prosperous age

"Prepare the sedan chair and enter the palace."

With the good news from Xuanfu, Yang Bo felt that he was doing well again at this moment.

Although he was hit hard two days ago, especially Sun Bin's defeat made him bear tremendous pressure.

Not to mention His Majesty and the courtiers, even he himself has lost confidence in himself, feeling as if he is not qualified for the post of minister of the Ministry of War.

His Majesty must see this good news as soon as possible so that he can regain his trust in himself.

"My lord, it's so late, Your Majesty should rest."

Ge Jin didn't know what he meant, so he hurriedly reminded him.

"Then go to Wuyi Hall first and hand it over to Ge Lao."

In the past few days, the two cabinet ministers and the Minister of Rites have been staying in Xiyuan to accept inquiries from His Majesty at any time.

The emperor fell asleep, but the news still had to be sent in to ensure that His Majesty would know about it as soon as he woke up.

When it comes to an official position like his, it's actually only a matter of the emperor's thought.

However, after sitting in the sedan chair, he thought more.

The Tartars have fled north, and the next step is to clean up the mess, reward those who should be rewarded, and punish those who should be punished.

Although night bans are enforced in the capital, it also depends on who is walking on the street.

On the way to Xiyuan, Yang Bo's sedan chair encountered several waves of guards and officers and soldiers of the Bingma Division who were patrolling the night, but the other party saw the sign on the lantern in front of the sedan chair, and immediately gave way to both sides of the street, without even the intention of stopping him for questioning. .

Shaking around, the sedan chair soon arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan.

Arriving here, it already belongs to the forbidden area of ​​the imperial city, so it is naturally impossible to enter directly without any hindrance.

Yang Bo was not in a hurry to get off the sedan chair. Naturally, some of his subordinates knocked on the door to wake up the eunuch who was on duty at night, and then made an announcement.

It is really not easy to open this door.

But fortunately, Yang Bo's status was unusual. Although the doorkeepers were indifferent, they still had smiles on their faces, and there was no sign of impatience at all.

Not surprisingly, the news that Yang Bo was going to enter Xiyuan finally reached Huang Jin's ears.

"Yang Bo? What is he doing here so late?"

Huang Jin was getting old, so he was reluctant to get up from lying down, let alone take care of things.

But Yang Bo wants to enter Xiyuan, which is actually a bit against the rules.

No matter how big it is, can't it be put on tomorrow?
Thinking that there might be a big event, Huang Jin had no choice but to get up, put on his clothes under the service of several eunuchs, and went out to check at the gate of Xiyuan.

However, along the way, he was still in a state of suspense in his heart, fearing that Yang Bo would bring terrible bad news, and it would be difficult for him, the eunuch and admiral, to deal with it.

Yes, if there is really bad news, can you tell His Majesty without waking up?
His old arms and legs can't afford to delay a big event.

Moreover, Emperor Jiajing's temper was very bad these two days, because the Ming army suffered a lot this time.

Within half a year, the commander-in-chief of two towns died in a row, from Liaodong to Jizhen.

The night before yesterday, the emperor took a long time to fall asleep, but he couldn't sleep because he had something on his mind.

It's a little bit better today, if something big happens again, it might be tonight
Don't dare to think about it, really don't dare to think about it.

Huang Jin tried his best to reach the gate of Xiyuan as quickly as possible. The door was not opened. Without him, the chief admiral, who would dare to open the lock.

"Who's outside the door?"

When Huang Jin arrived at the door, he asked loudly to the outside.

"The young one is Yang Bo and Yang Shangshu's long follower. May I ask who is the adult?"

Yang Bo knew that the door was not so easy to open, so he didn't have a small sedan chair, but waited for the communication from outside.

Soon, a voice came from outside the sedan chair.

"Master, Eunuch Huang Jin Huang has arrived."

"Oh, I see."

Yang Bo got up now, the car curtain had been gently lifted from the outside, and he also got out of the car.

The two lanterns in front illuminated the road, and Yang Bo soon arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace.

"Eunuch Huang, I am Wei Yue."

Yang Bo rushed to the door and said.

"Master Yang, come to the palace so late, let me tell you whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, if it is bad news, I advise you to enter the palace tomorrow.

The emperor didn't have a good rest these two nights, if you disturb his old man's rest, you and I can't bear it. "

Huang Jin didn't dare to ask anything directly, worried that when Yang Bo kicked the ball to himself, who would he find to reason with?

Now it is not as good as before, after all, it involves war, so it must not be sloppy.

However, Yang Bo had a good impression on him, so I just mentioned a few words.

Regardless of whether Yang Bo can continue to serve as Minister of the Ministry of War, it is not a bad thing to make a good relationship first.

At this stage, there is actually no room for improvement in front of him, and he is very old, and he only wants to spend these years in peace.

Yang Bo didn't know the meaning of Huang Jin's words, so he hurriedly said: "It's a good thing, it's a good thing. I entered the palace this time because I knew that His Majesty didn't have a good rest because of the bad war. The good news will naturally be reported as soon as possible.

If His Majesty has already rested, then it will be played tomorrow, but the battle report still has to be delivered to the palace, so it is fine to send it to the Wuyi Hall to Elder Xu Ge. "

"Good thing? Where did you win the battle?"

Hearing it was a good thing, Huang Jin became interested and asked.

"The Ma Fang Department of the Xuan Mansion intercepted the Tartar army north of Pinggu. After a fierce battle, more than a thousand ranks were beheaded, three carts of looted property were taken back, and more than two thousand captives were rescued."

Yang Bo told the general content of Ma Fang's battle report outside the door.

Ma Fang led the army in pursuit all the way down. Seeing that the momentum was not right, the Tartars not only abandoned the slow-moving cart, but also ignored the young men and women who were escorted by them and planned to take them back to the grassland as slaves.

When the cavalry charged, the power and power were beyond the reach of the common people.

No one would foolishly stay on the main road waiting to be trampled by thousands of horses. They all ran to both sides of the main road vigilantly to make room for the army to pass.

It wasn't until the Ming army defeated the Tartars and returned to clean up the battlefield that the people hiding on both sides slowly came back and followed the Ming army back.

"Oh, that's really a big victory."

Huang Jin felt relieved now.

Although he is in the inner court, after all he is in charge of the East Factory, and Jin Yiwei's reports, as long as they are not secret letters, must pass through his hands.

He more or less knows about those things outside.

Hearing that Ma Fang beheaded a thousand people and rescued the captives, then this victory should be more credible.

By now, Huang Jin knew the reason why Yang Bo was so eager to report.

In fact, he had felt two days earlier that Emperor Jiajing was somewhat dissatisfied with the progress of this battle.

Although the reasons are complicated, especially Governor Ji Liao made a major mistake, but the Ministry of War is also to blame.

In any case, if the Ministry of War failed to predict this time the Tartars would go south, it would be dereliction of duty.

The Tartars fought all the way to the outskirts of the capital, which was an even more serious mistake.

But the battle is still going on, and Emperor Jiajing certainly wouldn't commit the stupid thing of changing generals.

If there is an emergency replacement and the battle worsens, the face will be even more ugly.

With these concerns, that's why I have been holding back.

In fact, Huang Jin knew in his heart that as long as the Tatars withdrew from the Great Wall, Jizhen and even the Ministry of War might be held accountable by the emperor.

It's just that it depends on who is unlucky in the end.

Yang Xuan, definitely can't escape, it just depends on how the emperor decides in the end.

With the victory of the Xuanfu army, Yang Bo might be picked out.

"Then congratulations to Yang Shangshu, this time the Ministry of War has commanded well, and His Majesty will definitely reward you."

Huang Jin said cheerfully at the door.

He already knew the north-south attack strategy planned by the Ministry of War two days ago, and he was afraid it was going to have a miscarriage, but he didn't expect the Ministry of War to give Ma Fang an order to intercept it so decisively, and Ma Fang of the Xuan Mansion was so proactive that he dared to go straight east. Take the initiative to fight the tartar Huang Taiji.

The Ministry of War did not know about Wei Guangde delivering the letter to Ma Fang.

In fact, Yang Bo was also thinking about this on the road, but he thought that the sentry cavalry sent out by Ma Fang had discovered the movements of the Tartars, so he took the initiative to attack.

But at the gate of the palace, he would naturally not expose his shortcomings.

Since his family knew his own affairs, Yang Bo certainly knew that there was a major mistake in the battle situation deduced by the Ministry of War.

This major mistake, of course, is that the Jizhen cavalry led by Sun Bin was defeated by the Tartars so quickly, and he himself died on the battlefield.

In fact, the information held by the Ministry of War is similar to the information held by Wei Guangde, but the time is a little earlier.

However, the Ministry of War predicted that the two sides might fall into a stalemate in the first battle of Zhengguantun, and believed that even if Sun Bin could not defeat the Tartars, it was still possible to get entangled.

After all, the Miyun army led by Hu Zhen was in the north to help, and the Ming army would not be at a disadvantage.

Under such circumstances, the first consideration of the Ministry of War was to close the passage to the west, so as to prevent the Tartars from turning to the west and returning to Xuanfu.

As for the eastward advance, at this time the Jizhen army is coming in a steady stream, Yang Bo predicts that Huang Taiji will not take the initiative to confront the Jizhen army, it will only put him in a tight siege.

Similar strategies, in fact, the Mongols did not do less.

Killed through two or three frontier town defense areas in the hinterland of Ming Dynasty, and then crossed the Great Wall and returned to the grassland.

Unexpectedly, the cavalry led by Sun Bin was so useless that they were ambushed by the Tartars and lost in the first battle.

"Master Yang, please pass in the battle report. When the emperor gets up tomorrow, I will invite His Majesty to read it as soon as possible. I believe he will be very happy."

Huang Jin said through the door.

"Then it's Mr. Huang's fault."

Huang Jin didn't want to open the door, and Yang Bo couldn't do it either, so he had to send the battle report in through the crack of the door, and then he turned back into the sedan chair and returned to the Ministry of War.

Huang Jin got the battle report, asked someone to take a few oil lamps, and opened it to look at it himself.

What was written in the battle report was the same as what Yang Bo said, and only then did he have a happy smile on his face.

"Go to Wuyi Hall and see if Mr. Xu Ge and the rest are resting."

Huang Jin thought about it and said.

In the early morning, the many days of dark clouds were swept away, and the sky released the long-lost sunshine to shine on the capital of Daming.

Emperor Jiajing got up early, not because he didn't want to sleep, but because he couldn't sleep.

How could he continue to sleep peacefully after being slapped in the face by the Tartars again.

More than ten years ago, when he was still dreaming of a bright future, he was severely slapped in the face by Al Dahan once.

And more than ten years later, he was slapped severely in the face again by Altan Khan's son.

He really couldn't bear this tone.

Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, with a servant behind him combing his hair, he stared blankly at his own face in the bronze mirror. Although it was a little blurry, he could feel the haggardness on his face.

"My lord, good news, great news."

After waking up at night, Huang Jin didn't rest well after all. After all, he was getting old, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time when he lay down again because of the emotional excitement. This accident delayed the time.

Fortunately, he still has the good news from the Ministry of War in his hand.

"What good news."

Emperor Jiajing didn't move, just asked casually.

"Good news, the good news sent by the Ministry of War, Ma Fang, the chief soldier of Xuanfu, intercepted the Huangtai Ji tribe of Mongolia at the north of Pinggu, bordering Miyun. "

Huang Jin was still talking there, but Emperor Jiajing had already turned his head abruptly, even if his hair was pulled a little painfully because of his actions, he didn't care about it.

Before he had time to attack the servant behind him, Emperor Jiajing had already stretched out his right hand to Huang Jin.

Immediately, a battle report fell into his hands.

Quickly opened and watched, and then a look of joy appeared on his face.

Finally, there is a general who can share the worries of the king.

Finally regained some face.

As the emperor, can he be unhappy?

Quickly browsed twice to make sure that no details were missed. This time, he put the battle report on the table, sat upright again, closed his eyes slightly, and let the servant behind him continue his previous actions.

However, this sitting time was a bit long, even though he had combed his hair, he didn't get up.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still motionless, but between the opening and closing of his mouth, a will had been issued.

"An accident occurred in Jizhen, we must investigate the meritorious crimes. Let Yang Bo from the Ministry of War and Huang Guangsheng from the Ministry of Criminal Justice cooperate with the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple to investigate the case and discuss the crime. Let the Ministry of War also report the list of those who have made meritorious deeds as soon as possible."

This time the Tartars ravaged the capital again. Although Daming suffered heavy losses, fortunately no city was lost.

However, let Yang Bo participate in the investigation of the case by the Judiciary first to avoid any oolongs. Don't be considered guilty by the San Judiciary on the one hand, and appear on the list of meritorious service of the Ministry of War on the other hand, that would be ugly.

But because of this, basically Yang Bo's business is over.

At the beginning, if Emperor Jiajing could support Yang Bo, such a situation would not have arisen. At least in Shunyi, the army of Jizhen could stop the Tartars, so that more places would not be burned.

Without waiting for Huang Jin to receive the order, Emperor Jiajing continued to issue an order: "Order the Ministry of War to issue an edict, and all ministries will return to the town immediately without delay."

When Huang Jin heard what Emperor Jiajing said, he was taken aback for a moment, and immediately went down to deliver the decree.

The Tartars fled to the north, so the capital naturally didn't need rescue, but such a strict order to return all the ministries to the town inevitably made people feel unkind.

However, Huang Jin would not say these words.

The news that Ma Fang led the Xuanfu army to win the battle quickly spread in the capital in the early morning.

If it wasn't for the late night when the news arrived in Beijing, it might have already spread throughout the capital.

When Wei Guangde was having breakfast, he heard Zhang Ji talking about the news that was circulating outside.

"Ma Fang intercepted Huang Taiji and beheaded more than a thousand people, hehe"

Wei Guangde smiled lightly while eating, his face seemed to be very happy, but there was still a little pity in his heart.

The first contribution this time should have been attributed to labor and management.

This, Wei Guangde can only think about it in his heart, and he doesn't know whether the omnipotent Dongchang will find out his credit and report it to Emperor Jiajing.

However, it is best not to report, because it seems that this will bring danger to yourself.

At the same time, Huang Jin, the supervisor of ceremonies, came back here to arrange for the servants to go out to deliver the decree, while he went back to the house and took a box from the bookshelf.

Open it, find a note from it, and throw it into the brazier on the side without hesitation.