Chapter 377: Inspection of the Xuanjia Guards (Happy Chinese Valentine's Day)
"This kid Lan Yu, I didn't expect that he would undergo such a big change, but we were a bit surprised."
In the Ming Dynasty Palace, in the Huagai Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the dossier records he just took from Jiang Wei, and said to his grandson next to him with a smile.
Zhu Ying heard this, took the file and took a look at it, and nodded with satisfaction.
The culture of condoning corruption among officers and soldiers has a long history in the military.
Not to mention repeated prohibitions, this is what many low-level soldiers eagerly desire, especially during wartime.
Zhu Yuanzhang also thought of some methods in this regard, but the results were not very good.
The military has been like this for many years.
If we want to curb this trend, we can only use more military pay to fill it. However, if the military pay is too large, the pressure on the national treasury will also be huge.
In the past few years, the Ming Dynasty's treasury had been tightening its belt. How could it consider so many things?
If we really want to impose a ban, mutiny accidents will easily occur and military morale will be shaken even more easily.
As a long-term leader of the army, Zhu Yuanzhang understood the stakes and had no choice but to let it go.
This also leads to a very embarrassing situation.
That is, anyone who embezzles a few taels of silver among civil servants will be punished by death, while corruption and bribery are prevalent in the military.
For example, in the army controlled by Huaixi military general Xungui, these hundreds of households and thousands of households, including general banners and small banners, their appointments, dismissals and promotions are almost all clearly marked.
Many commanders of the guards relied on this to earn a lot of money.
Now, because of what happened in the military camp of Cao Zhenwei, Zhu Yuanzhang's stereotype of Lan Yu has been greatly improved.
Looking at the entire Ming Dynasty, there are only a handful of people who can rival Lan Yu in terms of military capabilities.
Originally, the horses were set free in Nanshan and the swords and guns were put into storage.
Even in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, in addition to strengthening the resistance against foreigners on the border, he also wanted to establish some unconquerable countries so that his descendants could just keep this home.
Nowadays, the great grandson has excellent abilities, and he exceeds Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations in terms of military affairs and governance, and he is also ambitious.
Although the current situation is about to start a war on multiple fronts, Zhu Yuanzhang does not think it is a difficult matter.
Shaanxi can be destroyed with a wave of hands.
The Japanese state was suppressed by a large army, and there was a huge silver mountain to mine. If it is true that Dasun said so much, it is really a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.
No matter how many soldiers are sent to Liaodong, it will be worthwhile for the people to open up wasteland. It is almost the granary of the entire north.
Get money from Japan and grain from Liaodong.
In the future, the Ming Dynasty will only become more prosperous and powerful, and the future is promising.
After talking about Lan Yu, Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows and said: "How much money have these profiteers hidden? We only arrested a batch here in the capital, and they got more than two million yuan, which is simply shocking.
"
"Shanxi and other places are already poor. How much money do we spend on grain every year to provide disaster relief and eliminate famines? What do we get in return?"
"These profiteers, with so much money and food in their hands, do not want to contribute to their hometown Writers' Association. Instead, they collude with foreigners and ruin our Ming Dynasty. They deserve death!"
The Shanxi merchants in Shanxi are rich, but the people of Shanxi are not living a good life.
As far as the Ming Dynasty is concerned, the entire northwest region is a very poor area, and droughts are a common occurrence.
Water sources, in particular, are very scarce.
In the true sense of the word, horse bandits are a unique feature of the entire Northwest.
Zhu Ying even knew that even in later generations, the overall economy of the Northwest would always be at the bottom, let alone the Ming Dynasty today.
But now, so much money and grain has not been confiscated, which is enough to show that the gap between the rich and the poor is beyond imagination.
More than two million yuan, this is a lot of tax.
Zhu Yuanzhang now had a very strange feeling. Ever since his eldest grandson appeared, the money and food seemed to have come too quickly and easily.
Recalling the scenes in previous years where he had to compete with the Ministry of Finance for money every time, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but cough twice.
After careful calculation, since the eldest grandson entered the palace, the number of treasures that have gone in and out must be tens of millions.
It's just...so cool.
Zhu Yuanzhang started from scratch since he was a child, and now he feels like he is gnawing at his grandson. It’s rare, rare!
It suddenly became clear.
There is no wine on the counter, so I can only have tea instead. Pick up the cup and drink it all in one gulp, it’s so cool!!!
"Grandpa, in the past two days, my grandson is going to lead the governors, colleagues, and officials of the Dudu Mansion, including the commanders of the guard posts around the capital, to inspect the Xuanjia Guards."
Zhu Ying thought for a while and then said.
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes moved and he asked with a smile: "It seems that Dasun wants to enter Shaanxi and Shanxi in advance."
Zhu Yuanzhang understood Da Sun's thoughts with just one sentence. At this time, he took almost all the military officers to see Xuan Jiawei. The meaning is self-evident.
One is related to the Lan Yu incident. It is obviously to implement the eradication of corruption into the hearts of all soldiers.
Secondly, at this point, the only option is to march to Shaanxi to rehabilitate.
Because if we wait for spring to fully begin and Shaanxi has not yet settled down by then, the impact on spring plowing will be very large.
This battle is the first stop of the year. To build momentum, we cannot delay and must resolve it quickly.
Zhu Ying nodded and replied: "My grandson wants to improve the morale of the soldiers beforehand, mobilize food and grass, and set out for Shaanxi. When the army arrives, it will be close to spring."
"The winter in Shaanxi is difficult, and now is the time when morale is weakening. This should be able to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop."
Choosing to set off around the Lantern Festival, Zhu Ying also had specific considerations in mind.
The biggest difficulty among them is the march of the army.
The place where Tian Jiucheng rebelled was in Mian County, which is the Hanzhong area. It did not go deep into the northwest region. Although it belonged to Shaanxi, it was close to Sichuan and was not a plateau area like the Northwest.
It is located at the western end of the Hanzhong Basin, bordered by the Qinling Mountains to the north, the Bashan Mountains to the south, and the strategic junction of Juchuan, Shaanxi and Gansu.
After Tian Jiucheng rebelled, he did not attack the wealthier Hanzhong. Instead, he went in the opposite direction of Nanjing City to attack Lueyang.
The meaning is obvious, that is, to separate one side and develop its power, and to imitate Zhu Yuanzhang in those days, building high walls and hoarding grain.
The intention is also very obvious, that is, they want to develop all the way to the northwest, and then join forces with the grassland to jointly resist the Ming Dynasty.
"It seems that the Great Sun wants to take the water route, transport troops to Hanzhong, and quickly annihilate these rebels." Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said.
Zhu Ying nodded and replied: "Sun'er is preparing to mobilize a large number of warships, including some merchant ships, to be used as troop transports."
"After arriving directly at Xiangyang, we then changed our route to the Han River. We can reach Hanzhong in less than a month and annihilate the enemy forces within half a month, just in time for spring plowing."
The most convenient thing about taking the water route is logistics, and to a large extent, it can save the soldiers' physical strength.
Except for necessary stops for supplies, you can march around the clock during the rest of the day, which is much faster than simply walking, and you can completely avoid the pain of cold wind erosion.
The most important thing is that there is no ice period in the Han River. Although the ship is going upstream, it is slower than usual, but it is better to be safe.
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in agreement, and there was not much surprise.
When news of the rebellion by Tian Jiucheng and others reached the capital, it was basically certain that the plan was to take the water route.
Now Zhu Yuanzhang asks the grandson for details, but it is just a test.
Obviously Zhu Ying's answer sheet made Zhu Yuanzhang very satisfied.
The most appreciated part is that by taking action in advance, you can completely catch these rebels off guard.
Because the march was by water, it was even more secretive. With restrictions on merchant ships on the waterway, even if the rebels' comrades wanted to secretly convey the news, they would never be able to do so as quickly as the imperial army.
And there will be certain restrictions on all the passes from the capital to Hanzhong, especially for merchants.
The rebels did not enjoy the convenience of the inn. When walking in such weather, there was no possibility of leaking the news to the rebels in advance.
Because the soldiers took the boat straight up, their physical strength was well maintained. On the day they arrived in Hanzhong, they could directly launch a general attack and forcibly wipe out the rebels.
Zhu Ying doesn't have much to worry about in this regard.
Historically, although Tian Jiucheng and others were very powerful, they did not cause any trouble.
In the same year that Geng Bingwen rebelled, he was directly suppressed.
Although Geng Bingwen is senior, in terms of combat, his ranking among Huaixi's distinguished generals is still extremely low.
This time, Zhu Ying's plan was to sweep through directly with Lan Yu as the leader and Zhu Quan as the assistant.
To be honest, if a famous Ming general like Lan Yu went to fight a peasant uprising, it would be an overstatement to say that he was killing a chicken with a sledgehammer.
This is also for the sake of safety, because the first battle of the new year is very important to the current situation of the entire Ming Dynasty.
Suppressing Tian Jiucheng is not the end, but just the beginning.
Zhu Ying's final goal was to carry out a sweep and strict control over the entire Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. He would sweep through all the horse bandits and eliminate them one by one.
In particular, the distribution of high-yielding grains will completely change the situation in the entire northwest and improve the lives of the people at the bottom. Not to mention food and clothing, at least they will not die of hunger. That is a huge change.
Shanxi is adjacent to Beizhili, which is later known as Hebei.
It is of very important significance when it comes to the strategic layout of Liaodong and Nuerqian.
The population migration in Liaodong cannot be said to be from the south. It can only be based on the principle of proximity, with North Zhili as the first consideration.
If Shanxi is unstable, the impact on Beizhili will be great.
Not only is it related to Liaodong and Nuergan, but also the threat from the grasslands is also crucial.
The stability of Shaanxi and Shanxi is inextricably linked to Liaodong, where Nuergan grew grain and immigrated.
Both Zhu Ying and Zhu Yuanzhang knew one thing very well.
That is, in the process of conquering the Japanese, the tribes on the grassland will never miss this opportunity.
They would take advantage of the empty border defenses and seize the opportunity to rob the Ming Dynasty area in extremely bad ways.
These are all to be taken into consideration.
If anything goes wrong, for many people, it would really be hell on earth.
...
Although the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies has great power.
But as far as the capital is concerned, its presence is not strong.
Although everyone participates in the daily court meeting, it is basically not much different from the audience.
Most of their main actions were in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. The capital side was basically mobilized by Zhu Yuanzhang himself.
The capital's garrison was only nominally owned by the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. In actual operations, it was impossible to bypass Zhu Yuanzhang.
Li Jinglong, for example, often just goes for a walk and people disappear.
Many military commanders and nobles are like this.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care either.
But today, the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, which was usually as leisurely as a nursing home, became extremely noisy like boiling hot water.
"What is the purpose of His Highness Taisun's move?"
"I think His Highness Taisun is planning to gradually distribute the Xuanjia Guard's training methods to various guards."
"Let's not mention the military salary of Xuanjia Guard for the moment. The cost of training is extremely huge. I understand that three meals a day are meat. If this is the case in other guards, I am afraid that the court will not be able to afford it."
"It is unfounded to worry, even if you don't look at the military pay of our brothers. Almost all of it has increased. Not only is the national treasury full, but also the internal money. It is said that you don't know how to spend the money. There is nothing impossible."
"I think that even if they are not completely like Xuan Jiawei, they will still follow this direction. This is the path of elite soldiers and strong generals."
"You'll know then. I haven't seen the Xuanjia Guards yet. I really want to take a closer look this time to see why they are called the First Guards of the Ming Dynasty."
"Hey, you'll know when you go there. When I went there for the first time, I was so shocked that it's really hard to describe."
Whoever can serve as a governor, colleague, or official in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion has not fought hard on the battlefield and made meritorious deeds.
But many people are convinced of Xuanjiawei, and many are not convinced.
Those who have seen it all say that it is the strongest guardhouse in the world today, but those who have never been there are somewhat disapproving of it.
Now Prince Taisun has issued an order that tomorrow morning, he will lead all the military officers to inspect the Xuanjia Guard.
The meaning is very clear.
Blue Jade Mansion.
Cao Zhen asked: "Brother, this time His Highness Taisun suddenly asked all the commanders to watch the Xuanjia Guard. Is it related to what happened to me yesterday?"
Cao Zhen felt a little scared. If it really had something to do with him, he might not have a good impression on His Highness Taisun.
The first time he heard the news, he came to Lan Yu.
In any case, as far as the military is concerned, Lan Yu and His Highness Taisun are somewhat related by blood.
Lan Yu smiled and said: "Now I know I'm afraid. I told you at that time that you would still favor your subordinates."
Cao Zhen twisted his head and said, "I don't know a lot of things, right?"
Lan Yu replied: "Look, His Highness Taisun probably won't argue with a rough guy like you, but after going to Xuanjia Guard this time, all the soldiers in the guard will probably change to a great extent."
"Now that the national treasury is full and there is enough money and food, some rules will be re-established."
Lan Yu saw clearly that the key this time was not only about training, but also about making a complete change in some bad habits in the army.