Daming Yuanfu

Chapter 2394: Changes (Thirteen) in the Imperial Guard

Overnight, the snow in the capital had already reached half a foot deep, and there were fewer people on the road than usual. Most of the dignitaries, wealthy merchants and powerful people stayed at home for the winter, while ordinary people and servants of wealthy families still had to work hard for their livelihoods.

It was almost noon, and the Imperial Guards' Jingbei Camp was busy, but they were not busy with training, but preparing lunch. Somehow, Commander Ma had already ordered the slaughter of pigs and sheep this morning to provide extra meals for the entire army. To this end, Commander Ma sent someone to contact the Ministry of War and the Five Military Commandery, and the city drove 500 pigs and 800 sheep over early in the morning to ensure sufficient meat supply.

On the other hand, the Ministry of War summoned the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Guard, Cao Fu, to the city and asked him to take a town of weapons from the armory and bring them back to the camp, saying that the Second Longjiang Army would return to Beijing in the near future to receive the military flag, and the Imperial Guard needed to deploy defenses and alert.

It should be noted that the Imperial Guards were not equipped with weapons and equipment in normal times, but were only allocated from the arsenal when a war was about to begin. In normal times, the Imperial Guards, numbering 60,000 to 70,000, were equipped with about 50 cannons, 3,000 muskets, 6,000 spears and corresponding cold weapons, and then they were trained in rotation using hot and cold weapons.

The "military equipment for one town" allocated to Cao Fu by the Ministry of War this time refers to the weapons and equipment that can equip one town's troops, mainly cold and hot weapons, gunpowder, projectiles, and artillery shells. The strength of one town is about 12,500 people, so the military equipment Cao Fu received was based on this standard.

Specifically, according to the allocation of the Ministry of War, Cao Fu received the weapons of the Third Town of the Imperial Guard, including 6849 Wanli Type 1483 rifles, 48 carbines, 24 ​​No. 137 Army Cannons, 100 No. 140 Army Cannons, and 2880 million matching two base bullets (the Ming army used 30 rounds as a base), 1440 million bags of paper shell gunpowder (a little margin), No. cannon shells in two bases (the Ming army used rounds as a base), No. cannon shells, and some corresponding gunpowder, fuses, etc. In addition, there were different amounts of goose feather knives, sabers, armor, horse armor, etc.

In short, after receiving the weapons, the Third Regiment of the Imperial Guard will be able to reach combat readiness immediately and appear "complete".

Ma Gui personally received the weapons and distributed them to the Third Town in front of all the generals. Ma Dong, the commander of the Third Town, received the weapons and distributed them to the headquarters.

Ma Dong is the eldest son of Ma Fang. He was recruited by Gao Youshi when he was the military governor of Jinfu Haigai. He served as the lieutenant general of Haigai and later stayed in Liaodong for a long time and made some contributions. However, in recent years, many famous generals have emerged in the Ming army, and Ma Dong's talent is not outstanding.

Just as his father Ma Fang had commented when Gao Yousi wanted to use him, Ma Dong was not the right choice for a "famous cavalry general". Fortunately, he was steady and loyal. Although he was not aggressive enough, he was more than capable of maintaining the status quo. Gao Yousi completely agreed with this view.

Due to his "lack of aggressiveness but strength in maintaining the status quo", his official career was neither good nor bad - young heroes like Li Rumei had already become deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, while an old veteran like him could only become the commander of the third regiment of the Imperial Guards.

However, it was precisely thanks to his steadiness that the Third Town became the one with the most stable performance in all the major competitions since the establishment of the Imperial Guard. People at that time privately said that "the Third Town is like a mountain town", which was a great affirmation of him.

At this critical juncture, the Ministry of War suddenly issued military equipment to the Third Town. The generals of the Imperial Guard exchanged glances privately, and they seemed to be guessing or confirming something.

Ma Gui's expression was quite calm. Although he was a little surprised that the military equipment issued by the Ministry of War was not given to his direct line in the Imperial Guard, the First Town led by Ma Chengxun (son of Ma Gui's elder brother Ma Jin), he still accepted it calmly. After all, compared with "East Li West Ma", after Ma Fang's death, the Ma family, with only two brothers left, might be more trustworthy in the eyes of the court.

Of course, it is not ruled out that Yuan Fu has other considerations, and this is not something that Ma Gui should think about too much.

Oh, you ask why it was the prime minister's idea for the Ministry of War to issue the military equipment? Couldn't it be the idea of ​​Song Yingchang, the Minister of War, or Zhou Gelao, who was in charge of the Ministry of War?

The reason was simple. After the sudden illness of the Prime Minister yesterday, Song Yingchang did not dare to make a decision on his own regarding the distribution of military equipment to the Imperial Guards. Even Zhou Yong did not dare to make the decision. If the Prime Minister did not nod, it could only be because the Emperor had issued an order, and the Emperor had not issued an order - this was very clear to Ma Gui, because he had received a secret order last night, and it did not mention this matter.

In the same way, because Ma Gui received the secret decree last night, he knew that his mission was not in this direction. Now he was not sure about another thing: whether there was any connection between the secret decree of the emperor and the dispatch of the prime minister. In other words, did the emperor and the prime minister communicate with each other, or were they each directing according to their own ideas?

Ma Gui was not aware of this, and because he was unaware of this key point, he was a little nervous.

At noon, the whole army held a banquet. The generals of the Imperial Guards naturally gathered together. Except for not drinking, they were having a good time. However, although it was said that drinking was not allowed, the military order was not strict. For example, kumis was not restricted (because there was only fermented kumis at the moment, which had a very low alcohol content, and because there were many horses in the army, they often made their own kumis).

Ma Gui raised a bowl of mare's milk and toasted to the generals, saying, "Everyone, the New Year is approaching. Let us pray for the longevity of our emperor and the good health of the prime minister! Cheers!"

"May our emperor live forever, and may the prime minister be in good health! Cheers!"

Inside the White Tiger Hall, all the generals raised their bowls and drank the mare's milk wine. The wine warmed their bodies and their spirits gradually rose. They played drinking games and reminisced about the past. Soon, they were drunk and forgot about all the intrigues.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, the commander of the First Town, Ma Chengxun, suddenly smiled and said to Ma Dong: "Uncle, you have received the military equipment this time. It seems that you will have to work hard during the New Year."

Ma Gui is a generation younger than Ma Fang, so Ma Chengxun, as his nephew, is also a generation younger than Ma Dong. Both the Ma and Ma families are from generals of Xuanda and have intermarriages with each other, so Ma Chengxun calls Ma Dong his uncle.

Ma Dong smiled slightly and said, "We have been blessed by the emperor for generations and are military commanders. There is no such thing as hard work. It is just our duty."

"That's right, that's right." Ma Chengxun laughed and turned to Li Rumei and said, "Deputy Commander, I heard that your brother's Longjiang Second Army will soon enter the capital to be awarded the flag. It seems that we can be reunited in the capital this year. It's really gratifying!"

Li Rumei also smiled slightly and nodded, saying: "My brother is indeed going back to Beijing. I only found out about this recently. I thought he would have to spend the New Year in Changchun this year." Changchun was originally a trading post that Gao Youshi had Jinghua build when he was in office in Liaodong. Later, after years of development, especially the large influx of Han immigrants after the Jurchens moved to Korea, it has become the largest Han settlement area outside of Liaodong. Therefore, after the Jurchens surrendered a few days ago, it was designated as the seat of Longjiang.

Nowadays, there is only one "Longjiang" in the vast territory of Northeast China outside Liaodong, and it is not a province yet. Instead, it is a kind of military control area like Liaodong in the past, and is nominally under the jurisdiction of Shandong.

The reason is very simple. There are still too few Han people, so it is not justifiable to establish a province - mainly because it is not cost-effective, because establishing a province requires a lot of administrative resources. There are too few Han people and the economy is too bad, and the taxes collected there may not even be able to cover the investment.

Of course, since the Jurchens moved their towns, Liaodong has been successfully changed into a province. In the future, when the number of Han people in Longjiang increases to a certain level, it will definitely be changed into a province. Not only will it be changed into a province, but it will even be split up - after all, the land is large, the resources are rich, and the economic potential is great. But that is all in the future. Whether Gao Youshi can see it is another matter, so it is better not to mention it now.

Ma Chengxun smiled and said, "Deputy Marshal, in my opinion, you are now in charge of the capital, my eldest brother is stationed in Liaodong, and my fourth brother is stationed in Longjiang... Oh, half of our Ming Dynasty depends on your family."

Li Rumei's smile faded slightly, and she replied with a half-smile: "If you count it this way, the Yunzhong Ma family has produced more generals than our Tieling Li family, and they also guard a wider area. They are simply the best general family in the world."

Ma Chengxun was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to answer. Li Rumei's words were true. Although Ma Gui was the only one left in the Ma family, the "Ma Family Generals" were indeed full of generals. Ma Gui's eldest brother Ma Jin had a son Ma Chengxun, and his second brother Ma Fu had a son Ma Chengen, both of whom were high-ranking generals who commanded a town and held the title of general.

Ma Gui's own sons were not bad either. Among his four sons, Ma Chengzhao, Ma Chengxun, Ma Chengxuan and Ma Chengzong, there were two commanders (divided into chief and deputy commanders), two assistant commanders, who were also two generals and two lieutenant generals. If this is not a gathering of generals, then what is a gathering of generals?

Moreover, unlike the Li family's generation which actually had only three generals leading troops, the six younger generations under Ma Gui were all leading troops on the front line and were generals with real power. Not to mention that Ma Gui himself was the commander of the only "special forces" in the court, the Imperial Guards. It seemed to make sense to say that the Ma family was "the first military family in the court."

Ma Gui saw the predicament of his nephew. Although he was somewhat disappointed, he did not care too much. After all, Ma Chengxun was still young. He was good at fighting but not good at talking. It was not a big deal - how many times in a lifetime could a person encounter such a complicated event?

"Ahem." Ma Gui pretended to cough and suddenly interrupted, "The Ma family has been highly valued by the court in recent years, and my sons and nephews have been stationed in many places. This is true. I am deeply grateful to the emperor and the prime minister. I often talk about it with my children and tell them to repay them with my life."

Without waiting for Li Rumei to reply, Ma Gui continued, "However, although the generals of the Ma family are highly valued, they are scattered all over the place and do not gather in one place. For example, if I am in Beijing, then the only nephew in Beijing who is loyal to me is Chengxun. Therefore, even if the court uses him, there is no need to worry too much."

Li Rumei smiled and said, "Everyone knows that the Marshal is loyal, but the court has many considerations when it comes to employing people, and sometimes loyalty is not the only factor..." At this point, he glanced at Ma Dong and chuckled, "Just like today, Commander Ma just said that he thought it was his first town to receive the military equipment, but the court gave the task to the third town, haha."

Ma Chengxun's eyes turned cold when he heard this. He was about to speak, but he saw Ma Gui holding out his hand to stop him. He said calmly, "The emperor has the final say in power and appointments. We are military commanders. We only need to obey orders. Why should we think about other things? Who to use and who not to use, when to use and when not to use... these are all things that Yuanfu, Zhou Ge Lao and Da Sima should consider. It is not our turn to guess."

Li Rumei sneered and nodded, saying, "What the commander said is very true. If so, how my brothers are appointed and dismissed is also determined by the imperial court. The Ma family will be used in all directions, and the Li family will be used in one wing. The reason is probably only known by the emperor and the prime minister. Since we don't know why, why should we speculate?"

Ma Gui nodded, still looking calm, and said, "There is really no need to speculate."

Ma Chengxun obviously didn't have the generosity of his uncle, and couldn't help but say, "I think Dong Li and Xi Ma are different. When I, Ma, was ordered to go out to a town, I would go wherever the court said, and I never cared about where to go. If I was ordered to fight, no matter how many casualties my soldiers suffered, I would just bear it silently, and never bargain with the court for this. But I'm not like some people who have to subdue one side when they go out to a town, and have to return home to replenish the casualties. Haha... I don't know if the soldiers recognize the emperor or himself."

Li Rumei raised her eyebrows and said coldly, "Commander Ma is blaming Li?"

"Deputy Commander, there is no need to act pretentiously. You know I am not talking about you, and you also know who I am talking about... Why do you have to take all the responsibility on yourself?" Although Li Rumei was the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, it was obvious that Ma Chengxun, the commander of the First Town, was not afraid of him.

Seeing this, Zu Chengxun, the commander of the Second Town, who happened to be sitting next to Ma Chengxun, patted the table in front of Ma Chengxun and said half-remindingly and half-threateningly: "Commander Ma, you and I are on the same level. Although I have not been in the Imperial Guard for long, I have long heard that the Imperial Guard is the best army in the world and the First Town is the best town in the world... To be honest with you, Commander Ma, I am not very convinced by this.

I think in the last competition, your No. 1 Town tied with my No. 2 Town in infantry combat, but lost to my No. 2 Town by a few points in horse combat. This shows that the title of "No. 1 Town in the World" doesn't seem to live up to its reputation!"

Upon hearing this, Ma Chengxun was furious and slammed the table and shouted, "You are such an ignorant defeated Japanese general! Your Second Town has already strengthened its cavalry, so why are you so proud of your victory over me by a few points on horseback? In the last competition, due to the weather, we didn't have time to compete in artillery battles, so you were lucky enough to win by points. If we had a full artillery battle, my First Town would have beaten your Second Town into a mess and made them cry for their parents! If you don't believe me, I'll open your eyes during this spring training!"

Zu Chengxun already knew that due to the weather, the artillery scores of this autumn's competition could not be fully counted, so the results were quite unfair to the First Town which focused on artillery battles. However, he said this to vent Li Rumei's anger, so he didn't mind Ma Chengxun's rebuttal.

However, he did not expect that Ma Chengxun would start by exposing his own scars, saying something like "the defeated general of the Japanese army" - this refers to the time when Zu Chengxun went south to Korea alone as a vanguard of the aid to Korea, but ended up suffering a defeat because he underestimated the enemy.

This matter was a stain that Zu Chengxun was very concerned about. Normally, people around him would never talk about it. Unexpectedly, he was slapped in the face by Ma Chengxun today. Zu Chengxun's face immediately turned red. He was about to slam the table and have a good fight with Ma Chengxun, but unexpectedly, a sharp voice suddenly shouted outside: "There is an order! Ma Gui, the commander of the Imperial Guard, why don't you open the camp and receive the order immediately!"
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PS: There was obviously nothing wrong but my left back felt like it was hit by a big stick... What's going on? Could it be that I sprained it while sleeping?