"Many years ago, when I was still the late emperor, I had a great opportunity to serve under Duke Wang Xiangmin. At that time, a scholar came from the army. He was called uncle by Duke Jizhi, who is now Ge Lao. install."
In the General Military Mansion, Yang Shangyi slowly spoke to the four or five subordinate generals beside him, including his trusted deputy general, garrison general and guerrilla general.
Jizhou is an important military town with various guard posts. Each guard post divides defense areas in the name of "districts" or "roads" to prevent the Mongols from going south.
Therefore, under the general army, generals at all levels also lead different numbers of guard posts and manage them in different layers.
Yang Shangyi has been in the army for a long time, and he has single-handedly promoted these cronies, or he has been following them for a long time.
Many people are aware of his past experiences, but this is the first time that he has been mentioned as a person.
"Bo'an? Isn't that the name of Hetao Governor Wang Shouren?"
"That's the man." Yang Shangyi turned around and crossed his arms. "At that time, he was just a civil servant. He was very young and very talented. Because his father was an official of the East Palace, he himself respected Duke Xiang Min. So he got the opportunity to watch the battle in the army. After he returned, he became a Jinshi in high school. I thought that with his family background and talents, he would gain the emperor's trust in the future. I never thought that he would be demoted to Guizhou within half a year. And this derogation lasted for six or seven years, do you know why?"
Everyone present was a member of the military, and they couldn't say whether they had been to the capital. Naturally, they had no way of knowing about an unknown Jinshi in the capital, so they all shook their heads.
Yang Shangyi continued to explain, "Because at that time he advised the emperor to clean up the military camps. He said that he saw with his own eyes in the border town that the fields of the military camps were occupied by generals at all levels, eunuchs in the palace, and royal nobles. The soldiers either had no land or sold them. They tried their best to farm for the main family, but they still couldn't get enough to eat. The land that the garrison army could actually cultivate was reduced to 70%. The guard posts were ruined and the soldiers fled. The number of grains that the court could acquire decreased year by year. The morale of the frontier troops was low and the fundamentals were low. Not worth a fight."
Having said this, he raised his eyelids and looked at his generals, "Do you think he is right?"
"This... Mr. Yang, there are many things for a reason."
Yang Shangyi stretched out his hand and waved, "Never mind the reason. He is now the governor of Loop. He is more capable than us and has better vision than us. We are all our own people and we all speak our minds. Is he right to say these things?" "
Everyone nodded.
"Nod, that's right?"
"Right."
"Yes, although it doesn't sound good, it is indeed the truth."
Yang Shangyi said in a playful tone, "But just because he said these words, he was demoted to a remote place in Longchang, Guizhou, and was not allowed to enter Beijing for several years."
The general who had just reported the field survey to Yang Shangyi was named Geng Qi. He was a little fat and had a round belly, but his limbs were not very strong. His colleagues said that he had too much oil and water.
"General Yang, if you say this, His Majesty has already made this plan."
At this time, Yang Shangyi had a purpose for spending time talking to these Qiu Ba. He glanced at everyone and said, "I should have known this a long time ago, but why did you demote that Wang Bo'an?"
"It's a very important matter. If you're not fully prepared, it's easy not to do it." Another person said.
"Yeah." Yang Shangyi called out, "Xu Li, what do you think?"
"I don't know what the emperor is thinking. Maybe he was not convinced at the time, and now he asked the governor of Hetao to persuade him. But I think Brother Zhang has a point. This matter is not trivial. Not everyone says that the emperor is powerful. Are you serious? I must be prepared for such a big event!"
"but……"
Yang Shangyi looked towards the source of the voice, "What?"
"From General Yang down to the commanders and Qianhu... the salary stipulated by the court is rarely met in full. The benefits in the second half of the year are sufficient, but the true qualities in the first half are not enough."
The reason why Zese can be sufficient is that the imperial court has opened sea trade, and the household has enough money, but the real thing, that is, grain, cannot be collected.
During the Hongzhi period, the annual tax and grain tax was about 28 million shi, and during the few years of Zhu Houzhao's rule, it was only one to two million shi more.
The main expenses are three major parts, one is official salary, the second is vassal salary, and the third is military salary.
None of these people can move very much. With the expenditure remaining the same, the income has not increased at all. Naturally, it is the same as in previous years.
Of course, because of the increase in silver, the ratio of pay to silver still depends on the discount, but this can only be alleviated.
In other words, the court now wants to check everyone's accounts, but the salary provided by the court itself is not enough. This makes sense, and many people have resentments in their hearts.
But this problem is not to blame Zhu Houzhao, nor is it to blame Lao Shangshu. This is how officialdom was in the feudal era. Even if the Ministry of Household Affairs allocates more grain, there will still be a problem: withholding.
This has nothing to do with more food and less food.
Yang Shangyi naturally understood, but he must be determined to complete the errands assigned by the emperor. He was a close confidant of the emperor and a high-ranking official like the commander-in-chief of a town.
There are indeed some people below who will have a hard time in the future, but there is no need for him to do such a high-profile business for those people. Except for the eldest son, his whole family is still in the capital.
Furthermore, he also understands the emperor. Today's story is told to others as well as to himself. Why did the emperor not do this ten years ago and do it now?
Even if the calculation is accurate, you are not afraid of rebellion!
How much combat power can Jizhou's soldiers and horses have after the military garrison was invaded and the guard station was destroyed?
"If this thing is to be accomplished, I'm afraid some blood will be shed. Geng Qi."
"The general is here!"
Yang Shangyi made up his mind, "Take two guards and horses to protect the people who are measuring. Anyone who obstructs will be captured and punished according to crime. The rest!"
All the generals looked solemn.
"When you return, you will each restrain your subordinates. I know that you also have a lot of land in your own hands, and some of you are even private soldiers farming it for yourself. In the past, the court did not investigate, so I turned a blind eye. , for now, it’s better to hand it all over. Your families all have enough money, and it won’t be a problem in a few years. Don’t do stupid things in a moment of confusion.”
This is always painful to hear.
No one is willing to take out the money in their pockets.
…
…
Things are not easy to handle, Yang Shangyi knows.
But the difficulty was still beyond his expectation.
In the afternoon, a general trotted in with a hurried look, not caring about his frostbitten ears.
"Dad! It's bad, the Zunhua Guards sergeant has killed the officer because he was arguing about his pay!"
Yang Shangyi, who was sleeping on his side, immediately stood up when he heard this, "Zunhua Guard?"
"yes!"
Jizhou belongs to Ji County itself, as well as Tongzhou, Miyun, Zunhua, and Yongping (Changhua Town was placed under the jurisdiction of Jizhou Town during the Jiajing period), and nearly 100,000 soldiers and horses were defended in divisions.
As for Yang Shangyi, he is also hierarchical. The health centers in Jixian, Zunhua and Tongzhou are all important to him. Tongzhou is too close to the capital. Zunhua is not far from Jixian.
"Where are Dongsheng right guard and Zhongyi left guard?"
Both of these places are on the west side of Zunhua. If there is a change in the Zunhua Guard, they will be easily affected.
"My child has already sent someone to inquire. We will find out later! Dad, I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to solve. It doesn't matter if we arrest a few people or even hundreds of people, but this time the court is digging for its own foundation. Qianhu, Hundreds of households are taking the lead in making trouble, no matter how powerful we are, it’s useless!”
"Absurd! What does it mean to be useless? If the trouble breaks out, the imperial court will send elite soldiers from Beijing to suppress the rebellion. What kind of skills can those people have?! Go quickly, gather the Zhenshuo Guards and Yingzhou Guards, let's go and obey Hua, put this matter to rest!"
"Where is Jingli?"
"Send a letter to Mr. Wangge." Yang Shangyi walked halfway and then stopped and came back, "I have to send another secret letter to the emperor."
The Wang Ge Lao he mentioned refers to Wang Bing.
Jizhou is a big town, with dozens of guard posts scattered in this area, and unlike Guyuan and Liaodong, which are still a few miles away from the capital, Jizhou is really close. We need the cabinet boss to keep an eye on it.
Yang Shangyi's son is also eighteen years old and has been following him since entering the camp.
He had never seen such movement since he was a child, "Dad, the imperial court was cleaning up the military settlements together with thousands of households from Zhenshuo Guard and Yingzhou Guard. Now they don't know about Zunhua Guard. If we know...can we trust these two guards?"
Snapped!
After Yang Shangyi finished writing, the brush was slapped on the table, "Now it is no longer a matter of cleaning up the military camp. Mutiny in the military camp is a capital crime! Idiot, you don't understand your Majesty. For such an imperial edict, you can't even draw your bow." An arrow to turn around. Not to mention a mutiny from the Zunhua Guards, even if one hundred thousand troops in Jizhou defect and change sides, the only thing waiting to come will be the Beijing camp to suppress the rebellion!"
"That would cause chaos in the world!"
"But the capital has already made preparations for this!"
The 12th Regiment Battalion and Shangzhi's personal guards must have guarded all the key routes into Beijing.
Yang Shangyi also didn't believe it. There were no Jin Yiwei in Jizhou Town. Even though the situation was calm now, in fact the capital must be watching, especially Xuanfu, Jizhou and Datong, which were relatively close to the capital.
The cold wind is howling outside, and the snow that has stopped seems to be starting again.
Although Yang Shangyi is older than ten years ago, he still has no problem wearing armor.
Everyone in the mansion was already running nervously, and in this slightly chaotic situation, Chen Mi, the eunuch guarding Jizhou Mansion, suddenly came out of the snow.
"General Yang, I heard something happened in Zunhua?!"
"Eunuch Chen has arrived just in time. The general is about to order troops to go on an expedition."
"There is an urgent delivery from the Supervisor of Ceremonies. It is a letter from His Majesty! He said that he wants General Yang to open it personally."
"oh?"
Yang Shangyi didn't expect such a thing, so he quickly took it and took a quick look. Chen Mi was standing on tiptoe to see, but he looked embarrassed. However, he was not as tall as a general like Yang Shangyi, so he couldn't see it even if he stood on tiptoe.
"Your Majesty, what did you say?"
"The Emperor has come up with a good idea. Normally, the military attachés in Jizhou belong to the Ministry of War, and personnel transfers always have to go through the Ministry of War. However, in extraordinary circumstances, His Majesty allows us to act expediently and... transfer generals according to the response of each guard."
Chen Mi also understood the intention at once, "This matter is easier said than done. After all, the process of transferring one person is not short. Your Majesty's move can be regarded as a deep trust in General Yang."
Yang Shangyi understood. "That's why I came here from the Ceremony Supervisor just to make it faster."
Generally speaking, military attachés must be appointed by the Ministry of War and issued documents. But Jizhou is too big and there are too many people. We have to wait for the Ministry of War to react slowly, and discuss whether the people they recommend are feasible or not, or if there are any other forces who want to arrange some of their own people. This way of doing things is not realistic. The change of circumstances is truly disproportionate.
So it can only change according to time and situation.
This is a method with practical significance that Zhu Houzhao came up with based on Wang Zhi's suggestion.
Although this power is given a bit too much, it is basically left to the commander-in-chief of Bianzhen to do whatever he wants, but it is important to solve the immediate problem first, and he will still have room for maneuver later. If it is not possible, the commander-in-chief of Jizhou will go to Gansu with a single blow. You can change the general soldier again.
The key to this bold operation is that he has some trusted generals, and the troops they lead are ballast.
"Your Majesty's method is good. The commanders of each guard station and Qianhu can coordinate with each other as much as possible. If it doesn't work, they will be promoted to an official position."
Different from other places, the "redundant official phenomenon" of Jizhou soldiers and horses is quite serious.
In fact, one guard has more than one commander. It may be an exaggeration to say and hard to believe, but... According to the records of "History of Ming Dynasty: Official Records", the guard with the most commanders in Jizhou is the Miyun Zhongwei, which has 19 commanders, and the Zunhua Guard, which has 16 Commander...
However, the records in the "History of the Ming Dynasty" do not exactly record the time of the fourth year of Zhengde, but the redundant officials in Jizhou do appear throughout. In other words, maybe the Zunhua Guard does not have 16 commanders now, but it certainly will not be 1 A commander.
This matter makes Yang Shangyi a little more convenient. Regardless of whether he is lacking or not, he can be promoted first. If you don't take the road of promotion and insist on taking the road of rebellion, then God will not save you.
Although this method cannot solve the fundamental problem, it will allow many rational and timid people to act cautiously and avoid killing officials and mutinying all at once.
For Yang Shangyi, this power is indeed a timely blessing.
Chen Mi was anxious, "General Yang, if you want to send troops, you must first settle the matters in His Majesty's letter before you go, right?"
Yang Shangyi packed up and went out. He said tightly: "It's too late, Eunuch Chen. The bigger things get, the harder it will be for you and me to go to the imperial court in the future. Make arrangements on the way!"
Outside, the Zhenshuo Guards and Yingzhou Guards were already in full order, a total of 10,000 men.
Yang Shangyi is not the kind of impure general who only puts money in his pocket. He has led troops, knows how to lead them, and has the ability to control the army.
The commander of the Zhenshuo Guard was Xu Li, and the commander of the Yingzhou Guard was named Ma Xiongbin. The two of them were already waiting with their Qianhu.
Yang Shangyi glanced at them after arriving, "It was supposed to be the New Year."
"It's not that depressing. It's not the New Year, so it's not a bad idea to make meritorious deeds and receive rewards!"
Yang Shangyi smiled and said, "When I came here, I suddenly thought of something. You said that the imperial court wanted the fields occupied by these generals, so they killed the officials and made trouble. But they occupied the fields of ordinary soldiers, where did the soldiers go? "
There is no such truth in the world.
