Compete for the Song Dynasty

Looking at Zhong Zhen's expression, Wang Pang knew what this kid was thinking, and he said lightly: "When I was in Linchuan, my father told me about this problem: now the imperial court does not send troops because your father is cowardly, but because your father is cowardly. We don’t have money to fight; it’s not that we don’t have generals in the Song Dynasty, but that soldiers don’t know generals, and generals don’t know soldiers.” There was a big stone beside Zhuo Xiquan, and Wang Pang pointed to the stone and said to Zhong Zhen, “Sit down, I’ll give it to you.” Tell me!" Zhao Zhongzhen was quite obedient, and sat down obediently, but he made up his mind, no matter what you Wang Pang said, anyway, I will not go back to the capital, unless you go back with me. "Brother Wang, tell me something. If what you say makes sense, I will listen to you!"

Wang Pang sorted out his thoughts, no wonder Yingzong said Zhongzhen, he had no contact with the government, so naturally he didn't know the problems that the Song Dynasty was facing now.Wang Pang wanted to persuade Zhao Zhongzhen to reconcile with Song Yingzong and his son, because Zhao Zhongzhen was related to the country of the Song Dynasty, and also related to the fate of his family.What did you say just now?Military spending, finance?Soldiers?Wang Pang thought carefully about the things his father had said to him. "This problem is a problem left over from history!" As soon as Wang Pang said the first sentence, Zhong Zhen asked, "What is a problem left over from history?".

Wang Pang explained: "It's the problem that your ancestors left behind and has not been solved until now!" Zhong Zhen smiled: "I don't believe that there is any problem that will remain unsolved!" After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at Wang Pang , with a slightly mischievous expression.

Good boy, it seems that he deliberately made trouble, and the king didn't educate him? "Let me ask you, what kind of garrison system did Song Taizu stipulate in order to prevent soldiers from being arrogant?"

This is of course not a problem for Zhao Zhongzhen: "The system of guarding the imperial army divided into divisions. The local army is used for defense, and the central imperial army must be sent to defend on each side. But he cannot be allowed to stay in one place for a long time, such as this year. Those stationed in Hebei will be transferred to the central government every other year, and then transferred to Shanxi after some time.”[

Wang Pang said: "Now that you know, it's easy to handle. Do these troops have to pay more money to the soldiers after such a deployment? Moreover, the soldiers in our army have not retired, and recruit new soldiers every year, but they are transferred every year. How much financial and material resources do you need to spend during the transfer? Although there is no war, the funds are no different from wars. The army is always running on the road, and the generals and the army are separated again. The army is deployed in batches. Still not moving there. After a long time, the soldiers will not know the generals, and the generals will not know the soldiers! What do you think? If the soldiers who lead the army and the soldiers don't know each other, can they win the battle?"

Zhao Zhongzhen thought about Wang Pang's words, and felt that there was some truth. His expression was not as mischievous as before, and he asked a little more seriously: "If it is according to what Brother Wang said, why not let those veterans retire and reduce the number of troops?"

Wang Pang sighed, a child is a child, thinking too simply, he said patiently: "Do you know that once you leave the Great Wall, you will be on the Great Plains. Therefore, cavalry is necessary to fight in the north. But when Da Song deals with the enemies outside the Great Wall in the north, What’s more, cavalry is necessary. And the horses needed by cavalry are only produced in two places. One is in the northeast and the other is in the northwest. One is the so-called Jibei Field, which is the area around Recha today. Only when there is land can horses be raised well. Horses cannot be raised one by one. They must have beautiful grass, sweet springs, and open land, so that they can be raised in groups and used for long-distance pursuit by cavalry. And these two horsemen When the Great Song Dynasty founded the country, one was taken by Liao and the other was taken by Xixia, and none of them belonged to our Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Zhongzhen scratched his head, what did Wang Pang say have anything to do with raising soldiers?Wang Pang ignored him but went on to say: "On the Shanxi side, and Taiyuan to the north, there is a Yanmen Pass, but this is not the main line of defense, the main one is in Hebei. This place is dangerous and the main line of defense is the Juma River , is also near Zhuozhou, because the distance is too close and the strategic depth is lost. More troops can only be invested in passive defense. So! Back to the question just now, the army of the Song Dynasty can only be passive in the face of Xixia and Liao. ’’s defense, you cannot attack when you advance, you cannot defend when you retreat, and you cannot dismantle your troops even if you use them more. It is precisely because these soldiers are used and prepared for war all the year round. That’s why we have this situation today!”

When Zhao Zhongzhen heard this, the matter turned out to be so complicated. He never expected that the young man in front of him, who was only a few years older than himself, would expose the shortcomings of the Song Dynasty's use of soldiers.Moreover, what Wang Pang said made him feel that his father, the emperor, is really difficult to do, and he felt a headache when he heard it. If he really fights with Xixia, can he win?He hurriedly asked anxiously, "Brother Wang, is there a solution to this matter?"

Wang Pang thought, it's time to present Wang Anshi in front of the future emperor, he shook his head: "The solution, I have to ask my father! Back then, he wrote a book of ten thousand words to Emperor Renzong, which contained the solution to the problem, and What I said is just the result of my father's analysis."

Zhao Zhongzhen's face was full of sadness, and he said with a mournful face: "It seems that the father is right, I really still know too little, but if the situation is so serious, isn't Da Song in danger?"

Seeing his desperation, Wang Pang hurriedly comforted him: "Oh, it's not that serious anymore. In the Song Dynasty, we paid special attention to scholars. Although the army has not been well organized, the cultural and political aspects can still be revived, and there is nothing wrong with the internal affairs. It’s a serious problem, and it’s not impossible to take it slow.” Even though Wang Pang said so, Zhao Zhongzhen felt extremely uncomfortable, and thought that he was inconsiderate of his father, so he felt a little guilty.

Seeing Zhongzhen like this, Wang Pang thought that it would be better to persuade him to return to the capital as soon as possible. Although he hadn't thought of how to dedicate those scrolls yet, the matter of the scrolls was naturally more important than the Great Song Sheji. The king said: "Since you already know that your father is in trouble, and your uncle is in Shaozhou, why don't you ask him to send you back?"

Zhao Zhongzhen stood up immediately, and said with some displeasure: "No! I have been out for so long, and my father didn't send anyone to look for me?! I don't want to go back like this! If you don't look for me in the future, I'll just follow Brother Wang around. Let's go, it's not bad to be happy." Then he walked towards the meditation room where he was resting.

It turned out that he was still vomiting, why the emperor didn't look for Zhao Zhongzhen, Wang Bang didn't know, but he knew that Zhao Zhongzhen's current age was in the rebellious period of youth.It was already like this, and I was not in a hurry, so I said: "That's okay" and didn't say any more.

As the sun went down, the monastery was quieter. Zhao Zhongzhen, who returned to the Zen room, was much quieter than usual. He seemed to be reading a scripture in his hand, but his mind wandered from time to time.What Wang Pang said today is in his mind, and he always tries to find a solution, but these problems have become a vicious circle for the emperors of the Song Dynasty, let alone a child like him.The king didn't bother him either, he also had a lot of things to think about in his mind, the more he thought about what he said just now, the more reasonable he felt.It is said that the Song Dynasty was a poor and weak dynasty, but it was discovered that this was not the case in this situation.

The culture and technology of the Song Dynasty were the most brilliant among the countries at the same time. Not only that, the system of the Song Dynasty followed the disadvantages of the Five Dynasties. If the Northern Song Dynasty hadn't emphasized culture over military affairs and unified the people ideologically, there would have been no major internal problems. .And these are definitely not something that can be summed up in one sentence. Take the Tanyuan Alliance as an example, how important and hard-won is the development in peace.The two were thinking about their own affairs, when they heard a knock on the door, a young monk brought a vegetarian meal into the meditation room.Wang Pang remembered seeing the King of Handong County on the road, so he stopped the little monk and asked, "This little master, when we came today, we saw the King of Handong County. Is he also here to offer incense?"

The little monk replied while laying out the fast food: "Yes! The king of the county came yesterday, and he returned to the mansion of the king of the county in Shaozhou after the incense burn this morning."

Zhao Zhongzhen, who was greeted by the king, "Zhongzhen, did you hear that the royal residence of Handong County is in Shaozhou?"

Zhao Zhongzhen raised his eyelids and glanced at Wang Pang: "I don't want to go back to the capital yet. After finishing the Guangnan business with you, let's go back to Linchuan. I want to listen carefully to what your father has to say."

Wang Pang couldn't help laughing, Zhao Zhongzhen really took what he said: "What's the use of listening? You came out this time and the emperor hasn't found you yet, so I don't know how anxious you are? Besides, how do you know?" He didn't look for you? What's more, you are not afraid of any major events in the capital? If you become the emperor in the future, it will be useful to listen to my father. If you can't be the emperor, what's the use of listening? I think you might as well just follow me Let's just go around and be happy." After he finished speaking, he looked at the frowning Zhao Zhongzhen with a smile, and thought to himself: I told you to go back to the capital, but if you don't go back, just go against the road, I won't let you go. You look back at what you said.

But Zhao Zhongzhen became serious: "Do you think I am willing to be the emperor? What's the advantage of being the emperor? It's just... If I don't become the emperor, I really can't solve any problems left over from history. I am the prince and a subject of the Song Dynasty. Alas... ...How can you not worry about Da Song?"

Wang Pang patted him on the shoulder and said earnestly: "My adoptive father, Prime Minister Bao, said the same thing back then. If he didn't fulfill the post of prime minister, how could he serve the people? If you abstain from the crown prince, of course I will I am willing to take you with me. But if you have the subjects of Song Dynasty in your heart, don't be angry!" After speaking, he looked at Zhao Zhongzhen. [

Zhao Zhongzhen's eyes were red, and he sighed, "Brother Wang, I listen to you. Tomorrow, I will burn incense and pray for blessings. When I return to Shaozhou City, I will go to the county palace to find my uncle!"

They had a good idea, and if they went there, they would throw themselves into a trap. How could they know that Zhao Zongmian came to the temple to offer incense and pray for blessings so that he could successfully succeed Song Yingzong Zhao Shu and ascend the throne of Song Emperor.And that Qin Minxue, who had ulterior motives, was also staring at the door of Zhao Zongmian, king of Eastern Handong.