When Yang Zhen was lying warmly with his wife and newborn children, feeling the warmth of his relatives, some people were anxiously thinking about how to report this fatal thing quickly. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

This anxious official is naturally Zhang Xueyan, the secretary of the Ministry of War. After a little discussion with the other subordinates in the yamen, he still felt that it was better to report the news to the Son of Heaven immediately, so he took everything and headed for the palace.

But at this time, it was dark early, and the palace gate had been closed and locked, which made Zhang Shangshu dumbfounded, and he didn't know what to do for a while.

The Daming Palace has always had rules, once the time comes, it will be closed, and no one will be allowed to enter at that time, even if there is a big change, it cannot be accommodated. Unless there are rebels who enter the Forbidden City with open fire, the door of this palace will not be opened even if they are killed.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty suffered in this matter. Just a hundred years ago, Zhu Qizhen, the former son of heaven who was imprisoned in Nangong, suddenly launched a change to seize the door, and took advantage of the serious illness of his younger brother Zhu Qiyu to take back the throne. So it was so smooth because the four doors of the palace at that time were closed, and no matter what happened inside, the courtiers outside could not intervene.

At that time, Zhu Qizhen had already received the support of the commander of the forbidden army in the palace and the leaders and eunuchs. So he seized power at night, and when the ministers entered the palace at dawn, the overall situation was decided. In desperation, the hundred officials could only recognize his emperor position again, which was a change to seize the door.

But even if there was such a thing, the rules of the Ming Dynasty Palace did not mean to change. Although the military situation brought by Zhang Xueyan today is so urgent, when facing him, the attitude of the forbidden army general who is guarding the palace wall is very resolute, no matter how big it is, it has to wait until tomorrow after dawn!

In front of the palace gate, Zhang Xueyan took a long time to speak, said all the good things, and made corresponding threats, so he almost knelt down with the other party to plead. But as a result, the attitude of this forbidden army general did not loosen up at all.

In fact, this is also very understandable, this person's duty is only to guard the palace gate, and not let idle people enter the palace at will at an inappropriate time. Although he can let people in, it is just a matter of his words, but the result is very unpredictable, if the Son of Heaven blames, he can't afford it. But what if you don't let people in? Even if the Son of Heaven is dissatisfied in the end, he will be punished at most, but his loyalty must still be appreciated.

The two sides are weighed, and it is naturally more beneficial to themselves not to let Zhang Xueyan in. This general is just a small person, his only duty is to guard the palace gate, as for the rest, what does it have to do with him?

After being entangled for a long time, seeing that there was no way, Zhang Xueyan had to sigh and give up, it seems that this fateful news can only be reported to the Son of Heaven when the court meeting tomorrow.

But the stakes were so high that he didn't dare to hide this matter all the time, so after thinking about it for a while, he thought of another way, and while getting back into the sedan chair, he ordered: "Go, go to Lord Shen's house." ”

The Lord Shen he mentioned was the current cabinet chief assistant Shen Shixing.

In April this year, Zhang Siwei, who replaced Zhang Juzheng in the position of first assistant for five years, suddenly had to report that his father died of illness. In the case of Zhang Juzheng's previous experience, Zhang Siwei didn't dare to play the trick of seizing love no matter how bold he was, so he quickly asked the Son of Heaven to resign and went back to his hometown.

As a result, Shen Shixing, the second assistant of the cabinet, took advantage of the situation to sit in the position of first assistant.

Compared with Zhang Juzheng, who is extremely strong, and Zhang Siwei, who is shrewd, Shen Shixing, the first assistant, looks much more easy-going. Not only did he have a very relaxed relationship with the Son of Heaven, and he did not insist on controlling the emperor's words and deeds like those people before him, but he also always treated courtiers kindly, handling things like a spring breeze and rain, and almost did not make any enemies.

This action certainly made Shen Shixing quite favored by hundreds of officials, but at the same time, it also made his sense of existence as the first assistant much weaker than his predecessors. Especially after the Son of Heaven gradually grew up and the emperor's prestige became heavier, he, the first assistant, was even less conspicuous.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Xueyan only wanted to enter the palace for the first time after learning the news, and left him behind. If such a major event happened when Zhang Ju was in power, he would inevitably think about reporting to Zhang Ge Lao first.

However, rushing to see Shen Shixing like this is not all bad for Zhang Xueyan. Because after such a buffer, he was finally able to calm down, and he also had a deeper consideration and consideration for this change, and he thought of various explanations to deal with Shen Ge's inquiry.

At the end of the second watch, his palanquin finally fell in front of Shen Shixing's mansion. Soon after handing the post in, the old housekeeper of the Shen family greeted him on behalf of his master, and after entering the second courtyard, Zhang Xueyan saw Shen Shixing waiting in front of the hall door with a smile.

Indeed, in terms of being a man, Shen Shixing is much stronger than those previous strong chiefs, not to mention comparing with people like Zhang Juzheng, even Gao Gong and Zhang Siwei, they can't be so polite to his subordinates. Even if the other party suddenly visited in the middle of the night, he seemed so unhurried.

After inviting people into the hall and sitting down with each other, Shen Shixing coughed and said, "Ziyu is here for the urgent report that was suddenly sent today?" Although he is kinder than his predecessors, as the first assistant, his eyes and ears are still very well-informed.

Zhang Xueyan was slightly stunned, but still nodded and said, "As the elder said." This matter is really not small, the lower officials dare not be good at it, and after entering the palace to see the Son of Heaven but can't, they can only ask Yu Ge Lao for advice. As he spoke, he took out all the battle reports and handed them over.

As a result, after hastily sweeping those things, Shen Shixing's face suddenly became gloomy, and even his hand, which came calmly in both directions, did not tremble.

Although I thought that something big would happen, I didn't expect it to be so serious. Xuanfu, that is where the gateway of the Ming Dynasty is, once something happens there, the entire Central Plains will be exposed to the scimitar of the Mongolian iron horse.

After a long time, he gently put the music in his hand back on the table: "I'm afraid that the war is like this, and this is not true." ”

Indeed, wars, especially offensive and defensive battles, especially offensive and defensive battles in important defensive areas like Xuanfu, are absolutely impossible to be completely defeated by the enemy in a short period of time, and to the point where the city defenses are about to be destroyed.

It must have been a long process, and it was the constant weakening of the strength of the defenders as they continued to suffer losses, which led to such an astonishing result. And now these war reports only mention such a result, but hide all the previous things, obviously a self-preservation strategy made in the case of irreversible situation.

Although Shen Shixing didn't understand military affairs, and Zhang Xueyan didn't really lead soldiers, he and the two of them were still very clear about these shortcomings in the Ming army. Reporting good news but not bad news, and reporting truthfully until things can't be covered up are all old tricks of border guards. But it is precisely because of this that there will be some irreversible results, but this time the siege of Xuanfu looks more serious.

After pondering for a long time, Shen Shixing opened his mouth to express his meaning and said, "First, whether the situation in the Xuanfu is really as serious as they wrote, we must find out as soon as possible. ”

Zhang Xueyan nodded in agreement, he knew that this was also a means for border generals to protect themselves or invite credit. Only by saying that the war situation is very unbearable, and it seems that it is already dangerous, can they make any mistakes that can reduce the punishment. In addition, if they subsequently repelled the enemy, the more critical the situation before that, the greater their post-battle merit. Fighting for merit has always been what these people are good at.

After a pause, Shen Shixing continued: "Second, it is necessary to control the way of speech. Those who understand the truth of this, there is no shortage of people in the DPRK, once the matter comes out, those officials and imperial historians will definitely not let go of this great opportunity. But now, everything should be based on the stability of Xuanfu, and there must be no more turmoil, even if it is to be investigated, it must wait until after the war, and it is not too late to hold Xuanfu. Therefore, these people who may have influence on the Xuan Mansion must be shut as much as possible! ”

Zhang Xueyan sighed secretly, this is also the reason why the generals there dare to go to these untruthful performances. They know too well what the court is afraid of and what they want, and as long as this matter is not so serious that it is out of control, they have a lot of room for maneuver.

As for what Shen Shixing said about dealing with it afterwards, I'm afraid it's just an empty word. At that time, those people will only have merit in repelling a strong enemy, and how can the imperial court condemn them?

The border military is bad in the hands of these opportunistic people, but even those who know this, such as himself and Shen Gelao, can only let it go, and there is nothing to be done. Perhaps this is the key to the erosion of the border army and the difficulty of returning.

After turning these thoughts, Zhang Xueyan still nodded in agreement, but then frowned: "This matter, I'm afraid it's difficult, those officials are not so easy to speak." ”

"This, this cabinet will go to explain to the officials, and Yan Shangshu will do things. They may not listen to other people's words, but the words of the officials are still of some use. ”

Zhang Xueyan was stunned for a moment, and then nodded admiringly. Although Shen Shixing is very good at speaking, his skills should not be underestimated, and this hand alone is enough to control public opinion. You must know that although those officials use courage as capital, in fact, they will also be afraid, and the officials and officials who hold the power of their promotion will naturally not dare to disobey.

In just a few words, he did the most important thing at the moment, which made Zhang Xueyan a little calmer. Subsequently, they began to discuss the real situation of Xuanfu.

It's just that these two adults have obviously forgotten one thing, some people's ears and eyes are no worse than theirs, and these people's status in the heart of the Son of Heaven is also greater than theirs, and if they don't consult with them, whatever they do is in vain......