Ping An Biography

() After some compromises, Zhang Ning still issued a series of new decrees and formulated a strategy of emphasizing military affairs.Because a large number of soldiers joined after occupying Chenzhou, they first organized the soldiers and horses, which were divided into two categories. The first category was regular soldiers, with the soldiers who followed in the early days as the core. The second category is called farmers and soldiers, which is just a title, which also includes newly recruited miners and workshop employees.

The treatment of the two types of soldiers is different. The regular army is stationed in forts close to important cities and important places. They usually train and maintain the defense of important towns. His father, son and brothers were allowed to inherit their original positions, but if no one in his family served in the Suzaku Army, the public land would be taken back, and the public land would be charged less than half of the grain tax and exempt from corvee.The peasants and soldiers do not allocate land, but only pay and rations, and they are less than the regular army. After the training period is over, and in non-wartime, they are dismissed to work in agriculture by the military order of the Senate.

Regular army officers and soldiers who are too poor in the military household division of the Senate will be eliminated as peasant soldiers; peasant soldiers who kill more than three enemies will be promoted to regular soldiers, or if a certain unit has made great contributions, they can be promoted and reorganized as a whole.

There are no restrictions on imperial examinations for officers and soldiers, and they can be transferred to local civil officials.

After that, Zhang Ning encouraged the descendants of the Jianwen Party to serve as clerks in the government.Because most of Yu Chen's descendants were too literacy, it may be difficult to maintain the direct imperial examination, so this is the only way to do it.Moreover, after Zhang Ning served as an official in the Ming court for a period of time, he discovered that some Jinshi candidates were completely ignorant of administration, and government affairs depended entirely on officials. The imperial examination is not all for the selection of talents, but also a way for the circulation of "blood" from top to bottom to balance social contradictions.

While Zhang Ning was in a hurry, he suddenly got a message that Fan Si, the deputy promotion officer of the Weapons Bureau, had disappeared, along with several craftsmen from the Weapons Bureau.Someone reported that Fan Lao Si had met a "relative" from his hometown several times a while ago, and that he might have been recruited by the government and defected.Zhang Ning realized that the matter was a bit serious. Fan Lao Si might leak the secrets of firearms manufacturing. Although the weapons used by the Suzaku Army would be imitated by the officers and soldiers sooner or later, the leak would be too fast.

...Fan Laosi has already arrived in Wuchang with his eldest son. In order to make meritorious service, he even took away a few confidential drawings of the Weapons Bureau.

Yu Qian, who had just assumed the post of governor of Huguang, and his staff member Wang Jian were studying the blueprints of firearms presented by Fan Laosi in Xingyuan. The person sitting next to him was Xue Lu, Marquis of Wuyang. I don't quite understand.

At this time, Lu Qianshi, the governor of Jinyiwei South Town, walked in, and exchanged a few greetings with Yu Qian and others.Yu Qian said: "Know yourself and know the enemy and you will never be imperiled in a hundred battles. Lu Qianshi made great contributions as soon as he arrived in Huguang. He is worthy of the emperor's humerus."

When Lu Qian heard the civil official praised him, his face suddenly burst into laughter, but he said: "Where is it, Mr. Yu can be called the emperor's consolidating minister. What does this official do as a trivial matter? What's the point? Then Deputy Fan is also a person who seeks advantages and avoids disadvantages. As long as he understands the advantages and disadvantages, and promises to be an official of the Jinyiwei, he still doesn't know what to do? Working on the side of the rebels, he is always just a rebel, how can he compare Be a dignified official in the imperial court... With these things, our Nanzhen Fusi can manufacture new firearms within a few months, ensuring that the Marquis of Wuyang's army will be invincible once it arrives."

Yu Qian also has no objection to imitating new weapons. Although he is a civil servant, Han scholars and bureaucrats rarely dislike "ingenious tricks". After all, it is a pragmatic civilization. It can be said that many people can both worship Buddha and believe in Christ at the same time.Things that arouse the opposition of scholar-bureaucrats, unless they conflict with the basis of their ethical rule, such as someone suddenly saying that father and son, men and women are equal, it will not work; or the reforms have affected the interests and status of some people, and there are very few people who really stick to the rules .

After listening to what Lu Qianshi said, Yu Qian said: "Of course firearms should be trial-made to see their effectiveness, but I'm afraid we can't let Marquis Wuyang wait a few months before using force against Chenzhou. The most important role of these things at the moment is not Imitation has the same weapons as the rebels, but understands their tactics, so that we can prepare corresponding tactics in advance, so that we will not be overwhelmed by the battle."

After hearing this, Xue Lu bowed down and said, "My lord's words are profound in the art of war."

Lu Qianshi said: "This time we arranged a few eyeliners and contacts. In addition to persuading Fan Si to surrender, we also found out a piece of news. The former commander of Yongding Guard, Liu Heju, has joined the rebels, and another commander Feng Youxian and the leader of the bandits There is a lot of communication. There is no way to contact Liu Heju, but according to Master Yu’s intention, our people asked some questions among Yongdingwei and Zhu Yong’s defeated generals, and roughly figured out the tactics of the bandit army.”

Yu Qian glanced at Xue Lu, and then said to Lu Qian: "Tell me about Lu Qian."

"The thieves are mainly infantry. They value firecrackers in order to form a dense square formation. The front two rows hold long spears one foot five feet long, and the flanks are also fronted by pikemen. The infantry is mainly to protect their firecrackers. After forming the formation , waiting for the opponent to attack. Its firecrackers can shoot a hundred steps and can wear iron armor; three rows of firecrackers are fired in turn, and the sound of the blunderbuss is endless. The infantry will be defeated after several rounds of volleys within dozens of steps, and it is difficult to meet the enemy ; when the cavalry approached, they used spearmen to defend the camp, and the bandit army was disciplined and the formation was solid, so Zhu Yong suffered here."

Wang Jian, Yu Qian's aide, couldn't help but said: "Heavy arrows can't pierce Yang with a hundred steps, let alone break through armor. The bandit army's firecrackers are so powerful, why do we use bows and arrows?"

Lu Qianshi smiled and said: "It seems that the 'magic gun' is really powerful, but I think they use a lot of fire guns instead of bows and arrows. I am afraid that their soldiers and horses are not good at bows and horses, and it is difficult to train them very quickly. Naturally, it is easier to use fire guns. The firing of the firecracker is very troublesome. When it is fired, the bow and arrow have already fired several arrows. It is no wonder that they use a dense square formation to fire in turn; the firecracker is not very accurate, and it depends on luck... …We can’t use it in rainy days, and of course our bows and crossbows can’t be used in rainy days, so we can only fight in short combat.”

He took a breath and said: "The bandit army also has two kinds of cannons. I only know how to use one of them, the 'General's Cannon'. They are called Mortar Cannons. They are first set up on the top of the city, and the range is more than one mile. The opponent does not know. When they enter the formation formation under certain circumstances, they will attack the formation with artillery, causing chaos in the formation and damaging morale. Similarly, mortars have limited power and are not very accurate."

At this time Xue Lu pondered and said: "It is not difficult to break this formation. Since the bandit army is in a dense phalanx, first bombard it with generals, and return artillery to attack the city. After the cavalry rushed to its side, after breaking the formation, it was no different from ordinary cavalry fighting infantry."

Yu Qian immediately showed his own job of coordinating all parties: "Wuchang, Jingzhou, and Changsha towns all have Tianzihao generals, each of which weighs more than 2000 catties, so they have to be transported by water. I can order the governments to transfer ships. Transport the cannons from Dongting Lake to Changde Mansion; after the Marquis of Wuyang gathers his troops, the cannons transported to Changde Mansion can be delivered to the nearby armies."

Thank you Xue Lu.

Yu Qian smiled and said: "You and I are both on business for the emperor. At this time, the rebel army is rampant in the area. Putting down the rebellion is the top priority in Huguang. Although I am the governor, I am willing to supervise the military, food and grass for the Marquis of Wuyang. I will do my best to spare you. Worrying about the future, I hope that the soldiers will win the victory, relieve the emperor's worries and problems, and fulfill the duties of a courtier."

Xue Lu remembered that he was recommended by Yu Qian to suppress the rebellion, and it was impossible for Yu Qian to drag the person he recommended back.Thinking of this, Xue Lu felt very relieved, and sure enough, sometimes civil and military cooperation is needed to handle things.

Yu Qian said again: "This man Zhang Ning... He may change his tactics when he learns that we persuaded the weapon maker to surrender. So Lu Qianshi has to continue to send people to investigate the situation, and don't underestimate the enemy."

The two worshiped together: "Your officer obeys."

Yu Qian finished his business in Xingyuantang and returned to his residence to rest.His wife, Mrs. Dong, hurriedly came up to ask about his health, and brought ice cubes to warm him up.Unexpectedly, Yu Qian glanced at the sunset outside the door, and couldn't help complaining: "In hot summer, ice cubes are so expensive, and there are still people in the world who don't have enough clothes to eat, so we should be thrifty."

After hearing this, Dong seemed to have been poured cold water, but she is usually very weak, so she could only reply respectfully: "Yes, I only thought about my husband's success, and I was negligent for a while."

Originally, Yu Qian disapproved of being the governor of Huguang and bringing his female relatives with him, but because he had been out of Beijing for several months and was away from home for a long time, Dong used the excuse of going out to take care of him so that he could save the cost of hiring slaves. Only then did he agree.

When he got home, he still couldn't forget his business, and said to himself: "This time the opponent is Zhang Ning, you have seen it before. Sigh, the world is impermanent, who would have expected him to rebel against the imperial court?"

Dong Shi was not interested in listening to his official affairs, but she happened to still remember Zhang Ning, so she asked casually, "Is he really a descendant of Lord Jianwen?"

"I guess I can't be wrong. I heard that Jianwen who is hiding has made him King Yuhuai." Yu Qian pondered for a while, "A few years ago, Mr. Yang asked me to take him to the capital. The road was very dangerous. This man is quite courageous and thoughtful. It is indeed a rare opponent." When he said this, there was a hint of excitement on his face, and an indescribable mentality, just like the mood of a chess master who wants to beat a player of the same level.

At this time, Mrs. Dong interrupted him with a sentence: "Luo Yaoniang sent a letter, but I will accept it if you are not here. You... She really does not think the mountains are high and the roads are far away, so she wrote to you from such a long distance."

Yu Qian heard that his tone was wrong, and he said angrily: "I respect Yang Gong as a teacher. How can I have any evil thoughts about his adopted daughter who is already married? Who do you think Yu is?"

Dong said angrily: "It's better if you don't have a wife, marrying Yang Gong's daughter is a thousand times better than me!" She couldn't hold back for a while, and couldn't stop, "There is also the Fang who stayed in the old Nanjing courtyard. Girl, what is your relationship with her? I know that I am not good. I am not as good as that girl in terms of beauty and talent, and I am not as good as Luo Yaoniang in terms of background..."

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