Wanli 1592

Chapter 490
Xu Guangqi's remarks put the rest of the scholars present in the cloud.

"and then?"

"Then the Tumed department is my Ming ally, and has defended my border all year round. At this moment, we should give them enough food to appease them, let them continue to protect our Ming from disasters, and reduce casualties at the border. Everyone, what about military expenses and food expenses? Items are more expensive, that's obvious!"

After hearing this, some scholars nodded slowly, seeming to agree with Xu Guangqi's meaning, while others disagreed.

"Zixian, you are confused! There is a shortage of food on the Nine Sides, and the food has to be transported from the south of the Yangtze River. The shipping fee is very expensive. It is not easy to supply the soldiers on the Nine Sides. If we have to give these grains to the Mongols, then our soldiers What to eat? What will the hungry and cold people on the nine sides eat?"

Xu Guangqi hurriedly said: "It's not to let them starve and suffer from cold, but to eat relatively less food and give more food to the Tumed people, so that they can arm themselves to prevent disasters for us.

They have fought against other Mongols for more than ten years, and they themselves will have blood feuds with other Mongols. As long as Da Ming supports them, they will firmly stand on Da Ming's side. In this way, how many casualties should the soldiers on the nine sides save? "

"Impossible, the northern captives are always the northern captives, so don't trust them. Of course, the food of the Ming Dynasty must be eaten by the soldiers and common people of the Ming Dynasty, so that they can guard the border."

"But……"

"Zi first! Don't say any more!"

The fellow villager grabbed Xu Guangqi's shoulders and motioned him to look around. Xu Guangqi looked around and saw a lot of strange eyes, so he quickly shut up, but his heart was still full of worries.

He remembered that Jiao Hong, his benevolent teacher, said that the Nine Frontiers had been weakened and had long since lost their sharpness at the beginning of the dynasty. It was really in danger of being breached every year, and they had to struggle every year. , I don't know when it will be a head, and it is even more unsuitable for combat in the severe cold.

Daming lacks a famous general who can rectify the nine sides, and lacks a chief assistant who can carry out drastic reforms cheaply. There is only one Zhang Juzheng, and no one can become Zhang Juzheng's second.

I don't know what kind of impact this incident will have on Daming.

Xu Guangqi drank a glass of mulled wine and was feeling depressed when he suddenly heard a rush of horseshoes and soldiers shouting violently.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get out of the way! Get out of the way!!"

Xu Guangqi quickly turned around and looked out of the tavern, only to see a cavalry flying past the door of the tavern, making the entire street jump around, causing a burst of shouting and cursing.

"What's the matter? Is that the order cavalry?"

"I don't know, so anxiously shouting, could it be that there are refugees rebelling somewhere?"

"It's nonsense, the refugees have been thrown into Myanmar, where are the refugees now?"

"What's the situation?"

A few scholars sat at the table and talked about each other, but Xu Guangqi stood up very uneasy and ran outside the tavern, watching the knight riding away from a distance, feeling more and more uneasy heavier.

The knight swept across the streets and alleys of the capital, and drove straight to the imperial city. At the gate of the imperial city, the gatekeepers were about to stop him, when the knight took out a command arrow from his pocket.

"Urgent report from Datong! Urgent report from the north! Urgent report from Datong! Urgent report from the north! Urgent report from Datong! Urgent report from the north!"

Shouting like this, no soldiers stepped forward to stop them. Instead, they all stepped aside and watched the knight gallop in. Then they gathered together and whispered, talking about the encounter with the northern captives in Datong.

There were quite a few such things in previous years, but such cases of reporting to the imperial court directly across other border towns are really rare. Generally, it is not a trivial matter that needs to be brought to the imperial court. After you solve it by yourself, you can report the battle damage and you can be rewarded for your merits.

This time, what happened?

In the cabinet, Zhao Zhigao was having a cold war with Zhang Wei. The two looked at each other disliked. You snorted when you saw me, and snorted when I saw you. The two seemed to be competing to see who could snort better.

In the past, the cabinet was not without tension, but such a serious confrontation between the first assistant and the second assistant is really rare. Even if Zhao Zhigao is not a strong first assistant, but given his position here, Zhang Wei should give him three points of face. But Zhang Wei completely disregarded the face of the first assistant, and sang against the first assistant, which is against the rules.

The other three assistant ministers didn't understand why Zhang Wei tried his best to stop this matter, so what if he allocated some food?Is food really so tight?Can't let it out at all and can't support Tumed?Isn't this really unjust?

Suddenly, everyone in the cabinet heard a commotion outside the cabinet, Zhao Zhigao was annoyed, and asked unhappily: "Who is making noise here? Don't you know that the cabinet is not allowed to make loud noises? The officer in charge, go out and have a look." See what's going on!"

Immediately, the duty officer obeyed.

Zhang Wei looked out the door, his brows were furrowed, thoughtful.

Soon, the officer on duty came back in a panic and reported: "Old Ge, it's not good, Datong Town [-] miles urgent report, the northern captives are on the border!"

Zhao Zhigao was taken aback.

The other three ministers were also taken aback.

Zhang Wei's eyes flickered a little, he paused for a moment, and pretended to be dazed.

It is not a trivial matter for the northern captives to invade the frontier, but it was not a major issue in previous years. The nine sides dealt with it on their own. After the war, they reported the damage and results of the battle, and rewarded them for their merits.Or is it urgent for eight hundred miles?

The border town is in danger and is in danger of being breached.

Although the Daming Border Town is weak in military equipment and weak in combat power, it is no longer as sharp as it was in the early days of the country, but the Mongols, who are no longer what they used to be, have no way to threaten Daming Border Town too much. Most of the time, the two sides just peck at each other. Peck me, I peck you, and then go home to be safe, there is no fatal danger.

The last time we encountered such a critical situation was during the reign of Jiajing, when many people died.

However, since the Longqing peace talks, the two sides have ceased fighting and started trading with each other. How many years has it been?Why did this happen all of a sudden?

"Northern captives? Hurry up for [-] miles? What's the situation? Where's the messenger knight?"

Zhao Zhigao asked quickly.

"outside!"

"Call in!"

"promise!"

Soon, the orderly knight entered the cabinet in a hurry, knelt down on one knee as soon as he entered, and presented the military report.

"Ge Lao! I am here to deliver this urgent report by the order of Mei Guozhen, the governor of Datong! The northern captives are surrounded by a large army of [-], and Mei Futai is struggling to support it. I hope the imperial court will quickly deploy troops to support it, and the situation can still be saved. Opportunity, if it is too late, Datong will be over, Shanxi is in danger! Xuanfu will also be in danger!"

"What?! One hundred thousand?!"

The ministers in the cabinet were stunned, and Zhao Zhigao stood up in fright, walked tremblingly in front of the messenger knight and took the urgent report.

(End of this chapter)