Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 175 After the matter is accomplished, I will be the Duke and you will be the Grand Tutor!

Yu Shen nodded solemnly: "Yes, Prime Minister Xu."

"I have just passed on the news that His Majesty will lead the army in person to General Yang Tong."

"I believe General Yang Tong will know what to do after receiving the news."

Yu Shen felt no better than the two senior officials. He was equally afraid that Zhu Youtang would lead the army in person, and equally unwilling to let Zhu Youtang leave the capital.

But the joys and sorrows of the world are not the same. Xu Pu, Liu Daxia, Yu Shen and others were anxious and angry, while Wang Shu, Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and others were relatively stable.

This matter has little to do with them. Although it would be best if Your Majesty does not lead the army in person, it is okay for him to inspect the border towns.

Anyway, when the matter is settled later, it won’t be blamed on them.

But Xu Pu didn't think so. After giving instructions to Yu Shen, he turned to look at Wang Shu.

"Minister Wang, your majesty is personally leading the expedition this time, and since it involves Minister Liu and me, it is not convenient for us to come forward."

"How about you take the lead and join other ministers in writing a petition to persuade His Majesty to give up the idea of ​​leading the army in person?"

Wang Shu wanted to laugh when he heard this. His Majesty hasn't even let me join the cabinet, so how could he listen to what I say?
But he really couldn't refuse Xu Pu's request.

Not to mention that they are now serving in the same dynasty, even when Wang Shu was an official in Yingtian Prefecture, Nanzhili for a long time, he had received a lot of care from the officials in Jiangnan.

This favor must be repaid.

Wang Shu hesitated for a moment and said, "That's fine, but even if we sign a petition together, I'm afraid it won't have any effect."

Xu Pu sighed: "It's already this time. No matter if it works or not, we have to try everything."

Wang Shu said no more, just nodded silently.

The officials discussed the issue for a long time that evening.

There is only one goal, which is to do everything possible to stop Zhu Youtang from leading the army in person.

In the entire capital, there was not a single civil servant who wanted Zhu Youtang to leave the capital, including Yu Shen.

The next day.

When Zhu Youtang woke up, the palace had already prepared everything he needed for the imperial expedition.

A complete set of office supplies including seals, red pens, emperor's sword, emperor's ceremonial guards, etc.

After Zhu Youtang put on his military uniform and brought one hundred eunuchs from the Twelve Prisons with him from the Forbidden City, he prepared to set off from the Meridian Gate.

When Zhu Youtang arrived at the Meridian Gate, all the civil and military officials of the court had already gathered in the Meridian Gate Square.

The officials whose names were called by Zhu Youtang yesterday all quietly prepared their luggage and waited to set off.

Xu Pu and Liu Daxia were also among the officials, silently praying for a miracle to happen.

Just as Zhu Youtang was scanning the officials, the Minister of Personnel Wang Shu suddenly stepped out and presented a joint petition to Zhu Youtang.

"Your Majesty, the emperor's body is worth a million gold, and the battlefield is a dangerous place!"

"The enemy has its own Ming generals to relieve your worries. Your Majesty, there is really no need to put yourself in danger!"

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Wang Shu was the first to kneel down, followed by hundreds of officials who knelt down together and made requests at the same time.

"Your Majesty, please think twice!"

Those officials who had been named by Zhu Youtang to accompany the expedition were naturally embarrassed to participate in such a petition.

These civil servants who made the request were all officials who jointly wrote the letter with Wang Shu.

This is enough to show that, regardless of whether the civil officials had selfish motives or not, they really did not like Zhu Youtang to lead the army in person.

But Zhu Youtang had no intention of accepting the memorial from Wang Shu.

He did not respond to Wang Shu's words at all, leaving the officials where they were, and instead asked Qiu Jun, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Qiu Jun, are all the food and fodder ready for me to go on the expedition?"

When Qiu Jun heard Zhu Youtang's question, he immediately stepped out and bowed in response.

"Your Majesty, I have already mobilized 20,000 donkeys, 200,000 farmers, and 50,000 shi of grain, fodder, weapons, and supplies. We have assembled them outside the city."

Because it was a temporary expedition, the team had no prior supplies and no logistics.

The food and supplies for these more than 60,000 people depend entirely on these 200,000 farmers.

On average, every three logistics personnel are responsible for the supply of one main combat soldier.

This supply intensity is already very high.

"good!"

Zhu Youtang estimated that the expedition would take less than ten days, so the food and fodder he brought was more than enough.

Just when Zhu Youtang was about to announce the dispatch of troops, suddenly another urgent military report came rushing over from 800 miles away, entered the Duanmen Gate, and came in front of Zhu Youtang.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty! An urgent report from Xuanfu, eight hundred miles away!"

The captain in charge of delivering the letter dismounted from his horse, knelt in front of Zhu Youtang, panting heavily, and reported loudly.

Zhu Youtang had no expression on his face, he just narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Read!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The captain took out the secret letter, opened it on the spot, and then read it aloud.

"The war situation is critical. The Oirat invaded Datong and Xuanfu on a large scale!"

"Datong General Liu Ning was killed in battle, Xuanfu is in danger!"

It is unknown how many people from the Oirat invaded.

Liu Ning was killed in battle, and there was no specific data on the number of soldiers killed.

But these two pieces of news without any context made the civil servants present very happy.

Some civil servants who were not good at cultivating their qi actually smiled happily on the spot, but secretly lowered their heads to hide their smiles.

The great defeat of Datong and Xuanfu came at the perfect time!

Liu Ning, the general commander of Datong, was killed in battle and Xuanfu was in a state of emergency. This meant that the situation on the front line was tense and the war was fierce. The army of Wala could break into the pass at any time.

By then, the area within the Great Wall will be extremely dangerous.

At this time, Zhu Youtang wanted to lead the army in person. Wasn't this just walking into the sword of the Wala army? Therefore, the civil and military officials took this as an excuse to launch another large-scale exhortation.

"Your Majesty! The general of Datong was killed in battle, Xuanfu is in danger, the situation is serious, you must not lead the army in person again!"

"Your Majesty, the battle on the front line is extremely dangerous. For the sake of your own health and the country, please withdraw your order and cancel the expedition!"

"Your Majesty, please withdraw your order and cancel the expedition!"

"Your Majesty, please withdraw your order and cancel the expedition!"

"..."

Led by Xu Pu and Liu Daxia, all the civil and military officials knelt before Zhu Youtang and urged him not to lead the army in person.

Xu Pu was secretly relieved in his heart. It seemed that Yang Tong, the general commander of Xuanfu, did have some skills.

Just last night I asked him to think of a way to stop Zhu Youtang from going to the war, and this morning he received such a big gift.

Just based on this piece of news, those timid emperors would never dare to mention leading the army in person again.

But Zhu Youtang just laughed coldly: "Xuanfu is in urgent need of help, so I must lead the army to help and repel the Wala army."

"Otherwise, wouldn't it be unworthy of the throne of the emperor?!"

"Everyone, get up and go to war immediately!"

Zhu Youtang knew that the so-called Datong general had died in battle and Xuanfu was in danger, which was a trick created by the generals in the border towns to scare him.

The purpose was to stop Zhu Youtang from going on the expedition.

The more the border generals acted like this, the more Zhu Youtang wanted to go to the border towns himself to see how corrupt the current situation in the border towns was.

Zhu Youtang has made up his mind and will never change it!

"Wang Zhi!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

Wang Zhi took a step forward and clasped his hands together.

"You are the Western Factory's supervisors. Anyone who goes out to fight, escapes, falls behind, or dawdles will be executed immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang Zhi bowed and accepted the order. With a wave of his hand, the five thousand Western Factory guards stationed on all sides immediately surrounded him and drew their swords.

When the civil and military officials who were named to go to the war saw that the Western Factory soldiers had drawn their swords, their faces turned pale.

They didn't dare to say any more and quickly got up and prepared to leave.

Zhu Youtang turned his head and looked behind him, and saw Zhu Youluo, who looked confused: "Royal brother, after I leave, the capital will be handed over to you."

"If you don't understand something, ask Fu Dahai."

Fu Dahai stood beside Zhu Youtang and bowed respectfully to him: "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will do my best to assist His Royal Highness Prince Xing."

It is said to be assistance, but in fact it is a form of surveillance.

It is impossible for Zhu Youtang to allow Prince Xing Zhu Youlang to take power.

Zhu Youqiu also hurriedly saluted: "Don't worry, my royal brother, I will protect the capital."

"My brother is away at war, so there is no need to worry about the capital."

Zhu Youtang nodded, then mounted his imperial horse and drew the emperor's sword: "Follow me to the battle!"

"Boom boom boom!"

There were bursts of drum beats at the Meridian Gate.

Zhu Youtang brought out the emperor's ceremonial guard, with the Jinyiwei and Western Factory guards beside him. Wang Zhi and Mou Bin were also listed as attendants.

Zhu Youtang sat on his horse and walked out of the city.

Officials such as Xu Pu and Liu Daxia looked pale, walked with difficulty, and followed behind him very reluctantly.

Officials such as Yu Shen, Wang Shu, and Li Dongyang watched the army go away with complicated expressions, feeling a sense of emotion in their hearts.

After the expeditionary army left the capital, the roads were lined with the people of the capital.

When they heard that the Ming Emperor was going to lead the army in person again, they came out spontaneously to see Zhu Youtang off.

Many of them had been waiting on both sides of the road since midnight.

When the people on both sides of the road saw Zhu Youtang's imperial procession, they began to cheer excitedly.

When they saw Zhu Youtang himself, wearing a bright yellow military uniform with dragon patterns and riding an imperial horse, they were so excited that they all knelt down before him.

"I, a humble commoner, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty, lead the army in person to protect the land of Ming! Protect the people of Ming! Enhance the prestige of Ming!"

Zhu Youtang looked at the people around him with a smile and nodded.

Soon, Zhu Youtang walked through the crowd that was seeing him off and arrived outside the capital.

Gao Shun, with his 50,000-man black-armored troops, was already waiting outside the city.

"General Gao Shun respectfully welcomes Your Majesty!"

"Get up, join the team and send troops."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

At Gao Shun's command, the 50,000-man Xianzhen Camp immediately surrounded Zhu Youtang and the group of civil servants and marched towards Xuanfu together.

Behind this group of people, there were 200,000 farmers and 20,000 donkey carts following silently.

……

Yu family residence.

Yu Shen walked back and forth anxiously in the courtyard. After waiting for a long time, he finally received a secret letter from Xuanfu.

After Yu Shen unfolded it, he was immediately shocked.

There was only one line of words written on the secret letter.

"If Your Majesty insists on going his own way and attempts to lead the army in person, I will follow the example of Tumubao!"

"After this is accomplished, I will be the Duke and you will be the Junior Guardian!"

(End of this chapter)