It is not easy to make Shen Shixing feel that the benefits from fighting this battle can even exceed those of the practical school. Because the credit here is mainly military exploits, and military exploits...that is equivalent to making Shen Shixing think that Li Chengliang can defeat Qi Jiguang.
Although Shen Shixing was not very knowledgeable in military affairs, he also knew that Li Chengliang's appearance before Qi Jiguang was due to the policy requirements of the imperial court.
Qi Jiguang had no chance to "fight out" the West and make it in the East. Of course, he would not get much credit, but Qi Jiguang guarded Ji so well that there was no leakage. How could this ability be fake? In addition, now that Daning City is in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, Qi Jiguang is closer than Li Chengliang to sending troops, which gives him an innate advantage in "grabbing credit".
So normally speaking, this job is not easy.
However, Gao pragmatic laughed and said: "Da Sima, what's so difficult about this? Just transfer Qi Jiguang back to the capital."
Liang Menglong said in astonishment: "How come Qi Jiguang was transferred back to the capital? He is not a civil servant."
Civil servants and border ministers are transferred back to the capital for easy arrangements. They usually work as ministers in the Ministry of War first, and then see how they can be transferred to other positions, but military ministers are different. Military ministers generally do not have the option of returning to the capital, because even if you hold one of the several governor-general titles of the Fifth Army Governor's Palace in the capital, there is no carrot pit for generals and commanders in the Fifth Army Governor's Palace in the capital - if you come back, you will be honored. Where to hang it?
Of course Gao pragmatic knew this, and smiled and said, "Did you know that Master Sima did not return home until very late in the palace last night?"
Liang Menglong's eyes flashed and he said with a smile: "Everyone in the capital knows your news."
Gao Pragmatic didn't bother to tell, and just said: "Da Sima, do you know what the student said to the emperor?"
"Do you really want to touch the Beijing camp?" Liang Menglong said cautiously: "The Beijing camp is not a place for leisure. Although you and Cheng Guogong have always had a close relationship, the Beijing camp is their lifeblood..."
"The students didn't intend to touch their cash cow, but instead it lightened their burden - completely lightened it." Gao pragmatically said with a smile.
"Ah? What do you say?"
Gao pragmatic told Liang Menglong about the separation of war, farmers, and craftsmen, and then introduced him to the Imperial Guard.
After hearing this, Liang Menglong hesitated and said: "But in this case, the Beijing camp really only has 60,000 soldiers. If the outside world knows..."
Gao pragmatic shook his head and said: "If we separate and return to each other, nominally they still control hundreds of thousands of military households. Since these people are still military households, theoretically speaking, as long as they need to fight, they still have to put down their hoes and pick up their guns. Outside Don’t dare to think too much.”
Liang Menglong thought for a while and felt that this was the reason, and said: "This idea is not impossible, but I think it is better for you to take control of the recruitment of refugees yourself. I am not gossiping behind people's backs. These honorable nobles …I’m afraid I don’t know how to choose the sources of troops anymore.”
Gao pragmatic laughed and said: "We say that they should be responsible, but how would they understand this? The students knew this in their hearts, so they chose a person who is the best at recruiting soldiers in the world to do this, but others It’s not here yet, so I’m going to say this first.”
"Who is this person?" Liang Menglong had some vague guesses in his mind, but he still felt that he had to ask before he felt relieved.
"It's Qi Jiguang." Gao Pingshi smiled and said, "He is also the first commander of the Imperial Guard selected by the students."
"I think so." Liang Menglong smiled and suddenly hesitated: "But to be honest, is the emperor really relieved that one person can control 60,000 imperial guards?"
Gao pragmatically said: "Firstly, the term of the commander of the Imperial Guard is limited, and secondly... the students did not say that the emperor is not allowed to place eunuchs in the Imperial Guard."
In fact, in theory, Gao Pragmatic is very disgusted with the eunuchs who supervise the army, but it is useless no matter how disgusted he is. The system and traditions of the Ming Dynasty are here. There is no eunuch to supervise the army in the 60,000 imperial guards, even if the emperor is Zhu Yijun. Even my old classmate who was highly pragmatic couldn't bear it - I'm afraid!
Apart from anything else, the Shence Army of the Tang Dynasty was just trying to dethrone the emperor as if it were a joke. Can this thing be joked about?
Therefore, the current planned Imperial Guard actually still has "separation of three powers": the military chief is Qi Jiguang, the preparatory commander, and the direct manager of the civil servants is Gao Pragmatic, the associate in charge of the military affairs of the capital, and the representative of the imperial power. It's the eunuch who oversees the army.
However, last night Gao Jingshi and Zhu Yijun had an exchange about the scope of responsibilities of the eunuchs in charge of the army. Gao Jingshi firmly stated that the eunuchs in charge of the army cannot interfere with daily military affairs. He has one and only one task, which is to supervise the imperial guards including Qi Jiguang. Senior military general.
It’s hard to say what Zhu Yijun’s real thoughts were, but at least he agreed at the time. He just said that the specific division of responsibilities needed to be pragmatically written in detailed rules and handed over to him.
When Liang Menglong heard that the emperor basically agreed, he felt relieved, and after thinking about it, he said: "If it can be like this, it is a way to get the best of both worlds. After Qi Jiguang left Jizhen, Shen Yaoquan should be more confident... But If Qi Jiguang leaves, what will happen to Jizhen?"
Gao Pragmatic hesitated for a moment and said: "Actually, the student has two candidates in his mind, but he is still a little hesitant about which one to choose. Moreover, the student guessed that these two candidates may not meet the standards of Da Sima."
Liang Menglong laughed: "How do you say this? Do you know what standards I have for the general soldiers of Jizhen?"
Gao pragmatically said: "You have to have great military exploits and be mature and prudent at the same time. You can't run away with these two things, right?"
Liang Menglong's smile froze and he hesitated: "Why, does the person you want to recommend have no military exploits or is he not prudent enough?"
Gao pragmatically said: "The military exploits are quite good, but this prudent attitude... It depends on how Da Sima views it. If you look at it just based on age, I'm afraid it doesn't fit."
Liang Menglong's heart moved and he asked: "So, they are two young generals?" He paused for a moment, nodded and said: "Forget it, you tell me first and I will listen."
Gao pragmatically said: "One is Ma Gui and the other is Liu Wei."
Liang Menglong suddenly understood, but he did not speak immediately, but thought for a while before saying: "Ma Gui made a lot of contributions in the Monan War, and Liu Wei also made special contributions in the Burma War. In terms of ability, they He should be able to do the job."
"But..." Everything is afraid of "but". Sure enough, Gao Pragmatic heard Liang Menglong continue: "The qualifications of the two of them are really not enough. If they suddenly become the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public. In my opinion, please If you really want to use them, it's not impossible, but it's best to just be the deputy general soldier of Jizhen at the beginning, and don't give them to the general soldier, which will easily undermine the success of the army."
Liang Menglong's words were quite clear - he could give it to the deputy commander-in-chief, but the commander-in-chief still had to find a veteran general, otherwise even if he agreed, the Dukes of the capital would not be at ease.
This Ji Town is the number one portal in the capital. What if it is guarded by an unreliable "junior" and the Mongols are let in one day? Who is responsible for this?
However, if neither Ma Gui nor Liu Wei can do it, it will be difficult to recommend Gao Pragmatic for the time being. Although Deng Zilong is much older than them, Liang Menglong just mentioned clearly the "qualifications" item, and Deng Zilong also It doesn't fit, because his official career is not going smoothly. If Gao pragmatic hadn't given him a chance this time, he wouldn't have been promoted.
Gao pragmatic thought for a while and didn't expect a particularly good candidate, so he asked Liang Menglong: "The candidate for the general soldier must be decided by the Grand Sima. The students have no one to recommend at the moment."
Liang Menglong had never considered this matter before. When Gao Pragmatic said this, he also fell into thinking.
After a while, he said: "Qiuzhen, do you know that Yang Si is afraid of this person?"
I must know, Gao Pingshi nodded and said: "This person is the general of Changping."
Liang Menglong asked: "What do you think of him?"
Gao Pingshi was a little surprised, frowned slightly and said: "He...is from Liaoyang, right?"
Liang Menglong laughed: "It's nice to be from Liaoyang, but it sounds like Qiuzhen has some misunderstandings about him - do you think he and Li Chengliang are in the same group?"
Gao pragmatic was a little surprised: "So it's not?"
"Of course not." Liang Menglong shook his head and said: "Don't think that all Liaodong generals are from Li Chengliang's faction. You must know that Li Chengliang rose not too early. In fact, Li Chengliang was killed in the battle in the fourth year of Longqing because of the former Liaodong general. He just took over the post of Liao Commander, and Yang Siwei had already served as the Commander-in-Chief of Changping in the second year of Longqing. To be precise, it was precisely because Yang Siwei was transferred to Changping that the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Liaodong was vacated for Li Chengliang. .”
Oh, it turns out that he is also Li Chengliang's "senior". Now Gao Pragmatic understood that it was obviously impossible for Yang Siwei to be with Li Chengliang because he was older than Li Chengliang.
"How long will this gentleman live this year?" Gao pragmatically asked.
Liang Menglong had previously served as the governor of Jiliao, and Changping was his jurisdiction. Of course he knew the age of Yang Siwei, the commander-in-chief of Changping, and replied: "Fifty-three or fifty-four, the age is still appropriate."
That's right, being a commander at this age is quite suitable - it sounds much more reliable than Ma Gui, who is just in his early thirties, and Liu Wei, who is only in his mid-twenties.
However, Gao Pragmatic was still not very familiar with Yang Siwei and could not express his agreement directly. Instead, he asked Liang Menglong to learn about the man's past. Liang Menglong knew everything about him and introduced him to him.
Yang Siwei, also known as Jingfu and also known as Zhi'an, was originally from Tongcheng, Anqing. Because our ancestors were transferred north to Liaodong during the expedition to serve as commanders, they became natives of Liaoyang. His father, Yang Yingqi, was stationed in Ningyuan, Kaiyuan and other places successively. He was promoted from general to general and was quite famous in the local area.
As early as the 32nd year of Jiajing, Yang Siwei "took the provincial examination, the Guichou Central Examination (here refers to the martial arts examination), and was awarded the post of governor of Liaoyang Guards." Not long after he took office, he felt that although he was outstanding in martial arts, he lacked military theory and cultural quality, and he was afraid that he would not be a great weapon in the future. So he abandoned his official position for five years and immersed himself in reading, and his knowledge greatly increased.
In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing's reign, there happened to be a great famine in Liaodong, and people almost exchanged their children for food. Yang Siwei then went to the "Four Strategies to Relieve Famines", which he said were lawful in providing relief and controlling bandits, and the locals respected them. So not long after, he returned to his post as a guard at Shanhaiguan.
In the 41st year of Jiajing's reign, Ge Jin, then the left minister of the Ministry of War, asked the court to add a Ningqian military preparation road and transferred Yang Siwei to serve as Ningyuan guerrilla general. After taking office, facing the vast land of Ningyuan and the threat of the Mongolian cavalry, he started a business from scratch, collected soldiers and trained them, learned riding and archery, opened fields, built camps, and soon established a company. A brave and capable army - of course, this refers to his servants - laid a solid foundation for later achievements.
In just a few months after Yang Siwei entered Ningyuan, tens of thousands of Mongolian troops invaded Shaheyi, Ruichang, Heizhuang and other places in Ningyuan three times. However, he only led more than a thousand men and horses (households) under his command, one to ten, charging into the battle, winning by surprise, and repeatedly destroying the captives.
According to what Liang Menglong told Gao Pangshi, Yang Siwei was hit by sixteen arrows in a battle at that time, but he still ordered the soldiers to "follow the leader of the horse" and pursue the enemy bravely. From then on, he became famous for his ability to conquer battles.
In the forty-third year of Jiajing, Yang Siwei appointed Tong Deng, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, to defeat the Dongyi, also known as the Jurchens. He was then promoted to Kaiyuan General and commanded a total of nineteen guards including Thirty Thousand Guards, Liaohai Guards and Tieling Guards. Castle - this happens to be Li Chengliang's hometown. During this period, he also defeated the invading Mongolian army twice, and changed the command of the Malanyu general in Jiqian.
In the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, Yang Siwei was promoted to deputy commander-in-chief of Liaoyang. In the first year of Longqing, the Mongolian army once again invaded Ningyuan. Yang Siwei followed the commander-in-chief Wang Zhidao deep into the enemy's rear, turned back and attacked, breaking the enemy's formation, beheading more than a hundred people, and capturing countless horses and equipment. Then, the Mongolian army invaded Liaoyang several times. He led the then Kaiyuan General Li Chengliang to fight in a joint battle and defeated the invading enemies at Hupiyi.
This is why Liang Menglong said that Yang Siwei was Li Chengliang's old boss.
The following year, Yang Siwei was transferred from Liaoyang deputy commander-in-chief to Changping town commander-in-chief. From then on, he and Qi Jiguang "went together". In the important border defense area of 1,200 miles from Juyong Pass to Shanhaiguan, water passes were set up, four cities were built, and 199 piers were built, making the Ming army both combat and defensive, and impregnable. The year before last, that is, the ninth year of Wanli, Yang Siwei was promoted to the rank of governor of the right, and specially promoted to the rank of Ronglu doctor, with an official rank of Zhengzheng.
Liang Menglong's words made Gao Pingshi not only know that he was Li Chengliang's past boss, but also learn an important piece of information: he and Qi Jiguang had also cooperated for many years, and were responsible for the east and west sections of the same line of defense - Qi Jiguang was in the east, Yang Siwei is in the west. Qi Jiguang never made any mistakes, and neither did Yang Siwei.
Gao Jingshi secretly marveled and thought to himself: The generals promoted by the Long Qing Dynasty are all very powerful. I am not very familiar with Yang Siwei. I didn't pay much attention to him when I was in charge of government affairs, but I didn't expect that he is really a talent.
But then I thought about it, Sanbo has always been strict in employing people, and it was he who established the personnel files. If Yang Siwei didn't have talent, hard work and a proven record, how could Sanbo put him in the position of Changping's general soldier? superior? You must know that this Changping commander happened to be guarding the imperial mausoleum! Although this position does not have as many soldiers and horses as Jizhen and Xuanfu on its east and west sides, its importance is not low at all.
Gao pragmatic finally laughed: "Da Sima is still familiar with border affairs. From this point of view, Yang Siwei is indeed the best candidate, and the student fully agrees with this."
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Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi", "Ling Qi Zhao Bi Xin", and "Don't Eat Steamed Fish" for their support, thank you!
Thanks to book friend "Long Live Bomi" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
