Chapter 386 A loving father and a filial piety.
Su Ze looked at Qi Jiguang with a smile and asked:
"My general Zhengnan, how many people do you think are needed to set foot in Pingnan?"
Qi Jiguang is not that kind of traditional famous general, but a positive embracer. A general with new weapons.
In Su Ze's historical timeline, Qi Jiguang quickly realized the importance of blunderbuss and highly respected this weapon.
In his later years, Qi Jiguang developed the tactics of chariots and firearms against cavalry on the northern defense line, and reorganized the northern defense line.
During his free time, Qi Jiguang traveled in the southeast while studying Su Ze's military skills and the tactics of the new army in the southeast.
A famous general is a famous general. Qi Jiguang has realized that with the emergence of firearms, the way of war has changed dramatically.
Qi Jiguang said with a smile:
"Then it depends on what kind of Annan the Grand Governor needs."
"How can I say this?"
Qi Jiguang said with his fingers:
"If the general needs a complete Annan, it must be 100,000 people. "
Complete Annan not only includes the north and south sides of Annan, but also includes the vassal states of Annan.
The complete Annan that Qi Jiguang talked about was to completely occupy these areas, appoint officials, and return the land to the people.
Su Ze shook his head and said: "There are not so many soldiers and horses in the entire southeast."
Qi Jiguang said: "If we settle for the second best, then occupy the two territories of northern Annan and the Red River Plain. The north can be connected with Guangxi, and the Red River Plain is the granary. Wealthy, based on these two places, we will try to assimilate Annan and let it return to its homeland in the Central Plains." "
How many people are needed?"
Qi Jiguang said: "Ten thousand horses."
The topography of Annan, as a common saying goes, is "a A carrying pole lifts up two granaries."
The country has a long and narrow coastline and two plain granaries in the south and north.
These two granaries are the Red River Plain near Hanoi and the Mekong River Plain in the south.
Su Ze continued to shake his head and said: "It is impossible for the Southeast Governor's Office to send so many people to Annan."
Qi Jiguang continued: "Then the only way is to attack Jiaozhou from the sea, occupy Hanoi and then plan it slowly."
Su Ze asked : "How many men and horses are needed?"
Qi Jiguang said: "Five thousand is enough, but we need artillery and muskets from the southeast, as well as several new weapons."
Su Ze said: "Then ask General Zhengnan to recruit troops in Guangdong and Guangxi, with a strength of five thousand People, the officer can choose half of the people from the fourth brigade. These are General Qi's old troops. It should be easy for you to command." "There is no problem with the weapons,
but Annan must be attacked from the sea. The ships will be built by Guangzhou Prefecture."
Qi Jiguang immediately said: "The climate in Annan is divided into dry season and rainy season. The rainy season in Annan will soon come. In the rainy season, the roads are muddy and difficult to travel, and there is also miasma and plague. My subordinates can recruit and train troops in Guangxi first, and then attack Annan after autumn."
Su Ze immediately said: "Speaking of miasma, we will send a group of military medical officers from Li Shizhen Medical College to accompany the army."
Qi Jiguang clasped his fists and said, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief!"
While the two continued to talk about the situation in Annan, someone suddenly came in to report, Xu Wei, governor of Southern Zhili, asked to see Su Ze.
Su Ze quickly let Xu Wei in, only to see Xu Wei's excited face. When he saw Qi Jiguang, he was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said to Su Ze, "
Congratulations to the Governor for getting another great general!"
Su Ze shook his head and said, "General Qi I came out for justice, not for my own sake, because I want to say congratulations to Southeast for getting another strong general." "
Chang Wen, you want to see me in a hurry, what do you mean?"
During the time when Su Ze was playing in the sand behind closed doors, the Governor's Mansion Xu Wei handled many of the government affairs on his behalf.
Under normal circumstances, Xu Wei would not ask to see Su Ze, let alone it was already night.
Xu Wei quickly said:
"Wuchang has sent envoys. King Jing and Zhao Zhenji are ready to surrender to our southeast. I hope Jiujiang can send troops to take over Wuchang!"
Upon hearing the news, Qi Jiguang stood up immediately.
As a master of military art, Qi Jiguang certainly knew the importance of Huguang to the Ming court.
Huguang is familiar with it, and the world is full of it.
And Wuchang’s location is particularly important.
It is said that Huguang is a granary, and the two largest production areas in Huguang are the Lianghu Plain.
The two lake plains are the Jianghan Plain in Hubei and the Dongting Lake Plain in Hunan.
In Jianghan Plain, Han is the Han River flowing from Xiangyang to Wuchang, and Jiang is the Yangtze River flowing from Jingzhou to Wuchang.
The core area of Jianghan Plain is a large plain area with Xiangyang, Jingzhou and Wuchang as the triangle.
The Jianghan Plain is dotted with lakes, intertwined water networks, and crisscrossed embankments.
Although the Yangtze River often floods, it is precisely because of the flood erosion of the Yangtze River that the land in the Jianghan Plain is fertile.
Controlling Wuchang is equivalent to controlling the granary of Jianghan Plain.
Even if it cannot control the entire Jianghan Plain, it can still threaten the granary of Jianghan Plain, making it impossible for the Ming Dynasty to collect taxes and grain here with peace of mind.
What's even more deadly is that if the Southeast New Army occupies Wuchang, it will be able to enter the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.
The Yangtze River separates Huguang from Hubei to the north and Hunan to the south.
The western part of Hunan is the Xiangxi region. From here into the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, there are mostly mountains.
The eastern part of Hunan is separated from Jiangxi by mountains such as Luoxiao Mountain.
The southern part of Hunan is separated from Guangdong by Nanling.
The terrain of Hunan is like a bottle, and the lid of this bottle is the Yangtze River.
Food from the Dongting Lake Plain must cross the Yangtze River if it wants to go north. If the Southeast New Army captures Wuchang and controls the Yangtze River, it will prevent the Ming Dynasty from requisitioning food from southern Huguang.
And now Guangdong is also in Su Ze's hands. If Wuchang is captured, then Yueyang can be attacked along the Yangtze River, and Changsha can be attacked from the north and south to control the entire Hunan area.
In the historical timeline before Su Ze traveled through time, it was Li Zicheng who invaded Huguang and completely disrupted the Ming Dynasty's granary, which led to the final collapse of the Ming Dynasty.
What history has in common is that it was the Great Uprising in Wuchang that finally led to the Qing court announcing its abdication.
It can be said that in the hundreds of years of Ming and Qing history, Huguang was as important as Jiangnan.
The most important thing about Huguang is Wuchang.
Now that there was an opportunity to seize Wuchang in front of Su Ze, even Xu Wei was no longer calm.
He said to Su Ze:
"Captain Commander, send troops!"
Qi Jiguang also said to Su Ze: "Captain Commander, send troops."
Su Ze took a breath, and he naturally knew that "If God does not take back, he will be punished." Reason, he no longer hesitated at the moment and said to Xu Wei:
"Issue a military order from the Governor's Office to the Jiujiang garrison, ordering the Jiujiang Navy to transport the Second Brigade westward and march into Wuchang City!" After the last battle in Tianjin, the Second Brigade returned to Jiujiang to garrison, and the Third Brigade entered Jiangxi, preparing to capture Jiangxi. The whole territory.
The Fourth Brigade fought in Guangxi, and the newly formed Fifth Brigade was in South Zhili.
"Where is the fifth brigade now?"
Xu Wei immediately said: "The fifth brigade is suppressing bandits in Xuzhou."
Su Ze said: "Order the fifth brigade to go north, pretend to attack Jizhou Prefecture, and mobilize the Ming court troops." "
Yes! "
At this time, the Ming court did not know the changes that were going to happen in Wuchang.
April 10th, Beijing.
The city gates of the capital were wide open, and Emperor Longqing, who had just ascended the throne for a year, walked out of the palace, led his civil and military officials to stand at the city gate, and personally welcomed the emperor back home.
The ministers present all had mixed emotions.
Jiajing held state affairs for forty-two years, and even Yang Bo, the chief minister of the cabinet, was a Jinshi in Jiajing for eight years.
And Gao Gong and others were the Jinshi who were only awarded Jinshi in the 20th year of Jiajing.
It can be said that almost all the careers of the officials present were in the Jiajing Dynasty.
Although Emperor Jiajing is now the emperor, the shadow of this Taojun Emperor hangs over all the court ministers.
However, compared with the minister's uneasiness, Emperor Longqing was even more uneasy.
He had grown up in the shadow of his father almost all his life.
Because of the prophecy that "two dragons will never meet" and Jiajing's indifferent attitude towards family relationships, Long Qing hardly felt the care of his father when he was growing up.
However, Jiajing did not establish a prince and gave King Jing the same treatment, which also made Emperor Longqing tremble when he became King Yu.
The powerful minister Yan Song's suppression of Qingliu often affected Emperor Longqing who supported Qingliu.
Long Qing also had complicated feelings about Jiajing, who was once dictatorial in the world, managed the government for decades, treated powerful ministers as puppets, and took over the life and death of the court.
This is why he must welcome the Emperor back no matter what!
You must keep your father under your nose!
After a while, an official from the Ministry of Rites came to announce that the emperor's chariot was about to arrive.
All the ministers looked up and saw Duke Ding Xu Wenbi, dressed in red armor and a red cloak, walking at the front of the team.
The ministers cheered up one after another. Surrounded by the red-helmed Forbidden Army, a carriage covered with bright yellow silk appeared in front of them.
Emperor Longqing immediately stepped forward. He knelt down directly in front of the road and said:
"Welcome our father to return!"
The courtiers behind Long Qing shouted loudly: "Welcome to our father!"
At this time, the curtain was opened, and with the help of Huang Jin , Emperor Jiajing, wearing a dragon robe, stepped out of the carriage.
He looked at the ministers shouting "Long Live the Mountain", but there was no joy in his heart.
Although these ministers were kneeling, the object of their kneeling was no longer him.
But at this time, he still had to act. Jiajing stepped forward quickly, helped his eldest son Zhu Zaijing, squeezed out tears and said: "I have abdicated.
Now Jinger is the emperor, and you can no longer kneel down."
Long Qing also wanted to continue . Acting, he cried and said: "My son's ascension to the throne is also forced by the situation. Since my father has returned, I still ask my father to ascend the throne again!"
Of course Jiajing could not agree. Although he wanted power, he had been practicing power for so many years. Of course I know I can't reset it.
When he returns to power, what will happen to the civil servants and generals who support his son?
Along the way, he was "escorted" by the Forbidden Army led by Xu Wenbi. He couldn't even get out of the carriage. Who was the loyalist of the Forbidden Army around him?
Jiajing hurriedly cried:
"I have issued an edict to sin against myself. Jinger has conquered the capital, so naturally he should be the emperor. We must not talk about his restoration." "
Now I just want to practice Taoism with peace of mind and take care of myself."
Father and son. After a lot of drama, in the end Emperor Longqing could only "reluctantly" continue to be emperor.
He issued an edict to honor Jiajing as the emperor and allowed him to continue to live in the Yuxi Palace. All the eunuchs and maids who were required to serve him were in accordance with the emperor's specifications.
Then Longqing asked Jiajing, the emperor, to take charge of the government. The emperor once again refused because he was old and foolish, and only wanted to live in the harem.
The play has already achieved this, so it is natural that "the father is kind and the son is filial, and the whole family is happy."
Emperor Longqing respectfully asked his father to get on the emperor's carriage, and then he personally took the reins and prepared to drive into the city.
Jiajing quickly got out of the car, and the ministers immediately knelt down to admonish him. The emperor then took back his idea of "fulfilling his filial piety", sat on the imperial chariot with Jiajing, and entered the city in a mighty manner.
The "excited" people who knelt down and worshiped on both sides of the road shouted long live the mountain, but there was some reluctance in the shouts.
These common people were all driven out of their homes by the officials. Many of them lowered their heads and looked coldly at the father and son on the imperial chariot, cursing in their hearts.
After the Aoshan Lantern Festival, the people in the capital became more resentful towards the emperor and the court.
Then Gao Gong organized new affairs, which once again alienated the people.
Gao Gong's character is clear about love and hate. To put it nicely, he is vigorous and resolute in his work, but to put it unfavorably, he is too hasty and impatient in politics.
In order to implement the New Deal, Gao Gong first wrote to the court, requesting that the Beijing inspection be held this year.
Jingcha was a system used by the Ministry of Personnel to assess officials in the Ming Dynasty.
During the Beijing inspection, officials of fourth grade and above were personally inspected by the emperor, and officials below fourth grade were inspected jointly by the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate. If the officials failed the assessment, they would be directly dismissed and their posts would be reduced to the people.
In fact, during the Jiajing Dynasty, the inspection of officials above the fourth rank had gradually become a mere formality.
Officials of the fourth rank and above were inspected in Beijing, and ministers mainly reported to the emperor through the form of "self-reporting" on various deficiencies in their work in the past six years, hoping that the emperor would remove them from Guizhou.
After reading the self-report, the emperor usually encouraged his ministers and then retained them in office.
The inspection of officials below the fourth rank has become a tool of party struggle.
The powerful ministers in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and the Metropolitan Procuratorate can use the Beijing Procuratorate to purge and depose officials from the enemy camp.
It stands to reason that the second year of Longqing is not the year of Jingcha, but Gao Gong is now in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, and he hopes to implement the New Deal through Jingcha.
The emperor naturally agreed. After Gao Gong was allowed to start inspecting the capital, he immediately formulated new assessment standards for the officialdom of the capital.
Specifically, all officials set goals for implementing the New Deal. If they cannot achieve it, they will be dismissed from the Beijing Supervisory Committee. If they achieve it, they will be rewarded and promoted.
To this end, Gao Gong formulated detailed work requirements for various ministries and departments in the capital.
For example, how many new coins should be minted by the Ministry of Household Affairs and how many banknote checkpoints should be established? These requirements are specific to each official. Even the head of the Cleaning Department of the General Ministry of Civil Affairs must ensure that the number of banknote checkpoints established in the provinces he is in charge of is in place.
The Ministry of Industry had the heaviest task. Gao Gong suddenly proposed to build twelve large-scale new workshops in the capital, including cannon casting, gun making, weaving, dyeing, silk weaving and other workshops. It is necessary to prepare various small and medium-sized workshops, and every official of the Ministry of Industry has received the task of organizing workshops.
Even departments like the Qintian Supervisor have received the task of recalibrating the calendar!
The work was done layer by layer, and naturally more and more "special" workshops were built.
(End of chapter)