Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 372: Sexy internal quarrel
"According to your statement, aren't you just waiting for them to come to Bozhou to change the fate of my Yang family?"

In Bozhou City, when Yang Sheng asked Yang Gang in a questioning tone, Yang Gang was at a loss.

Although he had seen the Ming Army's matchlocks and infantry-cavalry coordination in Nanjing, at that time he did not expect the Ming Army's infantry-cavalry coordination to be so sharp, especially the seemingly silly line-up gun tactics.

Judging from Yang Gang's memories, the Ming Army's musketeers at that time could only exceed five thousand at most, but even so, they still conducted three rounds of volleys in half an hour or even less.

With just three rounds of volleys, he killed nearly 2,000 of his three thousand elite soldiers.

Yang Gang still can't forget such a terrifying scene. This was the main reason why he pulled his father to retreat.

Judging from the speed at which the Ming army dispatched its three thousand elite troops at that time, at most one more round of fighting would have defeated the ten thousand soldiers and horses under his father's command, and the eager Qu Neng would also lead the cavalry and infantry to attack the entire battlefield. Harvest.

He had experienced the Ming army's infantry and cavalry methods once and didn't want to experience them again. What's more, judging from the situation of the Nanjing military parade, the infantry and cavalry methods were only five points of the Ming army's strength. The real trump card was probably the artillery pieces.

Thinking of this, Yang Gang shuddered all over.

"Father……"

"This battle is really a misunderstanding..."

But if he changes his excuse and uses the people as his foundation, then even Muchun will have to report to Nanjing first before making a decision.

In the battle the day before yesterday, the Yi soldiers lost more than 4,000 lives, and the Ming army also lost more than 100 lives.

"Screw rustle..."

"Father, we can take advantage of this moment to negotiate with Muchun. If we miss this opportunity, it will be gone!"

When they turned around, they saw Mu Chun's smiling face, and Mu Chun himself raised his chin, signaling to the soldiers to give him a seat.

Mu Chun's words made Qu Neng, Mu Sheng and others turn around suddenly and look at him in surprise.

After passing through the extremely "long" camp, Yang Gang was brought to the Chinese army wooden house.

Yang Gang bravely told him the rhetoric his father had taught him. Even though he himself felt that this excuse was ridiculous, such a shrewd person as Muchun chuckled.

As soon as he spoke, Yang Sheng couldn't sit still and stood up. His face was surprised and he couldn't help but ask:
"I only deployed 3,000 soldiers and horses there when I withdrew my troops yesterday, and reinforced the military stronghold. How could it be breached so quickly?"

"what happened?"

If he said that the Yang family revolted in order to resist the reform and return to the land, Muchun would never easily agree to their surrender.

"Oh no, Yong'an Horse Station has been breached!"

Before Yang Gang could speak, a clan general named Yang ran into the Xuanwei Si Yamen.

Even if everyone knows it's an excuse, no one will expose it.

"What's the use of admitting defeat now?"

He walked into the wooden house with an anxious mood. In the dim wooden house, only a few candlelights allowed Yang Gang to see the faces of Muchun and others clearly.

Yang Sheng was still angry at Yang Gang's weakness, so he looked at the clan general with an ugly expression.

"The officers and soldiers brought hundreds of artillery pieces, but they only attacked once. The earthen and wooden wall of Muzhai was destroyed and a gap was created. The officers and soldiers followed the gap and attacked into the village. The people below were unable to resist at all."

Muchun raised his chin and looked at Yang Gang standing at the door with contempt.

"My Yang family, together with the chieftains from various tribes, can also pull out 60,000 soldiers and horses. I don't believe that his firearms can defeat so many soldiers and horses!"

Just as Yang Sheng thought, the next morning, when Yang Gang brought more than ten cavalrymen to the south of the wooden village of Yong'an Horse Station, Muchun, who learned of his arrival, also sent someone to take him into Yong'an Horse Station. .

"If Mu Chun asked you why we raised the army, you would say that the imperial court was building palaces and going into the mountains to cut down large trees, and there were too many casualties among the people. As long as the imperial court is willing to stop the corvee recruitment of the people of Bozhou, I, the Yang family, can accept the return of my native land. Hand over the governance and population of Banzhou and retain only half of the cultivated land.”

Although it seemed that the Ming army had regained its composure, to the soldiers and middle-level military attachés, those hundreds of lives were their brothers.

"Since it's a misunderstanding, just clear it up."

It is true that the Ming army defeated the Yi soldiers the day before yesterday, but this does not mean that the Ming army did not pay casualties.

Like him, there are Mu Sheng, Qu Neng, Qu Yu, Qu Tao and others.

"If Muchun wants to talk, then we will have a good talk with them."

Walking in the wooden stronghold of Yong'an Mayi, Yang Gang could feel the pressure from all directions. Almost all the Ming troops in the stronghold who were preparing to set off were staring at them.

"go in."

"It's artillery!" The clan general seemed to have thought of something terrible and said tremblingly:

As Yang Sheng spoke, he turned around and took out the official seal from his desk and handed it to Yang Gang, and taught him personally:

After all, Yang Sheng was a Han chieftain. Although he was tainted with the customs and culture of the native people, he knew best what the steps of the Han court were.

"If he doesn't want to talk, then you should try your best to delay it and wait for the troops of the various chieftains to gather."

"You met me at war the day before yesterday, why are you here to make peace again today?"

"General, general!"

Being able to break through such a wooden wall means that their artillery may pose a threat to Banshu City.

"Yong'an is still seventy miles away from us. Let's do it this way. Now you take my official seal and some gold and silver from the treasury and go to Yong'an Horse Station to find Muchun. I will stay and continue to gather the chieftains."

"..." Yang Sheng's face became even more ugly. He did not expect that the Ming army's artillery could actually destroy the rammed earth wooden wall. You must know that the thickness of the wooden wall reached eight feet.

Yang Sheng was angry and scolded Yang Gang, but after calming down, he felt that Yang Gang was right.

Yang Gang was originally worried about the Ming army's artillery, but now that he heard that the Ming army's artillery was so sharp, he no longer had the calmness he had before the war. He was completely overturned by the Ming army's attack method that he had never seen before.

Upon seeing this, two soldiers brought a chair to Yang Gang. He also sat down after bowing in return, but judging from his sitting position, he felt very uneasy.

In response, Muchun leaned on his chair: "I will report this matter to Your Majesty. If Your Majesty is magnanimous, the people of Bozhou can be exempted from the corvee, and at the same time, you can avoid your mistake this time."

An hour ago, Muchun was still telling the generals that the Yang family in Bozhou was a rebel, but now the rebellion of the Yang family in Bozhou turned out to be a mistake.

Yang Gang naturally received such an obvious signal, so he quickly bowed and said:
"How dare you ask for forgiveness from your majesty and the court? I, Bozhou, have made a mistake and will naturally be severely punished."

"What happened this time was because my father and son were unaware of the incident and misunderstood the instigation of the unruly people, which led to such a riot."

"My father sent me here, firstly, to explain the matter, and secondly, because he was so ashamed that he begged to resign from the official position of Bozhou Xuanwei Envoy and other official posts as an atonement."

Yang Gang endured the heartache and said these words. He knew very well what the price of saying these words was. It represented the disintegration of the Bozhou Yang family regime that had been inherited for more than 500 years. From now on, there would be no chieftains of the Bozhou Yang family, only Bozhou Yang. The guilty minister.

"It's good that Yang Xuanwei has such an idea, but I have to report this matter to His Majesty and ask His Majesty to make a decision."

"Besides, if you and your son commit such an oversight, it is no longer possible for you and your son to stay in Bozhou. The specific destination of your and your son's family is entirely up to His Majesty's decision."

Muchun was testing, testing the bottom line of the Yang family and his son, and at the same time telling them what the court's bottom line was.

With the Yang family's influence in Bozhou, even if they have no official positions and have removed their military power, their prestige is still there.

If they continue to stay in Banzhou, there will still be hidden dangers in Banzhou, which Mu Chun will not allow.

"My father and son are entirely at the mercy of the imperial court's arrangements..."

Yang Gang was somewhat reluctant to leave Banzhou, and he even felt that his father was unwilling to leave Banzhou.

It's just that now people have to bow their heads under the eaves, so they can agree for the time being and then discuss it with their father when they return.

"In this case, you can go back with your father for the time being and wait for the court's decree."

Seeing Yang Gang's apparent agreement, Mu Chun immediately asked him to return to Bozhou.

"I am resigning..."

Yang Gang carefully returned the greeting, then stood up and exited the wooden house, and left Yong'an Mayi under the leadership of the Ming military attache.

After he left, Mu Shengcai asked, "Could this be a delaying tactic?"

As soon as Mu Sheng opened his mouth, Qu Neng and others looked at Mu Chun, but Mu Chun said:
"If we sincerely surrender, we can avoid a war. After all, our army's goal is to repatriate the country and smash the local chieftains in Guizhou who have been hereditary for thousands of years, not to compete with who can kill more people."

"As long as the Bozhou Yang family and more than 60 chieftains under their command accept the return of native land, the imperial court will have no reason to continue attacking them."

"The size of Sichuan and Huguang is enough to eat them."

"If it's a delaying strategy by Yang and his son, that's fine."

"It's better for them to gather their troops to fight with us than for us to extend the front line and hunt them one by one in the mountains."

In Muchun's opinion, as long as the mission can be completed without leaving any hidden dangers, then this battle can be completely avoided.

They have already experienced the terrain of Guizhou. The imperial court only has three main official roads in Guizhou, and the other roads are rugged trails.

In such terrain, the Ming army had to build roads if they wanted to fight, which wasted time.

The best thing is to conquer the enemy without fighting, and the second best thing is to send troops to attack.

"If the Yang family really surrenders, that would be a bit weak."

Qu Neng felt that he was interrupted by Yang Gang's sue for peace just as his interest was rising, and he couldn't help but despise the father and son.

"It's no surprise that they would surrender."

Muchun picked up the water glass and took a sip of water, moistened his throat and then said:
"They only rely heavily on the five peripheral passes of Bozhou such as Loushanguan, Yamenguan, Sangmuguan, etc. Now our army relies on win-wins to capture Loushanguan and march straight into Bozhou City. How can they resist?" "Now let's wait for His Majesty's approval. , and then pay attention to the movements of his father and son, the most important thing is to transport food and grass to Yongan Horse Station."

He glanced at Mu Sheng, who also bowed hurriedly: "Sichuan Chief Envoy Jian Yi has sent civilian men to transport 500,000 shi of Changping warehouse grain from Chongqing Prefecture to Qijiang. However, there are not enough civilian men in Qijiang, and I am afraid they need to be recruited from Sichuan. .”

"You should discuss this matter with the officials of the Chief Secretary of Sichuan. In short, before His Majesty Zhu's memorial is returned, the grain reserves of Yong'an Mayi shall not be less than 100,000 shi."

"Yes!" Mu Sheng agreed, and then everyone walked out of the wooden house one after another and returned to their temporary residences.

When they returned to their residence, Yang Gang hurried back to Bozhou and brought the news to his father.

Sitting in the Xuanwei Si Yamen, Yang Sheng was a little uneasy. After all, judging from Mu Sheng's wishes, whether they could retain half of the land in Bozhou would depend on the court's expression.

“If we don’t have half of the fields, we will continue to rebel!”

Yang Sheng spoke fiercely, but Yang Gang thought of Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu whom he saw in Nanjing, shook his head and said:

"According to what I saw last time in Nanjing, His Majesty should be very generous and will not take away all the land."

"As for the one in the East Palace, he is very attached to the land, but he only took away the land and distributed money and food instead."

"Anyway, we can't stop summoning the chieftains!" Yang Sheng stood up and walked back and forth a few times before analyzing:
"If the conditions given by the court are satisfactory, then we will negotiate the terms with the officers and soldiers in front of the chieftains and move with them."

"If the negotiation doesn't work out, we will lead them to fight with the government and the army again."

His thoughts coincided with Yang Gang's, and both father and son nodded at the same time.

At the same time, the chieftains from Bozhou traveled all the way to help out, and Mu Chun's urgent message also arrived in Nanjing seven days later.

It was already slightly cold in Nanjing at the beginning of winter. The fire tunnels and fire walls in Wuying Palace were also filled with fuel. The entire palace could not be said to be completely warm, but it was not that cold either.

"If Yang Sheng is willing to move out of Bozhou and hand over Bozhou, then giving him half of Bozhou's cultivated land is not a problem."

Zhu Di looked at the urgent memorandum from Muchun in his hand and agreed generously.

Compared to him, Zhu Gaoxu, who was sitting next to him, didn't think so.

"The farmland cannot be given to him. If he owns half of the farmland and controls the tenant farmers on the farmland, he will still have the capital to make a comeback even if he moves elsewhere."

"My son's intention is to grant Yang Sheng, his second son Yang Gang, and his eldest grandson Yang Jiong official positions of third rank and military honors respectively. In addition, he will move the Yang family to Chengdu Prefecture and allocate 5,000 acres of cultivated land to them. It serves as farmland.”

"In this way, the three of them, father, son, grandfather and grandson, can all receive two salaries of the third rank. Even if they are downgraded hereditary, the three of them can be guaranteed wealth for ten generations."

"As for farmland, the output of Chengdu Prefecture's 5,000 acres of farmland is comparable to the output of Bozhou's tens of thousands of acres of farmland."

What Zhu Gaoxu gave Yang and his son was not much, at least not much compared to the hundreds of thousands of acres of Bozhou land in their hands.

But that's how it is to change one's native land and return to one's hometown, not to mention their history of causing rebellion.

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, giving them 5,000 acres of farmland and the hereditary rank and martial arts of the third rank was already a great favor.

If Yang Sheng is still dissatisfied, Zhu Gaoxu doesn't mind using force to eradicate the chieftains from all over Bozhou.

What's more, in Zhu Gaoxu's opinion, Yang Sheng would most likely agree. After all, Yang's ability to survive to the Wanli period was mainly due to weakness.

If they had been tougher, they would have disappeared into the long river of history just like the Sizhou Tian family and the other chieftains.

"Second brother, you..."

After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's handling method, Zhu Di couldn't help but feel that Zhu Gaoxu was a little radical.

In his opinion, Yang Sheng could hand over hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland, so leaving half of it to him was nothing. It was picked up for nothing anyway.

However, in Zhu Gaoxu's view, all land is a means of production that promotes the local economy.

After driving away the Yang family in Bozhou, moving away some local people, and leaving some people behind to evenly share the fragmented farmland so that the local area can be self-sufficient, this is what Zhu Gaoxu wants.

No matter what ethnic group they are, as long as they have something to eat, the people at the bottom will not want to rebel.

As long as all the cultivated land is taken into the hands of the imperial court and distributed equally to the native people, the hatred of the local native people towards the imperial court can be eliminated immediately. Human nature is so realistic.

"Father, according to what I said, the Yang family of Bozhou is not worth mentioning. What we really need to care about is the Tian family of Sizhou."

Zhu Gaoxu set his sights on the Tian family. After all, compared with the Yang family in Bozhou, which could only set up two mansions after being converted to local rule, the Tian family, which could set up eight mansions under its jurisdiction, was the giant on the road to reform.

"Well, they wanted to take Chenzhou, but they were repelled by Gu Cheng."

Zhu Di looked at another memorial, and Zhu Gaoxu heard the words and said: "Let the Duke of Guizhou deal with the Yang family as soon as possible, and then join forces with Cao Guogong and Gu Cheng to attack the Tian family. The war can be ended in as soon as one year."

"When the Yang family and Tian family collapse, the Song and An families should be able to see the situation clearly."

With the world's leading matchlock guns and cannons, the southwestern chieftain's stone fortress no longer poses any threat. The only thing that can restrict the Ming army is transportation.

The first step is to restructure the entire province of Guizhou and return it to local people. Once the transformation of Guizhou is completed, the next step will be an out-and-out major infrastructure project.

The native people from Guizhou were moved to Sichuan to reclaim wasteland, so that Sichuan could once again become the southwest granary of the Ming Dynasty.

If the Guizhou Post Road is further expanded, the imperial court can separate the two large granaries of Sichuan and Jiaozhi to supply the southwestern army, and reform Yunnan and Guangxi.

Due to environmental problems, food in the north was easy to spit out no matter how much it was eaten during the Ming Dynasty, but this was not the case in the south.

"Just follow your wishes."

Zhu Di saw that Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be thinking about something, so Zhu approved the memorial and handed it to Wang Yan, and at the same time said:
"The barbarians like Xie Jin have been traveling from the north to the south for so long and haven't come back. Without their help to deal with the memorial, it would be really troublesome."

Although the grand master of the palace is only responsible for sorting out and making suggestions, these two points alone can reduce a lot of burden for the emperor himself.

After getting used to the system of grand bachelor, Zhu Di was really uncomfortable with suddenly leaving them.

"The system of Grand Master of the Imperial Palace is good, but it still needs to set rules."

Zhu Gaoxu remembered the reason for the increasing power of the cabinet, so he did not forget to remind Zhu Di.

"What are the rules?" Zhu Di asked absently, taking a sip of tea.

"You are not allowed to serve as a bachelor of the palace with the official position of the six ministries." Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice, and Zhu Di nodded after hearing this.

"If the Grand Scholar of the Imperial Palace is added to the official position of the Six Ministers, his power will become greater. Although it cannot check and balance the imperial power, it will also cause a lot of trouble."

That's not a big trouble...

Seeing what Zhu Di said, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but think of those things that the cabinet had done to the emperor in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

For Zhu Gaoxu, it is enough for the Grand Bachelor of the Imperial Palace to just maintain his current position honestly, and not to go any further or to go backwards.

"By the way, do you have any news about what's going on in the west?"

Zhu Di suddenly thought of things in the west, and was obviously asking about Timur's country. In response, Zhu Gaoxu recalled some things he remembered from his previous life.

If he remembered correctly, after Timur's death, the Timur empire fell into civil strife. Originally, two grandchildren were fighting, but later a son, Shaharul, was mixed in.

Zhu Gaoxu did not remember the details of what happened during this period, but he remembered that Shaharul won the throne in the end, and the Timurid Empire was prospering under his management. The domestic economy was restored, and economic and cultural exchanges with the Ming Dynasty were very frequent.

Compared with Timur, Shaharul's rise to power was a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

"Right now, Timur's kingdom is caught in internal strife. Timur's two grandsons are vying for the throne, and there are endless wars in the country."

Zhu Gaoxu briefly told Zhu Di about Timur's situation. Zhu Di stroked his beard after hearing this: "In this case, who should we support?"

"You don't need to support anyone, just wait quietly." Zhu Gaoxu said. At the same time, he also thought about Annan and Nanyang, so he reported it to Zhu Di.

"In the past two years, many people from Guangdong and Fujian have moved to Annan, Jiugang, and Luzon."

"Judging from last year's situation alone, the number of people who moved to Annan was more than 50,000, and they were basically organized into guard stations and their farmland was evenly divided."

"At present, the imperial court has fifteen guards, large and small, more than 80,000 military households and more than 300,000 people in Annan."

"In addition, the populations of Jiugang and Luzon also reached more than 580,000 in the former and more than 76,000 in the latter."

"However, nearly 80% of the nearly 580,000 people in Old Port are local indigenous people."

After Zhu Gaoxu said this, Zhu Di was also slightly surprised: "I didn't expect that the barren land of Nanyang can support so many people."

"The land of Nanyang is mainly dominated by malaria and miasma." Zhu Gaoxu explained: "If medicinal materials that can reduce the symptoms of malaria can be brought back from Dongzhou (South America), then the fertile land of Nanyang can be developed."

"However, in a place like Nanyang, which is isolated overseas, once the court encounters danger, it is easy to rebel and become independent."

"Because of this, the troops stationed in Nanyang must be strictly controlled. Soldiers and horses must be sent from the Ming Dynasty to garrison, and the soldiers' relatives must stay in the Ming Dynasty to control the generals and soldiers."

"I know." Zhu Di stood up, obviously not very interested in these things.

Seeing his appearance, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but think of his mother, so he asked anxiously: "Is my mother okay lately?"

"..." Upon hearing Zhu Gaoxu's question, Zhu Di did not answer immediately. Instead, he pondered and then said:
"Compared to when I first came back, I've lost a lot of weight. If this continues, I'm worried that your mother won't be able to survive for a few more years."

When he said this, Zhu Di's face turned a little gloomy, and Zhu Gaoxu also felt his heart tightening.

"I..." Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what to say, so he could only stand up and return the greeting:

"I will go to Huichunhedian to ask if there is any progress at Annan Hospital."

"Go." Zhu Di sighed, and Zhu Gaoxu also left Wuying Hall as if to avoid it.

(End of this chapter)