The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 147

On the morning of the ninth day of February in the 12th year of Hongzhi.

All the ministers had to be recruited temporarily, hurried into the palace, and headed towards Fengtian Hall.

Due to the emergence of a major military situation in the Northwest, a noon court was added on that day, and the civil servants above the fifth rank of the Yazheng government in Beijing basically had to attend this noon court. They are not included in entering the palace to participate in the Wu Dynasty.

"... Is there really a fight in the Northwest?"

When he entered the palace, Ma Wensheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, became the target of all civil servants to inquire about news.

But Ma Wensheng adhered to the principle that the emperor would not allow me to say that I was determined not to talk too much. No matter who came to ask, he pretended not to hear it.

Before Fengtian Temple.

All the civil servants lined up to finish, and the two cabinet scholars also came from the cabinet's office. Li Dongyang, who has always been resourceful, was presiding over the ceremony examination, so he didn't show up at the scene.

Immediately after they arrived, someone wanted to inquire about news from them.

"After entering, someone will explain it clearly, and now we don't know much..."

Xie Qian talked a lot, and he set the tone of the cabinet, that is, he would not express opinions outside the court on the situation in the northwest.

All the ministers were basically present, and I thought that the court meeting was about to start.

It was Xiao Jing who came over and knew: "Everyone, Your Majesty still has some matters to deal with first, and we will discuss with the court later. Please be safe and don't be impatient..."

……

……

Inside Qingning Palace.

The Empress Dowager Zhou had just finished worshiping the Buddha, and got up with the help of the maids.

Jiang Lu hurried in from the outside, had something to report but couldn't speak.

"Go back."

After the Empress Dowager Zhou screened away all irrelevant people, Jiang Lu revealed the news he knew: "...Your Majesty has taken Uncle Jianchang into custody in Jinyiwei North Town Fusi last night."

"Really? The magpie crowed early in the morning, and I was very happy."

Mrs. Zhou had a smile on her back.

Jiang Ludao: "However, we found out from Dongchang that Uncle Jianchang brought people in when he entered Fusi of Beizhen. For some reason this morning, His Majesty ordered Dongchang to take over Uncle Jianchang's mansion. All the people were driven away. It was also strictly forbidden for anyone to visit.”

The Empress Dowager Zhou narrowed her eyes, and said with a deep expression on her face: "It is rare to be able to send someone into the imperial prison. The emperor has changed his nature. Are you afraid that the empress will give him problems? Where is the emperor?"

"It's at Kunning Palace." Jiang Lu said, "There's still the afternoon court meeting today, and I just heard from Admiral Xiao Gonggong of Dongchang that the Northwest Tatars came out in full force, and there may be a big event in the Northwest."

The Empress Dowager Zhou looked worried.

She is someone who has personally experienced the Tumu Fortress Change, and she will be nervous whenever she hears about anything in the Northwest.

"There is only one Wang Weining in Ming Dynasty, and he was resigned and lived in Beijing..."

When her family and country were in crisis, the Empress Dowager Zhou, like her grandson, remembered that there was still Wang Yue, who might be of great use.

Jiang Lu hurriedly said: "Eunuch Xiao said that His Majesty has made arrangements for this. After more than a month, Wang Weining may have already gone to the northwest to make arrangements. It seems... that Zhang Gongsheng reminded His Majesty."

"Oh, no wonder then."

When the Empress Dowager Zhou heard that Zhang Zhou was involved in this matter, she suddenly realized, "That Zhang Bingkuan has the ability to be unpredictable. He sent Wang Weining to the Northwest in advance. I guess His Majesty is on guard against the Northwest incident. Heart. That’s right, it’s not the Zhou family that can control the Zhang brothers in this world, but Zhang Bingkuan.”

Empress Dowager Zhou sighed, and suddenly thought of something, and asked, "Did Zhang Bingkuan also come to this court meeting?"

Jiang Ludao: "Empress Dowager, the examination is in progress now, Zhang Gongsheng should be admitted to the Tribute Academy."

"Hehe, I'm still a tribute student, and I'm just focusing on the national exam... The important things about the family and the country are not as important as the momentary fame? It seems that the emperor has other expectations for him, and he wants him to be listed in the imperial class. All right. Go and see the emperor again. How is the talk with the queen over there, report the news in time."

"Yes."

……

……

Inside Kunning Palace.

Before Zhu Youtang went to attend the Wuchao, he first came to explain to his wife the "urgency" and "necessity" of Zhang Yanling's actions.

"...It's not that I deliberately made things difficult for Yanling. Queen, you don't know that the battle in the Northwest is now just as Bingkuan said, and the Tatars came out in full force, but they happened to hit the Piantou Pass where Wang Shichang was stationed. What's more, the earthquakes in Shaanxi and Ningxia all happened as he expected, how could he deliberately trouble Yan Ling about this kind of thing?"

When Zhu Youtang said this, he didn't know how confident he was.

In the past, whenever he treated the Zhang family brothers a little bit badly, Zhu Youtang felt that he had done something wrong.

But now he can straighten his back and punish Zhang Yanling with his wife because...he is not demonstrating the law, but demonstrating the "law of heaven".

I can put aside the court's laws, but I can't ignore what God wants, right?

"Your Majesty, can this... be true?"

Empress Zhang used to defend her two younger brothers in every possible way, no matter how unreasonable things were, she dared to directly mention it to her husband, and would force him to agree.

But this time...

She is also a little cowardly.

Even when he was speaking, he seemed unassuming.

Zhu Youtang said: "Empress, don't worry, if nothing happens when the time limit expires, I will let Yanling go back. If he doesn't cause trouble in Beizhen Fusi, I won't embarrass him..."

Empress Zhang was about to cry, and said with a sad face: "This child has never experienced any hardship since he was a child. I'm afraid he won't be able to bear it."

As an older sister, she also seems to feel that it is a bit difficult to support her younger brother now.

Still old problem.

The opponent is not a human being, but God!

How to fight?
Zhu Youtang stretched out his arms to embrace his wife, and said: "Actually, I have always wanted him to be taught a lesson. Even if it is the crown prince, I did not show mercy when it was time to punish him, but Heling and Yanling... Sigh! If things go on like this, Sooner or later something will happen."

"Your Majesty, if the day passes without any earthquakes or other signs from the heavens, will Zhang Zhou be punished for the crime of deceiving the public?" Queen Zhang looked at her husband eagerly, almost in a pleading tone.

"what?"

Zhu Youtang was still holding his wife in his arms, but he even let go of his hands when he heard this.

Queen Zhang didn't expect that her husband would have such a big reaction when she proposed to punish Zhang Zhou.

"Empress, didn't you understand? It's because I indulged Yan Ling again and again, that caused the warning from heaven. If I did something and the warning didn't come, can you blame Bingkuan?"

"Bingkuan never said any bad things about Yanling in front of me, he just acted on God's will, and it happened that Yanling met..."

"Then His Majesty would rather trust Zhang Zhou than Yan Ling?"

Empress Zhang suddenly became entangled again.

Zhu Youtang frowned and said: "Queen, are you still obsessed with your obsession? This is a major event involving the country and society, not a trifling matter! Forget it, I have to discuss with the ministers about sending troops to the northwest. You should think about it first." !"

When the emperor finds out that his wife is too petty and only cares about the interests of his own family, even God's will can be thrown aside.

Immediately, he also lost his temper, left his wife aside, and hurriedly took Dai Yi and others to Fengtian Hall to attend the court meeting.

"His Majesty……"

Empress Zhang wanted to cry but had no tears at this time.

"Your Majesty usually obeys my advice, but since Zhang Zhou appeared, everything has changed, but he still can't do anything... Everything is God's will, how can there be any reason for this?"

Empress Zhang hated Zhang Zhou to death.

But looking back, it seemed that Zhang Zhou couldn't be blamed for this matter, because Zhang Zhou was just an alchemist who conveyed God's will.

Could it be that God's will can be changed by pressing Zhang Zhou down?
……

……

At noon in Fengtian Hall.

After the simple etiquette of the monarch and ministers, Zhu Youtang didn't talk nonsense, and even asked Dai Yi to make the current situation in the northwest public.

"...Although the Tatars have been harassing all over the Nine Sides in the past few days, and even in Liaodong and other places, the Duoyan tribe sent troops wantonly to recruit troops, but until yesterday afternoon, Fang Youye did not close at Piantou Pass. Tens of miles to the north, a team of more than [-] Tatar riders was found haunting, and then they turned their heads and closed the earth fortresses everywhere..."

"... I just got the news that the Tatars had harassed Piantouguan before nightfall yesterday, using artillery to beat the pass. More than a dozen earth fortresses along the north and south of Piantouguan were destroyed. Tartar keeps walking, or will encircle Piantouguan in the next two days..."

Dai Yi's news shocked the ministers present after hearing it.

Even if the Tatars re-entered the Hetao area before, they were not as aggressive as they are today.

Xu Guan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, asked, "It's only mid-February. Could it be that the Tatars want to invade the customs? This seems unreasonable."

The Tatars have always been on the offensive, and Ming is on the defensive.

There's nothing wrong with that in itself.

However, in the eyes of many ministers, the Tatars came out in full force and made a move to attack Piantouguan, which was a bit unusual.

Ma Wensheng came out and said, "This is Di Yi's usual trick during the Zhengtong years."

Xu Guan looked over, but he didn't understand what was going on.

Ma Wensheng explained: "Di Yi's move is not for the purpose of forcibly capturing the city gate, but for deterrence. If the defenders at my head pass are insufficient, I will take the opportunity to withdraw my troops to other places, and Di Yi can easily capture the city gate. And destroy the city pass, and then use it as a basis to attack and harass all the important towns in our pass. At that time, there will be no danger to defend..."

As Minister of the Ministry of War, Ma Wensheng knows what to do.

If the Tatar cavalry wanted to attack Piantouguan, they didn’t need to fight to the death. As long as they put on a strong attacking posture, the troops of the Ming Dynasty would run away in all likelihood, and wait for the Tatars to come in and loot and retreat. , Daming's army then occupied the destroyed city gates and rebuilt the city gates.

After the ministers present heard this, they felt bad.

Zhu Youtang's expression was also not good, he said loudly: "That was before, or the Northwest was not prepared, or there were doubts. But when the New Year's Eve was approaching, the Northwest had taken precautions, how could it be like this?"

When the ministers present heard it, they all tasted it.

Many people don't understand. Thinking about it, it is true that the emperor had an insight into the movements of the Tatars in advance, and sent people to the northwest in advance?
It was previously rumored that Wang Yue went to the northwest... Isn't that... Old Wang, he has a place to play?
But it seems that Lao Wang went to the wrong place, right?

Zhang Sheng, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, said: "Your Majesty, now we should dispatch troops from Datong and Xuanfu towns to help the Piantouguan, and send Wang Yue, the left servant of the military department, to Piantouguan."

This proposal was simply in line with the expectations of the ministers present.

Zhu Youtang said: "Don't bother, the Wangyue people are in Piantou Pass, and they have been preparing for the battle for more than a month, and he personally played the report about the movement of the Tatars!"

"what?!"

Most of the ministers present only knew that Wang Yue was in the northwest, not that Wang Yue was in Biantouguan.

In order to conceal the news that Wang Yue was at Piantouguan, the emperor even did not hesitate to conceal it from the ministers during the previous court meeting.

And now...

It is equivalent to saying that all the ministers have been solved like the Tatars...

Wang Yue, the only famous general in the Ming Dynasty who could stand on the stage, actually waited like a rabbit waiting for the Tatars to come to his door?
Hubu Shangshu Zhou Jing hurriedly came out and said: "Your Majesty, the most important thing is to be cautious when deploying troops in the northwest."

"My minister agrees."

Wang Zongyi, the right servant of the Ministry of War, hurried out and held up the wat board.

Zhu Youtang was still feeling elated, but after listening to Zhang Zhou, he arranged Wang Yue to the right place. Who knew that before he was happy for a while, Zhou Jing and Wang Zongyi joined hands to pour a basin of cold water on him.

Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Why is it prudent to use troops? What do you mean, even if Wang Qing's family is at a critical moment, they won't let him fight?"

After all, the emperor is familiar with this group of people.

From the point of view of civil servants, it is best for nothing to happen in the Northwest. Even if the Wangyue people are on the sidelines, it is best to rely on Wangyue's prestige to scare the enemy away. Fight with real swords and guns.

The ministers present did not answer the emperor's question directly.

Even Zhou Jing and Wang Zongyi, although they are what the emperor said, but this kind of thing... is difficult to persuade.

It is always embarrassing for Daming to say that my Ming border army should not fight when there is a war, and that there are thieves and bandits who violate the border and do not fight...

For the rest, your majesty can experience it slowly by yourself!

Zhu Youtang said: "Do you all think that I should give Wang Yue an order so that he can't hold out at the Piantou Pass, and wait for the Tatars to withdraw before making arrangements?"

Still no answer.

Zhu Youtang didn't wait for others to take the initiative to say anything this time, but looked at Ma Wensheng and said, "Ma Shangshu, what's your opinion?"

At this time, it is still better to ask the most knowledgeable person in the court, even someone who is on the same level as Wang Yue.

Of course Ma Wensheng understood that the emperor wanted him to be on the side of taking the initiative to fight.

But Ma Wensheng initially agreed to let Wang Yue go to the northwest, and he had made an agreement with the emperor that Wang Yue could not take the initiative to send troops... Although sending troops now is only a passive fight, it still does not meet Ma Wensheng's expectations.

"Returning to Your Majesty, now, regardless of whether Di Yi intends to fight or not, it will take time to rationalize the number of soldiers and horses that can be mobilized for reinforcements. It's too early."

Ma Wensheng meant to wait and see.

Xie Qian stood there with a smile and said, "With Wang Weining's eagerness to make contributions, I'm afraid I can't afford to wait?"

Although Xie Qian said this in a teasing tone.

But he almost said a "reason" that is most in line with the actual situation.

If someone else was guarding Piatouguan, or if it was Wang Yue from ten years ago, this battle could be deployed reasonably, and the imperial government's decree could also be implemented...

But the current Wang Yue is unmatched in his desire to send troops.

Xie Qian almost said.

Do you guys have any use for fooling around here?Just like what you said, Wang Weining can listen to it!
Wang Weining finally seized the opportunity, and he probably will fight for his life. He told you the current situation politely, do you really hope that he can catch this wild horse that has run away?
(End of this chapter)