The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Late February.

The imperial examination had ended, but the papers were still being marked. Emperor Zhu Youtang was not in Beijing, so the cabinet and the Imperial Household Department maintained the government to a certain extent. At this time, news came that the Tatars had once again invaded the border.

in the cabinet.

Liu Jian and Li Dongyang also received war reports from the Northwest on the same day. They learned that the Tatars were gathering troops in Ningxia and other places, and had invaded Piantouguan, Datong and Yansui many times. They also learned that the Tatars were likely to march straight in from Huamachi.

Liu Jian said, "We have been on guard for several years and thought we had the situation in the northwest under control, but until now, the Tatars are still coming and going freely, and what's worse is that they are getting worse. Now that Zhang Tingmian and others have been transferred back to Beijing one after another, Huamachi's defenses have been relaxed. How can we resist the aggressive Tatar cavalry?"

From the conversation, Liu Jian seemed to be waiting to see Zhang Zhou make a fool of himself.

You have been the Minister of War for several years, and you seem to have won many battles, but you still haven't made any serious damage to the Tatars. They can still easily mobilize tens of thousands of cavalry to attack, and the Ming border soldiers are still exhausted to cope with it. And this time you are at the port, let's see how you deal with it.

Li Dongyang casually took out another thing that looked like an imperial decree and said, "Your Majesty seems to be preparing to use the city on the coast as a coastal garrison, and even plans to continue expanding the city."

Liu Jian took it and looked at it, then shook his head and said, "Binhai City? The Ming Dynasty's coastal areas have always been stable. What's the point of this city?"

Li Dongyang said: "Since Zhang Tingmian was transferred away from Ningxia, the local defense of Ningxia has been in a state of relaxation. The troops stationed in Huamachi are scattered. Now that the Tatars are attacking, there is not even a commander in chief. I am afraid we can only watch the fun. The Tatars also know how to pick the right time."

Not only Liu Jian was gloating, Li Dongyang also had the same expression.

Liu Jian said: "Binzhi, isn't it wrong to just watch the fun?"

Li Dongyang said with a learned look, "I am just worried about the changes in the situation in the northwest, not just watching the fire from the other side of the river. This is the business of the Ming Dynasty court, and it is closely related to us."

Although he said this, his face seemed to be very relaxed.

Finally, there is a chance to make the Ming border army suffer a setback, and finally a chance to make Zhang Zhou, the Minister of War, unhappy with his job. Under this premise, even sacrificing some of the Ming border interests is acceptable.

How can this not make people happy?

Liu Jian asked, "Didn't the previous dispatch order mention troops from various places rushing to support Huamachi? Zhang Bingkuan saw through the situation and was able to accurately find Huamachi. This is the third time that the Tatars have used Huamachi as a base to invade the border. Now that the Tatars know that our Ming Dynasty has a large number of troops stationed in Huamachi, why are they still targeting it?"

This time Yang couldn't give an answer. He shook his head, indicating that he couldn't figure it out.

No matter how important the geographical location of Huamachi is, it is not to the point where the Tatars must attack. However, after the 14th year of Hongzhi, the Tatars liked to target Huamachi, which Li Dongyang could not understand.

Liu Jian said: "Once or twice, it can be said to be a coincidence, but this one after another, it is hard to understand."

Li Dongyang sighed: "It is said that Zhang Bingkuan has the ability to see through people's hearts. Does he really have it? If you don't know, you might think that he is secretly colluding with the Tatars..."

Li Dongyang did not discuss this further.

It seemed that he also knew that this matter was a bit nonsense. Although Zhang Zhou's predictions were always accurate and the Tatars seemed to be used as a gun, attacking wherever Zhang Zhou pointed, it could not be said that Zhang Zhou was in cahoots with them.

Because every time it was the Tatar soldiers who went to die.

Liu Jian asked: "Who is the Chief Censor of the Huamachi Passerby?"

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "There is no Chief Censor, and no civil official was sent to take charge of the military power in Ningxia's local defense. Previously, it was Zhang Tingmian who was in charge of military affairs. Originally, Your Majesty intended to let Pinglu Hou go to lead the troops, but his schedule was obviously delayed by the Tatars' continuous border raids. Now he has not even passed Piantou Pass, and there is no news that he has sent troops to the northwest."

Liu Jian asked: "Don't you even have a backbone?"

Li Dongyang took a look and sighed, "If Liu Jin had gone in time, he should have arrived a few days ago."

"Liu Jin."

When Liu Jian mentioned this person, his expression became very cold, as if he was gnashing with hatred.

"It's him." Li Dongyang said, "He was transferred from the position of the Admiral of the Martial Arts Academy to Huamachi. It's unclear what your majesty's intention is. As far as I know, although he has been to the border as an inspector many times, he has never experienced a major war, and his soldiers may not take him seriously."

"That's good." Liu Jian didn't even hide his dislike for Liu Jin and said something that seemed very inappropriate.

Li Dongyang wanted to remind Liu Jian to be careful with his words.

You said Liu Jin was not fit for the job, and you thought "that's fine", meaning that you planned to watch Liu Jin fail and let the Ming Dynasty suffer military losses? To achieve your goal of revenge against him?

If others hear this, they will definitely make this association.

Liu Jian asked: "Who can be sent to help right now?"

Li Dongyang said: "It is possible to transfer troops from Ningxia or Yansui. But this time the Tatars are clearly well prepared, and they have tied down the troops of various parts of the Ming Dynasty with their troops. Huamachi currently has no reinforcements, and with a heavy troop stationed in Huamachi, it is not reasonable to send troops to help."

What this means is that extra precautions have been taken in Huamachi, with more than 10,000 soldiers stationed there. Even if the Tatars gather tens of thousands of troops and come, why should other defense zones transfer troops over?

Even if there is a transfer, then under what name? Who will lead the troops?

Li Dongyang continued, "There is one thing. The people from Huamachi are not subordinate to the Three Sides. The responsibility of the Three Sides does not cover Huamachi."

After listening to this, Liu Jian seemed to be completely relieved and said, "That's quite special. Since we are not subordinate to each other, the victory or defeat of Huamachi has nothing to do with the defense of the three sides. We will bear the responsibility of victory or defeat on our own."

"Yes."

Li Dongyang also nodded.

Who asked the imperial court to send a group of people specifically to guard Huamachi?
This group of people was led by Zhang Mao, and Zhang Mao certainly did not want to accept Wang Qiong's command. So this group of people was a special existence in the northwest, and they probably had a sense of being responsible for their own profits and losses.

Liu Jian said: "The Tatars are also good at choosing places. They only attacked Huamachi, and it seems that they also saw the people's hearts and minds in the Ming Dynasty."

Li Dongyang asked: "Should we suggest that we dispatch troops from all over to help Huamachi?"

"Of course." Liu Jian said, "We advise His Majesty that His Majesty is in the so-called coastal city. If the news spreads to the northwest, it will be too late. However, we ourselves are not qualified to coordinate the defense of the northwest. Either Wang Dehua leads the troops himself, or we have to wait for the results of the Huamachi battle... In any case, the Ministry of War has a responsibility in this matter." Li Dongyang thought about it.

This is to hope that Huamachi will suffer a defeat...

He is a bit dirty in his heart, and he simply does not take the lives of the Ming soldiers seriously. But if it is based on the intention of "eliminating the treacherous officials in the court", everything seems so justified.

Who let Zhang Zhou control the military affairs of the Ming Dynasty?

Probably only when the Ming Dynasty's military and political situation encountered major changes would the emperor lose complete trust in Zhang Zhou, and only then would traditional civil officials have the opportunity to suppress Zhang Zhou.

Under this premise, it seems reasonable to hope for some changes in the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

Liu Jian said: "We have not done anything in this matter, nor do we have the ability to do anything. In this case, let's wait and see what happens. Binzhi, you don't need to have any psychological pressure."

"Yes."

Li Dongyang wanted to say that this was just self-consolation.

There was still a chance to use my connections to get the Northwest Military and Political Bureau to make some adjustments and assist in the defense of Huamachi.

But since you, Liu Jian, said so, that means we can't do anything. It's up to Zhang Zhou to deal with it on his own...

……

……

Room for the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

Wei Bin learned about the incident in the northwest and hurried back to the duty room to find Chen Kuan. He looked anxious. When he came in, he saw only Yang Peng sitting there reviewing memorials. He asked anxiously, "Where is Eunuch Chen? We must find him if there is anything important."

Yang Peng said: "Even if the sky falls, we shouldn't be the ones to hold it up. Why are you so anxious?"

Wei Bin said, "Isn't it urgent? The Tartars are coming again! This time they are determined to invade the border. From Xuanfu to Ningxia, there are reports of war all the way, especially in Huamachi. It is said that the Tartars have tens of thousands of elite soldiers gathering. How can we not be anxious about such a big thing?"

"hehe."

Yang Peng looked calm and composed, and said with a smile, "Eunuch Wei, you are just making a fuss. Didn't the Ming Dynasty station a separate army in Huamachi? If the court was not prepared, this would indeed be a big crisis. But the Tatars chose Huamachi to attack instead of other places. It seems that they want to go there without returning."

Wei Bin was a little angry.

In terms of seniority in the Imperial Household Department, Wei Bin was far superior to Yang Peng. But now Yang Peng was the chief eunuch in charge of writing, and his status was higher than his, which meant that the latecomer had taken over, which made him unhappy.

And Yang Peng acted like a big shot in front of him, used his aura to put pressure on him, and put on a mature and steady look, which made him even more unhappy.

Wei Bin said angrily, "Your Majesty is not in Beijing now, and even the Minister of War is not here. To deal with the Northwest, the court meeting cannot proceed, and the matter of mobilizing troops needs to be moved around before it can be advanced. Isn't this urgent? Moreover, the troops in Huamachi, Ningxia, don't even have a commander now. After the Duke of Ying was transferred back to Beijing, the Ningxia border troops stationed in Huamachi were also transferred away, and there is a great shortage of food and supplies. Isn't this worth worrying about?"

Yang Peng continued to smile, as if he was not worried at all.

Wei Bin gritted his teeth and said, "Don't go too far, Eunuch Yang. How capable do you think you are? It's as if you can see through the situation in the northwest! You have to know that the defenses in the northwest are not as strict as Huamachi. But no matter where it is, once the enemy appears, the three generals will mobilize troops to respond. Only Huamachi is not within the defense range of the three sides. If something happens to Huamachi, it will be a gap, and the northwest of the Ming Dynasty will fall into chaos."

"Ugh!"

Yang Peng stood up and said, "Your Majesty is not anxious, but Eunuch Wei is extremely anxious. You have never seen the new cannons of the Ming Dynasty, nor the power of the flintlock guns. It's not your fault. Right now we are not afraid of the Tatars coming, but we are afraid that they will not come. If they want to rob, let them rob. In the end, our Ming soldiers will definitely win."

"Bullshit!" Wei Bin cursed, "If the war was so simple, then why did Huamachi suffer a defeat earlier, why was Anyuan Hou convicted and even died on the way back to Beijing? Why is it that the Duke of Ying is now only left with a position in the Governor's Office and has even given up the Beijing Camp?"

Yang Peng asked, "May I ask Eunuch Wei, are there any of your men in Huamachi?"

"what?"

Wei Bin seemed to be petrified in an instant.

He seemed to understand what Yang Peng meant.

You are so anxious, as if it is all about you, but in fact, whether Huamachi has any accidents or not is not your responsibility, Wei Bin, and it has nothing to do with you. Why are you so anxious?
Yang Peng said helplessly: "No matter how the war progresses, whether it is victory or defeat, we don't have to bear any responsibility. The worst that can happen is to report the matter. You want to find Eunuch Chen, but he has something to do today, so he didn't come. The matter must be reported to His Majesty. As for how His Majesty and the Duke of Cai arrange it, is it something we can influence?"

Wei Bin said: "The rise and fall, honor and disgrace of the Ming Dynasty's border politics have nothing to do with you?"

"Don't make such a big deal out of it." Yang Peng said with a smile, "We are all citizens of the Ming Dynasty, so we naturally care about the court, but there are some things that we cannot control. So, I will find someone to quickly convey our intentions. But in fact, you don't have to make any effort, you can know it. How long do you think His Majesty will know about this matter later than you? Do you think... Duke Cai will turn a deaf ear to this matter?"

"That...that..."

"Let's take a step back and say that even if Huamachi was lost and countless Ming soldiers were killed or injured, this is what happened in the northwest. Duke Cai prepared for the possible war in Huamachi in advance. He was very smart and foresighted. Even if the army was defeated, what responsibility does Duke Cai have? Your Majesty will only send troops from all directions to let the Tatars know the consequences of their invasion!"

Wei Bin frowned and said, "How come I can't understand what you said?"

Yang Peng smiled and said, "Why don't you understand this? If it were me who was in charge of military affairs, I would be looking forward to the Tatars coming. If the Ming army wins, it would be great. If they lose, it would be a good opportunity to coordinate with the court and make the court united. We can mobilize the court's strength to send troops to the grassland. At that time, there will be no opposition in the court, and the movement of troops, food and grass will be unimpeded. Isn't that good?"

"you……"

Wei Bin was speechless for a moment.

Yang Peng patted Wei Bin on the shoulder and said, "I think this may be the result that Your Majesty wants to see. If the Ming army always takes the initiative to attack, then the Tatars only need to hide every time. But now the Tatars are the ones who take the initiative to attack, which means that their whereabouts have been exposed, and the troops of the Ming army can coordinate their attacks. Are you sure... the two military governors of the Three Bian Kings and the Xuan Da Kings don't want the Tatars to come, so that they can have a target, deploy troops, and cut off their retreat?"

Wei Bin asked, "You mean, Wang Qiong and Wang Shouren will mobilize troops?"

"I didn't say that." Yang Peng said, "I was just assuming that as long as the Tatars made any move, our border soldiers would not sit still and wait for death. If it was the Duke of Ying who was guarding there, he might not come out. If it was someone else... it's hard to say!" (End of this chapter)