The aftermath of the competition between military commanders in the capital is endless.
On that day, tens of thousands of troops marched fully armed in the southern suburbs of the capital all morning, and then artillery fired in that direction for most of the day. Now the aftermath of this has not been calmed down much by Shuntian Prefecture's "refutation of rumors."
They were not discussing whether there was really a rebellion, but they were just discussing the imperial commander's return trip after leaving the city. What was going on with the thundering cannons in the Beijing camp and the "fight for the Ming Dynasty" that was later heard for miles in the camp?
A war is about to begin?
I haven't heard of any rebellion. Is it just a side matter?
There is no news from the border town about the northern invaders. Is there going to be a northern expedition?
In front of Zhu Houcong, Wang Zuo replied: "The capital camp has calmed down after the great competition, and the officials and people in the capital are not worried about the sudden military chaos. It's just that now everyone is talking about your majesty's intention to march to the north. The situation is as your majesty expected, and I have been caught. Six Beiyuan spies, they wanted to spread the news to the north just in case."
The sudden appearance of a large army marching did cause the people in the counties in the southern suburbs of Shuntian Prefecture to panic for a while, but General Shenbi hurried back to the fifth army camp, and did not cause any trouble with the people along the way. Subsequently, the movement was limited to the main camp of the Fifth Army Camp, and even the nine gates of the capital were not closed. Under the patrol message of the Five Cities Military and Horse Division, the capital responded as usual, and any minor disturbances were easily calmed down.
The question is, do some thoughtful people believe it?
As long as we analyze the current internal and external situation, we will know that the emperor's target of vigorous military deployment can hardly be said to be an internal enemy - how many internal enemies are there? Now they are all smart people who held back their feet during the last Huguang rebellion. Is it that the strength of the officers and soldiers of the imperial court is weaker than before, or has His Majesty's sincere words in Ming Pao this year about implementing practical measures to benefit the people caused the people's dissatisfaction?
So the target is naturally the foreign enemy.
I don’t know when, but looking at the formation, it seems not simple - in a month or two, the autumn grain will be harvested, how could you know that this is not a pre-war preparation?
Why don't you send such important information to the north quickly?
Zhu Houcong didn't care how many spies he caught, there was no end to them.
"How many people are talking about not starting the war lightly?"
Wang Zuo bowed and replied: "These are all unofficial scholars talking eloquently. I have not yet received a report that there are officials from the capital talking without permission."
Zhu Houcong nodded: He is becoming more and more obedient in his studies.
There are so many big bosses in the national policy meeting, the military affairs meeting, the State Palace, and now middle and low-ranking officials suddenly know about this just like the people in the suburbs of Beijing. There's no hint of the direction of the wind, so what else is there to say? These officials after the reform of the Beijing Government Office are all smart.
Zhu Houcong laughed and said to him: "Yuan Hongmao is ranked 12th, Lu Bing is 17th, and a total of six people from the Pro-Army Command and Envoy Division are on the list. You have merit."
Wang Zuolian said his duty, and Zhu Houcong only said: "Gong is merit. The royal guards are in your hands, which is an important transitional stage of change. Luo An said that you are a very smart person, so you must understand all my ideas. ”
"I will do my best."
"After the martial arts examination, I will give you ten people. Five of them will stay in the special service station for training, and the other five will be brought to the special operations camp by Yan Chunsheng."
"I thank your Majesty for your kindness."
What is not known to outsiders is that there are also quiet changes within Jinyiwei.
The Special Qin Qianhu Office was assigned to Nanzhen Fusi. And Beizhen Fusi has now secretly set up a special operations camp.
Yan Chunsheng, who made great contributions to the Huguang counter-insurgency by infiltrating the rebels, rose to the rank of fourth-rank commander. With outstanding archery skills, courage and carefulness, he now serves as the most special special operations battalion in the Imperial Guard with the rank of fourth rank.
The emperor's requirements for the special operations battalion simply made Wang Zuo feel numb: in addition to having the highest number of soldiers per capita, each of them also had to have a specialized skill, and they also had to be good at being invisible and surviving alone.
In His Majesty's words, in the future they will use a mere handful of people to form a surprise force and do things that tens of millions of troops cannot.
Zhu Houcong warned him: "Don't just focus on those with strong martial arts skills, but also look at the literary test scores and age. In the special operations camp, what we need are people who dare to think and are willing to learn, and what we need is people who know how to communicate and cooperate with their peers."
"I will remember it."
Zhu Houcong asked him to leave.
Comparing the generals' competition and the subsequent exercises, which side is the wolf crying?
Beiyuan was accustomed to only seeing the Ming army entrenched in the city when they went south to plunder. But starting from this year, the young emperor of Ming Dynasty carried out an "autumn battle on the battlefield" every year. The equally young Great Khan of Beiyuan uses himself to save others. Would he think that the other person also wants to make contributions?
So is Beiyuan ready for the decisive battle?
Zhu Houcong himself knew very well that the time had not yet come for the north.
To this end, he is actively preparing for intelligence and special infiltration operations.
If one exercise a year can make Beiyuan put the brakes on the enemy and calm down for two or three years, then the money will be well spent. The location of the exercise is in the suburbs of Beijing this year. Can it go to Xuanfu next year?
The border town exercise goes on and on, when will it suddenly become real?
In short, Beiyuan also had to be on guard against the fact that the young emperor of Ming Dynasty was really eager to make achievements and was hot-headed so he went to the north. If they are on guard, shouldn't they waste money and food?
Compared with consumption, is Ming Dynasty afraid of Bei Yuan?
But some officials don't understand. There is no official who talks without permission in Wang Zuo's mouth, just because this official does not talk without permission.
He directly handed over a memorial.
Because of his sensitive identity, Fei Hong's State Council sent him the ticket after finishing it.
Zhu Houcong muttered: "The dignified number one scholar, when he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he seemed to be obsessed with money... Didn't I get the money for this exercise from the inner treasury?"
Gu Dingchen said with a smile: "Shilang Yang is worried that the money and food supply will be too stretched during the war. This year, the provinces began to restructure and recruit soldiers, and the fifth military camp recruited nearly 50,000 new soldiers. After all, the new law has not yet fully achieved its effectiveness, so the national treasury is in trouble."
He only saw the emperor murmuring, but he actually picked up the red pen and wrote the imperial review in person: Don't panic, it's just a drill.
Putting down his ink pen, Zhu Houcong handed the memorial to Gu Dingchen, and then sighed: "I'm still short of money."
After that, he pondered for a moment, and then said: "Huang Jin, go and ask over at Huangzhuang. Jin Gaolu used the struvite stone to trial-produce the new fertilizer. After trying it this year, how is the comparison effect? Maoglu, go over to the State Council Palace and ask. How is the matter discussed in Zhejiang going? Lu Song, go find the British businessman and ask him how the preparations for the summary meeting of the eighteen companies at the end of the year are going."
Gu Dingchen heard this and saw the emperor paused for a moment and then looked at him: "Jiuhe, please tell the general affairs envoy, if there are any reports from Zhan Rong of the Nanjing Household Department and the yellow register inspectors of various prefectures, they will be sent to them as soon as possible. Imperial study room.”
Several people received their orders, and Wang Shenzhong was the only one left in the imperial study.
"Come on, let's continue talking about the dispute over writing styles you mentioned."
"..." Wang Shenzhong only felt that everyone else was doing practical things, while he chatted with the emperor every day, and it was Lin Xiyuan who had the most external dealings.
And now that the emperor had just finished handling several state affairs, why did he switch to being interested in writing style?
"Nowadays, the Taige style chapters are redundant and the literary meaning is poor. During the Hongzhi period, Li Dongyang and seven other people said that the writing must be from the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the poetry must be prosperous from the Tang Dynasty. However, Chen recently talked with Maozhen, and he felt that the meaning of the articles in the Tang and Song Dynasties was determined by the lyrics, and the writing was based on the characters. Shun..."
Literature was being discussed in the royal study, and martial arts competitions were still taking place in the fifth army camp.
On the first day, Yu Dayou said to his personal guard: "In today's battle, my opponent is Lu Bing. It is not difficult for me to defeat him, but it will inevitably consume a lot of energy. Tomorrow will be my strong opponent. Today, Brother Bao, let's go into battle."
"Put it on Lao Bao!"
Yu Dayou told him: "In these eleven games, I only need to be in the top four, and I will fight hard at the back. Now I have won two games first. If what you said is true, there are nine people left in the same group. These generals, companions I already know what the general’s abilities are. If you can’t defeat Lu Bing, then you will admit defeat, and you must also preserve your health for later battles. According to my arrangement, I will not only guarantee promotion, but also be able to rest as best as I can before the final election.”
Although they haven't spent much time together, Yu Dayou has the status of a scholar, ranking first in the literary examination and fifth in the general examination, and his martial arts is also among the best among the thirty-six people on the official list.
The two of them tried sparring in the past few days, and Bao Zhengchuan was no match at all.
In the mind of his personal guard Bao Zhengchuan, Yu Dayou had a more "advanced" status as a scholar, and the military skills he displayed in his conversation had already impressed him.
Now, Yu Dayou still didn't put down the book he brought, and calmly arranged his martial arts test. He was obviously very confident about his promotion.
This confidence was based not only on strength, but also on his trust in the accuracy of the personal guard strength of the remaining Wu Jinshi provided by Bao Zhengchuan.
But in each battle, it depends on Yu Dayou to decide whether Wu Jinshi goes into battle in person or sends his personal guards to fight the enemy.
So are you really so sure?
The palace examination martial arts test has also begun, and Yu Dayou still has to pass this level before he comes to the palace examination literary examination that can best demonstrate his abilities.
In a daze, Yu Dayou felt a little strange: according to his own level, even if the martial arts test in this palace relied on strategy to go further and only won third place, with twenty points in hand, the two people who were definitely better in martial arts than him would definitely win. He will be at least twenty points lower than himself in the literary test.
After all, their skills for more than 30 years were all in martial arts, and the things they were tested on in the literary test were too simple to make a difference.
So...why does this exam for the top martial arts exam seem to be tailor-made for me who is not only good at lifting people, but also has practiced martial arts, and has also studied the art of war?
In the Fifth Army Camp, Yan Chunsheng also came.
Gu Shilong knew him, so when he saw Yan Chunsheng, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
"Yan Qianshi, you are a very talented person. I haven't heard from you for more than a year since I returned to Jinyiwei."
Yan Chunsheng also smiled and said: "It's really scary that the Duke, a noble man with so many things to do, still cares about his humble position."
"Why are you here to watch the battle today?"
"The commander asked for a humble position. The Duke of the country knows that they will be appointed after the palace examination. With His Majesty's grace, he has allowed ten Jinyi Guards."
"Ten people?" Gu Shilong's eyes widened, "Thirty-six Tiangang, ten people belong to Jin Yiwei?"
"Misunderstanding! Misunderstanding!" Yan Chunsheng said immediately, "We also need to take some from the deputy list. Now that we are near the water tower, the commander asked me to take a look first and pick some good seedlings. There are so many people, are they all here to pick people?"
Yan Chunsheng was talking about people from the Fifth Army Commander's Office, and the generals in the Beijing Camp would naturally not miss it.
This year's martial arts examinations are easy and then difficult. Starting from the martial arts test of the joint examination, the examination process can almost be called cumbersome.
But the more arranged it is, the more it seems that the emperor attaches great importance to it.
The emperor attaches great importance to martial arts, and those who were finally rearranged from the thirty-six main list after the examination are definitely all promising.
Wherever these people are appointed, they will make great contributions in the future. Shouldn't the superiors be able to take advantage of them?
All of them are potential stocks, it just depends on how many people can be invited to the emperor to be assigned to his side.
Gu Shilong suddenly felt a little different.
In the past, middle and low-level military generals took the path of serving as ministers and reported to the Ministry of War through the Five Prefectures. This selection process has always been like this.
But now, first of all, the provinces have competed before being sent to the capital competition, and the competition for the ranking of this new general is so obvious to everyone. First of all, the emperor is paying attention and seeing it personally, and the people he sends must have real abilities. Secondly...does this still require the path of being a minister? Now he has become someone that everyone wants to grab and bring into the eyes of the emperor.
Although the multiple selections are difficult, they are also the ladder that the emperor builds for talented newcomers.
What Yu Dayou saw was that the selection rules for Wu Zhuangyuan were too beneficial to him, and what Gu Shilong saw was the new changes brought about by this promotion system in the military.
Coupled with the new military system, new military regulations, new weapons, new tactics...
In three to five years, I am afraid that the entire Ming army will have a new look.
Military Affairs Conference... His Majesty is really an extremely important staff officer, and his influence and role are greater than anyone else.
Gu Shilong was presiding over the martial arts examination here, while Yang Yiqing was meeting with Li Quanli and Qiu Luan to inform them of the rules of the "actual combat exercise".
In order to show fairness and avoid Qiu Luan's veteran camp, they prepared in advance. Until now, they didn't know how to conduct this exercise.
After giving Li Quanli two days to get to know each other with the top ten generals, today, all the coaches and generals from both sides were present.
The door was closed tightly. Yang Yiqing sat on it and said solemnly: "This exercise also has a code name: Qiu Xi!"
Everyone's hearts trembled.
Spring hunting, summer seedlings, autumn hunting, and winter hunting are all done during farm breaks. This sentence in Zuo Zhuan is talking about the tradition of martial arts during the slack time that started in the Yin and Shang Dynasties.
But at this time of year, anyone familiar with the military knows that it is when the Beiyuan war horses are fat and strong that they are at their strongest.
"At this time of year, before it snows heavily, it is the easiest time for northern barbarians to go south to plunder." Yang Yiqing continued, "This time the Autumn Harvest Festival will be held in Miyun. Uncle Xiangcheng, after three days of training, you must take the lead. The army will go first and take over the Stone Box Fort."
Li Quanli frowned slightly: "Stone Box Fort? That camp cannot accommodate nearly five thousand soldiers."
Yang Yiqing said solemnly: "The staff of the Military Affairs Council re-examined the defense line in the north of Beijing. The Shixia Fort looks to the Gubeikou in the north, Baima Pass and Shitanling in the northwest, connects to Caojia Road in the northeast, and is the gathering place for soldiers and horses going south from all directions. Uncle Xiangcheng Go first, how to set up camp and arrange defenses is one of the contents of the test."
"So, the old soldiers from the five military camps led by Marquis Xianning are going to attack?" Li Quanli looked at the young Qiu Luan.
"Three directions." Yang Yiqing nodded, "Brother Xiangcheng also needs to pay attention to how to arrange the scout sentries. You go first, and how Xianning Marquis and his troops avoid your eyes and ears is one of the subjects to test him."
Yang Yiqing looked at everyone, "We are all officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, so they cannot seriously fight to the death. This exercise is divided into three categories."
Everyone quickly listened attentively.
"The first is reconnaissance. The military affairs meeting has decided on several dangerous places in the three directions of Shixi Fort due north, northwest and northeast, and only informed Uncle Xiangcheng. In addition to dividing the troops for garrison, whether Uncle Xiangcheng has set up suspicious troops or fake The strongholds are at your own discretion. The Marquis of Xianning needs to know which strongholds there are."
Qiu Luan was a little confused: Li Quanli and the others went there first, and they must have left someone to pay attention to the movements in the veteran camp. To put it bluntly, this stage is a night march to test the veteran camp. It was difficult enough to avoid Li Quanli from guessing from which direction they would come from the north of Shixiao Castle - they would have to make a big circle, which would be very tiring.
I haven't told him which strongholds he has yet. There may be suspected soldiers and fake strongholds. To put it bluntly, everyone must be familiar with the terrain there, do a good job of reconnaissance with the Sentinels, and then decide how to attack and defend.
"The second is to rob food and grass. There is no food in the stronghold now. When you go there for the first time, you can only bring ten days of rations. After that, every time Shixia Fort is transferred to various places, it will not be more than ten days of rations. Before the end of the exercise , as long as the rations of any stronghold are cut off, the defenders there will be judged to be defeated first and withdraw from the exercise."
At this point, he reminded: "Don't think about going to nearby villages and towns to buy food. Your Majesty has arranged for three hundred soldiers in golden uniforms to be scattered in the exercise area. Anyone who violates the rules will be remembered."
"..." Li Quanli just wanted to scold his mother. Could it be that he was relying on a group of new soldiers to work hard, divided his troops to defend in many places, and had poor command, and he still had to think about food and grass?
"Then how to decide the winner?"
"Don't worry, there is another third step, contact the enemy. If someone on the attacking side comes within 200 steps of the remaining stronghold and the defenders have not detected it, the defender will directly lose that stronghold. If it has been detected, The military magistrate will first record the number of attackers and defenders at that stronghold, the weapons and equipment they carry, and the rations for both sides, and immediately stop the fight." Yang Yiqing said solemnly, "They are all officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, this exercise cannot be regarded as a real offensive and defensive exercise."
Qiu Luan was very confused: "Is it just to attack and defend the stronghold? What if Xiangcheng Bo doesn't care about Shixia Castle?"
What if they didn't care about the Stone Box Castle at all, and everyone dispersed outside, like the Iron Barrel Formation? That's why you're still spying on ghosts and robbing ghosts of their food and fodder.
"Although they know that there is an exercise now, the defenders do not have to think about taking advantage of the loopholes. The Shixia Fort must not be defended by less than one thousand and five hundred people at any time, and it is regarded as the main city. If all the northern strongholds are lost before the end of the exercise, the defenders will lose. "
"...When will the exercise end?"
Yang Yiqing laughed: "Uncle Xiangcheng is the defender. Will he tell you when the enemy will attack in a big way and when he will retreat?"
Qiu Luan's eyes lit up, it was very lively.
The new recruits are already weaker. Although the generals are braver, they are still weak.
"From the southern suburbs of the capital to Miyun, if commanded properly, both the offensive and defensive sides should be able to reach that area before the tenth day of October. The exercise will not end earlier than the tenth day of November. In this month, in His Majesty's words, , mainly a contest between reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance, offensive and defensive troops and marching. During this period of time, you are not allowed to kill people when competing with sentries and cavalry, or when robbing food and wages. There is no way, if you encounter a confrontation, you can only fight with fists and feet to determine the outcome. If they lose, these generals will withdraw from the exercise."
"..."
Qiu Luan suddenly became less happy.
They are all veterans, and it makes no difference whether they have weapons or not. At least the arrows can't be used. What's the point of going up and fighting hand-to-hand?
But it is not recommended to actually equip weapons and not take the lives of soldiers seriously.
You can tell that this is what His Majesty meant.
Not only that, Qiu Luan felt that he had prepared many things in vain.
The veterans of the Fifth Army Camp were mainly engaged in positional warfare.
The advantages that these veterans had in some of the more important areas of the exam were immediately reduced a lot.
In this Qiuyi exercise, the main focus must be on reconnaissance, marching, and food and grass - doesn't the attacking side eat and drink?
"There are many places where you can show your ability to command an army." Yang Yiqing looked at the two people. Unlike them, Yang Yiqing had actually been commanding an army in the border town for many years. "When marching and fighting, it is not just about fighting in front of the formation."
"Mr. Yang, I said before that if anyone comes within two hundred steps of the stronghold, they will be punished. Now... if the Marquis of Xianning only sends one or two people to come in at night..." Li Quanli was not relaxed.
"Marquis Xianning, you need to remember that it is useless to send only one person to get in. There are fewer people than the defenders at the stronghold. If all your people withdraw, one person from the defenders will defeat three of you."
Yang Yiqing's answer made Li Quanli feel much more relaxed, while Qiu Luan was very depressed.
"...General Staff, it's too troublesome."
Although the defending side occupies a favorable position, it is not a case of defeating many people on the opposite side without passing a few people. Now, Qiu Luan feels that his veterans are even more restricted.
Yang Yiqing glanced at him, what else? Can guns and cannons really kill and injure thousands of people?
He looked at Li Quanli again, and then said in a deep voice: "You must have understood that this exercise is about the Beibei raiding the grass valley and attacking the border stronghold. I, the general of the Ming Dynasty, have been working with the Beibei for many years, and we have really taken over the stronghold. When the enemy is at war, how many people can be replaced by one person? Your Majesty has statistics on this number. Although these are the numbers reported by the border towns, they may not be completely true, but we can use this to calculate. In addition to the small team reconnaissance and food robbery, the remaining They are all fighting the enemy and setting up strongholds, and there will be no shortage of people."
"Therefore, both of you need to allocate the number of attackers and defenders according to this number, which also involves the transfer of rations. Once the enemy is contacted before the end of the exercise, the winner or loser of each stronghold will be determined based on this number. The loser will withdraw from the exercise. The winning side will withdraw the corresponding number of people. Before the end of the exercise, Uncle Xiangcheng can also send people to recapture the stronghold. The rules are the same. This time it is already simple not to include the situation of the wounded who need to be taken care of. "
"..." Both of them felt that it was already very troublesome.
"In that case, why do we need to remember the military equipment, baggage, and rations we carry?" Qiu Luan asked.
If it's just about the number of people, then...
"Remember, we can only judge the enemy in this way because we can't really fight. But if the attacker comes over empty-handed, does that mean he is going to die? Before engaging the enemy, be honest in everything. The attacker's weapons, equipment, and rations are not enough. For three days, the attacking side will lose."
"...General Staff, but those Mongolians are all riding horses and coming and going like the wind, and they rely on fighting to support fighting. My five military camps are all infantry and chariot soldiers..."
"So reconnaissance comes first, seizing food and setting up a stronghold without fighting is the priority, marching in concealment is the priority, and detecting the enemy's movements in advance is the priority and adding troops for rescue is the priority!"
Yang Yiqing stared at the two of them: "Finally, tell the Marquis of Xianning which day the exercise will end. If the war situation is unfavorable, he will step up the attack. Naturally, Uncle Xiangcheng will know that it is a decisive battle. There is no need to determine the final victory or defeat in this exercise. The final battle situation is the result. Coupled with the military orders and decisions during this period, it is the basis for judging the generals and your gains and losses. If you really hold back your strength and are not convinced, there will be many opportunities in the future to meet the enemy for real. !”
Everyone was shocked, and the top ten generals in the comparison also understood: Obviously, this is to only test the command, daily arrangements, and commanding abilities of the ten of them and these generals to the maximum extent, and try not to be affected by the combat skills of the new recruits and veterans. The level of strength is affected.
This is indeed an act, but... this acting method can reveal some real abilities under the two commanders, Li Quanli and Qiu Luan, who are eager to achieve meritorious service.
It even includes their ability to get along with generals like them when they work under their honorable ministers!
(End of chapter)
