After the grand ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, it is the New Year. According to custom, it is also a time for officials and subjects to take a rest.
Due to the enthronement this year, Zhao Kuo is also destitute of people and horses. Zhao Kuo, who was once a social animal, will naturally not imitate those hateful capitalists and exploit his "employees" endlessly.
Zhao Kuo was able to give him enough time for this holiday, which lasted for fifteen days. It was not until the Lantern Festival that Zhao Kuo allowed all yamen to make copies and open their halls.
Of course, in the first month of the new year, Zhao Kuo did not dare to neglect it.
On the first day of the first lunar month, Zhao Kuo took a short rest. On the second day, Zhao Kuo began to quietly visit the important civil and military ministers in Handan City.
One is for the official implementation of the New Deal after the year, the other is to restructure the army, and the third is that it is time to start forming the secret service organization that he has longed for.
Once the operation was completed, Zhao Kuo only visited with a few important ministers in the past ten days.
The strategy of the New Deal had already been discussed with Pingyuan Lord and others before. This visit after the year was not only the finalization of the policy, but also respect for Pingyuan Lord, an important minister. But in fact, it was more for Praise Mr. Pingyuan, Yu Qing and others for their silent dedication during the enthronement ceremony.
The key point is obviously the reform of the military system.
And early in the morning on the third day of the first lunar month, Zhao Kuo's carriage slowly drove out of the palace city.
Strange to say, two days ago, Handan City had clear skies and warm sunshine. In just two days, the climate in Handan City has changed drastically.
In addition, Zhao Kuo came out early and it was not yet bright in Handan.
There was rain and sleet falling in the sky, and the sharp spring cold locked the people in their houses. The originally bustling Handan City felt a little lonely for a while.
This may be the real winter in the North.
Of course, the huge city of Handan is not completely deserted, but most of the people on the streets are miserable people who are trying to earn more pocket money during the New Year to support their families.
The bustling stalls maintain a festive atmosphere, but underneath the thin clothes is a warm heart.
But if not forced by life, who would want to be busy in the bad weather before the festival is over?
Not long after, Zhao Kuo's chariot arrived in front of a house that was not luxurious but very majestic.
"My king!" Zhao Wei, who had resumed his identity as the leader of Zhao Kuo's personal guards, approached the chariot and said softly.
Zhao Kuo opened the curtain and asked, "Are we here?"
"Yes." Zhao Wei immediately replied: "We have arrived at General Lian Po's residence."
"Okay." Zhao Kuo responded lightly, then lowered the curtain and walked straight out of the carriage.
Zhao Wei understood and hurriedly followed.
Because it was Xiu Mu, there was no one standing guard outside Lian Po's mansion, so Zhao Wei had no choice but to knock on the door for Zhao Kuo himself.
Soon, the door opened inside.
A thin old man poked half of his head out of it. Before he could speak, he saw Zhao Kuo behind Zhao Wei. He immediately bowed his head and said, "Young people have seen my king."
"Oh?" Zhao Kuo was a little surprised. Although it was not difficult for the people in Lian Po's house to know him, it was a bit strange for such an old janitor to know him.
"Do you know me?
"Zhao Kuo asked with some confusion.
"To my king, I have spoken about the honor of the king the day before yesterday at the main road of Handan City. I dare not or forget it." The old man at the porter did not dare to hesitate and immediately answered honestly.
"That's it." Zhao Kuo smiled slightly. It seems that the celebrity effect is useful.
Without waiting for Zhao Wei's reminder, the old concierge immediately realized what was happening, and quickly ordered someone to report his integrity quickly, and wanted to open the middle door to welcome Zhao Kuo.
Zhao Kuo naturally waved his hand and refused: "I came here incognito, there is no need for this. Just inform General Lian and lead me to the hall to wait."
"Yes." The old concierge immediately agreed upon hearing this.
Then, Zhao Kuo and others came to the main hall under the guidance of the old concierge. At this moment, Lian Po appeared in front of Zhao Kuo wearing a simple white shirt and sweating profusely.
"I am late to welcome you, please forgive me the king." When Lian Po saw Zhao Kuo, he immediately knelt down on one knee to apologize.
"Old general, please wake up. I'm here rashly. I'm a bad visitor. What's the general's fault?" Zhao Kuo said with a smile and helped Lian Po up.
Looking at Lian Po's thin clothes and the sweat on his head, Zhao Kuo certainly knew what Lian Po was doing just now.
Without this perseverance and perseverance, where would the allusion of "If you are old and honest, can you still make a living" come from!
Patting Lian Po Qiongshi's arm, Zhao Kuo continued to say with a smile: "Have a rest on the new year. The old general has not forgotten the way of military service. He is really a role model for us."
"Your Majesty, you are so complimentary. Since it is a military matter, you should not forget it for a day. This is your duty." Lian Po said as humbly as ever.
After Zhao Kuo heard this, he respected the old general even more.
wear. Then he nodded, took Lian Po's hand, came to the main hall, and then sat down in order. As for Zhao Wei, Zhao Kuo left him outside the hall.
"Old General." Zhao Kuo didn't say much nonsense. He immediately stated his intention and said: "I know that the general has always loved martial arts, and he never leaves the martial arts. However, today I came here to ask the old general to take a break. It’s martial arts.”
"This?" Lian Po was obviously a little surprised.
Before Lian Po could refuse, Zhao Kuo immediately added: "Don't worry, old general. The temporary break does not mean that the general will not be involved in military affairs from now on. On the contrary, I need the experience of the old general to make greater contributions to the center of the Zhao court." .”
"My king." Lian Po was a little flattered and said hesitantly: "It's not that I don't want to obey the king's orders. It's really that I have nothing to do except lead troops to fight! The central government decides everything. fear......"
Zhao Kuo nodded, but continued: "Why don't you, general, first listen to the changes in the army of few men? Then make a decision?"
"I am all ears." Lian Po immediately agreed.
"The changes I have made are, first, the system of meritorious service, which is similar to the Qin system. Most of the ministers already know it, so I won't say anything more." Zhao Kuo immediately continued: "The second one is the classification of military commanders' grades. This is also similar to the nine and eighteen grades of civil servants."
"Third, it is the separation of military and political affairs." Zhao Kuo finally said clearly: "That is, using the land of the five newly established counties to establish military regions in parallel, in order to separate military and political affairs."
"Separation of military and political affairs?" Lian Po obviously couldn't grasp such a profound word for a while.
Zhao Kuo immediately continued to explain: "Nowadays, all countries use county guards as governors.
For the sake of respect, the general mounts his horse and the herdsmen dismount. It seems that the orders are unified, but in fact it is difficult to take care of both, which makes the county guard more self-respecting.
Therefore, all major countries will station their troops near the capital, one to protect the safety of the capital, and the other to gather military power.
Once there is a war, a general will be sent to use the tiger talisman as an order to mobilize the army to defend the front line. "
"Of course." Lian Po nodded and continued: "What's wrong with this?"
"If it were the Spring and Autumn Period, or even the early Warring States Period, it wouldn't matter, but now the power of the two powers is becoming more and more obvious. The speed of march and the ability to take the initiative are particularly critical." Zhao Kuo shook his head and said: "Take the Changping battlefield as an example. If I If the army can reach the Karakura Ridge defense line as soon as possible and establish a defense line, it can defend the ground high and occupy the advantageous location, and there is no need to engage in a war of attrition."
"Now that Shangdang is in my hands again, naturally I cannot repeat the same mistakes." Zhao Kuo continued: "If we follow the precedent and station a large army at Shangdang and send important generals like General Lianpo to guard it, I will naturally feel relieved. But the imperial censor in the court is not at ease. The lesson for the general is not far away. General Lian is still under suspicion, how much more important to others? But if he does not garrison a large army and dispatch important generals, he may be suddenly attacked by the Qin army. If the city is destroyed, I and the State of Zhao will both regret it endlessly."
"What my king said makes sense." Lian Po nodded, seeming to have agreed with the statement.
"Therefore, there is no separation between the power of the general and the political power." Zhao Kuo clasped his hands and explained: "Use the general of the military region to monitor the county guard, and use the county guard's food and fodder to control the authority of the general! Then set up supervisors in the army. to prevent collusion between the military and the government. In this way, the three parties supervise each other and
By restricting each other, the peace of the place can be guaranteed! "
After hearing this, Lian Po thought for a while.
Having experienced many battles, he certainly knew the importance of food and grass to an army. By controlling food and grass, he almost strangled an army by the throat. Of course, a county guard without troops around him would not dare to overdo things, otherwise Qiu Ba, who is a soldier, does not care whether you are a county guard or not.
In this way, the effect of mutual restraint has been achieved. No one, be it a county guard or a general, can completely occupy the absolute power of the army and territory. Coupled with the so-called supervisory army, this configuration is obviously the best choice.
"My king is a wise man." Lian Po immediately praised: "In this way, we can ensure that the front line responds quickly and avoid the danger of having too many troops."
Zhao Kuo naturally nodded with satisfaction after hearing Lian Po's words.
Then he continued: "It's just that there is still an important key that has not been solved."
"Oh?" Lian Po immediately asked, "What's the key?"
"He is the general." Zhao Kuo spread his hands helplessly and said: "With the prestige of the general, which county guard dares to rebel against the general, and who dares to supervise the general's army?"
"This?" Lian Po didn't even expect that after so long, it would come back to him.
But if you think about it carefully, it makes sense. With his temper, he could not persuade more than five people in the entire Zhao court. If you go out of town by yourself, it is indeed easy to cause problems in one word.
Lian Po knew that it didn't matter if he just spoke out, but the king clearly wanted to establish more than just a military region in Shangdang County.
If the generals in other military regions could follow suit,
, how can the king control the army?
Thinking of this, Lian Po immediately agreed with gritted teeth and stamped his feet.
