Ningxia was restored, and the civil strife part of the Northwest Rebellion came to an end. To a certain extent, the highly pragmatic mission was completed.
However, this completion is obviously not thorough enough. Even if he is only temporarily in charge of military affairs in the northwest, if Wei Xuezeng is not here, theoretically he cannot step down.
Chen Ju conveyed the emperor's wishes through the Jinyiwei channel. Although this channel also took the post route, it did not share the same "line" with ordinary military affairs. It was Jinyiwei's unique system. The speed depended on the superior's intention.
Of course, the matter that the emperor personally intervened in was of the highest level, so it only took less than five days for the news to reach Gao Jingshi. It is estimated that there should be a certain section of the road that used flying pigeons to send messages - this thing is real. However, we generally don’t send just one letter to avoid any surprises. Moreover, special potions are usually used to write, and special means are required to make them visible before they can be read. Of course, by the time Gao Pragmatic gets it, it has completely turned into a verbal message, and this thing will not be shown to outsiders.
The emperor's words were not an imperative sentence, but rather a request for Gao Pragmatic's own opinion, but his attitude was still clearly urging.
What Gao Pragmatic couldn't figure out now was why the emperor wanted him to go back so early. Although Jin Yiwei, who sent the letter, told Gao Pragmatic about the situation in Liaodong, he doubted that this situation had anything to do with his return to Beijing.
Gao pragmatically thought: Do you want me to go to Liaodong again? This should be unlikely. The imperial court cannot employ people in this way. If I were a military general, it would be okay to attack Ningxia and then Liaodong. But I am a civil servant. If the civil servants who command the army move back and forth so frequently, it is to regard the princes in the court as if they are nothing - —Am I the only civil servant in the imperial court who can command the army?
Even if it is true, you cannot do this. This is a matter of "property" and face. After all, this is not a time when life and death are at stake for the Ming Dynasty, and they can even ignore face.
Since it is impossible for me to lead the troops to Liaodong, then why does the emperor want me to go back?
After much thought, Gao Pragmatic seemed to have only one possibility: to save military pay and transfer the military pay originally intended for the three northwest sides to Liaodong, so that Liaodong could take action.
Thinking of this, Gao Pragmatic couldn't help but sigh in his heart: The financial system of the Ming Dynasty is so fucked up. In such a big country, the people are rich enough, but they can't even carry out two local wars at the same time. What a waste of this so-called An army of millions.
In Gao Pragmatic's view, a country at the hegemon level should have the ability to conduct at least two local wars at the same time and ensure victory. Only then can it be a qualified hegemon, otherwise it will be all vain.
Obviously, the current Ming Dynasty is puffy and fat. Although the Ming Dynasty is regarded as a glorious dynasty in the eyes of surrounding countries and forces, it often calls itself "a million soldiers from heaven" when trying to scare others, but in reality? To mobilize 100,000 troops at a time requires "the strength of the whole country", otherwise it won't even be able to raise military pay. What a big deal!
What makes Gao pragmatic even more dissatisfied is that in order to save money in this battle, he has already tried his best to use what he thinks is the most reasonable and labor-saving strategy, but the imperial court still needs to withdraw troops from the northwest before it can have enough energy to take action in Liaodong. This system is too rigid, worse than the Soviet-style planned economy - at least it can still fight a war.
However, since the imperial court really did not have the capital to start a war on two fronts, he had no choice but to go back. However, the war on Huo Luochi's side still had to deal with Wei Xuezeng, and he could not do one thing to another, especially for the three Mongolian armies. The use of cavalry.
In the five days since the emperor's oral message arrived, Wei Xuezeng had arrived in Xi'an from Tongguan. As soon as the new Trilateral Governor arrived in Xi'an, he claimed that he was old, tired from traveling and traveling, and needed to rest for a while.
This statement is obviously not true. His original intention was not to compete with Gao Pragmatic for credit. Firstly, Gao Pragmatic was his junior, and he could not lose face by doing this. Secondly, the division of labor between Gao Pragmatic and him in the northwest was not clear. The court had not explained who listened to whom.
This second point is particularly troublesome. Logically speaking, the war in the northwest is under the control of him as the governor-general of the three sides. However, Gao Pragmatic, the commander of the reinforcements, has been appointed as the admiral to oversee military affairs in the northwest. At the same time, he himself is also the manager of the seven towns. The limits of authority between the two people It's very unclear, and it's impossible to say who should be respected.
Normally, high-pragmatic dispatches are more "senior", but Wei Xuezeng is not only older, but also has a higher rank - he holds the title of Minister of the Ministry of War.
The final reason that made Wei Xuezeng decide to "recuperate" was that Gao Pragmatic had already put down the Ningxia Incident. Wei Xuezeng felt that if he intervened at this time, his intention to grab credit would be too obvious, and he would definitely be criticized. Therefore, Simply declare to take a rest. Although you won't get military honors, you can at least get a reputation for "high moral integrity."
But to everyone's surprise, just two days later, he ended his recuperation and hurried to Guyuan.
Guyuan is the official residence of the governor of the three sides, and he must take office when he arrives in Guyuan. Shaanxi officials were all wondering: Could it be that Gao Shutai and Wei Zhitai had agreed so quickly on who should be in charge next?
The answer is yes, because Gao Pragmatic also went to Guyuan and went to hand over military power.
On the eighth day of the fifth lunar month, the assistant minister Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Military Affairs and Military Affairs of the Beijing Camp, the censor of the right capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, the four towns of Jiliao and the third town of Xuanda were in charge of border affairs and food and wages, and the commander-in-chief of the northwest military affairs announced the Ningxia War in Guyuan. The military service was officially ended, and the military power was returned to Wei Xuezeng, the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi. At the same time, Shang Fangjian was sealed up - this was to be taken back to the emperor. Of course, he had no right to transfer it to Wei Xuezeng.
According to Gao Pingshi's public statement on that day, it was the court's practice for the governor of the three sides of Shaanxi to be responsible for military affairs in the northwest. He himself had previously supervised military affairs in the northwest only because Wei Xuezeng had not yet arrived and Ningxia was in an urgent situation and could not delay it. Now that Wei Zhitai has taken office, of course he will retire with success.
This is good news. Wei Xuezeng's high integrity and integrity were not rewarded, but Gao pragmatism was benefited from it - he truly retired after success and fully deserved the title of high integrity and integrity. Officials from Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia, and Gansu who were in Guyuan all had to admire Gao's pragmatism and surrendered their military power to Wei Xuezeng with the honor of being able to accomplish their full feat immediately.
But they may have missed one thing: once Gao Pragmatic handed over the military power in the northwest, he was no longer responsible for the money, food and other materials he had forced various places to provide. Anyone who wanted to ask could only go to Wei Xuezeng...
What a noble and upright person.
"Well, you are so pragmatic. The three northwest sides are so poor that you managed to scrape out so much money and food?" In the Governor's Mansion of the three sides, Wei Xuezeng stared at the "list of remaining money and food" handed to him by Gao Pragmatic. : "And you are so generous and bear the expenses of the Mongols? Do you know that although the Mongolians don't eat much, the tens of thousands of horses eat too much!"
He pointed at the list and said: "Look at the cost. These war horses ate so many eggs along the way. The price of eggs along the way has gone up like crazy! The cost of their war horses is that one horse can pay for at least three people." Do you have food rations?"
"To be precise, it's more than four." Gao Pragmatic spread his hands: "But this is money that must be spent. We can't make the horses run and not eat grass, right?"
"Is that grass? Those are eggs, all refined grains!" Wei Xuezeng still stared wide-eyed: "Have these Mongolian war horses ever had such a good life since they were young?"
Gao pragmatic coughed lightly: "Although the consumption of eggs seems to be a lot, for tens of thousands of war horses, it is actually not much. One war horse only eats less than three in ten days." Eggs...Okay, okay, I know the Mongols deliberately gave the war horses extra food, but I still think it's worth it."
There is an issue that needs to be clarified here, that is, there is a popular saying in later generations that ancient war horses need to consume a lot of refined grains, otherwise the war horses will die of exhaustion, or at least they will lose fat, overwork, etc. In fact, this is not the case - at least not in China (including Mongolia and other surrounding areas).
The origin of this later saying is said to come from the Japanese Army's 1-day horse ration standard in 1914. That is, 5 liters of barley = 5.25 kg; 1 stick of hay = 3.75 kg; 1 stick of lotus root = 3.75 kg; salt: 40 grams.
The standard daily horse food for the baggage troops is 4 liters of barley = 4.2 kg; 1 stick of hay = 3.75 kg; 1 stick of lotus root = 3.75 kg; and 40 grams of salt.
Sixteen years later, this standard has continued to rise a bit. In 1931, the Japanese Army's 1-day horse ration standard was 5.25 kg of barley; 4 kg of hay; 3.5 kg of sage; and 40 g of salt.
Among them, available substitutes for barley include 5.25 kg of oats, sorghum or soybean cake; or 4.2 kg of brown rice and soybeans; or even 4.73 kg of millet, corn, rye, and wheat; or even 7.88 kg of rice bran and 15.8 kg of hay.
However, please note that the last "hay" can still use alternatives, including 4 kilograms of pasture, 16 kilograms of grass, and 10 kilograms of soybean straw. The previous Ligusticum chinensis can also be used as a substitute: 5.3 kg of straw.
If you compare it to the past, you will know that in fact, war horses can eat all grass (such as alfalfa, etc.). If there is no dedicated grass, any miscellaneous grass will not be incomprehensible, but it will need to eat a lot. In terms of weight, it is very large - this means that the war horse will need to eat many meals a day to provide itself with enough energy.
There is another very important point here. It must be noted that the war horses used by the Japanese Army were introduced from Western war horses. The war horses finally bred were what the people at the time called "Eastern Horses". This kind of horse inherited most of the tall Western horses. Due to their physical characteristics, their appetite is relatively large, and their diet and environmental requirements are also far more delicate than Mongolian horses.
In fact, Mongolian horses are not that particular at all. They are one of the best breeds in the world that are easy to feed and have excellent endurance.
This may still require an example to be convincing. Take the Mongolian Western Expedition as an example.
In the autumn of 1219, the Mongolian army passed through Bali and Bula (later Boluo City, Xinjiang), passed through Temur Chancha (also known as Songguan, later known as Guozigou) to Alimari, crossed the Ili River westward, and passed through the sea. Advance towards Khwarezm.
At that time, Temur's confession was a very difficult pass. In 1222, Qiu Chuji also passed through this pass when he went to the Western Regions to meet Genghis Khan. His follower Li Zhichang wrote in "Journey to the West by Changchun Master": To the east of Jinshan Mountain is the Yinshan Mountain to the west, with thousands of rocks and ravines crossing the deep stream. There are rocks lying in the road beside the stream, and it is not allowed to pass the wheel hoof in ancient and modern times.
When the Mongolian army passed through, Chagatai, the second son of Genghis Khan, cleared the way and cut wood to build bridges, building a total of 48 bridges. The bridge is wide enough for two vehicles to travel parallel.
The fierce battle between the Mongolian Expeditionary Force and the Khwarezm Army roughly started when the Mongolian army arrived at the border fortress of Nyadala in Khwarezm, and divided its troops into four groups: Chagatai and Ogedai led their divisions to besiege Nyadara; Jochi He led his troops to conquer the cities of Zhan and Yangjigan; Tahai led 5,000 cavalry to conquer the cities of Huzang (later known as Nabad); Genghis Khan and Tuo Lei took the middle road, crossed the Syr Darya River, and crossed the Red Desert to the southwest to approach Bukhara. city.
In March 1220, Jochi and other three armies occupied all the cities on both sides of the Syr Darya River. Genghis Khan's middle army also occupied the city of Bukhara, the cultural center of the YSL religion, completely cutting off Samarkand, the new capital of Khwarezm. Transportation between (later Uzbekistan's main city) and the old capital Urgench (later Turkmenia city, the Chinese version was written as Wulong Gechi).
In May 1220, the four Mongolian armies met under the city of Samarkand and surrounded Samarkand. After six days of hard fighting, the city of Samarkand was captured.
It can be seen that the Mongolian army basically followed the old route of the Western Expedition to Dawan on this road, with a large number of mountain roads and deserts.
So, if their war horses really can only eat grain, then if they only eat grain for a month, the horse itself will be exhausted according to Japanese standards: it has to eat five kilograms of grain a day, and they have walked for so long, There was no place to replenish food along the way, so did this food fall from the sky? As for carrying it by yourself...doesn't this war horse need the load capacity of a Dongfeng truck?
Therefore, the Mongolian army's war horses, even during expeditions and operations, are absolutely impossible to be "indispensable for food." The fine grain commentators can rest.
However, the Mongols obviously know the advantages of war horses eating food - the advantage is that they can eat much less and do not have to "make up for the meal" at every turn.
So after Gao Jingshi promised to provide food and grass, the Mongols were not polite. They ate and drank freely on the way to fight the Huo Luochi brothers, so much so that the price of eggs increased along the way. As for eggs, they are the top product among refined grains.
Wei Xuezeng looked at the calm Gao Pragmatic and sighed after a long while: "You really don't know how expensive firewood and rice are. They only spent three hundred miles along the way. Look how much money they spent. The total expenses were almost thirty thousand taels." ! With this money, my army of 100,000 people can feed me for more than a month!"
Gao Pragmatic still smiled and said: "Yes, but Mr. An, a hundred thousand troops may not be able to play their role in a month. First, we have to mobilize a hundred thousand people, and a lot of money will be spent in the process. . Second, when facing Huo Luochi and Jilitu's troops, the Ming Dynasty's infantry could not chase them. Only Tuotuo and Yilduzi's troops, who were also Mongolian cavalry, could do it. Chapter 2 Third, when we fight a war, people must die, and those who die must be compensated; when we fight, someone must perform meritorious services, and if they perform meritorious services, they must be rewarded..."
"But you also promised to give the Mongols a reward." Wei Xuezeng seemed to be very concerned about the military affairs of the northwest along the way, and he even knew this.
Gao pragmatic smiled and said: "It is based on the standards of Datong's soldiers. Que'an Gong, this economic standard is not high. For our Ming Dynasty, it is almost like sending beggars, so what if it is given to the Mongols?"
Only then did Wei Xuezeng realize that Gao Pragmatic was playing a word game here: He mentioned the reward standards for the Mongolian Datong soldiers, but the Ming Dynasty did not follow this "regulation" at all. In fact, due to the Ming army after the Civil War It became increasingly impossible to fight, and the reward for killing the enemy had already been doubled several times.
Mongolians don't have so many colorful intestines. They are obviously cheated here, and a mute eats Coptis chinensis. He can't tell the pain, because Gao Pragmatic does it "according to the rules".
Wei Xuezeng was speechless for a while, then finally gave up and said helplessly: "Okay, even if what you said makes sense, what should Zhuang Langwei do next? Do you have any explanation?"
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