"Zhou Yanzhang, the commander-in-chief of Datong, has come to write a memorial, asking him to lead the Ming cavalry north to the Great Wall. You should all know it, right?"
The emperor convened the Military Aircraft Department to discuss affairs today.
After the great martial arts performance, the imperial edict was waived for a day. Some civil servants might have some ideas, but in the afternoon the emperor summoned officials to the palace, so there was nothing more to say.
"Returning to the emperor, the memorial was sent in yesterday evening, and most of us know it today." The person who answered this was Yang Tinghe.
"Yes. When I was reading history, I often thought, if what Yue Wumu had received was not the twelve golden letters of recall, but military pay, food, soldiers, and weapons, would the Zhao and Song Dynasties be as weak as they were?"
Officials from the Military Aircraft Department, the Household Department in charge of money, the Ministry of War in charge of troops, and Yang Tinghe listened to the emperor's holy teachings together.
"I also know that when Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty released his military power over a cup of wine, the Zhao family has suffered from the problem of worrying about military generals becoming powerful from the beginning. But when future generations look at it, they will feel that Yue Wumu is a pity no matter what. Emperor Taizu of this dynasty I follow the will of God and obey the people's will. I believe that the people want us Han people to win the war, so I don't worry about the things that Song Taizu worries about. Song Gaozong is afraid of Yue Wumu, but I am not afraid. Not only am I not afraid, but I also hope that the Ming Dynasty will have a Yue Wumu! If An Lushan is really raised like this and replaces me, the Emperor of the Zhu family, then at least the Han people will still dominate the world in the Central Plains. It is better than being a 'fourth-class southerner' under the Yuan Dynasty, right?"
The Yuan Dynasty court divided the country into four classes of people. The first class was the Mongols, the second class was the Semu people, the third class was the Han people, and the fourth class was the Southerners.
The emperor's words had very high intentions.
Yang Tinghe couldn't help but praise, "Your Majesty's magnanimity shocked me. However, I believe that Zhou Yanzhang will be Yue Wumu, and he will never be An Lushan!"
Han Wen and Wang Bing also echoed.
In the current environment of the Ming Dynasty, it is difficult to think of a powerful Jiedushi like An Lushan. The Ming Dynasty had the capital camp and Yang Yiqing's troops, so there was no need to worry about the so-called general army becoming bigger.
Zhu Houzhao thought about it for a while and said: "Zhou Yanzhang led 20,000 soldiers and horses deep into the desert for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world. Now there are people on the front line who are going through life and death. We people in the rear can't make tourists drunk with the warm wind." , just call Hangzhou "Bianzhou". Therefore, I think that although we can't help them directly, but... we can't create a situation of "when does the singing and dancing of the West Lake stop" every day. In the end, this The battle has something to do with everyone in the world!"
The three officials of the Military Aircraft Department were a little surprised. There were very few emperors who sympathized with the frontline soldiers to this extent.
"Your Majesty means..."
"Starting from tomorrow, the Military Aircraft Department will first publish an article signed by the three of you in Ming Pao, announcing to officials across the country that the Military Aircraft Department fully supports Zhou Yanzhang's suppression operation. Subsequently, the Cabinet, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Household Affairs... and even the imperial court All the yamen must keep up. In this way, we want to tell the officials all over the world that no one can hinder the Ming Dynasty from fighting abroad. I don’t care who has any political thoughts or what political disturbances they want to stir up. As long as they want to use war... I won’t agree!”
In this case... Han, Wang, and Yang thought about it for a moment. Although it was a bit unusual, it was reasonable for the emperor to ask the Military Aircraft Department to support the generals of the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, I will write this article." Yang Tinghe volunteered.
"Accurate!"
In fact, Zhu Houzhao is appointing more and more "cronies" as local officials. Even if they do not have the emperor's explicit instructions, if so many yamen in Beijing publish such articles,
Some governors or chief envoys also wanted to support the military action on behalf of the local government.
If there is no support...
Zhu Houzhao has to deal with people.
This idea was buried in his heart, and he wanted to see it.
Because many officials have a bystander mentality of 'he is the one doing the fighting anyway, not me.' It's actually strange when you think about it, how come your country is at war and you don't care at all?
As for Zhou Yanzhang, the political support he can get as a border general is definitely ranked high in history.
On the fifth day after Ma Rong left,
Zhou Shangwen led the generals out of Datong City as planned.
From a high altitude, nearly 20,000 soldiers and horses looked like ants pouring out of their nests. The north wind blew the flag of the Ming Dynasty, which was erected between the sky and the earth, guiding the troops forward.
In fact, the most terrifying thing about the military desert is the problem of material supply.
In addition to grasslands, Monan and Mobei actually have more Gobi deserts. The wilderness on the Gobi is endless, so in order to solve the material problem, the troops on expedition often have to use nearly a thousand horse-drawn carriages to ensure food.
And in order to facilitate preservation, they usually bring a lot of pickled foods that are not perishable.
The better ones can bring some bacon, but the worse ones are pickles. Anyway, three meals a day, each meal is a mouthful of dry food and pickles.
Although you will encounter some cattle and sheep on the grassland, they will not be in groups. At most, a few yellow sheep will be hunted to give teeth to officials as sacrifices. Soldiers are not so lucky.
The herds of cattle and sheep are all trophies. If you want to eat these, it means that the situation is very bad. There is a feeling that you can't go back alive anyway, eat a good bite, and then fight for your life.
In addition, another big problem is water source.
There is not much precipitation in the Mongolian Plateau, and some water is still salty. Although walking along the water source is a way, the Tatars are not stupid. You want to come to me, and I will run along the water source?
Not to mention other dynasties, the Ming army had to pursue pursuit far away from drinking water areas in all previous northern expeditions.
The only peace of mind is that Zhou Shangwen is not back for the first time.
The same is true for Ma Rong,
After the expedition in the 18th year of Hongzhi's reign, Ma Rong realized that if he wanted to win the battle on the grassland and Gobi, he must know the road, which was more important than any amount of daily practice.
So this time he asked someone to find a guide for him.
First, at least know the southeast, northwest and northwest in the vast wilderness. Second, you must recognize horse dung, sheep dung and other clues. These are things that will leave important information. Of course, the more important thing is to remember some places with springs and The direction of Danshui River.
It is difficult to find such people. After all, the Han people do not often walk in these places. There are only some merchants who have trade relations with the Tatars.
"...This thing is called day lily, and it is recorded in the "Northern Expedition". Its flowers are as big as mugwort, and its leaves are as big as fingers. It is several feet long and can be eaten."
The guide was an ordinary middle-aged man. He did not wear a military uniform, only a linen cloth with his head tucked into it. Even so, the skin on his face was rough and his lips had two cracks.
Ma Rong was fine, with no cracks, but there was dead skin on his lips and it was obviously dry.
He knelt down and opened his mouth to chew the vegetable with flowers like wormwood that the guide said.
Ma Sheng and the three Qianhu people watching on the side were shocked, "Young General (Second Brother)!
"
"It's slightly sweet. It should be edible." Ma Rong disagreed, stood up and said with a smile.
On the other side, the guide has actually started to eat.
"We had dry food in the past, and we were unwilling to take this risk. Plus, we didn't know anything about it in the first place. We really did the right thing by bringing you. At least we can have fresh wild vegetables to eat."
The guide worked for a businessman and had a humble status. He quickly said: "I don't dare. I have walked a lot on the grassland before I know it. Besides, this is not a big skill. Now the generals also know it."
Ma Rong smiled and gave the four generals behind him a look of indication, so the four men told the soldiers to dismount, "There are wild vegetables to eat today, so don't eat the pickles!"
Ma Rong took the guide aside and said, "Food, water, and enemies must be found. Otherwise, I won't worry, general."
"General, there is one thing I still have to say...the little prince is not a fatuous master."
"I know, so you're more important."
The guide's eyes continued to the north, "The villain knows a grazing land. It will take at least seven more days to walk."
"General!
Look west! "
Just as he was talking, someone suddenly called the police. Ma Ronghe and some people around him all got on their horses, and then shouted at the top of their lungs: "Drive!"
"
The horses' hooves were running wildly, but when they got closer, they found that they were just two yellow sheep.
On the grassland, the soldiers were so tired that when they encountered a sheep, they all whistled and screamed and surrounded it.
Ma Rong ordered, "See if anyone is there!"
When the soldiers slowly surrounded the two yellow sheep more and more tightly, and finally captured them, the guide also rushed up. He held the hem of his clothes and walked quickly over with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Walking around the two sheep, he touched them again and again. After counting the breaths, he raised his head and said seriously: "General, these are raised, not wild!"
The soldiers' strange screams stopped, and everyone understood what this meant.
Ma Rong also looked serious, "Why do you see that?"
"Look at the fur." The guide turned over the yellow sheep. "It's much cleaner than the wild ones. Someone must have cleaned it!"
"But since there are people raising them, why would they come here?"
The guide asked back: "Where does the general think this is? Can't cattle be grazed here?"
Hearing this, Ma Sheng could no longer bear his impulsive temper. He immediately galloped back and shouted: "All the troops must assemble! All the troops must assemble!"
They were all nervous because there was someone nearby but they didn't know it. In this way, it was not certain whether they would ambush them!
But Ma Rong's expression remained unchanged.
"This is the day I've been waiting for!"
…
…
Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.
The emperor's thoughts were attracted by Han Wen,
"The salt in the hands of a businessman is not as good as the salt in the hands of nobles and ministers. Da Situ, if you suddenly say such things, you must understand the importance of it."
"Wei Chen understands!" Han Wen held up the memorial in his hand, "In the salt industry, officials and businessmen generally call it "occupying a nest" or buying a nest! If a prince or minister sells salt, there will be no problem in all salt farms, but if a businessman sells salt, In the short term, it can last for three to five years, and in the long term, it can last for decades. The salt merchants have no choice but to bribe the prince's ministers and use their high status to withdraw salt. Over the past few years, the phenomenon of buying nests has become more and more intense, so that everyone has become accustomed to it. !”
According to Zhu Houzhao's understanding, this is a concrete manifestation of the realization of power.
And such behavior will greatly disrupt any industry, because the success of doing business depends on the quality of your relationships. As an emperor, he definitely doesn't like it.
But what's strange about him is,
Gu Liqing, the salt patrol censor, hadn't said anything in Yangzhou yet. How could Han Guandao, who had always been steady and steady, suddenly become so startled?
Is there something fishy about this?
"I have known about the corruption of the Salt Law for a long time. However, all the ministers in the court said that the world must be governed by benevolence and righteousness, and that hardness and softness should be balanced. When Emperor Taizu Gao, Emperor Chengyuan, had accumulated many disadvantages, he created legislation and used strictness to rule the world. This is the foundation. However, as the country enjoys peace and prosperity for a long time, the prosperity becomes more and more complicated, and the people's will becomes more and more lazy. Therefore, we must educate the world with benevolence, and the world will not return to benevolence."
Han Wen immediately said: "Your Majesty, Liu Daxia also said before the Xiaomiao Temple that matters involving foreign ministers will not be asked, but matters involving internal ministers will be discussed and verified. So, how can we convince the public?"
The emperor looked at Wang Bing and Yang Tinghe, "What do you think?"
Although they have nothing to do with this matter, important officials in the court can express their opinions on major events, whether they support it or not.
"Wei Chen believes that the great Situ is just talking about seeking the country. It's just that the matter involves dignitaries, so we still need to verify it before taking any action."
This is nonsense, whether it involves dignitaries or not, it needs to be verified. Government orders are issued and cannot be changed at will.
"I second my opinion."
After listening to what the two of them said, Zhu Houzhao had no idea. He just hadn't figured out why Han Wen was doing this.
But then he thought again, no matter the reason, since someone brought it up, it was always a good thing.
"Da Situ,"
"I'm here."
"It's not because the matter involves dignitaries, so I have to verify it repeatedly. Anyone and anything must be confirmed before making an order. There are princes and relatives here. You, Han Guandao, have written a memorial and asked me to deal with them all. , is there something wrong with this? Furthermore, if you firmly believe that this matter is true, you shouldn't be afraid of verification, right?"
Han Wen didn't think that the emperor might protect those people. The emperor would look to the left. Isn't that what he was waiting for?
"What your Majesty said is absolutely true, and of course I am not afraid to verify it!"
"good!"
The emperor turned his head and said to Liu Jin: "Don't disturb anyone first. In the name of the Supervisor of Liturgy, the Lianghuai Salt Transport Envoy will be sent to the capital, and Gu Liqing will also return to the court. This matter involves the emperor's relatives. What is the big deal? Is Situ slandering them, or are they really doing something illegal, we should find out."
"Now that we've figured it out, we can do whatever we need to do. Moreover, the imperial court is instructing all the ministers in the world to support the generals of the frontier army. If something like this happens at this time, we can't just swallow it all. The front is tight, the rear is tight, speak up. , the court is a joke!"
Zhu Houzhao said categorically, "This will never work! Da Situ,"
"I'm here."
"I will not publicize today's matter to the outside world, and no one in Qianqing Palace is allowed to publicize it to the outside world. After you go down, you must actively investigate the matter. I will not give you a decree. You can only investigate it yourself. If you can get the evidence, I will I will act according to your memorial, but if you can’t produce any evidence, please don’t accuse me.”
Han Wenxing was a great gift, but he was actually quite safe in his mind. Once he had done some things, he would not regret it.
"Wei Chen, take the order!"
Zhu Houzhao's mouth curved slightly, although he still didn't know what happened between Han Wen and Gu Zuo. But since someone took action, he then said, in the final analysis, it is nothing more than killing some people!
===
It’s too late today, so I can only update it by 4,000 (I took my wife to the big hospital in the big city next door for some tests).
It’s the last day of March, don’t forget the monthly votes you haven’t cast yet~
