On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Wang Deyong submitted a memorial to request his retirement and was approved. The Privy Councilor was empty and there was a lot of discussions. Because the next time was the Shangyuan holiday, the new Privy Councilor was not appointed for a while.

Du Zhongxiao returned home, changed into casual clothes, and said to Han Yueniang: "This year, Shangyuan Watching Lanterns is more lively than in previous years. As soon as tomorrow is dark, you will go out to watch Lanterns. When Xuande's door disperses, I will go find you."

Han Yueniang said, "There are many lively places under Xuande, and they are not easy to disperse. Why don't we go out and take a look one day in advance. I heard that there are all kinds of jugglings in Zhouqiao, which is very lively, so we have to go and take a look."

Du Zhongxiao said: "That's good. Apart from the lack of fireworks, the lights have been hung out these days, and there are many tours. After all, I'm just watching the lanterns. As long as there are pedestrians, I don't have to go to the Yuan Dynasty."

After saying a few gossips, Du Zhongxiao went to the study room and sat alone reading. Wang De was nearly 80 years old and was too old to prepare for the position of Privy Councilor. Today, he was officially allowed to retire, and Du Zhongxiao understood that Zhao Zhen intended to let himself go to the Privy Councilor. It was just that everything was unknown whether he was a Privy Councilor or a deputy envoy. According to convention, he should be a deputy envoy, and directly promoted to the Privy Councilor too quickly.

Putting down the book, Du Zhongxiao looked out the window, and for a moment he was not sad or happy. According to his achievements over the past few years, it was actually a natural thing to enter the court as a Privy Councilor, but it was just involved in military power and was suspicious.

The commander of the Song Dynasty had no obstacles when he entered the court as Privy Councilor. He was promoted normally. But Du Zhongxiao was different. He built the Yingtianxiang Army himself and performed too dazzlingly, so he first took office as the Chief Censor. In the past six months, Du Zhongxiao did not make any major achievements in the Chief Censorship, which was a must. The main function was to let the emperor understand himself.

Standing up, Du Zhongxiao looked at the moonlight outside the window and thought about the future path. The military system reform of the Song Dynasty was not complicated. It mainly added the political functions slowly separated from the army since the Han Dynasty and then re-inserted it. The army is no longer a system isolated from reality, but closely integrated with the country. The difficulty is how to combine with reality and how to attract people to join the army.

Times have changed. For small farmers, a strong labor force who can join the army has a great effect on the family. If compensation is not given, the people will not have enough motivation to join the army. If compensation is made, it cannot be too little. Where can the compensation be issued and how to choose people to join the army. How to retire these people must ensure combat effectiveness and not affect society.

If these problems are not handled well, they will directly affect the results of the reform. The Song Dynasty's habit of collecting money and grain to support the army made it easier to compensate the army, but now it is difficult, how to remove the service.

Du Zhongxiao sighed. In fact, his reform in Hequ Road was still very incomplete, and there were still too few things to consider. To truly complete the new military system, there are many things to consider. How to ensure combat effectiveness in the army and training is a big problem. Things that have not been solved for thousands of years are not easy to solve at once. It is easy for the army to be strong for a while, but it is actually not easy to maintain for a long time. Especially for the farming nation, this is a big problem.

The next morning, Han Jiang and Wang Gui came to find Du Zhongxiao and went out for a trip together. Du Zhongxiao was an official for many years, and this was the first time he participated in the Shangyuan Lantern Festival in Kaifeng Prefecture. There were many novel places.

The lively place in Kaifeng Prefecture is called "Nanhebei City". The Nanhe River is the Bianhe River. A large number of ships enter Kaifeng City from Shuitu Gate, and there are many shops on both sides of the river. Beicheng is the Niuma City near the Palace City. Because it is close to the consumer center of Palace City, it is also very lively. In recent years, due to the rise of railways and railway stations, it has begun to flourish.

The three of them left Du Zhongxiao's house, and went south to Daxiangguo Temple. They visited nearby and saw that it was almost noon. Han Jiang said, "We went to Xiangguo Temple to find food, and then went to the Bian River to watch the lanterns in the afternoon. This is the most lively place in the city. When foreign merchants come to Kaifeng Prefecture, they always have to come and have fun. There are many restaurants nearby, so you can try it."

Wang Gui said: "Then go to Changqing Tower. It is closest to this place and is well-made. This season, the carp caught in the Yellow River is the most plump. Let's order a large one to serve wine."

After entering Changqing Tower, the three of them occupied a pavilion by the window, drinking while looking at the scenery outside the window.

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Han Jiang said, "The Prince Wang retired yesterday, and the emperor did not get rid of the Privy Councilor. Who do you think is the most likely to take over?"

Wang Gui looked at Du Zhongxiao and said, "I am frank, the most suitable one is naturally the Zhongcheng. When I came back from Hequ Road, I should have been the magistrate. It was just that the officials in the court were not familiar with Zhongcheng, so they finally gave up."

Han Jiang said: "I think so too. If the Chief Secretary enters the Privy Council, he will be the first one to be the magistrate in the same year."

Du Zhongxiao shook his head: "We are ministers, and we should not be able to test the holy intentions. In fact, I feel very comfortable as an official in the Censorate. It is not comparable to when I was an official in the frontier. If you really become a priest, you will have a great power, and your life will not be as leisurely as you are now."

Han Jiang smiled and said, "Since you have become an official in the court, how can you be greedy for leisure? We officials must be busy every day. If you have nothing to do, it means that you are not important and your future is worrying."

Du Zhongxiao and Wang Gui laughed loudly when they heard this, and the three of them raised their glasses and drank a glass of wine.

Wang Gui said: "In the battle to defeat Dangxiang, the Taiwei Han attacked Xingqing Prefecture in the end. The Taiwei Di Du was at the foot of Lingzhou City. The troops led by the two Taiwei happened to be changed by the imperial guards in the capital, and the Taiwei Han did not have the army of Hequ Road. In the end, the court should have made a decision. The dynasty established the country and fought against the Khitan without a great victory after destroying the Northern Han Dynasty. Later, Yuan Hao treasoned and relied on his own, and there was no way to deal with Dangxiang. Zhongcheng carried out military reforms on Hequ Road and won consecutive victories in the battles against the outside world. Everyone saw it. As soon as Han Taiwei entered Xingqing Prefecture, the ministers in the court rushed to write letters to request military reforms, and completely changed the imperial guards in the capital in the same way as Hequ Road."

Han Jiang said: "Yes, when Zhongcheng was on Hequ Road, he fought easily and easily, as if it was easy to win a battle. This time, the attack on Dangxiang, Han Taiwei came from Xingxing Gorge all the way, and did not encounter any major obstacles. Finally, the troops were at Xingqing Prefecture, and Dangxiang surrendered. On the other hand, the progress of Di Taiwei was slow, and the final attack on Lingzhou was not smooth."

Du Zhongxiao was silent for a while, shook his head and said, "I can only say that Taiwei Di was killed by his subordinates. If he changed his position with Taiwei Han, Taiwei Han would have obtained the military merits. However, Taiwei Han led the more than 200,000 troops, which may not be stronger than Taiwei Di. What was the previous imperial guard like? When it comes to war, there are many places where the arrogant soldiers and generals do not obey the constraints. Moreover, it is unprecedented for 300,000 troops to go along the way. Do you think it is easy for the commander?"
Chapter completed!