My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 207 Xiu Rong Horse Farm

Unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty is still too far away to reach Japan, and doesn't even have intelligence about Japan's internal affairs.

Su Ze's memories of Japan's so-called "Warring States Period" were all accumulated from playing games when he was in school. He didn't know much about various historical events and only knew a few famous daimyo.

Forget it, let's think about it more carefully.

Just then, a plump pigeon flew into the house and hopped onto Su Ze's pen holder.

Su Ze took out a handful of rice, and only then did the fat pigeon stretch out its leg, allowing Su Ze to remove the letter from the letter cage.

Su Ze noticed that the fat pigeon seemed to have gotten even fatter, and wondered how the guy managed to eat so much.

This letter is from Shanxi.

Seeing the humble attitude in Qi Jiguang's words, Su Ze could only sigh that being a military general in the Ming Dynasty was too difficult.

Even a military general like Qi Jiguang, who had already broken through the ceiling of military generals and become the commander of the Shanxi Provincial Military Commission, had to be careful when dealing with civil officials.

In recent days, the censors of the Censorate in Shanxi Province have also impeached Qi Jiguang.

It was only thanks to the rebuttal from Wang Yongji, the governor of Datong, that these officials were silenced.

Su Ze ignored the nonsense and looked at the truly useful information.

First of all, the Dongshengwei Bastion was almost completed. Qi Jiguang personally inspected the bastion and praised it highly, firmly believing that it was a strong fortress that the Mongols could never conquer.

In his letter, Qi Jiguang described in detail the situation of Dongsheng Fortress, including the defense arrangements and the military regulations for the garrison soldiers.

Su Ze was filled with emotion after reading it. Those who can leave their mark in history books are indeed outstanding people.

In Su Ze's view, Qi Jiguang was no longer a famous general in the sense of the classical era.

Famous generals in the medieval era needed to command armies, and even fierce generals in the Three Kingdoms period had to lead the charge.

However, in modern times, the role of generals has changed.

The most important of these is the "military command" system.

During the war against Japanese pirates, the generals of the Ming Dynasty realized a problem: the battlefield was constantly changing, and the scale of the war was also constantly expanding.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, both sides would agree on a location to set up battle formations and engage in combat.

In wars of this era, the enemy would break through from multiple points. For example, when Altan Khan invaded the capital, he personally led the elite troops of the Terumte tribe and sent his son to lead troops in a feigned attack. At the same time, he also launched attacks in the Hetao and eastern Inner Mongolia regions, and the entire northern border of the Ming Dynasty was mobilized.

The same was true of the war against Japanese pirates in the southeast. The Japanese pirates would not obediently land at the locations where the Ming army had set up ambushes. Sometimes the Ming army had to move around for many days before it could fight a battle.

In such circumstances, the bravery of the generals themselves becomes secondary, and even their command in battle is not so important.

The general's work shifted from specific battlefield operations to analyzing strategies and training troops.

Qi Jiguang was one of the first Ming generals to realize this point, and his book "Jixiao Xinshu" was a book about training troops and building grassroots military organizations.

Qi Jiguang's understanding of this was "military orders".

In his letter to Su Ze, he summarized:
"To send soldiers into battle without training them is to mistreat them! Those who mistreat their soldiers will inevitably suffer defeat and death, betraying the country's favor above and harming the common people below. How lamentable is that?"

"If a general fails to implement strategic planning and instead acts rashly, it is called disloyalty to his superiors! Those who disloyalty to their superiors will inevitably face danger and destruction, wasting military resources internally and losing territory externally. What punishment is warranted for such a crime!"

Simply put, Qi Jiguang believed that the most important aspect of army building was training soldiers and making detailed battle plans before combat.

All of this must be implemented in accordance with military orders.

Qi Jiguang formulated detailed military orders for the garrison soldiers of Dongsheng Bastion, including when soldiers could go out of the city to collect supplies and when the city had to be locked down.

When the enemy attacked Dongsheng Bastion, Qi Jiguang wrote down detailed methods for dealing with them, including how to deploy artillery, allocate ammunition, defend against a strong attack, and harass the enemy by taking a detour.

The details of defending the city were terrifying. From how to deal with various siege weapons to maintaining morale and distributing supplies within the city, Qi Jiguang made contingency plans for everything.

It can be said that with this guide to defending the city, any general who is literate and strictly follows the "military orders" formulated by Qi Jiguang can defend the fortress.

Qi Jiguang also wrote detailed training manuals for different types of soldiers, such as artillerymen, cavalrymen, musketeers, and infantrymen.

Qi Jiguang further summarized the tactics of wagon battalions and proposed the idea of ​​adding artillery to the wagon battalions.

After reading it, Su Ze knew that the Mongols were going to run into a brick wall this autumn.

According to intelligence sent from Datong, although Wang Shizhen's delegation signed an alliance with Altan Khan, the Ming Dynasty was building the Dongsheng Fortress, and the Mongols were not idle either.

It's already August, and according to the intelligence gathered by Qi Jiguang, troops are being reorganized on the grasslands.

That's how the grasslands are. The Great Khan of the grasslands is just the common ruler of the grasslands. What does it have to do with my Mongol tribe if Anda Khan signed a treaty with the Ming Dynasty?
When autumn arrives and the horses are fat and strong, some tribes always want to head south to try their luck.

At this time, Anda Khan would not forcibly restrain these tribes.

If the Ming Dynasty wins, Anda Khan will say that these tribes did not obey his orders, and then take the opportunity to annex these defeated tribes.

If the Ming Dynasty loses, the contract will be worthless, and Anda Khan will personally lead the Mongol army south to seize it.

Qi Jiguang certainly understood this principle, which is why he personally led the defense of Dongshengwei to prepare for this attack.

After reading this, Su Ze was completely relieved; the Mongols' southward invasion this autumn was definitely going to run into a brick wall.

However, Qi Jiguang's letter was not entirely about reporting his achievements.

In the latter half of the letter, Qi Jiguang asked Su Ze for a favor.

It turned out that after the great victory in the last raid, coupled with the recent smuggling of military horses in Datong, Qi Jiguang had accumulated some fine horses.

However, the Shanxi horse administration had deteriorated to such a state that Qi Jiguang was not comfortable entrusting these horses to the horse administration officials, so he asked Su Ze for help in settling this military horse.

Mentioning this matter also gave Su Ze a headache.

The problem of horse administration in the Ming Dynasty was indeed a long-standing and difficult one.

Bastions can solve the defense problem, but to launch an offensive, warhorses are still needed.

Even in the age of artillery, warhorses were still needed to drag artillery.

Just how severe was the shortage of warhorses in the Ming Dynasty?

In the history before Su Ze's time travel, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, due to a shortage of horses, Emperor Chongzhen ordered the elephants from the elephant arsenal to drag cannons to Liaodong. In the end, the elephants went out of control on the battlefield and instead destroyed the Ming Dynasty's camp.

As a renowned general who planned ahead, Qi Jiguang naturally considered the issue of counter-offensive.

But horses need to be raised.

Only scientifically fed warhorses can unleash their full fighting potential.

Qi Jiguang was really reluctant to hand over the warhorses he had painstakingly collected to the horse administration officials in Shanxi, but he couldn't afford to raise them himself.

After thinking for a moment, Su Ze took the waist token and went to the Ministry of Revenue first.
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Su Ze also held the position of Assistant Director of the Ministry of Revenue. He entered the Ministry of Revenue smoothly and went to the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Personnel, where he was temporarily assigned, to pay his respects to his nominal superior, Ge Ye, the Director of the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Personnel.

Ge Ye, a student of Li Chunfang, is a middle-aged official in his forties who is very enthusiastic towards Su Ze.

Ge Ye was placed in the Ministry of Revenue by Emperor Longqing when he was trying to infiltrate it. He was worried that with Su Ze, a powerful figure in the ministry, he would be sidelined.

Unexpectedly, Su Ze was not interested in the job of a junior official in the Ministry of Revenue. He would only show up for work occasionally and work sporadically.

This made Ge Ye even closer to Su Ze. He never shortchanged Su Ze on any of the benefits from the Shandong Provincial Administration of Civil Affairs, and sometimes even had them delivered to Su Ze's residence.

Furthermore, Ge Ye also discovered Su Ze's advantages. Within the Ministry of Revenue, as long as Su Ze's name was mentioned or he offered a few suggestions, the proposals could be passed quickly. Whether it was Vice Minister Zhang Shouzhi or Grand Secretary Zhang Juzheng, they all readily accepted Su Ze's suggestions.

Ge Ye treated Su Ze like a god, realizing that Su Ze was a "deity" who had "descended to earth to undergo tribulation" and would soon return to heaven. He figured it was better to take the opportunity to curry favor with him.

After Su Ze explained his purpose, Ge Ye said:

"Zilin asked about horse administration? That's the responsibility of the Shaanxi Provincial Administration Commission."

“I am an old acquaintance of Fu Yuan, the Assistant Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Personnel. Let me take you there.”

I never expected that my position as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue would be so useful. No wonder Zhang Juzheng insisted on having me hold a temporary post in the Ministry of Revenue.

It's easier to get things done if you're a government official.

If it's someone from another department coming to handle business, then there's bound to be a lot of bureaucratic back and forth.

Su Ze soon met with Fu Yuan, the chief official of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Personnel.

After listening to Su Ze's words, Fu Yuan said:

"Does Su Zhonglang want to ask about the grazing lands or the official horse farms?"

Su Ze was not very familiar with the horse administration of the Ming Dynasty, so he asked:
"Chief Fu, is there a difference between these two?"

Fu Yuan said:

"Of course there is a difference. Military garrison horse breeding is under the jurisdiction of our Shaanxi Division. If Su Zhonglang only wants to set up a few military garrison horse farms in Datong, our Shaanxi Division can help with that."

“But if it’s an official horse farm, then it’s under the jurisdiction of the Court of Imperial Stud; if it’s an imperial horse farm, then it’s the responsibility of the Directorate of Ceremonial.”

Su Ze recalled Qi Jiguang's letter. Qi Jiguang probably didn't want the horses to be raised in military settlements, but rather wanted to hand them over to a specialized horse-breeding organization. Therefore, Su Ze asked:

Does Shaanxi have a Taipusi Horse Ranch?

Fu Yuan said with a smile:

"Of course there is, isn't Xiurong Official Horse Ranch in Shanxi?"

The moment Xiu Rong uttered the name, Su Ze knew this place was perfect for raising horses!
Xiurongchuan is where Erzhu Rong, a powerful minister of the Northern Wei Dynasty, rose to power.

Back then, Erzhu Rong raised horses in this place. It is said that Erzhu's horses were raised in different valleys according to their color, and Xiu Rong's valley was full of fine horses.

Later, Erzhu Rong fought in the south and north, and the powerful Erzhu cavalry was built using these warhorses.

How could Su Ze forget such an important horse farm?

Xiurong area is suitable for raising horses.

This is the upper reaches of the Sanggan River valley, where there is abundant water and grass, and ample rainfall.

Winters are very cold, and the cold can even kill pests.

More importantly, the altitude here is just right.

Horses are precious animals; they cannot be too cold or too hot.

Xiurong is located in the Shanyin Basin, where the winters are cold and the summers are cool, which promotes the growth of horses that are cold-resistant and have thick coats.

The pasture grass here is also cold-resistant, hence the saying that the pasture grass is the best in the world.

"Since the Imperial Stud has a horse farm, what is its current status?"

Fu Yuan sighed and said:

"Xiu Rong Horse Farm is operating at a loss, and currently has fewer than 500 horses."

"what?"

Can't even Xiu Rong's official horse farm raise horses well?

They were all from the Ministry of Revenue. Fu Yuan gave him a wink, and Ge Ye closed the door to the official residence. Fu Yuan then spoke the truth:

"During the reign of Emperor Chengzu, Xiurong Horse Farm raised 15,000 horses, and 20% of the warhorses used by Emperor Chengzu in his campaigns came from Xiurong."

"But ever since the Chenghua era, when the imperial court opened up official land, the land of Xiurong Horse Ranch has been continuously encroached upon."

Su Ze understood; this was another case of the sale of official land during the Chenghua era.

During the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty, under immense financial pressure, in the tenth year of Chenghua, Yang Ding, then Minister of Revenue, proposed that "abandoned official lands throughout the country can be sold as private property to supplement border defense funds."

Initially, the scope of the sale was limited to "official land that was uncultivated, barren, and had long been used as pastureland," and the sale of granted land and military farmland was prohibited.

But that's how bureaucratic systems are; once a loophole is opened, they can quickly cross the line.

As a result, a large number of interest groups seized government land.

Tenants of government-owned land were evicted, prime land was declared wasteland, and powerful officials colluded with them to sell it off at low prices.

In addition to government-owned land, military farmland and land used for horse administration were also sold off.

In the early years of the Chenghua reign, there were 800,000 hectares of official land nationwide. By the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, only 190,000 hectares remained.

Later, the Ming court realized the problem, but it was difficult to take back the land that had been sold.

The sale of official land during the Chenghua era was a form of "shock therapy" for the Ming Dynasty. Although it solved the immediate financial problem, it left an even bigger hole in the hole.

Thus, during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Ming in the Chenghua era, it was still praised by some as a golden age.

This Chief Judge of Shaanxi, Fu Yuan, was clearly knowledgeable in the field. Su Ze asked:

"Who took over the land of Xiurong Horse Ranch?"

Fu Yuan said:

"Some of them are princes, and there are three princely mansions in Shanxi, oh no, two. The Prince of Dai's mansion has already been abolished."

“The Prince of Jin and the Prince of Shen still occupy a lot of land, and much of the land in Xiurong Horse Ranch has been occupied by the Prince of Jin’s mansion.”

"The four major Shanxi merchant families were Fan, Wang, Jin, and Liang. Among them, the Fan family occupied Datong and Xuanfu, and often engaged in trading. Many horse farms in Xiurong were seized by the Fan family."

"There are countless local powerful families. The Imperial Stud has always been weak, so it is normal for its land to be seized."

Su Ze sincerely said to Fu Yuan:

"Thank you, Chief Inspector Fu, for clearing up my doubts."

As expected, asking the right person is the most important thing. Fu Yuan, the chief official of the Shaanxi Provincial Department, deals with horse administration issues on a daily basis and is very familiar with the long-standing problems of horse administration in the Ming Dynasty.

In just a few words, the history of the decline of Xiurong Horse Ranch is made clear. To put it bluntly, the problem of horse administration is still an old problem of the Ming Dynasty.

Now that we've figured out the problem, the next step is to solve it.

Su Ze thanked the two men and then went to the Shanxi Provincial Office of the Ministry of Revenue.

Xia Chun, the head of the Shanxi Division, sided with Su Ze during the last meeting of the Qing Dynasty's Literary Division. Even after Su Ze was dragged back to the Eastern Palace by the Longqing Emperor, he still maintained contact with Xia Chun.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Su Ze asked:
"Chief Xia, how far along is the compilation of the Shanxi Province accounting records?"

(End of this chapter)