Chapter 666 665 Banquet

Chapter 666 665 Banquet

Wei Guangde didn't care what Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang talked about. He only cared about the result, that is, whether they agreed to the matter and contributed to the upcoming review.

After leaving the office, Wei Guangde went directly back to his home, ordered someone to prepare a banquet for Feng Sheng, and waited for Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang to come.

Soon, as Tan Lun came to the door with Qi Jiguang, the three of them sat down at the banquet after chatting.

Before Wei Guangde could speak, Qi Jiguang had already picked up his wine glass and said to him and Tan Lun: "Thank you, Mr. Wei, for thinking of me, the thousands of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, even when he is busy with everything.

Mr. Tan has told me about the Grand Parade you planned today. It has been many years since I, Ming Dynasty, have had the gift of a Grand Parade.

This cup, on behalf of the millions of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, I salute you, and I also salute Sir Tan. Please rest assured that the soldiers participating in the parade will be trained by the generals, and they will live up to expectations. Your Majesty, all your lords, and the envoys of the foreign countries. In their eyes, they must see the unparalleled combat power of my Ming soldiers who look down upon the world. "

"hehe."

Wei Guangde smiled, glanced at Tan Lun, then picked up the wine glass and said with a smile: "General Qi's words, I take it with my heart, please."

Tan Lun also picked up his wine glass and the three of them drank it down in one gulp.

Wei Guangde and Tan Lungang had just put down their wine glasses, and the maid behind them had just stepped forward to pour the wine. Qi Jiguang had already picked up the wine pot first.

There were mixed drinks and messy cups and plates. These should not have appeared in such an occasion, but among the three people at the table, Wei Guangde came from a hundred families, and was not as good as those gentry who passed down poems and books. Now he can perfectly balance boldness and elegance. Switch freely between.

Tan Lun was a serious scholar, but he had led troops in many battles and was used to the generous eating style of soldiers in the military camp. This was actually very similar to Qi Jiguang.

The result was a table full of wine and food, which was swept away as the three of them kept changing glasses.

It wasn't that Wei Guangde was stingy, there wasn't enough food on the table, it was just that they had ruined all the meat dishes, and there were some exquisite vegetarian dishes. Although they tasted good, they didn't attract them to use their chopsticks. The main reason was that Qi Jiguang kept changing his ways of toasting, and praised Wei Guangde. Somewhat elated.

He picked up nice things to say, and almost told them all the few things Wei Guangde did from fighting the Japanese pirates before he entered the court to after he entered the court.

Obviously, Qi Jiguang had already understood Wei Guangde's experience. He may not have done it just today, but maybe he had already started doing it when he first entered the capital.

Only now did Wei Guangde understand why Qi Jiguang was so highly regarded by Jiangnan civil servants. Naturally, everyone liked such a good talker and capable general.

Help and say nice things no matter what, and in the end it's the imperial court that pays and rewards you, and it doesn't cost you anything.

This time Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang came to visit. While waiting in the central hall, he already knew that the two brought many gifts.

Of course, Master Wei accepted all these things.

However, based on his contact with Tan Lun and his understanding of him, the so-called gift from Tan Lun may not really be prepared by him. It is most likely that it was prepared by Qi Jiguang.

But this time, the gifts given in Qi Jiguang's name were much thicker than when Qi Jiguang came to visit before.

It can only be said that Qi Jiguang is very proficient in giving gifts. When they first met each other, they didn't understand each other and didn't know whether they would have any communication in the future, so the gift was not too much or too little, but just the right one.

After confirming that there is communication, the gifts are immediately increased, hoping to gain the attention of the other party and lay a solid foundation for future cooperation.

"Shandai, I wonder if your Majesty has any requirements for this grand review?"

When the wine was half drunk and all three of them were blushing, Tan Lungang and Wei Guangde touched each other, put down their glasses and asked with a smile.

Wei Guangde put down the empty wine glass. Qi Jiguang had already held the wine glass and was ready to pour wine.

Smiling at Qi Jiguang, Wei Guangde leaned to Tan Lun's side and said, "Brother Zili, Your Majesty has no requirements for Dayue."

In Tan Lun's slightly surprised eyes, he continued: "But because of this, it is the most test for us."

Tan Lun nodded slightly, agreeing with Wei Guangde's words.

There is no requirement, but the highest requirement is that the reading must be flawless, otherwise it may backfire.

"I have read historical materials before, and many of them record that the troops were neatly arranged, marching in the same pace, and the soldiers and armor were brightly colored. It is not difficult to do it. As long as General Qi trains his people, he can do it.

In addition, General Qi is already in charge of the Shenji Battalion, so the firearms training of the Shenji Battalion during the Grand Parade must also be a focus.

Master Tan can review the records of the Ministry of War. What troops will be drawn from Jiubian this time, what kind of troops, how each queue is arranged, and how to cooperate with each other. In short, everything is focused on showing the power of the Ming Dynasty's military.

Hmm. Also, for the soldiers of Xuanfu, I suggest that the cavalry team around the commander-in-chief Ma Fang be mobilized. Not only are they skilled in bows and horses, but they are also equipped with a number of well-made 100-shot Folang machines, which can fire ten blunderbuss in succession. Then use it as a short spear. "

Wei Guangde had told Tan Lun before that since he was going to perform in front of the emperor, he must mobilize the most elite soldiers from the nine sides. Of course, the cavalry trained by Ma Fang himself was among those mobilized.

Tan Lun nodded there and asked several general military officers for elites. Naturally, it was his job as the Minister of War, so he didn't think there was anything wrong, but Qi Jiguang was a little hesitant.

At first, he thought the errand assigned to him was to train troops.

Well, Qi Jiguang also thought that he was experienced in training soldiers.

In Zhejiang, after two months of joining the army, a new recruit dared to drag people to the battlefield to fight. Why?

Of course, he was not using them as cannon fodder, but he believed that his training would ensure safety as long as the soldiers could remember and use it on the battlefield.

Judging from what Wei Guangde said, it was like he wanted to praise the military aircraft this time. How the troops arranged their formations and how they "performed" seemed to be all his job.

He only received Tan Lun's agreement, but did not hear Qi Jiguang's voice. Wei Guangde looked over strangely.

When Qi Jiguang saw Wei Guangde turning to look at him, he hurriedly smiled and said: "General, I know this, and I will try my best to complete your orders."

Wei Guangde saw that Qi Jiguang's smile was a bit forced and asked strangely: "Does General Qi have any doubts?"

In the flash of lightning, Wei Guangde had actually guessed what Qi Jiguang was worried about, which was that the men and horses entrusted to him by Qi Jiguang were complicated. Such a team might be one against a hundred elites when drawn alone, but they could be mixed together. , he has no confidence that he can use his fingers like an arm.

What's more, these people are all northern soldiers. For him, a general who has made some reputation in the south, people in the north may not think highly of him.

If you look down on them, how can you obey orders?

Thinking about the pile of thorns at his disposal, Qi Jiguang felt a little overwhelmed.

The key point is that even if his official position is greater than others, he is not subordinate to each other and has no interests. Who will be afraid of him and listen to him?

"Are you worried that you can't command those arrogant and powerful generals?"

Wei Guangde asked with a smile.

Qi Jiguang didn't nod, but the expression on his face betrayed him. His smile was uglier than crying.

"You don't have to save face for them. You know, once the parade is completed, your errands in the Beijing camp will definitely not be improved, haha."

Wei Guangde smiled and looked at Tan Lun. Tan Lun understood what Wei Guangde meant, that is, the parade was ready, and he would support his opinion, which was to transfer Qi Jiguang out of the capital camp to serve as the chief military officer in Jizhen.

Ji Town, the leader of the nine sides, although it is on the same level as the general soldiers of other towns, its position is ahead of them.

Unless the other party has a higher official rank.

"Yuan Jing, show your skills. If those people dare to explode, I will personally take charge and see if any of them dares to disobey your orders."

Tan Lun also encouraged Qi Jiguang.

With Tan Lun, the Minister of War, speaking out, and Wei Guangde's clear support, Qi Jiguang became emboldened.

Although the soldiers looked aloof in the military camp, that was because there were generally no civilian officials in the camp. As long as the civilian officials stood there, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty would instinctively feel fear.

It has nothing to do with official position, nor is it the bloodline suppression in fantasy novels, just because his family controls the money bag.

Soldiers all have families. The purpose of being a soldier is to get paid and eat. If you offend a civilian official, he will suppress the military salary and refuse to pay you, and the whole family will drink from the northwest.

"Don't worry, sir. If there are two adults, the general will know what to do."

Qi Jiguang was not worried about arranging his troops, he was only worried that it would be difficult to command the troops if they were oily.

Many people think that the Ming army's combat effectiveness is uneven because there are many soldiers and oilmen, and these people are accustomed to saving their lives.

In fact, most of these soldiers are still the main force in various military camps, because they have been in the army for a long time and have experienced many battles. They are familiar with the military equipment and tactics, and they will make it easy for the generals to practice.

It's just that Bingyouzi has a problem, that is, he likes to fight with favorable conditions. Once the situation is unfavorable, this group of people will make bad moves.

Fortunately, this is just a grand parade, not a battlefield, so there is no need to worry about soldiers escaping and destroying an army, causing the grand parade to fail.

Although I still don’t know how the court will arrange for me after the Grand Reading, but judging from the attitudes of Wei Guangde and Tan Lun, it is definitely not a bad thing.

It is not easy to train a good-looking army.

The Ming army was equipped with a large number of firearms, especially the Shenji Battalion. When released, the sound and light effects would of course be the best, so Qi Jiguang would never think that it would disappoint people.

"Shandai, the army will be handed over to Yuan Jing for training, but during the great review, the troops under review must be replaced with brand new armor."

Tan Lun said.

Wei Guangde had previously said that the armor should be "bright-looking", so it must be replaced with brand-new armor, otherwise it will not show the vitality of the army.

"Bingjia, if the Ministry of War warehouse doesn't have it, you can ask the Ministry of Industry to build it as soon as possible. We can rest assured with Mr. Zhu. As for the cabinet note, don't worry about anything."

Wei Guangde smiled.

For such an important and solemn ceremony as the Grand Reading, he didn't think the people in the Ministry of Finance would cover their money bags to prevent bleeding.

If it goes wrong, it will be the Ministry of Finance’s fault.

Officials of the Ming Dynasty were best at kicking the ball rather than taking the blame.

The involved yamen, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Household Affairs will all have no problems, so there will only be one cabinet left.

Well, as long as it was something Emperor Longqing wanted to do, Chen Yiqin, the second assistant, would definitely support it, not to mention that it was proposed by Wei Guangde.

As for the first assistant Li Chunfang, he may hesitate because of the cost of the parade, but Zhang Juzheng may also choose to support the emperor.

Now Zhang Juzheng is the most junior in the cabinet. Xu Jie has left Beijing. He has no backer and will choose to fully support the emperor to stabilize his position.

Tan Lunke also learned from Zhu Heng that although Zhang Juzheng was also from Yuzhuan, his position was more on Xu Jie's side.

It is well known that Xu Jie was hated by Emperor Longqing. As Xu Jie's proud disciple, Zhang Juzheng's position was naturally not as secure as Mount Tai.

Gao Gong had the greatest influence on Emperor Longqing, but he had already been driven away.

The only people left for the emperor to rely on were Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde and others, so he would not lose money by following Wei Guangde. This was Tan Lun's idea and Qi Jiguang's intention.

It is difficult for anyone in the government to be an official.

Tan Lun and Wei Guangde are fellow villagers. With this relationship, there will naturally be no ill feelings and they will support each other, and he needs to show his abilities.

As for Qi Jiguang's so-called reputation in Jiangnan, he could see in the past two months in the capital that it was actually useless.

Regardless of whether they were nobles or powerful ministers, their attitude towards him was aloof and they had no intention of trying to win over him.

The two families who were able to move around took care of him a little because of his father's old relationship. It can be said that military generals basically have no status in the capital.

"We Jiangxi people haven't appeared in the cabinet for a long time."

At this time, Wei Guangde suddenly heard Tan Lun sighing softly, not knowing what he wanted to express.

Indeed, before Yan Song, there were usually three or five ministers in the cabinet. That is to say, at this time, fellow villagers would often find ways to stuff people into the cabinet.

But in the Jiajing Dynasty, most of the cabinet ministers were only two or three, and there were even cases where two cabinet ministers, Xia Yan, Yan Song, and Yan Song and Xu Jie, ruled the cabinet for several years.

This rarely happened before, because it was not conducive to the emperor's control of the court situation, but Emperor Jiajing did it very well.

For this reason, since Yan Song resigned, it has been difficult for Jiangxi people to join the cabinet because there is a lack of people to lead the way.

Wei Guangde didn't answer the call, and he didn't know how to answer it.

Although Emperor Longqing and Chen Yiqin both had that intention, after all, they had not seen the imperial edict, so everything might change.

Especially now, Wei Guangde has received the news that Gao Gong is eating well and sleeping well in his hometown, and his body is actually in good condition.

The reason why I pay attention to this is also because Chen Yiqin made trouble in his official career before.

As for Gao Gong's current body, as long as he finds someone to report it, Emperor Longqing will soon issue an edict to recall Gao Gong.

With Gao Gong's current body, it shouldn't be difficult to survive Li Chunfang and Chen Yiqin.

Fortunately, most officials in the DPRK now have a bad opinion of Gao Gong, so no one dares to risk the disapproval of the world and propose recalling Gao Gong.

However, Gao Gong, a fellow from Henan, may not be reliable, and someone will jump out at any time.

After seeing off Tan Lun and Qi Jiguang, Wei Guangde was thinking about how Chen Yiqin's health was doing recently on his way back to the backyard, and he didn't know whether he would join the cabinet or whether it would be before or after the Grand Review.

Emperor Longqing's thoughts seemed simple, but in fact he was deep. He just liked to leave government affairs to the cabinet, but just like Emperor Jiajing, he firmly controlled the official title.

The next day, in the duty room of the Ministry of Rites, Wei Guangde heard the news from Lu Bu. Zhang Juzheng took out a memorial for discussion in the cabinet today and planned to report six matters to the emperor.