Song Xiu

Chapter 157 The Reform of the Imperial Guards: The New Three Offices
September of the second year of the Jianlong reign of the Great Song Dynasty.

After Zhao Kuangyin issued his imperial edict, the Shenwu Army officially began its formation process. Considering that the Shenwu Army was about to be formed, Zhao Dexiu had recalled Yang Ye ahead of time.

Yang Ye was not only brave and resourceful, but also exceptionally talented in training troops.

Historically, Yang Ye was besieged by a large Khitan army in his last battle, but even under those circumstances, the Song army he had trained had almost no soldiers who surrendered without fear of death.

After recalling Yang Ye, Zhao Dexiu appointed him as the military commander and instructor of the Shenwu Army.

The military commander was a key position second only to the deputy military governor. The instructor was in charge of the training of the army. In this era, the army was subject to strict military law during training.

Yang Ye's appointment as instructor signifies that he has, to a certain extent, control over the life and death of the Divine Martial Army.

Zhao Dexiu had assumed that Yang Ye would be overjoyed at being given such an important position, but Yang Ye's reaction was unexpected.

Yang Ye did not rush to express his gratitude. He first took off his helmet and placed it aside, then apologized to Zhao Dexiu, saying:
"Your Highness trusts me greatly and has entrusted me with the important task of training troops. I am deeply apprehensive."

If soldiers are not well-trained, they will inevitably ruin the battle once they go to the battlefield.

Your Majesty, I know that the officers in the Divine Martial Army are either former members of Your Highness's household or sons of nobles. They may become arrogant and lawless because of their relationship with Your Highness.

Your Highness, I would like to request a military order: that any soldier who violates discipline should be punished first and reported later.

Otherwise, I fear I will be unable to properly manage the Divine Martial Army, and even more so, I fear I will jeopardize Your Highness's great cause.

After saying this, Yang Ye bowed to Zhao Dexiu.

If an ordinary ruler heard Yang Ye's words, he would inevitably be displeased.

When he granted a subordinate general great power, the general not only failed to express his gratitude in time, but also seemed to be declining the favor.

The other subordinate even expressed a desire for greater power, which was quite "overstepping his bounds."

Yang Ye knew that his behavior was somewhat excessive, so he first adopted a posture of apologizing.

Yang Ye did not lack the desire to train a strong army for Zhao Dexiu, but his own identity was quite sensitive. Without Zhao Dexiu's strong support, his worries might come true.

Yang Ye believed that "loyalty to one's lord" meant being completely transparent with one's superiors.

Just as Yang Ye was feeling uneasy, he did not receive a reprimand from Zhao Dexiu, but instead heard a burst of laughter.

With a smile on his face, Zhao Dexiu got up and went to Yang Ye, personally helping him up from the floor:
"You want to be my Sun Tzu!"

"How could my magnanimity be inferior to that of the King of Wu?"

"I will grant all your requests. I have only one request: that the Divine Martial Army become an elite force even more skilled in battle than the Crane Control Army and the Japanese Support Army!"

After saying this, Zhao Dexiu personally took the helmet and put it back on Yang Ye.

"You have the ambition of Sun Tzu, but alas, my household lacks even a hundred beauties!"

Upon hearing this, a slight smile appeared on Yang Ye's originally solemn face.

There is a famous story about military training during the Spring and Autumn Period, which is about Sun Tzu "training palace women".

Zhao Dexiu was using this allusion to make a joke to Yang Ye.

This joke eased Yang Ye's anxiety and reminded him of the praise his father-in-law had given Zhao Dexiu after hearing about his deeds:
He is witty, broad-minded, receptive, and good at using people.

After dispelling Yang Ye's doubts, Zhao Dexiu led him to his seat and made him sit down again.
"According to statistics from the Ordnance Bureau, the total number of infantry armor sets in the entire army is around five thousand."

Therefore, the number of troops in the Divine Martial Army is tentatively set at five thousand.

The Song Dynasty inherited the system from the Five Dynasties period, and the military unit organization was roughly divided into four levels:

Du, Ying (command), Xiang, Jun.

Due to frequent wars during the Five Dynasties period and the large number of states, in some states' armies, the "Xiang" was a military unit of a higher rank than the "Jun".

However, the status of the army and the garrison may change, but the status of the battalion and the battalion is very fixed.

The "Du" was the most basic military unit in the army at that time, with each Du consisting of about 100 people, similar to the "Lian" in later times.

If each capital is organized with 100 people, the 5000-strong Shenwu Army will have 50 capitals.

Each group of 10 would form a battalion, and the Shenwu Army would have a total of 5 battalions.

The commander of a capital city is called a "captain," and the commander of a battalion is called a "commander."

Zhao Dexiu planned to select 5,000 Shenwu Army soldiers directly from the Imperial Guard, but he insisted on having the original 200 Chanzhou Imperial Guards serve as captains and commanders in the entire army.

Having spent nearly two years together, the two hundred soldiers of the Chanzhou Imperial Guard were absolutely loyal to Zhao Dexiu.

Zhao Dexiu learned a lot from Zhao Kuangyin, one of which was:
To control the army, the key lies in "using lightness to manage heaviness and simplicity to manage complexity".

"Light" and "simple" represent junior and middle-ranking officers in the military, while "heavy" and "complex" represent ordinary soldiers.

The head constable was responsible for the soldiers' daily life, training, and basic tasks such as charging into battle. Together with the commander, they formed the backbone of the entire army.

By holding the backbone of the Divine Martial Army in his hands, no one can challenge Zhao Dexiu's supreme command over the Divine Martial Army.

According to the organizational structure of an "army", the Shenwu Army has only 5,000 personnel, which is relatively small.

Normally, the Imperial Guard should have at least 20,000 men in one corps.

For example, the Crane Control Army and the Sun-Promoting Army in the Palace Guard, after a new round of expansion, both reached 25,000 men.

However, everything is difficult at the beginning. Due to the limited number of infantrymen, the number of Shenwu Army soldiers was not large at the beginning.

Once the production capacity of the Ordnance Bureau increases, the Divine Martial Army will undergo another expansion.

Upon hearing the exact number of the Divine Martial Army, Yang Ye cupped his hands and said:

"Please grant me, Your Highness, the list of the army's captains and commanders."

Zhao Dexiu had prepared this list long ago.

As soon as Yang Ye asked, Lü Duan, who was standing nearby, took out a list.

The five commanders of the Divine Martial Army listed on this list are Cao Bin, Yang Ye, Murong Deye, Zhang Hao, and Huyan Zan.

Among the five, Cao Bin, as the deputy military governor, held the highest position, but this did not mean that Cao Bin had command authority over the other four battalions.

In particular, the personal guard battalion under Huyan Zan's command, whose direct responsibility was to guard the emperor, was actually no less powerful than Cao Bin.

The five commanders were responsible for supervising the training and discipline of the soldiers in their respective battalions.

When Zhao Dexiu was unable to command during wartime, he would temporarily appoint a general with the title of Commander-in-Chief to take charge of the overall command of the Shenwu Army.

Although Yang Ye was one of the five commanders, he also held the title of instructor, which gave him the authority to arrange and supervise the training of the other four generals in the army.

This arrangement ensures that the Divine Martial Army will not have inconsistent commands during training and battles, and also ensures that the five commanders are not subordinate to each other and can check and balance each other.

Zhao Dexiu was inspired by Zhao Kuangyin to come up with this arrangement.

After the "releasing military power over a cup of wine," Zhao Kuangyin officially put further reforms of the imperial guards on the agenda.

First, Zhao Kuangyin directly abolished the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Palace Guards, and from then on, the emperor was nominally the supreme commander of the national army.

Of course, simply achieving this in name only is not enough; other measures are needed to ensure its effectiveness.
First: Taking advantage of the "Fu family rebellion case", Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict ordering the governors and military governors of each prefecture to select strong and capable soldiers from the local armies and list them separately as military models (elite soldier templates).

After completing this step, Zhao Kuangyin sent a large number of envoys to various places to inspect them one by one, and brought the local troops under the central government's control, incorporating them into the imperial guards.

Similar measures had been taken during the reign of Emperor Shizong of Zhou, but due to various practical reasons, his implementation was not perfect. Now that the central government is militarily powerful, Zhao Kuangyin has finally decided to take a permanent approach.

Even though he had the power to overturn the table, Zhao Kuangyin did not act arrogantly.

His method of recruiting local elite soldiers was very clever—"using high salaries and benefits as bait."

Under Emperor Shizong's repeated crackdowns, the fiscal revenue of local military governors was no longer comparable to that of the central court.

A decrease in fiscal revenue directly affects the treatment of local soldiers.

The world is hilarious, all come for profit.

Why would local elite soldiers risk their lives to join the army, yet following the central government would bring better treatment and the honor of "fighting for the greater good"?

Zhao Kuangyin's move can be seen as the Song Dynasty version of the "Decree of Grace".

Once the imperial edict was issued to the various prefectures, even if some military governors were unwilling to hand over their elite troops, those troops would spontaneously take the lead in punishing the disloyal on behalf of the court.

This cunning strategy was used by Zhao Kuangyin in history, but with Zhao Dexiu in power in the present day, this approach has undergone some changes.

Historically, this approach has had the drawback of being a one-size-fits-all solution.

In order to completely eliminate the local resistance, Zhao Kuangyin incorporated all the local armies with some fighting ability into the Imperial Guard.

This led to a surge in the number of Imperial Guards, but also caused a sharp decline in local defenses, rendering them virtually ineffective.

Zhao Dexiu did not want the bad regime to repeat itself, so he suggested a win-win solution: divide the local soldiers into three grades according to age and physical strength.

The highest-ranking young and strong men were all transferred to Bianjing as originally planned to increase the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Guards.

The next-ranking soldiers were incorporated into the local militia, commanded by officers directly appointed by the central government, and responsible for the defense of each prefecture.

Soldiers of this caliber may not be as strong in field combat as younger, stronger soldiers, but they have excellent combat experience, making them ideal for defending cities and suppressing local rebellions.

The goal is not for the local troops to repel enemy invasions, but simply to hold strategic locations for a period of time, giving the Imperial Guards time to come to their aid.

As for the lowest-ranking soldiers, they were all sent back to their hometowns to cultivate wasteland.

The present day is different from the past. With the implementation of the new land administration, countless wastelands have been registered.

Soldiers who are old, weak, sick, or disabled may not be good at fighting, but farming is an innate skill of the Chinese nation, so they will not have any problems with it.

This method also has an advantage: it gives the Imperial Guards in battle something to look forward to—if they are wounded or old, the state will have a way to provide for them.

For the Imperial Guards, who lived on the edge of death, having hope for the future was very important.

In addition to "gathering the best troops in the country to the central government," Zhao Kuangyin also reformed the Imperial Guard.

Currently, the Imperial Guards are mainly divided into two major departments: the Palace Guard Department and the Imperial Bodyguard Department.

Before Emperor Shizong of Zhou reformed the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards Department was the main body of the Imperial Guards, while the Palace Guards Department was actually just the emperor's personal guard.

After Emperor Shizong of Zhou reformed the system, the strength of the Palace Guard increased significantly, making it the main force of the Imperial Guard.

After Zhao Kuangyin became emperor, he made an adjustment to the Palace Guard Command—the Crane Control Army and the Sun-Promoting Army were called the "Upper Two Armies," with a total of 50,000 troops serving as the entire force of the Palace Guard Command.

After that adjustment, Zhao Kuangyin planned to carry out another profound reform.

According to Zhao Kuangyin's plan, he intended to further weaken the strength of the Imperial Guard and incorporate most of the elite troops from the Imperial Guard and local armies into the Palace Guard, which was called the "Upper Four Armies".

With an initial force of 25,000 troops, the total strength of the Palace Guard will reach 100,000 after the reforms are completed—an initial field army of 100,000, enough to sweep across the southern kingdoms.

Zhao Dexiu strongly agreed with Zhao Kuangyin's idea, and in addition to his agreement, he continued to offer his own suggestions.

"Since Father Emperor wants to strengthen the Palace Guard, why not do it all at once?"

The phrase "one step at a time" captivated Zhao Kuangyin.

Zhao Dexiu's idea was to transform the "Three Offices" system into the "Three Armies" system.

The infantry in the Imperial Guard were all placed under the jurisdiction of the Palace Guard Office, while the Imperial Guard Office was reorganized into the Imperial Cavalry Office and the Imperial Naval Office.

Infantry, cavalry, and navy—these were the three armies of the Song Dynasty!
The three offices are independent of each other and each has its own responsibilities, which can prevent the abuse of shirking responsibility and make their duties quite clear.

At the same time, the three offices can check and balance each other, and also compete with each other.

Checks and balances ensure that military power will not fall into other hands, while competition ensures that all three branches of the armed forces can develop vigorously.

Especially after the recapture of Hunan and Hubei, it was no longer difficult for the Song Dynasty to establish a navy.

The Hunan region has everything from skilled naval warriors and generals to craftsmen capable of building large warships.

In the upcoming southern campaign, the importance of the navy cannot be ignored.

After some thought, Zhao Kuangyin agreed to Zhao Dexiu's suggestion.

In addition to establishing the Three Offices, Zhao Kuangyin issued an edict clearly defining the powers of the Three Offices.

The three military commanders were responsible for the recruitment, training, discipline, and command of the Imperial Guards.

Although the generals of the three military districts held the power to command troops, this power was not fixed.

The "renewal of the law" was a safety net that Zhao Kuangyin placed on the Imperial Guards.

For example, the original commander of the Crane Control Army was Tian Chongjin, but perhaps in a few years, the commander will become Wang Quanbin.

Zhao Kuangyin implemented the system of changing generals in order to prevent the Imperial Guards from becoming the private army of a particular general.

The essence of this law is to create a situation where "soldiers have no fixed generals, and generals have no fixed soldiers."

This phenomenon will not affect the army's combat effectiveness.

During the early Tang and early Ming dynasties, the principle of "no fixed generals and no fixed troops" applied, and the combat effectiveness of the Tang and Ming armies remained unaffected.

Historically, during the early Song Dynasty, the Imperial Guards were also extremely powerful in combat.

A year after the Imperial Guards launched a fierce attack on Taiyuan, they embarked on a distant expedition to Yan and Yun without rest. In the early stages, the Imperial Guards even gained the upper hand on the battlefield, demonstrating their formidable fighting strength.

With well-trained troops, strict military discipline, excellent equipment, and a skilled commander, an army's combat effectiveness will be considerable.

The collapse of the Song Dynasty's Imperial Guard's combat effectiveness was due to Zhao Guangyi's two disastrous northern expeditions, which resulted in the annihilation of most of the middle and lower-ranking officers in the Imperial Guard in the north.

Excellent mid- to low-ranking officers are a direct guarantee of a well-trained and disciplined army.

The most fatal blow to the fighting capacity is when the skeleton of a large army collapses.

Zhao Kuangyin was aware of this, which is why the "replacement of generals" policy targeted high-ranking officers of the Imperial Guards, while he did not touch the middle and lower-ranking officers in the army.

While senior generals of the Imperial Guard held command of troops, this did not necessarily mean they would have wartime command authority.

In times of war, the emperor would temporarily appoint a general, bestowing upon him the title of "Commander-in-Chief," to become the de facto wartime commander-in-chief.

During wartime, the commander-in-chief was not necessarily a general from the Three Military Commands; it could also be someone like Shi Shouxin or Murong Yanzhao who had been sidelined.

Everything was decided by the emperor's sagacity.

It is estimated that the reform of the Imperial Guards by the imperial court will be initially completed in about a month.

That was the time when Zhao Dexiu led his troops on a western expedition!

(End of this chapter)