Chapter 331: Long nights and many dreams, once and for all
Author: Silent
Chapter 331: Long nights and many dreams, once and for all
Wenhua Hall.
The Sutra Banquet held on the second day of November was the last Sutra Banquet of the year. After the banquet, the emperor hosted a banquet for the Hanlin Sutra Banquet officials.
After the Hanlin Scripture Banquet Officer left, the emperor summoned Zhang Zhou, who had not attended the Scripture Banquet that day, and also stayed with Zhu Houzhao. He set up the sand table and map, and Zhang Zhou explained the situation of the Liaodong war to Zhu Youtang and his son. .
The only person on the side who is qualified to listen is Xiao Jing, who is about to take over as the eunuch in charge of the ceremony.
"...From Daning to the north, all the way across the Luanhe River, and then to Huangshui Branch, this area used to be the area where Duoyan and Taining moved south in winter, but this year the little Tatar prince moved eastward After that, none of the three Duoyan guards showed any signs of moving south, all because in the past few months, it has become normal for soldiers and horses from Liaodong and Jizhou towns to go out for patrols, and the three Duoyan guards did not dare to go south casually even in winter."
"The location of the ambush is on the upper reaches of the North Branch of the Huangshui River. It is 260 miles north of Daning and where the right wing of the Keshdan Department is located. There are mostly deserts and Gobis around here, but because it is close to the Huangshui River, the road is relatively flat. According to common sense, it is difficult to form an ambush site, but the terrain is narrow, and the Ming Dynasty troops can be deployed on both sides of the bank. No matter which of the three Duoyan guards passes by, they will have to retreat to the north road."
"At that time, the governor of Liaodong will personally lead his troops and encircle him from both sides, forcing the three guards to abandon their people and break out with cavalry. Then they will be able to catch the turtle in the jar. This is a situation where the dog is driven into the back alley."
Zhang Zhou explained all the points that could be marked on the sand table and the map.
Zhu Youtang had known about this plan for a long time, and he only nodded slightly. As long as it was a plan formulated by Zhang Zhou, he almost supported it with both hands and feet.
Zhu Houzhao blinked his innocent eyes and asked, "Is there no other way for them to go?"
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Prince, this is about Mr. Zhang's military tactics. He sent troops from Liaodong with great fanfare. He did not go to Ningyuan, Yizhou and other places, but specifically selected Shenyang Zhongwei, southeast of Duoyan Sanwei, to send troops. If the three Duoyan guards retreat northward, the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses only need to advance northward to take back all the land previously occupied by the Tatar-Batu Monks."
Zhu Houzhao frowned when he heard what his father said, which made him anxious and unsatisfied. He said: "Father, this means that there are Batu Meng's men and horses to the north of Duoyan Sanwei. They dare not go north, so they can only Going west, we will ambush him on the road he must pass, is this what he means?"
"That's right." Zhu Youtang disagreed. He felt that he explained it very clearly.
Zhu Houzhao said: "What I am asking is, is there no other way to go?"
Zhu Youtang looked at Zhang Zhou, meaning you should explain to this guy.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "There are roads, but in eastern Mongolia, there are many deserts and Gobi deserts. The road to the west is either occupied by some small Tatar Chahar tribes, or the road is more dangerous and often has to cross The Gobi Desert, which is hundreds of miles long, is covered with snow after winter, making it difficult to distinguish the road, but walking along the river is often the easiest way to distinguish the road."
Zhu Houzhao said with a smile: "You have already had a premonition that it is going to snow on the grassland, right?"
Zhang Zhou shook his head: "No, it doesn't matter whether it snows or not. It's also because the three guards of Duoyan are now disabled. They can't afford the losses and they can't trust each other. Under such circumstances, they must go separate ways. Taking the north bank of Huangshui River is my guess based on their possible marching route."
"Not sure?" Zhu Houzhao was a little hopeful.
Zhu Houzhao complained: "Prince, when marching and fighting, it is impossible to be completely sure every time. You have to judge the situation according to the situation."
Zhu Houzhao gestured with the map and said: "Send troops from Jizhou to Keshdan. How can the Tatars be so far away without being aware of it? If they are discovered by the Tatars along the way and they warn them in advance, it will not only be an ambush. It’s easy to fall short of success, and you may even be ambushed by counterattacks.”
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Your Highness, I have already said this. After the little Tatar prince moved eastward, there was actually no movement of tribal activities within a radius of 200 miles around Daning. In this area, from the current point of view, , already within the deterrent range of the Ming cavalry."
Zhu Youtang said with some displeasure: "Prince, I asked you to listen, so don't interrupt casually. Do you think that after the Ming Dynasty had long-range artillery and heavy artillery, the Tatar tribes still dared to move closer to the border of the Ming Dynasty? In the past, Duoyan Sanwei entered the winter. After that, they just grazed their cattle within a few dozen miles outside my pass. They were so arrogant. Now if I ask them to come, will they dare to come?"
"oh."
Zhu Houzhao wrinkled his nose and said nothing more.
Xiao Jing, who was on the side, stepped forward and asked timidly like a big girl: "May I ask Mr. Zhang, who led the troops who set up an ambush on this road?"
Zhang Zhoudao: "The newly appointed military officer, Wang Xian, is in charge of the army. The commander of the army is Peng Quan, the former commander of Jianchang Guard. The lieutenant general is Ma Yongcheng, who is also from the East Palace."
Xiao Jing was speechless for a moment.
Of these three people, except for Peng Quan, he knew a lot. He was not even familiar with Ma Yongcheng, let alone Wang Xian, whom he had never heard of.
Zhang Zhou actually arranged to lead troops to attack?
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Xiao Jing, why, are you surprised? In fact, Bingkuan's use of troops in Liaodong was more to intimidate the grasslands. The way to use troops is to win by surprise. If everything goes according to plan, I'm afraid that in the future In a few years, the Tatar tribes will no longer fight head-on with the Ming Dynasty. It is not easy to succeed in surprise attacks every time."
"Yes, yes." Of course Xiao Jing understood this.
Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty already had new firearms. Even if they didn't, the Tatars knew that the Ming Dynasty sent the main force to attack, and it would be impossible for them to fight head-on.
The main purpose of the Tatar invaders was to plunder, not to risk their lives with the Ming Dynasty. No matter how many soldiers the Ming Dynasty lost, they could replace them, and they counted one by one... The living environment of the grassland was so harsh, once they had a fight with the Ming Dynasty In a bloody battle, even if the casualty of personnel was smaller than that of Ming Dynasty, they were the ones who suffered the big loss.
Zhu Youtang looked at the sand table and said with emotion: "If you want to achieve results, you must either make inroads and slowly build the city into the hinterland of the grassland, or be like someone like Bingkuan who can design good strategies and win unexpectedly." Result."
Xiao Jing said: "My slave also thinks this is a good plan, but I don't know what the little Tatar prince is doing."
He is reminding.
No matter how good the plan is, you are afraid that Dayan Khan will suddenly attack and catch the ambushed soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty by surprise. No matter how many soldiers and horses you bring, if you encounter the Tatar main force of one or two hundred thousand, the result will most likely be a disastrous defeat for the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Bingkuan, tell him. I'm not talking about you. Xiao Jing, you are becoming more and more like those ministers in the court. You are worried about this and that, so you might as well not fight this war." .”
Xiao Jing suddenly felt as if someone had hit him on the head with a hammer.
After all, he had discussed with Wei Bin before to secretly cause some trouble for Zhang Zhou, so that the troops sent by Lu Wan, Zhang Heling and Zhang Yong would not go smoothly.
Now Lu Wan did not set foot on the grassland until nearly twenty days later. In fact, Wei Bin secretly gave instructions to make the soldiers slack off, and tried to get Lu Wan to give up the plan to send troops to the grassland and retreat to Liaodong.
The emperor's words were more like knocking him.
It's okay for you to be like the civil servants who like to question Zhang Zhou's plans. That's because you are short-sighted and have no foresight.
Zhang Zhou said: "Eunuch Xiao, it's like this. When the little Tatar prince marched eastward and fought against the three guards of Duoyan, he didn't take much advantage. In other words, both sides lost."
"ah?"
Xiao Jing was surprised. He didn't know this news until now.
He didn't know whether this was from Zhang Zhou's summary of the intelligence, or from Zhang Zhou's "God's will" and his own calculation.
"Otherwise, why do you think he is anxious to send troops to Ningxia? He is eager to establish his reputation, and after this battle, the three guards of Duoyan are actually unable to confront the little Tatar prince. This is the window period for Ming Dynasty to send troops. It can be said that
This is an opportunity that must not be missed before it comes again." Zhang Zhou said it easily.
When Xiao Jing listened, his heart was filled with emotions.
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, what you said before is right. Now even if the Tatars are really capable of finding out your troop dispatch plan, they will probably stand by and watch. Even I don't believe that Batu Monk dares to confront the Ming Dynasty at this time.
Be an enemy."
Xiao Jing felt even more incredible when he heard it.
The little Tatar prince has sent troops to Ningxia to harass the Ningxia West Road, saying that Batumengk does not dare to fight the Ming Dynasty head-on?
Or is it that Batu Meng hated the Three Guards of Duoyan for their resistance, so he allowed the Three Guards of Duoyan to be annexed by the Ming Dynasty?
He was also thinking that His Majesty's deep faith in Mr. Zhang was a bit unreasonable, right?
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Actually, this is just a time difference. The Tatar prince is in the west and the Ming Dynasty is in the east. Our goal is to protect the three guards of Duoyan, and his purpose is to establish prestige. Huo Si will lead his troops to the west. If the Tatar prince
If the prince wants to establish his power on the grassland, it will be much easier to clean up the fire sieve than to fight with our Ming Dynasty on the frontal battlefield."
"Their invasion in Ningxia was more about looting. So far, they haven't fought a decent battle, which shows their weakness in their bones. So far, the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses invaded by the little Tatar prince have even
Not daring to get close to the Ming Dynasty's fortress shows that they are afraid of the Ming Dynasty's artillery and sky gunpowder. They are just cooperating with each other and getting what they need."
…
…
What Dayan Khan needed was the prestige of the grassland, and what Ming Dynasty needed was the encroachment of the grassland.
Xiao Jing understood this, but he was still puzzled by how Zhang Zhou determined that Batu Mengke's main force was in Ningxia, not Liaodong... Xiao Jing didn't dare to think about things he couldn't understand anymore, mainly because
The emperor's previous warning to him made him realize that as a result, his inner tendency to be a civil servant might put him in a desperate situation.
Looking for trouble for Zhang Zhou... but after searching for a long time, the trouble found itself.
Xiao Jing understood Zhang Zhou's intention to send troops, but the ministers in the court did not understand.
When everyone in the government and the public, and even some middle- and lower-level officials in the capital who had never been to the government to participate in the dispatch of troops to Liaodong were talking about one thing, they knew that this matter was actually no longer a secret.
At this time, Zhu Youtang announced something in public in the court hall, which really surprised the civil and military ministers in the court.
"...I have decided to confer Bingkuan the title of 'Lai Guogong' with a royal title. His official position in the court remains unchanged."
When the emperor finished speaking about the matter, before the ministers of civil and military affairs in the court could react, he asked Xiao Jing to read out the edict conferring the title in public.
Waiting for Xiao Jing to finish reading, Liu Jian looked at the empty seat of the British Duke Zhang Mao, and then walked out and said: "Your Majesty, why is it that the imperial edict is not reviewed by the cabinet and the six subjects, but must be announced by the public? The veteran believes that since he is already a civil servant, he can be exempted from the military honors...or if he already has a title, he should avoid taking the position of a civil servant to avoid suspicion."
Zhu Youtang said: "Mr. Liu Ge, I think Bingkuan's contribution should no longer be avoided. Giving him a title at this time can be regarded as a summary of this year's border wars. If you feel it is inappropriate... …It can only be said that you failed to understand my profound meaning.”
Still meaningful?
Even if a near-sycophant has some military merits, most of them were not obtained by personal participation in battle. Even if we really agree with his title, shouldn't we consider relieving him of his civilian duties?
On the one hand, he wanted to be the Duke of the country, and at the same time, he also wanted to be the head of the civil service, a bachelor's degree student at the academy, and a minister in the Ministry of War, so he had to be left in charge of everything by himself.
When Zhu Youtang saw that Liu Jian refused to go back, he asked: "I also want to ask you, after he was promoted to the left minister of the Ministry of War, did he interfere in the daily affairs of the Ministry of War? Or is it that he corrupted the court? The order of the hall? Dear nobles, if any of you have any objections, I don’t mind if you come up to object, and I will refute them one by one. There is no need to object here.”
"Of course, the title of Lord Duke is just the result of my meritorious service. I will never let down the meritorious service of the civil and military ministers of the DPRK and China, especially in the border wars. No need to say more."
Zhu Youtang also felt very tired.
Every time Zhang Zhou wanted to be promoted to an official position, he would encounter opposition from the court ministers.
He himself also knew that the reward to Zhang Zhou was too much and too fast, but he just couldn't help but wanted to reward Zhang Zhou more... plus this reward had some special "purposes", he was even more I can't listen to any advice.
…
…
When the people of Zhang Zhou sit at home, their titles will be lowered to their heads.
However, this time, it was Zhu Youtang who had greeted Zhang Zhou, not Zhang Zhou himself, and Zhu Youtang had a very good reason.
Xiao Jing personally brought Xu Qiong, the Minister of Rites, to Zhang Zhou's mansion to declare the decree. At the same time, he also gave him the imperial certificate, which is the legendary iron certificate of alchemy. With this thing, Zhang Zhou's title can be hereditary. He became a well-known Duke of the Ming Dynasty. Although he is not as meritorious as those who played a major role in the founding of the country and the Jingnan period, if we look at it today, no one can compare with him.
"Master, congratulations."
Xiao Jing's face turned into a flower. He seemed to be extremely flattering, but there was also a hint of disappointment. It was a kind of loneliness and sadness that he clearly wanted to compete, but was not high enough.
It seems that he is happy for Zhang Zhou, but in fact he is envious, jealous and hateful.
Zhang Zhou greeted Xu Qiong and the officials from the Ministry of Rites who came, and after sending them away, he and Xiao Jing opened the plaque of "Laiguo Gongfu" inscribed by Zhu Youtang's imperial pen. Zhang Zhou originally thought that the emperor would He gave me some high-sounding words of encouragement, such as loyalty, benevolence and righteousness, but he didn't expect the emperor to be so direct.
Perhaps Zhu Youtang felt that it would be more practical to just give him a title at this time.
"My lord, I believe you understand what your majesty means. This conferment of title is a reward for your achievements in various wars in the Ming Dynasty this year. It is also to demonstrate your majesty's favor and let the people from all over the border towns The soldiers saw it."
"At the same time, this is also to paralyze the Tatars, making them think that our wars this year have been suspended, but they don't know that there will be a good show next."
Xiao Jing seemed to understand the emperor's intentions very well.
But Zhang Zhou knew.
The so-called reason for paralyzing the enemy is a bit far-fetched. It is still a question of when the conferment of honors will reach the ears of Duoyan Sanwei and Dayan Khan.
I'm afraid that the war is already over before the news reaches us.
It was originally an ambush battle... If we didn't get the ambush... then we should withdraw? Anyway, there won't be any big losses.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Then should I go to the palace with Eunuch Xiao to express my gratitude?"
"Your Majesty said that you are busy with affairs. When you go to the hearing room to discuss matters, you can just take the opportunity to go there. The so-called gratitude is superficial, don't take it too seriously." Xiao Jing said with a smile.
Zhang Zhou knew that Xiao Jing was not spreading lies intentionally.
When a minister received a title, he should have gone to the palace to express gratitude. No matter how courageous Xiao Jing was, he would not dare to make up such nonsense.
Xiao Jing said that the emperor didn't need him to go out of his way to express his gratitude, which means he really didn't need to.
Zhang Zhou sighed with emotion: "To be honest, I am a little uncomfortable with the sudden title. I always feel like I am in a dream. Originally, I thought that I would have to wait until the grassland is pacified before I have the opportunity to be granted the title of marquis and general. Who has ever done that? Do you think... this hasn't even started yet, and already... you have become famous?"
"Haha." Xiao Jing said with a smile, "That can only mean that you are very capable. But my lord, let's not slack off. His Majesty has in mind to level the grassland, and you must help him achieve it. I will give you a title. It’s both a compliment and an expectation for you.”
"I understand, I understand." Zhang Zhou said.
When Xiao Jing saw a lot of things brought in from the yard, he gave a special explanation, and then said: "Since you have won the title, I think there will be a lot of fun in the house. I won't disturb you too much and take my leave."
"Congratulations."
Zhang Zhou personally sent Xiao Jing and Jin Yiwei out.
…
…
Lord Lai.
As promised by Zhu Youtang, the knighthood was only delayed by more than two months.
Zhang Zhou also understood Zhu Youtang's tricks.
When Zhang Zhougang returned to the court, Zhu Youtang wanted to help him stabilize his civil service position in the court first. Not giving him a title would make it impossible for the ministers to object... After he had secured all his civil service positions, he would then move to Wu Xun's position. The title of knight was given, probably to avoid "long nights and many dreams".
If something unexpected happened during the Huangshui ambush battle, the civil servants would definitely be confused about the merits and demerits. At that time, it would be unfair to confer a title on Zhang Zhou.
And even if Peng Quan and the others succeeded in the ambush at Huangshui, it would only be the icing on the cake for Zhang Zhou's military exploits.
Simply...
The title was given to him before the war.
Zhu Youtang instantly felt that he had accomplished a major event in his life. At least in the 12th year of Hongzhi, no matter whether the Huangshui ambush was successful or not, he would have no regrets and wait for the 13th year of Hongzhi.
