It is said that Wang Zeng took a train to Sizhou, and Jia Zhenyi led the officials of Sizhou to greet him, and Meng Ming also arrived at this time, but he just mixed in with the crowd and did not meet forward.

After Wang Zeng greeted everyone, he took a sedan chair to the official office of Zhizhou, and then notified the officials of Sizhou who were above the seventh grade to go to the government to meet each other.

Meng Ming went to send a greeting post to Wang Zeng, at this time Wang Zeng was changing clothes, and after he received the post, he hurriedly got up to greet Meng Ming.

When Wang Zeng saw Meng Ming, he said, "Meng Yuma, I haven't seen you for a long time, why did you get to Sizhou?" ”

Meng Ming hurriedly saluted, and then replied: "Lord Wang, don't come unharmed, I took a boat to Sizhou at that time, and when I saw that it was dark for one night, I stayed here to rest; But during this period, he encountered an injustice, so he stayed, and then collected some evidence of the crime and wanted to present it to Lord Wang. ”

Meng Ming handed over the evidence he had collected to Wang Zeng, and then sent someone to escort You Erxi, the leader of the bandits, to the mansion, and then handed it over to him.

Wang Zeng took the relevant evidence and letters, and saw it carefully, and finally his face became more and more ugly, and finally he became angry.

I only heard him roar angrily: "This Fang Liuyi is simply unconscionable and lawless; For his own lust, he actually ruined two families; also colluded with the government, he actually died, and he was cheaper; If he is still alive, the official will have to smelt him well. ”

He looked at Meng Ming again and said: "Fortunately, the horse gave me so many incriminating materials, which allowed me to see the darkness and squalor of Sizhou officialdom, the collusion of officials and bandits, the reversal of black and white, and the indifference of human life; The old man will definitely clear the filth of Sizhou officialdom and return the people to a bright sky. ”

He invited Meng Ming to attend his Zhizhou appointment banquet, and Meng Ming readily agreed, and then he bid farewell to Wang Zeng.

Wang Zeng went to the government and met with those officials above the seventh grade, mainly for a friendship tea party, so that these subordinates could report to their homes and get to know each other.

Wang Zeng took out the evidence given by Meng Ming at this time, and put forward the "Ni Family Destruction Case" by name on the spot, and he showed the evidence to his subordinates, and as a result, there were more than a dozen officials at the scene whose faces were like dirt and trembling, including Jia Zhenyi.

In the end, Wang Zeng ordered people to take down these corrupt officials on the spot, and then redressed Deng Changhao, and also pardoned Shen Xiguang.

Meng Ming, Zhang Miaoniang, Li Yanniang's mother and son, and Shen Xiguang's mother and son took the train back to Tokyo, and this time they have been away from home for four months.

As soon as Meng Ming arrived at home, a decree came from the palace to let him enter the palace for an audience, he hurriedly washed up, straightened his makeup, and then entered the palace to face the saint.

When I arrived at the palace, there was a small yellow door in front to lead the way, and after a while, I arrived at the emperor's dormitory "Yanfu Palace".

At this time, Zhao Zhen was dressed in civilian clothes, light yellow, no pattern, and a belt around his waist, which looked very casual.

Meng Ming hurriedly bowed forward, and then said, "Weichen participates in the official family, I don't know if the official family is good to come in?" ”

When Zhao Zhen saw Meng Ming coming, his face immediately turned happy, and he quickly stepped forward to help Meng Ming, who was saluting.

He said happily: "Meng Aiqing, don't be polite, please get up quickly, you have been gone for more than four months, and I miss you very much; I'm in good health, but I feel that I am entangled in political affairs, and it is more boring and boring. ”

He added: "The Royal Military Academy has been completed, and the specific regulations have to be drawn up by you. After all, the DPRK and Chinese ministers passed a resolution on the formation and training of the new army and the opening of military academies, but they may not have approved and accepted it in their hearts. After all, the ancestral system of "emphasizing literature over military force" has become the norm and national policy of the Great Song Dynasty, which can only be followed and cannot be shaken. ”

Meng Ming said at this time: "The official family doesn't have to worry too much, there must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, there are no immutable rules in the world, and now the Great Song Dynasty seems to be full of flowers, a prosperous world; But the border troubles have not been eliminated, the Western Xia has become a big trouble in the heart of the Great Song Dynasty, if it is left unchecked, the Great Song Dynasty can be weakened because of this, so it can not be "swords and guns into the warehouse, horses put in the South Mountain", and then say that the military weak dynasty is prosperous, just like the pavilion built on the beach, it seems to be majestic and magnificent, but as soon as the storm comes, it will collapse in a blink of an eye. ”

At this time, Tongping Zhangshi Lu Yijian and the privy envoy Xue Kui had just arrived, and they also heard Meng Ming's words.

Xue Kui opened his mouth and said: "What Senior Minister Meng said is very reasonable, although the Western Xia has been hit by the Liao and Song dynasties, although it has injured some muscles and bones, it has not hurt its vitality; As the saying goes: "A hundred-legged insect dies but does not stiffen", the strength should not be underestimated, and it is still a big problem in the heart of the Great Song Dynasty, and it should always be guarded against its backlash. ”

Lu Yijian also said: "Now the military expenditure spent on the war in the northwest has risen one after another, accounting for nearly one-third of the national treasury revenue. For the sake of the imperial court and future generations, it is also necessary to solve the problems of Western Xia once and for all. Therefore, in order to improve military strength, it is necessary to reform the military system, and then we must start by organizing and training new troops and opening military schools. ”

Although half a year ago, the imperial court had passed a resolution on the reform of the military system and the formation and training of the new army, but so far the Privy Council has not come up with a feasible outline of the plan.

Although he read Meng Ming's "The Disadvantages of the Great Song Military System and the Creation of a New Army" and "A Guide to the Work of the New Army's Political Work", it was difficult to refine and implement, and in a word, "old concepts and old ideas" were still at work.

Since Meng Ming has been in the field for the past four months, he can't go into details, nor can Meng Ming exchange opinions, so the plan was shelved.

At this time, Zhao Zhen was overjoyed when he heard it, as long as the court reached a consensus, there would be no constraints, and the military reform would be carried out smoothly.

Xue Kui proposed to select 10,000 elite soldiers from the forbidden army of the Sanya (Dianqian Division, Guard Horse Military Division, and Guard Infantry Division) to form a new army and conduct training in accordance with the new law.

Lu Yijian also agreed with Xue Kui's opinion, and Zhao Zhen hurriedly sent people to contact other important ministers of the imperial court to come to discuss, including Zhang Shixun, Xia Zhu, Qian Weiyan, the chief and deputy commanders of the three ya, and Kou Zhun, a senior political scholar.

When all the ministers arrived, Zhao Zhen said the topic and let everyone speak freely, and then brainstormed to start the work of organizing and training the new army as soon as possible.

I saw Qian Weiyan move forward and said: "Official, I used to have reservations about this military reform and the formation and training of the new army, but now I want to spit it out, I don't know if it's okay?" ”

Zhao Zhen said: "Qian Aiqing, please speak, it doesn't matter if you have different opinions, can you refer to it in detail." ”

Qian Weiyan said at this time: "Thank you for the grace of the official family, I think the current time for military reform has not yet come, first, this violates the ancestral system of "emphasizing literature and suppressing military force", which is unreasonable; The two will arouse the criticism of scholars all over the world. This year, a new science and technology sergeant once said, "Only those who take the roll call outside the Xihua Gate are good men," and he was quite critical of the reform of the military system and the improvement of the status of military personnel. ”

He added: "Emperor Taizong proposed to "rule the world with scholars" and asked the officials to listen to their opinions and ideas. ”

At this time, Kou Zhun retorted: "Qian Xianggong, don't you know about the numerous war crimes committed by Western Xia, right? In the northwest frontier, thousands of soldiers and civilians in our Great Song Dynasty are killed and injured every year, so it is better for the imperial court to let these crimes go unchecked, and our Great Song Dynasty soldiers and civilians should also "sacrifice their lives to feed tigers" as the Buddhists say. What kind of logic is this? ”

Qian Weiyan said at this time: "Master Kou, I originally respected you as a senior, and I also thought that you were a clear and upright person; Now it seems that you have also been deceived by others, and you have lost your clarity, why do you keep waving the flag and shouting for others. ”

When Kou Zhun heard this, he was immediately furious, and he was refuting him, when he saw Meng Ming come forward to stop him.

I saw Meng Ming say: "There is a saying in the official family: "The sky is not enough to be afraid, the ancestors are not enough to be afraid, and the words of people are not enough to be compassionate", and the truth is obtained from practice. "Lü's Spring and Autumn Period" once said: "Time changes, and the law changes", that is, the environment of the times is constantly changing and updating, and the laws of the old times must also change accordingly to adapt to the changes of the times. ”

He added: "Nowadays, people have faults, just like they are afraid to go to the doctor because of their illness, and they would rather die of illness or be ruined than come to their senses; So can a country with bad governance also do the same? I would also like to ask the officials and all the adults here to think twice. ”

Xia Zhu said at this time: "Official, now my Great Song Dynasty is a prosperous and prosperous era, but the border troubles have not been eliminated, and they will eventually become a big disaster; Although the army of our dynasty is becoming larger and larger, its military strength is becoming weaker and weaker, and it is no longer able to compare with the Western Xia army. It's not that our soldiers don't need to die, in fact, there is a problem with the military system, I have also read Mr. Meng's strategy, I think it is feasible, but it is better to try it out, and it can also verify the effect, if it is good, it will be promoted and operated, and if it is not good, it will be discarded; If you are safe, you will change if you are too aggressive. ”

Zhao Zhen was a little shaken when he heard Qian Weiyan's words at this time, but he listened to the words of other ministers, and the idea of changing the law in his heart became alive again, but he was still a little hesitant.

Meng Ming said at this time: "Official, you can first form a new army with a strength of 5,000 people, you can recruit good families from all over the country, and after training for half a year, you can compete with the elite of the Beijing Forbidden Army. ”

Zhao Zhen listened to his words at this time, weighed it, and approved his proposal.

The other ministers all passed it except for Qian Weiyan, but although Qian Weiyan did not approve it, he did not oppose it.

Zhao Zhen appointed Yang Wenguang, who returned to Beijing to report on his work and was rewarded, to form a new army, Meng Ming went to Xiangli, and Zhao Zhen also read the "New Army Political Work Guide", and now he learned and sold it to seal him as the political commissar of the new army.

In the end, Zhao Zhen raised the issue of the opening of the Royal Military Academy, and he asked Meng Ming to express his views.

Meng Ming got up at this time and said: "The Royal Military Academy is also an important part of the military system reform, it is mainly to train high-quality military command talents for the Great Song Army, and the graduated cadets will be assigned to the army or military-related units; They are all protégés of the Son of Heaven, and they will all take it as their duty to serve the country loyally. ”

He also said that the enrollment targets of military academies are now only recruiting qualified officers at or above the battalion level (including battalion level) in the Great Song Dynasty Forbidden Army, and will also recruit from the civilian sector in the future.

At this time, Zhao Zhen issued an order to let the officials above the fifth rank in Beijing go to the Royal Military Academy to observe and study a month later, and then write a testimonial and suggestion, and submit it to the political hall to summarize the imperial review.