Zhang Zhou was not limited to "searching for traps" and "suppressing traps."
What he wanted to help Zhu Youtang achieve was a head-on battle with the Tatars. As for whether the battle took place in the Hetao area or where it was, it didn't really matter.
What Zhang Zhou wants to fight is not the Fire Screening Division or the Duoyan Three Guards. What he wants to fight is the Dayan Division headquarters and a direct attack on Dayan Khan. Only in this way can the prestige of the Ming Dynasty be achieved.
Li Dongyang heard Zhang Zhou's intention, and he stated the disadvantages of doing so in public, saying: "Send troops from Xuanfu. After leaving the fortress, the terrain is difficult, which is not conducive to the long journey of soldiers and horses. The tribes in the grassland also use Zhangjiakou Fort and other places as gaps to send troops." It is easy to fall into a tight siege later. It is not advisable."
In the Ming Dynasty, Xuanfu already belonged to the "rear area" in the northwest. Xuanfu was an important town for storing military supplies in the northwest. It was close to the capital and relatively well-defended.
Outside Xuanfu, the grazing area that originally belonged to the Huoshai Mongoljin tribe belongs to the land of the right wing of Mongolia. The Duoyan and other tribes grazing to the west will also come closer to this side. This area belongs to the "Three No Matters" on the grassland. "It is also a place where various tribes compete. Because there is no value in cultivating and farming here, the Ming Dynasty has never used it to plan strategies for fighting outside the fortress.
Before the war between the Huosie Headquarters and Dayan Khan was about to start, the Mengoljin Tribe had moved westward, approaching the Hetao area, so now that they are leaving the blockade, they are basically taking a detour behind the Huosief Headquarters, which means they have to follow the Dayan Tribe. The east and west attacked the fire screen headquarters.
According to Li Dongyang's intention, after sending troops from here, the Mengoljin tribe and the Dayan tribe are likely to unite with the rest of the tribes to launch a siege against the Ming army in areas where the terrain is not conducive to the performance of the Ming cavalry and infantry.
If you want to take a detour behind enemy lines, you will easily get trapped in a tight siege.
Zhang Zhou said: "Sending troops from Yansui is far away from mountains and rivers, and the supplies are insufficient. When troops are sent from Pianguan, the terrain is poor and narrow inside but wide outside. When troops are sent from Xuanfu, the terrain is undulating, making it difficult to attack long distances... That means that in the future, we will still stick to the The right way is to leave things alone within the pass and the Loop. Is this what you mean?"
Li Dongyang knew that Zhang Zhou was debating with him, so he said: "Whether to send troops or not is still under negotiation, so there is no need to make an immediate decision."
Zhu Youtang supported Zhang Zhou and said: "It is my intention to send troops to suppress traps. It is in line with the current situation in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. You have said before that the most important thing in the defense of the northwest is to stabilize the side passes. Now the side passes are no longer hindered. Why delay sending troops?"
Defense is not a problem, let alone sending troops. From the emperor's point of view, it's not that I have no ability, but that you ministers are afraid of wolves in front and tigers in the back.
Wang Zongyi, the left minister of the Ministry of War, came out again and questioned: "In the previous battles to suppress Tao, tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops were often sent out, which wasted people and money. The Tatar cavalry often avoided the main force of the Ming Dynasty and did not fight, taking the opportunity to attack and harass other places. This is not the case." We can manage the Loop for a long time. If we send troops rashly, I'm afraid it will be counterproductive."
Zhang Zhou said: "What does Wang Shilang mean, because it is difficult to exterminate the bandits, so the bandits are allowed to cause trouble at the door of the house? Only when they attack the house, can we resist?"
Zhu Youtang didn't want to hear such nonsense anymore.
He said in a firm tone: "I agree with the Xuanfu's proposal to send troops. We will discuss this and come up with a practical plan within ten days. You nobles do not need to argue anymore."
It was decided to send troops, but he still obeyed Zhang Zhou and wanted to send troops from Xuanfu.
The minister was naturally dissatisfied.
But with Zhang Zhou’s achievements in the previous battles, and the ministers knowing that the emperor now had great favor and trust for Zhang Zhou, they had no objections to raise. Naturally, the only thing they could think of was that after the court meeting, a group of censors and officials jointly submitted a petition to object. An act of dispatching troops.
"Wang Qiong, a doctor in Hubu, played a great role in the battle of Pianguan. He was promoted to the right minister of Hubu and the censor of Youqiandu, and patrolled Pianguan and surrounding areas."
Zhu Youtang immediately rewarded Wang Qiong for his decision-making contribution in the battle.
The part-time job of the Right Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is almost the same as that of Qin Hong, who holds the Xuan Da General System. However, Wang Qiong is still only the governor of Pianguan, and the strategic significance of Pianguan in the Ming Dynasty is more focused on military defense and does not involve Government treasury grain and grass management and other matters.
…
…
The meeting ended.
It was originally a discussion about the merits of Wang Qiong, Zhu Feng and others, but it completely deviated from the direction in the middle and discussed whether and where to send troops.
The interests of the emperor represented by Zhang Zhou were in conflict with the policy of stability in the northwest pursued by the civilian officials. The result was that the emperor's majesty finally decided to send troops to the northwest, but it seemed that this did not receive full support from the civilian officials.
Even Zhang Zhou knew that if he sent troops, his merits would be suppressed by civilian officials, and his mistakes would be magnified.
Civilian officials will use their power to govern the country and try their best to set up obstacles and cause trouble for those who lead troops on expeditions. This is also the biggest drawback of civil servants governing the country after the middle of the Ming Dynasty, that is, the rigidity of the military system caused by political corruption and the serious training of soldiers and horses in actual combat. Insufficient, and eventually reduced to a reserve force that can only defend the border but cannot fight tough battles.
After the court meeting ended, Zhang Zhou was called to the Qianqing Palace again.
After Zhu Youtang sat down, he didn't look too angry. He had probably been emperor for twelve years and had been a little numb because of too much wrangling with his ministers on the northwest issue.
"Bingkuan, if I ask you to go to Xuan Mansion to lead troops to attack, will you be confident?"
Zhu Youtang now dare not take the leave of sending troops into his own hands.
If he was counting on Wang Yue and Qin Hong before, now he understands that only Zhang Zhou can understand what he means in terms of strategy, and only Zhang Zhou can fully stand on the emperor's side. As for civil servants... they are closer to professional politicians. They only ensure the so-called "overall stability", and will not think about making contributions to the emperor, nor will they think about doing something for the Ming Dynasty's border troops.
The "moderate" advocated by civil servants in the era of stability will push all affairs of the era in the direction of "inaction".
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, I am confident, but I need time to prepare. May I ask how many troops and horses your Majesty can give me?"
Since he talked about sending troops, Zhang Zhou needed to discuss something practical.
If you only give him 18,000 troops, Zhang Zhou will naturally know that this will not work, but if you give Zhang Zhou 50,000 troops... it means that troops and horses will be drawn from around the Xuan Mansion and even from the entire nine sides, and the civil servants will easily agree. ? At that time, it is inevitable that there will be another round of buck-passing.
Zhu Youtang sighed: "I also know that if we want to let go of our hands and feet to fight, whether it is the dispatch of troops and horses, or the food, grass and baggage, it will inevitably affect the whole body. Even if the civil and military ministers of the DPRK and China support it, all parts of the northwest will be affected. It may not be possible to coordinate properly, not to mention... the ministers in the DPRK and China have many objections and will not fully cooperate."
Zhang Zhou nodded.
The emperor's words were tantamount to pointing out the major problem of inaction in the northwest after the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
It’s just that the execution is not good enough.
Civil servants and military generals, or border army generals, have no courage to carry out the task of sending troops, and they all feel that they can advance or retreat. It is better to stay in the pass and be a coward. If you go out to fight, you can live your life as a coward. Yes, then why are you still fighting?
Once the outbound strategy is wrong, the number of casualties may not necessarily be unacceptable, but the resulting impact on the border situation, involving farming, daily life, etc., will inevitably be affected too much. The final result... everyone comes together to mess around. day.
The more mixed up, the less effective it is to execute.
A vicious cycle is formed.
The knife was not placed on his neck, so he didn't know the danger.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, if the Xuan Mansion wants to send troops, there is no need to rush. We can first mobilize 10,000 troops and horses to the surrounding areas of the Xuan Mansion to conduct daily drills. When the time is right, the troops and horses will be sent from Xuan Mansion." The government sends troops. As for sending troops, there is no need to hide it. This can force the Tatars to start war as soon as possible, and the impact on the Ming border can be minimized. "
Zhu Youtang thought for a while, nodded and said: "Bingkuan, you mean that the Ming Dynasty openly prepared for war to intimidate the hungry wolves on the grassland and make them kill each other. When they both lose, the border will send troops to finish it off?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "This is also the most ideal state. It is difficult to achieve, but at least it can show my Ming Dynasty's determination to go out."
"Yeah." Zhu Youtang just nodded and said nothing more.
Dai Yi asked: "Mr. Zhang, will this prevent the Tatars from preparing for war prematurely? How can we catch them off guard?"
Zhang Zhou said: "This is not an attack on the camp, so why should we be caught off guard?"
"But Marquis Weining..."
Dai Yi was about to express his opinion, but he couldn't help but glance at the emperor, then lowered his head and kept silent and stopped expressing any objection.
What he actually wanted to say was that Wang Yue's wars always focused on surprise attacks with light troops. Battles such as the Red Salt Pond and Weining Sea were not slow marches in a step-by-step manner. Instead, they relied more on Wang Yue's ability to size up the situation and catch the Tatars off guard. Obtained.
To put it bluntly, Wang Yue likes to take the wrong approach and use his prestige to engage in strategies that involve running thousands of miles to attack in one battle.
Zhu Youtang understood the difference and said with a smile: "Bingkuan manages the army not by clever tricks, but by strength. The so-called steady attack proposed by Liu Gelao and others is not as good as Bingkuan's pursuit of stability. The so-called stability , there is no need to push it forward step by step with earthen castles, but rely on solid military management. Bingkuan, if I really give you 10,000 troops, how long will it take to prepare for war? "
Zhang Zhou said: "I still want to stay in the capital, so I might as well replace him with someone else to run the army."
Zhu Youtang smiled bitterly after hearing this.
You just said that you were good at running the army, but you said that you would let others run the army. Does that mean you don’t want to die yourself?
"Your Majesty, when Xuanfu trains its troops, what they practice is artillery. There is no need to practice within the fortresses. Outside the fortresses, the journey does not need to be hundreds of miles. They take turns to go out to the fortresses to practice artillery, and blast them on the grassland. When the troops are actually sent out, At that time, among the small and medium-sized tribes in the grassland, who would be willing to be cannon fodder?"
Zhang Zhou told him his plan.
Military training means fighting as a substitute for training, but the so-called fighting is to put on a posture and engage in training to bombard rabbits on the grassland.
Let the Tatars know that the Ming Dynasty is serious and can blow up the grassland to devastation during military training, and let the tribes who are not familiar with the Ming Dynasty's new artillery know what it is.
Fight psychological warfare.
When the Ming Dynasty actually sent troops to fight Dayan Khan or the Huoshan tribe, the small and medium-sized tribes were so frightened by the power of artillery and yellow gunpowder that they did not dare to approach to help.
"That's... quite good." Zhu Youtang smiled and nodded at first, then thought of something and asked, "Are the gunpowder and shells... not enough?"
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Your Majesty, speaking of which, there are quite a lot of cannonballs recently. The Ming Dynasty is rich in resources. After clarifying the manufacturing technology and processes of various cannonballs, and the materials are almost inexhaustible, what is left? Use these cannonballs and gunpowder to kill Di Yi."
"Okay, then I'll listen to you and dispatch 10,000 troops and horses. From where?" Zhu Youtang asked, "The capital camp?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, I would like to invite people from all over the country to mobilize three to five hundred troops to the Xuan Mansion to conduct military drills together. We will use the military drills as a clear purpose to carry out combat training and train the artillery and artillery in various places in the nine-border town." Gunners, etc., to familiarize them with the use of artillery. His Majesty previously ordered cannons to be cast in various places in the northwest. Doesn’t it also require people who know artillery to complete the daily defense and garrison? "
"Oh?" The more Zhu Youtang listened, the more excited he became.
Dai Yi reminded with excitement on his face: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang's move has served multiple purposes. He is training troops to intimidate the grassland tribes and training gunners at the same time. Originally, artillery was used in the northwest, so shouldn't there be more training?"
"Yes." Zhu Youtang also nodded in approval.
Zhang Zhou said: "For the training of troops, I may not necessarily go there in person, but the preparations for war in various parts of the Nine Borders also need to be upgraded. Even if the Tatars know that the Ming Dynasty sends troops from the Xuanfu, we must let them feel that we, the Ming Dynasty We can dispatch troops from all the towns on the nine sides at the same time. Only in this way can we make the grasslands full of soldiers and make them fearful without fighting!"
"good!"
Hearing this, Zhu Youtang no longer had any worries in his heart.
"Use war as training, Bingkuan, what you said is very consistent with what I have in mind. The so-called where to send troops is just a cover. The Ming Dynasty is exactly what it wants to do. There are garrison troops everywhere, and they can be anywhere. Send troops, and the towns on the nine sides are both passes and bridgeheads, and you can march troops on the grassland at any time... Only in this way can the Di Yi in the north know where the king's way is and where the power of heaven is!"
Zhu Youtang was in a high mood and was completely moved by Zhang Zhou's mood.
In the past, if someone told him this, he would slap him back first and still shock the grassland. Does our Ming Dynasty have that strength?
But now with Zhang Zhou... With the previous great victories as a foundation, Zhu Youtang's military and political ambitions began to expand.
this moment.
It also made Zhang Zhou realize.
The emperor in the Ming Dynasty was the one who understood the golden mean the most, followed by... the prince. Zhu Youtang and his son would not be willing to follow the old ways to obtain the so-called stability of the northwest.
Probably everyone who becomes an emperor has the ideal of becoming an eternal wise king.
…
…
After Zhang Zhou discussed military affairs with the emperor, he immediately had to take care of "private affairs."
It was better to diagnose Queen Zhang's condition and become a doctor. Even Zhang Zhou felt that the identity contrast was a bit big.
He was both the emperor's trusted staff advisor and his personal doctor...but the emperor actually didn't go with Zhang Zhou to consult Empress Zhang. Zhu Youtang was very satisfied after being tricked by Zhang Zhou into planning a full-scale attack on the northwest. Went out of the palace to watch a play.
The play rehearsed that day was "Dingjun Mountain".
The veteran general Huang Zhong grew stronger and stronger, and sent troops to Cao Cao to capture Dingjun Mountain... It just matched the emperor's mood, allowing him to continue his excitement...
Zhang Zhou asked for a consultation, and this time he took the pulse directly. Afterwards, he thought about it carefully, as if he was considering what new prescription to prescribe to Queen Zhang.
"Bingkuan, I heard that His Majesty has been out of the palace to watch plays recently. Every time he comes back, he tells me about the content of the play. Does this mean that there is nothing going on in the government and the public, so His Majesty is so free?" Empress Zhang also regards Zhang Zhou now. "One of my own", while consulting Zhang Zhou, actually talked to Zhang Zhou about the "private affairs" between their husband and wife.
Empress Zhang really had no one to ask about matters outside the palace.
Moreover, Empress Zhang was also crisis-conscious... She vaguely knew that the emperor had to obey the Queen Mother Zhou when he left the palace, and the Queen Mother Zhou had always wanted to have a concubine for the emperor.
In the palace, that was Empress Zhang's territory, but out of the palace, Empress Zhang didn't even know what the emperor was doing outside, so how could she control the emperor's behavior?
Zhang Zhou said: "Except for accompanying your Majesty to the theater for the first time, I have never been there again. Your Majesty may have been paying attention to theater recently. Queen, should you invite these theater troupes to the palace? Then... ...Let the queen also see it?"
"It's not impossible." Empress Zhang retracted her wrist and said with emotion, "I have mentioned this to Your Majesty before, but Your Majesty meant that the troupe has always been of the highest rank and does not need to disturb the palace. I feel that Your Majesty has not been so close to me recently. Bingkuan, is there any way you can prevent me from getting pregnant as soon as possible?"
Zhang Zhou picked up his pen and was about to write a prescription.
After hearing this, he shook his head.
It means there is nothing that can be done for the time being.
A female official next to me said: "If you can't let your mother get pregnant, then why do you need to come for consultation?"
"Haha." Zhang Zhou smiled.
Queen Zhang said: "Don't be rude to the Zhang Qing family. He is a miracle doctor. If you can't diagnose and treat him well, you can't do it to others! Let the Zhang Qing family admit their mistake."
"Yes, your Majesty. Mr. Zhang, this slave is rude." The female officer hurriedly admitted her mistake.
"It's okay." Zhang Zhou didn't seem to mind.
But Zhang Zhou is a discerning person.
The queen won't let this female official act arrogantly. How dare this female officer act arrogantly? To put it bluntly, Empress Zhang wanted to play some "conspiracy" in front of him and engage in some coercion and inducement drama.
While showing trust in him, he also asked the female official next to him to teach him a lesson. In fact, Zhang Zhou could clearly see that the female official's hands were trembling, which showed that the female official was very weak inside...
There was no way, Zhang Zhou's reputation in the palace was too "evil", how could anyone dare to follow a semi-immortal who could bring down the thunder?
"Your Majesty, Marquis Shouning is here."
Zhang Zhou was still writing prescriptions when a young eunuch came in at the door to pass the news.
"Let him come in." Empress Zhang obviously made special arrangements for her brother to come to see her.
Then Zhang Heling came in with a step that he didn't recognize his relatives. Laoyuan cupped his hands and said: "I've met my sister, I've met Mr. Zhang."
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Marquis Shouning, you are polite."
After all, Zhang Heling has been Zhang Zhou's "student" recently, learning how to fuck, and he is quite familiar with it.
"He Ling, is there anything important?" Queen Zhang asked.
Zhang Heling said with a smile: "I heard that my brother-in-law wants to send troops to go on an expedition recently, and he wants to send Mr. Zhang there... I'm here to ask if there is a chance, and I can help you."
"Bingkuan, do you think... is it suitable?" Empress Zhang asked with a pretense of affection.
Obviously, because now Zhu Youtang has begun to neglect Empress Zhang, the Zhang family has developed a sense of crisis, and has begun to intend to train the Zhang family brothers to be the "pillars" of the Ming Dynasty.
(End of chapter)
