Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 179 Xuanfu Ma Fang (Part [-])
Hey, hey... seven or eight frontier cavalry in red jackets rode their horses regardless of the cold rain in early spring, and when they arrived at the gate of the general army's office, they tossed their badges at the door from a long distance away. The soldiers shouted loudly: "Xuanfu's chief soldier will take back the town and return to the camp at night!"

At the same time that the guards at the gate took the badges, these people had already rolled over and dismounted, and their movements were so skillful that they didn't look like Han'er at all—well, they were indeed not Han'er, but authentic Mongols, but they had already been naturalized. I have worked in Ma Fangjun for almost ten years.

This situation may seem absurd to some descendants who do not understand the history of the Ming Dynasty, but it was a very common phenomenon at that time.What's more, Ma Fang's leadership has always been very Mongolian, and even behaved "more like a Mongolian than a Mongolian" in many cases.

Ma Fang's resume is really full of positive energy: he was born in a peasant family, was plundered by the Tatars as a slave at the age of ten, and worked hard in the grassland for ten years. At the age of 20, Ma Fang fled back to the Central Plains alone, and joined the army under Zhou Shangwen, the general of Datong, and later grew from a small captain to a Mongolian nemesis.

Compared with the other two generals Jia, Long, and Wannian, although Li Chengliang's prestige and military exploits were also achieved, they were more or less flashy, and they came from the so-called "raising thieves to invite credit"; The fundamental and most outstanding ability lies in the construction and training of the army. Judging from the Qi's army and the Great Wall tactics and firearms used in the later period, this is definitely a quasi-modern team. Shuai may not be able to fight, but Qi's army is not the case, anyone who takes it will be easy to use.

But Ma Fang is unique. Relying on his understanding of the habits of the Mongols when he was young, when most of the Ming army could only choose to defend against the Mongolian cavalry, he often took the initiative to attack and "strike the enemy first".From Xuanfu to Datong, from Datong to Huairou, he often played the job of outflanking thousands of miles at every turn, like a poor version of Huo Qubing.

At that time, in all the towns and borders of the Ming Dynasty, there were both Han children living in Mongolia and Mongolian athletes living in Han lands. After all, more Mongolians came to Han lands to make a living.

However, when Han people go to Mongolia, most of them do some work such as land reclamation, building cities, roads and bridges, while Mongolians come to Han, they can do even less work, and they will directly join the army in all likelihood—except for them Good at riding and fighting, but Daming's talents in other aspects are really lacking.

Some historical researchers in later generations believed that the main force of the frontier army who could fight in the late Ming Dynasty was actually not the Han people, but the so-called "Mongolian mercenaries"-because these people were the main family members of the generals in the north.

Although this statement is biased, it can also reflect from one aspect the high proportion of Mongolian athletes in the Ming army at that time and the great strength they contributed.

The situation in the northern towns is also a very important reason why Gao Yushi insisted that the Mongolian issue can be settled "almost" without fighting.

The Han people have a saying that "the emperor does not send hungry soldiers", and this principle is also applicable in Mongolia-it does not mean that if the descendants of your golden family shout, I will bring my own dry food and come all the way from thousands of miles to work for you.Because it’s all about selling my life anyway, even if I know nothing but selling my life, at least I can choose to sell my life to the person with the highest bid.

Although the frontier army of the Ming Dynasty was poor, it was not difficult to embezzle those guards who were unable to fight and their salaries to buy and support an obedient, capable army with a lot of Mongols mixed in.

The gate guard quickly checked the badge, waved his hand quickly to let the gate open, and handed the badge back politely.

Originally, Yebushou planned to go directly to Baihutang, but unexpectedly, there was a voice from the inner study next to him: "Stop running around, the old man is here, you little bastards, come here."

The Mongolian-born athletes known as "little brats" were happy at night instead of angry, with smug smiles on their faces—it wasn't that they had a tendency to be abused, but that they knew the habits of their own marshals. Shuai only calls the outstanding juniors in the army "little brats".

It's a nickname, not an insult.

A few Yebu Shou went up to see their own commander, Ma Fang was anxious, but she still had a carefree look on her face, and said with a smile: "What's the matter, I went to the capital with the money I gave you, and I'm back today It's an hour too late! Did you go to Huajie and Liuxiang, and everyone was so excited that they couldn't walk or ride a horse?"

Everyone laughed, and the leader of the night did not accept it, but also smiled and replied: "How can it be, handsome, the young ones know how to measure, of course they must go to Huajie and Liuxiang, but if you can't ride the horse, you don't have to keep talking. Let's screw our heads off and use them as chamber pots for the commander! Who doesn't know the rules of our Ma Jiajun?"

The rules of the Ma family army are: if you can fight, I can bear with other small problems. If your mother shrinks in the war, I will simply cut off the eggs and send you to the palace to serve Grandpa Long Live.

It's... bandit, but it works.

If someone thinks that Ma Fang's temperament is really full of death, and that such an official will have trouble sooner or later, then he is very wrong, because Ma Fang is a typical example of roughness and fineness.

In terms of being an official, Ma Fang sometimes seems to be a "very unprofessional" person.When Qiu Luan, general of Xuanda, was in office, although he was an idiot in battle, he was smart about money. The local generals in Shanxi had to give gifts according to the custom every New Year, which was called "Winter Gifts".Ma Fang not only did not participate, but often avoided it with the excuse of "working overtime during the Chinese New Year".Later, Qiu Luan was convicted, and the court "settled accounts after autumn", and Ma Fang became a rare "innocent" among local military officers in Shanxi.

Yang Shun, the governor of Xuanda who succeeded Qiu Luan, was even more of a jerk. Whenever the Mongolian cavalry invaded, he would only retreat and seek peace.What is even more heinous is that he ordered his subordinates to frequently slaughter fleeing Han people, cut off their heads and shaved their heads and pretended to be Mongolian soldiers for side merit.Ma Fang angrily resisted this beastly behavior, and strictly ordered his subordinates to "behead anyone who dares to kill the good and pretend to be a meritorious service."

Because he "doesn't know the way", when Qiu Luan was there, he took the credit for surprise attacking Alta; when Yang Shun was there, he was fined for "defeat in consecutive battles".

Although "little shoes" have been worn a lot, Ma Fang, who seems to be "unable to do so", is actually a "very well-disciplined" person in the officialdom. His rough military career has not only created his strong bones on the battlefield, It also made him a well-behaved temperament in life.

He does not "respect" Qiu Luan, because he knows that Qiu Luan is "rebellious, greedy and violent, and the situation will not last long"; he resists Yang Shun's "killing the good", because he understands that this move "will inevitably invite resentment, and it will inevitably lead to guilt." ".

In fact, the capital censor Fang Fengshi, several ministers of the Ministry of War, Wang Bangrui, Zhao Jin, etc., all made friends with him. Recently, the famous civil servant Wang Chonggu, who served as the governor of Xuanda, even "recognized" Ma Fang as a close friend.

Every time Ma Fang guarded a place, in addition to meticulous training and defense, he paid more attention to collecting local rare local products as gifts to the "superior leaders". All have the support of the big guys, and every time they are "given with excellent soldiers and good weapons".In the past, Yan Song's eldest son, Yan Shifan, also had a very accurate view of Ma Fang, and once warned Yang Shundao: "Although (Ma Fang) appears simple and rude, he is as meticulous as a hair, and he also has a strategy in mind, so don't make him an enemy."

At this time, Ma Fang saw his attitude towards her for several nights, and knew in her heart that these few harmless words had brought the distance between herself and them much closer, so she asked: "Okay, gossip Let me tell you less, the old man asked you to come to Beijing to learn about the recent movements of the imperial court, especially the situation of Mr. Gao Ge, have you found anything?"

The leader who didn't accept that night restrained his smile, but his answer surprised Ma Fang, because he said: "There is no special event worth mentioning in the court, but when it comes to Mr. Gao Ge... there is something I don't know. It’s not about Elder Gao Ge—his nephew was chosen to be the prince’s companion—this is what happened yesterday.”

(End of this chapter)