Liu Jin almost fainted when he received the news of Cao Xiong's defeat. After being stunned for a long time, he pointed at the nose of Xu Jin, the Minister of War who came to report, and cursed loudly.
Xu Jin felt aggrieved and angry. It was Liu Jin who had the idea to ask Cao Xiong to send troops to quell the rebellion as soon as possible, but now he was blamed.
On that day, Liu Jin came to discuss with him anxiously, asking him to immediately allocate combat materials to Cao Xiong so that Cao Xiong could send troops across the river to put down the rebellion as soon as possible. At that time, Xu Jin was still a little worried, fearing that something might happen, so he wanted to ask Liu Jin to report to the emperor, so that he could send troops across the river to put down the rebellion.
The emperor nodded and endorsed.
As a result, Liu Jin said that there was no need to inform the emperor about this matter. He would be happier if he gave the emperor a surprise after the rebellion was put down. At the same time, he also slapped the nobles and Li Dongyang in the face, making their attempt to delay the fight against the rebellion come to nothing.
Now, Cao Xiong's army has been defeated. According to the memorial sent by Lingzhou garrison Shi Yong, General Cao led 10,000 troops to cross the river. As a result, he did not even reach the other side and lost nearly 4,000 troops. He himself was also killed.
The rebels' artillery from the other side hit the boat and it fell into the Yellow River and its whereabouts are unknown. Witnesses said they saw Cao Xiong sinking into the water and never rising again. In all likelihood, he was dead.
After learning the news, Xu Jin almost fainted and didn't know what to do. Now things were in trouble. Cao Xiong's defeat would have disastrous consequences. Going to war privately was already a capital crime, and it was also a big defeat. It's no wonder
Liu Jin lost his composure and cursed loudly.
Liu Jin scolded Xu Jin for a while, and then started to scold Cao Xiong for his incompetence. Even if the crossing failed, four thousand troops and horses would not be lost, and not even a hair on the enemy's side would be lost. That's all, this guy himself was killed in battle.
, so stupid
You know, Cao Xiong was a person who Liu Jin had high hopes for and cultivated in the border army. In the future, he also wanted to use him to control the border towns and control the military power of the border army. Who would have expected that this would be the result? I really lost my wife again.
Break troops.
"Eunuch Liu, you must calm down. Now is not the time to be angry. We must find a way to deal with the aftermath as soon as possible. I am afraid that this news cannot be concealed. Once reported to the emperor, the emperor will definitely hold those responsible for sending troops privately. Also, this
Once Cao Xiong is defeated, Lingzhou is in danger. Shi Yong said that the rebels are likely to take advantage of the situation to attack Lingzhou. Father-in-law, we have to find a way to deal with this." Xu Jin frowned and whispered.
"It's nothing to deal with! Just tell the emperor frankly and let the emperor chop off our family's heads. They all want our family's life anyway, so our family will give their lives to them. But, even if our family is going to die, we can't."
If you want to make life difficult for these guys, you must stir up trouble and pull a few backers before you die." Liu Jin waved his hands and shouted loudly.
Xu Jin frowned. Faced with Liu Jin's gaffe, he felt contempt in his heart, but at this moment, he really couldn't stimulate him. It didn't matter if he died, he would be unlucky as well.
"Eunuch Liu, don't act out of emotion. You can't blame your father-in-law for this matter. So Cao Xiong... used troops privately, how can you blame him? After a while, the humble official reported the news to the cabinet, saying that Cao Xiong didn't
After receiving the imperial decree, he sent out troops to attack without permission, resulting in a huge defeat. Naturally, Cao Xiong should bear this responsibility. Father-in-law, what do you think?" Xu Jin said softly.
Liu Jin vented his anger and sat there angrily. After hearing what Xu Jin said, he sighed and said: "It seems that this is the only way, otherwise what else can we do? It's a pity for Cao Xiong. Our family actually doesn't want to do this.
, but our family doesn’t want those people to see our jokes. If our family is punished by the emperor, they will be ridiculously happy."
Xu Jin nodded and said: "Yes, yes. We can't let them succeed. Then this is how it will be done."
Liu Jin nodded and said: "That's up to you. However, what should be done after the defeat? Lingzhou is probably not guaranteed, and the emperor will definitely discuss how to resolve this matter. What do you think?"
Xu Jindao: "The only option is to order generals immediately and gather troops to quell the rebellion. I don't have a good candidate yet. If it doesn't work out, I will recommend myself in front of the emperor and personally lead the army to quell the rebellion."
Liu Jin frowned and said, "Are you sure? If you lose again, what will you do?"
Xu Jin smacked his lips and said, "Then what can we do? By the way, it's better to let that Zhang Yanling go. Didn't he talk big words? We have 10,000 troops to quell the rebellion within ten days. If he cannot do it, the responsibility for the failure will be his."
.If it succeeds, it will also solve the current crisis."
Liu Jin loudly said: "No, we can't let him go. This guy is full of bad ideas. Who knows if he will be defeated on purpose. If he loses again, the rebels may lose control. By then, they will definitely use the farmland
The emperor is very soft-spoken, so he might really be persuaded by them."
Xu Jin frowned and said: "Eunuch Liu, it can't be like this. No matter how courageous Zhang Yanling is, he wouldn't dare to do this, right? That's a rebel. He dares to lose on purpose. Isn't he afraid that the rebels will become too big to be dealt with? Even if he
If you have a grudge against your father-in-law, why don't you care about the imperial court and the country? The official feels that your father-in-law seems to be overthinking this matter."
Liu Jin stared blankly at Xu Jin. During this time, he had been thinking about what Qian Ning, the manager of the Leopard Room, said. He was indeed frightened and sweating, but he always felt that something was wrong. What's wrong with that?
Weird.
Now listening to what Xu Jin said, Liu Jin suddenly realized a problem. In fact, he had not verified the whole thing, and completely believed Qian Ning's words. Not to mention whether Qian Ning was trustworthy, the relationship between him and Zhang Yong
Is it really that close?
Zhang Yong is usually cautious and does not talk too much. So what Qian Ning said was confidential. How could Zhang Yong be willing to tell him so many inside stories?
Is there a possibility that Zhang Yong used Qian Ning's mouth to deliberately set a trap, telling himself those confidential things to induce him to order the dispatch of troops?
Thinking about it more carefully, this matter is really full of doubts. After the meeting that morning, Zhang Yong immediately found Qian Ning and revealed so much information to him, which seemed extremely deliberate. Moreover, Qian Ning brought him food.
, the words I took the opportunity to say to myself also seemed very abrupt and deliberate.
Is there another possibility? Qian Ning, Zhang Yong and Zhang Yanling are all in the same group. They worked together to make a plan, which made them unable to calm down. They were worried that the rebellion would cause trouble for them, so they hastily ordered the dispatch of troops?
Thinking of this, Liu Jin broke out in a sweat. If this conjecture was true, then he was being manipulated by them. And Zhang Yanling's pretentious words that day were all to confuse him. In the end, he deliberately
Saying that 10,000 elite soldiers can put down the rebellion in ten days is not to steal the job of putting down the rebellion, but to mislead yourself into thinking that the rebels are not strong, so as to pave the way for you to decide to let Cao Xiong send troops later?
Liu Jin's mind was buzzing, and he was completely confused. If all his conjectures were true, then this Yanling was really insidious and cunning to an outrageous level. Could this person's city strategy be so high?
"Eunuch Liu, I am definitely not speaking for Zhang Yanling. What I mean is that my father-in-law may have thought too much about some things. If you deliberately fail, that is a crime of collaborating with the enemy. In fact, according to me, counterinsurgency is the most important thing at the moment.
If Zhang Yanling can quell the rebellion, he will actually help his father-in-law solve this trouble.
If the father-in-law is worried about his tricks, we can let him issue a military order and send people to closely monitor his actions. If there is any inappropriate behavior, we can also leave evidence to accuse him. In short, there are many ways to control his tricks.
Yes. He doesn't dare to play tricks in front of everyone's eyes." Xu Jin said in a low voice.
Liu Jin took a long breath and remained silent, noncommittal.
…
The news of Cao Xiong's defeat shocked both the government and the public. When Zhu Houzhao learned of the incident, he was furious and repeatedly asked who allowed Cao Xiong to send troops. How could Cao Xiong dare to send troops before the troops and horses of the imperial court were deployed?
Xu Jin naturally put all the blame on Cao Xiong. Xu Jin said that Cao Xiong had asked for instructions to send troops a few days ago, but he sternly refused and ordered him to stand firm in Lingzhou, waiting for the army to gather and the court's order. However, he did not expect that he
He was eager to achieve meritorious service and sent troops privately. The responsibility for this defeat was entirely Cao Xiong's responsibility.
Xu Jin suggested that although Cao Xiong died in battle, his behavior was unforgivable. The court should issue an edict to discuss the crime.
Although Zhu Houzhao was angry, when things got to this point, the only possibility was that Cao Xiong was eager to perform meritorious service and used troops privately. This is the only reasonable explanation.
But although Cao Xiong is dead, things in Lingzhou are about to get worse. After summoning everyone to discuss, almost everyone came to the same conclusion, that is, the rebels will definitely take this opportunity to attack Lingzhou. Everyone
They all believe that the situation has changed and we cannot wait any longer, and must take drastic measures to stabilize the situation.
Li Dongyang proposed that the imperial court must send people to lead the army to counter the rebellion, and the situation must not be allowed to worsen. Li Dongyang proposed that the Shaanxi governor Yang Yiqing should lead the army and assemble the troops of Yansui Town and Lingzhou in Shaanxi to uniformly deploy and command the counter-insurgency. The reason was that Yang Yiqing
Qingjiu is in the northwest and knows the situation in the northwest very well, so he is the most suitable candidate.
However, Zhu Houzhao had some doubts about Yang Yiqing going to quell the rebellion. Yang Yiqing was a civilian official and had no experience in commanding troops. He suggested sending people who knew how to fight to quell the rebellion, because there would be no mistakes in the suppression of the rebellion this time.
Li Dongyang, Yang Tinghe and others proposed several candidates, but they were all rejected by Zhu Houzhao, who felt that they were not the best candidates.
Then, to everyone's surprise, Liu Jin brought up Zhang Yanling's name.
"Jianchang Hou analyzed the situation very closely that day and had an extremely clear grasp of the situation. More importantly, he said that day that he could put down the rebellion within ten days with 10,000 troops, but everyone thought he was bragging. Now it seems
, maybe we misunderstood him. Our family feels that if Lord Zhang dares to say such words in front of the emperor, he must be confident. In the current situation, Lord Jianchang may be a suitable candidate."
Everyone was surprised. But there were still many candidates in reserve. There were a lot of Tuanying Marquises. Even the two princes Xu Guangzuo and Zhang Mao could lead the army, and Zhang Yanling's turn was not there.
Xu Guangzuo immediately objected. Li Dongyang and others also immediately objected. They all believed that it was difficult for Zhang Yanling to assume such an important responsibility. The important task of counterinsurgency was not a piece of cake.
But Liu Jin silenced them with just one sentence.
"In the battle of Dushi City, Marquis Jianchang assisted the emperor with thousands of troops against tens of thousands of enemies, and achieved a complete victory. Who can do it? Marquis Jianchang leading the army in the battle is like the emperor personally marching. He is not the best candidate. Is it possible?
Can the emperor personally lead the army to put down the rebellion?"
Everyone shut up instantly. It was not that Liu Jin's words about how powerful Zhang Yanling convinced everyone, but that everyone heard one meaning from Liu Jin's words: If you don't agree, I will encourage the emperor to go on an expedition.
No one wanted Zhu Houzhao to go on a personal expedition. The situation was already so urgent. It would be unthinkable if the emperor interfered again. Everyone shut up.
In the end, everyone reached a compromise on the selection of candidates. Yang Yiqing and Zhang Yanling jointly led the army, and the civil and military forces cooperated with each other. Gu Dayong was appointed as the eunuch to suppress the army and to follow the army to supervise the army. This combination brought together the three forces of the inner and outer court and the nobles.
Three generations of old, middle-aged and young people, serving as civil servants and military commanders, took care of the concerns of all parties. Finally, for the first time, a compromise was reached on the matter of quelling the rebellion.