The Prosperous Era of Longwan

The Yiwu soldiers actually became famous all over the world with the rise of Qi Jiajun's fame.

Before Qi Jiguang's recruitment, no one gave that place a second glance.

In the original history, Yiwu soldiers heroically killed the enemy, protected the country and the people in the anti-Japanese war, and suffered few casualties, which means that they did not exist just to fight against the Japanese.

Since Jiajing recruited farmers and miners from Yiwu to join the army, joining the army and practicing martial arts has become a local custom. They slowly expanded in size and gradually became the ace army that the Ming Dynasty relied on most. This team also began to move towards the land of China.

After the Japanese pirates were wiped out, the Yiwu soldiers or the Qi army followed Qi Jiguang and were transferred from the rich south of the Yangtze River to the bitter cold northern border to guard the empire's Great Wall barrier with the border troops.

However, at this time, the Qi family army was already called the Zhejiang army, and they appeared in the north as guest camp soldiers.

With their strict military discipline, professional training level, advanced equipment, and courageous and resourceful character, the Yiwu soldiers of Zhejiang Province were known as the most powerful elite force in the Ming Dynasty. They were also known as the "16th to 17th century The strongest army in East Asia in the century".

Zhejiang soldiers followed Qi Jiguang in the north and south, so Zhejiang soldiers became the patron saints of various places, and they could be found wherever there was need.

They helped consolidate the national defense in various places and improve the strength of the army. As the main force of the empire, they went to war as soon as possible after the Wanli Korean War.

"Wu Wu's bravery is famous all over the world, and the soldiers from the south to the Japanese and the north to the captives all call for Wu soldiers."

These also directly led to the saying that "Zhejiang soldiers half the world" appeared in the late Ming Dynasty.

After the war against Japanese invaders, Yin Zhengmao, then the right minister of the Ministry of War, asked the Zhejiang soldiers to stay in the camp because they were afraid that the Japanese pirates would make a comeback.

Guangxi recruited Zhejiang soldiers from Longqing to the early Wanli years, mainly because of the "Yang" rebellion.

In addition to the Zhejiang soldiers who stayed in garrison during the anti-Japanese war, Fujian continued to recruit Zhejiang soldiers.

The first recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers in South Zhili was during the Jiajing Japanese invasion period. Later, people from Shanshui in Yiwu, Zhejiang were also recruited to serve as camp soldiers. Zhejiang soldiers were also recruited from other places for various reasons.

Xiao He succeeded and defeated Xiao He. When the reputation of Zhejiang soldiers rose, the overall military strength of the Ming Dynasty showed a decline. It was probably due to the recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers for some reasons. The main soldiers were not trained or the training did not achieve the effect.

In fact, Zhao Bingran's memorial was not a complaint at all, but predicted a lot of things, no matter what his purpose was.

Moreover, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, when "Zhejiang soldiers dominated half the world", Zhejiang had become a "tired province".

According to records, there were worrying things such as floods in Zhejiang, empty savings, and strong men far away from garrison, so some officials began to request a halt to the recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers.

The provinces that recruit Zhejiang soldiers for garrison also have many problems. First, Zhejiang soldiers are paid more generously than other soldiers, and the food and salary costs are huge. On the other hand, too many Zhejiang soldiers are recruited. The combat effectiveness and quality of Zhejiang soldiers are uneven, their discipline deteriorates, and they disturb the local area. .

Later, although the imperial court banned the recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers at the request of Zhejiang officials, they continued to recruit Zhejiang soldiers every time there was an incident in border defense and coastal defense. Zhejiang and other provinces were actually burdened by recruitment. Unfortunately, the recruitment of Zhejiang soldiers did not decrease. Lasts until the end of Ming Dynasty.

Of course, these are all things for later, and Wei Guangde did not pay attention to the fact that Zhao Bingran's memorial mentioned that the provincial team training still preferred locals, and could not just focus on Zhejiang, especially not stick to one place.

"Train troops and reward them."

At this time, King Yu felt that building a strong army was not as simple as he thought. It did not mean that recruiting an army in Yiwu would make them good at fighting.

"It seems that we still need to take a long-term approach."

King Yu said with some disappointment.

"Your Highness, what Mr. Zhao said in his memorial is actually very reasonable. If provinces are in trouble, they go to Yiwu to recruit troops, but people in their own provinces do not recruit. If these people have nothing to do all day long, I am afraid things will change.

And just in the small Yiwu, how many strong men can be recruited, if there are no restrictions, I am afraid that the place will directly become a country of girls. "

Li Fang reminded him at this time.

Being able to stay with King Yu for a long time, Li Fang naturally has a keen eye.

In fact, even though Li Fang was just a eunuch, he also came from the inner study hall. In terms of knowledge and insight, he was not much worse than Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen.

It's just that after entering the palace, he can only be a servant of the royal family for the rest of his life.

There is still an official career, but it is in the inner court.

As for the daughter country he mentioned, well, these days "Journey to the West" has been printed as a book and is being sold in bookstores. Naturally, more people know about it, and it is not something that can only be heard from the gentleman in the teahouse.

"Haha, that makes sense."

When Wei Guangde heard Li Fang say "daughter country", he immediately laughed out loud, but after thinking about it, he also felt that Li Fang's words made sense.

King Yu was not a person without discernment, so he naturally reacted to the reminder in his words.

"So, the Ministry of War should reconsider?"

Prince Yu nodded.

"Hard to say."

Just when Li Fang nodded and planned to echo King Yu's words, Wei Guangde spoke.

"Huh? Why?"

King Yu asked in surprise.

"The Ministry of War's current thinking will not be so far-reaching. At the very least, all provinces have noticed that Qi Jiguang discovered this source of troops. The quality of the soldiers is very good, and the Ministry of War will not fail to notice.

What is the most important responsibility of the Ministry of War now? Naturally, we should pacify the southern Japanese and northern captives.

Before the Japanese pirates in the south were completely wiped out, the Ministry of War would not agree to Zhao Bingran's request.

I estimate that in recent years, Qi Jiguang recruited soldiers from Yiwu, Fujian, and southern Zhili, which means that he took away 20,000 to 30,000 people from there.

His original intention in writing this memorial should be to stop other provinces from thinking. In the Ming Dynasty, there were two capitals and thirteen provinces. If they went there to recruit, even if a family only took four thousand people, it would still be tens of thousands of strong laborers.

If this continues for a long time, it will really drain people dry. "

Wei Guangde didn't know that Guang Qi Jiguang had actually recruited nearly 20,000 troops from Yiwu since he was recruiting troops to suppress the Japanese.

It’s not that the Yiwu soldiers were very depleted on the battlefield. In fact, during this period, under the training and command of Qi Jiguang, the Yiwu soldiers shined brilliantly in the Anti-Japanese War.

Since the formation of the army, the Qi army has been invincible and has never been defeated in hundreds of large and small battles.

The Qi Jiajun participated in the suppression of countless Japanese pirates and pirates in Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong. What is surprising is that the casualty ratio between them and the enemy was basically more than 1:500, and they even had a glorious record of zero casualties. This is other mighty heroes in the past dynasties. The Lions are incomparable, which also reflects their strict military discipline and unity.

The soldiers chosen by Qi Jiguang were originally simple farmers and miners with kind hearts and would not oppress the people. Moreover, under Qi Jiguang's words and deeds, they were trained rigorously. In just a few months, they were completely transformed and became the most disciplined and brave military in the Ming Dynasty. An invincible, state-of-the-art army.

The Qi Jiajun also added formation elements, which the Ming army lacked in the past. The formation played a very important role in the war. Qi Jiguang tailor-made the Mandarin Duck Formation for the Qi Jiajun. When facing the enemy, the square formation focused on the four-four formation. Reference to the military books written by Qi Jiguang later also illustrates this situation. This is Qi Jiguang's combat characteristics.

It's just that after a few battles, most of these Yiwu people were transferred to various places by the capital to supplement the Zhejiang troops. Therefore, when Qi Jiguang went south to Fujian, he had to go to Yiwu first and recruit a group of people back.

After seeing the potential of Yiwu soldiers, officials from Southern Zhili, Guangxi and other places also went to Yiwu to recruit soldiers.

It is also interesting to say that Guangxi originally produced brave wolf soldiers. However, after a large number of wolf soldiers were transferred to the coast to suppress Japanese pirates, their performance was not good. However, the leading officer still saw the combat power of the Qi Army and believed that their combat power was not inferior to that of the Qi Army. Wolf soldiers.

The Guangxi government is proud of the production of wolf soldiers, but they are also deeply wary. After all, they are local ethnic minorities and most of them are disobedient to discipline.

When Yu Dayou first joined the Southwest, he was actually going to suppress local ethnic rebellions. So after seeing the Yiwu soldiers with strict military disciplines, the Guangxi government recruited them early and brought them directly back to Guangxi to prepare for suppressing local rebellions.

Therefore, this loss of population has reached a level that the governor Zhao Bingran has to pay attention to, and the province's taxes and levies have been greatly affected.

Li Fang's words not only reminded King Yu, but also reminded Wei Guangde, and soon he also thought of the impact on Yiwu and even Zhejiang as a whole.

However, considering the actual situation faced by the Ministry of War, Wei Guangde did not think that the Ministry of War would prohibit provinces from recruiting battalions in Zhejiang.

"Well, Master Wei's words make sense. The Ministry of War only cares about winning the war. The rest will be left to the Ministry of Husbandry and Zhejiang to worry about."

Li Fang had been thinking about it all morning, so he thought of it before them, but he couldn't express his opinion in front of King Yu like Wei Guangde did.

At least, he couldn't say anything until King Yu asked about the plan.

"By the way, I heard that it has been decided that Zhang Yongming, the censor of the right capital, will succeed Pan En and take charge of the Metropolitan Procuratorate."

That's all the matters of concern, King Yu changed the subject and said.

During this time, Wei Guangde came to Prince Yu's Mansion, so he may not know the news.

"heard."

Wei Guangde smiled and said, "A colleague from the Metropolitan Procuratorate gave me the news."

"How's your relationship with him?"

King Yu asked curiously.

"Your Highness, I am a marginal figure in the Metropolitan Procuratorate. I don't go there on weekdays. I only go there occasionally to visit. I can only say that we are acquaintances.

No, I should respect him. After all, he is my immediate boss. "

Wei Guangde replied.

"I heard that this gentleman is quite strict. I don't know when your censor's errand was fucked by him, haha."

King Yu teased.

"Actually, the Governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate really needs someone like Mr. Zhang. After all, the Metropolitan Procuratorate is the yamen responsible for purging Chao Gang."

Wei Guangde can think broadly. Anyway, he is now far away from controlling the government, so don't think too much.

"On the contrary, Master Guo Puguo, this holy family is also very powerful."

King Yu smiled.

Hearing what King Yu said, Wei Guangde glanced at Li Fang next to him. He was still relieved about this person, so he said: "Your Highness, in fact, if Master Pan hadn't been so entangled with Mr. Xu Ge, what happened this time would have been better." , maybe it can be passed smoothly."

Taking advantage of King Yu's provocation, Wei Guangde told King Yu what he had considered before.

After hearing this, King Yu was speechless for a long time, but Li Fang next to him nodded in agreement.

After a long time, King Yu murmured: "I see, I think back then, when Yan Song was the chief assistant of the cabinet, the third assistant Lu Ben, Wu Peng, Ouyang Bijin, Zhao Wenhua and others"

Blinking, King Yu seemed to have come back to his senses. He looked at Wei Guangde and said with a smile, "I didn't expect that when Xu Jie became the first assistant, not even the censor of Zuodu could protect him."

"The current imperial court is more like a imperial court. There are no cliques, and we can discuss matters when they arise."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"Eunuch Li, Eunuch Li."

At this time, a waiter called Li Fang in a low voice outside the door.

"Go and have a look, maybe something will happen."

King Yu glanced at Li Fang and said.

Li Fang hurried out the door, but he returned to the house not long after, but at this time, his expression was particularly wonderful.

"What's the matter?"

King Yu smiled when he saw his expression, knowing that it was not a bad thing, otherwise he wouldn't have this expression.

"Father Guo Pu and Guo Shangshu have gone."

Li Fang had already walked back quickly, handed the note in her hand to King Yu, and said: "Guo Shangshu has already submitted a petition to request Ding You."

"ah"

When Wei Guangde heard Li Fang's words, he opened his mouth in surprise.

This time is also a coincidence.

"Is the Minister of Civil Affairs available?"

King Yu took the letter and looked at it, then he said: "So, who will take over? Is there any hope for Master Gao?"

This is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, a heavenly official who can influence the appointment and dismissal of officials below the fourth rank of the imperial court.

When Yan Song was in office, why could he let the people below him do whatever he said? It was either Wu Peng or the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Any local official who dared to disobey him would have to do so unless he no longer wanted to be an official.

Wei Guangde thought quickly, compared the left minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel, and came to his own conclusion. Gao Gong still had no chance.

Now Gao Gong has been caught up in the school enrollment ceremony. Although he is still responsible for the official affairs of the Ministry of Rites, the position of Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is definitely not something he can touch.

It seems that only Li Chunfang, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, has a chance to compete for the position of minister.

He was the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel, who had been transferred from the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, and his qualifications were sufficient. As for the length of his tenure, that was not the main issue.

In fact, the promotion process of ministers such as Guo Pu and Yan Ne was very fast. They often stayed in an official position for less than half a year before being promoted by Emperor Jiajing.

"Perhaps, this time the flower falls should be Li Chunfang and Bachelor Li."

Wei Guangde didn't think much and directly expressed his guess.

Even if Guo Pu gains the favor of Emperor Jiajing, he will never reach the point where he can steal his love. After all, he is not indispensable to the court.

In fact, judging from what Wei Guangde saw of the Ming court and the love-stealing crisis that Zhang Juzheng encountered in his memory, they were all hyped up after the internal split within the civil service group.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng was engaged in the New Deal, and there was a strong backlash within the civil servant group, which is why so many people hoped that he would stop the implementation of the New Deal.

And as long as Zhang Juzheng leaves the court, he may never have the opportunity to return to the cabinet.

In fact, if he had chosen to leave at that time, the Zhang family would not have suffered such a brutal liquidation.

After all, that was the general trend, but he still chose to change his fate against the will of heaven.

Stealing love was actually not a big deal in the Ming Dynasty, where officials were as lofty as they said.

Yan Shifan was deprived of his love, and no court officials were seen looking for life or death.