Wu Dui and Liang Menglong arrived at the No. 1 Scholar Gao Jinggong in Zhaohui Jinggongfang almost at the same time. Although both of them were confused, they also knew that Gao Jingshi sent someone to wake them up from bed in the middle of the night and invite them here.
It's not like I just wanted to chat with them out of the blue, it must be something big or important happening, and it's probably urgent.
The three of them did not meet in the flower hall, but were directly invited into Gao Pragmatic's study. Everyone was in tacit understanding and did not exchange too many greetings.
Gao pragmatic only said: "I'm sorry for bothering you late at night." Then he raised the secret letter in his hand and sighed: "The urgent report I just received has been lost in Xining."
After all, Wu Dui was a veteran Sima. When he saw the secret letter in Gao Pingshi's hand, he frowned and asked, "Isn't it a military report from the imperial court? Is this a secret report from Jinghua itself?" Liang Menglong also immediately looked at the secret letter.
Gao Pangshi did not explain, but just nodded and said: "It involves Beijing." Then he handed the secret letter to Wu Dui, and Liang Menglong also turned his head to look at it together.
The secret letter was not too long, and the two of them read it quickly. They both gasped and looked at each other.
Wu Dui pondered and said: "If what Cao said is true, then this matter must be the crime of Yongchang Guard, and it should not affect Jinghua."
Liang Menglong said: "Jinghua is not at fault, but the consequences of this incident are unimaginable."
Wu Dui also said after hearing this: "Yes, the imperial court has not focused on the three northwest sides in recent years. The military affairs of the three sides are mainly defense. Now that Xining has fallen, I don't know how to take it back."
Liang Menglong pondered and said: "I don't know if the people Gao Wenchuan has on hand are enough... I always feel that the three sides of Shaanxi are more than enough to hold on but not enough to conquer the city. The Ministry of War may want to help him."
The Gao Wenchuan he mentioned was his nickname, Wenchuan. His real name was Gao Guangxian, and his courtesy name was Zixiao. He was the governor of the Three Borders at that time, and his full official title was Governor-General Shaanxi Trilateral Military Affairs Minister and the Left Deputy Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate.
In other words, this man has almost reached the pinnacle among the governors, holding the titles of Minister of the Ministry of War and Zuo Fudu. He was originally the 38th Jinshi of Jiajing. At that time, he was ranked in the middle of the gold list and failed to stay in the capital.
He was awarded the title of Magistrate of Shanghai County. Later he was promoted to the position of Supervisory Censor and Shaoqing of Dali Temple. He was promoted to the Right Censor of Qiandu, the Right Deputy Censor of the Capital, and the Governor of Yansui. Later he was promoted to the Left Deputy Censor of the Capital, and Governor of Jizhou, Liaozhou, and Baoding.
He is also in charge of border affairs. The year before last, he was the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of War of Jin Dynasty, and he was the governor of the three border affairs.
Wu Dui nodded and said: "If Gao Wenchuan is in need, the Ministry of War will definitely help him..."
Liang Menglong didn't say much, but he understood very well in his heart. If the governor of the three sides at that time was a person who had nothing to do with "everyone", the Ministry of War did not need to worry now. After all, they did not call the police for help from the imperial court, so this matter should still be overseen by the ministers themselves.
The Ministry of War cannot be so proactive when it comes to errands.
But Gao Guangxian was different. He was a native of Changzhi, Shanxi, and a governor from the Jin Party. He was an important border minister among "one's own people", so he had to prepare early for the help he needed.
Besides, Zhang Siwei has been worrying about Ding for such a long time. If he returns to the court and finds that his important subordinates have collapsed due to the Ministry of War's poor performance and lack of support, will he be angry at Liang Menglong?
In fact, even Gao Pragmatic didn't know whether his uncle could return to the dynasty, because in the original history, Zhang Siwei's parents died one after another. Zhang Siwei himself couldn't bear these consecutive blows, and he was too sad and passed away.
But Liang Menglong couldn't predict the future. Of course he didn't know this, so he was worried that Zhang Siwei would come to settle accounts with him when he returned to the court. This was a normal thought.
After all, in terms of closeness, Gao Guangxian, who was born in the Jin Party, was more important to Zhang Siwei than Liang Menglong.
Wu Dui, as the elder of the pavilion, had a higher level of consideration. He shook his head and said, "The support that the imperial court or the Ministry of War can give him is probably limited."
Liang Menglong couldn't understand for a while and asked instead: "Why is this? We don't have any other wars at the moment. It shouldn't be difficult to mobilize one or two elite troops to support Gansu."
By the way, the trilateral governor of Shaanxi is not just in charge of Shaanxi. This position needs to be explained (to facilitate the understanding of the plot below, and I read it, and Baidu Encyclopedia explained it too briefly).
The Shaanxi Trilateral Governor-General System, also known as the Trilateral Governor-General, together with the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xuanda, and Jiliao, was known as the four permanent governors-general of the Ming Dynasty.
After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the various Mongolian tribes retreated to the grasslands and had a long-term confrontation with the Ming Dynasty from north to south, almost always with the rule of the Ming Dynasty. The two formed a close political, military, and economic relationship. The tripartite system was created in response to the military situation in the north.
, and complement each other with the formation and construction of three sides and four towns in Shaanxi.
The so-called "Shaanxi" in the Ming Dynasty actually refers to the entire northwest region most of the time, including later Gansu, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Qinghai and parts of Inner Mongolia.
In order to strengthen the military defense of the area, the Ming Dynasty established four major military towns here, namely Ningxia Town, Gansu Town, Yansui Town, and Guyuan Town (Shaanxi Town). The three sides refer to Ningxia, Gansu, and Yansui.
Region. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty at the latest, the Trilateral Military Town had been established and gradually improved.
According to the "Ming Huidian" record: "In the tenth year of Hongzhi, it was decided to dispatch important ministers to take charge of the military affairs of Shaanxi, Gansu, Yansui, and Ningxia. Fifteen years later, they were either established or dismissed. In the fourth year of Jiajing, the establishment of four towns was established.
, military affairs should be dealt with appropriately. Everyone below the town and patrol level should observe restraint, and those who do not need orders in front of the army should all command and follow the military law."
There have always been many opinions about the time when the trilateral general system of Shaanxi was initially established. The more mainstream theory is that it was earlier than the tenth year of Hongzhi. Specifically, in the tenth year of Chenghua, Wang Yue had already established the general system.
Name, command all the troops and horses.
At that time, Bolohu, Mandulu, Zijiasilan and others lived in the Hetao area, and invaded the border areas of Shaanxi in successive years.
They lived infrequently. After six years, they began to live permanently. They went deep into the counties to kill and plunder people and animals, often tens of millions of people. They often came in four or three times a year. The soldiers on the side sat back and watched, or watched them come out and followed them. Occasionally they captured the old and weak people left behind.
, often bluffing about the number of gains. What’s more, killing our people as captives is a false achievement, and they will be promoted and rewarded without a hairpin. Those who lose a hairpin will be punished by being demoted and exonerated.”
It was precisely because many of the border generals were out of action at this time that the enemy was in danger. Wang Yue attacked several times and gained a little bit. On September 12, the ninth year of Chenghua, Wang Yue attacked the "Captain Camp" in
Hongyan Pond. On October 11, the ninth year of Chenghua, Wang Yue and others won a victory over Weizhou and captured 1,934 men and women.
Emperor Xianzong wanted to take a long-term view and force the "captive bandits" not to dare to invade the border, so he granted Wang Yue the power of control to promote his success. However, in July of the 10th year of Chenghua, Wang Yue returned to Beijing because of his increasing illness.
In the tenth year of Hongzhi's reign, the Mongols invaded Shawobao in Kousu Prefecture, and Wu Min, the governor of Gansu Province, could not resist. The Ministry of War discussed setting up a chief commander, and ordered Wang Yue to take charge of all road affairs in Gansu and Liang and also to patrol local areas. Soon after, Gansu was ordered to
, the armies and horses of Ningxia and Yansui were all at the command of Wang Yue, and the governor of Gansu Province chose another person.
During Wang Yue's tenure as the commander-in-chief, he mainly dealt with the Mongolian part behind Helan Mountain. Xiaozong specifically told: "Behind Helan Mountain is the den of the bandits, and they have invaded the border areas many times. They have lived there for a long time, and they know the place well, or they can lure the northern bandits."
The general public may attract barbarians such as Ye Ni Keli, which will cause serious trouble. You must use your strategy to pursue and suppress them, and your mother's orders will nourish the spread."
In February of the first year of Zhengde, Yang Yiqing, the governor who was supervising the horse administration in Shaanxi, was repeatedly attacked by Huamachi in Ningxia, and the troops from Yansui were not coming for a long time. Therefore, he asked the general system to be centrally dispatched. After being recommended by the Ministry of War together with the court officials,
Wuzong Jian ordered Yang Yiqing to take charge of the border affairs of Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu and other departments and supervise the horse administration of each place.
It can be seen that the trilateral system was originally a temporary establishment, mostly in response to severe military situations, and its tenure was short, or it was recalled due to illness, or due to the lull in the war. As the number of deployments increased,
With the extension of the tenure of the general system, the assignment of official positions has gradually become more stable.
Yang Yiqing took office in May of the fourth year of Jiajing and left in November. Wang Xian took over in December of that year. He was not recalled until February of the seventh year of Jiajing. Xu Qiong was appointed in the month of Wang Xian's departure.
Fang left office in September of the 10th year, and subsequent presidents basically took office continuously, with few interruptions.
It can be seen that since the fourth year of Jiajing, the trilateral system of central dispatch by the imperial court has become custom-made. Regardless of whether there is a military crisis or not, they follow the rules and appoint them continuously, becoming a relatively fixed central dispatch officer.
In the fifteenth year of Jiajing's reign, because they avoided the word "zhi" (there was a category in the imperial edict called "zhi"), the imperial court changed the name of the Shaanxi Trilateral General System to the Shaanxi Trilateral Governor-General. Since then, the name "Governor-General" has been used.
The powers and responsibilities of the trilateral governors of Shaanxi were clearly stated, and the responsibilities of Gao Guangxian, the trilateral governor of Shaanxi, were also clear.
Because he "overall controls the border affairs of Shaanxi, Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu and other departments and supervises the local horse administration", and "the money and food for the troops and horses in the four towns are handled appropriately according to the military affairs. Everyone below the town patrol is subject to restraint, and the military
Those who have not been ordered to do so will be commanded to follow military laws." Therefore, in accordance with the principle of "equal power and responsibility", if something goes wrong in these four towns, the first and last one will be affected.
Liang Menglong was worried that he would be impeached due to the fall of Xining, which would cause Zhang Siwei to be dissatisfied with him in the future, so he became a little anxious when he heard Wu Dui's words as if he didn't want to care.
Wu Dui doesn't have to worry about this, because he is a well-established Gao Dang and has a very good relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Liang Menglong asked himself that he has a good relationship with Gao Pragmatic. Unfortunately, he doesn't have such a good background as Wu Dui, so he naturally has to be nervous.
.
But after Wu Dui heard this, he did not answer directly. Instead, he looked at Gao Pragmatic.
Liang Menglong was a little puzzled, and immediately cast a searching look at Gao Pragmatic.
Gao pragmatic frowned slightly, then smiled bitterly and said: "Mingquan Gong, it's not that the court has no troops to mobilize, the problem is that it has no money."
Liang Menglong was so obsessed with the authorities that he actually forgot about this. When Gao Pragmatic reminded him, he suddenly realized it. He slapped his thigh hard and said angrily: "I have no money again. How come I, the Ming Dynasty, always have to do so many things because I have no money?"
No?"
Gao Pragmatic almost couldn't help but roll his eyes and thought to himself: Isn't that true? Our country is probably the poorest "Chinese Dynasty" in history, but this poverty is limited to the imperial court, and the people are not poor at all.
But Gao Pragmatic couldn't ignore Liang Menglong without saying a word, so he had to smile bitterly and said: "Mingquan Gong, please bear with it for another two or three years. When the vassal ban is successfully lifted, the imperial court will be relieved of 30% of its burden, and many things will be easier to handle."
"Well, it's not that I can't wait, and it's not that I don't know this truth, but what should I do now?" Liang Menglong's face was full of worry, and he said with a sigh: "Xining can't be lost, how important this place is, 2
Isn’t the position clear?”
Of course the "two" are aware of it. Wu Dui was also promoted to the cabinet from the post of Minister of the Ministry of War. How could it be unclear? Not to mention Gao Pragmatic, he compiled the "Da Ming Huidian" and was a time traveler. For this era
It can be said to be a thorough understanding of ancient and modern times. How could he not be clear about it?
To express it in the simplest sentence, that is: if Xining is present, Gansu will be safe; if Xining is lost, Gansu will be in danger!
From a topographic point of view, the "Silk Road" line in Gansu is to the north of the Qilian Mountains, while the Xining Guard is to the south of the Qilian Mountains. If the Xining Guard is lost, from a strategic perspective, Qinghai Tumote will occupy the entire Qilian Mountains
Not only is the area to the south in a state that is easy to defend but difficult to attack, it can also go north to Qilian at any time, threatening the entire Silk Road.
Don't think that only the Silk Road of the Han and Tang Dynasties was smooth. It was also smooth in the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty also needed this road to trade with the Western Regions and obtain some specialties and even individual resources of the Western Regions, and the Western Regions needed this road even more to obtain various products of the Ming Dynasty.
Leading product.
But if it were just like this, it would only be an economic threat. In fact, the loss of Xining Guard would be more serious in terms of strategic disadvantage. From the situation point of view, Qinghai Tumut at that time was somewhat like the one after the Anshi Rebellion.
Tubo is in a state of "I can hit you if I want to, but it's impossible for you to hit me" - unless you can go to the fortress after crossing the Qilian Mountains.
Of course, there are differences between the Ming Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty. The biggest difference is that the Ming Dynasty had firearms.
The Tang Dynasty did not have artillery. After crossing the Qilian Mountains, the fortresses in strategic positions could only cost people their lives. However, the Ming Dynasty had artillery. In theory, these fortresses could be conquered with artillery. Another point is that although the Tubo people are also nomadic
, also have good cavalry, but they are better at guarding fortresses, while the Mongols don't seem to be very good at this.
Wu Dui said at this time: "Of course I know that Xining is important, but the court has no money, a clever woman can't make a living without rice, and I, the elder, can't make money... Alas, this matter can only depend on Gao Wenchuan's own ability."
Liang Menglong was greatly disappointed, and looked at Gao Pingshi again, full of hope and said: "Qiu Zhen, you are the golden touch..."
"Recovering Xining is different from attacking Burma. This will not bring any real benefits to our relatives and friends who have no place to spend their spare money. I think it will not be easy to raise money for this matter." Gao pragmatically replied.
It's not that he really can't make some money, but now the emperor is keeping a close eye on the vassal ban. Even if he can make money, it will probably be used to open the gap of the vassal ban first, so Gao Pragmatic doesn't want to get involved in this matter.
Use your strength.
Liang Menglong was indeed discouraged. He leaned back and murmured: "What should we do? The three sides of Shaanxi have not changed their uniforms frequently in recent years, and now there are no reinforcements..."
Gao pragmatic couldn't stand it anymore, coughed slightly, and said: "Cao Gan brought three thousand cavalrymen from the trading company... If Gao Wenchuan needs it, I can lend him these three thousand cavalrymen."
At this time, Gao Pragmatic did not know that because of this sentence, a series of subsequent changes had occurred, making him, a time traveler, unable to grasp the situation in the northwest.
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Thanks to the book friends "A Drop of Tears in Jianghu", "Too Fat to Fly", "Mysterious Pineapple", "Cao Bingduo", "Nn in Disrepair", "Good Things End", "Cao Mianzi", "ouus2009", "Dou
