Converts, on the school ground, the Converts are training, all of them are devoting themselves wholeheartedly, sweating like rain, and training is very hard.

"Mo Dao, split!"

An order without any emotion was given, and the Mo knife raised high slashed down, like a wall of knives smashing down, with a momentum that made people's hearts palpitate.

With the order, the Mo knife men kept raising the Mo knife high and slashing it down. The use of the Mo knife was very laborious, and after a while, everyone was sweating on their foreheads, but no one complained of hardship, no one was tired, and they still gritted their teeth and trained.

"Fierce, domineering, invincible!" Wang Shao, accompanied by Wu Ji, looked at the Mo knife hand who was training, nodded incessantly, and was full of praise: "I have long heard that the Mo knife of the previous dynasty is amazing, and the lethality is amazing, and everywhere you go, whether it is a person or a horse, you will definitely die." It is said that Li Siye used a Mo knife to break everyone! ”

The fame of Modao is out, it is piled up with a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, although it has not appeared on the battlefield for hundreds of years, but its prestige still exists. For the Song people, as long as they care about the military, they know the prestige of Modao.

Li Siye was Gao Xianzhi's lieutenant and participated in the famous Battle of Talas. According to history, this person is good at using the Mo knife, he uses the Mo knife, and the people and horses are broken, which shows its power.

"Although Modao is good, it has too many restrictions. If you don't have a warhorse, you can't use it on the battlefield. As soon as Wang Shao's words changed, he sighed with emotion: "When the previous dynasty was at its peak, there were many war horses, and the government had no less than 700,000 horses. After the Anshi Rebellion, the former dynasty declined, and the number of war horses decreased sharply, not only could the Modao not appear on the battlefield, but even the cavalry of the previous dynasty known for its rapid action did not appear on the battlefield, which made people sigh! ”

He raised his eyebrows, paused slightly, and asked a very realistic question: "Brother Wu, if you put the Mo knife back into the battlefield, the power is great." However, have you thought about it, this method is difficult to vigorously implement. It's okay to form a part, but if you want to vigorously promote it, Da Song doesn't have so many horses. Without horses, there would be no swords, and there would be no cavalry. ”

This was definitely the biggest problem of the Song Dynasty. In the era of cold weapons, horses had a very high status and played a very important role, and were known as "the big animals of the country", affecting the rise and fall of a country and a dynasty.

"When it comes to horses, I have some ideas." Wu Ji groaned slightly: "As far as I know, the Great Song Dynasty is short of horses, but it is far from being as short as the court said. The horses of the Great Song Dynasty, because of poor management, the horse administration was corrupted, and the good horses in the pasture were sold. The twelve pastures on Hebei Road only provide 2,400 war horses a year, is this possible? ”

"No can be possible!" Wang Shao shook his head and said, "There is a problem with this matter, and besides, the problem is very big. But it's not our business. The imperial court attaches great importance to literature and light on military force, this kind of thing, where is our turn to speak. In this matter, I want to find Jiefu and the official. Poor, the horse politics of the Han and Tang dynasties can be called good governance, shepherding countless war horses, but in this dynasty, it has become a harsh government, and the people do not want to raise horses. You can only buy it with money. The Western Xia and Liao States took a fancy to this, asking for a price all over the world, and the Great Song Dynasty was miserable, so they had to implement the strategy of riding on foot and using infantry to deal with cavalry. ”

There was infinite distress in his words, and he couldn't stop shaking his head. He was right, he knew there was a problem with this kind of thing, but he couldn't manage it. And those who can manage it give many elbows and can't let go of their hands and feet. Wang Anshi implemented the new law and moved steadily, because Sima Guang and others opposed it, and it was extremely difficult.

"If we don't solve the problem between the DPRK and China, we can't solve the problem of horses, and it is impossible to vigorously promote the Modao and form a large number of cavalry." Wu Ji nodded, thinking deeply, and changed his words, "However, there may not be anything to think about." ”

"Oh, how?" Wang Shao asked curiously.

"You say, can you succeed in gathering the horses of the Great Song Dynasty and building an elite division? Like the Converts. Wu Ji looked at Wang Shao and asked.

"If you can concentrate, you can do it. In any case, an elite like the 350,000 Converts Army can be built. Wang Shao thought so, and then shook his head: "This matter is too important, and it needs the permission of the official family." Otherwise, nothing is empty talk. ”

The Song Dynasty implemented the strategy of riding on foot for decades, which was deeply rooted, and the idea of concentrating war horses and promoting elite soldiers was very good, but it was not realistic.

"My idea is to take the path of elite soldiers, not the combination of good and bad!" Wu Ji took a breath and said in a sarcastic tone: "The imperial court has implemented the strategy of controlling cavalry by foot for decades, but in the end, can the infantry restrain the cavalry?" No! Poor ministers, the ministers of the court, would rather spend more money than take the road of elite soldiers. They say that the cost of one cavalry is as high as five infantry, and it is ridiculous to say that it is better to form infantry in large numbers than to form cavalry. ”

Wang Shaoyu didn't agree with this statement, shook his head, and said: "Brother Wu, although the effect of riding on foot is not very great, it is not useless. The cost of building 100,000 cavalry can build 500,000 infantry, and if there are 500,000 infantry, it is still considerable. ”

"Haha!" Wu Ji looked at Wang Shao, and suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed: "Wang Shumi, say something that makes you angry, this kind of statement is ridiculous, really ridiculous." Listen to me first. Let's do the math and you'll understand. ”

"Oh, you say." Wang Shao wanted to refute, but when he heard this, he had to let Wu Ji finish his words.

Wu Ji wrenched his fingers and began to settle the account: "The cost of one cavalry is the cost of five infantry, this account is good and accurate." However, the harvest is not counted. Wang Shumi, when you fight on the battlefield, is it the greater threat of 500,000 infantry to the enemy, or the greater threat of 100,000 cavalry? ”

"Cavalry, of course!" Wang Shao is a great expert, in one sentence: "If 100,000 cavalry rush to kill, the sky will collapse and the earth will be indestructible." If you have better equipment, it will be even more powerful. And the Great Song Dynasty is not short of sophisticated equipment, if there is really a cavalry of 100,000 people, how dare the Liao State run rampant? It's just too expensive, 100,000 cavalry is worth 500,000 infantry. ”

Speaking of which, he was still reluctant to have children, Wu Ji continued: "It's not that the Great Song Dynasty has not defeated the Liao State, but even if it wins, what can it get? Nothing! The reason lies in the lack of cavalry, which cannot be pursued in time, cannot expand the results of the battle, and cannot obtain a large number of captures. In the first battle of last year, Yelu Bodhisattva came to attack and convert, and when he was defeated, he fled on horseback, and my eyes almost fell off when I saw it. Hate, hate has two legs, and he can't pursue it. Ever since I had cavalry, things have been different. I will be able to annihilate the 8,000 Liao army with 2,500 converting troops, and their things will become ours, can this harvest be the same? This robbery of New Year's coins, if it is not for the return to the faith army, it is your king who does it, even if you send 20,000 elite infantry to do it, Liaogou said that he would flee or flee. ”

"That's right!" Wang Shao didn't want to admit it, but he had to admit it.

"The ministers of the DPRK and China only see the expenses, but they do not see the gains." Wu Ji couldn't help shaking his head, and continued: "With the same cost, the infantry and cavalry created are completely different on the battlefield. The harvest of cavalry is much greater than that of infantry, and only in this way can it become stronger and stronger. ”

"Wise sayings!" Wang Shao agreed with this very much, and said: "Once the enemy is defeated, the pursuit with cavalry will definitely have a good harvest." The infantry had only two legs, and in any case could not catch up with four. ”

"And that's just one aspect of the gain." Wu Ji wrenched his fingers again and analyzed: "The cost of building 100,000 cavalry is the cost of forming 500,000 infantry, that is, for the same money, cavalry only needs 100,000 people, while infantry needs 500,000. In the middle, there is a difference of 400,000 people. 400,000 people is not a small number, Wang Shumi, you say, if these 400,000 people are used for other things, such as work, and reclaiming wasteland, how much will be produced? ”

"This ......" Wang Shao asked, stunned for a while, and then said: "Brother Wu, your statement is quite fresh." The ministers of the DPRK and China did not think about it, and neither did I. There are 400,000 more people to do other things, and the harvest is not small. ”

Wang Shao frowned and said, "The previous dynasty only had five or six hundred thousand troops. In this dynasty, however, there are more than a million troops. However, the previous dynasty was stronger and more prosperous than the current dynasty, with great martial arts and a wider territory than the Great Song Dynasty. If you really want to follow what the brothers say, if the Great Song Dynasty builds an army of five or six hundred thousand, the cost will be about the same, and seven or eight hundred thousand people can be saved. These seven or eight hundred thousand people, plus their families, are millions. Oh my God, it's not that I don't know, it's a big surprise! ”

As soon as this account was calculated, Wang Shao himself was frightened, his eyes were round, his mouth was wide open, and his face was in disbelief.

The Song Dynasty had a lot of troops, with 1.23 million troops, but their combat strength was extremely weak. If there is really a reform, it will be enough to reduce the army by seven or eight hundred thousand. Moreover, when the Song Dynasty recruited troops, it also had to support their families, that is to say, 700,000 troops, according to a family of five, there were 3.5 million people.

Three and a half million, a huge number, excluding the old and weak, there are no less than two million people who can work, how much harvest will be produced? Just think about it.

"Wang Shumi, do you still insist on riding on foot?" Wu Ji looked at Wang Shao's surprised look in his eyes and asked.

"Shame! Ashamed! Wang Shao laughed at himself and said, "If I hadn't had a deep conversation with my brother, I wouldn't have thought so." There are so many ministers in the DPRK and the central government, but no one thinks so, alas! Let me think about this matter, and then, the two brothers of us went to the official house together and asked the official family to make a holy judgment. ”

Wu Ji persuaded Wang Shao to have this meaning. Although Song Shenzong trusted him very much, it was far from the level that could make Song Shenzong change his strategy for decades. It may not be successful, but at least you can try.

If this matter is not solved, if the Song Dynasty wants to strengthen the army, if it wants to destroy the Liao State and the Western Xia, and completely and truly unify the great cause, it is a dream, this is a problem that has to be solved!

(To be continued)