[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty":3,"chapter-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-7":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","A Literary Genius in the Song Dynasty",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2336390,4568,"Chapter 7: So It","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-7",7,"\u003Cp>But no matter what, he had already taken the benefit; in this secret room with no third party, there was no reason to continue being evasive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, the man was not only County Magistrate but also oversaw the county school; from any perspective, gaining Li Pan’s favor and support was purely advantageous to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since he had already shown his talent, he might as well show it fully!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ve heard from northwest merchants that in the frontier fortresses of Qin Fenglu, the garrisons consist mostly of xiangbing and fanbing—this has already violated military regulations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu spoke subtly, but there was a deeper meaning behind his words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Emperor Taizu of Song founded the dynasty, the xiangbing theoretically assigned to local defense were merely labor auxiliaries, not trained for combat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But during the first Song-Xia war, due to severe troop shortages in the northwest, the xiangbing of Qin Fenglu and other regions began drills and training, barely becoming usable as reinforcements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the nature of the xiangbing remained that of low-combat-capability reinforcements; they could hold fortresses, but collapsed instantly in open battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The jinjun, relatively more combat-capable and sent to the northwest (the precursor to the later Western Army), were also limited in number; if all were stationed in fortresses, there would be no mobile force left for field operations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, during the first Song-Xia war, Emperor Renzong issued an edict to integrate surrendered barbarian tribes and raised the fanbing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fanbing were armies led by barbarian chieftains; the court supported them with grain and funds to assist the northwest xiangbing as reinforcements, stationing them in buffer-zone fortresses along the Song-Xia border.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because neither the xiangbing nor the fanbing were meant to be permanently stationed on the northwest frontier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was why Lu Beigu said this practice had severely damaged the Great Song’s military system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So, if we truly raise local archers, the problem isn’t breaking military regulations.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some things could be done in practice but couldn’t be spoken aloud; uttering this in this “heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know” secret room was an act of trust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Li Pan didn’t take the bait, Lu Beigu would naturally say nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s just fear of creating warlord domains.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Lu Beigu’s concern, Li Pan smiled lightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu said earnestly: “The reason the court forbids other fortresses from imitating Zhong Shiheng’s recruitment of local archers isn’t because the court doesn’t know local archers are cheaper than jinjun and xiangbing—it’s because if westerners defend western land without court funding, they will inevitably become too powerful to control.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Archers” was a colloquial term; in the Song’s official designation, they were called xiangbing—these troops supplied their own food, pay, and weapons, named for the characters “archer” tattooed on their hands, and were not part of the regular military structure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s true. Everything has pros and cons. If the northwest armies truly grow too strong, they may never crush Xia, but they will surely keep the enemy alive to preserve their own power.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Beigu sighed inwardly—talking to a smart man was effortless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Chongzhen had understood that “defending Liaodong with Liaodong men” could never achieve “recover Liaodong in five years” and would instead turn the Liaodong military clique into traitors, he wouldn’t have hanged himself on that crooked tree.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So I believe the reason the northwest campaign is stuck isn’t fundamentally about military structure, but about the contradiction between our dynasty’s finances and geography—the Tang is proof.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh?” Li Pan set down his teacup. “That’s an interesting angle. Elaborate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Tang’s enemies lay in the northwest and northeast. Since the Tang was founded by the Guanlong aristocracy, it naturally prioritized the northwest, directing all finances toward expansion—thus the Anxi Protectorate extended ten thousand li, unmatched in its time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Guanlong fubing were heavily dispatched to the Western Regions, their service far exceeding the system’s limits. But once expansion reached a certain point, even the full strength of the Guanlong fubing could barely hold the line; after the Battle of Talas, the Tang’s peak turned to decline.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Meanwhile, the Tang lacked sufficient funds and manpower in the northeast, so it delegated authority to local barbarian generals—leading to the An Lushan Rebellion.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Li Pan’s expression grew grave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Tang’s lesson is close at hand. Our dynasty’s foundational strategy prioritizes the Two Rivers① to defend against the Northern Han② and Liao. Though the Chanyuan Treaty was signed, who can guarantee the north won’t wage war again? After all, without Yan and Yun, cavalry can ride south unimpeded and reach the Yellow River to threaten Kaifeng in mere days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Two Rivers must be defended, the northwest must be defended, yet the northwest must not become a warlord domain—so the court will never grant it fiscal autonomy. Even bearing the burden of the ‘Three Excesses,’ the central government grits its teeth to fund it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Pan frowned and asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So according to this, is it a dead end?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not a dead end. In truth, it’s ultimately an economic calculation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What Lu Beigu said next surprised even Li Pan with its detail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve heard it costs roughly enough to support one jinjun per month to support two xiangbing, or four to five xiangbing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This claim had sources; Lu Beigu recalled the Song History’s Military Records, which recorded that a Northern Song jinjun’s monthly income ranged from 500 to 1000 wen, and with two shi five dou of grain and cloth for uniforms, their annual income averaged about 36 guan③, or roughly 3 guan monthly, 100 wen daily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The xiangbing received roughly half that—50 wen daily. The xiangbing were even cheaper.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>None of this was secret; in the Song, the common people knew exactly what military pay was like—so poor that it was worse than any ordinary urban job, hence the saying: “A good man doesn’t become a soldier.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Song military was utterly different from the Tang’s. The Tang’s fubing were beneficiaries of the imperial system—respectable sons of good families, with status and honor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Song, aside from convicts branded and conscripted as “criminal soldiers,” there were only idlers, ruffians, and destitute refugees—who in their right mind would send their decent son to become a soldier instead of letting him study?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Precisely because the troop quality was inherently poor, the Song military could only rely on sheer numbers; expecting such a force, designed more for stability than combat, to have real fighting power was a fantasy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You ask why such a low-quality, quantity-driven army?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Haven’t you heard: “The emperor in Chang’an, the mutinous army in Weizhou”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course—because the arrogant troops of the late Tang and Five Dynasties had done so many horrific, unforgettable things that they terrified the entire realm!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, when designing the Song military system, the policy’s goal was clear: rather than risk another bloody, absurd era, it was better to sacrifice some combat power and let everyone live in peace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I don’t know the exact numbers of the four northwest commands, but surely there are at least 100,000 jinjun and 100,000 fanbing, plus tens of thousands of xiangbing—simply maintaining them costs at least 7 million guan annually, and with other expenses, at least 10 million guan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“One-sixth of the state’s finances is consumed this way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“May I ask, Sir, have you ever considered a solution that balances both needs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>① Two Rivers: ancient term for Hebei and Hedong (modern Shanxi).\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>② Northern Han: one of the Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties, founded by the Shatuo Liu Chong, who held twelve prefectures in Hedong. After the Song’s founding, it remained allied with the Liao until Emperor Taizong personally led an army to conquer it in the fourth year of Taiping Xingguo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>③ In the Song, one guan had two standards: “zuobi,” meaning one guan equaled 1000 copper coins; and “shengbi,” meaning one guan equaled 770 copper coins. For reader convenience, this book defaults to “zuobi” for all calculations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1327,"2026-06-20T21:44:14.864Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","ef0e1444f0b652e3f6cba3360b85caeda77ca57414d0ad8795a2a253acee2824","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-8","a-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-chapter-6",56,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fa-literary-genius-in-the-song-dynasty-cover.jpg"]