Yu Qian's words caused all the officials in the palace to fall into silence.
Although everyone already knew the general outline of the matter before Zhu Qiyu arrived, it was still shocking to hear it again now.
That’s an army of half a million people!
Even excluding the conscripted civilian laborers and logistical personnel, there are still nearly 200,000 officers and soldiers who are simply capable of fighting.
Even then, there were no more than 100,000 people. The Ming Dynasty used an army three times that of the enemy. How could it be defeated?
Moreover, not only was he defeated, but the emperor who led the expedition himself was kidnapped. This was more than just a loss of troops and humiliation of the country.
Throughout China’s thousands of years of history, only during the Jingkang period did such a thing happen!
But the matter has come to this, and no matter how painful it is, we have to face it with all our strength.
There is another meaning in what Yu Qian just said.
Such a battle with heavy casualties would inevitably alert surrounding military towns to investigate, and Juyongguan was just the first one.
Next, detailed military reports from Xuanfu, Datong, Shanxi, Zijing and other places will inevitably arrive in the capital one after another.
This matter cannot be hidden!
Seeing that no one was speaking, Empress Dowager Sun said: "All of you ministers and servants are the bones of the country. Before the emperor's personal expedition, he entrusted the affairs of the country to you. Now that such a big change has occurred, a woman from the Ai family who lives in the palace is in panic.
It's up to you all to plan and discuss, what should we do in the current situation?"
After a brief pause, seeing that the ministers were still pondering, Empress Dowager Sun continued: "If the situation is so critical, it is a pity for you to remain silent. This is not a court meeting. If you have something to think about, you can say it. No matter what is right or wrong, we are all loyal to the country.
If there is anything wrong, it is not a sin for my family to forgive you."
The Queen Mother has said so much, it would be inappropriate to say nothing more.
However, in fact, Empress Dowager Sun's worries were unnecessary. Everyone present was an important minister of the Six Ministries, and the least helpful ones were those who were close to the emperor or those who guarded the capital.
Now that the emperor is hunting in the north, they are the tallest people in the capital.
In other words, if the sky falls and hits them on the head, how can they remain silent?
This news was so shocking that all the old men were immediately confused.
Fortunately, Zhu Qiyu entered the palace and made such a fuss, finally giving them some time to accept it, and now they had some ideas in mind.
Wang, the official secretary of the Ministry of Personnel, stood up straight and said: "The Queen Mother, the details of this matter are not clear yet, but the general situation is obvious. In my opinion, the injured will be compensated, the crime will be convicted and other matters can be postponed."
"There are three urgent tasks: First, inquire about the detailed situation, and order the generals guarding the passes of the nearby guard posts to submit detailed military reports as soon as possible, gather the remaining troops on the spot, and escort those who are lucky enough to survive with the accompanying ministers to escort them back to Beijing as soon as possible, and then
Practice and discussion."
"Secondly, we ordered the generals guarding the passes to explore the place where His Majesty fell and wait for an opportunity to welcome him back. At the same time, we sent envoys to Wala to find out the situation."
"Thirdly, since the bandits have won a great victory, they will take advantage of the victory to advance. The defense of the capital and border towns is a top priority and needs to be discussed again and arranged in detail."
Unlike the following generations, although there was a cabinet at this time, it was only for consultation, and the personnel and positions had not yet been customized.
Although the bill has been drafted, this power has not yet fully formed a system.
Relying on Sanyang's legacy, the cabinet's status in the court has been slightly improved, but it still has no sense of existence. It can be regarded as the lowest power of the Ming generation.
Since Taizu dismissed Zhongshu Province, the six ministers have been the most powerful people in the previous dynasty. The official department is the head of the six ministers. The minister is called Otsuka Prime Minister, and he is the well-deserved head of the hundred officials today.
Therefore, Mr. Wang set the tone for today's discussion as soon as he opened his mouth.
Once the tone is set, discussions can begin.
Naturally, the three top priorities proposed by Mr. Wang have different tone and intensity.
The first one is the simplest and easiest to implement, and it is what it should be. Therefore, what Mr. Wang proposed is a detailed method, and there is nothing to discuss.
This matter is under the control of the Ministry of War. At this moment, Qian is in charge of all affairs of the Ministry of War, so Yu Shilang stood up and said.
"What Otsuka Zai said is true. After the official left the palace, he immediately sent orders to the border towns to gather the remaining troops, immediately submitted detailed military reports, and escorted the surviving ministers back to the capital."
The second item that follows is more difficult to handle.
Mr. Wang said it very euphemistically, but in fact the meaning was very simple: to discuss how to rescue the emperor.
However, everyone present is an experienced person who seeks the country, so they naturally know how difficult this matter is.
If the military report brought by Liang Gui is true, then he must have confirmed who he has captured by letting Yuan Bin, the imperial guard who has been detained, come to deliver the message.
If you think about it from another perspective, if your side captures the enemy's commander-in-chief, and he is the emperor himself, he must be closely guarded, placed within the Chinese army, and tightly defended.
It must be extremely difficult to save people!
After a moment of silence, Chen Xun, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, stepped forward and said: "Empress Dowager, I think that since the emperor has sent someone to summon you, you might as well grant it for the time being. Our ancestors, Emperor Taizong, were very powerful in Mobei, and Wala is still afraid of me, the Ming Dynasty.
, or you can send envoys with gold, silver, jade and silk to welcome His Majesty back."
As soon as these words came out, all the ministers sighed secretly.
If you say this, Chen Xun himself may not believe it!
It is true that Taizu and Taizong were powerful in Mobei, but that was more than twenty years ago.
After Renzong and Xuanzong succeeded to the throne, they both focused on internal affairs. Although they still had a lingering threat to the northern barbarians, as early as the time of the previous emperor, there were often border troubles on the border, but they were not serious.
After Jianzuo ascended the throne, because the emperor was young and weak, the main political affairs in the DPRK were to be gentle, and he could not afford to provoke provocations on the side, which further emboldened the captives.
What's more, in more than 20 years, the Ming Dynasty has had three generations of emperors, and the same is naturally true for the Oara, Tatar and other tribes.
The old generation of captive chiefs who had witnessed Taizong's military power gradually withered away. The new generation of captive chiefs, because of the Ming Dynasty's repeated forbearance, acted wantonly.
If it was so easy to welcome back the emperor, then how could we dare to raise hundreds of thousands of troops and start a dispute?
However, all the ministers also knew that this was the only method with a slightly higher probability of success at the moment. It would be even more difficult to rely on the side generals to look for opportunities to rescue them.
So I had no choice but to agree.
"This is a mature plan, sure!"
Empress Dowager Sun nodded and glanced at Chen Xun approvingly. She thought that her attendants were indeed more reliable. She thought about it and said again.
"We need to hurry up on this matter. The army reported to the capital last night. The Ai family and the queen took stock in the inner treasury. According to the emperor's wishes, the gold and silver python robes have been prepared. Your Excellencies will discuss it and send them as soon as possible.
That’s it.”
Although Chen Xun holds the title of Right Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he actually works in the Hanlin Academy. Compared with the ministers of the Six Ministries, the Hanlin Academy is regarded as an attendant minister and relies more on divine grace.
Seeing the look on the Queen Mother's face, one knew that he had hit the mark on the Queen Mother's mind, so he continued: "What the Queen Mother said is true. This matter cannot be delayed. In my opinion, it would be better to send Liang Gui back. Once he comes, he will be responsible for his duties."
If you come to guard thousands of households, you will be familiar with the situation. Secondly, you will be able to win the trust of Wala."
Empress Dowager Sun thought for a while and asked, "What do you think, all the ministers?"
After deciding on the general direction of sending the envoy, it didn't matter who he sent there. Anyway, he probably just sent some gold and silver and sent a message. He didn't hold out any hope of really welcoming the emperor back, so all the ministers bowed their heads and said "good deeds".
”.
So the matter was settled.
Immediately afterwards, Prince Consort Jiao Jing stood up and said: "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother, I believe that in this critical moment, we should send down talented people in any way, so we can order the Ministry of War to post a list. Anyone inside or outside the capital who has a plan to retreat from the enemy will welcome your Majesty back."
Those who are interested in planning can be recruited under special conditions and then appointed."
This is another piece of advice that is neither salty nor bland.
To put it bluntly, bet on luck!
Although there are many people inside and outside the capital, if there are such clever and cunning people who have already been recruited by the imperial court, why wait until now?
You must know that before the emperor went on the expedition, he had already recruited many capable people and strangers. Now, I am afraid that the bones are all cold in the earthen fort.
So, this suggestion is complete nonsense.
Little did he know that Jiao Jing was also complaining constantly. As a member of Xun Qi's military officials, he was well aware of Xun Qi's current situation.
Although the emperor was instigated by Wang Zhen for this army expedition, there was indispensable motivation behind it from his distinguished relatives.
Both the Queen Mother and the adults in the palace are well aware of this.
After all, as a military minister, you can only maintain your status if you keep fighting.
In the past twenty years or so, the world has been at peace and military preparations have been weakened. In addition, the former Empress Dowager and San Yang assisted the government, and they have repeatedly suppressed their relatives.
It took a lot of effort to encounter such a big battle, but who would have expected that something like this would happen.
Now that the Wala army is pressing down on the country, it goes without saying that after this storm is over, there is no need to think about it. The civil servants will definitely take this opportunity to criticize Xun Qi.
At this time, if you can gain some favor in front of the Queen Mother, your situation will be better in the future.
But this war happened to have high hopes among all the honorable men and women.
Most of the people who could be named in the capital accompanied him on the expedition. Even the Dinghai Shenzhen among the relatives, the important ministers of the late Emperor Tuogu, and the British father-in-law and other elderly people all went with him.
If he wins, everyone will be happy, but in this situation, he is just a Prince Consort, without even a title, and in this palace, there is no room for him to even interrupt.
So even if he knew what he was saying was nonsense, he still had to say it.
At least we must show our attitude that the people in the capital are still trying to find ways to save the emperor and make up for their mistakes.
This was considered a job for the Ministry of War, so Empress Dowager Sun turned to Yu Qian and asked, "What do you think of Yu Qian?"
It is true that this suggestion is most likely useless, but there is nothing wrong with it.
Yu Qian didn't hesitate much and said, "I think it's feasible."
Therefore, the second matter was temporarily agreed upon.
What remains is the third most important and most difficult thing.
