weaving

Chapter 1232: One Million in Food and Salary is Necessary

When Sun Chuanting was reinstated, Emperor Chongzhen also summoned him for an audience.

At that time, Emperor Chongzhen asked him about government affairs, and Sun Chuanting said in front of Chongzhen, "If we want to defeat the bandits, we must have 20,000 elite soldiers and a million food and money."

Emperor Chongzhen was embarrassed: "A million for food and wages..."

You know, the inner treasury of Emperor Chongzhen had long been empty. The originally pitifully small treasury had long been spent by him. Although there was still one million taels of silver tributed by Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng in the treasury, how could he give it all to Sun Chuanting?

The Ming Dynasty is now in a turbulent time, with a huge amount of money to spend, and the imperial treasury is also in deficit. His one million taels of silver must naturally be used where it is needed most. Once it is all spent, where can he get another one million taels of silver?

Sure enough, after Emperor Chongzhen pondered for a long time, he sighed and said, "I... can only give you 300,000 taels at most."

Sun Chuanting was not surprised at all. His request for "a million yuan in food and wages" was actually just a cover to ensure that the conditions he proposed next would be passed smoothly.

He settled for the second best and requested Emperor Chongzhen on the spot to allow him to raise funds in Shaanxi to train a new army and realize his idea of ​​"using Qin soldiers to guard Qin land and using Qin land to support Qin soldiers". He vigorously promoted the policy of military farming and recruiting soldiers throughout Shaanxi, hoping that the court would not interfere and allow him to act as he pleased.

In response to this, Emperor Chongzhen remained silent again. Sun Chuanting's request was not excessive. He had previously allowed Zhang Cheng to act at his discretion in Xuanfu Town and train a powerful Yongyi Army.

However, Zhang Cheng was a military man after all, while Sun Chuanting was a civil official. On the one hand, Emperor Chongzhen hoped that he could train a strong army, but on the other hand, he was worried that excessive delegation of power would cause his power to expand and become too powerful to be controlled.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered Chen Xinjia's words: "If you don't want Zhang Cheng to be difficult to control, you should support Wu Sangui in Liaodong, or even Zuo Liangyu and his ilk, so that they can check and balance each other and dare not overstep the limit."

Finally, Emperor Chongzhen made up his mind and said, "I allow you to act as you see fit in Shaanxi. I hope you can train a strong army as soon as possible and wipe out the bandits, so as to live up to my high expectations."

On that day, Emperor Chongzhen even hosted a banquet in the back hall to comfort Sun Chuanting for all the grievances he had suffered over the years. He also asked him about his policy measures after arriving in the local area. Sun Chuanting answered one by one, and his words were quite in line with Emperor Chongzhen's wishes. Many of Sun Chuanting's suggestions were adopted one by one, which made Sun Chuanting very excited.

The Ministry of War also restored all of Sun Chuanting's official positions, and appointed him as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Governor-General of the Three Borders of Shaanxi.

On the second day, Emperor Chongzhen issued an imperial decree to reward Sun Chuanting with fine gold, silver, robes, cloth, and more than a thousand silver medals for rewarding merit. He also urgently ordered all departments to supervise the food and wages needed for Shaanxi, and once again held a banquet on the platform to see him off.

…………

At this point, Sun Chuanting's reinstatement became a foregone conclusion, and everyone in the capital knew that Sun Chuanting was in the emperor's favor. Not only did officials in the capital invite him, but many people also came to him to seek refuge, wanting to serve as his staff.

This formed a very sharp contrast with the cold and indifferent phenomena in the past. The fickleness of the world and the warmth and coldness of human nature were vividly reflected at this moment.

However, Sun Chuanting closed the door and declined all invitations and visits. He even left the capital overnight with two servants and several aides, saying that the court was urging him to leave.

At this time, the former Governor of the Three Borders, Wang Qiaonian, had been defeated, and a detachment of the bandits attempted to attack Tongguan. Fortunately, Shaanxi Governor Feng Shikong gathered the defeated soldiers and defended the pass, preventing the bandits from breaking through. The critical situation in Shaanxi was slightly eased, but he was still urgently needed to take charge of the situation.

Although he was very concerned about the situation in Shaanxi and Henan and did not dare to stay in the capital for long, he did not rush to Shaanxi after leaving the city. Instead, he took a servant and rode quickly towards Liaodong.

Hong Chengchou also spent a lot of effort in the Liaodong Battle that took place in Jinzhou last year. Although the final victory relied heavily on Zhang Chengxuan's army, Hong Chengchou's contribution to the overall coordination and dispatch of the troops is still indelible.

Therefore, Hong Chengchou, as the agent of Liaodong of the Ming court, was also granted the title of Nan'an Earl in March of the 15th year of Chongzhen, and continued to serve as the commander-in-chief of Ji-Liao. In fact, he was also an ambitious person. He had always been thinking about pacifying the threat in Liaodong and wanted to leave his name in history with this unprecedented achievement.

Unfortunately, the Battle of Jinzhou not only made him realize the reality, but also further stimulated his ambition. He believed that what Zhang Cheng could do, he, Hong Chengchou, could do as well, so he began to secretly plan for the military in Liaodong. However, he was extremely cunning and no clues could be seen from the outside for the time being.

After galloping on his horse, Sun Chuanting was already very tired, but when he saw that his mentor's face was even more haggard, his body was thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him down, and he was coughing painfully from time to time, even a man with a strong heart like Sun Chuanting could not help feeling sad, and his eyes were filled with tears.

Sun Chuanting always believed that his mentor must have played a big role in his recovery, but he was unable to repay him, which made him feel very unhappy.

Hong Chengchou used to be his immediate superior and also his teacher. However, due to Sun Chuanting's arrogant and conceited character, he actually did not take Hong Chengchou seriously.

However, after experiencing the setbacks in the past few years, Sun Chuanting was filled with gratitude when he once again stood in front of his teacher Hong Chengchou.

At this moment, I saw that the disciple was very respectful and so deep and reserved.

Hong Chengchou smiled and nodded, feeling quite satisfied. He asked Sun Chuanting to sit down in a very amiable manner, and then said, "Bai Gu, judging from the emperor's intention, he has high hopes for the situation in Shaanxi. You need to be more careful after you take up your post, and you must not fail the emperor's grace!"

Sun Chuanting replied respectfully, "Student understands."

Hong Chengchou continued, "You once said, 'Use Qin soldiers to defend Qin territory, and use Qin territory to support Qin soldiers'?"

When Sun Chuanting heard this, he suddenly raised his head and said with a firm face: "The imperial court's food and salary are unsustainable. The only way to recruit soldiers and support them is to set up forts and cultivate land in the local area. This method is to imitate the system of 'using Liao people to guard Liao land'."

Hong Chengchou looked thoughtful: "Bai Gu, do you know how difficult this is?"

When he saw Sun Chuanting nodding his head with a determined look in his eyes, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart and said, "Back then, the commander-in-chief Sun Kaiyang proposed the strategy of 'using Liao people to defend Liao territory'. He had no choice but to do so. But what is the effect today?"

He looked at Sun Chuanting with worry in his eyes and said, "If this thing succeeds, you, Sun Baigu, may not be able to leave a good reputation. If this thing fails, the bad reputation will definitely be imposed on you. Do you know this?"

"Haha. The worst that can happen is that I will be ruined!"

Sun Chuanting smiled calmly and said, "I have been familiar with the books of sages since I was young, and now I am an official appointed by the court. If I only seek to protect myself and my own reputation, and ignore the safety of the country, please forgive me for not being able to do it."

"Even if I am nailed to the pillar of shame in history, and my family is disgraced, and my descendants can't hold their heads up high for generations, does that not matter?"

"If it is beneficial to the country, I will do it at the cost of my life or death!" Hong Chengchou stared at his student for a long time, and finally smiled with satisfaction, followed by another heart-wrenching cough...

After a moment, he waved his hand to stop Sun Chuanting from stepping forward to support him, and said to him with a smile: "As expected of you, Sun Baigu, my most proud student. With such determination and perseverance, you will surely overcome all difficulties and achieve great success in the western frontier!"

He struggled to stand up and paced around the hall with his hands behind his back. In Sun Chuanting's eyes, his increasingly thin figure seemed as majestic as a green pine.

Hong Chengchou said slowly, "Bai Gu, you only know the saying 'Liao people guard Liao land', but do you know what happened in Xuanfu?"

"After I was laid off from my post as governor, I once went to Xuanfu privately."

"Oh, how is it?"

“It’s refreshing.”

Sun Chuanting's eyes flashed with hope and confusion at the same time. He continued, "Xuanfu today is different from other places in the Ming Dynasty. Everything I saw on this trip is very different from what I knew before. I also have many puzzles. I want to go to Henan on the way to Shaanxi to take up my post and meet the Earl of Yongning to find out the truth."

Hong Chengchou's eyes showed a look of relief, and he said, "Good. The Yongyi Army is indeed extraordinary. If the Shaanxi Army you command can have half of their combat power, you can go east through Tongguan and fight the rebels."

He sat back on the big chair, took a few breaths, and then continued, "You and I first met the Earl of Yongning in the eleventh year of the Qin Dynasty. At that time, Zhang Cheng was just a newly promoted guerrilla. Now, in just a few years, he has become the commander-in-chief of a town and was even conferred the title of Earl of Yongning. The Yongyi Army under his command not only swept across the world, but was also a rare strong army in our Ming Dynasty."

Sun Chuanting said: "There are many new trends in Xuanfu. Although I can't figure it out for the time being, I think it's nothing more than one thing, that is, to let the poor have land to farm, and the Shaanxi army must be recruited from the newly recruited braves. Only in this way can it be made into a dignified army, rather than the private soldiers of each general, and there will be no family servants.

Only in this way can we form a united army, advancing in every battle, instead of being indecisive, thinking of self-preservation first before a battle, unwilling to fight hard to kill the enemy, and abandoning the commander and running away when the battle is not going well.

Hong Chengchou, however, looked worried and said, "Good family sons, share the land. These six words may seem simple, but they stump so many people!"

He continued, "Shaanxi is not like Xuanzhen, which is a real garrison. If you really do this..."

He glanced in the direction of the capital and sighed softly, "I wonder if they can hold on over there!"

"As long as I can protect the Ming Dynasty and the lives of my millions of people, I will go no matter how difficult and dangerous it is!"

Seeing that Sun Chuanting had made up his mind and was so resolute, Hong Chengchou stopped trying to persuade him. Instead, he said to him with a serious expression, "Liaodong has been relatively peaceful recently. When I have nothing to do, I have been thinking about Zhang Cheng and trying to figure out how he conducts his army.

Zhang Cheng commanded the army, subdivided the logistics, and handled the management of troops, recruitment, and training separately. He also promoted Mandarin in the army, so that the soldiers could learn to read, understand loyalty, military law, and military regulations..."

When he said this, he turned his head suddenly, looked at Sun Chuanting and asked, "What do you think...what does this mean?"

"This is a well-trained army!"

Sun Chuanting continued the topic and said: "By subdividing the logistics, the soldiers will have enough food and clothing, and they can concentrate on fighting without any worries. By managing the army, recruiting soldiers, and training soldiers separately, and treating all soldiers as one during training, the bad habits of family servants can be eliminated, and everyone can fight.

This is the principle behind General Qi’s magnificent formation.

And there is someone else in charge of the troops, so the troops are no longer owned by generals. All power is in the hands of the commander-in-chief, and there is no need to worry about the disaster of private soldiers!

In this way, even if the leader is an average person, there will be no cowards like He Renlong and Zuo Liangyu in the army, so there will be no worries of being defeated before the enemy. If we fight against the enemy, we will be invincible! "

  Sun Chuanting continued, "We should teach soldiers to read and write, and vigorously promote Mandarin in the army, so that the army will be full of heroes, everyone will understand the principle of loyalty and righteousness for the country, and be eager to fight and dare to fight!

It can also make everyone familiar with military discipline, strictly observe military laws, and be proficient in battle formations. In this way, the former will die and the latter will take over, and the army will be extremely tenacious. How can it not be victorious in every battle?

Even if there are occasional minor defeats, the training side will have a steady supply of new recruits to replenish the army, so the military force will be inexhaustible, and the old soldiers can lead the new soldiers, so a strong army will be formed.

This is why students see that Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng's troops grow larger and larger, and become stronger and stronger. "

Hong Chengchou looked surprised. He looked at Sun Chuanting and said, "Good, good, good. You said it very well. There are some things that I didn't even think of, but you mentioned them!"

Hong Chengchou nodded after thinking for a while. He looked at Sun Chuanting and said, "Is this what you are going to do after you arrive in Xi'an?"

Sun Chuanting said: "This is what I think. But it is easy to say, but if you want to form an army based on this... it is difficult..."

He shook his head as he spoke, and added: "It is said that if one step is delayed, all steps will be delayed. First of all, as for the military farming, firstly, there must be land to be cultivated, and secondly, there must be honest and capable military officials. Moreover, it is unknown how long it will take to cultivate enough food and wages for the army of a province."

It took Zhang Cheng several years to achieve today's results in Xuanfu, but Sun Chuanting had to start from scratch and build a strong army, which was not an easy task. For a moment, he felt a myriad of things flooded into his mind at this moment.

Hong Chengchou also sighed and said, "It's difficult. It's really difficult!"

He murmured, "The key to managing an army is to have well-trained soldiers and sufficient food, and to have the courage to fight and want to fight! But it is easier said than done, it is the four words 'well-trained soldiers and sufficient food'..."

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou also shook his head. He could fully imagine the difficulties that Sun Chuanting would face after arriving in Xi'an.

In the past, when Sun Chuanting was the governor of Shaanxi, he had made great efforts to rectify the malpractices of military settlements in order to increase military pay. At that time, many local tyrants and officials who occupied military settlements tried to obstruct him in every possible way and even instigated soldiers to cause trouble, but they were all suppressed by Sun Chuanting.

But it was still a small matter at that time, and the interests of all parties were limited, and I still had the power to look after and mediate.

Now, Sun Chuanting is about to take up the post of Governor-General of the three borders of Shaanxi. It is hard to say whether the officials under him will serve wholeheartedly, but he has to train 20,000 new troops in a short period of time. How many people's vested interests will be affected by that?

By then, we will inevitably be in a situation where we are surrounded by enemies and attacked by everyone!