Ouch, do you dare to say this?
Seeing the official's face darken, Wang Shougui secretly thought something was wrong. He quickly stepped forward to wink at Zhao Yang and reminded in a low voice: "Wang Zhi, who also knows the admonishment court, submitted the impeachment memorial twice yesterday and today..."
While trying to recall the name, Zhao Yang asked doubtfully: "Who is being impeached? It won't be me again, right?"
Wang Shougui remained silent and pouted at the officials calmly.
What?
Perhaps due to being tipsy, Zhao Yang felt inexplicably happy and grinned at Zhao Zhen: "The official was impeached... no, was he remonstrated?"
Seeing this kid's heartless look, Zhao Zhen became even more angry and scolded displeasedly: "Isn't it thanks to you? If you hadn't insisted on impeaching Qian... How could Bachelor Qian have lost his official position? How can I be subject to repeated admonitions from the King's Admonition Court in order to restore you to your original position?"
"So I told the officials to grant me the position of admonishment...otherwise I would have to report to the Wang Admonition Court next time."
Zhao Zhen scolded angrily: "Are you still reasonable?...Wait, next time? There is a next time?"
"Ah, isn't there a court meeting on the 20th?"
"You want to impeach Qian Mingyi?" Zhao Zhen opened his eyes wide in shock, and even Zeng Gongliang, who was recording the official's words and deeds, looked incredulous.
After a while, Zhao Zhen said suspiciously: "Do you want to use this method to ask me to remove him from office?"
"I don't mean that." Zhao Yang quickly stated his position, "If I do this, what's the difference between me and those guys who use sweet words to deceive the officials, but actually work for the party and oppose different people?... Of course, judging from the feedback from the people who were watching that day Look, there must be something wrong with Qian Mingyi, but I don't have time to collect evidence. If the officials find definite evidence and demote him, it has nothing to do with me."
Hearing this, everyone in the hall was very surprised and looked at him with admiration.
After a long while, Zhao Zhen said in confusion: "Since you have no such intention, why do you have to impeach him again and again? ... As you said, without definite evidence, I can't accuse him."
"I just want to see him being scolded by me in public and not being able to retort, so angry... Who told him to force me to kneel to him in the first place?"
Zhao Zhen: "..."
Wang Shougui: "..."
Zeng Gongliang: "..."
After a long period of silence, Zhao Zhen raised his hand and rubbed his forehead, looking a little tired and said: "Okay, okay, I don't have the energy to scold you... Didn't you go to the Ministry of Industry to do something today? Why did you drink again?" Already?"
"Didn't I meet Zhang Yaozuo?"
"Zhang Yaozuo?" Zhao Zhen raised his head slightly.
"Yes." Zhao Yang nodded and explained: "I was working in the Ministry of Industry at that time, and he suddenly ran over and said he wanted to buy me a drink... I had to show my favor to Concubine Zhang..."
Zhao Zhen was a little surprised.
Of course, it was a good thing for him that Zhao Yang was so sensible. However, due to the presence of Zeng Gongliang, it was difficult for him to say some things. He nodded slightly and changed the subject: "How is your technical department doing?"
"I'm about to report to the officials." Seeing that business was about to come up, Zhao Yang straightened his expression and told Zhao Zhen in detail about his arrangements in the Ministry of Industry. I contacted dozens of craftsmen for me in the past few days. I felt that this person had good ability in doing things, so I appointed him as the deputy envoy... I divided the dozens of craftsmen into masonry, carpentry, ironwork, gunpowder, etc. Case by case, assign them their own tasks and let them figure it out on their own until the workshop is completed..."
"Workshop?"
"Yes, I entrusted several envoys from the Ministry of Industry to lead people to build several workshops in the southeast of the outer city between the lower reaches of the Bian River and the Cai River... As long as the official funding is in place, then Construction will begin soon.”
Zhao Zhen wanted to ask again, but due to the presence of Zeng Gongliang, he had no choice but to give up. He turned around and ordered Wang Shourui: "Go back and ask someone to urge you."
Wang Shougui responded solemnly: "I will send someone to urge you later. I will definitely not delay Xiao Langjun's important event."
Zhao Zhen nodded slightly.
After dinner in the evening, Zhao Zhen played chess with Zhao Yang in Funing Hall. During the period, he asked Zhao Yang: "Tell me more about those construction projects and those workshops."
Zhao Yang glanced at Wang Shougui, who was the only one left in the dormitory, and whispered: "Stone Workshop, I plan to build several brick kilns for burning bricks..."
"Bricks? Bricks used by ordinary people to build houses?"
"No, those kind of adobe bricks are too brittle. I can split them in half with my hands, so they are of no use. What I want is stronger bricks, which are necessary for infrastructure construction and are indispensable for building city walls, houses, etc." When the cement is also allocated, I can build a city for the government in one year...I mean the city wall alone."
Although Zhao Zhen was shocked by what he heard, he had no practical idea. He thought about it and asked, "What if it's the city wall of Bianjing?"
Zhao Yang made a rough estimate and said: "For the inner city wall, it will not take more than two years, and for the outer city wall, five years should be enough."
Zhao Zhen was greatly shocked. After all, the inner city wall of Bianjing was said to have been built for nearly ten years, and the outer city wall that was started at the same time took more than twenty years to build.
Is this the gap of a thousand years?
"Where's the workshop in the ironwork case? Is it used for making iron?"
"To be exact, it's steelmaking. I've seen the weapons of Wang Zhongzheng and others. They are quite sharp, but they are far from being called magic weapons. The rolled steel in my hometown is specially used to make gun barrels. The kind that is made into Weapons are called cutting iron like clay... But these are just for collection. After the birth of gunpowder, firearms dominated the world... But in a short period of time, the power of firearms was not as powerful as bows and crossbows, but they would gradually be overtaken until they were beyond their reach. "
Recalling the terrifying weapon that this boy once described to himself, which could destroy a city, Zhao Zhen looked solemn and said thoughtfully: "After your workshop is completed, I will dispatch several battalions of forbidden troops to garrison there. They will only be responsible for vigilance and careful work. It will not hinder the operation of your technical department...well, I will let you serve as the deputy defense envoy when the time comes."
"Deputy? Just give me a full-time job as a defense envoy."
"Can you handle it?" Zhao Zhen said angrily: "Don't be too ambitious. First, lead the five hundred forbidden troops under your command, so that I can see that you really have the ability to lead an army."
"Okay, I will go to the Tianwu Army first tomorrow to have a look... By the way, where is the Tianwu Army stationed?"
Zhao Zhen glanced at Zhao Yang speechlessly and thought: "In this way, tomorrow you go to the front office of the palace to find Cao Yu, the Marquis of Yu. He will take you there during the introduction. If you don't understand anything, you can ask him. . . . Remember, this man is the brother of the Queen, and he has always been modest and does not have grudges with others, so you must not offend him without reason."
"What the officials said, I'm not...that, I'll bite whoever I catch."
Zhao Zhen glanced sideways and was too lazy to pay attention.
The Palace Front Division is the Imperial Guards Division of the Song Dynasty. Together with the Guards and Military Division, they are collectively referred to as the "Two Divisions". The former oversees the Palace Command and Envoy Division, and the latter oversees the Guards, Guards, and Army Commanding Division and the Guards and Envoys Division. The Infantry Command Commanded the Envoy Division, also collectively known as the "Three Yamen", commonly known as the "Two Divisions and Three Yamen". The imperial troops guarding the imperial palace all originated from this.
However, the imperial army of the Song Dynasty numbered one to two million, and only a small number were selected to garrison the palace city. They were even appointed as Zhubanzhi and were responsible for the defense inside and outside the palace city. Most of the other imperial army were stationed at the border unless necessary. Stationed in the inner city, outer city and capital of Bianjing, a small amount of "food" was provided by the local government, and money and food were provided by the local government.
Early the next morning, after washing and eating, Zhao Yang took Wang Zhongzheng and others out of Xihua Gate on the west side of the palace city and went straight to the Dianqiansi military camp on the northwest side of the inner city.
Compared with the prosperity of the east and south parts of the inner city, the northwest part of the inner city seems much more depressed. Except for the streets leading directly to Xihuamen, which are relatively flat and where residential houses are concentrated, the condition of the roads becomes worse as you go west, and the residential buildings in the nearby area also become more crowded. The camp became more and more shabby, and eventually no one could even see any human habitation. Instead, the camp gradually came into view, surrounded by a wooden fence that was as tall as one person and could not be seen at a glance.
Looking into the camp through the gap in the fence, Zhao Yang saw dense row houses. There seemed to be a wide playground in the distance. Some imperial troops could vaguely be seen practicing, but they didn't seem to be in good spirits. The shouts were listless.
"This is pretty good, at least there is still practice." Wei Tao said with a smile, "There was once an internal official who was close to me who was transferred to a victorious army that was providing food in Jeju as a supervisor. He was in the letter He once wrote that even in the spring and autumn, that battalion of forbidden troops only exercised ten times in the whole month, and even less in summer and winter, especially in winter. In February and March, there were no more than five exercises in total. Furthermore, most of the forbidden troops in the army did not perform exercises. We were short of soldiers and armor, and when the generals asked, they said they were damaged, but in fact most of them were lost, and some people even used them to exchange for money privately..."
Zhao Yang felt incredible after hearing this: "Military discipline is so lax, so the generals will not be held accountable?"
"Accountability will naturally lead to accountability, but if there are too many people who violate the prohibition, we can only let it go. Otherwise, if it causes a mutiny, it will be an even greater crime. ... Yuanwailang does not know that many of the forbidden troops are rebels in various places. With the income gained from military recruitment and recruitment, these people only want to eat food and receive pay, so how can they suffer from daily training? If the generals in the army force them too much, there is no guarantee that they will not gather people to cause chaos and cause harm to the local area. If the imperial court sends troops to conquer, in the end, it will be unfavorable. We still have to recruit people, provide food and pay to support this group of people, so as not to cause trouble again... So, why bother?"
"Say less." Wang Zhongzheng reminded from the side.
"Why are we afraid of our own people? Besides, this matter is well known to everyone." Wei Taohun said nonchalantly and continued to tell the inside story about the Forbidden Army.
After listening to his story, Zhao Yang realized that the Song Dynasty's "national policy to quell chaos" had always been to recruit rebels. As time went by, refugees and lazy people from all over the country tried to rebel and become the Forbidden Army: Gathering together , 200 or even dozens or a dozen people, holding high the rebel flag and shouting rebel slogans, the first reaction of the county town was not to immediately send the county army to encircle and suppress them, but to report to the court.
The imperial court's traditional approach was to send a pacifier to contact the rebels. The two parties would negotiate terms, and then the imperial court would recruit the rebels and become members of the Forbidden Army.
From the beginning of the founding of the Song Dynasty to the present, there have been no fewer than two or three hundred rebellions in various places, but the scale was not large each time, and there were almost no examples of county towns being captured. This is because the Song Dynasty adopted this method of "quelling chaos" Way.
Of course, the exception was the "Wangze Rebellion" a few years ago. That was a rebellion in the name of Buddhism, and the Song Dynasty would not tolerate it.
It is precisely because of this strategy to quell chaos that the imperial army of the Song Dynasty gradually grew from more than 200,000 at the beginning of the founding of the country to one or two million today - another reason is that the imperial court will recruit young people from disaster-stricken areas into the imperial army. The same is to prevent these people from causing trouble.
From this, it is not difficult to guess the actual combat effectiveness of the Forbidden Army.
"How many of the one to two million forbidden troops are worthy of a fight?" Zhao Yang couldn't help but ask about this matter.
Wei Tao thought for a while and replied: "Including the Fourth Army, it is estimated that there are three to four hundred thousand..."
"Not necessarily." Bao Rong shook his head and interrupted, "Maybe only a few hundred thousand. You have forgotten that a few years ago..."
"Cough!" Wang Zhongzheng suddenly coughed.
"What happened in the past few years?" Zhao Yang asked.
Everyone looked at each other, until Zhao Yang asked for the second time, Wang Zhongzheng said in a low voice: "A few years ago, our Song Dynasty fought with Xixia, and lost in three battles... and lost many troops. The officials were very angry. Therefore, the government and the public do not dare to speak easily..."
Lost three games?
Let’s just talk about three defeats.
Zhao Yang was slightly impressed by this and nodded without asking any more questions.
At this time, he finally understood the extent of the "redundant troops" of the Song Dynasty. It was simply unbelievable that there were only 200,000 to 300,000 of the one to two million forbidden troops capable of fighting.
"Let's go find Uncle Cao Guo."
"yes."
Continuing north along the fence of the camp, Zhao Yang and his party soon encountered a group of forbidden troops on routine patrol.
The other party noticed that Wang Zhongzheng and others were all wearing the uniforms of the Forbidden Army, but they did not immediately chase them away or scold them. They greeted them from a distance and stepped forward to ask, "What are you doing?"
Without waiting for Zhao Yang's reaction, the team leader noticed that Wang Zhongzheng and the others did not have tattoos on their foreheads. His expressions changed slightly, and he quickly and respectfully changed his words: "I apologize for offending you nobles. I don't know if I have offended you. What business does the nobleman have to come to the military camp in front of my palace?"
"You don't need to know, just tell me where the Yamen in front of the Wai Lang Palace is." Wang Zhongzheng rebuked with a bit of arrogance.
Yuanwailang?
The captain's eyes fell on Zhao Yang. He was even more surprised when he saw that Zhao Yang was surrounded by many internal officials like stars holding the moon, and was wearing seemingly valuable robes. He hurriedly lowered his head to respond. He said: "Yes, I will lead you all forward now."
"Thank you."
Zhao Yang clasped his fists and glanced at the captain's forehead. Sure enough, he saw an obvious tattoo on it, but the font was too small. He could only vaguely make out the words "Shen Yong Army" and "Du Tou".
But this is enough to show that the opponent is a Dutou, the so-called hundred-man general. However, in the eyes of Wang Zhongzheng and others, a battalion-level commander is nothing, let alone a Dutou.
Under the guidance of this patrolling Forbidden Army, Zhao Yang and his party finally found the Si Yamen in front of the palace, a government office located on one side of the entrance to the military camp.
After Zhao Yang thanked him, the man was flattered and left.
At this time, Sun Chang couldn't help but said: "It's just a little guy, why should Yuanwailang treat him so politely?"
After hearing this, Zhao Yang said lightly: "I am just a small commander, only one level higher than him..."
Everyone could hear his displeasure and looked at each other, not daring to say anything more.
Glancing at the stunned expressions of several people, Zhao Yang shook his head slightly and walked towards the Si Yamen in front of the palace.
At this time, there were several imperial guards on duty in front of the yamen. Seeing that Zhao Yang was well-dressed, they asked politely: "This is the yamen in front of the palace. I don't know what you do for a small official?"
Zhao Yang revealed his identity and said: "I am Zhao Yang, the newly appointed commander of the First Battalion of the Fifth Tianwu Army and a member of the Ministry of Industry. I would like to see Cao Yi and Uncle Cao Guo, the Marquis of Yu, and I would like to ask a few of them to report on my behalf."
Commander?
A foreign minister from the Ministry of Industry?
A low-ranking military official with a seventh-grade civilian official?
The imperial guards in front of the Yamen looked at each other with the same surprise as Zhang Yaozuo's master and servant that day.
Then a forbidden soldier hurriedly said: "Shang Guan, I will report it immediately."
Zhao Yang nodded, not in a hurry, and stood outside the Yamen looking towards the direction of the camp.
After a while, there was a rustling sound in the yamen, as if someone was walking quickly on the mud and snow. Zhao Yang turned around and saw a man who was estimated to be in his forties or fifties, with a tall build and a square face and a wide mouth. The man walked out of the palace quickly, with traces of armor vaguely visible under his loose court uniform.
I saw this man's eyes sweeping across Zhao Yang and everyone, and then walked towards Zhao Yang, holding his hands with a smile and saying: "This little official must be Zhao Yuanwailang, he is indeed a young and extraordinary man, I am Cao Yi."
Zhao Yang was stunned for a moment and then returned the favor: "I've met my uncle."
He was not surprised that Uncle Cao Guo had also heard of his "notoriety", but compared to Zhang Yaozuo, who was also a relative, the man in front of him was the grandson of the famous general Cao Bin and the brother of Empress Cao. He was in charge of the Imperial Army and held a high position. There is no reason to fear him.
However, Uncle Cao actually came to the office to greet him in person, and he was kind and humble, which really surprised Zhao Yang.
