The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 412 A dangerous move by soldiers, the chance of winning

"The prince went out to practice, and he was able to write such a poem, which made me very gratified."

Zhu Youtang also guessed that it was Zhang Zhou who helped his son become famous behind the scenes, and now he also knew that he couldn't point it out, as the saying goes, "God knows, the earth knows, I know, my son knows, and Bing Kuan knows."

Even if others can guess it, no one will admit it.

Xiao Jingben wondered where the prince got such knowledge, and he couldn't understand why Zhang Zhou had such a good poem not to show it to others, but to give it to the prince. After Zhu Youtang said something, he probably realized that maybe he was The relationship is good, Zhang Zhou is willing to devote himself to the royal family?
Mou Bin said: "Your Majesty, there are still people who say that this poem was written by him."

Zhu Youtang said annoyedly: "It has been found out that they are trying to gain fame, why are you being polite? Scholars don't want to study, they always want to opportunistically, so why not spoil them? Let Yang Peng check this out carefully. A group of people, even if they just want to earn fame and have no malicious intentions, they must not be let go."

When the emperor can let others take away his son's reputation?
Don't say that this poem was not written by those people. Even if it was true, the emperor stole it to make his son famous, and there is nothing to be picky about.

Now others still want to take advantage of the emperor's family?I'm afraid that group of people found the wrong partner.

……

……

Zhu Youtang took the three poems that day and went to show off to his wife, Queen Zhang.

In Kunning Palace, after reading the poem on the paper, Empress Zhang said with a puzzled face: "Your Majesty, even if the concubine does not understand poetry, I can tell that this poem is indeed well written. I don't know who wrote it. ?”

Zhu Youtang smiled and said, "It's the prince."

"No... Maybe?" Queen Zhang also knew her son very well.

Zhu Houzhao has never written any poems before, so how could he do such a shocking thing?
"I don't believe it when I tell it, maybe it's because Bing Kuan taught it well."

Zhu Youtang had to cover up this matter in front of his wife.

If you can't discourage your son's enthusiasm, then don't. Zhang Zhou has worked hard to help his son become famous and secure the position of the crown prince. How can he live up to Zhang Zhou's wishes?
"Queen, in the past few years, in fact, there have been rumors among the people that the prince is not born to me and you, and that he is not of royal blood. I am really ashamed and annoyed, and the prince is usually too stubborn. , the crown prince is not yet able to govern Daming well, and his prestige is not enough."

"But now I am not afraid. Even if I am not here, there is Bing Kuan. He can help the country and protect the prince."

Queen Zhang asked: "Your Majesty, you are not worried about the powerful minister?"

"Hehe." Zhu Youtang smiled, "Actually, I have thought about this problem before, and I have never understood why Bingkuan's temperament is different from others. Don't care about anything."

"Why is that?" Queen Zhang didn't quite understand Zhang Zhou's character either.

Generally speaking, it seems that Zhang Zhou doesn't really pursue fame and wealth. He obviously has extraordinary abilities, but he has always maintained restraint and forbearance with civil servants. Walk.

Zhu Youtang smiled and said with emotion: "That's because he originally came from the Taoist sect of the immortal family. He is easy-going and free-spirited by nature. That's something in his bones. Speaking of it, it's just that he pursues different things. Some people chase fame and fortune, and hope Use this to prove yourself. But since Bingkuan has a predestined relationship to immortality, this worldly fame is nothing but a fleeting moment to him."

Empress Zhang lowered her head and said, "He's already the Duke of Lai, and he's also become a minister. Can this be called passing light?"

"It was forced on him by me, and he didn't take the initiative to ask for it. I can feel that he treats Daming with sincerity. I'm not saying that he has no ambitions at all, but at least, he is really helping Together with the imperial court, the national power of Ming Dynasty has been flourishing, so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment."

Zhu Youtang flattered Zhang Zhou in front of his wife.

After all, Empress Zhang is a woman, she can't accept her husband's statement, but now Zhang Zhou has not directly violated the interests of Zhang's relatives behind her, so she can't find fault.

"It's like the recent battle in the north. It seems that Bingkuan is not there, but in fact he is everywhere. Without him, I really don't know how to fight the nine-sided battle. I'm afraid the Tatars will press harder and harder. , when the flames of war will continue everywhere, the frontier soldiers and the people will suffer. I need him very much!"

……

……

Morning the next day.

Before entering the palace, the ministers had already gathered in twos and threes in front of the palace gate, and the news about the appearance of three epoch-making Qijue poems in the south of the Yangtze River also reached the ears of this group of people.

"The accomplishment of this poem is extraordinary."

Ni Yue, the Minister of the Ministry of Officials who had just arrived, told Li Dongyang about the three poems in detail, and praised the poems in front of Li Dongyang and others.

Li Dongyang knows the goods, and after listening to it, he also said with emotion: "It is a good story in the literary world that all the students in Nanjing gathered together to produce such good poems. To illustrate the flourishing of Ming Dynasty literature.”

Those who are officials, especially those who have reached the senior level of the cabinet, will always feel that writing poetry is flashy and not beneficial to the times.

Unknowingly, Li Dongyang has changed from a model of scholars in the world to a utilitarian, but he himself does not admit it.

Xie Qian said with a smile: "Who wrote the poem? But it has a name? Someone with such a talent may be able to make achievements in the imperial examination in the future. Let's talk about it earlier, so I can get to know them."

Ni Yue said: "It is said that it was done by one person."

"One person?" Xie Qian said, "You mean, the three poems were written by one person? Then this person's talent is extraordinary. What is his name?"

Ni Yue sighed and said: "At first it was said that it was written by a young man named Zhu Shou, who was only ten years old, but he often went to and from the gatherings of the Nanjing literary circle, but later it was said that it was written by someone else, and there is no conclusion yet. .But I also got news that this is...Cheng Keqin's masterpiece, and I don't know if it's true."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "This is not Cheng Keqin's writing style."

Both Xie Qian and Ni Yue looked at Li Dongyang at the same time.

To say that the one who knows Cheng Minzheng is someone like Li Dongyang who has a close relationship with Cheng Minzheng.

Li Dongyang probably sensed that the eyes of the two were not right, or suspected that he was jealous of Cheng Minzheng's talent, so he said: "Not to mention the style of writing, but with Keqin's character, if he has a poem, he will definitely reveal it to others early, so why are there three poems at the same time?" Come out? Can it be misunderstood by others as a fake hand?"

Ni Yue nodded and said: "In this case, it may indeed be far-fetched by others."

Xie Qian smiled and said, "The more you talk about it, the less simple it becomes. Zhu Shou, ten years old... interesting and interesting."

Just as he was talking, Wang Jia, a Hanlin scholar, came over and saluted several people.

Ni Yue and others did not talk to Wang Jia about the three poems. Xie Qian asked: "Is the prince still not recovered from his illness? After the autumn lecture, everything seems to be too peaceful."

Wang Jia said: "This is exactly what I am here for. Today I want to ask Your Majesty to focus on the prince's studies."

Zhu Houzhao has been absent from all the Jingyan lectures since the beginning of autumn, and the East Palace lecture class has been in a state of slack all the time. As a scholar in charge of the Hanlin Academy, Wang Jia came here for this matter this time.

……

……

The meeting begins.

When the war of words and guns really started in the court, no one cared too much about the prince's class.

The focus of the discussion that day was about the use of troops in Ningxia.

Yang Mi, the newly appointed left servant of the Ministry of War, said: "... Ningxia has been fighting for a long time without victory, and its morale is sluggish, and the inspection of the censor has already sent back the report of impeachment. Please also ask your majesty to replace the general of Ningxia's army and send someone else from the court."

The target is Zhu Feng, who has been damaged in several battles with the Tatars before, and is a bit like a turtle.

Zhu Youtang said: "The war in Ningxia is not advancing smoothly. Why didn't you replace the governor, the general officer, and the guarding officer together, but only replace the general soldier? Or do you think that my call to An Bianhou is cronyism?"

The ministers were overwhelmed by the emperor's direct question.

Many people are thinking.

Your Majesty, you have said it for us, what else can we say?

Zhu Zhijie only seemed capable, but he was just a follower behind Zhang Bingkuan. He was supported by Zhang Zhou, Wang Yue, Wang Qiong and others before, but now Yang Yiqing could not move this kind of person at all.

"I don't want to make changes about the use of troops in Ningxia right now," Zhu Youtang said.

Yang Mi was still not reconciled, and continued: "Your Majesty, after the beginning of summer this year, the losses of people, animals, property, money and food in Ningxia are huge, which is related to the inaction of local generals in Ningxia. If we can't clarify the punishment, I'm afraid it will be a disaster. .Please Your Majesty..."

"Is it over?"

Zhu Youtang coldly interrupted Yang Mi's words, "I didn't want to say it at first, but now I have to say something. As long as Ningxia can hold back the main army of the little Tatar prince, even if there is a small loss, it is appropriate. .”

The ministers present were in an uproar.

How far is the emperor's cronyism?Actually think... a small loss is a victory?

Zhu Youtang didn't bother to say anything, he waved his hand to Xiao Jing who was on the side, Xiao Jing then said: "Ten days ago, the commander of the Nuer Gandu Sidu, the doctor of the military department, the admiral of Liaobei military affairs, and Wang Shouren, the uncle of Xinjian, personally led the Tens of thousands of cavalry have entered the grassland, and the news we have learned now shows that they have entered the hinterland of the Chahar Ministry!"

"what!"

The court was in an uproar again.

Tens of thousands of cavalry... Drive straight in...

Why is this routine so similar to Wang Shouren's surprise attack on Weininghai before?It's just that Wang Shouren brought no more than two thousand cavalry that time, but this time he brought tens of thousands of cavalry?
But the question is... where are the tens of thousands of cavalry in Liaodong and Liaobei?

Also, such a big military transfer, the whole court actually didn't know about it in advance?

How is the deployment of troops and food and grass dispatched?

Seeing that the goal of intimidating the ministers had been achieved, Zhu Youtang continued: "I have discussed the strategy of using troops with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Households before, and discussed the feasibility of marching troops with some personnel from the Supreme Court. Now the main force of the little Tatar prince is in Ningxia. , it is difficult to take care of the headquarters of the Chahar Department. As for the small loss of Marquis Anbian in Ningxia, it actually made the little Tatar prince feel arrogant and inflated."

The ministers present heard it.

The emperor said that he had discussed with the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Households, and some members of the Supreme Court, but he did not discuss with the cabinet and other ministers. This means that in this battle, the court headed by the cabinet was actually emptied.

Even Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others found it difficult to suppress their resentful hearts when they heard the news.

The so-called "some members of the upper hearing office", isn't Zhang Bingkuan alone?
Zhu Youtang said: "Before the attack from the east to the west, the little Tatar prince sent troops to Weininghai, Beigukou, Pianguan, Yansui and other places to take precautions before launching the Ningxia invasion, intending to prevent our Ming soldiers from marching into the grassland. Monitor every move of our Daming border. The Tatars would never have thought of sending troops from Liaobei... Such a method is to knock the mountain and shake the tiger, so that the Tatars will not dare to rashly invade our Daming border from now on."

"In the past two years, I have focused on preparing for the stepping down of the grassland. During this period, I cannot let the border pass be passively beaten everywhere. If I am only on the defensive, I will definitely not be able to demonstrate the power of my new firearms. So I just want to take the initiative Get out."

"In the battle of Ningxia, even though the little Tatar prince had the upper hand, Yang Yiqing, An Bianhou and others were not afraid of danger, and they were still able to take the initiative to attack, and fought back and forth with the Tatars. The prestige of the soldiers of our Great Ming Frontier Army also demonstrates the prestige of our Ming Dynasty, and it also held back the main force of the Tatars, which is indispensable!"

The emperor's impassioned speech silenced all the ministers in the hall.

Just listen to the emperor talking there alone.

Many people are thinking, how can they find love for that kid Zhu Zhijie?Obviously, he played very uselessly, not to mention the loss of soldiers and generals, and the loss of food, grass, people and animals, but he was said to be "very courageous", and even said that he played a national prestige?
"Gentlemen, do you have anything else to say?" Zhu Youtang finally concluded.

In fact, it was to remind the ministers present.

Old rules.

Before Wang Shouren's thousand-mile raid on the grassland has results, don't beep, let's talk about the results. Only when the results are not satisfactory, you will come out to argue with me.

Liu Jian came out... In fact, it seems that he is the only one who has the right to question it.

Liu Jian said: "Dare to ask Your Majesty, what role does Duke Lai play in this battle? Did he arrange all this?"

It is not only to divide the credit after the victory, but also to determine the fault division caused by the failure of the war.

Zhu Youtang said: "Old Liu Ge, do you need to ask so clearly?"

The emperor did not answer directly.

In fact, both Liu Jian and Zhu Youtang are "clear" in this matter.

Zhang Zhou is in Nanjing, so it is okay to say that this incident has nothing to do with him, and that it was Zhang Zhou's overall planning, and no one doubts that Zhang Zhou used to "plan" to achieve fame in the past. In fact, until now, almost no Zhang Zhou, the "Duke of the State of Lai", fought the battle himself?

But no one dared to completely deny Zhang Zhou's contribution.

Liu Jian seems to be trying to determine right from wrong, but in fact, what kind of credit is it... Zhang Zhou is already the Duke of Lai. No matter how great the credit is, can he still be crowned king?
But if there is a fault, then Zhang Zhou will be punished.

This is an errand of "efforts are not thankful". It is said that Zhang Zhou is the chief planner, and he does not have much credit, but he is at fault for losing.

And it is precisely because the emperor understands this that he is not in a hurry to set a "composition" for Zhang Zhou, meaning... Is this matter planned by Zhang Zhou? Break it off.

The meritorious service belongs to Zhang Zhou.

If there is a fault, it must be someone else's.

Ni Yue came out and said: "Your Majesty, it is difficult to determine the merits and demerits of Ningxia's war, but now that Uncle Xinjian has sent troops to the grasslands from northern Liaoning, it must be difficult to dispatch food and supplies. If there is a loss in this battle, or Jianzhou, Haixi, etc. Jurchen took advantage of the situation to counterattack, and the strategy was inappropriate, and someone should be held responsible for it.”

"Then let me take care of it." Zhu Youtang is not a person who likes to escape.

You just want Bing Kuan to take the blame, right?
I am sorry.

I would rather take the blame on myself than put the blame on Bingkuan. Whoever made him in my heart is a model of loyal and patriotic courtiers, and you are all a bunch of villains who want to do everything for fame and fortune?
"Regardless of the battle in Ningxia, or Xinjianbo's attack on the grassland, there is still no result, and I don't want to hear about the process. I believe that within a month, there will be results from everywhere. Ladies and gentlemen, please wait for the good news."

Zhu Youtang is very confident.

Not for anything else.

The reason is that Wang Shouren's six thousand cavalry entered the grassland, which can be said to be well prepared, and Wang Shouren's side is almost all veterans, so it can be said that they have very rich combat experience.

With [-] light cannons and [-] flint blunderbuss, in Zhu Youtang's mind, there is such an awesome existence.

Moreover, Zhu Youtang didn't care about the cost. After all, Wang Shouren was not Zhang Zhou. Even if Wang Shouren was defeated, as long as the strategic intention was achieved and the Tatars dared not go south to commit crimes, Zhu Youtang felt it was worth it.

Also... Judging from the battle report sent back by Wang Shouren, the Tatars did not expect that the direction of Ming Dynasty's troops would be Liaodong and Liaobei. There were remnants of Duoyan Sanwei guarding there, and the Tatars didn't do much at all. precautions...

This also gave Wang Shouren the convenience of going straight.

And... Wang Shouren does have this ability.

From the surprise attack on the Weining Sea to this direct attack on the Desert and Dust, Wang Shouren has shown extraordinary military talent.

……

……

On the way out of the palace, the faces of all the ministers were solemn.

Originally thought that when Zhang Zhou went south, the military and government officials from the Nine Frontiers would return to the traditional civilian hands, but who knew...

It turned out that Zhang Zhou still had the ability to control the air. He was in Nanjing, but he influenced the war in the borderlands of Ming Dynasty. They never thought that the emperor could still launch such an attack even though he sent Zhang Zhou to Nanjing. Sounds like a crazy battle.

"What did Duke Lai do?"

Ni Yue finally couldn't help asking, which was actually a questioning of Ma Wensheng and Zhou Jing.

It is also different from the past. In the past, Tu Yu and others called Zhang Zhou, but they were all "Zhang Bingkuan".

Even though Ni Yue was already the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, he still looked down on Zhang Zhou, but a rising "upstart" like him could no longer directly challenge Zhang Zhou, but relied more on Liu Jian and other veterans.

Xie Qian said: "We didn't expect it, and neither did the Tatars. Let Batu Mengke think about a hundred possibilities, and he would never have imagined that Zhang Bingkuan was in Nanjing, and Wang Bo'an could enter the grassland from northern Liaoning. Going out in full force... It seems like a risky move, but in fact, the chances of victory are within our grasp."

(End of this chapter)