The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 457

Datong Town.

Wang Shouren, as the governor of Xuanda, is holding a meeting about building cities in Maoerzhuang and Weininghai.

The construction of the Maoerzhuang city was decided early in the morning, and it has already been put into practice. The construction of the Weininghai city is entirely a response to Indayan Khan's proposal to let Da Ming grant him the land of the East and West Hetao. .

"...Wang Zhitai, if you send servants from Xuanfu, Datong and other places to raise money and food, and build two fortresses at a time, and they are all in places where the grassland roads are inconvenient, I am afraid it will be difficult to accomplish. It is winter now, Should we ask the imperial court to allocate 20 taels of money to build the city?"

Datong guerrilla general Hu Gui raised difficulties as a local.

The general officer of Datong at the side, Uncle Li Li of Xiangcheng, said: "Even if we transfer 20 taels of silver, I'm afraid we won't be able to build a big city. Now the city of Maoerzhuang can't be finished. It's only two miles away. Besides the garrison, what other uses are there?"

For building a city, 20 taels are not enough.

This is simply the construction of fortifications such as city walls, towers, and city gates. Even the servants are recruited locally, which means that the labor costs are free, and even the rations are brought by Lifu.

Even so, even a Maoerzhuang can't be repaired, let alone Weininghai.

Wang Shouren is a good fighter in war, but let him deal with the ministers of the court, especially the people's livelihood... From Wang Shouren's point of view, this topic is a bit complicated.

You can rely on blood to fight a war, but to govern the people of one side, blood alone is not enough. Money is needed everywhere, which is exactly what the Northwest lacks.

……

……

After the military meeting is over.

Wang Shouren immediately wrote a memorial to Zhu Youtang, mentioning the inconvenience of building a city in Weininghai...

"...It is far away from the Daming Border Pass, and there are no places to rest or supply along the way. Maoerzhuang has already spent a lot of money on building the city. If Weininghai is considered to build the city, it will only make the people's livelihood on the front line of Xuanda wither, and turn to Touguan and so on. The pass still needs to send more people to repair and strengthen it..."

A set of difficulties was written down, but Wang Shouren did not sign it.

He also realized that if he played it like this, the trust of the emperor and the whole court in him would be greatly compromised.

"Wang Zhitai, I don't know if a lowly position can enter?" Li Wei's voice came from outside.

"Come in."

When Wang Shouren came to the northwest this time, he didn't even bring his family with him. He usually stayed with the soldiers almost all the time, and he never put on airs. This also made him quickly win the favor of the whole army.

Li Yan walked in, did not approach Wang Shouren's desk, and clasped his fists and said, "Wang Zhitai, I heard that many Tatar tribes want to complete trade with Ming Dynasty. Do you think it is feasible for Erzhuang to trade with the Tatars?"

Wang Shouren said: "This will definitely cause many Tatar craftsmen to sneak into Maoerzhuang."

Li Wei said: "Isn't this a compromise? The coal mines in Datong are in full swing, but I heard that they were called by the court and Cai Guogong, and they didn't leave us in Datong to build the city...even the new saltworks in Hainingwei. In exchange for Yanyin, all the salts from the three sides are used... You only have a reputation, but there are still many constraints in the use of troops."

Wang Shouren remained silent.

As he was speaking, Wang Shouren's servant appeared at the door, but when he saw Wang Shouren meeting guests in the hall, the servant stepped aside tactfully.

"I will consider this matter." Wang Shouren said, "Even if the border market in the northwest is to be reopened, the court's permission is required. Even if the border market is opened from Maoerzhuang, the annual harvest of the border market is less than 2 taels. It is still not enough to build the city fortress... I will still propose to His Majesty that only the city of Maoerzhuang should be completed, and Weininghai should mainly send troops to patrol and defend."

Don't wear such a tall hat if you don't have such a big head.

Wang Shouren deeply understands this, so he can only do his best to ask for it. He just said that he wants to build a city, but in the end he only built a city the size of a bullet. It is better not to fix it.

……

……

After Li Wei left, the servants of the Wang family came in.

"Master has a letter from the capital." The servant was very excited.

After Wang Shouren arrived in the northwest, Wang Hua almost "don't care" about his son. Recently, the servants of the Wang family can also feel that the young master is worried about the firewood, rice, oil and salt. Now Wang Hua, the most powerful person in the Wang family, finally threw an olive branch to his son , It will make the Wang family feel that this is the father and son working together to break the gold.

Wang Shouren didn't expect much from Wang Hua's letter.

Because Wang Shouren knew that Wang Hua was just a lecturer in the Imperial Academy, and even if he wanted to help him solve his troubles, he would not be professional.

Then Wang Shouren opened Wang Hua's letter.

"Master, what did the master say?" The servant was very concerned.

Wang Shouren didn't answer, but carefully read all Wang Hua's letters, and then became a little worried.

"Father said that he would try his best to help me with the planning and management in the Beijing Normal University. He also mentioned that the position of the Xuanda General System seems to be high, or it might be better to stay in the Nuer Gandu Division to calm down the Jurchens. Although the latter has worked hard, at least Don't worry about the dispatch of money and food." Wang Shouren didn't tell the servants more details.

In fact, Wang Shouren's worries mainly came from his feeling that Wang Hua might have to make some "sacrifices" for him.

Wang Hua mentioned that the emperor wanted to increase the number of cabinet ministers. Although he did not explicitly mention the favor of Li Dongyang and others, Wang Shouren knew that once Wang Hua entered the cabinet, it would definitely involve the dispute between Zhang Zhou and the traditional civil servants.

Because he, Wang Shouren, was brought up by Zhang Zhou, and Wang Hua's entry into the cabinet was to enter the private land of traditional civil servants.

"Fame or something, it doesn't matter."

Wang Shouren immediately signed the memorial that he had written before, which was equivalent to completing the official memorial and handing it over to his servants, "Let the station pass to the capital."

The servant said, "Master, did you just write this today? Do you want to wait another two days and polish it?"

"No need." Wang Shouren replied very simply, "If I don't even have the courage to face difficulties, why should I stay in the Northwest? Many difficulties are beyond my ability, and I have brought them up to the court to let them know. Major military matters may not suit me."

"Yes."

The servant could hear the loneliness in Wang Shouren's words.

He has been able to win battles on the grassland repeatedly, but he has only just entered the court not long ago, so facing up to difficulties is actually facing up to his own shortcomings.

It takes a lot of courage to be arrogant with Wang Shouren's heart.

……

……

When Wang Shouren's Shangzuo arrived in the capital, the Martial Arts Hall had just opened, and it was still in full swing.

There are more than a dozen classes a day, three cannon fields, and the cannons are fired in turn. The artillery used is still the same as before, but it is like obtaining the artillery professional qualification certificate. Almost every general and noble who comes to study must personally To light the gun, and learn how to aim theoretically, but also to learn the art of war, knowing the pros and cons of artillery in various situations.

On this day, Zhang Zhou took Zhu Houzhao out of the city to check out the artillery show. It was the first time Zhu Houzhao was allowed to leave the city after the year. It was Zhu Youtang's reward for his son's hard work after the year.

After Zhu Houzhao returned to the palace, his heart was much more settled than before. He had gone out and played wild enough. After returning, he could finally settle down and study...but after only studying for more than a month, he was already a little impatient, and he always shouted to ask for help. come out and play.

"Sir, I heard there are new guns, where are they?"

Zhu Houzhao went to the artillery field. He had lost interest in traditional artillery and only wanted to see new rifled artillery.

Zhang Zhou looked into the distance with the binoculars, and said casually, "The new cannon is still under development, and the danger is relatively high. Can't the things in front of you satisfy you?"

Zhu Houzhao pouted.

He picked up the binoculars and looked at it for a while, then put it down and said, "What's the point? The Tartars are probably familiar with the power of this artillery, and they will find tactics."

Zhang Zhou also put down the binoculars and said, "If it's you, what tactics are you looking for?"

"Scattering, and surprise attack... Didn't you say that yourself?" Zhu Houzhao looked disapproving. You have taught me everything, and you are here to test me?

Zhang Zhou smiled with disdain.

In the era of hot weapons, everyone knows the power of guns. The problem is that no matter how powerful the cavalry is, no matter how to find tactics, it is still the same as being beaten by guns.After the twentieth century, the cavalry has basically withdrawn from the arena of war... This does not mean that if you have a heavy cavalry with the crown of cold weapons, you are qualified to challenge the times.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Artillery and firecrackers will definitely become the mainstream on the battlefield in the future. What I want to do is not only to use the Shenji Battalion as an offensive force, but also to equip every soldier with flint blunderbusses, and even eliminate swords and bows." Crossbows, etc. As for the artillery, it is necessary for everyone on the road to learn how to cooperate...Prince, are you here to watch the excitement?"

"Why don't you watch the fun? And don't let me go up and light the cannons in person." Zhu Houzhao seemed to be using aggressive methods.

He had long wanted to ignite the fuse of the cannon himself and try firing a cannon himself, but the danger was still there, and even Zhang Zhou would not take such a risk.

Zhang Zhou said coldly: "When I think about it in the future, I will write a [-]-word essay every time, and give it to me later."

"What?"

Zhu Houzhao thought he heard it wrong?

Young master came out to watch you perform cannons, it was for your face, it was for you to come out and relax, you actually asked me to write "reviews"?
Zhang Zhoudao: "Five hundred characters is for your face. I know that you usually have a lot of homework and don't have time to write so much. If you argue again, write a thousand characters. If you can't write it, don't even think about leaving the palace and the city next time. "

"Zhang, are you threatening me again?" Zhu Houzhao was annoyed when he heard that.

Even the name has been changed.

Liu Jin quickly pulled Zhu Houzhao, without saying anything, but winked at Zhu Houzhao.

It means, let's not fight him, no matter how awesome you are, you can't beat him.

"Five hundred words...what should I write?" Zhu Houzhao didn't bother to watch the cannon show, so he ran to the back and sat down, thinking about it while muttering, "I just write how far this cannon can hit? Or write about those people's training What is the result? Always give me a direction, right?"

Zhang Zhou ignored him.

At this time, Li Rong, who was the admiral of the East Factory, came up with Guo Ang, the governor of Fusi, Jinyiwei North Town.

The two of them originally escorted Zhu Houzhao out of the palace, but they were actually at the disposal of Zhang Zhou at any time.

"Sir, I just learned that Uncle Xinjian, who is in charge of the military affairs of Xuanda and other departments, gave a memorial to His Majesty, mentioning the difficulties of building a city outside the Datong Pass. This is the transcript, please take a look."

Li Rong handed over the transcribed Guan Bai Memorial to Zhang Zhou.

As the minister of the Ministry of War, Zhang Zhou took it over and took a general look, and he probably understood that Wang Shouren had recently suffered a lot from the position of Xuanda General System.

This kind of anger is not something that a general can impose on him, but it is because a lot of it is not smooth, and it is suppressed.

Let's go further...it is because the imperial court does not support the strategy of using troops in the northwest at all, and deliberately withholds money and food used in various places in the northwest...The emperor was talking about policies, saying that he would build cities, build artillery, and train troops, but the ministers below said I didn't object much, but I refused to cooperate with practical actions.

Want money and food?

I'm sorry, the imperial treasury is stretched, and it needs to be used in other places, and people's livelihood can't be guaranteed, so how to do those "military" things?
Li Rongdao: "Look, how to report to His Majesty?"

What Li Rong showed Zhang Zhou was equivalent to the task of the hearing department.

A Northwest general officer's report is not only related to Bai in the cabinet, but also related to Bai in the listening office. Unlike the cabinet's draft proposal, Zhang Zhou's opinions are directly conveyed to Zhu Youtang.

Of course, general trivial matters, such as local affairs, do not require Zhang Zhou to take action in person. Currently, Zhang Zhou is mainly responsible for the deployment of troops, money and food in the towns on the Nine Sides, and the employment strategy involving the Nine Sides, etc. .

"Uncle Xinjian's idea of ​​opening a border market is very good, but he only does business with some Tatar merchants," Zhang Zhou said.

Li Rongdao: "In terms of execution, I'm afraid it will be difficult to complete. The little Tatar prince is very powerful on the grasslands. Those Tatar traveling merchants, who knows who they will sell the ironware, silks, etc. they bought back from us?" ?”

Zhang Zhou combined Wang Shouren's memorial and wrote lightly: "It's just a statement. The main purpose of opening the border market is to ease the conflict with the Tatars first. It is convenient for our Ming border army to prepare for war in the next few years."

First win on the battlefield, and then give the Tatars a sweet date to eat, and reopen the border market, so that the grassland can complete the exchange of some commodities with the vast and abundant Central Plains.

This makes the Tatars feel that there is no need to rob, but in fact it is to ease the conflict and prepare for the future knocking the Tatars to death with a stick.

"Mr. Zhang, do you need to worry? The Tatars learned our cannon-casting technology from the border market trade in the future? Even if there is not much pig iron stored in the grassland, as long as it is made, it will be used for war later. , they may not have the upper hand." Li Rong was still very worried.

Zhang Zhou shook his head with a smile and said: "Our Ming Dynasty wants to cast cannons, and I need to dig mines, smelt iron, and cast them myself. If the Tatars can cast cannons on a large scale within three to two years, it will take a lot of manpower and material resources. They can't afford it. What's more, as you said, the grasslands don't have so many resource allocations. Just as I said, I will raise it with His Majesty, and if there are any more troubles, I will bring it up at the court council."

Li Rong cupped his hands and said: "Then our family will go back to the city first. Your Royal Highness, you should learn from Mr. Zhang first, and the old servant will go back to the city first."

(End of this chapter)