After writing the letter to Huang Zhiting, it was already getting late, so Gao pragmatically prepared to go to bed. I had just taken off my clothes and lay down on the bed. The quilt hadn't even warmed up yet when I suddenly heard someone calling "Master" from outside.
The voice calling him was a male voice, not a maid, so Gao Qingshi quickly sat up and immediately put on his clothes and got out of bed - if it was a maid, it would usually be no big deal, but if it was a servant, it would not be a big deal.
Since he is now married, even though his wife is not in Yanjing, the rules of a wealthy family will not be broken. Except for the special case of Gao Mo, no male servants usually come to the backyard, even if Gao Mo comes. , and must be accompanied by a maid to see him.
It was almost midnight, and a male servant came to the backyard to look for him. It must be no small matter.
There was some noise downstairs at first, but Gao Qinggong only heard a few faint words upstairs. It was probably the maid in the backyard scolding the servant for not knowing the rules and daring to enter the backyard in the middle of the night. From the sound of the voice, it seemed that she was Huang Zhiting's maid who stayed in Yanjing. It was said that she also knew some martial arts, but Gao Pragmatic had not seen it with his own eyes - and he was not that interested.
Even in the Zhuangyuan Dynasty in Zhaohui Jinggongfang, the servant escort team left almost two hundred people to guard the inside and outside. If there is still a situation where the maid Huang Zhiting needs to go into battle to protect him, then there is no way to save him.
Spring had just begun and it was still very cold in Yanjing City. Gao Pragmatic just put on a coat casually and did not go downstairs immediately. Instead, he opened the window and took a look downstairs. Sure enough, he saw several maids and several servants downstairs in the small building. Confrontation". The maids believed that this was the inner courtyard. They showed no sign of weakness when facing several tall and tall escort servants, and scolded them all.
Gao pragmatic listened to a few words, generally reproaching them for not disturbing the master's rest. He smiled helplessly, and then shouted loudly from upstairs: "What's the fuss about?"
"Master, these people said they had something to do and asked to see the master. Sister Xiaolan asked them to come back tomorrow morning. They couldn't wait, so they barged in..."
Upon hearing this, Gao pragmatic knew that the maids were going to complain, and he quickly waved his hands and said: "We'll talk about this later - why do you have to see me now?" The latter sentence was obviously addressed to several servants.
The three servants standing in front quickly moved aside, revealing another person hidden in the dark behind them. It seemed that that person had something to say.
Gao Pragmatic's eyes were neither bad nor bad. Although he couldn't see the man's appearance clearly in the night, he could tell at a glance that his clothes were wrong - the clothes of the servant guard were brown shorts, while the visitor was wearing brown trousers.
This is a riding style.
The visitor was being held up by two bodyguards on the shoulders. He seemed to be a little weak. It wasn't until he saw Gao Pragmatic that he perked up and said as loudly as possible in a hoarse voice: "Master, something big happened in Gansu. Mr. Cao is eighth." Baili sent the secret letter urgently, and even the Ministry of Internal Affairs had time to report..."
Gao Pangshi still doesn't know what the big event is, but he knows very well what the eight hundred mile express within Jinghua is.
Don’t watch movies and TV shows where even the most serious things will be rushed 800 miles away. In fact, that is generally not true. In fact, in the Tang Dynasty, the maximum express delivery was five hundred miles per day. In the Ming Dynasty, due to the large and complete post station system, it was improved a bit, reaching a maximum of six hundred miles. The true so-called "eight hundred miles express", current research is about It happened during the Taiping Rebellion during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty.
In fact, if you think about it, you will know that Dai Zong, the "divine walking Taibao" created by Shi Naian in "Water Margin", is nothing more than the so-called "walking eight hundred miles a day". In conjunction with "Water Margin" itself, it belongs to the nature of ancient "high martial arts" It seems that eight hundred miles is the ultimate speed imagined by the ancients in a non-mythical system. How can it be so easy to achieve, why do you always come to eight hundred miles to speed up?
Ming Dynasty’s 600-mile express service is already great! That is to say, Jinghua neither lacks horses nor good riders, so it can complete this eight-hundred-mile express. However, in fact, it has only been used a few times until now, which can be counted on one hand.
According to Gao Jingshi's own regulations, the 800-mile expedited package can be delivered directly to him at any time, and he can even skip reporting to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which is why today's announcement was made.
"You guys, bring him up to talk." Gao pragmatic ordered, paused, and then told the maid downstairs: "Go and see if there is any hot water, and prepare some warm tea for him. It can't be cold or cold. hot."
The maids were naturally not happy after hearing this, but the master's words were equivalent to a rule of heaven, so they had no choice but to obey and leave. Before leaving, a maid deliberately made a fierce look and lowered her voice to warn several people: "Although the master asked you to Go in, but if you dirty the inside, I will definitely settle the score with you tomorrow!"
The servants did not dare to offend the maids around the master, so they had to apologize and say they must be careful.
Gao Jingshi didn't hear this. He went back to get dressed. Now that the maids were all downstairs, he had to do it himself.
After getting dressed, he went from the bedroom to the study. Several servants were already standing there helplessly, two of them holding the knight.
Gao pragmatic took a look and was shocked. He was originally thinking that Riding Ding was rushing and not running on his own legs, so how could it be as if he had lost strength? It turned out that Riding Ding's trouser legs were frayed on his thighs, and blood could even be seen on the inner thighs.
It's winter, what kind of rush does it take to end up like this?
Gao Pangshi quickly pointed to the chair next to him and scolded: "Help him sit down. What else do you want me to say?"
The servants did not dare to say that they had been warned just now, but they did not dare to refute the master's words, so they had no choice but to hurriedly apologize and help the knight sit down.
At this time, Riding trembled and pulled out an extremely tightly sealed letter from his riding boots. He handed it to Gao Pangshi tremblingly and opened his mouth, but could not speak.
Gao Pragmatic did not open the secret letter immediately, but nodded to him: "Thank you for your hard work. When Gao Mo contacts you later, tell him that he will just say what I said and I will give you a first-class merit. "
The cavalryman immediately struggled to kneel down. Gao Pragmatic stretched out his hand to hold him down and said: "No need to thank you, just sit down and rest. If I don't have anything to ask you after I finish reading, you can go down and rest. There is no need to go anywhere else." As for the place, just go to the guest room in the front yard.”
The servant was even more grateful, but his throat was so smokey that he couldn't speak, so he had to nod vigorously.
Gao pragmatically smiled at him comfortingly, then walked back to the desk and sat down, checking the paint and opening the seal.
This sealed letter was sent from Xi'an. Judging from the handwriting and seal, it should be Cao Gan's own handwriting.
Gao Pangshi was relatively calm when he came here before, but after reading a few lines, his expression changed. He even gasped when he read the last line, and then hurriedly read it again to confirm. He didn't even notice that the maid brought warm water to the knight. .
He took a deep breath and asked: "Besides the secret letter, are there any oral messages to be conveyed along the way?"
The rider quickly put down the water and shook his head vigorously.
Gao pragmatic waved his hand, indicating that he should continue drinking, then stood up and said to the other servants: "When he finishes drinking, you can send him to the front yard to rest." Then he ignored them, went downstairs, and went to the front yard first. .
When he arrived at the front yard, Gao Jingshi realized that the front yard had been disturbed for a long time, and some servants on duty from the escort team immediately gathered around. Gao pragmatically named someone casually and said: "Find a few people and take my name..." Just love
At this point, he suddenly hesitated again, paused, and then said slowly: "Go to Mr. Wu Ge and Da Sima's house and tell them that I have something important. I will see them tonight and ask them to come over." A brief introduction to the government."
The servants were about to go their separate ways, but unexpectedly Gao Pragmatic said again: "Send someone else out of the city and ask Gao Mo to come into the city immediately to meet me."
Not only did the Ming Dynasty have a curfew, but the city gates were closed at night. Zhang Juzheng, who held a high position as an assistant minister at that time, was deceived by Gao Jingzheng.
However, Zhang Juzheng was very pragmatic and had prepared well in advance, which made it difficult for him to use his elder status. In fact, the current rules are much more relaxed than those in the early Ming Dynasty, especially in normal times, they are not so strict.
At least, it would not be difficult for Gao Mo to send people out of the city, and Gao Mo would not encounter much trouble if he wanted to enter the city.
It’s not for nothing that money can help people. If you can't get through, it just means that you haven't given enough money.
What happened that made Gao Pangshi notify Wu Dui and Liang Menglong to meet him at midnight?
To put it simply: Xining City is lost.
Yes, this later capital of Qinghai Province, an important western place that was as stable as Mount Tai in its original history, was actually lost this time.
Losing Xining is already a big deal, but what's even more serious is that the loss of Xining this time has something to do with Jinghua.
The Xining area borders Qinlong to the east, the Western Regions to the west, Shu and Tibet to the south, and protects Ganliang in the north. It has always been an eye-catching strategic location and a key business area for successive dynasties.
In the first year of Hongwu (1368), the Ming Dynasty was established, and Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty abandoned most of his capital and fled north. Although the Yuan Dynasty fell, the Khan's court retreated to Mobei and still maintained a considerable military power, confronting the Ming Dynasty from a distance.
In order to better control the Western Fans and strengthen military defense in the northwest, the Ming Dynasty established the Western Fan Guards along the He, Huang, Tao and Min lines of "Guan Long Fan Han" to protect against the Mongols and use the military guard system to manage them. Military and civilian affairs in border areas. The Ming Dynasty established the Xining Guard in the fifth year of Hongwu (1372) to strengthen military defense and political control over the area, further stabilizing and consolidating the stability of the western frontier and becoming an important pillar of the Ming Dynasty's frontier security system.
"The martial arts of the Ming Dynasty determined the world and revolutionized the old system of the Yuan Dynasty. From the capital to the prefectures and counties, they all established guard posts." In the winter of the fifth year of Hongwu (1372), the Xining Guard was set up. From a geographical point of view, the jurisdiction of Xining Wei in the Ming Dynasty "reaches Zhuanglang in the east, Xishixia in the west, and goes out beyond the Great Wall in the west to the hometown of Handong Wei. It borders Datong River in the north, four hundred miles to the southeast, merges with the Hezhou boundary, and six miles to the northeast. One hundred miles to Gulang City; 1,500 miles to the southwest to reach the homeland of Anding Guard; 600 miles to the northwest to reach Yongchang Guard; 2,300 miles to the east to the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi, and the ancient Xiping, Ledu, The land of the Western Sea and the watering river, where the fifteen tribes live, is still a tributary."
In terms of establishment, Xining Guard was originally under the control of the Shaanxi Dusi. In the eleventh year of Hongwu (1378), it was transferred to the Shaanxi Xingdusi. In the late Ming Dynasty, it was controlled by the Gansu Chief Military Officer and the Gansu Governor. The Ming Dynasty regarded Xining as "the important land of Xiyi" and "the giant town in Hexi". During the Hongwu period, Geng Bingwen, the Marquis of Changxing, commanded troops to garrison Xining.
During the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, a garrison officer was placed in Xining Guard, who was appointed as the governor of the Right Army Dudu Mansion or the commander of Shaanxi Xingdu Sidu. In the eighth year of Chenghua's reign, the garrison officer changed his position to separate defenses. In the 31st year of Jiajing, the divisional garrison general was appointed, and in the Wanli period, the deputy garrison general was appointed.
In addition, in the first year of Hongzhi (1488), the Ming court established the Xining Military Preparation Road, which was responsible for the affairs of ethnic minorities along the border. Preparatory officers (mostly appointed by the deputy envoys of the Shaanxi Envoy Department) were stationed in Xiningwei, serving both military and political affairs and had a prominent position.
The Xining Guard has one commander, seven commanders and seven commanders, and one subordinate each of the governor, governor, and governor. Each office has the posts of Chief Thousand Household, Deputy Chief Thousand Household, and Town Governor. Civil service Handled by the Experience Department.
Along with the establishment of the Xining Guard, the local military official system was established one after another. "In the Ming Dynasty, the capital commander was set up to lead the guard post, the general soldiers, the generals, the guerrillas, and the garrison were set up to oversee the offense and defense. In addition, the ministers were set up, and the censors were set up to supervise. It is governed by the capital constitution and unified by the general system."
Xining area "set up one local general officer to guard Xining and other places; one member of the Chinese guerrillas in the middle camp, one member of the central army's headquarters; one member of the left camp guerrillas; one member of the Chinese army garrison; one member of the right camp guerrillas; and one member of the Titang garrison a member". The camp troops are organized as follows: "One general in the middle army, three thousand generals, six sentry generals, and two firearms generals. Under guerrilla control, there is one Chinese army, two thousand generals, and two generals. Under garrison, there is one general in the middle army, and one general general." "
In addition, the defensive officer centered on Wei Zhi and defended in four directions. I won’t go into details here.
The officers and soldiers of the guard station were inspected in batches and sent out to garrison. Their main tasks were to guard the city, defend against barbarians, and prepare to contain thieves.
The Xining Guard is somewhat similar to the Liaodong area where Gao Pingshi served. They are governed by both military and civilians. They govern six thousand households in Xining, Nianbo, Zhenhai, Beichuan, Nanchuan, and Gushan. They also command the "Four Guards Outside the Great Wall" - that is, Hongwu Eight years later (1375), the four guards of Anding, Aduan, Quxian and Handong were successively established in the western Qaidam Basin, all under his control. The Ming court maintained the ruling order here with the policy strategy of "the Western Empire's power is increasing, its power is getting weaker, and the dangers in the Western Frontier are also few."
Xining Wei is an agency that also oversees local administration. It has four registered households, namely Bazhou, Hongya, Laoya and Sanchuan. It is managed by the Wei Experience Department and controls the surrounding Tibetan tribes (collectively known as the "Xining Thirteen Tribes" in the Ming Dynasty). They also exercised the power of supervision. The leaders of the monks and laymen of each tribe "went to Wei every year to celebrate the Longevity Festival, Zhengdan, and Winter Solstice, and went to Wei every month to listen and be restrained."
Among the officials at the guard command level, there are those who are responsible for "pacifying the barbarians". After Hongzhi first set up Xining Military Preparation Road, "governing the Fanyi" was also an important responsibility of the deputy envoy.
The Xining Acropolis of the Ming Dynasty was roughly located in the center of Xining today (the North City Wall, the East City Wall, and the South City Wall are partially in ruins). As for the construction of Xining City during the Ming Dynasty, Xining was under construction during the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu, Jiajing and even Wanli years.
There is no need to talk about the construction during the Hongwu and Jiajing years, but the construction during the Wanli period must be mentioned.
In the third year of Wanli (1575), Shi Maohua, governor of the three sides, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and Donglai, the censor of the governor's capital, built additional buildings on the grounds that Xining City's "earth walls were gradually crumbling, and the calendar has been worrying from time to time, but it has become tame and can be worried."
This project was built by Xining Guard Deputy Envoys Ping Kangyu and Dong Ruhan, Branch Guard General Xiao Wenkui, and Liangzhuang Guerrilla Supervisor Wu Yue led the army and civilians to build the project. This construction can be described as a "brick-clad city", and its scale and strength are unprecedented. The scale of the city built this time is recorded in the inscription "Rebuilding the Xining Acropolis" written by Zhang Wenren, counselor of the Xining Guards.
This new Xining City has a converted circumference of 5,704 meters, a height of 15.3 meters, a bottom width of 16.65 meters, and a top width of 10 meters. It is larger than the ones in the Hongwu and Jiajing years of the Ming Dynasty.
This project "planned the situation, discussed the work force, used materials, assigned duties, agreed on the deadline, and applied for laws and regulations." After the city was built, the towers, oars, pavilions, and poles were all exquisite, as bright as wings, solid and beautiful.
Just like this, Xining New City, which was newly built only a little over ten years ago, was unexpectedly attacked by the Qinghai Tumote Special Forces very suddenly.
Originally this was a military matter for the imperial court and had nothing to do with Cao Gan, the big boss of Jinghua Trading Company. However, he told Gao Jingshi in a secret letter that Qinghai Tumote's brothers Huo Luochi and Tutu, who were the most powerful ones, probably relied on Jinghua's gunpowder to explode. He opened the city wall of Xining and conquered Xining in one fell swoop.
This matter has to start with Jinghua Mining.
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