Chapter 271: To Reduce the Military, We Must First Build up the Army and Prepare for the Worst.

In the third year of Qingli, this was the seventh year that Zhao Jun came to the Song Dynasty.

He did a lot during these seven years.

He eliminated the stubborn diseases in Kaifeng Mansion, eliminated the rats hiding in the underground sewers of Bianliang, and solved the problem of people's difficulty in filing complaints.

He traveled all over the world, went deep into the grassroots, understood the sufferings of the people, and knew the hardships of the world at the bottom. After Fan Zhongyan's death, he helped him preside over the Qingli New Deal reform, reduce corvee and tax, and reduce the burden on the people.

He expanded the powers of the Yushitai and the Imperial City Department, making the scope of supervision wider and the supervision of officials more meaningful.

He also organized and established a number of competent departments and agencies, clearly divided the responsibilities of officials, abolished the power of county and state governments to review cases, and made the public prosecutors and the law independent; huge contribution.

In addition, he improved gunpowder, guided the invention of cannons and muskets, established steel mills, textile mills, and printing factories, manufactured spinning jenny machines, and developed new high-efficiency steel converters, allowing the Song Dynasty's smelting technology to achieve a qualitative leap.

He did many, many things that benefited tens of millions of people in the Song Dynasty. But it was the only one that did not address the three major shortcomings of the Song Dynasty - redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses.

Because as he said in his early years, the three-redundancy problem was not only a poison that brought down the Song Dynasty, but also a good medicine to stabilize the situation of the Song Dynasty.

Just take redundant soldiers as an example.

The Song Dynasty recruited a large number of rebellious peasants, aggressive criminals, social gangsters and other people who were not conducive to rule into military camps, which greatly maintained local stability.

People like Di Qing, Zhang Yu, Han Shizhong and others are essentially gangsters in the countryside who like to fight, but they eventually become famous generals.

And although the redundancy of troops was serious, it also allowed the Song Dynasty to have enough troops to deal with sudden crises.

In the Qingli year, the Liao Kingdom saw the Song Dynasty and Xixia lose consecutive battles. They stationed more than 100,000 troops on the border but ultimately no army went south. Is it because they were really in alliance with the Song brothers and had deep feelings that the good brothers did not fight among themselves?

wrong.

It was because the Song Dynasty mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to fight Xixia in the northwest, and at the same time mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to stand at the border of Hebei to prepare for the Liao Kingdom.

The Liao Kingdom then felt that although the Song Dynasty was losing consecutive battles, the Song Army's hundreds of thousands of troops were still a hard nut to crack, so they finally received Qingli's promise to increase their coins and accept it as soon as possible.

Therefore, redundant troops seemed to seriously drag down the Song Dynasty's finances, but to a certain extent, they barely managed to hold the Song Dynasty back from its early demise!

Not long after Zhao Jun crossed over, he hurriedly shouted, "I want to solve the three redundancies, I want to abolish redundant officials and soldiers, and I want to reduce all expenses."

I'm afraid it won't be long before we are surrounded by foreign enemies, the court is in turmoil, and there are rebellions and uprisings in various places, and the people of the Song Dynasty will be in dire straits.

At that point, even if Zhao Zhen and Lu Yijian knew that Zhao Jun was a rare time traveler, they might have to kill him like Chao Cuo to quell the chaos.

Zhao Jun is a young and energetic man, and he is also a patriotic and angry young man, but that does not mean that he is really stupid.

He has faith in his heart and worships the great man who said long live the people, so he hopes that the people of the Song Dynasty will live well and that the Han people are strong, but it does not mean that he can be unscrupulous immediately after gaining power.

Because great men once said that we should make innovations that suit our own national conditions and characteristics, instead of just patting our heads and thinking that since this is a shortcoming, we should use force to get rid of it.

Doing so is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

Therefore, after he came here, he only made some mild reforms.

The biggest resistance encountered was that under the Qingli New Deal, officials were dissatisfied with having to do so many things every day and had to complete their tasks seriously every day.

But now, he finally feels that the time has come.

In the back garden.

Fan Zhongyan has just been working at the Constitutional Yuan.

Suddenly Wang Shouzhong came over and told him that the official had something to do with him.

So among the surprised looks in the eyes of Lu Yijian, Wang Zeng and others, Fan Zhongyan followed Wang Shouzhong out.

At this time, he was walking on the back garden path, passing through the distant countryside, and saw Zhao Zhen who was walking back and forth outside the Guanjia Hall.

Zhao Jun next to him had a serious face, his hands behind his back, and he raised his head to look at the sky, wondering what he was thinking.

"Guan family, Hanlong."

Fan Zhongyan first saluted Zhao Zhen and then said hello to Zhao Jun.

"Fan Qing."

Zhao Zhen responded and said, "Go in first."

"yes."

Fan Zhongyan probably guessed what was going on, and immediately became excited and followed Zhao Zhen into the Guanjia Hall.

Zhao Jun winked at Wang Shouzhong. Wang Shouzhong understood, came over and closed the door. Then he waved the guards standing guard around to leave, and he blocked the outside like a door god.

The three of them entered the hall, and Zhao Zhen sat directly on his seat. Then he called out and asked Fan Zhongyan and Zhao Jun to sit under his left and right hands respectively.

After everyone was gathered and seated, Fan Zhongyan raised his head and asked, "Official, what are you calling me for?"

"Dasun, come and talk to Fan Qing."

Zhao Zhen looked at Zhao Jun.

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice: "I think the third round of reforms should be ready to begin."

"Is it okay?"

Fan Zhongyan was refreshed.

To be honest, the first two rounds of reforms.

The first round of examination is just to rectify the administration of officials.

Although the second round involves many aspects, the core is just to recuperate.

But what Fan Zhongyan really wants to do is to solve the three redundancies.

Historically, when he launched the New Deal and eliminated shortcomings, wasn't it just to solve the problem of redundant officials, waste and soldiers?

now.

It’s finally time to get started.

Zhao Zhen asked worriedly: "Dasun, is it really the time?"

"yes."

Zhao Jun sighed: "We're here."

He stood up, put his hands behind his back, looked down at the ground, and walked back and forth in the hall.

"If I had started the New Deal seven years ago, the Song Dynasty at that time would have been like a terminally ill patient."

"At that time, although San Ruan was harming the patient's body, he was also harming his life."

"Redundant officials can stabilize the world's scholars, and redundant soldiers can alleviate social conflicts and make Xixia and Liao countries fearful. Although redundant expenditures are high, they allow all officials to have food and clothing."

"In this way, even though the Song Dynasty was experiencing serious internal and external troubles and uprisings were everywhere, with the support of scholars and the army, the situation could still be maintained."

"If I were to carry out reforms enthusiastically at that time, there would be only one outcome for the Song Dynasty."

Zhao Jun turned his head, looked at the two of them, and said sternly: "It's a dead end!"

"but now."

He took a long breath, pointed to the door and said seriously: "The internal and external troubles have been temporarily relieved. The serious illness cannot be said to be cured, but it has begun to recover. The people's livelihood is gradually becoming more stable. All officials are performing their duties. The three redundancies have become the last one." ”

"Do we have to start at this time?"

Zhao Zhen looked sad and said: "At this time, the country has just been stable for only two years, and many things have not been on the right track. If we start now, I am afraid that it will cause new turmoil."

"well."

Zhao Jun sighed again and sat back on the chair.

Fan Zhongyan asked: "What was the opportunity, or what was the reason that made you think it was time to start?"

"The ship to America is back."

Zhao Jun said firmly and seriously: "Once new crops are promoted in the Song Dynasty, productivity will increase dramatically again. This is a good time for disarmament."

"But why not wait any longer?"

Zhao Zhen advised: "Now I just heard that they are back. I don't know if they can bring back what we need. And even if they bring it back, promoting it will not be a problem for three to five years."

"It can't be delayed any longer."

Zhao Jun sighed: "Brother, you also know how much the Song Dynasty spent on military expenditures, official salaries and other miscellaneous expenses in a year. We don't even have much money for repairs and governance, and we can't develop education, infrastructure and transportation. If we don't take action against the three redundants, we will only Will let Sanruan continue to bring down the Song Dynasty!"

Although he has generated a lot of income and the national treasury has surged during a period of time, all this is just a short-term illusion.

Because before Zhao Jun came, corrupt officials were everywhere. Therefore, he can go around in the name of investigating corruption, plunder the properties of these corrupt officials, and confiscate their money into the national treasury.

Because the market system of the Song Dynasty has been around for a long time, the officials responsible for the management of the market made countless fortunes from it.

Therefore, he can reform the state-owned market and sell a large number of state-owned shares in exchange for cash.

But the world's officials will not kill more and more. If the investigation of corruption is normalized, refined, and long-term, then there will only be fewer and fewer corrupt officials, and even if there are, they will not be as fat as they were at the beginning.

There are countless state-owned sales markets in the world, and they will all be sold out one day. When there are no state-owned assets to sell, what else can be sold to fill the national treasury?

Could it be that a large amount of money was misappropriated from the bank's store?

This thing can only be used for urgent needs. If it is misappropriated in large quantities, it will only cause economic collapse and skyrocketing prices, putting the country on the verge of collapse.

Even though Zhao Jun opened up five major trade routes, at this time in the Song Dynasty, the market was so big, the cake was so big, the productivity was so big, and there were even transportation restrictions.

There are more than 50 countries that trade with the Song Dynasty. In addition to the neighboring Xixia, Liao, Dali, Tubo, Japan, Goryeo and other countries, the other countries in the Middle East and even Africa are limited by transportation, and the trade volume is only so large.

And the market will always be saturated one day.

Therefore, one thing Lu Yijian said is right, that is, if the income cannot meet the expenses for a long time, one day the national treasury will be exhausted and the court will have no money to use. Eventually, wages will not be paid and the country will be on the verge of collapse.

In the final analysis, even though the state treasury still had some surplus during this period, and there was a lot of savings in the internal funds, the Song Dynasty had too many places to spend money.

Paying wages, building schools, repairing canals, digging canals, doing research, conducting governance, and making firearms all cost money.

If things go on like this, it will only make the central government continue to weaken.

It's like a tumor growing in the head. It turns out that the tumor continues to suck nutrients from the person, causing the person to become weaker and weaker. Although it is not fatal, it leaves the person in a critical condition for a long time.

Now, by taking care of the body, more drugs and food are turned into nutrients, which not only supplements the nutrients needed by the tumor, but also slowly makes people's bodies healthier.

But this tumor has always been here and has always been a hidden danger.

Once the person runs out of money for medicine and food and has no money for further treatment, the tumor will erupt and become a life-threatening terminal illness.

So while I still have money and my body has recovered a little, I will have surgery as soon as possible to remove this tumor.

This is Zhao Jun's plan.

Originally, he thought that in a few years, when the people's livelihood in the country had stabilized, and when Renzong was truly prosperous, he would start taking action.

But I didn't expect the American ships to come back.

Although crops such as sweet potatoes, corn, potatoes, and peanuts are not so productive at the beginning, their advantage is that they do not require arable land.

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peanuts can be grown on wild hillsides, vegetable field scraps, beside field ridges, and even in sandy clay soil. As long as you water them a little, they will grow on their own if you don't care.

Even if this cannot guarantee the yield and quality, if it can be widely planted, it will definitely be a huge productivity improvement for the current Song Dynasty.

In this way, it can be ensured that when the country starts to solve the three redundant problems, it will not cause civil strife due to other problems.

If an army rebellion is triggered when the interests of the army are being used, the court will have money and food to appease it, and secondly, it will not have to worry about a large number of peasant uprisings, which will cause the army and farmers to break out together, leaving the country in dire straits.

Therefore, when productivity is greatly improved, people live and work in peace and contentment, and domestic instability is completely resolved, taking action on the three-redundancy problem is the best choice!

"But the ship has not yet docked. Even if it brings something that can improve productivity, it still needs time to promote it."

Zhao Zhen wondered: "Should we take it slow?"

"No, slowdown is indeed necessary, but slowdown does not mean not doing things, but doing some things first to improve productivity and pave the way for the future."

Zhao Jun said to the two of them: "Just like we are here now because we first defeated the Liao Kingdom and Xixia, and Lao Fan relied on the prestige of winning the battle to promote the examination law and the New Deal. What we need to do now is It’s a good way to pave the way for future attacks on the army, redundant officials and redundant expenses.”

"What foreshadowing?"

Zhao Zhen asked hurriedly.

“To reduce the army, we must first build it up!”

Zhao Jun raised a finger: "First, we must first cultivate an army that is absolutely loyal to us. This army must number at least tens of thousands of people, and they are all elite men. The generals who command the troops must always be in the military camp. Training here must be someone we can trust!”

Zhao Zhen suddenly became thoughtful.

In fact, the army has always been in his hands, and it is not difficult to select an elite force of tens of thousands.

Just draw them from the Northwest Army.

But the latter is difficult to handle. This seriously violates the Song Dynasty's requirements for generals to lead troops outside of war. I am afraid that once they do it, the officials will immediately impeach him.

"Do you have any idea?"

Zhao Zhen asked.

"Lao Fan, Zhang Kang, Di Qing, Zhang Yu, Zhe Jimin, Guo Zun, Zhou Mei, Zhang Xi, Wang Xin, Fan Ke, Yang Wenguang, etc. are all trustworthy people."

Zhao Jun thought: "My idea is to put this army in Bianliang, let Lao Fan and Zhang Kang be the chief generals and deputy generals, and then Lao Fan and Zhang Kang will serve as civil servants and go to court in peacetime, and they will also train during training." Going to train.”

He continued: "For example, this army has 50,000 people, divided into ten parts. Each part has a trustworthy general who can fight and lead 5,000 people. The general is permanently stationed in the camp to prevent the soldiers from not knowing the generals and the soldiers. problem and ensure the combat effectiveness of the army.”

"Moreover, this force is also equipped with the best new weapons, such as artillery and flintlock muskets. Our flintlock muskets have already been designed and put into production, and with the continuous production of steel, new firearms and equipment will soon usher in the iteration of cold weapons. "

Zhao Jun looked at the two men and said with a cold look: "In the future, we will disarmament, eliminate the old and the weak, and strictly check the use of empty pay and the blood of the soldiers. Once someone incites the army to rebel, this army will quickly attack and put down all disasters, even if the Liao Kingdom and the When Xixia invades, there is no need to worry about safety since there is a strong army with firearms."

"this"

Zhao Zhen hesitated instantly.

As expected, this knife cut himself first.

The first thing to move is his interests.

If so, this means that this army will be out of its control.

Although in name it was definitely him who gave the order and the Privy Council sent troops.

But if those generals are often in the army, these soldiers will become their personal soldiers.

Once these generals rely on their usual prestige and lead their soldiers to rebel, they may repeat the mistakes of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

So when the Emperor of the Song Dynasty clung to military power in his bones, this matter really made Zhao Zhen hesitant.

"Brother, what are you hesitating about?"

Zhao Jun frowned and said: "It is impossible for me to let someone control 50,000 troops. Lao Fan and Zhang Kang go to court on weekdays. If you want to mobilize troops, you must have your Tiger Talisman. The generals below can only control 5,000 troops. Could it be that you Are you still afraid that they might rebel?"

Fan Zhongyan thought this method was good and advised: "Yes, officials, as long as we can have a group of elite soldiers, we no longer have to worry about internal and external troubles."

"Brother, you should continue to suffer the chaos. You should be more decisive in your life. Think about Qin Shihuang, think about Emperor Wu of Han, think about Li Shimin. Don't you hope that you will become the emperor of the ages and the founder of the new era?"

Zhao Jun advised again.

Zhao Zhen gritted his teeth and said, "Okay. Since I trust Da Sun and Fan Qing, this matter will be all done by you!"

"Um."

Zhao Jun nodded and said seriously: "After the first step is to control our own army, we will really start to carry out major reforms. At that time, large-scale disarmament, inventory of the number of troops, etc. will have to affect the interests of many people. Let’s see if we can withstand this pressure.”

This is why Zhao Jun must wait for productivity to increase before he can carry out reforms and redundant troops.

Once the army is greatly reduced, there will be hundreds of thousands of soldiers in society. If these people are not given land or a livelihood, they may become unstable factors.

However, there are many wastelands in the Song Dynasty, but where are the water conservancy facilities for irrigation?

During the Qingli period, Cai Xiang also wrote a letter saying that the water conservancy facilities of the Bian River have not been repaired for many years, so that the capital and Henan Prefecture should have thousands of miles of fertile land, but there are tens of thousands of wastelands, wasting land in vain.

So Zhao Jun thought that while the court still had money, it would be better to simply reduce a large number of troops, or hire them to repair water conservancy facilities, dig canals, and use work instead of relief. Or give them some land and let them grow food, which is better than staying in the army and continuing to lie down and get money to damage the national finances.

And the premise of all this is that if the interests of the army are touched, they have an army that can fight to suppress all possible rebellions!

Zhao Jun.

The worst plan has been made!