A mutiny broke out in the Ningxia Guard. Lower-level officers Liu Dongyang, Xu Chao and others killed the governor Dang Xin, deputy envoy Shi Jifang and a group of officials. Ningxia Guard Chief Zhang Jizhong was forced to commit suicide...
The news was rushed to the capital via six hundred miles, and the court hall immediately exploded. Civil servants and generals were noisy, each expressing his own opinion. Some suggested that important ministers should be sent to lead troops to clear up the army immediately, while others claimed that the mutiny was caused by Dang Xin's corruption, and that the rebels
They were forced to launch the mutiny. People should be sent to appease them, pardon the soldiers involved, and resolve the mutiny peacefully.
"Wang Shangshu, what is the Ministry of War's opinion on this?" Chief Assistant Shen Shixing looked at Wang Yi'e, Shangshu of the Ministry of War, and asked him.
Wang Yi'e said: "Mr. Shen Ge, in order to solve the problem in Ningxia, we must first figure out the cause of the incident in Ningxia, otherwise we will not be able to prescribe the right medicine."
"Isn't it clearly stated in the emergency report that the mutiny was triggered because Governor Dangxin defaulted on paying the soldiers' food and was too harsh on the soldiers?" said Fujian Taoist Censor Jia Xiyi.
"Jia Yushi only knows one thing but not the other. The Ministry of War has been paying attention to the matter in Ningxia for a long time. As far as the current matter is concerned, it is indeed caused by the traitor Liu Dongyang, but in my opinion, behind Liu Dongyang, there is another mastermind.
There is someone else." Wang Yi'e said.
Jia Xiyi asked: "Who does Wang Shangshu think is the mastermind?"
"If I'm not wrong, this must be the mastermind of this matter!" Wang Yi'e said in a positive tone.
In Wang Yi'e's mind, he had already expected the rebellion in Ningxia, but what he never expected was that the person who raised the army was not Kuai Bai, but a little-known Liu Dongyang. According to the information held by the Ministry of War
, there is no record about Liu Dongyang at all.
After Wang Yi'e received the news of the Ningxia rebellion, he urgently convened a discussion with his staff. Everyone believed that Liu Dongyang was just a clown in front of the stage, and the real mastermind must be Kuaibai.
"Why did Wang Shangshu say this? The emergency report clearly stated that Liu Dongyang and others raised troops. It did not mention the word "哱白"." Censor Zhou Honghe retorted. A year ago, it was he who reported to the court, saying
Kuai Bai, Kuai Chengen and others are loyal and brave. If Kuai Bai really rebels, wouldn't it mean that he, the recommender, is blind?
Wang Yi'e said: "Yushi Zhou, you have been to Ningxia Town. You should know that in Ningxia Town, Ruo Kuaibai did not participate in the rebellion. With a small household like Liu Dongyang, how can he stir up trouble?"
"This..." Zhou Honghe was a little speechless, "Perhaps Liu Dongyang incited the soldiers to become too powerful, and he could not suppress it with the power of Kuaibai, so he could only submit to compromise?"
Wang Yi'e sneered. He knew very well how powerful Kuai Bai was. If Kuai Bai really wanted to suppress him, ten Liu Dongyang wouldn't be able to cause trouble. For civil servants like Zhou Honghe, Wang Yi'e didn't.
I couldn't explain concepts such as combat effectiveness to him. I could only continue:
"Yushi Zhou, you have also seen the urgent report. After Liu Dongyang rose up, he killed the governor Dang Xin and other officials, completely blocking the road to compromise. There have been cases in the past of soldiers in our dynasty mutinying because of the dispute over pay.
, but those rebels who initiate mutinies often only threaten local officials, but are there any like Liu Dongyang and others who kill all local officials?"
"What does this mean?" Zhou Honghe asked.
Wang Yi'e said: "Threatening the local officials is just waiting to bargain with the court. The ultimate goal is just to raise wages, not to rebel. Our Ming Dynasty has millions of troops. The soldiers and horses of an ordinary town cannot compete with the entire army of our Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, the rebels generally did not dare to block the road. Instead, they waited for the imperial court to agree to their conditions before they could surrender to the imperial court.
But Liu Dongyang is determined to rebel this time. If there is no support behind him, where will he go after rebelling?"
"If he had Kuaibai's support, where could he go?" Jia Xiyi asked. With his knowledge, he really couldn't think of the subtext that Wang Yi'e didn't say.
Wang Yi'e said: "Kaibai is a Tatar. If Liu Dongyang gets the support of Kuaibai, he can unite the power of the Tatars and become the enemy of the Ming Dynasty, and he can even separate the town of Ningxia from the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
"
"Wang Shangshu is a bit sensational, isn't it?" Zhou Hong said calmly, but he already somewhat accepted Wang Yi'e's opinion in his heart.
Wang Xijue asked: "Since Wang Shangshu said that the black hand behind the scenes is Kuaibai, how should we deal with this matter now?"
Wang Yi'e said: "It's no longer just a day or two for me to respect my own troops and have the intention to rebel. This time I used Liu Dongyang's hand to launch a mutiny. The next step will definitely be to invade the fortresses in Ningxia and form a separatist trend. In my opinion,
When its foundation is not stable, quickly mobilize a few troops to quell it. If it waits for it to stabilize its position, it will be difficult to quell the rebellion."
"It's easy to say a large army to conquer. But before the troops and horses are moved, the food and grass go first. If one hundred thousand armored men are to be sent to Ningxia, the various expenses alone will cost millions of taels of silver. This is not a small sum.
"Shen Shixing said worriedly.
As the chief minister, he knew the income situation of the imperial court very well. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, China was a typical state where the people were rich and the country was poor. The private businessmen were as rich as the country, but it was difficult for the government to collect taxes from them. Due to the military
, the scale of the government continues to expand, various expenditures are expanding day by day, and the finances are almost unable to make ends meet. To use a common saying, even the emperor's family has no surplus food, otherwise he would not have sent out a large number of mine supervisors and tax supervisors
Go and compete with the people for profit.
Under such circumstances, the biggest obstacle to mobilizing heavy troops to quell the rebellion in Ningxia was the issue of military expenditures. Shen Shixing was unwilling to choose to send troops if there was any other way.
"The lower official thinks that what Wang Shangshu said is just conjecture. There has been no news of Kuaibai's rebellion in Ningxia. At this time, we hastily dispatched heavy troops. If things are not as bad as we thought, wouldn't it be a waste of time and money?"
Zhou Honghe followed Shen Shixing's words and said.
"Then what should we do according to the wishes of Zhou Yushi?" Shen Shixing asked.
Zhou Honghe said: "The immediate plan is to wait quietly and wait for a few days to see the new news from Ningxia."
"If Kuaibai really rebels, Kuaibai will be able to regain the forts in Ningxia and invade Hedong in a few days. How will it end then?" Wang Yi'e asked.
Shen Shixing said: "During this period, the governor of Shaanxi, Wei Xuezeng, can be ordered to lead the Shaanxi soldiers and horses to take strict precautions outside Ningxia Town, so as to avoid the situation from expanding. Even if, as Wang Shangshu said, several groups of soldiers and horses are sent to pacify,
It will still take some time, and what Zhou Yushi said does not conflict with Wang Shangshu."
"Yes!" Wang Yi'e had no choice but to agree. He knew what Shen Shixing was thinking. As far as he was concerned, he also knew that the use of troops was of great importance. Just deploying a troop of troops would cost hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.
, if things really go as Zhou Honghe said, it would indeed be inappropriate to hastily use troops now.
Shen Shixing reported the results of everyone's discussion to Wanli, and Wanli agreed with their ideas. Next came various specific arrangements.
First, an official was sent to Ningxia Town at starry night to negotiate with the rebels, promising that as long as the rebels laid down their weapons, the court would pardon their crimes. At the same time, the Ministry of War issued another order, asking Wei Xuezeng, the governor of Shaanxi, to command the various forces in Shaanxi.
To suppress the troops and horses, be prepared to guard against the invasion of Kuaibai. Next, the Ministry of War also issued a notice to the general soldiers of Shanxi, Liaodong, Zhejiang and other places as well as the Miao people in the south, asking them to strengthen their troops and be ready to send troops to attack the Ningxia rebels at any time.
After all the affairs were settled, the courtiers breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their respective yamen. Mutinies are not new. There are several happening every year across the country, but the scale is different. Some small mutinies are also
A dozen soldiers kidnapped or killed their superiors for some trivial matters, and the trouble would be suppressed within a few days. Although the incident in Ningxia this time was bigger, after all, Ningxia was still far away from the capital, and the incident still spread.
Not to the capital.
Wang Yi'e and Wang Xijue walked out of the court hall together. Seeing that there was no one around, Wang Xijue asked Wang Yi'e in a low voice: "Wang Shangshu, is there any news about Soviet reform?"
Wang Yi'e shook his head and said, "No, I'm also waiting for news from him."
Wang Xijue said: "Last year you treated the Soviet reform as an ambush and sent it to Ningxia because you were worried about today's events. Now things are just as you expected, but you don't know whether the Soviet reform will be good or bad, and whether his reconnaissance camp can be reused.
.”
Wang Yi'e said: "After the Kanyu camp defeated the Japanese pirates with firearms in Huai'an the year before last, I tasked Su Gaizhi to train the Kanyu camp into a strong force specializing in firearms. Some time ago, I received a report from Xu Guangzu that the Kanyu camp
Yuying has made some achievements in the use of firearms, so I sent them to Ningxia. If what Xu Guangzu said is true, I think Kanyuying should be able to restrain Kuaibai."
"I hope so." Wang Xijue said, "I'm just worried that Su Gaizhi is too young and will be confused when encountering such a big event."
Wang Yi'e smiled and said: "Didn't Mr. Wang Ge say that Li Zhi is in Su Hao's camp? Su Hao is indeed young, but he has Xu Guangzu, Chen Dao, and Li Zhi around him. These people have experienced a lot of things.
With their help, the survey camp should not make any big mistakes."
It turned out that after Wang Xijue returned to the capital from Runing, he told Wang Yi'e about Li Zhi. Li Zhi was a great scholar in the world, and not many people knew about him. Except for those in Jinyiwei, most officials knew nothing about Li Zhi.
Li Zhi admired them all, and Wang Yi'e was one of them, so when he learned the news, he naturally would not report it to Jin Yiwei.
When sending Su Hao to Ningxia, Wang Xijue and Wang Yi'e had repeatedly discussed that the main worry was that Su Hao was inexperienced. But with Li Zhi and Xu Guangzu in Su Hao's army, Wang Xijue and Wang Yi'e felt more at ease. In order to increase
With a high safety factor, Wang Yi'e specially sent Chen Dao and Su Hao to lead the army together. Before Chen Daolin set off, Wang Yi'e gave him secret instructions on how to deal with the Ningxia Incident.
"I hope this Soviet reform can bring us some surprises." Wang Xijue said slowly.