"Okay." Lu Zhenfei nodded, "Then give these horses to the Ministry of Internal Affairs."
"I fully support the Prime Minister's opinion." Qian Qianyi was the first to express his agreement. "These 10,000 horses should be handed over to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and handed over to the Holy Majesty for disposal."
"I also support it." Zhang Shenyan and Meng Zhaoxiang also expressed support.
"Then it's settled." Lu Zhenfei smiled again and said to Wu Linzheng, "Da Situ, according to the accounts of the Ministry of Revenue, these 10,000 war horses should be sold, and only one million shi of grain can be exchanged for 20,000.
An ox’s head plus two hundred thousand sheep.”
"I accept my order," Wu Linzheng responded. The account for these 10,000 horses must be written off.
You can't go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and ask the Holy Lord for money, right? You can't be so stingy as a minister.
What's more, life at the Ministry of Revenue has been quite prosperous this year. A total of 15 million taels have been issued in two tranches of bonds. Not only has the salary owed to officials been replenished, but New Year's gifts have also been distributed.
This includes sheep, one for each person of the eighth and ninth grades, three for each of the sixth and seventh grades, ten for each of the fourth and fifth grades, and fifty sheep for those of the third and above grades!
Unfortunately, these sheep are still far away in Huguang.
As soon as Wu Linzheng finished speaking, the general affairs envoy Liu Shizhen suddenly rushed in with an urgent letter in hand.
"Express delivery to Yunnan!" Liu Shizhen rushed into the cabinet duty room and gasped, "Dear cabinet ministers, urgent delivery to Yunnan!"
Qian Qianyi, who was sitting in the last seat, jumped up, took the letter from Liu Shizhen and handed it to Lu Zhenfei. Lu Zhenfei took the letter, picked up the paint with a knife, and took out the letterhead from the envelope.
After just one glance, Lu Zhenfei's face fell.
"Shou Kui!" Zhang Shenyan asked, "Is there another chieftain rebellion in Yunnan?"
"Ah? No way." Meng Zhaoxiang said, "The rebellion of Wu Bikui, the chieftain of Wuding, has just been suppressed. The peaceful days have not passed for two days, and there is another chieftain's rebellion? Can't we be allowed to live in peace?"
Qian Qianyi also asked: "Shou Kui, is it true that another chieftain is rebelling?"
"Well." Lu Zhenfei handed the letter to Zhang Shenyan and said with a dark face, "Sha Dingzhou, the chieftain of Mengzi, raised his troops to rebel. Moreover, this man was much more powerful than Wu Bikui. He captured Kunming on the same day he raised his troops.
In the city, Mu Tianbo, Duke of Guizhou, fled Chuxiong with only a few close servants, and even the whole family was trapped in Kunming."
Along with the fall, more than 200 years of savings of the Duke of Guizhou were also lost.
"Ah?" Meng Zhaoxiang, Qian Qianyi and others suddenly changed their expressions when they heard this.
The Duke of Guizhou only escaped with his life, but even Kunming was lost. Then wouldn't Yunnan be in danger?
"This is a major military and state matter, and we must discuss it with the Holy One before we can make a decision." Lu Zhenfei said solemnly, "Let's go, let's go to the Yilun Hall of the Imperial College now."
Qian Qianyi said quickly: "Shou Kui, Your Majesty is invigilating the exam at the university."
"Oh, yes, I actually forgot about this." Lu Zhenfei patted his forehead and said, "Then I'll go to the teaching center soon. This matter is extremely urgent, so we can't delay for a moment."
"It should be so." Qian Qianyi agreed.
At that moment, a group of people left the cabinet room and headed towards the cathedral.
When Lu Zhenfei and his party arrived at the teaching ground, the Imperial College Examination had just ended.
"Lu Qing, why are you here?" Chongzhen smiled and asked, "By the way, you are all famous scholars with profound knowledge. Can you tell me how you did on this test question of mine?"
"The Analects of Confucius?" Lu Zhenfei and others looked at each other in confusion when they saw the test questions Chongzhen asked.
I wonder if this question is too easy? Isn’t this Imperial Examination too hasty?
"Do you think it's too simple? Simple is the right thing. Simple test questions like this can allow candidates to give full play to their talents without being stumped by the questions." Chongzhen smiled, then straightened his face and said, "
I feel that the Ming Dynasty’s imperial examinations have changed in character.”
"In every subject exam, the examiner always uses different methods to find uncommon passages and sentences from the Four Books."
“I can’t find any uncommon passages, so I actually came up with the idea of cutting out paragraphs from different passages and making up the questions. Is it really necessary to go to such great lengths to embarrass the candidates?”
Lu Zhenfei disagreed with Chongzhen's words.
Lu Zhenfei said: "I would like to report to Your Majesty that the test questions should be made more difficult to help outstanding candidates stand out. If the test questions are too simple, I am afraid it will be difficult to select talents."
Chongzhen said: "I'm afraid that what you have selected is not a talented person, but a rotten scholar who only knows how to find chapters and extract sentences."
After a pause, Chongzhen continued: "After all, the first test of the Four Books only determines whether to go or stay, not whether or not, so the correct answer is to allow the candidates to give full play to their talents and knowledge and to make their articles colorful.
, and then it’s not too late to wait for the second trial discussion and the third policy question to raise difficult questions to determine the winner.”
Lu Zhenfei shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's too early for you to say this. It's not too late to wait until the results of this Imperial Examination come out."
Lu Zhenfei and Ma Mingluan have similar personalities, they are both straightforward.
This makes Qian Qianyi next to me anxious. How can you speak so directly? When you talk to the Holy Father, just say what he likes. Why bother to disappoint him?
Chongzhen said: "Lu Qing, there seems to be something hidden in your words?"
Lu Zhenfei shook his head again: "When the results of the Imperial Examination come out, Your Majesty, you will know why the examiners have to rack their brains to come up with cut-off questions every time they take the scientific examination."
"Well, let's wait until the results of the Imperial College Examination come out."
Chongzhen snorted softly and said, "By the way, what are you doing here?"
Lu Zhenfei then presented the urgent message just sent from Yunnan to Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, Sha Dingzhou, the chieftain of Mengzi in Yunnan, rebelled and captured Kunming in just one battle. Mu Tianbo, the Duke of Guizhou, fled with only a few cavalry.
Chuxiong."
"As expected." Chongzhen said coldly, "Although this Mu Tianbo has some abilities, he is not careful in his actions, and he is nepotistic. He also exploits the chieftains under his rule too harshly. It would be strange if Yunnan doesn't do the same."
Lu Zhenfei asked again: "So, will the imperial court send troops to conquer Sha Dingzhou, the chieftain of Mengzi?"
Chongzhen said: "To send troops to conquer Sha Dingzhou, we must conquer Sha Dingzhou, but not now. The new army has not yet been fully organized, and the firearms are far from being in place, so even if I want to send troops, I am powerless."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Your Majesty, can we recruit wolf soldiers from Guangxi to fight?" Lu Daqi suggested, "Or we can also recruit local soldiers from western Hunan?"
In the Ming Dynasty, Guangxi wolf soldiers and Xiangxi native soldiers were excellent mercenaries, and they once made great contributions in quelling the Japanese rebellion.
Chongzhen said: "It is not impossible to recruit Guangxi wolf soldiers or Xiangxi local soldiers to suppress the rebellion, but they can only be guest soldiers, so a strong army of officers and soldiers is needed to suppress them."
Lu Daqi asked in confusion: "Why is this?"
Chongzhen said: "If we use wolf soldiers or native soldiers as the main soldiers to quell the rebellion, it will be like drinking doves to quench thirst. Mu Tianbo made this mistake before when he suppressed the Wu Bikui rebellion."
"In the end, although the Wubikui rebellion was over, Mengzi Chieftain Sha Dingzhou got a glimpse of Yunnan's reality."
"For the same reason, if the imperial court recruits Guangxi wolf soldiers or Xiangxi local soldiers as its main soldiers to quell the rebellion, the Guangxi and Xiangxi chieftains will also see through the imperial court's reality and think that the imperial court is unable to quell the rebellion. In this way, after pacifying Shadingzhou
After the rebellion, the chieftains in Guangxi and Xiangxi should follow suit."
Speaking of this meal, Chongzhen said again: "At that time, where should the imperial court mobilize its troops to quell the rebellion?"
Lu Daqi frowned and retorted: "Your Majesty, Guangxi wolf soldiers and Xiangxi native soldiers can still be trusted. The imperial court has recruited wolf soldiers and native soldiers many times to suppress rebellions. Kuidong native soldiers even fought bloody battles with Jiannu in Hun.
River, all three thousand native soldiers died on the battlefield and no one retreated. This is a soldier that can be used."
Chongzhen said coldly: "The native soldiers in Kuidong are loyal, brave and good at fighting, that's because Qin Liangyu is there! But there is no second Qin Liangyu in Xiangxi and Guangxi. Moreover, since the rebels started their army, the imperial court has recruited wolf soldiers, and the native soldiers have been exterminated too much.
We have not been given enough pay and silver, and although we have been mobilized to send troops a few times in recent times, we are no longer as obedient to the orders of the imperial court as before."
Lu Daqi fell silent, because what Chongzhen said was true. The Guangxi wolf soldiers and the Xiangxi native soldiers were indeed not as obedient as before. Sometimes the food and wages provided by the court were a few days late, and they would directly set off to burn, kill and loot.
Last year, there was a group of Guangxi wolf soldiers who were ordered to serve the king. However, when they reached Jiangxi and heard that the capital had fallen, they were forced to stop. Then because of the lack of food and grass supplies, they went straight to rob the army. In the end, Jiangxi Governor Yuan Jixian mobilized the people and drove them back.
Guangxi, from then on Guangxi Wolf Soldiers had a bad reputation in the minds of Jiangxi people.
And to be honest, the military discipline of the wolf soldiers and native soldiers has never been very good.
Chongzhen then said to Lu Zhenfei: "Lu Qing, tell Mu Tianbo to wait for another half year. After half a year, the new army will be trained. I will personally lead the new army to Yunnan to put down the rebellion."
After half a year, the training of the new army has basically been completed.
The most important thing is that the Ming Dynasty Arsenal has produced at least about 10,000 flintlock muskets. Together with the Hubu Arsenal and the dozen or so small workshops, it should be possible to collect 12,000 flintlock muskets.
With this new army of 12,000 people, plus the cavalry battalion and 800 barbarians as the main army, we can recruit Guangxi wolf soldiers and Xiangxi native soldiers as guest soldiers, so that we can gather at least 30,000 people.
With these 30,000 soldiers, it is enough to put down the Shadingzhou Rebellion in Yunnan.
"Half a year?" Lu Zhenfei said worriedly, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid Duke Qian won't last half a year."
"You have to believe in the Duke of Guizhou." Chongzhen said solemnly, "Last year and the beginning of this year were as difficult as Xuzhou. Didn't I make it through? I can make it through, why can't the Duke of Guizhou?"
"What the Holy One said makes sense." Qian Qianyi couldn't hold it back anymore and said, "I believe Duke Qian will be able to hold on until the imperial court sends troops."
Lu Zhenfei glanced at Qian Qianyi with some displeasure, then bowed his hands to Chongzhen and said: "In this case, I will reply to the Duke of Guizhou and say that the imperial court is now mobilizing troops and will send troops to Yunnan to conquer Shadingzhou in June and July next year."
.”
"Okay." Chongzhen said, "We will send troops in June and July."