin, in your opinion, how should we deal with this matter?"

Li Zhang had long considered this matter, so he said confidently: "This matter is difficult and easy. Although the court has raised so many mediocre soldiers, it cannot be easily moved. However, if we can really conquer Xingzhou this time, Your Majesty can transfer some of the soldiers in the name of military farming. Except for some craftsmen, most of these soldiers are composed of refugees or prisoners. It is definitely not possible to let them fight, but it is definitely no problem to send them to farm!"

"Middle farming? Isn't Xingzhou the old nest of Dangxiang people? Dangxiang makes a living by grazing, where can he really farm?" Zhao Zhen asked in confusion when he heard this. His understanding of the outside world was really limited, and he was not like Li Zhang who had been to the northwest in person, so he really didn't know much about the situation abroad.

"Your Majesty doesn't know that Xingzhou originally belonged to the Hetao Plain. It can not only grow wheat, but also rice. However, since it lost it in the late Tang Dynasty, it has gradually become a pasture for grassland people. However, as long as it can be recaptured, it is not a problem to plant grain. In fact, Li Yuanhao has been arresting Han people to grow grain in Xingzhou. It is said that the grain output there has been quite large." Li Zhang explained with a smile.

Zhao Zhen also showed a sudden enlightenment when he heard this, and at this time Li Zhang said again: "Originally, Xingzhou is very suitable for growing potatoes. However, before the situation in Xingzhou is stable, it is not advisable to promote potatoes to Xingzhou. At the beginning of the farming, they can move the Xiang army, and then encourage them to intermarry with women of various ethnic groups. In the future, they can even allocate land to them and release their military status. At that time, the court will no longer have to pay to support them. They also have land to live. Xingzhou is also more likely to rule by the court, which can be said to be a killing of the number of birds with one stone!"

"I understand. Cousin, your intention is probably not just Xingzhou. If the court can conquer other places in the future, can we also follow the example of Xingzhou?" Zhao Zhen suddenly woke up and looked at Li Zhang with some shock.

"Yes, I do plan to treat Xingzhou as a place for experimentation. If this method really works, then not only can the newly recruited territory be quickly and stabilize, but also solve the problem of excessive domestic soldiers. After all, the world is very big. In addition to Xingzhou, there are also Xiliang, Ganzhou, Longyou and other places in the northwest. Those are the homelands of the former Tang Dynasty. Since the former Tang Dynasty can be defeated, why can't our Song Dynasty?" Li Zhang also said ambitiously at this time.

"Cousin, can what you said really be realized?" Zhao Zhen also said excitedly at this time. As an emperor, his greatest achievement is naturally to expand territory. Think about the great emperors in history, which one of them is not a thousand miles of land? Although Zhao Zhen is a good-looking man, he is a young man after all, and the dreams and ambitions of young people are still there, so he is more susceptible to the influence of Li Zhang's words.

"Whether it can be realized is not me, but you. After all, you are the emperor of the Song Dynasty and control the direction of the entire empire, so don't underestimate the power in your hands!" Li Zhang patted Zhao Zhen's shoulder and smiled again. Later generations lived in an era without emperors, and they probably could not imagine the influence of the emperor on the country in their entire lives. This is also the most important lesson Li Zhang learned after coming to the Song Dynasty.

When Zhao Zhen heard this, he immediately felt heavy on his shoulders, but he was still excited. If he could really expand the territory of the Song Dynasty again after Taizu and Emperor Taizong, his achievements would probably not be worse than that of Taizu and Emperor Taizong. Even if he could destroy the Liao Kingdom one day, he would probably be the greatest emperor in the history of the Song Dynasty.
Chapter completed!