The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

In Binhai City, inside the palace.

It was already late at night. Jinyiwei commander Mou Bin brought important battle reports to the palace to ask for an audience with Zhu Youtang. With his status, it was easy for him to pass through the first door, but it was beyond his ability to enter the inner hall to see Zhu Youtang who was resting.

The eunuch Wei Bin, who was in charge of the night watch, said coldly, "Commander-in-chief Mou, you are not an outsider, so you should know the rules. His Majesty has gone to bed, and not everyone can see him. If you have anything to say, can't we talk about it tomorrow?"

Mou Bin said, "There is a war in the northwest, and urgent news has arrived."

Wei Bin smiled and said, "It's normal for there to be war on the border. There are always wars. But if it affects your Majesty's rest, we can't take the responsibility. Go back and wait. When your Majesty wakes up tomorrow morning, I will definitely inform you."

"But..." Mou Bin took a look and thought that Wei Bin was really arrogant, as if even the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department was not as unkind as Wei Bin.

Wei Bin leaned over and said, "Or, you can inform Duke Cai about this and have him report back. Right now, the only person who can get His Majesty to get up from the dragon couch and grant him an audience is Duke Cai."

Mou Bin said, "But Duke Cai is out of town to supervise the construction of the railway tracks and is not in the city now."

"So you've looked for him?" Wei Bin shook his head and said, "Don't bother. As long as it's not a big win or a big loss, and there's no rush, just wait. I believe Duke Cai will come back tomorrow and tell His Majesty in detail. We can't be impatient."

Mou Bin really wanted to have someone take Wei Bin away, but after hesitating for a long time, he gave up the idea.

"Then I will wait outside. If Your Majesty gets up at night, I hope you can let him know." Mou Bin did not dare to put his work aside and go back to rest. Instead, he prepared to stay up all night in the palace and wait for the emperor to wake up.

……

……

outside the city.

Zhang Zhou worked until late at night before he came out of the steel factory where he was smelting railroad tracks. Although it was still very cold in February, he was still soaked with sweat. After coming out, he was going to take a shower and rest. At this moment, he saw Zhu Feng coming hurriedly.

"Brother Zhang, something big has happened. The Tartars are coming again, this time to Huamachi." Zhu Feng said as he moved closer.

He did not bring any battle reports and only communicated verbally.

Zhang Zhou asked about the situation in general, and Zhu Feng said, "I don't know the details, but this matter is quite serious. His Majesty is not in Beijing, so it will be more complicated to discuss it in the court. Brother Zhang, as the Minister of War, you should respond quickly."

Zhang Zhou said: "I'll get ready first, follow me back to the city."

Zhu Feng said: "It's already this late, is it necessary to go into the city? Tomorrow will do."

Zhang Zhou shook his head and said, "Since the war situation is urgent, we cannot slack off. If the situation in the northwest changes too drastically, we may have to dispatch troops to the northwest. Do you have any plans to lead the troops?"

Zhu Feng thought about it and said with embarrassment: "If there is really no one else to send, I can go, but Ningxia is... too far from the capital."

On the one hand, he said he could go, but on the other hand, he was complaining.

Zhang Zhou didn't waste any time talking to Zhu Feng. He waved his hand and Liu Gui came over from the other side.

"Please prepare my official uniform for me. I will take a shower and then go to see the emperor." Zhang Zhou said.

"Yes." Liu Gui quickly took the fur coat handed over by Zhang Zhou and ran into the yard to tell people to do things.

……

……

Zhang Zhou entered the city and went directly towards the palace. When he arrived at the gate of the palace, he saw Mou Bin talking to several Jinyiwei.

Mou Bin was also surprised by Zhang Zhou's return, but he seemed to have found the direction, and hurried over and said, "My lord, I went to ask for an audience with His Majesty earlier, but was not summoned. It's because His Majesty has gone to rest."

Zhang Zhou said, "Follow me in again."

Then Mou Bin followed behind, and the two of them went in together.

This time, before they even got outside the inner hall, Wei Bin heard the news and hurried over. He quickly saluted Zhang Zhou and said, "Duke Cai, you are finally here. I heard there is an urgent military matter, but I didn't know how to mention it to His Majesty. It's just right that you are here. It's most appropriate for you to mention it."

When Mou Bin heard this, he immediately felt unhappy.

That's not what you just said.

However, when he thought that Zhang Zhou had the qualifications to disturb the emperor at any time, while he, as the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was a marginal person, he seemed to feel relieved.

……

……

Zhu Youtang was still woken up in the middle of the night.

Zhang Zhou, Zhu Feng, Wei Bin and Mou Bin stood in front of Zhu Youtang. Zhu Youtang was wearing very heavy clothes and there was a lantern next to him, but the light was not very bright. Zhu Youtang personally opened the battle report brought by Mou Bin, read it carefully, and put it aside.

"It's not a big deal." Zhu Youtang said, "It is said that the Tatars are thieves, but in my opinion, the Tatars are having a hard time making a living and have to resort to such petty thefts."

Wei Bin said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you are wise. The Tatars are like grasshoppers in autumn. They will not be able to jump for a few more days."

Zhu Youtang ignored Wei Bin's words and looked at Zhang Zhou and said, "Bingkuan, do you feel any pressure in this battle?"

"Yes." Zhang Zhou nodded. "The war in the northwest is changing too fast. Many things are beyond our expectations."

Zhu Feng said, "There are heavy troops stationed in Huamachi. Doesn't this count as advance precautions? Your Majesty, I think Duke Cai should have been prepared for this matter and would not give the Tatars an opportunity to take advantage of it."

At this time, Zhu Feng firmly stood on Zhang Zhou's side, like a little fanboy.

Zhu Youtang said, "I was too hasty in transferring Zhang Mao back to the capital. There are many defenders in Huamachi, but the Tatars are not necessarily easy to deal with. Bingkuan, I think we should immediately send troops from Yansui and Ningxia to Huamachi for assistance. What do you think?"

Zhang Zhou said: "I have the same idea."

"That's fine." Zhu Youtang said, "I think it's better for Wang Qiong to be in charge of this battle. He has been in the northwest for quite a while and has few opportunities to make merit. This time, let him perform well. If he can do well, he can be transferred back to Beijing."

Wei Bin asked, "Your Majesty, should we convey your message to the capital and have them announce the decree?"

Zhu Youtang said, "I can just issue an order to go to the northwest. Why should I mobilize people in the capital? Bingkuan, if there is anything else you need to consider, you can consider it yourself. I am a little tired these two days, so I will not ask about this matter tonight. When there is a result tomorrow, you can send someone to inform me."

Zhu Youtang seemed unwilling to care about military and political affairs.

With Zhang Zhou here, it was entirely up to Zhang Zhou to arrange and plan. He only needed to set a general direction... which was to let Wang Qiong be responsible for resisting the Tatars this time. As for the problem that the troops of Sanbian and Huamachi were not subordinate to each other, it would be solved with just one order from the emperor. Wang Qiong would now have to be responsible for all military affairs of Sanbian, and any merits and demerits would need to be borne by him.

……

……

When Zhang Zhou left the palace, Zhu Feng followed behind him worriedly, as if he was afraid that Zhang Zhou would transfer him to the northwest.

"Let's go back." Zhang Zhou said.

Zhu Feng's eyes widened with fear, and he asked, "Where are we going? To the capital, or to..."

Zhang Zhou said, "I mean, you should go back and rest first. It will take at least ten days to dispatch troops from here to the northwest, and they have to travel day and night. You may not be able to improve the situation after you go to the northwest, so why bother?"

Zhu Feng was relieved and said, "I think so. Then, Brother Zhang, how should we arrange it? I heard that the area around Huamachi is very open, and the Tartar cavalry is good at using it and can come and go freely. If the defenders can't stop them, then the towns around Ningxia will suffer."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "It seems that you have a deep understanding of the situation in the northwest."

"No... I've only been to Ningxia, and I know a little bit about it. I can't say I'm proficient in it." Zhu Feng said, "Many places in Ningxia are deserts, and some places are uninhabited for dozens of miles. The Tartars' light cavalry rushed forward, and we couldn't catch up with them when we transported artillery, and their scouts were everywhere. I was leading the troops there at the time, and I had no way to deal with them."

Zhang Zhou said, "Your Majesty has handed the matter over to Wang Qiong, right? He has been in the northwest for many years, so I think he has a way to overcome it."

Zhu Feng asked, "I heard that when Qin Laozhitai was in Sanbian, he built a lot of chariots. Can they be used this time? If we put cannons on the chariots, can we catch up with the Tartars?"

Zhang Zhou shook his head.

Using horse-drawn carriages to chase war horses is nonsense in itself. The Ming Dynasty's horses were originally far behind the Tatars in terms of combat power.

Zhang Zhou said: "If it were me, I would take the enemy by surprise and use fire guns as the main weapon in the battle. However, the range of fire guns is not much higher than that of bows and crossbows. Once we get into a medium or short-range battle, the advantage may not be that obvious."

Zhu Feng said: "That probably depends on luck. If the artillery is transported to the Tartar camp and the Tartars don't know about it..."

Zhang Zhou smiled.

Zhu Feng had previously achieved military merit by relying on this almost opportunistic method.

"Zhijie, what you said may work once or twice, but we can't rely on this method every time." Zhang Zhou said, "The Tatars are coming, and the defenses in the northwest are considered complete. It depends on the performance of each army. We have taught them what we should teach in the Martial Arts Hall, and the rest depends on their performance on the spot."

……

……

late at night.

Chen Kuan returned to the duty room of the Imperial Household Department. At this time, Wei Bin was the only one left in the room. When Wei Bin saw Chen Kuan, he quickly handed the battle report to Chen Kuan and explained the details to Chen Kuan, especially the conversation with Yang Peng.

"Mr. Yang is not wrong," said Chen Kuan.

Wei Bin said: "You mean..."

Chen Kuan said, "All those old ministers in the capital think that if the war in the northwest fails, the first person to come out and take responsibility must be the Minister of War. But the problem is that the Tatars only invaded the border, and the Minister of War had made proper arrangements in advance, even filling in the gaps in the northwest defense, and even found the direction of the Tatars' invasion... That is, Huamachi. What does this defeat have to do with the Minister of War?"

Wei Bin thought about it and said helplessly: "If we lose this battle, it will have a significant impact on the vitality of our Ming border army."

"We can't be defeated." Chen Kuan said, "After so many painstaking changes, the Ming border troops are no longer as loose as before. Now Wang Qiong is guarding the three borders, and Wang Shouren is guarding Xuanda. These two are extraordinary in their military and political views. Even if Huamachi is really short of space for a while, these two can lead the troops to fill the gap, or even get back what they lost."

Wei Bin asked tentatively, "So we have no solution for that Duke Cai...? Eunuch Chen, the Imperial Household Department is in charge of the affairs of the world, but now, His Majesty's trust in us has been greatly reduced, aren't you anxious?"

Chen Kuan sighed, "There's no point in getting anxious."

As he spoke, Chen Kuan put down the battle report and asked, "Has anyone informed His Majesty?"

Wei Bin said: "I think someone has reported it. Your Majesty and Duke Cai are not in the capital. If the Tatars take advantage of this opportunity to invade..."

Chen Kuan said: "You have hit the nail on the head. Unless the Tatars can march straight into our capital and put the capital in danger, then the position of the Minister of War in the court will be affected. Otherwise... there is no point in discussing this."

Wei Bin said with a look of shock: "Is it possible that the Tartars will come to the capital to attack us?"

"Humph! If the Tartars can really reach the capital, how incompetent must the Northwest Army be? After winning for so many years, how can they lose such a great advantage in one day? Even if the Northwest Army is incompetent, don't we still have Duke Cai? Even though he has no experience of personally fighting on the battlefield, he has been present in every battle in recent years. It is almost impossible to suppress Duke Cai from the Ministry of War."

Chen Kuan said this, raised his head and looked into the distance, "I just hope that the court will not fall into a one-sided situation. Otherwise, our lives will not be easy."

……

……

Datong Town.

After the Tatars repeatedly violated the border, Wang Shouren finally decided to send Ma Yi and Zhang Rui to Huamachi.

He called the two into the yamen, and they were both confused because Wang Shouren had mentioned before that they should not leave until the border crisis in Datong was resolved.

"Sir, it will take more than ten days to lead the troops from here to Huamachi. If we transport heavy artillery, the march will be even slower. No matter what happens in Huamachi, it will be too late to send troops now." Ma Yi said to Wang Shouren in person.

Wang Shouren asked, "How did you get to Datong?"

"Sir?" Ma Yi was a little confused about the situation.

Zhang Rui seemed to understand something and asked, "General Wang, do you want us to lead our troops back from the grassland?"

"Yes." Wang Shouren nodded and said, "The Tatars think they are so self-righteous that they can wreak havoc in one place by sending troops to contain the troops from all directions on our border. However, they forget that the offensive and defensive forces are never static. Who said that in this battle, we can only defend and not attack?"

Ma Yi asked, "Are you going to lead the troops to attack the Tatars' rear?"

Wang Shouren said: "There is no need to do that. You just need to send troops from Datong and lead them to plunder the grasslands. You can return the way you came. Don't the Tatars want to invade our territory from Huamachi? When they know that Datong has sent troops, they will have to withdraw."

Zhang Rui said: "But it will take some time to cross the grassland from here to Huama Pond."

Wang Shouren said: "You don't need to bring artillery, just muskets and swords. Three thousand elite cavalry, each equipped with two muskets and fifty rounds of fire bombs. Just go like this, as long as you can force the Tatars into a dilemma, the strategic significance will be achieved." (End of this chapter)