Chapter 243 Military Rectification
As the military training date for the commander gradually came to an end.

As usual, Zhao Xin had to gather them together and explain to them why he was able to behead twenty or thirty thousand people in the Battle of Wuding River.

Why did the Song army always suffer defeats in the past, and why did Zhao Xin wipe out the Western Xia Iron Harriers as soon as he made a move?

In addition, he and the Li Yuan army have more powerful technology than Western Xia.

There is another very important point.

That means everyone follows orders.

Why did Han Qi lose the war and people like Ren Fu and Ge Huaimin died in a foreign land?

And why was Cao Bin, the first general of the founding of the Song Dynasty, defeated by the Liao people?

It’s all because of these people who like to act on their own and don’t listen to orders.

If you want to win a battle, you must obey orders.

The side with more people obeying orders will win!
But to be honest, those who were listening to Zhao Xin’s speech were all commanders, and usually they just followed orders.

The failure of the Song Dynasty, if anyone is to blame, cannot be pinned on them.

But from now on, the Song Dynasty would never allow such a failure to happen again.

In order to solve the problem of incompetence of generals in the past and the problem of subordinates not obeying orders, he specially wanted to give them such training.

At the end, I also revealed to them in advance that if a war broke out in the future.

Their instructors will become their generals and directly command them.

Song Dynasty, we can’t continue to be so cowardly!
From now on, anyone who disobeys orders will be directly punished by military law.

Similarly, if you win the battle, you will definitely be rewarded handsomely.

After dealing with the commander, next…

Zhao Xin had to go down and inspect the situation in the military camps one by one.

The Song Dynasty’s imperial guards have been rotten for a long time.

The Western Army was better because it faced great survival pressure and was reorganized by Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi, so it seemed to be very capable in fighting.

As for the imperial guards of Hebei, including the imperial guards of Kaifeng Prefecture, how strong are they?

Especially as for the elite among the elite of the Song Dynasty, whose military units are called ‘Bongri’, ‘Tianwu’, ‘Longwei’ and ‘Shenwei’, how strong are they? Zhao Xin could only say that there must be a big question mark here.

nature……

Next, when Zhao Xin inspected the army, it could also be seen.

Many of the people who were originally recorded as having 500 people in the books now only have 200 people left.

There were also cavalrymen who were said to have a staff of 300 men, but in reality had only 20 horses, and they were all old, weak, sick and disabled, which was not uncommon.

Zhao Xin cancelled the establishment one by one, merged the number of people, and at the same time cleared out some timid, old and weak people who were willing to withdraw.

In the past, everyone would probably think that Zhao Xin’s move was too bold. What if it caused some commotion?
But now…

After all, Zhao Xin fought a great battle in the northwest.

No one dared to disobey.

Because the Song Dynasty has fought so many wars since its founding, but probably none of them were as beautiful as this one.

soon……

On the surface, the 310,000 imperial guards in Kaifeng Prefecture and the capital area were reduced to 200,000 by Zhao Xin.

Many of them are just drawing a salary without showing up. There is only a number but no real person at all.

It was only later that Zhao Xin realized something was wrong. If he continued like this, he would cut too many pieces.

otherwise……

Zhao Xin estimated that 150,000 people had already died of suffocation.

The number was so frightening that both Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi were shocked when they saw it.

I thought to myself, Your Highness, if you keep killing people like this before the war, aren’t you afraid that if the Liao Kingdom really reaches the city of Tokyo, those who are dissatisfied with this will simply open the city gates and surrender to the Liao Kingdom?

You have to know that this is the Song Dynasty.

The Song Dynasty came before the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

Zhao Xin naturally also considered this issue.

However, it has to be cut.

It is precisely because the war is imminent that we have to cut it. Otherwise, would we keep such a false number to deceive ourselves?
of course!

After the cut, Zhao Xin will definitely make some supplements.

Therefore, next, another 20,000 people were recruited and given to the Li Yuan Army for training. If the Liao Kingdom really reached the city of Dongjing, they would rely on these 20,000 people. As for the other imperial guards, to be honest!
You can’t expect too much from them.

If it weren’t for their families, who also lived in Tokyo, they would probably have abandoned the city and fled.

After cutting down the number of imperial guards in Tokyo City and the surrounding areas, Zhao Xin then inspected the 110,000 imperial guards of the Song Dynasty recorded in the records in Hebei.

The ones in Hebei are actually better.

The shortage situation is not as serious as in Tokyo and the Gyeonggi area.

However, weapons and armor that have been in disrepair for a long time are often seen.

The most popular weapon of the Song Dynasty’s imperial guards was the crossbow, accounting for as much as 80% of the army’s troops.

But perhaps it is precisely because of this that, just like when the Qing army was fighting the British army, they were fine when they were shooting at each other with muskets, but once it came to close combat, their true colors were immediately exposed.

Relying too much on long-range weapons will only make you lose all your courage.

In order to boost morale, Zhao Xin then had to mobilize people in each place one by one.

It’s almost like a lecture tour.

of course!

The most important thing is to select those who still have the courage through meetings and conversations.

Then regroup.

As for the imperial guards in Hebei area, what Zhao Xin needs to do is to gather together those who are brave enough.

Don’t let others who don’t have the courage force you to run away with him.

After all this turmoil, there were only 40,000 soldiers left in Hebei who could fight.

If the key is scattered everywhere, it will seem even less.

Some states look large and important, but in reality, their garrison consists of less than 10,000 troops.

For example, during the previous rebellion in Beizhou, as the transportation hub of the canal from the Song Dynasty to the north, there were only seventeen commanders stationed there.

Even if all seventeen commanders were fully staffed, the total number would only be eight thousand five hundred.

Some states have fewer commanders, or even just three.

Like this, Zhao Xin immediately understood why the Liao Kingdom dared to march straight into Chanzhou.

Because you only have these people, and they are highly mobile cavalry, so they are not afraid of your little tricks.

Zhao Xin was also a little shocked after checking these numbers.

after all……

If he really went to war with the Liao Kingdom, how much of a role would these states and counties be able to play?

Zhao Xin thought that if they didn’t fall, it would be the greatest help to him.

What kind of cooperation do you expect from them?
Zhao Xin thought that this might be a bit difficult.

of course!

Even so, we cannot ignore the possibility of doing so.

I guess by then…

The military power still has to be handed over to Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi.

As for the defense of Tokyo City, it was left to Wen Yanbo.

It’s not that Wen Yanbo knows how to fight, but Zhao Xin knows that even if he dies, Wen Yanbo will never open the city to surrender, and he will not be so impulsive as to lead people out of the city to fight in the field.

Wen Yanbo is a man who is very decisive and resolute in doing things.

Although he had bribed Madam Zhang, his character did have some flaws.

But he would never do anything to betray his country.

The Hedong area, which is the direction of Taiyuan, also needs to be guarded, and Pang Ji can be sent there.

Everything that everyone needs to do, as well as the military arrangements, have been sorted out.

Next, we will fight this battle with more confidence.

at the same time……

Zhao Xin still had to recruit a new batch of soldiers.

It requires proficiency in archery and horsemanship, as well as the courage to engage in hand-to-hand combat.

We try to gather as much as we can, but at the moment, it is definitely not enough.

(End of this chapter)