The famous book tour starting from the Red House

Chapter 486 Military Merit System
Hearing Mu Xu and Xu Guanzhong's words, Wen Huanzhang immediately suggested, "Since the imperial court's Northern Expedition is in danger of failure, we must make preparations early, and it is best to take Juyongguan in advance to clear the way for future advances. "

Xu Guanzhong also said, "Mr. Wen is right. As long as Juyongguan is in hand, the initiative is on our side. With Feihukou Fortress, we can attack Youzhou from both sides at any time."

Of course, Mu Xu knew the importance of Juyongguan, so after hearing what the two said, he said,

"What the two gentlemen said is true, but the time is not yet ripe. We have an agreement with the imperial court to raise troops at the same time, so we have to wait for a while."

Le He suggested, "When the imperial army goes northward, it may be possible to gather a large army at Feihukou to cooperate with the imperial court to attack Youzhou, and to attract the main force of the Liao army from the direction of Youji to the south, and then catch it by surprise. Send troops from Confucian Prefecture, and take Guizhou and Juyongguan in one fell swoop."

Mu Xu praised, "That's right, it's a very good strategy to strike east and west! The Liao Kingdom originally only had about [-] troops in Nanjing, and the former Liao Lord personally recruited another [-] when he conquered Jurchen, so the current number is only [-].

In the face of the large-scale invasion of the Song army, the Liao people did not know the reality, so they had to deal with it cautiously. In this way, it gave us an opportunity to take advantage of. "

Wen Huanzhang frowned and said, "Although Shi Jun and Brother Le's words are good, what if the Liao Kingdom sends troops from outside the pass to help?"

Mu Xu replied with a smile, "Sir, don't worry, this matter will never happen. As for the reason, I can ask Master Xu to tell you."

When Wen Huanzhang heard this, he knew that there must be something inside that he didn't know. He immediately looked at Xu Guanzhong, cupped his hands and said, "Brother Xu, please advise!"

Xu Guanzhong hastily clasped his fists back and saluted, and said, "Brother Wen, you are being polite, and listen to Xiaosheng carefully. Yelu Chun, the second son of Lord Yelu Yanxi of the Liao Dynasty, is Yelu Chun, the second son of Jin Wang Yelu Aolu, who is staying behind in the Liao Kingdom. supporters of mediation.

The problem lies with Yelu Aoluwo. During the previous Liao Lord's personal conquest, Yelu Yujian, a general of the Liao Kingdom, wanted to launch a mutiny to depose the Liao Lord Yelu Yanxi and support Yelu Aoluwo to succeed him.I didn't want Yeluyu to see that the plan was not secret, but was discovered by the Lord of Liao, and finally surrendered to the Kingdom of Jin.

Later, the Lord of Liao listened to the slanderous words of Xiao Fengxian, the privy envoy, and bestowed the death of his second son, Yelu Aoluwo, and held his fellow party accountable.Therefore, the Lord of Liao wished that Yeluchun would die and his family would be wiped out, so he would not send troops to help. "

After hearing this, Wen Huanzhang sighed, "Since Yelu Abaoji founded the country, and then Yelu Deguang changed the name of the country to Daliao. Over the past hundred years, the Liao Kingdom has been so prosperous that our Central Plains Dynasty cannot hold its head up.

I don't want to see a foolish king like Yelu Yanxi, who acts so perversely, no wonder the Jurchen wins more with less, and the country seems to be subjugated. "

Both Xu Guanzhong and Lehe agreed, but Mu Xu suddenly sneered, "Could it be that Yelu Yanxi is a fool, and how can Zhao Ji be any better?"

Xu Guanzhong, Lehe and the two followed Mu Xu for a long time. From his daily words and deeds, he could see that he was extremely dissatisfied with the Zhao official family who was in power at present, and made many disrespectful words, but Wen Huanzhang was surprised.

In fact, Wen Huanzhang was deep in his heart, so he probably didn't realize that Mu Xu might have disobedience, but as long as he didn't expose the matter himself, Wen Huanzhang would happily pretend to be stupid.

After all, as a traditional scholar-bureaucrat, it is the most basic ethics not to speak of the king's faults.Therefore, even though there were many complaints in private in the past, Zhao Guan's family was ignorant and resented that his family's talents were not met.

But in the end, Wen Huanzhang would always blame those treacherous ministers for his faults, and would unconsciously excuse Zhao officials, thinking that they were deceived by villains.

In the final analysis, it is the idea of ​​the king, relative and teacher of heaven and earth, which is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Not only Wen Huanzhang thinks so, but Song Jiang and others also have the same idea.

It's not that no one dares to speak out about the fault of the emperor, there are some admonishing officials like Wei Zheng, but at most they can only admonish the emperor, how dare they be like Mu Xu who would call him a fool without any scruples.

As soon as Mu Xu finished speaking, Wen Huanzhang subconsciously said, "I want you to be careful with your words..."

He only blurted out half a sentence, and he realized that Mu Xu was not a real subject of the Song Dynasty, so he didn't have to follow the rules, so he said awkwardly, "Anyway, the official family is also the future father-in-law of the emperor, so it's better to be merciful!"

Mu Xu would not give face to that father-in-law, so he heard him say, "It's not because I said something out of choice, but because I felt it. Mr. is very talented, let's just imagine, if I didn't intervene in Youyun today One hand, when the Jin people destroy the Liao Kingdom in another day, might the Great Song stop their advance?"

Wen Huanzhang pondered for a moment, then replied with a wry smile, "It's Xiao Ke's appearance. As the envoy said, if there is such a day, with the virtues of the emperors and ministers of the Song Dynasty, I'm afraid they will only cede land and seek peace."

"Ceding the land and asking for peace? That would have to be agreed by Jin Guo. If I were the gold master, since Da Song Guozuo could be wiped out without any effort, why should I care about those three melons and two dates?"

Mu Xu couldn't help but sarcastically said a few words, and after he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that the topic had changed before he knew it, so he immediately said,

"Look at me, I've come to this point while talking. Let's say that the business is important. I invited three gentlemen here today to discuss with you about the reform of the official system."

The three of them were all taken aback, and Xu Guanzhong asked first, "Do you want to make some adjustments, or do you want to make a complete change from the bottom up?"

Mu Xu replied without thinking, "Naturally, they will be completely overthrown and a new system established."

Wen Huanzhang immediately advised, "Master, in Xiaoke's opinion, it's better to discuss this matter in the long run!"

"What's the reason, sir?"

"Currently we are cooperating with the Song Dynasty. At this time, it is better to be quiet than to move. If the reform of the official system touches the sensitive nerves of the imperial court, wouldn't the gain outweigh the loss?"

Mu Xu got up and walked around the study for a few times, seeing Le He's hesitation to speak, he said, "Brother Le has something to say, but it's okay to say it, there's no need to hide it."

Le He got up and bowed, and said, "May I ask if the envoy made a sudden idea, or did he have such an idea long ago?"

Mu Xu replied, "It's not a sudden idea, but I had such an idea long ago. I think you can understand my thoughts, but the official system of the Song Dynasty is too complicated. Not only are the duties and powers of the officials under the jurisdiction difficult to separate, The most important thing is that it will cause redundant officials, redundant expenses, etc., making the court extremely inefficient."

Regarding what Mu Xu said, as native citizens of Song Dynasty, the three of them have a deep understanding, but Lehe still said,

"What makes you think about long-term issues, but Mr. Wen's concerns are about immediate problems. How about a compromise? How about changing the military system instead of the official system?"

Mu Xu thought about it, exchanged opinions with Xu Guanzhong and Wen Huanzhang, and finally decided to adopt Lehe's proposal.

As for how to reform, Mu Xu had thought about it in advance, and he was more inclined to the Ming Dynasty in the official system, so let's not list this for the time being.

Let’s talk about the military system first. After comparing the dynasties of the past dynasties and eliminating the colored eyes, Mu Xu came up with an extremely unexpected answer. It turned out that the military systems of the Song and Qing dynasties were the most advanced, because they all implemented Recruitment system.

To be honest, when Mu Xu first came to this conclusion, he thought there was something wrong, so he hurriedly made a new comparison, only to realize that his thinking was wrong. Something went wrong.

Let me talk about the Song Dynasty first. The recruitment system of the Song Dynasty played an important role in the early days of the founding of the country. On the one hand, it provided a better source of troops for the Northern Song Dynasty, and on the other hand, it restricted the military power of the generals and prevented the recurrence of the situation of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

After Song Zhenzong arrived, whenever there was a disaster year, in order to prevent the people from rebelling, the Song Dynasty government expanded its military power.The soldiers that can be recruited are either old, weak, sick, disabled, or rascals. They are lax in training, disorganized and disciplined, have poor combat effectiveness, and are extremely heavy financial burdens on the Northern Song Dynasty.

This kind of behavior seriously violated the original intention of the recruitment system. In addition, the Song Dynasty's defense against generals was too overkill. Civil servants were often used to control generals, and laymen led experts. The combat effectiveness of the army can be imagined.

In the end, it really reaped the consequences. In the face of Liao, Jin, and Yuan, they lost more than they won, and finally perished.

Besides, in the Qing Dynasty, there was no problem with the recruitment system of the Qing Dynasty, but the rulers of the Qing Dynasty were of foreign origin. In order to better rule the Han people, they put the Eight Banners system above the recruitment system. green camp.

Therefore, it can be said that the recruitment system in the Qing Dynasty was naturally deformed, and the consequences of doing so were often unfavorable to both ends.When the Eight Banners Army's combat power declined, the green battalion was also useless.

Therefore, when the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom rebelled, the Qing government could only rely on the various regiments formed by the local Han people.In modern times, when fighting against foreign enemies, they were repeatedly defeated, and even lost power and humiliated the country.

Of course, the recruitment system was not perfect in the feudal era. The disadvantage of this system is that if there is no good monitoring system, it is relatively easy to have behaviors such as empty pay, which seriously affects the combat effectiveness of the army.

But in any case, compared with the government military system, military household system and other systems, the recruitment system is relatively advanced and more suitable. It can make ordinary people basically have no military service burden to the greatest extent, guarantee agricultural production, and at the same time promote economic development.

There are two main issues that Mu Xu is considering now. One is to stimulate the combat effectiveness of the army as much as possible, and the other is to establish a military monitoring system.

For the former, he was going to make strict regulations, implement a separate system for civil and military affairs, and improve the treatment of soldiers. On this basis, he added the military merit system of the Qin Dynasty to the recruitment system.

By clearly delineating the treatment that titles of all levels can enjoy in the army and localities, it can stimulate soldiers' fighting spirit.

As for the latter, it is not too urgent at present. His initial plan is to gradually introduce the gendarmerie and political commissar system of later generations in the future to ensure the purity and discipline of the army.

When Mu Xu asked Xu Guanzhong for their opinions on the military merit system, the three responded differently. Xu Guanzhong held a wait-and-see attitude, Wen Huanzhang objected, and Lehe agreed.

What Wen Huanzhang meant was, "Master, it's not that Xiaosheng doesn't know the benefits of the military merit system, but if you want to implement this system, you must face a problem, where does the land come from?
The military merit system in the Qin Dynasty, in addition to improving the treatment of soldiers, the most important point is that it broke the old land system, allowing soldiers to obtain land through military merit.

But now that the world is generally at peace, where can we find a large number of unclaimed lands and grant them to meritorious officers and men? We can't confiscate and occupy the fields of those landlords and gentry, right?If you really want to do this, I'm afraid it will attract opposition from all over the world. "

After hearing Wen Huanzhang's opinion, Mu Xu was noncommittal, and then looked at Le He, who asked tentatively, "Can you change the gift of land to the gift of property?"

Mu Xu shook his head, "I'm afraid it's a little inappropriate to only give property! From ancient times to the present, the people valued the land the most. Without the land as an attraction, the benefits of the military merit system will be greatly reduced."

Xu Guanzhong also continued, "And only granting property will inevitably lead to an empty treasury. If things go on like this, no matter how rich the country is, it will not be able to bear it. The best way is to do both."

Mu Xu nodded in agreement and said, "That's exactly what I think. As for where the land comes from? My initial plan is to open up wasteland and grant the land of the frontier fortress. When the territory expands in the future, the hostile land will be confiscated.

At the same time, another decree can be promulgated, stipulating that land mergers are prohibited and the amount of land held by each class.Anyone who exceeds the limit will be forcibly nationalized. "

Wen Huanzhang hastily said, "Your Majesty, Xiaosheng still means that. Such actions will inevitably lead to fierce resistance from those big landowners, and even rebellion?"

Mu Xu said coldly, "Sir, you can rest assured that this policy will not be implemented for the time being. I will promote this policy when the world... the overall situation is settled. At that time, I will have the hearts of the people and the army. Do you still need to be afraid of that?" Can't a small group of people do it?"

The three present were all quick-witted people, so even though Mu Xu changed his words in time, they could still hear that what he actually wanted to say was to unify the world, and these words completely revealed his ambition.

Fortunately, the three of them had more or less guessed about this point, and Benduo didn't hear this. What made them more concerned was the implication behind Mu Xu's words.

If Mu Xu simply said that the general trend and the people's support are still the same, but he also mentioned the military spirit, then the meaning is very obvious. It is nothing more than a made up mind and will use force on this matter in the future.

Thinking of the sight of the heads of people who might be killed because of the land expropriation in the near future, the three of them couldn't help but shudder.

Not to mention Wen Huanzhang, even Xu Guanzhong felt that this was too harsh, so he suggested, "Your Majesty, there may not be no compromise in this matter. At that time, it may be possible to exchange land, redeem and buy the land, etc. The land in the hands of those people is taken back."

Unexpectedly, Mu Xu waved his hand and said, "Let's put this matter on hold for the time being, and we can discuss it later. Let's first discuss how many ranks of military merit to adopt, and whether we need to change the name of the title."

The three of Xu Guanzhong saw this, but they didn't know that Mu Xu had made up his mind and didn't want to continue talking about it.Wen Huanzhang wanted to persuade him again, but seeing Xu Guanzhong shook his head slightly, he had no choice but to swallow his persuasion words.

Mu Xu had seen the small movements between the two, but he also had to do so.As a person from later generations, he knows better than anyone else that reforms without bloodshed are not thorough, and it is often difficult to implement them in place.

Regarding this point, Ah San of later generations is a very good negative teaching material.It is precisely because of its method of state-building, which is through non-violent non-cooperation, without bloodshed and bottom-up change.

So much so that even in the [-]st century, all kinds of stereotypes and bad habits still abound, and it takes several years to build a road, which brings a lot of jokes to people.

It is precisely because of such a clear example that Mu Xu will never compromise on this matter.

(End of this chapter)