Ming politicians

() When Su Tiancheng was about to rest, Wang Dazhi came to report that someone from outside had come to visit.

He didn't care. He came back to his hometown. It's normal for people to visit. In this era, people come to visit. It doesn't mean they have to know you. Some scholars can introduce themselves. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty is dominated by scholars.The superior psychology of scholars themselves also makes many friendships in this area.

"Master Su, don't come here unharmed. I once thought about going to Jiangning County to have a look, but I didn't expect Master Su to come back and get married."

"Oh, it's Master Sun, please sit down, please sit down."

Sun Chuanting's visit was indeed beyond Su Tiancheng's expectations.

A year ago, he met Sun Chuanting, and the two made an agreement at that time. A year later, Sun Chuanting went to Jiangning County to take a look. Unexpectedly, Sun Chuanting remembered it so clearly. It seems that Sun Chuanting could become a rare hero in the Ming Dynasty, and There is a reason.

"I've long thought of going to Jiangning County to take a look. Lord Su wiped out Zijin Liang. With less than 1 soldiers, he fought against more than [-] bandits on the other side. He was able to capture Zijin Liang alive. I admire him."

"Mr. Sun, don't say that. It's just a fluke. When I came back to Shanxi this time, I was still thinking that the rogues in Shanxi were rampant, and some of them were even active nearby. I heard that some of the rogues had entered Beizhili and Zhao. Zhou, Xishan, Shunde, and Zhending areas, it seems that we still need to increase the intensity of the campaign."

"Yes, the rogues are rampant, and it is difficult for the court to have peace. To wipe out the rogues requires a large amount of silver, and the destructive nature of the rogues is also great. Everywhere they go, life will be devastated. If it continues like this for a long time, the consequences will be unpredictable."

"According to Master Sun, what method should be adopted to suppress the bandits?"

Su Tiancheng asked this question with deep meaning. Sun Chuanting was a famous general in the late Ming Dynasty.The main credit is to exterminate and suppress the peasant uprising army, which has achieved great results, but eventually fell into the hands of the peasant uprising army. According to the previous historical trajectory, Sun Chuanting will not come back until the eighth year of Chongzhen.Finally, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, he was defeated and died in Tongguan.

Sun Chuanting's tactics are advanced to a certain extent, and they are also based on the strength of exterminating the bandits. They do not advocate surrender, and they are in the process of fighting.He also paid attention to local development and kept improving his own strength.It is also because of these correct propositions that some key victories have been achieved in the battle to wipe out the rogue bandits.

It's a pity that he was born at an untimely time, and there was a struggle within the court.The conflict between him and Yang Sichang finally forged bad results.Once he was sick and resigned from office, he was once thrown into a big prison, and the results of his hard work were in vain. Chongzhen came back again in 11 years, and the bandits have become a trend.

"Master Su said so, I'm really sorry. I think Master Su's extermination of Zijinliang is already famous in the court. How to exterminate the bandits is well known. If I comment on it, it's not like a classmate."

Su Tiancheng shook his head helplessly. The famous generals in the Ming Dynasty were almost all of literati background. Sun Chuanting was a Jinshi in the Wanli period. Needless to say, knowledge is understood by ordinary people. The generals in the army are all hot-tempered and straightforward. , This is actually the biggest misunderstanding, there will be many Confucians in the Ming Dynasty.

"Mr. Sun, don't have such thoughts. The so-called threesome must have my teacher. Although Mr. Sun is at home, we are all from the same hometown. I think that when the time is right, Shanxi will be well received by those who recommend you to the imperial court. The infestation of rogue bandits has made farmers unable to produce with peace of mind, and such a situation cannot last for a long time.”

Sun Chuanting blushed a bit, he was past the age of not being confused, fully twice the age of Su Tiancheng, thinking about Su Tiancheng's tenure as the magistrate of Jiangning County, he has made such a great contribution in less than a year ,Look at yourself, during the Tianqi period, Wei Zhongxian resigned from office and returned to his hometown.

"Your Majesty Su said that, so I'm not being polite. In fact, I agree with Master Su's tactics. To deal with the rogues, we must wipe out their vital strength. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we can't recruit them. The biggest task is to destroy their vital strength. , and the extermination of the bandits and the resumption of production must be carried out simultaneously, and the people on one side must be appeased."

Su Tiancheng nodded slightly, this way can be done once and for all, but unfortunately everyone understands this truth, there are almost no civil and military officials who can really do this, either they are eager for quick success, wishing to wipe out the bandits tomorrow, or It is wishful thinking that the bandits are forced to rebel, and as long as the court grants them favors, they will be able to be wiped out.

Resuming production is not as simple as it sounds, it requires patience and more efforts, especially after the extermination of bandits, how to make farmers have enough to eat and not think of rebellion, such as the situation in Henan, The peasants did not support the rogues, so that the rogues had no place to survive and stay.

"Let's say that Zijinliang was wiped out. I've analyzed it below. Master Su once provided disaster relief in Henan and spread the reputation of the imperial court. The peasants were grateful to the imperial court. They thought of stability and were unwilling to rebel. Zijinliang left Shanxi and entered Henan. Without support, he entered Huguang, thinking of entering Sichuan via Huguang, under such helpless circumstances. Under such circumstances, the people's hearts were unstable, and he must be in a state of panic. Your lord seized the opportunity and wiped out Zijin Liang in one fell swoop. It’s a great feat.”

"Zijin Liang is the convener of the 36th Battalion of Rogues. He led more than 1 people. In Yingshan County, Luzhou Prefecture, he was wiped out by adults. This incident caused great repercussions in Shanxi, and the rogues were a little panicked." I lost my mind, and the imperial court stepped up the intensity of conquest, and most of the rogues fled to the northern Zhili area."

"However, the territory of Shanxi is still unstable. I know that there are still several groups of rogues, active in Fenzhou, Qinzhou, Lu'an Mansion, Zezhou, and Pingyang Mansion. The army is not easy to wipe out."

"To deal with these rogues, I believe that to unify the command, we must fight steadily, step by step, and don't be led by the nose by the rogues. The imperial army is stationed in a fixed place, and the space for the rogues' activities is gradually reduced. In the end, they have nowhere to go. .”

The tactics proposed by Sun Chuanting are traditional thinking, and also the thinking of the regular army. It seeks to confront the rogues head-on, to kill and injure the rogues’ vitality to the maximum extent, and to compress the space for the rogues’ activities. collapse.

This tactic cannot be said to be incorrect, but in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, such an idea was somewhat naive.

The governors of various places have different ideas. As long as there is no harassment from bandits in their own territory, they will not care about other places. At the same time, it is even more taboo to unify the command of the army. The prosecutors will mutter that if there are too many commanders in the army, it will be even more difficult for everyone to unify their opinions.

In fact, in the [-]th year of Chongzhen, Yang Sichang's plan of exterminating bandits with four positive points, six corners and ten sides was based on the unified command power, and all regions should participate in the combat plan to eliminate bandits. This method of unified command power has received a lot of attention. Good effect, but did not fundamentally solve the problem.

But if this is done, if you persist for a long time, it will be difficult for the bandits to develop and grow.

However, there is a big problem in doing this, that is, a large amount of silver is consumed, and it is difficult for the court to sustain it for a long time, but if it does not persist, it will relax, and eventually the bandits will rebound, causing even greater harm.

Su Tiancheng did not approve of this way of fighting.

In fact, he asked the soldiers of the Jiangning Battalion to train hard. The purpose is clear, that is to train an invincible army that can not only fight face to face with the rogues and the Houjin Eight Banners, but also be able to run long distances. You rogues can run, right? I run faster than you, once I bite you, you have no place to hide, even if you run to the sky, I will chase you and pull you down.In the tenth year of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng suffered a disastrous defeat in the Battle of Tongguan, and took 17 people to hide in Shangluo Mountain in southeast Shaanxi. Unfortunately, the imperial army did not make persistent efforts, leaving the biggest hidden danger, which led to the fall of the stables and the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

Perhaps seeing that Su Tiancheng didn't speak, Sun Chuanting's expression was a little serious, and he seemed more focused.

"Master Sun's tactics are very good, but I think that under the current conditions, it is still necessary to seek various breakthroughs. The imperial court is very difficult, and it is not a small difficulty to mobilize troops from multiple parties. The cost of money is also astronomical. If It is a better choice to be able to train an army that can fight head-on with the rogues and chase down the rogues who are fleeing everywhere. Such an army consumes relatively less."

"I understand, the Jiangning Battalion should be such a force."

"Don't dare to say that. The Jiangning camp is under construction. The last time we wiped out the rogues led by Zijinliang was a sudden attack. It doesn't mean that the Jiangning camp is invincible. The main force of the rogues is still there and has not suffered much damage. Besides, the Jiangning Battalion is mainly responsible for patrolling Jiangning County, and it is not a regular army of the imperial court."

"Master Su is humble. On the battlefield, victory or defeat is the best consideration. No matter what method is adopted, as long as you can win, as far as I know, the victory of Yingshan is probably the only one who wiped out more than [-] rogues at once. Once, it was also the happiest time to win."

Su Tiancheng smiled and didn't speak. There is no need to deliberately conceal some achievements. Yingshan's great victory has been spread all over the place, and it is useless to conceal it. The reputation of Jiangning Battalion has also gone out. It is precisely because of this situation , Su Tiancheng asked the Jiangning battalion to expand its army and undergo more rigorous training, so that it could fully mature in the shortest possible time.

He didn't believe that Zhu Youjian didn't notice Jiang Ningying. (To be continued. Welcome to the starting point to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets,