In the Xiangyang Houya, several banquets were set up. Most of the important generals in the army were here. Taking advantage of the New Year's Eve, Wang Xiaoliu planned to entertain them and arrange the next year's tasks. After Yang Jin was wiped out, there were no more rioters around him, so there was no need to worry now.

When the wine and meat came up, Wang Xiaoli stood up and said, "Before drinking, I would like to say a few words. It has been more than eight months since I defended Gong County in April to destroy Yang Jin. In these eight months, we have seen many things and experienced a lot. Many of your generals served the king with my father. At that time, I thought, to defend Tokyo and repel the Jin army, and then I could live a peaceful life. Now it seems that I thought it was too simple at that time. Tokyo City was not defended, the Jin army did not repel, and the imperial court had no place to settle down. The world was full of suffering, and the people were crying. We should not make plans."

Everyone was quietly watching Wang Xiaoli. Knowing what they said today is very important to the future.

Wang Xiaolei said: "What do we do next? This is a question that must be answered. The emperor is in the southeast and is too far away from us. It is not that the matter is extraordinary. We are powerless for the time being. We can only occupy Wanluo first, train an elite soldier, and defend Jinghu. Jinghu and Jiangnan are the essence of the world. As long as we have time, the court will always breathe."

This was the activity territory for this year. Everyone nodded after hearing this. In fact, since the formal battle with Yang Jin, things have developed too quickly, and many people have not thought about what to do in the future. Moreover, people's habits and things at this time have been listened to the leaders, and most people have not thought about them.

Wang Xiaoliu decided to gain a foothold in Dengzhou and Xiangyang Prefecture.

Normally, if you intend to fight for the world, China should occupy the edges and corners. For example, Guanzhong, Hebei, and Hedong, these places are easy to defend and difficult to attack. You can use less troops to defend and develop yourself. With strength, you can quickly enter the Central Plains to compete for power. Even if you fail temporarily, you can return to your hometown. For example, Kaifeng and Luoyang are places of four battles, which are not suitable for bases.

But there was a special situation between the two Song ties. After the Jin soldiers broke through Kaifeng, they did not think that they could rule the Central Plains. At this time, the Jin people had the basic idea of ​​occupying the north of the Yellow River and establishing a puppet regime in the vast Central Plains. This was the case in the Central Plains, let alone the south. The Jin people had the idea of ​​completely destroying the Song Dynasty, and it was time for Wanyan Liang. This reason was also the basis for Zhao Gou to negotiate peace with the Jin Dynasty.

In the next ten years, Wang Xiaolie did not need to consider the Jin army's large-scale attack. Even if there are troops from the puppet regime, defense will be relatively easy. If you can't train an army to deal with the Jin army after ten years, you don't have to think about anything else.

In fact, since the Song Dynasty, China's strategic pattern has undergone great changes. Guanzhong and Hedong are actually no longer important places that are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Due to the barren land, the weather becomes cold, which is not conducive to development. The key places in the north have become the Northeast Plain, while the south is the wealthy Jiangnan, and the entire strategic center of gravity has moved eastward.

However, in this era, almost everyone's ideas come from history. In the eyes of court officials, the most important thing is to defend Shaanxi Road. Defending Jiangnan and attacking Shaanxi is the idea of ​​most people. Under this situation, Wanluo has become a place where no one pays attention.

Wang Xiaoli remembers that Yue Fei's northern expedition in history started from the Xiang Deng area and went north to the Central Plains. Now, this is not accidental. But the current situation determines that this area can grow rapidly and grow, and it is the weakness of the Jin Dynasty.

Seeing that everyone listened seriously, Wang Xiaolie said again: "The most important thing we do is to do a few things over the New Year. The first thing is to collect the bones of soldiers who died in the Jin army when they came south. When the world was in trouble, these people bravely stood up, and many of them came from the grass and fought with the enemy. Many died in the wilderness and no one collected the corpses. Collecting their bones for proper burial is the first thing to do. Some people, although they did not die on the battlefield, were injured by the enemy. Some even had a difficult life and wanted to raise them well."

After hearing this, the soldiers applauded. Since the western part of Jingxi was not taken back by the Song Dynasty from the Jin people, the Jin people took the initiative to withdraw, and there was no aftermath. There were many martyrs and many disabled people in every prefecture and county. The deceased were properly buried and the living were raised, which was something a regime must do. Treating them badly will affect the morale of the army. And as those in power now, they should also do so.

"The second thing is to collect exiles. Since the Jin army headed south, many families have been destroyed and many people have been displaced. We cannot sit idly by. After the New Year, every state and every county will set up special people to deal with this matter. The deceased officials give money to bury, and the living are organized by the officials to build villages in free places. Land is reclaimed, farm tools are provided, and food is grown."

"The third thing is to simplify the military and simplify the government. This includes two aspects. First, we need elite troops. How to singular troops? Essential troops are not disarmament, not reducing the army, but turning the army into elite forces. These days, the army will make soldiers and distribute them to all armies and prefectures and counties. Anyone who is not singular to the army will be cut off or replaced by non-fighting troops. In each prefecture and county, all those who are singular to join the army will join the army. If the family is small, the local government can find a way, such as helping farming, such as subsidizing money and food. How to do it needs to be carefully considered. In short, the general trend is now like this. The Jin army is extremely rampant and has to recruit soldiers to defend the country! All men in the Song Dynasty need to do their part for the country!"

"On the other hand, we need to streamline the government. In the past, the government affairs were very messy. When we were in Ruzhou, the public officials there listed in detail what they had to do on a daily basis. In the following days, we had to select personnel and cut political affairs. For example, the taxes collected in the past were extremely chaotic and used a lot of people. The government collected ten cents and spread them to the people, and it would become a hundred cents. The people were burdened too much! One principle is that the people in the countryside paid how much money and how much grain they paid according to the number of farmed fields and how much farm food they paid in a year according to the number of farmlands they cultivated.

If the food is accurate, no taxes are allowed! No other items that exceed taxes! How much money is collected and how much grain is paid must be clearly understood! According to the population, the number of labor workers is assigned. The number of labor workers per year is an accurate number, and the local government shall not charge too much in any name! More than the number of labor workers, people are used, money or grain are given. We make unified regulations on how much a laborer or how much grain is, and the local government cannot change it! Only by not harassing the people can they farm with peace of mind.”

"Only when the elite troops and government are done well, we can develop if the people are at ease. Don't just think about collecting money and grain from the people, and let them plow the fields and weave cloth with peace of mind. Not only can they not harass them, but they should also help them more and do their best to help them! These must have detailed systems, and they must be decided after the New Year to ensure that the spring plowing is done well next year!"

Hearing this, Chen Yuyi felt aroused. Every official would say that he would benefit the people when he arrived at a local area. But how to benefit the people is not clear. Wang Xiaoliu is different, and he made things clear, which is something he had never seen before. At this time, the most important thing for the court is to raise soldiers, and the most important thing for raising soldiers is to have money and food. In the local area, in order to complete the tasks of the court, most people try their best to plunder the people. Wang Xiaoliu's method is to eliminate the middle class, which is different from others.

Wang Xiaoli said again: "All people in the army should provide subsidies in the local area. They should plant and harvest in spring and autumn, and help them in daily affairs. There are also some people without land, organized by the military to establish new villages. They should collect grain and money, and the people and servants should give preferential treatment. In short, they used to distribute money and grain in the army to support their families. In the future, the army controlled food and accommodation, and gave some change, and the family would not be raised by the army. This is a matter of no choice. Where can the government have so much money? If the soldiers give more money, they will drag down the government. If the soldiers are given less money, they will inevitably be hungry at home. These regulations must be formed so that the soldiers and the people can understand clearly. As long as this is the case, the army can be strengthened and the soldiers will have no worries."

Wang Xiaolie has talked about this several times and established a new village. It was just that the time was too short, and everyone didn't know how effective it was, so they didn't say anything. In this era, the army not only had to support the soldiers themselves, but also had to give him money to support a family. The Song Dynasty's finances were difficult, and the money paid was less, so the life of the lower-class soldiers was very difficult. For the official, the military expenditure was huge and could not be supported. For the soldiers, everyone had too little money to support their families. Now there are all free land everywhere, so it's better to save the money and let the soldiers' families support themselves.

The Song Dynasty did this to continue from the late Tang and Five Dynasties, with special historical reasons. The huge army and their families actually became a big political burden. It was not easy for the court to solve the problem. One of the contents of Wang Anshi's reform was to seal the piles and make regular troops only allow them to go out but not enter, so they naturally reduced their personnel. In addition, the Baojia method was used to rebuild the army instead of the imperial guards. However, after the old party came to power, the Baojia method was abolished. As a result, in the late Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial guards' combat power was abolished, and the Baojia method was also abolished.

Wang Xiaoli's method is actually to replace the employment system with the conscription system, which is what a normal dynasty should do. The key to success is whether the military's family can be resettled.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Wang Xiaoli said: "In the end, it is the key to whether we can succeed, whether the government can make money. As I said so much, it is nothing more than to reduce the burden on the people and increase the number and combat effectiveness of the army. I once calculated that reducing the burden on the people is mainly to reduce the exploitation of powerful households. This matter cannot be said to be harsh. In extraordinary times, of course, there are extraordinary practices. In the end, increasing the army still requires money. At the same time, public officials and servants should not let the government exploit the people, and the government also needs to spend money. In short, it is necessary to spend money! Whether the government can make money is a major issue. I have some insights in this matter for the time being. After the New Year, everyone should work hard to do this."

The army needs to spend money. Even if Wang Xiaoli changes the nature of the army, it still needs to spend money. Whether or not he can make money is the next major task. The solution is nothing more than the memory of his previous life, combined with the specific situation of society at this time.
Chapter completed!