Fu Song

Chapter 639 Scholars also need gold and iron horses
Lu Wenhuan stared at the first draft of the art of recruiting in his hand with wide eyes, and the shock in his heart was incomparable.

Xiao Cheng found him and discussed with him the reform of the military system. Originally, he still had a lot of ideas and was going to discuss them with the chief assistant, but now, he couldn't say anything.

Although Shoufu had never directly led soldiers, his military accomplishments were absolutely worth mentioning.

Perhaps for the tactics and on-the-spot changes of a certain battle, the first assistant meeting has a high level of vision, but when it comes to grand strategic planning and strategizing, Lu Wenhuan admires Xiao Cheng completely.

Whether it was the conquest of Dali, or the just-concluded battles in Xuzhou, Nanyang and other places, all showed Xiao Cheng's control over the overall direction of the war.

How to fight is a matter for the generals!
Where to fight is a matter for the imperial court.

To be honest, Lu Wenhuan really likes this kind of structure and distribution of powers and responsibilities.

The Song Dynasty was weak in military affairs in the past, and the problem basically appeared in this.

A group of people in the court had read several military books, and each of them regarded himself as the reincarnation of Sun Wu. When talking about the tactics of battle, they spoke clearly and eloquently, but they didn't know that it is better to have no books than to have no books. These plans are flawless in their hearts. The so-called tactics are really full of loopholes on the battlefield.

Of course, such things are not only done by scholars and civil servants. A certain official in the Song Dynasty even sent a battle map to the frontline soldiers thousands of miles away, asking the generals to fight accordingly.

What do you think the leading generals will do?
It's a dead end to copy rote.

Ignoring the official's formation plan is also a death.

Both left and right are dead, so why not follow the orders of the officials to do it, what if God blesses you and wins?

Even if you lose, the officials are too embarrassed to copy your own home and destroy your own clan!
More than ten years ago, the Hebei frontier army was strong because of the emergence of a king of Jing, Zhao Zhe.

Zhao Zhe himself is well versed in military affairs. He has been immersed in military camps for many years, and he is well aware of the dangers of soldiers and wars. He gave the front-line generals great autonomy. A powerful force that made the people of Liao fearful.

But later with Zhao Zhe, Cui Ang came to power, commanded blindly with confidence, and immediately wiped out tens of thousands of Hebei elites including the Guangxin Army. When the imperial decree was issued, the heads of these ruling generals were chopped off with one knife.

It can be said that a few years ago in the Song Dynasty, when the good situation came to an end, it started here.

To this day, the instigators of those years have not come to a good end.

The two Taishangguan's family are now herding sheep in Wuguocheng, Liaodi, Cui Ang died a terrible death, and was cut to death by Yelumin.

But the Great Song Dynasty, which once confronted the north and south of the Liao Kingdom without losing the wind, now has only half of the country left.

The Northern Expedition to regain the homeland is naturally the long-cherished wish of people like Lu Wenhuan.

Zhao An's ascension to the throne and Xiao Cheng's administration gave him the hope of the Northern Expedition.

Lu Wenhuan, who was born as a warrior, suddenly became the Minister of the Ministry of War in charge of the world's soldiers and horses in the new court, which was something he did not expect at all.

The last time a military commander could do this was General Di.

Even Xiao Cheng's grandfather was only a deputy to the Privy Council back then!

Although there are still various problems in the Jiangning court, in Lu Wenhuan's view, the general situation is still positive.

Although Xiao Cheng is strong and domineering, he is really capable, and he can better mediate the conflicts between the major factions.

Like this time dealing with the corruption involved in the Shoufu's lineage, Lu Wenhuan thought that the Shoufu was really tolerant for the country.

A large number of people were arrested, exiled, and killed, but they did not completely tear themselves apart with the Jiangnan faction. They still maintained a superficial unity, which, in Lu Wenhuan's view, was necessary.

The Great Song Dynasty can no longer afford a large-scale infighting.

Don't really think that people like Si Junchao really have no power to resist.

It's just that because they are in other people's homes now, they don't want to break their own bottles and cans, and both sides will suffer, which is not good for anyone.

Therefore, they are still willing to back down before the chief assistant touches their core interests.

But this concession, after all, still has a bottom line.

Lu Wenhuan is well aware of the power of the big family, because his Lu family's power in Xiangyang and other places is quite considerable.

This kind of interest relationship deeply rooted in the local area is invisible and intangible, but he can really make even a powerful person like Xiao Cheng afraid.

What matters is getting things done, what matters is the result.

As for the process and the ups and downs in the middle, they can be ignored.

When the water is clear, there will be no fish, and when the water is clear, there will be no evil.

It's the chief assistant, Xiao Cheng, didn't he do something illegal?Lu Wenhuan didn't believe it.

How could it be possible for Tianxiang Pavilion to control the spice market in the Song Dynasty entirely by means of commercial means?
Of course, the current shoufu is high-spirited and honest, and he has handed over the spice business to the imperial court, making it a life forbidden by the imperial court and earning a lot of profits for the imperial court.

But that's also because Shoufu's family has found a new business.

Large-scale chicken and duck farms, sales of meat, production of dried meat, down jackets, a large number of cotton fields in Yunnan, and then cotton clothes and other products, and most of these things are directly purchased by the imperial court. to the army.

This is where Shoufu's power lies.

He made money, and made those who bought his things grateful, thinking that he was a good official who was considerate and caring.

Lu Wenhuan thought he couldn't do this.

It seems that Shoufu gave up a lucrative spice business and gained a great reputation for himself. In fact, his other businesses are not less profitable than the spice business.

One shot kills the other!

Lu Wenhuan expected that the first minister would take advantage of the victory and carry out a series of government reforms before the end of the year, because the first minister had already had the wind blowing earlier.

However, it has been stranded because of the opposition of Jisuke and others.

But with the big victory on the front line and the exposure of a series of incidents of corruption and smuggling by the Jiangnan faction, these reforms were finally pushed forward.

The Young Crop Law and the Immunization Law caused a lot of quarrels in the imperial court. Everyone was fighting tit-for-tat, and their faces were red-faced. But in the end, in the voting session, the opposition was defeated.

In the eyes of Si Junchao and others, the decision-making process promoted by Xiao Cheng was an excellent opportunity to suppress Xiao Cheng, but now it has become the biggest shackle that restrains them.

As long as a simple majority is reached, it can be passed. Once the vote is passed, it will be a court resolution. You can reserve your opinion, but you must support it unconditionally, otherwise, you will be held accountable.

And when the people who supported Xiao Cheng accounted for the majority, Si Junchao and others painfully discovered how stupid they were back then.

The Green Sprout Law and the Immunization Law have been passed.

These two decrees have been dubbed as a slap in the face and a profit for the gentry class.

As for the opponents, what they are more worried about is whether the imperial court will promote the gentry to pay food as a whole in the next step. Once this policy is implemented, it will inevitably follow Qingtian and Chading, and this is what The worst thing for the gentry class.

But Xiao Cheng didn't push this, the Art of Recruiting Wars came out first.

The Song Dynasty has always implemented the method of raising soldiers, the most typical of which is the Xiang Army.

Every time there is a big famine, the imperial court will take in the refugees, organize them into Xiangjun, distribute rations, and then use them to maintain local law and order or do some things like servants. In fact, to put it bluntly, the imperial court takes money to support them They, as long as they don't make trouble.

This is of course an excellent thing for local security.

But it is a huge burden on the court finances.

All kinds of violations of law and discipline and corruption surrounding the Xiang Army emerged endlessly.

Xiao Cheng cut the system clean with one blow.

There will be no more Xiangjun.

The new military recruitment law includes all people over the age of sixteen and under the age of forty into the scope of military service.

Do not smoke alone.

Take one out of three.

Five Dings draw two.

The selected Dingkou will go to a centralized place for unified military training within a few specified dates every month, and then according to the actual situation, the personnel in the base will be transferred to serve on the front line.

Just looking at the words, it seems that there is not much clue.

But as long as you take a closer look, there are too many meanings in it.

Everyone!

Naturally, some special groups such as scholars and officials' children were not included.

In the past, these people would not go to the army at all.

They even discriminate against soldiers as a profession and as a group.

Once a war breaks out, the poor will give birth to sons, the rich will give money, and politicians will give ideas.

But now under the new recruiting law, everyone has a son.

Moreover, rich families and powerful families believe in having many children and grandchildren, and it's not like they can't afford to support them, so they can live vigorously.

In the past, there were many births, that is to spread branches and leaves, that is to strengthen the strength of the family.

Now, it means that there will be a greater chance of being drawn into the army.

It doesn't matter to be a soldier in peacetime, but now, war is simply commonplace.

In the Battle of Xuzhou some time ago, thousands of imperial troops transferred from Jiangning participated in the finishing work of a war, and sent back dozens of small boxes to their families.

Although the imperial court tried its best to mourn and honor, the sadness and fear still shrouded the heads of the local people for a long time and refused to dissipate.

The south has been at peace for a long time, and they are already unfamiliar with war, and they are unwilling to participate, and they are not at all willing to participate in the Northern Expedition.

Conscripts like Gao Yingxiang and others in Xuzhou were mainly fleeing northerners.

However, Lu Wenhuan seized the opportunity to revive the two Jingsui armies in the water and land, but recruited proletarians, refugees, and light knights to join the army.

But in Xiao Cheng's recruiting method, only sons of good families are eligible to be drafted and to be a member of the army.

If this standard is used, the two armies that Lu Wenhuan has just established may not have many people left.

"Shoufu, why do you have to use Liangjiazi? Liangjiazi has a family, a mouth and property, so why is he willing to serve as a soldier?" Lu Wenhuan shook his head.

"Lu Shangshu, from now on, we must establish a concept. That is, serving as a soldier to defend the country is an honor, not just for a bite of food. I must get rid of the concept of being a soldier and eating food. Those who come to serve with this kind of thinking are not qualified soldiers!" Xiao Cheng said.

Lu Wenhuan couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to recruit soldiers like this!"

"I'm not discussing with them, but stipulating in the form of a decree that it is their obligation to become a soldier." Xiao Cheng walked two steps in the room and said. "As for why there are only Liangjiazi, I believe Yang Wanfu must have told you the reason here. The army composed of Liangjiazi is more disciplined and has more combat effectiveness. You can see this from the Jiangning garrison. The [-] Jiangning garrison troops all come from families above middle households on Yungui Road. Let’s compare the army you just formed. Let’s not talk about the combat effectiveness. We haven’t compared yet, so let’s compare the military discipline. Jiang Ning The garrison army has made great achievements in battle, but how did they perform in terms of military discipline?"

Lu Wenhuan was speechless.

Regarding the military discipline of the Jiangning garrison, Lu Wenhuan has been in the army for decades, and he has never seen such an army with strict military discipline.

Comparing military discipline with them, I have no place to put my old face.

Just this month, the Jingsui army beheaded two people and whipped dozens of people.

This is still unavoidable, and some are handled quietly in the army.

Lu Wenhuan has always been known for his strict military management, but he is strict, but those who violate military discipline have never stopped happening because of his strictness.

This is in stark contrast to the Jiangning garrison.

"Lu Shangshu, on the battlefield, the troops coming out from Yunnan and Guizhou are absolutely prohibited. If the superior did not give the order to retreat, even if they died, the soldiers would not take a step back. Do you know why?"

"Because they have families and mouths."

"Yes, if you violate military discipline and disobey orders on the battlefield, even if he dies, we will still hold his family accountable. Therefore, on the battlefield, our army has always marched forward bravely." Xiao Cheng said. "As for those rogue proletarians, if one person is full and the whole family is not hungry, if they commit a crime, they will look bad, and they will run away with a slap on the buttocks. Big things have been broken because of them."

"I can accept this point." Lu Wenhuan said: "But the chief assistant, this requires scholars to also serve in the military. I'm afraid it's not good?"

"Why can't scholars serve in the army, can't be soldiers?"

"It's an insult to gentleness!" Lu Wenhuan said, "Especially those scholars who have achieved fame will not accept this."

"Mountains and rivers are in ruins, crowns and left lapels, how can there be a place for desks? The rise and fall of a country is everyone's responsibility, and scholars also need gold and iron horses!" Xiao Cheng said coldly.

Hearing these few words, Lu Wenhuan looked a little excited, thought for a moment, and bowed to the ground, "It's because I'm not thinking too much, I'm going down now, and I'll polish and make up the details of the art of recruiting, and then please The first assistant has a look."

"Hurry up, the announcement will be made after the Chinese New Year, and after the spring plowing, the first batch of training camps will begin." Xiao Cheng said: "Time waits for us, and the Liao people will not give us too much time."

Watching Lu Wenhuan leave in a hurry, Xiao Cheng stood there for a long time.

The implementation of the Art of Recruitment will inevitably usher in a storm, and he is prepared for this.

(End of this chapter)