Although letting Kuai Bai, Kuai Chengen and others escape, the Battle of Ningxia can still be regarded as a complete victory. The imperial court mobilized far fewer troops than expected, and the duration of the war was also greatly shortened, saving military expenses.
Very impressive.
The clerks under Ye Mengxiong were busy writing documents to report their merits, and naturally they had to put a lot of thought into the distribution of credits among the generals who participated in the war. Fortunately, Su Hao took the initiative and humbly accepted the credit for conquering Ningxia City. Xiao Ruxun knew that he
His foundation is still shallow, and it is not easy to become the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, so he no longer competes with Li Rusong for credit. In this way, even if the first credit for the Ningxia campaign goes to Li Rusong, his hard work will not be in vain.
Had a trip.
After the first merit, Xiao Ruxun, Su Hao, and Ma Qiancheng received the second merit respectively, and then it was the turn of the middle and lower-level officers of each department and the soldiers with outstanding performance. Xu Guangqi, Hao Qing and other technical personnel were also listed for merit.
On the list, in the face of such a great victory, it is estimated that the imperial court will not begrudge these honors.
According to the court's prior arrangements, after the recapture of Ningxia City, Xiao Ruxun's position as Ningxia's General Soldier was still retained, commanding the Ningxia guards and horses. He promoted all the Pinglu generals he originally led to one level, and divided them among them.
He is appointed to the posts of Chief Thousand Commander, Chief Hundred Officer, etc. of each garrison. As for the positions of Staff General, Guerrilla General and other positions at the next higher level, you can only wait for the Ministry of War to arrange people to fill them.
In the city of Ningxia, the officers and soldiers who were coerced by Liu Dongyang to join the rebellion were strictly screened. The officers and soldiers who committed crimes were deprived of their status as military households and sent to coal mines as coolies. Ordinary officers were removed from their original ranks, demoted or even demoted to
Used by ordinary soldiers. As for those who were originally soldiers, they are now worthy of derogation and punishment, so they can only continue to be used. However, they will have to bear the charges on their heads for a while. Xiao Ruxun issued an order, saying that if these
If a soldier commits any offense such as violating military orders within a period of time, he will be punished for both crimes and be severely punished.
Except for the sergeants who were sent to dig coal, the rest of the officers and soldiers who participated in the rebellion had a feeling of surviving a disaster. When the imperial army came to the city, they felt that the end had come and that the day the city would be broken would be theirs.
When they were beheaded, who would have expected that the imperial army successfully broke through the city wall without killing them. A mere demotion or warning could hardly be regarded as punishment, and they were lucky to survive.
What surprised the officers and soldiers even more was that Xiao Ruxun immediately announced a welfare plan for the entire Ningxia Guard. The coal supply and vegetable greenhouses that were originally limited to the officers and soldiers of the Pinglu Station will be extended to all officers and soldiers of the Ningxia Guards. Xiao Ruxun
Xun also promised that the salary and clothing arrears of officers and soldiers during Dang Xin's tenure as governor of Ningxia will be fully repaid within the next one or two years, and the farmland taxes of officers and soldiers will also be reduced or reduced for two years, and bygones are bygones.
"Thank you, Mr. Xiao!"
"General Xiao is benevolent and righteous!"
"I am willing to serve General Xiao on the front and back of the horse, and on both sides of the army!"
When the news came out, the officers and soldiers of the Ningxia Guard rushed to tell each other, and some even went to the gate of the General Military Mansion to cry bitterly, kowtow and swear an oath. Xiao Ruxun asked his lieutenant generals to go out to appease the officers and soldiers who came to express their loyalty, and he sat down to discuss the matter.
In the hall, when talking about this matter with Su Hao, he was filled with emotions.
"These are things they deserve originally. If Dang Xin could give them these earlier, it would not lead to a fatal disaster." Xiao Ruxun said.
Su Hao said: "Dang Xin died unjustly. What's pitiful is that those military households who were forced to rebel were inexplicably coerced and lost their lives. There were also those soldiers who sacrificed their lives to put down the rebellion. It was also an unreasonable disaster. And all of this was a disaster.
Because of Dang Xin’s greed.”
Xiao Ruxun said: "In other words, when it comes to this matter, Xiao really wants to thank you very much. In fact, this coal mine and the greenhouse are all thanks to you. It is you who I, the officers and soldiers of the Ningxia Guard, want to thank."
."
Su Hao said: "Brother Xiao is serious, I am just doing these things with a little effort. It is so hard for the brothers in the border army to defend the border. What does my little effort mean?"
"I don't say thank you for the great kindness, but this time I have been as kind as a mountain to my Ningxia border army. Xiao can only repay it later." Xiao Ruxun said.
"Brother Xiao said this, which puts my younger brother to shame." Su Hao waved his hand, dropped the topic, and asked instead: "Brother Xiao, you are now the Ningxia Commander-in-Chief, what are your thoughts on the future defense of Ningxia Guards?
?”
Xiao Ruxun knew that Su Hao was not asking out of thin air, so he said, "Xiao is just trying to hear his thoughts on changing it."
Su Hao was not polite and said directly: "When Su Hao and Brother Xiao were in Pinglu City, they once talked with Brother Xiao that against the threat of the Tatars, offense is more effective than defense. Brother Xiao remembers this.
"
Xiao Ruxun nodded and said: "Of course I remember, the meaning of changing it is..."
Su Hao said: "I have been thinking about Ningxia Wei these days. I feel that although the source of this mutiny is Dangxin, the hardship of life in the border areas is also an important reason. If the living environment in the border areas cannot be effectively improved,
As the population increases, it will be difficult to guarantee stability in border areas."
"The change makes sense." Xiao Ruxun said.
Xiao Ruxun is the one who understands the hardship of Ningxia Wei's living conditions best. After Su Hao arrived in Pinglu City, he helped the border troops find coal mines and built vegetable greenhouses, which indeed improved the local living standards to a certain extent.
But this improvement is very limited. Off-season vegetables sold for sky-high prices last year, but as more and more military households begin to build greenhouses and grow vegetables, the price of vegetables in winter will soon drop, at best.
It can ensure that the frontier troops have fresh vegetables to eat in winter. It is impossible to completely improve their lives by relying on this.
The most serious consequence of the difficult living conditions is that few women are willing to marry to Ningxia Wei Lai, and even some women who have already married have fled because of the hardship. A large number of military households have become old bachelors here.
, has also become the biggest unstable factor in the local area.
Now is the beginning of the rebellion. Xiao Ruxun provides some benefits to the surrendered rebel soldiers, which can gain everyone's gratitude and stabilize the morale of the military in the short term. Over time, if the living conditions cannot be effectively improved, the complaints of the military households will
It will inevitably happen again, and by that time, I don’t know what new troubles will be caused.
However, is it so easy to improve local life? Xiao Ruxun couldn't help but cast his eyes on Su Hao, hoping to get some new enlightenment from this young man.
Su Hao said: "Brother Xiao, I have carefully studied Ningxia Wei. The surrounding area is very rich in mineral resources, and there are also a large number of rare medicinal materials. If we can attract mainland businessmen to invest in mining and plant medicinal materials, it will be a way to get rich. In addition,
, The Ningxia Plain has had the tradition of diverting water from the Yellow River for irrigation since ancient times. There were water canals during the Qin and Han Dynasties, and the Tanglai Canal dug during the Tang Dynasty is still in effect today. However, in recent years, due to climate reasons, the water volume of the Yellow River has decreased, making it more difficult to divert water, leading to the decline of agriculture.
If we can renovate the irrigation system, or even dam the Yellow River to store water and raise the water level, it will not be difficult to restore Ningxia to the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River."
"Building a dam on the Yellow River?" Xiao Ruxun looked at Su Hao with wide eyes, "Aren't you joking with Xiao instead?"
Su Hao said: "It depends on the determination of the Ministry of Industry. As for the technical difficulty, I don't think it is a problem."
Of course, what Su Hao said was not without purpose. In later generations, water conservancy cascade development was carried out in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, and more than a dozen dams were built. Among them, the Qingtongxia Dam built in Ningxia was first built by manpower, and the degree of mechanization was very low. Su Hao
I believe that what can be accomplished by human power in future generations can also be accomplished today.
Su Hao is not a historian, but he has some understanding of the history of the late Ming Dynasty. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to the influence of the Little Ice Age, severe drought occurred in large areas of the northwest, resulting in a large-scale reduction in agricultural production. Hungry farmers had no livelihood.
It eventually led to a peasant uprising led by Gao Yingxiang, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others, and became the main reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Since history accidentally brought Su Hao to the Ming Dynasty and to the northwest, he hoped that he could do something to save the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Building dams could change the situation of agriculture relying on the sky and prepare for the upcoming
The Little Ice Age provided buffer space, which was the main reason why he proposed to Xiao Ruxun to repair water conservancy facilities.
Xiao Ruxun didn't know much about engineering issues and was not in a position to comment. He nodded and said to Su Hao: "Since it's not difficult to build a dam, there must be some truth to it. It's just that you're talking about mining.
Regardless of whether it is a fortress or a dam, what does it have to do with the use of troops?"
Su Hao said: "To restore Ningxia's economy, there must be a peaceful environment. If the Tatar tribe comes to harass every day, who dares to invest in Ningxia, and who is willing to come here to farm? My idea is
, we should take the initiative to inflict pain and fear on the Tatar tribes around Ningxia Wei, so that they will not dare to covet our homeland."
Xiao Ruxun said: "I feel sorry for Xiao when I change my mind. Xiao also thought that if one day he could go out of the border wall, sweep across the grassland and make achievements, that would be what a good man would do. However,
Instead, you have to think about it, this war is all about money and food, and the imperial court cannot even afford to quell the Kuaibai Rebellion. If we propose to cross the border wall to fight the war, the imperial court will definitely not approve."
Su Hao said: "My Ming Dynasty has been in peace for a long time. No one wants to fight anymore. It has become a routine to stay in the wall all day long and wait for others to attack us. However, there is an excuse now. Don't you want Brother Xiao to use it?"
"What excuse?" Xiao Ruxun asked.
Su Hao said: "In this battle in Ningxia, it is a great pity that Kuai Bai escaped. If we proposed to the imperial court to use troops in the name of capturing Kuai Bai and bringing him to justice, the imperial court might agree."
"I don't think so." Xiao Ruxun said, "Capturing Kuaibai is naturally popular. But fighting requires money, which may not be acceptable to the cabinet. Instead, we go to the grassland to fight Kuaibai.
, how much does it cost?”
Su Hao chuckled and said, "If I say that we don't need a penny, will Brother Xiao believe it?"