Entering the Donghua Gate, Du Zhongxiao let out a sigh. The tall walls on both sides are still there, the wide streets are free of pedestrians, and everything is as it was the last time I came. Not far away, outside the vertical arch, there were several officials, none of whom had familiar faces.

From the resignation of foreign officials, to the entry of officials in the capital, plus some close ministers of the emperor entering the palace, there are many officials who enter the inner part of the country from here every day. The emperor worked every day, and spent most of his time doing these things.

Donghua Gate is the east gate of the Imperial City, and after entering, this road divides the Imperial City into two parts, north and south. To the south is the office of Zaizhi and some important yamen, and to the north is Ouchi, where the emperor's family lived. The street was part of the Imperial City, and with no pedestrians except for the occasional patrolling guard, it seemed somewhat deserted.

When he arrived outside the vertical arch, he handed the pleadings to the guards of the gate, went through the formalities, and Du Zhongxiao waited quietly outside.

The officials waiting here were all on duty, and Du Zhongxiao didn't know any of them, thinking that they were officials from other places who had entered Beijing. In the important place of the imperial court, no one dared to make a noise, everyone waited quietly.

Officials enter the right place, the door is scheduled, and the waiting time can be long or short. Except for the important ministers such as Zaizhi and Sijintou, who are not bound by shifts and can enter the palace when they arrive, the rest of the officials must honestly listen to the arrangements of the gate. For particularly important things or particularly important people, four words will be added when summoned, and the more you get into the right place. To put it simply, there is no need to queue up, and you can cut the queue in the queue when the shift is scheduled.

Du Zhongxiao's entry into the palace this time is to enter the right time. For officials, this is a special honor.

After waiting for a long time, a gate guard came out and let Du Zhongxiao enter the palace with him.

Entering the vertical arch, entering the Ouchi, passing through the long verandah, I was confronted by an official, still with a fresh face. This should have been Du Zhongxiao who entered the palace before he came, I don't know if it was the resignation of a foreign official or a report on his work, and he was in a hurry.

When he arrived at the Chongzheng Palace, he saluted like a ritual, and Du Zhongxiao entered the main hall with the small yellow door. I've been here a few times, and it's not unfamiliar.

Acting as a courtesy, Du Zhongxiao stood at the foot of the steps. Zhao Zhen sat on it and ordered to give a seat, and the courtesy was very different from before.

Du Zhongxiao thanked him and sat down on the pestle he took from the little yellow door.

Zhao Zhen asked Du Zhongxiao when he would leave for Jingxi Road, and said: "Since the Northwest Rebellion, the imperial court has used troops for several years, but unfortunately there has been no major victory. The imperial court raised millions of soldiers and countless generals, but no one could do anything for the imperial court, and let the party sit big. Every time I think about it, I am really ashamed of my ancestors. You first took Tanglong Town in the Volcano Army, and made great contributions under the city of Beizhou, and you are a rare person with martial arts in recent years. He was born as a jinshi and is familiar with poetry and books, and if he can lead the soldiers, he is a rare general of poetry and books. The generals in the army don't know much about writing, and what is most lacking now is people like you. I originally intended to let you transfer to a military position, lead the troops to do things for the court, and also show your talents and learning. However, the party has been reconciled, and this is not the time. ”

Du Zhongxiao praised the wat and said: "Thank you for your praise." There is no military position, and the ministers should be the liver and brain of the court. ”

Zhao Zhen nodded, and said: "This time to go to Yingtian on Jingxi Road, with your experience in Yingtian in Yongcheng County, there is no need to ask." This time, it was not to recruit ordinary people to cultivate fields, but to use the Xiang army. Although you are doing the business of camping, you don't want to waste your military talents. The 200,000 troops are handed over to you, and I hope you will be properly placed and taught diligently. or there is something in the world, which can share the worries of the court. ”

Du Zhongxiao thought for a while and said, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that since these people are allowed to go to the camp, they can't be treated as soldiers. If you want to maintain their combat strength, you can select some people, such as the armor protection system, and teach them in autumn and winter. If you want them to be soldiers, and you want them to farm, I am afraid that they will not be able to do anything well if they are delayed on both sides. ”

Zhao Zhen said: "How do you say that? They are soldiers, they used to pull fiber, and now they are farming. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Isn't this like the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty?" The government soldiers are all elite soldiers, and it is only one or two generations for decades, and the combat power will be unbearable. Not having soldiers and not being a citizen is especially harmful to the army. Those who farm will go to farm, and those who become soldiers will become soldiers, so that they can train elites. ”

Zhao Zhen was not familiar with the affairs of the army, so he did not dwell on these things, and asked Du Zhongxiao: "What do you want to do?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The minister wants to imitate the old practice of Yongcheng County, and arrange these army armies for cultivating fields according to the protection army, and set up villages to reclaim idle fields. Among these people, those who are qualified for military qualifications are selected and formed into a military rank. In addition to the busy agricultural season, teach the things of the army, and teach and read in the autumn and winter. The elected people are mainly engaged in military affairs, supplemented by cultivating acres of land, and are given a salary. In this way, soldiers and peasants can not be delayed, and the best of both worlds. ”

Zhao Zhen asked: "Ploughing the fields is a very labor-intensive matter, how many people do you plan to draw out to train the troops?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The minister thinks that about 200,000 people have been recruited to Jingxi Road, and 50,000 people are enough. Whenever the farm is busy, such as the harvest season for ploughing the fields, they will help with the farming work, so as not to miss the agricultural time. They don't have to participate in pulling weeds and the like in ordinary times, they stay in the barracks. ”

Zhao Zhen was silent for a while, and said: "Draw one of the four, I'm afraid that it will delay the agricultural time." ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "The minister thinks so now, when he arrives at the place, if he really can't do it, then he will draw one out of five, or focus on farming." ”

To really raise an army that is out of production, it is more secure to draw one out of ten, so as not to delay the agricultural time. It's barely enough to draw one out of five, and one out of four is reminiscent of experience based on experience. Of course, Du Zhongxiao knew this, but what he brought was a farming army, and he was not completely out of production, so he felt that it should be okay to draw one of the four dings. The time of agricultural labor is uneven, concentrated in a few time periods, and it should be possible to do it when it is organized.

Zhao Zhen was very interested in the cannon used under the city of Beizhou, and intuitively felt that it should be an important weapon. However, how to use this weapon, now it seems that only Du Zhongxiao understands, and everyone else can't use it well. Zhao Zhen wanted Du Zhongxiao to transfer to a military position, just to let him lead the troops, arrange the artillery according to his ideas, and sort out the perfect rules and regulations, which can be promoted to other armies. All kinds of mistakes and mistakes, Du Zhongxiao himself was unwilling, but he still retained his civilian position and went to Jingxi Road to take the dismissed La Xianxiang military camp field. Despite this, Zhao Zhen still insisted on his own idea, wanting Du Zhongxiao to test new weapons in these fiber-pulling armies, and if he did a good job, he could still promote them to other armies.

In the battle of the Northwest Party, the forbidden army in Beijing completely lost its previous halo and was no longer the elite soldiers of the world who were pinned on high hopes. Now, on the contrary, the Forbidden Army stationed in the northwest has a strong combat power, and has not yet played the name of the "Western Army", but first let the Beijing Forbidden Army have the name of the "Eastern Army".

The forbidden army could not be fought, and the status of the Xiang army rose accordingly. In particular, the Xiang troops along the three border roads became more and more directly involved in the war, and the teaching and parade became frequent, and many places became official soldiers. With the military expenses of the box soldiers and the combat power of the forbidden army, many magistrates are doing this.

Zhao Zhen wanted to balance the opinions of the generals of the forbidden army, and was very concerned about the promotion of the local army, and generally did not support it in terms of name. Du Zhongxiao's Xiang Army, he mainly wanted Du Zhongxiao to give full play to his strengths and test the use of guns, not really cultivating the regular army. After the test was concluded, the experience was passed on to the forbidden army for use, and those who farmed the land still farmed.

Du Zhongxiao didn't think so, he was unwilling to change his military position, but he would not miss the opportunity to lead the troops. Who knows when there will be an opportunity to lead troops to the front? Making great military achievements is more important than any political achievements. And with the slender man who went to Jingxi Road, after contact in the past few days, there is a discovery, that is, they are particularly disciplined because of the perennial fiber relationship. When pulling the fiber, he shouted the trumpet, and moved forward step by step, and all actions were completely commanded by the trumpet. In Du Zhongxiao's eyes, this is naturally a soldier who is ready to be shot in line for the musket era. Other sources of troops, whether workers or peasants, including the existing army, have no potential comparable to theirs. Such a great opportunity cannot be wasted.