The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

on the grassland.

After many twists and turns, the troops led by Tang Yin finally retreated to the south bank of the Yellow River.

When the army was crossing the river, Tang Yin still had some expectations in his heart, but when the army withdrew across the Yellow River, there was no trace of the Tatars. The next place to go was the Hetao area where the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars had been fighting for, but now that was the Ming Dynasty's own backyard.

We didn't encounter any Tatars on the north bank of the Yellow River, and we encountered even fewer of them after we went south of the river.

"Bo Hu, the army's food and grass can still sustain for more than ten days. How about we wait here and withdraw after a few days?"

Not only did Tang Yin feel regretful, but even Xu Jing, who was accompanying the army on this expedition, felt as if something was missing in his life.

The imperial court went to great lengths to send troops to the grassland, but in the end gained nothing. Is there any essential difference between this and what happened to Zhu Hui and Zhang Mao in the past?

If I am held accountable by the court after returning, wouldn’t my future career be over?
Tang Yin put down the telescope, with a somewhat helpless look on his face, and said, "It is already the autumn harvest season, and the soldiers have their own farming duties. They will harvest the food after returning to prepare for the battle with the Tatars this winter and next spring. If we delay any further, it will be too late to harvest, and the crops may rot in the fields."

Xu Jing said: "That being said, I still feel regretful that we didn't fight the Tartars."

"When have I not regretted anything?" Tang Yin said weakly, "Since I entered the court, I have been wandering around the border. I have led troops several times, but I was always unable to do so. I either went deep into the enemy's territory alone, or returned empty-handed like today. Even I don't know what I am doing."

At this time, Tang Yin was not only confused, but also depressed.

It seemed that his status was getting higher and higher, and he even won the emperor's trust, and even was given a position like the Three Border Commander-in-Chief.

But thinking back on it, of all his achievements on the battlefield, the most commendable one was probably leading troops in a rebellion in Korea and overthrowing the Korean ruler.

The rest of the war...

It’s really hard to put it into words.

I clearly haven't won a single decent victory, and the troops I led were always a group of old, weak and disabled soldiers, and I even led Korean soldiers to get by. How come it was my turn to be promoted in the military?

This time I was sent to lead the troops to the grassland. What did I do to make the overall layout?
So, how can I face my fellow villagers when I go back?
How to report to the emperor?

I have no face left.

Xu Jing said: "We didn't encounter the Tartars on this route, but we may have a chance on other routes. You are the general commander, so as long as they win, the credit will still belong to you."

Tang Yin sighed, "At the moment, it seems that the Tatars will not show up on their own initiative, unless we chase them to the north of the desert, or to the east or west... I don't know where they are. If they want to avoid fighting, we don't have a good strategy."

Xu Jing also heard the frustration in Tang Yin's words.

"Then wait for them to come on their own initiative." Xu Jing comforted, "I believe it won't be long before they attack again."

"No." Tang Yin said confidently, "In the first two years, the situation on the grassland was not good, and the grass and water were not abundant. They could not survive without raiding the border, and raiding the border was also to resolve their internal conflicts. But now... the grass and water have grown, and their internal disputes have also come to an end. Those who should stay will stay, and those who should submit to the Ming will submit to the Ming... If they dare to attack again, it is only because they want to cause a new round of disputes."

Xu Jing asked curiously: "What does this mean?"

Tang Yin said: "In my opinion, if I were the little prince of Tatar, what I would have to do in the next two years is to recuperate, study the artillery of the Ming Dynasty, and then study the tactics, so that I can have the strength to compete in the next head-on confrontation. Unless they can't survive, they won't attack again."

"Ah? Doesn't that mean..." Xu Jing was also surprised.

I thought if it didn’t work this time, there would be next time.

And now you tell me that you think the Tatars are too cowardly to even fight a war?
If you say this to others, who among the soldiers on the frontier will believe you?

The Tatars have been so arrogant and domineering in the past few years that even after suffering a military defeat, they still march forward.

Don’t you dare to come now?
"Alas!" Tang Yin sighed heavily, "I don't know why I have this thought. I hope I miscalculated. I also hope they can take the initiative to kill us, so that we have a chance to make achievements. But I'm afraid... the more I hope for something, the less I get. Maybe I'm just unlucky."

Xu Jing smiled bitterly and said, "Bo Hu, you can't say that. You call this bad luck? Then there are no lucky people in the world."

Listen, isn’t this infuriating?
Xu Jingxin said, Tang Yin, you have only been an official for more than three years, but you have already risen to the position of Vice Minister of Six Ministries and Commander-in-Chief of Three Border Regions. How dare you say that you are unlucky?

You really don't know how lucky you are. If you keep talking like that, you might not even have any friends in the future.

Tang Yin said: "Tell the soldiers to pack up their military equipment and supplies, and leave nothing behind, and go to Yansui. I should also figure out how to write a memorial and how to apologize."

Xu Jing said helplessly: "If the Tartars don't come, we can only fight our way out later. Unless it's a surprise attack, otherwise... I'm afraid we won't even have a chance."

"Surprise attack?"

Tang Yin was already disappointed, but suddenly he thought of something and said, "If we leave our troops behind, will it be possible..."

Xu Jing asked, "Bo Hu, what do you want to do?"

Tang Yin shook his head and said, "They have all been withdrawn. Let's talk about this later. The grassland is so vast. No matter how many spies the Tatars have, it is impossible for them to take care of all of our troops. How did they avoid fighting? It's unbelievable."

……

……

With great helplessness, Tang Yin withdrew his troops back to the south of the Yellow River, and then withdrew his troops back to Yansui.

The situations of the other groups were similar.

Zhu Fu led his troops to retreat quickly. He was not fast when advancing, but when retreating, traditional meritorious officials like him always emphasized efficiency.

There was not much movement from Zhu Feng's side, and Ma Zhongxi's Ningxia troops were the first to withdraw.

Zhang Rui and Ma Yi were originally advancing the fastest. After receiving the order to withdraw, they still wanted to struggle, but the result was not satisfactory. They had no choice but to withdraw, and their retreat direction was Huamachi.

Zhu Feng was the last to receive the news of the withdrawal, and the troops he led were not very efficient. Ma Yi, Zhang Rui, and Zhu Feng all wanted to find opportunities during the withdrawal to see if they could find a weakness in the Tatars' defenses and fight them head-on, even if they could use muskets and cavalry to fight the Tatars head-on, and they did not necessarily need to use heavy artillery.

Use some light artillery and muskets to gain an advantage on the field, or destroy a few Tatar tribal camps...

All are better choices.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they tried, they still could not find any trace of the Tatars.

"The Tartars... have learned their lesson."

When Ma Yi and Zhang Rui's troops were only 200 miles away from Huamachi, they had already exhausted all the methods they could use. They even deliberately left a trailing team behind to see whether the Tatars had sent out a large number of scouts to investigate.

Unfortunately, nothing was obtained.

At night that day, after the army had rested, Ma Yi went into Zhang Rui's tent specifically to complain to him.

Because after Ma Yi returns, he will work under Ma Zhongxi. If he returns empty-handed this time, he is afraid that Ma Zhongxi will settle old scores with him.

Zhang Rui said: "The Tatars hid their tracks on the grasslands, and it is indeed difficult for us to find them, but how did they know the route of our army's movement and the movements of our five armies? This is incredible. Could it be related to the tribesmen who defected to the Ming Dynasty before?"

Ma Yi shook his head and said, "It's impossible. Some tribes have submitted to us, but they have basically moved south. It's impossible for them to know our marching route. Every blade of grass and every tree on this grassland... Could it be that they are their eyes and ears?"

Zhang Rui said: "Initially, they set fire to hinder our march. Until now, I still don't understand where the Tatars are. I heard that even Xinjianbo's troops did not encounter the main force of the Tatars. It seems that... the Tatars are hiding and will not fight with us again for the time being."

Ma Yi said bitterly, "Let's set a few more fires before we leave to burn their pastures. If there is another chance, I will personally lead several thousand cavalrymen and go deep into the Tatars. I don't believe that the Tatars will be able to get wind of the situation in advance every time."

"That's good." Zhang Rui said, "Nowadays, when the Ming Dynasty sends out troops, it is always such a large-scale battle, and the Tatars will still be prepared. If we need to fight next time, we might as well advance with light troops. Only a few thousand soldiers will be enough. If we encounter the Tatars, we can fight them, and our advance and retreat will not be constrained by the overall march."

Ma Yi said, "I will go back and make a petition to the court, asking His Majesty and Duke Cai to grant me this authority. I will lead my troops into the grasslands immediately after the autumn harvest... and then... I hope you can help me, young master."

"It's natural."

Zhang Rui nodded.

But in fact, Zhang Rui’s ambition is not very high.

Because he learned during the withdrawal that his family seemed to be involved in a case in the capital, and the Duke of Ying's Mansion seemed to be in trouble.

……

……

In the capital, inside the Yanwu Hall.

A new session of the military commander class at the Yanwu Hall started. On the ninth day of September, the eunuch commander Liu Jin and the chief instructor Lu Wan met with many border army commanders and local commanders who came to Beijing for lectures and training.

After a simple opening ceremony, Liu Jin specially hosted a banquet for Lu Wan. Although in terms of official positions, Liu Jin and Lu Wan were not related at all, one worked in the imperial palace system and the other in the court, but because of the military and political system and the Yanwu Hall system, the two were connected together.

Even though Lu Wan was not very willing to interact with the eunuchs, he still came to the banquet as scheduled.

"Minister Lu, you should have heard about what happened in the northwest, right?" Liu Jin toasted Lu Wan at the table and mentioned the news he had heard. "The three armies went out to fight for more than two months, but in the end they returned empty-handed. The report said that the Tatars were unwilling to fight, but I think it was probably because the frontline soldiers did not command properly."

Lu Wan said nothing.

In the past, he looked down on people like Liu Jin, but now Liu Jin has military merits. In the previous battle of Huamachi, it can be said that Liu Jin has turned bad luck into good luck. Now that Liu Jin has returned to the capital, he is also considered a top figure in the military and political circles.

When the eunuch commanded the war, he achieved victory, although it was not considered a great victory in the end, or the main credit for the victory should be attributed to the reinforcements Ma Yi and Zhang Rui. At least Liu Jin brought down the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and he was regarded as a typical figure of "daring to do and dare to take responsibility" in the army.

Seeing that Lu Wan did not respond, Liu Jin continued to smile and said, "If I let you go, it shouldn't be like this, right?"

When Lu Wan heard this, he couldn't help but look up. He seemed to know what Liu Jin's intention was.

Weren't you the best candidate for the trilateral system before you landed?
In the end, the emperor chose the unknown Tang Yin. If Tang Yin had won the battle and returned triumphantly, then Tang Yin would naturally be successful and famous, and the emperor would have a keen eye.

But now...

It can be said that Tang Yin's military expedition was unsuccessful, so that's a different story. Don't you, Lu Wan, feel any regret about that?
If you were allowed to go, you should be able to do better than Tang Yin, right?
Lu Wan said, "I never think about things that haven't happened yet. For example, I'm not here for the three border military affairs, so I don't know the specific situation. If someone hears what Eunuch Liu said, it would be inappropriate."

Liu Jin smiled and said, "There are no outsiders here, so it's okay to speak out. From our perspective, Minister Lu is much more capable than Tang Yin. It's said that Tang Yin was promoted because of his relationship with Duke Cai. I didn't think so before, but this time it seems to be true."

"Eunuch Liu, that's not appropriate." Although Lu Wan agreed with Liu Jin's statement in his heart, he still had to deny it. "The candidates for the three-border generals were recommended by your majesty and your colleagues in the court. Duke Cai was not involved. Besides, Tang Yin had made meritorious contributions in Liaodong. He played a great role in the battles with the Jurchens and the Koreans. He was hired because he was valued for his ability."

"hehe."

Liu Jin was smiling but thinking in his heart, why is he still so hypocritical?
Everyone knows that you look down on Tang Yin, so I am saying what you want. Why are you still pretending in front of me?
Liu Jin said, "It's a pity that I didn't have the opportunity to speak to Duke Cai, and he didn't listen to me. If he had listened to me and recommended Minister Lu...how could His Majesty not listen?"

"Eunuch Liu, if you keep saying that, you won't have to attend the banquet." Lu Wan seemed angry and stood up to leave.

"Don't, don't."

Liu Jin said, "I have some things to tell you about the Yanwu Hall, Minister Lu. Why are you still angry? Let's sit down and talk."

Of course Lu Wan didn't really want to leave.

It was rare that there was someone in Zhang Zhou's camp who shared the same ideas as him and was not very satisfied with some of the arrangements made by Zhang Zhou and the emperor. The two of them could be said to be "suffering from the same disease".

Lu Wan seemed to be very clear that he must not offend the eunuch Liu in front of him, otherwise he would be deserted by everyone in front of Zhang Zhou's main lineage. If there were any major personnel arrangements and someone was needed to recommend him, wouldn't there be no one to help him?

Liu Jin said: "The Yanwu Hall and the Shangting Office are two offices that did not exist before. Now they say they are going to add a military advisory office. We don't know what the situation is yet, but it will be us. I would like to consult with Minister Lu more in the future... We can talk about it if we have something to say. In the future... you are also going to be a minister or a prime minister, so don't bother with us." (End of this chapter)