high official

Chapter 1140
In Taisun Mansion's study hall.

Hearing the news that the Tatars attacked Hetao and defeated Baoyin, Zhu Zhanji only moved his expression slightly, and said in a flat tone: "Isn't Lord Zhen Guo anxious now?"

"Hehe, I haven't seen him express his position before the emperor, but I think he must be very anxious." Yang Shiqi smiled and said: "He is rather embarrassed about this matter. Even if he wants to send troops to Hetao, he has to pretend to be someone else."

"Hmm." Zhu Zhanji responded and asked, "What do the bachelors think?"

"In the humble opinion of the following officials, this soldier must be dispatched." Yang Shiqi obviously had a plan long ago, and said slowly: "The Tatars have developed too fast in the past few years. If they are allowed to get Hetao again, they will have the ability to unify Eastern and Western Mongolia." The abilities of each department. At that time, I will be so bright, and I am afraid that it will be even more difficult to deal with them!"

"That's the reason," Zhu Zhanji looked at Yang Shiqi with deep eyes and said, "The bachelor thinks, who will be the commander in chief?"

"Duke Zhen." Yang Shiqi paused every word.

"Wang Xian?" Zhu Zhanji frowned immediately and said: "He has already become powerful. If he is allowed to lead an army and make great achievements in defeating the Mongols, shouldn't the imperial court confer titles on him and add Jiuxi to him?" ?”

"Your Highness is very worried," Yang Shiqi said softly to Zhu Zhanji with his expression still calm, "But the emperor's dragon body will fall down at any time..."

"This..." Zhu Zhanji was startled when he heard the words, the light in his eyes was fleeting, and then he fell into a long silence.

.

The Forbidden City, in the Royal Hall of the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Gaochi and Wang Xian are sitting opposite each other.Compared with three years ago, Emperor Hongxi was much older, his complexion was dark, his breath was weak, and his right hand even trembled slightly... In the past three years, Emperor Hongxi has been diligent in listening to the people, and he has taken care of everything. .This naturally caused great damage to the already weak dragon body. As a result, the emperor had two strokes in three years. Although he recovered each time, the sequelae were unavoidable.

In addition to the body began to lose control, more seriously, the emperor's memory and thinking also had some problems. Sometimes he couldn't remember the names of ministers, and sometimes his orders were inconsistent. Fortunately, Wang Xian and the cabinet have been helping Repairing the pot did not cause any trouble.

However, the emperor's health status is naturally the top secret of the empire. So far, the only ones who know Zhu Gaochi's true condition are Wang Xian, cabinet scholars, and close eunuchs. There are less than ten people in total.

Wang Xian didn't see much change, except for a calmer demeanor and calmer eyes, his appearance was the same as three years ago.But this is normal, after all, like Zhu Zhanji, he is at his best age.

"Zhongde, you didn't express your position on the Hetao matter before, can you talk about it now?" Zhu Gaochi coughed twice and asked Wang Xiandao.

"Back to the emperor, I thought that the Hetao must be saved." Wang Xian said in a deep voice, "Once the Hetao is lost, the strength of the Tatars will be greatly enhanced. What's more serious is that the Great Wall of Datong and Xuanhua will become the front line. In less than a hundred miles, my Ming capital will be under the threat of Tatar cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty will never have peace!"

"Yes." Zhu Gaochi nodded approvingly, and sighed: "At the beginning when my father moved the capital to Beijing, I was very opposed to it, and I was worried about this situation."

"The first emperor wanted to use Beijing as the base camp for the northward advance. Naturally, the closer the front line, the better." Wang Xian nodded, and continued to say in a deep voice: "Since the capital of the country is set in Beijing, we must use offense instead of defense, and we must not lose it." Hetao!"

"Hey..." Zhu Gaochi sighed again, and then fell into silence with a dull expression.Wang Xian knew that the emperor had another thought disorder, so he had to wait quietly for him to recover.

After a while, Zhu Gaochi's eyes refocused, but they did not fall on Wang Xian, but plunged into the deep void, as if he said to himself: "It is urgent to return to Nanjing."

When Wang Xian heard the words, he couldn't help sighing secretly, saying that the emperor had already been bewildered by the idea of ​​returning the capital.In fact, as soon as Zhu Gaochi came to the throne, he had the idea of ​​returning the capital to Nanjing, but because the cost of moving the capital was more than tens of millions, the court at that time could not afford it.In addition, there are many more imminent matters that need to be resolved urgently, so they have to be suppressed.

In the next few years, the emperor wanted to bring up this matter several times, but was persuaded by the cabinet scholars who said that the country was initially determined and could not bear to toss about it again.However, as the emperor's dragon body deteriorated, especially after the two strokes, this idea became more and more intense, and it was almost unstoppable.

Regarding the matter of returning the capital to Nanjing, Wang Xian and the crown prince agreed that they did not want to move the capital to Beijing.But now, his attitude has changed...

Seeing that the emperor brought up the old matter again, Wang Xian had no choice but to cough lightly, and reminded: "Your Majesty, moving the capital at this time, isn't it just fueling the Mongols' arrogance? The whole north will be in crisis."

"Hey, I'm just talking casually..." Zhu Gaochi came back to his senses, and said with a self-deprecating smile: "I'm just talking casually, you don't have to take it to heart." He looked at Wang Xian, hesitating He said: "Where did you talk?"

"The emperor just asked Weichen if he wanted to save Hetao." Wang Xian said softly: "When I return to the emperor, Hetao must be saved."

"Hmm..." Zhu Gaochi nodded and said, "That's what I mean too, Hetao must be saved, and this is the first battle of the Hongxi Dynasty, and it is possible to win but not to lose."

"Yes." Wang Xian nodded in agreement. Once this battle is lost, the authority established by the emperor with great difficulty will collapse, and those princes and nobles whose interests have been damaged in the reform will definitely take the opportunity to counterattack and smash the situation of Hong Xi's reform. Messy!

"So I don't trust others to go." Zhu Gaochi looked deeply at Wang Xian and said, "I can only let you lead the army."

"This..." Wang Xian pondered for a while, then accepted the emperor's appointment and said: "I will obey the order for my minister."

"Okay!" Zhu Gaochi didn't expect Wang Xian to accept it so happily, and he thought it would take a lot of talking to persuade him to accept this job... After all, with Wang Xian's current status and situation, he doesn't seek meritorious deeds but no faults. It is the option that best suits his interests.The emperor couldn't help laughing and said: "It seems that you take that confidante very seriously."

"The emperor was joking." Wang Xian said seriously, "I am willing to lead troops to Hetao, not for personal gain, but purely for the sake of the country."

"Hehe... I made a slip of the tongue." Zhu Gaochi smiled and put his hands down and said, "This is how I am now, sometimes I don't speak well, so don't take it to heart."

"I'm terrified." Wang Xian lowered his head and said softly.

"How many troops do you expect to need?" Zhu Gaochi coughed again suddenly, the ashen look on his face became more and more obvious, and the eunuch beside him rushed to serve the emperor with soup.The emperor took a few sips before suppressing his cough, rinsed his mouth with sugar water, and wiped his mouth with a white towel.

"Your majesty, why don't we discuss it another day?" Wang Xian said softly when the emperor calmed down.

"No, the military situation waits for no one." Zhu Gaochi waved his hand and returned to the topic: "How many troops do you need?"

"Naturally, the more troops the better." Wang Xian replied in a deep voice: "Never in my Ming Dynasty's Northern Expeditions did I have less than [-] troops. This time is also the same. Only with more than [-] cavalry can we be invincible."

"One hundred thousand, that's too much..." Zhu Gaochi frowned and said, "Although the national treasury has some surplus in the past few years, there are more places to use the money. We can't wipe out the family property in one battle." If you know it well, it is very clear that although the Ming Dynasty can afford an expedition of [-] troops, no one can guarantee that this kind of war will end as scheduled. Once the war is delayed, the cost will increase exponentially, and it is likely that the court will not be able to bear it.

Moreover, Zhu Gaochi wanted to return the capital to Nanjing, so naturally he didn't want to spend all his capital on war...

"At least [-], [-] cavalry, and [-] infantry." Wang Xian sighed and could only take a step back.

"I can give you [-] cavalry." Zhu Gaochi pondered for a long time, then Fang nodded and said: "If you have [-] infantry, it shouldn't be necessary to send troops to the grassland, right?"

"The infantry is used to escort food and supplies." Wang Xian explained softly: "Once the battle line goes deep into the grassland, the supply line will be very long and must be protected by heavy troops."

"Is that so..." Zhu Gaochi pondered for a while, and then asked tentatively, "What if we don't go deep into the grassland? Just drive the Tatars out of the river so that they don't dare to come back."

"Your Majesty, the Tatars are wolves by nature. They drove away and came back next year. It is useless not to beat them up. If they are scared, it is useless." Is it more cost-effective to send troops to Hetao, or is it more cost-effective to keep ten years safe?"

"Of course it's the latter..." Zhu Gaochi was persuaded by Wang Xian, and then asked worriedly: "Then, how long will it take for the [-] army to take over?"

"This, I can't answer the emperor." Wang Xian shook his head slowly and said: "The battlefield is changing rapidly, especially the Mongols come and go like the wind. Once they escape into the deep grassland, or even into the desert, I am afraid that they will not be able to withdraw their troops within a year. gone."

"Oh..." Zhu Gaochi wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, and said with a bitter face: "Zhongde, don't delay this year! You must withdraw your troops before winter! Otherwise..." The emperor originally wanted to say, otherwise I I couldn't bear it, but felt that it was too disrespectful to say so, so I changed my words: "Otherwise, it will be freezing cold, not only how many soldiers will be frozen to death."

"I understand." Wang Xian nodded, with a firm face and said: "But the emperor don't need to worry too much, the boy is wrapped in horse leather, he died in a proper place!"

"Hey, you promised me that I must return to the court before winter, otherwise I can't send out this soldier." Zhu Gaochi insisted on Wang Xian to make this promise.

"Okay, I agree." Wang Xian could only nod his head and said, "Teacher before winter."

"Okay, okay." Zhu Gaochi finally felt relieved, coughed twice and said: "You should hurry up and get ready to send troops. After half a month, I will go to the suburbs to see the army farewell."

"The minister complies with the order." Wang Xian got up, saluted and left.

(End of this chapter)