The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 82: The Border Army Generals Are Changed

Zhang Siwei wanted to trigger the Haobai Rebellion in advance to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

This is not a joke.

Once the main force of the Beijing Camp and the elite border troops of Jizhou Town are transferred away, the military strength in the north of the capital will be weakened, and the defense line of Jizhou Town may really be lost.

Historically, the defense line of Jizhou Town was lost during the Ji Si Incident in the second year of Chongzhen's reign.

At that time, there was also a rebellion by the border troops, but the rebels were from the Liaodong border troops.

In the first year of Chongzhen's reign, the Ningyuan Rebellion broke out. Yuan Chonghuan led his troops to Ji and Liao to suppress the rebellion and reorganize the Guanningjin defense line.

At that time, the Ming Dynasty's focus was on the Guanningjin Defense Line, and Jizhou Town was short of troops and had weak defenses.

In the second year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji led his army to capture Jizhou Town and besiege the capital.

Yuan Chonghuan quickly led the Liaodong border troops back to provide support and fought fiercely with the Later Jin army outside Deshengmen and Guangqumen.

Huang Taiji saw that the Liaodong border troops were brave, so he pretended to withdraw his troops and used a strategy of sowing discord.

Chongzhen imprisoned Yuan Chonghuan and had him executed by slow slicing.

The Liaodong border army was thrown into chaos and General Man Gui was killed in battle.

It is really hard to understand why Chongzhen executed Yuan Chonghuan by slow slicing.

In fact, Chongzhen suspected that Huang Taiji's capture of Jizhou Town was the work of the three major powerful families of Puzhou.

Because the chief minister of the cabinet at that time was Zhang Siwei's son-in-law Han Yu, and the minister of war was Shen Shixing's son Shen Yongmao.

It can be said that Chongzhen at that time was the same as Wanli today. He was disobedient, wanted to take back the imperial power, and killed all the civil officials he caught.

Chongzhen guessed correctly that the Ji Si Incident was most likely caused by the eight imperial merchants under the three major families of Puzhou, who assisted Huang Taiji in turning the defense line of Jizhou Town into a sieve.

As to whether Yuan Chonghuan was wronged, it is hard to say. Although he was classified as a member of the Donglin faction, he was not a real Donglin. He may have died because of his disobedience.

The lessons of history are there. If the emperor is disobedient, the northern barbarians will really attack the capital. This is no joke.

When Wanli heard that Zhang Siwei sent his disciple Dang Xin to inspect Ningxia in an attempt to trigger the Haobai Rebellion in advance, he couldn't help but frown.

Could this rebellion have been avoided?
He frowned and pondered for a long time, then said decisively: "Uncle, draft an imperial decree to dismiss Ningxia Inspector Dang Xin from his post and bring him back to the capital for trial."

Regardless of whether this rebellion can be avoided, Dang Xin must be arrested and tortured.

Dang Xin must know a lot of things. This guy can be said to be the key figure in his plan to deal with the three major families in Puzhou. Once he pries open this guy's mouth, he can start a killing spree.

However, before that, he had to find a way to control the seven border towns west of the capital.

Otherwise, if he caught the three major powerful families in Puzhou and started a massacre, he would be like Chongzhen, seeking death.

Once the three major families in Puzhou mobilize all their forces to fight him, the seven border towns will become sieves, and Tumen Khan and the Tumed army will definitely rush into the interior. By then, his Wanli Dynasty will be even more chaotic than the Chongzhen Dynasty in history.

This is no joke. During the Chongzhen period, the young emperor also wanted to regain imperial power. As a result, the world soon fell into chaos.

Not to mention that Huang Taiji invaded the capital almost every year since the second year of Chongzhen, let’s just talk about the time when Li Zicheng finally broke into the capital and forced Chongzhen to hang himself.

Li Zicheng attacked the capital all the way from Shaanxi. However, when he passed through Shanxi, the border troops of the three major border towns in Shanxi seemed to have disappeared. Only Zhou Yuji, who was born in the Beijing Camp, led several thousand troops to carry out crazy sniping in the small town of Xinzhou and Ningwu Pass.

Zhou Yuji was able to hold off Li Zicheng's army of hundreds of thousands for seven days with only a few thousand men, which proved that Li Zicheng's army was not unstoppable.

Even if each of the three major border towns in Shanxi only sent out 10,000 troops, it is still uncertain whether Li Zicheng could reach the capital.

As a result, after Li Zicheng broke through Ningwu Pass, he did not encounter any sniper attacks from border troops.

This was not a big deal. After he took the capital and Chongzhen committed suicide, the Qing army came to attack.

The hundreds of thousands of troops under his command were surprisingly vulnerable and were inexplicably defeated in the Battle of Shanhaiguan.

What happened next was even stranger. Li Zicheng actually abandoned the capital city with its high walls and deep moats and ran away!

He traveled thousands of miles just to capture the capital and hand it over to the Qing army!
There were so many inexplicable things about this battle, it was almost like a play.

As for who was acting, no one could figure it out at the time.

Later, Shunzhi entered the Pass and hosted a banquet in the palace for the eight imperial merchants. He granted them citizenship and high-ranking officials. Only then did everyone suddenly realize what was going on.

This inexplicable battle was fought so beautifully. The capital of Ming Dynasty was given to them for free by the eight imperial merchants!

The three great families of Puzhou today are much stronger than the eight imperial merchants who were hiding their heads and tails at that time.

If he starts to deal with the three major families in Puzhou before he takes control of the seven major border towns in the northwest, it would be strange if the world is not in chaos.

Wanli thought about it carefully and asked again: "General Ma, if I send you to replace Zhang Weizhong, can you control the entire Ningxia Town?"

This!
Ma Gui frowned and pondered for a long time, and finally shook his head with shame on his face and said, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Ningxia Town is full of intertwined forces, and most of the border troops have become private soldiers of various forces.

The key is that I don't have any trusted confidants who can control even a little bit of military power there. Even if I become the general of Ningxia Town, I don't think anyone will listen to me. "Alas, it seems that it is not possible to solve the problems of Ningxia Town simply.

If it were really that simple, then in history, a single imperial decree would have been enough to put down the Haobai Rebellion, and there would have been no need to mobilize troops everywhere.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then suddenly realized: "You mean you have trusted people who control the military power in other places."

This one.

Ma Gui was stunned for a moment, but he still nodded and said, "Your Majesty, I am from the Datong Right Guard, and I have some connections in Datong Town."

Datong Town?
If he ordered Jia Yingyuan to cooperate fully, and with the help of Ma Gui's connections, it would be possible for him to completely control Datong Town.

The problem is that there is a Xuanfu Town between Datong Town and the capital.

If something goes wrong in Xuanfu Town, Jingji and Datong Town will be divided into two parts, and Ma Gui's family may even lose their lives in vain.

On the contrary, if the two towns of Xuan and Da can be completely controlled, there will be an extra barrier to the west of the capital.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "General Ma, it seems your father retired as the deputy commander of Xuanfu Town. Do you have any connections in Xuanfu Town?"

Xuanfu Town?
You don't need to look for me.

Ma Gui carefully reminded him, "Your Majesty, Jizhou Town General Dong Yiyuan was born in Xuanfu Vanguard. The Dong family has some connections in Xuanfu Town."

Dong Yiyuan?
Wanli said bluntly, "Dong Yiyuan is currently helping me control the Jizhou border troops. If he is transferred to Xuanfu Town, who will be able to take charge of the Jizhou border troops?"

To be honest, he really couldn't think of anyone else who could command the Jizhou border troops except Qi Jiguang.

The problem is that Qi Jiguang is now in control of the Beijing Camp, which is more important to him than the nine border towns.

Ma Gui carefully explained, "Your Majesty, that's not what I meant. I was talking about Dong Yiyuan's brother, Dong Yikui.

Dong Yiyuan was brought up by Dong Yikui. During the Longqing reign, Dong Yikui had accumulated military merits and was promoted to deputy general. However, after he became famous, he was transferred to the Shaanxi Xingdusi as a deputy commander.

It turns out that Dong Yiyuan’s brother is even more powerful than Dong Yiyuan!

Dong Yiyuan never mentioned this to him, which proved that Dong Yiyuan did not take advantage of his favor to become arrogant and take the opportunity to promote his relatives.

The Dong brothers are really good. They can be put in charge of the border troops of the two towns.

Wanli pondered it carefully for a while, then said decisively: "General Ma, you should have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, you will secretly return to Datong Town with the secret guards under the command of Luo Sigong, the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei. Contact your trusted confidants who control the military power, and then give their names to the secret guards to send to the capital.

I have to have Dong Yiyuan secretly return to Xuanfu Town to make some arrangements, and at the same time transfer Dong Yikui to the capital. You should prepare first. Once Dong Yikui arrives in the capital, I will promote you to the commander-in-chief of Datong Town."

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui quickly stood up, bowed, and said, "I obey your command."

Within a few days, Wanli began to randomly replace border army generals.

He first issued an order to randomly replace the generals of Xuanfu Town, Datong Town, Pianguan Town, Yansui Town, Guyuan Town, Ningxia Town and Gansu Town, and then suddenly dismissed two older ones.

Immediately afterwards, he promoted Sheng Ma Gui to be the general of Datong Town.

Afterwards, he promoted Dong Yikui to be the general of Xuanfu Town.

His flurry of punches stunned the Minister of Personnel Wu Dui.

Zhang Siwei was also caught off guard by him.

Ma Gui and Dong Yikui are not from the three major families in Puzhou, so naturally these two guys cannot be allowed to control the military power of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town.

As a result, the border army generals of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town began to pretend to obey but actually disobey.

Wanli had naturally thought of this a long time ago.

He directly issued an order to replace the deputy generals, lieutenant generals, guerrilla generals, etc. of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town with Ma Gui and Dong Yikui's confidants.

This was not the end. Next, he asked Ma Gui and Dong Yikui to count the military merit rewards of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town since the Jiajing Dynasty. He would issue them to all the border soldiers who had not received them!
He invested more than one million taels in one go, and the border soldiers of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town were ecstatic and their morale was high.

These border soldiers who went into battle to kill the enemy were not from the three major families of Puzhou. If they were, they would not have to go to the battlefield to fight the enemy.

Moreover, they fought hard but could not get any military rewards. This was enough to prove that they were not members of the three major families in Puzhou, but were the targets of oppression by the three major families in Puzhou.

They received the military merit rewards from Ma Gui and Dong Yikui, so they would naturally be grateful and loyal to Ma Gui and Dong Yikui.

Moreover, these soldiers who can kill the enemy and make meritorious service are the real elites in the border army. With their loyalty, Ma Gui and Dong Yikui will naturally be able to quickly control the military power of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town.

This is not over yet.

Immediately afterwards, Wanli issued another decree to posthumously commemorate the military achievements of Dong Yang, the former guerrilla general of Xuanfu Town, and posthumously conferred him the title of Earl of Loyalty and Bravery, and bestowed upon him a hereditary scroll; and to posthumously commemorate the military achievements of Ma Lu, the former deputy general of Xuanfu Town, and posthumously conferred him the title of Earl of Loyalty and Perseverance, and bestow

At this point, Dong Yikui, Dong Yiyuan, Ma Gui and Ma Jin were so grateful that they swore allegiance to him until death and became his loyal confidants.

(End of this chapter)