Brother Song Taizu

Chapter 262 Zhao Kuangyin’s new job

When the lights come on, there is a lot of traffic.

Zhao Kuangyin, Shi Shouxin, Zhang Lingduo, Han Lingkun and other old brothers were drinking and having fun in Kaifeng City at night. For some reason, everyone ended up drinking on the roof.

When Zhao Kuangyin drank happily, he even danced a whirlwind on the roof with his huge belly on his back.

It can be seen that after Lao Zhao became emperor, he drank this wine really happily.

"Brother, look, how beautiful is Kaifeng City when you look down from this angle? Ten years ago when we were officials in the Zhou Dynasty, who would have thought that Kaifeng City would one day become like this? What? How can the bullshit prosperous Han and Tang Dynasties be as good as our Song Dynasty?"

Zhao Kuangyin also laughed loudly when he heard this. He took the wine bottle and poured it into his mouth. Then he touched his big belly and lay on his side to watch the lights of thousands of houses.

"It is also thanks to my third brother that the Song Dynasty is what it is today. Is this the so-called iron-tong empire? The people are so rich and the country is so strong. I have been emperor for more than ten years. It is not in vain. Now Now that the country is at peace and the people are at peace, I can completely relax and live my life of debauchery and happiness."

Zhang Lingduo smiled and said: "Brother, have you heard that the prefects and prefects in various places have reported that the common people and wealthy businessmen in various places want to build temples and statues for you and my son-in-law. The scholars said that you two have been together for thousands of years." Surrender to the saint."

Zhao Kuangyin waved his hand and smiled at the Circuit de Versailles: "It's about this. Hey, before I retreated, there were always retributions from various places. I said I wanted to erect a statue, but I never agreed. Isn't this a waste of national funds? It's just the following. Those merchants raised funds to build it voluntarily, and it’s hard for me to take care of it. Hum, I think it’s just a waste. With this money, it’s better to improve people’s livelihood.”

"It's not just about erecting statues and temples? In fact, Kaifeng is pretty good. I heard that in some areas, people and scholars actually petitioned to move the statue of Confucius out of the Confucius Temple and worship the eldest brother and His Highness instead."

Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help laughing and scolding: "My third brother and I are not dead, why are we robbing Kong Laoer's incense? These unscrupulous people will cause such unprovoked troubles."

"Brother, are you really willing to give up this throne? Then what do you want to do in the future? You can't just have fun every day, right?"

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and said: "This is natural. In fact, I have wanted to retreat for a long time. The reason why I did not retreat was because I wanted to wait for when our Song Dynasty could personally lead the Northern Expedition and be able to replace my descendants in my hands. Later generations will regain Yanyun and even destroy Daliao, but who would have thought that the result would be... Oh~, forget it, don't wait any longer."

When several veterans heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other and smile bitterly.

Everyone really understands Zhao Kuangyin on this issue. After all, everyone grew up when the Khitans were at their strongest. When they were young, they became generals. Who hasn't had the dream of leading the Northern Expedition?
The Song army is now getting stronger and stronger. After the purity of gunpowder has improved, some simple guns and cannons have been made in the past two years, and they even have rifling. The development level of firearms has exceeded that of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties in history.

Although the Liao Kingdom also had such technology, neither gunpowder production nor gun production could compare with the Song Dynasty, and the birth of guns greatly reduced the advantage of cavalry.

The generals of the Song Dynasty basically have a consensus, that is, if the Song Dynasty now launches the Northern Expedition, it only needs to be carried out steadily. It is unlikely that the Liao Kingdom can resist it. Recovering Yanyun is just around the corner, and it is even very easy.

But unfortunately, in today's Song Dynasty, it is almost impossible to conquer Yanyun in the north. Zhao Guangmei will be the first to object, and the civil servants of the Manchu Dynasty, especially the Sansi group, will object. The most important thing is from There is little support for this from grassroots military officers to civilians.

Because the trade ties between Liao and Song are so damn close, why do we have to destroy this hard-won peace when both sides are now very friendly?
And many people believe that if we just defeat the Liao Kingdom, the cost of governance will be too high. Daliao is not a weak country after all, and this is really unnecessary.

With the current military front of the Song Dynasty, does it really need the so-called natural barrier of the Great Wall?
Of course, these are actually all bullshit. The Song Dynasty has not been peaceful at all in these years. Even Zhao Kuangyin is sure that after he retreats, the Forbidden Army will turn into a group of mad dogs and attack everywhere if there is no one to suppress it.

Bullshit peace is precious.

It's just that there were too many vested interests in the Song-Liao trade. Once a fight broke out, it would affect the trade and affect some people's money.

This certain person refers to Zhao Guangmei, the trading company.

However, Te Niang's trading company has kidnapped Da Song, and the interests of the lower-level soldiers are also the same as those of the trading company.

In addition, Zhao Kuangyin understood the idea of ​​the Forbidden Army very well. It was nothing more than supporting the invaders to respect themselves. When the Privy Council asked for military expenses, Daliao's millions of cavalry said, "You can't compete with them." After receiving the military funds, they said, "It's just a mere You chickens and dogs, how dare you stroke the beard of my great Song Dynasty tiger? '

Especially in Guannan, Hedong, and even Hexi areas, the memorials reported every year highlight a schizophrenia. The Liao Kingdom they face is sometimes powerful, sometimes weak, sometimes hostile to the invaders, sometimes friendly, and border trade is developing in full swing. Anyone asks. It is impregnable, but if any courtier dares to say that the border troops will be abolished, it is guaranteed that there will be large-scale grass clearing in the Liao Kingdom within half a month, and all kinds of friction between Song and Liao will arise.

A very simple truth: the Song Dynasty’s imperial troops stationed in Beijing and the imperial troops stationed abroad totaled more than 20. Counting the border troops, it was almost 35. The amount of national funds used to raise troops every year was astronomical.

Once the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were really recovered, would the Song Dynasty still need to raise so many soldiers?

If the Liao Dynasty were gone, who would be the enemy of these soldiers of the Song Dynasty?
So this is actually the consensus within the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty. Recovering Yanyun must be an unwavering goal that can never be shaken. It is a slogan. Everyone trains in the military camp and shouts "recovering Yanyun" during drills.

However, it is just a slogan. If anyone really talks about fighting, all kinds of war-weary emotions will come up immediately, and they will not be able to fight.

After all, by keeping this enemy, everyone can do business with this enemy. The shareholders of the trading company who make money will also receive dividends. Generally speaking, it will benefit the soldiers. And if Daliao is destroyed and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun are recovered, , then maybe they will all be laid off and look for jobs.

In the northwest war, the Imperial Guards stationed in Beijing were only on a rotating basis, but at most only [-] Imperial Guards were dispatched. In fact, they had already beaten those semen to the point of losing their armor. Nowadays, most of the Uighur areas in Gaochang have been destroyed since ancient times during the Song Dynasty. .

Adding South Vietnam and Dali together, a total of more than 2 forbidden troops were used in rotation.

The remaining Southern Tang Dynasty has been kept and confiscated. Five thousand forbidden troops can scare them into being better behaved than rabbits. It is said that Li Chongjin is showing off his power in Jinling like the Supreme Emperor. He has tried his best to provoke the Southern Tang court and sleeps with Li Yu every day. After Xiao Zhou, Southern Tang did not dare to resist.

Then why did the damn Song Dynasty raise so many troops besides defending against the Liao Dynasty?
So many military factories in Kaicheng and Luoyang produce so many weapons and gunpowder every year, aren't they all for defense against the Liao Dynasty?
But we can't really fight. If Yanyun recaptures and destroys Daliao, who will the weapons be produced and sold to?Invisibly, it has created an unsolvable situation in which "millions of workers are dependent on food and clothing."

It's impossible to beat Daliao and Yan Yun, at least in the short term. Otherwise, those armies who already have their own ideas may dare to deliberately defeat you!

On the contrary, peaceful reunification, which everyone treated as a joke before, is now very popular within the Song Dynasty, and more and more people are studying the feasibility of this matter.

Within Yanyun, whether they are Liao people, people from Shulu Ministry, or Han people, the public opinion for the return is quite strong. There are already many people who are leading the party who bring their own dry food and watch Wang Shi in the south day and night. .

"I never thought that the army would develop like this. I talked to Lao San, and Lao San said that he had never thought of it before. Such a large army must be gradually dismantled and streamlined, but it will not happen overnight. We, the Song Dynasty, must also find a new opponent and a new battlefield in addition to the Liao Dynasty."

Han Lingkun frowned and said: "Where is the opponent? Tubo? Not to mention why we want that wretched place, with Tubo in such a dead state now, will it really be more difficult to fight than Dali? Let His Royal Highness King Lu If you send any border army to fight, you should be able to win."

Zhao Kuangyin smiled and said: "Tubo, Gaochang, and Semu people must be attacked. After I come down, Xue Juzheng will definitely not be able to suppress the imperial army. They have long wanted to fight, and they have long wanted to rebuild the Western Region Protectorate. This goes without saying, but to be honest, if our opponents on land can fight farther, how much benefit can they gain? On the contrary, the sea is really vast now. "

All the soldiers nodded. They were all shareholders of the company now, so of course they knew where the money was.

In the past few years, the navigation skills of the Semu people have basically been absorbed by the Song Dynasty. Countless Semu people have now joined the trading houses, and various trade routes have matured.

Even America was discovered two years ago and many new crops were brought back, but mature trade routes have not been developed yet.

Naturally, the Song Dynasty urgently needed a navy capable of long voyages to protect trade interests.

"So, after I retire, I plan to choose the elites who are good at water among the two divisions to further expand the navy and protect my trade in the Song Dynasty. This matter can only be done by me. Although I, the Emperor, I don’t want to be one, but I’m still very interested in building a navy from scratch.”

Everyone couldn't help being taken aback.

Everyone thought that Zhao Kuangyin was eager to retire in order to engage in some despicable things, such as forming a team to play polo.

Why is it that even though we've been making trouble for a long time, we still get down to business?
If it's just to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy...why do you want to abdicate?
He did this just as well as he sat in the emperor's position, and he did it even better.

But after all, everyone has become mature. He rolled his eyes slightly and thought of something. Zhang Lingduo thought for a while and said: "Brother, the navy is different from the army. It is much more dispersed. A fleet can go out for a trip. It may take several months to come back. Even if it is a war, it must be driven by commercial interests. You must not fight a war that does not make money, right?"

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and said: "This is natural."

"Then when this army is dismantled...is it the army of the Song Dynasty or the army of the commercial bank? Does it listen to the Privy Council or the board of directors?"

Zhao Kuangyin said calmly: "Isn't this nonsense? If this were the imperial army, wouldn't I become the capital commander? I've already stopped being the emperor, so why should I be the capital commander? Isn't that ridiculous? After all, it's like you said, This navy is really not suitable to be under the control of the imperial court. Since the purpose of its establishment is to protect commerce and fight wars to make money, it naturally belongs to the board of directors. Why, I am not a director of a commercial bank? I can't participate in the shareholders' meeting? "

Everyone suddenly realized it, and quickly said yes, and all of them volunteered, saying, brother, if you want to build an army in the trading company, everyone will be happy to come back and serve as a small commander for you.

But I know clearly in my heart that the eldest brother is the eldest brother after all. At any time, he is no longer a fuel-saving lamp.

To put it bluntly, Zhao Kuangyin could see now that trading houses were becoming more and more important in the Song Dynasty, especially with the establishment of such a princely monarchy system. After the establishment of the family and the world, the emperor was not so important.

But when he was the emperor, Zhao Guangmei really had no intention of letting commercial banks get involved in military power.

So Zhao Kuangyin simply retired, joined the trading company as the former emperor, and then took the lead in building an army.

This is clearly a competition for equity with His Highness King Qin!
Of course, the two brothers will definitely not really fight, but although the future trading company will definitely be named Zhao, it is true that there will not be strong men like Zhao Guangmei and Zhao Kuangyin. There is a high probability that the shareholders surnamed Zhao will be divided into three branches in the future. Among the descendants, the second descendants of Zhao, and the third descendants of Zhao, which one has greater power and which one has less power?
The navy was clearly built for Zhao Dezhao and Zhao Defang.

After all, when he was the emperor, he could not openly intervene in the internal affairs of the trading company. The nature of equity and imperial power conflicted. So now that he is no longer the emperor, wouldn't he also become a shareholder of the trading company?
The shareholders of the trading company really lived a much more comfortable life than the emperor.

On the contrary, Zhao Guangmei is really trapped in a cocoon now. Instead, she stays in Luoyang every day and cannot come back.

"Slave, slave, you should take care of such an important matter. No one will take a look at my report? Old Xue, I have to criticize you now. You are the emperor now. You You should be able to control all directions in Jiuzhou, so why are you still working so hard on those agricultural products? Why are you counting your ruined accounts?"

Xue Juzheng said: "Of course what Your Highness said makes sense, but agriculture is the foundation of the country. As far as I know, especially in the vast rural areas, almost all agricultural production comes from the foreign barbarians. If we want to expel slaves at this time, , it is inevitable that those rural tyrants will take the opportunity to cause trouble."

"Then let them make trouble. Am I afraid of them?"

"You're not afraid, I'm afraid. Who asked me to be an official now? Your Highness, please wait until I stop being an official before you mention it. Don't worry, I will definitely do it within five years at most. Stand back."

"........."

(End of this chapter)