Excited!

So exciting!

This raid by the Censorate was very sudden. There were no signs beforehand and no one knew about it. Otherwise, Li Bao and his men would not have failed to receive the news.

This made some people in the capital excited again. Although they didn't know what had happened in the end, and although Zhang Fei had already returned home, it didn't matter, as they could make up all kinds of inside information.

This at least proves that there is still a force in the court that can check and balance the Grand Chancellor.

This also serves as a wake-up call to public security, procuratorial and judicial officials. The Judicial Supervision Department established by the Censorate is not a joke, but is really keeping an eye on them.

From this point of view, the Censorate has achieved a very great success, regardless of whether the Grand Court President is eventually prosecuted.

But they didn’t know that this was exactly what Zhang Fei was expecting to see.

The next day.

Wen Yanbo, Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, Feng Jing and others arrived at the parade ground north of the imperial palace very punctually to watch this legendary new weapon.

...

...

Until this moment, they still didn't believe what kind of weapons were worthy of the emperor doing so. They all thought that the emperor and Zhang Fei were preparing for a war with Western Xia, which was an attempt to cover up their mistake.

By then he would definitely take out a strange weapon to fool them, and they were all prepared to be fooled.

Until there was a deafening burst of artillery fire.!

The whole world fell silent.

Wen Yanbo and the others opened their eyes wide, looking at the thick smoke and the dust and wood chips rising from the ground.

It seemed that what was shattered was not the wooden fence and low wall built in front, but all the doubts.

It's true.

The emperor did not lie.

This weapon is definitely worth it.

Although they were all civil officials, the prime ministers of the Song Dynasty were generally knowledgeable about military affairs. In fact, this was a compulsory course for them, as the external environment of the Northern Song Dynasty was so bad.

It is not difficult to see that this new type of firearm is different from all previous weapons, because it is a cannonball that does not rely on manpower at all. The key point is that this firearm is so cute, just like a larger spittoon.

The only weapon of this power today is the huge catapult, and the maneuverability of the two is completely incomparable.

Seeing their stunned expressions, Zhao Xu felt relieved and said, "This time you should believe what I said, right?"

Everyone came to their senses and felt very embarrassed. They wanted to apologize, but Feng Jing took the lead and said righteously: "I have done nothing wrong. If such a thing is not investigated, then I am guilty."

After hearing this, Zhao Xu thought about it carefully and it seemed to be the case. If he didn't know about it, he would definitely be very suspicious. He immediately changed his expression and said, "I don't want to blame you, but I hope you understand that I didn't mean to hide it from you, but I didn't want to disrupt the governance of the country because of this matter."

Sima Guang said: "Your Majesty has his own difficulties, but the country has its own laws and the family has its own rules. Sending troops into a neighboring country, although the scale is not large, is not a trivial matter. You should discuss it with the ministers and at least let us be prepared."

Zhao Xu nodded helplessly, feeling aggrieved. Was it my fault?

Wen Yanbo quickly changed the subject: "Your Majesty, has this firearm been used in Western Xia?"

Zhao Xu said: "Not yet, and the firearms sent to Xixia are muskets. I have not yet decided to allow the artillery to enter. This is the secret weapon of our Song Dynasty."

Wen Yanbo nodded and said, "I think this cannon can be used for fortress defense and to stop enemy cavalry charges. The court should vigorously develop it. Although it uses copper and is relatively expensive, at least it is under our control, unlike war horses, which are controlled by others."

Zhang Fei on the side was slightly surprised. Is Duke Wen so foresighted?

Wang Anshi suddenly said, "I think that although this kind of artillery is powerful, it is difficult to determine victory on the battlefield. The real winner is the cavalry. I suggest that we should invest military funds in war horses for the time being."

Why did they start arguing?

Everyone, including Zhang Fei, felt a little puzzled.

Obviously, there is something else behind their words!

Zhao Xu also heard the tension between the two and asked, "Is there something wrong?"

Wen Yanbo took the initiative and told Zhao Xu the whole story.

It turned out that after Fan Chunren and his men arrived in Daming Prefecture, they immediately conducted a census of the local imperial guards. The results of the investigation showed that the problem of empty pay was not very serious. After all, they had just experienced a disarmament and recruited soldiers to serve as the royal police, which had effectively curbed the problem of empty pay. However, they discovered another problem. The imperial guards they investigated had three thousand cavalrymen, but only five hundred horses, which meant one horse for every five or six people.

However, the expenditure on cavalry is several times that of infantry because raising horses is very expensive.

However, the money was paid, but few horses were seen.

If it were just about money, it would be fine. But where there is interest, there are flies. This directly leads to the fact that all the cavalrymen are people with connections. If the general is unaware of this situation and entrusts this cavalry with important tasks, then everything will be over!

So both Fan Chunren and Su Shi believed that this could be very fatal if a war broke out.

As soon as Wen Yanbo finished explaining the cause and effect, Wang Anshi immediately said, "I think it was because the court did not pay attention to horse management before that a large number of horse farms were converted into farmland, and the only pastures were used for grazing sheep, which led to the serious shortage of war horses in our dynasty.

The external situation is extremely unstable now, and the court should pay more attention to horse policy. On the one hand, it can purchase war horses from the Hehuang area, but on the other hand, it can recruit people to raise horses, which can also bring livelihoods to the people, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone. "

Although he abolished the Regulations Office of the Two Prefectures, Wang Anshi continued to implement his new policies through the Three Departments and the Ministry of Revenue. He gave up the Baojia system, but retained the Baoma system because his governing purpose had not changed. He still had to go to war, and to fight, he had to raise horses. When he learned about this, he used it to build momentum and prepared to implement his own Baoma system.

Sima Guang suddenly asked: "Is it to recruit people to raise horses or to hire people to raise horses? The difference of one word is a natural difference!"

Wang Anshi said: "Recruit people to raise horses."

Sima Guang said: "That is to say, if the horse dies of illness, the people will bear the responsibility."

Wang Anshi nodded and said, "But if you take good care of them, the court will also give you subsidies. This is fair."

Sima Guang stroked his beard and smiled, "It is fair, but if you do not force the people to raise horses, I, Sima Guang, can guarantee that no one will be willing to do this job. They would rather starve and freeze."

Wang Anshi said, "Is this a matter of freezing and starving? The Khitans, relying on their superiority in horses, rampaged through Hebei, killing and kidnapping so many people from the Central Plains. Do you mean that they would rather be kidnapped by the Khitans than raise horses?"

Although there is no direct answer, it is definitely mandatory.

It’s not that Wang Anshi didn’t want to hire people to raise horses, but he couldn’t do it. Because there was no pasture, he could only break the whole into pieces, with several families raising one horse. If there was no compensation if the horse died, how could the horse be raised well?

But when Sima Guang heard this, he became swollen all over. He hated Wang Anshi's rhetoric the most, and said excitedly, "You are always like this, always comparing yourself with the bad. When you introduced the Qingmiao Law, you also said the same thing. The landlords were taxed more, so the government collected less, which was for the good of the people. But the result was that the people in Jingdong East Road were living in misery.

Now you think that the Khitans kidnapped the people and committed a heinous crime, so letting the people risk losing their entire fortunes to raise horses is also for the good of the people. This is simply sophistry. "

Wang Anshi also became angry. "The problem with the Qingmiao Law in Jingdong East Road was that many officials pretended to obey but actually disobeyed it, not the Qingmiao Law. Later, the public security, procuratorate and courts went there, isn't that good? Now those landlords who lent money at high interest rates have also started to do low-interest lending business."

Sima Guang smiled, "Is that because of your Qingmiao Law?"

Wang Anshi snorted, "It's impossible to do it with the police, the procuratorate and the courts alone. The legal interest rate is 6%, and it can't be more than double. Nowadays, most of the warehouses are only 1% to 2%. Isn't this caused by the Qingmiao Law?"

Here we go again! Here we go again!

Zhang Fei, who hadn't seen them quarreling for a long time, was stunned and fascinated, as if he had returned to those glorious days.

But he also understood why Wang Anshi had asked him about weapons before.

Apparently, he was arguing with Wen Yanbo about whether to raise horses.

Wang Anshi added: "Before, the officials were corrupt, which led to the decline of horse administration. Now that the government is clean and the treasury is abundant, it is time to revive the horse administration. Only in this way can we avoid being bullied by neighboring countries."

Wen Yanbo said: "Even if the administration is clean and honest, if we want to restore the horse policy and train a strong cavalry, we must devote all our national strength. After all, our dynasty does not have as vast pastures as the Han and Tang dynasties, and this will inevitably interrupt the current financial growth. This war cannot be started at will, and we have to maintain it even if we don't fight.

The key is that even if we raise war horses, they are far inferior to those raised in the northern ranches. They are natural cavalrymen, while we need training. If we fight with them in cavalry, it is tantamount to using our own weaknesses to counter their strengths. How can we not be defeated? "

Wang Anshi said, "How much money has the court saved after neglecting horse management for so many years? When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, there was not much money either."

Wen Yanbo said: "Why don't you think so? It is precisely because the court has no money that the horse policy has gradually been abandoned. Now the court has saved money, but it is obtained by reducing the burden on the people. If the horse policy is revived, it will definitely increase the burden on the people. In less than two years, it will return to the original state.

The court has some money now, and it should be used for military affairs, but our dynasty does not have the conditions to develop horse politics, and the terrain also determines that we should focus on defense. I think this firearm is very suitable for our dynasty's strategy, and we should increase investment in the research and development of this firearm and deploy it in fortresses. The key is that doing so will not delay people's livelihood. "

Wang Anshi said: "If we do not promote horse policy and just defend ourselves, we will be passive and unable to solve the dilemma of fighting on two fronts. The artillery and crossbows we set up can only be used on our own land."

Wen Yanbo said: "I can guarantee that I can defend against the Khitan iron hoofs, but can you guarantee that you can win?"

This sentence caught Wang Anshi off guard, because he thought the enemy was Western Xia, not Liao, and he had no plans to go to war with Liao.

This is actually one of the main reasons why the two argued about this issue.

Promoting the horse policy represented an attack, which must be an attack on Western Xia, not an attack on the Liao Kingdom. Since the start of the new policy, Wang Anshi has been managing the northwest, and Hehuang is the greatest achievement of his new policy. Of course, he wants to consolidate it.

But if the focus is on defense, the focus will definitely be on the Liao Kingdom.

This also involves a strategic struggle. Wang Anshi's strategy is to attack Western Xia first and then Liao, in order to break the dilemma of fighting on two fronts.

However, Wen Yanbo's strategic thinking was to develop domestic affairs, improve people's livelihood, strengthen armaments, consolidate external defense, be fearless of war, and then use economic means to weaken the enemy, and then attack when the enemy is very weak.

Zhang Fei saw that Wang Anshi was surrounded by conservatives, including veteran debaters like Wen Yanbo and Sima Guang. He felt that Wang Anshi was a bit overwhelmed, so he said, "Although I don't know much about military affairs, cavalry is indispensable in war, even for defense."

This is really a timely help!

Wang Anshi immediately said: "Even the chief judge who knows nothing about military affairs understands the importance of cavalry."

Wen Yanbo said: "I am not saying that we should abolish the cavalry, but I think we should not promote horse politics, and we should put more investment in firearms. As for the cavalry, we can form two elite cavalry units of 3,000 in Hebei for mobility and to cooperate with firearms in combat.

I agree with the approach currently taken by the Palace Marshal in Hebei, using the Royal Police to train the cavalry, because some Royal Police have to patrol everywhere all the time, and the court can train this kind of cavalry, which will achieve twice the result with half the effort. "

Zhao Xu finally spoke up: "What you two said makes sense, but we have to do everything step by step. For now, we should do a good job of defense, and when the treasury accumulates more wealth, we can slowly increase the cavalry."

Wen Yanbo and the others immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

When Wang Anshi saw the firearm, he knew that the situation was not good, because the cannon was made of copper, and the current national strength of the Song Dynasty was not enough to support the development of firearms and horse politics at the same time. Since the emperor valued firearms so much, he must be focusing on Wen Yanbo's plan. He could only say, "I obey your command."

Zhao Xu added: "Now that the matter has been explained clearly, the Grand Court President was acting out of good intentions. I previously put this sum of money into the inner treasury. The Three Departments will return this sum of money to the Grand Court President in due time."

Wen Yanbo immediately said: "As long as the chief judge provides the detailed account, the court will return it."

Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "I will hand over the accounts when the time comes, but forget about the money. Just consider it as my donation to the court. In fact, we ministers enjoy high positions and generous salaries, so we should contribute to this. Defending against enemy invasion is also protecting ourselves."

After these words were spoken, everyone else felt embarrassed.

Can we compare with you in this?

No matter how high the official position and generous the salary are, it is not the case that one can take out 500,000 strings of cash without blinking an eye.

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, saying, "The Grand Court President is very righteous and dedicated to the country. I am very pleased. Well, since the Grand Court President is so generous, then the Grand Court President donated to the court at that time. After all, the Grand Court President has always attached great importance to charity. For example, the Dibaoyuan and the Military Equipment Bureau are deeply supported by the Grand Court President. Feng Zhongcheng, don't you agree?"

Feng Jing nodded awkwardly, "Yes."

This meeting was undoubtedly a great victory for Wen Yanbo.

Wang Anshi was very dissatisfied with this. After the meeting, he complained to Zhang Fei: "They always want to sit back and wait for their opponents to be killed, but there is no such easy thing in the world. In fact, they all know it in their hearts. It's just because they are afraid in their hearts that they always make excuses for their weakness. You wait and see. Over time, they will gradually forget about this and indulge in the decadence of luxury."

In fact, it is not unreasonable for him to be so radical, because facts have proved that the longer it is delayed, the less willing he is to fight. This kind of thing requires determination!

It is rare to meet a relatively strong emperor like Zhao Xu. He has always urged Zhao Xu on this point. Which dynasty in the Central Plains has suffered such humiliation as we have?

I must fuck him.

Zhang Fei listened quietly.

Wang Anshi asked, "Why are you silent? Do you also agree with Duke Wen's strategy?"

Zhang Fei said: "I don't know much about military affairs, but Master Wang should know. I definitely support Master Wang. We must fight. We have had enough of this kind of humiliation."

Wang Anshi said: "But now the government is obviously leaning towards Duke Wen and his people."

Zhang Fei said: "But Duke Wen is only taking a conservative approach tactically, and he is not saying that he will continue to be servile to the outside world. This is still in line with the strategic goals of the emperor and Wang Xueshi.

We can take it step by step. After strengthening our defense, we will be able to straighten our backs and negotiate with the Liao Kingdom, put pressure on Western Xia, and then launch an offensive when the time comes. This will give us confidence.

If we cannot defend against it, and launch a large-scale attack, we will be gambling with our lives, and we will have to make Liao compromise first."

Wang Anshi sighed, "I wish I could wait until that day."

Zhang Fei said: "I can definitely wait."

Wang Anshi turned his head to look at Zhang Fei and asked, "What do you mean, kid?"

Is there anything wrong with being young?

After leaving the palace and separating from Wang Anshi, Zhang Fei did not go home, but went straight back to the parade ground.

When the king and his minister met, they both breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhang Fei cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty. If I had not volunteered to donate some money to Your Majesty, this would not have happened."

"No wonder you are so good."

Zhao Xu waved his hand and said, "You are also loyal. If you want to blame someone, blame Li Bao. What do they do every day?"

Zhang Fei said hurriedly: "It's not Li Bao's fault. After all, the Judicial Supervision Department has not taken any action. It's really hard to guard against."

At this point, he paused for a moment and continued, "Besides, I don't think this is a bad thing. Five hundred thousand strings of cash suddenly disappeared. If we don't find out, no one will be able to sleep well. On the contrary, I hope that the Censorate can be maintained as it is."

"It's rare that you are so generous."

Zhao Xu quickly took advantage of the situation. In fact, he also thought so in his heart. He said, "But you should try to do less of this kind of thing in the future, especially you. You are now the chief judge. If you make a mistake, they may hold you accountable."

Zhang Fei nodded.

The other party's monitoring capabilities are also increasing, and they can no longer engage in shady operations as unscrupulously as before.

Zhao Xu asked again: "By the way, what do you think of their argument just now?"

Zhang Fei said: "I don't agree with the promotion of horse politics either. It will indeed interrupt the development of the country, but Duke Wen's strategy is also lacking. As a great Confucian scholar, he has forgotten what the real weapon of Confucianism is."

Zhao Xu asked, "What is it?"

"The benevolent are invincible."

Zhang Fei said: "In fact, the Xihe area has already proved this point very well. Although Wang Xuanfu made great contributions in the beginning and expanded the border by thousands of miles, before the public security, procuratorate and court were sent there, there were constant rebellions in the area, which cost the government millions of guan every year and caused great losses to the soldiers.

After the public security, procuratorial and judicial organs arrived, the local finances gradually turned from deficit to surplus, and more territory and people were obtained without fighting, and they were even willing to fight to defend Xizhou.

Everyone yearns for a better life, whether it is the people of Western Xia or the people of Liao. This is our strongest weapon. As long as Your Majesty does this well, we will win without fighting.

Of course, we also need to strengthen our weapons to prevent them from being desperate. If they can't grab it, they will be dead."

"You are right."

Zhao Xu smiled and nodded, "Yesterday I received a letter from Envoy Wang Xuanfu, who believed that the Queen Mother of Xixia was already fighting a desperate battle. She had previously sent soldiers to block the border, but those soldiers started smuggling themselves, causing smuggling on the border to become even more rampant.

This was a small matter, but the Xixia King had always been firmly in favor of trade with us and demanded the restoration of Han rituals. Therefore, once the Xixia Queen Mother compromised, it would prove that she had lost the power struggle with the Xixia King and she had no way out.

Envoy Wang Xuanfu believed that in the near future, the Queen Mother of Western Xia might take more extreme measures, even declaring war on our country.

However, after our propaganda, more and more people in Xixia turned to us, and more and more merchants and craftsmen sneaked across the border to Xizhou, which even caused the housing prices in Xizhou to more than double. "

In fact, he was also a radical, but the situation in Western Xia made him more patient and more calm in dealing with problems.

Because of this situation, he was more confident in defending against the Liao Kingdom.

If troops were to be sent, great concessions would have to be made to the Liao State to ensure that the Liao State did not take advantage of the situation.

However, this dispute not only determines the grand strategy, but also determines which technology tree the Song Dynasty will light up in the future.

firearm.

It is undeniable that this was forced upon them. For the Song Dynasty, the cost of raising horses was much higher than the cost of producing firearms. Even copper castings were cheaper than raising horses.

The key point is that despite such a huge cost, the horses we raise are far inferior to those on the northern grasslands.

No matter how casually they raise their horses, they are better than yours, and their mortality rate is much lower. You have to be very rich to be able to fight the enemy's cavalry.

The only way is to use firearms.

However, all the previous investments were in research and development with small-scale investments, and charitable foundations only donated tens of thousands of strings of cash each year. This time when he went to the northwest, Zhang Fei's first investment was only a mere 500,000 strings of cash.

This is actually a personal behavior.

Today we have to mobilize the power of the country to produce, which is very different.

Wen Yanbo immediately presided over a meeting in the Council of State Affairs. After consultation with the Three Departments and the Ministry of Revenue, it was finally decided to form a firearms battalion and stipulated that starting from next year, at least five million strings of cash would be invested each year to purchase firearms.

Why purchase? This was Lu Huiqing's strong request. He said that this could bring more wealth to the people of Hebei, rather than a burden.

If production on this scale is not commercialized, the people will not get a reasonable return.

Everyone in the court’s workshops knows that the craftsmen don’t get much money.

Secondly, he believes that firearms are not yet mature and still need to be developed, while the business bureau is obviously more competitive.

Anyway, the imperial court spends so much money every year, so I will buy from whoever has good quality and low price. It can also be regarded as a help to support these government agencies. After all, most of the firearms workshops are controlled by the emperor.

Of course, Lu Huiqing made such a suggestion mainly because the business offices were mostly controlled by the reformists, and there was a strong political purpose behind this.

Wen Yanbo had a clear mind, but he could not refute what Lu Huiqing said because it was consistent with his philosophy. He could not say that when discussing horse policy, he would talk about the people, and then change the rhetoric when it came to producing weapons.

At the same time, at Xue Xiang's suggestion, coin minting workshops in various places were laid off on a large scale, and then craftsmen were recruited into these firearms workshops.

You should know that currently all the most skilled craftsmen are in the coin minting workshops.

Xue Xiang is a staunch supporter of monetization. He gave away all his craftsmen and stopped minting copper coins. The future trend will be paper currency.

Everyone has his own calculations in mind.

All policies serve politics.