So far, the important ministers of Jingtai Dynasty are relatively united. When Zhu Qiyu asked how to carry out military deployment, everyone gave Luo Tong the opportunity to speak first.
Luo Tong has been in battle for a long time and has rich experience. Luo Tong had experienced and seen all the routines and methods involved in the Miao border war, so he could tell what was going on from afar.
In particular, Luo Tong had personally experienced Xuanzong's loss of Jiaozhi. At that time, the Ming army was attacked, ambushed, and the main generals died mysteriously one after another. Then the entire army was destroyed and the situation completely collapsed.
The war this time followed a similar path, with different approaches but the same effect.
The only difference was that the loss of Jiaozhi was quite beautiful to Xuanzong, and he was finally forced to get rid of the big burden of Jiaozhi. Sanyang also followed him there to praise his virtues. Xuanzong suddenly changed and became a wise king who cared about the people and stopped fighting to make peace.
But Luo Tong was still a little unsure about what Emperor Jingtai in front of him thought about the Southwest War.
So Luo Tong chose a very conservative strategy to answer the emperor: "Your Majesty, I believe that Shi Heng, Sun Boring, and Liu Yongcheng should be ordered to lead the remaining troops to quickly retreat to Huguang and garrison Changsha and Yueyang.
He then ordered the Duke of Guizhou to lead his army north, first to deal with the Miao army near Guiyang, and then to enter Huguang, where he and Jing Yuanbo's army divided into three groups to encircle and suppress the rebels. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded with satisfaction. Luo Tong did not take advantage of the situation to add insult to injury to Wang Ji, but he was actually quite magnanimous. In the early years of Zhengtong, Luo Tong had already been promoted to the rank of doctor in the Ministry of War. Later, he was impeached by Wang Ji, was imprisoned, and was demoted to the gate official of Rongshan, Guangxi.
Thinking of this, Zhu Qiyu continued to ask: "Someone has to be responsible for this. How should Luo Aiqing handle it?"
Luo Tong had already thought about this question on the way here, and immediately replied: "Your Majesty, I think that the Marquis of Wuqing Shi Heng, the Military Counselor Yang Shan, the eunuchs Jin Ying, Xing'an, and Chen Xiang, Those who fail to manage the army should be punished."
Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Marquis Wu Qing failed to manage the army well, and he was reprimanded by the cabinet and fined for one year. Yang Shan, counselor of military affairs, was demoted from the right deputy censor of the capital to the censor of the right Qiandu, and was fined for one year.
Jin Ying, the eunuch who supervises the army, was relieved of his post as Chief of Ceremonies and was demoted to Chief of Ceremonies and Bingbi. Xing'an was dismissed from the post of admiral of Dongchang. Chen Xiang was fined one year.
The remaining people were not dealt with, and an order was given to Wang Ji, telling him not to have any worries, just act expediently, and act with the camera. If anything goes wrong, I am solely responsible. "
After everyone received the order, Luo Tong added: "Your Majesty, the troops in the south Zhili and Henan directions are very empty now. I thought it would be better to send the Shangzhi personal guards from the capital south as soon as possible to station in Nanyang, Anqing and Fengyang.
When the war is over, it will not be too late for these troops to reorganize in Nanjing. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded. This was a good suggestion. He took this opportunity to quickly clear out all the Shangzhi personal guards in Beijing. So he added: "At the same time, we will organize thirty thousand Jinyi guards to go south, and together with other Shangzhi personal guards, we will guard against the Miao rebellion.
After the war ended, these 30,000 Jinyiwei were merged into Nanjing Jinyiwei. "
In this way, it can reduce the number of troops in Beijing, reduce the pressure on water transportation, and cooperate with Xu Youzhen's management of the Yellow River and canals.
You can also transfer a large number of troops loyal to the emperor.
After this transfer, there are still 60,000 to 70,000 Jinyi Guards within the Shuntian Mansion, plus a few mausoleum guards, which Zhu Qiyu needs to continue to deal with.
The ministers present looked at each other, and most of them didn't understand why the emperor was so obsessed with reducing the army in Beijing.
From the perspective of most people, it is impossible for the Ming army to openly rebel.
Only Zhu Qiyu knew this in his heart. Jiajing also succeeded to the throne as a vassal king. As soon as he entered Beijing, he purged a total of more than 100,000 Jin Yiwei and the inner court, and then replaced them with cronies brought from the palace.
This big purge is useless even if it is said to be useless, and it is useful even if it is said to be useful.
The useless part is that Jiajing was still burned by the fire and ran around like a bereaved dog, and was still strangled by the palace maid for no reason.
The useful thing is that Jiajing has indeed been emperor for more than forty years. Regardless of his luck or fate, he is the most likely to end his life among the Ming emperors.
Therefore, since we know the successful experiences of later generations, there is nothing wrong with learning more from Jiajing.
The biggest fear in life is to think you are smart and have to find a new way.
Just like Zhu Qizhen, it is obvious that as long as he endures for another year, the south will be pacified. Then when Wang Ji and Chen Mao led the main force of 200,000 Ming troops back to the north, they could do whatever they wanted first, but they could do whatever they wanted first. At that time, the south and north will all be pacified, and the Holy Lord will be restored.
It's a pity that Zhu Qizhen insisted on playing a fancy job, but ended up losing his hands and eventually lost everything. He could only herd sheep and catch rabbits on the grassland.
Zhu Qiyu lamented for his good brother, and then let everyone disperse.
After seeing everyone off and drinking two more cups of tea, Zhu Qiyu stood up to leave.
At this time, He Yi suddenly called the emperor with hesitation on his face.
Zhu Qiyu asked curiously: "What's wrong, Xingyi, why are you so hesitant? Now we are the only two left. If you have anything to say, just say it."
He Yi replied weakly: "Your Majesty, I have a concern. I don't know whether to talk about it or not?"
"Speak, just say it. I won't blame you if you say something wrong."
He Yi heard this and boldly said: "Your Majesty, the military newspaper reported that a rebel army composed of Miao people rushed into the plains of Huguang.
But we in Beijing don’t know much about how serious it actually is.
Are they surrounding the city and attacking? Or running around burning, killing and looting? We don't know either.
The most important thing is, if the vassal kings who left Beijing before passed through the troubled areas of Huguang, would anything happen? "
Zhu Qiyu was stunned for a long time when he heard this, and then he replied: "None of the southernmost vassal kings has entered Beijing. The only one who can pass through Huguang is Prince Xiang of Changsha.
It can't be such a coincidence, right? Prince Xiang left Beijing at the end of January. Based on the distance, he should have returned to Changsha at the end of February or early March.
If something really happened, an urgent military report from 800 miles away should have been sent to the capital by now. "
He Yi shook his head: "It is three thousand miles from Beijing to Changsha. If we return to Changsha in thirty days, we need to travel hundreds of miles a day. This speed is relatively reasonable.
But your Majesty also knows that the vassal king cannot leave the city at will in his own fiefdom.
So this time when King Xiang returns to Changsha, you don't stipulate when he must arrive home. It’s a rare opportunity to go out once. I think most people will enjoy sightseeing on the road and won’t be in a hurry.
And Prince Xiang would definitely not go in the direction of Fengyang or Nanjing, because a prince running from North Zhili to South Zhili would easily arouse suspicion.
King Xiang probably turned south via Luoyang and returned to Changsha via Nanyang, Xiangyang and Yueyang.
The area between Xiangyang and Yueyang was where the Miao people harassed them the most. They were afraid that Prince Xiang's family would happen to walk to that area and run into the rebels. "
(End of chapter)
