Life (IV)

On the autumn wind, the eyes are broken and the four skyscrapers are hanging. The dusk is getting darker, and the big stars appear in the blue sky, illuminating the knight's way home.

"Oh, yes, yes," a rapid sound of horse hooves came from far away, breaking the quiet night. Several horses breezes across the grass like wind, rushing towards the castle in the air along the slopes under the grass.

"The Grand Governor Puying's hand command, he took the Banchao Fort and went to Brutun Paozi to help the army to quell the rebellion." The knight on the horse raised a dark red gold-tracing arrow high, facing the spotlight shot from the castle.

"Wu-Wu-Wu-Wu", the horned dragon sounded like a roar, and the lanterns stamped by arrows on the castle were lit one by one. From a distance, it seemed that the entire fortress was surrounded by a golden scarf. Then, the suspension bridge squeaked down and brought the tired knights into the fortress. After a while, dozens of riders roared out and disappeared into the vast night. The black stone illuminated by the lights by the suspension bridge was silently watching everything that happened in the darkness.

The back of the black stone is engraved with the alliance of King Zhu Di of Yan when he met the Mongolian Federated tribes on the Onan River this spring. The words are not many, and the language is extremely concise. The content is the same as the Liaoyang Alliance, which agreed on the power and obligations of all parties. The core content is "Mongolian ruled by law and Han people with law". People of all ethnic groups treat each other equally. The Mongolians and Han people have disputes in their interactions. The Mongolians are handled by their tribe elders and Han people are handled by local Han officials. If there is a casualty in the conflict, the murderer will pay his life and no one can protect him. The front of the stone is engraved with the oath of the day, "If you are willing to conquer the world with us, we are brothers and block our way forward. We set out a way from his body. If you violate this oath, heaven will be punished by the earth."

"Heaven punishes the earth and destroys the earth", the soldiers guarding the castle gate looked at the hideous words on the black stone, sighed, gently shaking the suspension bridge in turn, and closing the fortress gate. "The Brutun tribe is over, there will be no Brutun tribe Mongols on this grassland from now on."

After the Onon River Alliance, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty gave all the titles of the clan leaders of the meeting, and the princes were awarded the titles, and the seals of the princes flew all over the grassland. All tribes had the right to trade freely with the Ming Dynasty, and the quality of daily life of the herdsmen quickly reached a higher level, which was a benefit that could not be exchanged for many wars. The princes' tents were soon filled with luxury goods exchanged, and the women's clothes were colorful, changing colors, and entertaining the eyes of the nobles. The only thing that made the men dissatisfied was that they permanently lost the right to collect taxes and plunder the past caravans, because these caravans were Han people and protected by the Ming Dynasty Law and the Oron River contract, if they were not with him.

We traded fairly, and Su Ceyu, the governor of Zhenbei Army, would come to the door to argue soon. This whip that made people frightened when they heard it was extremely frustrating. Huang Yi and Yang Tiezhu were smart in their abacus, and they could not get any benefits when negotiating with him. Some tribes had the intention to secretly kill the caravan and swallow their property. As soon as the case was solved, the murderer tribe had to hand over the same number of tribe members as the attacker to deal with the Jingyuan Division stationed in the nearest castle. The Jingyuan Division was a subordinate unit of Zhenbei Army, composed of retired officers of Zhenbei Army and the remaining soldiers in the battle of Daning. They were all in the court in the Hall of Yama. I don’t know what kindness is, but the people sent there will of course go but never return.

After the defense line of the Zhenbei Army gradually moved westward, one or two princes of poor small tribes gradually regained their courage and privately started to think of caravans. In their impression, the Han people's policies on the grassland were always the main policy. In the stories passed down by the elders, they killed the caravans and robbed goods. As long as they died, they could basically escape punishment. If they really couldn't do it, they declared a rebellion, and then sent envoys to accept the revenge, killing a few elderly, weak, sick and disabled people to bear the crime, and they would definitely be able to recover from their original days. They surrendered and rebelled, and rebelled and surrendered. This has been the case for thousands of years. Every time they rebelled and surrendered, they could get some benefits. Many tribes on the grassland were proficient in this.

This kind of thing happened several times this summer. The Brutun tribe was not the first, nor was it the last. The janitor of Banchao Castle looked at the distance with compassion, and a killing was about to begin again. For the rebels, His Highness Yan did not know the word "mercy". The last rebellion was slapped by General Li Yao, and according to the brothers who participated in the suppression of the rebellion, no man was left for the tribe after the war. The nobles and officers in the tribe who dreamed of revenge were immediately pulled out and shot. The women, territory, and property were all divided by the neighboring tribes who came to assist in the suppression of the rebellion. The middle-aged man was taken to Liaodong to serve hard labor, with unlimited sentences until someone was willing to pay a ransom for them, and the ransom was "not much", just twenty war horses.

"Actually, this is the land they have grown for generations, so we don't need to stay here." The janitor was depressed and calculated the date of next pay and thought silently. He was a professional soldier. Under the order of the court to support the military, the military household registration system was cancelled. After being eliminated, most of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty became such professional soldiers. Those with strong combat capabilities were incorporated into the six field armies. Those with weak combat capabilities were used as local troops to maintain public order. Field troops had high salaries, and they could get rewards and spoils for winning the war. Although the soldiers of local defense troops were single.

Living on salary alone is much higher than farming. But not all soldiers like to lick blood from the knife. There are many people like him in the army who like to live a peaceful life. If it weren't for the greed officials in the hometown, the gatekeeper would have retired from the service and went home to do a small business with the savings he had been doing over the years, which would be better than counting stars on the grassland every day. Why should Qiang flute blame the willows? The spring breeze does not cross Yumen Pass. This place may be farther from the Central Plains than Yumen Pass. I wonder what the new recruits think, they just love to fight.

"Bang", a gorgeous firework exploded in the distance, which was the direction the cavalry went. The colorful fallen English can be seen from ten miles away.

"Enemy attack"! The gatekeeper fought a cold war, shouted at the top of his throat, grabbed the horn at his waist, and blew it desperately.

A large fire rose from the main tower of the castle, rushing towards the silent starry sky just now with thick smoke. Not long after, a ball of flames also rose fifty miles away from Junji Fort. Immediately afterwards, Xuance Fort, Pharmacist Fort, Rengui Fort... The beacon fires slowly came in a series, and the trumpets rang out in the forts, awakening the entire grassland.

"The Brutun tribe, Yesi tribe and Yitelun tribe rebelled, and helped more than 170,000 herdsmen advance westward. Governor Puying led his troops to intercept him. When he was in a war, His Highness of the King of Yan ordered the last general to lead the Second Division of the Northern Army to quell the rebellion and request the Andong army to support him..." In Zhu Yuanzhang's imperial study room, Wu Anguo quietly looked at the letter of transport sent by Wang Zhenghao from the front line. Shao Zhi, Fei Zhen, Wu Chen, and several cabinet ministers surrounded him without saying a word. Zhu Yuanzhang had a blue face and was walking anxiously in the room.

Zhu Yuanzhang's decision was made by Zhu Yuanzhang. A large area of ​​newly occupied land on the grassland needed to be guarded, and a force directly belonging to the court was also needed to maintain balance between the Zhenbei Army and the Andong Army. Therefore, after the Battle of Daning and the Mongolians in the south of the Moon surrendered, Puying's troops were immediately ordered to withdraw to the Rehe area for repair and change. The reorganization was just completed in early autumn this year and received all the defenses of the castles from the Zhenbei Army. According to Zhu Yuanzhang's estimate, with Puying's experience of many battles and the super strength of the soldiers of the Daning defenders, he was more than enough to deal with small-scale rebellions on the grassland.

Unexpectedly, Puying, who had fought for half her life, accidentally caught the rebel team's Dao'er. Several tribes colluded to ambush them on the way to suppress the rebellion. In the darkness, Jingyuan Independent Division could not tell the number of enemies. They fought all night. After the enemy retreated the next morning, the Grand Governor Puying had already been buried in the autumn grass outside the frontier. Fortunately, Ji Er, the magic arrow, was cut off, and the news of Puying's death was concealed from the outside. Puying's adopted son Hua Peng took the large army to evacuate. He personally led a group of troops to cut off the back, so that the team could safely retreat into the territory of the Qier Guli tribe on the banks of the Onon River.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Although the three rebellious tribes have a large number of people, there will not be too many warriors who can fight. After all, the battle between Beihe Lin has not been long since, and their strength will not be restored so quickly. General Puying must have been caught in their ambush because of his carelessness." Shao Zhi, a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, looked carefully at Zhu Yuanzhang's face and comforted in a low voice.

"I think what Lord Shao said is very true. As soon as the army of Zhenbei arrived, these three divisions were not fleeing. Long live and relax. I think the court should first appease the Jingyuan army, so as not to be sad about the soldiers' death and something happened." Wu Chen followed Shao Zhi's analysis to Zhu Yuanzhang, glanced at Wu Anguo from time to time, and thought to himself: "Maintaining the army, raising the army for so long, but fighting so cowardly."

Fei Zhen glared at Wu Chen fiercely and suggested to Zhu Yuanzhang that "According to my opinion, the Ministry of War should immediately order the Andong army to cut off the retreat routes of these three divisions from the side and rear to prevent them from running around the grassland. At the same time, long live to pass the imperial edict to the kings of each division, and the rebels shall not be taken in. Violators shall be punished with the same crime as the rebellion."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted hard from his nose, interrupting the private intrigue of several ministers. The betrayal of several kings certainly annoyed him, but Zhu Yuanzhang knew in his heart that these little princes could not make any big deal, and that the worst was to wipe out the impurity and let a few more horse thieves come on the grassland. When the time comes, Su Ceyu, the thief, will definitely be able to wipe out. What annoyed him was that there was only one Zhenbei Army on the entire grassland that was fighting back and forth. If he could suppress the rebellion, he would not be able to attack Tugustimur. The combat effectiveness of the Andong army and the Weibei Army was much different from the Zhenbei Army, and the arms supply was mainly transported from the capital and Tianjin, which was far less convenient than transporting from Beiping and Liaodong.

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was unhappy, several cabinet ministers did not dare to express their opinions any more. The room slowly became silent, and only the lamps were heard jumping in the glass cover.

"Are you mute? No one can think of a way to make me worry-free. Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Humph, a group of fools are in vain to support you with such a high salary." Zhu Yuanzhang was even more annoyed when he saw everyone not saying a word. If Li Shanchang was there, he would not have to spend so much effort. The Grand Master had already analyzed the gains and losses clearly. How regretful is good, how painful is good.

"I should die." Several great scholars pounced and knelt on the ground neatly, kowtowed and said: "I cannot expect the enemy's opportunity to be the first, so I will let Your Majesty work hard late at night. I should die for you. Please punish Your Majesty."

There were only two people standing in the entire imperial study room. Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the at a loss and looked at Wu Anguo who was stunned at the candlelight. He sighed first and scolded: "Get out, can you kill you get back to Puying immortal? You are such a waste. When you don't need your advice, you are irritating in my ears all day long. When you need you, you all become mute."

When Wu Anguo heard Zhu Yuanzhang's reprimand, he knew that he was dissatisfied with his failure to give him any advice for a long time, so he stepped forward and said, "Long live, I have a way. I just thought about it, but it may not be appropriate. Please consider your Majesty, and you all think about it."

"Talking", Zhu Yuanzhang's expression slowed down slightly. Wu Anguo gave him the idea that was more feasible. Although this guy was a little stupid, he was really smart when dealing with specific problems.

"The rebellion of several tribes is indeed nothing to do. General Puying died for his country, and the court should have made some statements. But I think that the most urgent task is not here at the moment, but to solve the problem that the northern army cannot fight together." Wu Anguo grabbed a brush, carried it backwards, and slowly led Zhu Yuanzhang to look at the picturesque map of the country. Several great scholars got up from the ground and stood lightly on both sides of the map. Now is not the time to tear each other down, Wu Chen and others can only listen to Wu Anguo, who is not happy no matter how they look at it, and he can only guide the country.

"At present, our dynasty has four armies in the north, all of which are unified by the court. However, the capital is too far from the grassland. Once the front line changes, the news will be delayed when the news reaches the court. According to my opinion, it is better to send a capable general on the front line to lead the army to fight together." Wu'anguo drew a circle in the north, north of the north, and the main forces of the three armies of Anton each drew a circle and measured the distance between the various units with his fingers. "For example, this time the Jingyuan Division went to suppress the rebellion. In fact, the rebels were very close to the Anton Army. If the Anton Army and the Jingyuan Division cooperated, the rebels might not dare to set up an ambush halfway! Now General Wang Zhenghao needs the cooperation of the Anton Army, and the Anton Army cannot move without long live the life of the life of the Anton Army. When the imperial decree arrives, the team has been launched, and it still cannot keep up with the changes in the battle situation."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Wu Anguo, nodded in agreement, and then asked: "In your opinion, I want me to hand over this matter against Mongolia to one person, and the court will never interfere again"?

Wu Anguo smiled, knowing in his heart that Zhu Yuanzhang was worried about handing over several new troops to the King of Yan. He had also understood the thoughts of the imperial family in recent years. He shook his head and replied: "It's not all. It's just that when the enemy's plan changes, the specific combat targets, the appointment of officers, and the supply of troops will be decided by Your Majesty in the court. However, the planners who gave His Majesty the Majesty the next decision will change. The civil officials such as the ministers are indeed not the materials for participating in the military."

'We are not military generals at first, and asking us about war is a tough problem.' Grand Secretary Wu Chen thought aggrievedly. At this moment, he finally felt the benefits of Wu'anguo, but forgot how he, these civil officials, made suggestions in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and took the position of Minister of War into the hands of the civil servants.

"When His Majesty conquered the world, several famous generals under his command are now serving in the command academy. I think that if several veteran generals are allowed to go back to fight and kill the enemy again, they would be too inconsiderable to their bodies. If they are asked to give advice on His Majesty, they would be more powerful than ministers and many others..." Wu Anguo slowly expressed the idea of ​​establishing the General Staff. He also mentioned this proposal to Zhu Yuanzhang that year, but it has not been put into practice. In the history he knew, China was the first country in the world to implement the civil service system. For this reason, it greatly avoided civil strife, and caused the army to be incompetent and defeated repeatedly from outside. If the veteran generals who handed over military power were organized and the General Staff were established, in the future, it would at least reduce many strategic mistakes when fighting abroad.

"I think what Master Wu said makes sense." Fei Zhen quickly strike while the iron is hot. Don't come to this kind of problem for the second time today. Who knows how the emperor will deal with his counselors next time? "I think that General Xu, General Fu and General Feng are all experienced many battles. If Your Majesty asks about governing the country, you can share your worries for Your Majesty. If you ask about the matter of the army, you will be far from the talent of the old general."

You guys were running away quickly, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and ignored the icing words on the cake of several cabinet ministers. He looked at Wu Anguo and thought that this decision was cheaper than King Yan Zhu Di. Wu Anguo was destined to be the fourth brother, and he always gave Di some benefits. He immediately asked Shao Zhi to draw an order and hand over the command power ahead to King Yan Zhu Di to manage. He must quell the rebellion before this winter and form a joint attack on Nanhelin. Then he issued an intention to establish a General Staff Department outside the six ministries and one department, imitating the rules of the General Staff Department of the Zhenbei Army, so that the veteran generals who were unemployed and served in the military academy could be on standby at the General Staff Department at any time.

After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the General Staff of the Ming Dynasty was established. Every day, a large number of old men who retreated from the military were busy exerting their remaining energy in the large courtyard specially set up by the court. The head scratching on the front line naturally could not help but these old soldiers fought for life. Before winter, the rebellion of the three Mongolian ministries was put down. In order to prevent the rebellion from happening again, Zhu Yuanzhang simply divided a group of people from the Jinyiwei and handed it over to Feng Sheng, the chief of staff of the General Staff, to collect the movements of the foreign kings and the situation in Mongolia. Wu'anguo took advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's happiness and encouraged the veteran general Feng Sheng to come to the public to ask the court to encourage the people to start a metallurgical industry in Shanxi and Shaanxi to solve some of the military supplies of the Weibei Army nearby. Zhu Yuanzhang agreed to the proposal after the ministers made a court meeting. Coincidentally, the Minister of Personnel announced that Guo Pu, the governor of the four provinces, was about to be fully appointed, and according to the practice, the need for next spring

To be promoted or transferred at a moderate level, it is recommended that Zhu Yuanzhang commend Guo Pu's achievements in governing Peking, grant him a title, and decide whether to replace the governor of Peking, Liaoning, Bohai and Shuye provinces. Wu'anguo knew that Guo Pu was secretly operating this matter, so he tried his best to avoid it during the court discussion. Several powerful officials in Beijing performed very hard and loudly advocated Guo Pu's achievements. The cabinet ministers Shao Zhi and Fei Zhen also suggested that the emperor expand the scope of the implementation of the new policy so that the mountainous areas in the north would feel that the court favored one and the other. After careful consideration, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered and gave Guo Pu a title of first-class Dingbeibo, so that he could hand over government affairs at the beginning of the next spring and take office as the governor of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. Xu Haoda, the former governor of Peking, accumulated meritorious contributions and was promoted to the governor of Peking according to the order. Liaoning, Bohai and Shuye provinces had few people, and still only had one governor of the government office, and Xu Huizu, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, took office.

The Xintuo area such as Daning, Rehe, Beihelin, etc. were divided into two provinces, Rehe and Jingyuan, and the position of governing was handed over to Li Wenzhong's second son, Li Zengzhi, the friend of Prince Zhu Biao, and all the officials required were claimed by the prince. The military pay of the Andong army was still provided by the court, but the military weapons were handed over to Tianjin and Rehe. Jingyuan, and the various preferential policies were referenced in Peiping. The ministers were ordered to prepare for the imperial examination next spring and deliver the Xintuo area.

Talent. King of Yan Zhu Di was depressed when he received the order from the court, but now as compensation, he obtained the front-line dispatching power of the entire northern army, and his combat advantage over Mongolia increased greatly. He had no intention of calculating his father and brother. He only accelerated the speed of promoting graduates from Peking Academy and Liaodong Military Academy in the army, and increased the construction of artillery troops. He hoped that one day he could fight the desert and wipe out the Mongolian kings in the Western Regions. Let's see how his father treated him at that time.

The governor Puying died in battle. The court expressed his military achievements and posthumously named Wu Lie. He added Jingyuan's army to Jingyuan's army and handed over to the eldest son of Wen Zhong, Li Jinglong, to be in charge of the public security of Xintuo.

After a busy life, when the end of the year approached, the tone of implementing the new policy in the north was finally set. During this process, some important officials in the court originally intended to object, but saw the newly sent Li Zengzhi, Li Jinglong and Xu Huizu, who were all close friends of the prince, and immediately shut up. Even the people who were not political in Wu'an Kingdom were stupid enough to see the word "balance" during the period. How did these old foxes not know? It was involved in the foundation of the prince. For the sake of the future, it would be better for everyone to make a fortune in silence. They watched the new policy rise in all parts of the north and implement it lively.

As winter began, just as Guo Pu, the governor of the four provinces, was busy leaving office and handing over, the Weibei Army urged the messenger of the arms to come to Peiping again. This time, Chang Mao finally got his wish. A month later, a large number of arms were transported to the front line under the escort of local troops. In addition, he was happy, Chang Mao, the head coach of the Weibei Army, chose a box of gifts, saying it was a precious spoil, and he quickly sent it to Peiping. Guo Pu opened the gift, but saw that there was nothing in the box, and only a note was placed in the middle, which read: "Guo Zhuzi, you are playing conspiracy and playing on Lao Chang's head. When you come to Shanxi, I will definitely want you to look good"!
Chapter completed!