Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

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"They have distinguished themselves on the battlefield and each has their own strengths. Coming to military academy is simply for further study."

"How could you possibly outperform some young students in horsemanship, archery, formation fighting, and physical fitness?"

“I have been practicing hard,” Zhao Kang said. “I have been learning to ride horses since I was a child, and my riding skills are excellent. It’s just that I am not as good at shooting arrows while riding a horse.”

Zhao Yuan took out three maps and pulled his son to his side: "Since you are good at geography, take a look at these three maps."

Zhao Kang quickly examined it carefully.

One is a smaller version of a Tang Dynasty map, which also shows Central Asia.

One is a map of the Ming Dynasty drawn this year, showing Yunnan, Guizhou, Western Xia, the Western Regions, the Mongolian Plateau... all of these places were either vassal states or surrendered tribes.

One map is a map of Southeast Asia drawn based on the memories of the Zhao family father and son, combined with descriptions from maritime merchants and foreign envoys.

"How is it?" Zhao Yuan asked.

Zhao Kang replied, "Compared to the glorious Tang Dynasty, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is too small."

In fact, these three maps clearly show double standards.

Zhao Yuan deliberately instructed the cartographers to depict the vassal states of the Tang Dynasty as part of the Tang Dynasty's territory, while clearly listing the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty separately.

This creates a stark contrast, highlighting how pitifully small the territory of the Ming Dynasty was!

Zhao Yuan pointed to the location of Champa, a vast area that was nearly half the size of modern-day Vietnam: "This is Champa. Although it belongs to the Ming Dynasty, it often pretends to comply while secretly plundering and killing Ming merchants who go out to sea."

"Is Father planning for his son to lead troops to conquer Champa when he grows up?" Zhao Kang guessed.

Zhao Yuan smiled and said, "After you destroy Champa, I plan to reward you."

"The land, the people, the wealth there... it's all yours."

"They will also leave you some troops and officials, and relocate 10,000 to 20,000 Han people there."

"You can choose the name of the country yourself, because you are the king there."

Although Zhao Kang was just a boy, he had read history books and knew how different this kind of king with real power was from the princes and dukes who stayed in the country.

Upon hearing that he could actually possess a country, Zhao Kang was both surprised and delighted, and his heart pounded wildly.

Zhao Yuan poured cold water on the idea, saying, "That place is very remote and certainly not as prosperous as China."

"Moreover, there are dry and rainy seasons, and when it gets hot, the heat is unbearable, and there is also so-called miasma."

"Moreover, the people do not speak Chinese or recognize Chinese characters."

"Even if you were king there, some people would see it as akin to being exiled."

Chapter 3520 Occupation

Zhao Kangsheng, living a life of wealth and privilege, had little understanding of remoteness and poverty.

In Zhao Kang's view, since he was the king, how poor could he be?

For things like miasma, just take him to the doctor.

"I am not afraid of difficulties!"

Zhao Kang had already made up his mind to become king, and even vowed, "Within thirty years, I will definitely turn Champa into Han territory!"

Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, "Thirty years isn't enough; I'm afraid your children and grandchildren will have to work harder."

Zhao Yuan then pointed to the Angkor Dynasty, the Queen's Kingdom, the Pagan Kingdom, and other places nearby: "After you have established a firm foothold in Champa, you may lead your troops to conquer these kingdoms."

"As long as you and your descendants do not attack the Ming Dynasty, no matter how much territory you conquer, the Luoyang court will recognize it all!"

Zhao Kang's eyes lit up as he looked at the vast territory.

Zhao Yuan also taught his son methods of governance: "Brahmanism is prevalent in Champa."

"While you are using Confucianism to educate the people, you should also support Buddhism and use Buddhism to challenge Brahmanism."

"Of course, if Buddhism becomes too prosperous, it is also possible to suppress Buddhism, destroy temples, and confiscate the monks' property."

"But there must be limits to the suppression of Buddhism. It cannot be truly eradicated. We still need to use Buddhism to rule over foreign tribes."

"You'll gradually figure out the timing and intensity yourself."

.....

The Kaifeng Military Academy has moved to Luoyang, with its new location on the western slope of Wan'an Mountain.

To the north is the Tian Si Horse Ranch, and further north is the royal Dongxi Garden.

As the emperor, Zhao Yuan naturally had to go and see the military academy after it was moved there.

Because prior notice had been given, the teachers and students attended classes as scheduled.

"See Your Majesty!"

Vice Principal Zhang Tang, along with several teachers, waited at the school gate for a long time. Upon seeing Zhao Yuan, they immediately saluted.

The principal of a military academy could only be the emperor. This was to facilitate the emperor's control over officers and the army, and also to urge future emperors to pay attention to military affairs.

Zhao Yuan returned the military salute and was escorted inside by the crowd.

Zhang Xian and Yang Zaixing were also there; they had come to the military academy to select students in the past few days.

Moreover, these were students sent by various armies for advanced studies; they looked down on ordinary students—these were originally mid- to low-ranking officers or soldiers who were selected to study military strategy by the imperial court because of their outstanding performance and literacy.

"How's the selection going?" Zhao Yuan asked as they walked.

Zhang Xian replied, "The selection is almost complete."

"Once they graduate in early summer, we can take them south to train a new army."

Yang Zaixing said, "These students are all excellent and have the potential to become great generals."

Zhao Yuan said, "We still can't force growth."

"When the new army is established, they can be promoted two ranks according to their original ranks, and their specific military positions can be promoted three ranks directly as appropriate."

"You must contact the Ministry of War to select and transfer the deputy generals and senior officers of the new army."

Without rules, nothing can be accomplished; the Ministry of War cannot be treated as a mere decoration indefinitely.

After Zhao Yuan ceased to personally manage the Privy Council, both the Privy Council and the Ministry of War gradually became more formalized, and the various powers of the Ministry of War were slowly restored.

On the playground inside the main gate, students from two classes were lined up for a match.

The spearheads were removed, coated with lime, and poked at each other.

Continuing on, a class of students were practicing martial arts, repeatedly stabbing a piece of wood hanging in mid-air with a gun.

Zhang Tang recounted: "These are ordinary students who have never been on the battlefield. In their first year at school, the focus is on training in martial arts, formations, and physical strength."

"The students sent by various armies for further study are different; they place greater emphasis on the study of military strategy."

According to Zhao Yuan's plan, ordinary students at military academies should be encouraged to apply if they are scholars from various provinces.

However, due to the strict age restrictions, very few scholars signed up.

Young people, having already passed the county-level examination, naturally aspire to become provincial-level or metropolitan-level scholars.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Yuan issued an imperial edict to local government schools, encouraging students of county-level schools and above to enroll.

In recent years, more than 300 scholars have chosen to abandon their literary pursuits and attend military academies.

The main types are as follows:

The first type is the sons of military families. In the Song or Ming dynasties, if a military family found that its descendants were not suited to take the imperial examinations, they would simply send them to military academies early on to try and find a way out.

The second type is scions of prominent families. These are mainly sons born out of wedlock or descendants of collateral branches. They might have no problem passing the county-level imperial examination, but they have virtually no hope of passing the metropolitan-level examination. Sending them to a military academy can help them develop connections within the army.

The third type is children from poor families. Some families have enough money to support their sons' education, but due to insufficient funds or the difficulty of the imperial examinations, they also try to go through the military academy route.

Zhang Tang said, "The attrition rate among the sons of aristocratic families is very high. They have a good foundation in learning, but in the first year, they are not given much emphasis on learning and are treated like new recruits and subjected to rigorous training."

“People often cried during training, and some even ran away in the middle of the night or hid in the barracks and didn’t do drills.”

"Give them a good beating!" Zhao Yuan laughed.

Zhang Tang laughed too: "The first time you make a mistake, you get a warning; the second time, you get to run; and the third time, you get a beating with a military rod."

"A fourth offense will result in immediate dismissal."

"After being expelled, the local government where the person's household registration is located must be notified that this person will never be allowed to participate in the imperial examinations again."

Chapter 3521 Essentials of Military Strategy

"Since its establishment, the military academy has expelled more than 20 people, more than 80% of whom came from prominent families."

Zhao Yuan nodded approvingly: "That's how it should be."

Zhang Tang added, "The new students who enrolled this spring were all selected from soldiers who had rendered meritorious service in the defeat of the Jin dynasty."

"Although literacy is required to be selected, many people's literacy level is only enough to barely write a letter."

"For the first three months, we mainly taught them to read and write, and we practiced for a while every day. We didn't formally teach them military strategy yet."

"Let's start today and choose the classes with the best culture." Zhao Yuan decided to audit a class.

Zhang Tang immediately made arrangements, and soon eighteen students were called to a classroom for class.

These eighteen men all came from various armies in the north.

The highest rank was a centurion, and the lowest rank was a squad leader.

They were all very excited to see the emperor and sat up straight in the classroom.

Zhang Tang personally taught the class, writing on the blackboard with chalk as he said, "Open your copies of 'Essentials of Military Strategy'."

"This book was compiled under His Majesty's personal guidance, co-authored by the Privy Council, the Ministry of War, and military generals, and finally edited by the retired Prime Minister Zhong himself..."

"Since the Qin and Han dynasties, there have been four schools of military strategists."

"That is, military strategy, military situation, military tactics, and military skills."

"Military strategy encompasses the broadest range of elements, involving numerous factors."

"Your Majesty summarizes it as strategy and tactics, which include strategic planning, military system, logistics, intelligence, tactics, and so on."

"The military situation mainly focuses on tactical application."

"The Yin-Yang principle in warfare emphasizes astronomy, geography, and battle formations."

"Military skills include the conscription, training, and management of the army, as well as logistics such as military pay, food, and clothing, and the research, manufacture, and use of weapons."

"These four schools of military strategists have different focuses, and some of them even overlap with each other."

"Now we combine them and re-divide them into eight parts: military system, logistics, intelligence, weaponry, conscription (recruitment and demobilization), training, strategy, and tactics."

"Today we're going to talk about the military system."

"In the military system of our Great Ming Dynasty, the emperor is the supreme commander of the entire army, followed by the cabinet, the privy council and the Ministry of War."

"The cabinet decides whether to send troops and submits a memorial to the emperor for permission."

"The Privy Council decides how, when, and where to send troops."

"The Ministry of War was in charge of selecting generals, recruiting soldiers, and training them, and also liaised with the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works on logistics."

"The national army was divided into field armies, garrison armies, and grain transport armies."

"Field armies are elite main forces, including the Imperial Guards."

"The garrison troops are stationed in various places. In peacetime, they are responsible for suppressing rebels and bandits within the territory, and in wartime, they fight alongside the field army."

"The canal transport army was responsible for transportation. During wartime, civilian laborers were also temporarily placed under the command of the canal transport army. At critical moments, the canal transport army also had to participate in combat."

"Each province has a general and a regional commander."

"The general is responsible for leading the troops in combat and daily drills."

"The commander-in-chief is responsible for conscription, demobilization, and logistical support."

"The General is directly under the Ministry of War. In peaceful and prosperous areas, the position of General may not be required, and daily training may be entrusted to the Commander-in-Chief."

“In war-torn areas, a province can have two or three generals.”

"There is also a deputy marshal position, which is only established during major wars to command troops from several provinces."

"After the war, the deputy marshal must be dismissed."