Chapter 13 Shock! Wu Sangui joins the New Army

  Yang realized he was indeed very busy, according to Wang Chengen's words, March was the time for the imperial examination. He still had to choose topics, preside over the imperial examination, select the top three winners, and so on.

  For the imperial examination of Chongzhen's first year, Yang Reform did not make any changes. After searching Baidu, I found some information that the "tribute scholars" selected in this imperial examination became very famous or influential people in the future, such as Shi Kefa was one of them. Therefore, Yang Reform did not change the course of this imperial examination and basically followed its own historical development. However, after the imperial examination came the palace examination, which gave Yang Reform a headache.

  The new army's preparations are almost complete, due to the distance of the roads, the speed at which people arrive in Beijing is naturally different, a batch has already arrived, Yang reform will not wait either, start training first, and those who come later will follow up.

  In addition, Yuan Chonghuan, whom he had long wanted to meet, would soon arrive in the capital. Yang Reform still had many things to discuss with Yuan Chonghuan, such as military and government affairs outside the pass, and many ideas were still unformed. He didn't know how to talk to Yuan Chonghuan either, for example, about the issue of Mao Wenshou.

  There's still the matter of raising funds, and almost nothing has been achieved yet. The auction of my calligraphy and painting collection has just started, and no money has been seen yet. The glass is only in the trial production stage, as for Wei's case, after all, there are too many people involved, it hasn't concluded yet, so there's still no income temporarily, but expenses are not small, suddenly paying military salaries cost 2 million taels, and then another 100,000 taels were spent on glass, and the custom-made grenades also require a constant flow of money.

  In the days to come, there will definitely be no shortage of battles, and battles cannot be fought without silver and food. Yang Reform suddenly remembered that the grain in Chongzhen's year was worth more than silver, but this silver had nowhere to go, and even the grain had not been settled yet. The grain at the end of the Ming Dynasty was reduced due to natural disasters. A considerable part of it is also in the hands of large landlords and merchants, and we need to find a way to get it out. In addition, new crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn should be obtained quickly.

  Thinking of this, Yang felt his head was extremely large and his forehead was splitting.

  Yang Reform suddenly found that there were not many reliable people around him to give himself an idea, make a plan and so on. Thinking of food, promoting new agricultural products, he also thought of Xu Guangqi. This famous person in the Ming Dynasty should also be the time for him to show his face.

  "Summon Xu Guangqi back to Beijing, and restore his original position." Yang's murmured soliloquy seemed to be deep in thought.

  "Your Majesty, who is Xu Guangqi?" Wang Chengen asked.

  "Zhan Shi Fu, Junior Zhan Shi and Concurrently River South Dao Surveillance Censor, what about that Xu Guangqi?" Yang Gaizhi said in a not-so-good tone. Yang Gaizhi found it strange that he had some memories of Xu Guangqi in his mind, which might be the deep impression left by the original Chongzhen, so he still had an impression now. As soon as he thought of him, he blurted out.

  "It was originally Xu Zixian, Master Xu. I understand." Wang Chengen replied. Benefiting from moving to Wei Zhongxian, many people were reinstated, and the reinstatement of Xu Guangqi was just following the trend, not a big deal.

  ……

  In the Wenhua Hall, Yang Reform and several assistant ministers were discussing state affairs.

  Yang Reform asked them how to make money. Several assistant ministers had a simple idea, increase taxes and levies. Yang Reform listened and immediately shot it down. He thought to himself, increasing taxes and levies would likely end up burdening the already impoverished common people, isn't this forcing people to rebel? Try collecting those bureaucratic taxes, see how much you can collect!

  No one can discuss a plan, Yang's reform is very depressing. This is the first year of Chongzhen, and it has just started, but the situation is already so dangerous, how can we live like this!

  Yang was fed up with the reform and ran to Little Loli Queen again, had a tryst, felt relieved, and his mind gradually calmed down.

  Yang Reform organized his thoughts and felt that the first thing to do was to quickly train troops, the second thing was to get silver, and the third thing was to arrange a retreat route. With these few things, he could at least struggle in this situation at the end of the Ming dynasty, as for other things, they would have to wait for now.

  With this idea, Yang Reform felt that his thinking was much clearer and his goals were also clearer. Don't worry about other things for now, just focus on training the new army first, with a gun in hand, one's backbone will be stronger.

  Thinking of this, I also thought of Sun Chengzong, and I don't know how he's doing.

  "Hey, how's Master Sun doing lately? Let's go take a look." Yang Gaizhi asked Wang Chengen.

  "Your Majesty, Master Sun has been training a new army recently. Are you going to take a look?"

  "Ah, go take a look," Yang Gaofeng replied, thinking to himself: Military power is the most important! Power comes from the barrel of a gun. If military affairs are not handled properly, how can you think about competing with those Ming dynasty scholars and officials, engaging in intrigue and one-upmanship, getting entangled in their petty squabbles? I must have been blind and foolish. In the end, I'll probably have to make a trip to Coal Mountain. Thinking of this, Yang Gaofeng felt a chill on his neck, and his body shuddered.

  Yang reform gave Sun Chengzong a training ground, located outside the southwest corner of the imperial city, knocked down several courtyards' walls, filled some earth, and made a playground. Together with several houses used as dormitories, they were surrounded by a wall, and another gate was built as an entrance and exit. Since there were only dozens of people, it seemed very spacious.

  Not yet into the yard, I heard the shouting voices inside: Turn left! Turn right ~ March in step, these familiar commands that Yang Gaizhi had long been accustomed to hearing, came from this yard, and Yang Gaizhi felt as if he had returned to his student days of military training. Those were indeed the proud and vigorous years of youth, what a wonderful time to reminisce about!

  Sun Chengzong didn't think much of the emperor's military manual, but he also couldn't just discard it entirely. He picked out some useful parts to practice with and supplemented the insufficient areas with "Ji Xiao Xin Shu" and "Lian Bing Shi Ji".

  Just as I was about to push open the door and enter, I suddenly found myself going in and not knowing how to face these young guys! Should I give a generous and passionate speech? Or should I put on a vivid "performance show"? Or should I just watch as people kowtow to me all over the floor?

  Yang's reform is still going on, no matter what, this new army must be trained and must be trained well. If it takes money, give money; if it takes people, give people; if it takes something, give something. Isn't it all for the sake of not being defeated by Wild Boar Skin next year? Isn't it all for the sake of living a few more years? Is this also wrong?

  "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live!" The ground was indeed filled with people kneeling. They were all young people in their teens and twenties, which is exactly what Yang's reform called "the world's abandoned people". Excluding the elderly and the young, the range includes deputy thousand households, even hundred households, to commanders, and sons of generals, everything is included.

  Yang asked Sun Chengzong first: "Master Sun, are you well?"

  "I wish Your Majesty great fortune, I am still well." Sun Chengzong replied to Yang Reform.

  The people underground also heard about it and were all envious of Sun Chengzong's trust in the emperor, secretly thinking that they should be Sun Chengzong.

  "Alright, everyone, take your seats."

  "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty." Everyone who had been kowtowing got up.

  "Are you getting used to living here?" Yang Gaizhang asked with a smile to a little boy who looked about 13 or 14 years old. His voice was warm and gentle, like the winter sun shining brightly, warming people's hearts. Although Yang Gaizhang didn't know how to be an emperor, he had watched the 7 o'clock news broadcast for over ten years, so he had at least a decade of experience in being close to the people.

  The little boy who was asked burst into tears and sobbed: "It's okay, Your Majesty, I'm getting used to it, just a bit tired."

  "Hehe, it's okay to be tired now. Master Sun being strict with you is for your own good. Remember, 'more sweat in peacetime, less blood in wartime'. Being strict with you now will save your life on the battlefield one day, understand?" Yang smiled warmly and patted Little Mao's head.

  "'Sweat more in peacetime, bleed less in wartime.' Your Majesty's words are truly golden! I will definitely remember them in my heart." Sun Chengzong may not like flattering people, but he genuinely admired these two sentences.

  "Hehe......" Yang Reform had some words to say about Sun Chengzong's flattery.

  He turned his head and asked the little kid: "What's your name?"

  "Your Majesty, it's me, Little Thunder, also known as Lei Dayong."

  "Hmm, Lei Da is useful? Alright, you must train well, do you know that? In the future, become a great general for me. Protect our Great Ming Dynasty, do you know?" Yang Reform instructed patiently.

  "Yes! Your Majesty, I, Lei Dazhong, will definitely become a great general for you in the future and defend the Great Ming Dynasty." This little kid named Lei Dazhong replied solemnly to Yang Ren. Hmm, now a seed has been planted, but who knows if it will grow into a towering tree in the future? Yang Ren thought to himself.

  "Em... go for it, work hard, I have high hopes for you all." Yang's words of encouragement motivated the reform efforts.

  "Hmm..." got a firm response. The little kid called Leida's use was already excited and forgot himself.

  Yang reform spared this little kid's young heart to continue sowing the seeds of "loyalty", and instead prepared to sow seeds for another "kid".

  "Haha ~ tall and handsome, so cool! Young man, with such good looks, what's your name?" Yang Gaizhi asked another youth who looked like he was fifteen or sixteen.

  "Your Majesty, I am Wu Sangui..." The young man's words were like a thunderclap to Yang Reform, leaving him shocked and stunned! He was truly and utterly shocked!

  Yang's reform was like a movie that had been paused, with the action stiffly suspended in mid-air. The action was very strange. Outsiders didn't know why, but at this moment, Yang's heart had already turned upside down.

  Wu Sangui! The number one traitor of the Ming Dynasty, the number one running dog of the Qing Dynasty, a Han traitor who has been cursed throughout history! He appeared right in front of his own eyes, and to make matters worse, he was just a young boy. What's even more ridiculous is that he was actually a member of his new army. Yang couldn't help but marvel at the wonders of the world.

  Half a response, Yang Reform suddenly realized he was out of place. Hurriedly coughing to cover up his embarrassment, he asked: "Huh, Wu Sangui? Is that Wu Xiang's son?" As for the Wu Sangui family, what Yang Reform remembered first was his young wife Chen Yuanyuan, and then his father Wu Xiang, because Li Zicheng killed Wu Sangui's father and took his concubine Chen Yuanyuan, which led to his anger and rebellion for the sake of beauty. His father was also a famous historical figure.

  "Returning to Your Majesty, the father of my humble family is Wu Xiang, the garrison commander of Jinzhou." Wu Sangui was indeed very confident, not showing any shame or excitement. His answer was also very proper.

  "It's exactly the gate of Hu Zi Ah! Hehe, do a good job, my left and right hands will be among you in the future. The heavy responsibility of guarding and protecting the Great Ming Dynasty will also be yours to bear, and you will also be recorded in history." Yang Reform didn't know what words to use to motivate this terminator of the Great Ming Dynasty. Terminator! He still needs to be motivated to do a good job now, this world is really wonderful. Can only use a sentence "you will be recorded in history" to muddle through, as for whether it's right or wrong, decent or not, Yang Reform can't afford to care about that much.

  "Yes, Your Majesty, I, Wu Sangui, will definitely take it as my duty to protect you and shed the last drop of blood for the protection of the Great Ming Dynasty. In the future, I will become a famous general in history." Wu Sangui said with great enthusiasm, not knowing that the Emperor had once thought of taking his and his father's lives.

  Yang Reform thought that killing Wu Sangui now would be meaningless, and even if he did, there would still be others like Li Sangui and Zhang Sangui in the future. It seemed that the brainwashing education of the new army had to start immediately, and the political commissar was indispensable! How could this be done? Yang Reform sighed inwardly, feeling that this was very different from the real world. Others could easily appoint a political commissar and their troops would become powerful, but what about him? Who should be the political commissar? Would having a political commissar prevent the army from becoming weak like a wild boar's skin?

  What happened next was unclear even to Yang himself, and it had a somewhat muddled meaning.

  ……

  Yang's reform-minded thoughts weighed heavily as he walked out of the new military training institute. He didn't know whether to take measures against Wu Sangui and his son or maintain an attitude of educating and cultivating Wu Sangui, teaching him to become a great general for the Ming Dynasty, expanding its territory. Torn between gain and loss, he had thoughts of challenging history while fearing that history was too powerful.

  Why did Wu Sangui rebel? To put it bluntly, it was because there was no military pay and no food. If there had been military pay and food, how many armies would not have said they could defeat anyone, defending Beijing would not have been a big problem, think about how high the city wall of Beijing is, how difficult it is to attack? As long as Beijing did not fall, with silver to give to the soldiers, Wu Sangui would not listen to the emperor's words. Would he be willing to be a slave for several decades, having deep blood feuds with people of different ethnicities?

  How did this happen without military pay? It's still the fault of the Ming dynasty's elite scholars! They are selfish to the point of dismantling walls and selling bricks, unaware that when the wind and rain come, their houses will collapse. They are indeed blinded by greed. A typical case of wanting money but not life. Of course, this also has something to do with the emperor not having effective measures.