Zhu Youzhen hasn't slept for many days.

Ever since the news of Jiannu's breakthrough of the border wall reached Beijing, Zhu Youzhen's spirit has been extremely nervous, extremely excited, and faintly worried.

The layout has been completed, and the time has come to test the results of the efforts of the two years since he ascended the throne. Whether Daming's fate can be changed or not will be in the next few months.

If he can win Jiannu, Daming will go through the most difficult moment. Although there are still various problems, but without this biggest external trouble, there will be more space and time to toss and turn, and we can strive to reform and change, so as to achieve the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty!

And if you lose this battle, not to mention the waste of two years of hard work, Daming is afraid that he will be like in the previous life, under the internal and external troubles, he may be able to last for a while longer, but he can't change the final outcome.

Zhu Youzhen was afraid that when he woke up and returned to his previous life, he didn't want to go through the hardships he had experienced in his previous life again.

However, unlike the previous life, Zhu Youzhen, who has experienced life and death, is tenacious enough.

Zunhua was lost, the Santun camp was slaughtered, the county town of Sanhe was broken, and the Jiannu army was attacking the city of Beijing. One bad news after another reached Beijing, and there was a panic in the court, although Zhu Youzhen was angry and panicked, he still kept his composure, because he knew that Sun Chuanting was about to rush to Beijing with an army of 40,000.

Although these 40,000 are only infantry, with these 40,000 troops joining, at least there is no problem in holding the city of Beijing.

On November 10 of the second year of Chongzhen, when the Jiannu army was still in Sanhe County, Sun Chuanting led the army to Beijing and camped between Beijing and Tongzhou, only ten miles away from Beijing.

Because of the advance of the troops and the decisive march, Sun Chuanting finally rushed to the outside of Beijing before the Jiannu army.

Sun Chuanting's arrival relieved both the government and the opposition. Unlike Yuan Chonghuan, Sun Chuanting was only the governor of Liaodong at the beginning, and Jizhen was not under his jurisdiction. Therefore, there is not much responsibility for Jiannu's invasion of Sun Chuanting from Jibei, and the one who should really be responsible is Liu Ce, the current governor of Jizhen.

Zhu Youzhen immediately issued an edict and ordered Sun Chuanting to enter the city to see the driver.

Qianqing Palace, in addition to Sun Chengzong, who sat in Cangcheng, Tongzhou, several cabinet elders, Hong Chengchou, the secretary of the Ministry of War, Li Banghua, and others were all there.

"Inspector Sun, I heard that you ordered reinforcements from all sides to be stationed in various places and not let them come to Beijing, why is this?" Zhou Yanru questioned.

The matter was so urgent, the troops in Beijing City were empty, but Sun Chuanting ordered the general army of Datong to guard Shunyi, and the general soldier of Xuanfu, Huang Degong, to stay in Changping, which made many people dissatisfied.

Zhu Youzhen also looked at Sun Chuanting. Although he knew Sun Chuanting's plan and knew that Sun Chuanting was doing the right thing, he also ordered the Shandong General Army and Henan General Army to guard Hejian, Zhuozhou and other places. But when he knew that Sun Chuanting ordered not to let local reinforcements come to Beijing, Zhu Youzhen was still a little uncomfortable. I can't help but wonder, isn't Sun Chuanting worried about the safety of his emperor at all?

"Yuan Fu doesn't know, the reason why I let Man Gui, Huang Degong and others guard Changping and Shunyi is firstly to seal the road of Jiannu's northern attack, and secondly, I am worried that the armies from all walks of life will be attacked by Jiannu on the way to Beijing." Sun Chuanting replied slowly.

"Your Excellency should know the example of the Battle of Salhu that year, when our Ming army attacked in four ways, but was broken by Jiannu in three ways within five days. It is because Jiannu has too many cavalry, and its marching speed is much faster than our army. At present, I have led an army of 40,000 to Beijing, and there are Beijing garrisons in the city, so there is no problem in holding Beijing, and there is no need for more troops at all. ”

Zhou Yanru asked, "In that case, why don't you bring a large army into Beijing, but camp between Beijing and Tongzhou?" ”

Sun Chuanting showed a trace of disdain on his face, and said directly: "If the imperial court agrees, I can let the army enter Beijing City." ”

Zhou Yanru paused for a moment, and immediately closed his mouth, knowing that he had made a mistake. Letting the border army enter Beijing has always been a taboo in the imperial court!

Maybe Sun Chuanting is extremely loyal, but if it happens, in case of chaos, the rebellion of Dong Zhuo in the former Han Dynasty may be repeated, and the Ming Dynasty will be in danger of losing the country. Zhou Yanru only thought about the defense of Beijing City, and forgot about it for a while.

"Haha, there are still 30,000 defenders in the city at the moment, and all the nobles have been mobilized, and they have brought their families to the city to assist in the defense, and the guards are still enough. There is no need for the Liao soldiers of Inspector Sun's division to enter the city, so it is better to stay outside the city and wait for the opportunity to annihilate Jiannu. Hong Chengchou said with a smile.

Sun Chuanting smiled slightly, and didn't say anything about it, he had no intention of leading troops into Beijing City.

"Your Majesty, my lords, I think so."

Sun Chuanting pointed to the map and said his plan: "The camp is ten miles away from Beijing, and the purpose is to force Jiannu to attack my camp, otherwise we will not be able to attack Beijing with peace of mind." In terms of field battles, our army is not Jiannu's opponent, and if you defend the camp, it is not easy for Jiannu to break the defense. If Jiannu storms my camp, it will be exactly what I want, and he will not lose tens of thousands of lives, and he will not want to break through my camp. ”

In short, it is to use the camp to attract Jiannu to attack, and kill and injure Jiannu's living force as much as possible. Everyone present quickly understood Sun Chuanting's plan. According to this method of arrangement, Jiannu should not attack Beijing City before breaking through the camp of the Liaoxi Army, otherwise it would be attacked by the Liaoxi soldiers from behind.

"But can we just watch Jiannu attack?" Zhou Yanru said, "Inspector Sun, your plan seems to be very good, but what if Jiannu does not attack Beijing or your camp, but goes straight south around Beijing?" ”

"I heard that Your Majesty has issued an order to order Henan reinforcements to assist in the defense of the cities of Baoding Prefecture, and to order Shandong reinforcements to assist in the defense of the counties of Hejian Prefecture, so that the road to the south of Jiannu should be sealed. In this way, Jiannu will be blockaded near Gyeonggi, and under the strong walls and clear fields, Jiannu will suffer heavy casualties if they try to break through every city. Jiannu could not attack and plundered, and would have to retreat. Sun Chuanting said lightly.

Zhou Yanru sneered: "Could it be that Inspector Sun thinks that the cities can really be defended?" To the south of Beijing are plains, and the Jiannu cavalry can run wild. Dozens of county towns in Baoding and Hejian Prefecture, how can they hold so many cities with reinforcements from Henan and Shandong alone? How many cities will be breached and how many people will be slaughtered by Jiannu? ”

Sun Chuanting fell silent, how could he not know this situation. Shandong and Henan reinforcements may be able to hold a few cities, but they can't stop the Jiannu from attacking other cities, and they can't stop the Jiannu from looting and slaughtering.

"There are 40,000 Liaoxi troops outside the city, plus the Xuanfu soldiers and the Datong soldiers, as well as reinforcements from various provinces who have come one after another, there is no problem in gathering 100,000 troops, in order to avoid the people being slaughtered by Jiannu, Your Majesty, the minister suggested that it be outside Beijing City, and Jiannu decisive battle!" Zhou Yanru said angrily.

"The minister is against!" Sun Chuanting said immediately.

Zhou Yanru said angrily: "Inspector Sun, are you afraid of fighting with Jiannu? ”

Sun Chuanting said coldly: "If I were afraid of Jiannu, I would not have led the troops back to Beijing." How can a soldier raise an army out of anger? The battle between the two armies is not something that can be pointed at by reading a few military books.

Zhou Ge Lao, you said that it is easy, how to gather an army of 100,000? Will Jiannu watch the armies of all walks of life gather? How do the various armies coordinate and how do they solve the problem of food and wages? The hastily assembled army has not been trained and does not know how to cooperate, can it really win the Jiannu? If the war was so easy, if the war only relied on a large number of people, Fu Jian would not have been defeated in the water back then, and Cao Cao would not have been defeated in Chibi. ”

"You!" Zhou Yanru pointed at Sun Chuanting, trembling with anger. How can he not be angry when he is so sarcastic, a member of the Cabinet University?

"There are many problems, but they can't be solved one by one." Li Banghua, the squire of the military department, spoke, but he supported Zhou Yanru.

"Right now, I am fighting in the territory of my Ming Dynasty, which is different from Wei Wuzhi's Chibi and Fu Jian's Shuishui. As long as the sentinels were widely dispatched to find out the movements of the Jiannu army, they could avoid being attacked by them, and it was not difficult to gather troops. Jiannu is brutal, slaughtering at every turn, our Ming army and people should be the same enemy, our army is backed by Beijing Tongzhou, there is enough food and pay materials, and the morale of the army should be no problem.

Now Jiannu has hit outside Beijing, five or six cities have been breached, and hundreds of people have been slaughtered by Jiannu, if in this case they dare not fight with Jiannu, then what is the use of me raising so many troops? ”

Huang Liji, Wen Tiren and others also nodded slightly, agreeing with Li Banghua's words, and at the same time being a little dissatisfied with Sun Chuanting. Now that Jiannu is about to fight under the city of Beijing, Sun Chuanting still has to avoid the war, which makes them very dissatisfied.

"What if the 100,000 army is defeated by Jiannu?" Sun Chuanting asked lightly. In his heart, he was very helpless, and a group of people were full of concern for the people, but they didn't consider the actual situation at all.

Of course, the 100,000-strong army can be gathered, but if it is defeated by Jiannu, Gyeonggi and the whole of Hebei will no longer have any ability to resist. When Jiannu wants to hit that city, he will fight whichever city he wants, and even Beijing will not be spared.

"Is Inspector Sun afraid of war?" Zhou Yanru asked coldly.

"What do you know how to fight?" Sun Chuanting finally became angry, pointed at Zhou Yanru and said loudly, "Elder Zhou Ge, you are high in the temple, do you know the Ming army?" Have you ever seen the brutality of the battlefield? You keep saying that you are all about the people, and you care about the sufferings of the people, but can't you imagine how many people will be slaughtered if our army is defeated? What if our army is defeated and the city of Beijing is breached by Jiannu? Do you want to see the Ming Dynasty fall to the country? Zhou Yanru, you are full of benevolence, righteousness and morality, I think you are a hypocrite, a shameless person who wants to trap an army of 100,000 to death in order to win fame! ”

Zhou Yanru was stunned, trembling with anger, he didn't expect Sun Chuanting to dare to insult himself in front of the emperor.

"Bold! He was so presumptuous in front of His Majesty! Huang Liji scolded.

"Your Majesty, Sun Chuanting insulted the elder of the pavilion, he is really arrogant, please remove him from the post of Jiliao Governor." Li Banghua also said.

For a while, there was a quarrel in the hall, which made Zhu Youzhen a headache. However, for Zhu Youzhen, who has experienced more than ten years of court disputes, it is just a small scene in front of him.

"Okay, the deliberations should be on the merits, and no personal attacks should be allowed!" Zhu Youzhen said, "Sun Chuanting lost his honor in front of the monarch and insulted the ministers, so he should be punished and punished for three years." ”

To put it mildly, Sun Chuanting's insult to Zhou Yanru was exposed. Li Banghua and others are no longer holding on to it, and they can't really blame Sun Chuanting because of a verbal dispute.

"Hong Shangshu, what do you think?" Zhu Youzhen looked at Hong Chengchou.

Hong Chengchou naturally understood what Zhu Youzhen meant, in order to avoid the leakage of news, the matter of the Praetorian Guards and the Liaoxi cavalry attacking the Jiannu nest could not be said. The top priority now is to drag Jiannu in the territory of Daming as long as possible. It is impossible to fight a decisive battle with Jiannu, if you gather 100,000 troops to destroy the main force of Jiannu, why wait until now?

But it is also necessary to appease the mood of the court and the people, the Jiannu have all been beaten outside Beijing, if the army does not dare to fight and let the Jiannu slaughter and loot, it will not sound good to say, it will shake morale, and it will cause fear among the people.

As the emperor, Zhu Youzhen naturally couldn't say that he only defended and didn't fight, so at this time, he had to come out on his own.

Hong Chengchou stood up and replied: "Back to Your Majesty, the minister thinks that he should fight!" ”

As soon as the words came out, Zhou Yanru and Li Banghua's eyes at Hong Chengchou were immediately full of appreciation, and Wen Tiren's eyes were full of surprise.

"Jiannu broke my side wall, slaughtered my city, hundreds of people were slaughtered, hundreds of people's families were destroyed, the enmity between my Ming and Jiannu is as deep as the sea, how can you not fight?" Hong Chengchou first said impassionedly, and then changed his words,

However, what Inspector Sun said is also reasonable, you can't raise troops out of anger, everything should be based on the safety of Beijing. Jiannu invaded the nest, and it was not easy to defeat it, so it should be planned slowly.

The first thing to do now is to clear the field and reduce the loss. Jiannu penetrated deep into the territory of our Ming Dynasty, and the road behind it was cut off, and the supply of grain and grass depended on plunder. The strong wall clears the wilderness, and gathers the people in the countryside and county seats, so as to reduce the casualties of the people, and if the Jiannu want to get supplies, they must attack the city. While Jiannu is attacking other cities, let's mobilize our troops. More reinforcements were summoned from Gansu, from Yulin, and from Shanxi, Shaanxi.

Now that it has just entered winter, the mountains in Jibei are closed by ice and snow, and Jiannu will not go back until at least after the spring of next year, and a few months will be enough to gather more troops and fight with Jiannu at that time! ”

Hong Chengchou's words took care of the emotions of Zhou Yanru, Li Banghua and other "main battle factions", and they also wanted to fight a decisive battle with Jiannu and annihilate it in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. But not now, but to gather more troops, what we need to do now is still to clear the walls and defend various cities, which is exactly the same as Sun Chuanting's proposition.

But Zhou Yanru and others couldn't refute Hong Chengchou. Because Hong Chengchou took the safety of Beijing as the name from the beginning, whoever opposed it was ignoring Beijing and ignoring the safety of the emperor.

However, Zhou Yanru and the others did not need to refute, because their purpose had already been achieved. At the very least, the officials of the Manchu Dynasty and the people of the world, no one would say that they were afraid of war.

For civil officials, it doesn't matter whether they can win or not, the important thing is to be brave! Even if the enemy hits the Jingshi, he must not give up, never make peace with the enemy, and must fight to the death! That's political correctness!

On the contrary, all Sun Chuanting's intentions were for the sake of the Ming Dynasty, but as long as he avoided the war, he would be criticized. Who knows what the specific situation is for the people of the world, it depends on whether you dare to fight against Jiannu?

From this point of view, Sun Chuanting is far less sleek than Hong Chengchou.

Alas, still young! Looking at Sun Chuanting, who had a solemn face, Huang Li sighed slightly.