Zhao Xu's words basically supported Zhang Dian's opinion.

With Zhao Xu's permission, Zhang Dian, Cai Bian, and Xu Jiang left the vertical arch hall, returned to the green tile house, and continued to discuss.

Su Song, the 'empty' ruler, almost did not participate, and all the three of them were discussing and plotting.

In the end, they discussed and first transferred the two roads of Jingdong, not to the vicinity of Kaifeng City, but to deploy them separately in their jurisdiction, and start sorting out from the downstream.

The two-pronged approach, the political affairs hall, the Privy Council, and the military department each sent people to command, and at the same time transferred all the heads and brains of the two roads back to Beijing.

Zhang Dian and others followed the step-by-step approach, shot steadily, accurately and quickly, without dragging their feet, and did not give the local government time and opportunity to react.

And the excitement of the capital is still continuing, and more and more heavyweights have appeared one after another.

The envoys of various routes, the state capital, and those envoys of the festival degree, as the feudal officials of the town, expressed their views on the situation of the DPRK.

At the same time, the struggle between the 'old and new' parties has become more and more intense, attacking each other, and exposing them one after another.

The Criminal Department, Kaifeng Mansion, Yushitai, and Dali Temple have such and such accusations every day, dozens of cases, and I don't know how many cases have accumulated.

In the seventh year of Yuanyou, June 12.

The dusty Zhang Ji rushed to the capital and came to the vertical arch hall.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Qi raised his hand and said loudly.

Zhao Xu looked at him, Zhang Qi was Zhang Di's cousin, the two had some similar appearances, the corners of their faces were slender, and the sides of their eyebrows were slightly upturned.

is different from the elegance and seriousness of Zhang Dan's teaching craftsman, Zhang Qi is full of a 'stubborn' taste.

An old man in his sixties, with gray hair, a dark and cold wrinkle on his face, even if he bowed down, he was like a stiff spear!

Zhao Xu just looked at it, and immediately said with a smile: "Zhang Qing's family is free of courtesy, sit, tangerine peel, and watch tea." ”

Zhang Qi is the sixth year of Yuan You, that is, the Huanqing Road Governor who was appointed last year, and he has also seen Zhao Xu before.

Seeing Zhao Xu, who was very different from the smile, voice, and tone in the past, Zhang Ji thought about the changes in the capital, as well as the conversation his cousin Zhang Dian had just had with him, and knew that this official family was very different, and said with a face as usual: "Your Majesty." ”

There were five chairs in the vertical arch hall, which were not removed, Zhang Ji sat down and served tea, and he hurriedly bowed down and thanked him.

Zhao Xu picked up the teacup, took a sip lightly, looked at Zhang Qi, and said with a smile: "Zhang Qing's family has worked hard all the way. Zhang Xianggong should have told you everything, right? ”

Zhang Ji didn't drink tea, he sat upright, his head was full of white hair, his face was tired, but his voice was not tired, and he said, "The minister already knows." There are currently 40,000 soldiers on Huanqing Road, and with the recent transfer of the Privy Council, the total number is 80,000. Qinfeng Road and Yongxing Military Road each have 20,000. At present, the armament situation of Huanqing Road is the best, and the other two roads are somewhat slack. If His Majesty and the imperial court hand over the three roads to the ministers to clean up, within three months, there will be a difference. ”

Zhao Xu has studied Zhang Qi's information many times, and he also knows a lot about Zhang Qi, Cai Bian, Xu Jiang and others, and he does not doubt Zhang Qi's ability to clean up the army, he pondered for a moment and said, "What do you think of the court situation?" ”

Zhang Qi is not a complete reformer, but his cousin Zhang Dian is, so Zhang Qi has been in exile for most of these years.

The Zhang family is also not a simple family, it is very prominent!

The ancestors of the Zhang family can be traced back to the title of the founder of Wuning County and the king of Zhongxian; The ancestor was given the Taishi, Zhongshu Ling, and the Duke of Yan Guo. The grandfather is not bad, and he gave the book order to the secret country.

Zhang Qi, Zhang Dan's uncle has more than ten people, and one of his uncles, Zhang De, seems to be the prime minister of the Renzong Dynasty.

And now Zhang Kai, Zhang Dan's generation, there are dozens of people into the court, Zhang Dan is ranked as deputy minister, Zhang Kai has gone all the way, such a generation of official eunuchs of a wealthy family, the sensitivity to the court situation can be imagined.

Zhang Qi sat still and said, "The minister is a border minister, it is not appropriate to say more, please forgive your majesty." ”

"Let's talk about it." Zhao Xu said with a smile.

Zhang Qi's face was as usual, his eyes were blazing and he looked at Zhao Xu, paused, his voice was clear, and said, "Your Majesty, the minister thinks that courtiers should not have too much power. ”

Zhao Xu was stunned, Zhang Qi's words were directed at Zhang Di? Is there any contradiction between their brothers?

Zhang Qi seemed to see Zhao Xu's different color, and continued: "The minister has no intention of targeting anyone, Su Xianggong, Zhang Zihou, and Cai Xianggong are not ministers, the minister is for the national government, and the long-term stability of the society is considered." ”

Zhao Xu nodded a little abruptly and said with a smile: "Well, I know." What do you think about the invasion of the Xia people? ”

Zhang Qi saw that Zhao Xu didn't mention this matter, so he didn't ask, and said: "Back to Your Majesty, the Xia people have fierce internal fighting and fatigue in armament. Our DPRK should be on the defensive, not on the defensive. The Xia people occupy many important places, if we recapture them, we can attack and retreat, and it will be of great benefit to the country! ”

Zhao Xu listened, and immediately asked someone to bring the map of Huanqing Road, and at the same time beckoned, and said, "Zhang Qing's family came forward and told me in detail." ”

Zhang Qi frowned, but still stepped forward, looked at the map of Huanqing Road, pointed to it, and introduced it in detail.

Zhao Xu listened carefully, watched, and pondered.

Zhang Qi is familiar with the strategy and tactics of Huanqing Road, a city and a village, the defense of troops and the situation on the opposite side.

Zhao Xu didn't understand a lot of things, so he would find an opportunity to ask a question or two from time to time.

Zhang Qi knows everything and says everything.

The two gentlemen and ministers gathered around the table, explaining and answering questions and answers.

Unconsciously, it was getting dark, and Chen Pi quietly came over with the lamp, and the two of them were shocked.

Zhao Xu has learned too many things, and has a relatively mature understanding of the frontier situation on Huanqing Road, he exhaled lightly, looked at Zhang Qi with a smile and said: "Listening to your words, it is better to read ten years, and today's lesson from Zhang Qing's family is enough for me to read ten years." ”

Zhang Qi didn't expect to say it for so long, raised his hand and said, "The minister doesn't dare." It's already night, the minister has retired, and if His Majesty has anything else to know, the minister will come back tomorrow. ”

Zhao Xu was still unsatisfied, looked at the sky outside, and said: "There is still a period of time before the palace is forbidden, Zhang Qing's family, stay and dine with me, and I will repay you for this lesson." Tangerine peel, let the imperial chef make something delicious and send it here. ”

Zhang Qi looked at Zhao Xu's casual and unpretentious expression, and he was puzzled, and he couldn't understand it.

It is rumored that today's officials are moody, violent and murderous.

Even the Divine Sect, or even the Renzong, had never entertained his subordinates like this, right?

Zhao Xu didn't care if Zhang Qi could understand it or not, put away the map, sat down directly on the chair in the hall, still excited, and said, "The Qing family wrote from the Qing family before saying that there were spies in the Xia people, and I was very surprised. Then I thought, in this war, if you anticipate the enemy's opportunity, it will be simply invincible. Therefore, this spy is too important. I'm thinking about setting up a special agency to spy on military intelligence. This institution needs to be secretive, not only to probe the enemy's every move, but also to screen and eliminate the enemy's meticulous work within us......"

Zhang Qi listened and did not answer immediately.

The Song Dynasty was not without such institutions, such as the Imperial City Division, whose original duty was to spy on military intelligence.

But this institution gradually fell into disuse, not least because of the gradual absence of war. Rather, the Song Dynasty had unprecedented control over the army, how could such a special institution be relieved to be in the hands of the frontier generals?

Zhang Qi knew this, so he didn't speak immediately.

Zhao Xu had no such scruples, in the dark environment, only Zhang Qi was thinking, and continued: "This organization, to use secret language, layer by layer deployment to be meticulous, precise, criss-crossed, to do multi-line work, not to be subordinate to each other, not one person down, the entire intelligence system collapsed......

Zhao Xu no longer paid attention to Zhang Qi's reaction, and continued: "In addition to intelligence, there is another important factor that depends on the outcome of the war - speed! The infantry army should pay attention to speed, and the cavalry should pay even more attention! I have ordered the Ministry of War to build a cavalry. The main reason why the Central Plains Dynasty was defeated by the northern nomadic forces was the cavalry. The reason why the Han and Tang dynasties were so strong that they couldn't raise their heads on the grassland they fought was also the credit of the cavalry! So, I'm going to train one, no, at least three powerful cavalry......"

"Other than that, firearms. The power of firearms is getting bigger and bigger, and there are more and more ways to use them, and in the future battlefields, firearms will inevitably play a pivotal role and cannot be underestimated......"

"In the future, wars will inevitably involve multi-service coordination, and we cannot rely on a simple military department or cavalry, and we must conscientiously study the ways and means of warfare, keep pace with the times, and not stick to old rules......

When Chen Pi came in again, he found that Zhang Kai originally talked a lot and the officials listened a lot, but now it has completely dropped, the officials are talking, Zhang Qi is listening, and occasionally asks a few questions.

When the meal came, Zhao Xu sat opposite Zhang Qi with a bowl, and while eating, the two chatted.

Zhang Qi gradually heard the taste, this official is very thoughtful, some ideas are unique, he has never heard of it, which opened his eyes. But in some places, it seems very naïve, and they don't even understand common sense, which is completely whimsical.

Slowly, he thought he understood that this official family grew up in the palace since he was a child, and he may have read more books and ideas, but he has less practice.

But even if it is 'on paper', it really surprises Zhang Ji, an old man in his sixties, who has been in Rong for half his life.

It wasn't until the palace ban time passed that Zhao Xu reluctantly sent Zhang Qi out of the palace.

Standing in front of the vertical arch hall, Zhao Xu looked at the starry sky, put his hands behind his back, and said with a smile: "Good ministers and good generals!" ”

Zhang Qi was escorted out of the palace by Chen Pi, and did not speak along the way.

Chen Pi sent it to the gate of the palace and said very politely: "Zhang Jingluo, please go slowly." ”

Zhang Qi nodded and went straight out of the palace.

Not long after leaving, he saw one or two carriages, and the people standing next to the carriages were very familiar to him.

Zhang Ji frowned, walked over, and got into the carriage.

Zhang Dian sat inside, waited for Zhang Qi to sit down, and said lightly: "What does the official family say?" ”

The two brothers are indeed very similar, especially the eyebrows and eyebrows, the difference is that Zhang Dian is too serious and even stern, while Zhang Dian is calm and upright.

Zhang Qi was silent for a while and said, "The official family has great ambitions." ”

"Nonsense!"

Zhang Dian said directly: "Let me ask you, has the official family allowed you to control Qin Fenglu and the Yongxing Army?" ”

Zhang Qi's brows furrowed again, looked at Zhang Dian and said, "Not only that, there are Hedong Road and Hebei Road." ”

Zhang's face changed suddenly, his eyes widened, and then he frowned and fell silent.

Hedong Road, Hebei Road and Liao State, plus Qinfeng Road, Huanqing Road, Yongxing Military Road, and the five roads are all the defense lines in the north of the Great Song Dynasty, with a total strength of more than 100,000!

Almost all of the strongest armies of the Great Song Dynasty are here!

It is unimaginable to control such a five-way strategy!

Seeing Zhang Di's rare silence, Zhang Qi said loudly: "This is not a good thing. ”

The generals of all dynasties and dynasties all hoped to be trusted by the emperor, but this 'trust' must have boundaries!

Transitional trust is destined not to end well!