The military parade that Zheng Lang said was a move to kill two birds with one stone.

The first is morale.

After the army was restructured and the army was drastically reduced, military expenditure still accounted for more than 60% of the Song Dynasty's expenditure. This military fee is not only the food and salary paid to the soldiers, but also the cost of manufacturing and maintenance of armor and weapons, logistics supply and transportation, various materials used by the army, maintenance costs of various forts on the border, buying horses and raising horses, and so on. The military expenditure is the majority, but it only accounts for half of it, but this half has to support a large number of forbidden soldiers, Tibetan soldiers, township soldiers and box soldiers, as well as the care of various strong archers and baoding.

The imperial court spent a lot of money, but the apportionment to individuals was limited. Even soldiers are divided into various ranks, and the salary of one level is not the same. Before the restructuring, the upper ones only gave three to five hundred dollars a month, and the lower ones only gave pickles and salt. Those who are forbidden to soldiers are only given three hundred dollars, but there are other treatments, that is, the inferior forbidden soldiers are also better than the upper class soldiers. The high-class forbidden soldiers were given a monthly salary of 700, and other benefits were also doubled. And the one hundred and thirty-fifth battalions of the four armies of Zhuri, Tianwu, Longwei, and Shenwei, which were stuffed with the children of various nobles, had a monthly salary of one penny, and the other benefits were tripled.

The latter's annual salary plus various treatments almost reached sixty yuan, and with this income, they naturally did not worry about food and clothing, and their own family background was good, so they even carried a piece of luggage, and called the people to be porters, these people entered the army, not to be soldiers, but to be young masters.

And some middle and lower-class forbidden soldiers have a year's income of only thirty or forty yuan, can only barely support their families, if it is not good, when they meet a general who is seriously greedy for ink, they have to let their wives be military prostitutes, if their wives are ugly, they can only think of other ideas all day long, to support the family. That is, to be able to support a family. There is no combat effectiveness. Those who have combat effectiveness, because of their livelihood, do not have the heart to fight and train.

What's even worse is that the Song Dynasty emphasized literature and light military force, and military generals and soldiers were disdained by the society, so there is a proverb among the people, good iron does not make nails, and good men are not soldiers.

After the restructuring, it will be better, but Zheng Lang also has all kinds of scruples and does not dare to take too big steps, and these drawbacks still exist. Including deducting food and salary, it can only be said that there are fewer generals and colonels who eat empty salaries now, and some strong men who have the ability and martial arts have gradually become middle- and lower-level generals, and their combat effectiveness is improving.

Even Zheng Lang once settled the families of the forbidden soldiers in the suburbs, reducing the cost of living for the families of the forbidden soldiers and making the forbidden soldiers feel at ease. But if you want to correct it all, it's impossible.

It's better, but soldiers are still an inferior profession in the Song Dynasty.

This big military parade allowed the people to see the majesty of the Song army. Let more people identify with the Song army, improve the pride and enthusiasm of the soldiers, and also improve some morale, then the probability of victory in the future battle will be increased.

Seems to be a reason. But Zhao Ji was a little suspicious, he was talking about the prime minister's candidate, not the morale of the soldiers.

Zheng Lang said again: "Your Majesty, it is important to succeed Wu Xianggong. But one thing is more important. The economy of Western Xia collapsed, and the contradictions between the imperial party and the later party will become more intensified, and the time will come. Vaxia is far more important than the candidate to succeed Wu Chong. ”

Zhao Ji nodded.

For this battle, even in the era of Renzong, it was laid out, and it was possible to use 500,000 soldiers from various forbidden villages, and if the number of people was added, it would be even more, and the amount of money used would be even larger. Once it fails, the consequences are unimaginable.

Zheng Lang said: "War is a major plan for the life and death of the country, and it must not be overlooked, and if the top and bottom are not united, it is not conducive to war, not to mention that this is a war to destroy the country." At the beginning, when Li Jiqian had not yet become a climate, our dynasty had not succeeded in conquering it, and now Western Xia has become a climate. This requires not only the courage of the soldiers, but also the unity of mind. If you don't even agree to the parade to improve morale, once the war starts, you don't oppose it, and you won't approve of it. ”

said it more implicitly, not about dragging its feet and putting dark arrows, but about disagreeing.

But Zhao Ji understood, sighed and said, "That's fine." ”

This conversation is a private conversation between the monarch and the minister, and no one else knows. The next day, Zheng Lang raised the matter of the military parade again, and explained the reasons for the front, but did not mention the back.

And there are many convenient places, in order to confuse the Western Xia and Khitan, Zhang Ji went to the northwest, but Liu Changzuo and other generals were transferred back to the capital, the army was reorganized, and the forbidden army of the Song Dynasty was mainly concentrated in the Jinggi area, and a military parade was held, which did not require too much mobilization of the army.

But Zheng Lang said it earlier, and was opposed by Lu Dafang and Wang Jue later.

Lu Dafang thought that there was no need for military parades and military exercises, it would waste a lot of money, destroy the ancestral family law, and let the generals raise their heads again.

The reason in front is not important, just the soldiers in the capital area, although they use money and silk, it will not be too much, tens of thousands of dollars are enough, and this money is still within the scope of the imperial court. The latter reason is Lu Dafang's words in his heart.

Wang Qi said a reason that Zheng Lang didn't expect.

Kaifeng City Imperial Road is up to 200 steps wide, is the most ideal place for military parades, but the end point is Xuande Gate, a military parade uses tens of thousands of horses, in case of loss, the country will be turbulent. Even if there is no loss, it is also a bad start, and if there are people who do not study in the future, the court will be in danger.

This is a fallacious reason, who has the ability to completely control tens of thousands of troops to rebel under the system of the Song Dynasty? With this kind of ability, why do you need to control tens of thousands of soldiers in the military parade, as long as you control a few hundred soldiers in the defense of the country, it is possible to realize the ambition in your heart, and the risk is not even smaller.

In fact, he, like Lu Dafang, was worried that Zheng Lang's step-by-step encouragement would cause another tragedy in the Tang Dynasty. Going deeper, it is not spontaneously defending the interests of scholars, the world is big, and scholars must be the greatest.

But if you think about it further, it makes people feel unpleasant, there are many people in the Song Dynasty who want to eliminate the Western Xia, this is well known, but thinking and doing are two different things, the Song people not only want to eliminate the Western Xia, but also some people want to eliminate the Khitan, do you have this ability, and then like the Khitan, there are also people who want to eliminate the Song Dynasty and dominate the world, is it possible. In fact, the Song Dynasty was already preparing to really do it, but in order to be on guard for the Khitan and Western Xia, only a few bigwigs knew about it so far.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty's war against Xia, that is, at the beginning of Zheng Lang's resignation as prime minister, these bigwigs also knew that Zheng Lang might stay in the phase for less than a year, only spending tens of thousands of dollars, and it was not a change in the system, why can't he let it go, besides, the Xia was led by Zheng Lang, and the success was high and the master had to retreat, and the failure would leave an infamy in the annals of history. Once a lifetime's hard work is turned into one, Zheng Lang must be very cautious, why can't he understand?

Today, with Zheng Lang's teachings, Zhao Ji is mentally mature, but he is silent. Zheng Lang also didn't speak, and shifted the topic to other aspects.

The two of them were silent, and King Lu and the others were not good at nagging, but some clever bosses had a little doubt in their hearts, which was a little wrong. Over the years, Zheng Lang has made big moves, all of which have been discussed in the Metropolitan Church, which is intended to cultivate the democratic style of the Song Dynasty and not engage in a single word. In many cases, some people disagreed with various measures, and then Zheng Lang gradually persuaded and even revised the plan, and the most serious ones were vetoed. He never put on a show, so that the prime minister did not look like the prime minister, but like a sinner. Of course. It is this low-key style that makes Zhao Ji and Gao Taotao very trusted, and the courtiers below respect him. But why did you even mention it this time, and then you didn't even convince it?

This matter has been skipped.

Subsequently, the Khitan sent envoys to the Song Dynasty. And brought many gifts, Yelu Hongji was very dim at this time, and even made a ridiculous move when selecting ministers, dividing them into A, B, C, D, and VI. Then roll the dice, one is A, and the other is B. If you roll one, you will choose A, and if you roll two, you will choose B. But Yeluhongki is not a fool, and food is the top priority of every country in this backward era. The Song envoy went to celebrate the New Year's Day, brought Zhao Ji's edict, Yelu Hongji was overjoyed, and sent an envoy to Beijing with many Haidongqing and horses, as well as other gifts, eldest nephew, you are very good, our two countries are brotherly countries, and so on. Zhao Ji received it angrily.

No way, he's a little better, Zhao Xu took the throne and became a grandson.

The Khitan envoys came, firstly, to express their gratitude, and secondly, to observe and see if these crops were the same thing. Also, hire some old farmers to go to the Khitan, the rice imported from the Wa Kingdom in the Song Dynasty was sent to the Khitan, but there are people in the Khitan who can grow rice, which has to be sent from the Song Dynasty to Liaodong for guidance.

It is not yet ripe, but the crops are growing very well.

Zhang Fangping took these envoys to the suburbs to take a look, and then said one thing, that is, the harvest cannot be handed over to the Khitan, because the seeds introduced from the other side of the ocean have an adaptation and evolution process, at least until the year after that, they can really be handed over to the Khitan. In recent years, the Song Dynasty has vigorously cultivated improved crop seeds, and the world has promoted them, and the Khitan also knows that Zhang Fangping's statement is very reasonable. The four envoys also witnessed that the Song Dynasty had sent special personnel to take care of these crops, and then they left the Song Dynasty with satisfaction.

At this moment, the imperial court suddenly issued an order to release Wang Qi and Lu Dafang, with Zhang Fangping as the Ping Zhangshi, Fan Chunren and Zhang Qi as the governors, Zhang Shangying and Xue Xiang as the privy deputy envoys, and Lu Gongbi and Zhang Dian as the privy envoys. Zhang Qi's ascension to the throne was still because of the Zheng Xia case, under Zheng Lang's silent eyes, Zheng Xia's case was not resolved, but Zhang Qi did not let it go, secretly investigated, and found Feng Jing's head, it was Feng Jing's instigation that Zheng Xia had the courage. In fact, it is impossible to be Feng Jing alone, there are other people, if the truth of Zheng Xia's case and Wang Anshi's dismount case is revealed, I don't know how many officials will be implicated, but what is the effect of uncovering, it can only make the scholar have a more serious split, and Gao Tao cares about her husband's face, and she doesn't want to reveal it at all. Zheng Xia's case did not implicate anyone else, on the contrary, because Fu Bi was Feng Jing's father-in-law, Zhang Qi impeached Feng Jing, causing Fu Bi to step down and go to Luoyang for retirement. This is what happened to Zheng Lang in the northwest, and although Zheng Lang is against it, he can't stop it. Dongfu has now become Han Jiang, Zhang Fangping, Zheng Lang, Fan Chunren, and Zhang Qi, and Xifu has become Lu Gongbi, Zhang Dan, Zeng Xiaokuan, Xue Xiang, and Zhang Shangying.

This time, the ministers of the two governments were in an uproar.

It has nothing to do with the military parade, and even Wang Lu and the others themselves did not expect that the military parade would become the touchstone of their careers, but this candidate.

Zheng Lang has been in power until now, and has been implementing the policy of mixing different opinions, but this time there has been a dark change, Fan Chunren is Zheng Lang's student, Zhang Fangping is Zheng Lang's friend, Han Jiang and Zhang Dian are Zheng Lang's diehards, Xue Xiang and Zhang Qi are Wang Anshi's promotion, they are firm reformers, among which Xue Xiang also served as Zheng Lang's subordinate when he was in Hangzhou, Zeng Gongliang is Zheng Lang's friend, so Zeng Xiaokuan has a lot of respect for Zheng Lang, so he almost treats his father with courtesy, Zheng Lang and Zhang Shangying don't have much contact, but Zhang Shangying was brought up by Zheng Lang, There is only one Lu Gongbi who is ambiguous because of the relationship between the Zheng and Lu families.

The current two mansions are almost equivalent to Zheng Lang's words.

Could it be that Zheng Lang fell in his later years?

Then the second decree caused an uproar.

Xiao Jun and Princess Shushou made a family appointment, and two years later, Princess Shushou married Xiao Jun, Xiao Jun is Yelu Jun, but this matter is more confidential, the outside world thinks that he is the third adopted son taken in by Zheng Lang, and it is not impossible for the son of the ruling prime minister to marry the princess, and the princess of the Song Dynasty is not so expensive, but as a minister. Staying in the phase and letting his son marry the princess is also undermining the ancestral legal system.

Just when these two holy decrees were in trouble, a news was circulating that Zheng Lang would soon resign from his position.

Zheng Lang stayed in the phase, as his adopted son to marry the princess of his relatives, it was not good, but he resigned as prime minister, and his son married the princess, and even because of this change, he became a relative. resigning from the phase is also tantamount to fading out of the political situation.

In fact, it is not very good to propose this joint relationship at this time and push Yelujun out of the foreground. But due to the disputes of everyone, I had to do it, and Zheng Lang also had an intention, he wanted to go down, but he was not really Zhishi, and there were still several years before the time of Zhishi. I have to take care of the Western Xia, especially when I cut down the Xia, I will command hundreds of thousands of troops, plus his influence. I'm worried about what Gao Taotao will think. The joint relatives were proposed, and now people do not know the identity of Yelujun, and they all think that he is their adopted son, which is a royal favor. If Zheng Lang has any bad thoughts. The soldiers will be disgusted, and they will lose the conditions for their ambitions.

Also, he is in the position of prime minister. Whether it is Han Jiang, Fan Chunren, Zhang Fangping, Zhang Qi, Zhang Dan, or Zeng Xiaokuan, Xue Xiang, Zhang Shangying, they can all be twisted into a rope. But Zheng Lang resigned from the phase, can Zhang Fangping listen to Wang Anshi? Can Han Jiang listen to Zhang Fangping? Can Fan Chunren listen to Han Jiang? Then the court will once again form a "good" situation of scattered sand.

It can only be said that after these ministers take office, they can ensure that the reform will continue to be implemented. Even in the process of the reshuffle of the two provinces, Wang Anshi did not enter the two provinces, which made many people breathe a sigh of relief.

In fact, Zheng Lang did not participate in this reshuffle, Zhao Ji Zheng Lang can understand, Zhao Ji is more afraid of the failure of the summer, and he is about to go to the clothes after his success, Zhao Ji simply came to a big reshuffle to make himself relieved. However, the candidate Zheng Lang is not very satisfied, for example, Zhang Qi and Zeng Xiaokuan have limited talents, and Zhang Qi is not only limited in talent, but also very narrow-minded, far inferior to the deputy minister Yuan Jiang who was dismissed last year. However, Yuan Jiang stepped down because his son Qi Ning, Taixue Yu Fan, took bribes and implicated Yuan Qi Ning, Yuan Jiang operated, so that Yuan Qi Ning was exempted from prison, and Yu Shi was impeached and was removed from Qingzhou. Zheng Lang's restructuring of the three grinding and two sponsorship is aimed at the integrity of officials, and if Yuan Jiang is recalled, it will bring some bad effects.

Moreover, Zhang Fangping and Wang Anshi have always been at odds because of their different political views. But if you don't use Zhang Fangping, who can you use? But fortunately, since Wang Yan's death, Wang Anshi has been a little depressed, and he is no longer as stubborn and radical as before, and Zhang Fangping is not as difficult as Sima Guang. Before he went down, he still had time to resolve the conflict for the two of them.

At this time, Sima Guang wrote a letter to Zheng Lang, implicitly opposing Zheng Lang's suppression of Wang Qi, after all, according to Wang Qi's performance in the past, he was a very loyal elder. Zheng Lang was dumbfounded after seeing it, Wang Qi is honest? If he was honest, Cai would not have been killed alive by Wang Qi in history.

is just released, what kind of suppression can it be, in fact, Zheng Lang suppressed only one person, including Liu Zhi, Zheng Lang did not have the intention of suppressing. No one could have imagined this person, that was Cai Jing. The growth process is different, and the heart path is different, but we can't ignore nature. After the restructuring, the official style of the later generation of scholars and doctors gradually improved, and the moderates will also have the upper hand in the future. Cai Jing can get better, but I'm afraid that he is still like in history, it will be a Gu mother in the middle of a group of sheep, and the harm will be even greater. Therefore, Zheng Lang didn't dare to bet, under his secret dispatch, Cai Jing has been serving as a local official in the south, but in fact, Cai Jing has faded out of the field of vision of the bigwigs over the years.

This is the real suppression.

Others, is it worth Zheng Lang's hands?

Some people also asked Zheng Lang if he wanted to quit politics, and after getting an accurate answer, many scholars lost their souls, after all, Zheng Lang was like a pillar of optimus over the years, supporting the Song Dynasty. What variables will the loss of Zheng Lang bring to the Song Dynasty?

Under these major events, no one paid attention to the Dragon Boat Festival parade.

The so-called military parade is to assemble the soldiers and walk around the royal street in a neat formation. Moreover, in order to continue to confuse the Western Xia Khitan, Zheng Lang proposed the bank supervision to expand the shares, once the shares were expanded, the imperial court also needed to prepare a large amount of principal, and there would be no war expenses.

Of course, this share expansion is fake.

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming, the big military parade begins, first the heavy cavalry, although the heavy cavalry is bulky, but the power is not small, the Song Dynasty also set up some, but the main light cavalry. After the heavy cavalry, there were all kinds of light cavalry and infantry, as well as weapons. The Song army has long attached importance to the battle formation, and the actual effect is doubtful, but it has a role, the formation is very neat, and with a little training, it can achieve the effect of walking the phalanx during the parade.

The soldiers came in a neat line, and while walking, they shouted long live the Great Song Dynasty, long live Your Majesty. It cost some money, but it really boosted the morale and pride of the soldiers. But there are not many scholars who know the truth, and like Lu Dafang, they are worried that the military generals' forces will slowly rise under the impetus of Zheng Lang, so many Yanchen have successively raised some criticisms of this military parade.

But is that really the case? At least he still has his prestige now, and what he has done has gradually been recognized by more people, and under the reshuffle of the bigwigs of the two governments, there are still so many ministers who have written books, Zheng Lang sat at home, thinking about this problem seriously, and suddenly he thought of a terrible and unsolvable truth, that is, one of the most serious drawbacks in the core of Confucianism. (To be continued......)