Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche brothers did not hide Galan and told them in detail about some secrets in the army and what happened before and after the first Eastern Expedition.

Jialan once protected Xue Shixiong, Feng Xiaoci and Wang Wei as the Northwest Wolf, and other commanders of the Northwest Army, so he had heard of some little-known secrets in the army. He also followed Pei Shiju five times to manage the Western Land and knew a little about the central ministry.

In terms of the army, there are internal and external armies. The internal army is in charge of the guards, and is the imperial guards, which are directly under the central government. The external army is in charge of the garrison and the expedition. The Yingyang Prefectures all over the country are all under the twelve guards. The twelve guards are commanding the army and are in charge of the military power. The twelve guards have twelve generals of the third rank, twenty-four generals of the third rank, forty-eight generals of the fourth rank, and seventy-two generals of the fourth rank. These are all senior officers and commanding levels. It is these people who control the army and control the Yingyang Prefectures all over the country.

The military administrative power is controlled by the Ministry of War of Shang Province, while the military decision-making power is controlled by the Provincial Shang Province.

The Imperial State Chief Minister Yu Shang, the three provincial officials and ministers, and the officials of the three provincial officials were in charge of the government. The axis of operation of the three provincial officials was Shangdu Province. The affairs of the court were all subject to the Tai Pavilion, and the officials of the three provincial officials shared the power of the ministers. Among them, the strategies of the inner history province were drafted by the ministers of the ministers, and the emperor approved it, and then implemented by Shangdu Province. However, in the actual operation, the major national policies were discussed and formulated by the officials of the three provincial officials in Shangdu Province, especially the Shangling monks and the left and right pushes. Therefore, there were actually only three prime ministers in the empire, Shangling and the left and right pushes. In order to restrict the power of the prime minister, the left and right pushes were always placed, but Shangling only awarded meritorious veterans in a specific period, which had more symbolic significance than actual significance.

Today, Wugui, the general of the Left Guard, Yu Wenshu, is the old commander in the army. Nayan Su Wei and Huangmen Minister Pei Ju are in charge of the province. Yu Shiji, the Minister of the Inner History, is one of the officials of the Inner History, and Pei Yun, the Censor, is in charge of the Censorate, exercises the power of supervision. The emperor firmly controls the central decision-making power, supervision power and control over the army to consolidate and enhance his imperial power. However, the result did not meet the emperor's expectations, and it can even be said to be very different from his expectations. The failure of the Eastern Expedition is a clear proof, and a series of evil consequences brought about by the failure of the Eastern Expedition are rapidly emerging and spreading rapidly.

The order to establish the Xiaoguo Army came from the center. The Ministry of War must implement it and recruit 10,000 soldiers in the shortest time. The emperor required the Xiaoguo Army to have strong combat power and be completely controlled by the central government. In other words, the emperor did not allow the powerful families to install close friends in the Xiaoguo Army. However, considering the urgency of time, in order to meet the emperor's requirements for the Xiaoguo Army's combat effectiveness, the Ministry of War had to select elite soldiers from the Twelve Guards' Mansions. This required the joint cooperation of the twelve generals and twenty-four generals, and the conflict broke out.

The Eastern Expedition failed, nearly 300,000 soldiers died in Liaodong, and the Twelve Guards suffered a devastating blow.

How many armies does the empire have?

More than 20 years ago, the imperial team went south to attack Jiangzuo. At that time, the north was unified and the population was about 30 million. However, Shandong was a conquered area and the people of Shandong could not use it. In addition, the army had to be sent to guard Shandong and border counties. Therefore, there were 518,000 troops and 90 general marching supervisors. Now that Zhongtu has been unified for more than 20 years, the population has increased sharply, reaching 46 million, but the population mainly increased in Shandong and Jiangzuo. The Guanlong area, the foundation of the empire, was too barren in the northwest, and a large number of people flocked to wealthy areas of the Central Plains, resulting in a slow population increase.

Considering the fierce domestic conflicts and the need to safeguard national security at the beginning of the empire's reunification, the imperial government soldiers were mainly Guanlong people, and the increase in the government soldiers was limited. In addition, with the unification of the Middle-earth China, the national defense strategy was subversively modified, from the inside to the outside, defending the outside and emptying the inside. The main forces of the Twelve Guards were transferred to border counties and towns, and border counties and towns and towns needed strong national strength to support them. Whether the national strength is strong is reflected in the financial resources, the amount of the wealth is reflected in taxes, and the amount of taxes is reflected in population and land. Do not pay taxes for the government soldiers arable land, that is, the more troops the government soldiers, the greater the impact on the imperial finances.

The focus of the reform of the military system after the imperial unified the empire was to become a military household. The name was because the war was reduced. The families and military households of soldiers should not be conquered with the army, so they found a place to settle down and live and work in peace. But in fact, this is a means to weaken and curb the control of the military by the powerful family. The original purpose of Su Chuo, the Northern Zhou Dynasty, was to solve the problem of military source and solve the problem of how to raise soldiers, and to concentrate military power and curb the powerful family. What guarantees should a powerful family have?

What else do you need in addition to classics and wealth? Of course, it is the army. For more than 400 years, the powerful families of aristocratic families have been strengthening their own force from the docks to the village soldiers, clan groups, and emerging tyrants from their troops to private troops. They have always strengthened their own force and used force to ensure power and wealth. Therefore, even if Middle-earth is unified, even if the government system is in place, and even if the central government tries to concentrate military power, from the emperor to the ordinary soldiers, they have to face the reality that the powerful families of aristocratic families have always controlled the army.

The emperor wanted to weaken the control of the powerful and nobles of the aristocratic families over the army, while the powerful and nobles of the aristocratic families were at all costs to maintain their control over the army. This was related to the possession of power and wealth. Therefore, in this fierce struggle, is there any possibility of expansion of the imperial team?

The purpose of revising the military system and expanding the Twelve Guards to the Sixteen Guards is not to weaken the control of the military by the powerful family, but to increase the number of imperial guards, trying to ensure the central control of military power by increasing the strength of the imperial guards, thus laying the foundation for a greater military system reform. This shows that the powerful family has strong control over the military. This control has seriously affected the formulation of national policies and created unprecedented resistance to the emperor's transformation.

The empire's population grew, wealth increased, but the army did not expand. This is an unquestionable fact. What's more serious is that with the continuation of the unification time, in addition to the border troops, the imperial guards, the troops guarding the capital and the rivers and rivers, which guarded the rivers and rivers for a long time, their confidence and courage were gradually corrupted by a comfortable life, and their combat effectiveness was deteriorating. The failure of the Eastern Expedition was also directly related to the decline in combat effectiveness of the palace soldiers.

The total number of the imperial guards should exceed one million, while the central army and border troops guarding the capital accounted for at least half. Four years ago, the western expedition to Tuyuhun was called the Northwest Army, Bashu Army and some central army guarding the capital. Last year, the eastern expedition to Goryeo was called the Northwest Army, Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jianghuai, and the total force was twelve armies, about 400,000 troops, including palace personnel, Taiwan Pavilion bureaucrats, imperial guards, civil servants who transported grain, military servitude, etc., about one million, which was claimed to be two million. Among them, there were nine armies that crossed the Liao River, went deep into the hinterland of Goryeo, and killed the Goryeo capital Pyongyang, with 305,000 troops, and finally the entire army was wiped out. It is said that only 2,700 people fled back in the end.

The 300,000 troops went deep into the enemy's hinterland to fight. In the absence of food and grass support, they should move forward and fight quickly. However, the army was slow to act. The commanders of each army were not determined when executing the orders, and they also took action against each other. After arriving in Pyongyang, they still did not decide to attack the city. Moreover, without the consent of the center, the entire army retreated without the excuse of poor food and grass, resulting in the failure of the plan to attack Pyongyang with the navy.

On the way to retreat, the army crossed the Qingchuan River of Sashui. The Goryeo attacked halfway. The rear army's Zuotun Guard General Xin Shixiong was unfortunately killed in battle, causing the army to collapse. The next step was the natural obstacle of Yalushui. The Goryeo used the same trick again and attacked halfway again. After the collapse, the Sui army had no power to fight back and was wiped out.

In the end, whether they only escaped 2,700 people were not verified, but the actual number was definitely more than this, because except for Xin Shixiong, the commanders of the nine armies, all eight escaped, especially Wei Wensheng, the general of the right guard of the procuratorate, and returned the army. Then he brought at least 10,000 or 20,000 people back. Since these commanders could escape, their subordinates, many senior officers, and the guards who protected them should have escaped. The Goryeo army was not as large as the Sui army, and even if they encircled and annihilated, it would take time, so many troops would definitely escape, but how could the emperor and his favorite ministers missed this opportunity? Of course, they would be punished to smear these powerful families, and on the one hand, they would confirm their crimes, and on the other hand, they seized their military power and drove them out of the army.

The result is indeed the case. Among the nine generals, Yu Wenshu, General of the Left Guard, General Xue Shixiong, General of the Right Guard, Wei Wensheng, General of the Right Guard, was reinstated before the Second Eastern Expedition because he was the emperor's confidant minister; General of the Left Guard, Xin Shixiong, General of the Left Guard, was killed in battle; General of the Right Guard, Yu Zhongwen, General of the Zhuo County Prefecture, Cui Hongsheng, General of the Left Guard, took all the blame for the defeat and was removed from the people. Fortunately, he decisively "death" and did not implicate the family; General of the Right Guard, Zhang Jin, General of the Right Guard, Zhao Xiaocai, General of the Right Guard, and Jing Yuanheng, General of the Left Guard, later pardoned the crimes, but failed to restore the position and could only go home to support his old age. Other senior officers who fled back were basically expelled from the army.

In this battle, the powerful and powerful families suffered heavy blows. What they lost was not only military power, but more importantly, they lost 300,000 troops, which was a devastating blow.

What should I do if the 300,000 troops are gone? The emperor wanted to launch a second Eastern Expedition, and the army was seriously insufficient. The Northwest Army wanted to guard the border, so it would definitely not be conscripted. The Central Army guarding the capital could not be conscripted. In the end, it still found a way in Shandong and Jiangzuo, so it issued an order to recruit civilians from Shandong and Jiangzuo to join the army bravely.

The Guanlong Palace soldiers who were guarding Shandong and Jiangzuo were limited. When most of them died in Liaodong in battle, there was no source of troops. The emperor and the central government had to temporarily modify the military system and recruit a large number of civilians from Shandong and Jiangzuo to join the army. In the first Eastern Expedition, the court recruited a large number of civilians from Shandong and Jiangzuo. During the Second Eastern Expedition, the court not only continued to recruit civilians, but also forcibly recruited brave men to join the army, which led to a sharp deterioration in the situation in Shandong.

The year before yesterday, the Yellow River was flooded, and the large and large rivers and canals on both sides of the river flooded, and about 30 counties in Shandong suffered floods. Last year, the Yellow River had a severe drought, and the large and large rivers and canals on both sides of the river dried up to the bottom, and there were more disaster-stricken counties in Shandong. However, at this time, the court still had to fight to expedition to Liaodong, mobilizing troops, food, grass and corvee. The central and local governments failed to provide disaster relief, which led to public resentment and rebellion. Originally, Shandong people were conquered, and they were always bullied by the central and local governments, with Guanlong people as the main body. Now there is no way out, so of course they rebel.

Helplessly, at this time, all the Yingyang Prefecture troops guarding all over Shandong went to the Liaodong battlefield. The strength of the county and county garrisons in various places was very weak. Even if there were county soldiers, the county soldiers had no motivation to suppress them at all, so the rebel army swept across the river in a short time with a prairie fire, and quickly spread to the Lianghuai and Jiangzuo.

It can be imagined that under this situation, the emperor and the central government decided to recruit brave men and women in Shandong and Jiangzuo, which would only make the domestic situation worse and worse, and would only allow more Shandong and Jiangzuo people to join the ranks of the uprising army, and eventually become out of control.

However, this time, most powerful families still supported the emperor and the central government to launch the Second Eastern Expedition because they needed the army and needed to use the opportunity of the Eastern Expedition to recruit brave men, rebuild the army, and rebuild force in order to safeguard their own interests. As for the domestic tensions, as for the rebellious Shandong people and Jiangzuo people, they were dismissive. In their opinion, as long as the Second Eastern Expedition is victorious and the army turns south, the horse can eliminate the rebels.

The emperor and the central government also thought so. They were not worried about the rebels. What they were worried about was that after controlling the newly established army, the powerful families would once again confront the central government and block the reform. In addition, the emperor and the central government lost confidence in these powerful families. At the same time, they were also worried that the civilians in Shandong and Jiangzuo were insufficient morale and combat effectiveness. If they fled to the battlefield, it would be over. Therefore, without hesitation, they decided to expand the Imperial Guards and Jian Xiaoguo, taking advantage of this rare opportunity to control more troops on the one hand, and weaken the control of the powerful families on the other hand, and to gain the initiative at all costs.

The emperor and the central government asked for people from the Northwest Army, and Xue Shixiong also asked for people from the Northwest Army, which is based on the current situation.

Galan finally understood that the defeat in the Eastern Expedition caused the emperor and the central government to be minimized. Now the domestic situation is violently turbulent, and the people in the court and the country are panic, and those with ulterior motives are waiting for an opportunity to act. Don’t say that the government orders are smooth, whether the government orders can be spread is a problem.

When the emperor inherited the throne, he was fiercely resisted by the prince's party. The emperor had to kill the deposed prince Yang Yong and demoted a group of princes including Liu Shu and Yuan Yan. Then the Han King Yang Liang raised his troops to rebel, and the royal family was tragically killed and exiled, which showed the number of noble bureaucrats against the emperor. Then the emperor killed Gao Jin and He Ruobi and other meritorious ministers. In addition, the emperor changed a series of systems, which harmed the interests of the powerful families, which further led to the decline of his prestige and the central government. In addition, the government decrees issued by Chang'an were difficult to effectively implement in other regions, especially in Shandong.

In the fifth year of Daye, the emperor worked hard to fight the west, expand his territory and establish martial arts. He was forced to establish martial arts, otherwise he would not be able to intimidate the powerful or the powerful, and would not be able to gain no prestige to force the local government to implement his edicts. As the reform deepened, various contradictions became more and more intense, and more opponents were more and more, and the implementation of the government orders became more and more difficult, so the Eastern Expedition was again. The purpose of the Eastern Expedition was to establish martial arts, or to win prestige to intimidate the local area, implement his reform system, and realize his governing philosophy and political ideal of enriching the country and strengthening the people. Therefore, even if he knew that the battlefield in Liaodong was a trap, he had to go and had to go. His enemy was not Goryeo, but a powerful family. He had to decide the victory and loss with the powerful family, and he had to make a big gamble.

There is no suspense about this gamble, and the emperor's victory is at his fingertips. However, he lost, and lost a lot, and both sides suffered losses. The result was that he lost control of the domestic situation and the local government. After this gamble, the empire fell into the bottomless abyss without any suspense.

Xue Shixiong is an old military commander who is deeply trusted by the emperor. Now even he is obscene to the emperor's orders and even secretly restraining them. It can be seen that the emperor is losing control of the center, which is terrible.

Galan lowered her head and pondered for a long time.

Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche brothers said one by one, and they said it in a casual manner. The purpose was very clear, and Galan and his Northwest Horse Legion must be left behind.

"When will Your Majesty arrive at Linshuo Palace?" Jialan suddenly asked.

Xue Wanjun hesitated for a moment and said, "There is still three days left."

"Is Mr. Pei Ge accompanying him?"

Xue Wanjun nodded slightly, and a hint of disappointment flashed through his eyes.

=

=
Chapter completed!