Ouyang Xiu said: "Your Majesty, if this is the case, please ask the Taiwan Pavilion Speaker to see the list to see the omission." ”

Zheng Lang ran to Sanya and Kaifeng Mansion as soon as he was on duty these days, and he didn't come back until dark every day, and he ran for more than ten days, I'm afraid that things will not be small today, how can there be no him?

It's even more urgent.

Zheng Lang was very speechless about this idol in his previous life, and the more he thought about it, the more he couldn't be in a hurry, but their participation would help him, after all, this reform was widely implicated, and according to the surnames of Yan Shu and others, he would definitely not support it, and he also needed these gentlemen to echo. So he stepped forward and said: "There are a lot of people who collect evidence this time, and they are widely implicated, not only the ministers of the two governments, but also the officials of the three governments and the Kaifeng government to assist. ”

Zhao Zhen hesitated.

Zheng Lang also said: "In order to show all kinds of shortcomings, as well as the real reason why the rebellion of the armies cannot be quelled, this time the ministers will forcibly invite His Majesty to allow many soldiers and civilians to enter the capital, or I am afraid that there will be many violations. ”

"Exactly." Zhao Zhen said.

Lisan the early dynasty, the two mansions and the three ya, and Kaifeng prefect Li Shu, and the Tai cabinet ministers were all summoned into the capital.

There are still many ministers who are not qualified to enter the capital hall, but they all look sideways, guessing in their hearts what kind of big things will happen in the capital hall today.

Ouyang Xiu was very excited, and when he entered the capital hall, he whispered to Zheng Lang: "The imperial court needs to be like this." ”

Zheng Lang was covered in black sweat and did not say anything.

sat down one after another, some of them were light, and they were excited and nervous when they came to the capital, and they kept looking around. Zheng Lang spoke and said: "In order to solve the shortcomings of the country, the minister has thought of a strategy, but before he says this strategy, the minister will invite a group of people to enter the palace one after another, so that His Majesty can see the disadvantages of the country." Some of these people are ordinary people, and some are ordinary soldiers, please ask Your Majesty for permission. ”

"Exactly." The country has reached this point, and Zhao Zhen is also anxious, but he doesn't appreciate the policies offered by his courtiers. It's not that you don't execute, it's that you don't have a good strategy. Otherwise, he would not sit idly by and watch Fan Zhongyan initiate the Qingli New Deal. Compared with Wang Anshi's step-by-step changes, what is the Qingli New Deal? A lot of empty talk!

Zheng Lang said to the ministers of the Taiwan Cabinet: "If it is a slight violation, please also ask for your permission, after all, the country has reached today, and the disadvantages are very serious. ”

"Xingzhi, as long as it is for the country, the ministers of the Taiwan Cabinet are not rigid people, and they will do their best to support them," Ouyang Xiu said. He became the eldest brother of the Taige boss, and as for his joint prince Gongchen, he was automatically negligent.

Zheng Lang couldn't speak again, looked at Zhao Zhen and said: "And there are many people summoned today, and the time will be very long, please make an exception to extend the time for the capital hall to work." ”

"Exactly."

Zheng Lang and more than a dozen military attachés of the Sanya made a look, and a military attache went out, and after a while, he brought the first batch of people, a total of more than 300 people, and these more than 300 people have been in the spotlight since they entered the palace. There are all old men, all gray-haired, there are many old people in the capital, Guan Jian They are still wearing armor, some are old and frail, they can't resist the weight of the armor, and they keep shouting to the veterans on the side to help themselves. Who will help you, in desperation, some guards on duty in the palace came to help and helped them to the capital hall one after another.

As soon as they entered the capital, the monarchs and ministers were all embarrassed when they saw these veterans.

Zheng Lang came to a veteran and asked, "Old Weng Weng, why don't you retire at your age?" ”

"What? What do you say? ”

Zheng Lang had no choice, so he approached and whispered in his ear: "Old Weng Weng, how old are you?" ”

"I, I'm seventy-six."

"The old man Weng is long-lived, but at your age, why don't you retire and sit at home to enjoy your family."

"I can still fight for Your Majesty." The veteran deliberately straightened his stiff waist, waved his withered little elbow, and shouted loudly.

The old man's pride is good, but looking at his appearance, this time even Ouyang Xiu was covered with black sweat, Zhao Zhen sat on the dragon chair and began to wipe his forehead. Don't worry, an old man has not been wearing armor for a long time, and the heavy step armor is pressed on his body, and finally he can't support it, and he falls to the ground with a bang, and faints.

"Pass on the imperial doctor......" Zhao Zhen said weakly, and he himself was almost unconscious.

Zheng Lang said: "Everyone, please go back, and take off your armor, Your Majesty will not blame." ”

The veteran retreated, and Zheng Lang said: "There are more than 600 forbidden battalions in the prefectures and counties near the capital, and the minister only investigated more than 400 battalions near the capital with the officials of the three ya, all of these veterans are over 70 years old, and there are more veterans over 60 years old, and the number will reach several thousand. The reason why he has never retired is because he covets the treatment of forbidden soldiers and supports his family. In fact, after reaching fifty, the body gradually declines, and it is no longer suitable to participate in all kinds of battles. If the exclusion is carried out from the age of 50, the proportion will reach 15 percent of the forbidden soldiers, that is, the 800,000 forbidden soldiers in the whole country, and at least more than 100,000 people will not be able to participate in the war, and the national military quota will be empty and the state's financial burden will be consumed. It is possible that the state will lose five or six million yuan in military spending a year on veterans alone. If we add the cheap wheat and millet, it is possible to raise 10 million stones, plus the grain that Xu Yuan has already raised, no matter how bad the drought in Shaanxi, Shandong, and Henan is, the country will not be able to worry about it this year. And that's just one of them. ”

As he spoke, he signaled again, and another military attache went down to bring people.

This time there were dozens of women, some of whom were quite attractive, Zheng Lang said: "This is the family of the soldier drawn from the 33rd step military camp of Tianwu, and the profession is the military record." ”

Then he walked up to a young woman and asked, "Who is in your house?" ”

The young woman was too panicked to answer, she never dreamed that she would be able to enter the palace, and she would see the prime ministers and the emperor, her legs trembling.

"Don't be afraid, but it's okay to say it."

"The concubine, the concubine has a husband, two children, and an old mother."

"It's not much, although the price of the capital is expensive, but the imperial court gives the forbidden army a very generous salary, what kind of forbidden soldier is your husband?"

"Medium, forbidden soldiers."

"The forbidden soldiers are also good, give money 700 wen a month," this depends on it, the upper forbidden soldiers are consistent for a month, the forbidden soldiers are 500 to 700 wen, and the forbidden soldiers are 300 to 400 wen, but the price of the capital is expensive, and they basically enjoy the highest treatment, Zheng Lang said: "There are also two stones and five buckets of monthly food (the lower forbidden soldiers are two stone monthly food, and the adult rations in the Song Dynasty are about five or six buckets, one person as a soldier is enough to feed four or five adults, if you drag the old and the young, you can support at least six or seven people, that is, one person as a soldier, enough to feed a family), after the newly recruited sergeant tattooed, The government also issued clothes and shoes and generous employment money, the imperial court once every three years to serve the gift, a suburban reward, the forbidden army will get ten months of money (that is, the forbidden soldiers get at least six to twelve additional rewards), every year cold food, Dragon Boat Festival and winter solstice and other festivals, the government will issue special money to the soldiers, temporary transfer and reward and temporary surname of the special money, there are also snow cold money, charcoal money, twilight cold money, so that soldiers can buy charcoal in the harsh winter. There is also a clothing subsidy, spring and winter clothes, six pieces of silk, 12 taels of cotton, and three pennies with the clothes. There are also money for hemp shoes and silver money subsidies, as well as salary money for the purchase of daily necessities, money for transferring to the army when changing numbers, and money for coupons when traveling to other places. At the same time, he killed the enemy and made meritorious service, and he was well-trained and rewarded with several horses of silk and money. Your husband is a forbidden soldier, and when these are added together, the annual salary will not be less than 40 yuan, and the court treats you well, why do you make a living? ”

"Concubine, concubine, Zheng Xianggong, he didn't get the money, grain, and cloth you said."

"Then you add up your husband's salary and food for a year, and calculate how much he gets in a year?" Then he looked at these women and said loudly: "You also calculate, calculate your husband's income for a year, combined with the price of goods in the capital, and tell Your Majesty and tell your ministers how much the court actually distributes in a year." ”

This is easier to calculate, the wife of the head of the house does not care about these incomes. After a while, he said it in a mess, many of them have more than 30 times, but they are not enough to support their families, and some of them are only in their early twenties, not necessarily, some of them are indeed lazy between husband and wife, and they see that some people in the capital rely on their wives to make notes, and the family lives very well, so they shamelessly let their wives sell their flesh and skin to make money. However, most of the above-level governors deducted military salaries and food salaries, causing the family to make ends meet, and those who had access to do some small business, and those who did not have access ignored the shameful laughter of their colleagues, and let their wives sell their flesh and skin to support their families.

After they finished speaking, Zheng Lang asked them to take them down, and said: "Forced to do this, as soldiers themselves, how can they have the heart to serve His Majesty and bravely kill the enemy and thieves?" This is still in His Majesty's Dynasty, and the politics are relatively clear, if the lord is mediocre, what will it become? ”

Then he clapped his hands again, this time bringing more people, not letting them enter the capital hall, but standing outside the hall, Zheng Lang said: "This is the third battalion of the Gongsheng horse step, the sixteenth battalion of the Gongsheng horse step, the five battalions of Longmeng horsemen, the first battalion, the seventeenth battalion, and the twenty-sixth battalion of infantry in Tianwu, the ninth and sixteenth battalions of Xuanwu infantry, and the fourth battalion of the infantry of Xiongwu." The number of registered persons in the three yas was 301, 31, 286, 459, 426, 438, 462, 437, and 445. Now that all are summoned, please send someone to count the number of people in each battalion. ”

Zhao Zhen's face was already very heavy, and he waved his hand to the eunuchs beside him, and after a while, the number of people was counted, they were two hundred and nineteen, two hundred and one people, two hundred and eight people, three hundred and thirty-nine people, three hundred and eighteen people, three hundred and forty-six people, three hundred and sixty-nine people, three hundred and seventeen people, and the largest battalion had a deficit of nearly one hundred and twenty people.

Zheng Lang also said: "Only fifty battalions were transferred from the ministers and the three government officials, and only seven battalions matched the number of military registers, and the other battalions had different deficits in numbers, and these nine battalions were the heaviest among them, and the nine battalions had a deficit of 880 people. Relatively speaking, the capital is slightly better, and some places have a heavier deficit. As for the fifty battalions inspected by the ministers, each battalion averaged a deficit of more than 40 men. How many commanders are there in the country? And how many troops are missing? ”

Then he came out, picked among the soldiers, picked out more than 600 people, and said: "Your Majesty, among these two thousand six hundred and eighty-nine soldiers, there are so many old people, thin people, and incomplete people, how can they go to the battlefield to fight?" ”

Zheng Lang just showed the problem, did not say how to pursue it, waved his hand again, and let the nine frightened commanders withdraw from the palace with their subordinates. He also signaled to Li Shu, Li Shu went out, and asked the two officials to bring a thick stack of files, Zheng Lang said: "There are many military camps in the survey of the ministers and Sanya and Kaifeng Mansion this time, but the main ones are fifty battalions, and there will be many greedy men and cowards in the camps, some are greedy for money and goods, some wantonly annex land, some private soldiers, some deduct money and grain, some privately lend military debts, some buy workers, some send operations, some overreport vacancies, some beat the sergeants, some forcibly occupy the beautiful wives of the sergeants, and so on. With the cooperation of Kaifeng Mansion, so many problems were found in the fifty camps in just a few days. ”

As he spoke, he patted the thick dossier.

There is a big problem, there is a big problem with the whole army system.

Zheng Lang said again: "This is in the capital, all parties are under supervision, the situation is a little better, and it is even worse in the locality, let me ask, in this case, how can no sergeant become a thief in order to survive?" How can such an army be used by His Majesty to take the initiative and heroically suppress bandits? ”