"The Nanjing Ministry of War only manages so many guard posts. He is probably already famous among Jiubian, so why should he care?"
What Concubine Zheng said is right, and what she said is wrong is wrong. What's right is that most of the Ming Dynasty's truly capable armies are indeed concentrated in Jiubian; what's wrong is that the southern provinces are actually not that small in terms of the number of guard posts alone.
Another point is that in terms of book data alone, the Southern Guards Station itself has a lot of troops. Taking Yunnan as an example, although the number of guard posts commanded by the Yunnan Dusi in the Ming Dynasty varied in different periods, at most there were 20 guards, 3 imperial guards, and 18 (guard) posts, for a total of 133 thousand-household posts. There are about 150,000 guards under its jurisdiction.
Obviously, if compared like this, Yunnan's military strength is not far behind that of Jiubian. It is only slightly lower than the 180,000 troops in Liaodong and Jizhen, and higher than the 130,000 troops in Xuanfu and the 120,000 troops in Datong. , 70,000 in Shanxi, 60,000 in Changping, etc.
Of course, this is the highest level of talk, and there are often a lot of tricks in the process of the imperial court clearing out the troops. It is hard to say how many there actually are. However, a few years ago, after the war in Yunnan and Burma ended, the Ministry of War re-cleared the army and set the Yunnan military strength at 64,000—this time it was a real number.
Although this amount is much lower than the historical peak, it is still on par with Shanxi and Changping Towns, and one thing cannot be forgotten - these 64,000 do not include the many chieftains and soldiers that Yunnan can command.
After the War of Yunnan and Burma, all the southern provinces carried out a Qing Dynasty. However, the military strength of each province was actually quite different. Some provinces had as many as 120,000 or 130,000 troops, while others only had 20,000 troops. If you look at it roughly, or on average, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 troops in each province.
[Note: The 120,000 troops here are from Southern Zhili and Guangxi, and the 130,000 troops are from Zhejiang. However, only the troops from Southern Zhili are fully stationed and remain stationary, which means there is no need to station troops on the nine sides. Guangxi, Zhejiang and other provinces all need to send squad troops to Jiubian. For example, the military roll of Zhejiang has an original number of 130,000, but in fact there are only 78,000 in the province. The rest are sent to Jiubian as squad troops. ]晭
In short, a rough calculation shows that even based on the results of the Qing army's reorganization after the Battle of Yunnan and Burma, there were more than half a million troops in the southern provinces. Of course, although more than 500,000 troops may sound like a lot, in fact, since they are widely distributed throughout the south like pepper noodles, it is quite difficult to concentrate them if something happens. What's more, these armies are mainly garrisoned and cannot be regarded as elite field armies, nor can they be mobilized casually.
This is like Gao Qinggong's regular military garrison in southern Xinjiang, which has almost 300,000 troops. However, even if Luzon and Nanyang Islands are not included, the area of Indochina Peninsula alone is as high as 2 million square kilometers. Therefore, the actual strength of these 300,000 troops is There's also a hint of pepper on top.
Of course, the garrison is only Gao Pragmatic's direct lineage armed force. Each major kingdom has more or less a part of its servant army, plus the chieftains of various surnames who moved to the town and several Annan surrender troops left behind by Gao Pragmatic's charter, etc., plus There are hundreds of thousands more together, and this is barely sufficient strength.
But even so, hasn't Southern Xinjiang always believed that Jinghua's military strength in the Nanyang Islands is too weak, and has repeatedly suggested the establishment of one or two new garrison troops?
Zhu Yijun roughly knew Gao Pinggong's military strength in southern Xinjiang, but he did not think that the account should be settled this way, because he believed that the existence of the Jinghua garrison was to suppress the kingdoms in southern Xinjiang, so it had to counterbalance the military strength of the kingdoms. In other words, it is not 300,000 plus 100,000, but 300,000 minus 100,000.
Based on this judgment, Zhu Yijun felt that even if the strength of the Beijing garrison was definitely higher than that of the indigenous armies of the kingdoms in southern Xinjiang, even if the worst happened, the number of Gao pragmatic troops that could really "go north" would not exceed 200,000 at most, and the remaining Whatever falls must be left behind to shock the local area.
Two hundred thousand is certainly a lot, but in terms of numbers alone, even Yang Yinglong could pull it out back then. Therefore, Zhu Yijun believed that even considering that the garrison might be strong and powerful, the threat to the Ming Dynasty would only be "suffering" for a while, and would never turn the world upside down.晭
His idea is not wrong, because after many years of hard work by Gao Pragmatic, the Ming army is now much stronger than in the original history. Even if the emperor himself cannot see this kind of progress, the clues can be seen from various wars. .
Although the weapons and equipment of the major garrison forces in southern Xinjiang have indeed remained in the most advanced state, the main force of the Ming Dynasty has basically achieved preliminary firearms through these years of efforts. However, because the total force is too large, it is impossible to fully use the latest models. artillery and muskets, but to gradually replace them.
At present, the Ming Dynasty has about 1.2 million troops in the north and more than 500,000 in the south. The total number of the whole country is about 1.7 million to 1.8 million, so Zhu Yijun is pragmatic and has 30 troops in southern Xinjiang. Although Wan is concerned about this matter, it can't be said to be worrying. Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty can now command the right-wing Mongolian, Nenhorqin and even Jurchen tribes.
After all, there are only a little over a million immigrants from southern Xinjiang (actually slightly higher than this number), and there are less than 100,000 real Han people among the 300,000-strong army in Beijing, and the rest are so-called "naturalized Han people."
Since Zhu Yijun himself believed that "those who are not from our race must have different minds," he naturally believed that Gao Pragmatic's basic base in southern Xinjiang was just that - it was not easy to suppress the kingdoms in southern Xinjiang without creating rebellion against Gao Pragmatic. He could also conduct the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains, which really made Zhu Yijun unbelievable.
Therefore, he believes that all Gao Pragmatic's actions are based on this basis, and the purpose is what he just said: Gao Pragmatic is to prove that he has no two intentions and to show that he has the ability to cause some trouble to Ming Dynasty.
Taking advantage of today's special situation, Zhu Yijun planned to open up the conversation with Concubine Zheng and let her know what the current situation was, so that she would not always have any luck.晭
After some analysis, Zhu Yijun said: "In short, this is it. If there is always a tacit understanding between me and pragmatism, then the monarch and his ministers will help each other and the Ming Dynasty will be revived. And he will not be too obsessed with power, and one day he will go to southern Xinjiang. But if I lose my tacit understanding with him and the two sides get into trouble, not to mention that it will definitely cause our monarchs and ministers to lose their dignity, even if it corrupts several provinces in the south, it is not impossible."
Concubine Zheng really only found out about Gao Jingzhi's actual strength in southern Xinjiang today, but she believed that the emperor had no problem with this information, at least the deviation would not be too big. After all, Jin Yiwei was not just a man.
That is to say, while Gao Jinggong was cultivating power in southern Xinjiang, he was careful not to interfere in the southern military affairs of the Ming Dynasty, in order to prove to the emperor that he had no ambitions against the Central Plains, but he was capable enough to create a "powerful side" for the Ming Dynasty. , in order to reach a certain tacit understanding with the emperor.
There is no doubt that it is very dangerous to do such a thing, because the emperor's strength still crushes Southern Xinjiang. But Concubine Zheng immediately thought that Gao Pragmatic's strength was more than that.
She hesitated for a moment and then said slowly: "As I wish, Mr. Gao Ge has a very high prestige in the army. If there is really something going on in the south, although the nine-sided army will not refuse to obey the orders, I'm afraid..."
"I discussed the northwest military affairs with him a few days ago." Zhu Yijun said calmly: "He does not plan to lead the troops himself."
"Oh?" Concubine Zheng was slightly surprised and said thoughtfully: "Is he doing this deliberately to show the emperor, just to show that he does not intend to continue to improve his prestige in Jiubian?"
"Part of the reason is true, and the other part of the reason is because he is about to take over as the chief minister, and it is inconvenient to leave the capital." Zhu Yijun said: "But no matter what, he made his gesture, and I can't be unresponsive, so today After Wang Jiaping and Liang Menglong once again proposed to retire and return to their hometown, I have agreed."
In fact, this is not entirely true. Zhu Yijun had other considerations in approving their resignation, but he did not intend to explain it in such detail.
Concubine Zheng always felt that something was wrong, and even acted a little anxious. Although she knew she shouldn't say it, she still couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me for being so presumptuous. Now that the Emperor is here, Mr. Gaoge may not have any evil intentions, but Can his loyalty extend to...to the prince?"
Zhu Yijun did not speak, and Concubine Zheng simply continued: "After this incident, I already know that Chang Xun will definitely miss the great treasure. Logically speaking, there is no need to continue to involve him in this matter, but the matter is serious..."
This is indeed not something that ordinary people dare to say, because the subtext of this statement is undoubtedly "Your Majesty, you will not survive Gaoge Lao". Normal people will inevitably be angry after hearing such words, let alone the emperor?
However, although Zhu Yijun was indeed not happy to hear such words, he had already been influenced by high pragmatism and became very realist. He naturally knew that this prospect was a high probability event, so although he frowned, he did not deny it, nor did he get angry.
He said calmly: "If there really is a day in the future, I will take the first step before pragmatically planning to go to southern Xinjiang, then I will let Chang Hao respect pragmatically as my father."
"Your Majesty!" Concubine Zheng was shocked: "This is absolutely impossible. If this is the case, no one in the world can stop him!"
"Then what do you want me to do? Kill him, and then bear the reputation of being good at killing heroes, and at the same time let half of the country fall into the flames of war?" Zhu Yijun said coldly: "I have worked hard for more than 20 years, and finally made everyone in the world... Do you admit that the great cause of the Ming Dynasty and the ZTE was accomplished by my own hands, only to destroy it with my own hands?"
Concubine Zheng was very anxious and said: "Your Majesty, that's not what you said. The name of Zhongxing is certainly important, but how can it be more important than the foundation of our ancestors?"
"So what do you think is the most important thing at the moment?" Zhu Yijun suddenly couldn't restrain his anger and stared at her and said: "I tell you, the most important thing is that nothing happens to me! I am not a worldly temple, and I don't pray for any immortality. We have the same life span, but I must live at least until the prince comes of age! As long as we do this, Pragmatism will definitely be my loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty, and there will never be any surprises!"
Concubine Zheng was silent. She knew what the emperor meant. As long as the prince was an adult when he succeeded to the throne in the future, there would be no need for a regent. Since the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty was not the real prime minister, it was impossible to bypass the emperor in exercising his power. Without the emperor's approval, the chief minister's vote itself is useless, and the emperor even has the right to directly remove the chief minister.
It is true that high pragmatism has great prestige in the dynasty. According to convention, even the emperor cannot do such a thing easily, otherwise it will inevitably arouse dissatisfaction in the court. But Youdao is an emperor and a courtier. The new emperor dismissed the old minister Gu Ming shortly after he took the throne. This drama has been played out countless times in China. What's the big deal if it happens again? It’s just that I’m not surprised.
Concubine Zheng suddenly discovered that if it really came to this point, even if Gao Pragmatic returned to southern Xinjiang and raised an army in anger, although it would still lead to the defeat of heaven, first of all, his chances of winning were not as great as today, but at least he would not be held accountable. Now on the head.晭
Concubine Zheng suddenly realized that the emperor really cared about his reputation, and he even did not hesitate to leave such a big hidden danger for the future... and he left the hidden danger to his own prince.
Concubine Zheng didn't know that the reason why the emperor was like this was actually because he had been under the influence of Gao pragmatism over the years.
In fact, Zhu Yijun in the original history really didn't care about reputation. He paid more attention to current interests. However, this life is different. From a young age, Gao Pragmatic has instilled in him how glorious the great names brought by various "great undertakings" are, and over the years, they have really bestowed upon him one great name after another, making him enjoy this extremely. Glory.
Today, he is recognized by the world as the leader of the Ming Dynasty and the resurgence of the Ming Dynasty. He is unwilling to break this glorious image no matter what, so much so that Shen Yiguan, who saw through this, decisively initiated the "Fengchan Taishan" in times of crisis. The emperor immediately decided to agree, thus saving Shen Yiguan's political life. Even Gao Pragmatic had to accept Shen Yiguan's peace proposal.
After all, the emperor is already the supreme king in the world, and he only wants that. In the original history, Zhu Yijun was suppressed by the civil servant group and could only engage in non-violent non-cooperation. There was no hope of seeking fame, and of course he could only seek profit.
Zhu Yijun doesn't look so aggrieved now. With the treasury filled, his internal funds are also rising. Not to mention that Gao Pragmatic would give him the Luoliaonan Salt Fields and the Nanyang Imperial Manor for him at one time, so that he did not have to consider the issue of interests at all.
With his interests met, what else does Zhu Yijun want? Naturally, the only thing left is to seek fame. Since you are seeking fame, how can you hide your greatest hero? Wouldn't this tarnish one's own glorious image?晭
Gao Pragmatic's strength is indeed growing, but Zhu Yijun has judged from various signs that Gao Pragmatic has no evil intentions towards him. Instead, he takes practical actions to prove his intentions - not only to achieve success in the government, but also to build a foundation. , but just don’t seek that supreme status.
In this case, Zhu Yijun was happy to satisfy him, because it would make him more tolerant, and he was by no means the kind of king who could share adversity but not wealth.
As for the future... there are indeed certain hidden dangers, but as mentioned before, as long as he can survive until the prince comes of age, none of this will be a problem. The system of the Ming Dynasty is not a decoration, and the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty cannot be doubted. As long as the prince succeeds to the throne as an adult, Gao Pragmatic can continue to be the prime minister if he is in line with the new emperor's wishes. If he is not in line with the new emperor's wishes, he can only return to southern Xinjiang.
Zhu Yijun believes that it is impossible not to see this with high pragmatic shrewdness. Even if Gao pragmatism loses his head, the final result is even the worst - that is, the new emperor will dismiss his position as prime minister, and Gao pragmatism will return to southern Xinjiang to raise troops, so what?
Firstly, this does not threaten the life and death of Ming Dynasty, and secondly, it cannot affect his reputation as the Wanli Emperor.
As for the future reputation of the crown prince, I have no control over it anyway - could Grandpa Huang have been able to control the late emperor's rule after he succeeded to the throne and almost subverted his rule?
Concubine Zheng knew that it was useless to say anything else. She sighed softly and said: "Since the emperor has a plan, I have nothing to say, but...since Chang Xun is destined to miss the great treasure, I wonder what the emperor plans to do with it?"
Seeing that his most beloved woman finally recognized the reality, Zhu Yijun didn't want to see her sad anymore, so he immediately changed his expression and comforted her with Wen Yan: "Don't worry, although I can't give him the world, I can at least give him the greatest wealth. "
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "I am Liao Zhenxin", "Yan Yunhe", and "Lao Xi from Altay" for their monthly support, thank you!
ps: I’ve really blown my nose these past few days. The sun finally came out today, and I feel much better after being exposed to the sun. Now that I think about it, I feel like I catch a cold every spring...
