"I'm so angry with Prince Ben!"

On the third floor of the Zhengyangmen City Gate Tower, Zhu Houzhao slapped the table angrily and stared, as if everyone in the world had lost him, and he was indignant. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Zhang Yuan persuaded on the side: "His Royal Highness the Prince, please calm your anger...... You're sulking here, and others don't know about it, and you're letting yourself suffer in vain! ”

When he said this, it was like fanning the flames, Zhu Houzhao not only did not stop his anger, but flew like thunder, he threw the sign holder and military token on the floor, glared and said:

"The palace asked Old Master Zhang and Ma Shangshu to come over to discuss the military, and one or two refused to show up, and now the Tartars have been killed under the capital for two days, burning, killing and looting, and doing all kinds of evil. It is reported that the main force of the Tartars is only more than 30,000, and the strength is not outrageous, why can't 50,000 horses be allocated to the main palace and let the main palace take them out of the city to fight the Tartars to the death? ”

Zhang Yuan's face was full of embarrassment, and he said in his heart: "The little master is too difficult to wait...... Before the arrival of the Tatar strikers, you always said that you would take 20,000 people out, so you scared Grandpa Zhang and Ma Shangshu, this time you actually want to take 50,000 people out of the city, but we heard that the total strength of the capital is only more than 100,000, and the people have been allocated to you. Even if you win, what do you always have three long and two short, who will inherit the throne of the Ming Dynasty? ”

At this time, Ma Wensheng, Zhang Mao, Zhang Heling and others have learned to be smart, no matter how Zhu Houzhao makes trouble in Zhengyangmen, they come to avoid it, and see where you can go.

"Report ...... His Royal Highness the Prince, the main Tatar troops and horses on the front line of Xizhimen began to attack the city! The messenger suddenly brought the news to the Zhengyangmen City Tower, startling Zhu Houzhao, who was observing the movements of the Tartars under the city.

Zhu Houzhao shuddered for a moment and asked, "Tartar...... Siege? ”

Zhang Yuan trembled: "Too ...... Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, you ...... Do you want to move? ”

Zhu Houzhao's voice trembled, and he said, "Shift...... What to drive? Do there are many soldiers and horses stationed in Xizhimen, I remember that there are a lot of earthen houses over there, but they have been bulldozed by the Tartars before, and there are no soldiers in the palace, so wouldn't it be sent to death in a hurry? A few of you, hurry up, give the order to the left waiter Xiong Shilang of the military department of the palace, and ask him to come here to see the palace, if he doesn't come...... Tie it up to Hongu! ”

In the previous two days, the Tatars had only carried out non-stop harassment of the gates of the capital, and after the Tatars had completed the clearing of the acropolis around the capital, they suddenly gathered their forces to launch an attack on Xizhimen.

The East Palace Chang Attendant took someone to summon Xiong Xiu, who was still the secretary of the military department, to come over to meet him, while Zhu Houzhao was pacing back and forth on the third floor of the City Gate Tower, repeating "It's over", and the previous self-confidence disappeared, replaced by hesitation and helplessness.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince swore that he would lead troops to fight against the Tatars, but now I heard that the Tatars were attacking the city, and suddenly it was chaotic, which shows that the prince is still difficult to take on the big responsibility...... Alas, if the capital is lost, it will not be good! ”

Zhu Houzhao waited for an hour in Zhengyangmen City and did not wait for Xiong Xiu, at this time the Zhengyangmen garrison appeared to be in chaos, obviously the war on the side of Xizhimen affected the defense of the nine gates of the capital, Zhu Houzhao looked from Zhengyangmen to the west of the city from time to time, but because the distance was too far, he couldn't see what the situation was at Xizhimen.

"What the hell is going on? The palace summoned Xiong Shilang, but he hasn't seen anyone yet, so he wants to resist and disobey the order? Zhu Houzhao said angrily, "This palace is ordered to supervise the country and act on behalf of the Son of Heaven, why does a small soldier dare to perfunctory this palace?" ”

The surrounding Jinyi Guard, Bannerman Guard, and the Twelve Guards of the Imperial Army, including the Guard, did not dare to talk to Zhu Houzhao at all...... The squire of the military department is a member of the third grade, and he is in charge of the generals, so he is already a very good minister for a soldier, right?

Just when Zhu Houzhao was in a hurry, Shou Ninghou's car stopped under the Zhengyang Gate. Zhang Heling got down from the carriage, looked up, hurriedly went to the city, climbed up to the city tower, saw Zhu Houzhao himself, and saluted: "His Royal Highness the Prince, the palace has issued an order, and the minister has come to take you back to the palace!" ”

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Who asked you to pick up the palace, the palace has not yet fought to the death with the Tartars!" ”

Zhang Heling was a little anxious, and thought: "The queen asked me to summon the prince back to the palace, but this kid is very tough, and he always likes to work against people...... No, I'll have to find a way to trick him back to the palace......"

It turned out that Empress Zhang was taking care of the little princess in Kunning Palace, and when she heard that her son had gone to Zhengyangmen and had not returned to the palace for a night, she was shocked and angry, so she hurriedly asked someone to send a message to Zhang Heling, asking Uncle Guo to take the prince back to the palace.

Zhang Heling said: "His Royal Highness the Prince, Your Majesty has military affairs to discuss with you, please return to the palace immediately!" ”

"Father looking for me? Well...... It must be that my father is ready to appoint me to be in charge of military and political affairs, and it just so happens that I want to tell my father about those courtiers who are disrespectful to the palace, uncle, take me back to the palace quickly! ”

Zhu Houzhao was still awkward before, but when he heard that the emperor's father had woken up, he had a little more expectation in his heart, and immediately agreed to return to the palace with Zhang Heling.

Zhang Heling drove the prince into Daming Gate, stood at the gate of the palace, couldn't help wiping a cold sweat, shook his head and said: "Jingshi is being attacked by the Tatars, this kid still has the heart to join in the fun in Zhengyangmen, he is really fearless...... Come on, prepare a fast horse for Benhou immediately! ”

The Jinwu avant-garde officer on duty at the city gate stepped forward and asked, "Master Hou, where is this going?" ”

"Fuchengmen!" Zhang Heling said anxiously, "Xizhimen was attacked by the Tartars, and Fuchengmen will inevitably be in danger, and Benhou will personally go to the city to supervise the battle!" ”

Although Zhang Heling did not have much talent, and he was promoted to the throne completely under the shadow of his sister Empress Zhang, he still had a basic sense of responsibility in the face of the national crisis, and knew that at this time, Jiumen needed high-ranking officials to supervise the war.

The war horse was sent quickly, Zhang Heling was about to turn over and get on the horse, and suddenly saw Xie Qian and Xiong Xiu hurrying to the palace, the two seemed to have just come from the military department and wanted to enter the palace to do business, Zhang Heling saw the two and hurriedly stepped forward.

When Xie Qian saw Zhang Heling, he was a little curious about why Zhang Heling appeared in Daming Gate, and after seeing the ceremony, Zhang Heling took the lead in asking: "The two of you are going to Qianqing Palace?" ”

Xiong Xiu said: "Today, the dragon is sick, and our ministers can't face the saint, so I'm going to go to the cabinet...... If there is something to start, the playbook can go through the process in the celebrant supervisor! ”

Xie Qian squinted his eyes and asked, "Shouning Hou, can the prince return to the palace?" ”

Zhang Heling was a little surprised by Xiong Xiu's answer, what does it mean to go through the process in the master of ceremonies? The royal Zhu Pi power is such a child's play? He said to Xie Qian: "Benhou was ordered by the queen to summon the prince back to the palace. I heard that there were Tatar soldiers and horses attacking Xizhimen before, is this really true? ”

Because the news is not smooth, there is a deviation in the control of intelligence by military and political dignitaries, and after meeting with each other, they first inquire about what the other party knows so as to verify the situation.

"Hmm." Xie Qian nodded, and said, "The cabinet has agreed to temporarily set up the Prime Minister's Military Affairs Yamen in the Ministry of War, and has full authority to handle the defense of the Beijing Division!" ”

Zhang Heling was even more unhappy, this move was clearly not to put the royal family in his eyes, and immediately asked: "Xie Shangshu said this, Benhou is puzzled, His Majesty appointed the crown prince to supervise the country, the prime minister military affairs, why does the cabinet want to set up the prime minister's military affairs yamen in the Ministry of War?" Don't you want to put the prince in the air and let you and others mobilize their own troops and horses? ”

Xie Qian didn't expect Zhang Heling to react so strongly.

Xie Qian and Xiong Xiu glanced at each other, both of them were born in Jinshi, and they were in the same breath, so they inevitably despised Zhang Heling. Xie Qian flicked his sleeves and said, "The old man will enter the palace to face the saint, and everything will be handed over to the saint, and he will leave first!" After speaking, he ignored it and entered the Daming Gate with Xiong Xiu.

Zhang Heling was furious and muttered: "I said before that I couldn't face the saint, but now I say that it is up to the saint to decide, who are you fooling?" Your Majesty can't manage the government at this time, if the crown prince is set up by these ministers again, how should my brother deal with himself at that time? Why don't you go to the queen right away and let the queen decide! ”

Zhang Heling was going to Fuchengmen, but at this time he was not in a hurry, and immediately entered the palace to see Queen Zhang.

In Zhang Heling's view, no matter what the situation, the Zhang family can't be led by the nose, since the cabinet and the six ministries are ready to empty the royal family, he must make a counterattack, and now only Empress Zhang can balance the power of the court.

This Xie Qian and Xiong embroidered to Wenyuan Pavilion, Liu Jian, a scholar of the Shoufu University, was disposing of the military affairs book, and Li Dongyang went to the Guangping Treasury in the city to mobilize money and grain.

After Xie Qian arrived, he gave a general account of the situation in Xizhimen, and Liu Jian asked, "Who is the Xizhimen guard?" ”

Xie Qian said: "Deputy Chief Soldier Gao Hong." ”

Liu Jian asked again: "How many soldiers and horses are stationed at Xizhimen?" ”

Xie Qian replied: "There are more than 4,000 soldiers and horses, and now there are 600 more troops!" ”

Liu Jian was a little worried when he heard this, almost 5,000 soldiers and horses, and it sounds like a lot to be stationed at a city gate, but the area of the city wall of the capital division is vast, and these people are scattered to various sections of the city wall, it seems a little stretched, Liu Jian thought about it carefully, and asked, "Where is the British duke?" ”

Xie Qian could still answer the same question before, but he could only shake his head helplessly at this time, because he didn't know where Zhang Mao was now.

At present, there is a lack of effective dispatch of officials and generals in the capital, and orders cannot be issued, although there are specific responsible generals in various places, but they are fighting for their own battles, and the defense of the capital is in a mess. Liu Jian sighed: "From this point of view, the establishment of the Prime Minister's Military Affairs Yamen is indeed urgent!" ”

Xie Qian smiled bitterly and asked, "I don't know who is in charge of the yamen?" ”

This question stumped Liu Jian.

After the change of Tumubao, Yu Qian, the secretary of the Ministry of War, presided over military affairs, and even personally led the soldiers and horses outside the gate of Chen Bing Desheng, the guiding ideology of the operation at that time was that the soldiers and horses were displayed outside the city, set up camps, and protected the city walls and gates, and finally proved that this move was extremely wise and correct, and finally won the victory in the defense of Beijing.

At present, all the soldiers and horses in the capital are shrinking into the city, and the only one who has the courage to fight with the Tatars outside the city is the fledgling Zhu Houzhao, but his power is hollowed out by several important ministers.

Xiong Xiu proposed: "In charge of military affairs, the prince must be the prince!" ”

Xie Qian glanced at Xiong Xiu...... Since you want the prince to preside over the military and politics, what are you doing with so many tricks? Wouldn't it be good to let the prince directly take charge of the affairs in the Wenhua Palace?

Liu Jian flicked his sleeves: "Please Ma Shangshu!" ”

In the heart of this Shoufu University scholar, only Ma Wensheng, who was a scholar of the military department and had actual experience in leading troops, and personally led the troops to recover Hami, was qualified to preside over military affairs.

As soon as he finished speaking, someone over there sent a notebook: "Several adults, Ma Shangshu was infected with a cold after returning yesterday and couldn't afford to ...... sick."