Prime Minister

Chapter 1243 Inspection of Imperial College

Chapter 1243 Inspection of Imperial College

A soup and noodle shop next to the Imperial College.

The words "Lenghuai Soup Pancake" are clearly visible on the sign.

At this time, the students who had finished their classes came out of the gate one after another and headed towards this old shop.

Shopkeeper Xu San was still waiting at the door, greeting the students. Soon the lobby on the first floor was filled with people.

After being hungry for half a day, the students were eager to pick up the soup noodles with chopsticks. Although the cafeteria in the Imperial College was good, it was too crowded after the expansion of enrollment, and some students wanted to have a good meal.

There are now 2,400 students in the Imperial College. Such a community has led to the development of all industries around the Imperial College.

As for Xu's soup and pancake shop, business is booming.

At a square table in the store, several students were talking while chewing rice cakes and noodle soup.

"The Khitan Iron Guards and Tangut Iron Harriers are all armored cavalry."

"There are also Tangut Bubazi, who are the heavy troops that line up the city walls of the Northern Wei Dynasty."

"The court wants to train new troops in the three prefectures. According to the official report, each prefecture will have 20,000 soldiers. Excluding the remaining soldiers, there will be only 30,000 regular soldiers. There are a total of 120 commanders here."

"If we students do it, there will be 120 supervisors! With 120 people, we have too many people and not enough food to go around."

"It's difficult, it's difficult. I heard that the new army of the imperial court wants to imitate the Khitan and Tangut to build heavy infantry and heavy cavalry. The army of our Song Dynasty seems to be a legacy of the Five Dynasties, focusing on field battles and less on logistics, so this time we arranged more than 30,000 soldiers to match 30,000 regular soldiers. But I heard that Tangut has two burdens for each regular soldier."

"They say we need to have a large number of well-equipped cavalry, but where will the weapons come from? Besides, the Khitan cavalry will move south in the fall, and the court wants us to use soldiers as a city. Then, at that time, our troops from the three prefectures will have to fight the Khitan with real swords and guns. Swords and guns have no eyes, and it's hard to say until you're in front of the battle."

"But you have also heard that regular soldiers are paid 50 kan a year, just like the imperial guards. As for officers, it's more than that. Although they are military officials when they first enter, they can be converted into civil officials after they have made contributions and received rewards. When they are appointed to local posts, they will still be civil officials."

"But each commander of our Song army has 500 people, and the commander of the cavalry only has 400 people. I heard that each Khitan cavalry unit has 500 to 700 people. Our court has been able to fight the Tanguts after practicing military tactics in recent years, but I'm afraid there is no hope against the Khitan."

"Hey, maybe there won't be a real fight? At least it's a place to gain experience. Look at those brothers who went to Xihe Road to win military merits in recent years. Many of them have been promoted and some have even joined the Hengban. The court has valued military merits in recent years. As long as the Khitan don't go south this year, we will at least have an official position."

"We are all students in the lower dormitories. It is extremely difficult to enter the middle dormitories, let alone the upper dormitories, let alone the provincial examinations. This is a good way to go. What if there is no war? Even if there is a war, it may not be our turn."

"I see that there are so many classmates who want to be flexible. If we are late, I am afraid we will have no chance. I won't say more. I won't say more. I have a sutra class later."

"Cheng Zhi said that he is a ruthless killer who won't budge at all. Let's go quickly to avoid being punished by him."

After chatting for a while, they ate the soup and noodles, paid some money and left.

However, two Tai students who were sitting nearby and eating noodles heard what these people said. Some of them found it funny, while others felt disdainful.

After these people left, one of them said, "You heard it too. If the new army of Sanfu is full of people like this, then the imperial court's training of soldiers would be in vain."

The other man looked heroic, with a pair of long eyebrows as sharp as a knife. He said, "What else can we do? The Liao Kingdom is about to march south, the imperial guards in the capital are no longer useful, and the troops in Hebei have not fought for eighty years."

The other party laughed and said, "I think all crows are black. As long as the entangled roots are not removed and the human relationships are not eliminated, the new army will also follow the old path of the new army and the Hebei troops."

The long-browed man said, "That's right. The imperial court is wasting its efforts. The Khitan Tielin and the Tangut Bubazi are all troops that were won through fighting. I think if the Khitans reach the city of Bianjing, there will be no other way except to dispatch the Western Army to help."

"Then are you going?"

The other party said: "No, I would rather go to the northwest."

Another person said: "You and I are both middle-ranking students. We can take the official official career in the future. There is no need to follow the path of military service."

The two exchanged a few words and then left with the money.

……

Two days later, the emperor visited the Imperial College.

It is a big event for the emperor to observe customs and study.

Everyone in the Imperial College was on high alert.

As a former student of the Imperial College and later the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, Zhang Yue accompanied the emperor on his inspection tour of the Imperial College and revisited the old place, which brought back memories.

Imperial College was his base. Han Zhongyan, Huang Lu and Cai Que were all his classmates there. His left and right men also graduated from Imperial College.

Now that he was training a new army in the three prefectures, he naturally thought of the Imperial College.

Why train a new army?

Because the old system of troops cannot be used.

Now, whether it is the Song Dynasty's so-called 800,000 imperial guards or the Ming Dynasty's three major camps, they are of no use at all at the end of the dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty had already fallen into decline by the time of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the late Qing Dynasty. The combat effectiveness of the Eight Banners Green Camp is also obvious at a glance. They formed the Jiangnan and Jiangbei camps. What level was that?

It was completely rotten and hopeless. From generals to soldiers, they openly solicited prostitutes and smoked opium in the camp.

In the end, it was the newly recruited Hunan Army that defeated the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Starting from scratch will definitely be more efficient and produce more effective results than reforming.

The court has been very kind to scholars in recent years, and the first thing he thinks of when he sees any benefit is the Imperial College. If there is trouble in the world now, the Imperial College will naturally take the responsibility."

Taixue was also an important base for the new legal reforms, representing the scholar's style and serving as a forum for public opinion.

During the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song, the political situation in the officialdom was corrupt, and the morals of scholars were also degenerate. The trend of scholars competing with each other continued. Others said, "Everything in the world is valuable, but the scholars are the cheapest."

This time the inspection process is still the same as before.

However, later on, the emperor specially met with the military students in the Imperial College.

Now that the country is in danger, the government's reception of the military students is also a manifestation of the court's respect for military affairs. In the future, it is also hoped that these students will become the backbone of the new army in the three prefectures and take on the responsibility of resisting the Khitan cavalry or the future northern expedition to Youyan.

"Focusing on culture over military affairs" is a saying of the later Qing dynasty, but it was never said in the Song dynasty. The only saying in the Song dynasty was "focusing on culture".

More than 300 martial artists gathered in Zhishan Hall. The government gave them money and gifts, and the scholars naturally praised the emperor for his wisdom.

The emperor was very happy to see the students. They all had lively expressions on their faces, unlike the officials in official circles who were cautious in their words and actions.

The emperor was in a good mood today, and suddenly said, "If you have anything to say from the bottom of your heart, you may as well tell me."

When the emperor was in high spirits, the lecturers and ministers accompanying him at the side all looked unhappy, for fear that the students would say something unpleasant.

Cheng Yi, a lecturer at the Imperial College, said frankly: "Your Majesty has questions, and you can answer them with all your knowledge!"

Sure enough, there were several students from the Imperial College who were eager to try.

The official nodded, showing that he was willing to accept advice humbly.