Don’t be fooled by Yuan Jiang’s loud words and his demands for the court to replace people at every turn.

But his body was still very honest. After he and Cai Yanqing agreed on the financial reform plan for the Transportation Bureau, he immediately ordered someone to send the plan to the capital by express horse.

The Song Dynasty's central power was still relatively strong, especially in terms of finance, military affairs, and politics. Such a large plan could not be decided by local authorities. First of all, it still needed to be informed to the court, and it had to be approved by the court before it could be implemented.

However, Yuan Jiang knew that it was actually just a formality.

Because Zhang Fei had already informed Zhao Xu and Wang Anshi of the entire plan in a secret letter in advance, in order to cover up the entire plan, it was planned at that time that Yuan Jiang would propose the entire plan at this time.

This seems more reasonable.

The court asked us to find a solution, and this is my solution.

Yuan Jiang and Cai Yanqing were only responsible for financial reform, while disarmament was the responsibility of Wang Shao and Guo Kui.

But this involves national defense, and we must ensure that after the cuts are made, it will not affect border defense.

Don't let disarmament lead to the destruction of the country.

...

...

The two of them did not dare to be overconfident, so they called in experienced generals such as Zhong Yan, Zhong Gu, Zhe Jizu, and Yao Si to discuss the matter.

However, these generals sat in the room, and no one dared to speak.

Wang Shao waited for a while, then asked, "Do all the generals think that we should not cut our troops?"

The generals just shook their heads.

Guo Kui couldn't stand it anymore and shouted, "Why are you guys acting like a bunch of women? Just say what you want to say."

Everyone looked at each other, and Zhe Jizu was the first to speak: "It's not that we don't agree with disarmament, but... we are afraid that if something happens on the border and we are defeated, someone will definitely blame the disarmament and implicate us."

The others just nodded.

This is absolutely possible. Western Xia is still obsessed with Suizhou. If they see the Song Dynasty downsizing its troops, they might make some moves. But whether they downsize or not, no one can guarantee a win.

If they lose, someone will definitely impeach them.

Both civil officials and military generals are very familiar with this routine. This is why, although everyone knows the problem, no one dares to take responsibility.

Wang Shao suddenly realized, "Since the court sent me and Envoy Guo to preside over this matter, even if something goes wrong, we will be responsible for it, and it has nothing to do with you."

Guo Kui hurriedly said, "Wang Jinglue, this is wrong."

Wang Shao looked at Guo Kui in confusion.

Guo Kui said: "If it is our responsibility, then we will definitely take it, but what if it is not? Now we have the Military Imperial Court. If something really goes wrong, we can go to the Military Imperial Court to investigate and make it clear who is responsible. If we take the initiative to take it, it will only protect the culprit."

Wang Shao was startled for a moment, then nodded and said with a smile: "The envoy's words make sense!"

Zhong Yan and other generals also suddenly realized, that's right! Now that we have the military imperial court, we don't need to be so afraid.

After this incident, these military generals had complete faith in the Imperial Court and were secretly glad that they had stood on the right side at the time and did not foolishly challenge the Imperial Court for the sake of that little bit of benefit in the military camp.

Guo Kui said, "You can tell me what you think."

Zhe Jizu immediately said: "Now is not a peaceful and prosperous era. There are strong enemies in the west and north. If we want to reduce the army, we must improve the combat effectiveness of the army. I think the garrison system must be changed.

This law stipulates that the troops will be rotated every three years, which not only increases military expenses, but also makes the soldiers exhausted. The key is that the Rongdi also knows that if the enemy wants to invade on a large scale, they will definitely choose to launch an attack in the first year of the garrison change, because the new soldiers are not as familiar with the terrain of our army as the enemy. How can we win the battle without the advantage of time, place and people? "

This rotating garrison system was a rule set by Zhao Pu, which divided the imperial guards into two parts, stationed in the capital and border states, rotating inside and outside, and returning to the capital regularly, but the generals would not be transferred accordingly, in order to achieve "soldiers have no permanent commander, and generals have no permanent troops."

The main purpose is to prevent the generals from gaining power.

This is indeed very effective, but it also seriously damaged the army's combat effectiveness. Nowadays, rotation is not something that can be done by train or plane and arrive in half a day.

It takes several months to go back and forth each time. When they first arrive at the front line, the soldiers often suffer from acclimatization and are half dead. It takes at least one or two years for them to recover and become familiar with the local warfare. But just when they get familiar with it, they are transferred away again.

The Western Xia were not stupid either. They were counting on their fingers and calculating when the Song army would deploy their garrisons to attack.

The generals were miserable about this. If they were defeated, they would be held responsible, but it was clearly not their fault.

The key point is that what Zhe Jizu said was more convincing, because their Zhe family army would not be replaced, and most of them were children of prefectures and states, so the influence on them was not that great, so he could have chosen not to say it.

Wang Shao was also a man who knew about military affairs. He had long seen this problem and wanted to take this opportunity to abolish the garrison law. He nodded and said, "We will petition the government to abolish the garrison law."

"ah?"

The generals looked at Wang Shao in shock.

This could be considered the law passed down from our ancestors!

Few people dare to bring this up because it involves imperial power.

But Wang Shao was talking about Qingmiao's worries.

The two old foxes, Wang Shao and Guo Kui, looked at each other and smiled.

They all know about Yuan Jiang's financial reform plan. Yuan Jiang dared to petition the court to set up a super financial agency. In comparison, what are we?

No, you need someone else.

Let’s see who dares to take the blame.

Now is the time for them to put pressure on the court, and this is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Guo Kui asked again: "Do you have any other suggestions?"

After seeing this, the generals were relieved. Zhong Yan immediately said, "The source of soldiers is also a problem. Although our army is large, the system is too rigid. Once the war with the Rongdi increases, the casualties will inevitably increase, and the source of soldiers is often insufficient.

Therefore, I suggest strengthening the training of villagers and requiring them to replenish troops in time at critical moments, which can also reduce the troubles caused by disarmament on border affairs. "

This actually draws on some of the experience of these fronts. The reason why General Zhe is so powerful is because the children of the prefectures and states are brave and good at fighting and can be replenished in time.

As for other armies, there are two ways to replenish their troops: wait for the capital to transfer them, or wait for the court to recruit soldiers.

But no matter which one it is, the speed is incredibly slow.

Wang Shao suddenly asked: "The court has a system to replenish soldiers according to the number of vacancies in the military. If a huge shortage is found in the military, it should be replenished in time."

The generals looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhe Jizu said: "The military registration system is also very rigid and cumbersome, and it is difficult for the court to know the specific situation on the border in a timely manner."

Wang Shao said: "But the military funds have not been reduced."

"Yes, yes."

"So what do you guys suggest?"

Those generals shook their heads.

This military status issue is mainly due to technical reasons, and they don’t know how to remedy it.

Wang Shao and Guo Kui exchanged glances for a moment, both of them were overwhelmed. There were so many questions just from a casual chat.

It can be seen that this is not something that can be achieved overnight!

In front of the government office.

"Master Fu, take care."

“No need to send!”

Fu Shichun walked out of the government office gate and got directly into the carriage waiting in front of the gate, but he saw a young man sitting in the carriage.

The young man looked at Fu Shichun with a smile, "How is it going?"

Fu Shichun took out a small bunch of copper coins from his sleeve and threw it to the young man.

"Thank you very much!"

The young man put a small bunch of copper coins into his sleeve.

This person is Cai Jing.

Fu Shichun asked, "How did you guess that the government office would take the initiative to ask our police station to intervene?"

Cai Jing smiled and said, "It is obvious that there must be many tricks hidden in this autumn tax. Believe it or not, even if we let those old officials collect taxes legally, they don't know how to do it, because many lands are between legal and illegal.

In the past, we all had a tacit understanding, so there was no need to worry. But now that the Royal Court is here, if we are sued by the Royal Court, it may not be worth the loss, and it will offend many people. It is better to cooperate with your Royal Police, so that they don’t have to bear the responsibility. "

Fu Shichun nodded, looking worried.

Cai Jing knew what he was thinking. The police station had been developing slowly, and if they were suddenly asked to jump to the front line, Fu Shichun would certainly be unwilling.

The two of them came to the imperial court in a carriage.

"Who won?"

When Zhang Fei saw them, he couldn't help but ask with a smile.

Fu Shichun said: "You win."

Zhang Fei glanced at Cai Jing and said with a smile: "To be honest, I am also unsure about this matter. It was Cai Jing who was sure that the government office would definitely let the police get involved."

Whether or not the police station is allowed to participate is entirely up to the government.

Because the tax commissioner has not arrived yet, the police station does not have the power to collect taxes.

Whether the government chooses to let the police intervene or not, there are pros and cons to both. The key is how can this power be given up easily. Therefore, Zhang Fei prefers that the government will not let the police get involved, and they will restrain themselves and get through this year first.

However, Cai Jing was certain that the government would let the police intervene, because Cai Jing believed that even if the government wanted to collect taxes legally, they would not know how to do it, and the risk was too great. They might very well be sued in the imperial court, which might involve some corruption incidents from previous years.

Obviously, Cai Jing guessed right.

Fu Shichun asked: "What should we do now?"

Zhang Fei thought for a while and said, "The government is still unclear about how to legally collect taxes, let alone your police station. If you follow the old law to collect taxes, you will most likely be framed and offend many people, whether they are landlords or ordinary people.

We have to use the voluntary declaration method, first cooperate with the government, let them provide the land register, and then let the people take the land deeds to file taxes. In this way, the police station will not have a direct conflict with them. "

Fu Shichun said: "What should we do if we encounter tax evasion?"

Zhang Fei said: "You are just assisting, the power is still in the hands of the government. Let's see whether the tax has increased or decreased compared to previous years. If it has decreased, it may be due to our voluntary declaration. The voluntary declaration must enter the second step, which is spot check. If it is about the same, or has increased, then there is nothing suspicious."

Before the tax commissioner arrived, he didn't dare to be too arrogant. Firstly, the police station did not have the power in this regard. Secondly, it was difficult for them to find concrete evidence, so they could only scare him.

Because in this case, the landlord will definitely have to pay more taxes by relying on the land deed. The farmers only have that small land deed, and they will not be able to share the burden with those tax-free fields.

The landlord will definitely make up for it.

This requires tacit understanding. If the accounts look good, everyone can report them to the authorities. Otherwise, the self-reporting law will be held responsible for this!

Then we have to investigate.

(End of this chapter)