Chapter 146 Changes
Gansu was regarded as an official province only during the Qing Dynasty. This is because of the need for governance-previously, theoretically, Gansu was part of Shaanxi. Not only Gansu, but also Ningxia, Xinjiang, and parts of Qinghai all belong to Shaanxi, but the western part is called Shaanxi Xingdusi. Therefore, when you open the map and take a look, the vastness of Shaanxi is simply scary.
In the chaotic wars at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the peasant army was suppressed and had no choice but to go to the junction of several provinces to recuperate. Provinces are unwilling to sacrifice themselves to help others, so the peasant army can always make a comeback. In the Qing Dynasty, they learned this lesson from the Ming Dynasty and established a permanent official position: Governor-General, who was in charge of two or three provinces. From then on, the border between several provinces suddenly changed from the safest place to the most dangerous place - in a province, the main force you face is naturally the province's official army, and reinforcements from other provinces always fail to do their job, but if If you run to the junction of several provinces, you will encounter a full-scale attack by the coalition forces from several provinces mobilized by the governor!
Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, Lao Huihui, Luo Rucai, etc. were all from Shaanxi. They traveled back and forth between Sichuan and Shaanxi. During the Southern Ming Dynasty, Sichuan was an important battlefield, so the Manchu and Qing Dynasties established governors of Sichuan and Shaanxi. After finally waiting for the world to be at peace, the emperor looked at the map and couldn't sleep well again: Qin's soldiers are good at fighting, and Shu is rich. If the governor has some evil ideas one day... the trouble will be huge!
what to do? Take it apart!
The Governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi was renamed the Governor of Sichuan. Just take care of one province, and then separate Gansu (including Ningxia and Qinghai, as well as the large area east of Urumqi) from Shaanxi! Similar to this is Anhui: Anhui and Jiangsu in the Ming Dynasty were collectively called Southern Zhili, which was the land of Longxing under Zhu Yuanzhang. The people of Anhui are tough and capable of fighting, and the people of Jiangsu are wealthy. There are hidden dangers if the two sides come together! Continue to break it down - Anqing and Huizhou each take one word, and they are called Anhui, Jiangning, and Suzhou each take one word and they are called Jiangsu! During the Republic of China, Feng Yuxiang continued to dismantle: Xining Road and Qinghai Twenty-nine Banners in Gansu Province were separated and called Qinghai, and Daojiu County Banners in Ningxia were separated and called Ningxia... At this point, CHINA was dismantled almost as it is today.
The names of Gansu are also one word each for Ganzhou and Suzhou - Ganzhou is Zhangye and Suzhou is Jiuquan. In the Ming Dynasty, this place was called Shaanxi Xingdusi, which had a more military significance, because the location of Xingdusi Mansion was also called Gansu Town. This town is not a rural town, it means a military town, with fifteen guard posts under its jurisdiction! During the Zhengtong period, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty established the censorship of the governor of Gansu Province on the grounds that "common affairs cannot be neglected without the responsibility of comprehensive supervision". Officials selected by the Metropolitan Procuratorate were appointed to serve as governors. The permanent residence was also in Gansu Town. Yingzong's original intention was that military towns should also have civilian administration, but unexpectedly, a big thunder was laid. During the Tumubao Incident in the 14th year of Orthodoxy, Yingzong was captured, Nangong was restored, and Yingzong regained the throne again... Time flies. Although Gansu has not yet become an independent province, the governor has become a permanent local official position, just like a feudal official. The most recent governor is named Xi Junyu (also known as Xida). He once wrote a magnificent essay "Jie Cai Lu", which was widely circulated and recited for a while.
Speaking of Sun Jie, he spent every day in the camp looking forward to the people, food, and imperial edicts. As the saying goes, where sincerity comes, gold and stone will be opened - but it is only half opened: all three things are half-opened.
When the miners and food arrived halfway, Sun Jie felt very heavy. All generals know that the most taboo thing in combat is the "fueling tactic": the enemy has a thousand people and you have two thousand. When other conditions are similar, if two versus one, you will definitely win. But if the higher-ups allocate 300 men to you today and force you to go forward, these 300 men will definitely never come back. If they allocate 500 men to you tomorrow, the whole army will be wiped out... After a few rounds, the strength of the troops will be reduced several times. Go in and train the enemy troops into a victorious army bursting with confidence, while your own people will become frightened birds whose expression changes when talking about the enemy, and the battle will be completely unwinnable - but this is the normal state of the Ming Dynasty. Whether it's the bandits in the mainland or the Xilu outside the customs, it's always been like this, and I never have a long memory.
If there is no food at all, it is easy to deal with: either hold on, or move the army to eat where there is food, and don't worry about anything; if the food and the people have enough, then it is best to save up your strength to strike once and for all. But giving half of it is really terrible. Of course, Sun Jie can send two thousand people to build some supply stations along the way - but during the period of time when the construction is completed and the next batch of food and grass is in place, the people escorting the soldiers will be working. Everyone needs to eat! The next batch arrives, the previous batch is eaten, and we have to start all over again - there's no end! Therefore, Sun Jie had no choice but to keep the grain and send the miners away. At the same time, he repeatedly sent military reports to the Third Division of Chengdu urging grain and miners.
The emperor's imperial edict encouraged Sun Jie, and the angel who announced the edict was all smiles. He also conveyed the emperor's personal praise to Sun Jie in private. He secretly told Sun Jie that the empress of the palace also gave Mrs. Sun a gift. Gorgeous brocade robes - among the things given to ministers by the royal family, this has a profound meaning: this is called food, clothing, wealth! This is an unspoken commitment. Sun Jie kept a respectful and grateful smile on his face, but his heart was filled with disappointment: the Emperor never mentioned the control of troops and horses in Shaanxi Province at all.
"I've kept it." Senior Master Shang Wen sighed, "It's obvious that many people in the court opposed it, so your Majesty has kept it."
The emperor has three choices for his ministers' inscriptions. Yes, directly issue an order to allow or disallow it, order to reject or leave it in, pretend that it is not the case, and ignore it - this is a common approach that takes into account the preservation of the face of the monarch and his ministers.
"Young Marshal, please feel free. The Holy Lord rewarded the Young Marshal with two hundred taels of money and gave the old lady fine clothes. These are obviously compensations for the Young Marshal - the Holy Lord can't live with it. As long as the Holy Lord knows the Young Marshal's loyalty and bravery, don't be too concerned about other matters. Take it into your heart." Master Shang comforted him.
"Well. Originally I didn't have too much extravagant expectations, but a few things came together. If the people and grain and grass can be gathered together, the Ping thief can only be considered half the success. If I were the Zhang thief, I would definitely escape to Shaanxi , familiar with the roads. In fact, what I am most afraid of is that they will jump to the west after entering Shaanxi - there are many towns in the east, and although they are rich, on the one hand, many places have cities that can be defended for one or two days or even two or three days. On the other hand, , there is more wealth, and the plundering of thieves will also slow down their escape. We will catch up sooner or later. But if we go west, it will be like a fish in water. There are guard posts all over the Xingdu Si Mansion, and we know what those camp soldiers are like. It’s clear. If I can control Shaanxi Province, I will order all the health centers east of Gulang Institute and Nianbo Institute (Ledu District, Haidong City, Qinghai Province) to shrink across the board and take away all the people, those who can bring food, and those who cannot. Burn, our troops are chasing after them, but the thieves will not get any supplies, and they will collapse in less than a few days. But since I have no authority to give orders, which of the military leaders is willing to abandon their own military camp? Thief Zhang ran all the way to resupply on the spot. We can also coerce the camp troops and auxiliary troops to grow like a snowball. Our army cannot rob like a thief and eat as much as we bring. How can we catch up? Even if we can catch up, how can we defeat it? I am worried about this."
"Haha. Young Marshal is thinking too far. What if we don't want to think so far and just think about the present?" Mr. Shang said calmly, twirling a few tufts of goatee on his chin.
"Oh? Master Shang, please tell me in detail." Sun Jie's eyes lit up.
"What the young marshal wants is to annihilate them all together and completely eliminate this beast. However, Shang thinks that it is better to do as much business as you have with the capital and eat as much food as you have. If someone has food and power, let's finish it off in one battle. , If not, we have to find a way to fight." Mr. Shang looked at Sun Jie and said slowly, "Let's just stick with the thieves in Beichuan. There are not enough people and not enough food. In these situations, Not only does the Holy One know it, but the adults in the court know it, and the local adults also know it! As long as we keep sending good news, who can say what’s going on with us?”
"But... I'm not willing to just watch the thief being killed!" Sun Jie was a little anxious.
"Young Marshal, you are wrong! Big mistake. What do you mean by 'being able to kill the thieves'? We obviously can't!" Mr. Shang is more than ten years older than Sun Jie. Mr. Sun was the military commander before he died in the war. He is a member of the Sun family, so he has no scruples in what he says, "What the young marshal said can be done with conditions, that is, there are people, food, and power. But does the young marshal have it? No! So, we can't get rid of the thief." , we don’t have any capital!”
"Obviously our army's combat power is far superior to that of the thieves..."
"Hush... Young Marshal, you can't say this. If word gets out, Long live the Lord will also ask us to fight hard. Then we will have no way out! If you don't fight, you will be afraid of the enemy like a tiger, and you will take advantage of the thieves... ...How many people in the court would say this? At that time, we had no choice but to fight to the death. As you just said, the thieves are snowballing, and we will inevitably be defeated. The Sun family's two-hundred-year foundation is over. These brothers who eat with you, and their families , but it’s all over!”
"Master taught me a lesson." Although Sun Jie was loyal and brave, he was not stupid. He understood Master Shang's words clearly.
Once you understand the situation, it is not difficult to formulate countermeasures. Sun Jie decided to abandon the plan to establish supply depots along the way, and moved part of his troops northward. Shen Chenggang led Panshi Battalion and Huben Battalion to Nanchong, assuming a posture of about to launch an attack. In fact, he stationed troops to wait and see, while he, his soldiers, and the rest of Tiger Wing Battalion stayed behind. Far away, continue to push for food and grass in Sichuan Province - fight steadily, step by step, and no longer have unrealistic dreams of annihilation in one go.
But soon, Sun Jie unexpectedly ushered in his first victory.
Shangouji brought half of the Tiger Wing Battalion and a thousand auxiliary troops to the southern county. These days have been calm. When facing the enemy, there were only about 200 soldiers, but Shan Gouji was not worried at all: although the southern part was an empty city, the city wall was still there - even a broken wall would be worth 3,000 soldiers. The Jialing River turns from the north of the city in the south to the west. This is a natural barrier, so only the defense on the east needs to be considered.
There are many empty houses in the city that Cheng Xi has not burned down. The auxiliary troops go fishing in the river and chop firewood in the mountains every day, and their life is quite easy. If he hadn't considered that the army would be stationed soon, Shangouji could even tear down the wood from private houses to make fires, which would have been easier.
After spending too long doing nothing, Shangouji couldn't stand still any longer, so he decided to do something. What should I do? Thousands of people went to Nanjinguan, but Shan Chuji would not be aggrieved to this extent. Thinking that the commander-in-chief had told Liubianyi when he came over that it was unreliable and that there was only one team stationed there, Shan Guerrilla decided to take a shot.
As for Zhang Hu, when he learned that the person he was about to face was Sun Jie, he didn't show any signs of strangeness on his face, but felt a little bit unhappy in his heart. Who in the Ming Dynasty doesn’t know the reputation of the Sun family? He is the commander of a cavalry team, but in the eyes of the Sun family, who are hereditary generals, he is no different than an ant. As for Fang Ge, let alone that. The guard army itself was inferior to the border army. Zhang Hu was even afraid, and Fang Ge was even more unsure. However, they all know that they also have advantages: Sun Jie's journey for hundreds of miles is almost no man's land, and it is impossible to come here at any time. One and two, even if he reaches Baoning Prefecture, there is Nanjin Pass in the south. The high wall also gave the two of them a little more confidence. Feeling uneasy, Zhang Hu also had a small fire burning in his heart: If he could defeat Sun Jie... then he would become famous overnight in the entire Ming Dynasty!
After much thought, he really came up with a clever plan. Since half of the victory over Baoning was a sneak attack, Zhang Hu decided to follow the same example again: Liubianyi was his own people, but they were still under the banner of the Ming army. When Sun Jie attacked Nanjinguan head-on, he sent a surprise force. Go from Liubianyi, under the guise of support, and join forces inside and outside when the battle is fiercest!
Just as he said, Zhang Hu had someone deliver several hundred stones of grain to Liubianyi and said hello. Unexpectedly, he made a mistake by mistake - Shanggouji imitated Mr. Zhuge Kongming's empty city strategy, abandoned the auxiliary troops to defend the city, and led two troops to Liubianyi for a sneak attack on his own initiative. When we arrived at the place, we were wondering how to charge. Unexpectedly, the camp door opened, and the defenders shouted, "Why did we come here so quickly?" "Welcome out enthusiastically..."
Hundreds of dead heads gave the confused Sun Jie first-level skills. Before he even saw the enemy, the deputy commander became the "big commander" his brothers always called him, and Liubianyi was victorious. It also kicked off the War in Northern Sichuan.
