The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 443 Imminent
Xianyun is clever, Feixing spreads hatred, and Yinhan looms dark.

As soon as Jinfeng Yulu met, they won but countless on earth.

The tenderness is like water, and the good times are like dreams.

If these two feelings are long, how are they going up and down.

Chen Wang only lived in his mansion in Xiangyang City for half a decade before returning to the military camp in the south of the city.

But this time, Chen Wang was no longer alone.

Ma Yuying was dressed in military uniform and sat close to Chen Wang.

The most precious item in the dowry given by the Shizhu Xuanwei Office was not the brocade produced in the southwestern mountains, but the three thousand elite white-pole soldiers who were carefully selected from the six major Xuanwei Offices.

The Tusi soldiers were bound together by clan blood ties. They had strict military discipline, neat rules and regulations, were fierce and tenacious, and they advanced and retreated together, and shared life and death.

As soon as the military flag moves, we will move forward.

These three thousand white-pole soldiers were all wearing armor, carrying crossbows and shields.

Ordinary White Spear Soldiers wore multi-layered cotton armor or refined leather armor, and only a few elite soldiers wore iron armor.

Of the three thousand white-spear soldiers given to Shizhu, one thousand were wearing iron armor, and the remaining two thousand were wearing refined leather armor.

Even the shoes on their feet were made of leather.

You should know that most of the chieftains' soldiers usually wore straw sandals made of multiple layers of linen and straw.

Those who could wear leather shoes were officers in the army and personal guards of various chieftains.

The Shizhu Xuanwei Office’s meaning was very clear. They would not stand idly by. They were willing to place all their bets on Hanzhong Town.

In the letter sent by Ma Xianglin, he even requested Chen Wang to send several battalions of troops into the territories of the six major Xuanwei offices, and also requested Chen Wang to send military instructors into each Xuanwei office to help train the army.

Ma Xianglin even sent over copies of the tax and labor yellow books and defense maps of the six major Xuanwei offices.

Chen Wang now knew exactly how many people were under the jurisdiction of the six major Xuanwei offices, how many soldiers and horses each Xuanwei office had, where the defenses were deployed, where the checkpoints were set up, and where the bunkers were.

In the central military tent, Hu Zhili stood beside Chen Wang.

During these days, he did not rest in the army, but was reviewing the yellow list of taxes and labor services submitted by the six major Xuanwei offices.

"The six major Xuanwei Offices have a total of 73,000 soldiers under their command."

"Among them, the Shizhu Xuanwei Division has the largest number of troops and the strongest combat power, with more than 28,000 soldiers and horses."

"The next is the Yongshun Xuanwei Division, which has about 13,000 soldiers and horses."

"The Baojing Xuanwei Division has more than 8,000 soldiers and horses."

Hu Zhili took out a piece of document from his hand, placed it in front of Chen Wang, and then continued.

"The two major Xuanweisi envoys of Yongshun and Baojing were both from the Peng clan, and the hereditary Baojing Xuanwei envoy was a branch of the Peng clan."

"The Yongshun envoy is now led by Peng Hongshu, and the Baojing envoy is now led by Peng Chaozhu."

“The two departments are apparently not subordinate to each other and are constantly in dispute with each other, but in reality they are very close and are one.”

"Among the six divisions, apart from Shizhu, the Yong and Bao divisions have the strongest troops and the greatest combat power. During the Tianqi period, the Sichuan Army used them as the backbone of the war to aid Liao."

Chen Wang also has a lot of memories about the six major Xuanwei offices.

The Tusi soldiers among the troops that aided Liao were mainly from Shizhu, Youyang, Baojing, Yongshun and other places.

"The Rongmei Xuanwei Office is under the command of Tian Xuan, and the Youyang Xuanwei Office is under the command of Ran Qibiao. Rongmei has 9,000 soldiers, and Youyang has 11,000 soldiers."

"The local official of Sinan Prefecture is Tian Yang, who only has 4,000 soldiers and horses."

Among the six major Xuanwei offices, the Sinan Xuanwei Office had actually ceased to exist long ago.

During the Yongle period, the Sinan Xuanwei Office was abolished because it disobeyed orders and engaged in land disputes and murders.

The Sinan Xuanwei Office was downgraded to Sinan Prefecture, but the Tian family still retained some of the chieftain's privileges.

In fact, in a sense, Ma Yuying's dowry was the six major Xuanwei offices in the entire southwest.

Ma Yuying moved closer to Chen Wang, her eyes slowly sweeping across the Sichuan map placed on the table.

"The situation in Sichuan is now like a house on fire. In June, the Songpan army mutinied and joined forces with the Qiang chieftain. The Chuang army also invaded from Shaanxi. Although they were all repelled, the front line is already shaky."

Ma Yuying pointed to the northwest of Sichuan.

"Now, most of the troops in central Sichuan have been transferred to the northwest by Chen Shiqi to strengthen the defense line."

The original governor of Sichuan was Shao Jiechun.

Luo Rucai and Zhang Xianzhong joined forces to attack Shu and fled into central Sichuan. They were imprisoned for dereliction of duty and sentenced to death.

After being imprisoned, Shao Jiechun did not wait for his execution but drank poison and died in prison.

Chen Shiqi was originally from Sichuan and was transferred to Sichuan to serve as the provincial education commissioner. During his tenure, he often taught students military tactics and taught them riding and archery.

The court believed that Chen Shiqi was knowledgeable in military affairs, so it promoted him to deputy envoy of Sichuan military preparations.

Shortly afterwards, Shao Jiechun resigned, and the political situation in Sichuan remained unstable, so the court appointed Chen Shiqi as the governor of Sichuan.

But in fact, although Chen Shiqi was fond of military strategies, he was actually a scholar.

When Shao Jiechun was in power, there were many capable generals including Hou Liangzhu and Zhang Ling. There were still more than 40,000 soldiers capable of fighting in Sichuan, and the chieftains from all directions were all under the command of the court.

When the conscription order is issued, no one dares to disobey.

However, after Chen Shiqi took office as the governor of Sichuan, he still devoted himself to literature and often held poetry gatherings, which led to the extreme laxity of military and political affairs.

In just a few years, the situation in Sichuan continued to deteriorate under his leadership.

"The reason why the Songpan Guards had a mutiny was because they had been owed wages for a long time. The soldiers were having trouble getting enough food, so they had no choice but to mutiny to ask for money."

Ma Yuying frowned and spoke in a cold voice.

"If Chen Shiqi had used more of the money he spent on literary societies and temples on military affairs, the situation in Sichuan would not have deteriorated so much."

Ma Yuying was also angry with Chen Shiqi.

Sichuan was turned into a mess by Chen Shiqi, and then seeing that he could not cope with it, he turned his attention to the Xuanwei Offices, ordering the six major Xuanwei Offices to send 20,000 troops to resolve the crisis in northwestern Sichuan.

However, all that was delivered was a document regarding the mobilization of troops, without even a load of food or half an ounce of military pay.

These Xuanwei offices had both food and money, but Chen Shiqi wanted them to work for him and spend money at the same time.

Where in the world can there be such a good thing? !

"How many soldiers did you send out?"

Chen Wang shook his head. Chen Shiqi was really confused. The emperor had no shortage of hungry soldiers. There was no money or food. What could others use to fight for their lives?

In this situation, even if Qin Liangyu personally came forward to recruit troops, I am afraid that not many people in the six major Xuanwei offices would be willing to follow her.

"Send troops? Send him..."

Ma Yuying's expression changed and her accent suddenly became that of Shuzhong.

However, Ma Yuying seemed to have thought of something. She took a look and did not utter the last curse word. She held it back.

However, Ma Yuying's anger was still not dissipated. She cursed in the dialect that Chen Wang couldn't understand before continuing.

"My uncle then packed up the letter written by Chen Shiqi and the messenger who delivered it, and threw them out of the city."

A slight smile appeared on Ma Yuying's face, as if she felt very happy.

Ma Yuying is a branch of the Ma family, directly governing three states and under the jurisdiction of four chief offices.

The chief of Xiyuan Chieftainship was Ma Yuying's father.

In terms of seniority, Ma Xianglin is Ma Yuying's uncle, so Ma Yuying calls him uncle. Chen Wang was a little speechless, but this is indeed Ma Xianglin's style.

"The soldiers in Sichuan are good at fighting. The Songpan mutiny is only a small area. Even if the Qiang chieftains in Songpan are included, there are checkpoints everywhere to defend. How can the situation be so serious?"

Chen Wang pondered for a moment and asked.

Today, the focus of the Intelligence Department is mostly on the South and Northern Zhili, and it is also necessary to investigate the situation in Shaanxi and Shanxi.

The Intelligence Department in Sichuan did not have any personnel stationed there, so Chen Wang did not know a lot of information.

"With Hou Liangzhu and Zhang Ling in Sichuan, even if the military was in disarray, it wouldn't have ended up like this, right?"

Because of the previous butterfly effect, Hou Liangzhu and Zhang Ling, who would have died on the battlefield, are still alive.

Hou Liangzhu was no mediocre person. During the She'an Rebellion, Hou Liangzhu made great military achievements and defeated tens of thousands of enemies with only a few thousand soldiers.

Zhang Ling was over seventy years old, experienced, calm, and well-known for his skillful use of firearms and defensive skills.

The Songpan mutiny, although there were a large number of troops and Hou Liangzhu and Zhang Ling used the pass, could they not be able to hold on?

How strong is the Songpan Han-Qiang coalition force?

Ma Yuying shook her head and explained.

"Hou Liangzhu didn't get along with Chen Shiqi and was always excluded by him. He resigned and returned home some time ago."

"Now, only Zhang Ling is barely holding on to the battle situation in central and northwest Sichuan. However, General Zhang is in poor health and has limited energy, making it difficult for him to coordinate the overall situation, which has put the defense line in jeopardy."

Chen Wang understood in his heart, if this was the case, everything would make sense.

"The war situation in the northwest can still be barely sustained, but the most dangerous place now is not the northwest, but the southwest."

Ma Yuying skipped the topic. She raised her hand and placed it on the southern part of Sichuan on the map.

"Are you familiar with the She'an Rebellion?"

Although Chen Wang was a little confused, he still nodded.

He was familiar with the history of the late Ming Dynasty and was naturally familiar with the She'an Rebellion that had once caused a stir in the southwest.

"After Pu Mingsheng died, his wife Wan fled south with the remaining soldiers under her command, causing quite a stir in southern Yunnan."

"Later, Wan Shi settled down and recruited Annan Tusi Sha Dingzhou as his son-in-law. The two armies merged and their power grew stronger."

"Not long ago, my uncle heard some news that the Annan chieftain Sha Dingzhou was sending envoys to contact other chieftains and was constantly recruiting soldiers to expand his territory."

"Sha Dingzhou?"

A hint of caution flashed in Chen Wang's eyes.

The She'an Rebellion is well known to everyone, but few people know that before the She'an Rebellion, there was also a Shap Rebellion.

In a sense, the impact of the Shap Rebellion was more serious than that of the She'an Rebellion.

Because the Shap Rebellion was launched at the end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, after the Qing army entered the pass.

Sha Dingzhou falsely claimed to help the Mu family quell the rebellion. After the rebellion was quelled, he still stayed in Kunming. Then he suddenly turned against them and raided the Mu Palace.

Kunming fell and was controlled by Sha Dingzhou.

The two hundred years of reputation of the Prince Mu's Palace plummeted as a result, making the situation in the Ming court even more decadent.

If there had not been the Shap Rebellion, the situation in the Southern Ming would undoubtedly have been much better, and the anti-Qing situation would not have become so corrupt, causing many Ming court officers to despair.

"I see."

Chen Wang nodded, the Shap Rebellion was just around the corner.

Historically, the Shadingzhou Rebellion occurred in the second year of the Jiashen National Disaster.

But history is now very different from what it was before, and the timing of Sha Dingzhou’s rebellion is also uncertain.

The only thing that is certain is that Sha Dingzhou would, as in history, instigate other chieftains to rebel, and then take the opportunity to lead his troops into the hinterland of Yunnan and turn against the rebels in the name of assisting in the suppression.

The Shap Rebellion had both good and bad sides.

The Mu Palace is deeply rooted in Yunnan and is extremely prestigious. Few people disobey its orders.

It also poses a considerable obstacle to their control of Yunnan.

However, if Sha Dingzhou makes trouble first and destroys the prestige of Prince Mu's Palace, it will also be beneficial for the future control of Yunnan.

But the timing must be very good.

Otherwise, once Sha Dingzhou has taken control of most of Yunnan and united many chieftains, it would undoubtedly take more effort to pacify Yunnan.

Thinking of this, Chen Wang felt helpless.

He really wanted to swear.

The end of the Ming Dynasty was such a mess!
The huge house was full of holes that let in air.

"Zhili."

Although his anger was rising, Chen Wang still kept a clear mind.

"In Sichuan and Yunnan, we can now start placing personnel in the Intelligence Department. The budget of the Intelligence Department will be increased by another 30,000..."

"Forget it, let's add another 20,000 taels of silver, specifically for Sichuan and Yunnan."

In terms of finance, Hanzhong Town was originally not short of money.

Minerals, forests, farmland, and customs duties collected along the way bring a large amount of income to Hanzhong Town every year.

In addition, the two major trading companies controlled by Hanzhong Town have trade reaching the east, west, south and north. In Henan, Hanzhong, and northern Huguang, which are areas controlled by Hanzhong Town, they almost all do monopoly business.

The salt and iron businesses in these places are all operated by Hanzhong Town, and the government has no say in them.

Therefore, after deducting military expenses, Hanzhong Town now has an annual revenue of approximately one million taels.

In addition, there is the wealth confiscated from the plunder of local clans over the years.

At present, the treasury in Hanzhong Town has accumulated nearly four million taels of silver.

But at the moment, the Zuo and Meng towns have just been reorganized, as well as the troops of the Western Army.

The military force suddenly increased by six divisions, totaling 72,000 men.

The one-time military pay paid to the Zuo and Meng towns amounted to a huge amount of 200,000 taels of silver.

Then, according to the reorganization treatment, the monthly salary of ordinary soldiers was one tael. After the reorganization was completed three months later, the salary would be raised to one and a half taels.

The officers and soldiers of these six divisions spent up to 1.3 million silver coins a year.

That is a deficit of almost three hundred thousand.

Although the family is still well-off and can afford such a loss.

But living off the savings is not a solution.

Once the shipyard in Shandong starts construction, it will continue to require a large sum of money.

So after hesitating for a while, Chen Wangcai decided to allocate only 20,000 taels of silver to Hu Zhili.

The current financial difficulties made Chen Wang even more jealous of the profits of Zheng Zhilong's maritime trade.

With a territory of almost three provinces, it is indeed too difficult to support more than 200,000 soldiers.

Expansion is imminent.

(End of this chapter)