prosperous age

For these years, Wei Guangde and Xu Bangrui have exchanged letters every two or three months, so Wei Guangde is quite clear about the affairs of Duke Wei's Mansion in Nanjing.

On the emperor's side, Wei Guangde is still relatively confident, and Emperor Longqing should not refute his face.

Although Xungui has no decision-making power in this matter, he has the right to speak.

In recent years, it is impossible for Xu Pengju to have no good relationship with the honorable families in the capital. Wei Guangde needs important honorable men to stand up and speak for Xu Bangrui at that time.

Although Xu Bangrui has an advantage in "rituals", after all, Xu Bangning's mother was named the Duke's wife in the Jiajing Dynasty, and was not affected by Xu Jie's efforts to set things right.

In this case, Xu Bangning really took up the word "di", although some names are not right.

In Jing Xungui, the person who has the most say in Wei Guogong's mansion is naturally Ding Guogong.

"By the way, Shandai, do you know? The Ministry of War and the cabinet seem to have negotiated to let Tan Lun go north, and the Governor Ji Liao will do the military affairs."

At this time, Chen Ju suddenly said again.

Wei Guangde nodded, "I heard people say it was Huo Yi and Yang Bo's idea a few days ago."

Although he really didn't want to do this, but with the support of the two ministers of the Ministry of War and the acquiescence of Xu Jie, the chief assistant of the cabinet, it was difficult for Chen Yiqin to object.

The most important thing is that there is no reason to object. Whether it is in Zhejiang or Fujian, and later in Shanxi and Guangdong, whether it is to suppress the Japanese or counter-insurgency, Tan Lun handles military affairs very well, and has become a well-known military civil servant in the world.

With the Japanese invasion in the south gradually eliminated, the attention of the court returned to the threat of the Mongolians in the north. Naturally, high hopes were placed on trained civil servants like Tan Lun.

In fact, the people around Wei Guangde were more concerned about the transfer of Tan Lun, because most of them knew the situation in Guangdong, and knew that Yu Dayou's situation there was not very good.

Although he knows how to fight, his relationship with his colleagues is very unpleasant. If he hadn't been concerned about the relationship with Prince Yu's mansion, he was afraid that Yu Dayou would be dismissed after a battle, and then he would be reinstated when there was a war after a while.

"Then you don't plan to transfer Yu Dayou to the north?"

Chen Ju suggested at this time: "In the past two years, the Tartars have continuously invaded Xuanda, and the Xuanfu is fine. Although there are occasional defeats, most of them are victories. The emperor is very relieved to let Ma Fang be there, but you also know Datong and Shanxi have now become the weak points of our Ming Dynasty's frontier defense, if Yu Dayou is transferred to guard Datong."

Having said this, Chen Ju stopped, looked at Wei Guangde with burning eyes, and waited for his reaction.

Well, this is a solution that Chen Ju thought of for a long time. He was thinking about it when he knew that the court planned to transfer Tan Lunqi away.

As for why he cares so much about this matter, he naturally hopes that his idea can be favored by the emperor.

Teng Xiang, Meng Chong and the others flattered the emperor, Chen Ju thought he couldn't do it, so he found another way.

Knowing that Emperor Longqing still attached great importance to state affairs, but most of the time he seemed careless, and it was not because someone in the court gave him advice and solutions.

He only needs to be approved on the memorial, and the ministers of the court and the central government will help him to do it, so he can sit back and relax in the harem and have fun.

For this reason, Chen Ju felt that instead of flirting with Teng Xiang and others, he should do some practical things like a courtier. As long as he can share the worries of Emperor Longqing, his status will naturally be guaranteed.

Border affairs, of course, were extremely important matters in the hearts of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. As long as they recommended officials to stabilize the border defense, it would be a great achievement.

It's just that he was also very puzzled, why spread the news about Tan Lun, but no one from Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen proposed to transfer Yu Dayou.

Yin Shizhen had raised objections in the cabinet, and Chen Ju knew about it, but he didn't know how Yu Yu's old people discussed it.

Today he came to announce the decree with Wei Guangde, so he naturally wanted to test it out.

"Brother Chen, you don't know something."

Wei Guangde didn't know that Chen Ju wanted to improve his status in the palace, but thought that he was concerned about his own side, so he said, "Yu Dayou stayed in Jiangnan, that's why he stayed there, and he will use it to command the Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong navy forces in the future." of.

You know that merchant ships from Moon Harbor have already left, and there will be many merchant ships from the West visiting in the future.

Those barbarians were merchants when they came to my Ming Dynasty, but if they were merchants or pirates at sea, who could say for sure.

Therefore, my Ming Dynasty needs to have a powerful naval fleet in the Jiangnan waters to escort the opening of the sea.

Looking at the generals in the Ming army who can command naval warships, it seems that he is the only one who is qualified for the post of naval admiral. "

Wei Guangde didn't doubt him, and told Chen Ju directly what he thought.

Only then did Chen Ju know why no one had proposed transferring Yu Dayou to the north.

Thinking about it, when Yu Dayou was in Zhejiang and Fujian, he commanded waterways and suppressed Japanese pirates. He was one of the few generals in the court who had experience in naval warfare.

"I understand when you say that."

Chen Ju nodded. Wei Guangde had this in mind, so naturally he couldn't tell the story of Yu Dayou's transfer to the north in front of Emperor Longqing, lest he spoil his plan.

Within two days, the palace's decree finally came down. Tan Lun, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, was transferred back to the court, and he was promoted to the right servant of the Ministry of war to take over the military affairs of Jizhen temporarily.

At this time, he was not immediately promoted to governor of Jiliao. Although Xu Jie, Yang Bo and others supported him, the emperor only let him temporarily manage the military affairs of Jizhen because of Chen Yiqin's objection.

It needs to be explained here that the real governor of Jiliao, in fact, should be "Governor of Jiliao Baoding and other military affairs, and also manages food and payment". In fact, the governor is a name for this official position.

The governor of Jiliao controlled Shuntian, Baoding, and Liaodong Sanfu, and the four towns of Jizhou, Changping, Liaodong, and Baoding.

Jiliao is a geographical concept, which refers to today's Beijing, the area from Shanhaiguan to Jinzhou to Liaohe.

It can be said that Governor Ji Liao must be the one who can put the emperor at ease, because all the troops around the capital except the capital camp are under his command, which is enough to affect the situation in the capital.

Because of this incident, Emperor Longqing, who was obsessed with pleasure in the harem, suddenly thought of the northern frontier defense.

On the second day after Tiao Tan Lun's decree was issued, Wei Guangde received an oral order from the palace to let him enter the palace to have an audience.

In Qianqing Palace, Wei Guangde met Emperor Longqing, and after saluting, he was asked about strengthening the military in the north.

"Last time I asked you to think about how to strengthen the military affairs in the north. I don't want to hear the news that the Tartars are plundering our Daming land again. Is there a way now?"

To Wei Guangde, Emperor Longqing has always been straightforward, not beating around the bush.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has ordered Tan Lun to go north. With Mr. Tan sitting in Ji Town, the northern defense line is solid, so you can rest assured."

Wei Guangde lowered his head and replied.

"But Jiliao and Xuanda are stable, what about Jiangxi, Yansui, and Ningxia?"

Emperor Longqing was not satisfied with Wei Guangde's words. What he wanted was the stability of the entire northern defense line, and what he wanted was that there would be no more incidents in Shizhou.

Regarding this, Wei Guangde remained silent.

Daming's northern line of defense is commonly known as the Nine Sides, but you can imagine how long it is.

Even if Ming spent a lot of money on this line of defense and gathered an army of millions, it would be difficult to maintain a tight defense without giving the Tartars the slightest chance.

You know, the Tartars will only gather troops to break through at one point, or look for weak points of defense.

Once it is broken, the entire line of defense loses its meaning.

For such a situation, there are not many solutions that future generations can give.

Whether it is the Maginot Line of Defense or the Soviet Union's Western Line of Defense, it is not at all useless in the face of a German attack.

The Maginot Line was directly bypassed. The western line of defense was very long, and the German army could not bypass it. They could break through directly and attack rollingly. The powerful Soviet army on the entire line of defense could not show its superiority in strength. The weak attack the strong to resist.

The current situation of the Ming army is actually very similar to that of the Soviet army at that time, but the opponent is much weaker and unable to achieve occupation.

For such a situation, the Soviet Union later summed up the experience that the best defense is actually offense.

The defense is always passive, and the troops have to be divided, so it is impossible to form a superior force to fight.

The only way to attack is to concentrate your strength on one point.

However, Wei Guangde understands this truth, but it seems to be of little use to the Mongolians who live in no fixed place.

During Zhu Di's period, there were several expeditions by labor teachers, and the Mongols actively resisted at the beginning, but later they were frightened and chose to flee to the grassland directly.

How can I fight if I can't find the enemy?
Even if Wei Guangde proposes to concentrate the frontier army to sweep the grassland, let alone whether the Ming Dynasty can afford the huge military expenditure, I am afraid that except for destroying the few cities on the grassland, there will be no more Have the slightest gain.

I Dahan is not an idiot, he is very smart and knows his own strength.

The army of the Tartars was really strong enough to compete with the Ming army. They had already besieged Beijing.

Recapturing Yuan Dadu and drinking horses in the Central Plains has always been the dream of the grassland people.

Seeing Wei Guangde's delay in responding, Emperor Longqing felt unhappy, and said with a hint of anger: "Could it be that my Ming Dynasty can only be passively defended like this all the time, and have to be plundered by captives every year?"

Wei Guangde knew that it would be impossible for him not to say anything.

In fact, he has also considered it during this period of time, but he is still immature. There are at least two things that need to be done.

Although immature, Wei Guangde can only reveal a little to Emperor Longqing at this time, so as not to disappoint him.

The emperor was disappointed with him. Although his hope of joining the cabinet could not be wiped out, the impact was too bad.

Therefore, Wei Guangde looked up at Emperor Longqing, and said word by word: "There is a saying in Sun Tzu's art of war, the law of the husband's war, the whole country is the first, and the second is to break the country."

Hearing what Wei Guangde said, Emperor Longqing's complexion improved slightly, and he nodded slightly, signaling Wei Guangde to continue talking.

One of the advantages of Emperor Longqing is that he can listen to people's persuasion. As long as you are putting forward your opinion, no matter what his mood is, he will listen to it patiently and will not interrupt irritably.

"There is a saying: That is why a hundred battles are victorious, and it is not the goodness of goodness; it is the goodness of the goodness to defeat the enemy's soldiers without fighting."

Wei Guangde continued.

Finally, he said: "That's why Sun Tzu said last, so the first is to attack the army, the second is to attack the cross, the second is to attack the soldiers, and the next is to attack the city."

It seems that Wei Guangde's words are clouded, but after all, Emperor Longqing was taught by Gao Gong's nine-year compulsory education. The main points of the three passages Wei Guangde said are, "The whole country is supreme", "Surrender the enemy without fighting" and "Go up the army and attack the plan".

The whole country comes first, which refers to making the enemy surrender the whole country, rather than destroying the enemy country by force.

Subduing the enemy without fighting is a literal meaning, that is, surrendering all enemies without fighting.

As for the military strategy, it means that the superior military action is to use strategy to defeat the enemy's strategic intention or war behavior.

"What strategy do you want to use?"

Wei Guangde's words successfully attracted Emperor Longqing's attention, and he asked with great interest.

"For the Mongols, other methods are useless. I heard that grassland people only respect the strong. Only by showing your strength and letting him know that he is invincible will they retreat in spite of difficulties, stop committing crimes, and even bow their heads to obey orders. .”

Wei Guangde replied.

"I also know about these things, but I, Da Ming, faced off against the Tartars, and my victory and defeat were half and half. How can I make Al Da Khan succumb?"

Emperor Longqing frowned, and Fox questioned.

"Show the Ming Dynasty's military power, overwhelming military power, and let Altan Khan know that he can survive until today, but my emperor is kind and has not made up his mind to destroy them."

Wei Guangde said without hesitation.

"How do you want to do it?"

When he said this, Emperor Longqing felt uncertain for no reason.

How could he not know the situation of the Ming army.

It was the Jingying. When he was in Yuyu, he often wandered around the capital. Naturally, he had seen the strength of the Ming Dynasty's Jingjun.

If the Tartars really knew the strength of the Ming army's Beijing camp, would they lure the Tartars to kill them?
"Two points, at least two points must be achieved."

Wei Guangde said, it's not that he's being tricky, but that he hasn't considered the order of the two, how can he maximize the deterrence and achieve "surrender without fighting".

So, he went on to say: "First of all, let Altan Khan realize the combat power of our Daming soldiers. Before the Datong Army raided Bansheng City, the various border towns were motivated by this, and they took the initiative to fight.

But later, Liu Han, the commander-in-chief of Datong, was convicted and demoted because he failed in a raid on the grassland, so that the border towns no longer carried out such military operations, and returned to the original state of blindly defending, and only Ma Fang went out to sweep from time to time.

Your Majesty, the frontier soldiers should be encouraged to take the initiative to attack and show the bravery of our Ming soldiers. "

Emperor Longqing nodded slightly upon hearing this.

After Liu Han was condemned, he was demoted from the chief soldier to a general. He knew about this, and it was because Yang Bo pleaded with Emperor Jiajing that he was not beaten to the end.

"Victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists. The court can do this."

Emperor Longqing immediately gave an affirmative answer, as long as he dared to take the initiative to attack, even if he suffered a defeat, he could be spared the crime of the border town general.

"Secondly, I remember that my ancestors had a grand parade, and I secretly thought that the important affairs of the country were in the army, and people are lazy today. If it is not for the pretense of God's power to visit and watch it in person, it will not be enough to revive the weak spirit and inspire the hearts of soldiers."

Wei Guangde continued.

"The grand parade?"

Emperor Longqing frowned.

The grand parade, this seems to have not been held for a long time.

In the Ming Dynasty, military ceremonies were rich in content. "Personal enlistment is the first, followed by sending generals. When a party leaves the army, there are rites of offering sacrifices. And when returning, there are ceremonies of accepting surrender, offering captives, and rewarding meritorious deeds. Usually there are military parades and great shooting And the system of beating drums to save the sun is also attached to it.”