The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 570: A General Who Faces Death

Wanli pretended to bring the military candidates to hold the joint examination and the palace examination.

He had been running here for quite some time, but he hadn't mentioned a single word about the military examination and the palace examination.

Qi Jiguang had long been designated as the chief examiner of the military examination, but the problem was that he still didn't know where the military examination and the palace examination would be held.

Seeing that Wanli and Northern Prince Zhu Changxu had almost finished their conversation, he carefully asked, "Your Majesty, should we set up the arena for the martial arts examination? Where do you think it should be set up?"

We won’t build a stage this time.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "I thought about it carefully when I came here. Building an arena is too troublesome, so we won't build one this time.

Their written tests and competitions were held on the navy centipede ship, which also allowed them to become familiar with naval warfare.

Just order someone to clear out a large training ground in this city to test other projects."

Oh, so there’s no need to build a ring.

This saves a lot of trouble.

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise. I understand."

There is also the palace examination, and you will be the one to preside over it.

Wanli explained in detail: "Yuan Jing, I have also considered the issue of the palace examination.

If just testing their military tactics doesn't reveal anything, I think that to select real generals, they must go to the battlefield and experience the test of life and death.

The problem is that we are now in the process of purging corrupt officials, and we will also hold the special examinations of the civil service examinations and the palace examinations next year. It is really not appropriate to mobilize a large army and start a war rashly.

However, it is okay to let them go and spy on the situation of the Jiannu first. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. Now we know nothing about the situation in Yongle Mountain, so this is definitely not an option.

I want the thousand military candidates who passed the imperial examination to each bring ten elite Sichuan soldiers to Yongle Mountain next year to spy on the situation of the Jiannu, and destroy some of the stone forts built by the Jiannu.

This way, the Sichuan Army soldiers accompanying them can record their military merits, and they can also obtain some military merit heads. We can evaluate the palace examination rankings based on their military merits. Do you think this is feasible?"

Isn't this too dangerous?
Qi Jiguang thought about it carefully after hearing this, and then said carefully: "Your Majesty, I feel that if we let them spread out like scouts to spy, there will be a high probability of heavy casualties.

At this moment, we really know nothing about the situation in Yongle Mountain. I have thought about sending people in to spy, but I don’t want to send elite scouts into the mountains to die.

The Jiannu still had about 30,000 troops. Even the most powerful scouts would be surrounded and killed by them if they went in. Moreover, they were extremely cunning. Even if the scouts were scattered and sent in to spy, they might not be able to find their main force. Even if they found it, they might not be able to come back.

After much deliberation, I still think it would be better to send more troops in to investigate.

Anyway, the main force of the Jiannu army is hiding and it is impossible for them to stay in one place and wait for us to encircle and suppress them. It would be of no use even if we found them.

We might as well settle for the second best and send someone in to investigate the terrain inside and prepare for the army's attack.

If we only want to explore the terrain, we can easily gather troops with roughly the same strength as the main force of the Jiannu or even slightly stronger than their main force to go in and explore.

Your Majesty, what do you think?"

A hard investigation with great fanfare?

also.

Upon hearing this, Wanli nodded slowly and said, "Well, the reason I sent them in to gather information was just to let them experience the feeling of life and death, not to cause them to suffer heavy casualties.

What you said makes sense. The Jiannu are so cunning. It is completely meaningless for us to send people into the mountains to spy on the location of their main force. When the war really breaks out, they will just hide everywhere.

We might as well send a large group of troops into the mountains to explore the terrain inside and destroy some of their stone forts.

How about this, we will let Liang Yu, Qian Cheng, and Yang Yinglong brothers lead 50,000 musketeers of the Sichuan Army to take them into the mountains and spy on them one area at a time.

We will send them another thousand naval warships to help them transport troops, food, and supplies, and provide support at the same time.

All of this is up to you to arrange. Remember, don't let them go too deep. If things really don't work out, just retreat. The navy warships can take them everywhere to spy, so there's no need for them to force their way into one spot."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand." The next morning, at about noon, when the sun began to rise, the military examination began.

This martial arts examination was really unique. Thousands of candidates were actually tested on military strategies on a navy warship.

Qi Jiguang's arrangements were also quite clever.

He arranged the invigilation stands on the city gate tower on the south side of Beiwang City, and the examination room was divided into two parts, one was the port terminal outside the city gate tower, and the other was the camp inside the city gate tower.

There was really nothing interesting to see on the first day of the military examination. All the candidates were sitting on the boat doing their homework and didn't move at all.

Little Zhu Changxun was quite curious at first. He sat in Wanli's arms and scanned through the telescope for a while, then he felt a little bored.

He couldn't help but ask, "Father, there seems to be no difference between the martial arts exam and the civil exam. How long do they sit there answering questions? When will the competition begin?"

Do you think a general just needs to rush forward and fight with others?
Wanli smiled slightly, then patiently taught: "The military examination selects generals who lead troops in battle.

It's not enough for them to just be able to fight, they also have to be familiar with military tactics, strategies, and even weapons and equipment, baggage supplies, etc.

That’s what they’re testing on on the first day, and they’re going to have to sit there and take the test all day.”

what?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but say in disappointment, "Father, are we going to sit here and watch all day too?"

You can't sit still, can you?

Wanli simply said: "Uncle, carry him to the north to see how the training ground is arranged."

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancheng hurriedly picked up little Zhu Changxun and walked towards the north of the city.

While the military strategy test was being conducted outside, the examination room was also being prepared intensively inside.

The speed of the soldiers of the Beijing camp was so fast that with the waving of flags, the tents disappeared in groups.

Immediately afterwards, the war horses and chariots dispersed to both sides like flowing water, and an open space with a radius of four or five miles soon appeared under the city gate tower.

Afterwards, the stone locks, targets and other items that had been prepared long ago were moved to the open space and arranged neatly.

Immediately afterwards, the chariots of the Shenshu Camp formed a circle on the periphery for horse racing.

It was the first time for young Zhu Changxun to see tens of thousands of troops marching in formation following command flags. The scene was truly spectacular and he was extremely excited watching it.

The second day of the military examination is more interesting, because the tests on that day include lifting stone locks, horse riding, archery, carrying heavy loads and other items.

The grand parade ground was filled with roars of joy, arrows flying like locusts, and galloping horses, making it an extremely exciting event.

Little Zhu Changxun was holding a telescope and looking everywhere, and he couldn't stop at all.

The third day was even more exciting. Tens of thousands of martial arts candidates let loose and competed on the warships. It was so dazzling that I just wanted to have more pairs of eyes.

Little Zhu Changxun was so excited that his face turned red and he couldn't help waving his little fists.

The Northern King Zhu Changxu was eager to try and just wanted to go down and compete with the martial arts candidate himself.

If it weren't for Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan holding him back, he would have probably flown down from the city gate tower.

Wanli was used to this, and there was no expression on his face. He only cared whether there would be any famous generals who would go down in history in this military examination.

No, the military examination was over, and thousands of candidates had been selected, but he didn't see even a single familiar name.

He could only hand over these 1,000 military tribute soldiers to Qi Jiguang and Qin Liangyu for training, and let these guys go to Yongle Mountain first to experience the feeling of life and death.

I wonder what Nurhaci would think if he knew that Wanli had prepared such a large number of powerful men for him.

Although these guys didn't leave their names in the history books, their kung fu skills were no worse than those of ordinary generals, especially their archery skills. Each of them was like a master archer.

They generally used one-stone strong bows, and many used two-stone strong bows. I wonder how many Jiannu soldiers hiding in the mountains and forests were shot to death by them.

(End of this chapter)