Chapter 348 347 Rebuilding Datong Military Vehicle Camp

Wei Guangde's promotion was naturally a source of joy to his friends who were familiar with him.

This is how the officialdom is. A hero needs three helpers, and a fence needs three stakes. Mutual support between fellow townsmen and classmates is the way it should be. Even if you are still standing still, if one of your fellow townsmen or classmates gets promoted in the future, you should always help him, otherwise gossip will say that he is autistic.

The night Wei Guangde received the imperial edict, the Wei family became lively, and many fellow townsmen, classmates and colleagues came.

His family held a big banquet, and Zhang Juzheng, who was also promoted, was even more lively. His classmates, fellow townsmen and good colleagues gathered there, and his teacher also went there, which was a great honor.

Zhang Juzheng was a Jinshi in the 26th year of Jiajing. Many of his classmates have already held high positions. In fact, his career was bumpy, and he started a step slower than many people.

After all, he served as a scholar for three years. He was not as lucky as Wei Guangde. He ended his career as a scholar in a few months and began to work in the Ming Dynasty.

After that, he returned to his hometown to recuperate. He was away for several years, which completely wiped out his first-mover advantage. He was actually on the same starting line as the newly-appointed Jinshi Tao Dalin, Jin Da and Wei Guangde at that time, all of whom were editors of the Hanlin Academy.

However, he also had his own advantages, that is, he had a good teacher, that is, Xu Jie, the second assistant of the court.

He was assigned the job of the Imperial College, but somehow he was promoted to the position of the Imperial College's Dean, becoming the first person under Gao Gong, the Northern Supervisor of the Imperial College.

As for the Jinshi of Wei Guangde's class, they were a little miserable. Speaking of it, their teacher should be the then cabinet's second assistant Lu Ben, but he has now retired due to illness.

And even in the two years when he was still in the court, he often took sick leave, which allowed Xu Jie to smoothly take the position of the second assistant.

In fact, even if Lü Ben did not report illness, his political views were actually following Yan Song's. It was Yan Song who recommended him to the cabinet. If he did not obey, Yan Song would not have recommended him as his deputy.

Anyway, from the examination to the palace examination and then to the official appointment, Wei Guangde did not get any benefit from this teacher in the past few years, and he gave away a lot of gifts.

Of course, Wei Guangde did not feel sorry for the money. If it were not for Mr. Lu, he might not be able to pass the examination, which was the most fatal.

Every three years, the examination blocked the candidates from the palace examination. There were thousands of them, and their efforts were not as good as his.

Well, Wei Guangde was actually very grateful to Mr. Lu, and of course more to his room teacher Kang Siqian.

After his teacher left the Hanlin Academy, he first went to Shanxi to serve as an inspector, and then was transferred to Shandong to serve as the right governor. Now he is serving as the left governor in Sichuan.

However, considering his age, he started late and then followed the same path every step of the way. He has no chance to return to the imperial court, at least that's what Wei Guangde thinks.

The two still exchange letters every year. After all, if Kang Siqian hadn't pointed him out, he would have failed the exam. He should remember this favor.

Now this Lord Kang is in poor health and plans to retire and return home after completing his term.

Well, Wei Guangde couldn't find anyone to lean on from the imperial examination to the palace examination. It's sad. He has to rely on himself for everything.

In fact, he can rely on his fellow countryman Yan Song, but Wei Guangde is worried about getting into trouble in the future, so he has always maintained an ambiguous relationship with him. Now he has completely torn his face and only maintains superficial harmony.

The promotion of Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng is just a small-scale spread in their social circles. For so many officials in the capital, it's just a drop in the ocean.

Relatively speaking, Zhang Juzheng's influence is still much greater than Wei Guangde's, and more people know about it.

Of course, this was also related to Xu Jie's drinking at Zhang Juzheng's house that night. After all, he was the second assistant.

Wei Guangde only received a gift from the Yan Mansion.

The appointment and dismissal of officials issued by the capital city would occur several times or even dozens of times a month, so they were soon forgotten.

New appointment and dismissal documents were constantly issued, determining the promotion and career of thousands of officials in the Ming Dynasty.

A few days later, Wei Guangde went to the outskirts of the city again to see off his colleague Chen Jin.

Chen Jin was the top scholar in the 32nd year of Jiajing. He should have a bright future, but because he messed up the job of being awarded the title of king, he lost everything directly. He was sent out before, and he had just returned to the capital and served as the chief minister of the Shangbaojian for less than half a year, and was sent to the Nanjing Imperial College as the director.

In fact, it is obvious that because of his last mistake, he has been completely excluded from the ranks of Beijing officials, and he may never return to the court in the future.

At least, Wei Guangde knows that this person is not as capable as Xu Jie, who can return to the court after being demoted.

When Wei Guangde first entered the Hanlin Academy, this senior took good care of him, so Wei Guangde also came to see him off as a colleague.

When Cao Dazhang, Wei Guangde and others gave Chen Jin a farewell drink, Chen Jin saw the strong Wei Guangde and said with envy: "If I had a good physique, ah."

Then he took the wine glass and drank it all. When he put down the wine glass, he did not forget to say to his friends who saw him off: "If there are students in the family, they should be made to strengthen their bodies. Not to mention the imperial examination, even if they become Jinshi and have an official position, they can't be good without a good physique. I am a lesson for you."

In the eyes of the crowd, Chen Jin got on the carriage, and then the driver waved the whip, and the carriage drove away. Chen Jin did not lift the curtain to wave goodbye to them.

Wei Guangde's vacation soon ended, and he returned to the Hanlin Academy to continue to work as a Beijing official.

However, Wei Guangde was a little conflicted at this time, because he was considering whether to seek an opportunity to be transferred out.

During this trip to the south, Wei Guangde also saw the extravagant and ** life of officials in Jiangnan. To be honest, he was very envious.

Of course, it is also possible to be a Beijing official, but in the current capital, his official position is not worth mentioning.

On July 28, the 39th year of Jiajing, Zhang Huan, the chief censor of grain storage in Nanjing, saw that the government was getting worse, the Central Plains were collecting taxes, corrupt officials were rampant, floods and droughts were continuous, and the people could not bear it, so he proposed eight things to manage the Central Plains.

One stationed heavy troops, and recently the army started a rebellion, not rushing to the provincial capital, but looking down on other counties.

Second, the captured bandits are all proud of their abilities, singing and dancing, and want to use them.

Third, repair the city. The captured bandits have recorded the city books of various places, and we know that the protection of the Central Plains cannot be solved once and for all.

Fourth, check the dangerous and narrow places, such as the junction of Henan, Shandong and Zhili, the Mangdang Mountains, which are arranged far and near, and the camps are naturally formed, and there are countless caves for hiding soldiers.

Fifth, patrol and guard soldiers are prepared to send and receive as their profession. As a result, the ban and defense are loose day by day, and bandits are rising.

Sixth, select good officials. If you want to clean up the Central Plains, you must first clean up the administration.

Seventh, give preferential treatment to the vassal states and make them the royal vassal.

Eighth, discuss the Yellow River. If the Yellow River breaks through its power, it will definitely start a major project. The proposal is to avoid the construction and gathering of people, which will cause chaos.

This memorial from Zhang Huan, the Chief Censor, caused a small shock when it was sent to the capital, because in his memorial, he directly said that there were large and small bandits in the Central Plains. They gathered in the mountains and forests, committed crimes, and there were even demons causing chaos.

The rise of the demon party began decades ago.

The demon people used fraud to deceive the foolish people. The foolish people benefited from the benefits of the blessed land, and the demon people pursued the mixed and filthy things. Once people's hearts were poisoned, the demons were carried out. The foolish people sought blessings, the wise people avoided disasters, the rich people spent their homes to make friends, and the poor people became slaves, but there was no one who did not follow their evil plots.

For several years, the people were poor and had no money. There was no family living in the town, and no family working happily in the village. Therefore, the demons prevailed, and the roots spread. People from different parties met and responded to each other.

When Wei Guangde was traveling north, he heard people talking about the serious banditry along the way, but he didn't expect that there were people who wanted to profit from it.

What is a demon?

Wei Guangde knew without asking that even if they were not members of the White Lotus Sect, they were the same people as them.

In Wei Guangde's opinion, although Zhang Huan's memorial was a bit exaggerated, it was also meaningful. The seemingly peaceful Ming Dynasty was actually in crisis.

However, just when the court in the capital was still arguing about Zhang Huan's memorial, an urgent memorial from Fujian was sent to the Tongzhengshisi in a hurry.

Fujian mutiny.

When Wei Guangde heard about the trouble in Fujian, his head was buzzing.

Last month, he told Emperor Jiajing that although the people in Jiangnan were suffering from Hu Zongxian's tax increase and were at the end of their rope, they should be able to hold on for another one or two years.

If there was a civil uprising in Fujian in just one month, it would be a big deal. This meant that there was something wrong with his job, and Emperor Jiajing might whip him.

After Lu Bu told Wei Guangde the news in detail, he was relieved. It was not a civil uprising, but a military mutiny.

In fact, when Wei Guangde saw Zhang Huan's memorial, he had a premonition that he might have oversimplified the serious situation in various places.

In fact, in the process of his subordinates' reports, there were many bandits gathering in Fujian alone.

However, these bandits were all Ming people, and they did not do much robbery in normal times. Moreover, they became bandits because they could not bear the harassment of the Japanese pirates and the taxes and labor service of the government. Therefore, the Fujian government did not fully encircle and suppress them. After all, the number one enemy in their eyes was still the Japanese pirates.

Wei Guangde forgot to mention these when he met Emperor Jiajing, but only mentioned a paragraph in the memorial.

As for the Fujian mutiny this time, Wei Guangde did not think about it after learning the details. It was just a mess done by some old soldiers, and there were people to deal with them.

At the beginning, Fujian recruited the remaining soldiers of Fujian and Guangdong garrisons to fight against the Japanese pirates, but most of them were vain and scoundrels, and they demanded rewards every day, and the officials could not meet their wishes.

On August 6, the 39th year of Jiajing, more than 300 soldiers from Fujian started an uprising, starting from Shaxian and Jiangle counties to capture Taining County. Wang Zhi, the official garrison, was killed in the battle, and the mutinous troops marched into Guangchang and Le'an in Jiangxi, and then headed for Yongfeng.

The memorial was reported by Zheng Benli, the imperial censor of Fujian Province, impeaching the chief officer of the mutinous troops, Qianhu Wang Zhaoyuan, and other local officials for dereliction of duty.

This time the court's response was much faster. As the cabinet's draft was submitted to the Ministry of Rites, Emperor Jiajing quickly approved and agreed, "Give Wang Zhi the title of commander-in-chief, arrest and interrogate the derelict Qianhu Wang Zhaoyuan, and deprive the salaries of the guards and councilors Sun Yingao and others to suppress them."

Wei Guangde was naturally not worried about the Fujian and Jiangxi Dusi's encirclement and suppression of the mutinous soldiers. How big a mess could a few hundred people cause?

Apart from anything else, if they ran to Jiujiang Prefecture, it would be a lot of fun, and the gang under his eldest brother could also wipe out this group of soldiers.

They were just wearing the uniforms of officers and soldiers, and caught the government off guard at the beginning. If the government really wanted to take them seriously, it would only take a few minutes to destroy them.

However, at this time, Wei Guangde was sitting in his study, holding a letter from Datong in his hand.

The letter was written by Yu Dayou, who had been exiled. He already knew about Lu Bing's affairs. The imperial edict of Emperor Jiajing would naturally be included in the court newspaper and printed nationwide.

Yu Dayou, who didn't know the details of his old friend's death, naturally wrote a letter to ask about the reason.

The official report said that Lu Bing insisted on working despite his illness until he collapsed at his workplace, and no medicine could cure him.

Well, for ordinary people, they would naturally believe it, but Yu Dayou, who knew the details of his old friend, would not agree with this statement.

Wei Guangde thought about it and decided to write a letter to Yu Dayou to tell him about the news he heard, so that he wouldn't have a knot in his heart. Maybe he really thought that it was his own business that dragged down his brother, and he was sure that he was killed by Yan Song and his gang, and secretly returned to the capital to take revenge, which would be a lot of fun.

However, Wei Guangde frowned a little about another thing he asked in the letter.

Yu Dayou said in the letter that he lived a good life after arriving in Datong, and the governor of Datong was his immediate superior Li Wenjin, who welcomed his arrival.

But Yu Dayou's letter was naturally not to announce good news.

During his time in Datong, he carefully learned about the battle process between the Datong border army and the Mongolian Tartars, and felt deeply that the Ming army's infantry was at a disadvantage against the Tartar cavalry, so he proposed the idea of ​​rebuilding the Datong chariot camp.

Wei Guangde had seen the chariots during the battle of Bao'an Prefecture. There was a chariot camp in the Xuanfu army, which was the equipment built by Zeng Xin to recover the Hetao area.

According to Yu Dayou's idea, the chariot camp can fight independently, instead of relying on the infantry as it is now, and just guarding the protective wall on the two wings of the infantry phalanx.

As for the reason why Yu Dayou proposed this idea, it was naturally because he practiced it in Datong.

Li Wenjin, the governor of Datong, really valued Yu Dayou. After Yu Dayou pointed out the shortcomings of the infantry against the Tartar cavalry, he allocated a sum of money to Yu Dayou for the research and development of new equipment, and Yu Dayou lived up to expectations and really made achievements.

He summarized his experience in the battlefield for many years and created a weapon called a unicycle chariot.

Using a single log as a wheel, it can be pushed and pulled by manpower. It can move freely up and down, left and right, whether in mountain ditches or rugged slopes. Long spears and bows and arrows are placed in the chariot, which can hit the strong and shoot from a distance. There is a barrier in front of the chariot, so that the enemy's shooting cannot be effective. It is a unique combat weapon at that time.

This unicycle chariot was built by Yu Dayou in batches and used in the border town to deal with the Tartar cavalry. The effect was surprisingly good. The Tartars were helpless against this weapon used by the Ming army.

In Yu Dayou's idea, the Datong official army set up seven battalions of chariots, and the system was: one chariot, forty soldiers, a team; thirteen teams were combined into a small camp; ten small camps were combined into a large camp.

Li Wenjin wanted to write a letter about this, but Yu Dayou, who had been in prison once, was much more cautious than before. He first wrote a letter to Wei Guangde, hoping that he would help test the reaction of the court.