After saying this, Xiaozhao suddenly yawned and curled up on the chair to sleep.

Sensible.jpg.

Meanwhile, Xu Yun fell into deep thought.

The factional struggles of the Song Dynasty, in fact, were anticipated and alerted by Zhao Kuangyin at the very beginning of the founding of the state.

The third year of Jianlong... which is 962.

Regarding the civil service exam, a crucial source of officials, Zhao Kuangyin issued a strict order:

"Successful advanced scholars shall not address the examiner as gracious master or mentor, nor claim to be his disciple."

A few years passed.

Zhao Kuangyin established the palace examination as a standard, emphasizing that those who passed were personally selected by the Emperor.

This changed from being "disciples of the seated master" to "disciples of the Emperor."

The purpose of this was to attempt to strengthen the presence of imperial power and weaken the influence of the master-student relationship.

Thus breaking the situation of factions formed due to the civil service exams,

yet, heaven did not grant this wish.

Due to the unjust acquisition of power in the Song Dynasty, military generals were continuously suppressed, emphasizing the status of literati.

This practice, while achieving numerous scenes of esteemed ministers gathering and heroes assembling,

also led to high officials competing for power, deeply embroiled in factional struggles without concern, even esteemed ministers couldn't avoid it.

After the death of the second generation's "Donkey Cart Emperor," factional struggles gradually spread and intensified, becoming uncontrollable.

For example, during Emperor Zhenzong's reign, the factional struggle was represented by Wang Qinyin and Kou Zhun, with Wang Qinyin excluding Kou Zhun to gain power.

During Emperor Renzong's reign, it was represented by the overt and covert conflict between Lv Yijian and Fan Zhongyan, causing the "Qingli New Policies" to fail halfway.

Then there was...

The reform struggle that Xiaozhao mentioned.

Which involved the Yuanyou Faction issue previously mentioned when introducing Xiaoli's father, Old Li.

Recognizing this, whether or not Xiaozhao has the ability to solve it, at least he's much better than Zhao Ji, the "Flower and Bird Emperor" who neglected his duties:

Zhao Ji ignored the matter entirely, leaving his hands off the keyboard and idled away.

This eventually led to the late Song's "Six Traitors" monopolizing the court's power, farmer uprisings breaking out everywhere, becoming one of the critical reasons for the Northern Song's sudden demise.

However, what truly surprised Xu Yun wasn't the factional issue, but the second matter Xiaozhao referred to:

The ghost payroll in Xiping!

The Northern Song's Imperial Guard adopted a five-grade, twelve-level Xiang Army system. Xu Yun couldn't recall the exact numbers at this time, but around the time of the Jingkang Incident, he remembered the registered number for soldiers and salaries in Northern Song's Ceshan:

One million two hundred thousand!

And how many could realistically be mustered from this number?

Less than four hundred thousand!

A ghost payroll of a whopping eight hundred thousand! How could the Northern Song convert its economic advantage into military strength?

Even during the Jingkang Incident.

Many of the Jin Army's weapons were simply bought from some Western Army generals...

But looking over the entire history, out of nine Northern Song emperors — including the clever Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzhong, only Emperor Zhezong attempted to address the ghost payroll issue.

Yet his policies hadn't been implemented long before he suddenly died.

Therefore, some people speculate that Emperor Zhezong's sudden death might be related to some interest groups in the Western Army.

After all, being skilled in warfare and embezzling funds aren't mutually exclusive.

For example, the later renowned general against the Jin Army, Li Gang, and Zhang Jun of the "Four Generals of Revival" disgrace, were both people who fell into the pit of money.

In summary.

The fact that Xiaozhao could say these words.

At least from the perspective of insight, he's far superior to that Flower and Bird Emperor and humanoid procreator, Zhao Ji.....

Thinking about this.

Xu Yun couldn't help but take a deep breath, and a certain idea in his heart became increasingly clear....

...

Note:

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