As soon as he heard that it was Zhou Yuji who requested an audience, Emperor Chongzhen immediately received him without saying anything.
For him at this time, Zhou Yuji should be ranked first among all military generals.
Even if they are the same three people recommended by Liu Weichao, Zhou Yuji has a more sacred heart than Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong.
Although in the past, Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong had higher military positions than Zhou Yuji, of course they had more military exploits.
But similarly, Zhou Yuji also had many military exploits. When he returned to the capital from Jiangnan, he also captured a powerful bandit leader alive in Shandong.
The reason why Zhou Yuji became the first military commander in Emperor Chongzhen's heart was mainly because of what happened next.
Among the three of them, Sun Yingyuan will die in battle this month, so he will naturally have no credit later.
Huang Degong mainly guarded the Fengyang Imperial Tomb and had no special record against Zhang Xianzhong. Even when he died in the end, he was a bit useless.
Zhou Yuji's side was different.
When the Jianlu invaders invaded in the second half of the year, more than 70,000 soldiers looted a large amount of materials and young and middle-aged people from Shandong and returned to the outside of the pass through Yangliuqingbei. The Ming troops in the entire Shandong and Hebei provinces either fled or withdrew their troops to make way for them.
At that time, Zhou Yuji, who had received the imperial decree and was transferred from Yangliuqing to Shanxi as the commander-in-chief, had already led his troops. However, when he heard that the Jianlu were passing through Yangliuqing, he led his cavalry back to Yangliuqing and used the terrain to attack the Jianlu. Thousands of Qing Jianlu were killed and wounded.
, creating a rare example in the history of Ming and Qing wars in which the Ming army defeated a large number with a small number, and it was also a field battle.
In this battle, we can see Zhou Yuji's loyalty to the country, especially in the context of other Ming army generals, which is even more commendable!
And it can also be seen that Zhou Yuji is an outstanding general.
In addition, he was stationed in Shanxi to prevent Li Zicheng from attacking the capital from Shanxi. Officials in various places were urging him to surrender as well.
However, Zhou Yuji killed the lobbyists and refused to surrender, and eventually died in battle at Ningwuguan. His wife also followed him, the kind who would rather die than surrender.
Later generations commemorated him a lot. The classical Kun Opera drama "Ningwuguan" and the Peking opera "Ningwuguan" show Zhou Yuji's military life.
How could Emperor Chongzhen not be moved after reading these materials?
How could he possibly escape the position of number one general?
It was also for this reason that before Liu Wei got over his idea, he first conferred the title of Uncle Zhongwu on Zhou Yuji.
No, Emperor Chongzhen specially waited for the next week to meet with good luck. When he arrived, he even asked him to get into the royal chariot and go to the glass factory together.
"I also have some glassware production, which is very profitable. I have to give you instructions quickly. By the way..." Emperor Chongzhen said this, looked at Zhou Yuji and said, "There is also a telescope, which can also be made.
I'll give you some when the time comes."
Zhou Yuji was a little surprised when he heard this, but of course he was also very happy, so he reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the general thought about it for a long time yesterday, and he may have a plan to solve the problem of the length of training for new recruits!"
After finishing speaking, he took out a memorial from his arms and presented it with both hands.
When the chamberlain waiting at the side saw it, he quickly stepped forward to take it and presented it to the emperor.
"Really?" Emperor Chongzhen didn't expect Zhou Yuji to say this. For a moment, he was a little surprised. He even couldn't wait to read the memorial, so he directly asked Zhou Yuji, "If you have any good advice, please tell me quickly!"
"The general obeys the order!" After hearing this, Zhou Yuji immediately responded, "If all the new soldiers use firearms, the training time can be shortened. The method used by Marshal Qi to train troops can be used!"
"Oh?" Emperor Chongzhen was a little suspicious when he heard this, and confirmed again, "Is it really effective?"
When Zhou Yuji heard this, he raised his head and chest, and said without hesitation: "Commander Qi's achievements are obvious to all, and the army he has trained will undoubtedly be a strong one!"
"Then why don't others use Qi Jiguang's method?" Emperor Chongzhen still asked with doubts after hearing this, "If it is easy to use, our Ming army will be a strong army, why is there such a disaster today?"
As soon as he heard this, Zhou Yuji knew that he did not understand military affairs, so he quickly explained: "Your Majesty, the reason why there is no strong army after Marshal Qi. The reason why the last general did not mention this before is actually only one reason...
…”
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen understood what he meant. As long as he could solve the problem, he would be able to get a strong army. So, he immediately asked impatiently: "What's the reason?"
"money!"
"What?" Emperor Chongzhen was very surprised when he heard this and couldn't believe it. Is it just for this reason?
"That's right!" Zhou Yuji immediately replied affirmatively, "Commander Qi's method of training and commanding troops consumes money!"
"What do you mean?" When Emperor Chongzhen heard that it was just a question of money, he felt a little stiff at the moment, so he showed great interest and immediately asked, "Is it full military pay?"
"Your Majesty, paying the army enough is just the basics!" Zhou Yuji heard this and immediately replied, "The armor and weapons used by the army, including firearms, must be of high quality and must not be used indiscriminately. Military law is strict, orders and prohibitions are inseparable from clear rewards and punishments! Marshal Qi's subordinates, beheaded
The first-level silver reward is 40 taels..."
"..." Emperor Chongzhen was stunned when he heard this.
In his Chongzhen Dynasty, arrears of military pay were common.
Why do so many border troops in Qin rebel? Even if military pay has been delayed for two or three years, people can't survive even if they sell their sons and daughters, so of course they will rebel.
Previously, he had paid the military salaries of the Yongwei Camp in advance, which was a great thing. At least in the eyes of Emperor Chongzhen, it was a great sense of accomplishment.
Unexpectedly, Qi Jiguang's army was so expensive back then. One level of beheading cost 40 taels of silver!
At this time, he had an impulse. If he wanted so much money, he would go all out to behead him!
Seeing Emperor Chongzhen in a daze, Zhou Yuji felt a little uneasy.
Previously, he saw that the emperor had great trust in him, and it also made him see that the emperor seemed to be really rich.
The combination of these two aspects gave him the courage to talk about the money, or in other words, the firearms.
For a long time, the generals of the Ming Dynasty army were assigned by the Military War Bureau or the Ordnance Supervision regardless of the ordnance production.
The low status of military generals in the Ming Dynasty is obvious to all. Who would dare to object to the weapons that were appropriated?
And there were so many corrupt officials in the late Ming Dynasty that it was impossible to miss out on arms. Cutting corners was the norm!
As a result, firearms often explode, so who dares to use them?
The same is true, even in the Yongwei camp, the proportion of firearms is not high.
As a general in charge of the army, how could Zhou Yuji dare to question the quality of firearms to the eunuch who was in charge of the imperial horse?
If it weren't for Emperor Chongzhen's change, he would certainly not have dared to propose this firearm method this time. Because this would mean that he would go against those in charge of the war bureau under the Royal Horse Supervisor, that is, the eunuchs, to kill people.
The money is gone.
Otherwise, Zhou Yuji, as the commander of the army, would not have known that the training time for firearms soldiers was shorter than that for cold weapons.