The two talked about their feelings after parting, and Du Zhongxiao asked about the current situation between the DPRK and China.

Han Jiang said: "Since Fan, Han, and Fu Zhu came out of the government, and now Zhongshu Jia and Song are in charge of the government, the new policies of the past few years have been swept away, and everything in the government is followed, and there is no major event in the court. However, all the princes of the DPRK and China are fortunate to negotiate peace with the party, and as long as they are bent on peace, no one dares to speak out about war. Although you won a great victory in Tanglong Town last year, many officials were dissatisfied, believing that if you provoked the border without permission, it would cause endless trouble. ”

Du Zhongxiao listened, sighed deeply, and did not speak. In my impression, the Song Dynasty was weak to the outside world, and was most afraid of war, even if it won the war, it would give in everywhere. My contribution to the Volcano Army is not big or small, and I don't know what the final result will be.

Seeing Du Zhongxiao's expression, Han Jiang smiled and said: "You don't have to guess randomly, Tang Longzhen won, it will be a great achievement in the end, and the court will have a reward." Now that Xia Taiwei has returned to the dynasty as a privy councillor, someone will call the shots for you. ”

From Yongcheng Zhixian County, he was taken to Bingzhou to sign the judge, and everyone knew that Xia Zhu had the grace of knowing Du Zhongxiao. At this time, if Xia Zhu has an accident, Du Zhongxiao will be affected, and correspondingly, if Du Zhongxiao is in trouble, Xia Zhu will try his best to help. This is the law of officialdom at this time, and it has long gone beyond the factor of personal feelings. This kind of law in officialdom was also the hotbed for the prevalence of party contention in the future.

The failure of the Qingli New Deal was neither Lu Yijian nor Xia Zhu, but Jia Changchao. He said from the banquet that his official position has risen rapidly in recent years, and he has become the prime minister in a few years. Among the rulers of the Song Dynasty, Jia Changchao was an alternative. He was awarded the same Jinshi background because of Emperor Zhenzong's eulogy in the southern suburbs, and served as the chief bookkeeper and magistrate in the local area. It is unprecedented to be the prime minister without leaving the capital for decades.

In the eyes of the people of the time, Jia Changchao was an official who did not understand actual government affairs, and he firmly sat in the position of prime minister, and naturally relied on conspiracy methods. In particular, he served as prime minister after the Qingli Party was demoted from the capital, and abolished the Qingli New Deal, and was the first villain in the eyes of the Qingli Party. Of course, the argument of party strife is unreliable, but in fact, Jia Changchao complied with the requirement of recuperation after the truce in the northwest and did things safely.

Although they are both political enemies in the eyes of the Qingli Party, the contradiction between Jia Changchao and Xia Zhu is very great, not only is they not a party, but they are also political enemies. Xia Zhu has always wanted to enter the middle school, but he made several mistakes, but he couldn't be the prime minister. This time he entered Beijing as a privy envoy, and he himself intended to be in the political hall, and Jia Changchao naturally guarded him everywhere. The battle of Tanglongzhen, which was inevitably involved in the contradictions between the two provinces, was not so smooth.

Listening to Han Jiang's introduction of the situation in the capital, Du Zhongxiao sighed: "Flowers are brocade, fire is cooking oil, since the peace in the northwest, everyone thinks that the world will be peaceful and can enjoy a prosperous world from now on." Jia Xianggong took this peaceful scene as his own merit, but he didn't know——"

Han Jiang was taken aback: "How can I say this?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "I don't know anything else, but I feel that the good days are only over." After years of war, it is natural for the court to recuperate. It's just that this dynasty is different from the previous dynasty, the country is in the army, and the army comes first and then the people. Fan and Han Zhugong's new policy was to be appeased in this regard, and in the end the new policy did not achieve anything. After a few years of recuperation, there is still no army reorganized, how can we persist in peacetime? The northwest was in turmoil, the world expanded the army, and the forbidden army was nearly one million, and this is still the case. The cost of raising the army has not decreased, and the money from recuperation is still spent on them. There is no war in the world, and the court will inevitably be mean to the forbidden army, and the court and the forbidden army are disgusted with each other, how can there be no accidents? ”

Han Jiang was speechless for a while when he heard this. At this time, officials mostly focused on the bloated army, thinking about slowly and naturally eliminating it. But I don't know that the army is in control of the world's armed forces, and it is so easy to eliminate?

The army of the Song Dynasty was a lifelong employment system, and once you joined the army, you would be a soldier for life. After Yuan Hao rebelled against the Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty greatly expanded its army, and the forbidden army alone was close to one million, and the box army still had hundreds of thousands. Most of the money and grain collected by the imperial court were spent on them. Whether it is the Qingli New Deal or the subsequent recuperation, the most urgent task is actually to demobilize the army and resume production. It's a pity that the Song Dynasty has a special national condition, and no matter which party has made any effort on it. Peace is just that there is no war, but the cost of raising an army cannot be reduced.

This has caused two problems, one is that the burden on the people cannot be reduced, and the people and officials are dissatisfied. In addition, the treatment of the military is lower than in wartime, and there are officials who withhold it in peacetime, which is also brewing discontent. Heavy troops were stationed on Hedong Road, and Du Zhongxiao came all the way, all of which were in his eyes. Even in the Volcano Army, the relationship between himself and the garrison is not very good, and the war relies on the soldiers of Linfu Road, let alone other places?

The large-scale demobilization and large-scale production after the war is the only way to get rid of the shadow of the war as soon as possible, and the others are just delays. However, the affairs involving the military in the Song Dynasty were very sensitive, and it required the emperor and his ministers to work together and be bold to complete the reform. At this time, the emperor did not have the courage to do so, and there was no minister who could do this.

Jia Changchao took charge of the government after the Qingli New Deal, and there was neither a big mistake nor a great achievement, but he just covered up the problem. It's a pity that it can't be covered up now, especially the discontent in the army is very strong.

Han Jiang has been an official in the capital, rarely in contact with the army, and has not thought about the questions raised by Du Zhongxiao. After listening to Du Zhongxiao's words, I felt a little novel and a little surprised. In the last few years of the war with the party, Jingdong and Lianghuai had many army rebellions, which are still vivid, and I can't help but believe it.

Du Zhongxiao has been in the border area for two years, and he is a little speechless about the military system at this time. When there was a conflict at the border, I felt that there were not enough soldiers everywhere, but when it was time to distribute money and food, I was scared to death by the number of troops, which was really strange. In a place like the Volcano Army, almost every household raises one soldier, not including the local village soldiers. He rebuilt the Yitou village by himself, occupied Tanglong Town, and built a camp and field affairs, but there were no soldiers to send. In the final analysis, who will complain about the main army like the forbidden army, sprinkling pepper noodles all over the place, spending countless money and food in vain, but without mobile strength?

The matter could not be talked about too deeply, and the two chatted for a few words, and then changed the topic.

Han Jiang said: "Do you remember the car and boat I made when I left the capital?" In the past two years, several have been built, and they have been used as tugboats on the Bianhe River. A few days ago, Zhenzhou played a game, and if they wanted to make a few ships there, they would go from there to Liangzhejiang, saving countless manpower every year. ”

Du Zhongxiao said happily: "If the boat is completed, Bianhe doesn't know how much more goods to transport and how much manpower to save every year, that is the merit is immeasurable!" ”

Han Jiang sighed: "It's a pity that it's still not satisfactory. One is that the ship is too expensive, and the other is inevitably some minor problems, and few people can repair it. There are only a few ships running there now, and they can be used in large quantities, and I don't know when it will be. ”

"Everything is difficult at the beginning, as long as you have a beginning, you will always get better. If this matter is to be done well, Zhongshu can build a school in the capital to teach this thing how to repair, and it should be much better. ”

Han Jiang nodded. His main job is to lose his official position in Kaifeng Prefecture, and he is busy with official business, and his car and boat are his hobbies. Because there are too many shortcomings now, the imperial court is not keen on that thing now, and the development is not ideal. The Bianhe River is not a place where boats can be sailed casually, and private individuals cannot participate in it, so there is a lack of motivation for development. Whether it was a steam engine or a musket artillery, Du Zhongxiao just planted a rotten seed, and now it has just sprouted. In the eyes of most people, this is just a novelty, and it will not be time until it is widely recognized and the whole society takes the initiative to fertilize and water.

It's the same as farming, from planting the seed to germinating, it's the hardest time. Only by persevering and loving, let the seedlings grow gradually, and finally reap the fruits of success. Du Zhongxiao is not as good as him, he is now in a low position, and his skills are mature, and he can only watch from the side.