The Prosperous Era of Longwan

Wei Guangde stood aside and watched the Qi Jiajun's drill for a long time, and finally understood their tactics.

How should I put it? It is indeed more advanced than the Ming army's current battle formation, but it is not universal.

Because the wars faced by countries like the Ming Dynasty, wars like the suppression of Japanese invaders, are not even wars.

If it were an army in the early or mid-Ming Dynasty, it might be more difficult to suppress the Japanese, but it would still be easy to win, because military formations had appeared in China a long time ago, and they were mixed-arms formations that emphasized mutual assistance.

In his opinion, Qi Jiajun's style of play is actually more suitable for training small groups of elite troops, such as scouts, similar to later generations of special forces.

However, for small scenes such as the suppression of Japanese invaders, Qi Jiajun's tactics were indeed very targeted.

What does this mean? It means that this set of tactics was thought up by Qi Jiguang based on the battlefield conditions and is very targeted.

Smart generals rely on their brains to fight and adopt different tactical configurations for different enemies.

Qi Jiguang was able to assess the situation on the battlefield and innovate a novel method of warfare, which made him a general worth winning over.

But thinking of wooing him, Wei Guangde sighed in his heart.

He recalled the records of later generations about Qi Jiguang, who later joined Zhang Juzheng as a "lackey".

It's not that he can't win over Qi Jiguang. In fact, right now, his contact with Qi Jiguang is far greater than Zhang Juzheng's contact with him.

Moreover, Wei Guangde also had Tan Lun, Qi Jiguang's old leader, a fellow countryman, and Yin Shizhen, a fellow countryman of Qi Jiguang, so he naturally had an advantage over Zhang Juzheng.

But he also knew that he could maintain a good relationship, but he could no longer treat Qi Jiguang like he treated Ma Fang and Yu Dayou, which was a taboo.

In the past, he held a low position, and it was okay to be close to some generals. But now that he is a cabinet minister of the Ming Dynasty, if he continues to be close to these leading generals, it is inevitable that Emperor Longqing will not think too much.

The current emperor is already a bit strange to Wei Guangde, and sometimes he simply can't understand what he is thinking.

Perhaps because of the distance, he could see King Yu almost every day when he was in Yuzhuan.

But now, let alone before entering the cabinet, even after entering the cabinet, he would only be able to see the emperor for three or four days.

With less contact, there is less understanding of the emperor.

Moreover, Wei Guangde had a vague feeling that it was right. It seemed that Emperor Longqing was slightly wary of these hidden ministers.

Li Chunfang seemed to have no desires and desires in the cabinet, and Emperor Longqing should be the most assured cabinet minister.

And he, Chen Yiqin, and Yin Shizhen had signs of forming a small circle, which he had facilitated in the early days of the emperor's accession to the throne.

However, compared with the past, the situation now has obvious changes from that time, that is, Gao Gong is gone.

At that time, Yu Zhuan's old people were divided into two factions. The most powerful one was Gao Gong, and the three of them together could not fight with him.

Wei Guangde had a vague feeling that Emperor Longqing seemed to be partial to Zhang Juzheng in the government affairs discussed in the cabinet in the past two months, and suppressed them intentionally or unintentionally.

Perhaps, this is the so-called "emperor's mind", which pays attention to balance.

They are now strong in the cabinet, so Emperor Longqing chose to side with Zhang Juzheng to balance the strengths of all parties.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde turned back to Zhu Xizhong and asked, "Where is Qi Jiguang now? Have you found out?"

"Over there at Shenshu Camp."

Zhu Xizhong said.

When they made their way to the general station, they had already sent out the captain who was familiar with the area around the school to look for Qi Jiguang.

He is the person in charge here. What Wei Guangde and the others want to see, it is natural to consult him.

Waiting for a group of people to arrive at the training ground of Shenshu Camp, this is the outer area of ​​the entire school grounds. The terrain is flat and wide, suitable for cavalry drills.

But at this moment, several battalions of Shenshu camp were resting aside, while a group of people gathered together on the sidelines.

After they passed by, they saw Qi Jiguang talking to several lieutenants in the Shenshu camp. When they got closer, they could tell that he was angry about the poor service of the war horses.

Wei Guangde glanced at the war horses in the Shenshu camp around him and felt that they looked very good. He didn't understand why Qi Jiguang said the war horses were not good.

Their arrival naturally alarmed Qi Jiguang and others in the crowd.

Seeing that Wei Guangde was coming, accompanied by his immediate boss Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Cheng, and Tan Lun, the Minister of War, he did not dare to neglect and came over to salute immediately.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Shenshu Camp?"

After Qi Jiguang led other generals to salute, Wei Guangde asked.

"Mr. Wei Ge, Lord Admiral, Lord Rongzheng, the war horses of Shenshu Camp are not meticulous enough in horse materials.

Most of these war horses are superficial and appear to be extraordinary horses, but when they actually run, they are not powerful enough.

It doesn't matter for a short time, but if it lasts for a long time, the war horse will degrade and is no longer suitable for use as a war horse. It is really a waste. "

Hearing Qi Jiguang say this about his Shenshu Camp, Wang Shiying, the commander of the Shenshu Camp's Assistant and Attack General's Office, became dissatisfied. He immediately walked out from behind Wei Guangde and said to Qi Jiguang: "General Qi, you must speak truthfully and with evidence. The war horses in my Shenshu camp are carefully raised, how could they not be meticulous?

You said the horsepower is not enough, that’s because you drive the boys to train all day long. If you practice too much, they will get tired. You can’t pass the responsibility to us at Shenshu Camp. "

In order to prepare for the first imperial review in a century, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War allocated a large amount of materials to the Beijing camp, including a large amount of horse feed, just to ensure that the soldiers and horses were well fed.

However, despite Tan Lun's supervision, the rations for the soldiers and the materials for the horses were naturally deducted a lot.

As long as everyone understands these things, it will be fine.

But Qi Jiguang said at this time that the war horses were not good because of the horse materials, so of course Wang Shiying quit.

"Can the current situation ensure that there will be no problems in the reading?"

Wei Guangde glanced at Wang Shiying, then turned to Qi Jiguang and asked.

"The parade drill is barely doable, but there is no guarantee that something will not go wrong. It is best to prepare better materials for the war horses to save horsepower."

Qi Jiguang lowered his head after Wang Shiying came out to accuse him of talking nonsense. At this moment, he wanted to mix things up with vague words, but he thought that if something went wrong in the reading, he could not bear the responsibility, so he finally reminded him road.

Wei Guangde knew that the military rations and horse materials were allocated "in full". He supervised this matter, including the fine armors and weapons made by the Ministry of Industry. These orders were all given by him, and several yamen were summoned for this purpose. Negotiated together.

Now Qi Jiguang said that the horse was not good. Of course he knew that someone must have been a little more ruthless and the horse was not drifting much, which affected the training.

However, he didn't want to interfere too much in this matter, so he had to whisper to Zhu Xizhong, the admiral of the Beijing camp next to him: "Mr. Cheng, I supervise the things allocated by the imperial court. It should be said that they can guarantee the training needs.

I think there should be some minor problems at the camp.

It's a trivial matter, but I would like to ask the Duke to take state affairs as a priority and clean it up.

Before the grand parade, I would like to ask the Duke to pay more attention to the materials for the war horses and the food and pay for the soldiers.

If something goes wrong, everyone's face will look bad. "

Only top nobles like Zhu Xizhong can cure these ruffians.

However, due to the complex distribution of forces in the Beijing camp, there were actually some things that Zhu Xizhong couldn't even talk about.

Don't think it's impossible. In addition to the generals transferred from outside, most of the generals in the capital camp are the children of the Duke of the capital. Duke Cheng wants to save face, so why don't Duke Ying and Duke Ding not want them?

There are also the princes' and uncles' mansions below.

Let's just say that although the current Linhuai Marquis Mansion is only a marquis, one level lower than a duke, no matter it is the Jiajing Emperor's period or the current Longqing Dynasty, the Linhuai Marquis Mansion's status has been improving, and it is like a new noble was born.

The Duke's Mansion was not willing to offend this kind of hereditary nobleman who was in the heart of the emperor.

Zhu Xizhong understood what Wei Guangde meant. Jingying would handle the family matters by itself. No matter what, he would deal with Dayue first. Of course, he chose to nod in recognition.

"My lord, do you still have the Qiulu Bai that I drank at your house last time? The taste is really unforgettable. When will I invite the nobles from the capital to have another drink together?"

Wei Guangde continued.

Zhu Xizhong glanced at Wei Guangde, put a smile on his face, and agreed.

"Okay, it's better to choose a different day than to hit the sun. How about today?"

"Well, it's a good day today. After seeing the Beijing camp here, I'll be bothered when I get back to the city. I also asked Duke Cheng to send someone to post messages to each family."

Wei Guangde also said with a smile.

Of course Zhu Xizhong understood what Wei Guangde meant. He would not interfere with the Beijing camp, but he would take care of Dayue, so today's banquet was actually to help him put pressure on other mansions and let them loosen their grip a little.

Wei Guangde is not looking for trouble, but helping to solve it, and his character is recognized by Zhu Xizhong.

This kind of people can get along well and know how to take care of each other when something happens.

After finishing talking about this matter, Wei Guangde turned around and asked Qi Jiguang: "Should the Shenshu Camp take a rest now or continue training?"

"Back to the pavilion, Mr. Lao, he's almost rested and should be able to continue training."

Qi Jiguang answered with cupped fists.

Qi Jiguang seemed to understand the previous conversation between Wei Guangde and Zhu Xizhong, but he guessed that the current matter should be resolved, at least it would not get worse.

Soon, in the eyes of Wei Guangde and others, the command flag began to wave, and the three cavalry teams of Shenshu Camp began to practice charging and mounted shooting tactics.

The cavalry tactical training was much better than the formation of the fifth military camp. Everyone stayed here for a long time, and it was almost noon.

Zhu Xizhong sent someone to bring in cattle and sheep and slaughter them at the school ground. According to the rules of the army, he set up a marching stove and started preparing.

Although it was made based on the military stoves used by the army during the march, the captain who could copy the roasted beef and mutton was obviously an expert at it. Wei Guangde, Tan Lun and others enjoyed eating the beef and mutton they made.

At this time, in addition to the cut beef and mutton, each person also had a pot of wine in front of them.

Although the military camp has the habit of not drinking alcohol, Wei Guangde and Tan Lun didn't say anything when people were brought to them. After all, there was no war, so there was no need to dampen everyone's spirits.

Wei Guangde, on the other hand, couldn't help but admire the roasted mutton leg, "This cook is of high standard, fragrant and tender. I'm afraid he's not from the Beijing camp."

"Shandai, you are really wrong, people are from Jingying."

Zhu Xizhong was with Wei Guangde and Tan Lun, three people at a table. When he heard Wei Guangde's words, he immediately laughed and said: "My ancestors have been fire-headed soldiers for generations. I have to call people to my house to roast lamb legs from time to time. This is a skill passed down from our ancestors." "

"Well, I'll remember that. Next time I'm greedy, I'll send someone to contact the public servant to find someone for me."

Wei Guangde smiled.

"It's easy to talk to. He is usually at my house. If you want to eat this good leg of lamb, just send someone over."

Zhu Xizhong replied happily.

Come on, Wei Guangde knew that this was another fireman who was living on empty wages in the capital camp. The military household didn't know if it was true, but he conquered Duke Cheng's stomach with his craftsmanship, so he probably served him in the Duke's mansion on weekdays.

However, there were too many such things to deal with, and Wei Guangde was too lazy to deal with them.

After dinner, Qi Jiguang took them to watch the training of the Shenji Battalion. He also specially transported a batch of gunpowder to distribute and practiced actual shooting.

The gunmen and gunners shot at the target a hundred paces away. The sound of "pop, pop, pop, pop" was like setting off firecrackers during the New Year, and the scene was really lively.

As for the target, it was already in tatters under such powerful firepower.

"Refilling ammunition is still a little slow. In addition to the Folang machine, I still need to practice the general cannon and the blunderbuss."

Wei Guangde did not pay attention to the power, but paid more attention to the speed of the soldiers loading ammunition. He felt that the loading speed of these gunmen was not as fast as his own.

Of course, he might not have touched a gun for many years, and he didn't know if his hand was raw or not.

However, when he was at Bengshan Castle, he used to shoot a lot of muskets, and his reloading speed was still very fast.

"There are few opportunities for live-fire exercises, so that's why."

Qi Jiguang said a little embarrassed.

"Yes, I understand. I saw the Zhejiang soldiers you led earlier. They can load the muskets very quickly. The five-stage attack can almost be connected end to end. They are really well trained and worthy of the name of the Qi Family Army."

Wei Guangde spoke in a loud voice, because at this time the cannons and cannons in the distant military formation were still roaring, and if the voice was low, it would not be heard at all.

After the inspection of the Beijing camp was over, Wei Guangde and Tan Lun returned to the city with Zhu Xizhong, Duke of Cheng, and went directly to Duke Cheng's mansion. There was a banquet tonight to entertain the distinguished families who settled in the capital.

However, in the afternoon of the next day, Wei Guangde wrote a memorial to the cabinet, talking about the Beijing camp review.

But it wasn't what he saw yesterday, but he was proposing changes to a system the imperial court had for the Beijing camp.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty emperors did not ignore the Beijing camp. According to the system, every three years, a eunuch who was responsible for the ceremony would be sent to the Beijing camp to inspect it, and then return to the palace to report what happened to the Beijing camp.

However, this year, Emperor Longqing planned to attend the Grand Parade in person, so Wei Guangde hoped that this would become a system whereby the emperor would conduct a grand review of the capital every three years.

There were many problems in the Beijing camp, but the situation was too complicated. Wei Guangde hoped that by having the emperor conduct regular reviews, he could maintain the current achievements of the Beijing camp after the rectification, except for the tens of thousands of troops.

If the emperor continued to send eunuchs to go around and report verbally, God knows when the things he, Tan Lun, and Qi Jiguang had created would fall short.

Wei Guangde knew that Emperor Longqing would summon him once the memorial was handed over, and he would also report what he had seen and heard in the Beijing camp, which was a big deal.

Although there are still some problems, after yesterday's inspection, Wei Guangde already felt that there should be no mistakes in this review. (End of chapter)