The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Zhu Hui was a hundred miles away. As sunset approached in the afternoon, Zhu Hui's camp had been set up, the patrols had set off, and preparations for withdrawal were made... Then an explosive news came. , Zhu Hui almost held on to the table to avoid collapsing on the ground.

"Again...so!"

Zhu Hui was extremely upset.

In the Battle of Huamachi, they had just watched others take credit under their noses. Now in the Battle of Shigou City, they were taking the same actions again, and Zhu Hui became an outsider again.

Guerrilla general Cheng Hu said: "Sir, the Tatars ran very fast this time and did not lose many people. If we step up our pursuit now, it may still be too late."

Zhu Hui glared at him and said: "Am I the kind of person who is jealous of other people's achievements? What do you mean by not losing many people? Of course I hope that the Tatars will lose as much as possible, and our army should win a complete victory... I am commander-in-chief." I have already sent troops to coordinate with Ningxia Governor Yang Yiqing to deploy troops, and I am just observing with the Chinese army, ready to cut off the Tatars' retreat at any time."

"Yes, yes, sir, you are wise." Facing such a shameless Duke Baoguo, what else could Cheng Hu say?

Anyway, you have a high official position and you are thick-skinned. I am not as good as you in official position, and I cannot be stubborn with you. You can say whatever you like.

Zhu Hui said he was not jealous, but his expression had already betrayed his inner thoughts. He said: "In this way, the cavalry... don't rest tonight and march quickly towards Shigou City."

Cheng Hu said: "The Tatars may no longer be in Shigou City. It is said that they have withdrawn to the north."

"Then let's go to Shigou City first!" Zhu Hui said angrily, "I have been ordered to control all the people in the northwest. Even the governor of Ningxia must listen to my orders."

Cheng Huxin said yes?

You, a prince who leads troops, are qualified to dispatch the imperial censor and governor of Ningxia?If before this war, you belonged to the two systems, you were considered on the same level, but now it’s strange that the governor of Ningxia has ignored you and still listens to your orders?Dream on.

Zhu Hui saw that Cheng Hu looked strange and asked, "Do you think there is a problem?"

Cheng Hu said: "My father-in-law is very calm in his work. I admire you very much. Please tell me that I will serve you from the front and back to protect you."

……

……

"Bah! The credit goes to others, now you think about it and have to march in a hurry?"

When Cheng Hu brought the news out, a group of generals cursed.

They usually respect Zhu Hui. After all, Zhu Hui is the coach and has the power of life and death. But now they see that all the credit belongs to others, while they are cowardly and have not gained an inch of credit. Now they have to work hard to march... It is very likely that the emperor or the court will be held accountable after a critical incident.

For soldiers, it doesn't matter if they are afraid of death, but after missing the opportunity to fight, they must find someone to take the blame.

Don't even think about it.

It must be Zhu Hui who was in charge of the command.

Cheng Hu said: "The rest of the troops have also come up. I heard that Jian Changbo's troops have made contributions in this battle, so we have to hurry up. I guess there will be no pre-army meeting tonight. You guys should go back and organize the troops quickly. , waiting for the military order, the three armies will march."

"It's gone! It's gone!"

Everyone seemed unhappy, and everyone seemed to be walking unsteadily.

Previously, they were still discussing how to withdraw their troops, or which one was safer. Now they just regret that Zhu Hui has delayed their chance to gain military exploits in the past few days, and I have scolded all the eighteen generations of Zhu Hui's ancestors in my heart.

If he stares and rushes with all his might, it's probably too late.

……

……

On the night after the battle in Shigou City, there was another person who was only forty miles away from Huamachi. After hearing the news, he was greatly shocked. He also quickly gathered all the soldiers under his command, and then started The pursuit of a rapid march.

And this person... was none other than Chen Rui, who was sent by Qin Hong as the commander of the reinforcements.

Chen Rui is such a hateful person.

Didn't I just catch up a little bit slowly, but you actually won one after another?Why not give it a chance?
what?
Even the cowardly cousin Zhang Yanling led troops to charge forward?This kid is a little confused. Doesn't he know how to write the word "death"?

"Uncle, we are still more than 200 miles away from Shigou City. I'm afraid it's too late to get there. We might as well go north along the road. The war has been over for seven or eight hours now. If we can determine the Tatar withdrawal route , we can set up an ambush, and then we can decide the situation of the battle!"

The general came to give Chen Rui some advice, and his words were quite sincere.

As the Ming army defeated the main force of the little Tatar prince twice in just a few days, the morale of all the people who were ordered to fight the Tatars was unprecedentedly high.

Everyone seems to think that as long as their own group of people can rush forward, military glory will be within easy reach.

Chen Rui said: "Stop tens of thousands of Tatar cavalry? Just rely on our few troops? Or should we rely on the cannons and muskets in our hands? The Tatars are all targets, are they allowed to be bullied by you?"

The generals around him fell silent.

"Just go to Shigoucheng. Only by finding out the situation of the Tatars can we make next arrangements." Chen Rui's thoughts were unprecedentedly consistent with Zhu Hui's. In other words, they were both on the same road. They both wanted to take credit. He was also afraid of death and didn't want to be the vanguard at the critical moment. He wanted to let others go up and die first.

Therefore, their first goal was not to block the Tatars' northward retreat route, but to join the large army first.

This idea is actually not fundamentally different from that of people like Li E and Zheng Ying.

Chen Rui said: "Remember, as long as you can keep up, you and I share the credit. If you can't keep up, no one can escape the blame! Send the order! March!"

……

……

The northwest has become a mess because of the scattered people from all walks of life in the Ming Dynasty.

In the capital, this news was still unknown. It took almost three days to spread the news from Ningxia to the capital these days, and it was still done by horseback.

However, the news that the Tatars were advancing towards Shigou City came back early, so that Zhu Youtang knew that the Tatars were wreaking havoc in the Ming Dynasty, and he had trouble sleeping and eating. It seemed that he only regretted that he did not have a chariot to conquer in person, and he liked to take them when he had nothing to do. Take out a map and study it.

Even the number of summons to Zhang Zhou increased, and Zhang Zhou was summoned three times in four days.

"Your Majesty, there is no need to worry. According to the report from the Qinbu Hall of the Trilateral General System, the experienced Yansui Deputy General Ping Jiangbo has been sent to lead troops to reinforce, and the troops led by Baoguo Gong to conquer Hetao have also left Huamachi. After entering the pass, the remaining groups of troops moved closer to Shigou City. The Tatars had only the option of retreating to the north."

Zhang Zhou gave Zhu Youtang reassurance.

Zhu Youtang said: "If Bingkuan is leading the troops in this battle, or even Xin Xinbo and Zhijie are leading the troops, I don't have to worry so much. Even if Wang Bo'an and Zhu Zhijie fail to win, they will not be defeated. Tartars also have the power of deterrence, but look at these people leading the army now... I really can't do anything... Alas!"

I am really worried.

Zhang Zhou heard that Zhu Youtang had little confidence in Yang Yiqing and others.

Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the key to this battle lies with the governor of Ningxia and the general soldiers. After all, the Tatars invaded the area they are responsible for defending. On the other hand, Bao Guo Gong and others are afraid that I have no intention of fighting to the death.”

Zhu Youtang looked up at Zhang Zhou with confusion in his eyes.

Li Rong asked from the side: "Mr. Zhang, do you still agree to let Duke Bao lead the army? He..."

When Li Rong said this, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He thought that the candidate to lead the troops this time did not seem to be decided by Zhang Zhou, the Minister of War. In fact, it was Zhu Youtang's own decision, but the two monarchs and ministers behind the details How the discussion was carried out was unknown to him, Li Rong.

"Although Duke Baoguo has no intention of fighting to the death, one good thing about him is that he will seek profit. This is the same as the soldiers in many places in the northwest. This requires someone to fight with the power of the first battle in this battle. , to ensure that they can kill the enemy bravely, so that Baoguo Gong and other generals who seek advantages and avoid disadvantages will have to lead their troops forward, so... the encirclement can be completed."

Zhang Zhou analyzed the situation.

To put it bluntly, relying on people like Zhu Hui, Chen Rui, Li Nuo, and Zhang Yanling is far less reliable than relying on Yang Yiqing.

At critical moments, we still have to rely on some capable scholars. Although these people are usually very annoying with their long-winded words, when it comes to family and country affairs, they probably know that retreat will lead to responsibilities, and sometimes they have to go.

Historically, the little Tatar prince's invasion of the border in this year was completed by the Ningxia governor Wang Xun, the commander-in-chief Guo Jun, and the guarding eunuch Zhang Xu. Although the battle of Shigoucheng did not have much victory, it would still lead to a victory. The Tatars were forced back.

Now Wang Xun has been replaced by Yang Yiqing. Zhang Zhou feels that Yang Yiqing is at least a little better than Wang Xun in terms of military quality.

What's more, with Huamachi's victory report and the improvement of firearms, if Yang Yiqing, the governor of this place, has to avoid the war, then he simply doesn't have to mess around. Let alone go back to raise chickens, he can't even be punished with the death penalty by going to prison. Too much.Yang Yiqing hasn't shined in the Ming Dynasty yet, so he is looking for death?
"Bingkuan, I figured it out." Zhu Youtang stopped analyzing the situation. He sighed, "Next time I won't take such a risk. Let your people go, or I will go with you. That way I I feel relieved. I don’t have to think about it here. I’ve been feeling anxious recently and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "As long as a good news in the northwest is a good medicine to cure your majesty's heart ailments, you don't have to worry, your majesty. This battle is not about a decisive victory. There will be more times like this waiting for the results in the future, so your majesty should take more care. Stay tuned and wait for the good news to come again and again."

"Haha." Zhu Youtang felt much better after hearing this.

Even Li Rong and several other eunuchs admired him greatly.

They are all thinking, what kind of good news is good medicine? Your words, Zhang Bingkuan, are the cure. Without you, His Majesty would still be very nervous.

"By the way, Your Majesty, I have recently figured out some small improvements involving artillery and muskets. At the same time, I have gained experience in making these two things. In the future, it will be much more convenient and easier to cast cannons outside the city. I will give you some advice later. The northwest frontier army is equipped with hundreds or even thousands of gates, which will make it easier to start a war in the future." Zhang Zhou drew cakes for Zhu Youtang again.

"Okay, it seems we still have to wait. Don't be too impatient. I'm already looking forward to the day when I can walk on the grassland side by side with you, Bingkuan."

Zhu Youtang's heart was full of pride. This was the moment when he seemed to have the most confidence as a king since he ascended the throne, and this confidence was entirely brought to him by Zhang Zhou.

……

……

Inside the East Palace.

After nightfall, Zhu Houzhao did not need to study, so he asked several eunuchs to sit around the sand table and consult with him on the military situation. There was also a "rare guest" who came that day, the eunuch who had been sent to guard the Yanwu Hall before, but was actually laid off. Liu Jin.

Liu Jin didn't have a high presence in the Yanwu Hall, but he studied very hard, mainly because he knew that the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty was good at this, and he wanted to use learning to make up for his shortcomings.

Actual results have proven that Liu Jin is not low in intelligence, and he has a enterprising spirit, which is related to his reform mentality. It is also because he knows that it is difficult for him to integrate into the traditional eunuch and civil service system. Only by seeking change can he succeed. Survive.

"Can you tell me how to fight this? It is said that the Tatars number between thirty and forty thousand. To estimate the enemy, you must first estimate the enemy much more. Even if he is forty thousand."

"Look at the local garrison in Ningxia. Last year, when Zhu Feng led his troops to deal with the little Tatar prince, they only had four or five thousand men and horses, and there were not many cannons and muskets. The battle at Huamachi was beautiful, but the bombing was indiscriminate. In the end, we only harvested less than a thousand heads.”

"Based on my estimation, if they had the opportunity to ambush, they must have used all the explosives, artillery, blunderbuss, and their shells that they could use. Now that they have arrived at an isolated city like Shigou City, the Tatars People will capture the city at any time, what will we do then? Will we bomb the city again?"

Zhu Houzhao was like a military strategist thinking about life, thinking about the changes in the war situation with seriousness.

For the few eunuchs around who knew nothing about military matters, they were no different than listening to the Book of Heaven. They had never really seen anything like artillery and muskets. The Ming Dynasty also had such things before, and they had not figured out why Zhang Zhou studied them. It's just different from others.

Gao Feng persuaded: "Your Highness, it's getting late. It's time for you to rest. Tomorrow morning you have to go to greet the Queen and meet the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager..."

Zhu Houzhao said: "I don't understand, I can't sleep."

Gao Feng said: "Why don't we wait until tomorrow to see if we can invite Mr. Cai Guogong to come and let him explain it to you in detail?"

For professional matters, ask professional people. Gao Feng felt that it would be better to ask Zhang Zhou for this matter. Perhaps only Zhang Zhou could satisfy Zhu Houzhao's appetite in terms of military affairs.

Zhu Houzhao cursed and said: "That Zhang Bingkuan has refused to come recently. My father clearly asked him to come and give lectures to me, but he always shirks and says that there is important military information. Do you want to stifle me to death? This is what I say. Well, I can’t figure out how to fight, and I can’t sleep, so why don’t you just stay up with me!”

Gao Feng looked at his colleagues around him, and finally could only focus on Liu Jin.

If they want the prince to go to bed early, and at the same time let them change shifts and rest early, maybe they can only let Liu Jin, who knows a little bit, speak out. Although they are reluctant to let Liu Jin show off, who makes this guy fall in love with the prince, even a little bit? What about Zhang Zhou’s “appreciation”?

"Go back to Your Highness the Crown Prince." Liu Jin finally walked out and said with a smile, "In the Yanwu Hall, I listened to some generals' discussions on this matter, and the conclusion I drew seems to be that the Tatars will probably not capture it. Shigou Station serves as their stronghold, because if this city cannot be defended, it will cause them to fall into a tight siege."

"is it?"

Zhu Houzhao took a good look at the map, suddenly thought of something, and asked, "How big is this city?"

Liu Jin said: "The length and width are no more than one mile. The highest part of the city wall is only seven or eight meters. The shorter part is probably only three or four meters. There is not even a barbican. There is just an inner wall on the north side, which is smaller than the outer wall." The wall is slightly higher, but the Tatars are not coming from the north this time, so there is not much defense against the Tatars.”

Zhu Houzhao said: "Damn, if I didn't tell you earlier, I thought this was a big city, and said how important this place is, and feelings are like a castle! If one cannon goes off, it can hit the south to the north. As long as Zhu Hui's The men and horses... no, as soon as his artillery arrived, they surrounded them first and then blasted them, so that no one could escape!"

After Liu Jin looked at several eunuchs with triumphant eyes, he smiled and said: "So the Tatars' main choice is to withdraw."

"Evacuate?" Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment, "Then what is their purpose of coming? Since this city is neither attractive nor useful, there is no reason why they would choose to come here."

Qiu Ju said, "Maybe the Tatars have no way to escape."

Among the several eunuchs who often serve in the East Palace, Qiu Ju is considered relatively knowledgeable. However, because he has not gone through systematic study, and his so-called knowledge is only compared with the ordinary eunuchs who only know a few words. It pales in comparison to someone like Liu Jin who is dedicated to studying and still has channels to learn.

"Huh!" Zhu Houzhao obviously didn't accept this statement, looked at Liu Jin and said, "Old Liu, you say it."

When Liu Jin heard that the prince called him "Old Liu", this title... why shouldn't he be so harsh?But the degree of intimacy was also reflected, and Liu Jin instantly felt that she had become much tougher.

Liu Jin held his head high and said: "The Tatars have thirty to forty thousand cavalry. They could have withdrawn from the Ming Dynasty after being defeated by Huamachi's ambush. But in this case, there were five cavalrymen dispatched by Baoguo Gong behind them. With a large army on the road, their retreat can easily be cut off, and this will ruin the reputation of the little Tatar prince, forcing them to march."

"And they want to rob people, animals and property, so they will definitely go along a road that was laxly guarded by the Ming Dynasty. As for Shigou City, along this road, the Ming Dynasty had a lot of farmland in the past ten years, and there were villages and towns along the way. There is less wind and sand, so they went to Shigou City just to get away from the Ningxia defenders and then come over to plunder."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "That makes sense. What next?"

Liu Jin said: "The Tatars have no settlement in the Ming Dynasty. As long as the soldiers can fight hard with them, they will have to withdraw! At that time, the Ming Dynasty will be able to take advantage of firearms with a longer attack range... …Your Highness, do you think it makes sense?”

"Hehe." Zhu Houzhao said with a smile, "You can do it. I have learned quite smoothly after leaving the East Palace for a few days. Tell me, who taught you?"

Liu Jin hurriedly said: "I have never been taught by anyone, I am all self-taught. If you want to say who is my teacher, everyone in the martial arts hall is the master. I also ask for advice humbly. In fact, I also know that my knowledge is shallow and I can't do it in the martial arts hall." In the Yanwu Hall, everything depends on the advice of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Duke Cai Guo. The slave must learn more with a humble heart in order to live up to the expectations of the Crown Prince and Duke Cai. In the future, she will also be able to serve the Crown Prince in front of and behind the horse at some point. "

"Yes." After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao just smiled and nodded.

Even at Zhu Houzhao's age, he could tell that this was complete nonsense. When Gao Feng and other eunuchs heard this kind of talk... it was simply disgusting.

I really called you fat and you started to breathe. You, Liu Jin, are so shameless.

Zhu Houzhao said: "After you said this, I thought for a moment that Zhu Hui's journey should not be fast. When he entered the army in Hetao, he was procrastinating. What we should count on is the journey of Yang Yiqing, who was governor of Ningxia. Alas! The big problem is that he still doesn’t have enough firearms. If Zhu Hui can kill him, the Tatars will have to withdraw in a hurry! What is Zhu Hui thinking?"

Liu Jin said: "The movements of Lord Bao Guo are still uncertain."

"Ignore him." Zhu Houzhao said, "Now it depends on who can break the deadlock. It was a miscalculation for the Tatars to go to Shigou City. I asked Zhang Bingkuan a long time ago, and he said that the Tatars would go this way. , since he has figured it out, the Tatars are not far away from falling into the pit."

Gao Feng smiled and said: "Now that the doubts in the prince's mind have been cleared, is it time to take a rest?"

"Don't be in a hurry." Zhu Houzhao said, "Let me study the situation again. Looking at the situation, I think there should be variables. If these scattered people want to swallow the Tatars in one go, it will be too difficult. If I We will definitely gather all the troops to charge together. Whoever has the courage to charge me and let him lead the army must fight to the end with the Tatars! When the little Tatar prince dies, the Mongolian Tatars will be leaderless, and the Ming Dynasty will be able to occupy the grassland. From then on There will be no more Tatar dangers from now on!”

……

……

When Zhang Zhou got home at night, it was already very late.

He originally planned to come back early to reunite with his wife and children, even have dinner together, make another baby or something, but since he came back just after the second watch, and people in this era generally go to bed early, Zhang Zhou was immediately disappointed.

Fortunately, when he arrived at the inner courtyard, he found that Jiang Pingyu was still awake.

Zhang Zhou does not have a personal guest, nor does he have anyone to spare at home, so the cleaning and tidying up of his study are all done by the women at home. This is also because there are many things in his study that he does not want outsiders to see. Jiang Pingyu As the eldest wife of the family, it is good to take care of things.

"Master, there is a letter from the south. It is said to be from the governor, Mr. Tang. I think it is very important, so I put it here for you. I am afraid that you will not see it when you come back, so I will be waiting for your return."

Jiang Pingyu is still very responsible.

Knowing that Tang Yin's letter might involve important matters, I waited for it.

Zhang Zhou sighed with emotion: "As the officialdom grows bigger and bigger, it is inevitable to leave early and come back late. Things are entangled and cannot be solved. Thank you for your hard work, madam."

Go to the study and get Tang Yin's letter. It's just an ordinary letter. It doesn't look like it was sent by the official inn.

However, the governor who was away wrote a letter directly to the Minister of War in his personal capacity. Zhang Zhou felt that Tang Yin was a bit unreliable... Just as he had always thought before, Tang Yin was just a wanderer with little experience in serving as an official and went his own way. If he hadn't been forced to With Tang Yin and Liaodong fighting a beautiful war with North Korea, maybe Tang Yin still can't get on the stage.

"If he wants money, food, and power, he knows what he wants to do without even thinking about it. If he doesn't want to come to the court, he wants to mention it to me privately, as if I want him to do this job, he must ask me. Just like he is responsible. He doesn’t know about this kind of errand, so he has to work hard on his own to show it to the superiors?" (End of Chapter)