Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 480: Generals’ Opposition

"none of your business!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, looked at the officials who had just laughed and lowered their heads, and said coldly: "This time, the military examination was selected from all over the country. Those who remain are all elites, but someone fell off his horse while riding and shooting arrows. Not only do you not realize the seriousness of the problem, but you are also laughing about it?

If the Liao Kingdom and Xixia attack us one day, will you rely on them to resist or on you? Can you resist?"

Faced with Zhao Xing's scolding, the official who had just laughed didn't dare to breathe.

"Humph!"

Zhao Xing snorted coldly and said, "Those who stand out in the military examination will be directly awarded military posts and serve as officers in the army. How can they serve as officers if they are so incompetent? No wonder the imperial army has low combat effectiveness. With officers like this, can we expect them to lead elite troops?"

"Lord Zeng!"

"Chen is here!"

"Set up a military academy and select military generals from the court to serve as teachers. The talents selected in this military examination will only be given honorary positions and all will enter the military academy to receive special training. Only those who pass the examination will be given real positions. If anyone fails to pass the examination for five years, his honorary position will be removed and he will never be employed again. In the future, the children of nobles who want to enter the army and hold real positions after being conferred titles will also be treated the same way!" Zhao Xing said calmly.

Zhao Xing only told a few people about the establishment of the martial arts hall.

Originally, Zhao Xing wanted to wait until the martial arts examination was over before finding an excuse to announce it. This was a good opportunity, so he took advantage of his anger and announced it.

The civil servants present did not care about this matter. In addition, Zhao Xing had just been angry, so they did not dare to offend him at this time.

Moreover, Zhao Xing's actions had an impact on the military generals and lords.

The sons of civil officials would not hold military posts despite being granted titles, so the impact on them would be minimal.

But the situation was different for the military generals from the three yamen present.

"May I ask your Majesty, what are the criteria for judging whether one is qualified or not? Who is in charge of the Military Academy?" A military general stood up and saluted.

This matter also concerns their offspring.

Given their status, the eldest son will definitely be able to join the army, and the rest of the descendants will also have a chance through the use of patronage, it’s just a matter of how high the official position will be.

But the establishment of a military academy is different. Not to mention other heirs, even the eldest son may not be able to join the army.

What's more, Zhao Xing's rule was that those who failed to meet the requirements after five years would be directly dismissed from their nominal posts and never employed again, but it did not include the possibility of being granted a title through inheritance.

It’s fine for those who have titles, but for those who don’t have titles, if their descendants are stripped of their titles after their titles are passed down, wouldn’t they be reduced from officials to commoners?

"I will personally serve as the chief academic officer of the Military Academy. As for the judging criteria, the best candidates will naturally be selected!" Zhao Xing said calmly.

"Your Majesty, this is inappropriate! If this continues, the army will be short of fresh blood for a short period of time."

"Your Majesty, you can also get good training by joining the army. Although the Military Academy will select military generals from the court to teach, it is still a bit like talking about war on paper."

All the generals from the three yamen present stood up to object at once.

If Zhao Xing appointed a military general to be in charge, they could barely accept it.

Whether Zhao Xing was personally responsible or handed it over to civil officials, these military generals found it difficult to accept.

The Song Dynasty originally valued civil officials over military officials. Once civil officials were in charge, these military generals would be completely controlled by them.

It would be even more difficult for them to accept that Zhao Xing was in charge. After all, it was a civil servant in charge and they could still make arrangements.

"I'm not discussing this with you again."

Zhao Xing glanced at a few people and said calmly: "But what you said makes sense. How about this, after being awarded military honors, those who do not want to enter the Military Academy after being conferred titles can still be granted real positions, but they must go to the border to guard for five years. During this period, they are not allowed to return to the capital even if they have made contributions!"

Without giving them a chance to speak, he said, "We'll discuss the details later. Let's watch the competition first."

After hearing this, the generals did not say anything else. Firstly, Zhao Xing said that they could discuss it later, and secondly, they were few in number now.

If they continued to make trouble, even if Zhao Xing cancelled it, they would still anger Zhao Xing, and the loss would outweigh the gain.

Once the news spreads, the other generals will not agree.

Several more groups followed, and they were not much different from the first group. Most of them were cautious when riding, and many missed their targets and fell off their horses when shooting arrows. Six hundred people was a lot, but divided into thirty-one groups, the progress was still very fast.

When it came to the sixteenth batch, Cao An said, "Your Majesty, Zuo Qiang is in this batch."

"Which one is Zuo Qiang?" Zhao Xing asked with interest.

"Third one from the left!"

Zhao Xing looked in the direction Cao An pointed and saw that Zuo Qiang was not good-looking and not very strong.

On the contrary, it seems a bit thin compared to others.

However, he also knew that one cannot judge a book by its cover. Since Cao An praised Zuo Qiang highly, he must have some ability.

The competition began soon, and Zhao Xing's eyes were always on Zuo Qiang.

When Zuo Qiang was riding a horse, he didn't feel nervous, but rather a little stiff. When he was shooting arrows, although he didn't miss the target, he shot right on the edge. His performance was average.

However, Cao An also said that Zuo Qiang’s riding skills are average, so we have to wait and see in the upcoming martial arts competition.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, the horse riding and archery competitions were all over. Zhao Xing saw a few people who performed well, but did not see anyone who impressed him, and was a little disappointed.

At noon, Zhao Xing had lunch in the military camp and did not return to the palace.

After having dinner and resting for a while, Zhao Xing came to the training ground again when the martial arts competition began.

At this time, the training ground had been divided into ten areas, and the martial arts competitions were being conducted simultaneously in the ten areas.

When an area ends, a new group will enter and continue the competition.

Compared to the morning, the martial arts competition in the afternoon was much more exciting.

Zhao Xing has been practicing martial arts since he was a child, so he has good eyesight.

Although most of these people's martial arts skills are average, they are still pretty good compared to those in the army.

Occasionally, we see a few people who perform outstandingly and quickly win.

"Your Majesty, Zuo Qiang is on the field. His opponent was specially arranged by me and he has good martial arts skills." Cao An said.

He saw that Zhao Xing was very interested in Zuo Qiang and made special arrangements.

Zhao Xing nodded, his eyes becoming more serious.

Not long after, Zhao Xing looked at Cao An and said with a smile: "Uncle's judgment of people is still a little lacking."

Cao An laughed and said, "At least Zuo Qiangchen was not wrong."

He had just told Zhao Xing that the opponent arranged for Zuo Qiang was very skilled in martial arts. As a result, after the two fought for more than ten rounds, Zuo Qiang won.

"Too."

Zhao Xing smiled and nodded, saying, "Let's rearrange the loser. Zuo Qiang is really good. He can last more than ten rounds, which is already very good. It would be a pity to eliminate him."

Although the fight between the two was brief, Zhao Xing could see that Zuo Qiang's martial arts skills were very strong and should not be much worse than Gu Tingye's.

I haven't compared them specifically, so it's hard to judge.

"Yes!"

Cao An responded, called a soldier over, and whispered a few instructions to him.

Martial arts competitions are rather time-consuming. Some opponents with similar martial arts skills will fight for a long time, and the winner will only be determined when both of their physical strength are almost exhausted.

It was almost evening and only half of the work had been done, so the rest would have to be continued tomorrow.

The next day, Zhao Xing continued to come to watch the military examination, but he did not go to watch the martial arts competition, but went to the strategy section.

(End of this chapter)