Chapter 686: Yanru Fights for Merit

readx; "Zhou Yanru, the governor of Chen Yansui, reported in a hurry: In July, Timur, the great chief of Ordos, led more than 10,000 people to cross the Great Wall from the west of Jingbian to enter the Kou. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 The minister ordered the Yulin guards to strictly guard the border city, and transferred 8,000 elite soldiers from Qingyang Hao Yongzhong, Longzhou Li Dingguo, and Li Laiheng of Yanzhou to rush to the aid in the starry night.

"The thief retreated at the touch of a button, wanting to lure the officers and troops deep into the Hetao to encircle and annihilate. However, the ministers thought that the courtiers had the heart of recovering for a long time, and the border army also had the power to reset; It's a pity that Emperor Sejong was deceived by the traitorous minister Yan Song, and the proposal to reinstate the set was abolished, which caused me to sit big. Although the imperial court in the Longqing period was favored and appeased, and allowed them to exchange markets, the Mongolian people were capricious, not only shoddy, forced to buy and sell, but also to disturb the side and encroach on the yin.

"The minister thought that since Zhao Wuling King was the Xiongnu in the north, the land of the Hetao was owned by China, and the Han Dynasty changed the Wuyuan County and set up officials to garrison it. Sui and Tang are in the same lineage, and when Taizu was in the north of Mengyuan, he set up Dongshengwei to town Beidi. From this point of view, the Hetao is not owned by the Mongolian people. If you let it steal the land of the Hetao, then the thief can enter the east of Xuan, Da, the south of Shaanxi, the west of the Gan, Liang, is really the heart of the trouble. This time the thief entered the prison for no reason, and the Yansui soldiers were full of righteous indignation, saying that if they did not take the opportunity to smash Huanglong and recover the Hetao, they would be ashamed of the official army and unwilling to eat the food and salary of the imperial court.

"The ministers thought that the monarch's father shared his worries, and the soldiers used their lives, so they decided to go out of the Hetao and find the thieves of the Ordos Department for a decisive battle. On the day of the seventh month, they broke the army of thieves in the land called 'Baoketu', killing more than 7,000 thieves, capturing the thief chief Timur alive, and capturing more than 30,000 of his troops.

"The ministers are worried that the land of the Hetao is all plains, there is no danger to defend, and the city cannot be built in a hurry, and the soldiers are extremely tired, so they temporarily order the generals and teachers. The ministers also thought that His Majesty's holy virtue was immense, and instead of wanting to kill all the barbarians, he only wanted to obey his heart and reassure his behavior, but to collect his subordinates, return to Yansui together, and distribute them to the generals for surveillance.

"The minister knows that there is no life to raise an army, and the crime is not light; However, this battle is really a great victory and a complete victory that our dynasty has not won for decades, and the resumption of the battle will make the Mongolian people dare not go south to drink horses and relieve the worries of the monarch's father. Even with the ferocity of Liaodong Jianjiao, sooner or later I will know that I have this tiger master in the Ming Dynasty, and I will be deeply shocked by his heart. Yu play! Tianwei is excited, and the stubborn thief bows his head; The saintly virtue is revealed, and the army is stopped by force. If the minister dares to ask the Holy Lord to reward the meritorious soldiers, and give mercy to those who die in the king's affairs, the ministers are willing to bear the responsibility for their crimes. Long live my emperor, long live, long live! ”

Nearly 20 days after the end of the Battle of Futao, Zhou Yanru, the governor of Yansui, reported to the Beijing Division, which caused a shock to the government and the public. The full text of this brilliant and inspiring piece of music also quickly spread all over the streets and alleys of Beijing. From the Emperor of the Apocalypse to the peddlers and pawns, no one dared to believe that for decades, the Ming Dynasty had been repeatedly defeated in foreign wars, lost land again and again, and the northwest was full of thieves, and the imperial court was in a hurry, but it suddenly achieved such an unexpected victory, and recovered the Hetao area that had been lost for nearly 200 years!

Regarding Zhou Yanru's performance, the courtiers were divided into three completely different factions of "reward, punishment, and wait-and-see", and they fought for how to deal with this major matter in the court. The "reward faction", which was dominated by neutral ministers, generally believed that this battle was extremely morale-boosting, and it was appropriate to reward Zhou Yanru and his generals Li Dingguo, Li Laiheng, and Hao Yongzhong.

On the other hand, the "punishment faction" dominated by the eunuchs believed that this battle would lead to a large number of Mongol troops to retaliate, and the gains outweighed the losses, and that Zhou Yanru and his subordinates would start the war without permission, and the crime was extremely heinous, and they should be immediately arrested in Beijing and severely punished, or at least immediately executed.

As for the wait-and-see faction, no one can be offended, but they don't believe that the official army can achieve such a big victory, but suspects that Zhou Yanru has falsely reported his military exploits.

In the end, the Emperor of the Apocalypse, who usually doesn't ask about political affairs, has made a final decision. On the day of Bingshen in August, Tianqi personally issued an edict in an extremely rare manner, and the edict was written: "Fengtian carriers, the emperor said: Zhou Yanru fought well, was brave and strategic!" Since I ascended the throne, except for my younger brother King Qin, who went out to Ningyuan on behalf of me and defeated the Jurchens, every time the official army fought a battle, they lost or lost, and none of them could win. Instead of punishing the generals of the defeated army, I punish the meritorious ones?

"Zhou Yanru shared my worries and regained the lost land, and he was the first major hero of our dynasty. In order to stabilize the situation in the northwest, I will temporarily serve as the governor of Yansui, and when I enter Beijing in the first month, I will personally summon him and confer important posts. Li Laiheng, Li Dingguo, and Hao Yongzhong were all awarded the rank of general soldier, and the reward was 10,000 taels of silver. The thief chief Timur should be sent to the capital as soon as possible, and his majesty should be sacrificed, and I will go to the Taimiao in person to tell the ancestors and ancestors. All the civil ministers and military generals should take Zhou Yanru, Li Laiheng, Li Dingguo, Hao Yongzhong, etc. as examples, and be loyal to the country. If you are jealous of others who have been rewarded for their meritorious service, you have the ability to fight with the Mongols and Jurchens yourself! Chin this! ”

As soon as the holy decree came out, the sea was jubilant, and the eunuchs were like mourning and losing their souls. Although Tianqi did not name him in the holy decree, in fact, it severely refuted the eunuch party's reversal of right and wrong, and scared Wei Zhongxian so much that he couldn't get sick for more than ten days. What's more, those eunuch members who had repeatedly demanded the punishment of Zhou Yanru and others were at this time, and they asked for more rewards for Zhou Yanru. They can see that Zhou Yanru has become the favorite of the Apocalypse by virtue of this big victory, and now that he has offended him, there is absolutely no good fruit to eat, so he should hurry up and pat the horse.

The effects of the war continue to ferment. Originally, there were still people in the DPRK and China who were worried that the Mongols would be more determined to collude with the Houjin and affect the war situation in Liaodong after suffering this major blow. But the fact is that on the contrary, the Mongol tribes are scattered, the Ordos department is finished, and most of the Mongolian nobles are rejoicing, glad that the Ming Dynasty has solved a strong opponent for themselves to compete for the grassland.

Of course, some Mongol tribes felt the pressure of the Ming Dynasty, but this pressure did not make them immediately turn to the Jurchens. The reason is also very simple, with the current strength of the Mongols, they are the grass on the wall, and whoever is strong will be biased. In the past, the Ming Dynasty was defeated in successive battles, but the Mongols wanted to join the camp of the Houjin and drink some soup after them.

And now it was different, the Ming Dynasty showed its great military power, which could not help but make the Mongols look ahead and consider the terrible consequences if they were on the wrong side. Therefore, several tribes had already planned to surrender Houjin, but now the execution has also been suspended, and they all want to observe and choose the most favorable outcome for themselves.

After a few more days, Zhu Youzhen, who was in the Junzhou army, learned of the holy decree of the Apocalypse and the reaction of the government and the opposition. Li Laiheng couldn't help but say angrily: "Alas! Let's fight the front line, and finally let Zhou Yanru pick up a big bargain! Your Highness, what do you say is the matter with him in this complex battle! ”

Zhu Youzhen smiled slightly: "Little ghost, this is politics, you don't understand!" ”