After listening to Kou Ji's words, Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, and Yang Wenguang all saluted Kou Ji with fists in their hands, "I would like to be taught..."
What Kou Ji said applies not only to the Political Yuan under Ouyang Xiu, but also to the Zisi Yuan under Fan Zhongyan and the Privy Council under Yang Wenguang.
Put the right people in the right positions.
This has been said for thousands of years, but very few actually do it.
The literati of the Song Dynasty were proud enough and conceited enough.
They always thought that they could do anything after reading a few books, so they tried their best to control all the power of the Song Dynasty in their own hands, but they managed a Song Dynasty with abundant capital into a mess.
Now is a great time to trace our roots back to our roots without delay.
If you miss such a good opportunity, you may regret it for the rest of your life.
After Kou Ji finished speaking, it was settled that Chinese studies, government studies, county studies, and the new scientific examination system that would be gradually introduced by third-level schools would be followed.
After Ouyang Xiu remembered everything in his heart, he cupped his hands to Kou Ji and said: "There is one more thing I want to inform the Prime Minister. After the restructuring of the Political Affairs Yuan and Zisi Yuan, many idle official positions have been eliminated, and many idle officials have been created.
of officials.
A total of seven hundred and eighty-six people.
These 786 people all have official status, and there have been no major mistakes during their tenure as officials. I don’t know how to arrange them?"
Kou Ji said quietly: "The imperial court has sent thousands of officials to the border areas, but officials in the border areas are still in short supply. If they are willing to serve as officials in the border areas, they can be promoted one or two levels as appropriate.
The specific distribution will be based on their wishes.
If they are unwilling, they can stay in Bianjing City until the Imperial College and Imperial College are reorganized, and then join them as teachers or doctors.
If he still refuses to obey, he will be sent to the local area to serve as the head of the school.
If you don’t obey again, let me go.”
Ouyang Xiu cupped his hands and said nothing.
Kou Ji's words sealed the fate of those people.
After Ouyang Xiu handed over, Kou Ji continued: "After the local restructuring, a large number of officials will be cleared out. When the time comes, they will be placed nearby. If there is a shortage of people in that Yamen, they will fill that Yamen first.
The rest were sent to the border areas to serve as officials.
Those who do not follow will be sent to the border areas to serve as the head of the school or the head of the county school."
Send means dispatch.
Fa means hair distribution.
Kou Ji's meaning is very simple. Those who obey will be treated well, and those who are disobedient will be forcibly assigned.
If he still refuses to obey the forced distribution, then there is no need for Kou Ji to say anything more.
Ouyang Xiu will naturally punish him according to the law.
After solving Ouyang Xiu's problem, it was naturally Fan Zhongyan's turn.
Fan Zhongyan raised his hand to Kou Ji and said: "There is currently a shortage of people who are proficient in arithmetic in Zishitang. A large number of officials in Zishitang are not proficient in arithmetic at all, let alone proficient in accounting.
They could hardly understand the old accounts, but they almost turned a blind eye to the new accounts reported by Da Song Bank.
For example, the accounts of Tiancihao, Rongshenghao, Delonghao and other large-scale banks under the Song Dynasty Bank are even more complicated.
They not only have accounts for deposits and withdrawals, but also many accounts for loans and debits.
The accounts are very complicated and cumbersome.
In Zijitang, almost 80% of the officials cannot understand their accounts.
Therefore, the imperial court must find ways to enrich Zishi Hall.
Otherwise, Shishido will operate very slowly.
If you want to completely control the world's money, I'm afraid it will take decades of hard work."
After the imperial court relaxed the restrictions on private banks opening, private banks naturally flourished.
Since private banks have mortgage lending business, their accounts are naturally very complicated.
Those officials in Zishitang who have been promoted from the household department can read running accounts just fine, but reading other accounts is no different than reading a book from heaven.
The problem of chicken and rabbit in the same cage can be regarded by them as a profound problem in arithmetic. Expecting them to understand the complicated double-entry accounting method is tantamount to wishful thinking.
So far, the only people in the government and the public who understand the double-entry accounting method are the top shopkeepers in the Song Dynasty Bank and the stewards who have left the Kou Mansion.
For example, the Tianci No., Rongsheng No., and Delong No. under the Great Song Dynasty Bank all have the shadow of Kou's steward behind them.
Tiancihao is Kou's property.
The owners of Rongsheng and Delong used to work under the Kou family. When the Kou family first reduced their business, they withdrew from the Kou family. They relied on the contacts they accumulated while doing business with the Kou family to work hard.
He broke into a family business.
When the Kou family cut down their property again, they took away many people close to the Kou family.
After the imperial court liberalized the business license of private banks, they decisively joined it.
Now he can be regarded as a human being.
But neither Zhao Zhen nor Kou Ji would pay attention to the small banks under the three Song Dynasty banks.
What they are more concerned about is the operation of the Zishi Yuan.
After listening to Fan Zhongyan's story, Zhao Zhen pondered for a moment, "How about recruiting some stewards of the Song Dynasty banks to serve as officials in the court?
They are also considered my people. Although their background is lower, as long as they do not serve as chief officials and always occupy deputy positions, no one will make irresponsible remarks, right?
It takes at least four or five years to train new people, and another four or five years for them to grow up.
Therefore, it is impossible for me to clear out all those officials in the Zishiyuan who can do nothing in one go.
I can only hold my nose and use them for a few years.
After the new people are trained, they will be transferred elsewhere."
Kou Ji pondered for a while, shook his head and said: "Removing too many people from the Song Dynasty Bank at once will be harmful to the Song Dynasty Bank.
It is better to transfer some elderly shopkeepers from the Great Song Dynasty Bank to join the court. Even if the officials in the court look down on them, they will not be able to humiliate them. They can also take root in the court. Then the capital will be transferred to the court.
Some young officials in the Council were sent to the Song Dynasty Bank to study.
If we adopt a two-pronged approach, it will not take 1989 for the imperial court to obtain suitable officials."
Zhao Zhen thought about Kou Ji's words, nodded and said, "Fourth brother is still thoughtful, so I'll do what fourth brother said."
Fan Zhongyan cupped his hands and said, "Here..."
After Fan Zhongyan finished his report, Yang Wenguang cupped his hands and said: "Please reduce the number of local troops and horses..."
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji were both stunned.
Kou Ji asked: "Now the imperial court is at a critical moment of restructuring, and various localities still need troops to suppress it. It is not a good suggestion to reduce the number of local troops."
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji's restructuring put a knife on everyone's neck and forced everyone to listen to them.
Now that the restructuring has not been fully implemented, if some of the knives are taken away, it will lose a lot of deterrence.
Some people with ulterior motives or whose interests have been violated will definitely take the opportunity to cause trouble.
The restructuring has now passed the most intense stage. From now on, all systems will be implemented step by step and thoroughly integrated into all aspects of the Song Dynasty.
There is no need to use knives to kill people on a large scale.
It would not be a good idea if local troops were reduced and some people with ulterior motives caused trouble and forced the court to take action.
Yang Wenguang said solemnly to Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen: "Now our Song Dynasty has nearly thirty-six prefectures. Each prefecture has 30,000 local soldiers and horses. The total number of local soldiers and horses in each prefecture is more than one million.
The number of forbidden troops also reached more than 900,000.
The annual cost of more than two million soldiers and horses amounts to more than 50 million yuan.
It was 10 million more than when the official ascended the throne.
The Imperial Guard is an important weapon of the country, needless to say.
Each one has an important responsibility.
However, the number of local soldiers and horses is huge, but they are of little use.
I have carefully checked the previous orders of the Department of War to mobilize local troops and horses, and found that the scale of mobilization of local troops and horses has always been around 30%.
Therefore, I believe that the remaining 70% should be abolished.
In this way, it can save the court a full 13 million guan of money and food every year."
Zhao Zhen was speechless as he thought about Yang Wenguang's words.
Kou Ji said to Yang Wenguang: "Of course the officials and I can see the shortcomings you mentioned. But nowadays, whether it is the maintenance of border areas or the suppression of local powerful people, we cannot do without local soldiers and horses.
You said that the mobilization of local troops and horses has always been around 30%, but in fact the remaining 70% has been responsible for shocking everyone.
They don't need to be mobilized, they just need to sit firmly in place, which is enough to make some local juniors not dare to act rashly.
Since the founding of the country by Taizu, many people have risen up, and there are even more countless people who have occupied mountains and become kings.
Since the imperial court has strengthened the number of local soldiers and horses and stationed them in various places.
Those who rose up among the people were almost extinct.
The man who was the king of the mountain was also cleaned up.
People no longer have to worry about strongmen robbing their homes and homes.
Travelers, businessmen, and even inns located in the wilderness no longer have to worry about being in trouble again.
This shows the benefits of having local troops stationed in the local area.”
Yang Wenguang said sternly: "Xiaoguan naturally knows the benefits of local troops stationed in the local area. But 70% of the local troops have been stationary for a long time. If things go on like this, I am afraid they will become the Xiang army of the past.
So instead of keeping them wasting their time in the camp, it is better to release them back to their hometowns to marry, have children, and take care of the crops."
Kou Ji pondered and said: "Who will be given the heavy responsibility of shocking the place?"
Yang Wenguang said without hesitation: "Forbidden Army! When the imperial court was reforming the military system, it had set a service system. Anyone who was fifty years old or had served for more than ten years could be released back home.
There was still war between Korea and China before, and the new soldiers had not been trained, so it was not implemented for a long time.
Now the new recruits have begun to show their strength, and they have gradually joined the various forbidden armies.
There is no war in the Song Dynasty, so it is a good time for them to return home."
When Yang Wenguang said this, he cupped his hands to Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen and said: "To be honest with the officials and the prime minister, in recent years, all the Forbidden Army members have reported to Beijing, bluntly stating that some older soldiers in the army are homesick, and some are homesick.
The old soldiers frequently ask for resignation.
The soldiers in the North with their families around them were fine, but the Imperial Guards in the east, south and west could be said to be homesick.
Now it is getting more and more serious.”
Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji were both stunned.
After a long time, Kou Ji smiled bitterly and said, "This matter is the fault of the imperial court. It was the imperial court that made a promise to them when they reformed the military system. Now it is reasonable for people to ask the imperial court to fulfill its promise.
After all, if you don't give people hope, people won't pay attention to this matter.
If you give people hope but don't fulfill it, they will naturally become resentful."
According to the military system before the Song Dynasty, if you join the military, you will have military status for life, and you will die in the military camp.
In order to avoid the tragedy of a battalion full of white-haired soldiers, Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen stipulated service years and gave the soldiers hope.
Now that the world is at peace, it is reasonable for people to ask the imperial court to fulfill their hopes.
Except for those who are born with a talent for killing, few people like to be soldiers for the rest of their lives.
To take off their armor and return to their fields and return to their hometown with honor is what every soldier yearns for most.
Now that he has sacrificed his life to help the Song Dynasty build a huge territory, and has gained meritorious service and received countless rewards, it is natural that he should return to his hometown to rest.
Even some officers and soldiers who have obtained official positions and titles also want to return to the countryside.
Some people go to war with the goal of immediately becoming a marquis.
Some people fight to get rich.
Some people fight out of necessity.
There are also some noble people who go to the battlefield to fight for their lives purely for their family, country and world.
When the family is prosperous, the country is safe, and the world is at peace, people will naturally leave.
Such a loyal, brave and righteous person is very rare in foreign countries.
But there are countless of them in China.
If it were not for the new laws of the imperial court, anyone with an official title would not be allowed to leave his post without authorization and would be responsible for killing without mercy.
I'm afraid they have already hung up the seal and left.
Kou Ji can be regarded as someone who has led soldiers before and knows the virtues of soldiers.
So he also knew that this matter was unstoppable.
Soldiers can go into battle to kill the enemy for the sake of peace and stability, or they can have a fight with the court in order to remove their armor and return to their fields.
They are all people who have contributed to the Song Dynasty. There is no need to force them to stay in the camp, which will only increase trouble.
Kou Ji stared at Yang Wenguang and said, "You want to tell me and the officials that after those fierce soldiers in the Forbidden Army return home, they can hide among the people and help the court stabilize the place and take charge of it."
Yang Wenguang nodded solemnly and said: "The last article of the Song Dynasty's military system: All the children of our army, no matter where they are, no matter how old they are, will be recalled whenever there is a war.
This military system is also the only military order in the Song Dynasty that has never been withdrawn. It was written by you personally, and it was also an order you personally issued when you resigned from the post of Privy Council.
Therefore, the lower official thought that after the soldiers returned to their places, as long as the court needed it, they would follow orders issued by them.
Decades later, with a single order, millions of tigers and warriors will go into battle in armor. Who dares to make an enemy of the Song Dynasty?"
Yang Wenguang's words were impassioned until the end.
Several people present were excited to hear this.
Decades later, when all foreign enemies felt that the Song Dynasty was gentle and easy to bully.
The Song Dynasty court gave an order, and the men among the people put down their farm tools, business, and went into battle in armor. In an instant, millions of troops appeared.
That scene was enough to scare to death all enemies who coveted the Song Dynasty.
At that time, only the Song Dynasty could defeat the Song Dynasty.
Kou Ji took a deep breath, suppressed the blood in his heart, and said with a smile: "The reason why we set the service period in the first place was to avoid the tragedy of a battalion full of white-haired soldiers, and the second reason was to hide the soldiers from the people.
The advantage of hiding troops among the people is that our Song Dynasty does not need to raise too many soldiers and horses, but it can ensure that our Song Dynasty will never be short of troops and horses when encountering strong enemies.
Of course, I also have some selfish motives.
I want to give the gentle and elegant Song Dynasty a touch of toughness.
I want everyone outside the Song Dynasty to know that I, a Song Dynasty person, can not only recite poems and compose poems, but also ride horses and run a camp."
Zhao Zhen and others laughed when they heard Kou Ji's words.
Yang Wenguang laughed and said: "I'm afraid it will be a little difficult for the horse riding company. Every time Di Qing, Wang Kai, Du Yi, Yang Yi and others wrote to the court, they would mention that they woke up every night, drew their swords and looked around, but they couldn't see anything.
An enemy always feels lost and is afraid that if things go on like this for a long time, his martial arts will be wasted.
When I replied to their official document, I told them that if there is no enemy to attack, then they will train their soldiers fiercely.
If you encounter a horse thief or a gangster, you can still show off your skills."
When Yang Wenguang said this, everyone laughed even louder.
The laughter revealed unprecedented joy.
Kou Ji smiled and thought of Xin Qiji, the man who got off his horse and wrote a thousand poems, then mounted his horse and rode on the company camp.
The song "Broken Array: Compose a Poem for Chen Tongfu" is full of sadness.
Kou Ji also thought of Lu You, whose song "Shi'er" made people heartbroken.
That word and poem may never have a chance to be published again.
If he could live longer, he would definitely tell the two little guys something secretly when they came to see him.
I, the Song Dynasty, am invincible.
I don't know if I can live until that time.
"Since it is urgent to return the soldiers in the army to their hometowns, let's implement it in accordance with the military system previously established. But try to ask the soldiers as much as possible to see if they have any thoughts on moving to the border.
If so, I strongly support it.
If not, then make proper arrangements for their lives after returning home.
Don't let them cause trouble, and don't let anyone bully them.
As for taking care of money, forget it.
Each of them can live to the end of their service, and I am afraid they have made enough money from the battlefield.
Some people with official positions and titles can be placed in the local military affairs offices nearby.
To make up for the lack of combat effectiveness of local military affairs offices.
The problem of the reduction of local troops and horses cannot be rushed, let alone done with great fanfare, as it is easy to change.
Although raising a group of idlers for the imperial court would increase costs, the imperial court could afford it.
Today's imperial court is not short of those three melons and two dates.
So the reduction was changed to transfer.
Deploy 10% of the troops and horses in the local area and transfer them to the border to serve as guards or farming soldiers.
Those who are willing to go will retain their military status and be given preferential treatment.
Those who are unwilling to go will be expelled for disobeying military orders, and all files from their military service will be burned.
They don't have to abide by the last article of the Song Dynasty's military system.
It is best to use five years to dismantle local troops and reduce them to 50%.
Although there are still 20% idle people.
But you can’t do anything absolutely, you must leave room for it.”
Kou Ji thought over and over again and gave his own suggestions.
Zhao Zhen added: "I don't need those who don't want to go to the border to report on their duties and just want to stay in the hinterland of the Central Plains to enjoy the happiness. After they are dismissed, they will no longer need to be hired.
I don't have much faith in people who are not willing to die for me.
Hiring them gives me a chill down my spine."
Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan and Yang Wenguang looked at each other.
Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan looked a little solemn.
Fan Zhongyan hesitated and said, "Will the official family be implicated?"
Zhao Zhen shook his head, "They are just unwilling to die for me. It is not that they are unwilling to be used by me, nor are they disloyal. How could I implicate their family members?
The matter stops at their own level, without any implication and no clear document.
Just think of it as an implicit rule."
Ouyang Xiu and Fan Zhongyan breathed a sigh of relief.
They were really afraid that Zhao Zhen's head would get hot and that it would implicate those local soldiers and family members who were unwilling to serve in the border areas.
In that case, the impact would be too broad.
It is not conducive to the development of the imperial court.
After Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, and Yang Wenguang discussed the difficult government affairs, they discussed some trivial local issues with Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji.
Several people discussed how to deal with the memorial that had been submitted to the local government.
Until the afternoon.
Ouyang Xiu, Fan Zhongyan, and Yang Wenguang carried the memorials reviewed by Kou Ji and Zhao Zhen and walked out of the meeting hall.
Before leaving the house, Kou Ji suddenly stopped Yang Wenguang.
"Where is Di Qing? It's been a few months and I haven't seen him return to Beijing to report on his work. Does he feel that his wings are stiff?"
Kou Ji asked Yang Wenguang with some dissatisfaction.
It has been more than three months since Wang Deyong's memorial to accept military affairs in Liao was sent to the desks of Zhao Zhen and Kou Ji, but Di Qing still has not returned to Beijing to report on his duties.
Others were reluctant to mention this matter because of Kou Ji's face.
But Koji can't pretend he doesn't know anything.
Kou Ji can protect Di Qing for a while, but he cannot protect Di Qing for the rest of his life.
If Kou Ji hadn't stood in the way, Di Qing would have been impeached and demoted due to his actions.
Yang Wenguang heard Kou Ji's dissatisfaction and said with a wry smile: "Di Qing was passing through Daming Mansion. His horse was stolen by thieves, the horse pen was burned, and several royal horses were lost. Now he is looking for it, so he wasted time."
"Royal horse?"
Zhao Zhen said with a puzzled look on his face: "I never gave Di Qing a royal horse, let alone ordered him to search for famous horses for me. How can I talk about a royal horse?"
Yang Wenguang cupped his hands and said: "Back at the official house, when Di Qing led his soldiers and horses to patrol the border, he ran into some tribes entrenched outside the territory of the Song Dynasty outside Weiwai.
Those tribal leaders were grateful for the strength of the Song Dynasty, so they specially donated some horses and asked Di Qing to offer them to the officials on their behalf.
That is to say, the horses of the official family are naturally royal horses.
It's just that those tribes didn't establish a country, and they didn't even have writing.
So there is no diplomatic document.
Therefore, there was no way to report this matter directly to the court.
We can only wait until Di Qing brings the envoys from those tribes to Bianjing City, and the officials will give them a title."
After hearing this, Zhao Zhen said funnyly: "If someone else becomes the emperor, then all the nations will come to court. It's better for me, I only have a group of grass-headed kings around me to come to court."
Kou Ji smiled and said: "That's because we, the Song Dynasty, don't need to have thousands of kingdoms. If we do, we will destroy them. So the only ones left are some grass-headed kings wandering around."
Zhao Zhen nodded with a bright smile.
Kou Ji said to Yang Wenguang: "Since there are extenuating circumstances, then give Di Qing another month. After one month, he must report to the Privy Council to me.
The officers and soldiers of the Forbidden Army are about to return home, and he, the head of the Forbidden Army Division, is not here, how can we allow the soldiers to return home safely?"
Yang Wenguang cupped his hands and said, "After your official return, you will immediately send someone to deliver a message to Di Qing."
Zhao Zhen said with a smile: "It's just a few horses presented by the Caotou King. Don't take it so seriously. In my eyes, the general is much more valuable than a few horses. I won't blame him for a few horses.
So you tell him not to be nervous about those horses."