weaving

Chapter 1540 Another Divide of Forces?
After Zhang Ruoqi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, made his suggestion, the reactions from all sides were mixed.

Emperor Chongzhen remained noncommittal, adopting a pretentious and profound demeanor, observing the reactions of the Grand Secretaries, Ministers, and Vice Ministers below, as if it were none of his business.

However, the Grand Secretaries and Ministers in the warm pavilion were not as calm and composed as Emperor Chongzhen. They all hated Zhang Ruoqi to the bone, but could only curse him in their hearts.

Some things are better left unsaid; they can only be kept inside.

It's like some things you can do, but you can't say them out loud!
Everyone chattered on and on, but the core idea was the same: the commander of all the troops sent to aid the emperor should not be a nobleman who came from a military background.

Although they couldn't recommend any outstanding individuals, they still opposed the Earl of Yongning leading all the troops from across the land to come to the aid of the king!
In this day and age, there are probably only two people among all the scholars and officials in the court and the country who have both military expertise and sufficient prestige to command the troops that come to the aid of the emperor: Hong Chengchou and Sun Chuanting!

No one else has such skill.

They are either inexperienced, incompetent, lack prestige, or lack courage...

The mighty Ming Dynasty had a population of hundreds of millions, and countless people who were educated and reasonable. Yet, among the many distinguished officials in the court, not a single person could be chosen to lead the army and defend against the invaders.
Emperor Chongzhen finally lost his patience and questioned Chen Yan in an extremely calm tone: "Chen Yan, you are the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet. You are here to lead the troops from all over the country to come to the aid of the emperor, resist the Jurchens, and protect the capital."

As the Grand Secretary, Chen Yan was originally granted a special seat. Although he dared not actually sit on the chair, it was still better than the others who were standing.

But Emperor Chongzhen's seemingly ordinary words startled him so much that he almost fell off his chair!
Fortunately, the chief eunuch Wang Chengen, who was nearby, reacted quickly and rushed over to help him up, preventing him from falling to the ground and thus avoiding the offense of being disrespectful in front of the emperor.

Chen Yan gently squeezed Wang Chengen's hand and nodded to him secretly to express his gratitude. Then he turned to face Emperor Chongzhen, knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I am truly worried about the affairs of the country. I wish I could personally take up a sword and wield an axe to kill slaves on the battlefield to repay Your Majesty's grace."

After expressing his loyalty, Chen Yan continued, "I have also thought of taking up the mantle of a valiant warrior and leading the troops to defend the capital against the enemy. However, firstly, I am old and frail and I am afraid that I might miss the opportunity to carry out military plans, which would be disastrous; secondly, the overall situation of the court also requires someone to stay and take charge."

"Now that we have the Governor of Ji and the Governor of Jin, both in charge of defending against the enemy, and the Governors of Jin and Lu each guarding their respective territories, with the Governor of Ji in the center coordinating the various armies sent to defend the emperor, we can surely drive out the enemy with Zhao Guangbian's abilities."

What he said was essentially saying one thing: I, Chen Yan, cannot live without the capital!
However, seeing that Emperor Chongzhen had not made any statement, Chen Yan hurriedly spoke up again: "Just now, Zhang Ruoqi of the Ministry of War reported that he proposed to appoint Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, to take charge of the reinforcements to aid the emperor. I also think that this is not out of the question!"

"Oh. Tell me in detail." Emperor Chongzhen finally showed his attitude.

"It is not that the cabinet ministers are unwilling to let the Earl of Yongning mobilize the troops to come to the aid of the king, but they are worried that the various armies coming to the aid of the king come from different regions, and some of them may be dissatisfied with the Earl of Yongning, which would be detrimental to the great cause of defending against the enemy."

Your Majesty, I believe we should follow the precedent set in the eleventh year and appoint the Earl of Yongning as the Commander-in-Chief of the Western Route, leading the three towns of Xuanda and Datong, the two towns of Zhenbao, and the Central Plains government troops to intercept the enemy and block their southward advance into Shandong.

Then, Zhao Guangbian, the governor of Ji, was appointed as the commander of the eastern route, leading the Ji garrison, Liaodong garrison, the capital garrison, and other reinforcements from various routes to pursue the enemy along the way. With these two reinforcements cooperating, they would form a pincer movement, preventing the enemy from dividing their forces to plunder. Meanwhile, the governors of Jin and Lu would each guard their respective territories, implementing a scorched-earth policy. As long as the enemy could not breach major cities and obtain supplies, they would find it difficult to hold out for long, and any setback would inevitably force them to retreat.

Chen Yan's suggestion was actually not very appropriate; in fact, it was the source of his defeat.

For example, in the eleventh year of Chongzhen's reign, wasn't it because the troops were divided to defend against the enemy that the two armies were no longer under each other's command, and Gao Qiqian sat idly by while Lu Xiangshan's troops were besieged without coming to their aid, which led to the collapse of both armies?
However, under the current circumstances, splitting forces is indeed a last resort and the only way to balance the power between the military and civilian factions. Even though it is known that it still has flaws and even certain risks, there is no other choice!
"Is Zhang Cheng's army... a bit too few?" Emperor Chongzhen asked casually.

Indeed, there are hardly any decent government troops left in Zhenbao Town. At most, they can only mobilize three or four thousand men. Meanwhile, the government troops in the Central Plains have to guard against Li Zicheng's resurgence and Zhang Xianzhong taking the opportunity to sneak into the Central Plains. How can they be mobilized lightly?

In this light, it seems that Zhang Cheng, the Marquis of Yongning, could only mobilize the reinforcements from the three towns of Xuanfu and Datong to support the emperor. How many troops were there?

Moreover, the reinforcements from the two armies of Lin Dengyou, the deputy commander of Xuanzhen, and Xiong Tingrui, the assistant commander, are currently under the command of Zhao Guangbian, the governor of Ji, and are following him south to pursue the Jurchens.

Zhang Ruoqi secretly gave Emperor Chongzhen a big thumbs up, but on the surface he kept his head down and did not dare to show it.

Naturally, none of the cabinet ministers wanted to step forward and respond to Emperor Chongzhen's words at this time, leaving only Grand Secretary Chen Yan. Although he was unwilling, he had no choice but to reply.

"Your Majesty, Zhao Guangbian's eastern route is mainly composed of troops from the Jizhou garrison. The reinforcements from other garrisons are only slightly stronger under Cao Bianjiao and Zhou Yuji. There are simply no troops left to spare!"

After hearing his words, Emperor Chongzhen remained silent for a moment before speaking again: "What about you all? What are your opinions?"

Everyone naturally had no objections, and in the end, following Chen Yan's strategy, the reinforcements from various places who came to the capital to support the emperor were once again divided up!

However, before taking his leave, Zhang Ruoqi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, caused another unexpected incident—he volunteered to go to the western reinforcements to assist the Earl of Yongning, Zhang Cheng, in military affairs.

This move was completely unexpected by everyone!
Emperor Chongzhen was racking his brains over the matter of defending against the Jurchens. All the civil and military officials in the court fell silent whenever the topic of resisting the Jurchens was mentioned. Everyone changed the subject and dared not even talk about it, let alone volunteer to go to war.

Now, Zhang Ruoqi has essentially lit a sky lantern!
Emperor Chongzhen immediately granted his request, ordering him to leave the capital at once and go to the army of the Earl of Yongning to assist in military affairs. He also sent Bian Yongqing to the Earl of Yongning to convey the imperial decree and continue to serve as his supervisor of the Yongyi Army.

However, a variable has emerged: Zhang Ruoqi has volunteered to go to the Western Route Army to assist in military affairs, so should the Eastern Route Army also send someone?
Although no one wanted to bring up this topic, Emperor Chongzhen was no fool.

It was finally agreed that Fang Yuegong, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, would go to the Eastern Route Army to assist Zhao Guangbian, the Governor of Ji, in military affairs. At the same time, Yan Siyin, the eunuch, was also appointed as the supervisor of the Eastern Route Army.