prosperous age

Chapter 1051 1142 Attack and Defense

The Yunnan Provincial Administration of the Ming Dynasty, Baoshan City, Yongchang Prefecture.

"Sir, Deputy Envoy Luo, Li Chengliang, the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Five Military Commands Office, has arrived."

Today, Duke Mu Changzuo of Qian summoned Luo Rufang, the inspector of Yongchang Prefecture in Yunnan, to discuss the deployment of defenses against the Burmese army. Just as the two of them were talking, guards from the Duke's Mansion suddenly came in to report.

"Left Commander, Li Chengliang, are they here?"

When Mu Changzuo heard this, he was surprised at first, and then asked again with some hesitation.

"Yes, sir, the person is already outside the mansion."

The guard hurriedly repeated it.

"Quick, open the middle door and come in."

Mu Changzuo had already stood up, and Luo Rufang beside him also stood up.

The guard who reported the news turned around and ran outside, and Mu Changzuo and Luo Rufang quickly followed him.

Mu Changzuo has his own source of information. He may be spying on the capital's secrets or observing the direction of the capital's trends. Anyway, although the Duke of Qian's Mansion seems to be away from the capital all year round, it is always paying attention to every move in the capital.

A considerable amount of money is invested in this information channel every year, and express horses regularly deliver news from the capital to Yunnan.

Therefore, although Mu Changzuo did not know the news of Li Chengliang's arrival, the order from the capital regarding the Yunnan incident had reached his ears yesterday.

Li Chengliang had documents led by the cabinet and stamped by the Ministry of War, Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Personnel, which allowed him to mobilize all the troops in Yunnan and surrounding areas, as well as the treasury's money and grain and the temporary appointment and dismissal of officials in the military preparation department.

Yes, the appointment and removal of officials is temporary, but this power exists and its implementation must be reported to the capital and await the Ministry of Personnel’s approval.

The Bingbei Dao was a fifth-rank government office, and its officials were naturally appointed and dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel, although the office was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.

With Zhang Juzheng's tacit approval, the Minister of Personnel Zhang Han also nodded and signed and stamped his signature.

After all, the position of Minister of Personnel was not originally his turn, and it was only thanks to Zhang Juzheng's efforts that he was successfully promoted to the position.

Speaking of which, although Zhang Han was not an official from Huguang, he was also a person who was respected and promoted by Zhang Juzheng.

At the beginning, there was also Zhu Heng from the Ministry of Works who was eyeing the Ministry of Personnel. In terms of qualifications, he was qualified, but because of Wei Guangde's relationship and Zhang Juzheng's desire to promote reforms, he had to hold the power to appoint and dismiss officials, otherwise it would be difficult to accomplish anything.

As for Ge Shouli, who was elected by both the government and the public as the most qualified person to be appointed as the Minister of Personnel, he was disliked by both the first and second chancellors.

Given Ge Shouli's serious work ethic, if he were to go to the Ministry of Personnel, the private discussions between the two of them on the appointment and dismissal of officials would probably be invalidated.

In Ge Shouli's eyes, some things are nothing at all.

When Mu Changzuo and Luo Rufang arrived at a gate, Li Chengliang had already dismounted and walked up the steps. The two men hurried forward to greet him.

"Duke Mu, Deputy Envoy Luo, Cheng Liang is here to show his respect."

However, when Li Chengliang saw the two people coming, he took the initiative to salute them with his fists clasped.

"What are you talking about, Governor Li? It is we who are being rude."

Mu Changzuo said hurriedly and then returned the greeting.

Luo Rufang on the side also said with a smile: "Commander-in-Chief Li's troops are so fast that we didn't even know he was coming. It was indeed our fault for not coming out to greet him."

"I received a military order from the capital and did not dare to delay. I set out from Yongning Prefecture overnight to rush to Yongchang to understand the current border situation."

After the greeting, Mu Changzuo invited Li Chengliang into the mansion and talked as they walked.

"Has Governor Li been to Kunming?"

Luo Rufang asked.

"I went to Kunming on the way and met Governor Wang."

Li Chengliang spoke lightly.

After the three men entered the lobby, Li Chengliang introduced his sons Li Rusong and Li Ruzhen who followed in.

The rest of his sons were currently leading armies from three provinces into Yunnan.

Li Chengliang received a military order from the capital a few days ago, and on the same day he took his two sons and headed west to Yunnan without stopping.

He first went to Kunming and visited Wang Ning, the governor of Yunnan, and issued a document from the capital, arranging for the Yunnan government to mobilize all the garrisons in the province to prepare for war. At the same time, the treasuries throughout Yunnan were required to be prepared to supply the army with food and supplies at any time.

The manpower needed to transport these materials naturally fell on Wang Ning.

Conscripting civilians for labor service was one of the responsibilities of local governments.

After handing over the logistical task to Wang Ning, Li Chengliang rushed to Baoshan City without stopping.

If it were in the past, he would definitely go directly to Luchuan or Yingjiang, because that place is closest to the border between Daming and Mengyang.

Unfortunately, these places are still managed by local chieftains, and the Ming Dynasty does not actually control the area.

In other words, the Ming Dynasty may have only controlled the city, while the vast tracts of land outside the city were managed by chieftains.

Li Chengliang would certainly not be foolish enough to put himself in danger in such a place.

After introducing his two sons, Li Chengliang immediately began to ask about border affairs.

"Lord Mu, Lord Luo, are the Tiebi Pass, Tianma Pass, Hanlong Pass, and Nanya Pass guarded by our Ming army, or are they guarded by local chieftains?"

Li Chengliang knew very well that a lot of the information he saw in the capital might not be true. What was reported by the local authorities might be one set of information, but the actual operations at the grassroots level might be another set of information, so it should not be taken seriously.

The four passes he mentioned are the four pass cities facing the border between Mengyang and Mubang.

According to Li Chengliang's judgment, any of these four enemies could become the target of the Burmese army's attack.

As long as one city pass was broken, the Burmese army could swarm in and plunder the Ming territory.

When Mu Changzuo heard Li Chengliang's question, an embarrassed look immediately appeared on his face, and he did not say anything.

On the other hand, Luo Rufang let out a long sigh.

"Alas, Governor Li has a keen eye."

Luo Rufang bowed to Li Chengliang and said, "If these four cities are in the hands of the garrison, if the governor wants to see us now, I'm afraid he really has to go to Luchuan."

"Why, there are no guards stationed in these four cities?"

Li Chengliang frowned slightly. He had a premonition of something. It was indeed different from the defense map he saw at the Five Army Commander-in-Chief's Office.

"Where is the Weiyuan Guard stationed now?"

Immediately, Li Chengliang asked.

Weiyuanwei was a garrison established at the southernmost tip of Yunnan after the Ming Dynasty took control of Yunnan. Its purpose was naturally to intimidate the Mengyang, Mubang and other Xuanweisi.

The garrisons in Yunnan were centered in Kunming and were stationed along the post roads.

There are three roads from Sichuan to Yunnan. The Hunan-Guizhou Official Road from Guizhou and the Sichuan-Yunnan Official Road from Luzhou merge into one in Zhanyizhou, passing through Qujing, Malan, Mumi, Songming, and Yanglin and entering Yunnan Prefecture.

Then one road goes south to Lin'an Prefecture, which is the main road to Jiaozhi; another road goes west to Qujing, Dali, Yongping, Jinchi, and Tengchong, which is the main road to Luchuan and Myanmar.

These important transportation routes formed the backbone of the Ming court's control over Yunnan, and natural garrisons were also distributed around them, which made it convenient for protecting the roads and enabling flexible deployment along the highways.

Weiyuan Guard is located to the west of Luchuan, but from the expressions of Mu and Luo, Li Chengliang already knew that it was probably just another empty shell guard.

Sure enough, Luo Rufang's next words confirmed Li Chengliang's guess.

“Although Weiyuan Guard was established, it was never actually completed. In the early Ming Dynasty, only three thousand households were built, and some military households were transferred here to garrison several city gates.

Afterwards, ahem. Governor Li should have been able to imagine that many military households had fled, and no more were added afterwards.

After that, the several fortresses were handed over to the local chieftains for guarding, and the local government only sent officials to inspect them regularly. " With a few words, Luo Rufang shirked all responsibility, although it really had little to do with them.

Since its establishment, Weiyuan Guard has always been just an empty shell, and the military households have not been fully drawn out.

Later, due to problems with food and salary supply, the military households fled, and the state naturally collapsed.

If the imperial court did not send people to investigate these matters, the local authorities would naturally conceal the facts and not report them. Generation after generation of officials would cover up the incidents, unwilling to have the truth exposed while in office.

After all, it is because the world has been peaceful for too long and the military has been relaxed.

If the capital had not noticed the changes in the situation in Myanmar, and if the Myanmar royal court had not been expanding rapidly, who would have paid attention to this small border garrison?

  And how many garrisons like Weiyuanwei are there in the world?

The Ming Dynasty claims to have an army of one million, but in reality most of the garrisons are not fully staffed.

The reported military strength is the total strength calculated by multiplying the number of garrisons and garrison stations by the standard number of personnel, so the water content can be imagined.

In other words, he was just fooling the person who sat high in the court, and everyone below knew about the situation.

However, no one can tell how bad it is.

You won't be able to find out the truth unless you find someone who is familiar with the situation.

"Then let's talk about what you two know about the situation in northern Myanmar. I heard that traces of Burmese military activities have been discovered more than ten miles outside the border. I wonder what measures can be taken."

Li Chengliang didn't want to pursue the matter further, so he asked about the current situation.

The document Wang Ning had given him previously mentioned that the Burmese army was approaching the Ming border, so he took it very seriously and wanted to know what countermeasures Mu Changzuo and Luo Rufang would take.

"I have mobilized troops from nearby garrisons and deployed them in Tengchong, Shidian and Baoshan.

The three cities are located in a mutually supportive position, protecting each other, and are also located on the main roads into Yunnan.

As long as we hold on to the three cities, the Burmese army will not be able to break in anyway."

At this point, Mu Changzuo hesitated for a while before saying, "As for Ruili, Yingjiang and other places in the west, we have no choice but to give up.

Most of those places were run by local chieftains, making it difficult for large armies to enter and deploy defenses.

When the governor arrived earlier, I was discussing this matter with Deputy Envoy Luo."

"What is Lord Luo's attitude?"

Li Chengliang heard that it seemed that the two people had different opinions and were not in agreement.

Mu Changzuo said that strengthening defense was more inclined, which was the best way for the border troops to deal with the situation, at least before the court ordered an expedition against the King of Burma.

This is probably what Mu Changzuo thinks.

Therefore, Li Chengliang turned his inquiring gaze to Luo Rufang, wanting to know his response strategy.

“Commander Li, according to Wei De’s opinion, the news from the front is that the Burmese army has occupied Mubang and is now besieging Mengyang.

The chieftain of Mengyang should have been prepared beforehand, so he had heavily guarded the main traffic intersections leading to Mengyang, and now they are engaged in a fierce battle.

Prior to this, Si Ge had already sent two waves of assassins to ask for help from the Ming Dynasty. The day before yesterday and yesterday, I ordered people to send messengers to Kunming.

The governor may have missed them on the road and didn't meet them."

Luo Rufang clasped his fists and replied, “Given the current critical situation in Mengyang, I support sending troops to Mengyang immediately to defeat the Burmese troops near Daming and provide some help to Mengyang.

well."

Having said that, Luo Rufang suddenly let out a long sigh.

Li Chengliang naturally knew the reason why Luo Rufang sighed, so he continued: "There is no order from the court to send troops, so the army cannot go to support Meng Yang?"

"Exactly."

Luo Rufang smiled bitterly and said, "Now the main forces of the Burmese army are all around Mengyang. If the troops are deployed properly and deployed carefully, we will be able to achieve our goal in one battle and wipe out most of the Burmese army in one fell swoop.

In this way, the situation in Myanmar can be resolved.”

Li Chengliang understood that Luo Rufang was in charge of the attack and believed that the Ming army should take the initiative to attack and take advantage of the war between Myanmar and Mengyang to defeat the main force of the Burmese army in one fell swoop and calm the situation in Myanmar.

However, before receiving the imperial edict, they finally chose Mu Changzuo's opinion, which was to strengthen the defense.

"The three cities support each other. I'm afraid you've seen too much of the Three Kingdoms."

But before Li Chengliang could say anything, Li Rusong sneered behind him.

"Shut up, you have no right to speak here."

When Mu Changzuo's face changed slightly, Li Chengliang had already yelled at Li Rusong.

Li Rusong didn't dare to argue with his old father. He could only shut up, take a step back and lower his head.

"Master Mu, I'll bring my son to apologize, but he's still young and doesn't understand anything.

In fact, given the previous situation, strengthening defense is a safe strategy. "

After Li Chengliang yelled at his son, he immediately smiled and spoke to Mu Changzuo.

What kind of status does the Mu family have? The hereditary Duke's Mansion is not something he can compare to.

Even though he is the Left General now, what’s the problem?

This is in Yunnan, the territory of the Mu family.

However, Mu Changzuo was still angry about Li Rusong's words and did not notice that Li Chengliang was talking about the situation "before" and not the current situation.

Of course, he couldn't say anything to the younger generation. Li Chengliang gave him a way out and scolded his son, but he just smiled.

Mu Changzuo didn't notice it, but Luo Rufang did.

Then Luo Rufang stood up and asked Li Chengliang, "Excuse me, Commander Li, but I brought the imperial order."

Not many people knew that the imperial court intended to use military force, and even fewer in Yunnan.

Even though Mu Changzuo knew that the court was paying attention to Yunnan and Myanmar, he did not know that the court was planning to completely annex Myanmar this time. Naturally, he thought that Li Chengliang was sent here to provide support because of his military achievements in Liaodong.

I really didn't think that the purpose of Li Chengliang's trip was to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty.

Now that Luo Rufang asked, Li Chengliang looked at him with some doubt in his heart.

After all, Luo Rufang has a special identity.

On the way here, Li Chengliang checked and found that the deputy censor of Yongchang Prefecture was from Jiangxi.

He couldn't help but wonder whether Lord Wei had made arrangements long ago and sent his fellow villager to look after it.

Of course, Luo Rufang has nothing to do with Wei Guangde. Although the two are fellow villagers, their relationship is too distant to be involved.

He was a juren in the 22nd year of Jiajing's reign. After that, he traveled for ten years to study. At the 32nd year of his reign, he went to the capital to take part in the imperial examination and was awarded the title of Tongjinshi, which means he was among the third class.

Since the ranking is not high, it is natural to be released.

"It's quite interesting to accomplish everything in one go."

Li Chengliang made a decision after just a little thought.

He did not directly answer Luo Rufang's question, but commented on his countermeasures.

At this time, Li Chengliang was considering Luo Rufang's countermeasures and the pros and cons of his trip.

"Does Si Ge obey the imperial edict? Has he been to Kunming before?"

Li Chengliang asked calmly.