Fu Song

Chapter 706 Protrusion

Zhang Renguan served as the deputy commander, and he had six battalions with more than [-] people.In the past, this was the number of soldiers and horses that a commander could lead, and under the command of a deputy commander, there were usually several commanders, who could command tens of thousands or even more soldiers.

But in the Jiangning New Song Dynasty, this number has shrunk greatly.

Through military reforms and the official implementation of the Recruitment Law, the Xiang Army was completely abolished, and the army size of the New Song Dynasty was greatly reduced.

During the Song Dynasty, there were 80 forbidden troops, and millions of Xiang troops.

Now, the total number of forbidden troops is less than 30.

Among them, 20 people were deployed on the front line of the confrontation with the Liao State and its vassal states.

Although the number of people has decreased, the combat effectiveness has risen sharply.

From Xiao Cheng's point of view, the current new army may not be as good as the Guangrui army under the command of the big country, but it is also enough to reach the level of the Hebei frontier army.

And all the Hebei Frontier Army added up, but only about 5 people.

As for the Fourth Army around the capital, it is said that elites from all over the country were mobilized, but it is really not flattering to fight. Multiple infantry can see the gap between them.

So in Xiao Cheng's view, the combat effectiveness of the current 30 new army has already surpassed the combat effectiveness of the entire old Song Dynasty.

What's more, there are many new weapons.

There are fewer troops, but spending on them hasn't.

In the past, the military expenses that Lao Song used to support 80 forbidden troops and millions of Xiang troops were now being used by Xiao Cheng on the new army.

In addition to military noon, various allowances, rewards, etc., a large amount of funds have been used in the training and equipment of the army, which has further improved the combat effectiveness of this army.

It is one of Xiao Cheng's principles in governing the army to be more refined than to be indiscriminate.

At critical moments, a shoddy army will not only fail to save lives, but may even cause major disasters.

It's better to remove all these unsafe ones, so that there is at least one benefit, and you know it well.

On the whole, it seems that the military expenditure has not been reduced, but if it is calculated from the overall situation, the Xin Song Dynasty is actually still saving a lot on top of many hidden expenses.

For example, the logistics supply system of the army.

Because of the significant reduction in the army, the logistics supply system has also been considerably reduced. In this era of people carrying oxen and horses, providing logistics supplies for millions of people and providing logistics supplies for 30 people are completely two concepts.

Especially in times of war, this gap will be more obvious.

What used to take 100 million people to complete, now 30 people are more than enough.

So overall, it still saves a lot of money.

Of course, the old-school officials headed by Si Junchao worried that there would be accidents if the army was too small, and that they would not be able to withstand the attack of the Liao people. They could only test it in the next battle.

In the past, millions of Xiangjun were raised, which was a means of the old court to prevent the people from becoming refugees and disasters. To put it bluntly, the court used money to support these people, and then the officials turned these Xiangjun into their own money-making Tools or people, anyway, are supported by the court, and they don't even have to pay wages.

But now, these young and strong people are no longer the ones who consume money and food, but become the ones who create wealth.

More workshops need more workers, more farms need more workers, more land needs to be cultivated by more people, and more caravans need more people to fill.

Between this entry and exit, another huge fortune was created.

Even the old-school officials, even Xiao Cheng's opponents, have benefited greatly from these reforms. Now these people have basically changed their concepts.

In other words, what they opposed was Xiao Cheng.

Instead of opposing these changes brought about by Xiao Cheng, this policy was implemented.

Except for a very small number of people, the vast majority of people have benefited from this reform process.

Even if Xiao Chengzhen stepped down one day, the policies he implemented would still be carried out.

And this is exactly what Xiao Cheng dreamed of.

The matter of people's death and political interest is unacceptable.

A long-term policy that can be continued, a long-term plan that can be implemented persistently, is really important to the long-term development of a country.

So even Si Junchao and Liu Mingyi, Xiao Cheng's political opponents, even though they were kicked out by Xiao Cheng, still retained their political treatment, and they still had a certain say in the major decision-making process.

Even when they speak, more often they voice objections or doubts.

This actually made people in Xiao Cheng's camp very unhappy.

But Xiao Cheng remained calm.

There are voices of opposition and doubt, so that we can make things more perfect and better.

If it really becomes a voice, and no one speaks out if there are shortcomings, mistakes and omissions, then by the time these shortcomings, mistakes and omissions appear, it may have caused a major crisis.

The presence of opponents is necessary.

Moreover, maybe at some point in the future, we will also become opponents!

We also need to give ourselves the opportunity to make a voice in the future!

Therefore, when we enforce the rules now, we must turn them into conventions and principles.

Because we have the heart and the capacity to accommodate opponents.

We also have the ability to solve the problems raised by the opponents one by one.

Only a guy with a guilty conscience and insufficient ability will obliterate all different voices.

Xiao Mou disdained to do this matter.

This is what Xiao Cheng said to his loyal subordinates.

These words finally reached the ears of Si Junchao and others.

It is said that after hearing these words, Si Junchao let out a long sigh, said that I am far inferior to Xiao Chongwen, and then got very drunk. problem.

These things, even for Zhang Ren, it is difficult to understand the meaning contained in them for a while.

He is now leading more than [-] people to garrison Yongqiu, which is the most advanced position in the entire Song army. It can be said that he directly penetrates the core area of ​​​​the puppet Zhao, and is very close to Tokyo.

In the event of a war, Yongqiu must bear the brunt.

Jiangning judged that the large-scale conflict with the Liao Kingdom should be after October, because at this time, the Yellow River was frozen, and a large number of troops and materials from the Liao Kingdom would cross the Yellow River more conveniently and quickly.

But for Yongqiu, this time point must be greatly advanced.

Their protruding parts are naturally a thorn in the opponent's side, a thorn in the flesh, how could they not be pulled out first before launching a large-scale attack?
Of course, the main force of the Liao people has not yet arrived, and it will be the servants of the Liao Kingdom who will complete this work.

For example, Song Wang Zhao Suo and Zhao Wang Quzhen who are in Tokyo now.

After Zhao Suo returned to Tokyo, he used his identity to recruit tens of thousands of troops.Among them are the private armies of the wealthy gentry families on the ground in Henan. The combat effectiveness of these armies is really not low.

Zhang Ren's army belonged to the Baiyu Army, and now the Baiyu Army was assigned to the Central Xingyuan Command, which meant that Wei Wu was now Wang Zhu's subordinate.

But because Wei Wu's White Feather Army is farther away from the central Xingyuan, it is closer to the eastern Xingyuan. In fact, Wei Wu has become a connecting hub between the two Xingyuan.

The imperial court wanted to build the Jingxiang theater and the Jianghuai theater into a war complex. For this reason, Lu Wenhuan, Minister of the Ministry of War, was appointed as the general manager to command and coordinate several theaters.

With the buffer and connection between Wei and Wu, the unified action between the two armies can be better coordinated.

Zhang Ren's deployment of 3000 people is quite luxurious. His deputy, commander Ren Zhong, was born in the Hebei Frontier Army. Just to save himself, this person is actually better than Zhang Yiyi in terms of experience and qualifications.

However, it is also because of his background that there are inevitably some obstacles on the road to promotion.

As for Zhang Ren, he is the person supported by the chief assistant, and he is the son-in-law of a veteran of the White Feather Army. Of course, Zhang Ren will receive more care in the White Feather Army composed of Guangxi veterans as the backbone.

From a soldier to deputy commander, Zhang Ren took less than five years.

Although it is said that in the army, promotion and dismissal are very fast, but this speed is still very scary.

But Ren Zhong is at ease.

First of all, he has a lot of experience.Every time he thinks of the hundreds of his own robes that died on the banks of the Yellow River, Ren Zhong feels that if he is still alive, he is already blessed by heaven, so there is nothing to fight for.

Second, Zhang Ren knows how to be a man. As a general with both civil and military skills, Zhang Ren has done a very good job in wooing people. He is reserved and restrained, making the people who are wooed feel very comfortable.As for Ren Zhong, he really only followed Zhang Ren's tricks.

So the two formed a team to make this team of more than [-] people flourish and harmonious.

Of course, there is another key person in this team, military judge Wu Zheng, a pure Guangxi native, a veteran of the Baiyu Army.

He is in charge of military law and discipline as well as logistics.Of course, according to private gossip, this person is still a member of Zhiqiu Academy.But this can't be brought to the table, it can only be guessed.

"I couldn't get some bronze cannons!" Ren Zhong felt a little regretful. "We have more than ten oak wood cannons here. Each cannon can be used for two or three shots at most, and then it will be useless."

"It's just some consumables. If it's useless, it's useless. Old Ren, think about it. Those bronze cannons are so heavy, and any one of them weighs several thousand catties. You said that you worked hard to get them here, and wait for us to retreat. What should I do when the time comes? Can I take it away?" Zhang Yiren spread his hands and said.

"Why do we have to withdraw? It's not like we can't beat them!" Ren Zhong was a little dissatisfied, and so was Wu Zheng.The two old soldiers couldn't figure out why the above was such a strategy.

"I just said that you can't let Lu Shangshu be the general manager. It should be the chief assistant himself. Look at this Lu Shangshu, just come on stage!" Wu Zheng couldn't get used to Lu Wenhuan, Minister of the Ministry of War.

"You have really misunderstood Lu Shangshu." Zhang Ren shook his head: "Such a major strategy, if the chief minister does not approve, Lu Shangshu dare to do it? Without the approval of the chief minister, General Wang, General Wei, General Gao agree?"

"I can't figure this out! It must be Lu Wenhuan who confuses the first assistant!" Wu Zheng didn't want to blame Xiao Cheng, so he could only vent his anger on Lu Wenhuan.

"We are too forward." Zhang Rendao: "It's like a sharp knife stuck in the enemy's heart, and the opponent must get rid of it quickly. At that time, we may not only face the army in the direction of Kaifeng, maybe There is also the direction of Jingdong. Even if we can win the battle, what about facing the main force of the Liao army? At that time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to retreat. How can thousands of good men make unnecessary sacrifices? Put it in a more critical place."

"That's what I said, but it's always uncomfortable!" Ren Zhong said: "My superiors also said this to me back then."

"Che, people like Xia Zhiyan can compare with our chief assistant!" Zhang Ren said disdainfully.Xia Jie, the chief assistant when the old Song Dynasty in Tokyo fell, felt ashamed to meet his ancestors and committed suicide after cutting off his face when the emperor came out.

But even if he died, the current Shilin Qingyi did not let him and Chen Gui go.

A common argument is that because the two military and political leaders did not play their due role at that time, the old Song Dynasty in Tokyo was destroyed, the emperor surrendered, and the Song Dynasty almost perished. These two should bear more than half of the responsibility.

"The county magistrate of Yongqiu just took office, and that young man is ambitious to start a career! As a result, he is about to organize the people of Yongqiu to retreat, I'm afraid he can't accept it." Ren Zhong said: "I can't tell After he receives the news, he will rush to us and make a fuss!"

"He dares!" Zhang Ren snorted coldly: "Now is not the past. If he dared to rush into the barracks, I dared to take him. His superiors will give him orders. If he is sensible, we can help him." Let them organize the retreat, if they really have nothing nice to say to us, I'm sorry, but we can't help you."

A few people were talking, but the soldiers outside came in, saying that it was the county magistrate of Yongqiu who was visiting.

Zhang Ren couldn't help laughing.

"It seems that he is a sensible person. He knows that if he wants to retreat as quickly as possible, he cannot do without our help. He has taken a fancy to the large animals and carriages in our army."

"Maybe we need to play red faces!" Wu Zheng said angrily, "He, the county magistrate, wants to be a good official who loves the people like a son, and the villains who forced everyone to retreat just happened to fall on us big soldiers."

"As long as the people can retreat and reduce losses, the wicked will be the wicked, and that's fine!" Ren Zhong said with a smile: "Brother Wu doesn't want to do it, so I will do it."

"It's better for someone like me to do such a thing." Wu Zheng said, "If he doesn't bow to me and say something nice to me today, I will definitely not help him!"

All three laughed.

"Go, go meet him!" Zhang Ren said.

(End of this chapter)