The civil servants and military officers in the court were discussing in low voices. At this time, the imperial censor next to him saw that the time was almost up and the emperor would come immediately. So he walked out of the class, stood in the center and loudly said: "Every civil servant and military officer should be quiet and don't make any more noise, otherwise you will follow the law." Punish the crime.”
It is the duty of the imperial censor to do this. Every time the emperor goes to court, something like this will happen.
When all the civil and military officials heard the censor's words, they all fell silent. As expected, not long after, the emperor entered from the back hall of Qianqing Palace and sat on the throne with the support of the eunuchs.
The emperor was sitting on the throne. Dai Quan, who was next to him, followed the rules and stepped forward and shouted loudly: "My ministers, if you have the right to do so, you should report early. If you don't have the right, you should withdraw from the court."
Three cabinet bachelors, Li Lu, Yan Mu, and Pan Yong, went out to kneel in the court and said at the same time: "Your Majesty, the army in the capital is now gathered, and there is no fear of the Tatars. Do you want to send troops to fight, please ask your Majesty Decision." This should have been discussed by them in the past few days, and today is just a formality.
The emperor heard what the three great scholars said from above, and asked the ministers below: "What the three great scholars said makes sense. What do the other ministers have to say? Now is the time to speak freely."
Liu Wan, the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, went out to report: "Your Majesty, hundreds of thousands of troops are gathering in the capital, which is quite a waste of money and food. It is better for the army to fight decisively as soon as possible. Otherwise, if we are involved for a long time, we may run out of food and grass."
This is a shortcoming of the Central Plains dynasty. In many battles, the outcome of the battlefield is not determined by the bravery of the sergeants on the battlefield or the strategy of the commander, but by the supply of food and grass in the logistics.
In the several wars against Hou Jin in the last years of the Ming Dynasty in the earth's time and space, if it were not for the shortage of food and grass supply, the emperor urged the commanders at the front to fight a decisive battle with Hou Jin. The Ming Dynasty would not have been defeated so miserably.
The materials needed by the grassland peoples when they came to the Central Plains were plundered nearby, so it was very easy for them to supply food and grass, so they could fight against the Central Plains peoples for a longer period of time. Furthermore, with their horseback riding skills, they could come and leave whenever they wanted. Just leave, the people of the Central Plains had nothing to do with them for a long time.
Other important ministers also discussed it a lot, but most of them agreed to a decisive battle as soon as possible. They knew the supply of food and grass in the capital. There were nearly a million people in the capital alone, and these people also needed to eat. Plus hundreds of thousands of troops, the emperor ransacked homes. I'm afraid the little food I copied won't last long.
The emperor sat on top and listened to the discussion below. When he saw that all the ministers agreed to a decisive battle, he asked with a golden tongue: "Since all the ministers have agreed to a decisive battle as soon as possible, I don't know who will be the commander-in-chief and lead the army."
When the emperor asked this question, the ministers immediately fell silent, because this involved the military power of hundreds of thousands of troops, and it was difficult for them, as ministers, to speak openly.
When the emperor saw that the ministers were silent, he took advantage of the situation and said: "Since you don't have a suitable candidate, I will appoint him. Wang Shuixiao of Beijing (made up)."
When King Beijing heard the emperor's roll call, he immediately went out and knelt down, saying: "My lord, Shui Xiao is here."
"You are a veteran on the battlefield for many years. I think you will be in charge this time. Do you think so?"
King Beijing touched his head to the ground and respectfully replied: "Although I am not talented, I still have the heart to be loyal to the country. If Your Majesty allows me to lead the army, if you cannot win, please behead the old man."
"King Beijing, you must remember what you said. If you fail to win, you will be beheaded. If you win a big victory, I will definitely reward you heavily." The emperor said with a serious expression.
This time the emperor took a gamble. He had suffered enough from the Tatar invasions over the years. This time he planned to teach the Tatars a lesson, so he made a desperate move to fight the Tatars. However, the emperor still had a backup plan.
The three battalions of 150,000 horses do not need to go into battle. If they win, they will just fight back. If not, they can continue to defend the city and stalemate the enemy. When winter comes, the enemy troops will naturally retreat to the grassland.
King Beijing said impassionedly: "Your Majesty, please relax, this time the Tatars will know how powerful they are."
In fact, despite King Beijing's impassioned appearance on the surface, he was actually beating the drum in his heart. Although he fought several battles with the prairie people when he was young, the troops he led at that time were much stronger than those now.
Now King Beijing said this because he had no choice but to do so. The emperor has already appointed a general, how can you still refuse? Fortunately, he knew that Jia Ke's soldiers and horses were still extremely elite. Even if he could not win, he could still rely on Jia Ke's soldiers and horses.
, maintaining an undefeated situation with the Tatars, his old fate can be saved.
The emperor was still a little worried, but at this point he had nothing to explain, so he winked at Dai Quan next to him.
Dai Quan understood the idea in his heart, picked up an imperial edict from the imperial case, stood on the imperial steps and read it loudly: "The emperor is destined to carry the emperor, and the edict says: The Tatars are raging and invade our territory. They do not care about their kindness and lead their beasts to eat people.
Today the heavenly army is on the march to conquer Buchen. King Xiao of Beijing is rising from the army. He has served in the army for several generations. Now he is the marshal. He orders all the generals, if there is any disrespect, to kill them first and then report them. I admire this."
King Beijing immediately knelt forward a few steps, raised his hands high, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Shui Xiao accepts the order, thanks the Lord for your kindness, long live my emperor, long live long live."
Dai Quan walked down the imperial steps and put the imperial edict in his hand. King Beijing received the imperial edict and before he could stand up, the emperor spoke again: "Go and rectify the army now and let the army camp outside the city."
, fight against the Tatars.”
"My lord, Shui Xiao will obey the Holy Order."
After the emperor finished giving instructions to Shui Xiao, he said, "Where is Prince Teng, the military governor of Beijing Camp?"
Wang Ziteng hurriedly left his job, knelt down at the foot of the imperial steps, and shouted: "My lord, Prince Teng, the commander of the Imperial Military Commission, is here to see you."
"You start to rectify the capital camp from now on and immediately go to the city to defend it. Don't let the Tatars take advantage of it."
Wang Ziteng immediately kowtowed and replied: "My lord, now we will organize the army to defend the city, and we will not let anything happen to the capital."
Seeing that today's affairs were finished, the emperor said: "If you have anything else to report, please report it as soon as possible. If there is nothing else to report, you can all leave."
Everyone knew what was going on today. The troops were selected to defeat the Tatars. All other matters could be discussed after the Tatars retreated, so they all remained silent.
When the emperor saw that none of the ministers had anything else to say, he winked at Dai Quan. Dai Quan took a few steps forward and came to the imperial steps and shouted loudly: "Retreat from the court."
Today's court meeting ended like this. From the beginning of the court meeting to the end of the court meeting, it took less than half an hour. Jia Ke stood there the whole time without saying a word. In Jia Ke's opinion, the things decided at today's court meeting have probably been decided long ago.
The emperor had discussed it with several close ministers, and today's court meeting was just a formality.
After the court was dismissed, everyone walked out in twos and threes. Jia Ke still followed closely behind King Beijing. When they were about to reach the palace gate, King Beijing turned around and said to Jia Ke: "Now go back and say goodbye to your family, and then lead the troops out of the city to camp."
, I will ask other troops to camp near you, and then my big tent will be set up in your camp."
If other people heard this, they might think it was normal. But Jia Ke felt something was wrong after hearing this. According to Jia Ke's understanding, if King Beijing wanted to set up a large tent in the army, he should set it up where there are the most troops and horses.
, among the military envoys of Liaodong, who has the highest status among all the envoys, now he wants to set up a large tent in his army. There must be some reason that he doesn't know.
But Jia Ke did not ask, but nodded in agreement. King Beijing nodded with satisfaction and went straight back to his home in the sedan chair.
Jia Ke did not dare to neglect. After leaving the palace gate, he rode back to the house immediately. After arriving at Rongguo Mansion, he did not go to the inner courtyard, but went directly to Jia Zheng's outer study, where Jia Zheng was waiting for him.
As soon as Jia Ke met Jia Zheng, he told the truth without waiting for Jia Zheng to ask: "Father, today in the court, Prince Beijing was appointed as marshal. He will soon lead the army to camp outside the city. My son will come back this time to greet you."
Father said goodbye, and will immediately go to the army to order troops to leave the city and set up camp."
Jia Zheng felt a little uneasy after hearing this, and asked uneasily: "You told me last time that the Tatars were not on guard this time, but it's true that they didn't trick me."
"Father, please rest assured. Although the Tatars are brave, this time we have gathered hundreds of thousands of elites. In addition, the weather is getting colder now, and the Tatars' fodder cannot keep up. Even if they cannot win this time, the opponent will not be able to win this time."
We won't be able to stay for long and will retreat." Jia Ke believes that his chances of winning are already eighty-nine points. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people supporting him, even his 50,000 troops are enough to hold a stalemate with the Tatars.
.
But Jia Zheng didn't give it in vain. He thought for a while and said: "I have thought about it carefully these days, and I think you are still a little optimistic. Although you have 50,000 elites, most of them are infantry. Once the Tatars attack
The Tatars have started to wander, and I'm afraid your army won't be able to keep up. How can you fight a decisive battle with more than 100,000 elite Tatar cavalry with just 20,000 cavalry?"
After Jia Ke heard what Jia Zheng said, he was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that Jia Zheng actually said this truth. What he said was also reasonable and reasonable. Now the court is not afraid of a decisive battle with the Tatars, but is afraid that the Tatars will not
He did not leave the war, but wandered around, spending time with the court.
It seems that he is worthy of being a descendant of Duke Rong Guo. Although he has not joined the army, he still knows some things in the army through his ears and eyes.
Jia Ke thought about Jia Zheng's question carefully, and then answered him helplessly: "My son has not thought of this matter yet. Moreover, this time the Jiedushi envoys came to reinforce, and they did their own thing, and the soldiers could not be mixed together. What my father said
This matter is really difficult.”
After saying this, Jia Ke stood there with his eyes closed and meditated, and finally said to Jia Zheng: "I don't think the Tatars will wander around. The soldiers of their tribe are now eager to return home. If the stalemate lasts for a long time, the Tatars will not wander around."
Leng Khan may not be able to stabilize the morale of the army."
After hearing Jia Ke's words, Jia Zheng felt helpless. After all, the Central Plains dynasty would have few war horses in the future. When dealing with the northern peoples, they could only defend themselves. This was also a helpless move.
In fact, if Jia Ke mobilizes all his troops now, he can have hundreds of thousands of cavalry, but this is his last wealth, and how will it be revealed to the court?
After Jia Ke said goodbye to Jia Zheng, he did not enter the inner house, but went directly out with his soldiers. Jia Zheng was left feeling uneasy in the study.
Jia Ke brought his soldiers to the garrison in Xuanfu Town. As soon as he arrived at the tent, Fan Kang and Zheng Kai came to meet him.
Jia Ke told them what happened in the court today, especially that King Beijing wanted to set up a large tent in their camp. After doing so, he stared at Fan Kang.
Fan Kang thought for a while and had a general conclusion in his mind, "My lord, King Beijing set up a large tent in our camp. He did not follow the usual practice of setting up a military tent in the camp when Xie Hu, the governor of Liaodong Festival, went to the camp. I'm afraid it's this
What's wrong with Xie Hu? The cunning King of Beijing has figured out the mystery, so he's avoiding suspicion. As for what's wrong with Xie Hu, there is too little information now, so I can't guess it."