The Great Song Dynasty has staggered forward for a hundred years, and Zhao Kuangyin's good policies have brought great benefits to the Great Song Dynasty, but at the same time, the price is that the country has a huge bureaucratic team, consumes a lot of national wealth, wastes taxpayers' money and food, and produces the disadvantages of redundant officials, redundant soldiers, and redundant expenses. However, the issue of "three redundancies" is related to the "foundation of the country" and the "foundation of governance" of the Song Dynasty, which affects the whole body, and if it is not handled properly, it will shake the foundation of the country and affect the survival!

Let's talk about redundant soldiers first, the Song Dynasty is the only dynasty in Chinese history that has long adhered to the conscription system, which is the most advanced military service system in the world at that time, the Song army can be called the first standing mercenary army in the real sense of the world, and the treatment is extremely generous, which can't help but remind people of today's U.S. military, at that time only the Song Dynasty had the strength to implement the conscription system, which required a strong economic foundation.

One of the most original measures of the Song Dynasty's conscription system was the "recruitment of soldiers in famine years", where the government recruited a large number of soldiers whenever there was a disaster and the people could not survive. "For every person recruited, the court will have one more soldier, and the mountains and fields will have one less thief." If one person is a soldier, the whole family will have no food and clothing. The peasant uprisings in the Song Dynasty were few and the scale was not large, and the recruitment of troops in the famine year was indispensable! However, the consequence of this policy is redundancy and huge military spending. With a population of less than 100 million at that time, the proportion of mercenaries in the country was nearly a million, and the cost was indeed staggering. Large-scale recruitment of forbidden troops, no retirement system, lifelong support in old age, and frequent wars, etc., have caused huge military expenditures.

However, without this system, it is difficult to say whether the Song Dynasty would have maintained the internal stability and prosperity that had been unattainable in previous dynasties. In a sense, this policy has the nature of social security, and "the government is paying for the country's transformation from an agrarian society to an industrial and commercial society." "We must get rid of the evils of redundant troops. At the expense of social stability, how can we be careless?

Then again. What kind of army did the Great Song Dynasty raise with heavy gold?

Due to the implementation of the civil official system of "suppressing military force with literature" in the Song Dynasty, a concept of contempt for martial artists was cultivated in the Song Dynasty. Yin Zhu once compared: "The champion and the first, although the generals are hundreds of thousands, restore the thistle, chase the strong enemy in the desert, triumphant return, and offer the Jietai Temple, its glory is not enough." The folk proverb also says: "A good iron is not a nail, and a good man is not a soldier", which fully reflects the attitude of ordinary people towards joining the army.

Although the Song government had the richest treasury revenue in the world at this time. At the same time, there are also strong bows and armor with the most superb skills and craftsmanship, equipped with a standing army of millions that are unparalleled in the world, but they have lost many victories in many foreign wars, which has a lot to do with this sluggish national mentality. Imagine a society where everyone is ashamed of joining the army, and can only obtain soldiers by recruiting with high salaries, and also needs to engrave words on the faces of soldiers to maintain the stability of the army.

And with civilian officials commanding the army, "the army is impermanent and handsome, and the commander is impermanent division." Internal and external maintenance, upper and lower phase system, and rank rolling", the prevention of warriors is more important than the prevention of thieves. In addition, there are many and weak soldiers, lack of training, and frequent dispatch of forbidden troops. The local soldiers were weak, which made the national strength of the Song generation weak. Martial arts are sluggish, and they are unable to resist external troubles. The Song were at war with powerful neighbors such as the Liao, Western Xia, and Jin. Failed repeatedly, and finally almost perished today, this is actually money spent, but it is abandoned to the end......

Similarly, the disadvantages of "redundant officials" are related to the expansion of the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty. The expansion of the imperial examination allowed all strata, including the common people, to participate in the political power, thereby strengthening the ruling foundation and maintaining social stability, which was similar to the "recruitment of troops in the famine years". Moreover, we will also find that the scholar class and the middle class formed by this became the elite and mainstay of society, and became the backbone of the prosperity of the Song generation.

The rulers of the Song Dynasty trusted and entrusted state affairs to this class of literati and doctors. This large number of intellectuals from poor backgrounds were able to enter the core leadership stratum, become generals and prime ministers, and truly shoulder the historical mission of "governing the country and leveling the world", completely relying on the vigorous promotion of the imperial court. Therefore, they are grateful to the Song royal family and swear allegiance to the death, even if they have suffered repeated setbacks in their journey, they will not change their hearts.

A particularly critical point is that these literati doctors came from humble backgrounds, did not have the power of powerful families as a social background, so they did not have a deep social foundation and strength, and their glory and disgrace were in the hands of the emperor, even if they were extremely popular ministers, they would not pose a potential threat to the Zhao and Song dynasties. Bu Yiqing's eunuch experience determined their loyalty to the Zhao and Song dynasties, and their dependence on the royal family was extremely strong. Once they are deposed, they will no longer exert influence on the government!

In short, every time there was a change of regime during the Song and Song dynasties, and the political situation fluctuated, it relied on the strength of scholars to stabilize the situation, balance various political forces, and ensure the long-term peace and security of the country. In order to maintain this 'harmony', the imperial examinations were continuously expanded, so that outstanding people from all walks of life could participate in the political power, thereby strengthening the ruling foundation and maintaining social stability.

But the result was that the Song Dynasty had a large number of scholars in the imperial examination, which was "unprecedented" in the history of China's feudal society. But by this time, the Great Song Dynasty was already overwhelmed, to the point where it couldn't be changed if it didn't change, but if it was to use the knife against these vested interests, the difficulty can be imagined......

Speaking of redundancy, the Song Dynasty was the wealthiest dynasty in Chinese history, and for most of the time, the Song Dynasty had a balance of revenues and expenditures. However, most of this money is used to pay for the huge military expenses and capitation expenses of civil servants, and the money for people's livelihood and infrastructure construction is very small. Da Song came to the hands of Zhao Ji, who was the most good at spending money, he was extremely poor and extravagant, and the waste was amazing. Cai Jing and Wang Hao were skilled in amassing wealth, and the taxes were increased again and again, and the people were already overwhelmed, and the merchants went bankrupt one after another, causing a serious social crisis......

The emperors and people of insight of the Great Song Dynasty did not fail to realize the harm of the three redundancies, and also tried to change this state, but only achieved one effect, and the vigorous reforms often ended in failure, and the situation was not only to be changed, but to worsen.

When Zhao Tan came to this world, he had already deeply realized the harm of the three redundancies, which had elevated the contradiction between the 'common people' and the 'imperial court' to the main contradiction, and had reached the point of non-resolution. Otherwise, even if you don't die from external troubles, you will have to die from internal strife, and if you don't solve this problem, you won't be able to talk about the Zhongxing Great Song Dynasty. Therefore, even if he knows that it is a minefield, he must wade over, even if it causes thunder to roll, he must not retreat, because he has no way out!

Now after a series of major blows such as the battle of Liao, the three southward movements of the Jin army, the loss of the Beijing division, and the northward march of the second emperor, it can be said that it has become a raged mess, and the entire Jiangbei region is uninhabited for hundreds of miles, except for a few prefectures and counties, most of the officials are fleeing, the regime is paralyzed, and thieves are rampant, and it can be said that the entire bureaucratic system of the Great Song Dynasty has been almost destroyed and has fallen into anarchism.

The situation in the DPRK and China is not optimistic, most of the officials of the main battle faction were arrested by the Jurchens and sent to the north, and some committed suicide and martyrdom on the festival, and the personnel withered; After recovering Bianjing, Zhang Bangchang was given death, the leader was imprisoned or exiled, and his subordinates were held accountable and expelled from the court, which was basically eradicated; At this time, there was a vacuum of power between the DPRK and China.

The military strength of the Great Song Dynasty was completely lost after repeated campaigns and the elite Western Army, and the forbidden army, which was the main force of national defense, collapsed completely, and it can be said that it existed in name only, and it was all supported by the temporary recruitment of new troops and volunteers, although the number was large, but the lack of training, lack of weapons, shortage of equipment, and low combat effectiveness could not take on the heavy task of defending the homeland and the country.

The financial situation has also deteriorated to the point of being out of control, and only a few dilapidated houses are still left in the local treasury under Cai Jing's 'great shift', while the royal small treasury and the Yuanfeng treasury have been looted by the Jurchens, and there are no 100-year savings and hammers, with a total loss of 5 million taels of gold and 50 million taels of silver, and the treasury is really cleaner than the face. At this moment, the new monarch has not yet been established, and the officials in the Jiangnan region, who have not been affected by the war, have been passive in the implementation of the central government's edicts, pretending to be snakes, prevaricating in every possible way, and refusing to pay the taxes collected for a long time, which has aggravated the financial difficulties of the imperial court!

It is a very headache for the country to be like this, but Zhao Ta not only saw the difficulties in front of him, but also saw the opportunity to solve the three redundancies...

Zhao Ta looked out of the car, and the soldiers of the Zhongxing Army rolled forward in the middle of his car, in the eyes of the soldiers, he was their commander and dependent, and in Zhao Ta's eyes, these soldiers were his brothers, relatives and guardians. For many years, he has relied on this army to lay a foundation in this world, and he has reached the pinnacle of power step by step, which can be said to be his strongest support.

"Second master, there is a report in Xijing!" At this time, Wangfu got into the car and said, "The princess and the princess set off from Datong, and the leopard general and the guards brigade escorted them to Bianjing through Taiyuan!" ”

"Well, our Zhongxing Army is now ready!" Zhao Ta said with a smile.

"Yes, there are 100,000 troops on the side, see who dares not to listen to the words of the second master in the court, as long as they give an order, they will be wiped out!" Wangfu quipped.

"Huh!" Zhao Ta laughed out loud, with such a strong army on his side, what else did he have to fear, "Everything is difficult at the beginning, so let's start by transforming the army of the Great Song Dynasty!" ”

Zhao Ta knew that the basis of the stability of all regimes was the strength of the armed forces, and that the Zhongxing Army was created by themselves from scratch, and they were loyal to themselves, identified with their own ideas, and took the responsibility of defending the country as their own responsibility, and withstood the baptism of the Great War, forming their own unique style of an army different from this era.

At present, I not only want to change the weak state of the Great Song Dynasty, but also importantly, to change the world's discrimination against martial artists, revive the style of martial arts, and improve the status of the army, but to achieve this goal, there are still many difficulties, and there is a lot of work to be done. Although he will face many difficulties in knowing how many difficulties he will face, Zhao Ta feels that the road back to Beijing this time does not seem to be as heavy as the previous ones... (To be continued......)