Song Yi

Chapter 435 Direct Armed Forces
Du Wenhao nodded and said: "I know that Emperor Taizu's strategy of emphasizing literature over military affairs and using literature to control military affairs originated from his vigilance and even a fear of military dictatorship. This is understandable, and measures should be taken to prevent Warlords should also separate their regimes. However, is it necessary to adopt methods of emphasizing civility over military affairs and using civilized forces to prevent this? Or is this the only way to achieve this goal?"

Gao Taotao lived in the imperial palace, where did he think about such a deep-seated problem, and looked at Du Wenhao blankly.

Du Wenhao said: "Judging from the more than 100-year history of our dynasty, this strategy is used to prevent military dictatorship and form warlord separatism. A result that the country cannot afford! In fact, there are many ways to prevent military dictatorship and warlord separatism. There is no need to use this method of harming the combat effectiveness of the army."

Gao Taotao said happily: "Is there any way?"

"The easiest way is to strengthen the centralization of power and not engage in enfeoffment."

"Be more specific!"

"Okay, this can be divided into two situations, that is, in wartime and non-wartime, the measures are different. The emperor is most worried about the rebellion of the generals who lead the army. In fact, the emperor himself is the supreme commander of the country's military forces, and all the soldiers and horses in the world belong to the emperor. The same is true for the soldiers sent out. What is there to worry about? The general is willing to rebel, but the soldiers below may not. Therefore, we must give enough trust to the general who is going out. It is best not to send more than [-]% of the total army in the country. In this way, even if you send out The commander in chief wants to rebel, but he only has [-]% of his troops, and the emperor still has [-]%, which is enough to restrain the rebels. Of course, if the war requires sending more troops than this, then the emperor should personally lead the conquest and act as the commander in chief. Ideologically Enough trust is given to the commander-in-chief, and measures are reserved just in case, so as to ensure the independent command of the commander-in-chief, and prevent individual ambitious generals from rebelling."

"Well, this method is good, how to prevent it in normal times?"

"At present, all garrisons in the country use roads as units, which greatly disperses the possibility of soldiers becoming powerful. We must adhere to this system. After deliberation, we believe that the main reason is that the soldiers will not be aware of the shortcomings of the soldiers when fighting. The mid- and lower-level officers in the army are replaced too frequently. These officers cannot be replaced too frequently. They must maintain a certain degree of stability, so that the generals can grasp the situation of the troops, and the soldiers are familiar with the command of the commander. Only in this way can they better display their combat effectiveness. High-ranking generals can be replaced more frequently to prevent them from gaining too much power. For mid- and senior-level generals in the army, the replacement should be relatively less and maintain a certain degree of stability. It is absolutely impossible to entrust a certain piece of land to a certain prince for management. It is easy to create local separatism. This must be resolutely prevented.”

"Okay, I remember. You go on."

"Well, there are still two problems in the imperial court's army building: the contempt for the cavalry and the connivance of the army's business. The cavalry is a quick-response force. We have suffered too much from the Liao and Xixia cavalry. Let me tell you in advance. I have already talked about the history of war in detail, so I don’t need to repeat it. It is impossible to build a truly powerful army without war horses. As for how to obtain war horses, since the Song Dynasty does not have a particularly good production and breeding of horses Therefore, there is only one fundamental method, and that is to seize the lush horse farms of Xixia or Daliao. Compared with Xixia, the carriages are better and easier to capture. This is one of the main purposes of my eagerly launching a war with Xixia One. Time is running out!"

Gao Tao said: "I also heard that the late emperor often lamented the pain of lack of war horses. It would indeed be a good thing if we could seize Xixia's horse farm."

"I've already told you about the military's business. Neither the military nor the government should engage in business. Otherwise, the military will weaken its combat effectiveness, and the government will breed corruption. The reason is very simple, so I won't go into details. Tell me how to solve it."

"Yeah, the late emperor was also very troubled by this matter, have you thought of a good solution?"

"It takes a lot of effort to deal with the military's business operations. First, it is necessary to guarantee the military expenditure of the military, so that the military loses its excuse for doing business; second, it is necessary to issue a death order requiring the military to decouple from commercial operations within a limited period of time. , we need to send supervising troops to supervise the implementation of the ban, and those who do not implement the government orders will be subject to military law; third, we must improve the treatment of soldiers, especially the treatment of generals; fourth, adopt the method of changing defenses so that they cannot do business. Yi Zhifeng's relatively powerful troops first promote and transfer their officers, and then change the defense of these troops in batches, in a planned and step-by-step manner, and transfer them to other places. In general, it is to establish a system, follow the system Above all, it is guaranteed that the soldiers "don't have to do, don't want to do, can't do, and don't dare to do". Doing these four points can completely curb the military's business. Of course, it will take a long time, and the most important thing is your attitude We must be firm and give them a grace period to decouple on their own, and when the grace period expires, we must resolutely deal with those who resist the wind, and we cannot turn a blind eye to it."

"Okay. I'll listen to you. I must correct this unhealthy trend that damages the combat effectiveness of the army!" Gao Taotao swung his fist, as if to smash the generals who were doing business to the ground.

Du Wenhao said: "The second and third aspects are the lax military law, corrupt military administration, corrupt military discipline, the exploitation of soldiers by officers and local officials; too many assassins, false selection, and neglected training. These issues are related to the selection of soldiers and the management of the army. Given that this situation exists in a large area, it will take a lot of effort to rectify it, and it cannot be completed in a day or two. I have already figured out how to proceed with rectification, and the methods vary from case to case. , My report has it all written down, you read it slowly, I won’t go into details one by one. As an inspector of the three government offices, it’s my job to train and manage the army, so don’t worry.”

"Okay, the so-called country is easy to change, and nature is hard to change. It is indeed very difficult to get these lazy soldiers to get rid of their mistakes. You have to be busy."

"It should be, by the way, speaking of this, I have an idea, and I want to ask for your opinion to see if it works."

"Go ahead."

"I want to form a brand-new quick-response force, which will be directly under my command and dispatch. This army will be equipped with the most sophisticated weapons and trained according to the ideas I designed. The number is initially set at two armies, with a total of 5000 people. The main responsibility The task is to carry out special tasks such as enemy reconnaissance and the destruction of strategic facilities behind the enemy. At the same time, it can also take on domestic tasks such as rescuing hostages and handling emergencies. In addition, I also want to set up an agency responsible for national security, which will also be directly under my leadership The responsibilities of this agency are: externally, dispatching spies and agents, spying on all kinds of intelligence, carrying out activities such as assassination and instigating rebellion to split the enemy's country; And interrogation. The cases they are responsible for investigating are independent of the ordinary cases of the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Criminal Justice. I will be directly responsible to you. The Zaizhi, the Privy Council, the Dali Temple, the Overwatch Council, etc. are not allowed to intervene. This is the direct armed force of the two of us. !"

What Du Wenhao envisioned was to establish a modern military special force for military operations, and to establish a secret service agency similar to the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty.

Gao Taotao didn't understand the role of special forces and national security agencies for a while. Since Du Wenhao felt that it was necessary to establish one, she would naturally not object, especially as Du Wenhao emphasized that this is the two of them. The feeling made her even more happy, so she nodded with a smile and said, "Okay. What should I do, you say, I will do it."

Du Wenhao was very happy. With these two trump cards in his hand, he felt more at ease. He hugged Gao Taotao again and kissed Gao Taotao so hard that he couldn't breathe.

Finally the two separated, Gao Tao said: "You said so much just now, I can't remember, what should I do first, and what should I do next?"

Du Wenhao patted the stack of reports: "Every step is written on it, you just need to promulgate and implement it step by step according to the above."

"Yeah? That's easy. It's just that I don't like to use my brain, and I don't like to bother to look at it. You think, I will do it, it's good. Hehe, tell me about the work to be carried out first, so that I don't Look big."

"Of order, my little lazy cat!" Du Wenhao kissed her, started his report, and re-explained the work to be done in the first step.

The two discussed the specific details for a while, and they felt that there was no problem. They ate and drank while being intimate again. After noon, Gao Taotao was about to take a lunch break, and Du Wenhao said goodbye and left.

Du Wenhao didn't ride a horse in the palace. When things were urgent, he would take a sedan chair.Nothing happened now, so he decided to walk out slowly.By the way, rationalize your thoughts and see if there are any flaws in what you said earlier, especially how to set up the special forces and the Ministry of Security, who to use, how to train, and how to dispatch spies.

While thinking about it, he walked out slowly, when he suddenly heard someone shout: "General!"

Du Wenhao looked back and saw a girl standing behind a rockery, it was Yu Ge'er.Then he laughed and said, "So it's Yu Niangniang. What are you doing here? Playing hide and seek?"

"I'm waiting for you!"

"Wait for me? Is there something wrong?"

"I can't see you if I have nothing to do?" Yu Ge'er slowly walked down from the rockery, and there was no maid by her side.Don't know what she's going to do.

Du Wenhao smiled and said: "What is your mother talking about, my mother wants to summon my ministers, and she can send them at any time."

"Oh, I don't dare. Let alone you are my savior. With your current status, who would dare to send you?"

"Hey, I don't have any identity." Du Wenhao said with a smile, "Your Majesty looks very interested today."

"Of course, escaping from the dead will naturally cherish life very much. If it wasn't for the general last time, I would have died. It really scared me out of my soul. Now I think of it and my heart is still pounding. !"

"The empress is auspicious, people and heaven are in harmony, when disasters turn into blessings, when disasters turn into blessings."

"Your mouth is so sweet! By the way, are you free today?"

"Of course, what can I do at noon? Even if I have something to do, it's better to take care of my mother's business first."

"Look at your clever mouth!" Yu Ge'er giggled, "No wonder the Empress Dowager likes you so much."

"Hey, I can't help it. I just like to tell the truth. I haven't seen you for a long time. Your empress is getting more and more beautiful."

"Hee hee, you are becoming more and more able to talk. Alright, don't you feel anxious under the sun at noon? I set up a table of flowers and wine at Empress Defei's place, and I want to invite you to show me your favor. I don't know if you will show me your face." no?"

When Du Wenhao heard Concubine Zhu De, he immediately thought of Concubine Zhu De's stupid appearance, and he wanted to visit her for a long time. He was busy with the military reform these days, and now he happened to go to have a look, and hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, you are serious. Your Majesty is hosting a banquet, even though I am already full, I still won’t refuse. Drinking two glasses of wine is also good.”

"That's great, please!"

Du Wenhao followed Yu Ge'er to Concubine Zhu De's bedroom. Only after he came did he realize that not only Concubine Zhu De was there to welcome him, but also Su Dongpo's nieces Su Shi, Lin Jieyu, and Princess Qin whom he hadn't seen for more than a year!

As soon as Du Wenhao saw Princess Qin, he immediately remembered the scene when he helped her undress and change clothes in the ice and snow lake, and the two embraced tightly to keep warm in the snow cave. Looking at it, the eldest princess looked as if nothing had happened, thinking that this little girl is really calm.

Su Clan came up to greet her, and gave a blessing: "General, you are here!"

Du Wenhao hurriedly returned the courtesy and said that he didn't dare to do it.Concubine Zhu De tried her best to smile: "Wen Hao, sit down, today they want to thank you for saving your life, and they agreed not to let you go if you don't get drunk."

Du Wenhao chuckled, and asked Concubine De, "How is your mother?"

"It's okay. How about you take a pulse for me. I always feel stuffy in my heart."

Du Wenhao was fully conscious after listening to her, thinking that time is really the best medicine for wounds, and Concubine De has gradually recovered from the extreme pain.He hurriedly agreed, led her to sit down, asked her about the basic situation first, raised her wrist and checked her pulse, and checked her tongue. Sure enough, there was no serious problem. The depression in her heart was caused by grief and emotion, and she only needed some soup and medicine to recuperate for a while.

Concubine De was relieved after hearing what he said.

After everyone sat down at the wine table, Yu Ge'er and Su Shi each toasted Du Wenhao a glass of wine to express their gratitude.

Yu Ge'er took out a small box from his arms and handed it to Du Wenhao: "You saved my life, I have nothing to repay, this is a bead given to me by the emperor, it is a tribute, and I have nothing valuable , I will give this to you. I want to thank the general for saving his life."

After Du Wenhao said a few polite words, he took it and opened it to see that there was a bead the size of an egg inside, which was crystal clear and gave off a soft light, very beautiful.

Du Wenhao now has a wealth of wealth and a lot of treasures, he is not too rare for jewelry, he just thinks this bead is very beautiful, after thanking him, he put it in his bosom.

Su also smiled and said to Du Wenhao: "General, you saved my life. To be honest, I was so scared that day. If you didn't pull me back from the gate of hell, I..., I just I'm afraid I've become a lonely ghost now. Until now, I often wake up from my dreams. I'm afraid when I think about it. I'm really grateful for the general's life-saving grace. I don't have any valuable gifts for the general. , just give this to the general, if it’s not a respect, please accept it.” After finishing speaking, he took out a black folding fan and handed it to Du Wenhao.

Du Wenhao thanked him quickly, took a look at it, and saw that the fan bone was black and shiny, it was heavy in his hand, and he opened it with a bang. The satin silk fan was beautifully embroidered, and it was a beautiful woman. In the lychee picture, the beauties on the embroidery are lifelike and extremely handsome. They look familiar and look familiar, but when you look closely, they are her new daughter-in-law, Prime Minister Wang's daughter Wang Runxue!
Du Wenhao was both surprised and delighted: "This..., who embroidered this?"

"It's me. I didn't embroider well. The general laughed at me."

"Excellent! The woman above is the daughter of Prime Minister Wang, right?"

"Exactly, she and I used to be close friends in the boudoir. I heard that you were engaged to her and you were about to get married as soon as you spoke. I embroidered her image for you and used it to make a fan. Maybe you will like it. "

"I like it! I like it very much!" Du Wenhao was overjoyed, holding the fan and looking at it again and again, really couldn't put it down.

Seeing that he liked it, Mrs. Su was also very happy in her heart, and said: "General, this fan itself is also a treasure. It was given to me by the late emperor. I tore down the original fan and replaced it with this one. There is something in the bones of this fan. This mechanism is very interesting, let me point it out to you."

Su took the folding fan from Du Wenhao's hand, closed it, pressed the inside of the fan handle, then opened the folding fan again, and fanned it slowly in front of Du Wenhao.Du Wenhao immediately smelled a faint fragrance, like orchids and musk deer, as if he had come to a fairyland.

Du Wenhao took a deep breath: "Wow, it's really fragrant. Where did the fragrance come from? It wasn't there just now."

Su pursed her lips and said with a smile: "It's from this folding fan!" Turn the handle of the fan upside down, press the motor button, and open a small hole: "Put the incense powder in here, and close it. Press this button here when you want to use it." With the small button, the fragrance can be released slowly from the fan.

"It's really exquisite!" Du Wenhao was full of praise, thinking, if the incense powder was replaced with poison powder, it would be a hidden weapon that no one would notice, what a treasure!
Du Wenhao operated it a few times by himself, and it was very convenient, and asked again: "This fan is so heavy, what is it made of?"

"Black Iron Ugin!"

"Oh? Is it hard?"

"Well, even with a big axe, there is no shortage of a small cut."

"Oh, this is really a treasure. It can also be used as a short stick in an emergency. Thank you!"

Du Wenhao slapped the fan a few times happily, then put it down, and thanked the second daughter with a toast.Turning to look at the eldest princess again: "I don't know what the princess is going to give me?"

"Why should I send you off? Have you ever saved me..." As soon as the eldest princess said this, she remembered that when she fell into the frozen lake, if Du Wenhao hadn't sacrificed his life to save her, she would have died long ago, and later on the snow mountain. In this way, Du Wenhao rescued him twice, but he never thanked him well.It's just that no one else knew about this matter, and she couldn't explain it clearly, so she raised her glass and said, "Although you didn't save me, you treated me very well, and I will always remember this kindness. Come on! General, I will borrow flowers to present to the Buddha, and I will offer you a glass of thin wine."

Du Wenhao heard her speak in a subtle way, but he had already clicked on it, so he laughed and said, "Thank you, Eldest Princess!"

The two had a drink together.

(End of this chapter)