At the beginning of April in the fourth year of Zhengde,
A group of people came to Shuofang Town, about three thousand people.
The leader was Han Twelve Lang, who became famous in the battle of Liangxiang in the second year of Zhengde and was named General Wujie by the emperor.
General Wujie is the name of a casual official, that is, he has an official name but no official position, but it can solve the 'grade' problem. This is a fifth-grade military attache.
His official position was Qianhu, the direct guard of the Hu Ben Guards, and he was about the same age as the emperor.
People who survive war always have such benefits.
After almost two years in Beijing, new orders came down from above, and today he came to report to Wang Shouren.
"With your advice, at the end of the day, more than 1,200 generals from Dingkou and 87 craftsmen have been transferred to Shuofang Town. Calves, farm tools, and wheat seeds have also been put into the warehouse. Please make an inventory and check them."
Wang Shouren had just returned to Shuofang Town from his inspection of Bei'anyuan. When he saw such good news, he felt happy.
"Get up!"
"Thank you, Commander-in-Chief."
"Liu Yan, take people with you to settle the people."
"The last general takes orders!" Liu Yan is already familiar with it. After all, this is not the first time.
Wang Shouren carefully read the emperor's letter brought by Han Twelve Lang.
As before, the emperor still supported him very much. He reported that the Hetao area needed people, so the people came one after another. This was already the tenth time.
The court was not stingy with the cattle, farm tools, and seeds needed to reclaim the land.
The emperor's language in the letter was more cordial. Wang Shouren didn't know how other people communicated with the emperor.
Anyway, every time I write to him, I always have to pay attention to other things...
For example, I would ask him,
Dear, how are you doing lately?
My dear, you have worked extremely hard to station troops on the frontier for your country, so be sure not to overwork yourself.
Dear, if you miss your hometown, you can send me a message.
My dear, when you are on the border, you must be diligent in your troops and horses to prevent the Tatars from resurrecting. If they succeed in stealing the camp, your life will be in danger.
…
And so on, anyway, this is not the first time Wang Shouren has watched it.
Just like this time, the emperor said: My dear, I heard that Han Twelve Lang was originally born in the northwest. He is very familiar with the Tatars and performed very well in the war. I specially sent him here to strengthen your hands. the power of. As for whether he really becomes a talent, it's up to you.
Wang Shouren raised his eyelids and glanced at the people below to see if anyone was peeking at him, as if he was doing something shameful and afraid of being seen.
It's true...some of the emperor's expressions are a bit disgusting...
For him, it is a kind of pressure.
Continuing to read, the emperor added: Your father has been the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing for many years, and his health is not bad. Now is the time to employ people again, and I intend to transfer him to Beijing. It's just that Northern Zhili is not as good as Southern Zhili. It will work day and night when the time comes, so I want to ask your opinion. What do you think?
Wang Shouren's father, Wang Hua, is already sixty-four. It is not impossible to become an official at this age. Many people are still working in their seventies or eighties.
It's just that asking Wang Shouren this way is really a bit pampering.
Following the old rules, Wang Shouren decided to write a letter to 'refute' the emperor. It was against the rules to treat his ministers so well! It is easy to encourage the arrogance of ministers, I will not do this, but what if other people forget the courtesy of monarch and minister?
"Come with me."
"yes."
Han Twelve Lang followed Wang Shouren's footsteps into the side room, where there was a desk.
While writing, he said, "His Majesty praised you very much in his letter. Although this is my first time working with you, I expect that you must be a very talented person. Shuofang Town has just been built, and there are three major things that need to be done at the same time." To advance, the first is to cultivate fields, the second is to herd horses, and the third is to train troops. What do you want to do?"
"The last general is Dan based on the envoy's orders!"
"Then..." Wang Shouren thought for a while, "Let's cultivate the land. Thousands of hectares of land will be cultivated this year, and the task is extremely heavy."
"yes."
After Han Twelve Lang retreated, he was led to his residence first, and then to Bei'an Guard the next day.
There are four guards in Shuofang Town: Shuofang's left and right guards, Bei'an Guard and Yong'an Guard.
Normally, the military towns set up along the Great Wall far exceed this size of troops. If we follow the general defense system of towns, roads, acropolis, suo and forts, it would take at least tens of thousands of people to basically attack them. forming.
However, the Hetao area faces a new problem - there is no Great Wall here.
The Hetao is the place where the Great Wall was crossed and captured, so the defensive operations that rely on terrain passes and Great Wall passes are no longer realistic.
Unless hundreds of kilometers more of the Great Wall are built in this section, it is obviously unlikely in the short term.
So Shuofang Town chose the second idea, which was to build a military fortress.
The so-called military control area is to make the place have a strong military flavor. Wasteland is reclaimed to obtain food, horses are raised in enclosures to obtain war horses, and then cities are built. In addition to the main city, satellite cities are also built at appropriate distances.
In this way, they are like horns to each other. When one place is attacked, other places will immediately lead troops to come to the rescue. And what is significantly different from other border towns is that a strong cavalry force must be maintained here.
This is the strength of the offense.
Because of its offensive power, neither Oara nor Tatar can ignore this place.
In this way, Shuofang Town formed a fortress-like city, which was nailed to this place so that the enemy could not ignore it and defeat it.
In this way, pushing the defense line forward can have the meaning of pushing forward.
Of course, this is the current vision of Zhu Houzhao and Wang Shouren. A hundred years later, if the emperor and the generals are changed, it will be out of their control. People today always want to solve the problems of the ages, but in fact, what will happen? possible.
This is the case in Shuofang Town, as well as in Yinchuan Town and Yunzhong Town. The three military fortresses and garrison areas are all here. At least Zhu Houzhao can guarantee that when he is alive, people in the north will not be able to jump up and down.
That's the big picture.
On a micro level, Wang Shouren still has some enemies that he has yet to deal with.
After the second year of Zhengde, although the court defeated the little prince, there were still some remaining forces gathering on the grassland, especially Huo Si ran back...
He believed that another expedition should be carried out while the country's strength was at its peak.
According to the emperor's character, he felt that as long as he managed the Hetao area in an orderly manner and had 30,000 elite cavalry and three steps of sharp soldiers, he could enter the grassland and suppress it, and the emperor would definitely do it.
As for his father...
Wang Shouren didn't know how to respond to this. The emperor favored him so much and wanted to use him again. This kind of kindness was very heavy.
…
…
Capital, Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Houzhao had a long game with Lin Han, the Minister of Rites, and the reason was a bit complicated.
The first is the "Records of Xiaozong" which he ordered to be compiled when he first came to the throne. It took four years and is now almost completed.
Its compilation process is also tortuous. Originally, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Xie Qian, the bachelors of the Hanlin Academy, were appointed as the chief officials. Later, they all left one after another. Zhu Houzhao also appointed Lin Han, Zhang Yuanzhen, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Liu Zhong, the bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and several scholars of the Hanlin Academy. Famous ministers compiled it together.
In this year, compiling historical records of previous dynasties is an important political capital, just like being plated with gold.
At present, the employment trend of the imperial court has changed. There are many people competing for official positions such as county magistrate, magistrate, and chief envoy.
If the gold-plated person can't get this kind of good thing, who can?
It was not that Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to appreciate these lecturers from the Hanlin Academy, but after studying and studying in the Hanlin Academy for several years, he had to serve as a parent official. He always felt that this was irresponsible to the people.
It's good to have talent, you can start slowly, either as a deputy, or as a member of staff or chief in various ministries, so that you can become familiar with the ministry.
However, Lin Han felt that it was not good. "Records of Xiaozong" was not a common affairs, so the emperor's treatment of the compilers could be considered unfilial.
So he chatted for a long time, which made Zhu Houzhao's head hurt.
This Lin Hengda is the most difficult to communicate with every time. He is not only rigid and dumb, but also makes you uncomfortable when he talks. Moreover, he was old and his ears were not working well. As the emperor, he had to amplify his voice, otherwise others would not be able to hear him.
Lin Han was born in the ninth year of Xuande and is seventy-six years old this year. His hair and beard were all white, and every time he crossed the threshold of the palace, someone had to help him.
After much consideration, Zhu Houzhao decided to replace him.
But the Minister of Rites is related to the word "ritual", and its position is actually very important. It has to be someone like Taishan and Beidou. And you have to find someone older. It always feels weird to be the Minister of Rites in your thirties or forties.
From this, he thought of Wang Hua. Anyway, Wang Hua was also the number one scholar at that time and had some reputation among Qingliu.
In addition, Wang Hua served as Minister of Rites in Beijing, which also facilitated his son's business in Hetao.
Officialdom is all about favors. With a father like this serving as the Minister of Etiquette in Beijing, as long as it involves matters related to the Loop, most people will have to make it easier.
This also saves him, the emperor, from having to stand on the platform every day.
The emperor should not do such a thing easily, because it is not a good thing to affect the balance of officialdom. If someone from your preferred side engages in scandalous things such as corruption, dereliction of duty or a mess, wouldn't it make the emperor himself look ugly?
"Hey." Zhu Houzhao shook his head. These old guys are the most difficult to explain.
Towards evening, the final drafts of the cabinet were sent in.
Zhu Houzhao was used to walking around twice after dinner and then waiting for an hour or two. After all, it was quiet at night and no one was disturbing him, so it was almost a rule for him to stay for a long time.
Today, a memorial caught his attention. There are two reasons. First, the person who submitted the memorial was Zhang Cong, the magistrate of Shanyang County. He was a famous person and a ruthless person. The second is this matter. Officials of the Shaofu government embezzled money and the local people were filled with resentment.
The draft plan given by Wang Hao is to ask the Ministry of Punishment, Dali Temple, the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Shaofu to investigate together, and then report the real situation.
Zhu Houzhao had an extra eye.
His instructions were: I understand.
But he turned around and called Jin Yiwei into the palace.
People's lives are already difficult, and we cannot allow these officials to behave like this.
If you want to uncover a major case, then uncover a major case, just in time to see how good Zhang Cong is.
