Preamble:
Qi Jiguang has made outstanding achievements, but he is faced with a seemingly incomprehensible problem -- why can't he serve as the secretary of the military department? The answer actually came from Zhang Juzheng's mouth: "Your level is too poor." This is a conversation about talent and position, and a heroic general is blamed for "too poor a level", is this a reflection of the deceit of officialdom or the true level?
Qi Jiguang of Shandong Wuju High School, the early establishment of the Qi family army in the anti-Japanese war
In the thirty-first year of Jiajing, Qi Jiguang, who was only in his early twenties, became famous in one fell swoop. At that time, China's coastal plague was serious, and the Haikou invaders had been harassing the people for decades, and Qi Jiguang was both voluntary and helpless to join the front line. It is said that after Shandong Wuju High School, many dignitaries came to congratulate and promised to promote more in the future, but Qi Jiguang was almost unmoved. He just wants to go to the hardest and most dangerous front line as soon as possible to serve his country.
During the years of resisting the Japanese in the coastal areas, Qi Jiguang successively experienced training in Shandong, Jiangsu and other places, and saw the brutality and panic of the Japanese people. It only took three years, Qi Jiguang was only twenty-five years old, and as the commander of the capital, he led his troops to defend the sea frontier and began his career of fighting against the Japanese invaders. According to local chronicles, Qi Jiguang married a woman named Zuo Liangyu during the Shandong period. Zuo Liangyu's father was originally opposed to this family business, because Qi Jiguang was nameless and had an uncertain future. However, Qi Jiguang's fortitude and discipline finally impressed his future father-in-law, and the two got married. This marriage has also become Qi Jiguang's spiritual sustenance through ups and downs.
In 1557, seeing that the Japanese invaded the country, Qi Jiguang was improperly commanded and provided ineffective support, and this defeat directly led to his impeachment and dismissal. However, Qi Jiguang, who was still in his prime, was not discouraged. He knew very well that if he wanted to defeat a foreign enemy, he had to start from within - train an elite army. At that time, the army of the Ming Dynasty's coastal guard station was worried about its inability to compete with the Japanese and its morale was low, and Qi Jiguang was determined to follow the example of the Yue family army, establish a Qi family army, and fight to the death against the Japanese invaders.
From 1559 onwards, Qi Jiguang recruited troops on a large scale in Zhejiang. He strictly selected his soldiers, who must have been peasants, because he believed that peasants were the most simple and hard-working. Never accept some treacherous city dwellers who can only calculate. In three years, the number of soldiers in the Qi family army skyrocketed to 10,000, and they were well-trained. These soldiers came from humble backgrounds, but Qi Jiguang regarded him as a sibling, and they also regarded Qi Jiguang as a father and brother. It is said that whenever the Qi family army sacrificed, the soldiers offered sacrifices as soon as possible to show their reverence for Qi Jiguang.
At the same time, Qi Jiguang conformed to the trend of the times and emphasized the use of new weapons such as bird guns and muskets. He also created the phalanx formation of the "Mandarin Duck Formation" in view of the characteristics of fighting against the Japanese invaders. This formation requires the team to move in unison, strictly discipline, and cooperate with each other in order to have an advantage in the melee. In order to run in and cooperate, Qi Jiguang spared no effort to train the soldiers. Legend has it that every time they practiced, the soldiers of the Qi family army would shout "Kill the enemy for the Ming court and wash the Japanese with blood". They are well aware of the righteousness, and they are also deeply in awe of Qi Jiguang, the teacher. It can be said that the establishment of Qi's army was an important page in Qi Jiguang's military career, and it also gave new hope to the coastal defense line.
Prime Minister Jizhou, who went north to defend against Mongolia, made a meritorious service
In 1567, the Mongols penetrated deep into the border, and the border generals felt powerless. Qi Jiguang, who was recommended for merit, applied for the northern transfer and guarded the frontier. Although he is already a veteran in his fifties, he is still high-spirited and brave and good at fighting. At that time, Zhang Juzheng was in the cabinet, and he knew that Qi Jiguang's talent was far beyond the ordinary, and he was the best candidate because of his military experience. Therefore, Zhang Juzheng strongly recommended Qi Jiguang to serve as the newly established prime minister of Jizhou's military affairs, directly commanding the Jizhou army, and responsible for dealing with the situation in northern Xinjiang.
Qi Jiguang, who had just been transferred to the north, deeply felt the weakness of border air defense. The overall combat effectiveness of the local army was not satisfactory, and he immediately dispatched 3,000 elite troops from Zhejiang to help alleviate the urgent need. After these soldiers of the Qi family army were transferred to the north, they still took the Qi Mansion as their home. I heard that in their spare time, they often get together to play the piano and chess, reminiscing about the old days in the south. At the same time, Qi Jiguang began to strictly train the border army, and used the Qi family army as a template for the northern army to learn from experience. It is a pity that some local civil officials were dissatisfied with Qi Jiguang's aggressiveness, and wrote that it was not appropriate for the southern soldiers to be transferred to the north. Fortunately, with Zhang Juzheng's repeated support, these obstacles were lifted and Qi Jiguang was able to show his skills.
In the next three years, Qi Jiguang repaired the border barriers, planted grain in the fields, and ensured supplies. In addition, relying on his rich engineering knowledge, he led the construction of a series of hollow enemy platforms, which are a five-zhang-high, hollow, three-story structure of lookout buildings, which can not only station troops, but also facilitate monitoring of enemy situations. With the vigorous support of Zhang Juzheng and other powerful ministers of the DPRK and China, remarkable results have been achieved in these constructions, and the border defense has been consolidated.
In 1584, the Mongols withdrew and reached a treaty. In the past 16 years, Qi Jiguang's defensive exploits have been obvious to all. It is said that whenever a foreign enemy retreats, the common people will spontaneously come to offer flowers and delicacies to show their gratitude. Because he is in charge of the frontier, the people at the border can live and work in peace and contentment, and no longer worry about the safety of life and property. His northern transfer can be said to be a complete victory, which solved the urgent need for the Ming court.
In his later years, he was repeatedly marginalized, and he never took charge of the army
However, Qi Jiguang's outstanding achievements are not commensurate with his status. Although he held important positions and commanded the army, he was never promoted to the highest general. Even in his later years, when Zhang Juzheng was in power, Qi Jiguang was only the commander of a town, and his power was greatly restricted, making it difficult to display his ambitions.
The main reason for this is that the military generals of the Ming Dynasty had a low status, which was easy to attract the jealousy of the ministers. At the beginning of Qi Jiguang's transfer to the north, some courtiers attacked him and restricted him from controlling the armies of other towns. With Zhang Juzheng's repeated help, these obstacles were lifted. But in the early days of Wanli, Zhang Juzheng died suddenly, and Qi Jiguang had no support. In his later years, he was repeatedly neglected, and several requests to take charge of the military affairs of the Admiral were also in vain, and it was even more difficult to obtain the reuse of the civilian system.
= In this environment, Qi Jiguang was finally marginalized and failed to further gain a greater voice in the military system. When he is already gray-haired, he will unconsciously recall the years of anti-Japanese resistance. I heard that once he held a weapon in his hand and stood in front of the mirror to imagine the style of his peak, and he couldn't help but leave two lines of tears. Although he was alive, he was still the one who terrified the enemy. But he failed to fulfill his long-cherished wish to take charge of the military department. Seeing the comings and goings of dignitaries and nobles, Qi Jiguang may have already seen through the red dust in his heart, and just wants to simply spend his old age with his children and grandchildren.
epilogue
Although Qi Jiguang was an important contributor to the Ming Dynasty's resistance to the Japanese and the Mongols, he never occupied an important position in the military attache system. The sea is up and down, and his fame and status are difficult to match after all. Future generations cannot help but ask, what is lacking in his talent and efforts? This is where the drama of history lies. However, what we should remember more is Qi Jiguang's spirit of sacrificing his life for the country, as well as his great contributions to the Ming court. This is the true meaning of the eternal legend.