prosperous age

After Yang Bo's memorial was delivered, it did not cause any shock in the court.

For most courtiers, it is just to increase the governor's military power.

It is naturally a good thing for the governors and governors who are outside to legally support a group of personal soldiers, so that they no longer have to be restrained in case of trouble, and can only ask those military leaders for help.

Anyway, what was spent was the money of the imperial court, whoever spent it was not a spender.

The memorandum was well-founded, so it naturally won the support of the government and the public, and the cabinet also voted to approve it. Afterwards, the emperor also nodded, and the supervisor of ceremonies approved it.

However, Wei Guangde smelled something different from it.

That night, Wei Guangde wrote a letter to Xuanfu Ma Fang in his study, asking in detail about his situation in Xuanfu and his relationship with the governor of Xuanda, Jiang Dong.

By the way, he also mentioned that Yang Bo intends to let Ma Fang be the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, responsible for the safety of the capital.

Earlier, Wei Guangde intended to transfer, but later he failed due to various reasons. Ma Fang also stayed in the Xuanfu until he was the deputy chief soldier, and then the chief soldier.

After so many years, his management in Xuanfu is deeply rooted.

Wei Guangde was also worried that rashly transferring him to Ji Town might affect him.

Write a letter to ask him about his attitude before deciding how to reply to Yang Bo's words.

Yang Bo was also frightened this time, and now he is really worried about finding an incompetent general to guard Ji Town.

Ma Fang fought against the Tartars in the past two years, and he fought many battles, and the outcome was not bad. The most important thing was his spirit of fighting more and more bravely, which was rare among the generals of the Ming army.

After Ma Fang became the chief military officer of the Xuanfu, he did not follow the usual practice of the Ming army and just focused on defense. Instead, he would lead the team out to fight Caogu from time to time, doing the same thing as Liu Han, the chief military officer of Datong.

The difference is that Liu Han suffered a disastrous defeat after going out a few times, and he was also beaten.

Although Ma Fang also encountered vicious battles, but relying on his desperation, Saburo's momentum, he finally turned the corner. Although he was not a victory, at least he could not be said to be a defeat. Perhaps it is more appropriate to describe it as a miserable victory or a draw.

After the letter was written, it was handed over to Zhang Ji, who arranged for the servant to send it to Xuanfu the next day.

Counting the time, the troops led by Ma Fang should have passed Juyongguan earlier, even if they hadn't arrived at the Xuanfu, it is estimated that there are almost few people.

Xuanfu is hundreds of miles away from the capital, and it can be reached in two days at a fast pace, and it usually takes five days to go back and forth.

These days, a lot of cool eyes in the imperial court are staring at the vacant positions in Jizhen. With a sloppy eye, no candidate has been decided yet.

Wei Guangde also found out clearly that Xu Jie wanted to push Liu Tao, the censor of Zuodu, to be the governor of Jiliao, and the Ministry of War seemed to want to transfer the governor Jiang Dong to Jizhen.

As for the position of Chief Soldier of Ji Town, many people wanted it, but not many actually offered it.

After all, the predecessor was chopped off by the Tartars, and the successor himself has to weigh whether his neck is strong enough.

The turmoil in the capital caused by the Tatars breaking through this time is vivid. Once the Tatars make a comeback next time, the general soldier of Ji Town should not hide behind and issue orders. You really have to fight on the battlefield, otherwise you will not be able to pass the Emperor Jiajing’s trial. .

I didn't see the governor go to Bingbei Road, and they were all sentenced to death or exile for the crime of failing to set up a defense.

I don't have two brushes in my hand, so I really don't dare to fight for this position at the moment.

But Wei Guangde knew that Yang Bo was waiting for his reply to see if Ma Fang intended to leave Ji Town.

Quietly, in the eyes of Yang Bo and other senior court officials, the strength of Prince Yu's Mansion has grown stronger, especially in the military. Three people from Prince Yu's Mansion have taken up the post of chief military officer, namely Ma Fang, Yu Dayou and Dong Yikui.

Five days later, when Wei Guangde returned home at night, he was notified by Zhang Ji, and Xuanfu's reply would arrive in the afternoon.

After returning to the backyard, under the service of Xu Jianglan, he changed his official uniform and put on a regular robe. Then he went to the study and opened Ma Fang's letter to look at it.

Sure enough.

After reading Ma Fang's letter, Wei Guangde knew that Ma Fang really had some trouble with Xuanda Governor Jiang Dong, but it was just a matter between two people, and they hadn't played tricks on each other in handling official affairs.

It's actually simple to say. After Jiang Dong came to Xuanda University, he clearly told Ma Fang that he hoped that he would not come out of the Great Wall to harass at every turn, and first consolidate the Great Wall.

Of course, what happened afterwards was that Ma Fang didn't take Jiang Dong's instructions seriously, and everything was just on the lips, but the movements of his hands did not show any restraint.

The strategy of taking offense as defense was originally proposed by Wei Guangde.

Burn the flames of war to the grasslands, increase the harassment of the Mongolian tribes, weaken their strength, and prevent them from invading Ming Dynasty so unscrupulously.

Naturally, Ma Fang would not stop his actions just because of Jiang Dong's few words, not to mention that he grew up on the prairie, and he was also used to the feeling of jumping horses and swaggering on the prairie.

Afterwards, Jiang Dong wanted to mobilize [-] cavalrymen from Ma Fang's main battalion and the Datong cavalry to form a main battalion directly under the governor's control. It would be stationed between Xuanda and Datong, but it could support the two places from east to west.

Ma Fang devoted a lot of effort to her main barracks, and fully guaranteed everything from equipment to food and wages. After finally building such a troop, she was naturally unwilling to hand it over.

Without this army, how could he have the confidence to run wild in the territory of the Tartars.

Ma Fang's bravery is brave, but she is not a fool, so she can't do the stupid thing of throwing a pebble at a rock.

Although Jiang Dong was somewhat dissatisfied with this, Ma Fang was carrying the banner of Prince Yu's Mansion, and Jiang Dong was not good, so he had a bad relationship with him, but the relationship was not very harmonious.

At the end of the letter, Ma Fang expressed that he didn't want to go to Jizhen, and was more used to staying in Xuanfu, and even went to Datong to serve as the general soldier. After all, Datong was his hometown, so he just didn't want to go to Jizhen.

Wei Guangde collected the letter, put it in a special box and locked it, closed his eyes and meditated.

The dispute between Jiangdong and Liu Tao for governor of Jiliao had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't bear the anger of Jiangdong and Yang Bo in this bid.

This is an attempt to rob the elite cavalry of each town.

What Yang Bo said in the memorial, "Each branch is set up under the governor, each with 3000 people, or selected from the soldiers in each district, or recruited from the households in various places."

What do you mean, the governor directly selects officers and soldiers within his own jurisdiction, and can even recruit from the family members around the general. Isn't this poaching?
If you know it, you know it, but no one dares to say something about it, who dares to say that the soldiers belong to your own family, do you want to rebel?
Perhaps, Yang Bo really found out through the actual situation on the battlefield that the general battalion and personal soldiers under the command of the general army are very powerful, so he wants to build a few more such teams in each town, so that when encountering a war, there can be more elite troops. Into the battle.

However, it really affects the interests of the generals of the towns.

This is a policy that is good for civil officials but not for military generals. Behind the military generals is the noble group of Ming Dynasty.

Wei Guangde is a civil official, but he was born in a military family, and he belongs to the honorable group, although it is the lowest member family.

If he was allowed to choose, he would of course put his family first and choose to support the general.

Jiangdong cannot be allowed out of the town of Jiliao.

After a short period of contemplation, Wei Guangde made up his mind.

The governor of Jiliao, it can be said that half of his foot has set foot on the position of chief minister.

Jiang Dong and Ma Fang are peaceful on the surface, but they are hostile in private. Such a person is appointed as the Minister of the Ministry of War. Wei Guangde habitually believes that it will be detrimental to Ma Fang on the basis of "human nature is evil".

Ma Fang is now a sign outside the Prince Yu's Mansion.

The equipment that Ma Fang wanted, from armor to firearms, was greeted by Prince Yu's Mansion in the capital, but what King Yu wanted was the peace in the north, and he needed a general to sit in charge to reassure him.

Wei Guangde had some calculations in his mind, and planned to ask Zhang Juzheng tomorrow if Xu Jie and Yang Bo had an agreement, and who was the governor of Jiliao, but he always felt empty in his heart, as if he had missed something.

Back in the bedroom, Xu Jianglan had already fed the child and went to bed by herself.

But seeing Wei Guangde enter the house, he got up immediately, arranged for someone to prepare hot water for him to wash, and waited for him to go to bed and rest.

However, when the feet were half washed, Wei Guangde suddenly jumped up, put on his shoes and ran to the study room with his wet feet without wiping the water.

When Xu Jianglan came with her maid, she saw Wei Guangde sitting behind the desk and looking at something.

"Master, what do you think of?"

Xu Jianglan entered the room angrily and asked, looking at the wet shoes, ordered the maid to prepare hot water again, and at the same time went to bring a pair of dry shoes.

"Before, I always felt that I had neglected something, and I just remembered it when I washed my feet, so I came here in a hurry."

Wei Guangde replied embarrassedly.

"Why is it so urgent that you ran away without washing your feet?"

Xu Jianglan complained a little in his tone, but he still sent someone to dry Wei Guangde's feet first, so as not to catch a cold.

"Military affairs."

Wei Guangde only replied lightly.

Someone here brought hot water, and Wei Guangde re-soaked his feet in the study.

"Then you keep busy. I'm going back to the house to rest. I'll arrange someone to wait outside. I'll give you a shout when I'm done washing."

"Well, go back and rest."

Wei Guangde has no time to chat with his wife at the moment, he is taking out Ma Fang's letter and rereading it.

Finally, in the middle of the letter, he saw Ma Fang's sentence, which he had neglected before.

When Ma Fang returned to the Xuan Mansion this time, she didn't intend to just wait for the New Year. Instead, she started planning on the way back, planning to launch a large-scale punitive attack on the Mongolian tribe before the year.

Speaking of grandeur, in fact, such things have happened every year in the past few years.

Even, I don’t know if it was to compare with Yu Dayou’s record in raiding Bansheng City. Last year, he personally led an army to raid for four hundred miles. Soldiers and return."

The so-called "Yaobing" here is actually a review, a military parade for the Ming army participating in the war.

Such an action, during the period of the ancestor Zhu Di, was held every time the Northern Expedition was completed, and the Northern Expeditionary Army would return after the completion of the military parade.

After that, as the number of Ming troops entering the north decreased, they were never seen again.

But Yu Dayou's attack was originally a surprise attack. Naturally, after the success, the army retreated in a panic and returned to the Great Wall. There was no time to hold a military parade.

After discovering this detail, Wei Guangde instinctively felt a little excited.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty has just been harassed by the Tartars. If Ma Fang surprises the grassland at this time, it will not only deal a blow to the prestige of the Mongolian Altan Khan, but also arouse the morale of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the one in the palace, thinking about it, he would be ecstatic.

Looking at the letter in his hand, Wei Guangde licked his lips, feeling that it seems feasible.

This time the Tartars entered the bandits, it was smooth sailing before, but when they finally left the customs, they suffered heavy losses. The morale may not be very high at the moment, and I am afraid that the Ming army will punish them.

I asked Khan, would he have thought of this?
Wei Guangde was a little uncertain.

After learning about Altan Khan's past in detail, he realized that Altan Khan was really remarkable, at least the only enlightened master on the northern grasslands in the past few decades.

Not only established his position in Mongolia through a series of wars, but also maintained a high chance of winning in foreign wars.

From it, Wei Guangde analyzed that this person is actually a master of strategy and can predict the situation very well.

In his early years, he was entrusted with Tumote Wanhu and stationed in Mufengzhoutan. He fought with his brother Ji Nang in the north and south, and accumulated strong military strength.

After Ji Nang's death, he became the de facto leader of the right-wing [-] households.

He repeatedly invaded the south to violate the Ming Dynasty, and in the 29th year of Jiajing, he forced the capital to create the Gengxu Revolution.

In the north and west, they defeated the hostile Wulianghawanhu and Oala and other tribes, occupied Qinghai, and forced the Mongolian suzerain Dalaixun to move eastward to Liaohetao. , Tuxie Tuchechen Khan, Gegen Khan and other Khan numbers.

In these wars, all of them showed his extraordinary strategic analysis and planning ability.

That is to say, in the past few years, he has started to make few big moves, perhaps because he is really afraid of Ma Fang's entanglement. In recent years, most of the offenders have chosen to be in Ningxia, Yansui and other towns.

On the side of Ma Fangxuan's mansion, there was only a small-scale raid by the Tartar cavalry, but the tens of thousands of troops never reappeared.

He supports Ma Fang's idea and retaliates against Mongolia, but he is also worried about being counted by Altan Khan.

After all, Ma Fang has raided the grassland too many times.

After thinking about it, Wei Guangde didn't collect the letter, but planned to hand over Ma Fang's letter to King Yu tomorrow.

One person counts the short, two counts the long, and three people are easy to discuss when doing things.

I am a little worried, so I might as well let King Yu and Zhang Juzheng participate in the planning.

The order came from Prince Yu's mansion, even if it did not meet the requirements in the end, at least let King Yu understand Ma Fang's fighting spirit.

Fold the letter and put it back in the envelope, and put it directly in your arms.

The water in the basin was already cold, Wei Guangde called the maid again to change the water.

I was thinking about something just now, but I didn't burn my feet properly.

I still have to plan carefully, in case King Yu also wants Ma Fang to go out of Ji Town, how can I help him shirk this matter.

There are many contents in the letter, Ma Fang and Jiang Dong did not deal with each other, just let King Yu know, then he can use the name of King Yu's mansion to help Liu Tao, who was supported by Xu Jie, take the throne.

Just let Jiang Dong serve as the Governor of Xuanda for the elderly, and return to the Ministry of War. When the Xuanfu asks for food and equipment in the future, I am afraid that it will be affected.

Wei Guangde was still thinking about how to solve the matters mentioned in Ma Fang's letter, and Jiang Dong who was involved in this matter, perhaps did not expect that he just got the idea based on the battle situation he saw on the battlefield, in Wei Guangde's eyes at this moment. It turned into a struggle of interests, and his own career was interrupted as a result.