The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 314
In the palace of the Princess Yongkang in the capital, the eunuch Ma Yongcheng came out to deliver a message on behalf of Queen Zhang, telling her that it would not work to let him teach the little princess.

"...His Royal Highness, it's not that the Empress has no such intentions, it's just that after the Empress mentioned it to Her Majesty, Her Majesty said that she would order someone to find a good teacher for the Princess."

Ma Yongcheng also knew that the emperor's younger sister had a bad temper, so he tried to keep a smile on his face when he spoke.

Sure enough, Yongkang's complexion was also very bad, and he said coldly: "If you don't want it, you don't want it. There is nothing to explain. As the eldest princess of Ming Dynasty, I don't have so much time to teach my niece. Go back and tell the empress, I have no objection to it. "

"Yes."

Ma Yongcheng also felt that you, the eldest princess of Ming Dynasty, are an aunt, and you actually want to be a teacher for your little niece?

Even if you are willing, is your emperor willing?

After Ma Yongcheng left, Cui Yuan came out from behind the curtain. When there were foreign affairs activities such as welcoming guests in the princess mansion, he, the male master in name, was always the one who hid behind and listened.

But Cui Yuan didn't seem to have any objections... He was just the son of a superintendent, and he relied on his wife to have his official position and status. Even at home, I don't feel very present.

"Eldest princess, I think His Majesty didn't intend to flatter you, but for your sake." Cui Yuan also comforted his wife.

Yongkang glared at his husband and said, "If you don't have much ability, do you still need me to go out and show my face?"

Cui Yuan was taken aback.

What is this called?

From the first day you married me, you knew my background and status, and now you regret marrying the wrong man?Why did you go early?With your status, what kind of famous family do you want to marry but can't marry?Of course, it also depends on whether others are willing to honor you as the eldest princess...

Being a son-in-law has no human rights.

"What? Talk about you, and you want to show your face? The big man should go out and let people know that you are capable! Look at your brother-in-law, what is he? Isn't he still doing well in the Northwest? Water up?"

Yongkang is a bit like all married women who "hate their husbands and never fight". The cases they bring up are not children of other people, but "men of other people."

Even though Cui Yuan had a good temper, he didn't feel well after hearing this.

The relationship between the emperor and him is brother-in-law and brother-in-law, and he has the same relationship with Zhang Yanling... Although there was a difference in status between him and Zhang Yanling before, at least his wife would not compare him with the Zhang family. I feel good about myself, but suddenly... It seems that Zhang Yanling has become someone else's husband.

Just my brother-in-law?

Can you read a basket of characters with big buckets?
"Isn't this... no luck?" Cui Yuan also looked very regretful.

What is the background of Zhang Yanling's family?What background do I have?All my background depends on you, the mother-in-law.

Yongkang snorted softly and said, "Why can't the Zhang family do it and you can't? Recently I'm also trying to find a way to enter the palace. Even if the empress refuses to help, I still have a chance to talk to the emperor's grandmother."

"Princess, we are living a good life now, why bother ourselves?"

Cui Yuan didn't take it seriously.

Why did you talk about fighting for an "opportunity" for me?What opportunities are you fighting for?
Yongkang said: "You are no less than the two brothers of the Zhang family. With your ingenuity, you work hard, why can't you get ahead? You and I don't want to, and the children don't want to have a useless father! For this family , you have to work hard, this generation can still count on me, and who will they count on for the next generation?"

Even though Cui Yuan had the kind of character of eating and waiting to die, he couldn't seem to find a reason to refute after hearing what his wife said.

About to be persuaded by his wife.

But I was still muttering in my heart... The imperial court is so big, what's the matter with me as a son-in-law?

……

……

Grassland, Maoerzhuang.

The 100 soldiers and horses led by Zhang Zhou marched into the grassland in a mighty way, and traveled more than [-] miles through mountains and rivers, and arrived at the destination, Maoerzhuang, which was about to build a city.

According to the "Fangyu Minutes", Maoerzhuang is located "one hundred and twenty miles north of (Datong) Mansion."

In the 19th year of Yongle, the Ming court set up military equipment in Maoerzhuang, and in the first year of Hongxi, the Sanshan Mountains on the edge, which had collapsed due to heavy rain, and the Yaerya Feng Pass in Maoerzhuang were built.

In the first year of Zhengtong, the commander-in-chief was specially ordered to patrol and guard strictly, and this place was the gateway for the Ming Dynasty to receive the envoys from Mobei.

In the 14th year of Zhengtong, he first hijacked Yingzong to leave Xuanfu, passed Maoerzhuang, Jiushihaizi, Lisu Wumiao, Liling Monument, to the black pine forest, and to Yexianying.

Since then, Maoerzhuang has been officially abandoned. This time when Zhang Zhou came here, he could still see many relics of forts and beacon towers built decades ago. The grass is deep and the leaves are lush, and these relics are almost integrated with nature. .

"Master Taiwan."

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xi arrived at the high ground of Maoerzhuang, which is the site of the Maoerzhuang Beacon Tower, and saw Zhang Zhou who was looking at the scenery, "The three armies and horses have arrived, and the camps from all walks of life have been laid down. , there is no trace of Tatars in the surrounding thirty or forty miles."

"A part of the heavy artillery is in the front line. According to your instructions, it is to wait for Wang Junmen to withdraw from Weininghai, in case the enemy is ready to fight at any time."

Wang Xi's task this time is very simple, that is, to follow Zhang Zhouyi to Maoerzhuang with the Chinese army, wait for Wang Shouren to finish his patrol of Weining Sea, and return to the Datong frontier together after returning to the army.

Zhang Zhou looked up at the sky and said, "It's a good day, but it's a bit hot. The soldiers in the army are not infected with the disease, right?"

"No... I heard."

Wang Xi was only focused on marching for the past two days. He really didn't pay attention to the movement of the epidemic in the army, but he guessed that if there was something related, someone should have told him long ago.

Those who have not reported it are equivalent to none.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Beasts are rampant in this grassland. Wolves, tigers and leopards are nothing to worry about. On the contrary, those seemingly inconspicuous little things may affect the stability of the army."

"What do you mean by Mr. Taiwan?"

Wang Xi felt that his head was not enough.

He could clearly understand every word Zhang Zhou said, but he just couldn't understand the meaning of connecting them together.

This ability to play riddles...is really the character of a scholar, otherwise why is he born as a number one scholar, or a celestial master?Aren't most people's magic sticks pretending to be deep?
Zhang Zhou said, "I'm talking about the plague."

"This..." Wang Xi said, "It is true that the plague will be prevalent in some places in the past, but on the grassland... it is not so clear."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said: "Soldiers in the army must also pay attention to hygiene. Isn't there a small Pozi under Maoerzhuang? I don't want to remember this Haizi and that Haizi on the grassland. Let the soldiers have time to go to the Pozi and have a good time." Take a bath. In the future, the conditions in the army must be improved, especially when it comes to personal hygiene, as well as things like going out."

Wang Xi had never seen such a commander in charge of the army, and he was stunned.

Leading troops to fight, or in the enemy's land, let the soldiers go into the water to take a bath?
What else should I pay attention to personal hygiene?

This should be an issue that the coach of the army should care about?There is no mention of such an awesome thing in any strategy of war!It seems... Sure enough, a generation of famous generals has its own unique focus.

Still too young.

"The last general will go and order." Even if Wang Xi is full of horses in his heart, he is still a purebred Cao Nima, but he still has to show his appearance of being taught.

Not at all vague.

Zhang Zhou nodded: "Okay, let's go! If you don't take the night away, you must not leak any news within a hundred miles. The horses travel between Weininghai and Mao'erzhuang, and the line between two points and one line is only a hundred Here, I want to be able to complete the exchange within four hours! This is to lay the foundation for future patrols..."

"If you want to build a city in Maoerzhuang, at least you need to mobilize [-] to [-] laborers. If you can't guarantee the safety of this place, what's the point of building a city? For news about Weining Sea, go find out, and make sure that the news over there will be in It will be delivered to me within two hours!"

"Yes!" Wang Xi's original admiration for Zhang Zhou was based on Zhang Zhou's ability to win battles with the help of God's will.

He sent troops with Zhang Zhou once, and he couldn't help sighing secretly. This execution ability is really beyond the comparison of ordinary generals, but it is the details of the pursuit... a bit unusual.

But it may be that capable people have different concerns.

……

……

At the same time that Zhang led his troops to Maoerzhuang in three days, Wang Shouren also led his troops to Weininghai.

When he came to Weininghai again this time, Wang Shouren was filled with emotion.

It was very deserted along the way, and there were even a lot of corpses of cattle, sheep, horses and other livestock left, and in some places there were dead bodies of people, but it was not that there were no people... Since he led troops to surprise Weining Sea, several battles have occurred here one after another , which ends with the final battle between Huoshai and Norbuja.

It is now a cursed area.

The supposedly fertile grassland and the surrounding area of ​​the huge Weining Haizi also lost the hustle and bustle of the past.

"Here we are! There are two miles ahead, Weining Haizi! Is it time to withdraw our troops?"

Zhu Feng rode to Wang Shouren's side. At this time, Wang Shouren was also riding on the horse to observe the surrounding environment.

They came from the southeast coast, which was almost the starting point of their surprise attack on Weining Sea, but they had to go another mile or two to the north.

Wang Shouren said: "Since we want to patrol the soldiers, to show that this place is our land of the Ming Dynasty, we can't just come and go. We have to complete some ceremonies to worship the heavens here. The cavalry comes and goes, and the necessary cannons are also needed. This is for Deter the Xiaoxiao in the grassland."

Zhu Feng got a headache when he heard it.

Although the lone army went deep into the grassland this time, the security seemed to be good, but because of the great fanfare, it was impossible for the tribes in the grassland to not know their movements.

If the grassland really refuses to obey Daming's discipline, it just wants to go against the trend and launch a sneak attack or something. With their five thousand soldiers... it seems that they really can't do anything.

Zhu Feng said: "Instructor Wang, let me say something discouraging. Look, if the Tartars come, shall we fight hard? Or withdraw our troops? Brother Zhang and others have already arrived at Maoerzhuang, but with the [-] troops he personally led Soldiers and horses, in the event of a big battle, shouldn't it be the first priority to preserve strength?"

Hearing this, Wang Shouren couldn't help frowning and looking at Zhu Feng.

It felt like watching a monster.

Wang Shouren was also thinking at this meeting, aren't you Zhu Zhijie awesome?With such high prestige in the Northwest Army, even I may not be able to match you right now.

But once you mention marching and fighting, why do you feel like you have no brains?I know it's frustrating words, but as a general in command, you are equivalent to the deputy commander in the army, can you say such words?

I have no idea!

Wang Shouren didn't try to get angry with Zhu Feng, after all, Zhu Feng still seemed "young and vigorous" in terms of age, whether it was Wang Shouren or Zhang Zhou, they were all older than Zhu Feng, and Zhu Feng was not born as a scholar , just put on the shell of a scholar, in terms of insight and talent, maybe not as good as a student or a tribute student.

Wang Shouren looked into the distance again and said: "Marquis An Bian, in this march and battle, we can't insist that everything is done step by step, and we can't make everything orderly, let alone think that everything can be prepared."

"Ok?"

When Zhu Feng heard it, why is this argument so rare?
Isn't it a plan and then move?
Wang Shouren raised his horsewhip, pointed to the vast lake in front of him and said, "Just say that this Weining Sea has a special terrain, with earthy mountains and dark swamps everywhere within a radius of dozens of miles. No matter how well you plan, accidents are prone to happen. , then what is the point of the follow-up plan?"

Zhu Feng nodded, but still questioned: "There must be a plan for sending troops to the Weining Sea this time, right? We agreed on six days, and we will go back in eight days at the latest."

Wang Shouren said: "That's true, but if it's all just for the patrol and to give gifts to the Longevity Festival, it's too deliberate. Before leaving, Zhang Zhitai even told me that it can be postponed if appropriate. The trail of the Tartars, no matter how many troops the opponent has, even if it is several times larger than ours, can't show any cowardice of ours. A deadly battle must also show Ming's military might."

When Zhu Feng heard it, one head became bigger than the other.

I originally went on a tour of the Weining Sea, following the road that Wang Weining and you Wang Boan once walked, to enjoy the scenery along the way.

In the end, you want me to lead soldiers to fight tough battles?Even fight to the death?

Then can't I just... pray that the Tartars don't come?
"Let's set up camp." Wang Shouren said, "Tomorrow we will go around the Weining Sea, conduct sacrifices to the sky and conduct patrols, build sacrificial altars, and continue to send scouts to the west and north. If there is any movement of the Tatars, we will immediately take precautions. Today It is necessary to show that I am the master of the grassland, if there is no majesty, how can I make the monsters and ghosts on the grassland fear?"

Zhu Feng clasped her fists and said, "Yes."

When he rode his horse for a while, he was still muttering: "You guys are awesome, I'm just here to run an errand, so hurry up and leave. Don't make fun of yourself, that tartar."

……

……

Just as Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren were marching towards the grassland, Huoshai's Mengguoljin tribe was already migrating to Hetao.

At the same time, Huozhai himself had passed Juyongguan Pass and was about to enter the capital.

This morning.

A minister mentioned that the emperor asked the Sanfa Department to go to Qufu to investigate the fire in the Xuansheng Temple, but Zhu Youtang turned his face away and dismissed the topic.

Check must be checked.

The San Judicial Division will also inevitably get involved, but whether it is the people involved in the case or the local government, they must follow a principle... that is, let Dongchang and Jinyiwei go first, and only after the matter is implemented here, will the criminal and The case file is handed over to the Three Law Divisions...

The significance of the involvement of the Three Law Departments in the case is not to allow them to find out the truth, but to allow them to endorse the "truth" found by the factory guards.

If anyone insists on giving priority to the opinions of the Sanju Judiciary, it is tantamount to arguing with the emperor for the right to investigate the case. While highlighting the court, he is slapping the emperor in the face... It would be strange for the emperor to be happy.

"Huosie will arrive in the capital after noon today, have all the preparations been completed?"

Zhu Youtang seemed very concerned.

Zhang Mao came out and said, "Return to Your Majesty, the Dudu Mansion has sent troops to meet and escort, and the artillery has been displayed. The common people know the power of the Shenwei Cannon."

It is not only showing the muscles of Ming Dynasty to Huozhai, but also showing the country's prestige to the people of Ming Dynasty.

The biggest advantage of this is that the emperor's regal power can be further displayed, and the emperor can have face.

"En." Zhu Youtang nodded with a smile.

This is what the emperor wants.

On the matter of welcoming the envoys, Huo Sift's final attitude, that is, the result, is not important.

The most important thing is the process of welcoming... You must show the awesome side of Ming Dynasty, and you must also show the posture of coming to court from all over the world, so that all the small countries in the world know that Ming Dynasty is the master of the world.

Zhang Mao continued to praise with a look of pride: "Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Tatars have been driven out of the Central Plains, and no Tatar tribe leader has come to the Ming Dynasty to pay homage. This is the majesty of His Majesty, and it is the foundation for the future generations of the Ming Dynasty. From then on, the grassland will be calmed down. The old ministers are always comforted in their hearts, and it is really the emperor's grace that makes the people live in peace!"

The civil servants next to him couldn't help squinting at Zhang Mao.

This old boy... flattering is a bit too much!

However, there is one thing that even the civil officials present could not object to, that is, since Beiyuan was driven out of the Central Plains, no patriarch of a large tribe came to congratulate Ming Dynasty, and even when Duoyan Sanwei returned, he only sent envoys to The capital of Ming Dynasty.

Looking at this point again, it seems that Zhu Youtang really surpassed the two most powerful emperors of Ming Dynasty, one Taizu and the other Taizong.

Because this flattery is of a "level", mainly in line with "reality", so that Zhu Youtang was very happy after listening to the book, and his face showed a look of joy: "This is all thanks to the help of your family. I dare not take the credit for his achievements. Of course, Bingkuan's ingenious strategies in the past six months, and the generals he recommended and dispatched are not afraid of hardships and fought bravely. These are all necessary and crucial. here."

Zhang Mao asked again: "Your Majesty, I don't know who will be the envoy to welcome you?"

Zhu Youtang looked around the scene, his eyes fell on Lin Han, and he said, "Let's go with Lin Qing's family, the newly-appointed left servant of the Ministry of Officials, as the official envoy, and you, the British prince, will help you. The commander of Jinyiwei, Mou Bin, will send someone Synergy. There is one more thing that I forgot to mention."

The ministers present felt that the emperor was very serious and thought it might be a big deal.

"I have decreed that Kong Hongxu, who may be involved in the arson of the Xuansheng Temple, and other people involved in the case, come to the capital together. Recently, I have received several memorials here, some of which mentioned the inheritance of titles. Especially when it comes to the succession of the heirs of those who have been deprived of titles due to crimes... I think it is worth discussing. Ministry of Rites!"

"The minister is here." Xu Qiong came out.

Zhu Youtang said: "I will hand over the related memorials to the Ministry of Rites for the time being, and the Ministry of Rites will discuss whether it is feasible. The unresolved codes and regulations of the clan's government will also be decided together, and will be published in conjunction with the "Hui Dian."

(End of this chapter)