The prince is more stable

Chapter 1023 Martial Arts Hall Controversy
When the good news reached the capital, the whole country was shaken.

From the time Zhao Xiaoqian led his army into battle, the Song Dynasty had been reporting a constant stream of victories.

When Zhao Xiaoqian conquered Western Xia, he also captured the capital of Western Xia. Five thousand light cavalrymen roamed across Western Xia territory, leaving the land desolate for thousands of miles.

Later, Zhao Xiaoqian was stationed in the north and fought against the Liao Kingdom. He defeated the Liao army many times and annihilated more than 100,000 Liao soldiers. When Emperor Zhezong was alive, the news of victory in the north came one after another. The confidence of the Song Dynasty's emperor, ministers and people, which had been almost destroyed, was rebuilt during that period.

However, none of the many good news reports in the past were as shocking as Zhong Jianzhong's good news this time.

This time, it was the destruction of a nation.

To erase the traces of a nation's existence from the world, their ruler and all his officials were captured alive, their capital was breached, and their territory was occupied.

The Song army completely took control of the country and destroyed it.

This was unprecedented in the hundred years since the founding of the Song Dynasty. This great victory was like a stimulant, unexpectedly injected into the hearts of all the subjects.

The power of the Song Dynasty, having conquered a nation, greatly increased the perception of its strength among its subjects and foreign powers.

Now everyone knows that the Song Dynasty truly has the power to easily destroy a country that was once extremely arrogant and dared to repeatedly invade the Song Dynasty's borders. However, under the crushing force of the Song Dynasty's army, it has been reduced to ashes.

Its ruler was taken prisoner, its territory was completely occupied, and its subjects and property became spoils of war for the Song Dynasty.

After the initial shock, everyone in the hall turned their attention to Zhao Xiaoqian.

The expressions on everyone's faces had changed; their eyes were now filled with awe.

The victory in the war that destroyed the country was due to Zhong Jianzhong's efforts, but everyone knew that the Emperor's contribution was actually greater.

It was the emperor who initially proposed destroying the Western Xia. The imperial army was able to destroy the Western Xia because of firearms, and these firearms were all made by the emperor himself.

After Zhong Jianzhong went to war, the emperor did not interfere with his strategies and tactics in any way, and left everything to Zhong Jianzhong to do. However, everyone knew that this time the country was destroyed, which was equivalent to the emperor personally leading the expedition.

The outcome was already decided the moment the emperor conceived the idea of ​​destroying Western Xia.

The echoes of the victory report still reverberated in the Daqing Hall, but Zhao Xiaoqian's image was instantly elevated to an unparalleled stature.

He accomplished what no emperor of the Song Dynasty had ever done.

Therefore, no one dares to deny that this emperor is the most brilliant and capable ruler since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

With tangible achievements before his eyes, the significance of his conquest of the country continues to grow. Now, anyone who calls this emperor a tyrannical and perverse ruler would likely find that even he himself would find it hard to believe.

The hall was filled with a joyful and jubilant atmosphere. Amidst the congratulations from the civil and military officials, Zhao Xiaoqian was beaming with happiness and laughing heartily.

Riding on the momentum of our great victory in annihilating the enemy, some things can be pushed one step further!

Zhao Xiaoqian was well aware that with the destruction of the Western Xia, while his subjects were shocked and overjoyed, his personal prestige as emperor also reached its peak.

Things that were difficult to implement in the past can now be discussed. With the emperor's suddenly soaring personal prestige, they can be carried out without much resistance from the court officials.

So Zhao Xiaoqian suppressed his joy, stood up from the dragon throne, looked around at the assembled officials, and waited until their smug chatter subsided and the hall fell silent before he finally spoke.

"The victory in the war against Western Xia was entirely due to the dedication and hard work of the commander and his soldiers. They are the greatest contributors. I will reward them according to their merits once Zhong Jianzhong returns to the capital."

After a pause, Zhao Xiaoqian continued, "Furthermore, in addition to this great victory, I believe you gentlemen have also seen many shortcomings of our Great Song army. The biggest shortcoming is that our imperial guards lack capable generals."

"My order for Zhong Jianzhong to lead the army this time was actually out of necessity. As you all know, Zhong Jianzhong was originally the Commander of the Palace Guard. His duty was to protect the imperial city of Bianjing, not to lead the army to fight against foreign enemies."

"But at that time, with a major battle looming, I found that I had no capable generals at my side. I had no choice but to appoint Zhong Jianzhong to lead the army into battle. I have always remembered this matter, and I decided to change the situation at that time."

"The Song Dynasty will face many more wars in the future. In my lifetime, the world must be unified. The Mandate of Heaven belongs to the Song Dynasty. How dare I disobey it? Therefore, I must solve the problem of the court's lack of generals and talents."

Zhao Xiaoqian paused abruptly at this point, then glanced indifferently at Xu Jiang, the Privy Councilor, in the court.

Xu Jiang received a look from Zhao Xiaoqian and immediately understood that it was his turn to take action.

The Emperor had discussed this matter with him long ago, but they were waiting for the right opportunity. Today, the Northwest has reported a victory and the Western Xia has been destroyed. The prestige of the country and the Emperor's personal prestige have reached their peak. The time has come!
Xu Jiang then quickly stepped out of the court and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Xu Jiang, in my capacity as Privy Councilor, respectfully request that the court establish a military academy in Bianjing to cultivate the generals and commanders needed by the imperial army."

"Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, the imperial court has established the civil service examination to cultivate talents for the country. At the same time, the imperial court should also establish the military examination to recruit generals for the country. With both civil and military affairs being promoted, the balance between tension and relaxation will be achieved, and the country can prosper."

"Currently, literature flourishes while military affairs are neglected. The nation lacks generals and commanders, and the three armies are without a leader. As the saying goes, 'A lone yang cannot produce life, and a solitary yin cannot grow.' This is not the right path. The court is currently engaged in war. How can we abandon Your Majesty's ambition to unify the world because of a lack of generals and commanders?"

"Therefore, I believe that establishing a military academy is urgent and must be implemented immediately. I urge Your Majesty to accept my advice."

As soon as Xu Jiang uttered these words, the court officials and civil and military officials were in an uproar. Everyone looked at Xu Jiang's retreating figure with complicated expressions, and whispers once again filled the hall.

Zhao Xiaoqian's lips curled slightly. Very good, Xu Jiang is a sensible person. I knew it, he can't live to see the end of his life.

Inside the hall, Cai Jing kept a close eye on the Emperor's expression.

He's a pro at sucking up to powerful figures.

Seeing the Emperor's pleased and pleased expression after Xu Jiang finished speaking, Cai Jing immediately understood that this was a pre-arranged charade between the Emperor and Xu Jiang.

Whether the military academy should be opened or not, and whether it could be opened, was not something Cai Jing actually cared about.

In the imperial court, right and wrong are often blurred. Eloquent people can turn wrong into right and black into white. If we only talk about reason, we could never reach a conclusion no matter how long we argued.

Cai Jing's sense of right and wrong was already very vague. His principles for being a person and an official were simply to look at the emperor's mood. What the emperor approved of was what he would agree to and defend with his life.

Having read the Emperor's expression, Cai Jing immediately stepped forward and spoke with a stern face.

"Your Majesty, I fully agree with what Minister Xu said. I request Your Majesty to accept this advice and establish a military academy in Bianjing to cultivate generals and commanders for the nation in preparation for war."

When the Privy Councilor spoke, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery echoed him. Seeing the Emperor's warm and pleased smile, the officials immediately sensed something was amiss.

Was this all planned in advance? They were just waiting for this opportunity, weren't they?
You two are performing so passionately, what are we supposed to do?
The whispers inside the hall had ceased, and in the ensuing silence, all eyes were on Zhang Dun.

He was the prime minister of the Song Dynasty and a bellwether for the court; Zhang Dun's attitude was very important.

Zhang Dun felt countless gazes fixed on him from behind, and suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

Without anyone noticing, Zhang Dun found himself being lifted high up, finding himself in a dilemma.

To be honest, Zhang Dun did not agree with the government's plan to establish a military academy.

Zhang Dun agreed with the court's vigorous implementation of the new policies, and he largely agreed with the terms of the new policies.

However, Zhang Dun's thinking was still rather conservative. Deep down, he still adhered to the old concept of valuing civil officials over military ones. In his view, it was the right way for the court to value civil officials over military ones, and that military officers and soldiers were the source of national disaster and should not be valued too much.

All the warriors in the world are merely tools in the hands of civil officials; it is the civil officials who are the pillars of governing the world.

The establishment of military academies may seem like merely a means to train generals for the country, but its actual impact is far-reaching.

In the future, military officers who emerge from the military academy will inevitably be valued by the emperor, and the weight of civil and military officials in the court will also change. This is something that a prime minister who values ​​civil affairs over military affairs would absolutely not want to see.

Military officers and soldiers are merely swords in the hands of the ruler and his subjects. Since when have these swords dared to presume to enter the inner chambers of the court?

After pondering for a while, Zhang Dun composed himself and inadvertently caught a glimpse of Zhao Xiaoqian's expression. Zhang Dun sighed inwardly.

This time, he's going to go against the government again.

But he had no choice. As the prime minister of the country, Zhang Dun could not abandon his principles in order to please the emperor.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhang Dun stepped forward and slowly said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the proposal to establish a military academy is... quite inappropriate. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider."

These words caused another uproar in the hall. The ministers looked at each other with different expressions, their eyes constantly shifting between the Emperor and Zhang Dun.

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at Zhang Dun, his expression neither pleased nor angry, and said calmly, "What insightful opinion does Mr. Zihou have?"

Zhang Dun paused for a moment, his expression somewhat helpless, but he had to say: "The Military Academy is indeed meant to train generals for the country, but if it trains too many military officers, it may become a source of disaster for the country."

"As we all know, the Tang Dynasty fell because it granted military generals too much power, which led to the fragmentation of the country by regional warlords. If our Great Song Dynasty were to open a military academy today, I fear that the same mistake that led to the downfall of the Tang Dynasty would be repeated, plunging the Great Song Dynasty into eternal damnation."

After Zhang Dun finished speaking, he silently returned to the court, while the court officials in the hall nodded in agreement, clearly indicating that Zhang Dun had said what they wanted to say but dared not.

Zhao Xiaoqian sighed; the reactions of the officials and Zhang Dun were exactly what he had expected.

Even if one uses the prestige of a great victory in destroying a country to promote something, it will not be as smooth as expected.

Ultimately, the civil officials were unwilling to change the prevailing attitude of valuing civil over military affairs. Establishing a military academy would undoubtedly shake the status of scholars, and they were unlikely to agree to it readily.

Zhao Xiaoqian surveyed his ministers and slowly said, "According to Mr. Zihou's words, when our Great Song Dynasty goes to war again in the future, who can lead the troops? Who can be the commander? Do we really expect to rely on you scholars who have never been on the battlefield?"

(End of this chapter)