In a small pavilion in the Fan Tower in the capital, Du Zhongxiao, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang were sitting at the table, drinking and eating.

After three rounds of drinking, Bao Zheng said: "We are now officials in the court, wouldn't it be unpopular to get together in private like this?" ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Zhongcheng don't have to worry, the saint knows about our reunion." And this time, it was the Holy Lord who specially instructed me and Han Xianggong to invite you to have a glass of wine. In addition to reminiscing about the past, we also discussed the next things with the Khitan. ”

Bao Zhengqi said: "The most taboo official and friend of the saint, how can there be such a thing? ”

Han Qi sighed: "I can't talk to the Khitan envoys, and they haven't gone to the palace to face the king until the New Year." Unlike in previous years, the Khitan did not send any more envoys this year, and rejected the envoys of this dynasty. Relations between the two countries have obviously been severed. ”

The Song Dynasty and the Khitan were about to be brothers, and the exchanges between the two countries, in addition to the relationship between the state, also included the brotherly relationship of the royal family. Every New Year's Day and the birthday of the emperor and the queen mother, the two sides will send envoys to each other. This year, the queen mother of the Khitan passed away, did not report the funeral, and refused to congratulate each other on New Year's Day, apparently the relationship broke down.

Although some officials disagreed, more officials believed that the alliance had ensured peace in the north for 60 years, and it would be a pity if it was severed. In other words, now the DPRK and China are arguing very fiercely about the Khitan main battle lord and the two factions.

The officials who came out of Hequ Road were obviously considered by the emperor to be the main battle faction, and they tested Du Zhongxiao and Han Qi to see their attitudes. In fact, these officials do not have deep personal relations, and they are not considered to be a faction, where can they say clearly? Everyone gathered together today to see if we could agree on it.

Fu Bi said: "This year, the two countries are not communicating with envoys, and the sixty-year-old brotherly state is broken. By next year, I'm afraid that we will have to meet each other. Some officials want to make meritorious contributions, while others are worried and afraid, and it is inevitable that people in the DPRK and China will be panicked. The Holy One has not yet made up his mind, so let's get together and discuss a countermeasure for reference. ”

Bao Zheng said: "In fact, since Captain Du entered the Privy Council, the whole army has been reorganized, and it has been made clear that there will be no peace with the Khitan. It's just that no one thought it would be so soon, and they all thought it would be years later. Suddenly, there was a battle in Xiongzhou, and many officials naturally panicked. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "What Zhongcheng said is true. In fact, from the beginning of the training, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty knew that when the training was completed, it was the time to start a war with the Khitan. However, everyone believes that the whole training will take several years, and there will be no immediate war. Now suddenly the Khitan broke off the envoys, and everyone panicked. But thinking about it the other way, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty all knew about it, so how could the Khitan not know? How could they wait a few more years? ”

Bao Zheng nodded: "Yes, how can this kind of thing that everyone knows know from the Khitan?" Taiwei thinks that this matter is deliberately done by the Khitan? And not just because of the war in Xiongzhou? ”

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It has something to do with the Battle of Xiongzhou, but it's not just because of that battle." The two Khitan emperors fought for five years, and it is said that they also have to recuperate. Not long ago, the Empress Dowager Khitan passed away, and Hong Ji beheaded Chongyuan, and needed time to appease the descendants. However, if they knew that the whole army would be able to complete the training in a few years after this dynasty, and the Northern Expedition to Yanyun, they could not wait. ”

Bao Zheng nodded: "That's what I said." Tai Lieutenant, I don't know what you think, can you start a war with the Khitan now? ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "The imperial court has millions of soldiers, and now that there is enough money and food, why can't you go to war?" Just thinking about the whole army and training, and then going to war, how can the Khitan let us get our wish? There are some things that it is impossible to hide, and it is just difficult to catch up. ”

Han Qi sighed: "Hebei Road is Khitan, in the past few years, no matter how the armies of other places have changed, the armies there have not dared to move. Now the whole training, and the forbidden army on Hebei Road is the most troublesome. Liu Ji built a new military academy this year, and when he came to train people, I don't know when. ”

Yang Wenguang said: "It's not easy to train people. A few days ago, Liu Ji wrote an article, saying that the literary style on Hebei Road is not prosperous, there are few scholars, and the military academy does not recruit enough people at all. More than 200,000 forbidden troops were all trained, and at least tens of thousands of officers had to be recruited. But Liu Ji sent people to various states to recruit for the examination, and in the end, he only recruited more than 1,000 people. More than 1,000 people were selected for the right talents on Hebei Road, and there was no one in the next few years. ”

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, the three roads of Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi, the literary style is not prosperous, most of the state military does not even have state studies, and there are very few people who read among the people. There is no choice but to recruit people from other ways. ”

Yang Wenguang shook his head: "It's not easy to do this. Naturally, there are the most scholars in Jiangnan, Fujian, and Liangzhejiang and Three Roads, and it is not difficult to recruit people who are lacking in military schools. But the forbidden army on Hebei Road is mostly Hebei people and people near Jingshi, recruiting officers from those places, can they stay in the army? Discord between soldiers and generals is also a taboo in the army. ”

In fact, it is not only the discord between the soldiers and generals, but also the living habits of the people in the two places are very different. In this era, the difference between the South and the North was much greater than in later generations. Eating habits are different, languages are different, and even daily life is different. With the soldiers of the north and the generals of the south, there is no need to wait for a war, and the army itself will fight in peacetime. If the source of the soldiers in the army has not changed, it is impossible to change the source of the generals in the army, otherwise there will be trouble.

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is not feasible to recruit people in the south of the military academy, but you can recruit people from Jingdong and Jingxi Road. There are many more scholars in these two places than along the three roads along the border, and they will be rewarded heavily, and the posts will be filled first. What I mean is that the military academy in Hejian Province recruits people from Jingdong Road, and the Jingcheng Military Academy recruits people from Jingxi Road, ensuring that there are enough cadets first. In recent years, the imperial court has not lacked money and food, and the local government has paid more attention to culture and education, and after a few years, it will be much easier. ”

In fact, the places where education is developed are places such as Jingxi, Hedong and Jingdong Road, where there are iron supervisors and rapid industrial development. Elsewhere, the gains of economic development have not yet affected education.

At the beginning of the military training in Suizhou, Du Zhongxiao did not think of setting up a military academy in the future, and only those who could read and write would be able to do it. waited until the general regulations were rectified, only to suddenly find that there are not so many people in the world who read. In particular, the forbidden army has never recruited southern soldiers, mainly from the three roads along the border, but there are many scholars in the south. When we started running military schools, they were only formal, not strict, and this problem was not obvious. It wasn't until Du Zhongxiao arrived at the Privy Council that he really let the military academy strictly manage and strictly control the personnel who entered the school, only to find that the problem was not so simple.

How many people are there in this era? Of the more than 800,000 forbidden troops, at least nearly 100,000 people from military academies must be recruited. Even if the recruitment standards of military academies are low, if one of the three or five people is selected, there must be nearly 500,000 people to choose from. Along the three sides of the road, even if it is to add Jingjing West Road, where do so many scholars come from? Not to mention the high status of scholars, there are not many who are willing to enter military schools.

The problem of the Beijing Military Academy is not obvious, because the place with the most students in the world is the capital. As soon as the military academy opened on Hebei Road, this contradiction became prominent. As for the Hequ Road Military Academy, the number of people is too small to be of little significance.

Hearing this, Bao Zheng smiled bitterly: "Even the cadets of the military academy are not recruited, how can we talk about the completion of the whole training?" In this way, wouldn't it be a joke if there was a war with the Khitan this year? This can only be done for a few more years. ”

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "Where in the world is there anything that is ready?" The only way to do this is to find a way in the army. Some less important clerks teach people to read and write, and make up for it first. Wait until it's posted, and then change it slowly. ”