Looking at everyone, Wang Xiaolie said slowly: "What does the army do? I won't talk about other things, and I can't control them. I only talk about our army. In my eyes, the army is to protect our country. It is to resist foreign aggression. If it cannot ensure that the people live and work in peace and contentment, what is the use of this army? In a word, the army is for fighting against the outside world and protecting the inside!"
"Some people say that if the army fights foreign wars, what will happen if there is a rebellion within the country? Broadly speaking, if there are no problems with governance, the people will be able to have enough food and clothing, and know that as long as they work hard and study hard, they will have a better life in the future. , why is there a rebellion? If it is bewitched by people, such as a cult, or there are foreign people in the territory, the rebellion will not be too large, and it should not be quelled by the use of the army. In the final analysis, if the territory is unstable, the first step is to govern Those who want to do this must reflect on themselves. Secondly, try not to use the military to quell the rebellion."
This is the regime’s positioning of the military. Wang Xiaolie thought about it for a long time before finally deciding. The Song Dynasty's positioning of the army should be the eagles and dogs of the court and the minions of the emperor. With the method of long-term and class differentiation, the internal and external are maintained and the upper and lower are controlled. It not only safeguards the imperial power, but also ensures that it does not threaten the imperial power. However, not long after the founding of the country, it was unable to defend against powerful enemies externally and to protect the people internally.
Positioning the military to defend the country is easier said than done. It’s just that things in this world don’t just have to be talked about, but must be truly done. Wang Xiaolie decided to do this and made great determination to have many supporting policies.
Having said this, Wang Xiaolie smiled. Said: "Things in this world are often easier said than done. If you want the army to protect your country, you must have a force to maintain domestic security. Not only that, but in times of peace, an army that only defends against foreign enemies will spend a lot of money. How can the government be willing to pay for money? In a word, there are many things to do. "Sima Fa" said: 'In ancient times, if the country's appearance is not included in the army, the military's appearance will not be included in the country. If the military's appearance is included in the country, the people's morality will be rough, and if the country's appearance is included in the army, the country will be poor. The morality of the people is weak. 'Using the army for domestic purposes means treating the people as enemies, which is not acceptable."
This question, at first thought, was very simple, but upon further reflection, it involved too much. Wang Xiaolie didn't want to get entangled too much.
"The official positions of this dynasty have always been divided into civil and military positions. If we break it down, the generals in the Forbidden Army do not have ordinary military positions, but are generally called military positions. You graduated from the military academy and held military positions. What is the difference? Whether you are a civilian official or a military official. Being a military attaché is a job. Outside of official duties, everyone has their own life. When you return home, close the door, you can do whatever you want. The military job is different. This is not a job, but a special kind. Identity. In the military, there is no work inside and outside the job, and everything must be obeyed by military orders. Such a job is of course different from ordinary official positions. Accordingly, for the same grade, military positions should have higher salaries and benefits. Even better. When you leave the army, you should also receive certain compensation. In the army, you should get help from the government for your family affairs. We are starting to do this, but it is not complete yet. Don't worry, within a few years, You will get everything you deserve. You serve the country wholeheartedly, and I will live up to you!"
Hearing this, Wang Zhongfu looked at Shu Jiming beside him and couldn't help but look happy.
The Song Dynasty did not treat military commanders harshly institutionally. With the same rank, the general's salary will be higher. After achieving military merit, the transfer was a double transfer just like the soldier's background. Take Di Qing as an example. In just six years, he rose from the lowest rank to a general in charge of the army. In the Song Dynasty, the general in charge of the army was the pinnacle of military general promotion, and his treatment was similar to that of being in power. It took another eight years to rise to the rank of Deputy Privy Councilor. Then Pinnong Zhigao was promoted to privy envoy. Di Qing served as Privy Councilor for four years. In the sixth year of Jiayou's reign, Song Renzong was seriously ill and could not see anything. Di Qing was attacked, and Tong Zhongshu Menping was added to make the Prime Minister know Chenzhou. During his tenure in Chenzhou, Di Qing died of illness soon.
Regarding Di Qing's experience, people in the Song Dynasty rarely had anything to say. He was a military general, and when the emperor was seriously ill and unable to govern, he should voluntarily resign from his position as privy councillor, to avoid suspicion. If he did not resign, he would be attacked by a group of civil servants. This has nothing to do with the Song Dynasty's emphasis on literature over military affairs. It is a normal political behavior. At the end of the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty, some scholars invented new theories, saying that Di Qing was attacked by civil servants for no reason, which chilled the generals.
As prime minister, he has no control over the political affairs of the world. People in the Song Dynasty often used Fan Zhongyan's praise of Kou Zhun to say that the prime minister can only be loyal to the emperor. By the Song Dynasty, it was actually impossible for a military general to hold this position. Di Qing was appointed Privy Councilor, and was actually at the top of the military generals list. Di Qing was not the first military general to serve as privy envoy, nor was he the last.
Taking Di Qing as an example, during his official career, he had conflicts with civil servants. But it is not true to say that because he was a military commander, he was despised and suppressed by civil servants. In the end, he was attacked and resigned, and there was nothing good to say. Four years as Privy Council is long enough. There are very few people who have served longer than Di Qing, whether they are civil servants or military generals. In the end, he was attacked. The main reason was that Renzong was seriously ill and Di Qinglian refused to leave the throne. In order to stabilize the political situation at this time, the minister must force Di Qing to leave.
Did the Song Dynasty emphasize culture over military affairs? Yes, several emperors had clear attitudes towards this. The Song Dynasty's army could not fight. Is it because the court valued culture over military affairs? no. Is it a shame that a military general cannot become prime minister? In modern society, how many normal countries would allow a general to make the country leaderless?
The Song Dynasty's army could not fight. Basically, the court's attitude towards the army changed starting from the late Tang and Five Dynasties. The resulting organization, system, training, etc. have led to a decline in the combat effectiveness of the army. Why were the armies of certain vassal towns in the late Tang Dynasty and Five Dynasties very effective? Is it even far stronger than the Song Army's combat effectiveness? It can only be said that the time is short and it is difficult to maintain the temporary combat effectiveness. For example, in history, the Jurchen army of less than 100,000 defeated Li Zicheng and swept across China. Their combat effectiveness was so powerful. After a few decades, combat effectiveness dropped significantly. By the late Qing Dynasty, it was even more vulnerable to the great powers. For example, Japan quickly swept across Southeast Asia at the beginning of World War II. Just a few years later, it's not worth mentioning.
Since the Song Dynasty, the Central Plains dynasty has had problems with its positioning of the military. The military system has not adapted to social development. This may have something to do with the emphasis on civility and the suppression of military force, or the emphasis on civility over military force, but it is by no means an important reason.
Whenever the country is in crisis, there are always some literati who take it as their own duty to save the country and the nation and stand up and speak out. Their spirit is great and their role in the country and nation is also huge. This cannot be denied. When conditions were limited, they did their best to analyze the reasons for the failure of the country and the nation and put forward suggestions for reform. This idea is of course a good one, the spirit is worthy of encouragement, and future generations should respect them. However, the conclusions they draw are often incorrect. They completed their mission. These errors are left to future generations to study carefully and make corrections. Because when they do these jobs, they really don’t have the time and conditions to do them.
It is consistent with the identity of the person who said that the Song and Ming dynasties perished because they worshiped literature and suppressed military force, because they disrespected generals and did not understand the problems of the army itself. It's nothing. Not to mention that at the time this statement was made, it also had practical implications. But for future generations, history cannot continue to be confused like this.
Regarding historical issues, there are many such confusing things.
The Qing Dynasty ruled China for nearly three hundred years and suppressed the Han people in a real way. In the Qing Dynasty, national oppression, like feudal oppression as often said, was real to the people. This kind of oppression is enough to change the external appearance of a nation. Decades of the Republic of China and decades of New China were not enough to eliminate the impact.
People often say that ethnic minorities are good at singing and dancing, but the Han people are not good at anything else. In fact, when people examine Chinese history and rediscover the traditions of the Han people, they suddenly find that the Han people are truly good at singing and dancing. Because only the Han people, starting from two or three thousand years ago, have sublimated singing and dancing from simply expressing emotions by gathering people to sing and dance, from theory to practice, and have become the content of sacrifices and court rituals.
People also say that this nation is good at conquering and fighting, that nation is good at conquering and fighting, and the Han people are timid and cowardly. If you truly look at history, you will find that those so-called nations that are good at conquering and fighting have all been defeated by the Han people. Some people find these words easy to say and think that they can talk nonsense about anything. A beautiful woman came out and dared to say that when God showed off his beauty, only the Han people held up umbrellas. My brain is broken.
Since the great powers broke through the country, many people with lofty ideals have analyzed the reasons for China's backwardness. From culture to tradition, from politics to economics, it covers almost everything. Everything in China is wrong and needs to be changed. How to change it? You see this country is like this and that country is like that, it is best to change it to their way. Some people even go so far as to think that it would be best to change their race.
The most far-reaching impact is that the military is not good because it values culture over military affairs, and the culture is not good because of Confucianism. What the hell does it have to do with anything? When it comes to reasons, I can name a bunch of them, one, two, three, four, five. But are these reasons really the reasons for China’s backwardness?
When criticizing Confucius, the teacher not only writes the first half of the sentence, but also the second half. When it came to reform, Deng not only said that reform and opening up must be carried out, but also the second half of the sentence. You can't just remember the first half of their sentence and forget the second half of their sentence.
When talking about history, people often regret and hate it, and want to find an excuse to vent. These excuses for venting are often used and smooth, but they often start to deviate in a bad direction. For example, the Song Dynasty was called a coward because it was unable to fight foreign wars. this is normal. But because they got used to it, they began to accept the views and habits of foreigners. For example, the Song Dynasty was actually one of the Three Kingdoms. Because the pronunciation of the Russian name for China is similar to the Khitan, calling China the Khitan is already on the verge of danger.
Chinese civilization has experienced many hardships, failures, and setbacks, and has stood up from the mud time and time again. This process was difficult and full of blood and tears. The ancestors either resisted or surrendered, and some even helped others do evil. As descendants, we can praise or criticize this kind of history and ancestors, but we cannot ridicule or even ridicule them, because this is our history.
Comrade Iron and Steel of the Soviet Union proposed a five-stage theory of history, which is actually not consistent with China's history and national conditions. After the founding of New China, in order to conform to the Five Judgments Theory, many interpretations of history were inconsistent with the facts. This method of trimming and covering will cause a lot of problems, which is inevitable. There is no need to blame the predecessors harshly, they were limited by historical conditions. But as descendants, we still have to find a suitable description.
People get together and talk about history and the various changes in history. People often say what China would have been like at that time. There are various ideas, and some are accepted by most people and even become golden rules.
For example, if the Song Dynasty had not perished and the Ming Dynasty had not perished, would China have entered a capitalist society? Will there be a big voyage? Will there be an imperialist war? If you went back to the Song Dynasty or the Ming Dynasty, how would you save China?
Wang Xiaolie now only has general principles on how to save China and cannot describe it in detail. But he knew what was wrong.
Is it necessary to end feudal society and adopt capitalism? Certainly not. China's feudal society has ended long ago. It ended when Qin Shihuang unified the six countries and established counties. What do you want to end? Does the new society want a presidential system, a parliamentary system, or a constitutional monarchy? Everything is wrong.
Why is it wrong? Because we are China, we are different! Because we are different, whether it happens in the UK, France, Germany, the United States, or Russia, it is not suitable. The recent Japanese copying has made me confused, let alone others.
We are different. These three words "different" must be clearly understood. If you don’t have a clear understanding and think that I can copy what others do well, that’s just a kid playing house. It's okay for children to have fun, but success is impossible.
If you think about how to develop the bourgeoisie, how to support the capitalists, and how to attack the landlords after taking power, you will make more mistakes. Even if you want to imitate the British and engage in land enclosures to make farmers lose their land, it is completely criminal.
Why? Because we are different. Foreign history can be learned from, but cannot be copied. Even if history happens, it doesn't tell you the answer. Whether you are copying foreign experience or copying history, it can only be wrong.
This is just like a child doing housework. Some children said, "I saw someone doing this, and everyone believed him." If someone questions whether it is wrong to do so, they will be scoffed at. If someone says, I think this should be done this way, not necessarily according to adults. Then other children will laugh at him together. How could there be such a stupid person?
Because they are children and because they are playing house, they can naturally do this. Even if the child who proposed his own idea was suppressed by everyone because of it, he could just laugh it off. When they grow up, they will forget about it.
Not adults. Countries, nations, and civilizations are even worse.
The teacher is naturally smart and has excelled in learning since childhood. Although the big shots looked down on him when he was in the library, he couldn't even find a chance to say a word to them. However, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party cooperated, and teachers still served as senior officials.
Such people have established a base area and still stand aside when the central government comes. His theory could not convince many people, let alone a few firm subordinates. Who is willing to listen to what he says? What everyone wants to hear is what theorists say about Soviet Russia and what they did back then. As long as we do this, victory will be achieved quickly.
In reality? When teachers step aside and have no power, a crisis arises. It turns out that without teachers, no one else combined can stop the principal. In front of the teachers, the principal was like a child, helpless to fight back. But there are no teachers, and the principal is also the king of children.
We are different. Although this sentence is simple, in the eyes of some people, it is even nonsense. But in fact, it is not easy to really understand this sentence. It is even more difficult to follow it in practice. Did the instructor make any mistakes? Of course there are, and lots of them. But teachers have the greatest achievement of sinicizing doctrine. In fact, it’s more than just doctrine? Knowledge learned from foreign countries faces the problem of Sinicization. Without Chinese culture, planting dragon seeds is likely to breed fleas. Just being Chinese is too difficult for many people.
Ask the people around you, what should China do? If he talks about a large set of theories incessantly, it should be like this, it should be like that, it can be concluded that this person must not think comprehensively. If someone says, I think it should be like the United States, like Japan, or Germany, then you can think that this person is completely uninitiated.
Some time ago, the country proposed common prosperity. Some people were very excited, saying that China would no longer learn from the United States, but would learn from Germany, and began to introduce Germany's experience in a rhetorical manner. Soon there was no sound. Why? We are different.
Knowing the history, if you were asked to return to the Republic of China to be a leader, would you be successful? It is possible to succeed if there are no trainers among your opponents. If there is a teacher among your opponents and you choose to go against them, you will definitely not succeed. Because the teacher himself has chosen the path that should be taken most at that time, you may be like a child in front of him. The adults won't play house with you.
I have learned a lot, so what if I know the history? For Wang Xiaolie, we must understand that China is China and we are different. Not to mention learning from foreign countries, even if you learn from New China, copying it will definitely be wrong. Adult learning is not about copying.
