I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 25: The Song Dynasty's military preparations have become so corrupted
Zhao Zi said that when he first heard Liang Feng call her "Xiao Yu", he didn't react immediately.

But when he subconsciously turned his head and saw the little girl's appearance and temperament clearly, he quickly felt dazed.

She is younger than Murong Yan, but you can tell at a glance that she has practiced martial arts and has a heroic air.

Coupled with the fact that he can appear in public and help run errands at such a young age, all signs point to one possibility.

Liang Hongyu?
Zhao Zicheng thought to himself: Although Liang Hongyu was a "Jingkou camp prostitute" when she met Han Shizhong in history, she was not so humble at the beginning.

Zhao Zicheng was well-versed in history and knew that Liang Hongyu was originally from a military family. However, both her grandfather and father were later dispatched by the imperial court to fight Fang La, where they were defeated in battle and executed. Their entire family property was confiscated, and Liang Hongyu was reduced to a prostitute in the camp.

It is still more than a year before Fang La's rebellion, so the Liang family has certainly not declined yet.

Although the history books do not record where the Liang family served as a general or where they were stationed before their decline, it is highly likely that their stationing place and the place where their property was confiscated are the same. This girl is most likely Liang Hongyu.

Zhao Zi said that of course he had no thoughts about the girl in front of him in terms of sex.

Firstly, the other party was still young and her looks were not noticeable at all, but Zhao Zi said that he had become accustomed to seeing beautiful women in the world these days.

Secondly, Zhao Zicheng was a man who recognized and respected heroes. A gentleman would not take away what others loved. Han Shizhong was one of the rare heroes at the turn of the Song Dynasty.

You don't lack women, so why bother getting involved in this mess?

The Murong sisters' maternal genes are extremely dominant in terms of appearance. The generations before Duan Yuyan were all molded after the "Fairy Sister," which shows how powerful this gene is.

Even if the Murong sisters of this generation had joined the Murong clan's bloodline, their appearance would only have been slightly improved. After these days of contact, Zhao Zicheng had already seen that it was difficult for women in the world today to be more beautiful than the Murong sisters.

As for ordinary beauties, he would be too lazy to look back at them.

However, Liang Hongyu was a heroine and a heroine after all. Even if Zhao Zicheng had no lustful intentions, he still wanted to help her.

As for the Liang family's grandfather and father generations, Zhao Zi said that he felt more disappointed in them.

The history books don't record how the Liang family's ancestors and father were punished for their unsuccessful battles. However, from today's observations, the Liang family was indeed too lax in leading the troops.

When it comes to suppressing river bandits and pirates, their reaction is so slow, almost as late as the police in Hong Kong movies.

Moreover, the military discipline and morale were also poor. When they met Zhao Zicheng, they flattered him in various ways, fearing that he would report the truth and they would be punished.

It is necessary to take the opportunity to give the other party a warning.

……

Zhao Zicheng sorted out his thoughts and knew what he had to do. While the military doctor was treating Murong Yan and other injured soldiers, he chatted with Liang Xin and Liang Feng, father and son.

First, he calmly asked questions to confirm that this "Xiao Yu" was Liang Hongyu.

Then he changed the subject and took the opportunity to talk about the naval armaments in Jiangnan.

Zhao Zicheng spoke frankly, "Liang Dusi, forgive my frankness, but the Yang and Zhen patrols are really too lax in their military preparations.

If it were to be known that a group of illegal salt dealers could easily gather hundreds of people and commit crimes at important water transport hubs such as Guazhou Ferry and Jinshan Temple, the imperial court would certainly be furious.

And I think the problem of the soldiers you brought today with unpaid wages must be very serious. A battalion of 500 people, can there actually be 200 people?"

Liang Xin and Liang Feng, father and son, were embarrassed by the revelation. They had originally intended to offer Zhao Zicheng some personal favors and courtesies in exchange for him not making a big deal out of it.

They didn't expect that Zhao Zicheng's attitude, despite having treated them to a meal, helped them get medical advice, and said all the nice things, was still as businesslike as ever. They had no idea that Zhao Zicheng was just disappointed with their granddaughter because he knew her identity.

Liang Xin is old and difficult to persuade, so his son Liang Feng makes excuses.

Liang Feng tactfully complained, "Mr. Zhao, you don't know... The three redundancies in our dynasty have been going on for a long time. Military pay and fodder have been reduced again and again, and are often in arrears.

Now, if we rely on the food and wages distributed by the court according to the law to support all the soldiers in the world, it is simply impossible. Excuse me for being blunt, but right now, everyone is collecting empty salaries. Even the imperial guards in Bianliang, can they mobilize enough people?

A battalion of 500 infantrymen was considered well-disciplined if it could muster 200 men. A battalion of 400 cavalrymen was considered well-disciplined, and it was said that some imperial guard battalions actually had only a few dozen cavalrymen. This was common knowledge.

Although we have some vacancies here, we are able to rely on the wealth of Yang and Zhen, and can even draw a small amount from the grain transport to support the troops. We treat Mr. Zhao as one of our own, so we are telling you this honestly."

In order to gain the other party's trust and appear sincere, Liang Feng said some things that he shouldn't have said.

It is definitely impossible for the Yang and Zhen armies to legally use money from the grain transport to subsidize their military maintenance.

So the subsidies he mentioned probably just mean that he is relying on his river patrol to find opportunities to make things difficult for those merchants who are not completely legal, and then take the opportunity to reap some benefits after finding fault.

Those merchants who took advantage of the opportunity of selling vegetables and fish to smuggle salt and other tax-evading goods would certainly not pay the taxes to the court in full accordance with the law after being discovered. They might turn a blind eye to it in order to get some benefits for themselves.

If what they said was true, this level of greed was not excessive given the decadent state of the late Northern Song Dynasty.

Zhao Zicheng knew that what he said was the truth, but he knew that the war was not far away and the enemy would not play along. So Zhao Zicheng had to wake the other party up.

"I, too, come from a poor background. How could I not know what Liang was telling me? But times are different now. Forgive my bluntness, but Zhu Jie's exploitation of Jiangnan is causing growing public resentment. Although I'm a member of the Song royal family, I must say something. If this continues, Jiangnan will sooner or later be in chaos."

Now you are hanging on the fire. If there is any change, the court will mobilize troops to suppress it. You are so lax in your military preparations. If something goes wrong, the court will have to enforce the laws strictly and discipline the troops, and you will regret it then.

I also know that the court has been at peace for a long time, and its military preparations have been relaxed. The status of military personnel is low, and meritorious service is not rewarded. The only goal is to maintain stability. But now there are powerful enemies outside and people’s resentment within. The situation is different from the past. How can we continue to do things with the same carefree attitude as before?

Liang Xin and Liang Feng, father and son, were both shocked when they heard this.

Most people would never dare to say this, as that would be like cursing the imperial court.

Only Zhao Zi, who has the surname Zhao and is a legitimate descendant of Taizu, can say this.

Of course, this can only be said in the context of the Song Dynasty, which "did not kill scholars and officials" and was more tolerant of speech, plus the identity of the Zhao family.

If it were like the Qing Dynasty, even if a bannerman said "The Qing Dynasty is doomed" in a teahouse, he would still be arrested and thrown into jail.

Liang Feng pondered Zhao Zicheng's words carefully and felt that there was some truth in them, but they seemed to be more alarmist.

He couldn't help but ask back, "Young Master Zhao feels that the Jiangnan government is overemphasizing the people, and I agree. Young Master Zhao is truly a man of quick words and outspoken.

But to say that the Song Dynasty is facing increasing external threats and that the imperial court is determined to severely rectify its military equipment and strictly enforce military law, isn't this a bit alarmist?

I heard that after all these years of operations in the north, the Western bandits have become barely surviving, and have been suppressed by Lao Zhong? Husband Xiao Zhong Husband to the point where they have no power to fight back.

The Liao people have also been at peace for so long that their military preparations have slackened. I hear that even fewer people from Hebei are coming south to forage. All the Song needs to do is use money and food to appease the starving people who can no longer survive, and recruit more of them into the garrison, and peace will prevail.

Training elite soldiers and enforcing military discipline can certainly improve the army's combat effectiveness, but it also requires much more money and food. The ministers in the court have always felt that "instead of raising more elite soldiers, it is better to use the same amount of money and food to recruit a few more hungry people into the garrison."

To put it bluntly, the source of our Xiang army's soldiers was originally the hungry people recruited by the imperial court, and they were not originally intended for war. Now we have to clean up the situation, which is extremely difficult.

(End of this chapter)