In the Jiubian Military Town of the Ming Dynasty, the highest military officer was the garrison commander, who was in charge of all military affairs in the defense zone. His authority was no less than that of a feudal official.
In addition to the garrison commanders of major military towns, the military commanders of some important military fort camps also hold the official position of garrison commander. Although their status is not as prominent as the garrison commanders, the areas of defense that these commanders are responsible for are mostly crucial.
The imperial court is also extremely supportive, but their direct military strength is not inferior!
Shi Song, the commander-in-chief of Huamachi Camp, is like this. He has nearly 3,000 private soldiers, which can be said to be very powerful! In addition, deputy commander-in-chief Zheng Yu and participating general Qian Bao also have 500 private soldiers each, and the garrison officer
Bao Hongjie also has 300 private soldiers!
As for those thousands and hundreds of households, they all have dozens to more than a hundred private soldiers.
In other words, half of the more than 10,000 border troops in Huamachi Camp belong to these generals' private soldiers!
As for the other half, most of them were old, weak, sick and disabled. In the eyes of the generals, they were no different than slaves and had almost no fighting ability.
Today, the Forbidden Army has been unable to completely control the situation in Huamachi Camp because the private soldiers under these generals are dedicated to savior and continue to resist!
However, although the private soldiers under their command showed bravery, in the Forbidden Army camp, after the generals found themselves under house arrest, they all had a weak attitude and did not dare to make any resistance.
Although they are military generals, they understand the principle of "a man who knows the current affairs is a hero". They know that even if they resist, they can't change anything. On the contrary, they may endanger their lives, so they just stay in the room honestly and nervously.
Discuss countermeasures.
Commander-in-Chief Shi Songnai is a veteran on the battlefield. He is now nearly fifty years old. After working hard in the northwest frontier for so many years, he has long understood the truth that "strength is everything". As long as you are strong, no one will
He dares to touch himself easily, but instead he fights to win over him, so he works hard to raise a private army. Every year, he rarely lets his private soldiers participate in the war. He often avoids wars because he is afraid of losing his strength.
.
In fact, Shi Song's concept is extremely correct in some respects. When he had five hundred private soldiers, the then governor of Shaanxi and Gansu recommended him to become the garrison officer. After he had one thousand private soldiers,
He gained the attention of the former Governor of the Three Sides and was promoted to the rank of General! After he had two thousand private soldiers, he was promoted by the previous Governor of the Three Sides, Liang Fuchen, and became the commander-in-chief of the Huamachi Camp!
In contrast, although some generals had outstanding military exploits, they did not have enough troops, and their promotion speed was not as good as that of Shi Song, who often avoided battles to preserve his strength.
All in all, strength is everything, and Shi Song has already deeply realized this.
Today, Shi Song already has three thousand private troops, and these three thousand private troops are all well-equipped and highly skilled in martial arts. They are much more elite than the private troops of other generals. Even in the entire Ningxia military town, he has
It is a decisive force.
After being put under house arrest by Guan Wuyuan, although Shi Song was very sensible and did not resist, he did not panic too much because he had three thousand loyal and elite private soldiers under his command. No matter who he was, he would fight to win over him and would never easily win over him.
Offend yourself.
Therefore, although Huamachi Camp was already in chaos at this time, and most of the generals were restless, Shi Song was still the old god, just sitting at the banquet and drinking to pass the time.
After arriving at the Forbidden Army camp, although Guan Wuyuan was not seen, Guan Wuyuan still prepared three banquets for them. From this aspect, Guan Wuyuan indeed hosted a banquet for them.
*
"What's going on?"
"Are the Imperial Guards planning to rebel?"
"What on earth is Guan Wuyuan thinking? Why does he want to lead troops to cause trouble when things are so good?"
“I don’t know how the Governor is doing now!”
Unlike Shi Song, the other generals were not strong enough, and together they were not as good as Shi Song alone. Naturally, they were not that calm. They were all restless and discussing countermeasures with each other since they were placed under house arrest.
But soon, the generals realized that they were now under the control of others and could not find any countermeasures at all. Instead, they all turned their attention to Commander-in-Chief Shi Song, hoping to seek ideas from Shi Song.
"Sir, Commander-in-Chief, what do you think we should do now?"
"Guan Wuyuan actually put us under house arrest. We can't just let this matter go!"
"Sir, Commander-in-Chief, if there is a critical moment, you must help your brothers!"
"Sir, Commander-in-Chief, Guan Wuyuan suddenly led the troops to cause chaos. Didn't he say hello to you in advance? That's too arrogant. You are the real master of Huamachi Camp!"
Seeing all the generals surrounding him, asking him for advice, seeking protection, and even wanting him to take action against Guan Wuyuan, Shi Song felt impatient in his heart and shouted in a low voice: "What are you doing?
!There is nothing to cause chaos! Don’t worry, no matter why Guan Wuyuan wants to put us under house arrest or why he wants to lead his troops to cause chaos, as long as our strength still exists, he will not dare to make things difficult for us easily! Even though there are many imprisoned soldiers, they have been around for a long time.
The lack of war preparation is just a show-off, and how can we be the opponent of our frontier army! If we are forced to panic, overturn the table and fall out, regardless of victory or defeat, Guan Wuyuan will definitely not be able to bear the loss! "
At this point, Shi Song snorted coldly and said: "Listen carefully. Although Huamachi Camp is in chaos and noisy now, there is no sound of fighting. The Forbidden Army and the Border Army are obviously just confronting each other, and the Border Army is not.
Our orders do not dare to conflict with the Forbidden Army at will, but the Forbidden Army does not dare to take the initiative, so they just confront each other... Just wait, Guan Wuyuan will come to us soon!"
After hearing Shi Song's assurance, the generals felt much relieved.
However, at this moment, a young man's admiration suddenly came from outside the room: "General Shi is worthy of being a veteran of the northwest frontier. His determination is indeed amazing. Even when encountering such changes, he remains calm and composed.
His thoughtfulness is truly admirable!”
Hearing this voice, Shi Song's eyes narrowed, he looked up outside the room and asked, "Who is speaking?"
Following Shi Song's inquiry, the three of them stepped into the room.
It was Zhao Junchen, Guan Wuyuan, and Li Ruan.
After seeing Guan Wuyuan and Li Ruan appear together, the expressions of all the generals changed, and they planned to question Guan Wuyuan's reason for putting them under house arrest and leading troops to cause rebellion.
However, before the generals could speak, Shi Song raised his hand to stop them, and looked past Guan Wuyuan and Li Ruan, focusing on Zhao Junchen.
Guan Wuyuan commanded 50,000 forbidden troops, and Li Ruan was the eunuch overseeing the army. They were both of high status, but the two of them stood behind Zhao Junchen respectively, following Zhao Junchen step by step, and their attitudes were quite respectful, so Shi Song guessed it right away.
Zhao Junchen's status is far more noble than that of Guan Wuyuan and Li Ru'an, and Guan Wuyuan has many generals under house arrest today and leads his troops into rebellion without any warning. It is obviously Zhao Junchen who is behind the scenes.
Thinking of this, Shi Song stood up, raised his hands to Zhao Junchen and asked, "Who are you? Is it you who was speaking just now?"
Zhao Junchen walked to the banquet and sat down. He did not mean to hide his identity. He directly replied with a smile: "I am the imperial envoy of the imperial court, Zhao Junchen, the Minister of Household Affairs!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's self-introduction, everyone was shocked.
Didn’t the imperial envoy Zhao Junchen disappear because of the Mongolian cross-border attack? Why did he suddenly appear here? What Guan Wuyuan did was obviously based on Zhao Junchen’s orders, and for what reason?
Shi Song's expression changed slightly, but he immediately saluted Zhao Junchen and said, "General, I will pay my respects to the Imperial Envoy!"
Under the leadership of Shi Song, all the generals also knelt down on one knee, saluted Zhao Junchen and said in unison: "I pay my respects to the imperial envoy."
No matter what Zhao Junchen wants to do, he is the imperial envoy after all, and the dignity cannot be messed up before he is completely torn apart.
After the salute, the generals originally thought that Zhao Junchen would let them stand up and speak, and then they could ask Zhao Junchen the reason.
However, Zhao Junchen seemed to have forgotten this, and allowed everyone to kneel, and just said slowly: "You must have some doubts in your hearts. I don't know why General Guan put you under house arrest, and I don't know why this imperial envoy suddenly appeared.
Here... you are all generals of the imperial court, and it is necessary for me, the imperial envoy, to explain the reason to you!"
At this point, Zhao Junchen's originally gentle voice suddenly turned cold and serious, and he continued: "You must have heard about the Mongolian attack that the Imperial Envoy encountered in Hengshan County. According to the Imperial Envoy's investigation, it was discovered that this incident
The incident was instigated by Wang Gong, an aide of Wang Zheng, the Governor-General of the Three Kingdoms. This person colluded with foreign invaders, murdered the imperial envoy, and betrayed the imperial court. He had committed a heinous crime! At the same time, the imperial envoy also discovered Wang Gong and the Wang family's influence in Shaanxi and Gansu.
Many civil and military officials in Shaanxi and Gansu were their accomplices. If the imperial envoy directly challenged him, something might happen. Therefore, the imperial envoy secretly contacted General Guan and Supervisor Li, and this was how we ended up today.
What happened late... everything is just to be sure, to use thunderous means to completely eradicate this cancer and hidden danger of the Wang family!"
After hearing Zhao Junchen's explanation, the expressions of the generals changed again.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Junchen’s target turned out to be Wang Gong and the Wang family!
Most of the generals had contact with the Wang family, and they couldn't help but worry that they would be implicated.
Shi Song, in particular, suddenly felt a storm in his heart! He was able to possess the strength of three thousand private soldiers largely because of the secret funding of the Wang family. If Zhao Junchen took action to eradicate the Wang family, how would he maintain his strength in the future?
?If you want to feed three thousand private soldiers, the annual consumption is not a small amount!
Just when everyone was thinking differently, Zhao Junchen said again: "Of course, Wang Gong and the Wang family have always been very hidden. They colluded with foreign invaders to betray the imperial court, and they wanted to hide it from everyone, so my action this time is just
It’s just targeting the Wang family and will not implicate the civil and military officials of Shaanxi and Gansu!”
As Zhao Junchen finished speaking, all the generals secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Shi Song suddenly asked: "The imperial envoy believes that the Wang family of Shaanxi and Gansu colluded with foreign invaders to murder the imperial envoy. Is there any concrete evidence?"
Zhao Junchen glanced at Shi Song and asked: "What if there is evidence? What if there is no evidence?"
Shi Song said slowly: "The general believes that the imperial envoy should act with caution. The Wang family is a large family in Shaanxi and Gansu. The three sides of Shaanxi and Gansu have often received funding from the Wang family over the years and contributed a lot of financial and material resources to the imperial court's border defense plan. It is difficult to
Imagine that they would secretly collude with the Mongols. If the Imperial Envoy has no evidence, he should not easily judge the Wang family as collaborators, let alone take action. If the Imperial Envoy finds tangible evidence, he should carefully review it to avoid an unjust case!"
Zhao Junchen suddenly laughed again and asked: "What do you mean, no matter whether I have evidence or not, I can't take action against the Wang family?"
Shi Song said: "The general just thinks that the imperial envoy should be more cautious and not wrongly accuse good people."
Zhao Junchen said coldly: "Unjustly accusing good people? Will good people collude with foreign invaders, murder imperial envoys, and betray the people of the court? That's right. The three thousand private soldiers under General Shi's command spend countless money and food every year, half of which comes from
The Wang family’s funding will naturally speak for the Wang family!”
Seeing that Zhao Junchen knew his own affairs so well, Shi Song couldn't help but be surprised.
However, as Zhao Junchen said, Shi Song and the Wang family have a prosperous relationship, and Zhao Junchen cannot be allowed to take action against the Wang family.
Therefore, Shi Song avoided talking about Zhao Junchen's statement and just continued: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Envoy clearly knows that this is a sensitive period. The Wang family's support to Shaanxi and Gansu over the years has been seen by many soldiers. If
If you really take action against the Wang family, it will inevitably cause chaos, and there may even be a mutiny. At that time, things will be difficult to deal with!"
At the end, Shi Song's words already contained a hint of threat!
Shi Song believed that Zhao Junchen would seriously consider his proposal. After all, he had three thousand elite private soldiers and was responsible for the defense of Huamachi Camp. He was the mainstay of the northwest border defense.
Now that the Mongolian army is about to invade, the border defense situation is critical. In order to stabilize the overall situation, Zhao Junchen will never dare to offend the border generals at this time!
However, Shi Song ultimately overestimated his own importance and underestimated Zhao Junchen's determination.
Zhao Junchen suddenly sighed softly and said: "Sure enough, if you want to control the situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, just being reasonable is not enough...after all, you still have to kill people to establish your authority!"
As Zhao Junchen finished speaking, Guan Wuyuan suddenly drew out his sword, jumped behind Shi Song, and slashed with the sword!
Then, blood sprayed out, the headless corpse fell heavily, and the head rolled to the ground.
*
Above the head, Shi Song's eyes widened, full of disbelief.
He didn't understand until his death that Zhao Junchen actually dared to kill him despite the fact that he had three thousand elite private soldiers?
But in fact, in Zhao Junchen's eyes, Shi Song's three thousand private soldiers are worthless! In fact, if he really wants these three thousand private soldiers to play some value, Shi Song must die!
Because Shi Song attaches too much importance to strength and always avoids fighting in order to preserve his strength. In this way, no matter how elite and brave his three thousand private soldiers are, they can't resist foreign invaders, so what's the use?
In fact, the Ming Dynasty's weak border defense was largely due to the fact that there were too many generals like Shi Song. They ate empty pay and drank the soldiers' blood, resulting in an empty military force on the border. Although they spent great efforts to cultivate private soldiers, they also used
Private soldiers are regarded as private property and are unwilling to use them to defend against foreign enemies. They often avoid fighting and flee from battle. Naturally, border defenses are extremely weak.
On the contrary, after Shi Song died, Zhao Junchen took over his three thousand private soldiers, which allowed this force to play some role!
What's more, now that Zhao Junchen also deliberately wanted to establish his power, Shi Song bumped into the muzzle of the gun, and naturally he died.
After Shi Song was killed, all the generals were horrified and quickly retreated to the side.
Zhao Junchen, on the other hand, returned to his original gentle appearance and asked again: "Now, I would like to ask you again, who else is opposed to my plan to deal with the Wang family?"
After seeing Shi Song's fate, no one dared to object.
What's more, compared with Shi Song, their relationship with the Wang family is not that close.
So, after the generals were silent for a moment, they all said: "Those of lower rank are willing to follow the Imperial Envoy and do whatever the Imperial Envoy orders!"
Zhao Junchen was noncommittal and just asked: "In that case, why do your private soldiers hinder the Forbidden Army from doing their work? Do you want to rebel?"