In the inner study of the Xuanfu General Army's Yamen, Ma Fang, who was only fifty-three years old but was full of white hair, was pacing anxiously, and an old servant stood cautiously at the door.

This old servant is Ma Fang's inner government steward, serving Ma Fang for many years, in the early years he was his family's own soldier, and later because of the injury of the lumbar vertebrae, he could no longer fight, so he changed to a domestic servant in charge, and won Ma Fang's trust. At this time, he saw that his master was anxious, and he couldn't help but persuade: "Master, since the old man Gao Ge has sent a letter explaining the situation, why is the master still so worried?" Now that Gao Ge Lao has made this decision to exchange the two general soldiers of Xuanda, it is impossible for Zhao Dazhou to really stick his hand in our Xuanda, and the old slave thinks that the old man can change his guard with peace of mind. ”

Ma Fang's face was still not good, and he said in a deep voice: "Zhao Zhenji, he can only play tricks, I Xuan Da Second Town is the gateway of the Beijing Division, how important!" He is good, as soon as he entered the cabinet a year ago, he insisted on changing the Xing'an Gong, but fortunately, the Gao Ge Lao returned to the dynasty in time, so that the Xing'an Gong was saved, and he was ordered to temporarily assist the Jingying Rongzheng, and the Jianchuan Gong was transferred from the three sides of Shaanxi to replace him, otherwise Xuanda Heavy Land has no cadres to guard, God knows how big a thing will happen! If there is another Gengshu change, my surname is Ma's Wuchen, it is not a pity to die, but he Zhao Dazhou can save the dog's life? ”

The Duke of Xing'an in Ma Fang's mouth refers to Chen Qixue, the former governor of Xuanda, and the Duke of Jianchuan is of course Wang Chonggu. Xing'an and Jianchuan are the numbers of Chen Qixue and Wang Chonggu respectively.

The old steward smiled bitterly and said: "At present, the auxiliary ministers know the political affairs of Rong, and they are none other than Gao and Zhang, and Zhao Dazhou is just a guy who reads and reads, where does he know what side affairs?" Right now...... It's getting harder and harder! ”

Ma Fang was even more angry when he heard this, and said, "If this waste is knowledgeable, will he think that Chen Butang is guilty?" Do you think that Mr. Zhao is afraid of the enemy? As for the situation on the nine sides that has gotten worse and worse over the years, I'm afraid that even if I stand in front of him and explain to him, he won't understand! In the two hundred years of my Ming Dynasty, the situation in the north is becoming more and more tense, and the defense of Xuanda is the top priority, but in fact, it is becoming more and more like an empty shelf, how many soldiers are left who can really fight? In this situation, he still wants to withdraw Zhao Qi! After withdrawing Zhao Qi, don't say that Datong suddenly had an empty camp, I am afraid that even the defense of Shanxi will be opened! What's the matter, I look up to my Ma Fang so much, can Lao Tzu defend the Three Towns alone? Damn, Lao Tzu has three heads and six arms? ”

It turns out that since last September, after Bingzi, I answered Datong and plundered Shanyin, Yingzhou, Huairen, and Hunyuan, Zhao Zhenji, who was newly admitted to the cabinet, took Xuanda and opened his sword, ignoring the merits of Zhao Qi, the chief military officer of Datong at the beginning of the year, who defeated me in Hongcibao, not to say that Chen Qixue, the governor of Xuanda, and Zhao Qi, the general soldier of Datong, were afraid of the enemy like a tiger and wanted to take down these two. In fact, it can be seen from the troop arrangement of the two of them at that time, it was obvious that they were afraid that the army that I would enter the Kou would harass the imperial tomb, and later saw that I wanted to leave after a plunder, so the two immediately attacked and tried to chase and kill, but the infantry could not outrun the cavalry, and only caught three or two big cats and kittens, and as a result, they were caught by Zhao Zhenji. Even so, Chen Qixue still lost his position as the governor of Xuanda and was temporarily reinstated by Gao Gong to Beijing.

And Ma Fang was even more angry, judging from Zhao Zhenji's actions, he didn't know what situation Xuanda and even Shanxi's defense were tight, and he was purely fooling. Recently, Gao Gong sent him a letter, saying that Zhao Zhenji still refused to let go of the matter, insisting that Zhao Qi could not continue to serve as the general soldier of Datong. Gao Gong didn't want to fight with this person about this matter, so he decided to give him a little face, and let Ma Fang and Zhao Ke swap defense areas.

Ma Fang can understand Gao Gong's reaction, after all, he has just returned to the dynasty, and it is not easy to keep Chen Qixue and Zhao Qi, make a little concession and save the face of a certain pavilion elder, and it can't be said that there is anything wrong. It's just that Ma Fang knows that this move of herself and Zhao Ke will make me feel bad again, and it will be another disaster when the time comes.

He didn't think this way, but it was determined by the balance of power between Ming and Mongolia in the north and the strategic situation of the two sides.

At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, under the careful management of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, the northern border defense line of the Ming Dynasty was pushed to the line of Liaodong, Daning, Kaiping, Dongsheng to Jiayuguan north of the Great Wall. At that time, Datong and Xuanfu were under the jurisdiction of a large area outside the mouth, and the defense pressure was not obvious. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, the Beijing division moved north, the Daning territory and Wuliangha, the east won the internal migration, Xinghe was also abandoned, and the northern defense line moved south for hundreds of miles.

During the Xuande period, the northern border defense line was further contracted, especially the internal relocation of Kaiping to the monolith, which reduced the area of Xuanzhou and Daer Town, and was on the verge of the border, and it was inevitable that the second line of border defense would become the first line of border defense, which became the key point to stop Mongolia from moving south. In this regard, in addition to strengthening the defense of the two towns, the Ming court also continuously improved the defense system of the area. In order to solve the disadvantages of different powers, mutual constraints and mutual blame and mutual failure to respond to the enemy between neighboring towns, the governor of Xuanda was specially appointed to strengthen coordination, which contributed to the establishment of the Xuanda defense area, which became an important part of the northern defense system in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

With the repeated southward movement of the Ming Dynasty's northern border defense, the strategic importance of the Xuanda region increased day by day, and the pressure on defense increased.

"The heart of the Jingshi is especially the heart, the back of Xuan and Daxiang, the limbs of Yan and Ning, and the heels of Gansu."

"If you look at the weight of the land, all sides are heavy, and Jizhou, Xuan, Da, and Shanxi are especially heavy. He is the arch guard mausoleum, the bottom of the Shenjing, Xuan, Da Ruo shoulders and backs, thistles, Jin Ruo elbows and armpits. ”

Especially after the Hetao was abandoned during the reign of Yingzong, the Mongolian tribes "went out of the Hetao, then Kouxuanfu, Datong, and Sanguan were supplemented by Zhenji; Entering the Hetao, Kou Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, and Guyuan to disturb Guanzhong", posing a great threat to the northern defense line of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the Xuanda region is mostly "divided and ruled, not under the control of each other, and there are many constraints on the dispatch of emergency assistance", and the troops are scattered, while the Mongols are not the same, and often concentrate various departments to take advantage of the situation to specialize in one town. In this case, the soldiers of one town are simply unable to resist and need neighboring towns to rescue each other. However, the governors of each town have no right to mobilize the soldiers and horses of other towns, and when neighboring towns are in trouble, they often sit idly by and do not help, "once there is a police, because the local soldiers and horses are weak, they divide each other, and refuse to respond, even if they are willing to help, they also wait and see, and often miss the opportunity", resulting in a situation in which it is difficult to protect oneself while seeking self-protection.

"If the order is combined with the Xuanfu, then the Datong should be urgent, if the Datong is committed, then the Xuanfu should be urgent, if the first thing is detained, and the matter is prevaricated, when the military revolution is made, it is easy to shirk the situation, and it will not be exempt from mistakes."

In view of this, in order to unify the military power of Xuan and Da Erzhen, and strengthen the unified leadership and coordinated action between the two towns, it is necessary to set up important ministers to control, so the Ming court set up the governor of Xuanda in the Jingtai period to unify the two towns. After the establishment of the governor of Xuanda, it was not always replaced, and it was set unchanged until the 21st year of Jiajing.

After the establishment of the governor of Xuanda, in addition to commanding the town soldiers and coordinating the actions of the two towns, he also obtained the right to manage food and salary in the 21st year of Jiajing.

"Ren Wu, promoted to the north of the Zhili Shanxi and Henan military salaries right to the capital of the imperial history Zhai Peng as the right servant of the military department, and the left of the Imperial History of the Imperial Palace, the governor of Xuan, the great military affairs, and the management of food and salary."

Later, the defensive situation became more and more severe, so the power of the governor was increased, except for those who were concerned with secrets, they were not allowed to monopolize themselves, and the rest of the soldiers, horses, money and food were allowed to be engaged in cheap, first and then heard. "Sejong Records" contains: "In the case of the household, Liu Huijuan played: 'The one who is in the middle of the matter, the north and the south invade, His Majesty's special military department squire Zhai Peng is the governor of military affairs, and the minister is only captive and the governor is stopped, and the governor is added, the matter is hasty, and the opportunity is not determined, this is not so special, and Tu Maogong is also asked His Majesty to be appointed to Zhai Peng from now on, and all military horses, money and food are cheap to do.' That is, Zhao Zhai Peng is not allowed to be self-exclusive except for those who are related to secrets, and his soldiers, horses, money and food are allowed to be engaged in cheap, and they will be heard first. ”

In fact, since the 21st year of Jiajing, the governor of Xuanda has been permanently established, and the scope of jurisdiction and powers have been expanded. ”

In the twenty-third year of Jiajing, the governor was ordered to order all military salaries. In the twenty-fourth year of Jiajing, the power of the governor of Xuanda was further increased, and the governor, the chief soldier and the official who were involved in the soldiers and horses must be closed to the white governor, "It is advisable to order the governor and other officials to do everything to do the soldiers and horses, and all the white governors should be concerned. ”

In the twenty-ninth year of Jiajing), the governor of Xuanda ruled Xuanfu, Datong, and Shanxi, and has not changed since then.

Facts have proved that the establishment of the governor of Xuanda in the defense of Xuanda is quite effective. In the twenty-eighth year of Jiajing, Mongolia entered the Xuanfu, when the Xuanfu "will be weak and weak, and the captives are easy to with", the governor Weng Wanda immediately exercised his powers, transferred the general military officer Zhou Shangwen to the Xuanfu to defend against the enemy, "with the Datong marshal Zhou Shangwen led the elite to temporarily act as the Xuanfu marshal to curb the capture of Chong, and transferred the book to the auxiliary ministers and the soldiers, and said that the captives will be in-depth backtest, saying that the Xuanfu lord will be biased and has no trust... So, Shang Wen traveled day and night, to Caojiazhuang, and the captives had entered the danger, not to worry about Shang Wen's sudden arrival, the battle of March night, repeated sieges and solutions. Gong (Weng Wanda) bowed to the ring and supervised thousands of soldiers to come to the rescue... After breaking the siege at night, the public pursued Shangwen out of the country, and the work of protection was more than the deprivation."

After the establishment of the governor of Xuanda, he gradually obtained the right to dispatch troops and horses, the right to manage money and grain, the right to supervise and sponsor, and later obtained the right to open the government and establish its own counsellors, marking that the Xuanda region has a central dispatch and control of the support force, which contributed to the establishment of the Xuanda defense area.

That is to say, Xuanda and Shanxi are a defense whole, and they will affect the whole body, but now because of the great difficulty in controlling the situation, Xuanda is under great pressure, and is basically in a situation of being passively beaten. Who knew that Zhao Zhenji not only removed Chen Qixue, but also took Zhao Qi, and as a result, Gao Gong was forced to transfer Wang Chonggu to stabilize the situation, not to mention, but also had to exchange positions between Zhao Qi and his Ma Fang.

Ma Fang had a strong premonition that when the two of them were in tune, I would not turn a deaf ear - the person who knows you best is often not yourself, but your enemy or opponent.

Therefore, Ma Fang sent someone to Beijing to inquire about the movements of the imperial court. And today, according to the agreement, it should be the day to come back and tell yourself about the situation in Beijing.