At the end of February, Di Qing led the army back to Beijing one after another, stationed around Kaifeng Mansion. Along the railway line, it is distributed within two or three hundred miles.

Destroying the party is a monstrous achievement, and for a time the capital was very lively, and the people flocked to the royal street to watch Di Qing and others return to the court. Wen Yanbo led hundreds of civil and military officials out of the city. The emperor held a banquet at Xuande Gate to entertain the soldiers who had returned from meritorious service.

For three days in a row, there were various celebrations, and the normal pilgrimage meetings were stopped. At this time, the provincial people who had tried the move, and the scholars who had failed the provincial test and were preparing to take the military academy examination were all in Beijing, and after seeing this lively scene, they gathered and drank together, wrote some poems, and praised the martial arts of the world.

Three days later, Du Zhongxiao went down to the morning court, and just after he sat down in the Privy Council, a small yellow door came and ordered to enter the palace immediately.

When he arrived at the Chongzheng Palace, he saluted like a ceremony, and Du Zhongxiao sat down. Looking at the people sitting around, in addition to several privy envoys and deputies, there are also Prime Ministers Wen Yanbo and Han Qi, Wang Yaochen and Zhang Fangping, and Hanlin scholars Ouyang Xiu, Hu Su and Wang Qi. Under the head of the Privy Council, sat Di Qing, who had just returned to Beijing.

After giving the tea soup, Zhao Zhen said: "The party item is newly destroyed, and Xingling, Hexi, and Hengshan re-enter the territory, which is really a blessing for the imperial court." Recently, Hedong Road passed through the report of the Pang nationality, saying that the Khitan Yelu Hongji was close to Datong Mansion, and Yehong Chongyuan and others were frightened and inexplicable, and they were anxious to find a way. It is suggested that the imperial court send troops to occupy some land during the Khitan civil strife, for the future. ”

Han Qi praised the wat : "When the minister left Hequ Road, he had ordered Yang Wenguang to intend to be in Dezhou, north of Datong Mansion, and Zhao Zi, Liu Ji, Jia Kui and others were intended to be in Shuozhou in the south. If Shuozhou is taken, you can take in Yelu Chongyuan and others for later planning. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "The princes of the two governments, when do you think it is appropriate to take Dezhou and Shuozhou?" ”

Du Zhongxiao praised Wat: "This matter can contact Xiao Ge, the important minister under Chongyuan, if he is persuaded to surrender, it will be more beneficial." If there is a letter of approval, or when Yelu Hongji begins to attack Datong Mansion, it is most appropriate to send troops. At the same time, he ordered Pang Ji on Hedong Road to gather heavy troops in Daizhou and prepare to resist when the Khitan army marched in a big way. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded and said to Wen Yanbo: "What does the prime minister think?" ”

Wen Yanbo said: "What Taiwei Du said is true. If the war is in Shuozhou, it is easy to get the blade out of the sheath, and the Khitan must deal with it. If you don't have a heavy army stationed in Datong Mansion, you don't dare to be interested in other places. For the imperial court, this is advantageous. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "What if the Khitan raises the whole country's troops to attack Shuozhou? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The party has been destroyed, Zhao Zi, Liu Ji and Jia Kui's soldiers and horses can all be put into the defense of Shuozhou." 150,000 people, enough to defend one city in Daizhou. The two Khitan emperors fought side by side for five years, and Hongji defeated Chongyuan, it was the time to recuperate, and how long could he hold on? Moreover, there is also the support of Hedong Road in the south, and even if Hongji leads all his troops and horses south, it is difficult to threaten Shuozhou in the slightest. ”

Han Qi said: "There are 200,000 soldiers on Hequ Road, and they have experienced many battles, which are not comparable to other soldiers and horses. Only Shuozhou and Dezhou were taken, and there was no major threat to the Khitan, so it would not cause a national war, and it could be defended in the future. ”

This matter had been arranged before Han Qi returned to Beijing, and there was no major controversy. After a few words, he said no more, and asked the Privy Council to draw up a plan when he returned. How to send troops, how to defend, how to cooperate with Hedong Road, and so on.

After talking about Khitan affairs, Zhao Zhen looked at everyone: "Since five years ago, Taiwei Du went north to save Tanglong Town, expanded the land for thousands of miles with river meandering roads, and restored the Western Regions, which is really unprecedented. Last year, more than 300,000 soldiers were raised, the party was destroyed, and the west and the western regions were united, reproducing the trend of the Han and Tang dynasties. In these few battles, the soldiers and horses on the meandering road were invincible, which was very much in line with the wishes of the imperial court. Over the years, the imperial court has always wanted to retrain the forbidden army in accordance with the system of soldiers and horses on the meandering road, but the results were somewhat unsatisfactory. Today, Du Zhongxiao is a privy envoy, and I intend to reorganize the forbidden army, what do you think? ”

Everyone didn't speak, and looked at Du Zhongxiao together.

Du Zhongxiao praised the wat and said: "Your Majesty will accuse the ministers of this matter, and the ministers will be ruined!" This is a major national event, and it is necessary for all ministers to cooperate, and there is no barrier between inside and outside, so that we can hope for success. The period is three years, and there should be success. ”

After Du Zhongxiao finished speaking, Zhao Zhen turned his head and looked at Wen Yanbo.

Wen Yanbo said: "This is a national event, and Zhongshu should support it." But if there is a business, the Privy Council will write in the letter. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded: "Since the founding of the country, the Northern Han Dynasty has been pacified, and this dynasty has fought against the Northern Captives, and there have been many victories. It wasn't until the soldiers and horses of Hequ Road defeated the Khitan first and then the party that the situation was opened. From this day onwards, the Privy Council draws up a strategy for reforming the military system with a period of three years, and it is hoped that it will be successful. ”

Speaking of this, Zhao Zhen said to Du Zhongxiao: "Today's ministers are all in the Chongzheng Palace, how to change the military system, the captain can talk about it briefly, and the ministers know it." When it is changed later, there will be less obstacles. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a moment and said: "The army in the world is divided into two kinds, one is the forbidden army, and the other is the box army. The rest of the village soldiers, archers, and the like will only serve as errand officers in the future, and will be under the jurisdiction of the local magistrate, and will no longer be included in the Sanya and the Privy Council. The soldiers are used to maintain local law and order, and are no longer used for foreign operations except in extraordinary times. What should the soldiers do, when the Privy Council and the Chinese book consulted, and then discussed in detail. What I'm talking about today is all about the forbidden army. ”

Speaking of this, Du Zhongxiao quietly looked at the wat board in front of him. The wat board is used to remember things, although it is not commonly used, the important matters when facing the king, or will be outlined and written on the top of a few sentences. The key to the reform of the military system, Du Zhongxiao also wrote down the key points on the wat board, for fear of forgetting.

"Regardless of the previous military system for the time being, it must be changed this time, and it should be overhauled. Military affairs can be divided into the following aspects. Military orders, military administration, mobilization, logistics, intelligence, military law, meritorious service, and military affairs are not mentioned in these seven items. The affairs of the forbidden army are divided into the Privy Council and the three offices, and each performs its own duties according to these seven items. There is a duty to each other, and it is not allowed to transgress. ”

This was the first time that Du Zhongxiao had truly expounded his understanding of military affairs, and several ministers thought carefully and did not speak.

Zhao Zhen said: "Since it is divided into seven items, which belong to the privy council and the three ya, I don't know how to divide it?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The military order belongs to the Privy Council and the foreign commanders, and the military and political affairs belong to the Sanya." Correspondingly, matters related to military orders, such as logistics, intelligence, and meritorious service, are vested in the Privy Council. Matters equivalent to military and political affairs, such as mobilization and military law, belong to the Sanya. ”

The Privy Council is divided into rooms, although it is not as clear as Du Zhongxiao's affairs, which are divided into several systems, and the general direction is there. It's just that officials are used in each room and case, not officials. Sanya is different, except for the edition and the issuance of the Lu, the rest of the things are completely wasted. According to the reform in this direction, the privy council has changed greatly, and the three yamen have changed even more.

Ouyang Xiu said: "I don't know about the military. The military orders, military politics, and even logistics, intelligence, and military law that the lieutenant said can be roughly imagined. I just don't know what mobilization and reward refer to? ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Back in Neihan, mobilization is the recruitment of troops, and there is also the transfer of civilian resources to cooperate with the war in wartime. At present, the forbidden army recruits people, and the envoys carry the samples of the troops and go to various places to select and eliminate the army. Or if there are people in the people who are willing to serve as soldiers, they will be directly recruited into the forbidden army. In the future, this was not the case, but the three yayas allocated places according to the posts that were lacking in the army, and sent recruiters to recruit troops. There are specific requirements for recruitment, and it is no longer just a simple soldier. Soldiers were recruited, trained for three months, and then divided into the armies. In wartime, if the materials needed by the army come from the people, they will also talk about them. As for the so-called rewards for meritorious service, it is no longer the same as before, when only the first-class military merits in wartime are awarded, but military merits should be discussed. How to give preferential treatment to military merits and how to attract soldiers is the business of those in charge. In these two ways, mobilization is to transform non-governmental forces into combat effectiveness, and rewarding meritorious service is to allow meritorious service recipients to receive preferential treatment among the non-governmental organizations. ”

Everyone nodded, as if they understood. Listening to what Du Zhongxiao said, he seemed to know what was going on. But it's not clear how or why it's done. This is normal, both previous dynasties have existed, but they are not so detailed.

In the final analysis, Du Zhongxiao put forward these two items, that is, to make war no longer a matter of the army, but a matter of the whole society, and initially had the concept of overall war. In peacetime, it is good to say that the mobilization is mainly for wartime. Not only the emergency replenishment of troops, but also the transformation of civilian forces into war forces, from the economy to commerce, to serve the war effort.

The Song Dynasty's national strength is second to none in the world, but it cannot be effectively transformed into military power, which is a great pity. Historically, there have been repeated defeats, and the people's war strength has not been brought into play, so they have been wasted because of defeat. The mobilization system is to make use of the power of the people.

The point of rewarding merit is not to directly distribute money and consume too much money for military merit in wartime, but to use the reward to let the military merit achieved during the war penetrate deep into the people. Thus improving the status of the army, the status of the soldiers.

These two items are the infiltration of the army into the localities, which have not been paid attention to before, but they have a far-reaching impact on military strength.

After listening to Du Zhongxiao's speech, several ministers nodded one after another. Although I don't know what Du Zhongxiao is talking about, I think it's amazing.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The most important thing is that the Privy Council is in charge of military orders, and the three yamen are in charge of military and political affairs, and the division of labor between the two. It is not a mere formality, but it is necessary to truly divide it up and manage the army. In doing so, the Privy Council and the Sanya will be greatly reformed, and a large number of generals and officials will be added, which will no longer be the same as before. ”

Zhao Zhen said to Zhang Fangping: "Supplementing generals and officials will inevitably cost more money, can the imperial court support it?" ”

Zhang Fangping said: "According to the current situation, if there is not much supplement, it can still be supported." ”

Zhao Zhen said: "According to the military reform of Hequ Road, not only the Privy Council and the Sanya will add many officials, but also the generals in the army. In this way, there are not a few extra money and food every year, and Zhongshu should make an estimate as early as possible. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "In the future, the Privy Council and the Sanya can propose the annual cost to the Zhongshu respectively, and the Zhongshu will allocate it." If there is a shortcoming, or a temporary business, don't look for funding, there are many fewer incidents. ”