The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Zhang Mao was in a state of panic. After entering the palace, he walked on the road to Wenhua Hall.

He entered the palace by imperial decree, and had no idea what the emperor wanted him to do. He originally planned to claim illness and not go out, after all, if he entered the palace he would most likely be arrested on the spot by the emperor. However, based on his almost lifetime experience, for the sake of his family's fate, it seemed that he had no choice but to accept this arrangement.

"Sir, please hurry up, we are almost there." The eunuch who led the way urged.

It’s no wonder that the eunuch urged me.

Normally, Zhang Mao should have walked quickly after entering the palace, but he just walked as if he was taking a stroll, and even stopped and walked. When asked, he said that his legs were not good and he could not walk, which made the young eunuch speechless.

"Has anyone else been invited in?" Zhang Mao asked again.

"I don't know. You will know when you get there." said the young eunuch.

Zhang Mao couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead. It was already late August in the lunar calendar, and even the Mid-Autumn Festival had passed. It wasn't that hot, but he still felt as if his heart was being roasted by fire.

Finally, he arrived at Wenhua Hall. He did not see other colleagues as he expected, but instead saw Wei Bin who was waiting outside Wenhua Hall.

Wei Bin came forward and said with a smile, "Duke of England, you are finally here. I have kept Your Majesty waiting for a long time."

Zhang Mao thought to himself that he had finally met someone who knew the truth, and he hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty has summoned me here, why?"

"Why don't you ask His Majesty and find out?" Wei Bin replied with a smile.

Zhang Mao looked very embarrassed.

"Hurry up, Your Majesty and the ministers have been waiting for a long time." Wei Bin said.

Zhang Mao was relieved when he heard this.

At this time, his legs seemed to no longer hurt, and he felt better, as if the sweat on his forehead had evaporated on its own. He walked briskly with Wei Bin into the Wenhua Hall.

……

……

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

Zhu Youtang sat in the main seat, with Chen Kuan and Zhang Yong, who had just returned from Liaodong, standing behind him.

There were several people sitting below, and Zhang Mao knew all of them, and they could even be said to be old acquaintances.

Those who came from the cabinet were Li Dongyang and Wang Ao, and those who came from the Supreme Court were Wang Qiong who had just joined the office. Together with Xiong Xiu who had been in the Supreme Court all along, Lu Wan, the right vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Xiong Chong, the left vice minister of the Ministry of War, stood in front of a hanging map. In addition, there were representatives from the Hanlin Academy, namely Hanlin scholar Yang Tinghe, and Wang Hua who had just been promoted to imperial lecturer.

In addition to Zhang Mao, there was another representative of the Military Governor's Office, Li Yun, the Earl of Xiangcheng, who had served in the northwest for many years but had not been very prominent.

Zhang Mao was somewhat confused by the scene.

He looked around and saw that there was not even an empty seat next to him, which meant... Zhang Zhou probably wouldn't come today.

In a situation that looked like an internal military meeting, Zhang Bingkuan, the most powerful figure in the military and political circles of the time, was not there. Zhang Mao thought that today's scene was a bit unusual and he wondered how to best discuss how to get rid of Zhang Bingkuan.

"Duke of England, you are quite late." Zhu Youtang said with a frown when he saw Zhang Mao coming.

Zhang Mao knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I have been recuperating at home recently and am unable to carry on. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"You always use this excuse. Sit down and talk." Zhu Youtang said coldly.

When Zhang Mao heard this, his heart began to beat fast.

Your Majesty, it seems that you are very resentful towards me, but it seems that your resentment today is not directed at me, so I will sit down and see what you are up to.

"Explain it to him again so he knows what happened. There's no need to go into the complicated details. Just briefly tell him the situation." Zhu Youtang said.

"Yes."

Xiong Chong pointed at the map with something that looked like a teaching stick that he had prepared for him. He said, "The routes of the five armies are roughly marked on it. With Guanshan as the center, the five armies are each heading in a different direction, looking for the main force of the Tatars. But so far, it has been more than two months, and judging from the battle reports from the front lines, there is no sign of a large Tatar army."

"The Tatars may have migrated north to here... or even further north. That is, the land north of the desert."

"In addition, there are soldiers and horses searching in the west and east. The soldiers and horses patrolling Datong, led by Xinjianbo himself, have also traveled 300 miles out of Maoerzhuang and found no trace of the Tatars."

What Xiong Chong said was very simple, just to explain the situation to Zhang Mao.

Everyone present, including Zhang Mao, seemed to know a fact at this time.

That was the large-scale military expedition planned by Tang Yin. Although it was huge and there was no way for the troops to attack, and later Wang Shouren personally led more than 10,000 troops, they still could not find any trace of the main force of the Tatars on the vast grassland.

As the battle line lengthened, the army's consumption increased, and the supply lines became longer, or in fact, there was no supply lines at all.

We must consider issues such as food and supplies for the soldiers in the army.

Is it worth continuing the search, or should we withdraw our troops appropriately and end this massive military operation?

Wang Qiong stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Court has just received a report from the General Commander of the Three Borders and other military affairs to Tang Yin, requesting that the troops be withdrawn back to the interior of the country and that the troops be dispatched after the autumn grain is stored in the warehouse."

"Yes." Zhu Youtang sighed, "It's already the autumn harvest season. It was still hot in the summer when we sent out the troops. How come it's cool in the blink of an eye? Where are the Tatars hiding? Do we have to depend on the Tatars' mood when we send troops to the grassland? What do you think of the people in the Governor's Office?"

This question was asked to Zhang Mao and Li Lun.

Given Zhang Mao's cunningness, how could he possibly speak out at this moment?

Of course he chose to play deaf and dumb.

Li Yun glanced at him sideways, because he felt that as long as Zhang Mao was there, the person representing the Governor's Office should be Zhang Mao, but seeing Zhang Mao's look... he knew that even if he was put on the fire today, he would have to take the blame.

Li Yun said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, since the Tatars have chosen to passively avoid fighting, we should station troops in the heart of the grassland, build fortresses there, and establish garrisons in the grassland, just like the protectorate and garrisons set up in the Tang Dynasty. This way, it will be more convenient to send troops or reinforce." Hearing this, Li Dongyang and Wang Ao both looked over.

Li Dongyang frowned and said, "Mr. Xiangcheng, do you think that if we station troops along this route, we can solve the problems of supplying food, military supplies and soldiers every year? If we are surrounded again, can the Tatars surround the city without attacking, or besiege the city and attack the reinforcements? Can you see the meaning behind it?"

Li Yun looked puzzled and said, "Didn't they say that the Tatars were unwilling to fight? Then let's drive a wedge into their ranks. This is my opinion. Lord Li, you don't have to mind it too much."

"you……"

Just as Li Dongyang was about to continue accusing Li Yun.

Zhu Youtang raised his hand and said, "There is no need to argue unnecessarily. Today we are here to express our opinions. Given the current situation, we should make a choice whether to continue the war or withdraw our troops. If we continue like this, within half a month, the food and grass of the troops on the grassland will be exhausted. By then, we will have to withdraw even if we don't want to."

Li Dongyang said: "Your Majesty, this battle did not achieve the expected results. Should we..."

"Li Qingjia, what do you want to say? Who do you want to hold accountable?" Zhu Youtang asked sternly.

Li Dongyang remained silent.

Apart from his two cabinet ministers and the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Qiong, there was not even a Shangshu from one of the six ministries present. They looked like civil officials, but they did not have the confidence to confront the emperor head-on.

Originally, Li Dongyang wanted to exert his authority as the second assistant and let the emperor follow the direction set by traditional civil officials, but he realized at this time that the emperor was no longer the kind of person who was submissive and let them decide.

The emperor is now very opinionated and even has his own way of retorting.

Zhu Youtang said: "A few years ago, whenever the Tatars invaded, the soldiers on the frontier could only stay in the city, allowing them to plunder and then leave. Now, the soldiers are going out to the grasslands to seek a battle, but the Tatars are avoiding fighting. They are the ones who are afraid of fighting. Isn't this a change?"

When the emperor said this, his face still looked very proud.

Although this battle did not result in victory on the battlefield, it made the emperor very proud.

Zhang Mao stood up and said, "I, your old minister, agree. In the future, history books will definitely record that our Ming soldiers are famous throughout the country and went to war on the grasslands. The wolves on the grasslands bowed their heads and feared the battle. We sealed the Wolf's Lair and included the grasslands in China..."

"Enough!" Zhu Youtang frowned and said, "Duke Ying, have you forgotten that the Tatars will invade our border every now and then? What's the point of just saying this? If we avoid fighting now, it may not be the case when they take the initiative to attack us!"

Zhang Mao flattered the horse's hooves and sat down again in a dusty face.

Zhu Youtang pointed at Xiong Chong and said, "Go on."

Xiong Chong said: "Now the border soldiers are already thinking about slacking off. After all, they are also concerned about the autumn harvest and other things. Let's discuss this within the Ministry of War..."

"Did you discuss this within your Ministry of War?" Zhu Youtang asked coldly.

Xiong Chong glanced at Li Dongyang and said with difficulty: "It was a decision made by several military and political colleagues specially arranged by the court."

This was a reluctant admission. Now when it came to military affairs, the emperor already had a special military advisory system. There was no need to discuss them in the court anymore. Things could be discussed directly within a small circle.

But obviously this small circle does not include Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and those so-called traditional civil officials.

Zhu Youtang said: "Since the result of the discussion is that it is better to withdraw the troops than not to withdraw them, then let's withdraw them first."

Hearing this, Zhang Mao was puzzled at first.

When I was fighting, even if I died, I would be pinned to Huamachi and not be allowed to leave.

How come it was Tang Yin's turn to lead the troops this time? With such a big battle going on, he just withdrew his troops without even a fart or a sound?
And it seems so righteous, as if it is a matter of course?
Then who will bear this responsibility?

"My fellow ministers, do you have any opinions?" Zhu Youtang asked.

Li Dongyang said: "Your Majesty, if we withdraw our troops hastily, the Tatars may come back. Shouldn't we also withdraw our troops in stages? Moreover, this war will be fruitless and exhausting, and it will be hard to explain to the border troops. We should..."

"Who do you still want to hold responsible?" Zhu Youtang said coldly, "Before, the Tatars invaded, and the Ming soldiers did nothing, so they must be held responsible. Now that we have sent troops to the grasslands, we have not found any trace of the Tatars, and all the troops are advancing, and no one is passive or lazy in the battle. Should we also hold someone responsible?"

Li Dongyang had a lot to say, but was suddenly speechless by the emperor's question.

Think about it too.

This battle was fought... so strangely.

Logically speaking, once a war is started, there will definitely be a result. I have never encountered a war like this before, where the troops have to withdraw because there is no result, and there is not even anyone responsible.

Chen Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this battle did have some results. For example, when the troops were marching into the grassland, some tribes on the grassland took the initiative to migrate south. Even the Duke of Cheng received more than two to three thousand Tatar herdsmen. Now that the reputation of our Great Ming has spread far and wide in the grassland, those small tribes all want to obtain the protection of the Great Ming."

"This is a good thing." Zhu Youtang said, "Everyone, you can see that they used to help the tyrants. When they invaded the Ming Dynasty, they would follow the cavalry of the little Tatar prince to invade our territory and kill our people. Now they are like docile sheep. I think this is enough."

Li Dongyang said: "But things on the battlefield must have a result. If you waste people's money and resources without any scruples, then even those who send troops to the grasslands will find a chance not to fight the Tatars and choose to... withdraw afterwards."

Zhu Youtang said: "Li Qingjia, you are probably worrying too much. The Tatars are unwilling to fight, so we can only find a way to make them fight. This war is a little unprepared, but it can only be said that we don't have a clear understanding of their hiding place..."

Zhang Mao suddenly thought of something and said in surprise, "Your Majesty, why don't you let Duke Cai figure out where the Tatars are hiding?"

"Duke of England, are you daydreaming again?" Zhu Youtang said sternly.

When Zhang Mao heard this, he felt very wronged.

Your Majesty, in front of so many people, can't you consider my dignity? How rude of you to say that!

Zhu Youtang looked puzzled and said, "Relying on predictions from heaven to fight a war!? What are you thinking? The Tatars are very familiar with the grasslands, and there are many places where they can hide. They can even cross the desert to the north of the desert. My Ming soldiers have many artillery, and the grasslands are not flat, so they can't march too fast. Is it really that difficult for the Tatars to avoid the battle?"

Wang Ao said: "But if that's the case, I'm afraid we won't get much if we send troops to the grasslands again. Maybe... we should really put a nail in the grasslands."

Zhu Youtang nodded and said, "This is also a good plan, but it will take some time to implement it. It is not easy to build a fortress on the grassland. Even if a fortress is built and a large number of troops are stationed there, the Tatars will avoid the stationing place and move to other places. One city cannot cover the entire grassland. Building too many fortresses will be a waste of money and labor, and it is not practical."

Li Yun added: "In my opinion, there is no need to build fortresses. We can station troops on the grassland for a long time. As long as we have artillery, the Tatars will be trapped if they dare to come!" (End of this chapter)