In a small pavilion in Fanlou, Du Zhongxiao, Han Qi, Fu Bi, Bao Zheng, Zhao Zi and Yang Wenguang were sitting at the table, drinking and eating.

After drinking for three rounds, Bao Zheng said, "We are now officials in the court. Wouldn't it be criticized for gathering together privately?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "The Chief Secretary does not need to worry. The Master of the Congregation knows about our reunion. And this time, the Master of the Congregation specially ordered me and Mr. Han to come and have a drink of wine. In addition to reminiscing about the past, he also discussed the next matter with the Khitan."

Bao Zhengqi said: "The emperor is most afraid of officials and cliques. How can such a thing happen?"

Han Qi sighed: "I have not reached an agreement with the Khitan envoys. After the Chinese New Year, they have not been to the palace to meet the king. Unlike in previous years, the Khitan did not send envoys this year, and they rejected the envoys of this dynasty. The relationship between the two countries has been obviously broken."

The Song Dynasty and Khitan made an appointment with each other as brotherly countries. In addition to state relations, the relationship between the two countries also includes this level of brotherly relationship in the royal family. Every New Year's Day, the emperor and the empress dowager's birthday, both sides will send envoys. This year, the empress dowager of the Khitan passed away and did not report the funeral, and they refused to congratulate each other on New Year's Day. It was obvious that the relationship broke down.

Officials in the court were talking a lot. Although some officials disagree, more officials believed that the Chanzhou Alliance guaranteed 60 years of peace in the north, and it would be a pity if it was cut off. In other words, the court now has a very strong argument over the Khitan lord and the two factions.

The officials who came out of Hequ Road were obviously considered by the emperor as pro-war factions, and they tested Du Zhongxiao and Han Qi to see their attitudes. In fact, these officials had no personal relationships and were even less likely to be considered as one. How could they explain it clearly? Today everyone gathered together to see if they could unify their opinions.

Fu Bi said: "This year, the two countries have no envoys, and the country of brothers for 60 years is almost broken. Next year, I am afraid that there will be wars. Some officials want to make achievements, while others are worried and afraid. People in the court are inevitably panic. The emperor has not made up his mind yet, so we can get together and discuss a countermeasure for reference."

Bao Zheng said: "In fact, since Taiwei Du entered the Privy Council and the entire army was trained, it was clear that he would not be able to continue peace with the Khitan. But no one thought it would be so soon, and they thought it would be a few years later. Suddenly, a war in Xiongzhou was fought, and many officials naturally panicked."

Du Zhongxiao said: "What the Chief of the Central Committee said is. In fact, from the beginning of the training, all the civil and military officials in the court knew that when the training was completed, it was the time to start a war with the Khitan. However, everyone believed that the training would take several years and would not start a war immediately. Now the Khitan suddenly cut off the envoys, and everyone was panicked. But on the other hand, all the civil and military officials in the court knew about this, so how could the Khitan not know? Why would they wait for a few more years?"

Bao Zheng nodded: "Yes, how could this well-known thing be hidden from the Khitan? The Grand Marshal thought that the Khitan was doing this on purpose? It was not just because of the war in Xiongzhou?"

Du Zhongxiao nodded: "It is related to the Battle of Xiongzhou, but it is not just because of that battle. The two Khitan emperors fought for the establishment and fought for five years. They also had to rest and recuperate. Not long ago, the Khitan Empress Dowager passed away, and Hong Ji killed Chongyuan, which took time to appease the Hou tribe. However, if you know that the entire army will be able to complete the training in a few years, and they will not be able to wait for the Northern Expedition to Yanyun."

Bao Zheng nodded: "That's right. Taiwei, I wonder if you think you can go to war with the Khitan now?"

Du Zhongxiao smiled and said, "The court raises millions of soldiers, and now it is sufficient money and food. How can we not start a war? I just want to train the entire army and start a war later. How can the Khitan make us happy? There are things that cannot be avoided and it is just a difficult time to meet them."

Han Qi sighed: "Hebei Road is just a Khitan. Over the past few years, no matter how the troops in other places change, the troops there have been dare not move around. Now, training is the most troublesome thing for the imperial guards on Hebei Road. Liu Ji has built a new military academy this year. When people are trained, I don't know when it will be."

Yang Wenguang said: "It is not easy to train people. A few days ago, Liu Ji wrote a letter saying that the literary style of Hebei Road was not strong and there were few scholars. The military academy did not recruit enough people. More than 200,000 imperial guards were all trained, and at least tens of thousands of officers had to be added. However, Liu Ji sent people to various states to recruit exams, but in the end he only recruited more than 1,000 people. These more than 1,000 people were selected for all the suitable talents on Hebei Road, and there were no one in the next few years."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Yes, the three routes of Hebei, Hedong and Shaanxi are not as popular as the literary style. Most of the states have no provincial schools, and there are very few scholars from the people. There is no way, and they can only recruit people from other routes."

Yang Wenguang shook his head: "This is not easy to do. Scholars are naturally the most numerous in Jiangnan, Fujian, and the two and Zhejiang routes. It is not difficult to recruit all the people in the military academy. However, the imperial guards on Hebei Road are mostly Hebei people and people near the capital. Can they stay in the army from those places? Disagreement between soldiers and generals is also a taboo in the army."

In fact, it is not just a disagreement between soldiers and generals, but the living habits of the people in the two places are very different. In this era, the difference between the south and the north is much greater than that in later generations. Different eating habits and different languages, even daily life is different. Using soldiers from the north and generals from the south, you don’t have to wait for a war. Usually, the source of soldiers in the army will be fought. If the source of soldiers in the army has not changed, it is impossible to change the source of generals in the army, otherwise there will be trouble.

Du Zhongxiao said: "It is not feasible to recruit people in the south of the military academy, but it can be recruited from Jingdong and Jingxi Road. There are much more scholars in these two places than the three border roads. If you give more rewards, you will fill up the posts first. I mean, the military academy of Hejian Prefecture recruits people from Jingdong Road, while the military academy of Jingxi Road is from Jingxi Road, so you can ensure that the students are sufficient. In recent years, the imperial court has not been short of money and food, and local governments attach more importance to culture and education. After a few years, it will be much easier."

In fact, the places where education development is places where railway supervision and industry develop rapidly, such as Jingxi, Hedong and Jingdong Road. In other areas, the achievements of economic development cannot affect education.

When he was training troops in Suizhou at the beginning, Du Zhongxiao did not expect that in the future, he would have to set up a military academy and read people. When he was in a regular manner, he suddenly realized that there were not so many scholars in the world. In particular, the imperial guards never recruited southern soldiers, mainly from the three border routes, but there were many scholars in the south. When he started running a military academy, it was just in form and not strict, and this problem was not obvious. When Du Zhongxiao arrived at the Privy Council and really allowed the military academy to strictly manage and control the personnel entering the school, he found that the problem was not so simple.

How many scholars are there in this era? More than 800,000 imperial guards must be supplemented at least nearly 100,000 military academy. Even if the recruitment standards of military academy are low, one out of three or five people will have to be selected. There are nearly 500,000 scholars to choose from. The three roads along the border, even if it is added to Jingdong West Road, where do so many scholars come from? Not to mention that scholars have a high status, there are not many willing to enter the military academy.

The problem of the Beijing Military Academy is not obvious because the place with the most scholars in the world is the Beijing. As soon as the military academy is opened on Hebei Road, this contradiction is prominent. As for the Hequ Road Military Academy, the number of people is too small and it is not very meaningful.

After hearing this, Bao Zheng smiled bitterly: "Even the military academy students are not recruited, how can we talk about completing the training? In this way, if we start a war with the Khitan this year, wouldn't it be a joke? We can only wait a few more years."
Chapter completed!