There are many ills in the Great Song Army, the most well-known of which is the problem of "redundant soldiers", but this redundant soldier mainly refers to the box soldiers, and the main source of the box soldiers is the people affected by the disaster, in fact, it is not a real army, of course, the court of the Great Song Dynasty also knows this, so the box soldiers are mainly stationed in Tuntian, and rarely let the box soldiers go to the battlefield.

In contrast, the border armies in the northwest and Hebei were the main forces of the Great Song Dynasty, but there were also many problems with these border armies, such as the imperial court's excessive reduction of the generals' powers, which led to a decline in the power of the generals to command the troops, and even the situation that the generals did not know the soldiers, and the border army's food and salary were exploited layer by layer, resulting in insufficient military supplies and so on.

What Li Zhang wants to talk to Liu E today is also a big problem in the army, and this problem is the problem of the low quality of middle- and low-level generals, and this problem is also the conclusion that Li Zhang drew from the remarks of Cao Wei and other generals in the army.

There are generally two sources of middle and low-level generals in the army, the first is the children of the generals, these generals rely on the shadow of their ancestors, and they can generally enter the army when they become adults, but these people have long been corrupted, and most of them usually walk their dogs, and few people are as diligent as Huyan Shouxin and Cao Mata to practice the art of war, and even some people can't even ride horses.

In addition to the generals, the remaining middle and low-level generals are those who have been promoted from the bottom, they are generally from low backgrounds, because of meritorious service on the battlefield so they have been promoted, these people are not afraid of war, and even very brave, but they have a big shortcoming, that is, the vast majority of people have not read, nor can they read, and they can't even understand the orders issued by the top, let alone the art of war.

Of course, among these low-level generals, there have been many famous generals, such as Di Qing, who is now also a low-level general, he is known as the first general of the Great Song Dynasty, but Di Qing is actually not a real low-level background, his family is a rich peasant, not only has he read, but also practiced martial arts since he was a child, plus he is good at summing up experience on the battlefield, so he can slowly grow into a generation of famous generals, similar to Di Qing and Yue Fei, they are all people who have read books and learned the art of war.

It can be said that among the generals from the bottom, Di Qing or Yue Fei are actually people with a very small probability, and they can even be ignored, most of them can only mix among low-level generals for the rest of their lives, not only have no future for themselves, but they can't even complete their own duties, after all, generals don't just lead soldiers to fight, they have many other affairs to deal with in peacetime, but these people can't be qualified for their positions because of their limited abilities.

Although the role of the commander is great, the middle and low-level generals are the backbone of the army, if the orders issued by the commander cannot be carried out, even if Sun Wu is reborn, the commander of such an army will not be able to win the battle.

After listening to Li Zhang's story, Liu E also showed a solemn look on her face, and after a long while, she spoke: "Is the situation in the army really as serious as you say?" ”

"The situation in the army will only be more serious than I said, in fact, the problems in the army are still in the final analysis, even if the military discipline is strict, no matter how severe the punishment, but if there is a problem with the person who executes, then everything can only be reduced to empty talk!" Li Zhang finally said again very seriously.

This is not Li Zhang's alarmism, in fact, the situation in the army is very complicated, and the number of problems cannot be explained clearly in a few words, which also seriously restricts the combat effectiveness of the Song army, and these problems are still in the final analysis, so he will pick out this problem and report it to Liu E.

When Liu E heard this, the expression on her face became more solemn, and when she pondered for a while, she looked at Li Zhang again and asked, "Since the problem lies with people, then in your opinion, how to solve this problem?" ”

"In fact, it is not difficult to solve this problem, that is, to set up a martial arts school for martial artists after Guozijian, specifically to train generals in the army!" Li Zhang finally told his purpose.

Martial arts was not invented by Li Zhang, in fact, he copied the idea of Fan Zhongyan in the original history, Fan Zhongyan once set up martial arts when he was in the "Qingli New Deal", but this martial arts school is very problematic in terms of enrollment, coupled with the low status of martial artists, so no one is willing to apply for the examination at all, and it was closed after only a few months of establishment.

"Martial arts? Will this work? Liu E said with a skeptical look when she heard Li Zhang's suggestion, she is old and her thinking is more conservative, so she still has some doubts about the new thing of martial arts.

"It will definitely work, after the establishment of martial arts, all the generals who want to enter the army, as well as the selection of meritorious people from the army, must enter the martial arts to study for several years, these people not only have to learn the art of war, but also to instill the way of loyalty and patriotism, after learning to enter the army, can also better ensure their loyalty!"

When he said this, he saw Li Zhang pause for a moment and then said: "In addition, after the establishment of martial arts, the selection of middle and low-level generals in the army will also be in the hands of the imperial court, and these generals are deeply favored by the emperor, even if there are really people who rebel and want to rebel, I am afraid it will be difficult to command them, it can be said that the establishment of martial arts is also beneficial to the imperial court!" ”

Hearing Li Zhang say this, Liu E was also a little moved, and seriously considered this matter carefully, and finally nodded and said: "It's okay, then give it a try first, it's just a school, and it doesn't cost much, but where should this martial arts school be opened, and which yamen should be in charge?" ”

Liu E still trusts Li Zhang very much, especially Li Zhang's firearms supervisor and Qian Xing are all shining, so she also has some expectations for this martial arts, but martial arts is related to the army and involves a lot of things, for example, the army of the Great Song Dynasty is controlled by Sanya, but it has no right to transfer troops, and the Privy Council has the right to transfer troops, but it is not in charge of the army, so Liu E doesn't know where to put this martial arts?

"The eldest lady must not hand over martial arts to any yamen, just like Guozijian, they are all cultivating useful talents for the country, so they should be independent, and martial arts have a great relationship, it is best to be in charge of a veteran who has lived in the army for a long time and has made great achievements, so that the generals can be suppressed, and secondly, there will be no objections from the Sanya and the Privy Council, and thirdly, this old general is experienced and proficient in the art of war, so he can naturally cultivate more generals in the army!" Li Zhang finally spoke again, opening martial arts was his main purpose, and letting Cao Wei return to Beijing to recuperate was his direct purpose.