The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 283 Coach Wang's New Favorite
There was no suspense, Zhu Youtang unilaterally informed about Zhang Zhou's dispatch of troops to Weininghai.

After the three cabinet ministers and Ma Wensheng came out of the Qianqing Palace, their faces were dignified but not too anxious. On the contrary, Zhang Mao, who used to be relaxed and calm when discussing matters in front of the palace, had a very ugly face this time.

However, due to the previous estrangement between civil servants Wu Xun, Liu Jian and other civil servants would not discuss with Zhang Mao the gains and losses of Zhang Zhou's rise after the incident.

The road you Wu Xun chose by yourself, you have to walk to the end with tears in your eyes.

"Zhang Bingkuan is in control of Xuanda Pianguan and other military affairs, and it will be a matter of time before he goes to war, and the victory or defeat should have been predicted long ago."

Liu Jian made a comment in front of Ma Wensheng.

It is to express the attitude of the cabinet on this matter.

"Ah."

An old politician like Ma Wensheng can naturally understand the deep meaning in Liu Jian's words.

When Zhang Zhou was sent by the emperor to be the head of Xuan Da, he should have thought that he might start a war. You can't expect him to keep performing artillery and military exercises. Even if Zhang Zhou doesn't do it, the tribes in the grassland will not let you Ming's army is tossing around on our own territory.

It's just that Zhang Zhou's action is too early and the use of troops is too "odd", but in general it does not violate the policy of using troops since Hongzhi of the Ming Dynasty.

It is to obtain the highest benefit at the lowest cost.

During the reign of Hongzhi, although the Ming Dynasty was mainly on the defensive in the northwest, there was still a precedent for Wang Yue to divide his forces to attack Helan Mountain. There is no violation of the changes and needs of the border situation.

On this premise, Zhang Zhou did not raise his troops to complete a frontal battle with Dayan Khan, or Huozhai, nor Buzai, etc., but used a sneak attack to attack the base camp of the Huozhai Department...

This is very much in Daming's interest.

If you win, you will gain a lot, and you will directly change the pattern of the grassland. If you lose, you will lose [-] cavalrymen...

In Daming, to complete a "Great Victory", the loss is not small.

The victory of the Ming Dynasty has always been based on the number of enemies killed. It is not publicized how much the court has lost, because almost every so-called great victory, the loss of the Ming soldiers is higher than that of the Tatars. It was a great victory piled up with corpses. If this situation was publicized to the outside world, who would dare to fight desperately in the future?How to maintain the national pride of the people?

The loss of three thousand soldiers and horses is not unacceptable in the eyes of these elders and the Minister of the Ministry of War.

There is another meaning in Liu Jian's words.

Zhang Zhou won, which is beneficial to Daming and advisable.

Zhang Zhou lost, the emperor said that he would not be held accountable, but it would break the absolute admiration for him from the top and bottom of Ming Dynasty, which is also advisable.

Either way, we are not at a loss.

On the contrary, what we should worry about is that this kid won a big victory, and any interests of the nation and the country can be regarded as sacrifices in a situation involving the ebb and flow of partisan struggle.

That's called politics.

……

……

After the three members of the cabinet returned, Li Dongyang went to the Imperial Academy to meet Wang Hua immediately.

Wang Hua was a little surprised that Li Dongyang came to him, because he was also helping to sort out the "Da Ming Hui Dian" recently, and the final draft had already been submitted once, and the emperor had not given an approval recently.

Once the "Da Ming Hui Dian" is written, Wang Hua will also be promoted in the official position as a minister of the Imperial Academy.

The completion of the "Da Ming Hui Dian" was a carnival for the Hanlin Academy. After all, the Qingshui yamen like the Hanlin Academy usually does not have any opportunities to be rewarded for meritorious service.

"Dehui, I'm not here to talk to you about editing books, but about your son Bo'an."

Li Dongyang also made it clear.

Wang Shouren is a rising star that I admire, and even the orthodox civil servants of the Ming Dynasty admire. What did your Wang family do?Let Zhang Zhou transfer Wang Hua to the Martial Arts Academy, but now that Daming is going to send troops to Weininghai, how could you let your son be a civil servant accompanying the army?
Of course, Li Dongyang couldn't directly tell about the dispatch of troops to Wei Ninghai, he could only insinuate and inquire about Wang Shouren's recent friends and political stance.

Wang Hua sighed: "Speaking of which, I have been a little negligent in disciplining Bo An. In the past few years, he has been traveling to study and prepare for the exam, and he failed the exam twice, which has changed his mind a lot."

Li Dongyang interrupted Wang Hua's words and asked, "I'm asking about his views on the Northwest military and politics."

Wang Hua shook his head: "He told me that he admired Wang Weining in his heart, and he especially admired Wang Weining's surprise attack on Weininghai. He also proposed this funeral... but it seems to have something to do with Bing Kuan. It is said that Bing Kuan asked about it. If he wants to attend the funeral, he agrees."

"Zhang Bingkuan?"

Li Dongyang frowned.

Hearing what Wang Hua said, he immediately realized that Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren had a long friendship.

If so, it is not surprising that Wang Shouren praised Wang Yue's surprise attack on Weininghai, and Zhang Zhou, as a friend, asked Wang Shouren to cooperate with this surprise attack on Weininghai.

"Has Bo An ever mentioned his admiration for Wang Shichang?" Li Dongyang asked, "What about his personal relationship with Bing Kuan?"

Wang Hua sighed: "Bo'an once told me that he didn't know why Bingkuan would know his enthusiasm for military affairs, and he hadn't told him in advance about the investigation of Wutang, but he was ordered to go anyway. As for Wang Weining's funeral , it was also Bingkuan who proposed that he and Bingkuan have no personal relationship at ordinary times, and it is said... that they have never sat down and talked once."

Wang Hua is also very careful.

He could see that maybe Li Dongyang was concerned about his son getting close to Zhang Zhou.

Although Zhang Zhou is currently serving as a lecturer in the Imperial Academy, he is likely to become a Bachelor of Attendance, but Zhang Zhou himself is not tolerated by orthodox civil servants, and he cannot say how close his son is to Zhang Zhou.

Li Dongyang asked: "Did Bo'an tell Bingkuan that he admired Wang Shichang's aura of Weininghai?"

Wang Hua shook his head: "I don't know. But...does it matter?"

"he!"

Li Dongyang was a little speechless.

You can't tell Wang Huaming that Zhang Zhou is really planning to use your son to surprise Wei Ninghai. If Wang Bo'an didn't say it himself, then Zhang Zhoupin can only figure it out?

"Binzhi, if you have any doubts, I can write to Quanzi, saying that he is about to go to the Daming Mansion, and I will find out when I call him back." Wang Hua was afraid that his son would cause trouble.

That's what being a father is all about.

While wishing his son well, but also fearing that his son will cause trouble, he wants to be a nanny, but often what he says and does does not make sense to his son.

From Wang Hua's point of view, allowing Li Dongyang to ask him about Wang Shouren alone might have caused a lot of trouble.

Li Dongyang was a little helpless, he was about to leave, but he still told him: "Don't ask him, I think he won't come back in a while. You will know what he is going to do in a few days! Sigh!"

"This?"

Wang Hua was also a little confused.

Even if you, Li Dongyang, are scheming and scheming, what is the purpose of suddenly coming to me to say such unclear words?
Even if my son went to attend Wang Weining's funeral, it would be an errand assigned by the imperial court. Who did he provoke?

……

……

Wang Shouren arrived at Xuanfu on the morning of the day when he dispatched troops, that is, on May [-]th the day after Zhang Zhou formulated his tactics.

When Zhang Zhou invited Wang Shouren to the governor's yamen, and only told Tang Yin about sending troops to Weininghai, Wang Shouren shook his head first.

It's not that he didn't want to do it, it's that he didn't fully understand what Zhang Zhou was going to do.

"Specifically, let Bohu tell you." Zhang Zhou smiled.

It's time to practice Tang Yin's eloquence.

When you Tang Yin was a scholar, you were eloquent and unrestrained, but when it comes to military affairs, you have to rely on your mouth to tell Wang Shouren exactly what you heard yesterday, and you have to persuade Wang Shouren Accept the job.

It depends on how talented you are.

Tang Yin first told Wang Shouren about the general content of yesterday's meeting. When he mentioned that the headquarters of Huoshai was on the north side of Weining Sea, Wang Shouren's eyes fell on the map hanging on the side, and he nodded: "Even if it wasn't a guess from God's will, the Judging from the current situation, it is indeed very possible. But has Yebushou detected such a situation?"

Tang Yin looked back at Zhang Zhou.

Meaning, either you say it?

But seeing Zhang Zhou smiling and not saying a word, Tang Yin understood that Zhang Zhou was asking him to "make persistent efforts", he said: "There is no information that will not be received overnight."

Only then did Wang Shouren realize that everything was based on Zhang Zhou's side story.

Tang Yindao: "Three thousand fine cavalry, with Ma Yi, the commander of Wanquan Right Guard and the deputy commander of Xuan Xuan, as the general, guarding the middle officer Cao Shun and supervising the army, currently Bo'an... You came to go out with the army, and you went out from the Wanquan Right Guard. Xinghe, Daqingshan, to the upper reaches of the Dongyang River, directly to the north bank of Weining Haizi, and make a surprise attack. It is agreed that after three days and four nights, a surprise attack will be made. If Di Yi goes west, he will chase him quickly and return within five days. "

"Well." After hearing this, Wang Shouren felt that it was reliable, and he asked, "Then there are no traces of Hulu activities around Daqingshan?"

"This……"

Tang Yin looked at Zhang Zhou again.

I'm still wondering, why do you, Wang Bo'an, have so many questions?

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "During last year, Daqing Mountain was wandering for the herdsmen of Yibulu's tribe, but after the drought, the water around Daqingshan was severely dried up and the grasslands were degraded. And go... and have plans to join the set. Dayan Khan moved his tent to Ordos after the two battles of Pianguan and Ningyuan this year to prevent the Mongolian right-wing ministries from entering the set. The war started because of this.”

"Is the road feasible?"

Wang Shouren was obviously more assertive than Tang Yin.

After finding out that there were no major problems in the strategy, he was concerned about whether this path was good or not.

"This……"

Tang Yin didn't know how to answer.

Zhang Zhou said before that this road is not easy to walk, but he doesn't know exactly why it is so difficult.

At this time, it seems that there is no Tang Yin. Zhang Zhou said: "Daqingshan is the middle part of Yinshan Mountain. If you want to pass through Daqingshan and enter the northern foothills, the road is bumpy and rough, and you may have to delay for a few days. In the upper reaches of the Dongyang River, the terrain is relatively flat, and it takes a lot of work to cross the Lubao, and then to the Weining Haizi, you can ride your horses and drive your troops straight in."

"What about the retreat?" Wang Shouren asked.

This time Tang Yin snapped back and said, "Just go back the way you came!"

"Ok?"

Wang Shouren obviously felt that Tang Yin's words were a bit unreliable.

Why did you go back the same way?

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It is said to the outside world that it is going back the same way, but if the surprise attack on Weininghai can win a big victory, a large number of people, animals and livestock will be captured, and it will be impossible to go the same way again. I will personally lead the Chinese army to pass At the southern foot of Daqing Mountain, cross the Dongyang River to Maoerzhuang, you can just go south from Weininghai!"

Tang Yin was surprised and said: "The Manguan Yanbu Front Banner in the south of the Weining Sea is located, isn't it also in Maoerzhuang?"

Wang Shouren nodded and said: "If this battle is successful, there will be little Tatar princes coveting in the west of Manguan's tribe, and Yongxiebu and Tumed tribes in the south, not to mention the border soldiers of Ming Dynasty. No matter how many troops are stationed around Ning Haizi, they all have to retreat westward to join the tribe's main battle troops."

"That's what it means." Zhang Zhou felt that it was better to talk about military affairs with Wang Shouren, because there was no need to waste words.

Wang Shouren knew the situation on the grassland, the rules of war between the Tatars and the Ming Dynasty, and the essentials of marching and running an army.

It can be said that Wang Shouren is familiar with the art of war, or that Wang Shouren was a warmonger who was underappreciated when he was young. Now if you give him a stick, how can he not know how to climb up?

Could it be that Wang Shouren also felt that after decades of being in the officialdom, he would have the opportunity to go to the Nine Frontiers to handle affairs after he was 50 or [-] years old, and he would be able to fulfill his lifelong aspirations?
We must seize the opportunity.

This is true of Zhang Zhou, and so is Wang Shouren.

Because the officialdom of Daming followed the old ways and talked about seniority, it was very unfriendly to young people like Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren who had just entered the officialdom and were full of vigor.

Wang Shouren continued to suggest: "Then sending troops from Datong will be very important. I wonder how many troops will be sent from Datong Town?"

Zhang Zhoudao: "At least two routes, each with [-] soldiers and horses, mainly echoing each other from a distance, paving the way for your withdrawal from Weininghainan. I have already informed Datong Governor Hong Han and asked him to send troops to cooperate."

"Will he listen to you?"

Wang Shouren was also very rude when asked.

Although you, Zhang Zhou, are the head of Xuanda, but when you first arrived, Ma Zhongxi looked down on you. Why do you think that Hong Han will only look after you?

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "You don't need to listen to me, just listen to the oracle."

"Oh."

Wang Shouren immediately figured it out.

It seems that Zhang Zhou is leading this time, but Zhang Zhou has a "backer" behind him, and Zhang Zhou represents the emperor.

Ma Zhongxi is the kind of official who doesn't rub the sand in his eyes, but Hong Han is relatively mediocre. He is probably the kind of person who Wang Shouren looks down upon by relying on his seniority, but Hong Han himself has to listen to the emperor's orders .

"In addition, [-] troops will be dispatched from Pianguan to coordinate from the left. The Qin Dynasty established Taiwan in Yansui, and may also send [-] troops to support it. This battle does not seek to regain the Hetao, but it will make the grassland tribes dare not Close to the border of Ming Dynasty."

When Zhang Zhou said this, Wang Shouren seemed to feel relieved instantly.

"I am willing to take orders to go!"

Wang Shouren cupped his hands immediately.

Apparently Wang Shouren could tell that Zhang Zhou wasn't just bragging about it, if Zhang Zhou was just a new Jinshi, he wouldn't be able to mobilize the people in the towns on the Nine Borders at all.

But Zhang Zhou was a man with two major military achievements. After Wang Yue died, the entire northwest system was a little chaotic, and Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng, who could most shock the Tatars, were both Zhang Zhou's people, and Zhang Zhou I even sit directly in the Xuanfu. Besides, Qin Hong is not too picky about Zhang Zhou. Behind Zhang Zhou is the emperor's support...

Zhang Zhou is also the chief instructor of the Yanwu Hall, the developer of new artillery, and is responsible for casting artillery for the imperial court...

With this layer of aura, even Ma Zhongxi can't do anything against Zhang Zhou. Now Zhang Zhou wants to use the four towns of Xuanfu, Datong, Pianguan and Yansui to coordinate a raid on Weininghai. Is it really that difficult? ?

Of course Wang Shouren would think... This is the right way for me!
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "Brother Bo'an, it's fine if you're willing to go. I'm still worried about who will cooperate. Since you choose to go, it's not too late. Let's leave tonight. But before you go, we have to study new weapons .”

"Cannon?" Wang Shouren was puzzled.

What weapon can you bring me?
Zhang Zhoudao: "Ordinary cannons are too heavy to be carried by light soldiers. I just recently researched some light cannons. Each one weighs only sixty or seventy catties. It can be carried on horseback, but the range is not far. , only about one mile away, easy to use.”

Tang Yin's eyes widened upon hearing this.

Didn't you agree to make a surprise attack with light soldiers, and win with the most cold weapons and more firecrackers?
How can this bring the cannon over?

The artillery mentioned by Zhang Zhou is actually a simple smoothbore howitzer, not a sub-basic artillery. The airtightness must be high, but the barrel is thin and the caliber is small. The artillery made by this indigenous method has an uncomplicated process. If there is no pure steel cannon body and the power of yellow powder, then this kind of cannon can only be regarded as a big firecracker that can hit about 100 meters in Ming Dynasty, and it doesn’t have much power when it is sent out with an iron ball. It all depends on whether it can be hit accurately. .

But after Zhang Zhou's technical improvement, this gun already possessed the attributes of the Franc machine gun, that is, shotgun and flowering.

Other than the short range, everything else is fine.

It is used to suppress firepower at medium and short distances. It has a longer range than ordinary crossbows and a large coverage area. It is especially effective for cavalry assaults.

……

……

Zhang Zhou took Wang Shouren to visit Xinpao.

Wang Shouren was also surprised that Zhang Zhou was able to bring out something new at this time.

"Before the afternoon, I will show you a demonstration. They are all from the Yanwu Hall. I will teach the lieutenants how to use them in the future." Zhang Zhou smiled, "As for the gunners you brought over this time, they are all old acquaintances. They come from Yanwutang or Jingying Shenji Battalion. There is no difficulty in dispatching, and they can understand all semaphore and signal flares."

Wang Shouren saw that this was simply too sweet.

Not to mention the lightweight new cannons, the people employed are the group of people who usually help fire the cannons in the Yanwutang, everyone is familiar with each other, and they have even talked to each other.

"I'll show you another firecracker."

Zhang Zhou asked someone to bring over a new gun.

When Wang Shouren held it in his hand, he felt something different, because the firecracker did not have a gap for the lead wire, but instead there were triggers and other things that he had never seen before.

"The previous matchlock guns needed to be ignited, so they couldn't be used at any time." Zhang Zhoudao, "Nowadays it is summer, and there may be rain on the grassland, so the use of matchlock guns is limited."

"This is a flint gun. As the name suggests, flint is used to ignite the fire inside, just hook it here. It can fire two projectiles at a time, and it is relatively cumbersome to load. I only have [-] here, and all the projectiles I use are standard projectiles. I call them For bullets."

"Because it is a short gun, the shooting range is not far, about fifty to one hundred paces. It is used to kill at close range. It is the weapon of choice after rushing into the enemy camp and before entering hand-to-hand combat."

"This thing will continue to be improved in the future. There is not much I can prepare for you when we dispatch troops in a hurry this time. Take it with you and use it for self-defense."

When Wang Shouren heard the words, he held the flint gun in his hand, and he couldn't put it down, as if he had found a new favorite.

He has been completely moved by Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou's thoughtfulness has already been posted to grandma's house.

(End of this chapter)