After traveling through time, I became Han Zhang’s grandson?

After finally unifying the thoughts of his ministers in the court, Emperor Yingzong immediately put military reform on the agenda.

After all, the Zhao family's obsession with the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun continued until the Huizong era.

Finally, it was because of the failure of the war against Liao in the Yanyun area that the Jin people realized that the Song Dynasty was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, so they launched the war of aggression against the Song Dynasty step by step.

This led to the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty, the exile of Emperors Huizong and Qinzong to the north, and the birth of the Jingkang Shame.

It can be said that the Zhao family has been suppressed by the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun throughout their lives, making the entire country very passive when facing the northern alien races.

After Emperor Yingzong met with Privy Councilor Zhang Sheng, Deputy Privy Councilor Han Ming, Duke of England Zhang Wenbi, Marquis of Zhongjing General Zheng Lao, Deputy Commander of the Palace Front Department Gu Tingye and others, they talked about the situation of the army and everyone was optimistic.

"Compared to the financial situation, the military's current combat capability and situation are both good."

"This is largely due to the continuous training that Duke Ying and General Yang have received in the Imperial Guards."

"Of course, there's also the fact that Han Hou's pilot military reform in Shaanxi was quite successful."

"These circumstances have led to significant changes in the Imperial Guards and the Auxiliary Armies compared to the early days of the previous emperor's reign."

Zhang Sheng, courtesy name Gaoqing, was a native of Hancheng (present-day Shaanxi), or some say Yangdi (Yu County, Henan). He was a poet of the Song Dynasty.

In the eighth year of Dazhong Xiangfu (1015), he passed the imperial examination and became the chief clerk of Chuqiu. He was later promoted to the deputy minister of Duzhi.

Xia Shuo, the governor of Shaanxi, recommended his talent and was appointed Six-House Envoy and Supervisor of the Pacification of Jingyuan and Qinfeng. He was also the magistrate of Jiang Prefecture. He served as a judge in the Ministry of Revenue and a prosecutor in Kaifeng Prefecture.

During the reign of Emperor Huang, he was dismissed from his post in Runzhou and was summoned to be the Imperial Censor. He was appointed as the Governor of Qingzhou with the title of Tianzhang Pavilion Attendant, and later as the Governor of Qinzhou with the title of Longtu Pavilion Direct Scholar.

In the second year of Zhihe (1055), he was summoned to serve as a tutor and was appointed as the Chief Censor.

In the third year of Jiayou's reign (1058), he was promoted to Deputy Privy Councilor and later to Assistant Privy Councilor.

As a famous official in the reigns of Renzong and Yingzong, he is just a decoration in his current position as Privy Councilor.

In fact, any military action and military reform were handled by Han Ming, the Deputy Privy Councilor.

The old man's main responsibility is to sign and seal various military documents, and to take the blame for Han.

Therefore, he was happy to be free from many military issues. He had no objection to anything Han Ming said or did, and was completely a hands-off boss.

It was this attitude that made him loved by both Emperor Yingzong and Han Ming.

Even when he requested to outsource his work and was about to retire, the two of them strongly urged him to stay and continue serving.

After all, it is not easy to find such a sensible and obedient old minister who does not cause trouble.

For this, Emperor Yingzong gave the old man a big gift and appointed him as the Jiedushi of Zhangxin Army.

As a result, Zhang Sheng could only "pretend" to accept the imperial edict with great fear and trepidation, and sit comfortably in his position as the deputy prime minister, assistant minister of state affairs, and privy councilor, enjoying himself.

"I understand what Mr. Zhang said. It is indeed thanks to Duke Ying, General Yang, and Marquis Han."

Emperor Yingzong looked at the various documents submitted by Zhang Sheng, nodded frequently, and praised several people.

"Your servants are only fulfilling their duties." The Duke of England took the lead in bowing.

"Alas! If all the ministers of the Song Dynasty had the same idea as the Duke of Ying, there would be no worries about prosperity!"

Emperor Yingzong stood up with his hands behind his back with some emotion and paced back and forth in the Wende Hall.

"Everyone, I wish to implement comprehensive military reforms throughout the Song Dynasty. I wonder if the time is ripe?"

Emperor Yingzong pondered for a while and then took the initiative to ask.

After hearing this, everyone understood clearly. After all, those present were all military leaders. No one from the Secretariat or the Three Departments was there. Isn't this obvious?

The leader Zhang Sheng turned his head and looked at Han Ming, then he calmed down, put his hands in his pockets, squinted his eyes and began to daydream.

Han Ming almost choked on his saliva when he saw the old man's behavior.

He had just signaled Zhang Sheng to take the lead and say a few words, but the old man misunderstood it as "I, Han, will take care of everything, don't panic!"

Emperor Yingzong glanced around and saw Han Ming looking at Zhang Sheng with a strange expression. He couldn't help but chuckle and pointed at him, saying, "Han Hou, as the Deputy Privy Councilor, you speak first."

What is this?!

Han Ming curled his lips, straightened his clothes, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I think now is the right time to start military reform."

"Elaborate."

Emperor Yingzong stared at the other person with great interest.

"Fiscal reforms are now underway at full speed, and the situation across the country is very positive."

"At this time, the Liao Kingdom in the north will inevitably focus on the new policies implemented by the Song Dynasty."

"We need a covert situation, and now is the time."

Han Ming briefly recounted his thoughts, mainly using the "hidden danger" of implementing new policies to secretly carry out military reforms.

"What do you think? Tell us."

Emperor Yingzong nodded slightly, agreeing with Han Ming's idea.

"I, this old minister, think that Marquis Han's idea is too simple."

"Based on the espionage activities between the two countries, it would be difficult to conceal the truth and secretly carry out military reforms."

After all, the Duke of Ying is an old hand in the military and can see many problems at a glance.

"So, Lord Ying means you don't approve of military reform at this time?"

Emperor Yingzong first nodded in agreement with Zhang Wenbi's words, and then asked.

"No, although it's difficult to conceal the truth, it's true as Marquis Han said. Now is a good time to advance military reform."

"Using the momentum from the fiscal reforms to push forward the military reforms, this will catch the Liao Kingdom off guard."

No wonder they say that old ginger is still wise. Zhang Wenbi's trick of "taking advantage of the situation" made Han secretly amazed and couldn't help but secretly give him a thumbs up.

The result was the glares from Zhang Sheng and the Duke of England, who told Han Ming to be more serious and not be disrespectful in front of the king.

"It seems that although the Duke of Ying and the Marquis of Han have different opinions, they ultimately have the same idea."

"what about you?"

Emperor Yingzong looked at General Zheng and Gu Tingye.

General Zheng directly expressed his agreement with the opinion of Duke of England Zhang Wenbi, and the two old men were considered to be on the same front.

Gu Tingye was left alone. After some thought, he clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, I also agree with pushing forward military reform at this time."

"But we must also be wary of the Liao Kingdom, preventing them from invading our borders and obstructing the implementation of the new policies and military reforms."

Gu Tingye jumped directly to the issue of "Liao intervention", which was a one-step approach.

“This is a question that has been bothering me.”

Emperor Yingzong held his forehead gloomily, thinking of the giant in the north, and a string in his heart trembled.

"The Northern Army has basically not experienced any major battles since the Treaty of Chanyuan. It can be said that it is completely inferior to the Western Army in terms of combat experience."

"Under such circumstances, if the Liao Kingdom marches south, it will be difficult to stop it."

As Gu Tingye came from a military family like the Ningyuan Marquisate, he naturally understood the specific situation of the various armies of the imperial court.

After the Treaty of Chanyuan, Song and Liao enjoyed peace for nearly a hundred years, and the Northern Army was basically in a situation where it had nowhere to fight.

The friction between China and Western Xia began in the fifth year of Jingyou when Li Yuanhao rebelled and declared independence, and continued until the Jiayou period.

Even in the later dynasties of Yingzong, Shenzong, Zhezong and Huizong, there were constant wars for many years.

This also made the Western Army's combat effectiveness and combat experience gradually surpass that of the Northern Army, making it a powerful force in the Song Dynasty army.

In addition, when Han Ming was in power in Shaanxi, he carried out military reforms, completely eliminating various problems within the Western Army, making the current Western Army the first-tier army of the Song Dynasty.

Gu Tingye's words made everyone fall into deep thought, wondering whether there was any way to resist the interference of the Liao Kingdom when implementing new policies and military reforms.

"I think it would be wise to conduct a 'Forbidden Army Exercise', pulling out the central Forbidden Army, and then using the local garrison troops to cover each other, heading north to lurk on the border with Song and Liao."

Han Ming stroked his chin and slowly expressed his thoughts.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up and they looked at each other in surprise.

"Marquis Han is still trying to hide the truth from the world?!" Emperor Yingzong looked at him in surprise.

"But the Liao army spies are not fools. How could they not see problems with such a deployment?"

Gu Tingye and Han Ming made the same move and said while touching their chins.

"The Jiaozhi area has been experiencing unrest lately. We can issue a decree ordering the main force of the Central Imperial Army to march south to protect the region and the people."

"Then the various units were divided into smaller units, and under the guise of transporting supplies, they were sent north to various locations and stationed on the Song-Liao border."

Han Ming continued his reasoning, but his brows furrowed.

"Confusing the public...mixing fakes into genuine goods. Isn't this too much trouble, a waste of time and money?"

"The Western Army is located in Shaanxi, which borders the Hedong Road. Transferring the Western Army from Shaanxi to the north seems to be faster and more concealed."

Gu Tingye quickly realized the problem with this plan and looked at Han Ming strangely.

"I don't want to implement such a complicated plan, but Zhong Huai, you should know that the result of the Western Army's march north is equivalent to telling the Liao Kingdom that the two sides are about to go to war."

"The Song Dynasty is currently undergoing internal reforms, and neither the localities nor the imperial court are able to support the Western Army in marching north to fight a full-scale war."

"Aside from the Western Army, the only imperial army the Song Dynasty can muster is the Central Army."

"For this reason, only by transferring the Central Imperial Army to the north for defense can we achieve a balance between Song and Liao and buy enough time for military reforms."

"Furthermore, the military reforms during this period were mainly implemented around the reduction of the Xiang army and the rectification of the imperial guards."

"Other militarized aspects may not be feasible. After all, if fighting breaks out on the front lines, it's impossible to touch the roots of the military."

Han Ming's analysis made everyone fall silent, and some of them were impressed by the other party's far-sighted thinking.

"What if the military reform is delayed?"

After all, Emperor Yingzong had only been emperor for two years, and this idea was always a little behind this group of people.

"Your Majesty should know that after the implementation of the new policy, the national strength of the Song Dynasty will increase dramatically every day. Anyone in the Liao Kingdom who is not a fool will not sit idly by and watch the rise of the Song Dynasty."

"This defensive battle must be fought!!!"

Han Ming's resounding words made everyone tense up, knowing that the situation had become extremely complicated.

"According to Marquis Han's analysis, can the Song Dynasty survive this defensive battle?"

Emperor Yingzong took a deep breath and looked at Han Ming with bright eyes.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Although the Liao Kingdom is strong in military and cavalry, it has many internal conflicts."

"Yelü Hongji's uncle, the Grand Marshal of the Army, Yelü Chongyuan, and the Liao Zhao Wang and Northern Court Privy Councilor, Yelü Yixin, have always disliked each other."

"In this way, we can use some means to increase the conflict between these two people and divert Yelu Hongji's attention."

"This caused the Liao Kingdom to be caught up in internal strife, leaving them no time to move south. Even if they did, they would not be able to exert their full strength."

"Of course, the transfer of the Central Imperial Army to the north must also be carried out simultaneously as a backup to prevent the Liao Kingdom from making a desperate move!!!"

Han Ming's thoughts became clearer as he spoke, which made Emperor Yingzong and others nod frequently, and the solemnity in their expressions faded a lot.

"Well, Marquis Han's words resonate deeply with me. Who should we send as the commander-in-chief of this defensive battle?"

Emperor Yingzong now likes Han Ming more and more, and his confidence is growing.

Han Ming blinked twice, turned his head to look at his eager teacher Duke Yingguo, the amiable General Zheng, and his close friend Gu Tingye, and couldn't help feeling overwhelmed.

"Your Majesty, please make the decision!"

Han Ming directly threw the blame on Emperor Yingzong and closed his eyes to act like a rogue.

This made everyone laugh, and they kept shaking their heads at the speechless Han Ming.