Prime Minister

Chapter 1147: Continue to Advance

Chapter 1147: Continue to Advance

The cool breeze blows on the Bian River, and tourists come and go on the road.

At the Tianjie Bridge, after reporting the matter, Xue Xiang bowed to Zhang Yue, then mounted his horse and left with dozens of followers.

Seeing the white-haired Xue Xiang riding away, Zhang Yue had no intention of leaving. He looked at the lights on both sides of the Bian River reflected in the water, and the ladies holding oil-paper umbrellas on both sides of the road.

He stood by the river, admiring the night view while soothing himself from the drunkenness.

At this moment, hundreds of Yuan attendants surrounded the palace and blocked the road on both sides to prevent the people from disturbing Prime Minister Zhang who was thinking about state affairs.

But to be precise, Zhang Yue usually spends most of his time in a daze.

It is often said that prime ministers are very busy and have to deal with so many things every day. Zhang Yue was compared with Prime Minister Zhuge Liang's workload.

Zhang Yue wanted to say that they were really overthinking it.

Zhang Yue has always been a man of few words, and his staff team of nearly a hundred people, led by Cai Bian, Su Zhe and Qin Guan, are not there to do nothing but work.

Focus on cultivating talents instead of working hard yourself.

At the banquet, the emperor and his ministers compared the systems of the Tang and Song dynasties.

The Song people looked at the Tang Dynasty in the same way as people of Zhang Yue's time looked at the Qing Dynasty.

When modern people talk about the Qing Dynasty, they always say it was a loss of sovereignty and humiliation of the country. When people in the Song Dynasty looked at the Tang Dynasty as a whole, they could not avoid the negative things such as eunuchs' disorderly politics, the emperor's migration, and separatist regimes.

Song Xiaozong's self-evaluation was that the family rules of his dynasty were far superior to those of the Han and Tang dynasties, except for the use of military force.

This is not unreasonable.

According to Song fans, the two Song dynasties lasted 319 years, the longest since the Qin Dynasty (strictly speaking, the two Han dynasties were two dynasties, and the Eastern Han Dynasty could be counted as such, as well as the Shu Han Dynasty).

The culture and economy have also reached a peak, but... the military power is indeed quite poor.

The Song Dynasty's military system had been corrupted since the Treaty of Chanyuan, when peace was purchased with money. To be more precise, the Song army after the reign of Emperor Renzong was a reflection of the fact that the army was kept to support the country.

Wang Anshi's reform of military tactics has indeed changed the problem of soldiers not knowing their commanders and commanders not knowing their soldiers. Zhang Yue resolutely implemented it when he was in Xihe Road, and the effect was very good.

But there are problems with the baojia system.

At that time, cutting down the redundant troops was a top priority. During the Zhiping years, military expenditures accounted for more than 90% of the national treasury revenue. Wang Anshi cut down the redundant troops, and Zhang Yue also fully supported it.

However, what will happen to the army’s combat effectiveness after cutting redundant soldiers?

Wang Anshi believed that the baojia system should replace the conscription system.

So can the militia of the Baojia Company be used?

Wang Anshi thought it was possible. This was the policy of combining military service with farming during the Three Dynasties, and the same was true of the Tang Dynasty's military system.

These words touched the emperor, and everyone knew that he was an admirer of the Tang system.

Wang Anshi's statement equated the Tang Dynasty's government soldiers with the militia under the Baojia system, which was undoubtedly a huge joke. Sima Guang and Feng Jingdu repeatedly questioned Wang Anshi, asking whether it was the militia that Taizu and Taizong used to pacify the country?

Wang Anshi argued that there was no difference between recruiting soldiers and militia, it just depended on the type of generals.

Whether this method of protecting the nails is effective or not depends on its efficacy.

In fact, since the establishment of the baojia system, the Song Dynasty never used the soldiers trained under the baojia system as regular troops.

In another time and space, there were five armies attacking Xia, and the imperial guards were still used. At that time, the government wanted Wang Zhongzheng to lead the militia to fight against Western Xia, but Wang Zhongzheng sternly refused.

The biggest drawback of the Baojia system is that, like the Tang Dynasty's Fubing, the militiamen have to be inspected and assigned to duty. However, once they are inspected and assigned to duty, the militiamen have to take part-time leave.

But the problem is that the Tang Dynasty's government soldiers could be part-time workers, but the Song Dynasty's militia could not.

In the end, due to the great public outrage, the court had to stop the inspection and reporting, and the baojia system became a mere formality.

Later, during the reigns of Emperors Zhezong and Huizong, the Baojia system was in name only. But the Baojia system could not be abolished. Wasn't this an admission that there were problems with the new system?

In history, both the new and old parties refuse to admit their mistakes.

When Zhang Dun was in power, he also said that as long as the baojia system was trained, it would be better than regular soldiers.

However, Li Gang, the organizer of the Battle of Bianliang, had not reviewed the system for many years, and the baojia system had long been in name only.

Later, during the Jingkang period, the Jin soldiers invaded without hesitation. No matter how bad the imperial guards were, they could at least resist a few times. However, letting the baojia soldiers, who were not trained at ordinary times, deal with the elite Jin soldiers who had experienced many battles was undoubtedly driving sheep to feed tigers.

Therefore, there is a saying that the Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Baojia system.

Later, the New Party argued that if the baojia system had not been abolished, the Jin army could definitely be stopped.

But the baojia system was in name only because it could not be implemented.

If the imperial court wants to implement the Baojia system, it must provide enough money and the subsidies for the militia must keep up. But you want to save money compared to the imperial guards, and you want to replace the imperial guards with militias. How can such a good thing be possible?

During the time of Wang Anshi, people would cut off their fingers to avoid military training.

Therefore, with Xue Xiang's proposal, Zhang Yue decided to abolish the baojia system as the next step.

Zhang Yue is in power.

Make a law and abolish it!

If you establish one thing, you will abolish another!

Today, the great victory in Lanzhou was regarded as the first achievement and was congratulated by all officials. It was the pinnacle of his reign.

The most important thing is that with this reputation, Zhang Yue can advance his next proposal.

Zhang Yue's character is more of a judge of the situation. If he is asked to do something like Wang Anshi, despite the opposition of many people and the huge pressure, he probably can't do it.

When encountering setbacks, you are more likely to stop and find new direction, but if the wind is favorable, you should rush forward bravely and unstoppable.

People in the world are either defeated by laziness or by arrogance.

Zhang Yue despises people who become complacent after achieving some success and have no desire to make progress.

The most terrifying thing in the world is not the counterattack of people in desperate situations, but the people in favorable situations who always persevere and make further progress!

People like this will never be caught up.

Today, Zhang Yue must take advantage of his great power to expand his advantage and continue the pursuit.

The next step is to use Xue Xiang's power to completely abolish the baojia system and reform the military system.

If they wanted to pacify the Dangxiang, there was no need to reform the military system. However, if they wanted to destroy the Liao in the future, or even face a force stronger than the Liao, they had to reform the military system.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yue took a deep breath, mounted his horse and returned home. If he returned any later, he was afraid that his wife would be angry.

When he arrived at the gate of the mansion, Zhang Yue saw a man standing with his hands behind his back under the lights.

This person was none other than Zhang Yu, the secretary of the Privy Council who had been at home on sick leave. He did not even attend the victory celebration banquet today, which made the emperor very unhappy.

The emperor asked himself, "Does Zhang Qie regard himself as a minister of the court? Does he take me seriously?"

Zhang Yue understood the official's rage very well.

However, Zhang Qie did not attend the banquet today, but appeared in front of his own mansion.

Zhang Yu was dressed in white, with wrinkles on his temples. His spirit and energy were far inferior to those of the great generals who had returned from Xihe and Pingxia.

Zhang Yue looked at Zhang Qie.

Zhang Qie also looked at Zhang Yue.

The two looked at each other for a moment. Zhang Qie remained silent for a long time, and Zhang Yue was also speechless.

Finally, Zhang Qie finally spoke, as if he was talking to him or himself: "Prime Minister Zhang, I really envy the soldiers who are making achievements at the front."

"I really wish I was the one who killed Liang Yimai. I really can't accept this!"

"Is it possible that I will never achieve such a great feat in this lifetime?"

Zhang Yue sighed upon hearing this, who could he blame?