How did a street urchin from the film crew end up in a Northern Song Dynasty drama called "The

After a moment of contemplation, Emperor Renzong replied, "Speak. If the method is truly feasible, I will certainly overcome all objections and resolutely implement it."

Jin Shuai continued, “Your Majesty, as the art of war says, ‘start with the easy and then move on to the difficult.’ Let’s start by solving the problem of redundant troops. This is not only the simplest and easiest way to do it, but it is also relatively easier to gain the approval of the ministers. At the same time, Your Majesty can also find a reasonable excuse.”

"Hmm? How exactly should it be done? Tell me about it." Emperor Renzong asked with great interest.

Jin Shuai smiled slightly and replied, "We just need to appropriately improve the soldiers' treatment."

Seeing that Emperor Renzong seemed somewhat displeased, Empress Cao quickly spoke up to dissuade him, saying, "Your Majesty, please calm down and let this young man finish what he has to say."

"Heh, Your Majesty, raising salaries will undoubtedly lead to the elimination of a large number of unqualified soldiers. After all, soldiers should be elite; too many not only waste money and food resources, but also become a burden once deployed to the battlefield, hindering the entire war effort. In that case, what use are these people? I firmly believe that within the vast territory of our Great Song Dynasty, we can certainly select excellent soldiers from among its 140 million inhabitants. In addition, we need to formulate a retirement plan. This plan is not a permanent system, but rather has a certain time limit. After five years, soldiers have the right to decide whether to continue serving in the army or choose to retire. For those retired soldiers, the state will give them priority in being assigned to local positions such as patrolling cities and maintaining public order, with their salaries borne by the local government. In this way, even in peacetime, they can still play a role; if war breaks out, they can quickly respond to the call-up and return to the battlefield."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Renzong became very interested and eagerly asked, "Hmm, this idea sounds quite interesting. Tell me in detail!"

"Once this epidemic subsides, Your Majesty might find a suitable opportunity to suddenly order a surprise inspection of the soldiers and organize a live-fire exercise. At that time, you can feign great anger and order the military commanders to immediately begin formulating a strict set of soldier assessment standards. Those who pass the assessment should be classified and reorganized according to different branches of service; as for those who fail to meet the standards and are eliminated, they can be incorporated into the construction corps stationed in various places to participate in local infrastructure construction projects, such as laying roads and bridges, and building river embankments. Those who still cannot perform well should be forcibly discharged. This is a grand plan, and the specific details still need to be discussed between Your Majesty and the military commanders. Hehe," Marshal Jin said with a smile.

"This is indeed a brilliant plan, and it would not be difficult to implement it. It's just that those civil officials..." Emperor Renzong frowned slightly, revealing a hint of worry.

"Hehe, Your Majesty need not worry. In the army, heroes are always judged by their strength. If any civil official dares to object, let them have a match with the military general. Swords and spears have no eyes. Sign a life-or-death contract. If they can defeat the military general, then let them take on important responsibilities. I don't believe that any civil official would be so stubborn as to fight a military general!" Commander Jin replied with a smile.

"Haha, this plan is brilliant! Dan Shu, what do you think of this method?" Emperor Renzong turned to Empress Cao beside him and asked.

"Your Majesty is wise and will make your own decisions. How dare I presume to judge matters of state?" Empress Cao replied respectfully, bowing her head slightly.