"Reporting to the Emperor, I believe that the counter-rebellion must be carried out without delay. The traitor Zhu Zhixiu and others should be eliminated quickly while their foothold is not stable and the people's hearts are still uncertain. If the rebels gain a firm foothold, they may go south to cause trouble. , it will be difficult to deal with if the momentum gets louder. At that time, everyone in the court will be panicked, fearing unexpected changes." Xu Guangzuo, Duke of Dingguo, said slowly.
"The veteran seconded the proposal. The imperial court should use thunderous means to suppress the rebellion. The veteran believed that troops from Yansui, Guyuan, Shaanxi and other places should be quickly mobilized to station in Lingzhou to form a counter-rebellion army and go north to suppress the rebellion. The situation must not be allowed to escalate, let alone the Tatars. There is an opportunity to take advantage of." British Duke Zhang Maoye said in a deep voice.
Zhu Houzhao said: "What do you think of the opinions of the two princes?"
Li Dongyang twisted his beard and said thoughtfully: "I think the opinions of the two princes are pertinent, but I am worried that mobilizing troops from Yansui and Shaanxi Town to quell the rebellion will result in a vacuum in the defense of Yansui Town and Shaanxi Town? This will be the result of the Tatars Is it more appropriate to mobilize only Guyuan troops and horses? Or we can mobilize one guard horse from Andong Central Guard from Pingliang Prefecture to go north to reinforce Guyuan troops. Ningxia Town still has two guards and horses, Ningxia Guard and Ningxia Central Guard. This can form a six-guard army. Advantages. Shaanxi's Jinglu Guards and Yansui's Calming Border Guards can feint from both sides and provide reinforcements when necessary. In this way, the deployment of troops in the Yansui and Shaanxi towns can be kept flawless, and a large army can suppress the border. "
Everyone secretly admired him. Li Dongyang was a civil servant, but he knew the location and terrain of the garrison in the northwest towns very well. And this opinion was indeed much more reliable.
The British Duke Zhang Mao nodded and said: "Li Chief Fu's idea is indeed sound, but it would be too slow to move troops from Pingliang to the north. I am afraid that the rebels will attack Lingzhou. If Lingzhou cannot be defended by then, it will be terrible. Lingzhou If it is lost, the whole town of Ningxia will fall into its hands, and the southward passage will be opened. After that, the rebels will advance eastward and westward, and they will be in trouble."
Zhu Houzhao frowned, glanced at Xu Jin and said: "Xu Jin, you are the Minister of War, tell me what you think."
Xu Jin hurriedly stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I think the British public concern is reasonable. Lingzhou cannot be lost, otherwise the situation will be out of control. But Li Shoufu's suggestion is also very reasonable. If the two towns of Yansui and Shaanxi mobilize large-scale troops The words of the horse may be ridden by the Tatars. I feel that what they said is right."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "I'm asking you for your countermeasures, not for you to criticize other people's ideas."
Xu Jindao: "The emperor is wise and powerful, and he has countless strategies. He has his own countermeasures in his mind. Whatever the emperor says, I will do it. It must be right. I just follow the order."
Everyone in the room rolled their eyes. It was the first time that someone flattered him so righteously and shamelessly. It was really an eye-opener. Some people sighed in their hearts. Xu Jin was once a foreign court official with a good reputation for conduct, but unexpectedly he has fallen to this level.
Zhu Houzhao was also speechless, but he couldn't say that Xu Jin was wrong. Although the flattery was abrupt, he couldn't be scolded. Could it be that he was so confused and panicked now that he didn't have any ideas at all.
Zhu Houzhao's eyes fell on Zhang Yanling, who was sitting in the corner of the room. Mainly because Zhang Yanling covered her mouth and laughed, her whole body shaking like chaff, attracted Zhu Houzhao's eyes.
"Jianchang Hou, what is so funny?" Zhu Houzhao was a little annoyed. On this occasion, he was actually laughing, treating national affairs as child's play?
Zhang Yanling's face flushed with laughter. When she heard Zhu Houzhao asking herself, she stood up quickly, took a few deep breaths, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am not smiling."
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said, "I clearly saw you smiling."
Zhang Yanling shrugged and said, "Well, I did laugh, but it was also because what Xu Shangshu said was really funny. I really couldn't help it."
Xu Jin frowned and said solemnly: "But I don't know if Marquis Jianchang thinks what I said is funny?"
Zhang Yanling looked at Xu Jin's face and couldn't help laughing again.
"Master Zhang, this is an occasion to discuss important affairs of the imperial court, how can you smile playfully?" Jiao Fang said solemnly.
Zhang Yanling waved her hands and said: "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be like this. However, as the Minister of the Ministry of War, it's fine that Xu Shangshu can't come up with an idea, but he blatantly puts the responsibility on the emperor. This is too ridiculous. Xu Shangshu
Minister, the emperor is asking you about strategies to counter the rebellion. You are talking nonsense.
The emperor is wise, wise, and mighty, and the emperor has no choice but to make the decision. What use is it for you, the Minister of War, to make the decision? The emperor is indeed a wise, brave, wise, wise, and mighty king, but if the emperor has to make the decision in everything, we people will all go back.
Just go home and farm."
Xu Jin said angrily: "You..."
Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "What am I? What's wrong with me? You are the minister of the Ministry of War. If such a big thing happens, you can't come up with a plan to join the army. How can you be reasonable? It's too easy for you to be an official.
I miss you so much, why are you still studying for the imperial examination? On the street
It's okay to recruit an idle idiot to be the Minister of the Ministry of War. Thank you, Mr. Xu, for saying those words while licking his face. If you honestly say that you have no good solution, you will gain the reputation of being honest. This kind of opportunism is slippery.
What you do to your head is disgusting, why don’t you allow others to make fun of it?”
Everyone looked at Zhang Yanling in shock. No one expected that Zhang Yanling opened his mouth and launched a merciless attack. The one he attacked was the Minister of the Ministry of War, who was his superior officer. The Beijing Camp was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, let alone Zhang Yanling.
He was just an admiral of a regiment and camp. Even Zhang Mao, the governor of a regiment and camp, was nominally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War.
Moreover, this person's words were mean and mean. If you say it was an attack, it would be better to say that he was pointing at his nose and cursing.
Xu Guangzuo almost cursed out loud, suspecting that Zhang Yanling's habit of being arrogant and domineering a long time ago had happened again.
"Zhang Yanling, you are so bold. You dare to insult me like this. How dare you do this in front of the emperor? Your Majesty, please comment, Zhang Yanling humiliates me when he speaks out. Are there any rules?" Xu Jin blushed.
shouted.
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said: "Jianchang Hou, don't talk nonsense, you have lost your decency."
Zhang Yanling said: "Your Majesty, I am not talking nonsense, and I have not lost my decency. I am a straight-tempered person, and I never express my gratitude to the Emperor. The Emperor asked me why I was laughing, and I just told him frankly. Do you want me to tell you to the Emperor?"
Isn’t it okay to conceal something and lie?”
Zhu Houzhao was speechless for a moment. Liu Jin frowned and said: "Marquis Jianchang, Mr. Xu, Minister of the Ministry of War, is your superior officer. Aren't you out of character? Insulting your superior officer is out of order."
Xu Jin said: "Exactly, you are insulting Shangguan."
Zhang Yanling snorted and said, "Don't use your official rank to pressure me. I'm not guilty."
"You still said you didn't commit the crime. Everyone heard what you said just now, and the emperor was also present. Do you still deny it?" Xu Jin shouted.
Yang Tinghe suddenly spoke in a cold voice: "Master Xu, I am here as a Marquis. What title does Master Xu have? In terms of official position, you are a Shangguan, and in terms of title, Lord Zhang is more noble than you. How can you be a convict?"
"..."
Everyone was speechless. Although some strong words were used, they were not unreasonable. Even if Zhang Yanling did not lead the capital camp, he was still a marquis. His title was higher than that of Xu Jin. Although the title was not an official position, it was also a symbol of status. In the Ming Dynasty, officials were lowered.
You must salute your superior when you see him.
Those with strict rules have to kneel down, but those with lower titles also have to kneel down when they see those with higher titles. In the past, when the chief officer in the yamen saw his subordinates with a higher title than him, it was common for the two of them to kneel and kowtow. However, nowadays,
No need to pay attention to these red tapes.
Zhang Yanling glanced at Yang Tinghe with a smile and thought: Yang Tinghe knew that he wanted to talk about his title, and he guessed it.
"Jianchang Marquis, no matter what, it is wrong for you to humiliate Mr. Xu. Let's stop here. We are discussing important matters, so don't mess around. You still haven't apologized to Mr. Xu." Xu Guangzuo said in a deep voice.
Zhang Yanling bowed and said: "What Duke Dingguo taught you is. I apologize to Mr. Xu. Mr. Xu, I was wrong."
Xu Jin snorted, intending not to give in, but after thinking about it, he had better not mess with this Jianchang Marquis. He was the emperor's uncle and the son-in-law of Duke Ding, so what if his official position was higher than his? He didn't follow him.
All he needs to do is admit his mistake.
However, Liu Jin did not want Zhang Yanling to come out and humiliate Xu Jin like this, so he withdrew. Although there was no way to punish him, he should at least punish him, even if it meant embarrassing him.
"Your Majesty, Mr. Zhang is very resourceful. Judging from his tone, he seems to have a good plan. Otherwise, how could you dare to speak so loudly and compare Mr. Xu with the idle idiots outside." Liu Jin said softly.
Zhu Houzhao was startled, then nodded and said: "Yes, Marquis Jianchang, do you have any suggestions for countering the rebellion? Why don't you tell us?"
Zhang Yanling scratched his head and said: "Your Majesty, here are all the pillars of the court. It's better not to make a fool of yourself with a humble minister."
"Master Zhang, don't be so humble. The state affairs are at the forefront, and Zhu Zhixiu's rebellion is a major event. It's time to brainstorm and everyone can come up with ideas. Otherwise, what's the use of the emperor calling you here? Wouldn't it just be a decoration?"
Jiao Fang stroked his beard and said.
Xu Guangzuo stared at Zhang Yanling and thought to himself: Look, you are making yourself uncomfortable. The way back is blocked.
"Your Majesty, we should hurry up and discuss countermeasures. Zhang Yanling has not been leading the army for a long time, what good insights can he have? Things are extremely urgent now, so we must quickly discuss a countermeasure. There is no need to waste time." Xu Guangzuo seemed to be disparaging Zhang Yanling,
In fact, he came to his rescue.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Yanling said loudly: "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this matter at all. It is just a group of rabble making a fuss, and it is not worth mentioning at all. Your Majesty didn't even need to summon so many people to discuss this matter. Wouldn't it be too embarrassing for those traitors?
.”
Zhu Houzhao was surprised when he heard this: "Oh? How do you say this?"
Xu Guangzuo frowned and looked at Zhang Yanling, and said in a deep voice: "Marquis Jianchang, don't talk nonsense. This is a major matter, and you should never trust your words."
Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "Dong Dingguo, our family admires Mr. Zhang for his outstanding strategy and superior civil and military skills. Why not let him say it? What are you doing to stop him?"
Zhu Houzhao nodded and said: "Yes, I'm waiting to hear it. Marquis Jianchang, you said they are a mob? Don't you understand the situation? The rebel Zhu Chixiu has gathered 20,000 to 30,000 troops. This is not a small matter. It's not a single force, but a big army."
Zhang Yanling said loudly: "Your Majesty, what's the use of having more people? It's obvious that those soldiers were dissatisfied with the imperial court because of the affairs of the military camp, so they were used by Zhu Zhixiu. In the final analysis, they rebelled out of anger. That Zhou Dong They must have acted in an extreme manner, so they gave Zhu Zhixiu an opportunity to take advantage of them. When they react, they will definitely regret it. How can they be willing to fight if they know they are being taken advantage of? What are they if they are not a mob?"
Liu Jin said in a deep voice: "Master Zhang, are you insinuating Qingtun's fault?"
Zhang Yanling sneered and said: "Eunuch Liu, I didn't say that Qingtun was not good, I just said that Zhou Dong did things improperly. No matter how good the policy of Qingtun is, good things can turn into bad things if the people below him mess around. After all, Zhou Dong is in Ningxia What the town has done will be revealed later upon investigation. Zhu Zhixiu listed seventeen counts of your Eunuch Liu in his memorandum. It was obvious that he wanted to incite the emotions of the soldiers and stir up public opinion. That is not because Zhou Dong read the scriptures wrongly. What? If Zhu Zhixiu doesn’t make a fuss out of you for the policy of clearing the villages proposed by your Eunuch Liu, then who else will make a fuss about it?"
Liu Jin nodded and said nothing. Zhang Yanling's words were explaining things for him. It seemed that he knew what was going on and did not attack him for this matter. These words actually put the responsibility on Zhou Dong, which was also his original intention.
Jiao Fang said: "Even if what you are telling is the truth, they are tens of thousands of rebels after all, and they are equipped with the standard equipment of our Ming Dynasty border army. How can we call it a mob? Isn't this too arrogant?"
Zhang Yanling laughed and said: "So what if there are a lot of people? The rabble doesn't matter in terms of numbers. This group of rebels is nothing to worry about."
Jiao Fang chuckled, not saying much, and thought to herself: You talk nonsense and talk nonsense, and you will be exposed at the first try. Just brag, let's see how you can get it back.
Zhu Houzhao frowned and said in a deep voice: "Jianchang Hou, according to your opinion, there is no need to worry at all? But just sit back and ignore it?"