…
…
After hearing the reward and punishment rules promulgated by Zhao Junchen, everyone present was full of amazement, thinking that Zhao Junchen was really a generous person!
But Zhao Junchen doesn't think so.
According to the reward standards set by Zhao Junchen, assuming that a total of 100,000 Mongolian troops invaded the northwest provinces this year, even if all 100,000 Mongolian troops were eventually killed by the border troops, the reward would only be one million taels of silver. The silver, plus the pension silver, the pension silver, the doubled military pay, etc., will only exceed three million taels of silver!
How much money did Huang Yourong gain from just a series of house raids in southern Zhili this year?
Using three million taels of silver in exchange for the lives of 100,000 elite Mongolian soldiers, this deal is a good deal no matter how you calculate it!
If it weren't for Zhao Junchen's insufficient authority and worry that Emperor Deqing would be stingy and default on his debts afterwards, he would even want to double his reward standards!
Of course, there is a problem of cognitive differences. The northwest provinces are located in remote areas, and their prosperity is naturally far inferior to that of the capital and Jiangnan. In the eyes of the powerful officials in the capital and the wealthy businessmen of Jiangnan, ten taels of silver are nothing more than a table. It's just a high-end banquet, but for the people in the northwest, the output of a farmer's family for a whole year is only twenty taels of silver, without the exploitation of the big landlords, the taxes and grain paid to the government, and their own living expenses. If you can save two or three taels of silver in a year, it is considered very good, and ten taels of silver means a farmer's annual savings!
For another example, in years of famine or war, people in several northwestern provinces often sell their wives and daughters. A young woman of average appearance can often only be sold for two to three taels of silver!
Therefore, the reward standard set by Zhao Junchen is definitely not low!
But Zhao Junchen still thinks that this reward standard is too low. Although it will make the border troops excited, it is not enough to make them fight hard!
However, such reward standards are the extreme limit of Zhao Junchen's authority - in fact, Zhao Junchen's actions are already suspected of exceeding his authority. Although the imperial envoy has the power to make decisions on an ad hoc basis, and now he still follows the authority urgently, but It is inevitable that Zhao Junchen will be impeached after returning to Beijing.
But Zhao Junchen had another way to increase the rewards of the border troops.
After announcing the rules of rewards and punishments, Zhao Junchen said: "Of course, this standard of rewards and punishments is still a bit low in my opinion..."
Hearing what Zhao Junchen said, everyone in the lobby was stunned - is this standard still low? Does Zhao Junchen still want the northwest frontier army to get rich by killing enemies?
Zhao Junchen ignored everyone's stunned look and just continued: "Fortunately, the Shanxi merchants have just made it clear that they fully support the imperial court's border defense. They are all extremely wealthy people, and they will probably spend their money to support it." , As for how much funding the Shanxi merchants need, you Shanxi officials still need to discuss it with them in person, but according to the imperial envoy's idea, it is more appropriate to increase the reward for killing the enemy from ten taels to more than twenty taels!"
After hearing what Zhao Junchen said, everyone in the lobby was even more stunned!
If you can get a reward of twenty taels of silver or even more for killing and beheading a Mongolian enemy, wouldn't those border soldiers who are so poor and crazy have to fight to the death?
Coupled with the pension standard set by Zhao Junchen, which is not only fifty taels of silver, but also allows the family to pay tax-free food for five years. Such a generous pension, as well as the court's commitment to recuperate, is enough for the soldiers to give up. Life and death are forgotten!
In any case, after announcing such reward standards, the morale of the border troops can be guaranteed!
The two military towns in Taiyuan and Datong in Shanxi were originally more elite and brave than the military towns in Shaanxi and Gansu, and their equipment and logistics were far stronger than those in Shaanxi and Gansu. When the Mongols invaded the borders, The three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu are the first to bear the brunt and share most of the pressure. Therefore, as long as the morale of Shanxi's border troops is high and they have the courage to fight, even if the Junggar Khanate is as terrifying as the legend says, Shanxi's border defenses may not be easily broken. !
Therefore, despite being shocked, everyone felt relieved and their confidence increased a lot.
After seeing the changes in everyone's expressions, Zhao Junchen nodded with satisfaction, but still warned: "With the support of the Shanxi merchants, the silver reward is generous, enough to ensure the morale of the border troops, but everyone is still You cannot ignore it. There are three things that must be done! The first is to fully publicize this year's reward and punishment regulations so that every frontier soldier understands the rich rewards and strict punishments of the imperial court. The second is to set an example as soon as possible. If there are border soldiers who kill If the enemy has made meritorious service, he must be rewarded in time! If a frontier soldier flees cowardly, he must be punished in time. Only in this way can the border soldiers be convinced. Finally, the reward and punishment rules set by this imperial envoy must be strictly implemented. No matter how much the reward is, There can be no deductions. If someone violates military regulations, he must be severely punished no matter how rich his background is!"
Having said this, Zhao Junchen turned to look at Shanxi Governor Zhang Xun and ordered: "Governor Zhang is personally responsible for these three matters! All the adults present must also work together to help, and there must be no omissions! As long as you follow the instructions I will not mention the past matters in order to carry out my orders, but if there are any omissions in these matters, don’t blame me for being ruthless!"
When Zhao Junchen was meeting everyone, Zhang Xun had always been low-key and taciturn, letting Zhao Junchen do his best and not daring to steal Zhao Junchen's limelight.
After hearing Zhao Junchen's instructions, Li Xun quickly stood up and expressed his position: "Please rest assured, your Majesty the Imperial Envoy! Shanxi officials like us will definitely strictly follow the instructions of the Imperial Envoy and we will never dare to show any slights!"
As Li Xun finished speaking, the civil and military officials present also expressed their opinions enthusiastically, saying in unison: "We will strictly follow the instructions of the Imperial Envoy, and we will never dare to show any slights!"
After seeing everyone's expressions, Zhao Junchen's expression finally showed a hint of satisfaction, and a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.
Before that, Zhao Junchen had seriously considered that he was unable to fight the enemy with force and was illiterate in military strategy. What role could he play even if he went to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu? If he can't play any role, he can't build military merits, and he can't convince the soldiers on the border. So what's the point of Zhao Junchen taking the risk to go to the three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu?
But after Zhao Junchen thought about it for a few days, he found that there were still many things he could do, and everything was very meaningful.
For example, Zhao Junchen can unify the thoughts and positions of the civil and military officials in the northwest, eliminate their fear, and strengthen their determination to defend against the enemy!
For example, Zhao Junchen can use his status as an imperial envoy to set reward and punishment standards so that the border troops have no worries and can all fight bravely to kill the enemy!
For example, Zhao Junchen can integrate all the resources of several provinces in the northwest to make the cooperation between several military towns more tacit, so that they will not hold each other back or refuse to save them!
For another example, Zhao Junchen can appoint people on their merits, reuse those generals who are brave and good at fighting, and prevent those generals who are afraid of fighting and good at escaping from destroying the overall situation!
For another example, Zhao Junchen can organize logistics and stabilize the rear, so that the border troops have no worries when resisting the Mongolian army!
So many things, everything is of great significance!
If these things are done well, even if Zhao Junchen does not take the lead or make suggestions, it will be enough to carve up a large piece of military merit, and the soldiers on the border will definitely be convinced by Zhao Junchen!
As long as Zhao Junchen has military exploits, his reputation in the government and the public will be greatly improved, and his status in the government will be much more stable. Emperor Deqing will definitely be more scrupulous if he wants to punish Zhao Junchen in the future!
As long as the border army officers and soldiers are convinced of Zhao Junchen's achievements, then Zhao Junchen's plan to infiltrate military power will make rapid progress and make great progress. Maybe he can also conquer some truly capable generals and become Zhao Junchen's right-hand man! Just like Tong Guan and Cai Jing in the Song Dynasty, as long as Tong Guan still holds military power and continues to achieve military success, Cai Jing's status will be as stable as Mount Tai!
In addition, Zhao Junchen's achievements in resisting the Mongolian army and presiding over the northwest disaster relief can also greatly increase Zhao Junchen's popularity in several northwest provinces. Coupled with Zhao Junchen's plan to bribe the scholar, it can even completely reverse Zhao Junchen's image as a corrupt official. , which is also of great significance to Zhao Junchen!
It is for these reasons that Zhao Junchen is willing to take risks and come to the northwest border. As the saying goes, seeking wealth in danger, the greater the risk, the greater the wealth!
Of course, the border defense situation in the northwest is far more complicated and severe than Zhao Junchen expected. At least Zhao Junchen did not expect the emergence of the Junggar Khanate before coming to the northwest!
The risk has not been overcome, and wealth is still far away!
The Junggar Khanate was the last glory of the Mongolian tribes, but there is no doubt about its power.
Therefore, whether Zhao Junchen can survive the risks and reap the benefits is still unclear.
But at least Zhao Junchen has made a good start in Shanxi. He has seized the evidence of several frontier officials in the northwest, making them completely lose the confidence to fight against Zhao Junchen.
This will undoubtedly help Zhao Junchen control the overall situation of several northwest provinces.
From this aspect, the emergence of the Junggar Khanate can be regarded as a favor to Zhao Junchen!
In the next two days, Zhao Junchen and the Jin Yiwei took a good rest in Taiyuan City.
During these two days, Zhao Junchen privately summoned Shanxi officials, generals, and merchants to discuss with them the details of Shanxi's border defense and disaster relief.
During this period, many people secretly took refuge in Zhao Junchen. After investigation, Zhao Junchen also found some officials and generals with real abilities, and let them assume more important responsibilities.
After everything in Shanxi was roughly finalized, Zhao Junchen left Taiyuan City and once again worked hard, day and night, towards Shaanxi and Gansu.
When Zhao Junchen entered Taiyuan City, there were a total of two hundred Jinyi guards under his command, but when Zhao Junchen left Taiyuan City, only one hundred and twenty Jinyiwei were still following Zhao Junchen.
In addition to the thirty Jin Yiwei Bao Wenjie took with him when he returned to Beijing, Zhao Junchen also left fifty Jin Yiwei in Shanxi, allowing them to monitor all developments in Shanxi's government and opposition parties, and to report news to Zhao Junchen in a timely manner.
After leaving this group of Jinyi guards, all forces in Shanxi would not dare to fool Zhao Junchen easily.
However, although the escort and following of eighty Jinyi guards were missing, Niu Lu, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Military Town, was worried about an accident on Zhao Junchen's road and wanted to please Zhao Junchen, so he provided Zhao Junchen with two hundred cavalry to protect him. The hundreds of cavalry are all Niu Lu's private soldiers. Each one of them is an elite soldier, and their force is much stronger than that of the Jinyi guards.
In this way, Zhao Junchen's team became larger, expanding to more than 300 people.
When going to Taiyuan Prefecture, Zhao Junchen kept disguising his identity and trying not to attract attention in order to catch Shanxi officials off guard.
But now, Zhao Junchen has caught the handle of all the governors in the northwest, so he no longer needs to conceal his whereabouts and directly shows his identity as an imperial envoy. The journey can be said to be vigorous and smooth.
In fact, after controlling the situation in Shanxi, Zhao Junchen sent people to Shaanxi and Gansu to inform several governors of Shaanxi and Gansu. He also gave them a serious warning and stopped their appeasement plan.
Therefore, after two days of traveling, when Zhao Junchen's team entered Yulinwei in Shaanxi and Gansu, they found that Shaanxi Governor Zhang Shengde was already waiting for him.
…
Sorry for the late update!
…
