People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 515 Grand Title

On the rostrum at Xuande Gate, Zhao Zhen looked at the thunderous cheers from below and felt a mixture of emotions.

This is what Zhao Jun said on the first day he traveled through time.

He said that for a strong country, it must first ensure the health of the military, and then the development of all aspects of the country.

If even the army of our own country is discriminated against and not valued, who can we hope to defeat powerful external enemies?

These words made Zhao Zhen start to reflect.

Because Zhao Jun is right.

Dignity is always only on the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the cannon.

As a state organ of violence, the very existence of the army is full of violence and danger, and it is bound to hurt others as well as itself.

Like a double-edged sword.

But if you are afraid that it will hurt you and dare not pick up this double-edged sword, then when the enemy's sword is swung at you, what will you use to block it?
This is a question worth pondering.

Moreover, when the people of a country have lost confidence in the army, why should the army itself defend the country?

Therefore, the Song army was weak in combat effectiveness, with only numbers but no combat power, and it suffered defeat after defeat.

So, although the Song Dynasty had a developed economy, prosperous commerce, unprecedentedly flourishing agricultural culture, and strong military power on paper, in the end, even a tiny Western Xia could bully them.

Based on these considerations, Zhao Zhen understood that the weak military thinking that had existed since the reigns of Taizu, Taizong, and Zhenzong was about to be put to an end in his own hands.

Even though the civil service group headed by Lu Yijian used the example of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to persuade Zhao Zhen, Zhao Zhen was ultimately convinced by Zhao Jun.

It's just that Emperor Taizu Zhao Kuangyin changed the two departments into three yamen and transferred the main generals of each army, creating a situation where the soldiers did not know their generals and the generals did not know their soldiers. This was because the lessons of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were indeed too profound.

Moreover, the problem of redundant troops was difficult to solve, and Zhao Zhen did not dare to take action against the army easily, so he could only place his hopes on Zhao Jun.

After Zhao Jun found out that he had actually come to the Song Dynasty and learned about the situation personally, he realized how naive he was in his boasting back then and knew that the military issue could not be dealt with hastily.

Therefore, even if the grandfather and grandson wanted to change the situation, after assessing the situation, they decided not to act immediately, but to wait for a suitable opportunity.

Relying on their advantage of foresight and the miraculous effect of grenades against cavalry, they first won the Song-Xia War.

Then he vigorously developed firearms and acquired the ability to compete with Western Xia and Liao. Only after the Qingli period, he first solved the problem of redundant officials and expenses, and finally began to take action on the army.

Even so, there were still many difficulties, and there were even rebellions. It can be said that the journey was extremely difficult.

But today, Zhao Zhen feels that all the difficulties were worth it.

He did it with his eldest grandson.

Not only did he completely solve the problem of redundant troops, he also vigorously rectified the army, making it a brand new look, with strong combat effectiveness, and becoming the world's number one powerful army!
Thousands of people outside Xuande Gate were still cheering. On the tower, Zhao Zhen sighed for a few seconds and said loudly, "I declare the military review to begin!"

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Fireworks shot up into the sky, followed by the sound of military music that echoed throughout the square.

In this age without computer central control, it is really not easy to achieve such seamless connection.

The people setting off the salutes and fireworks in the back have to be prepared at all times, and the band must always stand in front of the microphone. Any carelessness may cause an accident.

Fortunately, the imperial court attached great importance to this grand hall and rehearsed many times since September, and did not officially begin until everything was foolproof.

Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to achieve such a perfect connection.

As the music started, the Zuoye Palace gate opened wide, and Zhang Kang was the first to walk out with a phalanx of infantry.

They held their heads high and marched in unison, majestically into the square outside Xuande Gate, then arrived outside Xuande Gate amid the crisp sound of their military boots stepping on the hard marble floor.

A young scholar from the Ministry of Rites walked up to the stage and said loudly, "Now walking towards us is the infantry phalanx of our Great Song Dynasty, led by the Privy Councilor Zhang Kang. They are brave and fearless, and have fought and killed the enemy many times. Under the leadership of Zhang Kang, they have repeatedly defeated the attacks of Li Yuanhao of Western Xia and Yelu Zongzhen of Liao, and protected our Great Song Dynasty. They are the guardians of our Great Song Dynasty and also the heroic warriors of our Great Song Dynasty. Your Majesty will award medals to Zhang Kang and them."

Zhang Kang rode on horseback and led the infantry phalanx to the outside of the gate. He then dismounted, walked to a microphone set up in the square outside Xuande Gate, and saluted with a standard new military salute to the city wall.

Zhao Zhen walked to the podium and said, "Mr. Zhang was originally a Jinshi, but he was willing to join the army. He first led 8,000 cavalrymen to Xingqing Prefecture as the prefect of Linyan Road and destroyed the Western bandits' lair. He then led his troops to raid Yuan Hao and defeated the Western bandits. I grant you the title of General and the Dragon Flag Medal of the Chinese Song Empire!"

He recounted Zhang Kang's achievements, which were extraordinary in the early and middle stages. He led Di Qing and his men to the northwest many times, defeating Li Yuanhao's army. He also intercepted Yelu Zongzhen in the Song-Liao War and captured a large number of Liao people.

Afterwards, he followed Fan Zhongyan and made many contributions in the wars between Song and Xia and Song and Liao. Together with Fan Zhongyan, he recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which can be said to be a very great contribution.

It was precisely because of his extraordinary achievements in the early and middle stages, coupled with his status as a Jinshi, that he was promoted too quickly, directly to the rank of Privy Councilor, which resulted in him being unable to hold any more titles later on, and he was unable to fight in the campaign to destroy Western Xia.

Therefore, the subsequent wars had to be fought by Di Qing, making Di Qing a god of war in the second half of the war. He first destroyed Western Xia and then recovered the Western Regions, losing a lot of credit.

But even so, as the general who brought Di Qing to power, Zhang Kang is worthy of being the second god of war in the Song Dynasty besides Fan Zhongyan. Even if Di Qing's military achievements were higher than his in the later period, he did not dare to compete for credit in front of his old boss.

Wang Shouzhong had already stood below at this time. A eunuch next to him was holding a tray. On the tray was a medal inlaid with gold and silver, with a dragon pattern in the middle.

This is the highest medal of honor in the Song Dynasty today - the Dragon Flag Medal of the Chinese Song Empire. It represents the national flag and the national emblem and can be said to be the highest honor.

After Zhao Zhen’s announcement, Wang Shouzhong put the Dragon Flag Medal on Zhang Kang.

After all, Zhang Kang needed to lead the soldiers in a square formation, and it was impossible for him to run to the Xuande Gate temporarily, so the matter of wearing the medal had to be left to Wang Shouzhong.

After Zhang Kang and others put on their medals, they shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Snap, snap, snap, snap."

The audience burst into thunderous applause again.

After Zhang Kang finished his salute, he returned to his horse.

Zhao Zhen continued, "Many of the soldiers selected here are meritorious soldiers who have killed enemies and made meritorious contributions on the battlefield. I will award you the first-class merit, the first-class medal for defeating the enemy, and the first-class medal for defending the country."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The soldiers below shouted in unison.

"Pap-pap-pap-pap."

The audience burst into applause again.

The Song Dynasty has currently designed multiple sets of military honors.

In addition to the first, second and third class merits, there are four other awards: the first, second and third class medals for defeating the enemy, the first, second and third class medals for defending the country, the medal for combat hero, and the medal of special merit.

Among them, the Medal of Defence of the Country has the lowest value and is basically awarded to all soldiers who have participated in the war.

The Enemy Defeat Medal requires killing one or more enemies.

The Special Merit Medal and the Combat Hero Medal are different. At least they have to change the situation of a small-scale battle, such as a special situation where one person kills dozens of people.

There were only a few brave generals in the entire army who received these two medals. They were the ones who fought desperately with the Western Xia army with cold weapons in an era when there were no muskets or cannons, and killed many enemies.

For example, Wang Xin once led 2,000 men to the Bao'an Army's Luoluo Village. Facing the siege of tens of thousands of Xixia people, they fought to the death. After fighting all night, they retreated to the mountain south of the village to rest. Then in the early morning, they led the soldiers to launch another surprise attack and repelled the invading Xixia people.

Also, when Zhang Kang led 8,000 people to launch a surprise attack from the rear, Li Yuanhao led the main force to besiege Yanzhou. Wang Zhongbao's troops were defeated in the battle and his deputy general Zhu Guan was besieged. He single-handedly rushed into the formation, killed dozens of people and rescued Zhu Guan.

In addition, Guo Zun also shined in this battle. He wielded the iron pestle in his hand like an unstoppable god of death. He went in and out of the enemy camp three times, killing hundreds of enemies. He shocked Yanzhou and allowed the front battlefield to stubbornly resist Li Yuanhao's attack.

Of course, most of the Song army generals did not have such exaggerated personal combat effectiveness, and it was difficult for them to influence the situation of a small-scale battle. Therefore, whether it was the Combat Hero Medal or the Special Merit Medal, the gold content was very high and it was already considered the highest level of honor in the current military.

As for the Order of the Dragon Banner, it is not a military honor but an imperial honor.

Not only generals who made outstanding contributions, but also scientists who made major discoveries, politicians who made political contributions, etc. People like Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan were actually awarded the Dragon Flag Medal.

After awarding the merits to Zhang Kang and the infantry phalanx, Zhao Zhen stepped aside. The host came on stage again and said, "Next up is the cavalry phalanx led by Deputy Privy Councilor Di Qing. They fought bravely and once followed Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Di in bloody battles, defeating Yuan Hao at Taoluo City and Zong Zhen at Baosai City. They are majestic and invincible, making the enemies of the Song Dynasty tremble in fear and allowing the people of the Song Dynasty to enjoy peace!"

Di Qing led the cavalry slowly to the front of Xuande Gate, then dismounted and walked to the microphone to salute.

Zhao Zhen said: "Mr. Di was born in a humble family, but he was devoted to serving his country. When the country was in danger, he went into battle alone many times to kill bandits and defeat enemies. He first followed Mr. Fan and Mr. Zhang to defeat Xixia, and then defeated Li Yue when Li Yue repeatedly invaded the border. When recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, he intercepted a large number of reinforcements from the Liao Kingdom with very few troops. He was extremely brave and lived up to the ambition of a great general. I confer on you the rank of general and the Dragon Flag Medal of the Chinese Song Empire!"

In the early days, Di Qing was actually no different from other low-level military officers such as Zhe Jimin, Zhou Mei, Guo Zun, Zhang Ke, Wang Xin, Fan Ke, and Yang Wenguang. He relied purely on his personal martial arts and military exploits to slowly climb to the position of middle and high-level military officer.

It was not until the war to destroy Vietnam that he first appeared in the spotlight, because he quickly destroyed Li Yue and stood out for the first time with his military exploits. He entered the category of senior military officers and was on par with veterans such as Ge Huaimin, Ren Fu, and Gao Jixuan.

As a result, he later led three naval fleets as the chief of the navy, penetrated into Shanhaiguan, intercepted more than 100,000 Liao troops coming to the west to aid Yelu Zongzhen, and won a great victory for the western battlefield.

Therefore, the destruction of the Vietnamese Ly Dynasty can be said to be a turning point for Di Qing, allowing him to stand on his own. It was also a natural progression for him to subsequently destroy the Western Xia, recover the Western Regions, and destroy Gaochang and the Black Khanate.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Di Qing kept his right hand in a saluting posture, standing straight and motionless.

Wang Shouzhong awarded him a medal.

Zhao Zhen then awarded the cavalrymen first-class merit, first-class medal for defeating the enemy and first-class medal for defending the country.

The next one was the Musketeer Army, led by Wang Deyong.

Lao Wang only fought in the early Song-Xia War and Song-Liao War, and served as Fan Zhongyan's deputy to stabilize the morale of the army.

His greatest achievement was that he held on to Baosai City in the face of Yelu Zongzhen's siege and waited for reinforcements from Fan Zhongyan.

In terms of military achievements, he certainly cannot compare with Zhang Kang and Di Qing, but this guy has exaggerated qualifications. He fought in the Battle of Chanzhou when he was young.

So he also has the rank of general and the Dragon Flag Medal of the Chinese Song Empire.

After the musketeers came the generals' phalanx.

That’s all.

Because the generals' formation was actually Cao Cong, Li Yonghe, and Li Zhaoliang, who led more than a hundred major generals sitting in more than thirty chariots from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

It is okay for General Zhu Jue, and even Cao Cong is understandable. After all, like Wang Deyong, he also participated in the early Song-Xia War and the Song-Liao War. Although he did not make any achievements, he at least participated in these two wars.

But Li Yonghe and Li Zhaoliang were embarrassed. They were both close relatives of the emperor's wife and were nominally the highest generals in the three yamen, but in fact they had no military achievements. So even Zhao Zhen was embarrassed to say too much about them. He just said that their ancestors had made great contributions and passed it over without saying anything else.

Afterwards, Zhao Zhen awarded them the rank of general. Except for Cao Cong, who received the First Class Medal for Defeat the Enemy and the First Class Medal for Defending the Country for killing several people in the battle, the other two only had the rank of general without any other honors.

On the contrary, among the major generals, several people such as Yang Wenguang, Zhou Mei, Guo Zun, and Wang Zhongbao fought bravely and were awarded special merit or combat heroes.

After the generals' phalanx passed, it was the other phalanxes led by Lieutenant Generals Ge Huaimin, Ren Fu, Gao Jixuan, etc., such as the artillery phalanx, vanguard phalanx, assaulter phalanx, naval phalanx, etc.

It is worth mentioning that.

There were also two people in the navy who were awarded the rank of major general, one was Huyan Shouyong, the former commander of the Dengzhou Pinghai Navy, and the other was Wang Kui, the former commander of the Binzhou Dinghai Navy.

In the Song Dynasty, the navy was not a separate military branch, but a vassal of the army and did not have the power to fight independently.

They have few personnel and troops, so the rank of the chief officers is not high. For example, after the establishment of the seven navies, the commanders can only be regarded as middle and lower-level officers, with only 5,000 soldiers and horses, which is far from comparable to the army.

However, Zhao Jun is now also slowly developing his naval power and plans to build more ironclad ships so that the navy can be expanded.

After all, the Eastern Army is now invincible and should indeed dominate the oceans.

Therefore, increasing the weight of the navy is inevitable.

Huyan Shouyong and Wang Kui followed Di Qing and made great contributions in the Battle of Shanhaiguan. Now they have been promoted to deputy chief of the navy with the rank of major general. When the navy becomes more powerful and has more troops, it is only a matter of time before the navy is listed separately.

By then, I'm afraid that the situation will not be like it is now, where the Song army has six generals, more than ten lieutenant generals, and more than one hundred major generals, all of whom are army generals except Huyan Shouyong and Wang Kui.

The appearance of admirals and vice admirals should also be a matter of course.

(End of this chapter)