Zhao Kai made a soft noise, looking very surprised, because they had talked about this issue more than once, and it was Li Qi who raised it first. However, because Zhao Kai was just a prince at the time, the two did not have a more in-depth conversation.
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Li Qi has repeatedly questioned this system of separating military and political affairs from military orders, and what he said is very reasonable, so Zhao Kai thinks that Li Qi will definitely agree and give his own opinions. He is also prepared to go deeper with Li Qi this time
After some discussion, he had made up his mind to reform the military system. However, where he expected it, Li Qi changed his usual tone and expressed support for the current military system, which caught him off guard.
Is it because of his own considerations? Zhao Kai frowned and said: "Don't worry, I'm not testing you. I really want to reform the military system. I don't want you to be like other people and use perfunctory words to deal with me."
"Wei Chen is definitely not trying to deal with the emperor."
Li Qi shook his head and said: "Perhaps this system will have a certain impact on the military affairs of the Song Dynasty, but it can very well prevent the generals from relying on their own troops. This can be said to be a fish-and-bear-paw situation. Your Majesty, you propose to reform the military system.
It's nothing more than having your cake and eating it too. To be honest, Your Majesty, you do have this ability.
Because you can control those generals, but we can't just focus on the present, there is still a future. A hundred years from now, who can guarantee that the generals at that time will not be self-respecting, even if you, the emperor, defeat them and build a huge
The empire may fall apart again soon, so it is not wise to blindly deny the current military system."
Zhao Kai also felt that there was some truth in hearing this. He was going to die after all, so whether his descendants could control those generals was indeed a question that needed to be considered. He thought for a while and said: "But if we don't have this moment, how can we still talk about it?"
What's the future? Don't look at the domestic peace and prosperity. In fact, there are dangers outside. Even if your reforms make the Song Dynasty's economy so strong, you also said that the economy is based on military power. This is the most basic guarantee.
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Li Qidao: "When Weichen does business, he always seeks a perfect plan. Weichen also thinks that he cannot have his cake and eat it too, which is just a loser's excuse for himself. Why can't we have his cake and eat it too? Why?
Are we going to leave this hidden danger? Nothing is difficult in the world, only those who are willing to do so are afraid. This is what a strong man should say to himself."
Zhao Kai hesitated for a moment and said: "But you also strongly suggested reforming the military system at the beginning."
Li Qi nodded and said: "Yes, Wei Chen once indeed raised many questions about the current military system. However, after Wei Chen became the Privy Councilor, he realized that it was not the system that was wrong at all, but the people."
"people?"
Zhao Kai frowned and said, "How do you explain this?"
Li Qidao: "Take this southern expedition as an example. Wu Jie only borrowed 8,000 troops from Zhao Yanqin in Dali and defeated the Gao family steadily without a single defeat. But before that, Wu Jie didn't even know who Zhao Yanqin was.
He knows, not to mention the soldiers under him, as well as the chieftain regimes in Yi and Qin states. They were just bandits before, but after joining the Forbidden Army, not only did they not cause any trouble, but they also made many military exploits. Qinzhou Ningwu
The Jiaozhi Navy was defeated at the Fuliang River. These examples all prove that soldiers are impermanent and commanders are not the main culprit of the failure. There are no weak soldiers under a strong general."
Zhao Kai nodded slightly and said thoughtfully: "What you said makes sense, but it is only one-sided. It cannot cover up the shortcomings of our military system."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Wei Chen very much agrees with the word "defects", but this defect is not enough for us to completely overthrow it. Wei Chen feels that rather than overthrowing the original military system, it is better to repair it as much as possible on the basis of this military system.
, to perfect this military system, Weichen believes that a perfect military system can not only prevent civil strife, but also resist foreign enemies."
Zhao Kai said: "In your opinion, what should we do?"
Li Qi thought for a while, organized his words in his mind, and then said: "The current military system of our dynasty was established with the emperor's original intention of centralizing power. The three yamen are responsible for commanding the army and have the power to command it. Except for a few armies, all the people in the world
All the troops and horses returned to the three yamen, and the Privy Council controlled the military symbols and had the power to send troops. Whenever there was a war, the emperor personally ordered the ministers to lead the troops. The Privy Council received the emperor's order, and then ordered the three yamen to send troops, and then the ministers led the troops to the expedition.
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After the war, the ministers led the troops back to Beijing, and the troops returned to the Sanyamen. In this way, the ministers would not be unable to have military power for a long time. The military power always belonged to the Sanyamen, and there were also three major forces within the Sanyamen to restrain each other.
Yes, this also results in the general not knowing the soldiers, and the soldiers not knowing the general."
Although the Privy Council controls military symbols and has the power to send troops, the Privy Council is directly under the control of the emperor, and when the prime minister is strong, he must be restrained by the prime minister. Therefore, the real power is still in the hands of the emperor. It does not mean that the Privy Council wants to send troops.
When sending troops, the emperor first nods, and then the Privy Council conveys the emperor's order to the generals. The Privy Council is equivalent to half the Ministry of National Defense and half the Central Military Commission.
Zhao Kai nodded and said: "I know this too, but when the country is in danger, is it still necessary for the emperor to centralize power?" The country is gone, so what kind of power can be gathered?
"Of course."
Li Qi smiled and nodded, feeling very pleased. It can be seen that Zhao Kai still puts the Song Dynasty first in his heart. He would rather destroy the country than keep his imperial power without thinking about a certain emperor, and said: "Actually,
None of the flaws mentioned by Wei Chen are too fatal. The real flaw is the human behavior hidden under the system. First of all, uh---Your Majesty, if Wei Chen accidentally said something rude to Taizu, please forgive me.
"
Zhao Kai smiled and said: "No one is perfect, and neither Taizu nor Taizong are perfect. Since there are mistakes, they should be pointed out. Why are they wrong? If we blindly praise our ancestors and serve them as gods, then it will be done."
You're pedantic, I never believe in this, and besides, I have often overturned the ancestral precepts set by my ancestors, so you can just say so."
"The Emperor's Holy Ming."
Li Qi nodded slightly and said: "First of all, Taizu's original intention of recruiting troops was very wrong. Taizu recruited troops not to protect his family and country, but to prevent civil strife. Therefore, wherever there are refugees, there will be recruitment of troops. Those refugees
How can such a person who enters the military camp just want to make a living and survive to protect his country? However, more and more refugees are recruited. The huge military expenditure has become an unbearable burden for our country, and all the money spent is wasted money.
, because the money has been spent, but it has not achieved the effect of strengthening the army. How can such soldiers with no combat capability win the war? No matter how you change the system, it will not be possible."
Zhao Kai nodded and said: "This is indeed a fatal mistake. Fortunately, the economic envoy proposed to use commerce, agriculture, and industry to divert refugees, which greatly alleviated this phenomenon and enhanced the productivity of our Song Dynasty.
Nowadays, whenever a disaster occurs in a certain area, businessmen will flock here to recruit cheap labor."
Li Qidao: "The emperor is right, the refugees are indeed pitiful, but it is better to teach people how to fish than to teach them how to fish. This is only one of the reasons. The second is to use culture to control military force."
After saying that, he paused and then said: "There is nothing wrong with using literature to control military affairs. Literati read a lot and can distinguish right from wrong. They can indeed see more clearly than military generals on major issues of right and wrong. Moreover, war is a continuation of politics. However,
Everything is wrong if it is overdue. Nowadays, the phenomenon of doves occupying magpie's nests has appeared. Civil servants not only control the generals, they also declare troops to seize the throne and control the battlefield. In the past, when the Song Dynasty banned the army, there was no shortage of civil servants to lead the troops.
Some of them are euphemistically called Confucian generals. Even if they are not led by civil servants, there are still civil servants who supervise the army, and their power is much higher than that of the commander-in-chief. For example, when Tong Guan went to conquer Yanyun, the Supreme Emperor asked Cai You to supervise the army. When Yue Fei went to Laizhou, Cai You also supervised the army.
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However, most civil servants do not know how to fight. If the power on the battlefield is given to these civil servants, their mistakes may cause immeasurable losses. Civil servants can only be responsible for government affairs, and let them go to fight, and the battle will be lost.
, it is the military commander who is in charge again, what kind of thing is this? The most prominent point is that the privy envoy can only be a civil servant, and the military general can only be the deputy privy envoy at most, and the privy envoy often leads troops on expeditions. This is not putting the cart before the horse.
What's the point of a dove occupying a magpie's nest?"
Zhao Kai snorted and said: "Speaking of Tong Guan's expedition, if Tong Guan had adopted the strategy of a breeding father at that time, he would not have been completely defeated. It is indeed very dangerous for civil servants to lead the army."
Li Qidao: "The third one is respect. Soldiers in our dynasty have to have tattoos on their faces. As we all know, only criminals have tattoos on their faces. This is undoubtedly an insult to their own soldiers. Soldiers wash their faces with insults every day."
, what else can you expect him to do? Although this approach can prevent soldiers from escaping, but why forcefully retain a soldier who wants to escape? Many facts have proved that on the battlefield, having more people does not necessarily lead to victory. I am sure
Song Dynasty did not send more troops to defeat fewer troops, but when it came to critical moments and needed to withstand pressure, they often collapsed. This is inseparable from the psychological quality of the soldiers.
Fourth, there is too much wasted effort. The soldiers stationed in various places are replaced every two or three years, and the transfer is chaotic. The soldiers have no fixed residence and spend almost four to five years in ten years on the road of rotation. This is
Before the war even started, I had already exhausted myself. My body and mind were exhausted all the time. I don’t object to rotating the garrison. Why are we all forbidden troops? You will be stationed in the capital every day, and I will be stationed in the countryside. But
You can't change it too frequently, you have to change it based on facts.
Fifth, it is the three yamen. Those who lead the army under our dynasty system will never be allowed to manage the army. Only those who lead the army are real generals and have military talents. If it were not for the fact that the father-in-law was born in the army of the family,
Maybe he is now the official governor of a certain place. When there is no war, he is usually idle. If there is a war, the emperor will appoint him as the leader, and the Privy Council will mobilize troops from Sanya.
He led his troops into battle. The question was, what kind of soldiers were these?
Before Yue Fei and the others became the commander-in-chief of the three yamen, the three commanders-in-chief of the three yamen did not need to have military talents. They only needed to be the emperor's confidants. When Gao Taiwei was promoted to the palace commander, he had a name in the northwest.
, got some military merits, and then was promoted to the rank of palace commander. He was promoted to the palace commander not because he was very good at fighting, nor because he was proficient in military training, but because he won the emperor's trust. Of course the emperor hoped that he would
The people you trust the most manage the troops, so this phenomenon has always existed in the three yamen.
But these people are in charge of the troops and are responsible for the daily training of the soldiers. This commander-in-chief doesn’t know how to train troops. How can you expect the soldiers they train to be strong? Although it takes a thousand days to raise troops and use them for a while, the problem is that we cannot simply raise troops.
, you still have to train troops, you have to have the ability in this area, so the three yamen are the foundation. If this foundation is not laid well, the breeder can't create miracles if he leads a group of drunkards and rice sacks. After all, he is only arranging tactics, and the soldiers cannot bear it.
With one blow, all tactics and strategies are just a cloud." r1152