"General Cao, the front line of the Tile Spur army is close to the border of Monan Mongolia, and if the cavalry is fast, it will be able to go straight to the Tatar camp in three or five days."

Let's try it soon, everyone. 】

"According to the current strength under the control of the Tile Spurs, it is difficult to resist the attack of the Tile Spur army, and the last general suggested that all units of the Liaodong Army be summoned and take the initiative to go out of the city to build a defensive line to contain the Tile Spur soldiers and horses, so as to prevent the Tatar Department from suddenly collapsing under attack!"

Li Da, who has now been promoted to general of the Liaodong Army, was the first to express his opinion.

That is to let go of the previous hatred between the Liaodong Army and the Tatar Department, uphold the principle of cold lips and teeth, and take the initiative to press forward to cover the flanks. Otherwise, according to the experience of the previous battles, as well as the prestige of Tokhtobuhua's current rapid collapse among the Mongol tribes, wait until the situation is not right and then rush to help, maybe the daylily will be cold.

Listening to Li Da's suggestion, Jiao Li, the deputy general of the left in Liaodong, looked a little solemn and questioned: "But the problem is that our army is pressing forward to cover the flanks of the Tatars, which is equivalent to giving up the defensive advantage of the Fengsui Fortress, putting the soldiers at the risk of fighting with the Tartars." ”

"As the saying goes, brothers are against the wall, and they are insulted from the outside, and no matter what kind of hatred there is between the Tatars and the tiles, they are all Mongols. No one can guarantee whether the Taishi will turn his guns and give priority to attacking the Liaodong Army out of the city, and whether the Tatar soldiers and horses will gallop to help us at this time? ”

"There is even a worst-case scenario, where the Tatar and Tile Divisions join forces to attack Liaodong as they did last year. At that time, we will be attacked by the enemy, and this time there will be no reinforcements brought by the old Shen Pavilion from the Beijing Division, and the situation will be critical! ”

The war between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia lasted for more than 70 years, if you count from the Han Dynasty Zhao and Song, this war has been fought for hundreds of years, and there has long been a deep blood feud between the two sides that cannot be resolved.

Even if the Tatar Department nominally became a Ming vassal state, and Tokhtar Buhua became a Ming courtier, most of the Liaodong Army was still wary of them. After all, there is a precedent for Taishi's rebellion, and the Mongols are a group of white-eyed wolves that can't be fed, and they will bite back fiercely if they don't pay attention to it!

Jiao Li's words were agreed by most of the high-level officials of the Liaodong Army in the hall, and even the chief soldier Cao Yi nodded and said: "What General Jiao said is reasonable, the risk of going out of the city to fight is too high, and this matter has to be thought twice." ”

Regarding Cao Yi's "conservative" character, Li Da has personally experienced it many times, and he justified it with some eagerness: "It is true that it is risky to go out of the city to face the battle, but the Tatar generals have had a lot of contact recently, and they are really strong and middle-class cadres cannot match the elite soldiers of the Tile Spur Department." ”

"Once we slow down a bit, the speed of the collapse may be beyond imagination."

Due to the special structure of the integration of military and political affairs, it was Li Da who led to the docking of mutual trade with the Tatar Department, and no one knew better than him that in the past six months, he would not spend his real combat effectiveness and morale.

To put it simply, it was the failure of the attack on the Beijing Division, which led to the loss of most of the elite of the Tatar Division, and there was no way to replenish and recover in a short time. In addition, bowing to the Ming Dynasty, the Mongol tribes almost regarded it as a shame to take off and not spend money, and no one was willing to fight for this cowardly Great Khan.

Li Da could already anticipate the scene of the arrival of the Tile Thorn army and the defeat of the Tatar army. The Liaodong Army defended the flanks in advance, just to hold out at the critical moment, otherwise this war would not have to be fought.

"Then it is all the more prudent to send troops, in case the Tatars are on the verge of defection?"

Jiao Li didn't agree with Li Da's concern, but asked him.

"It was precisely in order to avoid the Tatar tribe from taking the initiative to defect that the Liaodong Army was needed to flank and give Tokhtar support to stabilize his rule. On the contrary, if we look from the wall, the Tatar Ministry will undoubtedly be defeated, and the fetters strategy of the old Shen Pavilion to help the weak and suppress the strong will fail completely! ”

Li Da's tone began to be a little convening, as the saying goes, soldiers make dangerous moves, and how can war be 100% sure.

As long as the benefits outweigh the risks, it was worth the risk, and the Tatars were not only to win a war, but also to keep the Mongols divided and hostile from becoming one.

Cao Yi and other generals of the Liaodong Army have been stationed in Liaodong for more than 20 years, and they are indeed old, and they can no longer keep up with Shen Yichen's strategic thinking.

Offense is the best defense!

"General Li, it is undeniable that your suggestion has some truth, but have you ever thought about one thing, that is, are the soldiers willing to put aside their blood feud and rush out of the city to aid the Tatars?"

Shi Ju, the right deputy general of Liaodong, said to Li Da in a calm tone.

Wars are fought by people, and no matter how exquisite the plan and how magnificent the strategic intentions, they must ultimately be carried out by the soldiers below.

The Tatar tribe bowed to the Ming Dynasty, and the impact of the mutual trade between the two sides was not only the dissatisfaction of Mongolia with the lack of spending. Many soldiers of the same Liaodong Army couldn't understand why they sold all kinds of materials to the Tartars, and the imperial court also gave a large number of tributes in return, so that they could make a lot of money.

You must know that just half a year ago, the two sides were still stained with each other's blood, but now they have to fight side by side, is the hatred so easy to eliminate?

Relying on the strong pressure of military discipline, it is possible to order the officers and men of the Liaodong Army to assist in the defense of the Tatar department, but it cannot change the state of low morale, and it will affect the trend of the war.

The root cause lies in the submission of Mongolia to the Ming Dynasty, not the subdued.

Shi Ju's words made Li Da silent, and now the top brass of the Liaodong Army, who are familiar with the general trend, are all opposed to taking the initiative to rush to the aid of the Tatar Ministry, let alone the soldiers at the bottom, and they will not understand why they want to help their former enemies.

At this time, Cao Yi, the general soldier of Liaodong, who had not expressed his opinion, finally spoke: "General Li, you are brave and loyal, and you know very well, but you can't rush to the aid of Tatars, the officers and men of the Liaodong Army have fought several times, and they also suffer heavy casualties and can't afford to take risks." ”

"In this way, this commander will recruit the soldiers and horses of the Liaodong guards in advance, and station them in the border fort near the first line of the Tatar department, as long as the soldiers and horses of the tile spurs attack, they can go to the aid as soon as possible."

"After all, there are still tens of thousands of soldiers, so they won't be so vulnerable."

Cao Yi proposed a central solution, which made all the generals in the hall nod their heads and say yes, thinking that this was an acceptable plan. Li Da knew the truth of the speed of the soldiers, and did not have the slightest confidence in the defense of the Tatar army, but at this point, he had no capital to oppose as a general.

can only hold his fists and say: "Everything is subject to Cao Zongrong's arrangement." ”

The battle clouds are dense on the Liaodong side, and the Jukui Hall of the Shuntian Gongyuan is also in a tense atmosphere.

The two examiners of their own subjects were lined up on the left and right, sitting directly above the long table, among which Shen Yichen was on the left side with the advantage of official rank, becoming the de facto chief examiner of the examination, and Yang Hongze could only succumb to it.

Of course, this is just a conventional ranking, and the official vice president will have to wait until the Qing Dynasty.

The examiners in the eighteenth room were also divided into two rows, sitting on both sides of the long table, and in front of them were placed the test papers of their highly recommended candidates. Among them, the eighteenth to second place candidates have already been ranked in a lot of controversy, and now only one Huiyuan title is still pending.

Seriously speaking, it is not that the title of Huiyuan is too controversial, on the contrary, the eighteenth room examiners, including Yang Hongze, already have a clear Chinese-style candidate, but Shen Yichen, who is the president of the examination, disagrees.

"Shen Zhongtang, please forgive the officials for being difficult to obey, this article you selected as Huiyuan did not perfectly speak on behalf of the saints, deviated from the Confucian avenue, and could not convince the world's scholars!"

A fellow examiner looked excited at Shen Yichen, who would have reached an agreement on the title of Huiyuan in the civil official group, and he was Zhao Yizhi, the son of Zhao Xin, the servant of the ministry.

The ranking of the Five Classics has been changed by Shen Yichen's strong intervention, and the previously finalized candidates have been changed. As a result, I didn't expect the other party to be really a hole that was not satisfied, and even the final Huiyuan candidate wanted to be in control.

When will Daming try to win and become a word of your president?

If Shen Yichen's recommendation of the Huiyuan candidate is indeed higher than the other fellow examiners, he can still grit his teeth and admit it, but the Huiyuan article praises and disparages the explanation of Confucianism, vaguely revealing the admiration for Shen Xue's "application in the world".

Shen Yichen chose this article as Huiyuan, it is obvious that this is public power and private use!

In the face of the accusation of the same examiner, Shen Yichen replied expressionlessly: "I have emphasized before the official examination that this session will give priority to practical work, and abandon empty talk and righteousness. ”

"This article states the pros and cons of the division of power in the Zhou, Tang, Qin and Wei dynasties, looking at the ancients, testing the present, participating in personnel, observing the reason for prosperity and decline, and judging the appropriateness of power."

"Isn't it better for an article to be able to survive the past than another flashy and empty piece of straw?"

Although the president controls the decision-making power of Huiyuan, when filling in the rankings of previous courses, no one is as strong as Shen Yichen, and he does not give the examiner the slightest face, and even calls the articles recommended by Huiyuan papyrus.

As soon as these words came out, the eighteen fellow examiners present were in an uproar, especially the majority of the Hanlin officials, who were incompatible with Shen Yichen in the Hanlin Academy, and instantly some people stood up with angry eyes and said: "Ming Jing takes scholars, seeks talents for the country, Shen Zhongtang is so decisive and dictatorial, and the lower officials uphold the heart of justice, and will never agree to let the talented people be dusted!" ”

The righteousness of these words was awe-inspiring, but the corners of Shen Yichen's mouth showed a mocking smile and said: "Tao Shiyu, you take this article as Huiyuan, are you really adhering to the heart of justice?" ”

The first line of another test paper on the table, the extremely familiar outline angle, seemed so dazzling.

As the saying goes, being a thief has a weak heart, and in the face of Shen Yichen's straightforward rhetorical question, this Hanlin waiter, who was still righteous and awe-inspiring just now, opened his mouth to refute, but he never dared to say anything.

Shen Yichen's reputation in officialdom is known to everyone, no one knows, what kind of saint do you want to pretend to be in front of him, the other party really has the possibility of flipping the table.

There was no way, the same examiner present could only look at Yang Hongze, who was sitting on the right side without saying a word, with his eyes asking for help. After all, the two presidents enjoy the same power, and when the candidate for the yuan is deadlocked, Yang Hongze will play a decisive role.

More than a dozen pairs of eyes were staring at Yang Hongze, but at this moment, his eyes were on the first line of the test paper, and he was struggling fiercely in his heart.

is to comply with the rules of officialdom and go against the sage road that he has learned for many years, and choose to default to favoritism in the imperial examination. Or is it like Shen Yichen, who always adheres to the public righteousness in his heart and picks out the true and well-deserved self-deserving Huiyuan?

Yang Hongze's thinking made the air in Jukui Hall seem to freeze, and it was not until a long time later that he slowly raised his head, looked at everyone and said: "These two test papers are written between the two papers, and the official can't judge for a while, so it's up to Shen Zhongtang to decide." ”

What?

Hearing Yang Hongze's words, all the examiners present were stunned.

You must know that Yang Hongze's election as the president of the examination is the result of a compromise between all forces, otherwise with his back qualifications, how can He De become a dignified teacher at such a young age.

As a result, he didn't expect that he actually disobeyed the great uncle who promoted him, and handed over the choice to Shen Yichen at the critical moment, and he would try what happened in this short period of time, and the two who were incompatible could reconcile.

Not to mention that the examiners were stunned, even Shen Yichen himself glanced at Yang Hongze with surprised eyes.

Maybe this is where Hu Hu looked away, he thought that if he chose a young junior who was extremely loyal to Confucius and Mencius, he would definitely be jealous and hateful, and he would be inseparable from a sleek person like Shen Yichen.

Hu Hu forgot a little, the more loyal he was to Confucius and Mencius, the more he could not tolerate a little sand in his eyes. On the contrary, in his heart, there will be an uncompromising bottom line, which is the original intention of Yang Hongze as a literati!

The longer he has been in the office, the more Yang Hongze can feel that compared with this turbid officialdom, the seemingly "sleek" Shen Yichen is as pure as a saint.

But what really moved Yang Hongze was a sentence said by Shen Yichen in the Shuntian Gongyuan: "If even the fairness of the imperial examination cannot be guaranteed, will the poor peasant family have a bright future in the future?" ”

That's right, even if in order to ensure the balance of power between the DPRK and China, it is necessary to determine the Chinese style of some people, why can't these people be the children of a poor family, but all of them come from official eunuch families?

If absolute fairness cannot be guaranteed, at least the brilliant title of Huiyuan will be resided by real talents!

With Yang Hongze's acquiescence, Shen Yichen didn't need to discuss anything now, so he directly opened the seal on the test paper, revealing the candidate's nationality and name. The familiar word "Peng Shi" appeared on it, and a knowing smile hung on the corner of his mouth.

If you add He Wendao and Yue Zheng, who were admitted by Wujingkui, it can be said that the harvest of serving as the president of the examination this time has fully met Shen Yichen's expectations before the examination, and has won a group of rising stars who have real talents and learning, and no longer talk about righteousness!

Many times the change starts from bit by bit, this time Shen Yichen not only has like-minded people, but also has a group of his own protégés in the future, and the wheels of history are gradually going to drive to another completely different road.