Chapter 546 545 Punishment Attack

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

For most court officials, it was just to increase the military power of the governors-general.

It was a good thing to allow the governors-general and provincial governors-general to legally raise a group of personal soldiers, so that they would no longer be bound by their hands and feet and could only ask for help from those military leaders.

Anyway, it was the court's money that was spent, so whoever spent it did not matter.

The memorial was well-reasoned and naturally received support from the court and the public. The cabinet also approved it, and then the emperor nodded, and the Silijian approved it.

However, Wei Guangde smelled a different smell from it.

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

By the way, he also mentioned that Yang Bo intended to let Ma Fang serve as the general of Jizhen, responsible for the safety of the capital.

Earlier, Wei Guangde intended to transfer, but later failed due to various reasons. Ma Fang also worked in Xuanfu until he became the deputy general, and then the general.

Over the years, he has established a deep-rooted business in Xuanfu.

Wei Guangde is also worried that rashly transferring him to Jizhen may have an impact on him.

Write a letter to ask his attitude first, and then decide how to reply to Yang Bo.

Yang Bo is also scared this time. He is really worried about having an incompetent general guarding Jizhen.

Ma Fang has fought many battles against the Tartars in the past two years, and the wins and losses are not bad. The most important thing is his spirit of becoming more and more courageous in the battles, which is rare among the generals of the Ming army.

After Ma Fang took office as the general of Xuanfu, he did not follow the previous practice of the Ming army and just focused on defense. Instead, he led the team out to hunt for grass and valleys from time to time, doing the same thing as Liu Han, the general of Datong.

The difference is that Liu Han suffered a disastrous defeat after going out a few times, and he was also defeated.

Although Ma Fang also encountered a tough battle, he was able to turn danger into safety with his desperate spirit. Although it was not a victory, it was at least not a defeat. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to describe it as a bitter victory or a draw.

After the letter was written, it was handed over to Zhang Ji, who arranged for the servants to deliver it to Xuanfu the next day.

Calculating the time, the troops led by Ma Fang should have passed Juyongguan long ago, and even if they did not reach Xuanfu, they should have almost reached Xuanfu.

Xuanfu is hundreds of miles away from the capital, and it can be reached in two days at a fast speed. It usually takes five days to go back and forth.

These days, many eyes in the court are staring at the vacant positions in Jizhen. The Shuntian Governor was the first to be snatched up, but the Ministry of War has been playing tricks on the candidates for the Governor-General of Jiliao and the General of Jizhen, and has not yet decided on the candidates.

Wei Guangde also found out that Xu Jie wanted to push the Left Censor-in-Chief Liu Tao to be the Governor-General of Jiliao, and the Ministry of War seemed to want to transfer the Governor-General of Xuanda Jiangdong to Jizhen.

As for the post of Jizhen General, there are many people who want it, but not many people really reach out for it.

After all, the predecessor was just killed by the Tartars, and the successor must also consider whether his neck is strong enough.

The shock caused by the Tartars breaking through the pass this time is still vivid. Once the Tartars come back next time, the Jizhen General will not be able to hide behind and issue orders. He must really fight on the battlefield, otherwise he will not be able to pass the Emperor Jiajing.

Haven't you seen that the governor and the military preparation road were all sentenced to death or exile for the crime of not setting up defenses.

Without two brushes in hand, I really dare not compete for this position at this time.

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

Silently, in the eyes of Yang Bo and other high-ranking officials of the court, the strength of Prince Yu's Mansion has become stronger and stronger, especially in the military. Three people from Prince Yu's Mansion have served as the general officer, namely Ma Fang, Yu Dayou and Dong Yikui.

Five days later, Wei Guangde got a notice from Zhang Ji when he returned home in the evening. The reply from Xuanfu arrived in the afternoon.

He returned to the backyard and changed his official uniform under the help of Xu Jianglan, and then put on his regular robe. Then he went to the study and opened Ma Fang's letter to read it.

It was as expected.

After reading Ma Fang's letter, Wei Guangde knew that Ma Fang was really unhappy with Jiang Dong, the governor of Xuanda, but it was just a matter between the two of them, and they had not played tricks on each other in handling official business.

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

Of course, what happened afterwards was that Ma Fang did not take Jiang Dong's instructions seriously. Everything stayed on his lips, but his hands did not show any restraint.

The strategy of attacking as defense was actually proposed by Wei Guangde at the beginning.

Bring the war to the grasslands, increase the harassment of the Mongolian tribes, weaken their strength, and prevent them from invading the Ming Dynasty so recklessly.

Ma Fang would naturally not stop his actions because of Jiang Dong's words. Besides, he could be said to have grown up on the grasslands and was used to the feeling of riding a horse and waving a whip on the grasslands.

After that, Jiang Dong wanted to draw 3,000 cavalrymen from Ma Fang's regular barracks and the Datong cavalry to form a regular barracks directly under the governor's control, stationed between Xuanda, and supporting the two places from east to west.

Ma Fang devoted a lot of effort to his regular barracks, and made every effort to ensure everything from equipment to food and wages. It was not easy to build such a troop, so naturally he was unwilling to hand it over.

Without this troop, how could he have the confidence to run wild in the territory of the Tartars.

Ma Fang was brave, but he was not a fool, and he would not do stupid things like hitting a rock with an egg.

Although Jiangdong was somewhat dissatisfied with this, since Ma Fang was carrying the banner of Prince Yu's Mansion, Jiangdong could not make enemies with him for this reason, but their relationship was not very harmonious.

At the end of the letter, Ma Fang expressed his idea of ​​not wanting to go to Jizhen. He was more used to staying in Xuanfu, and he was even willing to go to Datong to serve as a general. After all, Datong was his hometown. He just didn't want to go to Jizhen.

Wei Guangde put the letter away, locked it in a special box, and closed his eyes in deep thought.

The dispute between Jiangdong and Liu Tao over the governorship of Ji and Liao had nothing to do with him, but he couldn't swallow the anger of Jiangdong and Yang Bo for setting up this camp.

This was an attempt to openly rob the elite cavalry of each town.

What did Yang Bo say in his memorial, "Each governor-general will set up a branch, each with 3,000 people, or select from the soldiers in each district, or recruit from the servants in various places."

What does it mean? The governor-general directly selects officers and soldiers in his jurisdiction, and can even recruit from the servants around the generals. Isn't this poaching?

Although they know it, no one dares to say it. Who dares to say that the soldiers are their own? Do you want to rebel?

Perhaps, Yang Bo really found out from the actual situation on the battlefield that the regular barracks and personal guards under the general were very powerful, so he wanted to build more such teams in each town, so that more elites could be put into the battle when encountering war.

However, it really affected the interests of the generals of each town.

This is a policy that is good for civil officials but bad for military generals. Behind the military generals is the noble group of the Ming Dynasty.

Wei Guangde is a civil official, but he was born into a military household and belongs to the noble group, although it is the lowest-level member family.

If he were to choose, he would certainly put his family first and choose to support the military generals.

Jiangdong cannot be sent to Jiliao.

After a short contemplation, Wei Guangde made up his mind.

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

Jiangdong and Ma Fang are at peace on the surface, but they are enemies in private. If such a person is appointed as the Minister of War, Wei Guangde habitually believes that "human nature is evil" and thinks it will be disadvantageous to Ma Fang.

Ma Fang is now a signboard of Prince Yu's Mansion.

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

Wei Guangde had a plan in 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 Ji and Liao. However, 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 she saw Wei Guangde enter the room, she got up immediately and arranged for someone to prepare hot water for him to wash and serve him to go to bed.

However, when Wei Guangde was halfway through washing his feet, he suddenly jumped up, without wiping the water, and ran to the study with his shoes on his wet feet.

When Xu Jianglan followed with the maid, she saw Wei Guangde sitting behind the desk looking at something.

"Master, what did you think of?"

Xu Jianglan asked in a bad mood when she entered the room. Looking at the wet shoes, she ordered the maid to prepare hot water again and went to get a pair of dry shoes.

"I always felt that I neglected something before. I just remembered it when I was washing my feet. Now I rushed here."

Wei Guangde replied embarrassedly.

"What is so urgent that you ran away without washing your feet."

Xu Jianglan's tone was a little complaining, but she still sent someone to wipe Wei Guangde's feet dry first to prevent him from catching a cold.

"Military and national affairs."

Wei Guangde just replied indifferently.

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

"Then you continue to be busy. I'm going back to the room to rest. I'll arrange someone to serve outside. Call me when I'm done."

"Well, go back and rest."

Wei Guangde didn't have time to chat with his wife at this 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.

This time when Ma Fang returned to Xuanfu, he did not plan to wait for the New Year, but started planning on the way back, intending to launch a large-scale punitive attack on the Mongolian tribes before the New Year.

It sounds very grand, but in fact, such things have happened every year in recent years.

In fact, I don't know if it was to compete with Yu Dayou's record of rushing to Bansheng City. Last year, he personally led the army to rush 400 miles, destroyed the Mongolian tribes of all sizes in the Xinghe area of ​​Mongolia, and actually "climbed up and looked around, showing off the troops and returned" on the ruins of the local old fortress.

The so-called "showing off the troops" here is actually an inspection, a military review of the Ming army participating in the war.

Such actions were held every time the Northern Expedition was carried out during the reign of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, and the Northern Expedition Army would return only after completing the military review ceremony.

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

Yu Dayou's attack was a surprise attack, so naturally the army retreated in a hurry after the success 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 Tartars. If Ma Fang attacked the grassland at this time, it would not only deal a blow to the prestige of Mongolian Altan Khan, but also arouse the morale of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the one in the palace, he would be ecstatic.

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

This time, the Tartars invaded smoothly before, but they suffered heavy losses in succession when they finally left the border. Their morale may not be very high at this time, and they may not have thought that the Ming army would punish them.

Will Altan Khan think of this?

Wei Guangde was a little unsure.

After learning about Altan Khan's past in detail, he found that Altan Khan was really remarkable, at least the only wise leader in the northern grasslands in the past few decades.

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

From this, Wei Guangde analyzed that this person was actually a strategic master who was very good at predicting the situation.

In his early years, he was granted the title of Tumed Wanhu and stationed in Fengzhou Beach. He fought with his brother Jinang in the south and the north, and accumulated strong military strength.

After Jinang's death, he became the de facto leader of the right wing 30,000 households.

He repeatedly entered the border to the south to offend the Ming Dynasty, and in the 29th year of Jiajing, he approached the capital and created the Gengxu Change.

In the north and west, he defeated the hostile Wuliangha Wanhu and Wala tribes, occupied Qinghai, and forced the Mongolian suzerain Khan Dalaisun to move east to Liaohetao. In the process, he obtained the Khan titles of Sodo Khan, Situ Khan, Tushetuchechen Khan, and Gegen Khan.

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

In the past few years, he began to make few big moves. Perhaps he was really afraid of Ma Fang's entanglement. In recent years, he chose to invade Ningxia, Yansui and other towns.

On Ma Fang's Xuanfu side, there were only small-scale cavalry raids by the Tartars, but tens of thousands of troops had never appeared again.

He supported Ma Fang's idea of ​​retaliating against Mongolia, but he was also worried about being calculated by Altan Khan.

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

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde did not put the letter away, but planned to give Ma Fang's letter to Prince Yu tomorrow.

One person's plan is short, two people's plan is long, and three people's work is easy to discuss.

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

The order came from Prince Yu's Mansion. Even if the requirements were not met in the end, at least Prince Yu would understand Ma Fang's fighting spirit.

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

The water in the basin had cooled down, so Wei Guangde called the maid to change the water.

I was thinking about something just now, so I didn't soak my feet properly.

I still have to plan carefully. If Prince Yu also wants Ma Fang to go to Jizhen, how can I help him to shirk this matter at that time?

There are many contents in the letter. Ma Fang and Jiangdong are not getting along, so it's just right to let Prince Yu know. At that time, he can use the name of Prince Yu's Mansion to legitimately help Liu Tao, who is supported by Xu Jie, to take the throne.

Let Jiangdong retire as the governor of Xuanda. If he returns to the Ministry of War, he will be affected when Xuanfu needs food, wages and equipment in the future.

Wei Guangde is still thinking about how to solve the things mentioned in Ma Fang's letter, and Jiangdong, who is involved in this matter, may not have thought that his ideas based on the battle situation he saw on the battlefield have become a struggle for interests in Wei Guangde's eyes, and his own career has been interrupted.