The most reckless man in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 377: Good News Arrives in Beijing
The capital of the Ming Dynasty remains prosperous.

More than half a year has passed since the two armies set out on the expedition.

The war in the north concerned all the forces in the imperial capital, especially Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Putting aside the Battle of Liaodong, this Battle of Hetao will undoubtedly affect the destiny of the Ming Dynasty for the next hundred years!

This is the consensus of the entire court! This is the consensus of the entire world!

Ever since Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong decided to withdraw their troops and comprehensively shrink the strategic defense line, the Ming Dynasty has suffered from the threat of the northern barbarians for a long time!

Hetao became a springboard for foreign cavalry, who used Hetao as a base to plunder and harass the border towns of the Great Wall, killing countless people.

If this battle is a complete victory and, according to the strategy of Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao, the border wall is successfully built to recover Hetao, it will be of immeasurable benefit to the Ming Dynasty!
First, from now on, the threat posed by the northern barbarians in the northern border of the Ming Dynasty will be greatly reduced, and the national treasury can save a large amount of expenses for supporting the border troops, and instead use the money to support the country's internal construction and focus on developing people's livelihood.

Secondly, the imperial prestige of Zhu Houzhao, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and the prestige of the Ming court will rise to a new height!

Even under the opposition of military generals and nobles, Zhu Houzhao might have truly made his words the law and enforce the law!
The civil officials and gentry will be completely honest and will not dare to hinder him in the court. Zhu Houzhao's progress in consolidating imperial power will make a big step forward!

Thirdly, the Ming Dynasty will personally shatter the false image of weakness and decline in the eyes of its neighboring foreign countries since the Battle of Tumu. Although it cannot regain the status of the "Celestial Empire" in one fell swoop, it will be enough to prevent them from wantonly invading and harassing the borders again!

In a sense, this battle for Hetao is comparable to the battle for the destiny of the Ming Dynasty!

After the beginning of spring, even though there are many customs and activities during the Spring Festival that keep people busy, the time for ordinary people to relax and indulge in revelry is very limited.

Because seeds have to be prepared from the beginning of the first month: farming will begin, and farming tools and seeds should be prepared this month.

As long as "the spring frost melts, the earth's air begins to flow, and the soil becomes warm", it will be the best time to go to the fields to cultivate the land.

A year's plan begins in spring, and countless people have begun to engage in busy spring farming work.

But if you look closely, you will see that the people always have a look of sorrow on their faces, and from time to time they stop what they are doing and look to the north.

They are missing their families, sons, husbands, brothers, fathers…

Everyone's minds have drifted to the far north with the wind, and they are concerned about the war outside the Great Wall and in the Hetao area.

They didn't know that the Ming Dynasty was fighting on two fronts this time. They only knew that the main force of the army had gone to Hetao and was currently managing the area.

It has to be said that sending troops in autumn and fighting until the beginning of spring greatly delayed the spring farming season, and many people were quite dissatisfied with the court.

As the saying goes, "Military training in autumn on the battlefield", have you ever seen a court choose to fight a war in the spring? This is ridiculous!
In this battle on two fronts of the Ming Dynasty, the Beijing Army mobilized a total of 50,000 soldiers. In order to support these soldiers in their march north, more than 100,000 civilians and young and strong men were mobilized to transport armaments and food!
In addition, the imperial court also recruited tens of thousands of civilians and Japanese slaves to rush to the northern border to cooperate with the royal army in building the border wall!
In fact, since the war began, countless supplies and huge amounts of money and grain have been drawn out of the national treasury like water.

When the national treasury reached the red line and could no longer squeeze out a single copper coin, the emperor's private treasury had to open its doors. Mountains of gold and silver disappeared into the treasury at a speed visible to the naked eye and were converted into food and fodder and transported to the front lines.

So many supplies and so much money and food are all invested in this war. Once the Ming Dynasty is defeated, the consequences will be an unacceptable catastrophic blow to the Ming Dynasty!
Even Empress Dowager Zhang and Queen Xia, who were addicted to playing mahjong, often sent people to inquire about the war news. It was obvious that they were getting a little restless.

Perhaps the only free person in the entire imperial capital is Zhu Houzhao, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

He seemed to not care about the war in the northern border at all. Apart from attending court, he spent all his time eating, drinking and having fun. The laughter of him and his son could be heard throughout the palace.

At the gate of the capital, the sound of horse hooves suddenly rang out, attracting everyone's attention.

Years ago, His Majesty the Emperor issued an order strictly prohibiting anyone from riding a horse in the capital!
Who is this person? How brave!

The officer guarding the city narrowed his eyes, and was about to order his soldiers to stop him. But when he saw the uniform of the cavalryman on horseback, he shouted angrily: "Disperse! He is a scout in the army! Let him pass! Disperse!"

When the cavalryman rushed closer, everyone noticed that his face was exhausted and his eyes were bloodshot. This look made many people feel panicked.

Is the war in the north lost?
Without stopping, the cavalry rushed straight into the city, shouting: "Get out of the way! Urgent military information! Get out of the way!"

The people of the capital city all stepped aside upon hearing this, but their hearts were still lifted. Urgent military information!
Now there is only a war in the North, so it is self-evident where this urgent military intelligence comes from!

The cavalry roared past, attracting countless common people and merchants, who followed them all the way to the gate of the Forbidden City.

Gradually, more and more people came after hearing the news. They looked at the majestic and solemn imperial palace anxiously and were unwilling to leave, because they urgently wanted to know the result!
Was this battle in the North won or lost?

The cavalry galloped all the way to the gate of the palace, then dismounted and shouted angrily: "Urgent military information, report it quickly!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the cavalryman fainted from exhaustion.

Seeing this, the Jinyiwei at the door stepped forward, carried him and rushed towards the duty room of the Ministry of War. They knew that something big must have happened, otherwise there would not be such a scene!

The Minister of War Yang Yiqing was busy handling government affairs, and his resolute face showed an unconcealable look of fatigue.

He has been under a lot of pressure recently, to the point of being extremely stressed.

The transportation of food supplies for the front-line army had to go through him as the Minister of War, and only after he checked and confirmed each one of them could the pass be issued.

Yang Yiqing was afraid that those damned parasites would do something at this time and take the opportunity to embezzle the military rations and supplies of the soldiers on the front line, so he did everything personally, checking one by one to make sure that everything was in place without any omissions, in order to ensure that the army on the front line had adequate supplies.

Physical fatigue is secondary. What makes him unable to sleep or eat is the mental torture!
Damn Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao, he went out to have fun but insisted on fighting on two fronts at the same time.

Indeed, both Liaodong and Daning, especially the Hetao area, are strategic locations for the Ming Dynasty.

But can't you just take it one fucking step at a time?
We have to start a war on multiple fronts!
We must accomplish our goal in one go!
What's the matter? You won't live much longer?

This is what Yang Yiqing is most dissatisfied with!

His Majesty the Emperor is still young and has a long way to go.

Even if he failed this time, Yang Yiqing believed that it would definitely not defeat the Zhengde Emperor Zhu Houzhao!

The person who took the blame was naturally Zhongshan Hou Tang Hao.

"My Lords! Urgent military information!"

The Jinyiwei flagman went straight in and personally handed the document marked "immediate delivery" to Yang Yiqing. Upon hearing this, all the officials on duty in the Ministry of War stood up involuntarily and looked at him.

Yang Yiqing took a deep breath, took out the official document and looked through it. All the uneasiness in his heart turned into ecstasy!
He read it again in disbelief, and then exclaimed in ecstasy: "Great victory in the North! Great victory in the North! My lords, great victory in the North!"

"Marquis Jinglu led his army to behead more than 20,000 people. This is simply the most stunning victory since the Battle of Tumu!"

This is the case.

After the Battle of Tumu, the Ming Dynasty was unable to fight outside the border and could only fall into the embarrassing situation of being beaten and forced to defend!
"Okay! Okay!"

"Oh my God!"

After everyone exclaimed, they immediately reminded.

"Your Excellency should go and tell His Majesty the good news."

"Yes, yes, yes, let's meet the emperor!"

Yang Yiqing stood up, grabbed the documents, and then trotted out.

(End of this chapter)