Fenghou

Chapter 1123: Court Discussion

Han Shizhong bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I specially prepared some small things, and they are on the square outside the hall. Your Majesty, please take a look!"

Zhao Gou immediately became interested, and said happily, "I really want to take a look."

The guards surrounded the emperor Zhao Gou and walked out of the hall, followed by hundreds of ministers. When he reached the steps, Han Shizhong clapped his hands heavily, only to hear the horse scream loudly, and a tall and strong guard galloped out on the horse. Holding a short spear in hand, the cavalry is tall and mighty, imposing.

Han Shizhong explained: "Your Majesty, his weapons are all made of wood, please don't worry!"

Zhao Gou was puzzled and asked, "What does Han Aiqing mean?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the horse the bodyguard is riding is an old horse retired from the Western Army. It was sold to the people, and I spent a lot of effort to buy a few back. The armor and weapons he wears are standard cavalry soldiers of the Western Army. A, this bodyguard is similar in stature to an ordinary cavalry soldier of the Western Army, but he was selected from more than a hundred bodyguards for his humble position."

Xu Xiantu nodded, and said loudly: "Taifu Han means that what we see now is the image of an ordinary cavalryman of the Western Army. Is that what he means?"

"That's exactly what it means!"

Zhao Gou also nodded, "And then?"

Han Shizhong clapped his hands again, only to see a cavalry rushing in from the opposite side. Only then did everyone realize that this cavalry was much smaller than the cavalry just now. The horse was short and the soldier was not tall. At the same time, the short cavalry looked really horrible.

"Your Majesty, this is our cavalry. I didn't choose it specially. It's just a very ordinary cavalry. Most of the cavalry are like him. The horses are short and the soldiers are not strong enough. Moreover, all the cavalry of the Western Army are skilled in bow and horse. Controlling horses and shooting arrows while galloping are exactly the same as the Jurchen cavalry, but only generals can do it. In actual combat, one cavalry of the Western Army can defeat two of our cavalry. I have seen it with my own eyes. There is no lie .”

There was a low voice of discussion among the ministers. Zhao Gou's face was really ugly. In order to fight against the Jurchen cavalry, they also trained [-] cavalry in the past few years, paying a huge price for national strength. Acres of land to plant pasture, and the salary of the cavalry is twice that of the infantry, as well as the equipment of the cavalry. The money spent on the cavalry is nearly [-] million guan every year.

But in the end, it was found that the cavalry they trained was still far inferior to the cavalry of the Western Army.

"Your Majesty, we also spent a lot of food, land, manpower and money to raise horses. The cost of a war horse is much higher than that of the Western Army, but the effect is very poor. What is the reason? This is actually They planted tangerines from Huainan to Huaibei. The south of the Yangtze River is not suitable for raising horses. There are no conditions for raising horses. The output is very small and there is no room for selection. However, Xijun and Jinbing have vast pastures, and they can raise millions. horses, and then select tens of thousands of strong and tall horses as war horses.

So no matter how hard we try, we can't compete with the cavalry of the Western Army and the Jurchen cavalry. Every time we are defeated in one battle, this is the reason. "

Zhao Gou returned to the hall and sat down, and all the ministers came back one after another. Everyone felt heavy in their hearts. Han Shizhong gave them a vivid one, and the contrast was too strong.

Qin Hui asked: "Taifu Han, can you be sure that everything you said is true? You didn't choose it specially?"

"Reporting to Mr. Qin, the humble official never made a special choice, and I would like to guarantee it with my wealth and life!"

Qin Hui immediately said to Zhao Gou: "Your Majesty, we spend four million yuan and one and a half million acres of land every year to raise [-] cavalry. If what Taifu Han said is true, I suggest that the cavalry be abolished."

Qin Hui was suffering from a lack of finances during this period, and he wanted to disarm his army. The burden of the [-] troops was so heavy that he couldn't breathe. Now Han Shizhong pointed out that the cavalry they trained was not enough. Meaning, Qin Hui immediately seized this opportunity and demanded that the cavalry be abolished.

The abolition of the cavalry is a major event, which means that their nearly ten years of hard work have been wasted. Zhao Gou was also undecided. He looked at Xu Xiantu, "What is the opinion of the Privy Council?"

Xu Xiantu bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I suggest that all the cavalry be gathered in Lin'an for a drill. We'd better see it with our own eyes. If it really doesn't work, we can keep the essence and abolish most of them."

Zhao Gou nodded, "I have approved this plan. The drill will be held next month. It should be sooner rather than later. It should be led by the Privy Council, with the cooperation of the Taipu Temple and the Ministry of Driving!"

Xu Xiantu bowed and said, "My minister obeys the order!"

Zhao Gou asked again: "Has Taifu Han finished?"

Han Shizhong shook his head, "The humble job is only half the story."

"Teacher, please continue!"

Han Shizhong continued: "In the battle of Xuzhou, the elite army of my ministers could not withstand the attack of the Western Army for an hour, and the whole army was defeated. Only then did I realize that it was not accidental that the Western Army was able to capture the Hedong Road and the Henan Road, let alone What kind of luck, but their strength is enough to fight with the Jinbing, fighting on land, our army is not as strong as the Western Army, and not as good as the Jinbing, but we also have our own advantages, that is, most of our soldiers can swim.

Weichen investigated the Huainan Army, and [-]% of the soldiers can swim, and the water quality is very good. Good water quality is not only reflected in the water, but also on the boat. No one gets seasick. They walk on the boat like walking on flat ground. The army is not good in this aspect. This is our advantage and an opportunity for us to defeat the Jinbing and Xijun in the future. We must take advantage of this advantage and seize this opportunity. "

Han Shizhong glanced at Zhu Shengfei and Qin Hui again and said: "I know that Zhu Xianggong and Qin Xianggong will definitely say that the finances are insufficient. In fact, they are abolishing the cavalry, changing the cavalry to the navy, selling the horses and the land for raising horses to the people, and gaining more money. Money can be used to build ships, and we can even go directly to buy the Wanshi Fuchuan of the Maritime Merchants. The Fuchuan itself is extremely strong, and it can be used as a warship with a little modification. The key is to save time."

Han Shizhong was very well prepared, and even solved the financial problem. It was justified and well-founded. It was much more cost-effective to raise the navy than to raise the cavalry. No one could object.

More importantly, everyone could see that it was the emperor who wanted to form a navy, so Han Shizhong was the first to introduce and persuade everyone. Qin Hui kept silent, and Zhu Shengfei also learned the lesson of negotiation and no longer opposed it.

Since no one objected, the emperor Zhao Gou immediately announced the establishment of a navy, with Han Shizhong as the governor of the navy and Wang Gui as the deputy governor. Generals are appointed by the Privy Council.

Zhao Gou has his own principles for employing people. Han Shizhong cut down the vassal, and it was the Han family army who was cut down. Once the Han family army disappeared, then Han Shizhong was loyal to him, and of course he could be appointed again.

More importantly, Zhao Gou restrained the conditions for the formation of the Han family army in terms of the system, that is, the right to appoint and dismiss personnel was brought back to the imperial court. All generals above the commander were appointed by the Privy Council. At the same time, Han Shizhong was not allowed to raise military expenses by himself. Under the burden of the court, Han Shizhong's own soldiers were also limited to [-] people, so that the Han family army would no longer form.

Zhao Gou attached great importance to Wang Gui. In fact, he realized that he had listened to Zhang Jun and Qin Hui's slander and transferred Wang Gui back, which led to the fall of Xiangyang.

Zhao Gou immediately appointed Wang Gui as the commander of the capital in front of the palace and general Yunhui.

Zhao Gou immediately summoned Han Shizhong in the imperial study.

(End of this chapter)