prosperous age

Wei Guangde has already noticed the advantages of the Franco cannon. If a large number of Franco cannons are equipped with well-trained gunners, and a general with experience in this field is in command, at least a modern army will emerge. .

In fact, both Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou were aware of the firepower advantages of concentrated firearms.

Not only these two famous generals, even many generals and generals in the Ming army actually have experience in this area. This is why Qi Jiguang's memorial says, "The skill of drawing a bow and shooting arrows cannot be stronger than that of the enemy, and you want to win with it." .

Long-range fire strikes have actually been used since the pre-Qin period.

Bows and crossbows have always been regarded as the strategic force of a country's army. During the Song Dynasty, crossbowmen developed even more, not only the proportion of equipment increased, but also the technology and range of crossbows improved rapidly.

It's just that archers are difficult to practice, and because of political reasons, the Song Army's combat effectiveness has not been high.

In the Ming Dynasty, most of the Ming army will pay attention to this kind of firepower projection in the future, but their eyes are still fixed on the crossbow because of the shooting frequency.

And the appearance of Fran's cannon finally brought about a major change in their confidence in bows and crossbows.

It's a pity that because of the unspoken rules of the imperial court from top to bottom, the generals are not in the mood to train soldiers for meritorious service and promotion at this time. They are more willing to embezzle the gunpowder allocated by the superiors rather than use it to train soldiers.

Firearms are all necessary. Only by using a lot of them to improve proficiency can the combat effectiveness be improved.

Only people like Qi Jiguang look down on that little money, and would rather earn money through their heads.

Of course, even with free wages, Qi Jiguang also took money.

Since Qi Jiguang didn't want to stay in the Beijing camp for rectification, Wei Guangde also let him. Anyway, he looked down on that little credit, and some people were jealous.

After more than half a month, Tan Lun's inspection tour was finally completed and he returned to the capital.

When Tan Lun entered the capital, he first went to the Ministry of War to hand over his errands, and in a few days he had to make a statement about the border patrol and describe the situation of the border defense.

But after leaving the Yamen of the Ministry of War, he called the chief follower, whispered a few words, and sent him away.

In the evening, when Wei Guangde came back from going out for a banquet, Zhang Ji, the housekeeper, came over as soon as he entered the mansion.

"Master, Master Tan is here for half a cup of tea."

Zhang Ji reported the situation in the mansion in a low voice.

Wei Guangde nodded and said, "You are welcome. I'll go back to the backyard to wipe my face, change my clothes and go."

In the afternoon, Wei Guangde received news from his family that Tan Lun wanted to see him at night.

Although he didn't know what was going on, Wei Guangde still wrote a note to his family, because he had agreed to a banquet in the same year beforehand, so the meeting between the two could only be postponed for a while.

After Wei Guangde washed up in the backyard, changed into his normal clothes and came to the study, he cupped his fists at Tan Lun when he entered the door and said, "Brother Zili, if you say you are the same, just write a note if you have anything to do.

You've been sleeping outside for a month, and when you come back, you come over all night and don't even know how to get a good rest. "

"Shan Loan, the more I watched this trip to Ji Town, the more frightened I became, so I just need to keep bothering me overnight."

Seeing Wei Guangde coming in, Tan Lun also got up hastily.

Although Wei Guangde's official position is higher than Tan Lun's, he is a senior in the imperial examination, and he is too old, so in front of these fellow villagers, Wei Guangde can't put on the airs of a elder.

"What's wrong with Jizhen's defense?"

Wei Guangde was shocked when he heard that Tan Lun said that he was looking for him because of his trip to Jizhen.

A few years ago, he followed the people from the Ministry of War to visit the Great Wall of Jizhen. Although some places were in disrepair, from his point of view, it seemed that there was no big problem.

Most of the places where the side walls were damaged were dangerous places.

Although some people may think that such a place is not conducive to enemy raids, it is still easy to break in if the side wall is seriously damaged.

But in fact, the real situation is that a small number of Tatars came in and had no impact on the entire Jizhen defense line of the Ming army.

The dangerous terrain means that it is impossible for a large corps to attack.

How important are dozens of individuals to the war between the two countries?

Where the army can be mobilized, the defense construction of the Ming court is still very complete, so it is not necessary to keep the side walls intact at all times.

"Shandai, the towns of Ji and Chang stretch from Shanhaiguan in the east to the border town in the west, stretching for more than [-] miles. After walking around such a long defense line, I found that many places lacked garrison defense. They all rely on a wall to stop the enemy.

But you also know that although the Great Wall is built on a very dangerous place, there are still many places where thousands of people can enter and exit, but because of the influence of the terrain, no one has passed by before, and the frontier army didn't pay much attention to it, so they didn't arrange much. Soldiers and horses defended, with only a small number of patrolling soldiers. "

Hearing what Tan Lun said, Wei Guangde exclaimed: "Brother Zili, you don't think the Ming army can cover the Great Wall, do you?

You also know that the Great Wall in Guangji Town is [-] miles long, and if it is fully equipped with enough soldiers to defend it, it will be impossible to do it with how many manpower it will take. "

"Shandai, of course we can't tightly defend the entire Great Wall, but we can't continue like this. The soldiers can find a dangerous place and enter and exit the border wall at will."

Tan Lun was also anxious.

In fact, the so-called Great Wall of the Ming army can only prevent civilians from going out of the fortress, and it can also prevent ethnic groups from outside the fortress from entering the side wall to herd sheep. As for stopping the Mongolian army, it is more difficult.

The so-called pass is to choose a dangerous place to build a city defense on the passage that has existed since ancient times, so as to prevent the Mongolian army from driving straight in along this way.

That being the case, the Ming army on the border didn't care much about small groups of captive cavalry.

If you have the chance, ambush a wave and earn a head in exchange for credit and silver.

If there is no chance, just let it go.

For such small conflicts, the local governments don't even bother to report them.

Wei Guangde knew about this before, but since it didn't affect the overall situation, he had the right to pretend that he didn't know about it.

But now that Tan Lun was talking about it, Wei Guangde squinted at him and asked, "Brother Zili, what's your idea? Can you solve this problem?"

"I plan to defend along the Great Wall which is very difficult. It is advisable to select vital points, prioritize and divide them into twelve routes, and build a pier every hundred or thirty or fifty steps, totaling [-].

Each seat costs fifty gold, is three feet high, twelve feet wide, and can accommodate 50 people.If there is nothing to do, guard the wall, and attack when there is a policeman, and set up danger on both sides to ensure safety. "

Tan Lun immediately said what he had been pondering these days, not only because he saw the Great Wall, did a field survey along the route, and made a decision after repeated comparisons with maps.

When Wei Guangde heard about the pier being built, his first reaction was to object.

Thinking about it, there is a saying in later generations that Sun Chengzong built the Ningjin [-]-mile defense line, which eventually brought down the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Sun Chengzong built a large number of fortresses in Liaodong to resist the attack of Jiannu and exhausted the financial reserves of Wanli and Tianqi dynasties. However, this line of defense failed to keep Liaodong and the Ming Dynasty in the end.

Hong Jie just went west, via Mongolia, and easily bypassed this strong line of defense and went straight to Gyeonggi.

Although from a military point of view, Hong Jie's marching route is very risky, but after truly understanding the power comparison of the three countries at that time, you will find that it is not very risky, but a clever move.

Mongolia was the weakest country at that time, and due to internal divisions, it was almost completely dominated by the Jianzhou Jurchens. Lin Danhan, apart from being more verbal, actually no longer had the strength to compete with Jianzhou for territory.

The only variable is actually the internal military strength of the Ming Empire.

However, with the tip-off from the traitor group, the Shanxi Merchants, Hong Jie had already figured out the internal situation of Daming.

So the seemingly dangerous move is actually the result of blocking information from within the Jianzhou Jurchen, in order to highlight Hong Jie's brilliance and martial arts.

What's more, there are too many similar battles in later generations, and fortifications are of little use.

With this preconceived view, Wei Guangde immediately shook his head and said: "Instead of spending huge sums of money to build the pier you mentioned, it would be easier to use the money to train a strong army to deter Xiao Xiao."

"That's not what Shandai said."

Tan Lun immediately said anxiously: "Fifty people per pier can prevent the small group of Tatars from easily invading the border. According to my calculations, there are about 50 piers on the 3th road. We will plan them slowly according to the priority, even if one The imperial court could only allocate [-] taels of silver, and five years was enough to complete the construction of this project.

As for the soldiers, they were dispatched by the guards. According to the principle of proximity, soldiers were willing to be closer to their homes. Although the mountain roads were difficult, it was better than living in a barracks hundreds of miles away from home. "

"The imperial court's finances are difficult. You can count on the imperial court to allocate all the 15 taels of silver. I'm afraid it will be difficult."

Now that it was talking about money, Wei Guangde also turned to talking about financial difficulties, "Even if the imperial court can transfer the money, I'm afraid Ji Liao will have to pay the money himself."

"If I take over Zhao Bingran's post, I will try my best to coordinate the silver issue, but the court must allocate at least 5 taels of ICBC first."

Who knew Tan Lun suddenly said.

"Ok?"

Wei Guangde's heart skipped a beat, he was fooled by Tan Lun, of course this old boy knew that the imperial court was in financial difficulties, he just said what he said on purpose to himself, and he started haggling when he got used to talking about it.

Originally, he didn't want to do this project, he thought it was a waste of money and people, but if Tan Lun did it like this, it changed from whether it could be done to how much money it would cost.

"Brother Zili, are you plotting against me?"

Wei Guangde said unhappily.

"Shandai, when you patrolled the border, you probably didn't visit many villages near the border wall, right?"

Unexpectedly, Tan Lun said: "I went to several places this time and learned about their lives, and I would always be robbed by a group of tartars every year.

By the time the strong men from the village where they gathered and the surrounding sergeants rushed over, the group of Tatars had already reached the side wall.

You also know that the imperial court does not allow people to cross the border wall without authorization, and those who disobey will be punished as prisoners of war. You can only watch them leave with the looted things and people.

With these piers, these Tartars will no longer be able to enter and leave our borders at will, and the people will be able to live in peace. "

"If you deploy people along the Great Wall, Ji Liao's already tense troops will be even more stretched. This requires 5000 men."

Wei Guangde thought for a while, and built these piers according to Tan Lun's intention. In addition to defending the small groups of Tartars from crossing the border, it seems that they can also be used as a supplement to the Great Wall.

I didn't hear Tan Lun say that the piers are divided into twelve sections, which are not only fortifications, but also a sharp weapon for communication and warning.

"It has been roughly estimated that there are dozens of passes, and the reduction of troops in each place is no more than a few hundred, so it should be no big problem."

Tan Lun explained.

Naturally, he has to think carefully about these.

"You want me to speak for you when someone in the cabinet brings it up?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"I hope that Shan Loan can also speak up when he sees His Majesty, and help him speak."

However, Tan Lun said, "Supposedly, when I return to court, His Majesty should have summoned him in the past few days, but according to my observations during this period, His Majesty seems not to care about government affairs, and instead relies more on the cabinet to handle government affairs.

This is a good thing, but I am also worried that Your Majesty will not understand the true intentions of the ministers and make other judgments. "

"Two days ago, His Majesty ordered the Ministry of Households to take tens of thousands of taels of silver to buy gems and pearls, but Ma Shangshu rejected them. Now you want the imperial court to allocate money to build a pier in Ji Town. The timing is not right."

Wei Guangde said with a wry smile and shook his head.

"Then this matter can be slowed down first, anyway, there is no rush for a while, and another matter needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."

When Tan Lun heard the conflict between the Hubu and Emperor Longqing over money, he immediately knew that submitting this memorial in a short time would make it difficult for the Hubu and also make His Majesty feel unhappy, so he added.

"What's the matter?"

Wei Guangde wondered.

"Shanhaiguan is the throat of Jizhen Town, but the imperial court only has one garrison here, and the troops are not enough. I want to promote the garrison of Shanhaiguan to be a general, and at the same time increase the garrison troops."

Tan Lun said.

"Shanhai Pass?"

Wei Guangde heard Tan Lun mentioning this matter, thought about it, and it seemed to be true.

The current Shanhaiguan is only an important pass for Jiliao, and is far from the focus of the Ming army's defense in the future. Therefore, there are currently only more than a thousand permanent troops stationed in Shanhaiguan, guarded by one guard.

"On this matter, as long as the Ministry of War agrees, it will be the last report. Generally, His Majesty will not reject it."

Wei Guangde said, "However, I remember that there is a general guarding a stone pass next to it, and Shanhai Pass always asks for help from a stone pass. How do you plan to deal with the relationship between the two?"

The relationship between the top and bottom of the Ming army is relatively clear. Whether it is Shanhaiguan or a stone pass, it is the Ming army in Jizhen, but one is guarding, and the other is guarding the generals. It is clear at a glance.

Therefore, the Shanhaiguan garrison must accept the orders of Jizhou General Soldier and the orders of Yishiguan, even if Shanhaiguan is not included in the jurisdiction of Yishiguan.

There is no way, there are few major generals in Shanhaiguan, and they still count on a stone pass to save their lives at critical times, and the military ranks are also different.

But if according to Tan Lun's intention, promotion of the official position of Shanhaiguan garrison, and a poor division of power and responsibility over a piece of stone, it is easy to cause trouble.

"I plan to request that Sandaoguan and Si'eryu Second Fort, which are under the jurisdiction of Cutting a Stone, be transferred to Shanhaiguan. Since there are very few soldiers in the fort, it is appropriate to order the generals to recruit soldiers on their own to prepare for war. Basically, we must ensure that The number of troops at Shanhaiguan City Pass reached two to three thousand."

After Tan Lun finished speaking, he looked at Wei Guangde.

"It's silver again."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and said: "Brother Zili, you have found so much money for the imperial court just by going out.

No wonder you came to me. Originally, these matters were discussed by the Ministry of War and then reported to the cabinet. Then the cabinet would be free to discuss them. "

"I just knew that I might be rejected in the cabinet, so I told you first, when the time comes to the cabinet, I will trouble you to make a good loan."

Tan Lun said cheerfully, he knew that now the court only considers saving money.