Before morning the next day.
Zhu Youtang informed Li Dongyang, who was on duty the night before, of the "good news" obtained by Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng at Pianguan early.
Early in the morning, before the Meridian Gate meeting had begun, Li Dongyang informed Liu Jian, Xie Qian, Ma Wensheng and others of the news.
"Such achievements are worthy of special praise? Even if it were a year ago, no one would care too much, right?"
In front of several people from the cabinet and the Ministry of War, Xie Qian spoke sarcastically, as if he looked down on the achievements of Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng.
Ma Wensheng was unmoved, and said with approval on his face: "Wang Dehua and Zhu Zhijie have just arrived at Pianguan, and they were able to stabilize people's hearts. Di Yi did not dare to disturb the people after they retreated. I am afraid that Your Majesty will praise them more today." .”
It doesn't matter how many people are killed, the key is to achieve the strategic intention. Ma Wen was promoted to the Minister of War, and he understood this very well.
Xie Qian said: "Does Wang Dehua do this to establish his authority? Or does he want to overshadow the guest?"
It probably means that you, Wang Qiong, are so awesome that you insist on sending troops. Are you submitting a certificate to the emperor? Or do you want to show off to Qin Hong?
Seeing that Xie Qian had a lot of opinions today, Liu Jian pointed at Xiao Jing and others who had just come over, and reminded him: "Don't be too extreme. If you can, say as little as possible."
These words are to remind Xie Qian that it is better not to cause trouble for the cabinet with your mouth.
In the past, when you made jokes, everyone thought that you, Xie Qian, were eloquent, but now the emperor's trust in our civil servants has been greatly reduced. If you show your previous behavior at this time, you are afraid of backlash, especially for Wang Qiong and Wang Qiong. Regarding Zhu Feng, they are all people trusted by the emperor.
They sent troops but were not defeated, and if you continue to make sarcastic remarks to the emperor, the emperor will probably not pay attention to you.
…
…
Before the court meeting began, Zhang Zhou had already entered the palace.
Zhang Zhou met Zhu Youtang in the Qianqing Palace, and then the monarch and his ministers walked toward the Meridian Gate together. The two exchanged some opinions on the way.
What we are talking about is not the war at Pianguan, nor the trilateral military affairs, nor the search and suppression of traps, but the resignation of Zhang Yue, the counselor of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, and Zhu Youtang. I have been paying close attention to military affairs recently and want to make some contributions to military affairs in Nanjing.
"It doesn't matter who will be the Minister of War in the capital. I would like to let Duke Cheng go over and take charge of the garrison and military affairs."
Zhu Youtang wanted to exchange Wei Guogong Xu Er back to the capital and replace Zhu Fu.
"The Duke of Cheng has been in charge of Nanjing's military affairs for many years, and his foundation is deeper than that of the Duke of Wei. Furthermore, there is an old grudge between Duke Wei and Huairou Bo, and there are many disagreements in Nanjing's officialdom. Now, taking advantage of the change of the Minister of War in the south, they will also report this matter. Implement it, Bingkuan, what do you think?" Zhu Youtang asked Zhang Zhou's opinion seriously.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, please don't ask me. This is a major matter involving military and political affairs. How can I propose it?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Bingkuan, it is precisely because this is a major military matter that I came to ask your opinion. You are also a member of Yingtian Mansion. You have lived there for many years and you are considered to be aware of the affairs in the city. I want to ask if you Is that good?"
"Actually, I also know that whether Duke Cheng Guo or Duke Wei, when they come to Liudu, they just stick to their foundation and don't expect them to make any changes. There are still too few enterprising young people like Zhijie. If you think he Neither of them is suitable, so I can consider who else to recommend."
The implication is that I now regard Nanjing as your Zhang Bingkuan's territory.
You say who should be sent to guard the military affairs. We, the monarch and the minister, will discuss whether it is appropriate and then send the person there.
Zhang Zhou thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "I don't have any opinions to participate in."
"Then let Duke Cheng go over. Speaking of which, when I asked Duke Wei to go south, I made it clear to him that I wouldn't let him stay for too long. Furthermore, if Duke Cheng stays in the capital, he won't be able to accomplish anything. . Although it is not embarrassing, it is really difficult to deal with a major matter. Should we let him be the admiral in charge of the capital camp? Let’s settle the matter in advance!”
Zhu Youtang now trusts Chengguo Gongfu, but only because of the relationship between Zhang Zhou and Zhu Feng.
As for Zhu Feng's father Zhu Fu, in the eyes of the emperor, he had no merit. In that case, let Zhu Fu take on his son's role and return to Nanjing to serve as a guard. Isn't this what the Chengguo Palace has always pursued?
…
…
The monarch and his ministers arrived at the Meridian Gate.
Zhang Zhou then slowly walked to his seat and stood in front of all the officials. Many people present were looking at him.
Zhu Youtang sat calmly on the throne.
The meeting begins.
As soon as he came up, Zhu Youtang made public the "great victory" achieved by Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng at Piantou Pass. Dai Yizhong read out the battle report of the victory. Even though he mentioned that only three Tatar heads were obtained in the end, There was no sound at all. This was also due to Li Dongyang telling the matter in advance and calming the courtiers' minds first.
Otherwise, this result alone is worth debating whether it should be recorded as a credit or a demerit.
He went out in a big fight and only killed three people, but he also lost one person? In the end, you don’t even know where the main Tatar force is? Before the relationship, all the urgent documents from the court were all deceiving people?
Liu Jian came out and said: "Your Majesty, can the northwest war preparations return to normal? Can the time limit for the opening and closing of the city gates in the capital be extended?"
Because there had been fighting around Piantou Pass in the past, although there was no martial law around the capital, the city gates were opened very late in the morning and closed before dark at night, which also affected the daily lives of the people around the capital.
When Liu Jian said this, he was also asking for orders from their cabinet.
Your Majesty, do you think the wartime status will be lifted so that our cabinet does not have to keep people on duty every day?
Zhu Youtang said: "The enemy situation in the Hetao has not been found yet, so we should be cautious."
The implication is that you want to lift the wartime status? no way!
You have relaxed, but my plan to send troops to the Loop has not yet been realized. I have not aggravated the wartime situation, so you still have the nerve to lift it?
"I never thought that Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng could be so effective. It was also in the two previous battles at Pianguan and Ningyuan that they demonstrated the majesty of the dynasty. This time, it was Zhu Feng who succeeded Wang Yue. The two of them are outstanding in terms of meritorious service. There is no distinction between them, so in the shortest possible time, we were able to calm people's hearts and frighten Di Yi."
Zhu Youtang admired Zhu Feng very much in his words.
The ministers present felt very awkward after hearing this.
Comparing Zhu Feng with Wang Yue? Even if we don't look down on Wang Yue, we still know that there is no comparison between these two people.
Have you ever seen anything running on the ground compared to something flying in the sky? No matter how fast you, Zhu Feng, run, the most you can do is bounce around, and you are still far away from reaching heaven.
Liu Jiandao: "Now that Marquis Weining has passed away, everyone in the northwest should give top priority to defense. The old minister still believes that we can first dispatch troops to garrison the fields and calm the people, and then take advantage of the internal disputes among the Tatars to send troops to the Hetao. With the convenience of building forts, we gradually advanced to control the southern line of the Hetao, allowing the Tatars to retreat without a fight.”
On behalf of the civil servants, Liu Jian gave his "compromise" approach.
This is not to say that we are completely opposed to sending troops to rip off troops, but we must proceed steadily. Now that the internal disputes in the Tatars have not officially begun, we will stay on guard for now.
When will the time come? After Dayan Khan and Huoshai and other right-wing Mongolian tribes start fighting, we can then make gradual progress and build the earthen forts northward bit by bit... The barriers of the Great Wall can also be built...
Zhu Youtang looked unkind, obviously he didn't like hearing such clichés.
"According to the wishes of Mr. Liu Ge, the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty must stay in the fortress and watch them fight outside their own courtyards, but watch the fire from the other side? How can the morale of the Ming army be at ease? In the two battles of the Ming Dynasty this year, the soldiers fought bloody battles, just for To defend the territory of previous years and not advance or retreat?"
Zhu Youtang's tone was also polite.
Because he knew that if he wanted to send troops to set up a trap, he still needed the support of civilian officials, so there was no need to make the relationship so tense.
Just like the civil servants headed by Liu Jian, they also began to think of a compromise.
This difference in the concepts of the monarch and his ministers originally requires common ground while reserving differences. Each side takes a few steps back and re-finds the balance point. In fact, it depends on where the bottom line is.
Zhu Youtang said: "I thought deeply last night about whether it is urgent and necessary for Qin Hong to go to Pianguan to declare the general system. Now, with Wang Qiong, Zhu Feng and other ministers in Pianguan, everything can be guaranteed We are stable, but there are still sporadic border troubles coming from Yansui and other places. I want to discuss with you to see if it is necessary to directly use Qin Hong as the commander-in-chief of the military affairs of Yansui, Ningxia, Shaanxi and other places, and let him Move the town to Yulinwei in Yansui."
The ministers present did not understand the emperor's tactics for a while.
When Liu Jian heard this, he couldn't help but glance at Li Dongyang who was standing aside. The emperor suddenly wanted to promote Qin Hong to the position of governor of the three sides, which he had not expected.
Neither the cabinet nor the civil service had made any plans in advance.
Li Dongyang took a step forward and said: "Your Majesty, the crisis in Pianguan has not been resolved. Should we wait for the reconstruction of Pianguan's fortress before making more focused deployments? Nowadays, Pianguan should still be the top priority of military affairs. It’s appropriate.”
Li Dongyang did not object directly, but still used diversionary tactics to express to the emperor that Qin Hong should still be kept in a tilted head position.
In the past, the Ming Dynasty's defense focus was on the three sides. The core area of the three sides was Yulinwei, the seat of Yansui Town.
It was only because Wang Yue had a great victory at Piantou Pass and the city wall there was blown down that the focus of defense suddenly shifted to Piantou Pass. It was also related to the fact that Huo Si, the leader of the newly emerging tribe in the grassland adjacent to Piantou Pass.
Zhu Youtang asked: "Then the Li Qing family's opinion is to choose another candidate for the general control of the military affairs of Yansui and other towns?"
Li Dongyang was speechless for a moment.
He proposed to pin Qin Hong to the Piantou Pass, but he also indirectly said that the northwest is not peaceful yet. Since it is not peaceful, I want to choose a new governor of the three sides. You, Li Dongyang, shouldn't raise objections, right? I still retain Qin Hong as the governor of Xuanda, but what if I add a governor of the three sides?
Zhu Youtang suddenly turned his attention to Zhang Zhou: "Bingkuan, what do you think about this?"
In front of the minister, he addressed Zhang Zhou directly.
I won’t hide the emperor’s intention from you. I will let you listen to the opinions of the “most authoritative” people and let you know why I made this decision.
…
…
coming!
The ministers present suddenly held their breath and concentrated. They were also very aware that there was a "heterogeneous" among themselves, the disharmony between the monarch and his ministers, and almost all the major and minor events that had occurred in the past six months were related to the rise of Zhang Bingkuan.
But thinking about it, Zhang Zhou didn't speak many times in the court, but every time he seemed to cause a "bloody storm".
Zhang Zhou walked out from the ranks of civil servants with firm steps and stood tall.
"I don't know which floor your Majesty wants to ask about."
Zhang Zhou's words made the ministers at the scene slightly surprised at first.
This thing...
You still have a tone of wanting to be beaten when you speak. When you come up, ask the emperor which thing to ask first. Can't you try to figure out your intentions and explain everything to the emperor clearly?
Xie Qian couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted: "Your Majesty is asking about the Trilateral General System and the Xuanda General System. Sir Zhang, please don't pretend to be confused."
Zhang Zhou said: "In Mr. Xie Ge's opinion, am I just pretending to be confused?"
"you……"
Xie Qian was speechless.
We didn’t talk about feelings, why did we have a quarrel first?
What's the fuss about? Does it have anything to do with what was discussed in court today? Or are you trying to show off your stance again? You have to show off your opposing emotions like a mad dog before talking about things?
If I don’t fall into your trap, I won’t say anything!
Xie Qian didn't come out at all, he just turned his head to one side and talked to Zhang Zhou again.
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, tell me what you think of the outcome of this battle at Pianguan."
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the recent battle in Pianguan was not very fruitful, but it was of far-reaching significance."
"Elaborate." When Zhu Youtang heard this, he realized that the monarch and his ministers were on the same page, and his words were so pleasing to the ear.
"Pianguan is the weakest defense point in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. The city pass cannot stop the Tatar cavalry, but under the control of Weining Hou and Anbian Hou, the Tatars dare not invade. Now they send troops to sweep away hundreds of miles. If there is a threat within, the next step is to send troops 200 miles away and build forts along the way."
In addition to acknowledging the contribution of Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng, Zhang Zhou directly mentioned the matter of building the fortress as if he was talking nonsense.
After hearing the previous words, Ma Wensheng had no objection.
Because as the Minister of the Ministry of War, he also feels that the Biantou Pass is really stable now. Even a city wall cannot be erected. It is fine that the tribes such as Huoshii do not invade, but they are not stationed for grazing within a hundred miles? Not allowed to plunder? They knew that Ming Dynasty would not be able to hide in a side pass. They knew that Ming Dynasty now dared to fight them head-on, and they also knew that they would not get any advantage in such a front-line battle.
But after hearing what he said next... he felt that Zhang Zhou was "acting nonsense."
Ma Wensheng came out and questioned: "Zhang Shidao, you said that you want to build a fortress outside the Pianguan Pass. What's the point?"
Zhang Zhou asked curiously: "Mabu Tang, someone seemed to have suggested that we should establish a firm foothold and gradually build out the fortress... Could it be that I heard it wrong?"
Ma Wensheng frowned. He realized that Zhang Zhou was waiting for him with a trap.
It was Liu Jian who proposed building the fortress, but Liu Jian was talking about building it out from Yansui, while Zhang Zhou was talking about building it out from Piantou Pass.
Zhang Zhou said: "Build an earthen fort from the side pass and extend it to the grassland. In this way, you can advance, attack, retreat and defend..."
"Wait a minute." Zhu Youtang interrupted Zhang Zhou, "If we want to capture the Hetao, or even make achievements on the grassland, what's the use of just relying on these earthen forts? Can we attack and defend freely?"
"Well……"
Zhang Zhou seemed to be stopped by the question, and then he glanced at Liu Jian.
The general meaning is that since Mr. Liu Ge came out to say this on behalf of the civil servants, it can probably be done.
Zhu Youtang said: "Either send out the whole army or stick to the pass. Why do we have to build fortresses and slow down the advance? Bingkuan, your proposal is not good."
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true. I made a mistake." Zhang Zhou admitted his mistake in front of the ministers present.
The ministers present felt as if they were being punched in the face.
Didn’t Zhang Zhou repeat Liu Jian’s suggestion and then be rejected by the emperor in person?
The emperor didn't have the nerve to say anything to Liu Jian before. This was just a double act between the monarch and his minister, and they were playing tricks on each other and scolding Sophora japonica.
Zhang Zhou said: "If we want to achieve a certain degree of advance and retreat, I believe that the terrain of the side pass is not a priority for the Ming Dynasty's border defense. Because of its favorable location, it is impossible to look around, nor can we coordinate the front and rear... "
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Pianguan is in the important town of Jiubian. Most of them are used as auxiliary passes and are not the most important strategic points. If troops are sent out from Pianguan, the terrain after leaving the pass will be very narrow and it will be difficult to reach a large army. Coordination can easily lead to difficulties in taking care of the beginning and the end.”
Zhang Zhou followed the emperor's wishes and said: "So I believe that in order to prepare for war, we should use Yansui as a basis."
"Yes." Zhu Youtang nodded, "So you think that if the situation at the border is stable, the trilateral military affairs should be consolidated instead of declaring military affairs as a whole, is that what you mean?"
Zhang Zhou didn't answer.
This time, Li Dongyang came out to question: "Yansui is far away from the capital. If we use Yansui to send troops and raise grain, grass and baggage, it will inevitably be delayed. If there is a strategic mistake, it will be difficult to mobilize reinforcements quickly." It was effective. Could it be that Zhang Shijiao never considered this issue?"
In terms of the defense proportion of the Ming Dynasty, although the three-sided defense is the focus, because the three sides are too far from the capital, it is also the most inconvenient to mobilize grain, grass, soldiers and horses.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "I don't understand what Mr. Li Ge means."
"What's not clear about this?" Wang Zongyi, the left minister of the Ministry of War, asked, "To prepare for the war in Yansui, just the transportation of grain and grass, carriages and horses accounts for 60-70% of the total cost. How can we prepare for the war?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Wang Shilang, you are right. It is more expensive to send troops from Yansui. But if we send troops to Hetao, where can we not go from Yansui? Is there a better choice? Now the Ming Dynasty Salt Tax They all rely on transportation from the capital, and the farmland in the northwest has been decreasing year after year. Even if we don't prepare for war and send troops, doesn't it mean that the imperial court doesn't have such a huge expenditure just by supplying the land on three sides?"
Wang Zongyi originally wanted to catch Zhang Zhou for his common sense mistakes, but now he found that Zhang Zhou seemed to be waiting for him to question him.
Zhang Zhou continued: "If we send troops to the Hetao, I can't think of a more suitable person than Yansui. But if we want to send troops to the grassland, why do we have to go all the way to the Hetao?"
"ah?"
All the ministers present were confused.
Zhang Zhou talked in circles for a long time, wasn't he talking about the suppression of traps?
Xie Qian said with a smile: "What do you mean, do you want to cure your headache? Instead of going through the Loop, why don't you go to Liaodong?"
Zhang Zhou said: "What Mr. Xie Ge said makes sense. If you have a headache, treat the head, but not the mouth, right?"
"hehe."
Although Xie Qian was still smiling, his expression froze.
If you have a headache, treat your mouth. If you can't scream, it won't hurt.
Don't let him talk about the border troubles... Zhang Zhou was clearly mocking him for talking too much, and also mocking the civil servants for blocking the way of speech.
He deeply felt that as a cabinet minister, people in the court actually started to use words to ridicule him. The feeling... was probably the same as when he used to ridicule others, which was uncomfortable to listen to.
Zhang Zhou then spoke seriously to Zhu Youtang: "I believe that by sending troops to the grasslands from Xuan Mansion and taking a detour behind enemy lines, we may be able to surprise them!"
(End of chapter)
