Xue Guoguan couldn't help but be stunned after hearing this. I was wrong, how could it be possible? Although Jiubianduo has sent out police reports, hasn't it always happened?
The other ministers were also a little curious, wondering why the emperor said this. Could it be that the emperor had some high opinions?
Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen's face became a little more serious, and he said seriously to Xue Guoguan: "Although there has been no major war situation so far. Whether it is building captives or Mongolian tribes, most of them are just harassment. However, I am sure that, After I return from my expedition to Liaodong, the captives on the grassland will definitely be under great pressure, so they will definitely launch a big war!"
Seeing that the ministers below were slightly surprised, he then continued to say firmly: "Of course, the previous harassment can also be understood as the enemy paralyzing our border officers. In short, Jianlu went to Hetao from Liaodong, and it was absolutely impossible It's not just harassment. I'm thinking that Jianlu will definitely take action in the near future. The reason I have already said is that the Jianlu in Hetao did not contain me very well!"
After hearing the emperor's analysis, Xue Guoguan and others thought about it and seemed to think it made sense. But they can't help it, as Emperor Chongzhen is so sure.
They did not expect that Emperor Chongzhen was sure of more than that. They heard him continue to assert: "There are many Mongolian tribes who are accomplices of Jianlu. I expected that it would not be difficult for the main force of Jianlu to cover up his attack target." We can do it. If I lead the army and make false claims to the east and attack in the west, for example, pretending that the main force is on the Jin side of the Ming Dynasty, but the actual main force is stationed in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will be unable to defend itself and will easily lose its vigilance!"
Hearing this, the Minister of War couldn't help it, and immediately went out to report: "Your Majesty, why does Jianlu not station troops in the east, but wants to go to the west?"
Originally he didn't want to ask, but Emperor Chongzhen's tone was too confident, which made him feel that the emperor was a bit absolute, so he asked. By the way, I can also remind the emperor in a subtle way. Although Your Majesty does have the ability to deduce the truth of the matter from clues, there are no absolutes in the world. Don't be so sure. Be more humble, which is what a wise king would do.
However, his subtle reminder was obviously of no use. Emperor Chongzhen still answered him in a very positive tone: "Please don't forget, there is a Ming rebel general Chai Shihua in the northwest who has been causing trouble. If he colludes with the Jianlu invaders, it will be very dangerous. Not only is he familiar with The situation in the northwest, and the Ming border troops in the west have not had contact with the Jianlu, although the court has warned, but the vigilance is still much less than here in the capital."
Having said this, he said decisively: "If I lead the army, I will definitely focus on attacking the northwest of the Ming Dynasty. In this way, it will be easy to succeed!"
Hearing that the emperor spoke so eloquently and with reason, and that he was not just talking nonsense, many courtiers looked at each other with admiration.
This admiration does not mean that they think what the emperor said must be true. Rather, they admire the emperor's logical reasoning ability. Although there is no term for this logical reasoning ability at this time, it does not prevent them from knowing the meaning and they feel that the emperor's ability is really strong!
"Your Majesty, in that case, why don't you send a decree to the governors of the three sides to strengthen their vigilance?" Xue Guoguan heard this and immediately said.
Emperor Chongzhen nodded after hearing this and said: "I really have to send a decree. It's also strange that since I came back from Liaodong, I have been paying attention to people's livelihood, disaster prevention and relief, and there are so many things, including the restructuring of the Beijing camp, that I have been so busy that I forgot. After I had some time in the past two days, I looked back and thought about it carefully, and then I came up with this!"
Upon hearing this, the Minister of War became a little uneasy and quickly stepped forward to apologize. No matter what, this is the Ministry of War’s business after all!
Of course, Emperor Chongzhen would not blame him for this matter, but it also reminded him of something, so he said to the Minister of War: "The military information from various places should be compiled specially by you and reported to me on a regular basis."
Originally, he wanted to set up an intelligence analysis center. Not only military sentiment, but also public sentiment and so on. However, he then thought about it. It was the time of political reform. The capital camp was being reorganized. Most areas in the Ming Dynasty were busy fighting disasters. The verification of the limits of privileges and exemptions for officials and gentry and the collection of taxes were also continuing. There are too many things to do, and today's yamen are not very efficient. It is not very suitable to introduce new concepts and ideas one after another. Therefore, he did not mention this matter and planned to talk about it later.
However, at this time, Emperor Chongzhen still had something to say, and he was heard to say seriously to his ministers: "The disaster of building captives in Hetao must be solved by me personally. The ministers are coordinating supplies and trying not to hinder disaster relief. Under the premise, be more prepared!”
When they heard that the emperor wanted to conduct military campaigns in person, he was not popular among these civil servants.
Some ministers, because of their inherent concepts, felt that the emperor was the most important person in the country and could not leave the palace easily, let alone go to war. Isn't there a saying that a general will inevitably die in battle? Even if a general can fight again, he may die in battle if he fights too many battles. If the emperor died in battle, it would have a huge impact on the Ming Dynasty!
There are other ministers who also don't like the emperor leaving the palace. Most of them are afraid that the emperor has gone out too much and has gained a lot of knowledge. If he is already so powerful, why should he be allowed to live?
Based on this, the ministers below, including the Chief of Ceremonies, were actually not happy with the emperor's expedition every three days, so they expressed their opinions one after another.
"Your Majesty, what happened in the northwest is something that has not happened yet. In my opinion, a decree is enough!"
"That's right, Your Majesty, as long as the northwest side strengthens its defenses and gives the rebels no opportunity to take advantage, there will naturally be no need to mobilize troops!"
"Your Majesty, the war will consume countless money and food. It is better not to fight. What's more, it may be possible for the Jianlu to withdraw to Liaodong now. Your Majesty has wiped out tens of thousands of Jianlu elites. The Jianlu elite in Hetao If not, you’ll have to go back!”
"..."
While they were talking, suddenly there were rapid footsteps outside the palace, and then a chamberlain appeared, holding a long tube in his hand. As soon as he crossed the threshold of Wenhua Palace, he immediately loudly announced: "Datong Mansion urgent military situation report!"
Upon hearing this, the Wenhua Hall suddenly became very quiet. It turned out to be an urgent military report from Datong Mansion. Could it be that whatever the emperor said would work? Or, is it something else?
Thinking like this, they felt a bit uneasy, fearing that the emperor would let him know. At the same time, they were also curious about what the military situation was? If it's just harassment like before, then it's fine.
As a result, after receiving the urgent report, Emperor Chongzhen took a look at it and asked his chamberlain to forward the urgent report to his subordinates. At the same time, he said: "The main force of the Jianlu troops appeared in Datong, and the troops were trapped in Datong. But here is the urgent report An urgent note was attached at the back, saying that Wu Qing, the commander-in-chief of the reinforcements and suppression forces, had just arrived in Datong and recognized that the slave chief Jierharang who was leading the army outside the city was not himself. Moreover, there seemed to be a bluff among the army besieging the city. signs.”
"..." When everyone in the palace heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other in shock. Did they really get caught in the emperor's trap?
They immediately read the urgent report in turn according to their official positions, and finally looked at each other speechless. The emperor did not lie to them. In other words, the movement of the prisoners in Hetao was proceeding according to the emperor's deduction. In other words, the northwest side may be in danger!
After a while, Emperor Chongzhen saw that none of them spoke, so he smiled and said: "It's time to solve the problem of building captives in Hetao. Your Majesty and others should have seen what I can do, so don't worry about me. Feel free to prepare!"
He had wasted a lot of words before and after, and had made it quite clear. At this time, the ministers had no reason to dissuade the emperor. However, Xue Guoguan, the chief minister, still said: "Your Majesty, the Jianlu tribe is not as good as the original Tumed tribe, and there are examples of the Tumed tribe being annihilated, so the Jianlu tribe will probably not be fooled again. I don't know if your majesty will go on an expedition." , how should we fight this time?"
Hearing this, other civil servants agreed very much. The enemies on the grassland are like brown sugar. If you fight with too many troops and have a great advantage, they will run away; if you have too few troops, this will definitely not work. Therefore, the enemies on the grassland have always been the most troublesome for Ming Dynasty.
In the past, the enemy from the grassland was introduced into the pass and ambushed to eliminate them. This kind of thing had no precedent beforehand. It was the first time Emperor Chongzhen did it. The Tumut troops were unprepared, so it was easy to succeed. However, the enemies on the grassland must be on guard now, so the next battle will be absolutely difficult!
Xue Guoguan's question also made Emperor Chongzhen a little difficult to answer, because at this time, he had no specific ideas. However, he was still confident because several "gold medal undercover agents" had already rushed to the Loop. As long as you can know what the enemy is doing and how to do it, there will always be a way to take targeted actions.
Based on this idea, Emperor Chongzhen smiled slightly and said: "I am not surprised that Xue Qing is not good at military affairs."
"..." Xue Guoguan opened his mouth after hearing this, but he could not answer the emperor because he really had no experience in leading troops in war. In the Ming Dynasty, not every civil servant was Lu Xiangsheng, or figures like Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting.
But the Minister of War, after all, had some experience. Just when he was about to speak, he heard Emperor Chongzhen continue to say: "It is said that soldiers have no permanent momentum and water has no permanent shape. If I talk about it now, I can build a captive in any way." , that’s just talking on paper. Adapt to local conditions, adapt to local conditions, and defeat the enemy in any form. Is this your answer?"
Xue Guoguan was completely unable to refute this answer. So, he thought in his mind, forget it, anyway, the emperor is wise and powerful. Although he is still not optimistic that the emperor can defeat the Jianlu who destroyed Hetao, at least, he should not be defeated! Let it go: "This... I understand, Your Majesty is wise!"
At this time, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue finally came out and said: "Your Majesty, although the court has some money now, it is in short supply of food and grass. I don't know how many people your Majesty will bring, so I'd better be prepared for the humble ministers."
The three major conquests during the Wanli period drained the Ming Dynasty's treasury, and all wars cost was money and food. If possible, the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance does not want a war to happen.
In this regard, Emperor Chongzhen was still cautious. After thinking about it, he made a decision: "There are only so many cavalrymen in the Hussars Camp, Panshi Camp and Yongwei Camp. In addition, the Jiubian Major Town can be called at any time. There should be no problem with the strength of the border troops."
At this point, he remembered some sayings from later generations, and added: "I will watch it, it is better to make money from the war!"
Can you make money by fighting? How can this be? When all the courtiers in the Wenhua Palace heard this statement from Emperor Chongzhen, such an idea immediately came to their minds.
But when they came to their senses, they suddenly couldn't refute.
Because Emperor Chongzhen's first personal expedition was a real gain if it was just a war on the grassland. The money, food and materials consumed by the army were much less than the spoils that Ming Dynasty finally got from the Hetao. Not to mention anything else, just the war horses are enough to make a lot of money!
Thinking like this, they couldn't help but look forward to it. Could it be that the emperor could take away some Mongolian tribe's lair this time? However, if the Mongolian tribe's lair was so easy to deal with, they would have been extinct long ago! Is the Emperor afraid that he will not be able to go on an expedition this time?
As a result, these senior officials of the Ming Dynasty were full of curiosity about the emperor's third personal expedition that was about to begin.
First of all, how should the emperor fight this war when he goes on an expedition? Whether we can defeat Jianlu and whether we can destroy Jianlu is a question!
Secondly, how much food and supplies will the emperor consume during this expedition? How much loot will he get if he wins in the end? Can the consumed food and supplies be offset, or how much will be left?
Also, when the emperor goes on an expedition this time, facing the endless grassland, can he continue to have an exhaustive strategy?
…………
With these thoughts in mind, this time the discussion in the Wenhua Palace was over, everyone dispersed and went about their own business.
Of course, an imperial edict was also indispensable, which was sent to Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, in an urgent manner of 800 miles. Although Emperor Chongzhen knew in his heart what was going on over there, on the surface, at least he had to go through such a process!
In early September of the 14th year of Chongzhen, urgent reports came from the border. The Jianlu and Mongolian coalition forces on the Datong Prefecture withdrew on their own. On the northwest side of Ningxia, the rebel general Chai Shihua led the main force of the Jianlu forces to suddenly appear and ambush the Ningxia Ming army. The commander-in-chief Wang Shichong died in the battle, and many people in various places were burned, killed, and looted, causing considerable losses. Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, arrived and stabilized the situation. When the emergency report was sent, the Jianlu troops had already withdrawn.
When the ministers in the court were surprised that the emperor really knew what was happening, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict, vowing to conquer the Jianlu and Mongolian tribes and give an explanation to the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Thus, Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty began his third personal expedition.
