For such a situation, You Shiwei, as the ruler of Gansu and Shaanxi, bears the main responsibility.
The reason why they were eager to send troops to the northwest was because Liu Tingjie swept across Monan, and the emperor also gave him the power to manage the Hetao.
This had a great impact on You Shiwei: "Liu Tingjie, the deputy general, still wants to climb on top of me. Don't even think about it."
So, after some mobilization, they set off along the Huangshui River, thinking that Li Zicheng would definitely send troops to fight head-on, and the preparations for food and grass were not sufficient.
But who would have expected that Li Zicheng could endure the loneliness. They were almost at Xining Guard, and they still couldn't hear the wind.
As a result, they are sitting on their backs. If they continue to send troops, they will run out of food and grass, and if they retreat, all their previous efforts will be wasted.
Therefore, we had no choice but to forcefully buy and sell merchants. After all, this was a common occurrence in feudal society.
However, in the late Ming Dynasty, the township party was prevalent, including the Chu Party, Qi Party, etc. in politics. In private business, Shaanxi businessmen, Shanxi businessmen, Huizhou businessmen, etc. also reunited and established a large number of guilds across the country. Although loose,
But sometimes we can work together.
When faced with Shaanxi businessmen, You Shiwei was both a township party and a business group with a strong background. He could only choose to remain silent and helpless.
Jiang Quan frowned and said: "I heard that Shaanxi businessmen gave a lot of help when they were hiding in the current residence. This is really difficult."
Thinking of this, Jiang Quan also felt a headache. He had already joined the family when he was in Hanzhong, and some of them had seniority more than You Shiwei. How could this be mandatory?
Waiting until the war is over and adding an impeachment for robbing people of their property means there is no war.
"Since Shaanxi merchants cannot force them, why not guide them?"
At this time, Zeng Ying, the bearded uncle of Longzhou who was eager to try, and the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, smoothed his long beard and suggested.
Zeng Ying was a Sichuan general who made great achievements in resisting Zhang Xianzhong's war epidemic. Later, he joined the then King of Yu and is now the emperor, so he replaced Zhu Meng and guarded Dasan Pass.
Later, he participated in the Battle of Xi'an, and when Emperor Shaowu ascended the throne, he was granted the title of Longzhou Bo.
In the first year of Shaowu, he served as the commander-in-chief of Ningxia, recaptured Ningxia and Lanzhou, and marched to the Hexi Corridor. Now he follows You Shiwei to pacify Li Zicheng.
However, it is obvious that he did not attend the Winter Solstice Grand Ceremony in the first year of Shaowu. He was still an earl, but Hui Dengxiang, Wang Guangen, Zhao Guangyuan, Qin Yiming, etc. who were also ennobled as uncles were all promoted to marquis.
Therefore, we pay special attention to quelling the chaos this time.
"Li Dao, where did it come from?"
You Shiwei was stunned and turned to look at the beard-loving commander-in-chief.
"Reporting to the commander-in-chief, in the northwest generation, especially on our journey, I noticed that most of the lakes are salt water, and even the bottoms of many lakes have a blue-white color. This may be green salt!"
Zeng Ying sighed: "If we use silver, the Shaanxi merchants will not be happy, but if we use green salt, I am afraid the Shaanxi merchants will be very happy."
"Salt, yes, green salt is top grade, and its price is several times that of ordinary official salt."
Jiang Quan clapped his hands hurriedly, with a look of greed on his face: "If we have the official salt price and sell it to Shaanxi merchants in exchange for their grain transportation, wouldn't this be the best of both worlds?"
You Shiwei looked moved.
Yes, if these salt lakes are placed here, their armies will definitely not be able to mine them, but businessmen can. After all, this place belongs to the country.
However, there are still risks here.
"Okay -" You Shiwei gritted his teeth and made up his mind: "Tell those Shaanxi merchants that as long as they are willing to transport grain, I will allow them to mine green salt. As for the price, it will be rock salt and stone rice."
Gao Yigong became a spectator on the sidelines. He was relieved when he saw several people discussing countermeasures and finally came to a result.
Finally having a place in the Ming Dynasty, he didn't want to return to Nanjing in despair.
Thinking about the rank and title of the Gansu Commander-in-Chief, Xintaizi, Gao Yigong felt ashamed. This is all due to my sister!
For the sake of his sister and his nephew, Li Zicheng really had to fight.
Just when he was thinking wildly, You Shiwei, who had made up his mind, did not forget this Gansu commander:
"Commander Gao, among the entire military camp, you must be the only one who knows Li Zicheng best. I wonder what he is thinking now?"
"After all, our army is only more than two hundred miles away from Qinghai Lake."
Gao Yigong was asked unexpectedly, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "I don't know much about my humble position, but I know that Li Zicheng is good at cavalry, likes surprise attacks, and doesn't like frontal confrontation. Now that Li Yan has been lost in the camp, he must be the reason."
Lord!"
"A raid?" You Shiwei fell into deep thought.
The 30,000 troops under his command are the elite of the northwest. There are nearly 10,000 cavalry in the frontier army alone, as well as the elite Yulin Battalion.
Even when he left Nanjing, he asked the court for a thousand flintlock guns and two hundred pistols, which he thought were his trump cards.
"Li Zicheng went to the Tumut tribe. If he conquered the tribe, he would definitely have a lot of cavalry."
After saying that, You Shiwei raised his head and said sternly: "From today on, we will not be allowed to go out for fifty miles at night. The rangers will patrol in separate shifts throughout the day. We must not slack off."
At this time, the entire army immediately fell into tension.
As the time reached the end of June, Shaanxi merchants continued to deliver grain and grass through the Huangshui River, as well as a large amount of gunpowder, which greatly relieved the entire army.
You Shiwei's confidence also doubled, and he no longer had any worries. He resolutely led his troops westward and arrived at Xining Guard.
Xining City was built by soldiers led by Changxing Marquis Geng Bingwen. The city is five feet (16 meters) high and five feet thick.
During the Zhengde and Jiajing dynasties, the vitality declined, and only the 300-mile-long Xining border wall could be built, which played a great role in preventing the invasion of the Mongols.
"It seems that Xining Guard is still here!"
When You Shiwei saw the bright flag on the city wall, his face was full of smiles.
"Control, since the Jiajing period, the border troops have been depleted. The Xining Guards can barely handle the Tatars, but if they are intruders, they may not be able to catch them."
Zeng Ying shook his head, wary.
Jiang Yan on the side was ready to retort and block this guy who wanted to steal the limelight, but then he thought about it and realized that what he said did make sense.
If we talk about Datong and Xuanfu, because they are located in the capital, the sergeants still have some fighting strength, but in Xining, a remote and remote place, how can they possibly deal with the intruders?
"What Mr. Zeng said is true." He could only agree helplessly.
"That's right." Gao Yigong on the side also agreed: "The Chuang army especially likes to pretend to be officers and soldiers, and there are even officers and soldiers among them, so it is difficult to distinguish the real ones from the fake ones."
"Back then, Li Guo pretended to be Governor Sun and seized the city with a large banner. If not for your Majesty's divine wisdom, Tongguan would have been difficult to protect."
Speaking of this, everyone nodded. This is not the battle for the current emperor to become famous. He killed a tiger and Li Guo and became famous in the Central Plains.
As a foil, Li Jizu acted as a buffoon and almost lost Tongguan.
"You must be careful!"
You Shiwei nodded and said cautiously: "Send someone to check it out, and put the entire army on guard to prevent a surprise attack."