Wen Chen and Wu Xun were on both sides. The topic of the day was the war in Ningyuan, Liaodong. Wen Chen changed his previous critical attitude towards Zhang Zhou and actually analyzed the war situation seriously. Even though Zhu Feng was stranded in the fortress and could not come out, they did not raise any objections. Instead, Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War, came forward and said that Zhu Feng had made great contributions to rectifying local military affairs after arriving in Ningyuan, and he had made great contributions to preventing Di Yi invaders from the border.
Don’t say it’s Zhang Zhou who doesn’t adapt.
Even Dai Yi and other eunuchs standing beside the emperor were somewhat confused about the tactics of civil servants.
Zhu Youtang said: "In the current situation, should we order Zhu Feng to go out of the city to fight against Di Yi? If Di Yi cannot plunder people and animals, will they move elsewhere? Or will they attack cities and seize territory? Liaodong has been prepared for many years. "Relaxation, I'm worried about this."
He seemed to be asking the ministers, but also seemed to be condemning.
You see, in the past few years, you have been strengthening the war preparations of the three sides and Xuanda. What has become of Liaodong? Now when you encounter the Duoyan Three Guards and invade the border, you will make a fuss.
This responsibility lies with you civil servants. It is my fault that you focused on the northwest and ignored Liaodong.
Liu Jian came out and said: "Your Majesty, if the Duoyan tribe has no intention of attacking the city, Anbianbo may be ordered to guard the city and not act rashly."
As soon as these words came out, even the civil servants themselves did not feel comfortable with it.
In the past, whenever Di Yi invaded the country, if the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's border army cowered, they would be impeached, and they might even be deprived of their posts and convicted. If the losses of humans and animals were great, the Ming's military prestige would be damaged. There are many who died, so why did Anbian Bo become the subject today, and even the chief and assistant minister actually asked him to stay in the city?
Zhu Youtang said: "Liu Ge is always afraid that he has no experience in leading troops. If he leads troops out of the city to fight, the situation will be unstable and there may even be a risk of defeat?"
"ah!"
The ministers present were in an uproar.
Emperor, do you really dare to think and speak, but you don't even give Liu Jian any face?
Others must ask not to lose the prestige of the Ming Dynasty's frontier army, but when it comes to Zhu Feng, they only ask him to defend the city... His Majesty's analysis is so profound, why didn't we think of this?
Liu Jiandao: "The terrain around Ningyuan is long and narrow. If Di Yi invades our border, it will be difficult to coordinate the deployment of troops to complete the encirclement. One move can move the whole body, so as not to endanger Liaodong and prevent the Di Yi from making any changes in Jianzhou and other places. At that time Put defense first.”
Liu Jian also made it clear that I was not targeting Zhu Feng, I was just making a judgment based on the situation.
"Um."
Zhu Youtang nodded, seeming to agree with Liu Jian's point of view.
But the ministers present wanted to know what the military orders the emperor and Zhang Zhou had given Zhu Feng were. Was it to defend Ningyuan?
Also, today the civil servants, led by the Cabinet and the Minister of War, interceded for Zhu Feng’s excuse... What kind of approach is this?
…
…
Zhang Zhou was at the end of the civil service team and had been listening to the conversation between the monarch and his ministers.
In fact, he didn't want to ask more about matters involving military affairs, because he had already told Zhu Feng that if the troops of Duoyan's three guards were to attack the city fortress, they would definitely be stationed under the city fortress. The best way is to stay away. " "Fire a few cannons." If the distance is not enough, you can push the artillery cart out of the city for less than three miles, which roughly means... This move can only be performed within five miles of the Ningyuan City Gate where the Duoyan Three Guards are stationed.
Otherwise...don't force it.
It's okay to be impeached and resigned from office, but if you are defeated because of your rashness, Zhu Zhijie will be in dire straits.
The emperor knew his tactics and thought they were quite good. In addition, Zhu Youtang himself had little confidence in Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling and Chen Rui leading troops to attack, so he also thought Zhang Zhou's method of delivering bombs from a long distance was Very much agree.
Anyway, there is no loss.
Prepare for war in advance, shrink the residents outside the city into the city, and if Di Yi is close to the city gate, fire artillery from a long distance... With the characteristics of the multi-part cannon, it can fire continuously, which means that before the three guards of Duoyan can react, ten cannons will be fired. The two cannons can fire sixty rounds of explosive shells and shotguns...
If the effect is good, just send out cavalry to attack him. If the effect is not good, just fire the artillery and wait for Di Yi to run away.
It's simply perfect.
Only sixty rounds of artillery shells were lost inside and outside.
Wang Shi, the Minister of Dali Temple, came out and said: "If the Ming army and the people retreated to the city fortress, and the Di Yi invaded and plundered outside the city, wouldn't it mean that the prestige of the three armies would no longer exist? Could it be that the Ministry of War also supports this timid tactics? Ruo Jiu If everyone around the world follows this example, how can the censors of various disciplines understand the fear of the soldiers and stagnate in moving forward?"
What he said was quite convincing.
Obviously, even if these civil servants are nominally a group, there are still many internal factions. Even people like Liu Jian, Li Dongyang and Ma Wensheng will still be questioned by the people below.
During the Hongzhi period, there was no absolute authority. The emperor gave Yan Guan full autonomy to make remonstrances. Anyone who felt dissatisfied with something could just speak up and report it.
The Ministry of War was questioned. As the minister, Ma Wensheng could not pretend to be dumb. He came out and said: "Liaodong has a special terrain, especially Guan, Ning, Jin and other places. If light troops rush in, it will violate the strategy of setting up city gates and garrison in these places. This time, the three guards of Duoyan had no intention of fighting the Ming Dynasty under the city gates, and only focused on plundering. The local officials and people have retreated to the city fortress, so why is it necessary to have a decisive battle outside the city to show off the strength of the Di Yi cavalry?"
Ma Wensheng's words also made the civil servants present very uncomfortable.
In the past, civil servants were always scrambling to send troops, and those who did not dare to send troops would be ridiculed and impeached in various ways. For example, Zhu Fu, Duke of Cheng, who did not send troops to fight Dayan Khan in Yansui before, was criticized by officials in various ways. Participate in impeachment.
It turned out to be Zhu Feng...
Even Ma Wensheng and Liu Jian thought it was good to stay in the city gate?!
No wonder His Majesty said that Liaodong's armaments were depleted, but the feelings were really like that.
…
…
Zhu Youtang said: "My dear friends, there is no need to fight anymore."
There was a dispute among the civil servants about whether to fight or not to fight. The emperor's words were considered to be the sea god's needle.
The ministers made a gesture of listening respectfully.
"I sent An Bianbo to Ningyuan to garrison in order to prevent Duoyan from disobeying the country. Now it happened to be true. There are actually arrangements from Shanhaiguan and other places. If the time is right, Duoyan will be at Chengguan. Diplomatic war is also possible!"
The meaning of the emperor.
Whether to fight or not to fight, don't talk nonsense, let's make the decision based on the situation on the front line.
And I don’t want to listen to you now, I just want to listen to brother Bingkuan.
No matter how reasonable you are, I will not adopt any point of view that is different from what Brother Bingkuan said.
It’s so direct...you don’t accept it?
Next time, you should also predict the direction and time of Di Yi's invasion in advance. It doesn't matter if I listen to you.
"Zhang Zhou!" Zhu Youtang said suddenly.
Zhang Zhou came out from behind the civil servants: "I am here."
Seeing Zhang Zhouzai, Zhu Youtang seemed to calm down, nodded and said: "What are your views on the battle of Ningyuan?"
I'm coming.
Many people think.
The emperor held it in for a long time because he actually wanted to ask Zhang Bingkuan's opinion. As for what he said before, it was just foreshadowing and not even of reference value, right?
Zhang Zhoulang said: "I believe that since the three guards of Duoyan dare to come, they cannot be allowed to leave, otherwise it will damage the power of the Ming army. However, we cannot easily dispatch the troops and horses nearby to cause trouble for Ningjin and other places. "
As soon as these words came out.
Ordinary civil servants felt very comfortable hearing this.
But when Liu Jian, Ma Wensheng and others heard this, they were thinking in their hearts, did you say that on purpose?
Are you also deliberately going against us?
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "The war in Ningyuan is just like the previous Di Yi raids. If I had not made arrangements in advance, it would not be too late to wait until the results of the war were reported. There is no need for the court to worry too much about this. Dear gentlemen, Home, put your heart back first, as I said before, wait until there are results."
…
…
The emperor did not expect Zhu Feng to achieve any great victory.
It was also he who wanted to understand that with people like Zhu Feng, a little meritorious deeds would be enough to make a big statement, but as for the great victory... it should be left to veteran generals like Wang Yue who have experienced battles for a long time.
It was too reckless to send Zhu Feng and Zhang Yanling to Ningyuan.
Nowadays, it is rare that the civil servants are not too demanding. He can be regarded as "giving up when it's good". He doesn't want Zhang Zhou to have too much trouble with the civil servants, so when Zhang Zhou expressed a very tough-sounding point of view, he gave him a warning at the right time. Stop.
The meeting ended.
As expected, Zhang Zhou went directly to Qianqing Palace on a different journey with these civil servants.
As soon as the emperor and Zhang Zhou left, a group of people surrounded Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian and others.
Zhang Mao also walked over and said with a smile: "It seems that your Majesty sent a boy from the Chengguo family to Ningyuan, but he was not careful enough. If he had sent Wang Weining, there would be no need for the people in the court to worry about how the war would be fought or how to use the strategy, right?" ?”
Many people frowned and looked at Zhang Mao.
From what Old Man Zhang means, is he making fun of us?
But the problem is, using Zhu Feng is the emperor’s business, and it’s not our suggestion. Do you think you can tell us this?
Xie Qian smiled and replied: "Then how should we fight this battle in Liaodong? Whose advice do we listen to?"
"Haha." Zhang Mao smiled, "Yu Qiao, you can't really listen to me when you ask this question, right?"
Many ministers almost wanted to curse.
You, Old Man Zhang, are just trying to make us feel unhappy here, right?
…
…
A group of martial artists left first, and the civil servants walked behind the group.
Tu Jian asked Ma Wensheng: "Ning Yuan has already made preparations for war. Why doesn't he follow your majesty's wishes and let An Bian Bo send troops? If both the court and the central government agree that he is afraid of not moving forward, then this will be used to regulate all parties in the future. The commander-in-chief of the border town is marching, but he has no explanation."
Ma Wensheng said: "Your Majesty has arranged Uncle Anbian in Ningyuan in advance. Do you think that the progress of the war in Ningyuan is still under the control of the court?"
"this……"
Tu Yu seemed to be enlightened.
In wars in various parts of the Nine Borders, the governor of the border town, the chief military officer, the commander and others have always made their own judgment based on the situation, and then dispatched troops.
But now, just because Ningyuan is close to the capital, the court wants to remotely control the war in Ningyuan?
You civil servants, are you stretching your hands too far?
Xie Qian smiled and said: "Your Majesty is right, we will discuss it after the results are obtained. There are no results yet. I dare to ask you, is the current process going according to what your Majesty deduced? The proposal to stick to it now is just to ensure that Ningyuan
Unless there is a big mistake, do you think that Zhu Feng, Zhang Yanling and Chen Rui are suitable to lead troops into battle and fight Di Yi to the death?"
There was a group of people around who had opinions, but they all stopped after hearing this.
They are thinking about it too.
It may have been too demanding before, requiring Zhu Feng to be equal to the generals in the northwest and requiring Zhu Feng's behavior to be consistent with the generals in the northwest. The requirements may have been a bit high.
The Northwest Army will send troops, and that is a matter of duty.
But Zhu Feng is not necessarily...
The purpose of Zhu Feng's going was to ensure that no big mistakes would be made when the three guards of Duoyan invaded the country. In fact, Zhu Feng had already done that. Sending troops rashly at this time was not in line with the court's expectations. This is why even the head of the civil service
Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian and others also changed their attitudes.
Xu Guandao, Minister of the Ministry of War: "The saying of Mr. Xie Ge, 'A fish is dead and a net is broken,' is a very apt description! But I am afraid that without the fish dying and the net being broken, Di Yi will still be in trouble. The next step may only be to let Wang Weining go to Liaodong to control it."
The monsters of Liaodong are like monsters and monsters!"
In the meaning of Xu Guan.
We also know that the situation in Liaodong is different from that in northwest China.
But the problem is, if you don’t fight now, the three Duoyan guards will not stop. The next time they come, it may not be the three Duoyan guards. It may be Huo Si, the little Tatar prince. The Ming Dynasty relies on force to control the Di Yi people in the northwest and Liaodong.
For those who surrender, if the first thing they think about when encountering a war is to hold on and not get out, the Ming Dynasty's majesty will not be preserved, and the troops of the northern vassal states will be very difficult to lead.
Xie Qian smiled and said: "That's Your Majesty, and Zhang Bingkuan should worry about things, not us!"
Xu Guan frowned and said, "Aren't you a bit shirking responsibility with your words? Aren't we the ones who should worry about the affairs of the Ming Dynasty?"
He really wanted to say that you, Xie Qian, really speak freely.
Even if that's the case, you can't say that.
It sounds like if there is any war in the northwest and Liaodong in the future, just let the emperor and Zhang Bingkuan serve as advisers, and we can pretend that we don't know about it.
Then what will we civil servants do in the court from now on?
"okay!"
Liu Jian came out to speak, "The battle in Ningyuan in the past two days should have an outcome. Now that An Bianbo and others are ordered to send troops hastily, the result is not good. Let's wait and see the outcome!"
The civil servant was unwilling to do so and was prevaricated by Liu Jian to go back.
No one said anything right now.
But even Liu Jian knows that the question of who to listen to in military and political matters may be lingering in the minds of ministers for a long time in the future, and civil servants and military officials may have to think about it themselves.
…
…
Inside the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Youtang called Zhang Zhou over without asking about specific tactics. After all, Zhang Zhou had already explained them in detail.
"Bingkuan, I still put you in a difficult situation. If I had known earlier, I would have dispatched Wang Yue. It was secretly dispatched so that the foreign barbarians in Liaodong didn't know about it. Then they could be killed by surprise."
Zhu Youtang's words made Zhang Zhou realize that this was still an indecisive emperor.
Although Zhu Youtang was the "Xiaozong", he was also called the "Hongzhi Zhongxing" by historians. However, this kind of Zhongxing was not supported by military aggressiveness. The emperor only maintained the status quo and did not make great achievements in governing the country... In fact, this is more in line with the Taoist "Inaction"
The view of "governing" is not really prosperous.
Have the people really been able to have enough to eat in these ten years?
Not necessarily.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, it would be good to have Uncle An Bian in Ningyuan. If someone else is there, Di Yi may not dare to approach the fortress easily. He will not be able to exert the power of the new cannon."
When Zhu Youtang heard this, he became excited and asked: "Bingkuan, how powerful is that cannon?"
"It's hard to describe." Zhang Zhou smiled.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jing quickly looked at the emperor with expectant eyes.
It seems to be saying, look here, look here, I have seen the power of that cannon, and I can help Mr. Zhang brag again.
But Zhu Youtang has heard Xiao Jing brag about it once before. He has never seen it with his own eyes, and there is no need for others to describe it in front of him. Unless Zhang Zhou can talk about it to the extreme, or...he is now even as powerful as a cannon. , and only listened to Zhang Zhou alone.
Zhu Youtang asked: "Bingkuan, what do you think the chances of winning are now?"
Zhang Zhou said: "If An Bianbo and Di Yi were to fight head-on, the chance of winning might be only 60 to 70%. But if we were to stay in the fortress, wait for Di Yi to approach, harass them with artillery first, and then send out troops, we would not lose. It’s possible.”
Zhang Zhou was right about this.
It was impossible for the three guards of Duoyan to ignore Ningyuan City when they were plundering.
The surrounding terrain is long and narrow. Apart from the fortress of Ningyuan City, there are only some earthen forts that can be used for defense. The Duoyan Three Guards dispatched at least six to seven thousand troops.
If they only focused on dividing their troops and looting, and Ming's army was assembled to drive away the thieves in the courtyard, wouldn't they be able to escape with their tails between their legs?
The three guards of Duoyan could only send out heavy troops to frighten Ming Dynasty's Guancheng.
It just depends on how many miles outside the city they are stationed.
Zhang Zhou inspected the situation in Liaodong and learned that when the Duoyan Three Guards were looting, they were usually stationed about ten miles outside the city, and some were stationed as far as six or seven miles away. After setting up camp during the day, they would move to three or four miles away from the city fort. Even two or three miles away...
Generally speaking, it is outside the range of the Ming Dynasty's artillery and powerful crossbows. In this way, once the Ming Dynasty plans to open the city gate and deploy cavalry, they will appropriately send troops and horses to harass, charge or mount fire, etc., to destroy the Ming Dynasty's cavalry. The cavalry was forced back to the city gate.
If the distance is far, when the Ming Dynasty's cavalry and infantry line up at the city gate, they may not be able to cover up and kill them, and then the deterrence effect will be lost.
At this time, if the Ming Dynasty had artillery with more than double the range of the past, the Duoyan Three Guards would be caught off guard. The characteristic of the dual-cell cannon is that it can quickly change the "magazine", plus explosive shells and shotgun shells...
Fire the artillery as quickly as possible to catch the three guards of Duoyan by surprise.
If everything goes right.
If the Ming Dynasty fires artillery first and then attacks, the chance of winning is almost 10%.
…
…
Before nightfall on March 28th.
The vanguard troops of Duoyan's three guards were less than ten miles away from the "Yingen Gate" of Ningyuan's west city gate, and they set up camp and set up fortifications there.
After Chen Rui learned about the situation, he rushed to the top of the city to find Zhu Feng, who was observing the situation, and asked for instructions: "Zhijie, why don't you give me three thousand cavalry, and I will lead the troops to attack at night, and I will surely defeat Di Yi." There is no return.”
Before Zhu Feng could reply, Wang Qiong on the side frowned and said: "Uncle Ping Jiang, you have been using troops in the northwest for many years. You should know that Tatars are best at night fighting and have many defensive methods for attacking camps and other things."
Chen Rui said: "That's a fire sieve, not Wu Liangha and these brats!"
Wang Qiong sighed.
Who do you look down on?
You think the Duoyan Three Guards are incompetent, but they have never lost in the internal fighting in Mongolia. You think Huo Si is awesome, but the elite soldiers of the Huo Si still cannot extend into the territory of the Duoyan Three Guards.
Zhu Feng said: "Brother Zhang's advice and His Majesty's decree do not allow us to attack with light troops. Please wait."
