Although the news from the imperial court was also six hundred miles away, it was still more than two days slower than Gao Jingshi's information. Since Gao Jingshi got the news at night, the imperial court actually didn't learn about the fall of Xining until the third day.
Although Xining was important, perhaps due to its remote location, the reaction from the imperial court was not as great as Gao Pragmatic and the other three had imagined. In addition to the intense reaction from the Ministry of War, only the Ministry of Household Affairs was relatively nervous.
Shen Li, the Minister of Household Affairs, was not a "professional counterpart" to begin with. When he heard that Xining was lost, his first reaction was to go to the Ministry of War to visit Liang Menglong and Gao Pragmatic. Since both parties were ministers of the Practical School, Shen Li did not make many detours. He asked them directly if they planned to "move in troops", and without waiting for their answer, he said to himself that the Ministry of Revenue could not come up with the money.
What Shen Li means is that if you want to fight, the Ministry of War's budget for this year will be allocated in about half a month. You can just use this budget to do what you want. Anyway, don't ask me for money in the future.
Liang Menglong had a sullen face and didn't reply. Of course he couldn't agree like this - the Ministry of War's budget for this year didn't have funds for mobilizing troops.
This is because, just after the government reopened at the beginning of the year (started working after the Spring Festival), Zhu Yijun conveyed the decree that this year's imperial government's fiscal budget was fully tilted towards "opening the vassal ban". Not to mention that the Ministry of War did not have a war budget, it even changed its equipment and All kinds of maintenance have been kept to a minimum. Only the four towns under the jurisdiction of Governor Ji Liao (Jizhen, Liaodong, Changping, and Baoding) have maintained their usual military expenditures. Even the military expenditures of the three towns of Xuanda (Xuanfu, Datong, and Taiyuan) have been reduced. It has been reduced by more than 20% and nearly 30%.
Not to mention the three sides of Shaanxi, they were directly cut by 35%. Logically speaking, they should be fully transferred to defense.
At this time, if the Ministry of War is allowed to use its own budget to mobilize soldiers to retake Xining, wouldn't it be a great fight at the beginning of the year and a crematorium at the end of the year? Oh, it may not last until the end of the year, and there will be a crematorium in the middle of the year...
It is usually not a big deal to default on the salary of an official. Although the court seems to be quarreling fiercely, in fact, everyone does not rely on this salary to make a living. The quarrel is just to show that they are honest and dedicated to the public affairs.
Being in arrears with military pay is very serious, especially in some remote places. Military pay is already insufficient, and the superiors are always trying every means to deduct it, falsely claim it, etc. Once the arrears are continued, riots and even mutinies often occur. This is Everyone knows the common affairs of the Ming Dynasty.
Under such circumstances this year, if the Ministry of War can stabilize the situation in various places, it will have to make great efforts to send personnel to inspect. This is a method adopted by Guo Pu when he was in office. Generally speaking, the Ministry of War sends personnel to investigate the distribution of military pay in various places. Specifically, the Ministry of War arsenal The Qing Li Department sent personnel to investigate, and the Qing Li Department of the Arsenal was in charge of the investigation.
Historically, the Arsenal Cleaning Department was merged and reformed in the ninth year of Wanli. However, due to the reform of the Real School, this department has been strengthened, mainly to strengthen the supervision power of military pay, ordnance, military supplies and other material dispatch. In addition, the Arsenal Cleaning Department He is also responsible for supervising the private sector of the military industry, which is even more impossible to abolish.
When this year's budget came out, the Ministry of War had already discussed the need to more strictly supervise local military pay deductions and other issues. It was worried that the local military would mutiny. How could it dare to use the local budget to fight wars now?
However, Liang Menglong did not blame Shen Li. He knew that Shen Li was under a lot of pressure now. As soon as he took office as the chief minister, he was faced with major issues such as the establishment of a vassal and ban, which required large sums of money to support. Moreover, Shen Li did not work in the Ministry of Household Affairs. Experience, now that I have been busy all day without touching the floor, I have lost more than ten kilograms, and my originally square face can now see obvious cheekbones.
So when Shen Li said he couldn't get the money, it must be because Hu Bu really had no choice. Last time, he even came up with a "bad idea" and wanted Hu Bu to take the lead in opening two or three new seaports and then sell them to Jinghua.
It’s a pity that this idea also died due to two reasons: First, the Ministry of Revenue has no money left, and it can’t even lay the foundation for opening a seaport. How can it be sold?
Second, Gao Pragmatic said that Jinghua is also very nervous this year and probably has no money to buy a port. He is not kidding. The investment in southern Xinjiang is too great, and the main investment is Jinghua’s own money. It relies on the support of other countries in southern Xinjiang. That little income is completely beyond our means.
In fact, except for Annan, the finances of the countries in southern Xinjiang are now "profitable", while the rest of the countries in Siam, Bago and Nanjang are in complete "losses", let alone Cambodia. At the same time, Jinghua is opening up again. Building Nancheng and repairing some cities damaged in the war all cost money.
Although Jinghua has money, of course it will be tight-lipped if it throws money into several kingdoms at once. Where else can it buy a seaport? Of course it can be done in the future, let's forget about it now.
So until Shen Li left, Liang Menglong didn't express his position. After Shen Li left, he said to Gao Pingshi with a sullen face: "To be honest, I'm afraid there will be trouble this time... Do you think Gao Wenchuan can rely on the three parties alone?" Use your own strength to resolve this crisis and regain Xining?"
Gao Pragmatic couldn't answer this question, so he could only say: "Now the three sides of Shaanxi have only reported the fall of Xining to the Shu, and Gao Wenchuan's Shu only said that he was coordinating and dispatching. We don't know the specific situation yet... Let’s see how he handles it first, maybe there will be some surprises?”
Liang Menglong sighed, feeling that this was really unreliable, but as Wu Dui said before, a good woman can't make a meal without rice, and without military pay, everything is useless.
No conclusion was reached from the discussion here, and the court did not pay enough attention to this matter. Gao Pragmatic originally planned to simply deal with it coldly, waiting for Gao Guangxian to clarify his plan first.
Unexpectedly, the court was not in a hurry but others were in a hurry. In the afternoon, an eunuch came to the Ministry of War to see Gao Jingshi and convey the order, saying that the emperor had summoned Gao Gongbao and asked Gao Gongbao to come to the palace immediately to see him.
Gao pragmatic was not too surprised and simply followed the supervisor of rituals into the palace to meet the saint.
When they arrived at the palace, Zhu Yijun chose to meet him in the Wenhua Hall. Needless to say more about daily greetings, after Gao Pragmatic sat down with him, Zhu Yijun asked directly: "The Ministry of War has already discussed the matter in Xining? Now, right? What’s the conclusion?”
Gao Pragmatic smiled bitterly and said: "The Ministry of War can do nothing and can only wait for Gao Wenchuan to arrange for the recovery of Xining on his own."
"It seems that there is no money to cause trouble again?" Zhu Yijun pinched his eyebrows with a headache and frowned: "Then do you think Shaanxi can take back Xining on its own?" The "Shaanxi" he refers to here also refers to the three sides.
Gao Pragmatic pondered: "In terms of military strength alone, the three sides actually still have this strength, but the problem is the same as the Ministry of War. The key to how much power the three sides can exert now depends on whether they have money."
This is not pragmatic nonsense. The problem of the three sides is really not about "military strength". The so-called three sides, as mentioned above, have a total of four towns, namely Yansui, Guyuan, Ningxia, and Gansu.
Yansui Town starts from Huangfuchuan Fort in the east and ends at Huamachi in the west, with a total length of more than 1,700 miles. In terms of original history, the garrison strength was 25,000 during the Yongle period and about 45,000 during the Chongzhen period. And in this area
On the other hand, the current military strength is also between these two periods. Last year it was about 37,000, no more, no less.
Guyuan Town starts from the west boundary of Raoyang Water Fort in Yansui Town in the east, and reaches Lanzhou and Lintao in the west, with a total length of about one thousand miles.
To talk about this town alone, in the early Ming Dynasty, there were only three towns in the northwest region: Yansui, Ningxia, and Gansu. However, because the battle lines were too long and the distance was far away, in the event of a war, the three towns could not communicate with each other. Therefore, in
During the Hongzhi period, Guyuan Town was added.
The town's military strength was nearly 60,000 during the Chongzhen period in the original history, and it is almost the same number now. Another point that needs to be explained is that the governors of the three sides are permanently stationed in Guyuan, because this location is more convenient and central in terms of geographical location
Scheduling.
Ningxia Town starts from Huamachi in the east and ends on the north bank of the Yellow River in Xiquegou, Zhongwei, Ningxia in the west, with a total length of about two thousand miles. Historically, the garrison strength during the Yongle period was about 70,000, and the garrison strength during the Chongzhen period was about 25,000. The current strength
It is about 30,000 people - this is because after Tumut surrendered, the Ordos tribe became more honest, so there were not many troops stationed in the town.
The southeastern part of Gansu Town starts from the north bank of the Yellow River in later Lanzhou, and the northwest reaches the Jiayuguan Tuolai River area, with a total length of about 1,600 miles. In the original history, the garrison strength was about 96,000 during the Yongle period, and about 40,000 during the Chongzhen period.
, the current strength is about 60,000, less than 70,000.
From the size of this garrison, we can also see the current shift in the focus of Ming Dynasty's border defense pressure. Facing the Tumut headquarters and even the Ordos department, the garrison strength is relatively small. However, facing the Tumut section of Qinghai, the garrison force is relatively large.
.
The combined military strength of Gansu Town and Guyuan Town is nearly 130,000, which shows that the military pressure they face must be great.
This cannot be compared with the four towns of Xuanfu, Datong, Jizhen, and Liaodong, because the first three of these four towns are the portals of the capital, and the "work pressure" of the last Liaodong town is particularly high, as it has to directly face the disabled.
The Chahar headquarters of the Yuan Dynasty also had to control the entire Jurchen tribe, and actually had the responsibility to guard against North Korea - of course, this aspect seems to have been ignored now.
In Gansu, the principles of Guyuan are different. Gansu Town’s current main defense target is only Qinghai Tumote. Although Guyuan Town has many tasks in terms of setting, its main task now is also to support Gansu Town. Therefore, the actual situation of these two towns is
The above is all because of Qinghai Tumote, so its strength is particularly strong.
But looking back at Qinghai Tumote, despite its large area, the population in this period was actually very small. Even after the Mongols occupied Qinghai, the population of the Mongolian tribes in Qinghai was still very limited. For example, this sneak attack on Xining was successful
The two brothers Huo Luochi and Jilitu have a population of less than 100,000. Generally speaking, the number of tribal string controllers is more than 20,000, certainly less than 30,000.
According to what Gao Pangshi learned from Jinghua Trading Company, the two brothers can normally mobilize about 50,000 "cavalry" - this is when the whole clan is at war, and it should be less in normal times. .
The Ming Dynasty held fast to the city and border walls. In order to deal with the maximum of 50,000 Mongolian cavalry, it had to prepare an army of 130,000. This is the current situation of this era.
The city cannot run away, and if you want to defend it, you have to garrison it everywhere; the cavalry comes and goes, and it can concentrate its troops to attack anyone it wants to attack thousands of miles away. The so-called strategic disadvantage, this is one of the typical examples.
The disadvantage of garrisoning everywhere is obvious, as the troops are scattered. Along the Silk Road, the cities on the road are like pearls. Without any one, a complete chain of pearls cannot be formed, so every place must be defended.
When Xining was originally in hand, the main pasture land was Huoluochi near the Big and Little Song Mountains. In order to avoid being "burned" by the Ming army, the two of them did not dare to stay away from their hometown for a long time, so the Silk Road line north of the Qilian Mountains was safer.
Now that Xining has been lost, the Ming Dynasty still has Guidzhou, Jishi and other places south of the Qilian Mountains, but their locations are too far south and cannot effectively threaten Huo Luochi. Focus on Brother Rabbit, these two brothers have already Being able to "take time" to go north from Qilian poses a serious threat to the Silk Road. Even if there is another gunpowder bombing of the city, it is not impossible to capture a certain "pearl".
Zhu Yijun listened with a sullen face to Gao Pingshi's analysis of the situation in front of the map. After listening, he became a little anxious and asked: "There is nothing we can do if we don't mobilize troops. This year's budget has already been arranged. And the vassal ban has been opened." It was you who brought up the matter, and you also know the importance of this matter. It is related to the final battle of the Western Huai Dong regime, and we cannot disrupt our position now because of this."
Gao pragmatic nodded and didn't say much. Of course he knew, so he had always planned to wait for Gao Guang to deal with it himself first and see the situation before talking.
But Zhu Yijun had other opinions. He changed the topic and said: "We can't move, but can Tumote move? It was because Qie Jin was sick before. How is Qie Jin now? Is there anything wrong? What follows?”
Gao Pingshi sighed, shook his head and said, "Judging from the latest news, I'm afraid Qie Jin won't live long."
Zhu Yijun frowned, thought for a moment and said, "If he dies, what will Han Naji do?"
Gao pragmatically said: "It depends on who within the Ordos Ministry will inherit his legacy."
Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment and asked: "I heard that Zhu Litu and Huo Luochi are both Qie Ji's younger brothers?"
Gao pragmatically replied: "Yes."
Zhu Yijun slapped the bookcase and said: "I know, Burihatu is afraid of Huo Luochi, and the two of them promised that all the inheritance after death will belong to them!"
It has to be said that this guess is not far from the correct answer. Gao Pragmatic basically agreed, but added: "But there is still a problem here."
Zhu Yijun immediately asked: "What's the problem?"
"Zhulitu and Huo Luochi are two people, and they have been to Qinghai for so long. If they want to divide the Qiejin legacy, should they go back to Hetao, or take the Qiejin legacy from Hetao to Qinghai? Or, the two People will be redistributed, one will stay in Hetao and the other will return to Qinghai?"
Zhu Yijun hesitated for a moment, shook his head and said: "This is indeed a problem, but it is not the key. The key is... I remember that Qie Jin has a son. Tumen said that he can reward his inheritance by giving it to his two younger brothers? His son? Can you agree?"
Gao Pingshi smiled and said: "This is the key to one and two, two and one: no matter how they want to be divided, King Shunyi cannot sit idly by and ignore it. He will definitely help Qie Jin's son to ensure that the Ordos tribe remains loyal to the soil. Mert. And since Huo Luochi and Zhuli Tu want to 'divide' it, no matter how they divide it, there will be interests involved - interests are involved, which is the basis on which I, Ming, can take action."
Zhu Yijun's heart moved: "You mean..."
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PS: After writing this chapter today, everyone must have guessed in what direction the first of the "New Three Major Marches" will take place? But hey, you can think bigger...
