The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

It is late May, approaching midsummer.

The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty sent out troops from all three sides.

Tang Yin led an army of 38,000, which was the largest and most complex group of troops. In addition to cavalry, there were also infantry and other arms. The baggage they transported was also very large, including various artillery and new firearms, plus the various chariots invented by Qin Hong when he was in charge of the three frontiers.

This group of troops can be said to be the most elite force of the Ming Dynasty's border army.

Xu Jing was riding on a horse. This was his third formal expedition. This time was very different from the previous two. It made him feel very proud and confident, as if he had never fought such a successful battle before.

"Bo Hu, look at this long line of troops, all responding to each other from afar, with cannons everywhere, and each soldier can be equipped with a flintlock gun, which can shoot wherever they point. Look at the equipment I have on me. If we really encounter the Tartars, it will be a piece of cake..."

Xu Jing drove his horse to Tang Yin's horse and boasted to Tang Yin about his own experiences.

But in fact, Tang Yin saw more than him.

Tang Yin said, "So what? Isn't it always like this when sending troops to the northwest?"

Xu Jing waved his hand and said, "You are wrong. I asked the soldiers in the northwest, and they said that they had never been so well prepared before. Your predecessor, General Wang, who is now the chief governor, did not lead his troops to fight a decent battle when he was in Sanbian, but he was a man who was very good at accumulating grain reserves. After a year of his management, Sanbian can be said to have sufficient granaries and is fully prepared for this battle."

This brings us to Wang Qiong's ability to save money and food.

Although the emperor was somewhat dissatisfied with Wang Qiong's previous performance, it was only because Wang Qiong failed to make a breakthrough in the battle situation, and the responsibility for the Battle of Huamachi did not lie with Wang Qiong.

Although Wang Qiong was transferred back to Beijing, he was promoted and retained his position. He is now the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, and can be said to be among the Seven Ministers.

The valuable resources left by Wang Qiong became an indispensable foundation for Tang Yin's advancement.

Tang Yin said: "Even if we are well prepared for this battle, no one can guarantee victory. Not to mention that the Tatars may not fight us. Even if they do, if they concentrate their superior forces, we may not be able to gain an advantage on the grassland. In the previous battle on the Ningxia border, the Tatars also began to use firearms to attack us."

"Just their firearms? Haha, forget it."

Xu Jing looked disdainful. "This reminds me of the Korean firearms. Let alone bringing this group of people into Korea, if they just randomly mobilized a thousand taels of soldiers, wouldn't they be able to easily occupy Korea? Take the Jurchens for example... Liaodong has abundant resources, but the troops and food supplies are still far behind those in the northwest."

When Tang Yin heard this, he couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.

Because he returned with a defeat in the battle of Liaodong, he could understand what Xu Jing said. It was indeed as he saw it. Although the troops of Liaodong were equipped with a large number of firearms, compared with the regular, complete, and even sufficient firearms of the three borders, the troops of Liaodong still seemed to be short of resources.

This is because the Ming Dynasty always supplied the three borders first in terms of military supplies. After all, these were the focus of the Ming Dynasty’s border defense.

"Bo Hu, I have another idea. You said that the Ming border troops are becoming more and more well-equipped. In a year or two, Liaodong's military equipment will also become stronger, and there will be as many firearms as in the northwest. Even if I lead the troops to fight, I can win the battle, and it will be an easy one." Xu Jing looked forward to it.

Tang Yin asked, "Do you think the court would let a mere scholar like you lead troops to fight?"

Xu Jing felt embarrassed after hearing this.

No one else tried to sabotage me, but you were the first to do so. Are your friends so disrespectful to you?

Tang Yin seemed to feel that his words were not pleasant to hear. He said, "If you can really make military achievements in this battle, I will also submit a petition to the court to commend your merits and let you start from the bottom. There are many people in the Ming Dynasty who entered the government as a juren and achieved high positions."

Xu Jing sighed, "I had hoped that after a few years, the court would allow me to take the imperial examination again and pass the exam. Now that I think about it, I no longer have the heart to take the imperial examination. It would be better for me to become a juren and serve as your right-hand man. Maybe in the future it will be as you said. With the help of the Duke of Cai, why worry about having no future in the army?"

When Tang Yin heard Xu Jing mention Zhang Zhou, he suddenly felt a little disappointed again.

Because he himself felt that the success in recent years seemed to be the result of his own efforts, but Zhang Zhou's behind-the-scenes support was also indispensable.

It is precisely because of Junior Brother Zhang Zhou's identity that he is able to thrive in officialdom.

……

……

Beijing.

The Northwest took the initiative to send troops, and the emperor established a temporary Military Intelligence Research Institute in addition to the Shangtingchu. It was attended by officials from the Shangtingchu, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Revenue and specially designated officials. There was no limit to the rank of the officials, and they were all temporary, established during wartime and disbanded after the war.

It doesn't mean that only those who are appreciated by the emperor or Zhang Zhou can enter. Some new scholars can observe the government affairs there. In particular, some new scholars who observe the government affairs of the Ministry of War can enter the Military Intelligence Research Institute. This is also a kind of experience for them.

But to the ministers in the court, this was just another "Hanlin Academy".

It’s just that the Hanlin Academy is a place for academic research, while the Military Intelligence Research Institute is a place for military research. In the eyes of many people, if future generations have not been to the Military Intelligence Research Institute and have not made any breakthroughs there, it will be impossible for them to enter the Shangtingchu in the future.

This is a bit like the saying that only Hanlin scholars can enter the cabinet.

The establishment of the Military Intelligence Research Institute by the Ming Dynasty seemed to be a competitor to the Hanlin Academy.

Although the Military Intelligence Research Institute is currently a temporary institution, it is uncertain whether it will become a standard feature of the military and political offices of the Ming Dynasty in the future, just like the Yanwu Hall. It may even establish a more complete system in the future to train more talents.

As the Minister of War of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Zhou also served as a minister of the Supreme Court, an advisor to the Military Intelligence Research Institute, and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy.

His duties were too diverse to focus on any one of them, and the usual affairs of the Military Intelligence Research Institute were handled by Lu Wan, who had resigned as the Minister of Shangtingchu but was still serving as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. He was also responsible for the promotion of new talents.

In a short period of time, Lu Wan accumulated a high reputation among some new scholars and even some frustrated scholars. Many people also regarded him as the actual executor of the future military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why he was the executor was because everyone knew that the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty still had to be decided by Zhang Zhou, and there was an emperor above to coordinate everything.

No matter how powerful you, Lu Wan, can only rank after Zhang Zhou. There may even be two powerful opponents above you, Wang Shouren and Wang Qiong, and they may not necessarily listen to you.

As a result, there seemed to be some open and covert struggles within Zhang Zhou's camp due to a power structure, but because of Zhang Zhou's strength, this struggle was only carried out in secret, and even some struggles that were not revealed on the surface.

At this time, Zhang Zhou still lived a very comfortable life.

He did not need to attend court every day. He was lucky if he could do it for three days and rest for two days. He did not stay in the capital all the time. He would go to the Western Hills occasionally. After returning, he might perform artillery exercises outside. After returning to the capital, he would occasionally go to the government office. In the rest of the time, he would go to the palace to stroll around, go out to watch a play, and go home to spend time with his wife and children. Most of the time, he stayed in the laboratory.

It is not necessarily that he is conducting experiments, because what he is conducting now are some relatively dangerous experiments, and he has trained a group of "students". He has taught basic chemistry to this group of people, and based on this group of people, he has formed a special weapons research institute.

These people are in charge of different projects, led by one or two people, and each is responsible for the research and development and promotion of their own projects.

At the same time, they are only responsible for the progress of their own team. If there is any difficulty in making progress, Zhang Zhou may give them some guidance, or cut the project and put together a new one.

By the summer of the 15th year of the Hongzhi reign, there were already more than 20 such teams around Zhang Zhou. Each team had from a dozen to dozens of people, and the number was still expanding. Many of them would be picked out to work alone and rebuild their own teams.

Also, as these projects progress, more branch projects will emerge. Just the manufacture of a chemical substance can be divided into hundreds of branches. Of course, many of them cannot be used for the time being. Zhang Zhou also knows what is more important.

At present, he studies chemistry more to improve weapons and bring some benefits to people's livelihood. Further research is for the development of chemical industry, which is more used in Xishan and Binhai City.

After finishing everything that day, he returned to the theater. The play on the stage was still very lively and the theater was full of people.

However, Zhang Zhou did not stay in the private room of the theater, but went to the newly built observation deck behind the theater.

This way, the distance to watching the opera is farther, but one can see more street scenes in the capital. Because of the prosperity of his theater, many supporting projects have been opened around it, with wine shops and teahouses everywhere, and the lights are bright at night. Zhang Zhou is currently studying hydroelectric and wind power generation, and he plans to bring electricity to the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

"Master, someone from the Duke Cheng's Mansion has come to deliver a gift. She's downstairs, and I think she's the wife of the Marquis of Anbian."

Liu Gui appeared at the door on the third floor of the observation deck.

Zhang Zhou said: "Let someone come up."

"Okay."

Not long after Liu Gui went downstairs, he brought Zhu Chen up. She was holding a small wooden box in her hand, and the two maids behind her were only holding lanterns.

One can tell at a glance that the gift in the wooden box is not simple, otherwise Zhu Chenshi wouldn't be so worried that she would need to bring it up personally.

"What brings my sister-in-law here?" Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Zhijie left Beijing and I haven't heard from him for quite a while. Are you here to inquire about him? Please take a seat."

As he spoke, Zhang Zhou called out and someone immediately brought a chair.

Because this observation deck is relatively high and the surrounding area is relatively open, the cool breeze dilutes the summer heat.

Zhu Chen sat down and put the wooden box on the table, saying, "This is a gift from Duke Cheng's Mansion to Duke Cai. It is a house and some supporting facilities. I don't know what's inside, but I think it can be a place for you to enjoy yourself."

"What a relaxing place! I like relaxing the most. After all, I am too busy with my daily life. If I don't find something to relax myself, I will be so tired that I can't find my way."

Zhang Zhou said this and waved to Liu Gui who was standing beside him.

Liu Gui just walked over, picked up the wooden box, and then he stood aside without leaving.

Zhang Zhou said, "Is your sister-in-law just here to give you a gift?"

Zhu Chen said, "Recently, news came back from the northwest, saying that Duke Chengguo and Marquis Anbian had separated their troops and were not of one mind, and you, sir, have not given any instructions on the military affairs in the northwest recently. This has made my family very worried, afraid that...something unexpected will happen."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Is it Zhijie's grandmother, Madam Chengguo, who is worrying too much? The war in the northwest is now progressing smoothly. The Ming troops are attacking in order to retaliate against their invasion at the beginning of the year, to let them feel the etiquette of the dynasty, and to let them be educated by etiquette and music. This time the troops are fully prepared. If anyone still needs help, how can we show the prestige of the Ming soldiers?"

It’s not that I don’t want to help Zhu Fu, but he shouldn’t ask for help.

Otherwise, even if he achieves something, others will say he is a loser. If he still fails to achieve anything, they will say he is a hopeless case.

Don’t you understand this truth?
It is obvious that everyone in your Chengguo Mansion has no confidence in this Duke Chengguo.

You think that if no one helps him, he will really rot in the northwest.

Zhu Chen said, "That's right. I'm just telling you what you want to say. It's hard for ordinary people in the mansion to see you. I came here with the Marquis before, so I know you're here."

"You are Zhijie's first wife, why do you still call him Marquis? This is too formal." Zhang Zhou said, "You are also too formal with me. You can come if you have something to do, but you may not be able to see me every time. Just like today, I was very busy and it was rare for me to come back and I wanted to rest."

As they were talking, Jang Nok-su and little Jang Geum came up with basins of water and other things.

Behind them, there were several graceful women following.

When Zhu Chen found out about all this, she probably felt that Zhang Zhou's "good plan" had been ruined, so she immediately stood up and was about to leave.

Zhang Zhou said, "Don't worry, there's something going on, and I want you to take a message back."

Only then did Zhu Chen sit up straight again.

After Zhang Lushui and other women came up, they could only stand in a row on the corridor outside the observation deck.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Your Majesty has already made a decision about Nanjing's military affairs. The matter of Nanjing's military commander cannot be left unattended for long. So Duke Wei will go back to take up the military post temporarily. He has been in charge of coastal defense in Zhejiang for two years, and he has made contributions to the Ming Dynasty."

When Zhu Chen heard this, she immediately frowned.

This shows that the Chengguo Mansion's attempt to curry favor with Zhang Zhou has failed so far.

The military affairs of Nanjing fell from Zhu Fu to Xu Chu.

It's like a reincarnation.

Zhang Zhou said: "Tell Duke Cheng not to feel any pressure. After he has made achievements, he may be given more important tasks. He does not have much experience on the battlefield, which is precisely his advantage. A rough jade always needs to be polished. Often, it does not have so many concerns and can achieve great things." (End of this chapter)