The Prosperous Era of Longwan

In a blink of an eye, time has come to the end of the first year of Longqing.

During the year of the Ming Dynasty, with the assistance of Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde and other cabinet ministers, it was relatively stable, and no major troubles occurred.

Especially because Zhu Heng's memorial advanced the time for grain transportation to the north. By May, nearly four million tons of grain would be safely transported to Tongzhou warehouse throughout the year.

For a whole year, there was no major fluctuation in the price of food in the capital.

As winter gradually enters, the weather becomes colder.

Cabinet, Wei Guangde is in charge of the house.

"Brother Zili, is there something wrong with the Ministry of War?"

Wei Guangde was processing official documents when he reported that Tan Lun, Minister of War, had arrived.

After letting the person in and sit down, Wei Guangde asked.

"Didn't you say before that you wanted to tour Ji Town at the end of the year? If we don't go, we'll have to postpone it to next year when there's heavy snowfall in the sky."

When Wei Guangde heard this, he also remembered that there was such a thing.

"You didn't tell Yuan Jing in private."

Wei Guangde asked casually.

"Are you planning to pay a private visit incognito?"

Tan Lun was happy when he heard it and joked.

"I just went to the Wenhua Palace yesterday. I have nothing to do for the next half month. For these two days, we will ride there."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"You really plan to do this, haha"

Tan Lun clapped his hands and laughed, "Okay, I also want to see what the soldiers and civilians of Jizhen are like in normal times.

In the past, when we went down, the local government would be more or less prepared. "

"Brother Zili is here today. Could it be that there is news from Liaodong?"

When Wei Guangde saw Tan Lun coming in, he asked about the military parade, and he guessed that there should be news from Zhang Xueyan, the governor of Liaodong.

Don't wonder why it took him nearly three months to ask the court to investigate the terrain of Kuandian. The traffic is like this these days.

The imperial court passed the news to Liaodong, and half a month had passed. He had to make some preparations and then lead a team to see it.

That was Kuandian, which had already left the Ming Dynasty's border fort in Liaodong and was not within the control of the Ming army.

Naturally, careful arrangements were required, including first ruling out the possibility of scouting the nearby Jurchens, and secretly mobilizing Liaodong troops and horses to guard nearby.

When Zhang Xueyan went to Kuandian, he was not actually afraid of being discovered by the Jurchens, because he was in the name of inspecting the construction of a fort in Kuandian to see if it was suitable for the Ming army to be stationed there.

As for the imperial court asking him to observe whether Kuandian was suitable for ambushes and mass annihilation warfare, he naturally would not say anything about it.

Since you want to attract Wang Gao's troops to attack, there is no need to hide the news.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty's troops in Liaodong still had an overwhelming advantage over the Jurchen King Gao in Jianzhou. However, the Ming Dynasty disdained the use of weapons, so it was often attacked by the Jurchens.

The Ming Dynasty also knew who the sneak attacker was, but beyond the Great Wall was the area where the Jurchen tribes belonged. As long as they refused to admit it, it would be difficult to get irrefutable evidence to prove that the attack was carried out by Wang Gao tribe.

It's just that such tricks of self-deception are actually the same in the face of strength. Perhaps officials of the Ming Dynasty would not punish people for doing things without teaching, but Wei Guangde did not.

Coming from later generations, they are more realistic and practical, and don't care about the false reputation.

As long as the court identifies him as Wang Gao, even if he really didn't do it, it will become true that he did it.

Upon hearing Wei Guangde's question, Tan Lun took out a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to Wei Guangde. He smiled and said, "I can't hide anything from you. Governor Zhang's memorial was sent to the Ministry of War today, so I got it for you."

Tan Lun knew that important military and state affairs could not be delayed, so he just browsed them quickly in the yamen and immediately brought them to the cabinet.

Wei Guangde put away his smile, took it with a serious face, opened it and browsed quickly.

Perhaps many readers will think that just building six side forts in Kuandian is not a big deal and the cost will not be too high, but in fact, they are completely wrong.

In the Ming Dynasty, the purpose of building forts in border towns was never to find a place to build a wall but to extend the Great Wall of Liaodong and build another wall outside the original Great Wall to form a structure with the Great Wall, beacon towers, and forts relying on each other. A mutually supportive military system.

The so-called Kuandian Liubao is actually a new Great Wall built outside the Kuoyangbao Pass of the Liaodong Great Wall in the Ming Dynasty. The Kuandian Liubao is actually the support fort of this new Great Wall and a military facility used by the defenders to garrison.

After the Great Wall was completed, if the Jurchens outside the Pass wanted to go south to attack the Ming army, they would have to cross the Great Wall. The beacon towers placed on the Great Wall would quickly convey the news of the enemy attack and prepare the five forts behind them for defense.

It can be said that after the completion of Kuandian Six Forts, the passage southward for the Jurchen people was completely blocked.

After Wei Guangde read the report, his brows were furrowed and never relaxed.

"Brother Zili, the local water network is crisscrossed. It doesn't look like it's easy to arrange."

Wei Guangde put down the memorial and whispered to Tan Lun.

"Yes, they are all small rivers. Infantry can wade across the rivers. Although there are mountains around to hide the army, it is difficult to complete the encirclement construction quickly and quietly, and it is easy for people to escape."

Tan Lun nodded and replied.

After seeing Zhang Xueyan's report, he had the feeling that the ambush envisioned by Wei Guangde was not easy to fight, or that the effect might not be as good as expected.

"It seems that it is necessary for Li Chengliang and Qi Jiguang to go there to have a look and think of a solution."

Wei Guangde said.

"Actually, according to Li Chengliang's wishes, if he defeats the Jurchen Ministry head-on and then pursues them, the result will not be bad."

Tan Lun reminded.

"He is now the Commander-in-Chief, right? Tell him, after this battle he will be the Commander-in-Chief of the Left, a first-class general."

Wei Guangde said directly.

"Li Chengliang?"

Tan Lun was a little surprised.

The title of governor these days is not like that of the late Ming Dynasty, where people could be granted casual titles, and even titles could be added at will.

It has nothing to do with the DPRK. If you want to become a first-class general, it will be extremely difficult.

What is Li Chengliang's background? His family is just a Korean ethnic group who defected to the Ming Dynasty. Being able to get a hereditary garrison is already a very high reward.

Now Wei Guangde directly gave Li Chengliang the highest title of military commander, which is equivalent to the rank of general in later generations, which is not unattractive.

"In this battle, Li Chengliang is the leader and Qi Yuanjing is the deputy."

Wei Guangde also said that after all, the battle was in Liaodong, and the main army was upright. Making Qi Jiguang the deputy general not only appeased Li Chengliang, but also prepared a retreat for Qi Jiguang.

If you win, don't say anything, everyone will be rewarded.

If the battle is lost, the leader Li Chengliang will bear the greatest responsibility.

"We will tell him after we go to Jizhen in two days and see the troops trained by Qi Yuanjing.

This battle must be fought. I not only want to win, but I also want to win beautifully. I want to bury the Jurchens as young and strong as possible in Kuandian, so that it will be much easier to sweep the nest later.

As for the Kuandian ambush, let him see the terrain in person before deciding whether it was Li Chengliang's accustomed pursuit tactics or encirclement tactics, and let him decide based on the actual situation. "

Wei Guangde's attitude was a little relaxed now, and he no longer insisted on the siege battle originally envisaged to annihilate Wang Gao's main force.

"Is there any news about Brother Shinan returning to Beijing?"

After talking about the business in Liaodong, Tan Lun asked about the news from Zhu Heng.

"The news came back two days ago that he will stay there for a while longer and inspect the canal route in detail."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly and said: "He can only come back after the New Year. He is currently conducting field surveys along the route that Weng Dali originally inspected."

"The cabinet has decided that this new canal will be dug?"

Tan Lun asked with concern.

Don't worry, this kind of river construction is very expensive. If the imperial court invests resources in southern Zhili, where will the money and food for the Kuandian Six Forts to be built next year in Liaodong come from?

Does the imperial court have so much money to support two major projects at the same time?

Zhang Juzheng supported the expansion of territory, and it was imperative to expand Kuandian Liubao.

Judging from Zhu Heng's dedication to the new canal, it seems that Wei Guangde was also determined to build it.

If Damingcai's finances cannot support these two projects, the consequences will be disastrous.

"Don't worry about the canal. It won't be completed in one year, but in five years."

Wei Guangde smiled and continued: "There are many dykes that need to be reinforced before digging. In the past, they were used to prevent the Yellow River from flooding. Now when we need to build a canal, we have to inspect them all. It will take a lot of time."

"Okay, I'm going to see our chief assistant now and let him know about this. By the way, I will go to Ji Town for inspection in two days."

Zhang Juzheng is the chief minister of the cabinet. Wei Guangde wants to go out, so he naturally has to tell Zhang Juzheng in advance.

"Okay, I'll go back to the Yamen first. Let me know when you set a time."

Tan Lun stood up and said that he was too lazy to see Zhang Juzheng, he was not from the same place.

"I heard from Brother Shinan before that Zhang Shoufang told him privately that the Ministry of Industry should strengthen the river embankments in the Jiangling section of Huguang, and only focus on the northern embankments, but not the southern embankments, haha."

Tan Lun whispered to Wei Guangde again, with a look of disdain on his face.

"The Ministry of Industry doesn't have enough wages, so we should take care of ourselves first.

If Jiangxi builds a river embankment, I will ask Brother Shi Nan to focus on the Jiujiang section first, especially around Jiujiang Prefecture and Bengshan Fort. "

Wei Guangde Lehehe said to Tan Lun.

Tan Lun was so angry that he pointed at Wei Guangde. In the end, he turned around and walked out of the check-in room without saying anything.

Wei Guangde just smiled and shook his head, followed him out with the report.

After seeing off Tan Lun, Wei Guangde turned back and arrived at Zhang Juzheng's room.

"Is Lord Chief Assistant here?"

In front of the door, he asked the clerk on duty.

"Your Excellency is processing official documents inside."

The scribe bowed and replied.

"Who's out there? Is it a good loan?"

Zhang Juzheng in the room heard the conversation outside and shouted loudly.

Wei Guangde smiled and nodded to the scribe, then carried the sedan into the house.

"Shan Loan, what's the matter?"

Zhang Juzheng had already greeted him, and soon the two of them sat down.

After the clerk brought tea, Wei Guangde handed the memorial from Tan Lun to Zhang Juzheng.

"Uncle, this is the report from Governor Zhang of Liaodong. Take a look."

Wei Guangde said.

"Oh, okay, let me take a look."

Zhang Juzheng took the memorial and quickly opened it to browse, and soon frowned slightly.

"The terrain there is complicated, so I'm afraid it won't be easy to set up an ambush."

It was here that Wei Guangde planned to set up an ambush in Kuandian to encircle and annihilate Wang Gao's tribe. Now that he saw Zhang Xueyan's report, Zhang Juzheng knew that it would be difficult to implement it.

"Judging from this report, it is indeed not easy."

Wei Guangde nodded and said, "So I plan to ask Li Chengliang and Qi Jiguang to go to Kuandian again to think about a solution on the ground."

"Do we have to send out Ji Town's troops?"

Zhang Juzheng frowned again and asked.

"The Liaodong Army is indeed sufficient to cope with this battle, but I think mobilizing the elites of Jizhen to assist in the battle can ensure nothing goes wrong."

Wei Guangde explained, "Let Qi Jiguang go and take a look first, so that he can know the situation and prepare early."

"Mobilizing the army from Ji Town to the north will be inconvenient after all."

Zhang Juzheng still felt that Wei Guangde's mobilization of the Jizhen Army to assist in the Liaodong war was a bit unnecessary. Such consumption would ultimately be paid for by the imperial court, but the imperial court was not financially well-off and there was no need to spend this unjust money.

"Uncle, Liaodong has always been isolated overseas. Aren't you worried about something going wrong there?"

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's attitude, Wei Guangde had no choice but to remind him kindly.

Although this reminder was many years ahead of schedule, Wei Guangde believed that Zhang Juzheng would understand what it meant as long as he said it.

Sure enough, Zhang Juzheng lowered his head and started thinking after hearing this.

Not long after, Zhang Juzheng looked up at Wei Guangde and asked, "What do you mean by Shandai, after this battle, Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang will be swapped?"

"Ma Fang is getting older. I plan to transfer Li Chengliang to Xuanda University, Ma Fang to Jizhen, and Qi Jiguang to Liaodong.

However, we have to wait for another two or three years for such an arrangement.

For a key position like the Chief Military Officer of Border Town, it is best to rotate the generals from time to time to avoid problems. "

Wei Guangde smiled.

"Two or three years?"

After hearing Wei Guangde's words, Zhang Juzheng reacted in just a moment, "After wiping out the Jurchens, will we take action against the Tuman tribe?"

Wei Guangde nodded, "In recent years, the Jurchen tribe and the Tuman tribe have often colluded to attack our Liaodong Army from east to west.

Therefore, against the Jurchen tribe, the Liaodong Army could not concentrate all its strength, and needed to leave enough troops to deal with the Tuman tribe's sneak attack.

I was worried that this would lead to insufficient troops, so I transferred Qi Jiguang to lead his army to support.

Clean up all the Jurchen nests in Jianzhou and other places and drive them to the north.

When we turn around, we will launch troops against the barbarians to avoid constantly harassing the border towns.

Now there is Li Chengliang in Liaodong, who has defeated the harassment of the Tuman tribe several times, and Qi Jiguang has defeated the Duoyan tribe in Jizhen. I think it is just the opportunity to deal with the Tuman tribe.

At that time, let the two tribes send troops to jointly attack the Tuman tribe to achieve maximum results. "

Wei Guangde briefly introduced his plans for the next few years to Zhang Juzheng so that he could be mentally prepared.

"Is it really time for Liaodong to take action?"

But obviously, Zhang Juzheng is more concerned about not who to fight, but about the actual situation in Liaodong.

"According to Tan Lun, Li Chengliang had a private army of three to four thousand people in Liaodong, all of whom were elites drawn from various guards in Liaodong."

Wei Guangde revealed some information to Zhang Juzheng and believed that Zhang Juzheng would make the right judgment.

Sure enough, Zhang Juzheng also frowned when he heard this.

Although the Ming court no longer prohibits generals from having private armies, and official documents from the DPRK have repeatedly given high praise to the generals' retainers, but after all, they are private armies and are not under the control of the court.

"It would be fine if Li Chengliang trained the soldiers of the guard station well in Liaodong, but he transferred elite soldiers from the guard station to his private army. This cannot be ignored."

Wei Guangde lowered his voice and explained the reason why he wanted to suppress Li Chengliang. In fact, it was not considered suppression, but a horizontal transfer.

"Qi Jiguang is training troops in Jizhen. I think my uncle must have heard about it. I plan to secretly go to Jizhen in the past two days to see the effectiveness of the training of the troops in Jizhen."

At this time, Wei Guangde revealed that he was going to Jizhen for inspection.

Zhang Juzheng finally nodded slowly after hearing this. (End of chapter)