unclear

Chapter 404 Battle Report 2

"By the way, Wang Chengen, immediately sent people to Shanhaiguan and told Du Song face to face that it was his job to guard Shanhaiguan and the northern border wall. Don't worry about the rest. Even if the thieves really come to the capital, he will It is only partly responsible for the loss of the border.

If he leaves his post without permission and returns to Beijing to rescue him, lets more thieves enter the customs, or even loses Shanhaiguan, I will personally chop off his head and confiscate his whole family without waiting for the court officials to impeach him! "It was a good thing that Wang An didn't mention it. The emperor suddenly slapped his forehead hard, and then yelled at Wang Cheng'en in a stern tone.

"There are three major camps here, so there is no need to worry in the capital." After Wang Chengen ran out quickly, the emperor answered the question just now.

"The three major camps...Wang Xiangqian inspected the three major camps after he took up the post of Minister of War. The inscriptions at that time were archived by the Director of Ceremonies. I will find them out immediately. Long Live Lord, please take a closer look."

I thought that the emperor was really confident and would not be frightened by the chaos, but unexpectedly he turned out to be ignorant and fearless. Wang An really couldn't go around in circles anymore, and planned to use an official document from the Ministry of War to remind the emperor that the three major battalions were unreliable.

"The above numbers of troops and horses, as far as those who are present are concerned, are not the original number. However, the number of those who are present is still too large. In recent years, there has been a long period of peace, people have been confused, everything has been abandoned, and the context has been obscured. That is, the camp. There are more than 100,000 soldiers, and their names and registrations are all there, but those who occupy the army are serving privately, and the old and weak are squandering public funds. There is little room for criticism."

But the emperor still shook his head and began to read loudly while walking quickly towards the Yangxin Hall. These words are the professional conclusions given by Wang Xiangqian, Minister of War, after he conducted a thorough investigation of the Beijing camp when he took office.

It roughly means that the three major battalions have over 100,000 people and more than 10,000 horses on their books, but the actual number may be only half, including many old and weak. The other half are either officers on empty pay, or they are used as private labor by certain institutions and individuals, existing in name only.

"...This slave is too stupid to guess what Long Live Lord is thinking." Wang An was really dumbfounded now. It was not that the emperor didn't know the truth but did it intentionally. But why all the elite troops have to be sent out even if the capital is attacked by the enemy, I really don't understand.

"The number of Mongolians and Jurchens holding the pass will not be too large. They will definitely be light cavalry and will not carry too much baggage. It is not easy to attack the city. If they don't come, forget about it. If they come, don't think about going back easily!

After I finish discussing with my ministers, you will know what to do. There is a saying that it is to raise an army for a thousand days and use it for a while, and to eat the emperor's salary and be loyal to the emperor. No one can even think of eating without working after taking my salary! I have endured the things that I couldn't do for ten years, and I can solve them all this time!

Hahaha... Someone handed me a pillow just as I was dozing off. If I had known that foreign enemies were so useful, I should have tried to lure them to come here a few years ago. Hey, if you don’t have enough to eat or drink, you won’t have poverty. If you don’t calculate it, you will suffer from poverty! "

Facing Wang An's uneasiness, Hong Tao had a spring breeze on his face, as if he was not an enemy but a guest from afar. He was walking as fast as the wind under his feet, and he couldn't wait any longer.

"Long live the Lord, long live the Lord...wait for the slaves...Long live the Lord, even if the thieves do not come to attack the city, just looting outside the city will damage the holy name. The capital is the anointed land of the Ming Dynasty and is densely populated. We must be on guard. !”

This was the first time for Wang An to see such a high-spirited emperor. He didn't need to listen to the reasons, just seeing this magnanimity made him feel a little more at ease. But the position he was in really couldn't be calm. The entire Ming Dynasty belonged not only to the emperor but also to him.

"Sigh...weak people will be beaten. This is an eternal truth. I have tried hard for nearly ten years, but I have only stopped the decline. I will still get beaten when I deserve it. This is very reasonable. I can only protect the vital points at the moment, no. Let the efforts of the past ten years be in vain, and I really can't care about anything else.

Let them grab it. The more they grab, the slower they will go. After they lose the mobility of the light cavalry, it is time for the Marine Guards to engage in a decisive battle with them. When the time comes, not only will they have to give back everything they stole, but they will also have to risk their lives. "The emperor's answer to this question was not so easy and freehand. It was very simple and the truth was obvious. In fact, how many people would be separated from their wives and families because of this? You can know roughly without doing calculations.

"..." Wang An fell silent and followed the emperor silently.

"..." Hong Tao didn't explain. Wang An is not Wang Chengen. He has long passed the age of establishing three views and has tasted all the bitterness and sweetness of life. If he doesn't even have this kind of cruelty, he is not worthy of being in the palace. Damn, you shouldn't sit in the position of the Supervisor of Ceremonies.

To say that Jinyiwei has indeed improved a lot under the leadership of Wang Zhizhen, when Hong Tao came to Yangxin Hall, not a single minister showed up, including the Ministry of War. In other words, none of them have received any battle reports so far and have not had time to prepare.

That's okay. Hong Tao simply called Zhang Ran, Li Shi, Zou Yi, Wang Zhizhen and others to have a meeting first, and arranged what everyone had to do word by word. He didn't wait until the sounds of footsteps came from outside. Get up and walk to the main hall.

At this time, the main hall had a completely new look. It was not renovated but the layout of the furniture had been significantly changed. The middle of the hall was no longer empty, and a huge long table was placed. There were ten armchairs on the left and right sides of the table, and the throne was placed at the north end.

"All of you dear friends should have read the Shanhaiguan battle report. I have a second copy here, which was just delivered half an hour ago. Let's take a look at it again!" Hong Tao did not explain how to arrange the chairs, and only held the two copies in his hands. The battle report was thrown first on the left.

"Junipong deserves to be killed! Allowing the thieves to enter the border and disturb the holy master is a crime worthy of death!" The ministers passed around the new arrival's battle report one by one, but no one said anything. When Weng Zhengchun finished reading, the old man was very angry. He was the first to propose to the emperor the responsibility of holding the border army guards accountable.

"Your Majesty, Jianlu broke through the customs so easily that it was like entering an uninhabited territory. But Du Song controlled 8 border troops but they were helpless. The crime cannot be forgiven." With Weng Zhengchun taking the lead, General Secretary Huang Jixian also put forward the same point of view, believing that Shanhaiguan General Soldier Juniper neglected his duty.

"Although Jun Jun has 8 border troops and commands 15 guard posts, the border wall stretches for hundreds of miles from Shanhaiguan to Yanqing and there are dozens of passes. It is even more difficult to be on guard everywhere. I think that the change of battle will not be good for the military morale, so I should Order him to return to the capital as soon as possible, and it will be safer to make meritorious deeds."

Seeing that a frontier general was about to be impeached and convicted easily again, Wang Xiangqian, the Minister of War, finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He first exempted him from the charge of neglect of duty due to the difficulty of defense, and then kept his position with military morale in mind. No matter whether he is guilty or not in the end, let’s finish the battle first.

"I don't know the art of war, I only know how to settle accounts. Wang Shangshu, I have something I don't know and I hope you can enlighten me." Gao Panlong, the minister of Dali Temple, put down the battle report and raised his hand.

"Please..." Wang Xiangqian first looked towards the end of the table and found that the emperor was looking sideways at the map on the wall, and then returned the favor.

(End of this chapter)