Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 501 New Beijing

"The above metaphor is to order Yi Guogong and You Shiwei, the governor of the right, to rule Gansu and Shaanxi, to control the soldiers and horses of Gansu and Shaanxi provinces, and to coordinate the military affairs of Hetao, Qinghai, and Uszang..."

"Above, order Pingyang Uncle Jiang Yu to be the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi..."

"As mentioned above, Gao Yigong of Xintaizi is the general soldier of Gansu..."

In March of the second year of Shaowu, the imperial court issued several edicts, which sparked extensive discussions between the court and the public.

With one appointment, the military planning of the entire Northwest was immediately visible.

With You Shiwei as the coordinator of the military, under the jurisdiction of the two provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu, they jointly used troops in the Qinghai area to wipe out Li Zicheng's troops in the Qinghai area.

Of course, his jurisdiction also includes the Hetao area, and those Mongols are what he needs to eliminate.

What is of far-reaching significance is that Jiang Guan was transferred from Datong to Gansu Province, which had just returned from the Xingdu Division of Shaanxi Province, to serve as the commander-in-chief.

From these appointments, we can see the power structure of the imperial court over the local area.

Unlike previous dynasties who liked to use governors, the current Emperor Shaowu prefers to use control, just like the military districts of later generations, responsible for fighting rebellion and suppressing rebellion in several provinces.

The main force of the army in each province is the commander-in-chief, who has become a permanent post. The number of troops under his command ranges from 3000 to 5000, and they belong to the elite field soldiers.

As for the governor, he is more like the head of a province, responsible for coordinating the money, food and supplies of the army, especially in the border areas.

In addition, the emperor took Xuan Guogong and Zuo Dudu Zhu Meng as the control of Yunnan and Guizhou, and coordinated the troops of the two provinces, with the goal of Sun Kewang in Yunnan.

As for Li Dingguo, as expected, he served as the commander-in-chief of Guizhou and belonged to Zhu Meng's general.

In this regard, Zhu Meng had a special meeting with the emperor, and expressed his puzzlement about the appointment: "As far as I know, Sun Kewang and Li Dingguo are righteous brothers. They have a close relationship, and it is good to deal with Jiannu. Once they are allowed to use troops, I am afraid... ..."

"Don't worry."

Regarding his worries, the emperor was noncommittal, and said with a chic smile: "If we are unified today, fighting is the second priority, and attacking the heart is the top priority."

"As far as I know, the soldiers under Sun Kewang's command are mostly from Shanxi Province, Huguang and other places. Although Yunnan is good, it is different from the Central Plains."

"Furthermore, Li Dingguo has always had prestige among the western thieves, and Sun Kewang has always been jealous. Wouldn't it be easy to separate people's hearts?"

"So that's how it is!" Zhu Meng was suddenly surprised, and a smile appeared on his generous face: "In this way, Gao Yigong went to Shaanxi, which is also the same reason."

"Li Zicheng in Qinghai is different."

The emperor frowned: "If Sun Kewang is just a guardian dog who only cares about immediate interests, Li Zicheng is a stray dog ​​who protects food, barks, and even has inexplicable desires."

"On this point, the Northwest needs to be cautious in using troops and horses."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yixi shook his head slightly: "It's a pity that Shaanxi Province is exhausted now, and it will take several years to get together."

If it is based on the supply of money and food, it doesn’t matter if Sichuan is included, and there will be a Sichuan-Shaanxi control system, but after all, Gansu is too large to be suitable, and the governor of Sichuan can cooperate with the money and food.

The rest of the people also met with them one after another, and immediately took office, traveling thousands of miles.

At this time, the canal also began to get busy, and the sea transportation started as early as the end of February, and it took more than ten days to arrive.

More than [-] large ships with thousands of materials groped along the coastline, and finally crossed the Bohai Sea and landed in Tianjin Wei.

Jiang Yueguang, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, almost wept with joy, and couldn't wait to send someone to greet him.

This sea shipment not only brought them nearly ten thousand stones of grain, but also a large number of craftsmen, equipment, and various weapons.

Similarly, the disposal of the Beijing area has also been followed.

Among them, Chen Dong, the commander of the guard battalion, was the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, responsible for guarding Shanhaiguan.

As for Jiang Yueguang, he is still staying behind in the northern capital, responsible for the repair and operation of the entire Beijing, and the control of money and food.

Chen Dong came this time not only to go to Shanhaiguan to take a good look at the gate, but also to get the emperor's request to go to Beijing to see if it met expectations.

In March, the city of Beijing is still cold and cold, with the wind howling, and the windows facing the street are closed, making it difficult to see ordinary people.

Of course Jiang Yueguang knew that Chen Dong had come to the north, and he specifically asked to see the meaning of Beijing City, but he didn't have time to meet a general soldier, so he directly sent a doctor to lead the way.

As soon as you step into the city of Beijing, you will see clean and tidy streets.

The floor seemed to be specially polished, and it seemed as smooth as a mirror when stepped on, and it seemed that it could fall down in a blink of an eye.

This is also a traditional art.

Whether in Xiangyang or Nanjing, the first thing the Ming army did when they entered the city was to clean up the entire city inside and out.

But Jiang Yueguang went to the point of frenzy, even the moss and old plaques on the city wall were gone, which can be said to be extremely harsh.

Chen Dong nodded silently. This kind of superficial writing actually proved his intentions.

And stepping into the city, you can see that the streets are very spacious, and there are no illegal buildings built on the street, which is very comfortable.

"The street is about two feet wide, and tens of thousands of dilapidated houses have to be knocked down to complete it. The sewers built under the road are lush on both sides, and there are newly transplanted trees..."

The doctor talked eloquently, with a little respect in his words, which made Chen Dong quite comfortable.

"In accordance with His Majesty's instructions, the underground ditch is extremely spacious, and a large amount of sewage can be discharged directly into the city, so as not to become an inland river."

"And for this item alone, 200,000 taels of silver were spent. The repairs of various government offices, especially the imperial palace, the Minister dared not be sloppy. It's just that craftsmen are easy to get, and wood is hard to find, but it's troublesome to make up for it."

"There are no giants in the nearby provinces. If he wants the palace to be safe, he has to cut it from the Yunnan-Guizhou area..."

Hearing this, Chen Dong quickly shook his head and said, "Yunnan is still occupied by Sun Kewang, how can it be possible to harvest timber?"

"Then this will be troublesome." The doctor frowned and said, "It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. I'm afraid the construction period will be delayed."

"Your Majesty said before leaving that the palace can be repaired for the time being, and there is no need to rebuild some halls. It will not be too late to talk about looser state expenditure in the future."

As the emperor's trusted general, Chen Dong didn't shy away from anything at this time, and said directly: "The most important thing is to let Beijing recover."

"You know, it won't be long before Baiguan will follow."

"Your Majesty is too anxious." Lang Zhong said indiscriminately: "Beijing is not as lively as Yangzhou, so there is really no fun to talk about."

Chen Dong said with a straight face: "The most important thing is to pay attention to the plague, and don't let it disturb Your Majesty."

"Don't skimp on lime or anything."

"Your official understands." Lang Zhong responded immediately.

"That's right." As he said that, Chen Dong suddenly said: "If the Forbidden City is really unbearable, we can choose another good place and build a garden for His Majesty to live temporarily."

(End of this chapter)