Song Yi

Chapter 420 Listening to the Rain in the Heart of the Lake
Han Zhen chuckled lightly and said, "From the general's point of view, what should we do?"

"Disarm all these Xiang troops and return them to the fields!"

"What?" All the chief executives exclaimed.Privy envoy Han Zhen even sarcastically said, "If that's the case, how dare I ask General Du, who will be responsible for the original duties of the Xiang army? Forbidden army?"

"I haven't thought about this issue carefully, but it might be a good idea to spend money to hire civilian husbands!" Du Wenhao said casually.

"Hire a man?"

"Yes!" After saying this, Du Wenhao felt that this was indeed a good idea.While thinking about it, he said: "There are 22 Xiang troops in the whole country. Disarm all these people and return them to the fields..., ah no, let them turn into civilians and reclaim wasteland collectively. I don't know if there are so many wastelands in the whole country..."

Cai Que said: "This is wasteland. I'm afraid there will be no rich lands near the capital and the land of fish and rice in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. There are still some in the southwest and northwest. They are all smoky and barbaric places. Family members, go to these smoky and barbarian lands to reclaim wasteland, I'm afraid they won't agree."

"Well, some incentives can be adopted. In addition, some of them can be diverted to handicraft workshops, where there is a shortage of a large amount of labor required for industrial development. Kill three birds with one stone! - It can not only reduce redundant soldiers, but also cultivate wasteland and grow food. Can increase the industrial workforce. How?"

Zhang Dun said: "Of course it's a good idea. Everyone wants to reduce redundant troops. Everyone knows that the redundant troops are mainly in the Xiang army. Some are convicts who were exiled into the army. They were responsible for most of the military labor tasks in the army. If they were all cut off at once, according to General Cai’s opinion, the labor labor should be solved by hiring civilian laborers. What I want to know is , where can I find so many civilian husbands?"

Huang Lu also said: "Yes, if all the local Xiang troops are disbanded and returned to the fields, the local servants will inevitably be passed on to the people. One of the purposes of Taizu's establishment of the Xiang army was to reduce the burden on the people. If there is a large increase, will such a change benefit the people or harm the people?"

These literati were also very sharp-tongued. Du Wenhao didn't know how to fight back for a while. He didn't want to quarrel, because he didn't think about how to solve the contradictions. An effective solution to the chronic disease of redundant troops.

Seeing that Du Wenhao was tongue-tied, Wang Gui naturally didn't want to look at his prospective son-in-law in embarrassment. He stroked his snow-white beard and said, "I think that what General Du pointed out is probably a problem. The late Emperor has already seen the redundancy of the Xiang army. It is clear that during the reign of the first emperor, the Xiang army was also reduced in large numbers. The first emperor said repeatedly that the Xiang army, which cost a huge amount of money to nourish the treasury, is actually the source of redundant troops. It must be rectified and reduced. If the new emperor succeeds now, it will increase There are tens of thousands of troops in the Xiang army, which is a violation of the late emperor's last wish. Therefore, I believe that this move needs to be cautious."

Wang Gui brought up the former emperor's actions to make a point, so naturally no one dared to object indiscriminately. Zhang Dun's kung fu was very good when the wind fell, and the empress dowager listened to the government behind the curtain. The relationship with Wang Gui must be improved.Therefore, Zhang Dun immediately changed his tone and said with a smile: "Yes, what the Prime Minister said is very true. This matter still needs to be discussed in the long run. Isn't it just a lack of labor force? It's easy to handle. We have confirmed that the Shaanxi Sixth Route Garrison will take turns to fight against each other. The enemy, that is to say, the Shaanxi Sixth Route Xiang Army will also be sent up, and now the Huanqing Economic and Strategy Division lacks the Xiang Army, so it can be recruited from other places in the Shaanxi Sixth Route."

Lin Xi, the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, also followed these words: "Exactly, I also think that General Du's words are reasonable. Since the Xiang army is the source of redundant troops, it needs to be especially cautious in expanding the army. It cannot be easily made worse. Anyway, most of the Xiang troops in other places on the Sixth Road in Shaanxi are also doing some work such as Huiyi and local servants. It should not be a big problem if there are fewer people and the time is slow. Huanqing, like the Imperial Army, can take turns to serve in Huanqing, and the local government will also care about the overall situation of the imperial court and give them strong support."

Cai Que also nodded and said: "Yes, it is true that we should be more cautious. The suggestion made by Deputy Envoy Lin is actually very feasible. First, we will draw Xiang troops from other places in Shaanxi Sixth Road to enrich the front line of Huanqing. If there are still problems, we can discuss it later. .”

This result made Wang Gui very satisfied, but what he cared about was whether Du Wenhao was satisfied, and asked, "General Du, what do you think?"

What else can Du Wenhao say, he hasn't figured out how to rectify the redundant troops, and now it's a lucky result if they don't continue to deteriorate, he hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "The suggestions from the adults are very good, let's draw troops from other places to enrich the front line , That’s a good idea. As for the downsizing and rectification of the Xiang Army, we’ll talk about it later, there’s no rush for any reform.”

Du Wenhao mentioned the reform, which suits the appetite of Cai Que and other reformists, and they all smiled.

That's the end of the topic, and the last topic is simple, to inform the ally Daliao Kingdom of the succession of the new emperor, and to send some precious relics of Song Shenzong to Daliao as a commemoration.Zai Zhi must discuss and determine the envoys who will handle this matter.This was not a big controversy, and the candidate was quickly determined.

At the end of the meeting, it was still early, and Du Wenhao decided to go to the Empress Dowager Gao Taotao first, to change the fact that the civil servant served as the commander-in-chief of the former enemy, otherwise, the consequences of sending troops this time may not be as expected.

When Du Wenhao came to Funing Palace, the servant told that the Empress Dowager was in the flower garden of the Royal Flower Garden, and the Empress Dowager had already explained that Du Wenhao could be brought in directly when Du Wenhao came to visit, so the servant led Du Wenhao to the flower garden From a distance, Gao Taotao was surrounded by a group of people, standing on a small hill in the garden and pointing, some of them were wearing official robes.

Du Wenhao climbed up the small hill from behind, and then he saw clearly the people wearing official robes on the hill. One of the old men turned out to be the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and the rest were officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry.He walked behind her, cupped his hands and said, "The Empress Dowager!"

When Gao Taotao heard his voice, he turned around in surprise: "You are here! Is the meeting over?"

"It's over, Weichen is preparing to report some of the meeting to the Empress Dowager."

"Okay, but you can help the Ai family to see first, how about hearing that Yuxuanxiu is here?" Gao Taotao stretched out his finger and swipe forward.

Du Wenhao didn't pay attention to the direction of her hand gesture, thought it was just under her feet, so she looked around. This is a hill, the hill is full of various flowers and plants, and a few pine trees are scattered loosely on the hillside.In front is a curved pond, the green water is quiet and quiet.

There is an artificial river in the imperial garden, which draws water in from the moat outside the city, and flows out of the imperial city after flowing around the back garden.Therefore, the water in this pond is running water and the water quality is quiet.A nine-curve corridor meanders on the lake.On the opposite side are pavilions and pavilions shaded by emerald green, but they are all at the foot, and the glazed tiles on the roof can be seen.

Behind the hill is a small nunnery. This is the place where the deceased Empress Dowager Cao ate fast and recited Buddha's name. There were only two female nuns in the nunnery. Gao Taotao stayed behind and gave some gold to reshape the golden body.

Du Wenhao said: "This is the best way to listen to Yuxuan. The lotus leaf pond below, with green mountains and green waters, is quiet and elegant. You don't have to worry about the little mosquitoes by the pond getting around. It's very good!"

Gao Tao rolled his eyes at him: "I didn't say here, I meant the area in front!"

Du Wenhao was taken aback: "This area in front?"

"Yeah, let's take a look at the blueprint first. This is the sketch that Aijia asked the Ministry of Industry to make overnight. What do you think?"

Du Wenhao said with a smile: "The empress dowager is really swift and resolute in her work. What was decided last night, today I took out the blueprint and started construction immediately."

Gao Taotao said with a smile: "Aijia is also impatient, and he can't see things that are slow. You should read the drawings first!"

"Okay!" Du Wenhao took a look and saw several pictures, all of which were renderings. The first one was a panoramic picture, and the latter ones were partial architectural renderings.

Du Wenhao was surprised when he saw the area occupied by this picture.The Imperial Palace of the Northern Song Dynasty was not very big, and the Imperial Garden was only as big as two or three football fields.Among them, the Cao family, the Taizu, the Empress Dowager, accounted for half of the entire Royal Flower Garden.All are used for planting flowers, except for the temple and a few gazebos, the whole flower garden is full of flowers.

Judging from the drawings, the area of ​​the flower garden has expanded beyond the palace, including a large area west of the palace.The area of ​​the palace has nearly doubled compared to the original one!
In the renderings, a large area is still empty, only in the center is a lake, the lake is connected to the lotus pond of the current imperial garden, and in the middle of the island in the center of the lake is a small hill, which is rectangular and bigger than a football field.

Turning over the intuitive renderings of the buildings in the center of the lake, you can see square white jade carvings.A three-story building, the top floor is open, covered with bucket tiles and loach ridges on the top, surrounded by symmetrical sixteen auspicious cloud panfeng railings, and waist-length fences on all sides, obviously for playing the piano, singing, dancing and sword dancing, and watching scenic.The second and first floors are surrounded by exquisitely carved doors and windows. Each door is so large that it can be pushed open.There are various supporting rooms with complete functions.

In and around the hills, plantains of different sizes are planted in an orderly manner.On the plantains, there are some green bamboos sandwiched, and water drops fall. One end of the green bamboo is a waterwheel with a simple shape.It is erected on the small river that flows into the pond, and the water is injected into the green bamboo, around the hill, and dripped on the plantain from the small hole made in the green bamboo, so that even if there is no rain, the sound of rain can be heard, and at the same time, the flowers and plants in the mountain can be watered. .

Du Wenhao said: "Empress Dowager, there is no bridge to the small attic on the island in the middle of the lake, is it difficult to cross by boat?"

Gao Taotao pursed his lips, nodded, and gave him a wink. The two of them walked aside, away from the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, and then lowered their voices: "That's right, we will be together in the middle of the lake." The island listens to the rain, surrounded by water and the sound of rain, so carefree and carefree."

"Yeah, after hearing what you said, I feel a sense of distant state of mind. It's so well-conceived and exquisite!"

Gao Taotao smiled proudly: "As long as you like it!"

(End of this chapter)