Volume 4 Chapter 18 Mulberry Forest
Zhao Jiu did what he said. After the three of them had a meal, they went directly to the mulberry forest on the bank of the fish pond to discuss matters related to the two armies.
"I am willing to write a document signed by me to the emperor. After I return, there , and there will be no more encroachment on military farms. Soldiers must train every ten days and receive full military pay... As for military supplies, weapons, and personnel, please forgive me. I can only promise that I will not cause trouble for you again, but it is difficult for the generals below to really control them one by one." After a brief conversation, Zhang Jun, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp Right Army, pointed to the sky and drew a line on the ground, almost swearing an oath by the fish pond. "I really don't know how to control them."
"Forget about the paperwork. I still trust Mr. Zhang's words."
Zhao Jiu waved his hand from a distance, stopping the dozen or so eunuchs who were busy in the mulberry forest from coming to greet him. These people were pulling out some of the mulberry trees that had not survived, and then continued to transplant new mulberry trees. "Everyone in the world says that you are a money-minded person, but I knew in the past on Huai River that you are a person who understands the true gains and losses, and a person who dares to risk everything at the critical moment... I am willing to believe your words! As for the following matters, they are the accumulated problems in the army of this dynasty that have lasted for more than a hundred years. I also understand your difficulties. For this kind of things, I will be thankful if you can do as well as Han Liangchen."
Zhang Jun was completely relieved, and he bowed in the mulberry forest: "Your Majesty, there is nothing surprising about Han Shizhong's military command. I will definitely be able to do it."
Zhao Jiu shook his head and laughed, "I also know that Han Liangchen's command of the army is nothing special, but he himself is really special... Boying, ask yourself, can you fight against his magic weapons? After a few rounds, one is the governor of three towns and a prince, and the other is the governor of two towns. The gap has been completely opened."
Zhang Boying hesitated to speak.
"But don't be anxious." Zhao Jiu stopped under a mulberry tree and turned around to face him. "When Han Shizhong's subordinates rebelled, I went to his camp to see him and made things clear. I will make it clear to you today... You people follow me, the first thing is to revive the Song Dynasty and destroy the Jin Dynasty. If you succeed, you will succeed. If you fail, you will fail. If you really succeed one day, the world is so big that I can always support ten county kings. And for people like you who understand the pros and cons, whether you want to accumulate wealth during your lifetime or to have children after your death, I can always deal with it... The key is that we have been through so much as the monarch and the ministers. Who wants what? Why not speak frankly like today? What you want with me, I can naturally give you."
After hearing this, Zhang Jun was completely calm. He bowed his head again under the mulberry tree and expressed his loyalty again and again.
Zhao Jiu had always been impatient with this, and he became impatient after just two sentences. He just called the other party up, and then looked directly at Wu Jie, who had really gained some experience today:
"Jin Qing... your situation is different from Boying's."
"I saved it." Wu Jinqing, a brave and resourceful general, was involved in the situation when he first came to the capital. He was confused for half a day, but after half a day, he understood everything he should know, so he hurried forward and bowed. "The problem with the rear army of the imperial camp is caused by the shortcomings of the Western Army... The emperor was in Guanxi before, and under his divine power, he cut the army, reorganized, and granted land, and everyone was obedient. But as soon as the emperor left, it can be seen from the fact that the depreciation money expenditure was much higher than that of the other armies that they were directly intending to return to their old ways, and I am incompetent and can't stop it."
Zhao Jiu stood under the mulberry tree with his hands behind his back, nodded at first, but then fell into a strange silence. The spring wind was strong, and in the silence, a gust of wind blew from nowhere, the insects stopped chirping for a while, and then the mulberry tree swayed continuously, and even the green grass under his feet swayed with the waves of the fish pond.
Seeing this, Wu Jie couldn't help but feel a little panicked, so much so that Zhang Jun, who had just passed the test, seemed to be gloating.
In fact, Wu Jie could not be blamed for this; of course he was terrified.
Because no matter how approachable this official behaves, no matter how frank and open-hearted he is, he is still an official, an emperor, a son of heaven, and a son of heaven with such authority... The power of life and death is just a matter of words.
At least Wu Jinqing couldn't think of any room for resistance.
After this gust of wind blew, Emperor Zhao finally spoke, but Wu Jie's heart sank to the bottom of the fish pond as soon as he spoke: "I think that the rear army of the imperial camp is not so much in disrepair and bad condition, but rather that the feudal lords' habits are hard to change, and they want to return to the feudal lord system of the past."
The word "feudal vassal" is not a groundbreaking term. During the reign of Li Gang, it was once regarded as a national policy. At that time, there were governors and pacification envoys everywhere, and the main commanders usually had to serve as local envoys, and then raise their own military pay and recruit their own soldiers.
Moreover, it has to be admitted that such measures were absolutely correct at the time. It gave the Song Dynasty court, which was in exile and had only 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers, a chance to catch its breath and develop multiple field battle groups, providing the most basic military force for the defense and foothold of the later Zhao Song court.
Han Shizhong's Imperial Camp Left Army, Zhang Jun's Imperial Camp Right Army, Yue Fei's Imperial Camp Front Army, Zhang Rong's Imperial Camp Navy, all relied on their own territories and their own revenues to support themselves in the early stage. Li Yanxian's troops maintained the only salient on the north bank of the Yellow River, and have been in charge of both military and political affairs until now... Even the Imperial Camp Central Army directly controlled by Zhao Jiu, more than half of them were diverted from those early "feudal towns".
At that stage, these generals collected taxes, recruited soldiers, and built their own workshops to manufacture military equipment... This is how Han Shizhong's elite troops got their iconic bronze masks, and it was also at that time that Zhang Jun was reluctant to spend money on his soldiers, earning him the mocking nickname of "Iron Face".
At that time, these generals even appointed their own officials and generals, and only reported to the court as a routine matter.
But the problem is, that was in the past.
After the victory at Yanling, Emperor Zhao returned to the old capital. The first thing he did was to gather the generals from various departments and then absorb the troops of the Tokyo Garrison left by Zong Ze. Then, when the finances were a little better, he set about reorganizing the Imperial Camp Army and was willing to increase taxes and levies, as well as to remove staff from various departments of the Imperial Camp, thus taking back the financial power of each department.
From then on, the military salaries of each department had to be allocated from the central government.
Moreover, this process of consolidating power with the return to Tokyo as the turning point was continuous and gradual. After the military pay, the right of local officials to station soldiers was withdrawn, the army in the imperial camp was continuously strengthened, Han Shizhong's conscription caused public resentment and was reprimanded, Yue Fei demanded the most military equipment and was impeached by Li Guang and Li Jing, Qu Duan, the most domineering general, was escorted to the court by an imperial censor, Wang Xie, the scum, was executed at a banquet, and even Zhang Rong's group of pirates were reorganized after the Battle of Dongping Prefecture.
Finally, after the Battle of Yaoshan, even the last Western Army was reorganized into the Imperial Camp system, and the court also granted land to retired and meritorious soldiers in Guanxi and Henan.
Even now, after Han Shizhong moved to Guanxi, the areas in Huaixi were also undergoing similar reorganization under the direct responsibility of Liu Ji.
This central government is never idle for a single day.
So, when all the troops are de-feuding, what does it mean when the emperor says that your troops actually want to return to the feudal system?
"I have received great grace from your Majesty, but I have absolutely no such intention!" Wu Jie was in a daze for a moment and could only bow reluctantly, but his slightly trembling voice clearly showed that he was already a little flustered and out of control at this moment.
At this time, Zhang Jun no longer had the intention of gloating as before. He just stood there in silence, looking coldly at the old acquaintance of the Western Army.
"I'm not talking about you, but the Western Army is a vassal state." Zhao Jiu certainly wouldn't let the other party misunderstand him. "And, I probably know that because of our dynasty's policy of defending the interior and weakening the exterior, the Western Army has always appeared docile, not as rebellious as the vassal states of the Five Dynasties and the Remains of the Tang Dynasty... But in fact, in terms of internal systems, in my opinion, the Western Army is still a real vassal state, otherwise why would it have all kinds of vassal methods?"
Speaking of which, both Wu Jie and Zhang Jun were veterans of the Western Army. Even though what Emperor Zhao said was a bit awkward and far-fetched, the two of them instinctively understood it because they knew in their hearts what the vassal methods Emperor Zhao was talking about.
For example.
Thanks to the Song Dynasty's long-standing military and political guiding ideology, that is, the so-called military logic of defending the interior and weakening the exterior, in theory and in practice, any Zhao Song official and the court core, or even the military supervisor sent by the court, could easily gain command of the Western Army or directly appoint and dismiss relevant major generals as long as they wanted.
Even the so-called Western Army generals never dared to be overly domineering towards the court. As long as the central government wanted, they could easily use legal means to complete the rise and fall of these generals... When the Song Dynasty was at its weakest, Zhao Jiu could still chop off the head of Liu Guangshi, who had the merit of supporting the enthronement, and freeze it into an ice lump. However, Qu Duan, the only one who showed a domineering face to Emperor Zhao, was not from a legitimate high-level general family, and was easily tied up by his subordinates and sent to Tokyo.
But the irony is that you can easily replace these generals, execute or punish related generals, idle or abandon certain families, and even directly send your confidants from the center to replace them, but there is always a concept of "Western Army Generals".
Typically, when one leaves, another comes, and when one batch leaves, another quickly rises.
Not only that, Zhang and Wu both climbed up from the bottom. They knew very well that this phenomenon was not only seen among the top generals, but also among the middle and bottom levels of the Western Army, which had also formed a unique, strange, yet extremely stable internal mechanism:
It is said that you are a ruffian from Yan'an Prefecture, he is a foreigner from the village near Huanqing Road, this one is a good family boy from Huanqing Road, and that one is a branch of a fallen general's family; you have been in the army for fifteen years, his benefactor has become a governor of a region, and an old friend of this family is suddenly punished by the court, and how much money did that man spend... Everyone has their own traditions and sayings.
At the top are military families based mainly on family inheritance, and below are factions and hierarchies formed based on regional origin. Finally, when combined together, they form a complex military and political interest group with a strong sense of exclusivity and self-survival.
This type of military and political group, even if it is not considered a vassal state on the surface, is actually no different from a vassal state in terms of its internal structure and final performance... Once on the battlefield, preserving its own strength is the first priority, gaining merit is the second, and getting rewards is the third. So of course, its combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
"If the emperor says so, it actually makes sense." Although he was sure that it was not directed at him, Wu Jie was still cautious when talking about this topic, because everyone could see that Wu had the potential to become a great general in Guanxi. "But how should we deal with it?"
Under the mulberry tree, Zhao Jiu also raised his head and frowned: "In fact, I have thought about this for a long time. The army is a natural system. It is impossible to completely eliminate the ills by relying on military discipline and punishment... But there are some key points. First, it is the most important thing to prevent soldiers from working, farming, or doing business, that is, not touching other money except for state rewards and salaries... For example, before Jingkang, the Hebei Imperial Army was well-known for its developed handicraft industry and could make money for its commander. Is this a good thing?"
Zhang Jun and Wu Jie looked at each other but neither of them interrupted.
"I know what you mean... It's not possible right now, because the national finances are still a little insufficient, and your workshops and military settlements are not easy to take away; and in the future, we will have to march north, and we may have to continue to cultivate land and cultivate land, which is not appropriate." Zhao Jiu knew what they were thinking, so he spoke frankly. "So, this matter should be put off until the world is pacified, and it has nothing to do with you. I am just saying it now."
Zhang and Wu then bowed and agreed.
"If there is one, there must be another." Zhao Jiu turned and walked deeper into the mulberry forest, continuing to speak with his hands behind his back. "Secondly, I think that the promotion of military officers cannot be fundamentally controlled by the court, which is also a big problem... If we can imitate the three-house system of the Imperial College and organize a military academy, it will also be divided into three levels. Then, not only those who want to be generals will come to my side to be a military academy, but those who are promoted to generals will also come to study for a year, and those who are promoted to colonels will also come to study for a year. It would be best if young men who want to join the army can directly come to the military academy to take the entrance exam, and go out to join the army after three or five years of adulthood. It is not a problem to start with a higher starting point."
"Your Majesty's plan is really brilliant!" Wu Jie is a man who is recognized as a reader. He listened to it very well this time and couldn't wait to praise it directly. "If this is done, all officers will be eager to study and naturally be better than ordinary officers... And your previous admission into the army as a Jinshi is actually a prelude."
"It's not just that." Seeing Wu Jie suddenly flattering him, Zhang Jun couldn't bear it, and hurriedly followed the angle behind him. "When the officers leave the academy, they can also take the palace examination and rank them. In this way, wouldn't all the officers in the world become disciples of the emperor like the Jinshi? If they become disciples of the emperor, who would privately form cliques and curry favor with the generals?"
Zhao Jiu was not happy but worried when he heard this. He sighed directly, "That's true, but I don't have the money and time... If we don't go north, according to the current financial situation, it will take three to five years to have enough money to implement these things one by one. How can we wait for three to five years before going north? Once we go north, not to mention that it will be difficult to transfer officers, even the money will be spent like water. What will we use to build a military school?"
The two of them shut up immediately.
"Moreover, the Jinshi joining the army and the officers going to school are two different things..." Zhao Jiu chattered in front, shaking his head. "The Jinshi joining the army is not to train officers, but to let them convey the country and my will to the army, and directly tell the soldiers what I want to say, such as the recent article in the court newspaper about the unification of China. After understanding this truth, the soldiers will naturally know that fighting the Jin people is necessary... In addition, make the logistics and documents more professional, and don't let ordinary troops worry about such things; as for the officers going to school, it is to train officers, so that the army can maintain its combat effectiveness and not lose anything when no one can be as loyal and brave as Han Shizhong, as calm and prudent as Yue Fei, as brave and fierce as Li Yanxian, and as knowledgeable and strategic as the two of you."
The two of them were so excited that they quickly tried to be humble.
"But after all, besides asking you two to go back and take precautions, we have to make some temporary measures to prepare for the Northern Expedition." Zhao Jiu stopped again, pondered for a while, and finally told his plan. "What I mean is that it is too late to set up a large-scale military academy, but we can set up a temporary training school. It just so happens that Wang Yuan and Lu Xing are now free and can be used as teachers... When you two go back, in addition to rectifying military affairs, you must also send key officers in the army to be trained in batches. I will talk to the Privy Council and set up a special cabinet position to make arrangements... As for Wu Qing, we must also specifically point out the matter of the deduction of money, and set up a list of officers with bad morals. Then I will not let them go back."
The two of them were solemn again and agreed immediately.
Zhao Jiu opened his mouth to speak, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he chose not to say anything more, and just waved his hand: "That's what happened today, you are tired, go back and rest early... Especially Wu Qing, I gave you a mansion, but you were called back just after you went there, and you haven't even seen the layout inside."
Wu and Zhang understood each other and immediately said goodbye, and the conversation between the king and his ministers in the mulberry forest ended.
Up to this point, the two knew Emperor Zhao's intentions, and naturally they were completely relaxed from a personal perspective. However, from a duty perspective, it might not be so easy, as they all had to go back and take action... Among them, Wu Jie had to go to the capital tomorrow to give an explanation about the discount money in front of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Jun had to go back to deal with his "helplessness", so they both walked in a hurry after leaving Sanglin.
However, when they came out of Yiyou Gate and left the harem, seeing Donghua Gate in front of them, after the eunuch who had seen them off stopped, for some reason, the two of them suddenly slowed down as if they had telepathy.
"Wu Da is both brave and resourceful..." On the empty road, the two walked side by side, and Zhang Jun suddenly sneered. "I remember that when you, Wu Da, were a general, I was just a lieutenant, and I only met you a few times in Jingzhao."
"The young lieutenant under the command of old Lord Zhong is much stronger than the generals in Jingyuan Road." Wu Jie entered the palace for the first time, and couldn't help looking around to see the shape of the palace wall and porch. "And why are we talking about this now? Didn't the emperor say that it's just a matter of whether we can achieve great success or not? If we succeed, we can share the huge achievements, and one of us will be a prince...what about the past?"
"That's true... But Qu Da is so domineering and mean. Can he become a prince in the future?" Zhang Jun felt more and more emotional.
"There is no greater merit than saving the emperor..." Wu Jie blurted out.
"That's true."
"But General Zhang." Wu Jie suddenly withdrew his gaze from the eaves of the surrounding palaces and said seriously, "Your Majesty seemed to have something to say just now?"
"yes."
"What do you think it is?"
"You are brave and resourceful, why don't you ask the emperor directly, but ask me instead?" Zhang Jun sneered, turned away, and walked out of Donghua Gate first.
Wu Jie, who was behind, just smiled and didn't take it too seriously.
Just when the two generals from the Western Army met again after many years, and showed their routine unpleasant attitude inside the palace gate, Emperor Zhao finally walked out from the mulberry forest.
In fact, the king and his ministers all knew it, and Zhao Jiu himself knew it even better. He did not discuss too much on a topic that should have been discussed, that is, the so-called "family of generals".
Emperor Zhao wanted to set up a military academy and looked down on the Western Army's vassal state. His attitude towards generals was self-evident.
Of course, Wu and Zhang could both understand Emperor Zhao’s attitude.
If you think about it carefully, you will understand... The Jingkang Incident was a period of great changes, which lasted for six years. Zhong Yao lost his army and his life, Liu Guangshi was executed, Liu Xi was demoted, Zhe Keqiu surrendered, Miao Fu Liu Zhengyan was marginalized, Yang Weizhong died of old age, and Wang Yuan was obviously marginalized by civilianization after losing his last chance in Guanxi. The Xin brothers also basically left the army, and were replaced by Han Shizhong, Yue Fei, Li Yanxian, Zhang Rong, Qu Duan, Liu Qi, Li Shifu, Li Qiong, Wang De... and Wu and Zhang.
Among these people, except Liu Qi and Li Shifu who could barely be considered as descendants of generals, the rest all rose from humble beginnings… Han Shizhong was a ruffian from northern Shaanxi, Li Yanxian was a tyrant from the border areas, the Wu brothers and Zhang Jun and Wang De were all from good families, Qu Duan was an orphan born through imperial favor, Zhang Rong was a bandit from the Central Plains, and although Li Qiong and Yue Fei had very different backgrounds at the beginning, in the current environment they were both refugees from Hebei who had lost their hometowns… Whether from the perspective of standing out from the bottom up, or from the perspective of top-down perception, there was no reason for Emperor Zhao to have good intentions towards any generals.
But the problem is that once we continue discussing this topic, coupled with the previous promise made by the Prince, it is inevitable to talk about whether people like Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Wu Jie will inherit their father's career after becoming generals, and thus form a new family of generals.
However, this topic is too far away for the moment, even to the point of being inappropriate.
So, the three of them stopped in tacit understanding.
"How many people were captured?" In the evening, in the pavilion where the banquet had been cleared, Zhao Jiu was sitting by the railing. When he saw Yang Yizhong coming back, he turned around and asked directly.
"There were more than 500 people in six families... According to the government's order, women, children and servants were not to be arrested. In fact, about 30 to 40 people were arrested."
"How much did you copy?"
"The gold, silver, and silk can be counted, about one hundred thousand strings of cash... It's hard to say about the rest of the utensils and cultural relics... According to the government's orders, the ordinary furniture and other valuables will not be moved, and all the floating property and people will be sent to Kaifeng Prefecture. As for the national debt of 60,000 strings of cash, I copied it out and brought it here specially according to the government's orders." As he spoke, Yang Yizhong carefully presented six documents of the national debt of 10,000 strings of cash wrapped in hardwood shells.
"That's good." Zhao Jiu took the national debt document wrapped in a hardwood shell and put it on the stool behind the stone table, then he looked at him seriously. "Thank you for your hard work, Zhengfu. I have nothing to do today, so go and have a rest."
"Yes." Yang Yizhong lowered his head and responded, then was about to do his work.
However, when Yang Yizhong turned around, before he could go out of the Yingri Gate, he ran into Concubine Pan holding Princess Yiyou and hurriedly gave way to her. But Concubine Pan just glanced at Yang Yizhong and ignored him, and hurried to the pavilion.
"Greet your brother." Concubine Pan hurried to the front of the pavilion, hugged the little princess and bowed slightly. Her voice was gentle and she used an interesting title.
"Wife, are you here to ask the emperor to plead for someone?" Zhao Jiu stood up and took the sleeping Yiyou in, and also used an interesting name.
After hearing this exchange, Feng Yi, Feng Erguan and several eunuchs who were standing far away hid a few steps in the mulberry forest.
"That's right." Concubine Pan, who was the first to cause trouble, was a little uncomfortable. She paused and then stood in the pavilion with her hands folded. "Let my brother know that there are two families among them that I took good care of in Yangzhou in the past. Just now, their wives came to me in a panic, crying and begging for mercy. I really can't refuse..."
"Let my wife know." Zhao Jiu looked at the little princess in his arms and couldn't help but sigh. "Although my brother is a kind and good brother, the emperor is an unkind and petty emperor... It's not easy to alienate the emperor and his subjects, especially when one of them is a general!"
Concubine Pan was in a dilemma and didn't know how to continue dealing with the situation.
"But brother can't make things difficult for his wife. I just tried my best to ask the emperor for mercy and got some things back. Take them over and give an explanation!" Zhao Jiu said, and just nodded behind the stone table, pointing out the six national debt documents.
Concubine Pan went forward to open it and saw that it was a full 60,000 strings of national debt. She was relieved, but she burst into tears again while holding the national debt: "I thought my brother was getting tired of me day by day... My family has only been doctors for generations, how can we compare with Concubine Wu's family? And I can't read or practice martial arts, how can I accompany you in battle, and what kind of "Journey to the West Conquering the Demons" can I record for you?"
"What's "The Monkey King 2"? Writing is the hardest job in the world, no doubt about it!" Zhao Jiu had no choice but to advise him, and his words were sincere.
"But I am eager to have such a hard job." Concubine Pan temporarily put aside the national debt and wiped the tears from her face with a handkerchief. "Your Majesty, do you know that a few days ago, actors came to perform the military drama. The Cangtou (supporting actor) said that the author of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" was Lan Qiao Tianren, while the Canjun (funny actor) said that the author was Wu Chengen... At that time, the whole palace laughed, and I laughed too, but after laughing, I wanted to cry again."
Having said this, Princess Pan, who had just wiped her face, burst into tears again.
Zhao Jiu held his little daughter in his arms, feeling helpless, so he could only reluctantly comfort her: "It's just a joke... You know, clothes are not as good as new ones, and people are not as good as old ones. The love between husband and wife is there, and you gave me such a lovely princess. How can I say I hate you? But my wife, since you understand your brother's mind, you should move forward and do something new... You see, even Zhang Jun knows how to keep up with the times, let alone someone as clever as you?"
Hearing this, Concubine Pan burst into tears: "I really don't know what the emperor wants... Since returning from Yangzhou, everything I have done has been wrong."
Zhao Jiu finally laughed, but he held his daughter in one hand and pointed at the mulberry forest with the other: "How about this, if it really doesn't work, how about raising silkworms?"
