Chapter 334 Military Reform, Establishment of Five Major Camps, Great Era

Wei Yuan asked Gu Tingye to take shelter from the rain in a room.

He was not in a hurry to see the other party, but said to Wei Shuyi:

"Gu Tingye is a general of the border army. He will participate in many wars in the future. His sword has no eyes."

Wei Shuyi knew what he wanted to say, "Isn't my younger brother also from a military background? Besides, Guifen can bear it, what can't he bear tomorrow?"

Wei Yuan asked curiously: "Since when did you start to be optimistic about Gu Tingye?"

Wei Shuyi glanced at Zhang Guifen, and the two immediately looked at each other and smiled without saying a word.

Wei Yuan understood instantly. He sent someone to invite Gu Tingye to Chunyi Pavilion and went to meet him alone.

It didn't take long.

In the pavilion of Chunyi Pavilion, Wei Yuan and Gu Tingye sat opposite each other.

At this time, the latter had already bathed and changed clothes, and there was no rain on his body.

The former's eyes were always focused on him.

But he lowered his head and remained silent, looking very restrained.

After a long time, Wei Yuan took out a breath and said, "Have you expressed your feelings to Ming girl?"

Gu Tingye responded to his question without any hesitation.

"Not yet, I think I still need your permission first."

Wei Yuan stood up slowly, sighed softly, and said, "Be kind to girl Ming."

Hearing the sound, Gu Tingye's face lit up, and when he was about to say something, he saw that Wei Yuan had already left.

He looked at Wei Yuan's tall and straight back, and was slightly stunned. After a while, he bowed deeply.

He originally thought that Wei Yuan would have a thousand words with him today.

But who knows, when the words come to his mouth, there are only a few words.

Wei Yuan just felt that it would be useless to talk more.

Just let Gu Tingye clearly feel what he means.

In mid-May of the first year of Kaiwu, Wei Yuan gave Xie Yuying a concubine.

But we didn't organize a banquet, we just let our relatives and friends come and get together.

As a result, Xie Yuying transformed from a geisha to the concubine of the champion.

As the saying goes, there are seven officials in front of the prime minister.

Xie Yuying, this concubine, is worthy of being the head wife of a third-rank official.

In late May of the first year of Kaiwu.

The old ministers who were once loyal to the late emperor have resigned one after another under Zhao Xi's strong dissuasion.

For example, Wu Kui, Fu Yanguo, Cao Yaoheng, Haizhong and others.

To be honest, it was extremely difficult for them to land safely.

Today's court situation has become much simpler and clearer than in the past.

First of all, there is the team of civil servants, with Fan Chunren, Pingzhangshi, a subordinate of Zhongshu's family, as the prime minister, and Wang Anshi, the deputy minister of political affairs and minister of the Ministry of official affairs.

Haizhou is the new Minister of Household Affairs, while the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Rites remain unchanged. Cai Xiang, the former Fujian Road Transfer Envoy, was promoted to Minister of Works. The current Fujian Road Transfer Envoy is Liu Yi, the original governor of Fuzhou.

In addition, several students of Wang Anshi, such as ‘Li Ding’ and others, also hold high positions.

Sima Junshi, who had some problems with Wang Anshi, is now the censor.

The team of generals is simpler and clearer.

Wei Yuan, Qin Zhen, Xu Changzhi, etc., as for some veteran nobles, have already made way for them.

After those veteran ministers left the field, Zhao Xi finally couldn't stand it any longer and began to order Wei Yuan, Wang Anshi, Fan Chunren and others to implement military reforms.

After the end of an earth-shattering war, the prestige of Zhao Xi, the new emperor, in the country has skyrocketed.

He wanted to take advantage of this prestige to completely solve the problem of redundant troops.

As for how to solve it, it depends on what Wei Yuan and the others do.

He is only responsible for support.

In order to effectively implement the military reform, Zhao Xi temporarily gave the entire Xuanzheng Palace to Wei Yuan and others for office work.

There are hundreds of officials in relevant departments such as the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Household Affairs, and the Ministry of War, who are busy sorting out case files every day.

No one knows how this military reform, which has spread so widely and can even be said to be groundbreaking, will be reformed.

Even Wang Anshi didn't know.

At this moment, in the Xuanzheng Palace.

Everyone is busy.

However, Wei Yuan was the only one sitting in a remote corner drinking tea and eating fruit.

Seeing this, Wang Anshi came to him and frowned.

"You suggested the military reform to the officials. Everyone is busy. Isn't it a bit excessive for you to be idle here?"

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "How about you take a sip of tea and take a break?"

Wang Anshi snorted angrily, "I'm not thirsty."

Wei Yuan said: "Ms. Wang, I am only responsible for giving guidance. It is up to you to decide how to change it."

Wang Anshi was so angry, "Guidance? The words that came out of Taifu Wei's mouth are really new. Then you can tell me how to give guidance?"

Wei Yuan said: "You will naturally know after you sort out the soldier files first."

This much-anticipated military reform, which can be called a mighty one, began quietly.

In late June of the first year of Kaiwu.

It took a month, and through the joint efforts of various departments in the imperial court, the information on soldiers in various territories of the Great Zhou Dynasty was finally compiled.

At this moment, Wang Anshi is reporting to Zhao Xi,

"Your Majesty, there are now a total of 1.2 million troops in our Great Zhou territory, including the officers and soldiers stationed in various places, Xiang soldiers, forbidden troops, etc."

After a pause, he looked at Wei Yuan who was standing aside.

"The Grand Tutor asked us to investigate the files of soldiers from various places before deciding on the military reform. Now that it is clear, I wonder what the Grand Tutor plans to do?"

Zhao Xi also looked at Wei Yuan, his eyes full of curiosity.

Wei Yuan said in surprise: "Disarmament."

disarmament?

Many people felt their hearts skip a beat when they heard these two words.

Disarmament means that many people in the military will lose their jobs.

It means that the court must bear the pain of a strong man breaking his wrist.

Wang Anshi shook his head and said with a smile: "I thought Taifu had any lofty ideas, but it turns out that it is still about disarmament."

At first, he reported this matter to Zhao Xi.

Disarmament is one of the most effective ways to alleviate the problem of redundant troops.

Zhao Xi said: "Master Wei, just say what you want to say."

Hearing this, Wei Yuan nodded and said: "The disarmament mentioned by me does not mean the reduction of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands, nor does it only mean the reduction of the Forbidden Army or the Xiang Army."

"It is to uniformly cut down the national army. I have made preliminary considerations. Although the files of soldiers in each department have been sorted out, I believe that these are only visible soldiers. The number of invisible soldiers is at least more than 200,000."

"Therefore, this disarmament is to reduce the country's total military strength to 800,000, with priority given to troops who have never been on the battlefield and old and weak soldiers."

To be honest, civil servants would be happy to see the number of troops reduced.

After all, this will reduce the expenditure of the country to a great extent.

With the remaining money, they can continue to engage in aggressive politics and development.

only

Wang Anshi said: "Reduce the army to 800,000, and divide the troops to guard various places. Is this feasible?"

Wei Yuan explained: "This 800,000-strong army is a combat force."

Having said this, he bowed solemnly to Zhao Xi and said, "I plan to set up five major camps."

"Beiying, stationed in the Daizhou area, needs 200,000 troops to intimidate the Liao army;"

"The Western Camp, stationed in the Yanbian area, needs 200,000 troops to intimidate Xixia;"

"The central camp, mainly Bianjing and Damingfu, needs 200,000 troops to support the northwest second battalion in critical moments;"

"The southern camp, stationed along Fujian Road, needs 100,000 troops to consolidate coastal defense;"

"The eastern camp, mainly based on Shandong territory, needs 100,000 troops to echo the northern areas such as Daizhou and curb the development of the Liao Kingdom."

"This is where the five battalions of 800,000 troops are deployed."

After a pause, he continued:

"In addition to the five major battalions, I want to set up garrisons in the capitals of each route, ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 per route."

"This garrison force is only responsible for maintaining the safety of the road and suppressing bandits. It does not need to participate in fighting the enemy unless it is a last resort."

"I have made a rough calculation. The tenth army will be the main force, and the garrison strength will be about 300,000."

"In addition, there are still many details that have not been considered. What I mean is that things must be done step by step. We must first disarm and then establish five major battalions."

Wei Yuan's idea is not unadvanced.

However, in this way, the commander of the fifth battalion will have a large number of troops.

If there is any disobedience, wouldn't it cause chaos in the world?

Fan Chunren said: "Take the northern camp as an example. The commander of the northern camp is in charge of an army of 200,000 people. Once he develops a disobedient heart, wouldn't it mean that the entire northern land would be in chaos?"

Wei Yuan said: "Previously, the local feudal officials had extremely powerful powers. They not only controlled the economic lifeline of a place, but could even control the army. Or the local army generals were working with the local officials."

"My idea is to implement a system of separation of military and political affairs, cancel the position of regiment training envoy, and manage the army only according to the rank of lieutenant general, and it will be under the unified jurisdiction of the imperial court."

"Local officials can only be in charge of the garrison and have no authority over the military affairs. The military is directly under the jurisdiction of the court. This can avoid the suspicion of the commander of the first battalion becoming too powerful."

"Furthermore, every three to five years, the coaches of the five major battalions must complete a swap to prevent power from seeping in."

Some officials with military power, with local support, can dominate a party and do whatever they want.

But now, you are not allowed to take care of local affairs. You are only allowed to manage the army.

Money, food and other items were all paid by the court.

The place and the army are no longer connected.

This is the separation of military and political affairs.

The most important thing is that every three to five years, the coaches of the five major battalions are swapped, which means that no one coach can unscrupulously cultivate confidants in the army.

Wei Yuan continued, "I have another plan. All the people of Zhou Dynasty can join the army. Except those with positions above general and below, the period is every five years. When the time limit is up, they must return to their hometowns to farm. You cannot "Stay in the military."

"When their time limit for joining the army is up, our army can recruit new soldiers to fill the supply of soldiers. If there is a war, the date of discharge can be postponed. Veterans who have served in the army must also be ordered to return to their respective camps on time to prepare for the war when the supply of soldiers is insufficient. prepare for."

In this way, the problem of a general cultivating his confidants is completely eliminated.

It can also provide a steady supply of troops for the future Great Zhou Dynasty.

Zhao Xi, Wang Anshi and others all felt enlightened after hearing Wei Yuan's long speech.

If Wei Yuan's plan really succeeds, then it will affect not only the present, but also future generations for generations to come.

In particular, the term of military service is five years, which completely solves the shortcomings of insufficient military resources and temporary expansion of troops during wartime.

Doesn't the so-called redundant troops mean that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers is low?

"When the five-year military service period is approaching, each army can conduct a military competition or trial. Only those with outstanding results can continue to stay in the army, and their salary will naturally be improved."

"As for how to resettle retired veterans, the first is for the court officials to arrange for them to return to their hometowns to farm and change their jobs, and the second is to give them a sum of money when they retire."

"."

Wei Yuan continued to speak for half an hour.

He didn't shut up until his mouth was dry.

At this moment, everyone's eyes looked at him differently.

Various looks such as surprise and admiration were mixed together, all focused on him.

Wei Yuan saw that everyone seemed to have fallen into silence, so he bowed to Zhao Xi and said, "Minister, I'm done."

However, those people still didn't recover from their shock.

Everything Wei Yuan said shocked them too much.

After a long time.

Zhao Xi barely recovered and warned everyone in an unprecedented serious tone,

"If anyone dares to leak half a word of what Master Wei said just now, I will kill him!"

If Wei Yuan's military reform was known to the enemy country.

Then, it is entirely possible to make the enemy's military strength even stronger.

"Master Wei, I will no longer ask about the military reform."

"I'll leave it all to you. I'll only look at the results!"

Zhao Xi was full of confidence in Wei Yuan.

If the military reform can be successful, he will have martial arts skills with it.

When everyone went back to rest.

Wang Anshi specially found Wei Yuan and bowed to him:

"Brother Wei, what you said today has enlightened me. You should accept this greeting."

Wei Yuan hurriedly helped him up and said with a smile: "Prince Wang, brother Wang, what are you doing?"

Wang Anshi said: "If your military reform strategy can be successful, my Great Zhou will no longer have to worry about foreign affairs."

Wei Yuan said seriously: "Prince Wang, my words are easy to say but difficult to do, especially the reduction of troops. Such a large-scale reduction of troops will inevitably face great resistance. If I am not careful, I, the champion marquis, will be cursed by the soldiers."

Wang Anshi also said solemnly: "Taifu Wei has done this for the country. I will bear this infamy with you!"

He held Wei Yuan's wrist tightly.

At this moment, the eyes of the two seemed to have returned to the day when Zhao Zhen was alive.

At that time, both of them thought of a sentence at the same time, which is no different from today,

[Generals and ministers are in harmony, and the world is at peace]

In the early July of the first year of Kaiwu.

Sheng Changbai married Hai Chaoyun.

Wei Yuan, Wang Anshi and others went.

Now, under Wei Yuan's suggestion, Sheng Changbai, who is young and has little experience in governing, has become the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The speed of promotion is amazing.

Sheng Changbai certainly understands that all this depends on Wei Yuan's help.

At first, Wang Anshi, who was unwilling to form a clique for personal gain, naturally did not want to support Sheng Changbai under Wei Yuan's suggestion.

Later, Wei Yuan spoke to Wang Anshi earnestly, which made Wang Anshi change his mind.

"You and I are officials in the court, and now we are in high positions. We have been busy for so long, mostly for the country, but a little bit, we are also a little selfish, and we also want the younger generations to live a better life and let them show their strengths."

"Changbai is your disciple, and he is my nephew. He is also a rare young talent. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, he values ​​young officials and only seeks great governance. He needs young people like Changbai to stand in the torrent and work for the people. We, this can also be regarded as a talent for the country."

Wang Anshi heard that it made some sense.

So, Sheng Changbai became the youngest left assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel since the founding of the Great Zhou.

The promotion of Sheng Changbai was gradually reflected in the entire court, which meant that the court no longer selected talents based on qualifications and experience. An era that allows young people to show their talents and everyone can jump into the dragon gate has arrived.

This period was called by later historians the Great Era of Reform in the Zhou Dynasty!