I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 263 Self-destruction can protect oneself, but it is difficult to end well if one strives hard. The dilemma of the warriors of the Song Dynasty

Military camp on the outskirts of the city.

In the battlefield, dust is flying.

Five hundred tall and powerful cavalry resumed their formation after a charging drill.

Wei Ze, the guard's protagonist and the horse army's captain, looked at Su Liang and asked, "Su Yushi, how are you doing?"

Su Liang thought for a while and asked, "Where did these soldiers come from?"

"They are all imperial guards of the imperial palace, including the Banzhi subordinates of the Palace Front Division, the Kuanyi Tianwu Military Officer, and the Imperial City Division's personal attendants, etc."

The soldiers of Su Wei Palace are known as the strongest elites of the Forbidden Army.

They do not participate in wars, do no labor service, and do not take turns guarding foreign lands. Their salary and treatment are the first among all soldiers.

But these legendary "elites" now disappoint Su Liang.

It looks like there are too many goods.

Although there are people who are skilled in martial arts, they have no fighting spirit and bloodiness. If put on the battlefield, they would probably be useless.

The heavy cavalry should charge into battle, not stand in front of the palace and act as a facade.

Being tall, handsome, and lining up well is of no use at all.

Su Liang thought: Maybe because these soldiers often served as ceremonial soldiers, their drills tended to be performative and lost their blood. Maybe other types of soldiers would be better.

"I'll go take a look at other barracks!" Su Liang said to Wei Ze.

Wei Ze smiled.

"Yes. When selecting the emperor's personal soldiers for the official family, one must be very careful. The general will accompany you throughout the whole process."

……

Afterwards, Wei Ze took Su Liang and Cao Hu to another military camp.

This time.

Su Liang no longer asked the soldiers to gather for drills, but just observed their daily training.

The Central Forbidden Army of the Song Dynasty trained in the morning and evening, and had a rest every ten days.

The training content is mainly divided into four items, namely: formation formation, military theory, tactical training, and martial arts training.

Among them, the formation queue takes up the most time.

It is necessary to assemble, line up, march, run, etc. under the orders of different flags and drums.

Su Liang felt drowsy after watching it.

In his eyes, these cannot be called array drills, they can only be called performances.

Everyone is above the passing mark.

But there are few outstanding ones.

In other words, they could pass the Privy Council's inspection and avoid being demoted, but they were not considered good soldiers in Su Liang's eyes.

It's almost dusk.

The three of them visited four barracks.

Su Liang had never found the feeling in his heart.

Su Liang told Wei Ze that he and Cao Hu could just go and make the selection next, without Wei Ze accompanying him.

Wei Ze agreed immediately.

Afterwards, Su Liang and Cao Hu returned to the city.

……

Early the next morning.

Su Liang and Cao Hu started walking around various military camps.

Su Liang planned to spend three days visiting all the military camps around Bianjing City to take a good look at the style of the Central Forbidden Army.

……

these three days.

Su Liang's mood became lower and lower.

He saw the soldiers of the Forbidden Army who beat Taizu's long fist, which had once made barbarians everywhere frightened, into a five-animal sport.

I met a middle-level military general who was busy buying real estate, helping his family open shops, and doing business while training.

I met lower-level soldiers who were sent out by their superiors to run errands, chop down trees, carry sedan chairs, and even do needlework and embroidery.

I also saw a veteran who was busy ringing the clock for a day, busy marrying a tall wife, and then allowing his son to continue to be a first-class soldier and eat food.

I also met Fang Yazi, Cha Yazi, Jiu Yazi, and soldiers who were prosperous in the shopping mall and kept their names anonymous.

……

It’s surprising that such a Song Dynasty imperial army can win battles!

There are more than 100,000 imperial soldiers in Suwei Bianjing City.

From top to bottom, everything is very low-key.

Compared with the scholar-bureaucrats and officials who are squeezing their heads to climb up all day long, they have no sense of existence at all.

In the past, Su Liang only saw the superficial state of the Forbidden Army, but now after further investigation, he discovered that it was actually so unbearable.

What's more serious is——

Because there has been no war for a long time, their thinking has been completely solidified.

They regard being a soldier as a profession to make a living.

Pointing, training, and practicing martial arts are not for the purpose of going into battle to kill the enemy, but for the purpose of earning monthly money.

They have no will to fight, no courage and courage to fight for the country and the people.

Su Liang did not blame these Forbidden Army soldiers and officers.

This was caused by the military system of the Song Dynasty and the rules and regulations set by the literati in charge of the army.

In order to avoid political chaos in the feudal town, to prevent soldiers from rebelling, and to prevent the "Chenqiao Mutiny" from happening.

As long as the soldiers stay calm and don't cause trouble.

The imperial court allowed them to seek personal gain and enjoy comfort, turning a blind eye to many things and closing one eye.

This top-down thinking forced the tiger and wolf divisions from the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China to be trained into groups of little sheep.

The Central Forbidden Army is so bad.

The strength of the Xiang army composed of bandits and refugees below can be imagined.

……

Near dusk, inside a mutton soup restaurant.

Su Liang finished the last mouthful of mutton soup, raised his head and said to Cao Hu across from him: "I am not going to look for heavy cavalry candidates among the Forbidden Army soldiers anymore, I am going to recruit new soldiers from the common people!"

Su Liang looked determined and completely gave up on choosing from the Forbidden Army.

"what?"

Cao Hu was a little dazed, and after thinking for a while he said, "My lord, can't all the soldiers of the Forbidden Army satisfy you?"

Su Liang nodded and gave three reasons. "Too old, with fixed ideas and no talent."

At present, the average age of the soldiers of the Forbidden Army is over twenty-eight years old. If they are recruited as heavy cavalry, they will be eliminated in five years at most, which is very uneconomical.

As for rigid thinking and lack of talent, it is even more of a flaw and will be difficult to cultivate.

Cao Hu was a little dumbfounded and said: "But...but...these are already the best soldiers of our Song Dynasty!"

Cao Hu serves as a member of the Forbidden Army.

He also knew that the Forbidden Army had many disadvantages, but he also knew that this was caused by the military system of the Song Dynasty and could not be changed at all.

"Yes, they are already the best soldiers in the Song Dynasty!" Su Liang looked at the sunset in the distance, feeling a little depressed.

The best soldiers of the Song Dynasty are no longer able to take the stage. This is the most sad thing.

"It seems that we can only place our hope on the next generation!"

Su Liang calmed down and said: "I don't choose heavy cavalry in the imperial army. I have to explain it to Duke Cao. Come with me to Cao Mansion tonight!"

"Okay." Cao Hu nodded.

……

into the night.

Su Liang and Cao Hu arrived at Cao Mansion in a carriage.

The Cao family is the number one general family in the Song Dynasty today.

At that time, Cao Cong's father, Cao Bin, destroyed two countries in succession and made great contributions to Emperor Taizu's efforts to pacify the world.

Now, the daughter of the Cao family is honored as a queen and has given birth to the eldest son of the official family.

No one’s favor can compare to that of the Cao family!

However, the Cao family is very low-key.

As the commander-in-chief and deputy-duty commander of the bodyguard and pro-army horse forces, Cao Cong rarely speaks out.

He would do whatever the two governments asked him to do.

Because of the "Chenqiao Mutiny", the generals of the Song Dynasty kept a low profile and were humble, for fear of getting into trouble.

As relatives, the Cao family is even more low-key.

……

After a while.

Cao Hu led Su Liang to Cao Cong's study and went outside.

Cao Cong was in his sixties, but his face was rosy and his body was not overweight. His appearance was similar to that of Cao Yi.

Su Liang entered the study room.

Cao Cong then greeted with a smile: "My dear nephew, sit down quickly, the tea has just been brewed!"

Su Liang and Cao Cong called him brothers. They came to Cao Mansion to pay New Year's greetings the year before last, and Cao Cong kept calling him "nephew."

After Su Liang sat down, he tasted tea first, and then chatted with Cao Cong for a few words.

Judging from the layout of the study alone, it is impossible to tell that Cao Cong was a military commander.

The house is filled with Buddhist scriptures.

It is hard to imagine that the dignified military commander of the Song Dynasty actually believed in Buddhism. He often fasted and chanted Buddha's name. He was pure in heart and had few desires. He gave people the impression that he had no desires and no pursuits.

After drinking two cups of tea.

Cao Cong smiled and said: "Cao Hu said that you need to recruit new soldiers as heavy cavalry candidates."

Su Liang nodded.

"I have chosen a few days, but I still think it is easier to train new recruits. Thank you, Mr. Cao, for your help!"

"Ugh!"

Cao Cong let out a long sigh and said, "Not only do you dislike these emperor's guards, I also dislike them, but what can I do?"

Su Liang heard Cao Cong's helplessness and couldn't help but said: "Mr. Cao, the Privy Council's military training system is not good. You can ask the officials!"

Cao Cong shook his head.

"The three yamen are only responsible for training troops and have no other responsibilities. This is the ancestral system."

Seeing Cao Cong's attitude of "not seeking merit, but seeking no faults", Su Liang couldn't help but said: "If soldiers can't fight, how can we strengthen the country? How can we regain the sixteen states of Yanyun? How can we protect ourselves from the intrusion of party members?" "

Cao Cong shook his head again, stood up and walked to the bookshelf not far away.

"Jingming, the bookshelves on these bookshelves are all Buddhist scriptures copied by me. It would have taken three to five years to reach such a scale. Do you think my hobby is copying Buddhist scriptures?"

"It's just for outsiders to see!"

"Besides, you see those soldiers who are addicted to wine, sex and wealth. Do you think they don't want to make progress? Most of them are forced to do nothing!"

"Some people would rather gain a lot of notoriety than be praised as a 'good general in the world'! In the Song Dynasty, we worshiped civility and suppressed martial arts, and there were lessons learned from military changes. It was not that the soldiers were unwilling to forge ahead, but that they could protect themselves by desecrating themselves. But it’s hard to make progress without a happy ending!”

Self-destruction can protect oneself, but it is difficult to end well if one strives hard.

After hearing this, Su Liangquan understood.

This is the fundamental reason why the imperial army of the Song Dynasty cannot fight.

Military generals are too afraid of being suspected by today's officials and scholar-bureaucrats.

If they don't think about making progress every day, eating, drinking and having fun, they will be punished at most. If they perform too outstandingly and are much better than the officials of the Privy Council, they will be easily suspected.

In such an official atmosphere.

Over time, the warriors lost their spirit and pursuit.

In the Song Dynasty, no one would choose to be a soldier if they had the chance to gain merit.

This is the current dilemma of warriors.

The ancestral laws of the Song Dynasty suppressed the growth of all warriors.

The advantage of this is that it is difficult for the Song Dynasty to have military chaos. The disadvantage of this is that it is difficult for the Song Dynasty to develop elite soldiers and generals.

Especially in Bianjing City.

If a military general performs too well, even if the officials don't mind, some scholar-bureaucrats will try their best to cause trouble for him.

A warrior can only obey a scholar.

Just implement it strictly when something happens, no need to have personal ideas.

Gradually, the soldiers from top to bottom began to lie down and lay in pieces.

If you can pass all training content, you will never pursue excellence.

Unable to advance their official career, many people put their minds on other things.

In the end, a large area of ​​the bottom layer rotted away, and countless warriors no longer had the spirit and fighting spirit.

And batches of young warriors will also be affected by this and become the same people as their predecessors.

Cao Cong said again: "Jingming, I am so bold in telling you these contradictory words. Actually, I want you to take advantage of the opportunity of the reform to help a group of soldiers of the Song Dynasty. If you want to strengthen the army, you must Improving the status of soldiers will at least allow them to raise their heads and conduct themselves among literati and scholars."

Su Liang's face was deep, this is too difficult!

Unless a famous military general can achieve great achievements and then become a Privy Councilor, this situation can be slowly reversed.

(End of this chapter)