Northern Song Dynasty: Starting from the son of Song Renzong

Chapter 178 Chatting with Wang Anshi

In the thatched house.

Then...

Zhao Xin also dismissed the rest of the people.

Then he changed into a comfortable sitting position and said to Wang Anshi: "I don't know why, but I am inexplicably full of expectations for you. Wang Anshi, you should know about the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms?"

Wang Anshi looked at Zhao Xin, nodded, and said, "I know a little."

Then Zhao Xin said: "Then you should know how brutal the soldiers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms were."

Wang Anshi nodded again.

Zhao Xin said, "I want to find a way to completely reverse this situation. My ancestors, Taizu and Taizong, chose to give money to the soldiers of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms so that they would no longer be a scourge. They let them degenerate and give up their military power. This decision has led to the generals and soldiers of the Song Dynasty all being concerned about money, meritorious service in battle, and promotion."

"Of course, I'm not saying that it's wrong to pursue money and promotions. But... the soldiers of the Song Dynasty have become obsessed with money and promotions to a pathological degree."

"Ren Fu, Ge Huaimin, including the recent battle of Beizhou City, we were defeated first and then won. Why?"

"It is because some generals place too much emphasis on money and promotions, to the point of playing with the lives of all the soldiers."

"You said, should I just watch them go on to die?"

"Or should we set some restrictions on them in advance?"

"I have a Li Yuan army under my command. I seem to be able to foresee that in the near future, they will count their military merits by cutting off and snatching the heads of their enemies, and then they will win first and then lose, and the whole army will be annihilated. Do you have any way to balance their utilitarianism without sacrificing their combat effectiveness?"

Zhao Xin started with a standard policy question.

only……

When it comes to exams, everyone would be forced to speak in flowery four-word sentences, but Zhao Xin now speaks in plain language.

Wang Anshi is only twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old this year, and his working experience is, at most, six years.

He started out as the judge of Huainan Jiedushi, a position he held for four years, and then came here to raise horses.

Moreover, the horse breeding period, at most, should be less than two years.

Zhao Xin also wondered, would such a question be a bit too difficult for the other party?

Wang Anshi thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness Prince Yu, do you want to fight against the trend that has been formed in the world for more than a hundred years?"

Zhao Xin nodded: "About the same."

Wang Anshi said, "That's difficult."

Zhao Xin also said: "So, we have to wait until the country is destroyed before we can do this?"

But in fact, the Ming Dynasty probably did not solve this problem.

Both use culture to control force.

Even the Ming Dynasty and the Song Dynasty were not much better.

After the Battle of Tumu, civil officials immediately rose to power. Moreover, the fact that the Battle of Tumu was fought so badly was no different from the battle in the northwest of the Song Dynasty. It also showed that the military had become quite neglected.

The people behind them also went on the defensive and ignored those outside the Great Wall.

In the later period, it was able to conquer Korea. The Ming Dynasty was indeed stronger than the Southern Song Dynasty.

However, under the leadership of Yue Fei and others, the Southern Song Dynasty actually recovered some lost territories.

He didn't have a deep understanding of the later Qing Dynasty, but the Qing Dynasty had a natural advantage in racial confrontation that it could take advantage of, and he couldn't use the Qing Dynasty's methods.

Isn’t there someone who can’t even call himself a slave? If someone says you are a slave, you dare to say you are a slave.

Wang Anshi said, "This trend cannot be changed, but His Royal Highness Prince Yu can select generals. As long as the generals are well selected, there is no need to worry about Ren Fu or Ge Huaimin appearing again, and there is also the Battle of Beizhou City. Speaking of which... the Battle of Beizhou City is..."

Then Zhao Xin told him about the stupid things that happened when one climbed up the city wall and then cut the ropes of those who wanted to climb up the city wall behind him.

After hearing this, Wang Anshi also took a deep breath.

Then he said, "The discipline of our Song Dynasty's imperial guards is indeed very poor, but I think the discipline of your Liyuan Army, Your Highness Prince Yu, is quite good, isn't it?"

Zhao Xin said, "Okay, it's only temporary. When huge benefits appear in front of us, even if they are father and son, what does it matter? So... I hope you can formulate a feasible reward and punishment system to reverse this situation. It will not let the soldiers feel that they are at a disadvantage, but it can also reward and punish those who have made contributions. At the same time, it can also make them care less about military merit."

Wang Anshi looked up at Zhao Xin, as if to say, Your Highness Prince Yu, you have so many requests.

How can you want both of these?

Zhao Xin then said, "Next, I plan to carry out a second round of reforms on the Li Yuan Army. If the reforms are not successful, I will not dare to lead them out to fight again."

Wang Anshi said, "Your Highness, Prince of Yu, please give me some time to think about it carefully."

The imperial examination will take at least one day.

What we are talking about here is of course the palace examination. Other examinations usually last three days.

Zhao Xin said, "Then take your time to think about it. I'm not in a hurry."

Wang Anshi really ignored Zhao Xin afterwards.

Just leave Zhao Xin alone in this shabby thatched hut.

At last……

It was late at night, and by the next day, Wang Anshi had the answer.

Wang Anshi said, "Your Highness Prince of Yu, I have the answer!"

Zhao Xin rubbed his eyes and said, "Speak."

Wang Anshi said: "The rewards and punishments for military merits in our Song Dynasty are already very detailed."

"But this system cannot prevent similar incidents from happening. Therefore, the current military merit reward and punishment system has no reference value at all."

"If we want to prevent soldiers from competing too much for military merit, we can only give them high rewards in normal times."

Zhao Xin then asked, "You mean to pay Zhan a high salary?"

Wang Anshi said, "This is necessary. Your Highness Prince Yu has not heard of the fact that Mengchangjun in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period kept retainers. When these retainers were in need, they would naturally help him."

Zhao Xin said, "In fact, the treatment I give is not low. It can definitely be considered high. Otherwise... why do you think they have the current military discipline? It's just... before killing the enemy, what benefits do they expect to gain? How can they not fear life and death during the killing? How can they highlight fairness after killing the enemy? There is a problem in this link."

Wang Anshi said, "Before His Royal Highness Prince Yu goes on an expedition, he must select the right generals. Why do some generals seem greedy while others are not? Only the ruler can judge these things."

In fact...

Wang Anshi felt that Li Yuan’s army was already very good.

He had never seen such an army before.

Maybe His Royal Highness Prince Yu’s requirements are too high.

Wang Anshi went on to say, "Before killing the enemy, you can give them a task. If they don't complete the task, they won't be rewarded. During the killing, how to motivate them to not fear life and death? This requires specific problems and specific analysis. For example, take the merit of being the first to ascend the mountain. Generally, no one is willing to be the first to ascend the mountain. The first to ascend the mountain is often a confidant, or at least someone who has a very close relationship with the lord. Of course, there will also be some people who suddenly appear. It is because of this relationship that they will get the heavy reward later. Of course, during this period, there may also be some people who are willing to risk their lives."

"What do they want?"

“It’s all about money.”

"Then Your Highness Prince Yu, just give him the money."

"Before each expedition, I would agree with the soldiers on what tasks they would complete and reward them accordingly. If they were in a dangerous place, I would reward them more, and if they were in a safe place, I would reward them less."

"The soldiers naturally know where they are."

"Just assign tasks to them one by one, wouldn't it be better?"

Zhao Xin said, "Then no one is willing to take on dangerous missions? Besides, they have been paid well so why should they continue to work so hard?"

Wang Anshi said, "If we only care about benefits, we can't let them work completely for His Royal Highness Prince Yu."

"So...Your Highness Prince Yu can also talk to them."

"Your Highness Prince Yu, have you ever heard that all the soldiers under the generals who love their soldiers are willing to die? When the danger comes, the benefits are secondary. Sometimes, even if they know that it will not benefit them at all, they will still do it. So, why do many generals have to visit the families of soldiers and personally prepare medicine?"

"You serve his old man well and take good care of him. If he doesn't use his life at the critical moment, his old man will beat him with a stick."

"Your Highness Prince Yu, you should learn to use money and affection together. When to use money, when to use affection, as long as you use it properly, you don't have to worry about the soldiers not caring about their lives."

Yes!

Zhao Xin suddenly realized that the Song Dynasty's military reward and punishment system didn't seem to mention this. It was all about coldly calculating how much money was paid for a person's head.

and……

It is also very important to cultivate confidants appropriately.

Why do I have to keep getting stuck in a dead end? Why can't I just quit? Suddenly, the world will become wider.

All we can say is that Emperor Taizong Wen was also a very humane person.

This can be seen from the fact that historical books record that he cried the most times.

But what if he doesn't cry?
Zhao Xin felt that he should also change his bad habit of not liking socializing.

Zhao Xin then said, "I've learned your lesson! Speaking of which... I have another project. You're raising horses here, but there's no future for you. It's better to just buy some. These are just for use. The best military horses have to come from the northwest. Are you willing to leave?"

Wang Anshi was a stubborn person, and what's more, there was no result yet.

Then he said, "I want to stay for another three to five years."

Seeing his resolute look, Zhao Xin said, "It's up to you. Can't you take a shower? You'll get sick if you do this!"

Wang Anshi looked at his own slovenly appearance and said, "I am used to it. And even if I wash it, it is still dirty, isn't it?"

Zhao Xin was speechless.

Forget it, he decided to go back and then go to Nanyang to see Teng Zongliang.

……

Well……

In fact, Zhao Xin wanted to bring Chen's daughter along as well.

But it seems that you don't intend to marry her, so it doesn't seem right to take her out.

After all, this is ancient times, not later times.

When the head of the Chen family learned about this, he immediately said that it was okay for her to be a concubine!
Zhao Xin also silently thought to himself, "I must cultivate my own confidants."

But this should be considered as accepting a bribe, right?
(End of this chapter)