After Kou Ji and his party took their seats, they sat down at the table.
Zhao Zhen gave instructions to Chen Lin, and Chen Lin said hello, and the palace maids and eunuchs appeared in the palace carrying various delicacies.
In the past, most of the delicacies served at palace banquets were cooked food. After stir-fry became popular in Bianjing City, there were also more stir-fry dishes in the palace.
Zhao Zhen ordered the imperial kitchen to cook dishes including steamed vegetables, stewed vegetables and stir-fried vegetables.
The palace cooking uses soybean oil instead of sesame oil. It was learned from the Kou family, so it doesn't have the smell of sesame oil.
It does have some unique fragrance of soybean oil.
It is worth mentioning that all the stir-fry vegetables are fresh.
It's October.
Various colors gradually began to wither. Fruits and vegetables were not very common. It was difficult to see them in the market. Even if they were seen, they were dried fruits. Only in the palace could fresh fruits and vegetables be enjoyed.
It's just that Kou Ji and his entourage didn't look at the delicious and delicious dishes. Instead, they stared at Zhao Zhen, waiting for Zhao Zhen to speak.
Zhao Zhen waited for the dishes to be served. When he saw Kou Ji and others staring at him, he smiled kindly and said: "All of you, my dears, are my humerus. You don't have to be restrained in front of me... The dishes are all here. My dears, you can
Drink to your heart’s content.”
When Zhao Zhen, Kou Ji and others eat, they don't gather at the same table and share a bowl of rice.
In the Song Dynasty, when the emperor hosted banquets for civil and military officials throughout the dynasty, the meal-sharing system was implemented.
Each person has one table and one dish.
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, he signaled to Chen Lin. Chen Lin immediately handed out some food, took it aside, and let several young eunuchs try it. After the young eunuchs showed no symptoms of discomfort, they started to be cautious.
Waiting on Zhao Zhen to eat.
Seeing this, Kou Ji and others looked at each other without saying anything. They picked up their chopsticks one by one and started eating.
Kou Ji and others don't pay as much attention to their meals as Zhao Zhen, they just pick up their chopsticks and eat with their heads down.
Zhao Zhen was eating there and giving him vegetables.
I thought the dish tasted good, so I sent someone to deliver it to the favorite concubine in the harem.
In the eyes of later generations, this move was definitely a very impolite move, but in the Song Dynasty, especially in the palace of the Song Dynasty, this move was a rare favor.
Being able to get food from Zhao Zhen means that Zhao Zhen takes this person into his heart.
Such grace is unmatched by others.
Zhao Zhen didn't eat much of the food on the table, but gave away almost all of it as a reward.
At the end of the meal, there was only one plate of lamb left on Zhao Zhen's table.
Zhao Zhen took two bites and gave it to the eunuch Gong E who was waiting in the palace.
Amidst the thanks from the eunuchs and maids, Kou Ji and others stopped their chopsticks one after another.
Even though Zhu Neng and Wang Deyong were not full, they did not dare to take another bite.
The food on the table between Lu Yijian and Wang Zeng was almost untouched, but they were eating and drinking from the moment Zhao Zhen ordered to move the chopsticks until Zhao Zhen stopped using the chopsticks.
Simple actions contain not only etiquette, but also a sense of truth.
A way of dealing with people.
After Kou Ji and others stopped using their chopsticks, Zhao Zhen ordered Chen Lin to take away the leftovers.
The nine monarchs and ministers rinsed their mouths under the service of the palace maid, and then began to talk about business.
Zhao Zhen sat calmly on the front seat, stared at Kou Ji and his party and said, "Decades have passed since the moment Taizu established the military system of our Song Dynasty.
Over the past few decades, our Song Dynasty has become different, but the military system has never changed.
Nowadays, our Song Dynasty has a vast territory, with dozens of states added under its rule.
The jurisdictions guarded by soldiers and horses from various places have also undergone tremendous changes.
The military system established by Taizu was suitable for the Song Dynasty in the past, but not suitable for the Song Dynasty now.
Therefore, I have summoned all my dear friends to the court to discuss this matter.
I have decided to change the military system of the Song Dynasty. What do you think, dear sirs?"
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Lu Yijian took the initiative and said: "I agree with the official's decision. The military system of the Song Dynasty should indeed be changed."
Zhao Zhen's determination to reform the military system is irreversible.
In order to reform the military system, Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji ruthlessly dealt with all those who would obstruct the reform of the military system one by one.
Nowadays, no one in the army can stop anyone who can speak in front of Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen.
None of the military officials in the army stopped this.
Even if the civil servants had ideas, they would not jump out to fight Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji.
Because Zhao Zhen reformed the military system and did not touch the meat on their plates.
If they objected to this matter, not only would they not get any favors, but they would also be targeted by Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji.
So they don't need to object.
Lu Yijian knew that this matter was irreversible, so it was impossible for him to oppose Zhao Zhen.
Not only can we not go against Zhao Zhen, we must also work hard to help Zhao Zhen complete this matter.
Because if the military reform of the Song Dynasty was successful and the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty became capable of conquering and fighting, then Lu Yijian would also have a share of the credit for it.
Regardless of the fact that Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji are taking the lead in this matter.
But he, Lu Yijian, was a member of the same family as Zhongshu.
However, during his tenure as prime minister, all the great merits and virtues that occurred in the Song Dynasty were attributed to him.
"I second the proposal!"
Lu Yijian all agreed, and Wang Zeng had no reason to object.
"I second the proposal!"
Kou Ji spoke slowly.
As Kou Ji spoke, Zhu Neng and Li Zhaoliang also spoke one after another.
"I also agree with this matter, but the reform of the military system has huge implications, and the officials need to deal with it carefully to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Cao Wei also agreed to this matter, but he gave a reminder while agreeing.
When Wang Deyong opened his mouth, he was different from others. He stared at Zhao Zhen and said very sincerely: "Since I became an official until now, I have never entered the Third Yamen or the Privy Council. I don't understand some major issues in the military system.
But I listen to the officials, and if the officials need me to do anything, I just tell them, and I will never say anything.”
Is Wang Deyong taking the opportunity to show his loyalty?
no.
What he said was true.
That's how he is.
He did not retain his right to speak like Kou Ji and others, but decisively handed over his right to speak to Zhao Zhen.
After Zhao Zhen listened to the statements of Kou Ji and others, he nodded with satisfaction and said: "Since all of you are in favor of this matter, we, the monarchs and ministers, will discuss how to change the military system."
After Zhao Zhen finished saying this, he continued without waiting for others to speak: "I'm going to start with this. I think the Dragon God Guards should be abolished. Since the emperor's relatives and military officers have been accused one after another for embezzling military pay,
The children from each of their families also left the army one after another.
Currently, nearly 60% of the military attachés at all levels in the Dragon God Second Guard are missing.
I'm afraid it won't be enough in three to five years. The Dragon God's two guards are reserved now and cannot be used for at least three to five years.
I don’t want to raise them in vain, I want them to go out to the borders and contribute to our great Song Dynasty.
So I decided to abolish the Dragon God Second Guard."
Lu Yijian and others had different expressions after hearing this.
Only Kou Ji was sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai, with the expression on his face not changing at all, as if he had known about this for a long time.
After Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Wang Deyong's slightly dark face wrinkled up, and he said in a heavy voice: "Guan family, if the second guard of Dragon God is abolished, who will help you guard the palace?
Your safety is a top priority for our Song Dynasty, and we must not be vague about it."
Lu Yijian and others nodded.
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "I am very relieved that Wang Aiqing can put my safety first. But Wang Aiqing does not need to worry too much. Although I want to abolish the Dragon God Guards, I have not said that I will ignore my safety.
I decided to allocate 10,000 troops from the Second Guards of Dragon God.
Form a new Dragon Guard.
At that time, Kou Aiqing will equip the Dragon Guard with muskets and artillery.
Many of you have seen the power of muskets and artillery.
The ten thousand Dragon Guards, armed with muskets and artillery, are more powerful than the Dragon God's two guards combined.
With them watching over me, I can sit back and relax."
The imperial palace of the Song Dynasty was not big.
Therefore, there are not many soldiers and horses that need to be guarded.
Most of the soldiers and horses in the Dragon God Second Guard are in a state of idleness on weekdays.
It would be advisable to build 10,000 new Dragon Guards to replace the Dragon God's two guards.
Coupled with the upper and lower tiger wings of Jin Mingchi, as well as the four elite troops of Tianwu and Pengri, the safety of the Imperial City and Bianjing City can be guaranteed.
Ten thousand dragon guards replaced the two dragon guards.
In one fell swoop, 90,000 troops and horses were saved.
Ninety thousand soldiers and horses will be of benefit to the imperial court, whether they are rushing to support the border or stationed in local areas.
Lu Yijian and others thought about it for a while, and after discussing quietly together, Lu Yijian looked at Zhao Zhen and asked: "How do the officials plan to arrange the 90,000 soldiers of the Dragon God Guards?
The families of many officers and soldiers in the Dragon God Second Guard are in Bianjing City, and they may not be willing to leave Bianjing City and go to the border areas and other places.
There will inevitably be trouble at that time.”
Zhao Zhen smiled and said: "I naturally know about this matter. After discussing it with Kou Aiqing, I have already come up with a proper way to deal with it. This matter can be discussed later. I have already expressed my thoughts, and all the Aiqings have also said Just tell me what you think."
Zhao Zhen didn't want to say anything, and it was hard for Lu Yijian and others to pursue him and ask.
Zhao Zhen asked them to speak their minds, so naturally they couldn't pretend to be deaf and dumb.
Lu Yijian pondered for a moment and said: "Shi Yuansun was able to easily mobilize local soldiers and horses before when he rebelled, which is enough to prove that our military supervision system in the Song Dynasty still has shortcomings.
I believe that the system of military supervision should be implemented to the ministry level.
We must firmly control the troops and horses in the hands of the imperial court to prevent similar things from happening again."
As soon as Lu Yijian said these words.
Cao Wei, Zhu Neng, Li Zhaoliang, Wang Deyong, Zhong Shiheng and others all frowned.
Today's military supervision system of the Great Song Dynasty has already made it difficult for military generals to move forward. If it is further broken down, military generals may become tool men in the army in the future.
When a military general is in charge of a place and is reduced to a tool, it does not have much impact.
But if you are reduced to a tool at the border or even on the battlefield, big trouble will happen.
Cao Wei is the oldest and the person who has been harmed the most by the military supervisory system. After Lu Yijian proposed to refine the military supervisory system, Cao Wei did not even think about it and said decisively: "This is inappropriate! If the military supervisory system is in place , promoted to the ministry level, with the power of supervising the army, it can seize military power from generals anytime and anywhere. It should be noted that when military generals are fighting, they will definitely use some means to confuse the enemy. If the supervising army cannot understand, they will Thinking that he was afraid of war, he took away the military power of the general.
Then the military commander's plan will fail, and the enemy may seize the opportunity and defeat him in one fell swoop.
In addition, the flaws of the military supervision system have become very obvious.
During the war between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Kingdom, the Liao Kingdom often sent people to slander our generals.
The supervisors who followed the army often listened to rumors and seized the military power from the generals at the last opportunity.
I, the Song Dynasty, have suffered a lot from this matter.
Now that we have paid the price in blood, we should consider whether the existence of the military supervision system is necessary instead of continuing to refine the military supervision system.
If the Song Dynasty wanted to refine the military supervision system, then there would be no need to continue talking about reforming the military system.
Because no matter how good a military system we negotiate, it will eventually be destroyed by the military supervision system."
After listening to Cao Wei's words, Zhu Neng and others nodded in agreement.
Now that the hero has retired, Cao Wei is not afraid of offending others, so when Lu Yijian mentioned the military supervision system, he said what Zhu Neng and others wanted to say but did not dare to say.
After listening to Cao Wei's words, Wang Zeng frowned and said unceremoniously: "If the imperial court does not have a military supervision system, how can it guard against you warriors? Shi Yuansun's rebellion has just been put down.
The imperial court had a military supervision system to restrain all armies, so when Shi Yuansun rebelled, he could barely muster 50,000 troops.
Without the constraints of the military supervision system, the number of troops Shi Yuansun could muster would probably be so large that we can hardly imagine it.
He will bring immeasurable influence to the Song Dynasty.
The benefits of the military supervision system are obvious.
If there hadn't been a military supervisory system to control all armies, I'm afraid Shi Yuansun's rebellion would still not be quelled even now."
Cao Wei frowned and said: "Since the implementation of the military supervision system until now, how many people have been guarded? You can count them on one hand. How many people have been harmed? There are countless numbers! How many good generals have died under the military supervision system? How many good generals have died because of this?
It was the fault of the military supervision system, and you helped others bear the blame, and finally ended up with your body and head missing?"
Speaking of this, Cao Wei raised his voice a little higher and said loudly: "The supervisory army seized power on the battlefield and suffered a defeat. After returning to the court, no one was found guilty. On the contrary, the generals who had gained more military power were dismissed from office.
, was beheaded.
If the military supervision system continues to be implemented, sooner or later the military will become coldhearted.
When powerful enemies invade, who will be willing to die for our country, the Song Dynasty?"
Lu Yijian was not at all intimidated by Cao Wei's voice. Facing Cao Wei's loud questioning, Lu Yijian said coldly: "The supervisors seized power on the battlefield only because the generals had committed disloyalty, which led to the supervisors seizing power.
If the generals behaved in a well-behaved manner, how could the supervisors seize their power?
Since the implementation of the military supervision system, the number of people who have been guarded openly can be counted on one hand.
But there are far more people who are secretly guarding you than you think."
Cao Wei said angrily: "On the battlefield, if you behave according to the rules, you will only die faster... In the art of war, the good and the good complement each other. Sometimes you need to fight with dignity, and sometimes you need to use cunning tactics to win."
Cao Wei and Lu Yijian were talking about the real fire.
The two have a tendency to quarrel.
Seeing this, Zhao Zhen did not dissuade him, but looked at Kou Ji subconsciously.
Kou Ji smiled lightly at Zhao Zhen and said nothing.
Zhao Zhen sighed secretly in his heart.
The reason why he looked at Kou Ji when Cao Wei and Lu Yijian were about to quarrel was because Kou Ji had told him a long time ago that when discussing the military system, someone would definitely start a quarrel.
Zhao Zhen didn't believe it at first.
He felt that all the ministers he could invite here were his loyal ministers, and they all understood his thoughts and would definitely do things according to his thoughts, and there would be no possibility of quarreling.
Now that he saw Cao and Lu quarreling, Zhao Zhen believed it.
Seeing that Cao and Lu were really about to quarrel, Zhao Zhen coughed lightly.
Cao and Lu immediately shut up and saluted Zhao Zhen.
"I have behaved inappropriately in front of you, and I am willing to ask the officials to punish me..."
Zhao Zhen stared at Cao and Lu and said seriously: "I want you to express your opinions, not to quarrel. If you want to quarrel, you have to wait until everyone has finished talking before you quarrel again."
"I obey the decree..."
Under Zhao Zhen's scolding, Cao and Lu both shut their mouths and said no more.
Zhao Zhen looked at Wang Zeng and said, "Wang Aiqing, tell me your views on the military system."
Wang Zeng's face straightened slightly and he said solemnly: "In terms of the military supervision system, I have similar thoughts to Lu Xiang. In addition, I think that the number of soldiers and horses in our Song Dynasty is too large.
Throwing aside the guarding of the gates, the guarding of the cities, the training of regiments, and the yamen soldiers, we have about 1.2 million soldiers and horses in the Song Dynasty.
Counting the gate guards, city guards, regiment training, and government troops, the number of soldiers and horses in our Song Dynasty has already exceeded 1.8 million.
The military salary allocated by the imperial court to soldiers and horses in various places every year has reached about 40% of the annual revenue.
Although my annual income in the Song Dynasty has increased slightly, the military salary allocated to soldiers and horses in various places is still a large amount.
The imperial court maintained so many soldiers and horses, but did not make the best use of them.
Of the 1.8 million troops and horses, the imperial court could only use about 13.4 million.
The rest is simply a waste of money.
The imperial court can no longer support them and must allow them to return to their citizenship.
Their return to citizenship will not only help us in the Song Dynasty to increase our annual income, but also reduce military expenditures.
Between an increase and a decrease, millions of dollars can be generated."
The yamen soldiers, the soldiers and horses who guard the city and the gates are definitely the most ambiguous existence among the soldiers and horses of the Song Dynasty.
Especially the government soldiers and the soldiers and horses guarding the city.
It received military pay from the imperial court, but it was not under the jurisdiction of the Privy Council and the three yamen. Instead, it was managed by the local yamen.
For example, in a county-level government office, the official who controls the government officials and city guards is the county captain.
The imperial court's cooperation with the Yamen soldiers was five hundred people per county.
How many counties were there in the Song Dynasty?
Hundreds.
According to this quota, the number of government soldiers is definitely a huge number.
When local yamen want to suppress bandits and arrest theft, they usually mobilize yamen soldiers.
Unless the gangsters are too powerful, they will call in nearby garrison troops.
In some places, the soldiers and horses guarding the city were even confused with the government soldiers.
But he received double military pay from the imperial court.
It is even more embarrassing for the soldiers and horses guarding the gate.
With the salary from the imperial court, it is under the control of the three Yamen and the Privy Council, but it is not affiliated with other designated armies.
Occasionally transfers are made between Guancheng and Guancheng.
The number of soldiers guarding the gate is not large, and they are often divided into one battalion.
The important city of Guancheng naturally has heavy troops stationed there.
Almost all the soldiers guarding the gate are odd jobs.
In the unimportant Guancheng, there are only the soldiers guarding the gate.
None of the soldiers and horses sitting near them recognized them as their own, nor did they include them in their own ranks.
Therefore, the soldiers guarding the pass were very embarrassed in the Song Dynasty.
Sometimes they were under the control of the local government offices, sometimes they were under the management of the garrison near Guancheng, and sometimes they were under the management of the local pacification government offices.
In short, anyone can take care of them, but no one wants to take care of them.
The reason for this situation is because of the problems with the military system of the Song Dynasty.
The military system of the Song Dynasty was able to sneak them out alone, so it was naturally impossible for the soldiers and horses stationed in various places to sneak them in.
Because after incorporating them into your own army, they will occupy the number of troops in the army and affect others' empty pay.
All in all, the official system of the Song Dynasty was chaotic, and the military system was also chaotic.
This also led to the situation that the Song Dynasty obviously spent a high amount of military pay to raise troops every year, but there were not many people available at critical times.
Wang Zeng's words can be regarded as hitting a key point in the military system of the Song Dynasty.
After he finished speaking, Zhao Zhen and others nodded in agreement.
After Wang Zeng expressed his opinion, others also expressed their opinions one after another.
Finally it was Kou Ji's turn.
After the quarrel between Cao and Lu, Zhao Zhen asked Kou Ji by name one by one, leaving Kou Ji as the last one, which also had his deep meaning.
Once Kou Ji opens his mouth, it can't be just one or two suggestions, let alone one or two sentences.
More importantly, once Kou Ji speaks, there is almost no need for others to express their opinions.
Because Kou Ji held in his hands the research results of the two of them, the monarch and his ministers, as well as the officials of the Privy Council, who had been studying it for more than a month.
When it was Kou Ji's turn to speak, Zhao Zhen did not mention his name.
Instead, he looked at Kou Ji.
Others also looked at Kou Ji.
With everyone watching, Kou Ji smiled and said, "I may have said a bit too much. If you want to remember it, you can remember it."
Lu Yijian and others heard this and disagreed.
The Song Dynasty did not believe in the saying that "a good memory is worse than a bad writing", so when discussing political affairs, no one took meeting minutes.
The court does have a dedicated meeting minutes officer.
However, what they mainly record is Zhao Zhen's daily words and deeds, and he will not use too much pen and ink on the government affairs that happened in the court.
For example, at today's discussion meeting on the reform of the military system, the recording officer's daily notes would probably be just a few simple sentences.
On a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the emperor hosted a banquet in Beichen Palace. Eight people including Zeng, Ji, Wei, etc., said that the military system was deficient. The eight people all agreed, and the emperor followed up...
Such meeting minutes, are they meeting minutes?
Seeing that Lu Yijian and others were disapproving of it, Kou Ji did not remind him again and said: "The government wants to reform the military system, not that it wants to reform one of the items in the military system, but the entire military system.
As long as it is not conducive to our Song Dynasty, it is included in the innovation.
I discussed it with my colleagues in the Privy Council for several days, and finally came up with a rough idea of the military system to be changed and how to change it.
I’m going to tell you now, so you guys can take a look at it in detail.”
As soon as Kou Ji said these words.
Lu Yijian and others looked stunned.
They finally understood why Kou Ji reminded them to take note before speaking.
Kou Ji obviously had a lot to say, so much that their heads might not remember it.