Jiajing Chengming

Dengzhou, Shandong.

While the first batch of Tartars had been arranged to go to Annan, a new batch of Tartars had just been transported to the dock of Dengzhou by the government army transport ship.

These Tatars were ordinary herdsmen from the Mongolian and Jurchen tribes.

Many of them were captured and made into soldiers because they robbed the Han people, and many were directly recruited as soldiers.

However, in general, they became more active in looting and were recruited by the Ming Empire to work in the south because of the increasingly deteriorating climate and environment in the north and the serious damage to animal husbandry and agriculture.

"Don't rob! Each person will get a fat coat, a cotton hat, a pair of cotton shoes and socks, and one dollar of monthly silver! After you take a bath and eat, come to the new government office in front to collect it."

"When you arrive in Wuzhou, I will give you cotton armor, swords, arrows, and horses."

"Those who can speak Chinese, remember to come to the government office when the time comes. You will be given priority to be appointed as officers."

The Ming officials who were responsible for receiving these people loudly spoke to the Tartars about the arrangements for them when they were brought here while they were dizzy and even suffering from vomiting and diarrhea from the boat ride.

The Ming army troops who were responsible for escorting them whipped the dishonest ones to force them to line up according to the rules, while also conveying the words of the Ming officials above.

In many places in border towns, Han and Hu people live together.

There are Tatars who have been sinicized, and there are Han people who have been sinicized.

Therefore, among these Tatars, there are indeed many who can speak Chinese, and some are even originally Han people, but became Tatars for various reasons.

Bawang didn't know whether he was a Tartar or a Han Chinese who had been sinicized.

Anyway, he remembered his father saying that his family used to make a living by farming in the Hetao area. When the Hongzhi Emperor was in power in the Ming Dynasty, because the Ming Dynasty gave up the Hetao area, his family had to make a living by herding since his father's generation.

However, his father taught him Chinese, so he always knew Chinese. As a result, he often traveled around the nine borders to herd sheep. In bad years, he even crossed the checkpoints and worked as a long-term laborer for the Han landlords in the border towns.

Now, he came here with the purpose of working.

After all, the salary paid by the Ming Dynasty court was not low.

And Bawang had long heard that after the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty ascended the throne, the military salaries had always been sufficient and military merits were also highly valued.

Therefore, Bawang rebelled against Altan and came to the Ming Dynasty to apply for a military service.

But Bawang himself did not think that he was betraying Altan.

The country and the nation mean little to him; he cares more about whether he can stay alive.

Otherwise, he would not have crossed the border to work for the Han people during bad years.

Bawang was now happily stroking his Ming Dynasty military winter coat - a fat coat, and from time to time he touched his cotton shoes and socks.

Because he had never worn them before, he was afraid they would get dirty.

After rubbing it for a long time, Bawang walked towards the new government office that the Ming court official had mentioned, and knelt down to pay great respect to the Ming court official and said:
"Master, I can speak Chinese."

The Ming court official nodded and asked, "Can you recognize Chinese characters?"

"I can recognize the Thousand Character Classic. My father taught me when I was still alive."

Bawang replied.

After hearing this, the Ming official ordered: "Directly appoint you as the general flag of the Green Camp, go to the left to receive the documents! Then, go and select five people who can only speak Chinese to be your small flags."

Bawang knelt down happily and kowtowed, "Thank you, Master!"

Bawang didn't expect that he could become the chief flag officer all of a sudden, which made him even less opposed to the upcoming journey south.

……

Royal study room.

Zhu Houcong was looking at the table of increased financial expenditure for the expedition to Annan presented by the Cabinet's General Department of Finance.

At the same time, Zhang Cong was also talking about this matter: "To raise an army, you need money. After planning the cost of sending troops to Annan, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Zhang Jing, said that 300,000 soldiers and 1.6 million silver coins were needed. After the Ministry of War discussed it, it was believed that an additional 500,000 soldiers and an additional cost of 5 million silver dollars were needed to pay the soldiers and purchase military supplies. After the cabinet discussed it, it was believed that the Ministry of War's proposal should be adopted. After all, the current strategy is to recruit barbarians to fight against the barbarians! The barbarians are indeed extremely poor, and many of them don't even have shoes. If we really want them to work for the Ming Dynasty, we will need to spend more money. After all, we can't really let them die in vain."

"It is impossible to fight a war without spending money. What the court is most afraid of now is not spending too much money, but having too much money to spend."

"Let the Ministry of Revenue supply and marketing shop purchase more cotton cloth from Jiangnan. This will also allow Jiangnan merchants who are willing to respond to the court's call, use new machines, and achieve small profits but quick turnover to make more money. Let the world know that as long as they are loyal to the court and respond to the court's call, they will seize the new opportunity to get rich."

After Zhu Houcong read the financial expenditure form, he handed it to Huang Jin and said, "Approve it."

"Yes!"

Zhu Houcong asked Zhang Cong again: "Has the chief official for the expedition to Annan been decided?"

"Most of them recommended that Deputy Chief Censor Mao Bowen be appointed as the governor of the expedition, and that Marquis of Xianning Qiu Luan be appointed as the admiral of the expeditionary army."

Xia Yan took over the conversation and replied.

Zhu Houcong said, "Since he is under strict discipline, it is not appropriate to appoint him. We should appoint Wu Tingju instead. There are officials in our dynasty who can serve as governors-general. Although Xinjian Bo is ill and not suitable to lead troops, there are still many former subordinates who can take charge."

"Your Majesty is right. I also intended to recommend Wu Tingju, but the Minister of Personnel said that he was ambitious and might not restrain himself during the expedition to Annan, so I did not recommend him."

Xia Yan replied with a smile.

After hearing this, Zhang Cong glanced at Xia Yan.

Zhu Houcong fell into deep thought, and then said: "I am not afraid that he will be ambitious and waste money to mobilize the people. I am afraid that he will repay evil with kindness, openly seeking the name of benevolence and righteousness, but in fact he will breed the enemy!"

"Mao Bowen was replaced by Wu Tingju."

"Replace the expedition general with Wuding Hou Guo Xun, and appoint Anyuan Hou Liu Xun as the deputy general. We will attack Annan by water. Fighting is no joke. Qiu Luan has not done anything, and has no experience in defending against the southwestern border. He is not suitable to be an expedition general. Anyuan Hou has at least led troops by land and sea to pacify the barbarians in Qiongzhou."

Xia Yan bowed and said yes.

Next, the imperial court asked the various departments in Jiangnan to purchase a large amount of military supplies, among which the purchase volume of cotton cloth increased to more than two million pieces.

As a result, weaving merchants like Mao Yisheng, who responded to the court's call and did not close their weaving workshops, but instead increased their investments in purchasing new machines, received large orders.

For a time, the profits of their weaving workshop skyrocketed, and in order to get more profits, they had to expand the scale of the workshop.

"Master, the Mao family bought our weaving workshop from the Yahang today! They also asked the Yahang to help them recruit 500 more weavers."

On the same day, Zhang Wen also learned from his housekeeper that Mao Yisheng had bought his weaving workshop, and was shocked: "Did Mao Yisheng really make a fortune?"

Zhang Wen went out as he spoke. Soon, he saw outside the Changmen Gate in Suzhou, a large number of ships flying the Mao family flag were returning with large amounts of cotton, and many migrant workers were queuing up to unload the goods for the Mao family.

"How many orders did the imperial court bring to these weaving mills that were still open, to the point that the Mao family alone had to buy three to five times more cotton from other places than before?"

As an old businessman who was very familiar with the textile industry, Zhang Wen guessed how big the Mao family's business was when he saw the number of ships, and he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for him not to be jealous and curious. "The latest news!"

"The Mao family of Xicheng donated 200,000 silver coins to the Suzhou Prefecture Orphanage and was awarded the seventh-rank Tongpan crown and belt!"

"The Cao family of Dongcheng donated 100,000 shi of grain to Changzhou County's Changping Warehouse, and was rewarded with a memorial archway for a Confucian merchant family and the grace of exempting two family members from military service!"

Just at this moment, Zhang Wen heard the newsboy who had originally appeared in the capital and now appeared in Jiangnan, came out with a newspaper and shouted as he ran.

"The Mao and Cao families are indeed virtuous and righteous merchants who run their businesses well. After the land survey, so many weaving and dyeing factories closed down, but they didn't. Instead, they expanded their business and continued to do good deeds!"

"Yes, I heard that the largest weaving workshop in the Changmen area is actually the Zhang family, which once produced a Tongzheng official. The current head of the family is the Tongzheng official's eldest son, Huiwen. Why haven't I heard that he continues to run the weaving workshop and continue to do charity work in Suzhou City?"

"Do I need to ask? It must be due to poor management, because the company collapsed completely after a land reclamation."

While the newsboys were shouting out the news, Zhang Wen also heard passers-by talking about these things, and some even mentioned him.

This made Zhang Wen's face suddenly turn ugly.

"Hurry up and find out how the imperial court helps them to sell at a low profit and high volume, and how it allows them to do charity so generously! It looks like they will become famous for their virtues!"

"Go!"

After Zhang Wen returned home, he gave instructions to his housekeeper, gritted his teeth anxiously, and said in his heart:
"Of course I don't want to see common people wearing cotton cloth produced by my Zhang family, but I also don't want to see the Mao family, the Cao family and other neighbors getting richer than us! If we let them keep getting richer, it will be the same as killing my Zhang family!"

……

……

"Your Majesty can change the generals at will, which is no different from asking for the lives of us court officials!"

After Zhai Luan learned that the general Qiu Luan who was in charge of the expedition against Annan was replaced by Liu Xun, he could not help but complain to Xia Yan.

And Zhai Luan was not wrong. After all, Qiu Luan was able to become the candidate for the main general in the court because Qiu Luan said that he would give a lot of money to the court officials, and this money would basically be made up from Annan’s military expenses.

But now, Qiu Luan could not become the candidate for the main general, and the financial resources of many court officials were cut off.

Corruption remains a scourge that is difficult to eradicate for many senior officials of the Ming Dynasty.

Especially when the second assistant Xia Yan was also taking the lead in corruption to maintain his luxurious life.

"That's good. Blocking someone's financial path is like killing their parents. Now people like Zhang Fujing have caused Your Majesty to block many people's financial paths. This will make everyone hate him even more."

Xia Yan smiled and spoke.

Zhai Luan said thoughtfully at this time: "It seems that your majesty really wants to destroy Annan and make an unprecedented contribution, so he still did not regard this expedition to Annan as an opportunity for the officials to make a fortune, but really let Wu Tingju, Guo Xun, Liu Xun and others who love to make contributions the most lead the troops."

"Your Majesty must be eyeing the good farmland along the coast of Annan and wants to relocate the princes and nobles there."

"Because Your Majesty has never only cared about making the Ming Dynasty stronger, but also about making the entire Han Dynasty more prosperous, restoring the glory of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and even surpassing them. This is his ambition."

"You naturally don't know since you're not in the Imperial Study. If you were in the Imperial Study, you would know that His Majesty has great ambitions because you see His Majesty staring at the Kunyu Map every day."

Xia Yan said at this time.

After hearing this, Zhai Luan nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. Otherwise, Your Majesty would not have revitalized the military households! And he would have made use of the Tartars and stopped using barbarians to rule barbarians."

……

……

"Do you know why I want you to be the chief general in the expedition against Annan?"

Zhu Houcong summoned Guo Xun here.

Guo Xun knelt before Zhu Houcong and answered piously: "It is because your majesty trusts me that I do not have any real private party!"

"That's right. Your position among the military officials is the same as Yuan Fu's position among the civil officials. Therefore, I am willing to let you advance to the position of Duke, or even rule a place for generations like the Duke of Qian."

"It is certainly difficult to completely change Annan into a state of aboriginal rule for the time being, but we need to combine the aboriginal rule with the aboriginal rule. Moreover, I will also open voyages to Malacca and the so-called Mughal India in the future. Therefore, the coastal areas south of Annan must be guarded by reliable people for generations, so that it will be convenient to deal with them when the time comes, and it will be beneficial for the court to settle down and settle the people. The court far away in the capital does not need to decide whether to send troops after knowing the local situation."

Zhu Houcong looked at the map on the wall in front of him and talked a lot of nonsense.

Guo Xun became more and more excited the more he listened.

He couldn't even believe the Holy Word he heard with his ears!

In the future, his Guo family might be able to guard a place for generations just like the Mu family of Duke Qian!
For Guo Xun, if his Guo family could guard a border area for generations like the Mu family, it would naturally mean that he could always hold real power in a place.

What's more, what Guo Xun has always wanted is to be promoted to Duke.

Now, Emperor Jiajing not only allowed him to advance to the rank of Duke, but also said that he could be stationed in a border area in the future. For Guo Xun, this was naturally a pleasant surprise.

Seeing that Guo Xun was very intoxicated by the big cake he had painted for him, Zhu Houcong smiled secretly and said: "But if you fail to conquer Annan for me and suffer a defeat, I will also learn from Zhuge Liang and execute Ma Su with tears!"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will do my best to help our country conquer Annan. If I fail, I am willing to be killed!"

Guo Xun immediately kowtowed to express his stance.

After hearing this, Zhu Houcong waved his hand and asked Guo Xun to retreat.

He believed that Guo Xun would not act recklessly in the face of such a big pie by embezzling military pay or even killing innocent people to claim credit, causing the army to go on a long expedition but gain nothing.

After all, if he conquered Annan, he would have to guard the southern part of Annan for generations.

What's more, Guo Xun is now a lone minister. Except for officials such as Zhang Cong who advocated rituals, most of the bureaucrats in the world who stand on the side of the gentry and wealthy families hate him to the core.

Therefore, Guo Xun was afraid and did not dare to do anything to let down the emperor.

Of course, this is also the reason why Zhu Houcong only chose Guo Xun to lead the troops from among all the military honors.

After all, other military heroes may only want to make money. Even if they want to establish military merits, they will collude with the gentry and wealthy families in the world.

"Your Majesty, an urgent message came from Xuanda. Altan Khan invaded Xuanda and plundered the camp. He claimed to have 100,000 soldiers. He crossed the border and came to Beijing. He has already reached Changping. Governor-General Tang Long has ordered Qiu Luan to lead his troops to come to the king's defense!"

On the day after Zhu Houcong met Guo Xun, Xia Yan reported to the emperor the news that Altan Khan's army had entered the capital.

Zhu Houcong was quite shocked after hearing this, and then frowned and asked:

"Are the Nine Frontiers just for show? Why did Altan come to the capital so easily?"

"It must be that some border officials are using the bandits to stir up trouble, and they are clearly dissatisfied with the replacement of the court."

Xia Yan replied.

Huang Jin walked in quickly at this time: "Your Majesty, the Datong Jinyiwei sent a secret report that Datong General Li Tong was pushed as the leader by his subordinates and followed Altan's army to force Your Majesty to issue an edict of guilt!" (End of this chapter)