Gao pragmatically imagined his first meeting with Qi Jiguang countless times out of the mentality of an amateur military fan of later generations. Now Qi Jiguang's appearance and demeanor are basically in line with his expectations, but when he came up, he took the initiative to salute so humbly, which Gao Pragmatic never expected, so that he was a little at a loss for a moment. This is Gao pragmatism has been extremely rare since he entered politics in his previous life.
Fortunately, his shock was only for a moment. He immediately reacted and returned the salute respectfully, saying: "How dare you, a lucky man, to salute Governor Qi? Governor Qi has traveled across the north and south for decades, and has traveled hundreds of thousands of rivers and land. We have fought without a single defeat, and we are actually the jade pillars of the Ming Dynasty that support the sky and support the golden beams of the sea. I ask the Commander-in-Chief not to do this. I am really ashamed of myself."
Qi Jiguang was not "Qi Shaobao" at this time, but in the second year of Longqing, Qi Jiguang led 8,000 muskets and cavalry to raid Dong Huya's tent, destroying Duoyan's 30,000 cavalry, so he was promoted to the right governor. This is where the phrase "commander" comes from. it's here.
At this time, Qi Jiguang just straightened up. He was slightly startled when he heard this, but immediately smiled and said: "I have read a lot, Gao Shi. Although Qi is just a martial artist, he has read a few books by sages. Gao Shi read a famous book that moved the capital." Qi recently sent someone to read his masterpiece "Long Wen Whip Shadow". How can he be lucky to have such a great talent?"
Before Gao Pingshi could answer, Qi Jiguang continued: "But the reason why Qi just gave this gift is not just that."
"Oh?" Gao pragmatic vaguely guessed what Qi Jiguang was going to say, but he was not sure.
"The manuscripts and pictures that Gao Shidu sent me last time are worth millions of dollars to me in the Ming Dynasty! Qi is not talented, and although he is a lowly and despicable person, I would like to express my gratitude to Gao Shidu on behalf of all the military officials and military households of the Ming Dynasty." Come on, this proud Shandong man bowed again.
"Captain Qi's words are serious, he is serious. It's just a kid's occasional thought, and he doesn't know if it can really be like this, so he asked Commander Qi to look at it from the perspective of an expert. If the governor is like this, the kid is really I’m so ashamed.”
Gao Pragmatic hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help him. Qi Jiguang naturally couldn't let a child under ten years old really use his strength to help him - he would definitely not be able to help him, so he stood up straight and said seriously: "Qi has a saying I'm not afraid of Gao Shidu being offended. Originally, when Qi learned that Gao Shidu had made the 'soap' thing, he thought that although Gao Shidu's talent was astonishing to the world, it was a little bit wrong. However, , when Mr. Qi saw the manuscript and picture album sent by Gao Shidu, he realized that the saint would not deceive me. 'He who is born to know is the best' - I think Gao Shidu is such a talented person."
Gao Pragmatic had a wry smile on his face. He felt really ashamed now, but he couldn't explain that he was actually just relying on the forward vision of a time traveler to come up with those things. On the contrary, Qi Jiguang, as an "ancient", actually Those who can see the value of those things at a glance instead of treating themselves as crazy are the real talents - no, they are geniuses!
Gao Jingshi's expression was different in Qi Jiguang's eyes. He thought that Gao Jingshi's wry smile and silence was because he was praised for being shy. Although he has a special career in civil and military affairs, and has a high and pragmatic background and knowledge, he is unlikely to be on the gold list in the future. In time, it will not be so strange to join the cabinet to assist in government, but Qi Jiguang just had a feeling in his heart that he must take good care of his current situation. The person's thoughts came to his mind, so he smiled and said: "After Gao Shi read many of the thoughts and sketches in those manuscripts and albums, Qi thought it was very reasonable... Originally, if it were just the ideas in those manuscripts, Qi could only say Gao Shi Du's thoughts are like wild horses and unconstrained ideas. Although they are very reasonable, they are ultimately elusive. I am afraid that it is difficult to see the day of success. But after Qi read the drawings and explanations, he was really surprised and happy. In addition to being a talented person, Qi really can’t find a second word to describe Gao Shidu.”
Gao Pragmatic still had a wry smile on his face and said awkwardly: "Captain Qi, how about we sit down and talk about something specific? If you continue to praise like this, the kid will have to find a crack in the ground and crawl in."
Qi Jiguang laughed and took a closer look. It turned out that there was already a bookcase and two imperial chairs placed on the balcony of the city tower. There was even tea placed on the bookcase. Knowing that it must be prepared by Gao pragmatism, he stretched out his hand and said: "Master Gao, please."
"Captain Qi is an elder, please invite me."
Qi Jiguang glanced at Gao Jingshi in slight surprise. There was a trace of gratitude in his eyes. Without saying much, he nodded and went over first. Gao Jingshi knew that although he often read and wrote poems, he must rarely be respected like this by civil servants. , so he showed that look of gratitude.
Here I want to talk about a magical custom in the Ming Dynasty since the Japanese pirates plundered during the Jiajing period. At present, there is a very popular trend of famous people, that is, those who think they are real famous people are all pursuing "achievement". So, what is Youzhi? Chen Jiru in the late Ming Dynasty once gave an explanation, saying, "Famous prostitutes read scriptures, old monks make wine, generals fly to the mansion of articles, and scholars practice military affairs. Although they lack the true character, they have their own characteristics."
In other words, the so-called "youzhi" means no longer pursuing the true nature, but a kind of affectation, or even pretentiousness. The "field where scholars practice military service" and "the house where generals practice military affairs" listed in it can be regarded as indicating that the relationship between civil and military affairs and social customs have undergone two major changes in the late Jiajing period: one is that scholars are fond of martial arts, and the other is that military generals are good at writing.
Let’s not go into the literary scholars’ admiration for martial arts here. Let’s just say that Qi Jiguang liked reading and writing poems, and even the Zhi Zhitang Collection later came out. This is most likely related to the military commander’s good writing.
Probably starting from the Hongzhi and Zhengde years, a major change occurred in the military officials of the Ming Dynasty, that is, they became "people who think and do things with culture". In layman's terms, it is due to the long period of peace and the abnormal emphasis on civil and military affairs that the generals "can only handle goblet but not the bow and horse to fight".
Why are military generals so good at writing? Investigating its root causes, there are probably the following three aspects:
One is to change the overall image of military commanders as uneducated. The lack of writing in martial arts is an overall phenomenon that has been true in all dynasties, and the generals of the Ming Dynasty were no exception. Second, good writing can improve the reputation of generals. In the Ming Dynasty, if you want to become a famous general, not just a "strong general", you can't just rely on your outstanding military exploits. You must rely on "good writing" to become a reality. Through the act of "good writing", it can be "added to it and complement it". For example, Qi Jiguang "began to write his military exploits" because he was good at writing and associated with famous literati of the time such as Wang Daokun, Wang Shizhen, Wang Shimao, Shen Xiyi, and Tang Shunzhi. Third, due to the influence of the times that valued literature over martial arts, military generals had to be good at writing. Originally, in the early Ming Dynasty, military commanders were relatively free to move against their enemies. After that, the generals began to be controlled by the eunuchs who left the town, and they were also controlled by the governors and governors who controlled the eunuchs. Civil servants and ministers held military power, and they used the patrol officers to correct and interfere with the generals. In this way, the generals were gradually controlled by the patrol officers. As a result, the military generals faced the embarrassing dilemma of "constraints at their convenience", and in desperation, they "had to resort to writing as a way to defend themselves."
However, a military commander is a military commander. Even a "good writer" like Qi Jiguang is often praised by civil servants. But in the final analysis, he will not take part in the civil service examination and will not get the honors of Confucian scholars. Therefore, in his interactions with civil servants, It is still inevitable to be despised by civil servants on some casual occasions.
And Gao Pragmatic admired Qi Jiguang very much, whether it was his unparalleled military talent in this era, or his pragmatic attitude as an official and as a person, regardless of face in order to do things, so his respect for Qi Jiguang came from the bottom of his heart. of. Qi Jiguang has been in officialdom for a long time, how can he not see this? So the perception of high pragmatism is better.
