Number of People

  Chapter 1398 Is the Xin Zijuan coming out of Li Zicheng again? (The first is to ask for a guaranteed monthly pass!)

   It has been a long time since I came to the Ministry of War, and Feng Ziying feels a little strange all the time.

   In Shuntian Mansion, they didn’t spend much time dealing with the Ministry of War. On the contrary, they spent more time dealing with the Ministry of Households, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Punishment and even the Ministry of Commerce.

The newly established Ministry of Commerce is also next to the old six departments (except for the Ministry of Punishment). A large area of ​​the original Luanjia warehouse was moved out and changed into the office area of ​​the Ministry of Commerce. In this way, several departments are concentrated in this pile. Office, and the Hanlin Academy is also on the side, so it's all work.

   Entered the office of the Ministry of War, and went to Zheng Chongjian as usual.

   To inquire about information, one must first start from below, but Zheng Chongjian did not get much useful information.

   "Ziying, go to Wen Ruo's side to find out. He is in the Wuxuan Cleaning Department. This kind of situation has to pass through their side, so you can know more or less."

Zheng Chongjian is very busy. He works for Fangsi, from Bozhou in the southwest to Phoenix Fort City in the northeast, from the Penghu Inspection Department in the southeast to Hami in the northwest. All military information must be collected here. He has experienced the Ningxia rebellion. Zheng Chongjian is also a rare person in the Ministry of War. Young scholars who have personally participated in the battle, so they are quite valued.

   "It's not in a hurry, it's good to hear what's going on here." Feng Ziying took some time off, holding a teacup, and sipping tea slowly.

"Hey, are you free now? Didn't you say that your Shuntian Mansion is busy with affairs, and you are almost too busy to take a rest?" Zheng Chongjian was happy, Feng Ziying has always been the busiest among them Yes, but today I came to drink tea here.

   "No matter how busy you are, you have to learn to adjust yourself." Feng Ziying didn't give him nonsense, "How is the Southwest?"

"The Guyuan Army is basically determined to be abolished. One part will be merged into the Jingxiang Army, and the other part will be merged into Yulin Town. Because of the formation of Huaiyang Town, the Ministry of Household Affairs will be overwhelmed. Mr. Huang has made it clear that if Guyuan Town is not abolished and Ningxia Town is reduced and Gansu Town, then he has no choice but to resign." Zheng Chongjian's face darkened.

  Huang Ruliang has only been appointed Minister of the Household Department for a few days, and now he is forced to resign, which shows how financially tight the Great Zhou has become.

   "There should be some surplus in the Jieshen Treasury of the Ministry of Industry, right?" Feng Ziying hesitated.

"Shh!" Zheng Chongjian quickly looked around, raised his index finger in front of his mouth, "Ziying, keep silent! This topic can't be brought up. The emperor is very sensitive to this. Mr. Cui of the Ministry of Industry is fine, but you also know that the emperor is old. I'm not in good health either, it's said that I'm already thinking about building the mausoleum, if the Jieshen Treasury is empty, can I do it?"

  Tomb repair? ! What is this doing?

  Feng Ziying put down the teacup and sighed deeply: "Why is the emperor so confused? The construction of the mausoleum should be a matter of the future. Now I can't give up this little money. What about the internal treasury?"

"I'm getting older, maybe I think differently?" Zheng Chongjian smiled even more wryly: "The inner treasury is also something that you can make up your mind? Unless the emperor himself proposes it himself, your foreign minister's idea is disloyal and disrespectful. Lieutenant Long Jin has to think about you, the courtiers are incompetent, but they still want to play with the emperor's family, and the emperor hasn't thought about you courtiers yet."

  Feng Ziying and Zheng Chongjian’s words are disrespectful or even disobedient, but scholars and civil servants are close friends, so there are not so many taboos.

"It's fine to close Guyuan Town, but Gansu Town and Ningxia Town are probably inappropriate. The Tumet people may not be as tame as they appear on the surface. The entry of the Chahar people last year also stimulated them. In addition, when Hami and Shazhou were taken The days are still short, there is no stability at all, there are few mistakes, I am afraid that it will fall again, this is the emperor's work to restore the land, can he just give up?" Feng Ziying frowned, hearing bad news as soon as she arrived, It gave him a bad feeling.

"Hmph, there's nothing else to worry about, let's solve the immediate problem first." Zheng Chongjian spread his hands, "The Jingxiang Army was formed when Mr. Zheng was in charge of the household department. The root cause of the rebellion was eliminated, so I had no choice but to think that it would be resolved in a year or so, and it would be too late to abolish it at that time, but now the Jingxiang Army has become the main force to suppress the rebellion. The key is that this battle has not yet come to an end. "

Feng Ziying also understands the unfinished meaning of Zheng Chongjian's words. It was because the emperor's foothold was not stable when he regained Shazhou and Hami, and he urgently needed a hearty victory to stabilize the throne. Shazhou is isolated outside the territory, which is more like a burden to Dazhou. The annual garrison and supply consumption have become an endless bleeding point, so both the household department and the military department need to consider whether it is necessary to continue to maintain this military presence in both places.

Huang Ruliang encountered a series of bad things when he took up the post of Minister of the Ministry of Households. Although the establishment of the Ministry of Commerce can expand sea trade and clarify tariffs to increase revenue, these are not achieved overnight. Therefore, Huang Ruliang can only find a way to save money, and military expenditure is the first to bear the brunt.

Due to the invasion of the Chahar people, the Jurchens in the Northeast are still staring at each other. Liaodong, Jizhen, Xuanfu, and Datong towns cannot be abolished. Even Shanxi Town (Taiyuan Town) and Yulin Town (Yulin Town) are also elite troops. It is impossible to agree, so we can only make up our minds in the three towns of Guyuan, Ningxia, and Gansu.

No one thought that the battle against the rebellion in the Southwest would end like this. Guyuan Town was not acclimatized, and everyone felt that it deserved its abolition. What does Dunleigh say?

  The town of Denglai, which cost a lot of money to build, is also the governor of Denglai. It can be said that it has a lot of power for a while.

Every time the battle reaches the critical moment of victory, there will be mistakes, either because the logistics supply cannot keep up, or it is difficult to advance due to the harassment of the local chieftain army, or the weather is blocked. In short, it is difficult to do our best. He also began to have some suspicions about Wang Ziteng and Denglai Town.

  Denglai Town, Jingxiang Town, and Huaiyang Town are the only three towns established in Dazhou in the past few decades since the establishment of the Nine Frontier Town Regulations, which can be said to be of great significance.

Denglai Town was originally prepared as a reserve force for the nine border towns, while Jingxiang Town was established because of the southwest rebellion and the need to deploy an army in Huguang and Southwest to stabilize the hinterland of Da Zhou. As for Huaiyang Town, it was It was because of the harassment of Japanese pirates and the strong demands of the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River that the imperial court made a compromise due to the situation.

If Guyuan Town is not withdrawn, then the imperial court now has twelve towns, but now the imperial court is unable to support such a large-scale army, Guyuan Town must be withdrawn, and Gansu Town and Ningxia Town must be greatly reduced. Formation of Jingxiang Town and Huaiyang Town.

   "The delay of the Southwest War is indeed a thorny problem..." Before Feng Ziying finished speaking, Zheng Chongjian immediately said: "Isn't Wang Ziteng wanting to preserve his strength and hold his troops to their own dignity?"

  Feng Ziying shook her head, "Don't talk about this, it's beyond our control. I'm worried about Guyuan Town."

"Guyuan Town?!" Zheng Chongjian disapproved, "Guyuan Town is the worst town in the Nine Borders. Didn't you notice it when Ningxia suppressed the rebellion last time? You live in the second line, have no worries inside and outside, and are extremely corrupt. It should have been revoked a long time ago. .”

"Dazhang, you can't say that. Guyuan Town was originally prepared as a reserve team for the three towns of Gansu, Ningxia, and Yulin, and Guyuan where it was stationed happened to be in the hinterland of Shaanxi, but this area was Shaanxi, Northwest, and even the entire Great Zhou. If there is no such army stationed in poor places, I am afraid that bandits and bandits will already be swarming, and the place will be in trouble."

  The abolition of Guyuan Town reminded Feng Ziying of the evil consequences brought about by the abolition of post soldiers at the end of the Ming and Ming Dynasties. Didn’t Li Zicheng go to the frontier army because of the abolition of post stations, and finally put all his eggs in one basket?

If Guyuan Town is abolished, although it is nominally annexed by Jingxiang Town and Yulin Town, it is conceivable that if a border town with 100,000 soldiers and horses is abolished, how could it be completely absorbed by the two towns? Tens of thousands of people will definitely be kicked out, so how will these frontier soldiers who have spent their entire lives in the army live in the future?

Of course, the imperial court will definitely make arrangements, but you can also imagine what the local government’s arrangements will be like. A few acres of Susukida will be thrown to you, and then think about the climate and harvest in this small ice age in northern Shaanxi. Even Feng Ziying shuddered.

"If Guyuan Town is not abolished, one of Gansu Town and Ningxia Town must be abolished. This is the principle established by the cabinet. One town must be withdrawn and one town reduced. In fact, only ten towns can be maintained. No accident, Gansu Town and Ningxia Town were reduced to Ganning Town, Guyuan Town was abolished, and even the name was no longer retained, that is the result." Zheng Chongjian said without expression: "Ziying, you can't change this result."

   "It's already decided?" Feng Ziying still didn't give up, and he planned to lobby Zhang Huaichang again. Feng Ziying was really impressed by Li Zicheng. No matter what Ming died in the end, Li Zicheng was the real vanguard.

"It's settled, Ziying, you don't want to embarrass Lord Shangshu. He is also very helpless. It is already good to try to keep Ganning Town. According to the ideas of the Ministry of Households and several elders, we want to completely abandon Gansu Town. , withdrew a lot, and Ningxia Town was simply merged into Yulin Town, but this opinion is too shocking, and the emperor will never agree, so there is this compromise opinion." Zheng Chongjian sighed, "Southwest The rebellion is endangering Huguang, and Huguang must never fail."

  Feng Ziying is silent, if Huguang is corrupt, where will the capital's rice grain come from? This is a truth that everyone understands. In comparison, they probably feel that Gan Ning can really be ignored.

   There will be more soon!

  (end of this chapter)