The Northern Expedition is imminent, and all ministries are making preparations nervously.
The Ministry of War counts soldiers and horses, the Ministry of Industry distributes equipment, and the Ministry of Households allocates money and food. The Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Punishment also have corresponding officials to cooperate. Even the Qintian Prison is observing the astronomical phenomena, and the entire capital is busy.
According to Yu Qian's report, 85,000 people from the Five Military Battalions, 5,000 from the Shenji Battalion, 3,000 from the 3,000 Battalion, 800 Imperial Guards and Jinyi Guards, and 1,500 accompanying military doctors were dispatched for this battle. A total of approximately
One hundred thousand people.
War is not a simple matter. In such a large-scale war, it is not about numbers or tactics, but about supplies. Whoever has more food can survive to the end.
In order to ensure that the 100,000 troops on the front line are fed, drank and fed, at least 100,000 civilians and countless mules and horses need to be recruited, and these 100,000 civilians need at least 10,000 logistics troops to manage them.
Logistics supply is crucial. If the food transportation route is cut off by the enemy and the front combat troops have no food, there will be no need to fight and they will starve to death.
What's more, this battle was the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition, which put great pressure on the grain transport team.
The deeper the grain team goes, the easier it is to be attacked by the enemy, so Zhu Qizhen will let the 3,000 Battalion take the lead, occupy Yumuchuan first, and establish a base camp.
In this way, the logistics supply troops first transported grain and grass from the Ming Dynasty to Yumuchuan, and then used Yumuchuan as a base to transport it to the front line.
If the enemy wants to cut off the grain transport team, the only way is to bypass Yumuchuan and go back to the rear to attack. This will not only take a long detour, but also make it easy to be attacked from the front and back, causing a lot of trouble.
In the Imperial Study Room, Zhu Qizhen looked at the secret letter labeled No. 18 and slammed the table angrily.
"Fan Zhong, change your clothes and let's go!"
On the willow tops in the moonlight, there is a chorus of orioles singing and dancing in Tingyu Pavilion.
Miss Gu Xi held the wine glass and said softly: "Your Majesty, why did you come here in person?"
"No more wine!"
Zhu Qizhen looked ugly and asked, "Did you really see it with your own eyes?"
"Even if I borrow the courage of my slave family, I still wouldn't dare lie in front of the emperor!"
"Tell me in detail, what exactly happened?"
Miss Gu Xi nodded lightly and said: "The person named Jia seems to be called Jia Gui. He is the housekeeper of Uncle Pengcheng. He often goes to Dingxiang Tower to eat donkey meat. The Nu family is relatively close to Dingxiang Tower. Every time Butler Jia eats
I will spend my time here..."
Zhu Qizhen couldn't help but interrupt her: "Let's get to the point!"
"Your Majesty, don't worry!"
Miss Gu Xi continued: "A guest came today. He was dressed as a fur trader from Liaodong. He was very generous and said he was treating the distinguished guest to a drink. After waiting for a long time, Butler Jia came over."
"Then what?"
"When Butler Jia arrived, he immediately kicked all the girls out. The two talked secretly in the house for a long time. Then, Butler Jia left in a hurry. But the fur trader stayed in Tingyuge and drank all night.
I left at noon the next day."
Zhu Qizhen asked: "Just tell me directly, what did you find?"
Miss Gu Xi smiled and said: "The slave family felt that something was a little strange, so they added some sweat medicine to his wine, sneaked in at night when he was not prepared, and found a secret letter on his body."
Zhu Qizhen suddenly became nervous, subconsciously looked at the quilt in front of him, and then asked: "What is written on it?"
Miss Gu Xi came forward and whispered in his ear: "The Ming army has one hundred thousand soldiers, and they have new firearms and are very powerful. The Chinese army is marching through Yumuchuan, and they are attacking Hami all the way, and there are also people and horses heading to Liaodong."
Zhu Qizhen grabbed her shoulders and said coldly: "Where is the secret letter?"
Miss Gu Xi seemed to be hurt by being caught, she frowned slightly and said, "If the slave family took away the secret letter, wouldn't it be noticed by others? Therefore, after reading it, I put it back."
Only then did Zhu Qizhen realize that he had lost his composure, so he let go of his hand.
"You did the right thing."
Miss Gu Xi rubbed her shoulders and said softly: "The slave family feels that there is no need for the emperor to be angry with such a person and make him so angry for no reason."
At this time, Yuan Bin trotted all the way upstairs and gasped: "Your Majesty, the fur trader has been caught!"
While talking, he handed over a note.
After Zhu Qizhen opened it, his eyes were slightly closed, his expression was stern, and he asked: "Did you alert anyone else?"
"Back to the Emperor, I followed the Emperor's instructions. After he left the city, I found a deserted place to tie him up and brought him back quietly. Before I got to Zhao Prison, I was recruited. This person was apparently a fur product from Liaodong.
Shang is actually a secret agent of the Tatar tribe. This person confessed personally that he had bought a lot of information from Jia Gui of the Pengcheng Prefecture."
Zhu Qizhen stood up and said slowly: "With my decree, everyone in Pengcheng's residence will be detained and interrogated on the spot!"
"Your Majesty!" Yuan Bin asked in confusion, "Does Uncle Peng Cheng also want to be tried?"
"Bullshit, of course it needs to be reviewed!"
"Maybe...this matter is just Jia Gui's personal behavior, and Uncle Pengcheng doesn't know about it..."
Uncle Peng Cheng is a distinguished relative, and Yuan Bin does not dare to be careless.
The first generation of Pengcheng Bo, Zhang Qi, was the father of the Empress Dowager Zhang and the father-in-law of Hongxi Emperor Zhu Gaochi. When he died in the ninth year of Yongle, he was posthumously named Pengcheng Bo and his son Zhang Chang succeeded him in the title.
The current Pengcheng Bo Zhang Kejian is Zhang Chang's son. In terms of seniority, the emperor would call him cousin when he saw him.
Yuan Bin also understood that the emperor was serious about it and had no intention of retaining any kindness.
However, after all, she is a relative of the Empress Dowager Zhang. If it is later found out that it was all Jia Gui's personal behavior, wouldn't such a big fanfare... have a bad impact?
When the emperor was young, the government was basically controlled by Zhang and Sanyang. Although Zhang has passed away, his influence in the court cannot be underestimated.
"Your Majesty, I think... we should first control Jia Gui. As for Uncle Pengcheng... it won't be too late to arrest him when we have real evidence!"
Zhu Qizhen frowned and said: "Jinyiwei is doing a routine job. If there is any suspicion, we will investigate. There is no need to save face for anyone!"
Yuan Bin was very confused and mustered up the courage to ask: "If it is found out later that Jia Gui was not instructed by Uncle Peng Cheng..."
"Even if he is not the mastermind, if there is a thief in the family, he can't get away with it!"
Zhu Qizhen was very upset. He had just dealt with Zhou Shou not long ago, and today Zhang Kejian appeared again!
There has always been a tradition among relatives of the Ming Dynasty that they have a bad reputation.
Especially after the second generation, they don’t know who they learned from. They urinate and are arrogant and unruly. When they grow up, they eat, drink, whore, gamble, fight, and occupy people’s fields. Such things happen one after another.
I even gave birth to my brother-in-law. Why are you, a cousin, so arrogant?
You'd better not know about this matter, otherwise, even if the Empress Dowager crawls out of the mausoleum and intercedes with you in person, she will still do it!
－－－－－－Digression－－－－－－
I was too sleepy last night. After I finished writing, I clicked Save and then went to bed. I forgot to click Publish...