Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 110: Famous generals lead the way
"Dong Weng, please look, ahead is Liegang, the largest port on Jintang Island, where Yu Zongrong's father, Yu Wuxianggong, once defeated the Japanese pirates." Xu Xinlan was sitting in the Fenyang's official hall, pointing out the window and said to Lin Hai.

The so-called Duke Yu Wuxiang is Yu Dayou, who is also known as "Yu Long Qi Hu" together with Qi Jiguang. The Japanese pirate who was defeated by him in Liegang was Wang Zhi.

Yu Dayou was a famous general of his generation, and his reputation in the Ming Dynasty was better than that of Qi Jiguang.This person can be regarded as a fellow from Quanzhou of Xu Xinlan. Now Xu Xinsu has a close relationship with Yu Dayou's son Yu Zigao, so Xu Xinlan feels a bit proud when mentioning Marshal Yu.

The Fenyang went north from the estuary of the Yongjiang River and first arrived at Jintang Island in the Zhoushan Islands. Along the way, Xu Xinlan was telling Lin Hai about the geography, customs and customs of Zhoushan.

Lin Hai heard this strangely, and finally couldn't help but ask: "Isn't Master from Quanzhou? How come you are so familiar with Zhoushan?"

Xu Xinlan said with a smile: "Since my brother asked me to assist Dong Weng, I have to be prepared. Recently I have read a few Zhejiang Eastern Chronicles. In July, I even went to Zhoushan in person to help Dong Weng. Weng stands in front."

"July? It turns out that Uncle Xu had already arranged for Master to help me at that time. How could Lin repay such kindness?" Lin Hai had a smile on his face and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"When Dong Weng said this, he went out of his way. Isn't this all to avenge the old captain? Isn't that why Dong Weng asked my brother for an official position in the first place?"

"That's natural. Mr. Li is my sworn brother. Naturally, I want to avenge the old captain."

Lin Hai said and added: "I have heard about that Liegang just now. It was Wang Zhi's den of thieves back then. I think it is quite crowded now."

Xu Xinlan replied: "That's right, Liegang is the most prosperous port on Jintang Island, and Jintang is the most densely populated among the Zhoushan Islands."

Lin Hai asked again: "Is it because Jintang is closest to the hinterland of Ningbo Prefecture?"

"This is only one of them, there is another one." Xu Xinlan stretched out two fingers and gestured, "There is a saying in Zhoushan Islands, which is 'Zhoushan is covered with fields, only Jintang Mountain is covered with fields.' Dong Weng knows that this is what for?"

"This sounds like Jintang Island is surrounded by mountains, but the center of the island is flat land. Such terrain is indeed rare on the island."

"What Dong Weng said is true. Among the islands in Zhoushan, only Jintang is like this. Therefore, Jintang has always been the most important grain-producing area in Zhoushan and the most densely populated."

Lin Hai nodded repeatedly after hearing this. This information was very valuable to him. He then asked: "Is there a garrison on Jintang Island?"

"There is no garrison, but Liegang is where the Linguan and Dinghai commanders gather their sentries. The patrol boats of these two commanders come to Liegang regularly."

The so-called meeting post is a system in which two adjacent naval forces meet regularly at the junction and exchange credentials.This is a multi-level sea patrol system. Both garrison troops and coastal guards are involved, and those with higher ranks are responsible for the distant seas.

According to regulations, everyone from the general army to hundreds of households in coastal areas must go abroad regularly, and even civil servants such as Bing Beidao must go to sea in person. However, since the Wanli period, these have become a piece of paper.

Unlike his ignorance of the official system of the garrison, Lin Hai still had some knowledge of the cruise sentry system in coastal defense in the Ming Dynasty, so he wondered: "The Zhejiang Navy is still sending out sentries today?"

Xu Xinlan said: "Originally, I didn't know how to do it a long time ago, but since Hong Daozun came, the patrol system along the coast of Zhejiang has become strict again."

Lin Hai nodded when he heard this. Hong Chengchou was indeed a capable minister who was dedicated to his duties. It was a pity that he was born in the last days of this dynasty, and no matter how capable he was, he could only struggle in the quagmire.

While talking, the Fenyang had already reached the narrow channel about five or six miles wide between Jintang Island and Cezi Island, and the main island of Zhoushan was clearly visible in the distance.

"Dong Weng, please look. That is Zhoushan Island. This was once the Yongdong land of the Yue Kingdom. It is said that after Gou Jian destroyed Wu, he moved the King of Wu here..."

Xu Xinlan told Lin Hai about the customs and customs of Zhoushan. As the Fenyang approached Cengang on the west side of the main island of Zhoushan, he said to Lin Hai: "Dongweng, please look, there is Cengang ahead, and there is an inspection department here. We will Stay here and fast for three days before you can officially enter the city and take office."

"Oh? Is there no inn station in Zhoushan?"

"No, the Inspection Department and the Post Office are directly under the Ministry of War. Cengang Port is the most important port in Zhoushan, so the Cen Port Inspection Department assumes the responsibility of the post station."

Xu Xinlan said and added: "Dong Weng wants to do maritime business in Zhoushan, and Cen Gang Division cannot be avoided no matter what, so when I came to Zhoushan last time, I deliberately got to know the two patrolmen here. , I will introduce him to Dong Weng later."

"Very good, very good!" Lin Hai clapped his hands and laughed, leaning back slightly on the back of the chair.

After arriving at Cengang Division, the two chief and deputy inspectors were indeed very familiar with Xu Xinlan, and their words were quite flattering. Lin Hai estimated that the Xu family spent a lot of money here.

Although the Inspection Department is a small yamen from the ninth rank, because it is directly under the Ministry of War, it should actually be regarded as an agency dispatched by the central government.

Although in actual work, he had to accept the leadership of the local prefecture, county and town garrison generals, he did not need to be commanded by the garrison. Therefore, it was indeed necessary for Xu Xinlan to establish a good relationship with Cengang Division.

But Lin Hai felt a little uncomfortable in his heart. He was able to become the Qianhu mainly because of Xu Xinsu. Now the master sent by the Xu family is taking over everything, and the meaning is self-evident.

However, Lin Hai didn't say much. After all, he took advantage of others' softness and shortcomings.Even if the Xu family doesn't take advantage of him, as long as he hangs out in Ming Dynasty, there will always be others who want to take advantage of him, and he has fully anticipated this.

In fact, Xu Xinsu himself is just a white glove, holding a hand behind his back. This world has long been shrouded in an iron curtain woven by vested interests.

At this moment, Lin Hai finally understood how Li Dan felt back then and why he spared no effort to develop an independent territory in Dongfan.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the day before the new official took office, and Lin Hai had already fasted for two days in Cengang Division.

According to regulations, parents must fast outside the city for three days before taking office. This is to show respect for the local patron saint.Because the first thing he does on the day he takes office is to worship the gods, usually in the local City God Temple.

Although the garrison is a military unit, because it has to manage the population and land of military households, it is actually a bit similar to the parent officials of prefectures and counties. Therefore, its appointment rituals are different from those of garrison generals. These rules are the same.

This morning, Lin Hai was talking to Xu Xinlan at the Cengang Inspection Department. Suddenly, the sound of gongs, drums and suonas came from far outside. Xu Xinlan said with a smile: "This should be a guard of honor sent by Zhongzhong to prepare for entering the city tomorrow."

"Master, please come with me to take a look." Lin Hai then took Xu Xinlan out, and sure enough he saw hundreds of people holding various flags, blowing and beating, coming towards Cengang Division.Lin Hai saw that the flagpoles of those flags were all tassel-headed and spear-headed, and the tallest one was decorated with a pheasant tail. He immediately understood that this was probably the military flag of the guard station.

He looked carefully, and sure enough, he quickly recognized that there were Qingdao flag, Jingu flag, Wufang flag, Bagua flag, Liudingliujia flag, etc. These were all military flags commonly used in the Ming Dynasty. There are records and illustrations in the Chronicles.

Lin Hai asked Xu Xinlan, "I remember Master said the day before yesterday that the guard of honor when Qianhu takes office should be one person blowing the gong and two people clearing the way?"

Xu Xinlan said: "This is indeed the rule, but who cares about these things now? The more ceremonial guards, the better. It must be noisy."

Lin Hai said again: "Who do you think sent this ceremonial guard? Is it a letter from the Zhongzhong Institute?"

Xu Xinlan shook her head and said: "It shouldn't be the case. Generally, the person responsible for welcoming the Zhengyin officer to take office is the chief officer, not the Zuoer officer."

The so-called chief officer is an official who is in charge of records, has jurisdiction over officials, and pays bills and documents. His duties are somewhat similar to those of office directors in later generations, and his status is under the assistant officer.

Taking the county magistrates in the Ming Dynasty as an example, their assistant officials were the county magistrate and chief registrar, while the chief official was Dian Shi.Let’s call him an official. He is the head of the sword and pen officials. Let’s call him an official. He is indeed an official, but he is not in the mainstream.

There are some differences between the Weisuo and the prefectures and counties. The Wei Zhangyin was a third-rank official in the Ming Dynasty, and his rank was much higher than that of the magistrate. Therefore, his chief official also had a rank.

The chief officer of the Wei Palm Seal is Xing Si, who is in the seventh grade. Even the deputy governor of Xing is in the eighth grade. Both of them are civilian officials, not hereditary military attachés of the Wei Institute.

The reason why civil servants should be installed in the guard stations is mainly because the leadership team of the guard stations are all selected from hereditary military attachés, and generally lack the ability to govern according to the needs of the people.

It should be noted that the Weisuo was to a certain extent a system inherited from the Ming Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty never understood how to manage the Han people from the beginning to the end. The grassroots organizations of the entire society were almost paralyzed and ineffective by the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

As early as the Hongwu period, the problem of Wei Zhangyin not being familiar with literary movements and Wei Zhenfu not knowing the rules and regulations was fully exposed.

Therefore, starting from the first month of the fourth year of Jianwen, the imperial court established an experience department in the Wei Institute, with civilian officials assisting the Wei Zhangyin from the hereditary military attache in handling health affairs.Later, the responsibility of Wei Zhenfu Manager's criminal judgment was gradually transferred to the Experience Department.

After Emperor Yongle came to the throne, he rectified many of the chaotic affairs of the Jianwen Dynasty, but he inherited the experience department established by the Wei Institute without reservation.It can be seen that the establishment of the Experience Department is indeed necessary.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, many Wei Zhangyin had become hands-off shopkeepers, relying entirely on the Department of Experience to handle government affairs.

As for the Zhenfu Division, which was originally responsible for the punishment of the guards, except for the Jinyi Guards, all other guards have existed in name only.The imperial court also acquiesced in this. In the late Ming Dynasty when there were many redundant officials in the guard stations, there was a large shortage of guards and governors in various places.

After these days of hard work, Lin Hai had a good understanding of the actual operation mode of the Ming Dynasty guard station, so he said: "So, this should be sent by the governor of the Dinghai Guard Experience Department stationed in Zhoushan?"

"That's right, he was probably sent by Governor Qian." Xu Xinlan nodded. He had made a special trip to Zhoushan before and knew a lot about the personnel of Zhongzhong Institute. He had also talked to Lin Hai specifically in the past few days.

The Experience Department was originally a government-level yamen, but because the Zhongzhong Institute and the Zhongzuo Institute were isolated overseas and were not in the same place as the Dinghaiwei-level yamen, Dinghaiwei added an experience branch here to serve as the eight-level official. The governor who interfered with the matter was actually the chief official shared by thousands of households in the two schools.

"Dinghaiwei is also very busy. I have Master Xu, so why do I need this extra leader?" Lin Hai said to Xu Xinlan with a smile.

After a while, the honor guard sent by Zhongzhong had arrived in front of the Cengang Inspection Department. After finding out that Lin Hai was the new Qianhu, the whole group knelt down and saluted him.

Lin Hai asked everyone to stand up and asked the leading military officer: "What is your current position? Who sent you here?"

The military officer bowed and replied: "My humble position is the Secretary of the Ceremony Room of the Zhongzhong Institute. I was sent here by Governor Qian of the Dinghaiwei Experience Branch."

The so-called secretary is the head of the six subordinate staff. In the Ming Dynasty, the thousand-household office in the Ming Dynasty only had six staff members. There was one person in each of the six offices of the civil servants, soldiers, criminals, and workers. However, there were actually some supernumerary helpers, so the only The editor will also be called a clerk.

Lin Hai heard that he was indeed sent by Governor Qian, and then asked: "According to the regulations, when I enter the city, one person blows the gong to clear the way, and two people hold up the Qingdao plaque. Why did Governor Qian send you here with military flags, drums and music?"

The clerk of the ceremonial room still bowed and replied: "Reporting to Sir Qianhu, those are the flag and drum troupe of Zhongzhongsuo. They humbly obeyed the orders of Governor Qian and brought them out specially to strengthen your momentum."

"Nonsense!" Lin Hai suddenly shouted loudly and said angrily, "The flag and drum are the mouthpieces of an army, how can they perform such a lowly job?"

The military official didn't expect Lin Hai to be angry. He was stunned for a moment before saying with a smile: "Lin Qianhu doesn't know something. The flag and drum team also serves as the guard of honor. This is a common practice in today's guards. Governor Qian also followed the rules." OK."

"Now that I am a Qianhu, I will follow my rules from now on." Lin Hai continued with a livid face, "The flag and drum team of the Zhongzhong Institute will not be allowed to engage in welcoming people and sending them off in the future. If they do it again, this Qianhu will not be allowed to do anything." Be gentle."

That night, Xie Sixin arrived at Cengang on the Ganfu. Soon after, he heard about Lin Hai's reprimanding of the ceremonial room official.

"Thousands of maritime merchants are really interesting." Xie Sixin stroked his beard thoughtfully. He had read the "New Book of Jixiao". Qi Jiguang clearly stated in the book - "Famous generals are the first to lead the way, and it's just a matter of force and drums." .

At the same time, Grandpa Qi strongly criticized the strange phenomenon of the Southeast Guards Station of "using flags as a tool for arranging troops and golden drums as a symbol of banquets", saying bluntly that it was "uncontrollable and unruly like child's play."

Even after he served as the commander-in-chief in Jizhen, he discovered that this phenomenon also existed in the border army, so he complained about it in "Records of Military Training".

It was also clearly pointed out that whether it is training, setting up camp, marching or fighting, it must be carried out according to the orders of flags and drums. As the saying goes, "when it goes, it forms a formation, and when it stops, it forms a camp." This is what an army should look like.

Long before Xie Sixin arrived in Zhoushan, the actions of the newly appointed Qianhu had already spread among the officials and clerks of Zhoushan Zhongzhong Station.

Some people laughed at this, some were quite uneasy, and a very few people had some expectations for this new Qianhu...

(End of this chapter)