"Nowadays, the Song Dynasty has to give 500,000 guan to the Liao Kingdom and 200,000 guan to Xixia every year. However, the annual income of the Song Dynasty is more than 100 million guan, but after deducting consumption, how much is left?"

"In four years, the mountains collapsed in two years, and we could not make ends meet. In one year, there was a flood, but we still could not make ends meet. In a good year, we only had a surplus of one million yuan, which is equivalent to half of it given away to others."

"Xixia and Liao were the two ropes tying the Song Dynasty's neck, and they were getting tighter and tighter."

"I know that the monarch Jun Shigong most admired was Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, followed by Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty. He believed that the system of government troops was far superior to the system of recruiting troops."

"But I think otherwise. Without him, times have changed."

"When Qin was founded, the Xirong's arrows were no match for stones and bones; the Xiongnu of Han, because they had no stirrups, their cavalry could not attack, but they were used for long-distance marches, and they had to dismount to engage in battle."

"Coupled with the poor weapons, Li Ling encountered 80,000 Xiongnu with 5,000 infantry, but he was able to fight fiercely for eight days and eight nights, and he was captured only after running out of arrows."

"But looking at it now, the Xixia cavalry has developed the Qisheng, Poxi, and Iron Kites. The riding types are divided into mules, donkeys, horses, and camels. The division of services is more detailed, the combat power is improved, and the tactics are improving day by day. Xixia Qingfeng,

Qingtang plate armor, whirlwind cannon, and powerful crossbow are all excellent."

"It is common for cavalry to make a surprise attack, traveling hundreds of miles in a day; charging and firing arrows can penetrate an infantry formation with ease."

"It can be said that the progress of the nomadic tribe's military organization over the past millennium has greatly exceeded that of the farming tribe; the quality and ability of its army have now far exceeded that of the farming tribe's army."

"Mr. Jun Shi, there is a saying called boiling frogs in warm water. Have you ever heard of it?"

Sima Guang said: "I would like to hear the details."

Su You said: "When the frog was thrown into water at 40 degrees Celsius, the frog couldn't stand the sudden high temperature and immediately jumped out of the hot water and successfully escaped."

"But when the frog is first put into a container with cold water and then slowly heated, the result is different."

"On the contrary, the frog was content in the water because the water temperature was comfortable at the beginning. But when the frog found that it could not tolerate the high temperature, it was exhausted and was boiled to death in the hot water unknowingly."

"Today is a time of great strife. To stick to the rules without making progress is tantamount to self-destruction. Jun Shigong, do you think I am right?"

Sima Guang sighed: "I admit that what you said makes sense, but Mingrun, the country is overwhelmed now, and the people must be rich and the country strong, and the soldiers and horses are strong before we can build an army."

"Your Majesty is trying to cheer up. This is certainly a good thing, but if it is done improperly and fails to do what is expected, it will be a retreat instead of progress."

Su You nodded: "Yes, I have advised your majesty that Shaanxi and Hebei will take twenty years to recover. But Jun Shigong, this must be twenty years of hard work and progress, rather than just following the rules, muddle along, and spend money to buy peace."

Twenty years.”

Sima Guang finally had nothing to say, sighed again, and turned his gaze to the lake.

The boats have moved to the east of the Fifth Hall and lined up opposite the Linshui Hall. A small boat sent a military academy to nearly a thousand people. In his hand, he held a long pole with a brocade silver bowl hanging on it and inserted it near

In the palace water.

The red flag waved, the cannon roared, and the sergeants on the two rowing teams in the distance began to row wildly and beat drums to advance.

Spectators along the coast cheered, placed orders and placed bets to cheer for their fleet.

Even a group of officials have placed bets. This is a charity lottery. It is enjoyable and has a good reputation.

The quickest person wins the bid and goes to the mountain in front of the temple to worship and dance. Then in the distance, tiger-headed boats and the like begin to set off, and they compete for bids three times each.

The scenery of the spring pond is bright, the laughter and laughter are almost breaking the fine clouds.

There were only two people, an old man and a young man, with their brows furrowed deeply, and they were lost in their own thoughts in this harmonious spring scenery.

After the competition to win the title of Jinmingchi, the boats brought the dragon boat into the Owu, and the emperor set off again to sail to Qionglin Garden.

Qionglin Garden is on Shuntianmen Street, opposite Jinmingchi.

The front doorway is lined with ancient pines and strange cypresses.

There are stone gardens, durian orchards, cherry orchards on both sides... There are also pavilions in the garden, most of which are occupied by restaurants.

At the southeastern foot of Qionglin Garden is a man-made hill, dozens of feet high. There are horizontal observation floors on the mountain, shining with gold and green. At the foot of the mountain, there are paths wrapped with brocade stones and precious ponds.

Willows lock Hongqiao, and flowers linger on phoenixes. Flower beds are dotted everywhere.

Many of the jasmine, jasmine, mountain peony, daphne, smile, and incense are southern flowers and plants imported from Fujian, Guangzhou, and Zhejiang, and are rarely seen in other parts of Bianjing.

There are the Moon Pond Pavilion, the Plum Pavilion, the Peony Pavilion... there are too many pavilions to list.

Along the way, Su You looked around and followed the holy driver to Baojin Tower.

There is a banquet hall to the south of Baojin Tower. On weekdays, the concubines and officials accompanying them, and the carriages and horses stay here. It is the only place in the whole park where no one is allowed to enter or exit, and there is a prison for the internal officials.

To the west of the hall is the Shooting Hall, and to the south of the hall is Hengjie. Outside the Hengjie is a large lawn square where Bianjing people play ball and Cuju.

Along the streets surrounding Qionglin Garden, there are all specialty restaurants. Bianjing citizens who come to enjoy the feast, horse riding and ball games do not have to worry about getting hungry or having nothing to eat.

On weekdays, this was still a large school grounds, with a royal horse always tied to the door. On both sides of the door, there were colorful booths. As long as the common people paid a small amount of money, they could go up to the booths and happily watch the imperial army training acrobatics.

Wait, I seem to have said something ridiculous just now... Yes, the virtues of the Imperial Army of the Song Dynasty are so ridiculous!

Today's royal horse has moved to the side of Jinming Pond, a yellow cover is put up outside Qionglin Garden, and the whip is cracked.

This name is called "Yuma Pond". Whenever the Yuma Pond and the dragon boat are launched, the number of tourists will double, vying to see the beauty of the sky.

Su You accompanied Zhao Xu on board the carriage to Debaojin Tower. After Zhao Xu sat down, the military parade, ah no, the acrobatics began.

The first to come up were more than a dozen drummers, one of whom was playing double drums, and the drum beats were uniform, and they sang "Youth in March, the sudden mountain stream...", officially kicking off the opening ceremony.

After the song was sung, the drummers piled up into a human platform, and a man in red scarf jumped up and flipped the big flag.

Then the lion and leopard enter the stage and sit forward and retreat, which is an animal taming performance.

Then another person with a red scarf, holding two white flags in his hands, jumped into the arena, with the flags dancing in a whirlwind around him, above his head, and under his feet, which is called "flagging flags".

The audience on both sides cheered wildly and the cheers were like thunder.

Su You said to Li Xian angrily: "Are those just called watching from the wall?"

Li Xian now also has a military position, but he is not ashamed but proud of it: "But you have to have status to get up. Most people can only book a flag pavilion to have a drink early. I heard that there are some people who make a career out of it."

Su You couldn't help but be speechless. Party disputes continued in the Song Dynasty, but this was the only scalper party that would still exist after a thousand years.

If it weren't for the fact that the performer was a soldier, which made Su You feel uncomfortable, the acrobatics were actually quite beautiful. It could even be said that the opening ceremony was very exciting.

In addition to lively individual events such as pole climbing and somersaults, there are also club activities, piano players making orders, and the following large-scale group exercises are exciting.

More than a hundred soldiers with colorful makeup and light health came running into the field with flags at the front, each holding a pheasant tail barbarian sign and a wooden sword, and lined up.

After the worship dance, the formations such as opening the door, seizing the bridge, and cutting the moon are similar to the teasing before the dance in later generations.

Then the band played the Barbarian Order, and the music became more intense. The two sides danced in pairs with Barbarian steel knives, and began to perform martial arts routines. The attack and defense were very fierce. In the end, one person fought hard and the other fell to the ground.

state.

Su You had sharp eyes and could tell at a glance that the barbarian card, although it looked solid, was actually the Erlin Vine Shield, but it was made of paper with the denomination of a beast drawn on it; the knife was also made of thin spring steel, and it looked fancy and fast, but in fact

No lethality.

After listening to Su You's explanation, Sima Guang suddenly realized: "I'm just wondering why this year's barbarian dance is so much faster than last year..."

Then five or seven pairs appeared, all with guns against cards, swords against cards, etc. The people in the stands who didn't know the truth could only see the swords flashing and the warriors leaping and rolling, and they couldn't help but praise: "Good work!"

Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were both civil servants, and they were also frightened at this time. Sima Guang praised: "Good! This duel dance finally has the meaning of military training."

Su You laughed dumbly: "Mr. Jun Shi, Mr. Jiefu, my Wei'er is a master of martial arts. She said that the Dun'an army is fierce, and the spikes are only half of the credit. The best thing to do is to work hard to stand firm and control the center of gravity. During the battle, you can jump up.

To leap forward is basically to seek death."

At this moment, there was an explosion, fireworks exploded, the sword and shield wielders retreated, and a group of ghost-like ghosts and gods appeared on the scene, wearing masks and spitting out fangs and fireworks.

These people wear short-backed clothes with green patterns and gold flowers, and gold-colored soap trousers. They are barefooted. They carry large gongs with them and dance forward and backward. They are called "holding gongs."
Chapter completed!