As for the reasons for the weakness of the Song Dynasty's army, Zhao Kaizhen was thinking about it every day. Youdao means to prescribe the right medicine, so he had to find out the symptoms first. He also understood the five points mentioned by Li Qi very well, saying: "These problems I
I also know that, so I am determined to reform the military system.》"
Li Qi opened his hands and said: "But the five points mentioned by Wei Chen have nothing to do with the general framework of our military system. For example, civil servants commanding the army is just a tradition, not a system, so Wei Chen thinks that first
What we need to do is not to completely deny it, but to see if these shortcomings can be improved."
Zhao Kai asked: "If we don't change the system, it will be difficult to make up for these shortcomings."
"But if you don't try, there will always be nothing." Li Qi said with a smile: "Take the impermanent commander and the impermanent soldier as an example. In fact, commanders like Zonggong and Zongzhifu do not have to manage and train troops every day.
, then it’s overkill, Wei Chen thinks this is a very reasonable arrangement.”
Zhao Kai said: "But you don't understand the soldiers under your command. It will be difficult for you to make the best use of your talents and resources when you go on an expedition in the future."
"The emperor is right, but we can definitely make up for this through military exercises."
"Military exercise?"
Zhao Kai was a little stunned.
"Exactly." Li Qi nodded and smiled: "Actually, Wei Chen has not been in office for a long time, and he is relatively lazy. He was also the same when he was in Sanya, but Wei Chen knows his soldiers very well. One of the most important aspects is military exercises.
, Wei Chen can observe the talents of each soldier through military exercises, and can also judge which military camp does not train seriously in peacetime. Of course, the soldiers also got to know me through military exercises, and gave me the title of "Ghost Seeing Sorrow".
The imperial court can hold a military exercise every year and let generals of the brood's level lead the troops in confrontation. During the confrontation, generals like the brood can't help but understand the combat capabilities of the soldiers and see whether the soldiers are training seriously. In this way
Once the two sides have a very good understanding, there will be no generals who don’t know the soldiers, and soldiers who don’t know the generals. They can also urge the three Yamen not to neglect their duties, but in the end, the soldiers still belong to the Three Yamen, unlike the breeders and others.
It doesn’t matter at all.”
Zhao Kai's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he suddenly felt that the goal of strengthening the army and the country could be achieved without changing the system. He said with a hint of excitement: "Keep talking."
As he said that, he actually picked up a pen, obviously he wanted to write it down. After all, he was a very pragmatic emperor, and he would accept opinions that could benefit the Song Dynasty very humbly.
Li Qi continued: "If you want to strengthen your army, you must extract its essence and remove its dross. Soldiers are not expensive. You should start from the basics. The first thing you have to face is the recruitment system. At the beginning, our army was
Recruitment system. Later, after Wang Anshi's political reform, he adopted the Baojia method. To be honest, Wei Chen strongly disagreed with the Baojia method. This was purely a way to save money. It might achieve good results in a short period of time, but it took a long time.
The country will be in chaos.
To put it simply, the Baojia Law is used by both soldiers and peasants. Farmers have to farm and practice, but if they do not receive salary from the court, this will seriously disrupt the development of agriculture. Farmers are also human beings. Farming every day is already very hard.
Now, you still have to run to practice during the break, which will make everyone exhausted, and agriculture will inevitably stagnate, which is undoubtedly killing the goose to lay eggs. This approach can only be used as a relief measure when it is absolutely necessary, and it cannot be regarded as a daily task, so I am a humble minister.
It is still recommended to recruit soldiers."
Zhao Kai nodded and said: "Actually, I have also studied the Baojia Law, and there are too many flaws in it. As you said, it was used to save money for the court. However, at that time, the court was experiencing serious redundancy and its finances were on the verge of collapse. Wang Xianxiang had no choice but to
For this reason, your recruitment system should be different."
Li Qi smiled and said: "Actually, it's not different, it's just that it's more strict than before. Soldiers are the foundation of national security. I think recruiting soldiers is no child's play. We must formulate strict recruitment rules. Recruiting hungry people is never feasible.
I would rather send food to them directly, so Wei Chen suggested that we must first identify the recruitment targets, such as young people between the ages of sixteen and twenty-six. If they are older, I am afraid that after several years of training, when it comes time to actually fight, they
It’s beyond my capabilities, I have to be in good health and have a certain term of service.”
"Service period?" Zhao Kai asked in surprise.
Li Qi nodded and said: "Being a soldier can also be said to be a way of eating youth. Once you get older, you may harm others and yourself once you go to the battlefield. Wei Chen recommends that people between the ages of thirty-six and forty must leave the military camp.
Of course, talented people can be promoted to generals, and generals must retire after they reach the age of sixty to sixty-five. However, the soldiers gave their best age to the court first, and the court must not treat them badly, otherwise
Who is willing to work for the imperial court, so handling retired soldiers well is a key point. Wei Chen suggested that those who are capable can be transferred to work in the rear.
For example, delivering food, some supplies, some government affairs, or working as local government officials. After all, they are soldiers. They may be reluctant to fight, but catching thieves should still be no problem. There is also the option of returning to farming, and the court will give them some land.
, or you can go into business, if you are talented, you can even go into politics, as long as you have the ability. And there is how to recruit soldiers. Soldiers are also a profession, and it is a high-risk profession. It is impossible to ask them to join the army for free.
Therefore, the soldiers’ salaries cannot be reduced.”
Zhao Kai said: "The military expenditure of our Song Dynasty has exceeded all previous generations, and the treatment of soldiers has been very good."
Li Qi smiled and said: "But how much of the real military expenditure falls into the hands of soldiers?"
Zhao Kai said: "Of course I know this. I also hate this kind of people deeply. But I am not talking about this now. I am referring to the fact that once there are more soldiers, military expenditures will increase, and the court may not be able to cope with it."
Li Qidao: "Of course, the number of soldiers recruited every year must also be determined according to the situation. If it is a time of peace and prosperity, it will naturally be necessary to reduce the army. If it is a period of war, then it will naturally be necessary to increase the number of soldiers. Therefore, the number of soldiers recruited every year must be strictly determined.
Limitation, unless there is an unexpected situation, you can only recruit as many as you set. Moreover, the issue of military expenditure is a great weapon for you to control the army, Your Majesty. It must be separated from the military power. It can no longer be in the hands of the general first as in the past.
, and then into the hands of soldiers."
Zhao Kai nodded and said: "I understand what you mean. Generals are meant to lead soldiers. If they embezzle soldiers' money, the soldiers will only dare to be angry and dare not speak out. But if military expenditures are issued by a specialized department, if there is less money
, soldiers and generals will feel dissatisfied and will definitely make trouble, which can achieve the purpose of mutual checks and balances."
"This is exactly the reason." Li Qi continued: "To control the number of soldiers, we must also take into account agriculture, industry, commerce and other aspects. If all the young and middle-aged people go to serve as soldiers, who will do these jobs, the economy will definitely be affected.
Impact, so this aspect must be carefully considered, and the number of soldiers to be recruited should be set based on the current situation and the revenue of the treasury. If there are too many, there will be pressure on the treasury."
Everything these days requires manpower, so the requirements for manpower allocation must be very strict. If one industry consumes too much manpower, other industries will definitely be affected.
Zhao Kai nodded thoughtfully and said, "I have to consider this carefully. You can continue."
"yes."
Li Qidao: "How to balance the civil and military forces is also what our government has been doing. There is nothing wrong with using civil servants to control the military, but they have to perform their respective duties. It is really wrong to let civil servants lead the troops in war. But civil servants must
It is indispensable in the military, because wars are often accompanied by diplomacy. Military generals may not be good at these. They will never understand that war is just a continuation of politics, but the generals must have the final say on matters on the battlefield. Civil servants have no right to interfere.
, cannot command military generals to fight. Of course, there are some exceptions, such as a loyal minister like a weak minister who is capable of both civil and military affairs."
Zhao Kai was originally very fascinated when he heard it, but when he heard the last half of the sentence, he couldn't help laughing, waved his hand and said: "I know all this, you don't need to remind me again and again."
Japan. He is so stingy with even two words of praise. How can this monarch and his ministers continue to do so?
Li Qi looked at Zhao Kai depressedly and said: "The other thing is who should be held accountable if the war is defeated. This cannot be decided by one person. It must be based on the actual situation. This is the Judicial Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, and Dali Temple.
After the Legislative Yuan enacts the military law, the Judicial Yuan must intervene in the investigation and then hand it over to Dali Temple for judgment. In fact, in many cases everyone has worked hard, and the opponent is actually stronger. This does not mean that anyone is incompetent.
Therefore, we must not let our Song Dynasty lose a good general because of this. What is right and what is wrong, the law has the final say, and the soldiers fighting on the front line must be given a fair treatment. In many cases in our dynasty, it is the civil servants who fight every day.
Drinking tea and discussing poetry at home, but once the front line is defeated, they will go to death to impeach them. In fact, they know what the situation is at the front line. This has made many generals suffer unjust injustice. This is the case with the father-in-law. Obviously
You have meritorious service, but you are made the scapegoat for the failure of others. This is even more terrible than losing the battle.
The existence of the Legislative Yuan can not only make military generals suffer unjust injustice, but also prevent deserters. Weichen will never approve of tattooing soldiers' faces. If there is no urgent need to send more soldiers, the recruitment system should adopt voluntary enlistment. However, once soldiers join the army, they will
It is equivalent to signing a contract with the imperial court. Soldiers must be responsible for it. They cannot join the army and cheat on food and drink when there is no war. Once a war breaks out, they should run away quickly. Severe punishment should be adopted for such people, so the Legislative Yuan should also
In this legislation, deserters should be punished by law rather than tied up in a military camp with a rope. This has no legal basis and is also harmful to morality." (To be continued...)