Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 7: So it’s a dead end?
But no matter what, I have already taken the benefits first. In this secret room where there is no third person, there is no reason to continue to be ambiguous.

After all, the other party is not only the county magistrate, but also in charge of the county school. No matter from which aspect, getting Li Pan's appreciation and support will be beneficial to himself.

Now that you have demonstrated your talent, you might as well show it to the end!

"I've heard from merchants traveling in the northwest that the forts at the forefront of the Qinfeng Road are mostly garrisoned by soldiers from the garrison and foreign troops, which actually violates the rules of military system."

Lu Beigu's words were implicit, but there was actually a reason behind it.

When Emperor Taizu of Song founded the country, the soldiers who were theoretically responsible for local defense were actually just auxiliary soldiers used for labor and did not receive military training.

But during the First Song-Xia War, due to the serious shortage of troops in the northwest, the soldiers from Qinfeng Road and other places began to be trained and reviewed, and after some training they could barely make up the numbers.

But the essence of the garrison soldiers is still a bunch of filler babies who lack combat effectiveness. They are okay when they squat in the fort and defend, but they will collapse at the first touch when they are deployed to fight in the field.

The number of the Imperial Guards (the predecessor of the later Western Army) sent to the northwest, which had relatively strong combat effectiveness, was also limited. If they were all stationed in the strongholds, there would be no troops capable of field combat.

Therefore, during the first Song-Xia War, Renzong issued an order to integrate the various foreign tribes that had surrendered and trained foreign soldiers.

The so-called Fan soldiers were the army commanded by the leaders of the Fan tribes. The imperial court provided them with financial and food support to allow them to assist the Northwest Wing troops in filling the line and stay in the strongholds in the buffer zone of the Song-Xia border.

It is precisely because the garrison troops and foreign troops should not have been stationed on the northwest front for a long time.

Therefore, Lu Beigu said that this move has actually seriously damaged the military system of the Song Dynasty.

"So, if we really want to train native archers, the problem isn't actually breaking military rules."

Some things can be done in practice but cannot be said publicly. Saying this in this secret room where only God, the earth, and you know it is a heartfelt talk.

If Li Pan didn't respond, then Lu Beigu naturally didn't need to say anything else.

"Isn't it because they're afraid of forming a feudal lord?"

Seeing Lu Beigu's concerns, Li Pan smiled casually.

"Yes."

Lu Beigu said sincerely, "The reason why the imperial court forbade other forts to follow Zhong Shiheng's move to recruit native archers in Qingjian City is not because the imperial court knew that native archers were cheaper than the imperial guards and garrison troops, but because they were afraid that using westerners to guard the western territories without imperial funding would inevitably lead to a large tailspin."

Archers is a common name. The official name in the Song Dynasty was local soldiers. This type of soldiers provided their own food, wages and weapons when fighting. They got their name from the names such as "bow and arrow" tattooed on the back of their hands. They were not considered a regular organization.

"That's true. Everything has its pros and cons. If the Northwest Army really grows bigger, it may not be able to annihilate the Xia Kingdom, but it will inevitably nurture the enemy and gain strength."

Lu Beigu sighed inwardly, it is so much easier to talk to smart people.

If Chongzhen could understand that "Liao people guard Liao land", not only would he fail to achieve "recovering Liao within five years", but he would also train the Liaodong generals to be his guides, and in the end he would not have been hanged on the old crooked tree.

"So, students believe that the stalemate in the northwest war may superficially stem from the military system, but its essence lies in the contradiction between our dynasty's finances and geography, exemplified by the pre-Tang Dynasty."

"Oh?" Li Pan put down his teacup. "This idea is very interesting. Tell me in detail."

"The Former Tang Dynasty's enemies were in the northwest and northeast. Since the Former Tang Dynasty was founded by the powerful families of Guanlong, it naturally focused on the northwest, and its finances were all used to expand its territory. As a result, the Anxi Protectorate expanded its territory by thousands of miles, achieving a remarkable feat." "For this reason, Guanlong soldiers were sent to the Western Regions in large numbers. Their constant fighting for months and years far exceeded the service period stipulated by the military system. However, after the expansion of the Western Regions reached a certain point, even the Guanlong soldiers could only barely maintain it with all their might. After the Battle of Talas, the Anxi Protectorate began to decline."

"At the same time, the Former Tang Dynasty lacked sufficient financial resources and manpower in the northeast, and was forced to delegate power to local Hu generals, leading to the An Lushan Rebellion."

Hearing this, Li Pan's expression became serious.

"The lessons of the Tang Dynasty are not far away. Our dynasty has established a system that prioritizes the two rivers to defend against the Northern Han and Liao. Although the Treaty of Chanyuan has been signed, who can be sure that the north will not rise again? After all, if we lose Yanyun, the cavalry can march south across the plains and water the Yellow River in a few days and nights to threaten Kaifeng."

"The two rivers must be defended, and the northwest must be defended, and we cannot allow the northwest to become a vassal state. Therefore, the power to raise funds independently will never be given to the northwest. Even if it means carrying the heavy burden of the 'three redundancies', the central government will grit its teeth and provide for it."

Li Pan frowned and asked.

"So it's a dead end?"

"It's not a dead end. In fact, it all comes down to economics."

The details of what Lu Beigu said next surprised Li Pan.

"I heard that the monthly cost of supporting one imperial guard is roughly equivalent to supporting two garrison soldiers, or four to five local soldiers."

This statement has a source. Lu Beigu remembered that there was a statistic in "Song Dynasty Military History". In theory, the monthly income of the Northern Song Dynasty's imperial guards was 500 to 1000 wen, depending on their rank. If the ration of two stone and five dou and the cloth used for making clothes were included, the average annual income would be about 36 guan③, about 3 guan per month, and about 100 wen per day.

As for the garrison troops, their salaries were basically cut in half, earning 50 coins a day. The local soldiers saved even more money.

These are not secrets. In the Song Dynasty, the people were well aware of the treatment of being a soldier. It was because the soldiers were not as well off as ordinary citizens who could just do any job, so there was a saying that "good men don't join the army."

The army of the Song Dynasty was completely different from that of the former Tang Dynasty. The former Tang Dynasty's soldiers were all beneficiaries of the imperial system. They were from decent and good families and had both status and honor.

As for the Song Dynasty, in addition to the thieves who were exiled to the army, there were also those idle rogues and refugees who could not make a living. Which decent son would not go to school but join the army?
Precisely because the quality of the soldiers themselves is not good, the Song Dynasty army can only rely on numbers. It is a luxury to expect such an army whose stability-maintaining attribute is greater than its combat attribute to have any combat effectiveness.

Why such a low-quality army, you ask?
Haven’t you heard that “the emperor in Chang’an is the military governor of Wei Palace”?

That’s of course because the arrogant soldiers in the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms committed such unspeakable things that frightened everyone in the world!
Therefore, when formulating the military system of the Song Dynasty, the policy starting point was that instead of creating such a bloody and absurd world, it would be better to sacrifice some military combat effectiveness so that everyone can live a peaceful life.

"I don't know the exact number of troops in the four northwestern routes, but I imagine there are at least 100,000 imperial guards and 100,000 foreign soldiers, plus tens of thousands of garrison troops. Generally speaking, even if nothing else is done, the cost of maintaining the troops alone would start at 7 million strings of cash per year. Taking other expenses into account, it would be at least 10 million strings of cash."

"One-sixth of the country's fiscal revenue has been consumed in this way."

"May I ask, has your Majesty ever considered whether there is a solution that satisfies both parties?"

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① Lianghe, the ancient name for Hebei and Hedong (now Shanxi).

②The Northern Han, namely the Han Kingdom, one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties period, was established by Liu Chong, a Shatuo man, who occupied the Twelve Prefectures of Hedong. After the founding of the Song Dynasty, it was dependent on the Liao Kingdom for a long time. In the fourth year of Taipingxingguo, it was conquered by the army led by Emperor Taizong of Song, Zhao Guangyi.

③ In the Song Dynasty, there were two ways to calculate one string of coins: one was "full of money," which equaled 1000 copper coins; the other was "provincial money," which equaled 770 copper coins. For the sake of convenience, this book uses the "full of money" method for all calculations.

(End of this chapter)