Gao Pragmatic, out of the mentality of an amateur military fan of later generations, has imagined his first meeting with Qi Jiguang countless times. Now Qi Jiguang's appearance and demeanor are basically in line with his expectations, but he was so humble and took the initiative to salute as soon as he came up.
The greeting was completely unexpected by Gao Pragmatic, so that he was a little overwhelmed for a moment. This was extremely rare for Gao Pragmatic since he entered politics in his previous life.
Fortunately, his shock was only for a moment, and he immediately reacted and returned the salute respectfully, saying: "How dare you, a lucky man, to salute Governor Qi? Governor Qi has traveled north and south for decades, and has served hundreds of thousands of people on both land and water.
We have fought without losing a single victory. This is actually my Ming Dynasty’s jade pillar holding up the sky, supporting the sea and golden beams. Please Commander-in-Chief, please don’t do this. I’m really ashamed of myself.”
Qi Jiguang was not "Qi Shaobao" at this time, but in the second year of Longqing, Qi Jiguang led a raid on Dong Huya's tent with 8,000 gun cavalry and destroyed Duoyan's 30,000 cavalry. Therefore, he was promoted to the right governor. This is where the phrase "commander" comes from.
it's here.
At this time, Qi Jiguang just straightened up. He was slightly startled when he heard this, but immediately smiled and said: "I have read a lot, Gao Shi. Although Qi is just a martial artist, he has read a few books by sages. Gao Shi read a famous book that moved the capital."
Qi recently sent someone to read his masterpiece "Long Wen Whip Shadow". How can you say you are lucky to have so many talented people?"
Before Gao Pingshi could answer, Qi Jiguang continued: "But the reason why Qi just gave this gift is not just that."
"Oh?" Gao Pingshi vaguely guessed what Qi Jiguang was going to say, but he was not sure.
"The manuscripts and pictures that Gao Shidu sent me last time are worth millions of dollars to me in the Ming Dynasty! Qi is not talented, and although he is a humble person, I would like to express my gratitude to Gao Shidu on behalf of all the military officials and military households of the Ming Dynasty."
Well, this proud Shandong man bowed again.
"Captain Qi's words are serious, he is serious. It's just a boy's occasional thought, and he doesn't know if it can really be like this, so he asked Governor Qi to look at it from the perspective of an expert. If the Governor is like this, this boy is really
I’m so ashamed.”
Gao Pragmatic hurriedly stepped forward and stretched out his hand to help him. Qi Jiguang naturally couldn't let a child under ten years old really use his strength to help him - he would definitely not be able to help him, so he stood up straight and said seriously: "Qi has a saying
I'm not afraid of Gao Shidu being offended. Originally, when Qi learned that Gao Shidu had made a 'scented soap', he thought that although Gao Shidu's talent was astonishing to everyone, it was a bit like it was being used in the wrong place. However,
, when Qi saw the manuscript and picture album sent by Gao Shidu, he realized that the saint would never deceive me. 'He who is born to know is the best' - Gao Shidu must have been such a talented person."
Gao Pragmatic had a wry smile on his face. He felt really ashamed now, but he couldn't explain that he actually only came up with those gadgets because of his vision as a time traveler. On the contrary, Qi Jiguang, as an "ancient", actually
Those who can see the value of those things at a glance instead of treating themselves as crazy are the real talents - no, they are geniuses!
Gao Jingshi's expression was a different sight in Qi Jiguang's eyes. He thought that Gao Jingshi's wry smile and silence were because he was praised for being shy. Although Gao Jingshi had different paths in civil and military affairs, and with Gao Jingshi's background and knowledge, he would be able to do so in the future.
His name on the gold list was almost gone. Given time, it would not be so strange to join the cabinet to assist in government. However, Qi Jiguang had a desire to take good care of the people in front of him, so he smiled and said: "His Majesty Gao
After reading many of the thoughts and sketches in those manuscripts and albums, Qi felt that they were very reasonable... If it were just the ideas in those manuscripts, Qi could only say that Gao Shi's thoughts in reading were as unconstrained as the imagination. Although it was very reasonable, in the end it was
It’s hard to predict, and I’m afraid it’s hard to see the day of success. But after Qi read the drawings and descriptions, he was really surprised and happy. Apart from being a genius, Qi really couldn’t find another word to describe Gao Shidu.
Already."
Gao Pragmatic still had a wry smile on his face and said awkwardly: "Captain Qi, how about we sit down and talk about something specific? If you continue to praise like this, I will have to find a crack in the ground and crawl in."
Qi Jiguang laughed and took a look. It turned out that there was already a desk and two imperial chairs placed on the balcony of the city tower. There was even tea placed on the desk. He knew that it must be prepared by Gao pragmatism, so he stretched out his hand and said, : "Master Gao, please."
"Captain Qi is an elder, please invite me."
Qi Jiguang glanced at Gao Jingshi with slight surprise. There was a hint of gratitude in his eyes. Without saying much, he nodded and went over first. Gao Jingshi knew that although he often read and wrote poems, he must rarely be respected like this by civil servants. , so he showed that look of gratitude.
Here I want to talk about a magical trend in the Ming Dynasty since the Japanese pirates plundered during the Jiajing period. There is a trend of celebrities now, that is, those who think they are real celebrities all pursue "youzhi". So, what is youzhi? Chen Jiru in the late Ming Dynasty An explanation once was given, saying, "Famous prostitutes are translating scriptures, old monks are brewing wine, generals are in the palace of articles, and scholars are in the field of military affairs. Although they lack their original qualities, they have their own characteristics."
In other words, the so-called "youzhi" means that it no longer pursues true nature, but is a kind of pretentiousness, or even pretentiousness. The "field where scholars practice military affairs" and "the general's residence of Xiangwen" listed in it can be said to be true. The relationship between civil and military affairs and social customs have undergone two major changes in the late Jiajing period: first, literati favored martial arts, and second, military generals favored literature.
Let’s not go into the literary scholar’s admiration for martial arts here. Let’s just say that Qi Jiguang liked reading and writing poems, and even later the Zhi Zhitang Collection was published. This is most likely related to the military commander’s good writing.
Probably starting from the Hongzhi and Zhengde years, a major change occurred in the military officials of the Ming Dynasty, that is, they became "people who think and do things with literature." In layman's terms, it was due to the long period of peace and the abnormal emphasis on civil and military affairs that the generals were "likely able to control the goblet." , but not skilled in fighting with bow and horse."
Why are military generals good at writing? Investigating the root causes, there are probably the following three aspects:
The first is to reverse the overall image of military generals being uncultured. The lack of literacy in military affairs is an overall phenomenon and has been the case throughout the ages, and the military generals of the Ming Dynasty are no exception. The second is that good writing can improve the reputation of military generals. In the Ming Dynasty, if you want to become a generation Famous generals, not just "strong generals", do not just rely on their own outstanding military exploits. They must rely on "good writing" to become a reality. Through "good writing", you can "add beauty and complement each other." For example, because Qi Jiguang was good at writing and had contacts with famous literati at the time such as Wang Daokun, Wang Shizhen, Wang Shimao, Shen Xiyi, Tang Shunzhi, etc., "his military exploits were first achieved." Thirdly, due to the influence of the current trend of emphasizing literature over martial arts, military generals had to be good at writing. .Originally, in the early Ming Dynasty, the military commanders were relatively free to move against the enemy. Later, the military commanders began to be controlled by the eunuchs who left the town, and were also controlled by the governors, governors, and important civil servants who controlled the eunuchs. In order to control the military power, the generals were gradually controlled by the patrol officers. In this way, the generals were faced with the embarrassing dilemma of "constraints". In desperation, they "had to write, thinking that they could control themselves". "Plan".
However, a military commander is a military commander. Even a "good writer" like Qi Jiguang is often praised by civil servants. But in the final analysis, he will not take part in the civil service examination and will not get the honors of Confucian scholars. Therefore, in his interactions with civil servants,
It is still inevitable to be despised by civil servants on some casual occasions.
And Gao Pragmatic admired Qi Jiguang very much, whether it was his unparalleled military talent in this era, or his pragmatic attitude as an official and as a person, regardless of face in order to do things, so his respect for Qi Jiguang came from the bottom of his heart.
Qi Jiguang has been in the officialdom for a long time. How can we not see this? So his impression of Gao pragmatism is even better.
***The author has something to say***
The views on the good writing of military generals in the late Ming Dynasty in this chapter come from Mr. Chen Baoliang's article "The Civil-Military Relationship and Its Evolution in the Ming Dynasty - An Investigation Based on the Institutional, Social and Ideological History Levels", which is hereby explained.