Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 91 The Temple Discussion

"General Rusong turned out to be worried about this matter. This time General Zu lost, the power of the Heavenly Soldiers was slightly frustrated, and naturally both the government and the public were talking. What General Zimao wants to think about now is not the discussion of the government and the public, but to calm down. Calm down and think about the deficiencies in your strategy to aid Korea. As long as our army is victorious in Korea, all these discussions will disappear. Sun Tzu's Art of War has it that the master cannot be angry and raise an army, and the general cannot be angry and go to war. The general can't let outsiders' comments disturb his mood," Zhang Xiao said.

"Rusong took note of Zhang Shidu's words. This time Zu Chengxun failed, I was really thinking a little too much and was worried about gains and losses," Li Rusong said.

"Rusong, you are the best student of my life, Xu. I have given you everything I have learned in my life, and you have learned it very well and used it very well. I also believe that you can be a good student in North Korea." The horse trampled the Japanese slaves and left a mark in history." Xu Wei said.

"Thank you, Master. When the students come back from North Korea, I will bring some fun things to the teacher." Li Rusong said.

"No need, I am so old that I have thought about everything and ignored everything. Rusong, if you can make meritorious service on the battlefield, it is already an honor to be a teacher." Xu Wei said.

"I have some gifts for General Zimao. I was originally going to visit Ning Yuanbo in person, but I didn't expect that General Zimao's invitation arrived first. Lu Zhang, bring the things up." Zhang Xiao ordered road.

After a while, several boxes were brought up.

"What are these objects?" Li Rusong asked curiously.

"Here are a globe, a few maps, and other items that are useful to the general. By the way, there are also a few tips here. Please accept them, General Li." Zhang Xiao said as he took out a few The tip bag was handed to Li Rusong.

"Thank you Zhang Shidu for the gift, but when will this bag of tips be opened?" Li Rusong asked.

"Open it when the general takes Pyongyang and is confused. In fact, I have already said everything I can say to the general, but the words in this bag are worthy of the general listening again." Zhang Xiao said.

……

In the imperial study, the emperor discussed military and state affairs with several important ministers. Several important ministers included all members of the cabinet, as well as six ministers.

"Right now, the war situation in Korea is extremely urgent, and armies from all over the country are also gathering one after another. I have summoned all the ministers today just to ask everyone what they think. It is no longer a question of whether to fight this time to aid Korea. The question is how to fight. Now you all Any difficulties in the matters being handled must be explained clearly word for word. After today, the plan to aid Korea will be finalized, and there will be no need to discuss it in memorials in the future," the emperor said.

"Your Majesty, there is not enough money in the Ministry of Household Affairs..." Yang Junmin, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, bravely spoke first.

"The missing parts will come from my inner treasury. We will wait until this battle is over before we can talk about anything else." The emperor said.

"Shuntian Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, Tianjin Wei and other places reported to the imperial court that reinforcements from all walks of life were gathering one after another. Many places were affected by disasters. They also asked the imperial court to allocate grain for disaster relief." Cabinet Minister Zhang Wei said.

"Accurate. But we must ensure that the capital still has enough food and fodder for the army to go out for the expedition," the emperor said. "Your Majesty, the reinforcements from various places are still on the way, and the armaments are still incomplete. Should we wait a little longer to gather 100,000 elite troops before going out for the expedition? After all, there are already more than 100,000 Japanese in Korea, so there is no way If possible, more troops will be added. Although our army's combat strength is high, the number is too small, so I'm afraid it may be a little out of our depth." Shi Xingqi, the Minister of War, said.

"Why don't I want to be more prepared before sending troops, but who made North Korea lose its capital so quickly? If we wait a few more months, I'm afraid the Japanese will cross the Yalu River and invade Liaodong. By then, this battle will It will be even more difficult to fight. Well, Shi Aiqing, you can think of a way, any way, to stop the Japanese attack." The emperor said.

"I obey." Shi Xing nodded bravely.

"Chief Minister, what do you want to say here? We have agreed that this court meeting will only discuss North Korean affairs, and there is no need to talk about other matters." The emperor said.

"Your Majesty, what the old minister said is also related to the Korean War. Your Majesty still wants to establish a prince as soon as possible. In this way, the government and the public will be stable, the three armies will be invigorated, and the barbarians will obey. This is a matter of national importance." Wang Jiaping said.

"Chief Minister, we agreed that today we will only discuss matters concerning Korea. I don't want the emperor to go on a personal expedition, and I don't need the prince to stay behind. I have said this many times, but I am not old, not to mention that all my disciples are still young. This matter is not allowed to be discussed again." The emperor replied unhappily.

"I obey the order," Wang Jiaping's chief assistant said.

"Wang Cifu, do you have anything to say?" The emperor looked at Wang Xijue.

"Now that most of Korea has fallen, the Japanese are advancing by land and water, threatening Liaodong from the road, as well as Zhili, Shandong and other coastal areas. Now that soldiers from Zhili and Shandong are gathering in the capital and Tianjin, is the seaside too empty? Yes." Wang Xijue said.

"Now the main forces of the Japanese navy and land are in North Korea, and the Japanese navy does not have many large ships. It should not be able to send a large army to harass our coastal areas of the Ming Dynasty. However, I have also ordered the coastal guards to strengthen their vigilance. I have basically not mobilized the troops along the coast. Yes. If the Japanese really dare to lead a large army to land on our coast of the Ming Dynasty, there will be no problem for the coastal guard to protect itself. The southern navy is also gathering north now. It will be better when the southern navy arrives." The emperor said.

"Your Majesty, I think it's okay to send out troops now. Isn't it too eager to enter the court? After the army arrives in Liaodong, we will use heavy troops to suppress it, and then send people who can speak eloquently to the Japanese army camp to speak out, then the Japanese will be intimidated by our court. If the army is powerful, it will naturally be withdrawn. If the army goes deep, the northern part of North Korea is mountainous and the transportation losses will be too great. If the supplies cannot keep up, it will be very dangerous for our army to find enough food and grass on the front line. And Li Rusong is appointed as a general. , should we discuss it again? After all, Li Rusong has never commanded so many troops before, and the troops come from different regions. It is better to choose another veteran with great military achievements as the main general, and Li Rusong can be the deputy." Cabinet Minister Zhao Zhigao said.

"Zhao Aiqing's words are also prudent. It's just that the Japanese are ambitious and our army has been defeated again. I'm afraid the Japanese are also very arrogant now. If they don't fight a head-on battle with the Japanese, I'm afraid they won't retreat. As for choosing a veteran general as a Commander, you all know who the veteran general is most capable of fighting now. If you choose the veteran general but not him, it is really unjustifiable. But if I really choose Ning Yuanbo’s general, if nothing else, father and son will lead the army, you I won’t even agree to it,” the emperor said.

"I have not thought carefully, so please forgive me, Your Majesty." Zhao Zhigao said.

"Then it's settled. There will be an auspicious day in a few days, and I will work with you all to complete the ceremony of sending generals. The war is urgent and cannot be delayed any longer." The emperor said.

(End of this chapter)