I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 711 Entrusted with important tasks

Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in their hearts when they saw that the emperor was very familiar with these things.

Since the Song Dynasty, there has gradually been a trend of emphasizing civil servants over military officers. Generally speaking, the status of civil servants at the same level is much higher than that of military generals.

In the eyes of those civil servants, military attachés were nothing more than vulgar warriors, unworthy of publicity, and far inferior to the ways of governing the country that they learned from the books of sages.

But the emperor kept these things in mind. How can this not be touching?

After that, Jiajing looked away from Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou respectively, and said unhurriedly: "Before this, my Ming Dynasty had Japanese pirates in the south and Tatars in the north. Both of them had a negative impact on our Ming Dynasty. A huge threat!"

"The previous strategy formulated by the imperial court was to start from the south and then the north. Now, with the bloody battles of all my dear friends and the frontline soldiers, the Japanese pirates in the south have finally been completely wiped out!"

"Right now, our Ming Dynasty has only one enemy left, the Tatars. Therefore, I want to finish my work in one battle and completely eliminate the enemy the Tatars!"

"I heard that the two beloved ladies created special tactics to restrain the cavalry. Therefore, I want to hear their thoughts!"

After Jiajing finished speaking, he stopped talking and waited quietly for the answers from Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

When Jiajing finished speaking, a look of shock flashed across the faces of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

What they didn't expect was that the emperor actually knew them so well, and even knew that they had created special tactics to restrain the cavalry.

Afterwards, Qi Jiguang organized the words in his mind, stood up from his seat, and reported to Jiajing.

"Your Majesty, in my opinion, due to the harsh living environment, wars often break out between tribes in the grasslands in order to compete for water sources and pastures."

"Therefore, under the constant temper of the war, those Tatar soldiers gradually turned into elite soldiers who were not afraid of death and were good at riding and shooting!"

When Jiajing heard Qi Jiguang's words, he nodded and motioned for Qi Jiguang to continue.

After getting Jiajing's permission, Qi Jiguang continued along this line of thinking.

"In addition, the grasslands are very rich in war horses. Compared with the war horses of the Ming Dynasty, the horses under the Tatar cavalry are much stronger in terms of endurance and speed!"

"Since most of the enemy's troops are cavalry and are very flexible, the choice of fighting is completely in the hands of the opponent. The opponent can completely harass the army and continuously consume the energy of the imperial army. When the army is exhausted, they can launch an attack again. !”

"Compared with the infantry, the cavalry has an absolute crushing advantage. It only takes a few back and forth to defeat the general formation!"

Qi Jiguang paused for a moment when he said this, and then continued: "In order to allow the infantry to deal with the charge from the cavalry, Wei Chen specially created a formation called the Yuanyang Formation!"

When Jiajing heard Qi Jiguang's words, an expression of interest suddenly appeared on his face, waiting for Qi Jiguang's further explanation.

Facing Jiajing's gaze, Qi Jiguang thought about it for a moment before speaking out all the ideas in his mind.

"This formation is composed of eleven people. The soldier at the front is the captain, and the two people at the back are holding shields in their hands. They are responsible for protecting the entire formation and not being scattered by the enemy!"

"In addition, there are two people holding short swords who are responsible for warning and support. When the enemy adopts roundabout tactics, they will rush forward and kill the enemy.

"In addition, in the middle, there are four spearmen holding spears, two on each side, the captain responsible for guarding the front and the two soldiers holding shields."

"At the end, there are two soldiers holding firecrackers. Their mission is to use the firecrackers in their hands to kill the enemy from a distance."

After listening to Qi Jiguang's idea, Jiajing raised his eyebrows and asked: "Has the military formation Aiqing imagined experienced actual combat?"

When Qi Jiguang heard this, he immediately looked stern and responded in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this military formation has been tested in actual combat and has played a huge role in the process of annihilating Japanese pirates!"

"This military formation is, on the one hand, to deal with the Japanese pirates in the coastal areas, and on the other hand, it is to guard against the Tatar cavalry!"

After the words fell, Jiajing looked at Qi Jiguang with unabashed satisfaction.

"Well, good, sit down first!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After Qi Jiguang responded, he immediately sat back on the chair.

……

After that, Jiajing turned his eyes to Yu Dayou and asked, "What do you think, Aiqing?"

When the words fell, Yu Dayou stood up from his seat and responded without thinking: "Your Majesty, I think we should use the car camp method to deal with those Tatar cavalry!"

Jiajing was no stranger to the car camp mentioned by Yu Dayou. The idea of ​​​​che camp had begun to appear since the Zhengtong period.

In the 25th year of Jiajing's reign, Zeng Mian served as the Shanxi Trilateral Commander-in-Chief. At that time, the Ming army shrank its defense lines, and the Hetao area had become a pasture for Mongolia.

Later, in order to regain the Hetao area, Zeng Mian designed the famous "Zeng Mian's Plan for the Lutao-by-Taolu Formation", which included the organization of the car camp, from the establishment of the camp to the withdrawal of troops.

In the same year, the Datong chariot camp commanded by Yu Dayou, with more than 100 chariots and more than 5,000 infantry and cavalry troops, fought against tens of thousands of Mongolian troops at Angenberg. The Ming army was victorious and chased the Mongolian troops for hundreds of miles.

Since then, the imperial court began to configure car camps in Jiubian and Jingying.

After listening to Yu Dayou's thoughts, Jiajing supported his chin with one hand and fell into deep thought, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

After a long time, Jiajing came back to his senses and glanced at Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou respectively.

After pondering for a moment, he turned around and said: "The ideas of both my dear friends are very good, but don't forget that I, the Ming Dynasty, have an unparalleled advantage, and that is firearms!"

When Jiajing said this, he paused for a moment, and then continued to add: "I think the two beloved ministers must have heard that the imperial court defeated the battle of Bozhou not long ago, right?"

As soon as Jiajing finished speaking, Qi Jiguang stood up from his seat and responded without thinking: "Yes, Your Majesty, I heard that it only took the court more than a month to pacify Bozhou!"

Jiajing took in the expression on Qi Jiguang's face, nodded, and said solemnly: "A large part of the reason why the imperial court was able to pacify Bozhou so quickly was because of the power of firearms!"

"This time, the soldiers under the command of Feng Yue, the governor of Huguang, are all equipped with flintlock guns developed by the Department of Ordnance. This kind of flintlock gun, both in terms of range and power, is far stronger than what our Ming army currently has. Yes, those old matchlock guns!"

"In addition, there are paper-cased bullets. Paper-cased bullets can greatly increase the reloading speed of the flintlock gun. In the time it took to fire one shot, it can now be fired at least three times, not to mention the power of grenades. A huge weapon!"

Seeing that the topic was getting further and further away, Jiajing coughed twice and chose to bring the topic back on track.

"Before this, I ordered Zhang Juzheng to carefully select more than 25,000 brave and skilled soldiers from the guards all over the country."

"Anyway, the two of you will be responsible for coordinating the various military training matters. If you have any requests, just ask me!"

"When next spring comes, you will go out with the army!"

When Jiajing finished speaking, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou's faces were full of shock that could not be concealed.

They did not expect that the emperor would value them so much and let them be responsible for training more than 25,000 soldiers!

The two of them had not yet recovered from this shocking fact. They heard Jiajing's voice without any emotion sounded again: "Next, I grant you permission to enter and leave the Arms Department at will!"

After a long time, only Qi Jiguang was seen, and Yu Dayou came back to his senses, stood up from his seat, and responded in a deep voice: "As you command, Your Majesty!"

Seeing that the matter had been settled, Jiajing waved his hand and said: "Okay, let's come here first. I still have things to deal with. You two can leave!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will resign now!"

After bowing to Jiajing, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou immediately left the Qianqing Palace without stopping at all.

After walking out of Qianqing Palace, Qi Jiguang's face was full of excitement that could not be concealed.

After all, seeing is better than hearing. At the same time, he also wanted to see with his own eyes how well the new weapons such as flintlock guns, paper shell bullets, and grenades that Jiajing mentioned earlier performed.

……

Soon after Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou passed through the Forbidden City and returned to the inn where they stayed, officials soon got wind of the news and sent people to send them greeting cards.

What's more, people are sent directly to wait at the door of the inn.

Of course Qi Jiguang knew what the purpose of these people was, so he declined these invitations one by one on the grounds that he needed to rest after a long journey.

"Alas, it seems that what the governor said earlier is right. This capital city is no better than Zhejiang. People's hearts are treacherous, so you have to be careful in everything!"

After returning to the room, Qi Jiguang looked at Yu Dayou aside and complained.

Yu Dayou also deeply agreed with Qi Jiguang's words. He nodded and said in agreement: "That makes sense. You see, not long after we arrived in the capital, we were targeted by those in the court!"

"Those people just want to use us to make friends with Mr. Hu Ge. After all, Mr. Hu Ge is now the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel..."

After complaining for a while, Qi Jiguang glanced at Yu Dayou who was not far away, and asked: "Your Majesty said, we can go in and out of the Ordnance Department at will from now on. Do you want to find time to take a look?"

Regarding Qi Jiguang's proposal, Yu Dayou responded after thinking for a moment: "Well, this will also be conducive to military training!"

Seeing that Yu Dayou agreed to his proposal, Qi Jiguang nodded, and then said: "Well, it's settled then!"

After that, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou each returned to their rooms to rest.

The reason why they did this was very simple. After all, they had just been tired from traveling and needed a rest to refuse those banquets.

Time passed by slowly, and in the blink of an eye, the sky darkened.

In the room, Qi Jiguang was holding a military book in his hand, looking at it with great concentration. The orange light not far away clearly reflected his figure.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Seeing this situation, Qi Jiguang had no choice but to look away from the military book in his hand and said: "Come in!"

After the words fell, there was only a "squeak" sound, the door of the room was pushed open, and Yi Cheng, who was responsible for managing the inn, walked in with a man who looked like a housekeeper.

After entering the room, the housekeeper did not hesitate at all. He immediately lowered his head and saluted Qi Jiguang respectfully: "Young man, I have met General Qi!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang glanced at the housekeeper, nodded, and asked, "Who sent you here?"

When the housekeeper heard what Qi Jiguang said, he responded without hesitation: "To be honest, General Qi, I have been ordered by Mr. Hu Ge to invite you and General Yu to the house for a banquet!"

After Qi Jiguang learned that the visitor was someone sent by Hu Zongxian, the remaining unhappiness in his heart dissipated in an instant.

Then, Qi Jiguang looked at the person and said, "Well, let's go!"

After that, Qi Jiguang called Yu Dayou, and the two took a sedan chair together to Hu Zongxian's residence in the capital.

……

After the sedan stopped, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou got off the sedan one after another.

Although Hu Zongxian's residence is located on a prosperous street in the capital, the decoration is quite simple.

There are only two stone lions at the door and two doormen. On the bright red door, there is a plaque with the word "Hu Mansion" written on it.

It is worth mentioning that the words "Hu Mansion" on the plaque were written by Yan Song himself in order to celebrate the move of his student.

In addition, there was a notice posted near the gate with the four characters "Vicious Dog" in it.

After getting off the sedan, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou entered through the side door under the guidance of the housekeeper.

There are many green bamboos planted in the mansion, which look lush and green from a distance.

After passing through a long corridor, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou finally met Hu Zongxian.

After seeing Hu Zongxian waiting not far away, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou immediately came to Hu Zongxian quickly and saluted him respectfully.

"Lord Governor!"

"Mr. Hu Ge!"

After the words fell, Yu Dayou looked at Qi Jiguang with a surprised look on his face. The previous voice of "Governor-General" came from Qi Jiguang.

After noticing Yu Dayou's gaze, Qi Jiguang saw a belated expression on his face. He looked at Hu Zongxian with an apologetic look, then turned to say: "General... no, Mr. Hu Ge, I'm used to being called a lower official." …”

Hu Zongxian didn't seem to care about this, waved his hand, and then said: "Well, since you are used to it, there is no need to change it. From now on, you can call it that in private!"

When Qi Jiguang heard Hu Zongxian's words, his face was full of gratitude. He immediately lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "Yes, Lord Governor!"

Hu Zongxian seemed to be quite happy about the arrival of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou. After that, Hu Zongxian looked away from the two of them and turned to speak.

"Okay, don't stand outside, come with me in, let's get drunk and rest today!"

After the words fell, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou followed Hu Zongxian's footsteps and entered the room.

At this moment, a variety of delicacies were already placed on the table in the room, and several maids were standing beside them, responsible for pouring wine and serving dishes.

After Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang, and Yu Dayou sat down one after another, the maid on the side came forward to fill their wine glasses.

"Come on, let me toast you two first. This first glass of wine can be regarded as a blessing for you!"

Hu Zongxian stood up from his seat, picked up his wine glass, looked in the direction of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and said in a deep voice.

Seeing this situation, Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou who were not far away quickly picked up their wine glasses and stood up from their seats.

"Why, your Lord Governor is serious. If you hadn't personally recommended us to Your Majesty, we wouldn't have come to the capital!"

"Yes, we should toast you with this glass of wine!"

Then, the wine glasses of both parties touched together, making a crisp sound.

After that, Hu Zongxian raised his head and drank all the wine in the cup, as did Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou on the side.

Anyone with a discerning eye can see that Hu Zongxian is in a high mood today, and the three of them drank one glass after another.

After three drinks and five dishes, Hu Zongxian glanced at Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou respectively, and asked with concern: "Have you two encountered any trouble since you came to the capital? ?”

After Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou heard this, they looked at each other and had no intention of hiding anything. They immediately told Hu Zongxian about the invitation without reservation.

After listening to the two men's narratives, Hu Zongxian's expression gradually became solemn.

After thinking about it for a long time, Hu Zongxian looked solemnly in the direction of Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou, and said in a deep voice: "The capital has never been a good place. You should try not to get involved in the disputes in the DPRK. Just concentrate on handling them. Just do what your Majesty has entrusted to you!"

"Thank you sir for reminding me, I understand!"

After that, Hu Zongxian told Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou many things that needed attention, and they felt that it was of great benefit.

……

On the other side, the Forbidden City and the Qianqing Palace.

As night fell, Lu Fang entered the Qianqing Palace with silent steps.

After entering the Qianqing Palace, Lu Fang came to Jiajing, leaned down, and reported respectfully: "Your Majesty, after Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou returned to the post station, those officials who got the news sent people to pay their respects one after another!"

When Lu Fang said this, he paused for a moment and continued: "It's just that all these invitations were rejected by Qi Jiguang on the grounds that he was tired from traveling and needed to rest!"

After Jiajing learned the news from Lu Fang, the expression on his face suddenly darkened. Then, he gently rubbed the dragon head carved on the dragon chair with his hand and said to himself.

"Humph, these guys don't do anything serious all day long. They only know how to camp around. They just want to use the relationship between Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou to climb up Hu Zongxian's high branches!"

Seeing this situation, Lu Fang immediately stepped forward and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, do you want me to send someone to keep an eye on them..."

Jiajing heard Lu Fang's words, nodded, and said: "Well, Lu Fang, send someone to me to keep an eye on them. If there is any trouble, report to me immediately!"

When Lu Fang heard this, she immediately lowered her head and responded respectfully: "As you command, Your Majesty!"

Soon after, the eunuch was guided into the Qianqing Palace.

After the guiding eunuch entered the Qianqing Palace, he looked in the direction of Jiajing, leaned down, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness King Yu is outside asking for an audience!"

When Jiajing heard this, a look of surprise appeared on his face, and he subconsciously said: "It's so late, why is Prince Yu here?"

After pondering for a moment, Jiajing waved his hand and said: "That's it, let him come in!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!"

After receiving specific instructions from Jiajing, the guiding eunuch did not stay in the Qianqing Palace for too long, but left directly.

At this moment, Zhu Zaijing looked at the Qianqing Palace with lanterns hanging in front of him, his face full of emotion. Not far away, a group of fully armed imperial guards passed by from time to time.

Not long ago, Zhu Zaijing finally made up his mind. He was going to ask Jiajing for instructions and personally send his fourth brother Zhu Zaizhen out of the capital early tomorrow morning.

In Zhu Zaijing's view, doing so would not only show him as a brother and brother in front of Jiajing, but he could also take this opportunity to indirectly demonstrate his strength to the government and the public.

In this way, those who are hesitant can join their camp and greatly expand their power.

"Father said before that he didn't want to see our brothers fighting each other. If I go to see him off in person, will it make my father change his mind?"

"The right way is to smile when we meet and let go of grudges. When the time comes..."

Just as Zhu Zaijing's thoughts were racing, he saw the guiding eunuch walking silently in front of him, leaning down and saying respectfully: "His Royal Highness, you can go in, His Majesty is waiting for you inside! "

When Zhu Zaijing heard this, he suddenly came to his senses and quickly returned the courtesy to the leading eunuch: "Excuse me, father-in-law!"

When the guiding eunuch saw this situation, a look of panic appeared on his face at the right time, and he couldn't help but responded: "Why, His Highness King Yu is so polite, this is nothing more than our family's responsibility!"

After a few words of greeting, Zhu Zaijing withdrew his gaze and stepped on the stairs of Qianqing Palace with steady steps.

As soon as he entered the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Zaijing was keenly aware that a scrutinizing gaze fell on him.

Then, Zhu Zaijing suppressed the panic in his heart, knelt down on the ground with a thump, looked at Jiajing who was sitting on the dragon chair at the moment, and said in a deep voice: "I have seen my father!"

After Jiajing looked Zhu Zaijing up and down, he waved his hand and said: "Well, get up!"

"Thank you, Father!"

After receiving Jiajing's permission, Zhu Zaijing slowly stood up from the ground.

(End of this chapter)