prosperous age

Some people say that bureaucratic capital is a form of rent-seeking through rights to obtain excess profits.

Bureaucratic capital is very harmful, and the main reason is that it uses power to implement monopoly transactions in order to obtain excess violence.

Under the protection of power, without market competition, all competitors will be wiped out in the face of power.

Although this form is not conducive to economic development, it has to be said that in the early stages of capital accumulation, this is the most convenient way to grow capital.

However, all of this can only stay in Wei Guangde's mind now.

After all, now he does not have enough rights to support a huge capital.

Regarding the understanding of the Ming Dynasty, although many people in later generations believe that because of the formation of the cabinet system, the imperial power has been limited to a certain extent, and it is no longer the only one who is superior.

Because the stability of the imperial power requires the support of the bureaucratic group headed by the cabinet, it seems that the imperial power and the bureaucratic group are in a cooperative relationship, especially after the bureaucratic group has the right to refute the imperial decree, many people think that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has become a As a display, the bureaucratic group has actually emptied the imperial power.

For the current Wei Guangde, he can only hehe.

Maybe it was like that when the last emperor in the late Ming Dynasty, but what he saw and heard now, the imperial power is still supreme.

The so-called imperial decree does not come out of the palace, and it never existed in the era he lived in.

Here, the greatest power still comes from the emperor.

Therefore, in order to realize his expectations, Wei Guangde must get the support of King Yu.

When Emperor Jiajing was in power, he still planned to just mess around like this. After all, he could play too many cards in his hand. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't possibly be reused.

Perhaps this is also the reason why he and Zhang Juzheng were sent by Emperor Jiajing to proofread and record "Yongle Dadian".

"Zhifu, from your point of view, with the combined strength of our two armies, can we take down Wudang Mountain, capture Xucuo Wochao, and face Pinghaiwei City directly."

Liu Xian looked at Yu Dayou with eager eyes and asked.

"Liu Dudu, although my 6000 troops have already arrived, but we only have more than [-] troops with all our strength. It is really lacking to fight against the Japanese pirates who are prepared."

Yu Dayou looked at the Japanese pirate barracks on the opposite side, which had gradually improved its defenses, and Yu Dayou replied with some concern.

After the Japanese pirates withdrew from Xinghua Fucheng, they ambushed the Pinghaiwei official army, and then captured Pinghaiwei City.

Even though Liu Xian dispatched troops to rescue as soon as he got the news, it was too late.

There were more than [-] Japanese pirates, but Liu Xian only had more than [-] troops in his hands. Seeing that rescue was hopeless, he was attacked by Japanese pirates and had to retreat to the barracks.

After the Japanese pirates occupied Pinghaiwei City, they set up a camp in front of Xu Cuo, thinking that it would prevent the Ming army from directly reaching Pinghaiwei City.

Facing the Japanese pirates who had an absolute advantage, the Ming army did not dare to harass them, and could only watch helplessly as the Japanese pirates built their camps.

The Southern Jiangxi troops led by Yu Dayou had arrived for several days and had been repaired. Liu Xian also took advantage of this time to gather the Pinghaiwei City and escape from the Ming army, and his troops also expanded to more than [-] people.

Eight thousand against six thousand, the Ming army still does not have an absolute advantage. Facing the vicious Japanese pirates, Yu Dayou is not optimistic that this method alone can win.

"Liu Dudu, from what I see from my humble position, it is better to wait for Yuan Jing's soldiers and horses to be in place before launching an attack. I think the Zhejiang soldiers should be here soon."

Seeing Liu Xian's ugly face, Yu Dayou had no choice but to speak again.

After suffering too much, he was also worried that what he said was wrong just now, and he was criticized as timid and timid.

"Yuan Jing, is there any news from the Zhe soldiers?"

Although Liu Xian looked worried, he also knew in his heart that if he played now, his chances of winning were not very high.

Yu Dayou's worries are not unfounded.

So, he turned his head and asked Qi Jiguang who was beside him.

"Liu Dudu, according to the news that came a few days ago, I think the Zhejiang soldiers should have arrived in Funing Prefecture."

Funing Prefecture, located in the north of Fujian, borders Zhejiang together with Jianning Prefecture.

Although Qi Jiguang knew that Liu Xian would be dissatisfied if he said that, but he couldn't help it.

He did not dare to hide such a military matter.

Sure enough, upon hearing Qi Jiguang's answer, Liu Xian's expression became even uglier.

Qi Jiguang has been here for more than a month, and the Zhejiang soldiers under his command have just left Zhejiang, which is like a tortoise speed.

Yu Dayou on the side also looked at Qi Jiguang with some surprise. He didn't expect that the Zhejiang soldiers' actions would be so procrastinated, but it didn't match the Qi Jiguang in his impression at all.

As the saying goes, a soldier is the guts of a general, and the general is the soul of a soldier.

For the generals who lead the army, they all agree with this statement.

It is also because of this that during the time when Yu Dayou and Qi Jiguang were working together, although some could not see that he would use self-trained soldiers in everything, he could understand his approach from the bottom of his heart.

But this time, the soldiers brought out by Qi Jiguang subverted his understanding of Qi Jiguang in terms of marching speed.

There is what kind of general, there is what kind of soldiers.

Now Yu Dayou has some doubts that the Qi Jiguang in the past may have gradually degenerated because of consecutive victories and huge rewards.

"Why so slow?"

Liu Xian asked disappointedly.

Zhejiang soldiers came from afar, even if they arrived at the battlefield, they had to give them a few days to recuperate, otherwise they would not be able to go to the battlefield.

However, as far as the current marching speed is concerned, it is really too slow.

At this time, Qi Jiguang just opened his mouth, but he didn't make a sound.

Yu Dayou's expression on the side changed slightly, and then he thought of something.

"Ugh."

With a light sigh, Yu Dayou lowered his head.

His soft sigh immediately attracted Liu Xian's attention, and he couldn't help but look over.

But when he saw Yu Dayou's actions, although he had some guesses in his heart, he was still not sure, so he could only ask tentatively, "Does Zhifu know the reason?"

He didn't ask Qi Jiguang directly, but Yu Dayou.

Maybe it's because Yu Dayou is now on the outside, so he can still look at this matter with a relatively peaceful mind, so he can see more.

Hearing Liu Xian's question, Yu Dayou raised his head and smiled wryly, "Yuan Jing probably has some unavoidable difficulties, just like the governor is so eager to fight."

"Ugh."

This time it was Liu Xian who sighed, "In the past few days, I have received three letters from Governor Zhang, not only reiterating the requirements of the Ministry of War, that this battle must be foolproof, not one thief is leaked, and also demanding that the Japanese pirates be wiped out as soon as possible.

But look, there are only so many soldiers who can fight, how can I make a quick victory. "

As he spoke, Liu Xian turned around and pointed at the Ming army camp behind him.

Behind them, there are two large camps of the Ming army. The camp on the left is slightly smaller, which is Liu Xian's headquarters and the defeated soldiers gathered, while the camp on the right is much larger, which is the troops brought by Yu Dayou from Nangan.

The three of them tacitly did not say anything about the deployment of reinforcements from surrounding prefectures and counties. In fact, they have been all the way here, and they have already seen what the current situation of the Ming army in various parts of Fujian is.

This is also the reason why Liu Xian didn't transfer troops from the surrounding area, preferring to select strong supplements from the fleeing civilians.

As for the wolf soldiers that Liu Xian had always wanted Zhang Nie, the governor of Fujian and Guangdong, to apply for transfer, all of them were assigned to coastal counties in Guangdong at this time.

In Zhang Nie's words, Xinghua Mansion is already like this. If Fujian and Guangdong are attacked again by Japanese pirates, even if they lose a county, they will inevitably bear the thunder and wrath of the court.

"Zhejiang is also unwilling to mobilize elite Lu divisions to go south to Fujian to wipe out Japanese pirates."

Liu Xian spoke for no reason, and he didn't know if he was asking Yu Dayou or Qi Jiguang.

After the voice fell, there was no answer for a long time. By this time, he knew the answer.

Zhang Nie was unwilling to mobilize the elite to go north to Fujian, but to guard Guangdong, so how could he hope that Zhejiang would mobilize some troops to come.

I am afraid that Qi Jiguang can be called to lead the army because of the appointment of generals by the Ministry of War, otherwise it is absolutely impossible for him to go south here.

With this thought in mind, Liu Xian turned to Qi Jiguang and asked, "Yuan Jing, tell me honestly, how much combat power do the Zhejiang soldiers who went south with you still have?"

If Liu Xian had maintained high confidence in eradicating this group of Japanese pirates before, then now, he has felt a little guilty in his heart.

There is no doubt that if the Japanese pirates who captured Xinghua Fucheng were allowed to escape, he would definitely not be able to withstand the emperor's anger, and those civil officials in the court would definitely use him as a scapegoat for offering sacrifices to the flag.

Qi Jiguang knew that by this time he had no choice but to tell the truth. He glanced at Liu Xian and Yu Dayou, and said, "There are 2000 people from the new army I trained before. They also have experience in suppressing Japanese wars. There are another 2000 people." They are new recruits, no drills."

"That is to say, the actual combat strength of this campaign against the Japanese is only Zhifu's [-] soldiers and my own less than [-] soldiers, and the [-] Zhejiang soldiers who have been on the battlefield."

At this time, Liu Xian spoke in a very low tone, revealing the deep disappointment in his heart.

"When I came here, I also considered the trouble of suppressing the Japanese, so I didn't use the past training methods for those recruits, but only trained them to line up and release firearms. Then they should be able to fight."

Qi Jiguang spoke at this time.

Hearing Qi Jiguang's words, Yu Dayou became interested, stared at him and asked, "The gang of soldiers you led walked and practiced all the way?"

"The imperial court has a decree, and it must be done according to the decree, so this method can only be adopted."

Qi Jiguang still replied with a bitter face.

Yu Dayou and Liu Xian glanced at each other at this moment, and they knew why the Zhejiang soldiers were moving south so slowly.

According to the marching rules of the Ming army, one walks for half a day every day, arrives at a certain place, then rests, and needs to train soldiers. After walking for several days in a row, one should rest in a certain place for a day, and then continue to set off. The speed is not slowed down.

However, at this time, Yu Dayou and Liu Xian were most worried about how much combat power the soldiers trained in this way could exert.

He would rather have a hundred elite soldiers than a thousand ordinary people.

Fighting against the vicious Japanese pirates, who are they?

They are all vicious people who have seen blood on their hands. For the people of this era, many people will tremble with their feet and feel weak when they see a bloody battlefield, let alone fighting the enemy with knives and guns.

Moreover, the herd effect of the military formation is also very strong.

In the era of cold weapons, as long as there is a collapse in a neat battle formation, it will often quickly infect other troops, leading to the overall collapse.

Although the three generals Liu, Yu, and Qi didn't know these reasons, they still had years of experience in battle and knew that soldiers have a blind obedience mentality.

The so-called beheading generals and capturing the flag in ancient times is actually to achieve overall victory with partial breakthroughs, and that point is the military flag.

On the battlefield, the military flag is a very important symbol. It not only carries the morale of the army, but also represents life and death.

Perhaps this is also the soldier's natural pursuit of glory. Soldiers waving the military flag vigorously is the fighting spirit of gas soldiers. As long as the military flag is there, they are there; but once the military flag falls, the spiritual pillar will also disappear.

If the military flag is captured, it will not only represent the safety of the general, but also represent their unpredictable future.

But at this time, Liu Xian and Qi Jiguang still had no idea what to do if they hadn't seen the Zhejiang soldiers coming from the north with their own eyes.

Two thousand ordinary people have joined the army for several months and traveled thousands of miles. What kind of combat power can such a team have?
Don't be defeated at the first touch, and drive their headquarters to lose their morale, that would be terrible.

Yu Dayou knew that the atmosphere among the three of them was very bad now, and wanted to break the dullness, so he said with a smile: "Anyway, Yuan Jing still has a way of training recruits, and his soldiers and horses are good at using firearms. As the Chinese army, I expect the Japanese pirates to be difficult to defeat such a large army."

Yu Dayou could only follow Qi Jiguang's words. Since he said that before going south, he had made arrangements to train these recruits in using firearms, so it seems that there is still merit.

In Yu Dayou's impression of the Ming army in the south of the Yangtze River, it seems that Qi Jiguang paid more attention to the use of firearms.

In fact, I didn't think much of firearms at the beginning, but now, my views have changed a lot, especially after relying on infantry to defeat our cavalry with firearms.

He has already seen the tremendous power that can be unleashed by concentrated use of firearms.

As for Liu Xian, judging from Yu Dayou's observations during this period of time, it seems that he has not paid attention to it at all, and is still training according to the standard drills of the Ming army.

"Let's talk about how to arrange troops when the Zhejiang soldiers arrive."

Yu Dayou's words did not dispel Liu Xian's worries, he just spoke lightly.

However, he immediately said to Yu Dayou earnestly, "Zhifu, this battle has a lot to do with it."

Yu Dayou nodded slightly, acquiescing to Liu Xian's words.

Yu Dayou had already received the letter from Wei Guangde to him before, and he also knew that he would be appointed as the Chief Military Officer of Fujian.

Not only that, but his official title even doubled as the commander-in-chief of Southern Jiangxi, guarding Fujian and the commander-in-chief of Southern Jiangxi.

Although the general soldier is a vain and temporary official position, after all, he was dismissed from the position of Zhejiang general soldier at the beginning, and now he has finally been promoted back.

Liu Xian was like this, naturally because he was not optimistic about the troops brought by Qi Jiguang, and chose to cooperate with Yu Dayou to wipe out the current Japanese bandits.

Qi Jiguang saw these interactions between the two in private, but didn't say much.

Here, of course, Liu Xian is the highest official position, he is second, and Yu Dayou is the lowest.

Even though, Yu Dayou was once his immediate boss.

Thinking of this, Qi Jiguang also had a calculation in his heart.

Of course he didn't want to be ignored, so he chose to write a letter to the new Fujian governor Tan Lun after returning to the camp, asking him to go to Xinghua Mansion to supervise the battle in person.