At this time, it was before Shangyuan, the most lively time in the capital. As the largest restaurant in Beijing, Fanlou is also the standard of restaurants in the world, and it is very lively at this time. Outside, there was the sound of silk and bamboo, and the sound of laughter, and the cheers of the crowd. When you drink alcohol here, most of them will call them courtesans and sing a few songs, which will win the applause of everyone. This is human nature, just like in the previous life, when you are full of food and drink, you like to go to the dance hall and have a lively time.

If we want to talk about business today, there are only a few people in the pavilion, and there are not even a few people in the cabinet. Although it is less lively, it is a little more relaxed.

When it comes to the training of the forbidden army, there are a lot of headaches. At that time, the battalion Tianxiang army had been training in Suizhou for several years, and the literacy of low-level officers was trained in the army. According to the training of the battalion and the army, the first problem is that there are many officers, and they must be literate. There were so few literate people in this era that they simply couldn't do this. In the past, it was possible to rely on teaching reading and literacy in the army to solve the problem of low-level officers, but now it is no longer possible to do so due to time constraints.

After drinking a glass of wine, Du Zhongxiao said: "It seems that it is not easy to have a large number of officers in the army. The 300,000 troops on Hebei Road, according to the fact that one out of ten people is an officer, also needs 30,000 officers. All of a sudden, where to find so many readers? Even if it is recruited from Jingdong Road, it is impossible to recruit all of them for a while. In this matter, the three officials must think of more ways, and if they do not put up the officers' shelves, the whole training will be useless. ”

Yang Wenguang shook his head: "Since the establishment of the military academy in Hejian Mansion, Sanya has thought of various methods, but now it seems that it cannot be done in a short time. In order to follow the practice of the Hequ Road in the army, it will take three to five years to teach people to read and write. If you want to complete the training in a short time, you can only reduce the number of officers. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "How to reduce?" If there are fewer officers, the system in the army will not be enforced, and it will not be the same as before? ”

Yang Wenguang said: "But I can't recruit the right person in a hurry, and there is no way." ”

After speaking, Yang Wenguang didn't speak again, and the atmosphere was a little dull for a while. One out of ten is an officer, that is, the ratio of officers to soldiers is ten to one, which is not high. In later generations, the ratio of officers and soldiers in many armies was as low as three to one and two to one, which was not much higher than at this time.

The most basic unit in the army, since ancient times, is a team of five people, a common ten-man team in the Song army. The team is considered an officer, and it is already required to be ten to one. Relax the requirements, the team is only utility, and it is tacitly accepted that they can be illiterate, so that the number of officers can be saved and organized into various functional organs. No matter how few officers there are, even the officers in the functional institutions cannot guarantee that everyone is literate. If the functional institutions are illiterate, can the system still be implemented?

Du Zhongxiao sighed: "Since the founding of the country, the recruitment of people in the army has always been mainly along the three roads along the border and Kaifeng Mansion. In these places, it is really difficult to support an army of 800,000. But without an army of 800,000, how can you fight the Khitan? ”

Han Qi said: "In the army of Hequ Road, there are actually a lot of officers. It is good to say below the battalion, in addition to the commander of the army, several adjutant generals, mainly grain and grass officers. At the battalion level and above, there were staff officers, grain and grass officers, intelligence officers, and so on. And with each higher level, a large number of officers must be added. At present, it is not easy for the people taught in the military academies to ensure that there is no shortage of personnel at all levels above the battalion level. ”

Fu Bi said: "But Hequ Road has won so many battles, relying on this one." Without a large number of officers, what is the difference from before? ”

Zhao Zi said: "Yes, there is no functional organization, it is the same as before." When the army encounters a big battle, it is overwhelmed. The forbidden army that has been trained is stronger than before, that is, there are a large number of functional organs, and the commanders and commanders have rules to follow. ”

After thinking about it again and again, Du Zhongxiao said: "The only way to do this is to try to find a way to solve the difficulties, but the general direction cannot be changed." If the Khitan orders troops in the coming year, there will be no war until the autumn. I can only use this half a year to let the military academy train generals as much as possible. It is difficult to recruit local scholars, but it is always easy to be in the army. In the army, all literate generals and colonels were trained in military academies. It doesn't have to take a long time, as long as you have a general understanding of the system and the way to do things, you can become a grassroots officer first. If it is not suitable, or if you don't want to do it in the army, you can just go out after a few years. Except for those who are really unbearable, most of the people who have come out of the military academy will first go to work as functional officials in various command departments. It really doesn't work, it doesn't have to be like the forbidden army on the winding road, which can be set up at all levels above the battalion level, and it can be streamlined. All in all, be prepared to fight the Khitan. ”

Han Qi thought for a while and said, "Taiwei, I have thought about this matter carefully, there is really no need to immediately start a war with the Khitan. As long as you wait for three or five years for the forbidden army to be fully prepared, everything will be under control at that time. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Xianggong, how can things in the world be just right?" We want to wait, but the Khitans will not let us get our wish. Moreover, if the training of the forbidden army is to be effective, it will inevitably be accompanied by a large number of old officers leaving the army. There is no war, but I am afraid that it will not be so smooth. The more time passes, the harder it will be in the future. It's better to hurt your heart, after passing this threshold, it will be a smooth road in the future. ”

Han Qi nodded and didn't say anything more. Now in the political hall, Wen Yanbo has significant political achievements in the past two years and the weight of his discourse, and Han Qi's real power is far from comparable. Han Qi is a person with pursuits, and his reliance is on his relationship with Du Zhongxiao. Winning the war with the Khitan, Du Zhongxiao's status will inevitably rise, and Han Qi will benefit. And once the war starts, it is not Wen Yanbo who can say anything in the political hall.

Du Zhongxiao understood that if he won the war with the Khitan while serving as a privy envoy, he might never touch the military power again in the future. Unless there are special circumstances, you have to go into battle yourself. Wait three or five years and leave the Privy Council by yourself, it is better to fight now. Du Zhongxiao is not nostalgic for military power, especially when there is no big battle, it is better to enter the political hall. But now, if you don't fight with the Khitan, you are always unwilling.

Bao Zheng said: "When I was on Hequ Road, Taiwei was in charge of the troops, and no one would have thought that there would be so many victories behind. Now that the training of the forbidden army is difficult, there is no need to look ahead and backward, and the fight may not be bad. ”

Zhao Zidao: "In terms of Hebei Road, in fact, only more than 300,000 soldiers and horses are needed. The army of 800,000 is fighting with the Khitan endlessly. After this training, according to the Privy Council's estimates, there are four or five hundred thousand people with real combat power, and they can fight a war. The rest of the soldiers and horses are not necessary. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "If it's just to restore Yanyun, it's true. But if the Khitan is defeated and desperately mobilizes the country's troops, it will be insufficient to fight for life and death with this dynasty. The core of the Khitan, between Shangjing and Zhongjing, is too far away from the Central Plains, and if there are not enough troops, it is difficult to compete with the Khitan. When Shangjing and Zhongjing are occupied, the Khitan will not have to worry about it. ”

In that area, the Hulunbuir grassland is in the north, and the area in the south is suitable for farming and animal husbandry. The place is larger and richer than Hequ Road, and is a direct threat to the Yanyun region. Although Du Zhongxiao didn't know what it was called in later generations, he knew the importance of it. As long as the nomads still occupy it, the north of the Central Plains Dynasty will not want to be peaceful.

The north of the Central Plains, from the Western Regions to the Northeast, are the two most important places. The first is the Hequ Road, which is what later generations called the Hetao area. Another is from Hulunbuir grassland to Yanshan. The Yin Mountain in the Hetao area, which extends to the Yan Mountain in the east, is the natural defense line of the Central Plains. But if you want to stabilize the defensive line, you have to occupy the rich grassland to the north of the mountain. The key point of the Hetao is in the south of Yinshan, and the key point in the Yanshan area is the north of Yanshan.

Just restoring Yanyun is not enough to bring the Khitan to its knees, they still have vast grasslands, and there are a large number of areas suitable for agriculture and animal husbandry. Only by occupying the core area of Zhongjing Road and Shangjing Road can it be regarded as completely digging the roots of Khitan.

500,000 soldiers and horses are enough to restore Yanyun, and it is difficult for the Khitan troops to defend it. However, to occupy Nakakyo Province and Kamikyo Province, 500,000 soldiers and horses are insufficient. Du Zhongxiao said 800,000, which means that he wants to completely divide the victory and defeat with the Khitan.