Chapter 295 294 Patrolling the Border Again

Yu Dayou has the title of scholar and is a military scholar of the imperial court. He seems to be a man of both civil and military talents. However, it can be seen from his failure in the imperial examination that his knowledge may not be good enough.

Perhaps, if he could go to the north to take the imperial examination, the outcome would be different.

But it should be noted that Yu Dayou is a rare general officer in this era who is proficient in land and sea warfare.

Yu Dayou was born in Jinjiang, Quanzhou, close to the sea, and is very familiar with the sea.

After he transferred to the military, he studied the tactics carefully. Those who can pass the examination of scholar are naturally not stupid, so Yu Dayou has his own unique insights on military management and combat.

Although the Ming Dynasty of this era did not completely sever its relations with overseas countries and still accepted tribute from neighboring countries, it was not proactive, so there were actually very few generals who were familiar with water warfare.

Even among several naval forces, there were not many generals who really understood the methods of water warfare, and most of them were hereditary officials.

Therefore, after entering Zhejiang and Fujian as a lieutenant general to suppress the Japanese pirates, and after Hu Zongxian replaced Zhang Jing as the governor-general of the suppression of the Japanese pirates, Yu Dayou was promoted to the general. He not only commanded the suppression of the Japanese pirates on the land battlefield, but also commanded the navy troops here to fight against the Japanese pirates on the sea.

Yu Dayou would never have thought that Hu Zongxian would take action against him, because at this time, his position in the suppression of the Japanese pirates battlefield was irreplaceable.

In the short two months after being locked up and brought to Beijing, the Ming army could only maintain the suppression of the Japanese pirates on land, and the navy troops did not dare to patrol the sea after suffering several defeats at sea.

According to the plan reported by Hu Zongxian to the court, it was planned to train a new army for Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang to suppress the Japanese pirates, and the defense against the enemy at sea could only be temporarily abandoned.

In Yu Dayou's view, the most effective way to resist the Japanese pirates was to defend against the enemy on the sea, which required a large number of large warships, so he kept applying to Hu Zongxian for new large ships to defend against the enemy, but the reply he received each time was disappointing, with only a pitiful small number.

Yu Dayou knew why Hu Zongxian ordered Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang to train a new army. It was not only to deal with the rampant Japanese pirates, but also to settle accounts. The annual additional taxes and labor service were not a small number, and there was also lijin collected from merchants. They needed something to consume the money collected.

Although he knew it, he had actually thought it through after more than ten years of ups and downs in the officialdom. In the past, he would have reported these things long ago, but he didn't expect that he, who had planned to live in harmony with the world, would do a good job of suppressing the Japanese as long as Hu Zongxian could allocate the silver for suppressing the Japanese on time and not get involved in other things. Unfortunately, it was not as he wished, and he finally blocked the way.

Wei Guangde had already entered the officialdom, and this was the imperial prison of the Northern Pacification Division. He was really not afraid of ears behind the wall. Even if there were ears, they were sent by Lu Bing, so at this moment Yu Dayou began to chatter to Wei Guangde about his experience as an official over the years.

At the beginning, he was too straightforward and was excluded by his colleagues everywhere. Even a supervisor said angrily because he was a warrior and dared to write a letter to talk nonsense about the military affairs against the Japanese. He said: "How can a junior officer write a letter? Beat him and take away his position."

The position of the thousand-household commander of the Kinmen Guard was therefore stripped. It was not until Mao Bowen went to Annan and Yu Dayou wrote a letter to offer advice that he was noticed by Mao Bowen, the then Minister of War, and then he was appointed as the garrison commander of Tingzhou and Zhangzhou.

Not to mention that the superiors that Yu Dayou followed were either jealous of his talents or encroached on his military merits. Anyway, because Yu Dayou would not flatter his superiors and give them gold and silver, he was repeatedly rubbed countless times. Fortunately, the nobles in the capital who he met when he participated in the military examination helped him to stay in the army until the Japanese invasion broke out.

"I don't want to argue with them anymore. I just want to fight for my country and destroy the Japanese pirates this morning, but I still can't escape the prison."

Speaking of this, Yu Dayou couldn't help but feel depressed. He was now in the imperial prison. Although Hu Zongxian's accusations against him were completely false based on the previous two trials, the presiding judge still wanted him to confess. If it weren't for the support of the Jinyi Lieutenant, he would have been tortured into confessing.

"Didn't Uncle Yu ask Lord Lu to mediate?"

Wei Guangde didn't understand why Lu Bing stood openly behind Yu Dayou, and the people from the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate still refused to let go and insisted on convicting him.

Yu Dayou was silent about Wei Guangde's question.

Some things he felt, but there was no evidence, so it was useless to say more.

Sometimes, maybe pretending to be stupid can still get away with it.

He just whispered: "Wenfu privately talked to the people in the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple, but they said that they had to do it because they were under pressure from above."

Wei Guangde blinked, knowing that something was wrong. It seemed that Hu Zongxian had said something to Yan Song and Yan Shifan about this matter, and it was these two people who wanted to punish Yu Dayou.

If this was true, the matter that he thought was very simple at the beginning became complicated, because it was obviously impossible to go the way of Yan Shifan.

Don't talk about why Wei Guangde thought of the father and son of the Yan family, isn't it simple?

First, Hu Zongxian is a member of the Yan family, which is a well-known fact in the court. At the beginning, there were only a few people who knew Hu Zongxian. If it weren't for Zhao Wenhua's matchmaking, Hu Zongxian might still continue to serve as a patrol censor in Zhejiang.

Second, Lu Bing publicly supported the people, and the people in the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple dared to bite him. It would be impossible without the support of the Yan family behind the scenes. Now the only one who can compete with Lu Bing in front of Emperor Jiajing is Yan Song.

Both of them were trusted by Emperor Jiajing, but Emperor Jiajing entrusted the government affairs to Yan Song and the intelligence to Lu Bing. The two men had different divisions of labor, so it was hard to say what would happen if the case was brought to the emperor.

"What does Mr. Lu mean?"

Wei Guangde knew that Lu Bing might have a solution, but he didn't know what he planned.

"Let's hold it off for now. It'll be fine if I go to court a few more times. As long as I don't say anything, they won't have any evidence to prove anything."

Yu Dayou shook his head and smiled bitterly.

"For what exactly?"

Although Yu Dayou's words were simple, Wei Guangde generally understood Lu Bing's thoughts. Now that he was in the limelight, he could avoid it for the time being. After all, the case was not tried in Jinyiwei, but in a joint trial of three divisions. His influence on the case was really not as good as that of Yan Jiaqiang.

But what Wei Guangde is concerned about is what exactly Yu Dayou knew that would lead him to where he is today.

Xu Bangrui's letter said that some time ago, many Jiangnan officials collectively defeated Hu, seemingly trying to imitate the previous routine of overthrowing Zhao Wenhua. Hu Zongxian seemed to think that Yu Dayou was also from this group, so he acted like a chicken and killed the chicken to scare the monkeys.

This time Yu Dayou was silent for a long time before sighing and saying: "It probably has something to do with the battle at Cengang in Zhoushan. Hu Zongxian adjusted his military deployment without informing me so that the Japanese pirates would find an opportunity to break out. I don't know the rest. ”

Yu Dayou told his guess, but Wei Guangde was frightened.

Hu Zongxian impeached Yu Dayou and let the Japanese pirates escape. At that time, Wei Guangde thought that the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly and it was not surprising that something went wrong. The Japanese pirates just escaped because of good luck. Who would have thought that according to Yu Dayou, Hu Zongxian might have deliberately In short, it is no wonder why Fujian officials wrote letters to impeach Hu Zongwo in large numbers.

Many people have seen it, but there is no evidence.

If so, Yu Dayou would not have to stay in prison.

"Uncle Yu's grievances, Master Lu didn't go to Heaven to listen?"

Wei Guangde asked softly again.

"Upon hearing this, it's an act of ignorance. There is no room for redemption."

However, Yu Dayou shook his head and said, "At that point, according to the words of the emperor, for the sake of the great cause of suppressing Japanese invaders in Jiangnan, if you have no choice, you can only use me to sacrifice the flag. You can't say it, absolutely can't say it."

Wei Guangde nodded. Hu Zongxian was now in charge of suppressing Japanese invaders in Jiangnan. His status and importance were definitely far greater than that of Yu Dayou. In Emperor Jiajing's view, it might be worth sacrificing a Yu Dayou to fulfill Hu Zongxian's mission. As long as he could fully contribute to suppressing Japanese invaders, it would be worthwhile.

After a while, no one pays attention to this case. If we find another opportunity to make peace with the Yan family, maybe one day Yu Dayou will be able to get out of prison.

At this time, Wei Guangde naturally would not tell him his original plan, and still thought of going to Yan Shifan to talk to him, but now it seems that he can't.

After coming out of prison, Wei Guangde did not go to see Lu Bing again. He went there when he first arrived. Lu Bing only met him once and arranged for someone to take him to see Yu Dayou, as if there was something important.

Originally, he wanted to help solve Yu Dayou's case. He heard about it when he was in Nanjing. Yu Dayou's case seemed to be a bit troublesome, and it was still being delayed. It turned out that there was an inside story involved, and no wonder Lu Bing couldn't do anything about it.

It's not that he can't deal with Hu Zongxian, but beating a dog depends on the owner. When the time comes, he will definitely have a fight with Emperor Jiajing and Yan Song. He is not an easy person to deal with.

In fact, the relationship between Lu Bing and Yan Song can be said to be very complicated. There is cooperation and opposition. Each of them still holds some handles on the other. Relatively speaking, Lu Bing will suffer a little, so Lu Bing is also a bit jealous.

Wei Guangde returned to his old days, going to the Hanlin Academy on time every day and taking time to visit Taichang Temple and Zhan Shifu every month.

Ordinarily, Wei Guangde's main work should be transferred to Zhan Shifu now, but who made Zhan Shifu have nothing to do all day long?

However, Wei Guangde's leisurely days did not last long. Chen Ju in the palace asked a young eunuch to quietly convey the news to him, and he might be sent out to patrol the border town again.

To Wei Guangde's surprise, Lu Bing also sent someone to send him the same message the next day.

Such news came from two channels at the same time, making Wei Guangde believe it even if he didn't believe it.

It's just that Chen Ju just handed over the news but didn't explain clearly the reason. When Lu Bing came to Wei Guangde, he suddenly understood what was going on.

Two years ago, Xuanfu Town was in emergency. Emperor Jiajing sent Weng Pu, the Minister of War, to lead Wei Guangde on a border patrol. However, halfway through, the Tatars broke through the border wall and entered Xuanfu. Their border patrol ended hastily. Weng Pu He immediately took over the command of the battlefields of Xuanfu and Anda.

Some time ago, the military department reported to Li Yong that a large number of soldiers and civilians in Ji Town fled, which resulted in a significant reduction in Ji Town's military strength and also affected the construction of the border wall.

Emperor Jiajing naturally paid great attention to this memorial after seeing it.

Ji Town is the last barrier of Beijing. If Ji Town is lost, the capital will be in danger, so I also want to find out what is the situation in Ji Town now, and whether the same is true for other military towns, especially Xuanda.

Emperor Jiajing still vaguely remembered a secret report sent by Jin Yiwei two months ago. It was not that important in itself, but it involved a name that was already unfamiliar to him, Shen Lian.

Most people in later generations know that Shen Lian was from Jinyiwei. He was retaliated by the Yan family for impeaching Yan Song and his son for their illegal acts. Emperor Jiajing finally chose to believe Yan Song's words and punished Shen Lian. He was demoted and sent to the border guard for the people.

But what most people don't know is that Shen Lian was not born in the military, but was a Jinshi in the 17th year of Jiajing. He served as magistrate of Liyang County for one time. Because he was appreciated by Lu Bing, he moved to Jinyiwei to serve as a post.

It is very rare for a Jinshi to enter the Imperial Guard, so Emperor Jiajing was still somewhat impressed by this person.

As for the reason for punishing him, there were many reasons, and Emperor Jiajing also made the choice to avoid turmoil in the court.

However, this seems to be one of the reasons why Lu Bing and Yan Song turned against each other. You should know that at that time, the two of them had just conspired to kill Qiu Luan, and their relationship was still quite good.

Lu Bing admired Shen Lian very much, but when he asked for Shen Lian's love, he was decisively rejected by Yan Shifan, which made Lu Bing very unhappy at that time.

And the secret report of the Jinyiwei was naturally that Shen Lian was beheaded by Yang Shun, the governor of Xuanda, for having an affair with the White Lotus Sect.

The Jinyiwei was a Jinshi of the Ming Dynasty court, but he was actually a member of the White Lotus Sect. Although Lu Bing only regarded this matter as an ordinary official news and passed it into the palace, in the eyes of Emperor Jiajing, with his intelligence and wisdom, he naturally understood the reason.

Who is Yang Shun? One of Yan Song's godsons.

Yan Song didn't have many sons, and there weren't many godsons either. There were only three, and two of them had died. One was Zhao Wenhua, and the other was Qiu Luan. The remaining godson was the current governor of Xuanda, Yang Shun.

Previously, the cabinet suggested that Yang Shun replace Yang Bo to be stationed in Xuanda, and Yang Bo was transferred to the governor of Ji and Liao. Because Yang Shun had been in the Ministry of War for quite a while, Emperor Jiajing readily agreed.

Let Yang Bo guard the north gate of the capital, and he felt more at ease living in the West Garden.

But he still didn't expect that Yang Shun would kill Shen Lian not long after he went to Xuanda, and he also put such a crime on him.

This was a slap in his face and in the face of the Ming Dynasty court.

Yang Shun, a Jinshi, was a member of the Jinyiwei and joined the White Lotus Sect. It was a pity that Yang Shun could compile such a document, and such a document was passed by the Ministry of War. How did Xu Lun do it?

Because Shen Lian was punished to guard the border after being demoted, the result of the case was not reported to the Ministry of Justice but managed by the Ministry of War.

Now that the problem of Jizhen has been exposed, Emperor Jiajing naturally wants to send someone to Jizhen to check the situation in Xuanfu and Datong, and see if the military merits reported by Yang Shun in the past year are true, because the secret report of the Jinyiwei mentioned that Shen Lian once criticized the two towns of Xuanfu and Datong for killing innocent people and taking credit, which offended the governor and other officials of Xuanda.

Shen Lian is really a person who scolds wherever he goes. According to the Jinyiwei, he offended all the officials of Xuanda.

Killing innocent people and taking credit is not only the dereliction of duty of the general, but also the governor and the governor-general are responsible for supervision, so they naturally cannot escape the blame.

In fact, in the border towns of this era, the governor-general supervises the governor-general and the general, and the governor-general can also supervise the general. It is really hard to say who has the greater responsibility.