None of the generals present expected that Zhang Zhou's purpose was to send troops to the grassland.
They thought that Zhang Zhou came to Xuanfu just to set off cannons and open mines, because they all felt that... Zhang Zhou was afraid of death.
Zhang Heling said: "Mr. Zhang, let's not make trouble. With your current status, my brother-in-law holds you like a treasure. What's the point of you insisting on doing this? If you can't make trouble, we can leave the soldiers and horses on the grassland. I can’t even go back to the capital.”
As soon as these words came out, everyone around him was embarrassed.
Only Ma Zhongxi heard this and felt it was both pleasant and nonsense.
The reason why I heard it was because Zhang Heling opposed sending troops, and I thought the nonsense was about the emperor holding Zhang Zhou as a treasure.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Everyone, do you think so too?"
"Haha." Zhu Hui and others could only smile bitterly.
They didn't have the courage to take the initiative. After all, this was already the Hongzhi period, and none of the honorable ministers in the court still had the courage to go to the grasslands and make contributions.
The last distinguished minister who could help Zhang Zhou on his expedition, Wang Yue, has passed away.
Ma Zhongxi said coldly: "Zhang, you are indeed a newborn calf."
"Thank you for the compliment." Zhang Zhou smiled.
"Hmph!" Ma Zhongxi said, "You have just arrived. You haven't even figured out the layout of the troops and horses around Xuan Mansion. You don't know how many soldiers and villagers there are. You don't know anything about the soldiers, horses, food and grass in the city, so you dare to say that you want to go on an expedition. Prairie, and you want to detour behind enemy lines? Do you think that the wolves in the prairie are all made of paper, and you can burn them by setting fire to them, and you can poke them open with your finger? Simple! Ignorant!"
Ma Zhongxi was very dissatisfied with Zhang Zhou because of Ma Yi's case and the prayer for rain that day.
Now he finally seized the opportunity to teach Zhang Zhou a lesson with his old-fashioned identity as a "experienced person".
Don't mention how refreshing it is.
I like to see you pretending to be okay, but I'm worried that I won't have a chance to deal with you.
"Snapped!"
Zhang Zhou suddenly dropped a pamphlet on the table.
Ma Zhongxi glared at Zhang Zhou: "What is this?"
Zhang Zhou said: "Oh, this is something I tinkered with when I was in the capital. I like to talk about military affairs on paper. It tells how many soldiers and horses there are in Xuanda, how many soldiers are available, as well as the shortage of personnel and broken weapons everywhere, as well as the past years. Reported to the imperial court about military pay, etc., and even conducted a detailed investigation into the corruption situation in the local military headquarters and the military headquarters."
"you……"
Ma Zhongxi was a little speechless.
The things Zhang Zhou listed sounded very professional. He was able to find out so many things at once, even before setting off for the expedition. He was very well prepared.
But he didn't have the nerve to say it.
Are you fooling the devil?
Regardless of whether you have that ability or not, how dare you say that a booklet like yours can contain so many things?
Do you really think these people are laymen and can be deceived by you?
Zhang Heling grabbed the brochure, opened it and looked at it. He was surprised: "The characters are so small, how can you read them?"
When Ma Zhongxi looked at it, he realized that his conceitedness was a bit unnecessary, because the content of this booklet was not written with a brush. The words inside were very small and densely packed. How many words were there in such a booklet... It felt like it was countless. clear.
"Old Ma, you know I am a person who has no actual combat experience, so I can talk. I like to command Wang Weining when I have nothing to do. I also like to give advice to An Bianbo and Zhu Zhijie. I can make some sky gunpowder and invent some artillery. What do you think? I’m a newborn calf, so there’s really nothing wrong with me, but if it weren’t for a newborn calf, I would be afraid of tigers when I go up the mountain, and those who are timid would just go home and eat mush.”
Zhang Zhou's attitude of "I'm just a novice, I'm just not afraid of trouble, you can bite me" made Ma Zhongxi feel powerless after hearing this.
Zhang Heling handed the booklet to Ma Zhongxi. Ma Zhongxi was not the kind of lazy official. He picked it up and read the contents carefully. After flipping through a few pages, he found that Zhang Zhou was not bragging.
The actual situation in Xuanfu, Datong, Piantou Pass and other places is listed above.
"You...you have known about Ma Yi's bad deeds for a long time. Not only did you not go to court to participate in the impeachment, you actually...covered it?"
When Ma Zhongxi saw Zhang Zhou's list of Xuanda's local treasury backlog and corruption situation, he immediately became angry.
Ma Yi next to him became nervous upon hearing this.
What's going on?
My crimes have already become public knowledge before others have investigated me in detail?
Zhang Zhou smiled but didn't answer.
Zhu Hui asked: "Mr. Zhang, where is the Chinese military tent of the Manguan Hui Department?"
Zhang Zhou picked up a cane and pointed at the hasty-looking map hanging on the door. Zhu Hui looked at it with wide eyes and said in surprise: "Weining Hai? This... this..."
Zhu Hui couldn't help but be surprised.
Weininghai is the place where Wang Yue became famous, and it is also the origin of Wang Weining's nickname. At that time, Wang Yue sent troops from Datong to surprise Weininghai and took away the home of the Tatar Grand Master Yisi Mayin. He completed the Battle of Weininghai and became the The first general from Chenghua to Hongzhi years of Ming Dynasty.
Zhang Zhou said: "Weining Haizi, also known as Jining Haizi, has the most fertile grassland in Mongolia. It has been coveted by the Tatar tribe for many years. Even the neighboring tribes, including the Yongxie Bu tribe, have also been coveted. There is the Ordos tribe of Mandu Lai Agulehu, which is the tribe where Aoer Dusi is located. They all covet this area, but it is currently owned by Huo Si."
Ma Zhongxi said sternly: "You don't need to explain it. How do you think it will be easy for you to send troops to Weininghai?"
People around him were also looking at Zhang Zhou.
Everyone knows that the water and grass around the Weining Sea are fertile, and they all know that there may be the military camp of the Fire Sieve, but no one thinks that the Ming Dynasty can surprise Weining Sea at will and recreate the battle of Wang Weining.
Zhang Zhou sighed: "The troops sent out from Datong Town to Weininghai are two hundred and seventy miles away and have to pass through Mao'erzhuang. That is where the front flag of the Mengoljin tribe is now. Fire Sieve's defense against the headquarters is limited to this. But if we send troops from Wanquan Youwei, go out to Xinghe, cross Daqingshan, and penetrate directly into the hinterland of Weininghai from the east road, although the distance is longer, more than 400 miles... except for the difficult road, there will basically not be any obstacles along the way. Obstruction.”
"enough!"
Ma Zhongxi couldn't stand listening. He walked over to the map and looked at all the landmarks on the map.
He didn't know where Zhang Zhou's map came from, but he also noticed that Zhang Zhou's map seemed to be much more complete and accurate than the current map in Yansui.
As the governor of Yansui, Ma Zhongxi is also knowledgeable about maps.
He was a great Confucian. Li Mengyang, Kang Hai, Wang Jiusi and other young famous Confucians of the time all studied under him, and he himself was impeccable in terms of talent.
But in Zhang Zhou's view, there are no disciples when people are careful. It seems that it is not that easy for someone like Ma Zhongxi who is too straightforward to teach his disciples well.
"Mr. Zhang, I am not insisting on pouring cold water on you. Since the Tatars send troops, they have always been both soldiers and civilians. It is said that when you dismount, you can graze, and when you mount, you can bend your bow and set an arrow. The army and the people are one."
Ma Zhongxi felt that he couldn't control the situation unless he showed some real skills, so he started to break up.
Zhang Zhou also looked attentively and seemed willing to listen to his opinions.
Ma Zhongxi continued: "The Manchurian Tribe of Fire Sift is the strongest among the three major tribes on the right wing of Mongolia. When sending troops, the Chinese army is always behind, and they never say that they will ignore the old, weak, women and children of the tribe. , you send troops to make a surprise attack four hundred miles away, regardless of whether your troops and horses can arrive smoothly, just say that after the troops and horses arrive, they will encounter the camp of the Fire Sieve Headquarters, and they will also meet the main force of the Chinese army from the Fire Sieve Headquarters."
"How to fight against a tired army after a long journey? Do you want to use side tactics again to blow up the Hulu barbarian camp? Or are you planning to use the enemy's strengths to fight with archers and horsemen? Better?"
Zhang Heling, who was standing next to him, heard this and exclaimed: "People should not be judged by their appearance. You can do it, old horse. You are really good at breaking up. You are right, sending troops... is not appropriate!"
At this time, Zhang Heling was just like the grass on the wall.
When it comes to sending troops to seek death, he will definitely not agree.
The scene was awkward for a while, because almost everyone present did not want to send troops. This was just Zhang Zhou's wishful thinking, but they could not speak bluntly like Ma Zhongxi and Zhang Heling.
…
…
"Pa bang bang..."
Zhang Zhou applauded: "Well said."
A compliment, the implication is, don't say it next time, it will make you panic.
Zhang Zhou said: "Everyone, I want you to understand that I came to run the army under the emperor's order. It is my duty to mobilize troops and generals and go out to fight. My decisions are only responsible to His Majesty and the Ministry of War, and I do not have to follow You explain too much."
"you……"
Ma Zhongxi is so angry.
You can't defeat me, so you plan to use your official authority to suppress others?
"But since I advocate sending troops, in order to stabilize the morale of the troops, it is still necessary to explain to you the current situation on the grassland before sending troops."
Zhang Zhou rolled up his sleeves.
A group of people stayed in a corridor for a meeting in the middle of the summer. There was no ventilation on all sides. It was strange that they were comfortable.
Zhang Zhou said: "Currently on the grassland, the little Tatar prince Batu Mengke, which is their headquarters Chahar tribe, has been moved to Aoerdusi, and the Ordos tribe Mandu Lai Agulhu has been forced to withdraw eastward. Discuss with Yibula and Huoshai to fight against Batu Munch together."
Don't speak when you are present.
In fact, this is not a secret. Unification within the grassland seems to be an inevitable trend after the rise of Dayan Khan.
Especially in the previous war between the grassland and the Ming Dynasty, it was not Dayan Khan's headquarters who suffered the loss. Dayan Khan retained his strength and was qualified to complete internal mergers.
"In normal times, it would be impossible for Huoshii to abandon his troops and march out in full force when they advance, but now it is related to the life and death of their tribe. The coalition of the three major tribes plus a dozen small tribes is not Dayan. Khan’s opponents, they can leave some troops in Maoerzhuang to guard against the Ming Dynasty heading north from Datong Town, which is their limit."
"If we can bypass enemy lines, why do we think there is no chance of victory?"
"You don't think that I, Zhang, am here to fight the Tatars head-on, do you?"
"ah?"
The people present were stunned again.
In the first few sentences, Zhang Zhou was still explaining the meaning of sending troops in righteous words, but the next sentence... seemed to expose Zhang Zhou's true nature.
If you don't fight head-on, then you just like to be sneaky?
Zhang Heling said carelessly: "The snipe and the clam are fighting for the fisherman's profit. We are fishermen, why should we fight head-on? Mr. Zhang is right. If you don't seize such a good opportunity, the village will not have this shop if you miss it. Let's fight. Uh. ?What do you think?"
No one here paid any attention to him.
You, a relative who has no position and is a fence-sitter, you first said not to fight, and now you are talking about fighting. Feelings depend on which way the wind blows, so you, a bunch of wallflowers, will go wherever the wind blows, right?
…
…
The scene fell silent again.
But this time it seems that everyone's will is different. The previous fear of sending troops has turned into an eagerness to try.
Tang Yin broke the silence and asked: "Zhang Zhitai, I dare to ask, you have calculated it. The headquarters of Huoshan must be in Weininghai, and there is insufficient defense, right?"
This has become the topic of greatest concern to everyone present.
Those generals were all thinking that this Tang Jinshi could focus on the key points by asking questions.
If this Zhang Banxian can call upon the wind and rain, figure out where the Fire Screen headquarters is, and then send troops for a surprise attack, then the chance of success is completely on our side.
"Yes." Zhang Zhou gave the accurate answer.
Zhang Zhou is not fooling around with this.
Historically, the war between the Dayan tribe and the Mongolian right wing lasted for more than 20 years. At the beginning, Dayan Khan even encountered many difficulties. He experienced the murder of his second son and the defeat of Ma'anling, which almost cost him his life.
But in the end, in the fifth year of Zhengde, Dayan Khan sent troops to surprise the Weining Sea, occupied the grassland of the Mongolian right wing headquarters, and performed sacrifices to heaven on the north bank of the Weining Sea, forcing several major tribes on the Mongolian right wing to fight a decisive battle with them. Gule was defeated in this battle, and he could only lead his tribe to flee to Gansu and Qinghai for a generation. The grassland situation also underwent a fundamental reversal, and Dayan Khan unified the grasslands.
In fact, the tactics used by Zhang Zhou now are not fundamentally different from those of Dayan Khan ten years later.
Moreover, Zhang Zhou has more chips and a greater advantage.
The entire military in the northwestern part of the Ming Dynasty could be controlled and controlled by him. There were yellow powder and Fo Lang machine guns, improved red Yi cannons, and he was highly praised by the military.
At the same time, they took advantage of the annexation war between Dayan Khan and the Mongolian right wing to reap the benefits.
If it weren't for the annexation within the grassland, the right-wing Mongolian tribes such as Huoshai would not have leaked their rear area.
Perhaps even the grassland people felt that since Wang Weining was dead, Qin Hong, Wang Qiong, and Zhu Feng alone would not dare to invade the grassland.
Zhang Zhou?
In the eyes of the grassland people, this is just an alchemist. With the favor of the Ming Emperor, he can just slowly train his troops in the Xuan Mansion. I will give that place to you. Why would such a near-sycophant want to die and cause trouble for himself?
When we reach the territory of the grassland, can we still let your soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty show off their power?
"Everyone, I want you to understand that this battle is a proactive attack that His Majesty has always wanted, and it is also a battle to enhance the prestige of our Ming Dynasty. In this battle, Yansui sent only 10,000 troops, of which 3,000 cavalry were the vanguard, and they quickly rushed into Weininghai, and the subsequent seven thousand soldiers and horses followed the Chinese army and fought steadily. After harassing the grassland in the north of Weininghai, they refused to fight and immediately withdrew their troops."
"At the same time, Pianguan, Datong, Yansui and other places will cooperate to send troops. Send troops to Yansui first, so that Dayan Khan loses sight of the front and rear, and also makes the Mongolian right-wing ministries think that the focus of the Ming Dynasty's troops is Yansui, so The Mongolian right wing advances further west."
"Subsequently, Pianguan and Datong sent troops to form a coordination at Donghetao."
"Then we sent troops from Xuan Mansion to attack Weininghai. This battle may determine the border situation in the next ten years. Whoever wants to fight will stay and discuss the strategy of entering the army together. If anyone doesn't want to fight, then he will resign on the spot. From now on, the court must There will be no place for it!”
"Everyone, think about it!"
…
…
Zhang Zhou was very powerful at this time.
The analyzed battle situation and tactics were basically acceptable to Wu Xun present.
mainly……
Zhang Zhou said, we are not here to fight the main Tatar force at all. When we encounter the main Tatar force, we will retreat. We will make a surprise attack on the enemy's rear, which is only more than 400 miles away. We are still fighting the old and weak people of the Fire Screening Department. If you are afraid of being sick and disabled... then the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty really don't have to mess around.
"Everyone, you don't even have this courage, do you?"
Zhang Zhouyi was annoyed when he saw that no one came out to express his position. "Should I call Wang Dehua and Zhu Zhijie and ask them to cooperate with me in sending troops? Or should I ask Chen Liangjiu to come? He has no other ability, so he can send troops day and night." There is no problem in two hundred miles, we can reach Weininghai in two days and two nights, are you asking me to temporarily transfer people?"
Everyone present wanted to laugh when they heard it.
At this point, Zhang Zhou did not forget to disparage Chen Rui, and it could be seen that Zhang Zhou really looked down on Chen Rui, so he asked them to send troops together.
Just when Ma Zhongxi was also fuming and silent.
Ma Yi came out, clasped his fists and saluted: "Zhang Zhitai, the last general is willing to be the vanguard and lead a surprise attack on Weininghai with 3,000 cavalry!"
Ma Zhongxi glared at Ma Yi, seeming to be very contemptuous of Ma Yi.
In Ma Zhongxi's view, Ma Yi may risk surrendering to the enemy by doing this.
"Okay." Zhang Zhou was very approving of Ma Yi's attitude, nodded and smiled, "He is indeed a famous border general of the Ming Dynasty. He is brave, resourceful and responsible. He is not like some people who shrink from war."
"Zhang, who are you talking about?" Ma Zhongxi couldn't listen anymore.
Zhang Zhou ignored Ma Zhongxi. The old man had a stubborn temper, but he wasn't bad at all. He was even a little stupid.
In today's world of Ming Dynasty, it is useless to be an official by being honest. Ma Zhongxi's future experience also proves that he is neither suitable for being an official nor a role model, causing trouble among his disciples. Li Mengyang's kindness to Kang Hai will be revenged. , even if he wrote the allusion of "Zhongshan Wolf", he was just complaining for no reason, and he didn't even act as a good subject of the Ming Dynasty.
"Since you all are determined to make great contributions, I will hand over the three thousand vanguard cavalry to the commander of the cavalry and give him the opportunity to make great contributions. Do you have any opinions?"
"Very good. Haha." Zhang Heling was smiling.
As long as he is not allowed to be the vanguard, he feels good.
Tang Yin, who was on the side, seemed to understand something and looked at Zhang Zhou with a "I see" look.
Zhang Zhou just patted him on the shoulder, meaning to calm down. I understand that you are pretending to be confused, just pretend you don't know anything, but don't talk nonsense.
Tang Yin was horrified.
He now understood why Zhang Zhou went out of his way and accepted a guilty Ma Yi halfway.
Because looking around Zhang Zhou, from Zhu Hui, the protector of the country, to Shouning Marquis Zhang Heling, to Zhang Lun and the generals of the Beijing camp, who can be the leader to lead the troops to raid Weininghai?
If Zhu Feng is transferred here, Zhu Feng dares to go?
Or does Chen Rui dare to go?
The students of the Yanwu Hall may have this ability, but they do not have high prestige among the local generals in Xuanfu. Do you expect them to lead 3,000 cavalry and drive straight into the grassland for 400 miles and return for 800 miles?
After much thought, Ma Yi was the only one suitable.
Moreover, because Ma Yi was guilty, he was forced to rely on meritorious deeds to offset his sins.
As for the fear of Ma Yi surrendering to the enemy... don't worry.
Will the situation in the north and south of the Nine Borders be fundamentally reversed, with the Ming Dynasty taking the upper hand? Will Ma Yi leave his family and career and surrender to the enemy before the Ming Dynasty pacifies the grassland? What is he planning?
Zhu Hui said: "I'm afraid it's inappropriate to lead the troops with one person on horseback. I don't know who should lead the troops together?"
According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, if you want to send troops, you must have military honors, civil servants, and eunuchs to supervise the army.
It seemed that Cao Shun would be used as the eunuch to supervise the army, but when it came to civil servants... many people were also looking at Tang Yin. Zhang Zhou had patted him on the shoulder a few times before, with the intention of letting him follow Ma Yi straight in.
So Tang Yin was not only frightened, but also had chills running down his spine.
"hehe."
Zhang Zhou was just laughing.
"I think a colleague will arrive at the Xuan Mansion today or tomorrow. He will coordinate the dispatch of troops as the head of the Ministry of War. I think it should be his lifelong wish to surprise the Weining Sea and shock the grassland."
"Of course, among the Chinese army, I am still the main one. I will personally lead 7,000 soldiers and horses, and together with Duke Baoguo, Hou Ninghou and others, we will go out to the fortress, shoot cannons, falcons, and vultures, and wait leisurely for the front line. The soldiers returned in triumph."
Some people died, but not completely...
