Chapter 444 Chapter 443: Thieves set fire to a prairie fire

Chapter 444 Chapter 443: Thieves set fire to a prairie fire

It didn't matter that he didn't stop Yu Dayou from relocating. After leaving the palace, Yan Song started to worry about it, so he just tried to bring Jiangxi under Hu Zongxian's management. Yu Dayou was working under Hu Zongxian, and he was worried that he would not find a reason to manipulate him.

Previously, although Hu Zongxian was known as the Governor of Jiangnan, his official position was actually Minister of the Ministry of War and Censor of the Right Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, plus Shaobao, Governor of the military affairs of Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Fujian and other departments. He was not in charge of the military affairs of Jiangxi, but Can be recruited and dispatched through Jiangxi Dusi.

Hu Zongxian wanted to punish Yu Dayou, so he naturally brought people into his hands, and he didn't just do whatever he wanted.

After wiping out the remnants of Wang Zhi's troops, Hu Zongxian didn't just find an excuse to sue people. He had an imperial decree to arrest people with a royal guard. Yan Song just wanted to copy it at this time, and he could easily make him repeat the same mistake.

Not long after the others walked out of Xiyuan, the news began to spread in the yamen of the capital, and it also reached Prince Yu's Mansion immediately.

In the past, Prince Yu's Mansion was weak in collecting information, but after Gao Gong entered the court as an official, this situation was greatly alleviated.

The Minister of Rites, a third-grade high-ranking official, has a transcendent status, which makes it much more convenient for him to do things. He also has access to some important events in the court, which makes the news of Prince Yu's palace more well-informed.

The Ministry of War's response strategy to the border town had actually been circulated among the government and the public before. Wei Guangde had also predicted it as early as last year. It did not surprise anyone in the palace, but it also significantly improved Wei Guangde's status in the palace.

Being able to plan military affairs, Wei Guangde would at least be able to sit in the Ministry of War when he became an official in the court, so he would not have to worry about not having a suitable position.

At this moment, Wei Guangde was naturally interested in the news coming out of Xiyuan, the news about Ma Fang's promotion to the highest rank.

In fact, you only need to understand Yu Dayou's experience to understand that Yu Dayou was transferred to Jiangxi. In the court, you only need a pusher to achieve it, but Ma Fang is different.

Jiubian Town has lasted for many years, during which countless generals were born. In fact, most of the important positions such as commander-in-chief and staff general in Jiubian Town are held by these generals. They are the inheritance of military training experience from generation to generation.

Ma Fang, on the other hand, is obviously a foreign intruder who has made it to where he is today by virtue of his military exploits.

Chief Military Officer, Governor Zuo, this is already the highest military position a military commander can achieve. The rest are just empty titles. When will he be added to the rank of Sangong Sanfu?

At the beginning, Wei Guangde wanted to ask Ma Fang to go to Jizhen as deputy commander-in-chief and make meritorious deeds before he could be promoted to the post of commander-in-chief. But now it seems that it is not necessary. Is it still necessary to help him find a transfer?

Thinking of knowing his thoughts from the previous letters with Ma Fang, he still wanted to return to Datong when he was old, and did not want to join the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion in the capital and serve as a sinecure. However, Ma Fang was still young and strong, and it was not time to prepare for retirement.

At the level of the general soldier, transfers became troublesome. After all, there were only so many general soldiers in the entire Ming Dynasty, and they were all registered with Emperor Jiajing. Wei Guangde felt that there seemed to be nothing to help him.

let it go.

Based on my understanding of Ma Fang in the past few years, he does not seem to be an ungrateful person who burns bridges when crossing rivers. He also needs someone in the court to protect him.

Even though Wei Guangde's current rank is low and he doesn't even have authority, he has great potential in the future.

He was born in Hanlin and served as an official in Prince Yu's palace. Even if he was not promoted by Emperor Jiajing, it is conceivable that he would rise to great heights when Prince Yu came to power. During his years, he had always regarded him as his backbone, even more than those of the great ministers and emperors. Tao Dalin came to them.

Wei Guangde made up his mind to write a letter to Ma Fang after returning home to ask if he still wanted to make contributions on the battlefield.

As for Yu Dayou, Wei Guangde didn't plan to write a letter, because it was not convenient to go back and forth from Guizhou, and he didn't know when Yu Dayou would be able to take up his post in Jiangxi.

However, judging from past situations, it will take at least two months for Yu Dayou to take over the errands of Guizhou and take up the post of Wan'an garrison in Jiangxi.

Time passed by quietly and soon it was September.

News of Zhang Lian's rebellion continued to spread to the capital, but it was not good news.

During this period of time, the rebels continued to capture cities and territories, breaking through many counties in Fujian. They even broke through Nanjing County and went straight to Zhangzhou Fucheng. They broke through Zhenhaiweicheng, plundered Qianshan, Guixi and other places. They rushed to Jianning and captured Yihuang County.

Bad news kept coming, once again causing a slight shock in the government and the opposition. Especially the news that the Zhenhai Acropolis in Fujian was destroyed, which brought shame to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion.

The patrol censors in Fujian, Jiangxi and other places also reported that there were vacancies in local officials, and new officials were delayed in taking up their posts, leading to chaos in local management.

The Ministry of War issued urgent orders to speed up the deployment of troops and horses, and also urged the generals to be recruited to take office as soon as possible. The Ministry of Civil Affairs also began to verify the appointment of officials from Fujian, Jiangxi and other places, and dismissed officials who were overdue for appointment.

Although bad news continued in the court, during this period of contact with King Yu, Wei Guangde also sensitively discovered that King Yu seemed to have become more determined to impose a sea ban.

It's normal to think about it. The root cause of the Fujian-Guangzhou bandit attack is the increase in dispatches over the years. As a result, the people have no idea and have to take desperate risks. If the sea is opened, the Japanese invasion will gradually subside. Without the need for additional dispatches, there will naturally be no rogue bandits. Activated soil.

On this day, when Wei Guangde and King Yu were alone, King Yu said: "I heard yesterday that Li Sui, the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, petitioned for a resolution on the establishment of an additional governor in Nanjing as a camp officer. What do you think of Shandai?"

Wei Guangde thought about it before replying: "The situation in Fujian and Zhejiang is critical. Nanjing may have sensed it, so it asked the governor to be the camp officer just in case."

After saying this, Wei Guangde thought of the official documents from the Ministry of War two days ago, and said: "The Ministry of War has ordered two days ago that the battle report against Zhang Lian's rebels should be reported every five days. It is no longer the responsibility of local officials to do it on their own. We need to keep abreast of information at all times, so the Ministry of War may have a bad premonition."

Previously, local officials reported information about Fujian-Guangliu bandits after they fell into a certain area. Now they are required to report on time, regardless of whether there is war or not. It can be seen that the Ministry of War has noticed that local officials have some tendency to conceal and slack off, which is not conducive to them. Take control of the battle.

"Is there any news from the Ministry of War? Who has been decided to serve as the commander-in-chief of the Nanjing camp?"

King Yu's face was full of worry at this time, and he asked.

"I heard that Liu Xian was initially chosen, but we will have to wait until the Ministry of War reports."

Wei Guangde replied.

Although Prince Yu's Mansion cannot influence government affairs, nor can it interfere with the appointment and dismissal of officials, it still keeps a close eye on any disturbance in the officialdom.

Nowadays, those officials in the yamen are also willing to pass news to Prince Yu's Mansion. After all, Prince Yu's Mansion is no longer what it used to be.

At this moment, there was a sudden sound of footsteps outside the door, and soon the whispers of Li Fang and the visitor were heard.

King Yu and Wei Guangde's eyes turned to the door of the house at the same time, and soon they heard the voice of Li Fang who was guarding them outside.

"Your Highness, the emergency military report from Ji Town has arrived in Beijing."

"Come in and talk."

King Yu said.

The door curtain was opened, Li Fang quickly walked into the room and handed the note in her hand to King Yu.

King Yu took it and looked at it, then handed the note to Wei Guangde, but his eyes were full of anxiety.

Wei Guangde took a look at the note and was a little surprised.

"More than 60,000 mounted prisoners were captured at the intersection of Yongchao Road. The officers and soldiers guarded them. The general Jiang Yingxiong advanced and encountered the captives in Nangou. The captives surrounded them on horseback. Yingxiong was wounded five times and fell off his horse. He joined the troops of Hu Zhen. We fought, shot and wounded several captives, captured the bears and returned, and the captives escaped."

"Ada Khan still wants to raid the capital?"

Wei Guangde was also shocked when he saw this note.

Wei Guangde's previous guess was that Anda Khan's most likely target would be Zunhua or Miyun. Unexpectedly, tens of thousands of troops dared to take dangerous trails to approach the Great Wall, hoping to break through the Great Wall around Juyongguan.

You must know that once the Ming army detects and encounters obstacles, the Ming army mobilizes soldiers and horses from Ji Town and Xuanda Town to encircle them. I am afraid that not a single Tatar can escape.

But obviously Anda Khan made the right bet, and the Ming army was unprepared. Fortunately, Jiang Yingxiong led his troops to fight and charge fiercely, and frightened Anda's army back, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

"Do you think Anda Khan is really refunding the money or is it a fake refund?"

At this moment, King Yu suddenly asked.

Wei Guangde recalled the terrain of Juyongguan and guessed the route of Anda's troops before replying: "Anda Khan's advance is very risky. He probably wants to sneak attack on our city. Now that his whereabouts have been exposed, it will not be easy to attack the Great Wall Pass with cavalry."

After saying this, Wei Guangde thought for a moment and then said: "I bet that Anda Khan will give up attacking Ji Town and lead his army to attack other important border towns."

"Huh? What you mean is that instead of attacking Ji Town, Ananda Khan will attack other places?"

King Yu was a little surprised.

"Before, Anda Khan sent several troops to harass Xuanda, probably to attract the attention of the court, and the elite is this thunder blow. Now that it is exposed, I am afraid that they will no longer hang around Ji Town and Xuanda, and may turn to attack Liaodong or Shanshan, Ningxia and other areas."

Wei Guangde replied.

This is the advantage of the Mongolian cavalry. Today they can attack Ji Town. After retreating for a few days, the troops may appear near Yansui and Ningxia. Their mobility is indeed the fastest in this period.

"Li Fang, find someone to keep an eye on the Ministry of War's praise paintings, and report any news in a timely manner."

King Yu ordered Li Fang.

After Li Fang agreed to withdraw, Wei Guangde noticed an imperceptible smile on the corner of King Yu's mouth.

Wei Guangde roughly guessed what King Yu was thinking after just thinking about it. After King Jing left, King Yu stayed alone in the capital. In fact, he had already lived the life of a successor emperor. Apart from being unable to participate in politics, he was actually not much different from the one in Xiyuan. .

At this time, I only saw King Yu touching his chin and said casually: "Shandai, do you think that if the Ministry of War did not consider that the Anta cavalry might turn to attack other border towns, should we send someone to warn them?"

Time passed quietly for another ten days, and the northern captives disappeared again after retreating from Nanshan. However, as the battle reports from Jiangnan came on time, the officials in the capital also had a deeper understanding of the current situation in Fujian.

From April to June, the Chengxiang and Sanrao bandits from Guangdong, the Japanese bandits from Tangxia Nan'an, and other bandits from all walks of life appeared in various counties, and the police were called to the police every day.

From July to September, they began to attack the city and plunder the territory. The five prefectures of Fu, Xing, Quan, Ting, and Zhang were troubled by Kushan bandits and stray bandits, and the traitors from the mainland assisted them. Today, the two cities of Chong'an and Nanjing They fell into captivity one after another.

A series of reports were delivered, which not only shocked the government and the public, but also everyone in Prince Yu's Mansion frowned when they looked at the map.

Dozens of counties in most of Fujian, southeastern Jiangxi, and northeastern Guangdong have either fallen or closed their gates, and the four fields have been occupied by Zhang Lian's rebels.

With the news that Longquan County, Zhejiang Province was raided by bandits, it was announced that the anti-bandit forces had gradually begun to invade Zhejiang from Fujian.

"In less than two months, the bandits have already established a foothold in Jiangxi, conquering more than ten large and small cities. From Jiangxi, they broke into Chong'an County in northwest Fujian and plundered Longquan. How did Hu Zongxian suppress the bandits in Zhejiang? The bandits became more and more powerful. Big.”

Looking at the map that was constantly being marked, King Yu's expression became increasingly ugly these days.

The area captured by Zhang Lian seems to be larger than the entire Fujian Province. It is not an exaggeration to say that a whole province has been lost.

"Your Highness, there is no need to worry. I saw from the official document of the Ministry of War yesterday that Yu Dayou has been transferred to Jiangxi. It only takes time to reorganize the troops and horses, and we can quickly regain the lost territory."

Wei Guangde could only comfort him from the side. In fact, he felt a little weak at the moment.

He had no impression of Zhang Lian's group's rebellion at all, but as far as he knew so far, the situation was very bad.

Ganzhou Prefecture, Jianchang Prefecture and Guangxin Prefecture in Jiangxi Province have all been attacked and plundered several counties. If there are bandits heading north from Guixi, if they capture Raozhou Prefecture, they can go north to South Zhili, and if they go west, they can reach Jiujiang, and the third One stop is Bengshan Fort.

In the past, Wei Guangde felt that his hometown was in the heart of the Ming Dynasty and should be a safe place, but now looking at the map in front of him, he felt a little guilty for no reason.

The only thing that could make Wei Guangde stable was that he knew that Zhang Lian's rebellion would definitely fail, otherwise there would be nothing to do with Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and Nurhaci.

Also, Yu Dayou was a famous general in the Ming Dynasty, and Wei Guangde also had extraordinary trust in him.

As long as Jiangxi soldiers and horses are handed over to him, Wei Guangde believes that Zhang Lian's troops can be driven out of Jiangxi soon.

Before, Wei Guangde had always believed that although Zhang Lian's tribe made a lot of noise and played some tricks to ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor, in fact they were just petty thieves, and if the government took it seriously, it would be easy to pacify it.

Therefore, when he was asked to go to Fujian to serve as a censor, Wei Guangde was completely unwilling and felt that he would not get much credit.

However, the situation has developed to this point, and the thieves' power has shown the potential of starting a prairie fire, and the number one general Yu Dayou is about to go to war. Wei Guangde's mind has become more active in the past two days. He is worried about the safety of his family, but also a little greedy for the credit of suppressing the thieves.

Just when he was in a dilemma, the waiter outside sent another small note with the latest battle report from Bian Town.

"More than 20,000 soldiers were captured and rode into Shaanxi and Ningxia. They invaded Luoshan, Tiezhu, Quanxiao, Yanchi and other places. They advanced into Guyuan, followed Ximaguan and plundered the west for several days before escaping."

"You guessed it again."

After King Yu read the note, he did not hand it to Yin Shizhen, but directly handed it to Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde took a brief look, felt a little relieved, and said with a smile: "That's it for the most part. Anda Khan's troops will attack the border towns in multiple directions. As long as each town strictly guards the city, it will be invincible."

"Exactly, this way the Ministry of War can fully operate Fujian."

Yin Shizhen took the note from Wei Guangde, looked at it, and agreed.

"But should we remind the Ministry of War that Datong has been a bit active recently?"

Zhang Juzheng frowned and said at this time.