The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Yansui, Yulin Wei.

After Tang Yin led his troops to withdraw, he was immersed in self-blame, because the battle in the north had dealt a heavy blow to his self-confidence, and it seemed that he also realized that he was not qualified for the position of the general commander of the three borders.

After returning, he immediately confessed his crime and resigned to the court. Because of this battle, he even didn't want to be an official anymore.

Tang Yin suffered a psychological blow, while Xu Jing's career was hit hard. In order to prevent Tang Yin from doing anything stupid, Xu Jing just walked away. He really went to persuade Tang Yin every day, trying to boost his spirits, but after a series of encouragements, he found that it was completely useless.

Tang Yin seemed determined to leave.

He even said that he wanted to return to Gusu to plant peach blossoms, which scared Xu Jing a lot.

He had been in office for only three years, but he had already risen to the position of Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and was also in charge of military affairs on the three frontiers...

Xu Jingxin said, Tang Yin, you have made a name for yourself, and even if you retire, you can still have many guests. Others treat you as a famous scholar.

But what about me?

I've been following you, but before I've made any progress, you want to run away?
When you leave, what can I rely on to stay in the court? A scholar... who has committed a crime!

Are we counting on that Duke Cai?

I'm afraid that people will ignore me.

In mid-November, Ma Yi and Zhang Rui's troops withdrew from the grassland, a month later than expected. Even the Sanbian General Administration Office did not know what had happened in the meantime. After learning the news, Xu Jing made arrangements for the welcoming ceremony in advance.

When Xu Jing and his men met Ma Yi and Zhang Rui's group forty miles away from Yulin Wei, they realized that they were not strolling on the grassland. Ma Yi was afraid that he would be liquidated by Ma Zhongxi, the current Ningxia governor, after arriving in Ningxia, so he simply withdrew his troops back to Huamachi, and then sent troops to the grassland on the pretext of discovering the movements of the Tatars, and then withdrew from the Hetao area to Yansui.

Anyway, when advancing into the grassland, there is a principle of withdrawing troops from the nearest place, and Ma Yi is also making full use of military and political loopholes to avoid falling into Ma Zhongxi's hands.

"Sir Xu, I would like to pay a visit to the Tang army." Ma Yi appeared very respectful when he saw Xu Jing.

This made Xu Jing flattered.

After all, he was just a guest of the aides, and the man in front of him was the Marquis Pinglu of the Ming Dynasty. The fact that he was so respectful to him showed that his backer... was the right one.

"Recently...Tang Junmen has been a little...hmm."

Xu Jing was too embarrassed to say that Tang Yin, who you thought was so awesome, was actually a monster with volatile emotions. He was now depressed and in a bad mood, and was even planning to quit.

He has been ignoring even the most important military and political affairs lately, so how could he still want to see you?
Ma Yi said, "This is related to the stability of the border. My life and death are at stake. Lord Xu, please give me some convenience."

"Well..." Xu Jing thought, since they respect me, I should be tactful. This way, we can establish contact in the future. He nodded and said, "I will make arrangements after we enter the city."

……

……

Xu Jing accompanied the troops to camp outside the city, and then he entered the city with Ma Yi, Zhang Rui and others.

Before nightfall that day, he went to meet Tang Yin.

Tang Yin seemed impatient when he saw him coming. After learning Xu Jing's purpose, he said coldly, "I won't see anyone. I'm just waiting for the imperial edict to arrive."

Xu Jing said, "Bo Hu, I have asked. Actually, Pinglu Hou came here to send troops. Now that the autumn harvest in the border areas is over, he wants to march into the grasslands once more before the cold winter comes. Doesn't he need your support for this?"

"Did he say that?" Tang Yin frowned.

"Yes." Xu Jing said, "What do you think? He is afraid that he will be punished by Ningxia Governor Ma after returning to Ningxia. There is a feud between them, and Pinglu Hou did some... not so good things when he was a general in Yansui. Governor Ma has always wanted to interrogate him about this matter. It happened that he returned without success from the expedition this time, so he dared not go back. He wanted to take the opportunity to make another contribution and wipe out this matter."

Tang Yin asked, "Did he also say that?"

Xu Jing shook his head and said, "That's not true. It was the young master of the Duke of Ying who told me that. The young master of the Zhang family also wanted to make a contribution. Who would be willing to be a frontier commander and do nothing?"

Tang Yin said coldly: "They really are in the same boat."

"Who said it wasn't true?" Xu Jing said helplessly, "I heard that the Duke of Ying's Mansion was fined more than 100,000 taels of silver in the capital, which made the Duke of Ying very worried. Now the Duke of Ying can't even keep his military position in the Governor's Office. It's all because of the imperial edict that he is not further investigated. If the young master can make achievements, he can be exempted from a lot of fines, and he may even be able to revive the Duke of Ying's Mansion."

Tang Yin said: "He doesn't have any ideas, or rather... wants to do something?"

Xu Jing smiled and said, "I know what you mean, Bo Hu. Are you saying that the Duke of Yingzhou wants to be the enemy of Duke of Cai? It was possible before, but now, the Duke of Yingzhou has no power to challenge Duke of Cai except Huashan."

Tang Yin thought about it for a while, then shook his head and said, "There is more than one way."

"I'm not talking about that..."

"Which one did I say?" Tang Yin asked.

Xu Jing was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.

What Tang Yin actually wanted to say was that Zhang Mao had one option, which was to kill Zhang Zhou, and Tang Yin added that rebellion was also an option, so there were two options.

The two people were just playing charades. They couldn't make their statements too clear.

Xu Jing said: "Marquis Pinglu and the young master both hope to make achievements, and don't you, Bohu, want to do the same? In the previous battle, we did not fight well, and the Tartars may not have expected that we would send troops again. We should take the opportunity to fight a good battle and bring a good start to your inauguration, isn't that good?"

Tang Yin threw the pen in his hand on the table and said coldly: "Do you think I don't want to? But the previous large-scale battles all came back empty-handed. Now His Majesty has not allowed the troops to be sent out. How can we win in this kind of weather by running a long distance? Can we find the traces of the Tatars? If we find them, can we win?"

Xu Jing said: "Bo Hu, you see, this is what I think. The ones who are most eager to fight a war now are you and those two. But in fact, only the two of them are needed to send out the troops. Sometimes, the quality of the soldiers is more important than the quantity."

"Oh?"

Tang Yin frowned. You, Xu Jing, are actually talking to me about military affairs now?
Have you forgotten who won the previous battles?

Xu Jing continued to analyze, "Your Majesty transferred you to Sanbian to ask you to take the initiative to send troops. Didn't Duke Cai also order you to do so? If all military plans have to be issued by the court, and the responsibility for returning empty-handed after the troops are sent out has to be borne by the Sanbian General, and he dares not to send troops because of this, then what is the difference between you and the previous ones?"

Tang Yin stood up and said, "You have a point, but sending troops requires too much, and it cannot be explained in just a few words."

Xu Jing said again: "To put it bluntly, even if you return empty-handed or even lose, so what? You want to retire anyway, are you still afraid of losing your reputation before you leave? Besides, which general who lost his reputation in the past two years didn't do so because he was afraid of fighting? As long as you resolutely send troops, even if you lose, even if the court holds you accountable and asks you to resign, the people will still praise you."

Tang Yin didn't take it seriously at first, but after hearing Xu Jing's words, he wavered a little, because what Xu Jing said sounded correct.

Xu Jing took the opportunity to add fuel to the fire and said, "There are so many capable commanders in this world, no matter who they are, they can't escape from looking ahead and behind, except you, Bo Hu. You are the kind of person who is free and easy by nature, and you come and go as you please without any constraints. Are you afraid of being held accountable? You are not even afraid of death... Even if you are sentenced to death, His Majesty and Duke Cai will protect you."

"I don't like to hear that." Tang Yin almost got angry.

What do you mean there will be someone to bail me out even if I’m sentenced to death?
Does it mean that if I can’t do it, I will definitely lose?
Xu Jing said: "I believe that you, Bo Hu, also regret that you returned without success in the previous battle. That was because the troops were sent out from all directions. Generals like Duke Chengguo and Marquis Anbian, who have some ability, were assigned to other places. But if you had the help of Marquis Pinglu and the young master, it would be different, because they, like you, are eager to succeed."

Tang Yin asked, "Don't Duke Chengguo and Marquis Anbian want to win?"

"It's different." Xu Jing said, "No matter how powerful they are, are they as powerful as this Pinglu Marquis? Before Pinglu Marquis followed Duke Cai, he was the general of Xuanfu, but he didn't have the opportunity to be granted a title of nobility. And Duke Chengguo and Marquis Anbian... hehe."

Xu Jing almost said that this father and son were the same in nature, and neither of them was born a powerful general.

It was all thanks to Zhang Zhou who paved the way for them.

When we fight a war, we need some capable people, like Ma Yi and Zhang Rui, to have a chance to turn the tide.

As for Zhu Fu and Zhu Feng, father and son, they can go wherever they want.

Tang Yin said: "But my resignation letter has already been sent to the capital."

"Don't be afraid." Xu Jing said, "It just shows your determination. Even if you are not in the garrison after you are recovered, it will not affect the overall situation. You can go with the army."

"What about you?" Tang Yin frowned and looked at Xu Jing.

Xu Jing said with a smile: "Are you still worried that I won't go with you? I am willing to go with you too. Let's attack all the way and defeat the Tartars."

……

……

After Xu Jing's "guidance", Tang Yin seemed to regain some confidence.

He did not meet Ma Yi that day, but stayed away for a whole day. He met Ma Yi and Zhang Rui in the afternoon of the next day. Only Xu Jing was left with them, probably because he was afraid that some people would find out about his dispatch of troops.

"Tang Junmen." Ma Yi said with a pleading look on his face, "I am in deep danger. Now my only option is to surrender to the court. I hope you can give me this chance."

Tang Yin said: "You sent troops on your own before but it was fruitless. Will it be useful if you come to me for help?"

Ma Yi said helplessly: "Now Ningxia has no food and supplies to transfer. The most difficult thing for the soldiers to go to the grassland is the supply of food and grass. They have to kill the Tatar herdsmen's livestock to fill their stomachs. If we have your support, we will have a chance to achieve success."

Tang Yin nodded and said, "So you are short of food and supplies."

Ma Yi nodded helplessly.

Zhang Rui said hurriedly: "I went on a second expedition to the grassland with Pinglu Hou before, and we discovered some movements of the Tatars. They are being deployed to the east."

"Then why didn't you catch up?" Tang Yin asked.

Zhang Rui said: "They march in a very disciplined manner, and the military and civilians are one. They migrate to spend the winter."

Xu Jing looked at the map and said, "Logically speaking, if we go east from Hetao, we will enter the territory of Datong. If they go there... aren't they looking for death?"

The implication is that the Tartars are now so bold as to dare approach Wang Shouren's defense zone?

Tang Yin said: "It's not impossible. The previous war lasted from summer to late autumn. The Tatars did everything they could to avoid the war. We burned a lot of pastures in the west. Even if new grass grows, it will take until next year."

When Ma Yi heard Tang Yin's serious analysis, he said hurriedly, "General, please give the order to dispatch the troops. I am willing to go through fire and water, even if it means death."

"Yeah." Tang Yin nodded, seemingly agreeing.

However, Zhang Rui realized that things were not that simple, because as the prince of the Duke of England, he was well aware of the perfunctory attitude of civil servants.

He said, "General Tang, if you have any concerns, just speak up. We can take the long view on sending troops, and there is no need to rush."

"Let me put it this way." Tang Yin said, "After returning without success in the previous battle, I have submitted a petition to the court, apologizing for my crime and asking to resign."

"Ok?"

Ma Yi and Zhang Rui were both stunned.

You are the commander-in-chief of the three frontiers and the second-in-command in the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty. How could you not want to do it anymore?

But on second thought, it could be that Tang Yin was retreating in order to advance?
Tang Yin said, "I had already packed up my belongings and was preparing to retire to the mountains and return to Gusu. But you came and said you wanted to send troops... I think we can... wait a little longer."

Ma Yi's eyes widened as he asked, "What does Tang Junmen mean by that..."

"What I mean is that we will march together with you," Tang Yin said. "Gather the best weapons we can use at the moment. Don't bring any heavy artillery, just muskets and light artillery. Each person has two horses. We will march without stopping, all the way north, and we will not turn back until we encounter the Tatars."

Ma Yi was excited when he heard this and said, "That's what I thought, too."

Xu Jing quickly reminded him: "Don't turn back until you meet the Tartars, isn't that... a bit too much?"

According to Xu Jing, it's okay for me to go to war with you, but I'm going with you to win the battle. People like you don't care about turning back at all and are just determined to die... Who dares to go with you?

You won't turn back until you meet the Tatars? You want to kill me!
Tang Yin said: "Without the determination to cut off one's own arm, how can we win a battle? Let the soldiers prepare more cold-weather items. Even if the roads are blocked by heavy snow or there are strong winds and blizzards, we must move forward courageously."

Ma Yi was filled with gratitude and said, "Sir, you are the chief officer of a place, so it is not necessary to do this. Just let me go."

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "If I can't fight alongside you, then why would I need you? I've figured it out. I can only fight you if I'm willing to die. The reason why we failed in the previous battle was that we didn't have the will to die. All the troops withdrew when there was still enough food and fodder, and we didn't really run out of ammunition and food."

Xu Jing said: "If we run out of ammunition and food, we won't be able to come back."

"Then prepare more ammunition and food, and fight a prepared war." Tang Yin said, "The soldiers and horses should not be too many, 5,000 are enough. This battle...if we fail, then we will fail." (End of this chapter)