"You are crazy, that is the Supreme Emperor!"
On the high city wall, Ren Li and Wang Wen stood opposite each other, neither of them willing to give in.
Under the city wall, the loud and clear horns were blasting continuously, and the torrent-like army continued to approach. From a distance, the vanguard could be vaguely seen.
"Fifteen hundred steps!"
The high-pitched voice of the messenger sounded, one after another, resounding throughout the entire city wall of Zijingguan.
A "creeping" sound sounded.
At the city gate, the wide noose was turned, and the heavy gate was slowly lowered.
Behind the city gate, a cavalry team of three thousand people was ready to go.
Looking at the Wala army getting closer and closer, Wang Wen's face completely darkened and he said coldly.
"Commander Ren, I'll say it again, that's not the Supreme Emperor, that's just a suspicious soldier who was also exposed earlier. He couldn't really have escorted the Supreme Emperor into battle!"
However, Ren Li refused to give in even an inch, Tao.
"This is just a possibility. If you go crazy first, neither you nor I can afford the price."
"That can't be!"
Wang Wen finished his sentence, bypassed Ren Li, and said to the bewildered general on the side.
"As the Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs of Zijingguan, I order you to go immediately and prepare artillery and crossbowmen. When the bandits cross a thousand steps, fire the cannon immediately."
"Don't go!"
Ren Li also became fierce and directly stretched out his hand to block the general who was about to accept his order, saying.
"I am the chief military officer appointed by the imperial court. No one is allowed to mobilize any soldiers without my order."
After saying that, Ren Li turned around, stared at Wang Wen with a cold expression, and said.
"Sir Wang, according to the rules, when the army goes out for battle, the admiral only has the power to supervise and make suggestions. Although the general should discuss the strategic direction with you, you do not have the right to mobilize troops. Is it possible that you want to go beyond the rules now?"
The military system of the Ming Dynasty was different from that of the Tang and Song Dynasties. Emperor Taizu abolished Zhongshu and dismissed the prime minister, which affected not only civil servants, but also military generals.
According to the system, when a large army goes out for an expedition, the chief military officer is responsible for dispatching troops and generals, the admiral is responsible for the military administration of the army, and there are also middle officers to supervise the army.
Although they were guarding Zijingguan this time, the imperial court followed the specifications for an army expedition.
To put it bluntly, in this system, the commander-in-chief is responsible for leading troops in battle, while the admiral is responsible for logistics and general direction control.
Of course, if that's all, the admiral is just a logistics officer. The so-called grasp of the general direction is basically useless when encountering a strong military commander.
The real role of the admiral is to control the general military officers on behalf of the imperial court and prevent them from buying people's hearts without authorization, supporting the troops' self-esteem, and taking the opportunity to cause chaos.
But similarly, if the commander-in-chief is making necessary strategic arrangements, then the admiral does not have the power to directly give orders to the army.
Of course, this was before Chenghua. After Chenghua, the civil servants became more powerful, and the admirals gradually became the real controllers of the army, taking away the power to command the army from the commander-in-chief.
But at least for now, the power of the commander-in-chief is still slightly greater than that of the admiral.
Although nominally speaking, the determination of strategy requires discussion and decision-making between the commander-in-chief and the admiral.
However, the power to mobilize troops lies in Ren Li's hands. If he insists on having his own way, theoretically speaking, Wang Wen can't do anything to him on the spot. At most, he can only impeach him afterwards.
As soon as Ren Li said this, he basically turned the tables on Wang Wen completely.
The two bosses refused to give in to the other, and the two generals who were suffering were pitiful and didn't know whether to stay or leave.
"Three hundred steps!"
The voice of the messenger sounded again. Wang Wen took a deep breath, his face suddenly calmed down, and he nodded.
"General Ren is right. As an admiral, I should not directly intervene in the deployment and deployment of soldiers, but..."
At this point, Wang Wen's expression also became cold and hard.
Since the other party has already turned against him, there is no need for him to negotiate any further.
Taking a step back, Wang Wen raised his hand and turned out a round token and said loudly.
"Please order the flag from the king!"
So the tall soldier who stood silently behind Wang Wen, carrying a small bundle on his back, immediately stood in awe, took the bundle on his back, and respectfully held out a small mahogany box.
Raising his hand to open the box, the soldier took out a blue silk flag from the box, with numerous dark patterns all over it, and a large "order" character embroidered with gold thread in the middle.
The flag is not big, no more than four feet long and two feet wide.
It was held in the hands of the tall flag official, fluttering in the cold wind.
As the command flag was taken out of the box, the surrounding generals, officers and soldiers, after a brief moment of astonishment, all bowed down and said:
"The general will be waiting to greet you!"
The king ordered the flag, as if he were coming in person!
Ren Li stood there with a livid face. The reason why he did not kneel was because he also had such a flag in his hand.
But as soon as the flag in Wang Wen's hand came out, he knew that he couldn't stop him today.
He didn't know why Wang Wen had a troop mobilization flag in his hand that shouldn't have been there.
But there is no doubt that.
No matter where it comes from, holding this command flag gives Wang Wen the power to mobilize the army.
If you add the token in his hand and the flag becomes one, then even he, the commander-in-chief, must obey orders.
Wang Wen shook his head, walked directly past Ren Li, and gave instructions to the general below.
"According to what our official said, prepare artillery and crossbows immediately and be ready to attack at any time!"
For generals above the rank of general, one of the compulsory courses is to identify the royal flag.
With Wang Wen's command flag in hand, the group of generals immediately stopped hesitating, bowed their hands in a military salute, and then went down separately, ready to go.
Ren Li looked gloomy, looked at Wang Wen, and said coldly.
"Aren't you afraid that the court will blame you if you do this?"
Wang Wen's face was calm: "I said, that's not the Supreme Emperor. If he's not, why should the court blame him?"
For such a person who only believed in himself, Ren Li didn't bother to argue with him and sneered.
"If I remember correctly, you went directly to Zijingguan from Liaodong, right? After this battle, I will definitely impeach you for the crime of trespassing by using flags indiscriminately."
After leaving such meaningless words, Ren Li turned around and went to the city wall to direct the battle.
Wang Wen remained calm in response to Ren Li's threats.
"Ren, General Soldier, don't worry. After this battle, I will also impeach you for shrinking back and being coerced by the captors and not daring to send troops."
Looking at Ren Li's retreating figure, Wang Wen breathed a sigh of relief.
He waved his hand and signaled the flag officer behind him to put away the flag. He turned around and looked at the battle situation in the distance, his heart filled with worry.
Ren Li was right, he was the one who overstepped his bounds!
This does not mean that he uses the flag to command the army, but that at this moment, he does not have the power to use the flag at all.
The royal flag has always been used for one purpose and returned as soon as it is used up.
The king's order flag in his hand was awarded when he was sent as an envoy to Liaodong. At the same time, he was also awarded the admiral Xuanfu and the military affairs of Liaodong.
Logically speaking, this matter was over after he went on the mission, and the flag should be returned to the Ministry of War immediately.
So this time, it was indeed him who overstepped his bounds.
However, with the flag in his hand, Ren Li could not prove to the generals below what the imperial court ordered him to do, so he had to obey the order.
But after this incident, it will inevitably cause a storm in the DPRK.
But now, he can no longer care...
Wala's army had already passed a thousand steps, and the heavy gate in front of Zijin Pass was completely lowered.
Countless cavalry swarmed out from the city gate, accompanied by several cannonballs fired from the city wall.
If a thousand steps is too far, you can only use artillery. And because the artillery is too heavy, it is set up in advance and can be activated very quickly.
Wang Wen watched as a cannonball landed squarely on the bright yellow carriage. The air flow caused by the explosion directly overturned the carriage, falling to the ground and falling apart.
Less than a thousand steps away, one could clearly see that a man in a bright yellow robe was blown out of the carriage.
However, the Ora soldiers around them just retreated on their own and made no attempt to rescue the carriage.
So, Wang Wen stood on the high city wall, with a trace of imperceptible disappointment and relief flashing in his eyes.
Sure enough, the emperor in the carriage is fake!
This chapter has been completed!