In the inner study of the Xuanfu General Military Office, Ma Fang, Ma Zongrong, who was only fifty-three years old but already full of white hair, was pacing anxiously. An old servant stood cautiously at the door.
This old servant was Ma Fang's housekeeper and had served Ma Fang for many years. In his early years, he was his servant's soldier. Later, he injured his lumbar spine and could no longer fight, so he became a housekeeper and gained Ma Fang's trust. At this time, he saw that his master was anxious and couldn't help but persuade him: "Sir, since Mr. Gao Ge has written a letter explaining the situation, why are you still so worried? Now that Mr. Gao Ge has made the decision to exchange the generals of Xuanda and Dazhou, he wants to come to Zhao Dazhou It's impossible for that guy to really put his hands on our Xuanda, so I thought that I could safely switch to defense."
Ma Fang's expression was still bad, and she said in a deep voice: "That fellow Zhao Zhenji only knows how to talk. I declare that the second town of Da Er is the gateway to the capital. How important it is! It's good for him. As soon as he entered the cabinet a year ago, he insisted on changing to Xing'an Gong. Fortunately, Mr. Gaoge returned to the court in time and saved Duke Xing'an, and ordered him to temporarily assist in the military affairs of the capital camp. He also transferred Duke Jianchuan from the three sides of Shaanxi to replace him. Otherwise, there would be no ministers to guard the important land, and God knows what would happen. What a big deal! If there is another Gengshu Incident, it would be a shame for a military minister named Ma to die, but Zhao Dazhou can save his life, right?"
The Duke Xing'an mentioned by Ma Fang refers to Chen Qixue, the former Governor-General of Xuan Dynasty, and Duke Jianchuan is of course Wang Chonggu. Xing'an and Jianchuan are the names of Chen Qixue and Wang Chonggu respectively.
The old steward smiled bitterly and said: "At present, the only people who know the affairs of the army are Gao and Zhang. Zhao Dazhou is just a guy who has not studied well. How does he know what is happening? The current affairs... are It’s getting harder and harder!”
Ma Fang became even angrier after hearing this and said: "If this loser knew about side affairs, would he think that Chen Butang was guilty? Would he think that General Zhao was afraid of the enemy? As for the situation on the Nine Borders, which has been getting worse and worse over the years, I'm afraid just standing in front of him Explain to him, but he can’t even understand! In the two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the situation in the north has become increasingly tight. Xuanda’s defense is said to be the top priority, but in fact it is becoming more and more empty now. What can really be done How many soldiers are left to fight? In this situation, he still wants to withdraw Zhao Ke! If Zhao Ke is withdrawn, let alone Datong, the camp will be empty, even Shanxi's defense will be opened! What's the matter, you think so highly of me, Ma Fang, I'm just a man Can one man hold three towns? Damn it, I have only three heads and six arms?"
It’s no wonder that Ma Fang was so angry. It turns out that since I invaded Datong in September last year and raided Shanyin, Yingzhou, Huairen, and Hunyuan, Zhao Zhenji, the new member of the cabinet, took advantage of Xuanda and ignored the general of Datong at the beginning of the year. The military officer Zhao Ke's defeat at the Hongci Fort was due to the fact that Chen Qixue, the governor of Xuanda University, and Zhao Ke, the general general of Datong, were afraid of the enemy and wanted to capture these two men. In fact, it can be seen from the troop deployment of the two of them at that time that they were obviously afraid that Anda's army would harass the imperial mausoleum. Later, when they saw Anda trying to leave after looting, the two of them immediately attacked and tried to chase him, but to no avail. The infantry could not outrun the cavalry, and they only caught three or two big cats and kittens, but they were caught by Zhao Zhenji. Thanks to Gao Gong's timely return to the court, the two of them were saved. Even so, Chen Qixue lost his position as governor of Xuanda and was temporarily transferred back to the capital by Gao Gong.
What makes Ma Fang even more angry is that judging from Zhao Zhenji's behavior, he has no idea how tight the defense situation in Xuanda and even Shanxi is, and he is just messing around. Recently, Gao Gong sent him a letter saying that Zhao Zhenji still refused to let go of the matter and insisted that Zhao Ke could not continue to serve as the commander-in-chief of Datong. Gao Gong didn't want to argue with this person on this matter, so he decided to give him a little face and let Ma Fang and Zhao Ke exchange defense zones.
Ma Fang could understand Gao Gong's reaction. After all, he had just returned to the court and it was no longer easy to save Chen Qixue and Zhao Ke. There was nothing wrong with making a little concession to save the face of a certain pavilion elder. But Ma Fang knew that the actions between him and Zhao Ke would most likely make An Da have evil thoughts again, which would lead to another disaster.
His thinking is not unfounded, but is determined by the balance of power between Ming and Mongolia in the north and the strategic situation of both sides.
In the early Ming Dynasty, under the careful management of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty was pushed to the north of the Great Wall from Liaodong, Daning, Kaiping, Dongsheng to Jiayuguan. At that time, Datong and Xuanfu governed a large area outside the mouth, and the defense pressure was not yet obvious. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the capital moved north, and Daning's territory was bordered by Wuliangha. Dongsheng moved inward, Xinghe was abolished, and the northern defense line moved hundreds of miles south.
During the Xuande period, the northern border defense line further shrank, especially the inward movement of Dushi in Kaiping, which reduced the area of Xuan and Daer towns and brought them to the border. It was inevitable that the second line of border defense would become the first line of border defense, becoming the key to stopping Mongolia from moving south. In this regard, in addition to strengthening the defense of the second town, the Ming Dynasty also continued to improve the defense system in the area. In order to solve the problems of inconsistent powers and mutual constraints among the town officials, as well as the shortcomings of pushing the blame and not responding to each other when encountering enemies in neighboring towns, the Governor of Xuanda was appointed to strengthen coordination, which promoted the establishment of the Xuanda Defense Zone, which became a An important part of the northern defense system.
As the northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty repeatedly moved southward, the strategic importance of the Xuanda area increased day by day, and the defense pressure increased.
"The belly and heart of Youren in the capital are like Xuan and Da Xiangbei, and the limbs of Yan and Ning are like Gansu's heels."
"If we talk about the importance of land, all sides are important, but Jizhou, Xuan, Da, and Shanxi are especially important. How can we defend the mausoleum and set the sacred capital at the bottom? Xuan and Da are like shoulders and backs, and Ji and Jin are like elbows and armpits."
Especially after Hetao was abandoned during the reign of Emperor Yingzong, the Mongolian tribes "exited Hetao to invade Xuanfu, Datong, and Sanguan to assist Zhenji; when entering Hetao, they invaded Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, and Guyuan to disturb Guanzhong." They attacked the northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty. pose a great threat.
In addition, most of the Xuanda area is "ruled by dividing the territory, without jurisdiction, and there are many constraints on dispatching and dispatching reinforcements." The troops are dispersed, but this is not the case in Mongolia, which often concentrates various ministries to take advantage of the weakness and focus on one town. In this case, the soldiers of one town cannot resist at all, and neighboring towns need to rescue each other. However, the governor-general soldiers of each town have no authority to mobilize soldiers and horses from other towns. When neighboring towns are in trouble, they often sit back and do nothing to save them. They also wait and see too much, often missing opportunities," resulting in a situation where they only want to protect themselves but cannot protect themselves.
"If the order concurrently invades the Xuanfu, it will be urgent for Datong to respond. If it simultaneously invades Datong, it will be urgent for the Xuanfu to respond. If there is a restraint in advance, and there will be responsibilities when things happen, it will be easy to shirk each other during the military revolution. There will be no mistakes.”
In view of this, in order to unify the military power of Xuan and Daer towns and strengthen the unified leadership and coordinated actions between the two towns, it was necessary to set up important ministers to control them. Therefore, the Ming court established the Governor of Xuanda to unify the two towns during the Jingtai period. After the appointment of the Governor-General of Xuanda, it was not frequent, and it was not changed until the 21st year of Jiajing.
After the establishment of Governor Xuanda, in addition to commanding the town troops and coordinating the operations of the two towns, he also gained the power to manage food and wages in the 21st year of Jiajing.
"In Renwu, he was promoted to Zhi Peng, the censor of the right and right capital of the army in Shanxi and Henan, Zhi Peng, as the right minister of the Ministry of War, and the censor of the left and right capital of the Imperial Procuratorate, and the governor of Xuan and military affairs, and also in charge of food and wages."
Later, the defense situation became increasingly severe, and the power of the governor was increased. Except for those who were involved in secrets, they were not allowed to take charge of themselves. The rest of the troops, horses, money and food were allowed to be dealt with cheaply, and the news was announced first. "Records of King Sejong" records: "Hu Ke reported to Liu Hui during the incident: "In Qing Dynasty, the northern captives invaded from the south. Your Majesty specially ordered Zhai Peng, the minister of the Ministry of War, to supervise the military affairs. However, the captives escaped and the governor was dismissed. When the captives arrived, the governor was added. The incident occurred. The haste, the timing is not fixed, this is not the result of the special responsibility, but the achievement of the map... I would like to ask your majesty to take charge of Zhai Peng from now on, and all the troops, horses, money and food will be done cheaply.' Except for matters related to secrets, those who are not allowed to specialize in their own affairs are allowed to engage in military affairs, money and food at a cheap price, and they are informed first and later."
In fact, starting from the 21st year of the Jiajing reign, Governor Xuanda has been in place permanently, and his jurisdiction and powers have been expanded. "Zhai Peng ordered to also supervise Shandong and Henan. From the governor down, all are subject to restraint, and things remain peaceful as before."
In the twenty-third year of Jiajing's reign, the governor was ordered to supervise all military pay. In the 24th year of Jiajing, the power of Governor Xuanda was further increased. Governors and general military officers who were engaged in military affairs were required to shut down Governor Bai. , listen to what is said first and listen later, and do not be jealous of each other."
In the 29th year of Jiajing's reign (the 29th year of Jiajing's reign), Governor-General Xuanda established jurisdiction over Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi, which has not changed since then.
Facts have proved that the establishment of the Governor-General of Xuanda was quite effective in Xuanda’s defense. In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, Mongolia invaded the Xuanfu. At that time, the Xuanfu "generalized mediocre soldiers and weak soldiers, and captured the captives easily." The governor-general Weng Wanda immediately exercised his authority and transferred Datong's chief military officer Zhou Shangwen to the Xuanfu to defend against the enemy. The commander of Datong, Zhou Shangwen, led an elite force to temporarily replace the commander of Xuanfu to contain the enemy's charge. He also sent a letter to the auxiliary ministers and his own soldiers, saying that the captives would go deep into the reconnaissance, saying that the commander of Xuanfu, General Pianhu, could not be entrusted... With Datong... The army was sent to his deputy commander to urge Zhou Shangwen to go. So Shangwen marched day and night to Caojiazhuang, but the captives had already entered the dangerous position. Unexpectedly, Shangwen arrived suddenly. There was a big battle on the night of March, and he was surrounded and relieved many times. Gong (Weng Wanda) Thousands of soldiers with bows and armors came to the rescue... The captives were shocked and said: Marshal Weng's troops have arrived. He escaped at night and rescued the siege. Duke Shangwen pursued him out of the country, and he did more to protect him than to kill him."
After the establishment of the Xuanda Governor-General, he gradually gained the power to dispatch troops and horses, manage money and food, supervise, and sponsor. Later, he also gained the right to appoint his own counselors, which marked that the Xuanda area had a centralized dispatch and control. The organization of the response force contributed to the establishment of the Xuanda Defense Zone.
In other words, Xuanda and Shanxi are a defense unit, and one move can affect the whole body. But now, because the situation is difficult to control, Xuanda is under great pressure, and it is basically in a passive situation of being beaten. Unexpectedly, Zhao Zhenji not only removed Chen Qixue, but also captured Zhao Ke. As a result, Gao Gong was forced to transfer Wang Chonggu to stabilize the situation, and he also had to exchange positions between Zhao Ke and Ma Fang.
Ma Fang had a strong hunch that when the two of them exchanged words, I would definitely not turn a deaf ear - the person who knows you best is often not you, but your enemy or opponent.
Therefore, Ma Fang sent someone to Beijing to inquire about the court's movements. And today, according to the agreement, was the day to come back and report to him the situation in Beijing.
