As soon as Liu Heng said this, Xu Jiang's expression was slightly shocked.

In the end, it was the squire of the military department during the Yuanfeng period, who was assigned by the old party at the beginning of Yuan You, so Xu Jiang knew Zhao Xu's name and had also seen Zhao Xu seven years ago.

General Xu is a little incredible, there are so many big things inside and outside the palace, why did this young official suddenly come to him?

Came to him on purpose?

Is it because of the revival of the party? Do you want to change the law again?

General Xu's doubts rose sharply, but his face was as unmoving as a mountain, and he raised his hand and said, "General Xu ......."

Zhao Xu closed his fan, patted his hand, and said with a smile: "I just walk around, no need to be polite, don't you invite me in for a cup of tea?" ”

General Xu hurried to his hands with a slight pain, his heart was a little tight, and he hurriedly said, "Official, Zhao Gongzi, please." ”

Zhao Xu smiled, followed General Xu into the room, and raised his eyes to take a look.

The Xu family is not a family with four walls, but compared with the magnificence of other officials, there are groups of servants, even if they are eight or nine grades, they are far inferior, and they can only be regarded as food and clothing, which is very different in the 'rich' Great Song Dynasty official system.

Mrs. Xu looked at the rare 'polite' look of his family officials, vaguely noticed something, and withdrew very politely.

Zhao Xu and Xu Jiang sat down separately, saw Xu Jiang pouring tea, and said, "This tea...... Average? ”

Although Xu Jiang was full of doubts in his heart, he also smiled and said: "Let the official family smile, these are all gifts from friends." ”

Zhao Xu took the teacup, took a sip, and said directly: "Now the government and the opposition are disturbing, saying that I am too angry and do not respect the ancestral law, and that I am too mean to the courtiers, and that I am venting my anger against Lu Dafang and others, and it is not the saint's doing, what do you think?" ”

Zhao Xu didn't know how many recitals he received during this time, some of them were righteous and righteous, some were sideways, some analyzed the pros and cons, some quoted scriptures, and some were ambiguous, but the meanings were almost the same, all of them were excusing Lu Dafang and others, asking Zhao Xu to 'be a saint'.

Zhao Xu said, his eyes kept staring at General Xu.

Xu Jiang didn't expect Zhao Xu to be so straightforward, and his hand holding the teapot paused, thought for a while, and said: "Since the officials know it, it's not what they say." ”

Zhao Xu still looked at him and said, "Then Xu Qing's family said, what are I thinking?" ”

Xu Jiang couldn't stop thinking in his heart, but he still couldn't guess Zhao Xulai's intentions, he really wanted to get back to him, replace the 'old party', and he didn't need to make a special trip, this sentence was more like taking the school exam.

He, a former soldier in the military department, let the officials look at him so highly?

Following Zhao Xu's words, General Xu pondered for a while and said, "The minister can't guess." ”

Zhao Xu looked at him and said, "Can't you guess, or don't you dare to say?" ”

Xu Jiang's face couldn't help but move, he looked up at Zhao Xu, and was secretly surprised in his heart, is this official so keen at a young age?

Thinking that Zhao Xu would snatch back power in a short time, Xu Jiang quietly woke up and said with a normal face: "The minister really can't guess." ”

Zhao Xu smiled, hugged the teacup, and said, "If you can't guess, you can't guess." I ask you another thing, what do you think of the military system of our dynasty? I have read the transcript you gave to my father during the Yuanfeng period. ”

Xu was a squire of the military department during the Yuanfeng period, and he had many reform proposals for the army, especially one of them, which was very attractive to Zhao Xu's idea: to delegate the power of the Privy Council to the military department.

Although it was thought by the Divine Sect that 'the ancestors did not belong to the division with the military authority, so the officials were appointed to control each other and maintain each other, how could it be abolished? It was dismissed, but Zhao Xu had some other ideas.

Xu Jiang listened to Zhao Xu's words, and immediately understood the purpose of Zhao Xu's coming, and said, "Official, what do you want to do?" ”

Zhao Xu took a sip of tea, looked at him, and said concisely: "I want to streamline the government." ”

General Xu frowned slightly, the words 'elite soldiers and simple administration' seem simple, but in fact it is as difficult as climbing to the sky.

During the reign of Shenzong, Wang Anshi changed the law, in fact, he also wanted to do this, but in the end, not only did he fail to do it, but he made progress and promoted the expansion of the army and officials, making the problem of 'three redundancies' more and more heavy, and it was difficult to extricate himself.

This is not to say that Wang Anshi and others are completely incompetent, but it also directly shows the difficulty of these things.

General Xu pondered again and again, and said, "Your Majesty, what do you want to do?" ”

If the 'new party' continues to follow the Xining method, it will not only fail to solve some problems, but may also aggravate maladministration and make it more difficult to return.

Zhao Xu saw that Xu Jiang was contemplative, and nodded secretly in his heart, although this Xu Jiang has been idle for a few years, it is not that he does not care about the government at all, and obviously has a lot of thoughts in his heart.

Zhao Xu put down the teacup and said, "It's not what I want to do, it's what you want to do?" ”

The corners of Xu Jiang's face tightened, he understood the meaning of Zhao Xu's words, hesitated again and again, but still looked up at Zhao Xu, and said with a straight face: "Your Majesty, if the ministers come to do it, first, merge all roads and reduce the number; Second, it is necessary to carry out an inventory of all armed forces, crack down on corruption, and dismiss the old, weak, sick and disabled. Third, select generals and strengthen training ......"

Zhao Xu raised his eyebrows, Xu Jiang really dared to say.

The Song Dynasty now has more than 100 armies, and each 'road' is basically a 'provincial' level establishment, commanding the state capital. Therefore, whether it is to merge all walks of life or cut the number, it is definitely not one or two people who are offended, and that kind of opposition is no weaker than Zhao Xu's imprisonment and Lu Dafang.

Zhao Xu pondered in his heart and said, "What's more, you haven't said the key yet." ”

General Xu did not hesitate and said: "Although the Privy Council has great powers and responsibilities, it is difficult to act due to many constraints. The minister hoped that the power of the Privy Council would be delegated to the Ministry of War, which would be subordinate to Shangshu Province, and even if it encountered opposition, it would not be dragged down by the entire court. Second, with fewer constraints, we can act more effectively. ”

Zhao Xu nodded slightly and said, "Go on." ”

General Xu paused, becoming more and more vigilant, the official in front of him obviously thought more, and said: "The minister thinks that it is enough for our dynasty to keep eleven roads, and it is enough for each army to have a maximum of twenty-two." Generals should not be frequently transferred, because 'soldiers do not know the generals and generals do not know the soldiers,' which is not conducive to the maintenance of the army's combat strength. ”

Zhao Xu's eyes widened, this time he was really surprised.

Now the Song Dynasty has twenty-three roads, which is equivalent to twenty-three provinces, which is to merge in twos? Of the more than 100 numbered troops, only twenty-two remained?

How many people, how many soldiers are involved!

This, Xu Jiang, is very bold!

Zhao Xu subconsciously picked up the teacup and thought carefully.

Xu Jiang's idea was even more 'intense' than he expected, if this kind of action continued, even if it was done slowly, it would cause huge opposition, and Wang Anshi would not dare to do so!

Seeing Zhao Xu's expression, Xu Jiang realized that he had said too much, and hurriedly said: "This matter is very important, and it needs to be carefully considered by the officials, and the government and the opposition are all in business. ”

Zhao Xu hummed casually, still thinking in his heart.

Xu Jiang's ideas are very bold, but it is very difficult to operate.

First, the current Song Dynasty has very weak control over the localities, and the 'merger of two by two' is equivalent to merging the two provinces, involving how many official hats, how many people in the government and the opposition, plus the intricate and complex official system of checks and balances, I am afraid that there will be a big mess if it is not successful!

Reducing the number, retaining twenty-two armies, the number of troops to be reduced, as high as hundreds of thousands, there is not enough ammunition pressure to make a foundation, the imperial court may not dare to make such a determination, it is even more difficult to do!

It may be possible, but it may take a long time, and it will be full of thorns, difficulties, and dangers, and if you are not careful, you will sink into the sand!