Chapter 472 Don’t Be Afraid of Failure, Be Bold in Trying and Making Mistakes!
After noon, it was still rainy.
Early winter brought a chill.
In the afternoon, the regular meeting of Chongzheng Hall was held.
Zhao Zhen was very happy to learn that Di Qing had recovered the Western Regions. He added the title of Jiedushi of Zhanghua Army and named Di Qing's wife Wei as Lady Dingguo.
This reward cannot be said to be meaningless, but it can only be regarded as better than nothing.
After all, this is about expanding territory.
In the period of Emperor Wu of Han and Li Shimin, they would have been given a title of Marquis or Duke of the State. In the Song Dynasty, they were only given a nominal title of Jiedushi.
But there was really no way.
Now Di Qing is the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, and the senior officials of the Song Dynasty are so busy that it is difficult for them to get a position.
In terms of function, the Privy Council of the Song Dynasty has certain functions of the Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense in later generations. The current Privy Councilor Zhang Kang has made great contributions in the wars with the Western Xia and Liao Kingdoms.
Di Qing first grew up under him, and he couldn't let Di Qing replace the old boss. What should Zhang Kang do?
The Ministry of War also has certain functions of the two departments in later generations, but the person in charge is not a general as the Minister of Defense as in later generations, but a bureaucrat, responsible for the logistics, discipline, promotion, court, resettlement, etc. of the army.
In short, the Privy Council is currently responsible for organizing conscription, organization, mobilization, training, formulating military laws and regulations, cooperating with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty to issue decisions and orders, etc., and is the highest military institution of the Song Dynasty.
The Ministry of War cannot directly issue orders to send troops, but has the power of supervision, logistics, management, rewards and punishments, and can be understood as a military supervision and logistics agency.
In this way, the power to train soldiers is still in the hands of generals, but the power of soldiers' food, salary, promotion, rewards and punishments is in the hands of the Ministry of War. Generals cannot decide the direct interests of lower-level soldiers, so naturally they cannot incite soldiers to rebel.
Although the army is strictly controlled, there is no right to mobilize troops and various methods of supervision are used, and the army is strictly guarded to the core, but there is no other way.
Not to mention the turmoil caused by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, just talking about the Republic of China, all kinds of heroes had guns and cannons, and they tore the Chinese land apart.
Today is a period of rapid change. Although guns and cannons are strictly controlled to prevent them from being lost to the people. But the army always has guns. Once the army is not managed well and the generals rebel, the destructive power will be much greater than the rebellion of cold weapons.
Before there is a better way, it can only be like this for the time being.
Therefore, the current pattern of the Song Dynasty is still that civil officials supervise military generals, but it is not as exaggerated and obvious as before. The Ministry of War is still the world of civil officials. With civil officials supervising the army, Di Qing naturally cannot go to the Ministry of War.
This means that unless Zhang Kang retires, basically a large number of generals, including Di Qing, can only stop at deputy positions such as Deputy Envoy of the Privy Council, Co-director of the Privy Council, and Signing of the Privy Council.
Promotion in the military is still difficult, and it seems that the embarrassing situation of the military has not changed.
"I used to criticize the Song Dynasty for emphasizing civil affairs over military affairs. It was indeed too rash of me. I didn't study the history of the Song Dynasty well, and I just cursed it based on my own preferences."
When it comes to the issue of the army, Zhao Jun said frankly: "But it's still the same sentence. A country should develop both civil affairs and military affairs. It is not a good thing to emphasize civil affairs over military affairs or military affairs over civil affairs. The Song Dynasty suppressed the army too harshly, which was also an overcorrection and a failure to take action. The hundreds of years of humiliation in the Northern and Southern Song Dynasties were ultimately due to the excessive suppression of military power."
"Well, I still agree with this point. When I read novels, I , there is a saying that having a sword but not using it is not the same as having no sword in hand. "
Zhao Zhen nodded and said: "The army is a double-edged sword. Whether it hurts others or yourself depends on the person who uses the sword. If you are afraid of being hurt by the sword and dare not raise the sword to meet the enemy, the final result is nothing but death. "
"Brother is indeed insightful. This truth is thought-provoking. I think it should be written in the Song Daily and published in an article to let the people of the country know your enlightenment and profound insights. "
Zhao Jun immediately gave a thumbs up and praised.
Zhao Zhen's personality is like a golden retriever. As long as you are right, he dare not talk back or bark even if you scold him or punch him twice. He will only spit in his face and do his best to be honest. He squats aside and feels wronged.
If you praise him a few words, he will be so proud that he can fly to the sky, especially after a few words of praise, that happy smile can be pulled to the back of his head.
At this time, even if you want to demolish his house, as long as the reason is justified, he will probably agree happily.
Sure enough, upon hearing Zhao Jun's praise, Zhao Zhen immediately grinned even more like a chrysanthemum and said, "In fact, it was my grandson who gave me the best advice. If it weren't for my grandson, I wouldn't know these principles."
"Brother, you understand it well."
"My grandson taught me well."
"."
Many prime ministers had blank expressions on their faces, and had long been accustomed to the two of them flattering each other.
From the earliest time when Zhao Jun chased Zhao Zhen and cursed him, to now when Zhao Jun holds great power, the country is peaceful and the people are safe, and the power and the country are stable. There is no conflict of interest between the two sides, so isn't it good for everyone?
"Then according to Han Long's opinion, how should the army be?"
Fan Zhongyan raised the issue he was concerned about. After all, he had led the army and still had a lot of feelings for the army, especially since he was the current military god of the Song Dynasty. Zhang Kang, Di Qing and others were all brought up by him.
"When I came to the Song Dynasty, I also went deep into the grassroots and the army to understand the situation of the Song Dynasty army, and then I knew where the problems of the Song Dynasty army were now."
Zhao Jun muttered: "Many of the army is composed of captured refugees and criminals. They have low combat effectiveness and use random tricks. They have no faith in their hearts and only know how to wait for food. They don't know why they fight. Now they have changed a lot. What remains is to slowly improve the quality of the army and its status in the hearts of the people. As long as the soldiers become sacred and have a sense of honor, then they will know that they are fighting for the country, and naturally they will dare to fight and not be afraid of fighting. "
"Well, the measures taken by Hanlong to reform the military in the past few years have indeed solved many problems, and now there is indeed a need for ideological construction."
Fan Zhongyan nodded.
After Zhao Jun came to the Song Dynasty, he found that there was still a big gap between the power of words and reality.
The low status of the army in the Song Dynasty was not only due to the emphasis on civil service but not military service, there were also many problems left over from history.
For example, in order to deal with the endless rebellions and uprisings, as long as those who rebel and surrender will be organized into the Forbidden Army and the Xiang Army according to the distinction between the young and the old and the weak.
There are also those criminals whose crimes are not serious enough to be exiled or decapitated, but slightly more serious than corporal punishment. According to the law, they should be sentenced to several years in prison. However, imprisonment is a waste of national food, so they are also sent to the army.
For example, Di Qing and Zhang Yu became criminals after fighting. If no one was killed or seriously injured, they would be sentenced to less than three years or a few months of criminal detention.
In the Song Dynasty, everyone was sent to the army, and you can know how bad the army of the Song Dynasty was.
Relying on such an army, even if there are more than 1.2 million people, is meaningless, they are all a mob.
But they were all unstable factors, so the Song Dynasty had to strictly supervise the army.
Therefore, in order to stabilize the political power, the number of armies is increasing, and as the numbers increase, strict supervision is more necessary. Strict supervision requires civil servants to control the military. In such a vicious cycle, doesn’t it mean that the status of military officers is low?
Therefore, Zhao Jun's initial military reform was to solve the military's stubborn problems. He first eliminated corruption in the military and dealt with internal cancers, and then gradually streamlined and eliminated the elite, so that the military could first have a certain combat effectiveness, and then talk about the ideological construction of the military.
Now, after several large-scale military reforms, the number of military personnel has dropped sharply, and almost all of them are young men aged 18-30. Generals are allowed to participate in daily training, and the combat effectiveness can be said to be greatly improved.
Since the reforms have been effective, it is time to do something further to strengthen the ideological education of the military and avoid rebellion.
I heard Zhao Jun say: "With the new Qingli New Deal next year, the military rank system can be improved and the military levels can be improved, so that generals with outstanding military achievements can be properly placed and rewards and punishments will not be unclear."
"And politics should be brought into the army, and literacy campaigns should be carried out in the army to let soldiers know the words and let each soldier think independently instead of doing whatever the superior officer tells him to do."
He looked around at the crowd and said eloquently: "If we carry out ideological education for the army in this way and implement it for a long time, the army will have the prototype of a modern military system for future generations. In this way, the army can implement the will of the country, instead of the country being counterattacked by the army."
"Well"
Yan Shu nodded thoughtfully and said: "We actually have no say in this matter. If Hanlong and Xiwen think it is feasible, then we have no objection."
Zhao Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Then let's do everything according to Da Sun's wishes."
He actually felt a little uneasy.
After all, the authority of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty came from his absolute control of military power.
Zhao Zhen has now lost his power to govern, and all aspects of domestic, foreign, and economic affairs have been handed over to the Constitutional Yuan. If he loses military power again, he will be very panicked.
However, based on Zhao Jun's PUA for him for many years, and Zhao Jun's governance results in the past fifteen years, the overall improvement of the Song Dynasty also allowed Zhao Zhen to fully trust Zhao Jun.
Because so far, everything Zhao Jun has said and done can basically be realized, instead of being a castle in the air, where people can only see a pie that cannot be eaten.
Therefore, trust is accumulated in this way. As long as Zhao Jun can keep the Song Dynasty developing at such a high speed, everyone will unite around him and will not waver.
"Thank you for your trust, brother. I guarantee this matter will be handled properly."
Zhao Jun patted his chest and said: "When the time comes, I will definitely give the whole army a new look and a new look, so that the former thieves of the Song Dynasty can become soldiers of the common people!"
"Let's talk about other reform matters."
Seeing that the matter was completed, Fan Zhongyan was afraid that something unexpected would happen and make Zhao Zhen think wildly, so he immediately changed the subject and said, "The new round of officialdom restructuring is a big event."
"Well, it's indeed a big deal."
Zhao Jun also said.
"oh?"
Zhao Zhen didn't know the specific reform matters yet, so he asked: "Has Da Sun completed the new round of reforms?"
"Yeah, it's almost over."
Zhao Jun nodded.
He visited the country for two years and did not return until March this year. The new round of Qingli New Deal will not be released until next year or even the year after.
Because many things need to be finalized, and many specific details need to be analyzed in detail. It cannot be said that you see the problem, think of the solution as soon as you think about it, and implement it immediately.
What if you assume your solution will work, but then it actually has the opposite effect?
Just like Wang Anshi's Qingmiao method.
Although the Green Crops Law was not a decision made at once, but the deeper administrative issues were not resolved, the Green Crops Law was ultimately just a flower in the mirror and a moon in the water.
Therefore, any plan must undergo multi-faceted research and discussion.
Including experienced elder statesmen such as Fan Zhongyan, Yan Shu, Song Shou, and Cai Qi, as well as young and strong new generations such as Wang Anshi, Chen Xiliang, and Zhao Peng, multiple parties must participate and brainstorm to come up with better plans and policies. Results.
This is also a reflection of Zhao Jun's growing maturity as a politician.
Then I saw Zhao Jun saying: "I gained a lot from this trip. I traveled all over the world for two years, traveling to all roads, states, and counties, traveling all over the country. I discovered a very serious problem."
"what is the problem?"
Everyone was curious.
"Now the changes in the Song Dynasty are only in Bianliang, and there are very few changes in other places. Even if there are changes, they are often in industrial and economic centers like Wu'an and Hangzhou."
Zhao Jun said: "There is very little development in other places. Even if the Constitutional Yuan issued opinions and notices that counties, prefectures, and roads should actively explore their own domestic resources, develop industrial production capacity, and carry out new construction, it has almost no effect. , how it was before, and how it is now.”
"Well"
Everyone pondered. Without investigation, they have no right to speak. They have never been to the grassroots level, so naturally they don't know the situation at the grassroots level.
Zhao Jun continued: "I have also investigated the reasons for this clearly. First, officials have short terms and heavy tasks. Second, the examination law restricts their corruption and improves work efficiency, but it limits their subjective initiative, which is greatly ineffective." Conducive to regional development.”
Now that everyone knows what subjective initiative is, Yan Shu sighed: "Everyone has been promoted step by step from the local level, and we also know that every day's work arrangements are constrained by laws and regulations. It is indeed difficult to consider other things."
“So now that we have discovered a problem, we have to solve it.”
Zhao Jun said with a smile: "This is another round of new changes in the officialdom. I have decided to reduce the burden on officials all over the world, increase their enthusiasm, and let them use their subjective initiative to vigorously carry out local construction."
"How to do it exactly?"
"Increase the term of office of officials, reduce the workload of the examination system, and finally gradually cancel the examination system. The Constitutional Yuan will issue guidance and encourage local officials to think more about the direction of local development and do more practical things to develop agriculture, commerce, Mainly industrial.”
"It's just that none of the officials today have experience in this area."
Yan Shu raised concerns and said: "To put it bluntly, officials all over the world are officials from the feudal period. Even though many officials do not have bureaucratic ideas, they are still willing to show their moral role models and go to the mountains and countryside to care for the people. They can be allowed to do these things that they have never been exposed to. I’m afraid that anything I’ve passed will be self-defeating.”
"wrong."
Zhao Jun shook his head and said: "Everything is difficult at the beginning. It is easy to go from one to a hundred, but it is as difficult as climbing to the sky from nothing. So the imperial court encourages them to do it boldly, even if it is a waste of local finances. In the end, they find that their efforts are in vain. It’s not that it’s intolerable. As long as they are dedicated to the people and local development, and do not break the law or harm the interests of the people, they should not be afraid of trial and error. The government should give them room for trial and error, and they should accumulate experience.”
This is the same path for future generations.
In the decades since the founding of the People's Republic of China, China has been trying to learn from the advanced experiences of other countries.
Be a student first and then a teacher. Only after being beaten can you realize the true meaning.
Therefore, our country also experienced pains for a long time at the beginning.
But after the reform and opening up, we finally found a development path suitable for our national conditions, and suddenly soared into the sky, catching up with the United States and the United States to the forefront of the world.
Therefore, you don’t need to be afraid of making mistakes most of the time. If you make a mistake, you can learn from experience and learn from the lessons of failure. There will always be a day when you succeed!