The Prosperous Era of Longwan

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

For most courtiers, it is just an increase in the military power of governors.

It is naturally a good thing to allow the governors and governors outside the country to legally maintain a group of personal soldiers. When trouble occurs, they are no longer tied to their own hands and can only turn to those military leaders for help.

Anyway, what is being spent is the court's money, and whoever spends it is not spending it.

The memorial was well-founded and naturally received support from both the government and the public, and the cabinet voted to approve it. Later, the emperor also nodded, and the Chief of Ceremonies approved it.

However, Wei Guangde smelled something different from it.

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

By the way, I also mentioned that Yang Bo intended to appoint Ma Fang as the chief military officer of Jizhen, responsible for the safety of the capital.

Wei Guangde had intended to transfer earlier, but later failed due to various reasons. Ma Fang also stayed in Xuan Mansion from deputy chief soldier to chief soldier.

After so many years, he has become deeply entrenched in Xuanfu's business.

Wei Guangde was also worried that rashly transferring him to Jizhen would have an impact on him.

When writing a letter, first ask him about his attitude, and then decide how to reply to Yang Bo.

Yang Bo was also frightened this time. He appointed an incompetent general to guard Jizhen. He was really worried now.

Ma Fang fought against the Tatars in the past two years, and he fought many battles, with good wins and losses. The most important thing is his spirit of becoming more courageous as he fights, which is rare among Ming army generals.

After Ma Fang became the chief military officer of Xuanfu, he did not follow the previous practice of the Ming army and just focus on defense. Instead, he would lead his team out to hunt grass valleys from time to time, doing the same thing as Liu Han, the former chief military officer of Datong.

The difference is that Liu Han suffered a disastrous defeat when he went out a few times, and he was also masturbated.

Although Ma Fang also encountered tough battles, with his desperate momentum, he finally turned the corner. Although it was not a victory, it could only be called a defeat. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as a miserable victory or a draw.

After the letter was written, it was handed over to Zhang Ji and arranged for the servants to send it to Xuan Mansion the next day.

Calculating the time, the troops led by Ma Fang should have passed Juyong Pass long ago, and even if they had not reached Xuan Mansion, they would probably be almost there.

Xuanfu is hundreds of miles away from the capital. It can be reached in two days at a quick pace, and the round trip usually takes five days.

These days, many people in the imperial court are staring at the vacant positions in Ji Town. Governor Shuntian was the first to be snatched up. However, when it comes to the selection of Governor Ji Liao and the general soldier of Ji Town, the Ministry of War has been fighting. With a careless eye, the candidate has not been decided yet.

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

As for the position of Commander-in-Chief of Jizhen, there are many people who want it, but not many people actually reach out for it.

After all, the predecessor was just beheaded by the Tatars, and the person who takes over has to weigh whether his neck is strong enough.

The shock to the capital caused by the Tatars' breakthrough this time is still vivid in my mind. Once the Tatars come back next time, the general soldiers of Jizhen will not be able to hide behind and issue orders. They really have to go to the battlefield to fight, otherwise you will not be able to pass the Emperor Jiajing's test. .

The governor who did not see the troops preparing for the road was sentenced to death or exiled for failing to prepare the troops.

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

However, Wei Guangde knew that Yang Bo was waiting for his reply to see if Ma Fang intended to leave Jizhen.

Quietly, in the eyes of Yang Bo and other high-ranking officials of the court, the strength of Prince Yu's Palace was getting stronger and stronger, especially in the military. Three people under Prince Yu's Palace had already served as chief military officers, namely Ma Fang, Yu Dayou and Dong Yikui.

Five days later, Wei Guangde was notified by Zhang Ji when he went home at night. The reply from Xuanfu arrived in the afternoon.

After returning to the backyard, he changed out of his official uniform and put on his regular robe under Xu Jianglan's service. Then he went to the study and opened Ma Fang's letters to read.

Sure enough.

After reading Ma Fang's letter, Wei Guangde knew that Ma Fang was really unhappy with Jiang Dong, the governor of Xuanda, but this was just a matter between the two people, and they had not yet caused each other to cause trouble in handling official affairs.

It is actually simple to say. After Jiang Dong arrived at Xuanda, he clearly informed Ma Fang that he hoped that he would not go out to harass the Great Wall at every turn, and first consolidate the lines along the Great Wall.

Of course, what happened next was that Ma Fang didn't take Jiang Dong's instructions seriously. She only talked about it, but she didn't show any restraint in her hand movements.

The strategy of using offense as defense was actually proposed by Wei Guangde.

Burning the flames of war to the grasslands, increasing the harassment of Mongolian tribes, weakening their strength, so that they will not invade the Ming Dynasty so unscrupulously.

Naturally, Ma Fang would not stop his movements just because of Jiang Dong's words. Besides, he could be said to have grown up on the prairie and was used to the feeling of galloping horses and whipping his whip on the prairie.

After that, Jiangdong wanted to mobilize three thousand cavalry from Ma Fang's main camp and the Datong cavalry to form a main camp under the direct control of the governor, stationed between Xuanda and Datong, and could coordinate the east and west.

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

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

Ma Fang is brave and brave, but he is not a fool, so he cannot do stupid things like hitting an egg against a stone.

Although Jiang Dong was a little dissatisfied with this, Ma Fang carried the banner of Prince Yu's palace, so Jiang Dong could not be at odds with him because of this, but the relationship was not very harmonious.

At the end of the letter, Ma Fang expressed that he did not want to go to Jizhen. He was more accustomed to staying in Xuanfu. He could even go to Datong to serve as the commander-in-chief. After all, Datong was his hometown, but he did not want to go to Jizhen.

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

The fight between Jiang Dong and Liu Tao for the governorship of Ji Liao had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't bear the anger of Jiang Dong and Yang Bo for engaging in this camp.

This is a plan to steal the elite cavalry from each town.

What Yang Bo said in his memorial, "Each governor will set up a branch, each with three thousand people, either to select from the soldiers in each district, or to recruit from the servants in each place."

What do you mean, the governor directly selects officers and soldiers within his own jurisdiction, and can even recruit them from the general's servants. Isn't this poaching?

You know, you know, but no one dares to say anything about it. Who dares to say that the soldiers are their own and they want to rebel?

Perhaps, Yang Bo really discovered through the actual battlefield situation that the main barracks and personal troops under the general's command were very powerful, so he wanted to build more such teams in each town so that more elites could be available when encountering war. Throw yourself into battle.

However, it really affects the interests of the generals in each town.

This is a policy that is good for civil servants but not good for military generals. Behind the military generals is the Ming Dynasty's noble group.

Wei Guangde was a civil servant, but he was born into a military household. He was a member of the Xungui Group, although he was the lowest member of the family.

If he was asked to choose, he would of course put his family first and choose to support the military commander.

Jiangdong cannot be allowed to leave Jiliao.

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

The governor of Jiliao can almost be said to have half a foot on the official position of Sima.

Jiang Dong and Ma Fang were peaceful on the surface, but secretly they were at odds with each other. For such a person to serve as Minister of War, Wei Guangde habitually believed that it would be detrimental to Ma Fang based on the idea that "human nature is inherently evil".

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

The equipment that Ma Fang wanted, from armor to firearms, was all handled by Prince Yu's Mansion in the capital. But what Prince Yu wanted was peace in the north. He needed a general to sit in and make him feel at ease.

Wei Guangde had some calculations in his mind and planned to ask Zhang Juzheng tomorrow whether Xu Jie and Yang Bo had reached an agreement and who would be 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.

However, when he saw Wei Guangde enter the room, he got up immediately, arranged for someone to prepare hot water for him to wash, and waited for him to go to bed to rest.

However, in the middle of washing his feet, Wei Guangde suddenly jumped up and without wiping his feet with water, he put on his shoes and ran to the study with his wet feet.

When Xu Jianglan came over with his maid, he saw Wei Guangde sitting behind the desk looking at something.

"Master, what are you thinking of?"

Xu Jianglan asked angrily as she entered the room. Looking at the wet shoes, she asked the maid to prepare hot water again and went to get another pair of dry shoes.

"I always felt that I had neglected something before. I only remembered it when I was washing my feet. Now I am here in a hurry."

Wei Guangde replied embarrassedly.

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

Xu Jianglan had some complaints in her tone, but she still sent someone to dry Wei Guangde's feet first to avoid catching a cold.

"Military affairs."

Wei Guangde only replied lightly.

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

"Then you keep busy. I'm going back to the house to rest. I'll arrange for someone to wait outside. I'll call you when it's done."

"Well, go back and rest quickly."

Wei Guangde didn't have time to chat with his wife at the moment. He was taking out Ma Fang's letter and reading it again.

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

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

It sounds lofty, but in fact, this kind of thing happens every year in the past few years.

Even, I don’t know if it was to compare with Yu Dayou’s achievements in attacking Bansheng City. Last year, he personally led an army to attack 400 miles and destroyed the Mongolian tribes in the Xinghe area of ​​Mongolia. Return with troops."

The so-called "Yao Bing" here is actually a review, a military review of the Ming army participating in the war.

Such an action was held during every Northern Expedition during Zhu Di's reign, and the Northern Expedition army would not return until the military parade was completed.

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

Yu Dayou's attack was originally a surprise attack. Naturally, after the success, the army retreated in 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 had just been harassed by the Tatars. If Ma Fang made a surprise attack on the grassland at this time, it would not only deal a blow to the prestige of the Mongolian Ada Khan, but also arouse the morale of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the one in the palace, I would be ecstatic to think about it.

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

This time the Tatars invaded, it could be said that it was smooth sailing before, but they suffered heavy losses when they finally came out. Their morale may not be very high at this time, and they probably didn't expect that the Ming army would punish them.

Will Anda Khan think of this?

Wei Guangde was a little unsure.

After learning more about Ada Khan's past, he realized that Ada Khan was truly remarkable. At least he was the only Ming Lord on the northern grasslands in the past few decades.

Not only did it establish its position in Mongolia through a series of wars, it also maintained a high chance of winning in foreign wars.

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

In his early years, he was granted the title of Tumute Ten Thousand Households and was stationed in Mu Fengzhoutan. He and his brother Ji Nang fought 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 30,000 households.

He repeatedly invaded the south and violated the Ming Dynasty. In the 29th year of Jiajing, he invaded the capital and created the Gengxu Rebellion.

In the north and west, he defeated the hostile Uuliangha Wanhu and Wala tribes, occupied Qinghai, and forced the Mongolian suzerain Khan Dalaxun to move eastward to Liaohetao. In the process, he gained Sodo Khan and Situ Khan. , Tuxie Tuchechen Khan, Gegen Khan and other Khans.

In these wars, he demonstrated his extraordinary strategic analysis and planning abilities.

It was in the past few years that he began to make few big moves. Perhaps he was really afraid of Ma Fang's entanglement. In recent years, most of his crimes were in Ningxia, Yansui and other towns.

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

He supported Ma Fang's idea to retaliate against Mongolia, but he was also worried about being plotted by Anda Khan.

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

After thinking about it, Wei Guangde did not collect the letter anymore, but planned to give Ma Fang's letter to King Yu to read tomorrow.

One person can plan shortcomings, two people can plan long-term goals, and three people can easily discuss things.

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

The order came from Prince Yu's palace, and even if he failed to meet the requirements in the end, it at least made Prince Yu understand Ma Fang's fighting spirit.

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

The water in the basin was already cold, so Wei Guangde asked the maid to change the water.

I was thinking about something just now and didn't warm my feet properly.

You have to plan carefully. If King Yu also wants Ma Fang to leave Jizhen, how can you help him avoid the matter?

There is a lot of content in the letter. If Ma Fang and Jiang Dong don't deal with it, it happens to be known to Prince Yu. Then they can use the name of Prince Yu's Palace to legitimately help Liu Tao, who is supported by Xu Jie, ascend to power.

Just let Jiang Dong take care of himself as the governor of Xuanda and return to the Ministry of War. I'm afraid it will be affected when the Xuanfu asks for food, wages, and equipment in the future.

Wei Guangde was still thinking about how to solve the things mentioned in Ma Fang's letter, and Jiang Dong, who was involved in this matter, may not have thought that the ideas he only got based on the battle conditions he saw on the battlefield were already in Wei Guangde's eyes. It turned into a struggle of interests, and his own career was interrupted as a result.