Song Gexing

Chapter 188

Of course, it is impossible for Zhao Fang to restore this position. Zhou Yu's power as the governor is too great, and he will not be approved even if he wants to.

Ouyang Xiu's words were obviously a joke to himself. Only those who believed in him were evil. If it was true, he would probably be the first to object.

Yin smiled and said: "Ouyang Qing was joking. I mean the name is appropriate, but the duties and powers cannot be the same."

Then he got serious and said: "I have an idea, please see if it is feasible."

"Your Majesty, please speak!"

Everyone stopped joking now and sat down to wait with their hands clasped solemnly.

"The military attache and military system of our dynasty are divided into the Privy Council in charge of military affairs, the three Yamen in charge of the forbidden army, and the Ministry of War in charge of the military. Among them, the Privy Council thinks it is inappropriate to change, but the Three Yamen and the Ministry of War must make changes in response to this naval establishment, that is, separation Remove the navy and navy and establish a separate supreme command office."

Zhao Fang glanced at everyone as he spoke, and when he saw that none of them spoke, he continued: "However, a single Yamen seems awkward, so it is best to change the Third Yamen to the Fifth Army Governor's Office. The powers and authority remain the same, but the classification has changed."

"The Mansion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies!"

Several senior officials in the Privy Council were surprised, and Fu Bi asked, "Your Majesty, what do you mean by the Five Armies?"

Zhao Fang had already planned the Five Armed Forces Governor's Mansion, but he had been undecided on the definition of the Five Armed Forces. He was unwilling to learn from the Ming Dynasty's Five Armed Forces.

This name is not only ugly, but also unspecific. In fact, the Ma Bujun of the Song Dynasty was more targeted.

Now that there is a navy, he can add the name navy, but there are still two suitable names. But since he decided to change the Ministry of War, he naturally had a countermeasure.

Just moving the Ministry of War will involve the establishment of three provinces and six ministries, because the Ministry of War does not belong to the military attache system, but is under the jurisdiction of the Shangshu Province.

When asked about this, Zhao Fang hesitated, thought for a moment and said, "How about Zhu Qingjue abolishing the Ministry of War?"

Fan Zhongyan frowned and said: "Three provinces and six ministries check and balance each other. With the abolition of the Ministry of War, it may seem weak to rely solely on the Privy Council to control the three yamen?"

This is the sentiment of all civil servants. Although the Ministry of War in the Song Dynasty had little power and responsibilities, and was basically a second-rate yamen under the political hall, it was still very important.

The Ministry of War in the Song Dynasty was in charge of military guards, ceremonial guards, official records, military examinations, militia, Xiang army, Tu army, Tibetan army and other irregular armies. It was also responsible for the promotion management of military generals, map honor guards, etc.

At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the local army was not strong, so the Ministry of War was dispensable. However, as Xixia became independent, the Song Dynasty recruited a large number of Fan army, Turkish army and militia in the northwest, and the Ministry of War naturally increased.

"I am aware that the Ministry of War will be abolished and merged into the Fifth Army Governor's Office, and the Military Government Governor's Office, the Cavalry Army Governor's Office, the Infantry Army Governor's Office, the Navy Commander's Office and the pro-army Governor's Office will be established."

The ministers were astonished and immediately asked: "What are the military governor's office and the pro-military governor's office?"

The Ma Bujun and the Navy are easy to understand, but the military administration and pro-military forces make everyone confused. The name is indeed clear at a glance, but no one knows the specific powers and responsibilities of this unprecedented yamen.

After Zhao Fang took a deep breath, he began to explain: "The Military and Political Governor's Office is in charge of military discipline, ideological education, unified military training programs, assessment of various military skills, and military honor guards."

"The pro-military governor's office is in charge of military examinations, general promotions, military guards, and the garrison that guards the capital." Now everyone understands that the so-called military governor's office is an extension of the military instructor system, adding some powers that originally belonged to the Ministry of War.

The pro-military governor's office even divided the powers of the Ministry of War, and added the Dianqian Division into it, but this time the local army became an unsupervised team.

Of course, the minister is not a fool. He understands that there must be other changes and it is impossible to abandon the local army. Otherwise, the foreign army, Turkish army and militia in the northwest will become the source of chaos.

Although the Ministry of War has been abolished, the military and administrative governor's office is obviously still in the control of civil servants, which everyone thinks is acceptable.

At this moment, Wang Su spoke up and said: "Your Majesty's reform of civil and military affairs is clear. In this case, why not be more thorough? I think it is better to restore the three senior officials and take charge of the six ministries and nine temples, abolish the political affairs hall, the Privy Council and the three envoys, and return the power to The governor's office of the three provinces, six ministries and the fifth army."

Everyone was shocked and Fan Zhongyan shouted: "Why did Zhongyi say this! This is to overthrow all the systems established by Taizu Taizong and start a new one!"

Wang Su looked at everyone, nodded firmly and said: "That's exactly what it is. After these years of being far away in Jiaozhou and acting alone, I gradually understood what your Majesty was worried about back then. Emphasizing culture over military affairs is not a long-term solution. I, the Song Dynasty monarch, will not be able to do this when he is wise and virtuous. It's a problem, but if there is a foolish king and a few sycophants, the country will be in trouble!"

Without waiting for everyone to refute, he continued: "Furthermore, His Majesty has just ascended the throne and is ambitious. Our Song Dynasty has been prospering in recent years. It is a good time to expand our territory. The methods of our ancestors will not be enough to support the future." If we don’t make major changes to our strategy in the past few years, the opportunity will be fleeting and it will be too late! You won’t want to see that we originally had the opportunity to surpass the Han and Tang Dynasties, but lost the opportunity due to our internal friction, right?"

"shut up!"

Sima Guang stood up suddenly, strode forward and rushed to him, pointed at his nose and shouted: "Wang Zhongyi, you dare to trick our emperor into provoking foreign affairs, what about surpassing the Han and Tang Dynasties, what about opening up territories, I ask you, Why has the Qingming Festival in the world been so internally strife these years? You are just making alarmist remarks and harboring evil intentions!"

"Sima Junshi, you are a dog of defense. Have you forgotten the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that Taizu Taizong and even Zhou Shizong cherished?"

Sima Guang hesitated for a moment and stood on the spot, but he quickly recovered and refuted loudly: "What does regaining Yanyun's land have to do with the system? You are just changing the pillars and confusing the public!"

"Just be quiet and listen to me."

Zhao Fang had no choice but to shout stop. He did not expect that Wang Su would undergo such a big change after being in Jiaozhou for several years. Although the old man was originally one of the leaders of the Qingli New Deal, such a big change was still very strange.

Hearing his cry, Sima Guang had no choice but to return to his seat, but still glared at Wang Su angrily, and then looked at Zhao Fang.

Fan Zhongyan and others also looked at Wang Su, their eyes full of questions and confusion, but they did not speak.

Zhao Fang raised his hand and lowered his voice and said: "It is a good thing for you ministers to speak freely. Since we are discussing politics, you should say what you have to say, but please do not attack personally. Gentlemen are harmonious but different. It is normal to have different opinions. If you agree with each other, then I shouldn’t be able to sleep anymore.”

The latter sentence was a joke, but it was also the truth, and it was heart-wrenching words that made the minister tremble.

The prime ministers understood that this was not only a warning to Wang Su and Sima Guang not to have grudges because of their different political opinions, but also a warning to them not to form cliques.

If the ministers are a piece of iron, it means that the powerful ministers are in power and ignore the emperor.

While everyone was shocked, they were also relieved that they had seen the right person. When the new emperor was a child, everyone in his group thought that he would be a wise king, and they did not disappoint.

(End of this chapter)