The Duzhang Barbarians hoarded food in Lingxiao City and claimed the mountain as their base for harassment and pillaging.
Xuzhou was located at the throat of Yun, Gui, and Chuan provinces, and was strategically located. Every time the Duzhang Barbarians stirred up trouble, the three provinces would be shaken, and the stability of the southwestern border of the Daming dynasty was seriously jeopardized.
During the reign of Emperor Cheng, the Duzhang Barbarians attacked Gao, Yi, Yun, Lian, and Qing Fu counties. By the middle of the Ming dynasty, the annexation of land in Sichuan was flourishing, and some farmers who lost their farmland became refugees. These people also joined the Duzhang Barbarians and caused trouble together with them.
At that time, there were mainly three types of Han refugees who joined the Du Zhan Barbarian troops: the first were escaped military criminals and some refugees who had fled to the stockade in the early years, the second were the bandits of Sichuan, and the third were Han people who had committed serious crimes and were on the run.
The addition of these Han people caused the Duzhang Barbarians to become more arrogant, and their armies became more cunning. Therefore, 'reforming the land and returning to the stream' became the most important thing for the Ming dynasty to stabilize the local situation.
During the reign of Emperor Cheng, there was a large-scale encirclement and suppression. At that time, the Duzhang Barbarians went to Guizhou to pretend to surrender. The commander of Guizhou, Ding Shi, did not know that it was a trap and went out to welcome them. In the end, 'Barbarians ambushed everywhere, and more than five thousand soldiers were killed.
In the eleventh month, the Duzhang Barbarians schemed to lure Wang Hao to Changning at night. In the end, 'the soldiers went astray at night, and the men and horses fell into the valley, and the dead could not be remembered'.
Not long after, the Duzhang Barbarians marched along the south bank of the river, and once again captured Jiang An, Naxi, and Hejiang counties. The officials and people of these counties moved to the north bank, and even Wang Hao's official ships did not dare to stop at the south bank.
The court sent out two hundred thousand troops to encircle and suppress the Duzhang Barbarians, but in the end, they returned without success, and the court lost a lot of face.
Zhu Yijun flipped through the information on the Duzhang Barbarians. At this time, he could connect it to his memory. The Duzhang Barbarians caused trouble from the reign of Emperor Cheng until his ascension to the throne.
However, Zhu Yijun knew that in the Daming dynasty, Yungui and Guizhou were not completely pacified.
When he ascended to the throne, the Barbarian Duzhang Barbarian became rowdy again. The Xuzhou's Barbarian Duzhang Barbarian Chieftain would always wear an official's robe and ride four carriages, imitating the Ming Dynasty's high-ranking officials.
Chieftain Ah Gou and his adopted son, Ah Mo 'er, were entrenched in High Firmament City. "Good at carrying a large palanquin, wearing a yellow umbrella and a python's robe.
This meant that they were going to establish a country and become a king. This was something that could not be tolerated. At that time, Zhang Juzheng had just become the Grand Secretary, and it was his job to pacify the barbarians.
Zhang Juzheng also wanted to use the Daming City Barbarian City to establish his might. He wanted to get rid of the Barbarian City Barbarian City Barbarian City in one fell swoop.
Zhang Juzheng had chosen Liu Xian as the general to lead the charge against the Barbarian Governor. The 140,000 soldiers were to lead the charge.
Indeed, Liu Xian did not disappoint. Under Liu Xian's command, the Ming Army advanced triumphantly. Lingxiao City and the capital city quickly changed hands.
Having lost these two dangers, the Barbarians had no choice but to retreat to Nine Threads City.
The Ming Army immediately split into five groups and rushed towards Nine Threads City. They attacked day and night, but the Barbarians resisted with their lives. "Riding on the city walls, turning stones, shooting arrows, striking like lightning." The Ming Army suffered heavy casualties, but for the time being, they were at their wits' end.
The ninth day of the ninth month was the Barbarians' "God of Competition Day". On this day, it rained heavily and the mountain roads were slippery. The Barbarians fought fiercely. They thought that the Ming Army would never attack, so they slaughtered cows on Nine Threads Mountain to celebrate and drank to their heart's content.
Unexpectedly, the Ming Army took advantage of the night to climb rocks and kill their way into Nine Threads City. They set fire everywhere, and the sound of killing shook the heavens. The Barbarians woke up from their sleep with a start. Seeing the Ming Army descending from the sky, they surrendered without a fight. In the chaos, more than 10,000 people were burned to death or fell off the cliff. The chieftain Ah Da, Ah Er, and Fang San were all captured and killed by the Ming Army.
The Ming Army seized 93 bronze drums and captured and killed 4,615 people. As spoils of war, the drums were transported to the capital's treasury in large quantities. These important weapons that accompanied the Barbarians in battles and sacrifices eventually changed owners with the demise of the Barbarians.
Zhu Yijun remembered that he had seen those drums. At that time, Zhang Juzheng used them to boast about himself.
It turned out that this Liu Xianping was appointed as the Barbarian. Zhu Yijun heaved a sigh of relief. He stretched out his hand and knocked on the table. He felt that this person was suitable to train the capital.
Firstly, he had always been in the southeast and had no connections in the capital. His identity could be considered to be clean. With him in charge, there would be less interference.
Secondly, this Liu Xian had indeed made outstanding achievements and was very powerful.
Whether it was fighting against the pirates or destroying the Barbarians, these proved his strength.
Thirdly, Zhu Yijun also wanted this old general to enjoy a good life and retire in the capital. After all, looking at Liu Xian's resume, he was born in the tenth year of Zhengde. He was the same age as Wang Chonggu, sixty-three years old. Zhu Yijun could not bear to see such an old general languishing in Yungui.
Especially when there was a resignation letter attached at the end of his resume. Liu Xian also wanted to retire at home, but it was because of his health problems.
Liu Xian was a general and had been fighting for the past few years. His health was definitely worse than Wang Chonggu's. If he were to languish in Yungui, it was estimated that he would only have a few years left.
Zhu Yijun felt that such a person should be put to good use. It was the best choice to get him to the capital to train the soldiers.
War and whatnot should be left to the younger generation. Daming did not lack famous generals at this time.
In the future, if he wanted to set up a military office or something like that, he would need these old generals.
After choosing the generals to train the three battalions, there was still one more candidate and key, and that was the governor of the three battalions.
Originally, Daming's army belonged to the Viceroy of the Five Armies. The Viceroy of the Five Armies were all generals and Honours.
As time went by, he lost his power. Now, the governors were all civil officials, and the generals could only be the commander-in-chief. The difference in status was not small.
From the perspective of fighting for power, the generals were no match for the civil officials. If the civil and military were not separated, and the civil officials ruled over the military, there would be problems sooner or later.
However, Zhu Yijun did not have the strength to challenge the rules of officialdom at the moment. He still had to choose a civil official.
According to the rules, this position should be the Deputy Imperial Censor of the Imperial Censorate. At the same time, it would be best if it was the Assistant Minister of War.
He had to choose a Minister of War, a civil official to govern the three battalions, and also promote Liu Xian. Zhu Yijun hammered on the report. It seemed that he should hold a court election.
Speaking of which, he had been the Emperor for so long, but he had never held a court election.
Thinking of this, this idea took root in Zhu Yijun's mind.
Glancing at Zhang Jing, Zhu Yijun said, "Send an edict to the cabinet. I approve the memorial from the Minister of War, Wang Chonggu. You, Wang, have worked hard and performed well. You will be retired as the Minister of War. At the same time, you will be added as a Baihu of the Imperial Bodyguard."
Retiring as the Minister of War meant that Wang Chonggu's position and treatment would be preserved. It was just like how a retired official in the future would enjoy the treatment of a minister.
"Let the cabinet and the six ministries come up with a list of names to recommend the Minister of War. When the time comes, we will hold a court election," Zhu Yijun added.