Iron ore is a prohibited item in any country, especially high-quality iron ore. It is regarded as a ban by various countries. Although there is nothing in this world that cannot be done with money, the cost is also a little higher. Therefore, before the material problem is solved, it is impossible to expand production unless the imperial court increases investment.

Back to reality, 10,000 guns, how strict can an army be equipped? If it's usual, it's naturally okay to have one shot per person. However, if it is wartime, even if the frequency is not high. Even if the logistics supply is continuous, it can only arm five or six thousand people at most, which can no longer be described as more wolves and less meat compared to the current hundreds of thousands of horses on the nine sides......

So the attribution of these 10,000 guns. Every general soldier has a tough attitude, even if he can't take it alone, he must get a piece of the pie, and even the governor, who has always held his own identity and has not spoken, is a little unable to sit still.

Sitting silently behind the big case, looking at the group of generals who were fighting for red faces, he was naturally annoyed in his heart...... They are all generals who lead tens of thousands of horses, and their eyelids are not so shallow. No matter how good the gun is. It's not going to be like this! In fact, behind the appearance "is the sharp contradiction that is deeply embedded in the current military system; in the past, although the military generals of various towns have long been divided into systems and incompatible with each other, they are still living in harmony and competing for resources." All were handed over to their respective governors. The Governor grabbed it. Then the towns robbed each other, and there was a rule anyway.

But now there are no rules, and it is completely chaotic, and the reason for this is the contradiction between the border army, the Beijing army, and the southern army. Generally speaking, it is that "the border army does not like the Beijing army and the southern army, because their treatment and supplies are better than their own: the southern army looks down on the border army and the Beijing army." Because they have always lost battles, they have to rely on their own uprooted homes to help stabilize the situation; The Beijing army maintained a consistent sense of superiority over the border army and the southern army. The three families all think like this, so naturally they have to take the lead in everything. And they don't want to suffer.

Three monks have no water to eat" is really a wise saying!

Shen Mo is not very good at resolving contradictions, but he has the ability to put aside contradictions, so his face sank.

Although the generals were noisy, they actually left a little bit of clarity, and they were unhappy when they saw Shen Ge's old face. Chaozhong immediately fell silent.

"Why aren't you noisy?" Silent smiled.

The crowd became more and more angry, and they didn't dare to take a breath.

"It's all the chief soldiers and governors, for a few broken guns, just fight for the screen", the silent voice turned cold and said: "Is this the White Tiger Festival Hall, or your vegetable market?!" ”

"The guys are also fighting Tartars better", Ma Fang said timidly.

"Could it be that your prince Ma has won a streak. Is it by this Longqing style? Shen Mo glared at him. looked at the generals again and said, "Or can't you defend your respective defense areas without the Longqing style?" ”

"Of course not......," the crowd shook their heads.

"Then sit down obediently", Shen Mo stood up and said: "The side matter is like the sky, but this time I called you all back from the defense area, I guess you have guessed that it can't be just for a military exercise!" ”

"Yes!" The generals rose one after another and followed behind Shen Mo. Arrived in the rear-end conference room.

One "one" one

Outside the conference room, there were brocade guards who were tightly guarded, and the governors and soldiers could only enter alone. Nor can a single retinue of guards be brought. windows in the interior. They were covered with thick green tweed curtains, and no light could penetrate them. But dozens of smokeless glass lights. But it illuminates the room brightly, as bright as day.

After the generals were seated, Shen silently ordered the curtain on the north wall to be lifted, and a huge map of the nine-border border was revealed. Seeing this map "Everyone knows that the long-awaited moment has finally arrived.

"You must be familiar with this map, yes, this is, the Ming Nine Border Map,." A silent voice sounded: "At the beginning of the country, my Emperor Taizu expelled the Tartars and recovered China. The remnant Yuan forces were driven to Mobei, but Emperor Yuan Shun went north out of Yuyang and swirled in the desert, and there were still people who drew bows, no less than a million people. In order to consolidate the fledgling regime. Eliminate the threat of the remnant Yuan forces" Taizu used troops in the desert several times, but the effect was not good. Had to change the strategy to focus on defense. It starts from the Yalu River in Liaodong in the east and reaches Jiuquan in Gansu in the west. On the northern border defense line that stretches for thousands of miles, there are nine important towns in Liaodong, Yifu, Datong, Yansui, Ningxia, Gansu, Jizhou, Shanxi, and Guyuan. When called "Nine Sides,." And in the north of the Great Wall, Daning, Kaiping, and Dongshengwei were set up. Three military outposts to prevent the Mongols from advancing southward, forming a military pattern of thousands of miles west of Liao. ”

After that, the two ancestors relied on the nine sides and made several northern expeditions, so that the Ming border enjoyed peace for decades.

However, in the battle of Tumubao, the elite of our Ming Dynasty was lost, and the emperor hunted in the north, and since then he has been transposed with the Mongols in attack and defense. Every year, it is harassed by the Mongol ministries. And since Tianshun, it has intensified, and the nine sides have been invaded hundreds of times every year. The Tartars frequently penetrated deep into the interior, burning, killing and looting, and even approached the Jingshi. The sky is shaking! Silently looked at everyone present: "As a border town general, you know this, I don't know how you feel?" ”

All the generals bowed their heads, and said in their hearts, "You really can't open any pot."

"After I take office, I will ask all sides to take care of their military equipment and assist the military department in investigating the current situation of the nine sides." Shen Mo looked at the generals coldly, and said mercilessly: "The results of the investigation are unacceptable!" The towns, city drills, patrols, and winter preparations for each branch of the horses, although the original number is large, but many escaped. Absent three or four out of ten; He saw that the survivors were unclothed, their weapons were lacking, their horses were thin, and they were hungry, cold, and miserable. In this way, it would be good if the army did not mutiny, so how can we talk about the border? His gaze wandered in front of everyone and said, "As for the castles along the border, there is no accumulation of grain, fodder, or grass bundles, and there is not much. As for the military horse equipment, most of them are old, weak, thin, and decayed. There are even guards patrolling with self-cutting sticks! I would like to ask all of you, whose fault is this? Is it because the imperial court has made less budget, and the military department has deducted food and salary, or has it been stripped of by the generals of various towns? There are also those military camps, the land was run away by their own long feet. Why did it disappear from the books of the towns? Where did it go? ”

The crowd was in a cold sweat as he spoke, and said in their hearts that they would not go to the mobilization meeting, but would they judge us and so on? At this time, there could be no more silence, everyone looked at each other, and finally their eyes fell on Lang Lun, begging this soldier and governor of Xuanda to say a few words of justice for them.

Lord Zhongtang was angry...... "Liang Lun had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Some problems have been bad for a hundred years, and it is difficult to change the accumulated habits, although we are known as the governor and the chief soldier, but in the face of the accumulated habits, they are also insignificant. It's not that we don't know what the problem is, but if we dare to do it. I'm afraid I'm going to die in the barracks the next night. Said with a light sigh and said: "The reason for this" The imperial court will transfer middle and senior generals to the whole country, but below the generals, often never leave their homeland all their lives, these people have been in the same place for generations, intermarriage and multiplication, and their children and grandchildren have taken over their posts for nearly ten generations, and they have long been united. After a pause, he said: "Master Fang Cai Zhongtang said where Tuntian went, so he went to these people's homes. If you don't believe it, investigate the landlords in Xuanda and Ganning, "Most of them are the families of these middle- and lower-level officers." ”

The generals hurriedly echoed: "Yes." Nakado-sama. On the contrary, we are not in league with them, and the reason is very simple, once the border defense is lost, the Beijing division is shaken. It is we who are beheaded and punished. Don't you believe it, look at the list of governors and commanders in recent decades, how many of them have died well? Since becoming this chief officer, we have been worried day and night. For fear that the border defense will be poor, and the descendants will be delayed, which one has the courage to deduct military funds and record soldiers? ”

For a while, they have become the poor people who have been subjected to generations, and how can they still have the arrogance of Fang Cai.

Silently let it pour bitter water, and when they were almost finished, he said in a flat tone: "Then I can't understand, since you have such suffering, why are you still so resistant to the southern army going north?" Don't you know that they are here to help you fight the enemy? ”

The generals suddenly realized that Shen Ge Lao was going around in such a big circle for this matter.

But the words have already been spoken, how can they slap themselves? It can only be thought that the border army does not like the guest army, and the guest army also looks down on the border army, and the two sides are difficult to manage when they are mixed together, and they are worried that after a long time, there will be big problems. "Then let the border army defend the fortress outside the city." Don't see each other! Shen Mo immediately clapped his head and said: "If the brothers can't get along, they have to separate, so why bother to twist them together?" ”

The faces of the generals changed slightly, in fact, the root cause of the contradiction between the southern army and the border army was that the disparity between the rich and the poor of the two armies was too great. Although under the strong intervention of Shen Mo, the border army is now paid by the governor's yamen on a monthly basis, which can basically guarantee that they will receive a salary every month, but they are only given three silver coins per stone, which is still not enough to eat. Not to mention the supply of equipment and ordnance.

On the other hand, the Southern Army, because in accordance with the requirements of silence, adopted the policy of providing for the children of the province, that is, to say. The food and weapons of the Zhejiang soldiers were supplied by Zhejiang, and the weapons and weapons of the Fujian soldiers were supplied by Fujian. And because they are all recruits, the salary is several times that of the border army, and they are never in arrears. As for the equipment, there are summer clothes in summer and winter clothes in winter, and the clothes and armor are neat all year round, even if there is a delay, it will be quickly replenished.

When people are sick, they do not suffer from poverty but from inequality. Such a huge contrast between the two armies. Naturally, the border army was very jealous, and the generals took the opportunity to cause trouble to the east, and the reason why the soldiers under their command could not eat enough and did not have warm clothing. Blame these abominable, Nanban, on the body...... He said that because they were too far away from the south and the freight was high, they did not transfer materials from the province before, but had officials bring money to purchase them in the north and supply them on the spot. Not only did it lead to skyrocketing prices, but it also robbed all the limited supplies. That's why their border army will become more and more impoverished.

Under this incitement with ulterior motives. The contradiction between the border army and the guest army became more and more acute, and there were incidents of fights and brawls almost every day, and even cases of human death were not uncommon.

一,一"一"一,一,一"一,一"一,壹"一

Even if he is already a second assistant, Shen Mo can't solve this problem, unless he can convince the southeast to pay for the border army. But that's impossible, even if he is the king of the southeast, he has to think about the problem from the position of the southeast first, once he makes this decision that is considered a serious betrayal, he is not far from being abandoned by the big gentry in the southeast.

He had no choice but to adopt the method of isolation first. Separate the border army from the southern army, this is also a way out of the way.

When the generals heard this, they also felt that this was the best way at present, "Out of sight is pure, and if you can't see it, there will be a lot less injustice." So they agreed. That's what I did when I went back.

But there are also independent-minded Cao Bangfu, the governor of Jiliao, who has always been silent, asked out loud: "This is okay in normal times, but if a body encounters a big battle, I am afraid it will be difficult to form a joint force." ”

"That's a good point." Shen Mo nodded, looked at him and said, "But do you have a better way?" ”

Cao Bangfu shook his head, fundamentally. This is the embodiment of the financial gap between the north and the south, which cannot be made up by manpower at all: "There is no need for southern soldiers, the border defense is not solid, and the southern soldiers are used, and they are unable to forge ahead, and the things of the Ming Dynasty are always helpless." ”

"How big a belly to eat." Shen Mo waved his hand and said resolutely: "So our strategy for the next few years is destined not to be able to open the whole line!" There can only be offense and defense! ”

If you say this at the beginning, the generals will definitely want to fry the pot, who wants to look at themselves as the background and show off others? But now, under his kneading, all the generals felt that this was the case, and no one expressed their opinions.

Seeing that the scene was completely controlled, he silently picked up the teacup and took a sip, feeling that the tea was slightly cold, and couldn't help frowning lightly: "Actually, if it's safe, you should recuperate now, and wait ten years later, and then fight the Tartars." ”

The generals nodded one after another, yes, if there is ten years of recuperation, the border army will definitely not be half-dead and unable to fight like now. When the time comes, the soldiers will be full of food, what will they be jealous of the southern army? And ten years later. I will be seventy years old, and the loess will be buried to the neck, "It may not be possible to bury it all, and after a generation of Tianjiao is old, it will be difficult for Mongolia to come up with a leader who can unite all the departments, and eighty percent will be divided again, and when the time comes, it will be much less difficult to break through."

To be honest, the Ming Dynasty is not ready for a full-scale war. This is the voice of the people.

"I know that talented people pin their hopes on the body of me who will die of old age", Shen Mo slapped the table and said: "It is a coward's move to pin your hopes on the enemy being killed by time!" If I live a long life, will I have to endure his ravages for forty years? ”