Meng Ming retreated to the side after speaking, and at this time the privy envoy Xue Kui said: "Meng Yuma, this situation is true, but the Wen Yuwu is a national policy formulated by Taizu, which cannot be changed, the war in Western Xia has shown that the disadvantages of the Great Song military system have undoubtedly appeared, the two years of Song Xia War, "the soldiers do not know the generals, the generals do not know the soldiers" The phenomenon is particularly serious, and then the literati who do not know the military affairs are in charge of the troops, it is simply to let the Song army go to the Western Xia army to send food to the tiger's mouth, and give their lives in vain. The reform of the military system is imperative, otherwise, it will be empty talk to solve the troubles of the Western Xia, and even the land west of the river will be occupied by the Western Xia in the end."

Lu Yijian said at this time: "This matter should be postponed and discussed, the reform of the military system is not a trivial matter, it is better to be safe." ”

At this time, Kou Zhun stood up and said: "The reform of the military system is imperative, the scale of the forbidden army and the box army is expanding every year, and now it is almost a million, and it is still defeated repeatedly, this must be a problem with the system, and if there is a problem, it must be corrected, otherwise it will be a big problem, and it will have to be changed, and it will be more difficult to put things right at that time, and I support the military reform to be put on the agenda immediately." ”

Meng Mingyou came out and said: "The lower officials think that if they first come up with a plan for military reform, they can choose a three-box army in the border army to try out the new military system. Xiaguan believes that there is no need to change the old system of dividing the military power of the army into three by the imperial court, and it can be retained with civil and imperial military forces, but it is necessary to improve the social status of the soldiers, they are people who really serve the country, and without the guard of the army, where will the country's stability and prosperity come from, and they should also improve their status, and gradually form a social consciousness of "one person is a soldier, and the whole family is glorious." ”

Meng Ming previously wrote a policy treatise on the disadvantages of the military system of the Song army, "The Disadvantages of the Great Song Military System and the Creation of a New Army", which explained in detail the historical origins of the military system of the Great Song Dynasty, its advanced nature and limitations, especially the serious shortcomings of the current military system of the Song army, with clear theoretical coherence and sufficient evidence. In particular, the structure and system of the new army were introduced in detail, especially the control of the army that officials and important ministers were concerned about, proving that the new army was under the control of the state and could not become the private army of a certain general, let alone the situation where the army lost control and formed a feudal pattern. In particular, Meng Ming proposed that the system should be standardized to control the army, and that the commander-in-chief of the army should also be guaranteed the decision-making power and command power of the army within the framework of the system, and that the political work department should be in charge of supervising the commander-in-chief of the army.

Meng Ming talked about his idea in general, first of all, the establishment of the Royal Military Academy, with the official family as the principal, all officers who have reached the battalion level of commander and above must go to the Royal Military Academy for training and study for one year, and after passing the examination, they will be issued a graduation certificate, and in the future, officers above the battalion level (including the battalion level) must graduate from the military academy for promotion. It was necessary to study at the Royal Military Academy for a year, and then at the staff for half a year before going to the front.

The Privy Council set up a general staff to participate in the formulation of military deployment and tactical strategy for each war in the Great Song Dynasty.

The Song-Liao and Song-Xia borders of the Great Song Dynasty were divided into several major war zones, and the supreme commander of each theater was directly appointed by the emperor and needed to go to the imperial military academy for training for half a year. The commanders of each theater are transferred every three years, and the commanders of each compartment (25,000 people in one compartment) are also adjusted every four years, and each compartment is transferred out of the five compartments every two years, and transferred from outside to the five compartments, and the cycle is every four years.

In military units at the battalion level and above, staff bodies are established. Abolish the military supervision agency. The main work of the political work organization: responsible for the education, management, supervision and service of the team. Civilian officials who are loyal to the Great Song Dynasty and loyal to the official family must go to the Political Work Department of the Royal Military Academy to study and train, and master the responsibilities, rules, and procedures of political work. After that, they have to participate in military training, learn military strategy and tactical skills, etc., and only after one year of study at a military academy can they take up their posts.

Meng Ming raised the issue of the establishment of the new army, and after Meng Ming came to the Great Song Dynasty, he was not clear about the military system of the Great Song Dynasty, and the ranks and grades of military generals at all levels were confused. Meng Ming felt that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) of the later Red Dynasty was adopted, and the new army was divided into squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments, divisions, corps, group armies, and large military regions, with the ranks of captains, colonels, generals, and marshals.

After Meng Ming expounded his views, he handed over his "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" to everyone to watch, and then sat back in his place. Zhao Zhen first read it, and then handed it over to the ministers for circulation, and after everyone read it, they discussed it, after all, this is a new thing, and some of the doubts and incomprehensions of everyone have also been raised, and Meng Ming answered them one by one. In the end, everyone affirmed the necessity and urgency of the military restructuring. Meng Ming's strategy can not only overcome the shortcomings of the current military system of the Great Song Dynasty, but also improve the cohesion and combat effectiveness of the army. The key is that the imperial court can not only control the army, but also systematically curb the possibility of rebellion in the army, and also improve the combat effectiveness of the army. Another important role is to reduce the burden of military spending by reducing redundant troops; The elimination of the private army prevented the generals from answering and messing up; Eliminating the bad practices of eating empty salaries, drinking soldiers' blood, and reselling ordnance in the old army can improve the treatment and morale of soldiers. Kill more than one stone.

Zhao Zhen and the ministers who joined the council passed the resolution on the reform of the military system of the Great Song Army and the formation and training of the new army, and the Privy Council formulated the outline and implementation plan for the restructuring, which were submitted to the official family and the government hall for deliberation. Meng Ming and Kou Zhun also participated in it, mainly responsible for building the framework of the outline and the refinement and approval of the plan. Preparing for the construction of the Royal Military Academy is the primary task, the third secretary Li Di allocated 500,000 yuan for the construction of the military academy, and decided to hand over the construction to Meng Ming, Zhao Zhen also decided to personally take charge of this matter, and since then Zhao Zhen has also regularly visited the construction site of the military academy.