The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 478 Reasonable in Unreasonable

Zhu Hui's memorial reporting his victory reached the capital three days later.

The ruling and opposition parties originally knew that Zhu Hui had won a "great victory" and thought that the Ming Dynasty had produced a second god of war. However, when they learned that the first victory this time was only four borrowings, the officials in the ruling and opposition parties were also shocked.

Sending [-] soldiers to take four heads... This achievement is indeed "unparalleled in history", and the war is still going on. It seems that Zhu Hui can't help but want to report the merits and then go back home. This makes the government and the opposition even more worried. I feel that this old boy has no ambition.

Before the morning court, Zhu Youtang finished dressing up and went to Fengtian Hall accompanied by Li Rong and Chen Kuan.

Li Rong was still explaining something: "...the good news reached the capital yesterday afternoon. It has now spread to the court. As found by Yidongchang, the government and the public are currently very critical of Baoguo Gong... and think that he is... To report one's merits before the war is over is to be suspected of laziness and dereliction of duty."

"The mouse is short-sighted!"

Zhu Youtang made a harsh comment.

Li Rong didn't understand. Is the emperor criticizing the ministers of the DPRK?Are you still criticizing Zhu Hui?

Zhu Youtang thought of something again, looked at Chen Kuan aside and said, "What is the cabinet plan?"

Chen Kuan was startled and glanced at Li Rong first. He probably realized that he represented the opinions of Chen Kuan, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, and then he cautiously said: "The cabinet decides to reward those who have achieved meritorious service with military merit, but in this way The meritorious service reported by Baoguo Gong will be reduced by two levels and then rewarded."

"Reduced by two?" Zhu Youtang frowned.

He had read Zhu Hui's memorial to ask for merit. There were thousands of people listed who had merit. If they were reduced by two ranks, most of them would fall into the category of "no promotion". After all, Zhu Hui also wanted to reward someone. Face, not everyone can be "promoted to the third level" or above.

"What did Bingkuan say?" Zhu Youtang looked at Li Rong this time.

Li Rongdao: "I haven't seen Cai Guogong since yesterday. It is said that Cai Guogong has been busy with the Yongping Mansion Iron Mine recently, and a large iron mine has opened there."

Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Bingkuan probably didn't go to Yongping Mansion, right?"

Li Rong hurriedly replied: "I'm not going, but I have to contact the people over there. Duke Cai Guo has been very busy recently. I may not be able to come to the court this morning..."

"Ah."

Zhu Youtang continued to walk forward. After being silent for a while, his face became a little warmer and he said, "It's okay if you don't come, what happened today is insignificant."

Li Rong and Chen Kuan looked at each other, and they both realized that the emperor also felt that the contribution of the four heads was a bit embarrassing, and he was embarrassed to let Zhang Zhou, a leader on the battlefield of the Ming Dynasty, comment on it.

Come to think of it, this was not a war led by Zhang Zhou anyway.

In particular, Li Rong knew very well that Zhang Zhou had begun to lay a big bag... Without comparison, there would be no harm. If the ambush against the Tatars was successful due to Zhang Zhou's plan... Zhu Hui would probably be ashamed of himself. Bar?

……

……

Fengtian Temple, early dynasty.

Because it was a great dynasty, all the civil servants and military officials were present. They also knew that there would be good news from the northwest that day, so basically everyone who could still go to the ground came.

But no one saw Zhang Zhou in the class, which was really surprising.

Especially Xie Qian, he looked back at Zhang Zhou's position several times, and looked at others from time to time. Everyone who made eye contact with him seemed to understand what he meant... Zhang Zhou didn't come, we saw it and understood it. Okay, as for how to use the topic, thank you, boss, for you to figure it out.

Coming up is the report of the northwest military exploits.

Chen Kuan read Zhu Hui's memorial in front of the public, and everyone present listened with bated breath.

Regarding the reward, Chen Kuan did not read it, and then returned it, waiting for Zhu Youtang to comment on it.

Zhu Youtang said: "Baoguo Gong's expedition has been short-lived, but he has already achieved meritorious service, and there are no signs of large-scale Tatar mobilization in the Hetao area. This is a reflection of the military might of the Ming Dynasty."

When the ministers heard this, they thought, hey, this makes sense.

It is precisely because of the Ming Dynasty's military might that the Tatars did not dare to face the Ming Dynasty head-on. This is why Zhu Hui achieved very few military exploits. However, he still won the grand prize of four Tatar heads. This is sufficient. It reflects Zhu Hui's "ability".

Li Rong on the side felt uncomfortable.

Li Rong felt something was wrong. He thought to himself that Huamachi was bordering the Loop, but Huamachi was to the west of the East Loop, and Zhu Hui's five troops sent troops to the east corridor of the East Loop. , with a desert land sandwiched in between, but does this mean that there will be no signs of Tatar activities in the Hetao?

If not, doesn't that mean... Cai Guogong's prediction cannot come true?

Pack!
Your Majesty, you are really good at pretending.

Li Rong's expression remained unchanged, but he quietly observed the reactions of the ministers below.

At this time Liu Jian came out and said: "Your Majesty, since the purpose of sending troops to Hetao has been achieved, the soldiers should be withdrawn to the pass."

Even Liu Jian advocated withdrawing troops.

The opinions of the chief minister are very important in both the government and the public. Many ministers realize that this should be the attitude that traditional civil servants should uphold.

You, Zhu Hui, are like that. If you go further north, if you encounter Tatars, you may cause some trouble. Just treat it as if you are leading troops to patrol the Loop. You should withdraw now, at least Let your soldiers and horses use the pass as a barrier. Do you still want to attack the Tatars' lair?When Zhu Youtang heard the suggestion to withdraw his troops, his face was neither cold nor indifferent, and he sighed quietly: "This expedition can be said to be a grand one. If we just end the war with the current results, wouldn't it be too much of a waste of troops and troops?"

Meaning, don’t withdraw.

Liu Jiandao: "Our troops are scattered in various places, and there is not enough coordination between the troops and horses from all walks of life, so that several groups of troops cannot respond and mobilize. If the Tatars gather their troops and attack them one by one, they may be isolated and difficult to rescue. Withdrawing troops at this time is also the best explanation for everyone."

The implication is, Your Majesty, we'd better leave it as it is.

Look at the Baoguo Gong. He has to divide his troops into five groups. No matter how powerful the artillery and muskets are, the Tatars must gather tens of thousands of troops to attack one group. Do they expect Baoguo Gong's troops to reinforce each other?
Don't let the whole army be wiped out by then.

Now that four people have been killed, it is considered to have achieved results, and it does not mean that there is no effort at all. I will reward a few people and withdraw them, and everyone will be happy.

Zhu Youtang looked unhappy, but did not refute. He looked at Li Rong beside him.

Li Rong knew that the emperor was going to use him as a spearman, so he walked out and said with a smile: "Mr. Liu Ge, judging from the current battle situation, there are no signs of Tatar mobilization anywhere. I'm afraid they will retreat now." Will it affect the morale of the officers and soldiers of the three armies?"

At this point, Li Rong looked at the emperor, his expression seemed to be unrelieved, and he added another sentence, "Besides, Datong Town still has Xinjianbo in charge. If the Tatars dare to come out in force, I'm afraid they will still have to weigh the consequences." of."

Liu Jian saw that the mature and prudent Li Rong came out to help the emperor smooth things over, so he wisely retreated to the court.

I'm probably saying, this is my opinion, I don't care whether you listen to it or not.

If something happens in the future, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Zhu Youtang said: "I will consider the matter of retreating the troops at my own discretion. The most important thing now is to ensure the reinforcement of food and grass for all the people. Mutual coordination is very important. I am thinking, if the Tatars do not follow Baoguo Gong in front of the Hetao If we fight, will we attack the border from the side?"

By this time, the emperor could not help but tell what he had discussed with Zhang Zhou.

But he just put forward a conjecture, and this conjecture is reasonable.

Li Dongyang came out and said: "Your Majesty, we should also strengthen our vigilance at the border areas. If the Tatars want to attack our border areas, there must be signs. We should go deep into the grassland at night to explore the information, so as to obtain the Tatar movements in advance. Be prepared.”

Zhu Youtang said: "When Uncle Xinjian sent troops to the hinterland of the grassland, some Tatars were also exploring, but since it was a surprise attack, they would definitely hide and guard each other against the scouts. Well, let's send an order to all the nine sides to strengthen their vigilance recently. Until Duke Baoguo’s expedition ends.”

These words were so "profound" that even Li Dongyang didn't understand them.

……

……

Wait until the court meeting is over.

The three members of the cabinet returned to the cabinet duty room. Xie Qian asked first, "Do you still remember what your Majesty said? What is the purpose of ordering all the nine sides to be more alert?"

Li Dongyang said: "Send troops and horses from various places to attack Hetao, and strengthen security in other places. Is there anything wrong?"

Xie Qian smiled and said: "Bin Zhi, this matter needs to be superfluous. His Majesty did not talk about strengthening the alert when he was far away, but when he was close, he suddenly mentioned this, and it was still a general step to strengthen the alert everywhere. Where should the alert be? , does that count as alert?"

"You mean..." Li Dongyang vaguely grasped the point, but he couldn't quite explain it clearly.

Xie Qian didn't answer, because Xie Qian himself didn't think it through clearly. He looked at Liu Jian and said, "Zhongtang, what do you think?"

After Liu Jian thought for a moment, he said in a calm tone: "If the Tatars really want to attack, which way will they take?"

"Jizhou." Li Dongyang answered without thinking.

Obviously Li Dongyang has thought about this issue. This can be regarded as Li Dongyang's responsibility for court affairs. It does not mean that everything is an afterthought.

Liu Jian shook his head and said: "If it had been three years ago, when we had set out to conquer Hetao, the Tatars might have tried to harass Jizhou. But now, the three tribes of Wuliangha are already weak, and the troops of Huoshai are Moving west, with Wang Bo'an in Datong Town, the Tatars will take greater risks when they move eastward to Jizhou."

Li Dongyang said: "Is that Ningxia West Road?"

Xie Qian asked with a smile: "You two, are you saying that this is called besieging Wei to save Zhao, attacking in the east and attacking in the west?"

Liu Jian continued to shake his head and said: "The Tatars want to harass my pass, and their purpose is definitely not to make Baoguo Gong withdraw his troops. In other words, whether Baoguo Gong withdraws his troops is not a big deal to the Tatars. If the little Tatar prince If you still want to establish your authority, you must not be completely defeated on the battlefield."

Li Dongyang nodded and said: "Batu Meng also needs power. If Baoguo Gong can lead troops into the grassland, I'm afraid the pack of hungry wolves in the grassland will not be able to convince him."

Instead of fighting for face and reputation, even a bastard like Mr. Baoguo dared to lead troops into the grassland casually. Who will take the "co-owner of the grassland" seriously in the future? You Batu Munch should go home and milk the goats.

Li Dongyang understood something immediately, looked at Liu Jian and said, "Then we should remind Yang Yingning?"

Liu Jiandao: "Now that the Ministry of War is in the hands of Zhang Bingkuan, it stands to reason that he cannot be defenseless. I can sense your Majesty's confidence in what your Majesty mentioned today. Your Majesty may be waiting."

"That……"

Li Dongyang and Xie Qian became cautious at the same time.

But Liu Jian shook his head and said: "If the Tatars invade, the border will experience another disaster of war. This disaster may not have happened... In the next few years, I am afraid that things will not stop everywhere."

(End of this chapter)