Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 264 Foretelling things like a god

  Fang Jifan thought to himself, if Wei Dayou was still alive, he would be more than one hundred and thirty years old.

   must have died long ago and couldn't die anymore.

   This made me brag about him without any pressure, so Fang Jifan looked at Emperor Hongzhi with a smile, without saying a word.

  Emperor Hongzhi pondered and said: "Since you are a person who has attained the Tao, the imperial court should treat you with courtesy. In a few days, I will discuss with the Empress Dowager to give your teacher the title of Heavenly Master. After all, he is a living god."

   "..."

   Celestial Master...

  Fang Jifan thought in his heart, Zhengyi, even the Zhang family of the Tianshi Mansion is only a real person, if this is a celestial master, wouldn't it be more powerful than the Zhang family?

  This is terrible.

  But he didn't make a sound. It seems that such posthumous matters have nothing to do with him.

   "I happen to have something else to ask you. A few days ago, Tatars raided Datong on a small scale. What do you think?"

  Emperor Hongzhi suddenly asked, obviously, Fang Jifan has been recognized as a capable person.

Fang Jifan probably recalled the history for a moment, shook his head and said: "In these years, there have been visions from heaven, not only my Daming suffered from snowstorms, but the Tatars were also severely affected. The place where the Tatars live is the desert of poverty. I heard that in their place, hailstorms fell in summer, killing many livestock, and seeing that winter is about to begin, I am afraid that their food reserves may not be enough to survive the winter.”

"So..." Fang Jifan took a deep look at Emperor Hongzhi. In history, the Tatar man known as the "Little Prince" would lead a Tatar army to raid the border town of Daming. Of course, they initially feinted to attack Datong. But in fact, this is just a trick to deceive people. The purpose of doing this is to hope that the court will shift its attention to the direction of Datong in Shanxi, while the main force of the Tatars, rushing thousands of miles, actually crossed the territory of Duoyan Sanwei , Take Liaodong straight.

   And this sudden looting caused heavy losses in Liaodong.

It was fine if Emperor Hongzhi didn’t ask. As soon as Fang Jifan heard that the matter was in Liaodong, he eloquently said: “Since the food is not enough to survive the winter, it is unreasonable for the Tatars to attack Datong. Datong is a pass, protecting the inside of the pass. Outside the pass, except for some fortresses, there is not much food stockpile. If they want to seize food, they must break through Datong Pass, and Datong Pass is a strong city. If they want to break through, how can they break through so easily? Being able to break through Datong's defense line, I, Da Ming, have already been shocked."

"So, I believe that their goal is definitely not Datong, but Liaodong. There are a large number of villages and market towns in Liaodong. Even if they don't capture Jinzhou, they will be able to plunder enough food in Liaodong. The fertile land outside the city , It is also enough for them to burn, kill and loot, so Datong only needs to strengthen its security, and on the front line of Liaodong, Your Majesty must make early plans to fortify the walls and clear the country to prepare for any eventuality."

  Emperor Hongzhi was slightly taken aback. In fact, he was always worried about Datong.

   After all, once the Tatars attack Datong, it will have a great relationship with Ming Dynasty. Once they break through the Xiongguan Pass, the Tatars can go deep into the pass and even threaten the city of Beijing.

On the contrary, it is Liaodong... He doesn't pay much attention to it. After all, Liaodong is the pasture of Duoyan Sanwei, and there are important cities such as Jinzhou in Liaodong. Even if the Tatars attack violently, the Ming army will have enough time. seesaw.

   To put it bluntly, Liaodong is subordinate to the outside of the pass and is the most important force of Ming outside the pass, while Datong is the defense force protecting the pass inside the pass. The weight of the two is different.

Fang Jifan insisted that the Tatars would attack Liaodong by surprise. The reason was that Datong and the others would not be able to conquer the pass, and they would not be able to take a grain of grain away. The threshing floor of the Tartars.

  Emperor Hongzhi pondered for a while, and said: "I know, your opinion is different from that of the Ministry of War, but I will make an order to make the front line of Liaodong take precautions."

  Fang Jifan breathed a sigh of relief. Since Emperor Hongzhi had already said that, it was not suitable for him to say anything more, so he bowed and said, "Then, I will retire."

  If a person can know what will happen tomorrow, it is indeed a terrible thing. With just a few words, I don’t know how many people can be saved.

  Of course, the premise of all this is that he can win the trust of Emperor Hongzhi. This time, Fang Jifan believes that Emperor Hongzhi has enough confidence in himself.

  It's just...Emperor Hongzhi only said that he would remind the defenders in Liaodong. This...seems not enough. And also mentioned the Ministry of War...

The Ministry of War is obviously more focused on Datong. After all, Datong, like Shanhaiguan, is a pass to defend the capital. If the other of these two junctures is lost, the capital will be finished. At the beginning of the civil fortress change, Wala entered the pass and surrounded the capital. Came in from Datong.

   Losing Datong means losing everything.

  The Ministry of War will definitely choose the safest plan, because for them, the whole family is in the capital, and if something goes wrong, they will be criminals through the ages. And even if Liaodong is attacked, it will not hinder it. As long as Jinzhou is kept, there will be no major problems.

  Thinking about it this way, everything becomes clear.

   Liaodong can have accidents, but Datong cannot. Therefore, the Ministry of War must focus on Datong, so all their regulations and plans will focus on strengthening Datong's protection as a priority.

   Nothing will happen...

   If the time comes to be perfunctory, even if an early warning is issued, in the end, even if the emperor reminds the defenders of Liaodong, the Ministry of War and Liaodong will not take it seriously, that would be terrible.

   This was the lives of tens of thousands of people. Perhaps this looting will not shake Daming in any way. After all, the Tatars may not even be able to take down Daning and Jinzhou, but the soldiers and civilians outside the city have all suffered.

  Fang Jifan frowned, and went out of the palace thoughtfully, but saw Zhu Houzhao waiting for him outside the palace.

  Zhu Houzhao stepped forward happily and said, "Old Fang, how is it?"

   "Not bad." Fang Jifan was still worrying about the matter just now, but he still smiled and encouraged him: "Your Highness really impressed His Majesty."

  Zhu Houzhao smiled: "It's natural, Mr. Wang taught well."

   Then it seemed that it was not enough: "Of course, Mr. Wang was taught well by Lao Fang. I am waiting for you. Let's go to Xishan together. There is still a lot of land to be plowed in the afternoon."

  Fang Jifan shook his head and said, "Your Highness, have you read the latest residence newspaper? About Datong."

Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips, and said with a bit of disdain: "I just sent this little army. I'm afraid the little prince just wants to harass Datong. This army is not enough to fit between teeth. I have no interest in them. "

  Fang Jifan said in a deep voice: "What if their goal is not Datong?"

   "..." Now, Zhu Houzhao fell silent.

He was too familiar with the affairs of Border Town, as if he was thinking about something, he paused, his eyes lit up, he stared at Fang Jifan closely and said, "You mean to attack east and west? No, why are they attacking Liaodong?" I heard that they were hit by a disaster and many horses died. To attack Liaodong, they had to cross Daning. In Daning, there were Duoyan Sanwei. Besides, even if they broke through Daning, wouldn’t there still be Jinzhou? Jinzhou is Fortified city, if they are in a hurry, they will definitely not be able to break through the city, the little prince of Tartar, I have heard about it, he will not be so stupid."

Fang Jifan and Zhu Houzhao walked side by side, but they said in a calm manner: "But has your Highness never thought about one thing, what if their purpose is not to attack the city at all, but simply looting? Your Highness also said that they were There is a disaster, and winter is about to enter, and they don't have enough food, how can they survive this long winter?"

   "..." Zhu Houzhao fell silent again.

   Suddenly, he patted Fang Jifan on the shoulder.

  Fang Jifan felt his shoulders sink, and he suddenly became shorter, and there was still a little pain, so he couldn't help grinning, your uncle, you are full of strength.

  Zhu Houzhao looked at Fang Jifan with piercing eyes and said: "Yes, yes, Lao Fang, what I admire most in this palace is you. You always predict things like a god. Let's go, let's go into the palace... to see the father..."

"The minister has informed His Majesty." Fang Jifan shook his head: "Your Majesty is still concerned, and he also agreed to issue an order to put Liaodong on guard, but... the minister's worry is that the soldiers of the Ministry of War and the soldiers on the nine borders may pay more attention. What they want is Datong, and even if His Majesty has issued a decree, they only think it is a routine, and most of it is just a show, but once the Tatars attack, they will suffer a lot."

  Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "That makes sense."

Fang Jifan took a deep look at Zhu Houzhao: "Since His Royal Highness already knows the sufferings of the people, think about it, compared with the farmers in Xishan, the soldiers and civilians outside the pass are more pitiful. They are short of food and clothing, and once they are attacked by the Tatars, their wives and children will be separated, and there will be no place to bury them.”

  Zhu Houzhao listened, his brows furrowed deeply, he clenched his fists involuntarily, and nodded.

  In terms of this appreciation, Zhu Houzhao is not a bad person. Although he is a bit stubborn, he was just not very sensible in the past.

  Now, hearing Fang Jifan's sensationalism, he said with some concern: "What should I do?"

   "Warning!" Fang Jifan made a decisive decision, and he continued: "We must put everyone in Liaodong on alert, so that the entire Liaodong will be cleared and the Tatars will never be given a chance!"

  Zhu Houzhao gritted his teeth: "I understand, but it may not be easy to achieve this."

Fang Jifan said: "This is the problem, just like the people by the river, everyone knows that the river may flood at any time, it will wash away their homes, and even kill them, but they should put everything down immediately and take their lives with them." It is very difficult to escape the flood with your own property hundreds of miles away. Therefore, there is only one way right now..."

  (end of this chapter)