prosperous age

Chapter 781 Chapter 880 Secret of the Grassland
"Dear elders, Mr. Wang Lin, the left minister of the Ministry of War, and Mr. Wei Xuezeng, the right minister of the Ministry of War, have something urgent to ask for."

A man from the middle school room hurried in from outside the door, bowed his head and reported to the chief assistant Li Chunfang.

"Bingbu? Please invite them in quickly."

I heard that the two assistant ministers of the Ministry of War had come to the cabinet. It was obvious that something big had happened to the Ministry of War.

Now the decree to appoint Guo Qian as Minister of War has been sent to Nanjing, but it will take time for Guo Qian to get to the capital after receiving the decree.

At this time, the affairs of the Ministry of War were presided over by Wang Lin and Wei Xuezeng. There used to be Li Qian, the right minister of the Ministry of War, but a few days ago he had been promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of War and the right minister of the Imperial Procuratorate and the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi Military Affairs. Food and salary, I have already gone to my post.

Wei Xuezeng was originally the governor of Liaodong, but two years ago he requested to return to his hometown to recuperate due to physical reasons.

This year happened to be when I returned to the capital. Since there were no suitable vacancies for the time being, I temporarily joined the Ministry of War to help handle affairs.

This is also the reason why Li Qian was able to release the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, otherwise the Ministry of War would not be able to have only one minister.

Not long after Zhongshu ran out, two officials in scarlet robes quickly entered the room. The one in front was Wang Lin, followed by Wei Xuezeng. Wang Lin still held an official document in his hand.

After entering the room, Wang Lin shouted to several people in the room: "Mr. Ge, something big happened in Datong."

"But another war broke out in Datong?"

Li Chunfang had already stood up after they entered the room, along with Gao Gong, Wei Guangde and others, almost all of them stood up.

"Even if it's not, it's not far away."

Wang Lin spoke up.

"Ok?"

Hearing what Wang Shilang said, Wei Guangde frowned.

At this time, Li Chunfang had already taken the official document from Wang Lin, and without sitting down, she just started reading it, and soon she frowned.

He finally understood the meaning of Wang Lin's words. Anda Khan's grandson descended to the Ming Dynasty. This was a good thing. It could boost the morale of the Ming army, but it was also a bad thing. Anda Khan couldn't swallow this and would definitely start an army. Go to Datong to ask for help.

Although the war has not yet begun, it is not far away.

The key is that the Ming Dynasty can only take it hard, but it cannot hand the person back, otherwise it will lose the face of the Ming Dynasty.

A few days ago, the King of Korea sent envoys Cao Shenpan and Hong Tianmin to pay tribute, but they had just arrived in the capital. If the matter was not handled well, the court's prestige would be lost.

While Li Chunfang was reading the documents, Gao Gong beside him was also quietly asking about Wang Lin and Wei Xuezeng.

Wei Xuezeng did not speak, and Wang Lin briefly explained what happened in Datong.

Of course, he tried to explain the matter in as simple and detailed a manner as possible, but it was not as detailed as in the memorial, but it still gave everyone a general impression, and they knew that the current situation in Datong was tense because of the rebellion of Anda Khan's grandson.

Wang Chonggu not only ordered the mobilization of Xuanda soldiers and horses to be on strict alert, but also used his original position to get the officers and soldiers in Shanxi Town and other places to take action, ready to deal with Anda Khan's massive attack.

"Isn't Datong very dangerous? Shouldn't we send all the troops to support it?

I remember Shandai that you had many plans to encircle Anda Khan's army after they entered Shanxi, hoping to inflict heavy losses on the Mongols and relieve the pressure on the north.

The arrival of Han Naji this time may be an opportunity.

Set a trap in Datong, let Anda Khan's army come to attack Datong, and our army will take advantage of the situation to surround it? "

Zhang Juzheng on the side suddenly spoke to Wei Guangde.

"Datong is indeed a good place to set up an ambush. As long as Anda's troops can break through the border fortress and march under Datong City, and if a large army can quickly recapture the captured border fort, they can form an encirclement against Anda's troops under Datong City. potential."

Hearing Zhang Juzheng's words, Wei Guangde's heart moved.

If Zhang Juzheng's wishes continue, as long as the Ming army captures the lost border fortress, most of Anda Khan's troops under Datong City will remain there.

Except for the passages blocked by the border forts, the Mongols could only return to the grassland over the mountains and ridges, which was not suitable for cavalry, and there was also the Great Wall to rely on.

If it were to intercept the attacking Tatars who were in high morale, the Ming army might not be able to handle it, but if it was the Tatars who wanted to escape back to the grassland, the result would be unknown.

It is possible that the Tatars will fight to the end in order to survive, or they may become a ragtag group because their morale has collapsed.

In fact, the current Mongolians don't have much blood. They have lost the courage and honor given to them by Genghis Khan, and they can only fight with the wind.

Regardless of the fact that the Ming army has suffered heavy losses many times in the past ten years, these were mostly due to superior strength or surprise attacks. When both sides had equal strength, the Mongols were not stronger than the Ming army, and were even slightly weaker in many cases.

It's just that they are good at running on four legs, making it impossible for the Ming army to catch up.

Thinking about Ma Fang's many raids on the grasslands with inferior forces and returning with great victories, we can know how powerful the Mongols are today.

"Don't just think that this encirclement means victory. Datong is no better than Shanxi. There are not many Mongols coming in and out, and they are not familiar with the terrain.

But it's different in Datong. The Mongols have been fighting with our army there for a long time and are very familiar with the terrain.

Not to mention the difficulty of forming an encirclement, even if it were encircled, it would be difficult to keep people there.

If the Mongolians break out in a bloody decisive battle with our army, it would be fine if they win. But if the war goes unfavorably, have you thought about the consequences? "

At this time, Gao Gong suddenly spoke.

"The army from Shanxi and Shaanxi went out to fight, and the army from Jizhen sealed the passes of the Great Wall and guarded the capital. Even if the war was unfavorable, it was nothing more than Mongols plundering Datong and Xuanfu.

If they dare to enter Shanxi again, they can also mobilize the army from Henan and other places to look for opportunities to fight Anda Khan again, while the Jizhen and Liaodong armies will enter the grassland and take away his lair. "

Zhang Juzheng heard that Gao Gong was not optimistic about his method, and his attitude was somewhat contemptuous, so he immediately continued.

"With such a big news, does the Ministry of Household Affairs have money to spend on food?"

Gao Gong frowned slightly. He didn't like Zhang Juzheng's attitude when talking to him, but he still discussed the matter and continued to ask questions.

Such a war would consume a lot of money and food, and the war-torn areas would inevitably suffer heavy losses. The imperial court would provide tax exemptions and exemptions in the next few years and allocate money to help restore production, otherwise the people there would have no way to survive.

This is a large amount of money spent on food. With the current situation of the Ming Dynasty, it is difficult to maintain daily life, and there is nowhere left to support such a war.

Gao Gong was sure that Zhang Juzheng's method would not work. The Ming Dynasty could not support such a war.

It is impossible to fight a war without money.

"Taipu Temple, Changying Treasury." Who knows, when Zhang Juzheng said this, he had already thought of the source of the silver.

The imperial court is short of money, but it's not that it's really short of money, it's just that it's not in the Ministry of Household Affairs, but in other places.

Chang Ying's account books are never reported to the court or cabinet, so no one here can tell how much money there is in Chang Ying's treasury.

"If I remember correctly, the money in Chang Ying's treasury is prepared for such a battle of national destiny. This is the right time to use it to support this war."

Zhang Juzheng's words reminded Gao Gong that the court did still have this money, which was stored in Chang Ying's treasury. However, over the years, the court was short of silver again. Although it borrowed money from Chang Ying's treasury, after overcoming the difficulties, Chang Ying's treasury To be taken back.

So as time went by, the officials all knew about the money, but they also knew that they couldn't get it out.

After all, if you borrow and repay, you don’t get it for free.

As time went by, everyone no longer had the intention to pay attention to Taipu Temple. It was visible but not tangible, and it was still annoying to think about it.

Because of this, Gao Gong had long forgotten that the imperial court had such a reserve of money. He only remembered it after Zhang Juzheng told him about it.

The conversation between the two fell into the ears of Wang Lin and Wei Xuezeng next to them. In fact, they did not find it novel. After all, not long ago, Wei Guangde went to the Ministry of War to plan the matter and studied Anda Khan's response after breaking the Datong defense line and heading south to Shanxi. Many of them It is obvious that Shanxi is to be used as the preset battlefield for a decisive battle with Anda Khan's army.

However, they saw Wang Chonggu's memorial and knew that Governor Xuanda and Governor Datong seemed to have other ideas, that is, they hoped to mediate the matter and ease relations with Mongolia, thereby eradicating border troubles.

The document is clear and the idea is good, but whether it can be realized is hard to say because there are too many constraints.

Moreover, from the bottom of their hearts, they did not think that this idea was feasible, so they did not mention it, but thought that they would naturally know it when they read the documents.

When he heard the conversation between Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, Wang Lin opened his mouth to say something about it, but Li Chunfang had already read the document and handed it directly to Gao Gong, saying: "You read it first before talking about it. "

Gao Gong took the document, opened it and browsed it quickly. Soon his face showed surprise at first, and then he frowned, as if he was thinking about something.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng just looked at each other and said nothing.

They all felt that there might be something serious in the document, so the expression on Gao Gong's face, who rarely lost his composure, changed.

At this time, Li Chunfang had returned to her seat, lowering her head and thinking.

Gao Gong read the document very quickly. After reading it, he handed the document in his hand to Zhang Juzheng and said, "You should take a look at it too."

Zhang Juzheng took Wang Chonggu's memorial and quickly looked through it. Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen just looked at each other and said nothing.

Can you fight?
No, Zhang Juzheng entered the cabinet earlier than them, so this can be regarded as reading the memorial in order.

Although I felt a little dissatisfied, I could only wait silently.

Soon, after Zhang Juzheng read it, he handed the document in his hand to Wei Guangde, who had already turned back to his seat.

After Wei Guangde and Yin Shizhen finished reading the document, it naturally returned to Li Chunfang's hands. Only then did Wei Guangde fully know what happened in Datong.

It is true that Hannaji came to surrender, but it is also true that Anda Khan will not be able to organize a large army to attack in the short term, because at this time, Anda Khan is leading his army to prepare to invade Turpan westward, and is already on the way.

Therefore, it is not known whether he will lead his troops to return immediately once the news is known.

After all, the army cannot move lightly. It has already made preparations for the westward expedition to Turpan. If it turns around and goes south immediately, it also needs to prepare the necessary supplies.

"This battle has to be fought and will continue into next year."

Wei Guangde made a judgment quickly, and Wang Chonggu's letter also included the contents of Fang Fengshi's letter, which let Wei Guangde and the others know more about Mongolia.

In fact, the reason why Han Naji was brought to the Ming Dynasty was not only the reason why Anda Khan took away his bride, but also the infighting among the top leaders of Mongolia played an important role in it.

Just like the overt and covert fight between King Jing and King Yu, similar scenes are also happening on the grassland.

Anda Khan is already very old, and everyone knows that he does not have many years left to live.

Anda Khan had nine sons, and of course he did not stage the exciting drama of Kowloon seizing the legitimate son. Now the most powerful among the Mongolian tribes is his eldest son Xin'ai Huang Taiji, who was leading an army to attack Liaodong some time ago.

And Bhannaji was the son of Tubot, the third son of Anda Khan. Turbot died early, so Bhannaji was raised in the tent of Anda Khan's wife Morun as a grandson who always stayed with them. This is also very popular.

Naturally, Xin Ai Huang Taiji was dissatisfied with this, so privately the relationship between Han Naji and Xin Ai Huang Taiji's uncle and nephew was very bad.

By telling Han Naji, we also learned that Xin Ai Huang Taiji, Buyan Taiji, Bingtu Taiji and other brothers were also at odds with each other.

These were all information that could not be detected by the spies sent by the Ming Dynasty to the grassland. Therefore, after learning this information from Bai Hubao, Fang reported it to Wang Chonggu as a key point at the right time.

Now that they knew that Anda Khan was on his way to the west, Wang Chonggu, Fang Fengshi and Ma Fang still issued an emergency military report, ordering the Ming army to stand ready and hold on to the city. The main reason was that they all had conjectures, that is, Anda Khan or Xin Ai Huang Taiji knew. After Han Naji falls into the hands of the Ming Dynasty, a small number of soldiers will be selected to lure the Ming army generals out of the city, and then they will be captured in exchange with the Ming Dynasty.

What could be more intimidating than letting these generals know that there are a large number of enemy troops behind the Mongols, just stay in the city and don't move.

Nowadays, if the generals in the border forts learn that there are Mongolian tribes migrating a few miles away, few of them can bear to go out to thresh the grass and valleys.

In the past, the Ming army was a little afraid of the enemy, but after several raids by Ma Fang, it became a lot more courageous, but it became even harder to control.

In the eyes of Fang Fengshi and Wang Chonggu, Han Naji's value was much greater than that of the generals in the border town, and many deals could be negotiated.

However, this memorial only reported in detail what happened in Datong. It did not mention the specific disposal strategy. Instead, Wang Chonggu had to rush back to Datong and discuss the matter with Fang in due course before reporting the strategy.

"Haha, I didn't expect that Zhao Quan, Li Zixin, Zhang Yanwen and others repeatedly persuaded Anda Khan to proclaim himself emperor and follow the story of Shi Jin. Not only did they fail to achieve their goals, but they also aroused Anda Khan's suspicion.

The trust between them is no longer there. If Han Naji and Ada Khan can be exchanged for Zhao Quan and others, who knows what choice Ada Khan will make? "

Wei Guangde said this to Yin Shizhen and Zhang Juzheng. They both nodded when they heard the words, but Zhang Juzheng quickly realized that Wei Guangde wanted to exchange Han Naji, so he immediately shook his head and said: "I'm afraid it won't work. , if people are really sent back, where will the dignity of the court be?

We can make plans, but it is better to wait for the memorials from Governor Wang and Governor Fang before making any plans. "

Hearing the conversation between the two, several people around them nodded slightly, seeming to agree with Zhang Juzheng's words.

"Then let's wait for the news from Datong. However, I will send this memorial to the palace by Su Qing, so that His Majesty will also know about my colleague."

Li Chunfang said.

"Didn't the imperial court give orders to Datong?"

At this time Wang Lin asked.

"Not for now. We'll wait until their memorial comes out."

(End of this chapter)