At that time, these generals even appointed their own officials and generals, and only reported to the court as a routine matter.
But the problem is, that was in the past.
After the victory at Yanling, Emperor Zhao returned to the old capital. The first thing he did was to gather the generals from various departments and then absorb the troops of the Tokyo Garrison left by Zong Ze. Then, when the finances were a little better, he set about reorganizing the Imperial Camp Army and was willing to increase taxes and levies, as well as to remove staff from various departments of the Imperial Camp, thus taking back the financial power of each department.
From then on, the military salaries of each department had to be allocated from the central government.
Moreover, this process of consolidating power with the return to Tokyo as the turning point was continuous and gradual. After the military pay, the right of local officials to station soldiers was withdrawn, the army in the imperial camp was continuously strengthened, Han Shizhong's conscription caused public resentment and was reprimanded, Yue Fei demanded the most military equipment and was impeached by Li Guang and Li Jing, Qu Duan, the most domineering general, was escorted to the court by an imperial censor, Wang Xie, the scum, was executed at a banquet, and even Zhang Rong's group of pirates were reorganized after the Battle of Dongping Prefecture.
Finally, after the Battle of Yaoshan, even the last Western Army was reorganized into the Imperial Camp system, and the court also granted land to retired and meritorious soldiers in Guanxi and Henan.
Even now, after Han Shizhong moved to Guanxi, the areas in Huaixi were also undergoing similar reorganization under the direct responsibility of Liu Ji.
This central government is never idle for a single day.
So, when all the troops are de-feuding, what does it mean when the emperor says that your troops actually want to return to the feudal system?
"I have received great grace from your Majesty, but I have absolutely no such intention!" Wu Jie was in a daze for a moment and could only bow reluctantly, but his slightly trembling voice clearly showed that he was already a little flustered and out of control at this moment.
At this time, Zhang Jun no longer had the intention of gloating as before. He just stood there in silence, looking coldly at the old acquaintance of the Western Army.
"I'm not talking about you, but the Western Army is a vassal state." Zhao Jiu certainly wouldn't let the other party misunderstand him. "And, I probably know that because of our dynasty's policy of defending the interior and weakening the exterior, the Western Army has always appeared docile, not as rebellious as the vassal states of the Five Dynasties and the Remains of the Tang Dynasty... But in fact, in terms of internal systems, in my opinion, the Western Army is still a real vassal state, otherwise why would it have all kinds of vassal methods?"
Speaking of which, both Wu Jie and Zhang Jun were veterans of the Western Army. Even though what Emperor Zhao said was a bit awkward and far-fetched, the two of them instinctively understood it because they knew in their hearts what the vassal methods Emperor Zhao was talking about.
For example.
Thanks to the Song Dynasty's long-standing military and political guiding ideology, that is, the so-called military logic of defending the interior and weakening the exterior, in theory and in practice, any Zhao Song official and the court core, or even the military supervisor sent by the court, could easily gain command of the Western Army or directly appoint and dismiss relevant major generals as long as they wanted.
Even the so-called Western Army generals never dared to be overly domineering towards the court. As long as the central government wanted, they could easily use legal means to complete the rise and fall of these generals... When the Song Dynasty was at its weakest, Zhao Jiu could still chop off the head of Liu Guangshi, who had the merit of supporting the enthronement, and freeze it into an ice lump. However, Qu Duan, the only one who showed a domineering face to Emperor Zhao, was not from a legitimate high-level general family, and was easily tied up by his subordinates and sent to Tokyo.
But the irony is that you can easily replace these generals, execute or punish related generals, idle or abandon certain families, and even directly send your confidants from the center to replace them, but there is always a concept of "Western Army Generals".
Typically, when one leaves, another comes, and when one batch leaves, another quickly rises.
Not only that, Zhang and Wu both climbed up from the bottom. They knew very well that this phenomenon was not only seen among the top generals, but also among the middle and bottom levels of the Western Army, which had also formed a unique, strange, yet extremely stable internal mechanism:
It is said that you are a ruffian from Yan'an Prefecture, he is a foreigner from the village near Huanqing Road, this one is a good family boy from Huanqing Road, and that one is a branch of a fallen general's family; you have been in the army for fifteen years, his benefactor has become a governor of a region, and an old friend of this family is suddenly punished by the court, and how much money did that man spend... Everyone has their own traditions and sayings.
At the top are military families based mainly on family inheritance, and below are factions and hierarchies formed based on regional origin. Finally, when combined together, they form a complex military and political interest group with a strong sense of exclusivity and self-survival.
This type of military and political group, even if it is not considered a vassal state on the surface, is actually no different from a vassal state in terms of its internal structure and final performance... Once on the battlefield, preserving its own strength is the first priority, gaining merit is the second, and getting rewards is the third. So of course, its combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
"If the emperor says so, it actually makes sense." Although he was sure that it was not directed at him, Wu Jie was still cautious when talking about this topic, because everyone could see that Wu had the potential to become a great general in Guanxi. "But how should we deal with it?"
Under the mulberry tree, Zhao Jiu also raised his head and frowned: "In fact, I have thought about this for a long time. The army is a natural system. It is impossible to completely eliminate the ills by relying on military discipline and punishment... But there are some key points. First, it is the most important thing to prevent soldiers from working, farming, or doing business, that is, not touching other money except for state rewards and salaries... For example, before Jingkang, the Hebei Imperial Army was well-known for its developed handicraft industry and could make money for its commander. Is this a good thing?"
Zhang Jun and Wu Jie looked at each other but neither of them interrupted.
"I know what you mean... It's not possible right now, because the national finances are still a little insufficient, and your workshops and military settlements are not easy to take away; and in the future, we will have to march north, and we may have to continue to cultivate land and cultivate land, which is not appropriate." Zhao Jiu knew what they were thinking, so he spoke frankly. "So, this matter should be put off until the world is pacified, and it has nothing to do with you. I am just saying it now."
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