Do you know: I have a different surname: Wang, uncle Minglan.

Chapter 273: Modern Military Organization Concept, Serving the Country with Loyalty and Fearlessness

Zhao Zhen fainted, and the prince showed filial piety by his bedside, while Zhang Fu pretended to be confused.

The entire political situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty depends entirely on Prime Minister Han and Prime Minister Wen. As a result, these two big men chose to have a decisive battle at this sensitive time.

No one understood, including Wei Yuan.

Now, isn’t it more important to stabilize the political situation?

Or, are the two parties deliberately causing trouble at this critical moment?
Wei Yuan was puzzled.

However, the two phases gave him a good start, and he suddenly had a clear idea of ​​what to do next.

Since the two prime ministers have not forgotten their party struggles at this moment, then it seems that there is no problem for me to let the Crown Prince, the Regent, carry out military reforms in Yanbian, right?

Wei Yuan had a bold idea.

Two days later, Zhao Zhen was still in a coma and could only take some liquid food.

In the bedroom, except for the empress who was taking care of Zhao Zhen personally, the other concubines and royal family members had all left. After all, the emperor's condition was gradually stabilizing, and they could not keep kneeling in the hall.

At this moment, in Xuanzheng Hall.

After kneeling for two nights in a row and only taking a short rest for a few hours during the day, Zhao Xi was handling some government affairs with the assistance of Wang Anshi.

After a while, Han and Wen came and argued with each other, hoping that Zhao Xi could make a decision. Who of them should leave the capital?

"Your Highness, whether it was the new policy or the war against Xia, Han Xiang's mistakes are difficult to make up for. Now the court and the public are talking about the past. If Han Xiang is not punished, I am afraid that the law of the country will not tolerate it!"

"Your Highness, the Minister of Culture always talks about the law of the country. You might as well ask him whether the Minister of Culture has implemented the strategy of replacing mulberry with rice in various places in Jiangnan. Has he committed the crime of deception?"

"."

Logically speaking, the worst that Prime Minister Wen committed was a crime of dereliction of duty, but Prime Minister Han insisted on accusing him of deceiving the emperor.

"Minister Wen has been promoting new policies left and right. If you don't know, you might think it was you who promoted the new policies!"

"Prime Minister Han, I also participated in the new policy back then, but I was just dissatisfied with a few of its strategies. Until now, Prime Minister Han still refuses to admit his mistakes?"

"What have I done wrong? Minister Wen, last time when the emperor was seriously ill, someone wanted to accuse you of treason, and you directly killed the person who accused you of treason. Is this true?"

"This matter has already been handed over to the Three Divisions for investigation. It was the thief who framed me. Why didn't he kill him?"

"You are such a powerful official, Prime Minister Wen. People who don't know would think that the power of life and death in our Great Zhou is in your hands, Wen Yanbo!"

"."

Let me tell you a joke: civil servants are plotting a rebellion.

That's probably what it means.

Anyway, all kinds of scandals were told during the struggle for power between the two.

Han Zhang said that Wen Yanbo was a clique, had more than a dozen women at home, and even had close contacts with women with the same surname in his family.
Wen Yanbo said that Han Zhang was stubborn and self-willed, monopolizing power and had no regard for the emperor.
In short, the two of them tried every possible means, and their fighting was even more exciting than Wei Yuan's battle.

Crown Prince Zhao Xi watched the two quarreling, and became more and more addicted to it. Until the two perhaps got tired of quarreling and stopped, Zhao Xi spoke up:

"Why don't you two continue?"

Hearing this, the two were stunned, "Your Highness, what are you doing?"

Wang Anshi pretended to cough twice.

Zhao Xi came back to her senses and said, "I am not here to watch the show. Bah! I just think that the two husbands are arguing very well. That's not right."

Wang Anshi took over the conversation, "Your Highness, what the Crown Prince wants to say is that the two gentlemen have been arguing for a long time, but Your Highness still can't hear what they are saying. What crime have the two gentlemen committed?"

Zhao Xi nodded firmly.

Han and Wen were stunned and said one after another:
"But this matter must have a result."

"The emperor has fainted, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the regent. It is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who should make the decision."

After hearing this, Wang Anshi finally understood why they chose to make trouble at this time.

When the government is sober, it is necessary to let them fight. Only after great fight can there be great order.

As long as they are done with their quarrel, there will be no more factional struggles in the court, and it will also be easier for the prince to train his own team and clear the obstacles.

However, the two ministers did not want to continue this dispute. They urgently needed the prince to make a decision before Zhao Zhen woke up.

No matter who leaves the capital, the court will not continue to be in chaos.

After all, they wanted to be clever, but also for the country, they wanted to settle everything during the period when the crown prince was regent.

At this time, Zhao Xi could only remain silent and look at Wang Anshi beside him.

The latter said: "The prince said that it is better to leave your affairs to His Majesty's judgment."

Wen Yanbo glared at him and blurted out, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is right in front of the two of us, but he doesn't seem to be saying anything, right?"

It cannot be said that Wen Xianggong liked Wang Anshi, and one could even say that he hated him.

After all, Wen Yanbo did not want to reform, he just wanted to make some improvements on the existing bad policies.

For example, to solve the problem of redundant soldiers, we should simply cut the military instead of trying to completely reform the military system.

This is a temporary solution and does not address the root cause.

Wang Anshi's dismissal of redundant officials in various departments was, in theory, in line with Wen Yanbo's attitude and position, but Wang Anshi also set up a major civil service examination every three to five years.

This made Wen Yanbo realize in an instant that he and Wang Anshi could never be the same kind of people.

When he was young, Han Zhang could become a close friend of Wang Anshi.

Now, Han Zhang no longer has too many ambitions. He just wants to preserve some seeds of the New Policies of the Qingli Period in the few years left as prime minister. It's a pity that Wen Yanbo suddenly appears.

Zhao Xi said: "What Minister Wang said is what I said."

Ok
Han and Wen spoke again.
"Your Highness, for the sake of state affairs, I hope you will reconsider our matter."

"The emperor is still in a coma. You are the regent, so you should make the decision."

They were determined to make Zhao Xi make a decision as soon as possible.

They even thought of a way out for the prince.

During the time when the emperor was unconscious, the two prime ministers did not forget about the party struggles, which were even more intense than before.

This is unacceptable and no one in the world can tolerate it. Therefore, the prince can legitimately decide whether the two should stay or go.

For the two of them, this was undoubtedly a huge gamble, but they gambled fairly and did not inform the prince in advance.

Because they are in this position, every word and action they take must be taken accountably for the country, the people and even history.

This is what a 'literati' is.

After the two ministers left Xuanzheng Hall, Zhao Xi immediately sat down on the chair with his head down, muttering: "Two ministers, whoever goes will stay. When my father wakes up, I can't say anything."

Wang Anshi said, "Just hold it off for now."

At present, there is no better way.

A moment later, Wei Yuan arrived at the Xuanzheng Hall.

Zhao Xi was immediately excited. "The guard is here? You have worked really hard these past few days. You don't have to stay in the palace today. Go and accompany your family." Wei Yuan bowed and said, "Your Highness, I am here today to ask for a favor."

Ask for help?

Zhao Xi asked, "What's the matter?"

Wei Yuan submitted a memorial on the reform of the Yanbian Army and said earnestly, "Before the end of last year, I submitted several memorials to the emperor, asking him to reform the Yanbian Army, but the emperor did not agree."

"Now, Xia State has established six major military divisions, aiming at the border of our Great Zhou. I hope that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can support my military reform."

Before Zhao Xi responded, Wang Anshi said bluntly: "General Wei, even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince agrees today, when the emperor wakes up and learns about this, I am afraid he will punish General Wei."

Wei Yuan said frankly: "If you are loyal to the country, why should you be afraid of punishment from the government? If you are afraid of punishment from the government for everything, how can you be loyal and speak frankly?"

Wang Anshi was speechless for a moment.

Why bother?
Can't you just wait a little longer?
Obviously, he also supports the military reform proposed by Wei Yuan.

Zhao Xi asked, "Why didn't my father support the reform of the Guard Division?"

He had wanted to know the answer to this question a long time ago.

However, Zhao Zhen never said it clearly.

Wang Anshi analyzed: "Perhaps the government feels that it is inappropriate at the moment."

When Zhao Xi ascends the throne, it will be timely.

As of now, the two "generals and ministers" Wei Yuan and Wang Anshi are still in the honeymoon period of secretly helping each other.

Wang Anshi knew Wei Yuan's thoughts and wanted the Wei family to gain a foothold in the capital, which was understandable.

He also knew that Wei Yuan wanted to recover the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and do some practical things. In this respect, the two of them had the same idea.

"Inopportune?"

Zhao Xi murmured and remained silent for a moment.

Then he looked at Wei Yuan's expectant eyes.

After hesitating for a while, he finally made a decision, "If the guard feels that the military reform can make my border no longer afraid of Xixia, then change it!"

Wang Anshi frowned slightly and advised: "Your Highness, once the emperor wakes up and knows about this, General Wei will be held responsible."

Zhao Zhen has only one child, Zhao Xi. Moreover, Zhao Xi is very smart and wise. He will definitely become a wise ruler in the future.

Therefore, Zhao Zhen would never have the heart to punish Zhao Xi.

But it’s hard to say about Wei Yuan.

Zhao Xi looked at Wei Yuan, "Master Wei, are you afraid?"

Wei Yuan shook his head and said, "I am not afraid, your servant."

Zhao Xi nodded, "Then change it."

Wei Yuan was delighted and bowed, "Thank you, Your Highness!"

The so-called military reform is actually to integrate the existing scattered Yanbian armies and unify their numbers and organizations.

Nowadays, there are no less than seven or eight types of imperial guards stationed in Yanbian alone, and each unit is an independent system. Even the generals cannot achieve unified deployment in wartime, which is too troublesome.

Since the decision was made to reform the military, Wei Yuan then began to explain his ideas to Zhao Xi.
"Originally, I discussed with the emperor that the 300,000 troops in Yanbian would be divided into three armies, each with 100,000 troops. However, the number of troops was too complicated, so after much deliberation, I decided to reorganize the three armies into five armies."

"An army is in charge of 60,000 people. An army has three divisions. A division has 20,000 people. A division has four brigades. A brigade has 5,000 people. A brigade has three battalions. A battalion has 1,500 to 2,000 people, depending on the deployment."

"The first battalion is composed of three companies, each company has 500 to 800 people. The first company is composed of four platoons, three of which are combat forces, and the other is responsible for logistics support and other tasks."

He simply copied the system from his previous life.

The unified number of people under each organization can solve problems such as redundant soldiers and difficulty in dispatch to a great extent.

In fact, the idea of ​​reorganizing into five armies coincides with the six military divisions established by Western Xia.

However, the military organization that Wei Yuan wanted to implement was more detailed.

Simply put, he wanted to conduct a pilot project in Yanbian, so that he could smoothly implement the organization of the five major battalions in the future, and then carry out a large-scale military reduction during the reform, directly leading the army of the Great Zhou into a new era.

When Wang Anshi and Zhao Xi heard about the novel military organization, they couldn't help but praise it.

"If this method can really be successfully implemented, the strength of each army in our Great Zhou will be clear at a glance, which will be more conducive to unified dispatch during combat, and we will no longer fall into the embarrassing situation of fighting on our own."

"Master Wang is right. The military reform in Yanbian must be carried out. If it succeeds, it can be implemented throughout the Great Zhou!"

Reform has never been about just changing the system or the organization.

Instead, it is to introduce new things on the basis of the original ones. This is called reform and restructuring.

At first glance, Wei Yuan's reform measures are just about restructuring the system, but if you think about it carefully, you will find that the many complicated organizations that existed in the original armies, which aggravated the serious situation of the problem of redundant soldiers, have all disappeared in the process of restructuring.

On January 20th of the seventh year of Jiayou, Zhao Xi, as regent, issued an edict to Yanbian, ordering military reform!

The person in charge is fully responsible for this military reform matter.

Moreover, according to Wei Yuan's opinion, the five major armies established in this military reform will no longer be named after any particular army, such as Dingbian Army, etc.

Instead, they are named with numbers to make it clearer and easier for the soldiers commanding the army to understand.

For example, the First Army is composed of the First Division, the Second Division, and the Third Division.

For example, the Second Army, which includes the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Divisions.

In this way, when dispatching troops for combat, commanders will be able to know exactly where each army and division is located, rather than defining them by complicated numbers.

Of course, this is only a title used in a unified combat situation.

For example, in normal times, if the commanders of various armies and divisions want to give the army they lead a name, they only need to go through the procedures and report it to the court.

However, when it comes to unified command, numbers are still used instead.

After the military reorganization, who will serve as the commander has become the top priority.

Wei Yuan discussed with Wang Anshi and decided to use the method of the Ministry of Personnel's examination to examine the martial arts, strategies, etc. of military commanders at all levels, and judge the comprehensive strength of the general from various angles. Although it could not be absolutely fair, it had to be relatively fair.

After all, Wei Yuan needs to place many people into the five major armies, so true fairness is unlikely to occur.

As the two men discussed, Wang Anshi was puzzled and said, "We can obviously wait a little longer, why doesn't General Wei want to wait? Now the emperor is sometimes awake and sometimes unconscious. When the emperor is truly awake, I am afraid that General Wei will be punished."

Wei Yuan said: "Xixia suddenly established six major military divisions, and Liao also successively sent troops to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."

"If our prince is in his twenties, we won't have anything to fear."

"The emperor is ill and the crown prince is young. If you were the monarch of Liao and Xia, would you give up this opportunity?"

Wang Anshi frowned and said, "Liao and Xia are not of one mind."

Wei Yuan said sternly, "Minister Wang, that was a thing of the past. As for now, Xixia has sold the Iron Harrier to Liao. Is there anything else that these two countries can't do?"

"The military reform in Yanbian is just to guard against Xixia. The real focus of our Great Zhou military deployment is Liao! The military reform in Yanbian is just to test the waters first."

(End of this chapter)