eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 655 Is it empty to open up new territories?

When Wang Bing and Yang Tinghe hurried to the courtyard where the emperor lived, Gu Zuo, Gu Renyi, Jin Gui and other officials had already arrived.

You Zhi took two quick steps to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the two elders are here."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand and asked him to stand aside. After the two men saluted him, he first asked: "How are things going over there?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The old minister has carefully explained Song Heng. I will give you a satisfactory explanation in two days."

"Give a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Now that everyone is here, let's begin. Yang Shen, read the urgent report from the Ministry of War to everyone."

"Yes."

Yang Shen is still young and stands behind Jin Gui. As long as he is not mentioned, he will not make a sound.

"... I, the Commander-in-Chief of Gansu and Jinglubo Zhou Shangwen, knelt down and told the Holy Father: In February of the 2000th year of Zhengde, Ling Weifeng, the commander of the Hami Guards, reported that King Zhongshun of Hami had a secret meeting with the Turfan envoys after paying homage to him. The two sides conspired in the house and colluded with each other. Although the surface is calm, there are actually undercurrents. At the end of February, [-] cavalrymen from the Turpan Khanate arrived in Hami to build momentum for them. Our soldiers scolded them and refused to retreat, which showed that they harbored evil intentions and had evil plans. In early March, Baiya That is to say, they colluded with Tuguo and used soldiers to disguise themselves as bandits in order to pick him up and escape. The two sides had fought in close combat. The Hami Guards killed more than fifty people from the enemy and suffered more than ten casualties on their own side.

King Baiya of Hami is cunning in nature and well versed in conspiracy. He uses words to confuse people's hearts and behaves like a snake or scorpion. When his deeds are exposed, he denies it. He has received great kindness from the world but does not know how to repay it. Instead, he protects the envoys of the Turpan Khanate in Hami everywhere.I bear in mind His Majesty's Holy Instructions that no one can take an inch of the ancestral land.Nowadays, the traitors inside and outside are acting more and more rampantly, and the army has reached the city. This is tolerable, but what is unbearable?This old minister respectfully invites the Holy One, upholds the great righteousness, and allows the minister to send troops to conquer, exterminate the traitors, and take back his homeland.The officers and men of our army will also fight bravely to kill the enemy and fight to the death! "

Zhu Houzhao looked calm, but in fact the fire in his heart was even greater than the previous days.

"After something like this happened, there will probably be military reports later, but this memorandum forwarded by the Ministry of War is basically enough for us monarchs and ministers to have an overview. I am indeed on a patrol, but we cannot delay such important military matters. Today's call is You all are here to make a decision. Just now, Yang Yongxiu read very clearly that there were more than ten casualties in our Ming Dynasty..."

The emperor's eyes flashed across their faces, "Kill my soldiers, you don't take the Ming army seriously."

"I think!" Wang Bing suddenly said, "The imperial court should agree to Jinglubo's request and support him to lead his troops out of the Hexi Corridor, recapture Hami, and frighten Turpan!"

Zhu Houzhao laughed.

The ministers of the Ming Dynasty, after his unremitting "reform" over the years, finally no longer had any trouble with him on this matter.

In fact, Wang Bing thought very clearly. Yang Yiqing and Wang Hao even agreed to the emperor's personal expedition. He expressed his support for Zhou Shangwen to send troops here. What's the problem with this?
"Okay." The emperor laughed, "Then the tone of this decree is set. Send troops?"

"Send troops!" Wang Bing bowed and saluted.

"What about the rest?"

The other civil servants also stood up, "I also agree that Jinglubo should be sent to send troops!"

Jin Gui added, "Wei Chen remembers that there were more than [-] shi of grain in Gansu town last year, which was enough for emergency military rations. However, I think that the governor of Shaanxi should be ordered to allocate the grain stocks in Ningxia and other places to Jinglubo. Military grain and grass, The more the better. And the required amount of silver can also be temporarily transferred from the Shaanxi treasury, and then the court can make up for it afterwards."

This is a specific strategy.But there is still a problem that needs to be solved before that.

"In the ten years I have been in the country, I have rarely discussed such an issue with you dear friends. Today, I have to discuss it. I agree with what Jin Gui just said. It should be like this when the war begins. However, I also want to ask you to think about a question... How are you going to fight this battle?
Should we drive out the invading enemies from Hami, punish Baiya, and depose King Zhongshun, or should we allow Zhou Shangwen to continue heading west?Going to attack Turpan again?If Turpan is conquered, how will the court govern it? "

In other words, is this a simple defensive operation, or is it an excuse to march forward and truly expand the border. "If you don't take what God has given you, you will suffer the consequences." Wang Bing simply refused to do anything and said, "I believe that the strategy decided by the imperial court should not stop at Hami, but should agree with Jinglubo to continue to expand territory to the west. There are two reasons. There are several reasons. First, the Turpan Kingdom invaded us before the Ming Dynasty. He was unkind, so how can we blame me for being unjust? Second, the imperial court limited the stop line, which made it difficult for the officers and soldiers to fully display their capabilities. How can such self-constraining practices be allowed? ?”

"If that's the case..." Gu Zuo interjected, "then it could be a battle to destroy the country. Don't worry about victory, think about defeat first. What if Jinglubo fails to march effectively? Will he do it reluctantly?"

"You can make Jinglubo act more conveniently." Gu Renyi suggested: "I think what Jin's servant just said is right. Although there is emergency food and grass in Gansu town, once the war starts, it will be out of control. Therefore, the imperial court should go to the northwest from today Allocate military supplies to prepare for emergencies. As long as the imperial court continues to supply military supplies, let Jinglubo flexibly adjust according to the battlefield..."

Zhu Houzhao took over the conversation, his eyes flashing, "We will capture as many as we can. As for after we capture them..."

Wang Bing kowtowed, "What's so difficult about governance? When the time comes, I'm willing to guard the border for Your Majesty!"

"it is good!"

When he said this, Zhu Houzhao didn't hesitate to praise him, and there was appreciation in his eyes.

Wang Bing is indeed behind Yang Yiqing and Wang Hao, but he has not fallen off after all these years. Apart from being a bit slippery, he has still grasped some key things.Otherwise, how can it stand?

In the middle of the discussion, new news came from outside.

No one dared to delay such matters and delivered them to the emperor in the room as soon as possible.

Zhu Houzhao took a look and suddenly smiled, "Although we were all surprised by this important military intelligence report today, and it is not a happy event, I am still very happy. Because my four cabinet ministers and bachelors They all have the same opinion.”

He shook the thing in his hand and said, "Yang Yiqing also said two words, send troops! Wang Bing, Yang Tinghe, I don't remember the last time the four of you made up your mind at the same time."

"The king and his ministers are of one mind, as are the imperial court and the border towns. I dare to say that our Ming Dynasty will definitely be able to defeat the enemy in this battle and enhance the country's prestige!" Wang Bingxian flattered him.

"Okay!" Zhu Houzhao also felt a lot of pride. He wandered around twice and sorted out his thoughts. "In accordance with my decree, I will appoint Jing Lupp Zhou Shangwen as the commander-in-chief of the army. He will be awarded the title of General of the Western Expedition and the title of Minister of the Ministry of War." , led 5000 Gansu infantry and elite cavalry to defeat the disloyal ministers of Hami.

What I want to emphasize in particular is that this is a war between countries, not to suppress bandits or to quell chaos. Once the war starts, from me on down, everyone should prioritize defeating the enemy. No matter who it is, anyone whose behavior is not conducive to the If you fight, I will do double the crime! !

Furthermore, at the request of Jin Gui and Gu Renyi, although several towns near Gansu have not sent troops, they are all Ming armies and should provide full support. Whether it is food, weapons, medicines, horses or even clothing, they must be provided according to the requirements of the Gansu army. Required supplies.

Finally, all frontier army towns and guards in the Beijing camp outside Gansu town must strengthen their vigilance and training from now on. "

There is no need to say the last half sentence. Everyone knows that this is the style of Emperor Zhengde. Although the probability of Zhou Shangwen's failure is low, it is difficult to say about war. The reason why other soldiers and horses should be prepared at this time is He said that if the war went unfavorably, he should be able to pick it up immediately.

Everything was as Wang Bing expected.From the fifth year of Zhengde to the tenth year of Zhengde, the emperor was preparing step by step to deal with the situation in the northwest.Now that the time has come, even during the southern tour, it will not change the emperor's determination.

The dispatch of troops in the tenth year of Zhengde was much smoother than that in the early years of Zhengde.

Despite this, Gu Zuo still suggested, "Your Majesty, if the war breaks out, should the imperial commander return to the capital first to stabilize the morale of the army and the people?"

"I asked other border towns to prepare. This is called complete preparation, but the southern tour will not stop. This is confidence in victory. Returning to Beijing in a hurry at this time seems to have caught the imperial court unprepared."

Zhu Houzhao sat upright in the main seat above and said in a deep voice: "After exiting this door, all of you must tell outsiders that the imperial court has already prepared for the use of troops in the northwest, and the Hami incident is also under control. Emperor Zhengde said it himself. Opening up new territory and expanding territory are not empty words!”

(End of this chapter)