"The child's arrogance made my uncle laugh." Zhao Yang cupped his hands and said.
"No, no, no." Cao Yi waved his hands repeatedly and said with a complex expression: "Yuan Wai Lang's bold words... are shocking and make Cao Yi ashamed."
After saying that, he looked thoughtful and hesitated several times.
"Uncle Guo, it's okay to speak directly if you have something to say."
"Hmm." Cao Yi nodded and said hesitantly: "I believe that Yuan Wai Lang must have extraordinary talents, but... Forgive me for asking, how does Yuan Wai Lang plan to change the current situation of our Song Dynasty army? No, no... What does Yuan Wai Lang think of our army of the Song Dynasty? What are the shortcomings of our army of the Song Dynasty?"
Zhao Yang was a little surprised after hearing this, and said with a smile: "Uncle Guo, are you testing me?"
"No, no." Cao Yi shook his head and said tactfully: "It's just that I haven't seen anyone as ambitious as Yuan Wai Lang for a long time, so I am happy to see Yuan Wai Lang. I wish I could discuss it with Yuan Wai Lang."
Although he said it very politely, the purpose was obviously to test Zhao Yang. Zhao Yang knew it well and thought about it for a while: "Our army of the Song Dynasty, taking the Forbidden Army as an example, in my opinion, there are two situations at present. : Internally, the phenomenon of redundant troops is serious. Most of the forbidden troops have no courage. They only want to eat food and get paid, which is a waste of military funds. Externally, most of the forbidden troops have little fighting spirit and low combat power. They cannot be used and have nothing. , there are two million people, but the number of people who can be used is probably less than two or three hundred thousand, and it is difficult to defeat the elites of Xixia and Liao..."
Cao Yi nodded slightly and thought to himself: It seems that this Yuanwailang is generally aware of the situation of the Forbidden Army and is not boasting about his ambitions without any basis.
But he could not openly express his agreement: "What Yuan Wailang said may be the truth, but I...well, forgive me for not agreeing."
Zhao Yang couldn't help but asked: "Is uncle Guo too cautious in his words and deeds?"
Cao Yi smiled awkwardly at being teased, and then asked seriously: "What is Yuan Wai Lang's opinion on the various defeats of the Forbidden Army in battles? Why did our army in the Song Dynasty... fail so many times?"
Zhao Yang knew that the uncle was still testing him. Although he didn't know what the purpose was, it did not prevent him from telling his true thoughts: "As far as the Forbidden Army is concerned, there are internal and external factors. I have also said the internal factors before. The army is severely redundant, and most of the Forbidden Army have no courage, and they just want to eat food and get paid. As for external factors, the domestic atmosphere is too unfriendly to the Forbidden Army...to be precise, it is too unfriendly to the soldiers and warriors, with all kinds of vigilance, constraints, and contempt. I won’t talk about this anymore. My uncle should know better than me the customs that have been left since the founding of the country..."
"Yes, yes." Cao Yi's face changed in fright, and he quickly changed the subject: "What about battles? Does Yuanwailang know about the wars between the Song Dynasty and the Xixia and Khitan in recent years?"
Zhao Yang said truthfully: "I'm not sure about this, but given the unhealthy culture in the country that values civility over military affairs, I guess it won't be much better."
Bad atmosphere...
This Yuanwailang really dares to say it.
A trace of surprise flashed in Cao Yi's eyes, and he coughed and said, "Yuan Wai Lang's words are a bit biased."
"Is there any?" Zhao Yang sneered and said, "I don't care about the pros and cons of being a literati in charge of the army. Let's just talk about the officers and soldiers in the army. The domestic culture is so contemptuous of the soldiers. How can the army officers and soldiers be willing to sacrifice their lives for the country if they compare their hearts to their own? In the pre-Qin period, Wu Qi sucked. He died of gangrene, and all his subordinates were brave and unstoppable. But now the Song Dynasty tattoos the sergeants on their foreheads and treats them like prisoners. No wonder they fight repeatedly..."
"Ahem, cough."
Cao Yi coughed repeatedly and abruptly interrupted Zhao Yang's words.
"Uncle Guo, are you okay?" Zhao Yang couldn't help laughing.
Seeing the joking look on Zhao Yang's face, Cao Yi couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, and added: "I've been suffering from the cold recently, and I've been feeling a little unwell, which made Yuanwailang laugh."
Zhao Yang didn't expose it, but still couldn't help but said: "Uncle Guo, you and I have been talking for a long time, which can be considered speculation. Forgive me for being superficial, I would like to speak bluntly. As an uncle, why are you so... too cautious?"
In fact, in his opinion, Cao Yi was not only cautious, but simply timid. He didn't dare to express his position on this, and he didn't dare to say it clearly.
Seeing that Zhao Yang asked for the second time and his attitude was sincere, Cao Yi relaxed a little, sighed and said sincerely: "You have to be careful with your words and actions, otherwise you will cause disaster."
"Isn't that true?" Zhao Yang said with a smile: "Well, something happened between me and Zhang Yaozuo a few days ago. Uncle Guo must also know about it. He is much braver than Uncle Guo."
"Zhang Yaozuo?" Cao Yi snorted and said calmly: "Some people in the court have always accused him of being arrogant and domineering. Although the officials have repeatedly tolerated it for the sake of Concubine Zhang... But he will act so arrogantly in the future. To put it bluntly, if Concubine Zhang falls out of favor one day, everyone in the court will rise up..."
At this point, he suddenly realized that he had made a mistake, his face was startled, and he hurriedly raised his hands and said to Zhao Yang: "I was just talking nonsense, Wang Yuanwailang..."
"Peace of mind, peace of mind." Zhao Yang smiled and comforted: "Uncle Guo and I hit it off as old friends, so naturally we won't talk nonsense outside. In fact, I think so too, but in the past two days, he seems to have changed his temper, saying that he wants to keep a low profile..."
After hearing Zhao Yang's relief, Cao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, and then sneered: "Oh, he was just scolded by Yuan Wailang, and he also learned that Concubine Zhang Guifei was also reprimanded by Yuan Wailang, so he did not dare to offend and could only make friends with Yuan Wailang, and Have you really changed your character? If it were anyone else, I'm afraid most of them would have been transferred..."
"Hmm." Zhao Yang nodded and agreed, "The ears of officials are indeed soft sometimes."
Cao Yi's face changed slightly in fear again, and he quickly said: "I didn't mean that..."
"Peace of mind and peace of mind."
Zhao Yang lowered his hands and expressed relief, and then said: "Let's not talk about him anymore. Regarding my five hundred sergeants, does my uncle have anything to explain?"
Cao Yi shook his head and said: "The official specially told me not to interfere, how could I dare to interfere? If I insist on letting Yuan Wailang know something, it is the position of commander. Yuan Wailang had better promote and appoint him first, that is, deputy commander. , Dutou, team generals, etc."
Zhao Yang was stunned when he heard this: "Are they all soldiers? There are no deputy commanders, commanders, or generals?"
Cao Yan quickly explained: "Don't worry, Yuan Wai Lang, the soldiers I have deployed are all brave men, and everyone is qualified to serve as a team commander, even the captain. As for the deputy commander, Yuan Wai Lang can just send suitable candidates to serve... This arrangement also makes it easier for Yuan Wai Lang to take charge of this command force."
"Where can I find a suitable candidate?"
"..." Cao Yi remained silent and just glanced at Wang Zhongzheng and others.
Zhao Yang suddenly realized that there had always been precedents for eunuchs to take up military positions in the Song Dynasty, not to mention that Wang Zhongzheng and others all knew how to read and write. Serving as deputy commander was indeed a mistake.
Thinking of this, he asked Wang Zhongzheng, "Would you like to wait?"
Wang Zhongzheng, Wei Tao, and Bao Rong who stayed in the room looked at each other, and it was obvious that they were a little reluctant.
Although they are all despised eunuchs, their status is much higher than the military position, and their eunuch ranks are not low, at least they are high-ranking. It is okay to let them change to the military position to serve as military supervisors of a certain army, but let them change to the military position. They have no time to spare for a low-quality deputy commander who also has to put in a lot of effort to manage the sergeants.
No, Wei Tao smiled politely and said: "I am willing to serve as a supervisor for my humble position, but the deputy commander... is afraid of ruining Yuan Wai Lang's important affairs."
The other people also tactfully excused themselves.
Zhao Yang didn't force himself, so he turned to Cao Yi and said with a smile: "Uncle Guo, we hit it off right away. Do you have any suitable candidates you can recommend?... You know I also have an errand for the Ministry of Industry. , and I can’t stay in the military camp all the time. I have to have someone to replace me, right?”
"This..." Cao Yi was in trouble.
The ones he was familiar with were at least military-level commanders or nephews from the clan. No matter how optimistic he was about Zhao Yang, he couldn't let these people serve as deputy commanders at the battalion level.
However, Zhao Yang's requirements are quite high. He must be familiar with military matters, and it is best to be a young man, lest the other party despises his youth and causes trouble.
Cao Yan pondered for a while, then suddenly thought of a few people, and whispered: "I do know that there is a suitable... Has Yuanwai Lang ever heard of Zhong Shiheng?"
The famous general of the Song Dynasty!
Zhao Yang's eyes lit up, and then he asked doubtfully: "How can he be willing to submit to a mere deputy commander?"
"No, no." Cao Yi hurriedly shook his head and said, "Yuan Wai Lang couldn't give in even if he wanted to. Zhong Shiheng died of illness a few years ago..."
Zhao Yang was furious: "Uncle Guo, are you teasing me?"
"How dare you." Cao Ji hurriedly smiled and explained: "Although Zhong Shiheng died of illness, he had eight sons, three of whom, namely Zhongjian, Zhongjie, and Zhonge are all in Bianjing..."
Zhao Yang suddenly realized, his eyes lit up again.
