unclear

Chapter 664 Not fit for purpose
Hong Tao didn't worry at all whether the conspiracy would succeed. As the saying goes, do your best and leave the rest to fate. Nothing in the world can be controlled by humans 100%. As long as you try your best, you will have no regrets even if you fail in the end.

Moreover, as long as you start something, it will not be ineffective. This is also human nature. So the chances of success are still very high, and there is no loss, so why not do it?

What, it aroused public anger, and made the Mongolian tribes unite to face the outside world, but it shot itself in the foot! This kind of outcome cannot be said to be completely impossible, but it is really too unlikely. If the leaders of the Mongolian tribes had such insight, they would have united long ago, and there would be no need for me to provoke them.

Even if they all united, what would happen? If we didn't stir up trouble, would they not threaten the Ming Dynasty? Obviously not. Since the result would be the same no matter what we did, why should we compromise?

When it comes to relations between countries, Hong Tao has always adhered to the principle of digging holes when there are opportunities, and creating opportunities when there are no opportunities. He cannot stop digging holes for even a minute.

Character is even more of a burden, it is best not to have any of it, the more immoral one can be, even if one is not a human being. As long as it can benefit one's own country, even if it is only a little bit, one will never be stingy in letting others' countries be destroyed and their lives be ruined.

Good intentions can only be reserved for the people of one's own country, and all means of destroying one's descendants must be used against foreign countries. Even if there are benefits at the time, there must be a bigger conspiracy behind it. In society, honest people are more likely to be bullied, and the same is true in the international arena. The country that is honest will suffer.

Killing people and setting fires will earn you a golden belt, while repairing bridges and repairing roads will leave no remains. Straight as a string will lead to death on the road, while curved as a hook will lead to a title of nobility. The ancient Chinese had already summarized human nature very well thousands of years ago, but unfortunately few people in later generations are willing to admit it.

On the eighth day after leaving Desheng Gate, Emperor Jingyang arrived at Xuanfu, an important border town. General Ma Chengen, Lieutenant General Xiao Ruzhi and a group of officers lined up outside the East Gate to greet him.

"Governor, isn't it too hasty for His Majesty to go out of the country to meet with the Mongolian leader this time?"

Xiao Ruzhi was already quite old, in his early forties, but he only managed to become a lieutenant general, which was not very impressive among the brothers of the Xiao family. But he was not a muddleheaded person, it was just that there had not been many wars in Xuanfu Town in the past ten years, so he had great ambitions but could not realize them.

"Your Majesty led the Five Guards Army out of the pass and defeated more than 100,000 elite Jurchens, beheading more than 20,000 and capturing more than 30,000. I believe that Prince Shunyi and Grand Taiji Baihong will not dare to act rashly."

Ma Chengen was about the same age as Xiao Ruzhi. Although he was the general of Xuanfu Town and the deputy governor of the Right Army, he did not put on airs in front of his colleagues. They were all from military families, and they knew who was what.

A low position is only temporary. Once a war breaks out, those in high positions may be wiped out in an instant, while those with unappreciated talents may rise to the top. We all have to work on the edge of a knife, so it is best for colleagues to support each other so that we can go far.

"My second elder brother and fourth younger brother both sent a son to Sun Chengzong's school. I wonder if this army is different from Governor Li's army?"

Speaking of the army, Xiao Ruzhi had something else to ask. It was the head of the family, Xiao Ruxun, who had reached the agreement with Du Song. He was not aware of the details and did not actively participate. Now was a good time to ask for clarification.

"If you say there is no difference, Li Ruzhang is also from a military family, and his military skills are definitely better than Sun Chengzong. If you say there is a difference, both armies are led by Your Majesty himself, and their armor, weapons and tactics are the same, so it's hard to say!"

Ma Chengen still had some opinions about handing over the army to Sun Chengzong for training. As generals from aristocratic families, they looked down on civilians leading the army, but with Yuan Keli's naval achievements, they dared not say that Sun Chengzong was definitely an amateur. "Why didn't His Majesty summon Sun Chengzong to escort you when you left the country this time?"

According to Ma Chengen, the two armies should be about the same, but the question arises again, if they are about the same, why doesn't the emperor bring guards with him? Yan'an Prefecture is not far from Datong Town, so it shouldn't be a waste to dispatch two or three guards to the north.

"Even if Sun Chengzong has Yuan Keli's ability, his army has been trained in Yan'an Prefecture for less than two years. I'm afraid they are not even qualified to guard the border, let alone go out to fight against the Mongolian cavalry."

Although Ma Chengen said that Sun Chengzong was not necessarily worse than Li Ruzhang, in his heart he did not take the army of Yan'an Prefecture seriously at all. It would be better to rely on the garrison troops than to rely on them to fight the enemy.

This was not only his idea, most of the border generals who knew about this basically had the same idea. The army of only 30,000 people was not so much a military training as a political means for the emperor to win over the border generals to fight against the court officials.

The reason why he did not take them out to face the Mongolian cavalry shows that the emperor really knows the military. Sometimes the more soldiers, the safer it is. In many battles, the victory or defeat is often decided by only a few hundred elite soldiers, and the other soldiers are just following suit.

"... Governor, could it be that the emperor has heard about what happened between General Zhang of Datong Town and Guihua City?" It was just a casual chat at first, but as Xiao Ruzhi was talking, she seemed to remember something, and she took a step closer and lowered her voice.

"...It's better not to say anything without any evidence." The voice was not loud, but it made Ma Chengen shudder all over. He turned his head and stared at Xiao Ruzhi for a long time before slowly shaking his head.

Datong Town is adjacent to Xuanfu Town and has some interactions with the Mongolian tribes outside the Great Wall. Although there is no evidence, some things are hard to avoid being leaked. But on the question of whether to report to the emperor, Ma Chengen chose to remain silent.

First, everyone was not clean. Even if they did not collude with foreign tribes, they must have done a lot of things, such as sucking the blood of soldiers and eating empty salaries, or even secretly smuggling goods in and out of the pass. If I expose the Zhang family today, the Xiao family might expose me tomorrow. In this way, no one in the military family at the border can live in peace, and they will all become enemies.

Second, he couldn't produce enough evidence to expose Zhang Bingzhong. The general was not a member of the Six Departments or the Censorate, so he didn't have the privilege of reporting rumors. As a general, if he exposed Zhang Bingzhong, he would risk being accused of framing his colleagues if the investigation was fruitless, which was not worth the loss.

Anyway, the border military towns each have their own jurisdiction, so they don't care what others do, they just need to take care of their own piece of land. And now it is a very delicate period, the emperor has already intended to take action against the military, colleagues should be sincere and united, and should not poach each other.

"But I always feel that this time..." Xiao Ruzhi was not reconciled. It was not because she had a personal grudge against Zhang Bingzhong, nor was she coveting the position of the general of Datong Town. She was simply not at ease with the emperor's rash behavior of leaving the country.

"Line up..." Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, a group of cavalry came galloping from a distance. Judging from the flags, they should be soldiers from Xuanfu. They hurried back and must have been the emperor. Ma Chengen shouted loudly and called the generals who were already waiting and a little scattered together to busy themselves with tidying up their robes to welcome the emperor.

(End of this chapter)