Night.

Inside the palace cabinet room.

Li Dongyang is still drafting votes, as the person on duty in the cabinet and a member of the newly established Shangting Office, Li Dongyang is tantamount to shouldering two errands at the same time, and he doesn't take the errands of the Shangting Office too seriously in his heart.

After midnight, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and the person in charge of serving tea and water at the door came to knock on the door.

"Cabinet Department, Master of Ceremonies Grandpa Xiao is visiting."

Only then did Li Dongyang get up, first add two pieces of charcoal to the brazier, and then go over to open the door.

Xiao Jing stood at the door with a respectful face, but did not enter the door.

"Grandpa Xiao?" Li Dongyang didn't deliberately give a gift, Xiao Jing couldn't come to visit casually at night, and there must be something wrong when he came.

Xiao Jing said: "There is an important military situation, involving the march of Liaodong, please ask Elder Li Ge to go and face the saint." ”

"Your Majesty...... Haven't slept yet? Li Dongyang didn't want to ask what was going on in Liaodong, because from the previous sporadic news, it seemed that Lu Wan was marching rapidly on the grassland, and the news was delayed for six or seven days before reaching the capital, and the speed of transmission of the news was slower than that of the battle report on the West Ningxia Road.

"Please." Xiao Jing didn't say much.

If you are asked to face the saint, you don't have to worry about whether the emperor is asleep or not, you will definitely be able to see it when you go.

……

……

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

The lights are bright, Zhu Youzhu doesn't see things clearly at night, usually he puts candles in front of him to illuminate in order to be thrifty, and that night he uses more than a dozen candles to illuminate the entire palace.

Dai Yi and Wei Bin were not there, but Chen Kuan was standing beside them.

"Your Majesty, Elder Li Ge, please come." Xiao Jing walked in front of Li Dongyang, and the two came in directly without communicating in advance.

Zhu Youzhu looked up.

Li Dongyang hurriedly stepped forward to salute.

Zhu Youzhu said: "If it's so late, if you go to let Bingkuan enter the palace, won't it disturb him too much?" ”

Li Dongyang thought to himself, when the emperor has important matters to discuss with his courtiers, is it too late to worry?

"Your Majesty, but there is important military information?" Li Dongyang inquired.

The general envoy and the cabinet did not see it, and the military information should have been transmitted directly to the emperor, and Li Dongyang is not surprised now.

Zhu Youzhu sighed and said: "The news just came was seven days ago, it was snowing on the grassland, and the governor of Liaodong, Lu Wan and Shouning Hou, were leading troops to pursue Duoyan Sanwei, and it was determined that most of Taining and Duoyan were walking on the north bank of Huangshui, as for Fuyu and Duoyan, they were on another westward road forty or fifty miles north of Huangshui. ”

While speaking, Zhu Youzhu asked Chen Kuan, who was standing on the side, to hand over Lu Wan's performance to Li Dongyang.

Li Dongyang took it and looked at it, his brows furrowed.

Zhu Youzhu said: "The area around Keshdan, this is the scope of activity of the Chahar Department, where the little prince of Tatar and Duoyan Sanwei are competing, this battle may take place here, according to Lu Wan's prediction, if everything goes well, it will catch up with the men and horses retreating west from the south bank of Duoyan Sanwei from the north bank of Huangshui in two or three days." ”

Li Dongyang quickly finished sweeping the content of the note and asked: "Your Majesty, the governor of Liaodong said that the ambush of the Ming Dynasty, the minister did not understand what it meant. ”

"Is there anything you don't understand about this?" Zhu Youzhu said, "Jizhou sent 4,000 cavalry, led by Wang Xian and Peng Quan, and arrived in Huangshui early, which is Bingkuan's speculation on the route of Duoyan Sanwei's possible westward advance, and set up ambushes along the way. The artillery on the grassland was brought from Jizhou to block the westward march of Duoyan Sanwei. ”

When Li Dongyang heard this, the wrinkles on his brows were about to jump out of his skin.

He said, "Your Majesty, this is a very risky move. ”

Zhu Youzhu said: "The war is near, and it is futile to say this at this time." I can't sleep tonight, if all goes well......"

The emperor also seems to have fallen into a state of "madness".

Li Dongyang looked at Xiao Jing and Chen Kuan, who were bowing their heads, and then said: "Once the situation of this battle changes, I am afraid that the morale of the soldiers of Daming Jiliao will not be able to slow down in three or five years." ”

Zhu Youzhu nodded and said, "I naturally know the consequences of losing this battle, but how can there be a hundred battles on the battlefield?" ”

Li Dongyang listened to it and had mixed feelings in his heart.

It seems that the emperor is still sane.

I want to win, but I also know that I can't win all the time.

"Li Qingjia, don't you think it's difficult for Da Ming to win with artillery and heavenly gunpowder now?" Zhu Youzhu provoked the topic first.

"Yes." Li Dongyang gave up.

Obviously, Da Ming has a new firearm, which can catch the Mongolian tribe off guard once or twice.

But in the long run, people will not give a chance if they are on guard.

Zhu Youzhu said: "In the battle of Biguan, it seems dangerous to win, but in fact, it is just that Wang Yue wants to show his merits, deliberately creates a dangerous place, and counterattacks with strange soldiers, killing the fire sieve by surprise." ”

"This battle, together with the later battle of Liaodong Ningyuan, was to wait for work, relying on Bingkuan's prophecy, and waiting for the Tatars to take the initiative to attack, which can be said to be effortless."

"But when he arrived at the Battle of Weininghai, he had to take advantage of the situation in the steppe and make a long detour to the Tatars to complete the surprise attack. It was also after the Battle of Weininghai that no matter which tribe the Tatars were, it was no longer possible to give the Ming a chance to fight head-on, especially when the Ming artillery and soldiers and horses were complete. ”

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "But Your Majesty, even so, there is no need to let the Ming soldiers go deep into the grassland, which is equivalent to giving the Tatars a chance to fight back." ”

Zhu Youzhu smiled and said, "I don't want to take risks, but if I don't take risks, I'm afraid that I won't even have a chance to win in the future." ”

Li Dongyang wants to say that not winning is not the key, and losing is the only fate.

Play with fire...... Once or twice, it is enough to fight the battle of Weininghai, and now Your Majesty and that Zhang Bingkuan are still addicted?

Zhu Youzhu said: "At present, it seems that the process is still smooth, and the remaining tribesmen and horses of Duoyan Sanwei will be added down in a few ways, or only thirty or forty thousand people, and this also includes the men, women, and children of their tribe. Batumunk's men and horses don't seem to be in the eastern grassland, so there is a good chance of winning this battle. ”

Li Dongyang said: "But Your Majesty, now that it has snowed on the grassland, such a bitter cold weather, let alone a battle, I am afraid that the soldiers will have great losses on the march, and it is very likely that there will be no return." ”

Zhu Youzhu smiled and said, "Does Elder Li Ge have to be so alarmist? ”

Li Dongyang lowered his head and said with a little annoyance: "The minister is just analyzing the worst situation. ”

"Huh." Zhu Youzhu continued to smile, as if chatting with Li Dongyang, and his mood also relaxed a lot, "The grassland tribe has lived on the grassland for a thousand or two thousand years, and no matter how bad the environment is, it has not completely wiped them out, and it is still a hidden danger of the Ming Dynasty." I knew that bad weather would hinder the march of the Ming Dynasty, but it would not be too bad for the weather. ”

Li Dongyang no longer refutes.

"Elder Li Ge, about Bingkuan's plan for this battle, you will inform the people in the court and the opposition tomorrow, I am a little tired today, and tomorrow's court discussion will not be over."

Zhu Youzhi can be regarded as finding a reason for not going to court.

Li Dongyang didn't say anything, just arched his hand, which probably meant that he knew.

Zhu Youzhu got up, but he seemed to be unsteady, holding on to the table, and his tone seemed very slow: "I have always felt restless recently, and since Bingkuan, everything has been too smooth." Heaven is also too kind to me, and even the use of troops that I never dared to think of in the past can go so well...... I am afraid that Heaven will take back some of what has been given. ”

"Your Majesty......" Li Dongyang wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Zhu Youzhi stretching out his hand.

Zhu Youzhu said: "This is the last battle of the year, and in the spring of next year, unless the Tatars come to attack, I will not take the initiative to use troops again." Now if I want to recall the soldiers and horses, it is too late, whether it is Lu Wan or Wang Xian, they are all people whom Bingkuan admires, and I still have some confidence in them. Elder Li Ge, please go back. ”

……

……

Li Dongyang waited for Zhu Youzhu to walk in the direction of Jiaotai Palace, and then walked out of the palace gate of Qianqing Palace under the guidance of Xiao Jing.

Xiao Jing said: "Early tomorrow morning, Your Majesty will not go to court, does Elder Li Ge have anything else to ask?" ”

Li Dongyang looked up at Xiao Jing and said suspiciously: "Zhang Zhou sent troops with two groups of people, Gonggong Xiao should have known about it a long time ago, right?" ”

"It's not long...... Li Ge Lao Mo wants to misunderstand, it is His Majesty who will not let him say it......" Xiao Jing hurriedly cleared his name.

Xiao Jing still wants to stand with the cabinet, in his opinion, after he is officially promoted to the head of the celebrant seal, it is better to have a good relationship with the cabinet than with Zhang Zhou.

The position of the celebrant seal has a direct conflict of interest with Zhang Zhou, and the cabinet and the celebrant palm seal can actually form an echo.

To each his own, he takes what he needs.

So he didn't want to have a bad relationship with Li Dongyang and other ministers, and he didn't want them to think that he was on Zhang Zhou's side.

Li Dongyang walked in front, Xiao Jing followed behind, Li Dongyang said: "Your Majesty knows that this battle may be lost, but still insists on listening to Zhang Zhou's way of governing the army. In the future, the border passes of the Ming Dynasty will be mainly based on stubbornness, or will it be mainly based on light soldiers? ”

Xiao Jing said: "The elder is too worried, these things ...... We don't dare to say it, and we are not qualified to say it. ”

What is the main?

Xiao Jing wanted to say.

Based on Zhang Zhou's mood, he said that if he sticks to it, he will stick to it, and if he says that he will rush forward, he will rush forward.

If Zhang Zhou is allowed to win the battle all the time, even if the emperor has any doubts in his heart, he will not act against Zhang Zhou's wishes, this is the reality.

Xiao Jing looked at Li Dongyang, who was walking in front, with a narrow gaze, and said in his heart, don't you Li know this?

Li Dongyang said: "I'm also afraid, in the future, the scale of the grassland soldiers will increase day by day, whether it is Biguan, Ningyuan and Weininghai, they are also won by skill, and now they are deep in the grassland Horqin, with more than 40,000 soldiers, if there is a wave in this battle, no matter how much you have gained before, it will not be as good as the loss of this battle." ”

Xiao Jing asked tentatively, "Does Elder Ge think that this battle will be won or lost?" ”

"Probably...... It's still going to be. Li Dongyang said helplessly.

When Xiao Jing heard this, he suddenly felt uncomfortable.

Shouldn't you Li Dongyang be in opposition? Before, you were in front of the emperor, and even the emperor thought you were quite alarmist, how did you come to me...... Are you inclined to believe Zhang Zhou instead?

Li Dongyang may also feel that it is inappropriate for him to say this, he said: "Emperor Qin and Han Wu, no matter how much you use soldiers, can the people have a good life?" The rule of Wenjing, the people live in peace, and it does not rely on external soldiers, but on the king's benevolence and filial piety. ”

Xiao Jing said: "Elder Ge, this benevolence and filial piety can govern the country, but it can't cure Your Majesty's heart." ”

"Huh?"

Li Dongyang was just making some emotion in front of Xiao Jing, which could be regarded as the eunuch in charge of the future celebrant and eunuch, expressing the central idea of the cabinet in governing the country.

Who knew that Xiao Jing's side was not a noodle melon like Dai Yi.

Xiao Jing only looks kind, but in fact, he is also very dark-bellied, and Xiao Jing can see the doorway clearly.

The emperor used Zhang Zhou to govern the country? No kidding.

"Your Majesty uses the Duke of Laiguo, because private is greater than public." Xiao Jing is also tantamount to letting the cabinet know his position and insight, and it can be regarded as establishing his authority first, "The matter of governing the army, if the army is reckless, it will not benefit the people's livelihood and well-being, but from the beginning of the year to the present, the Ming Dynasty's currency consumption this year is really more than usual?" ”

Li Dongyang was silent for a while.

The civilian officials initially attacked Zhang Zhou's adventurism.

After discovering that Zhang Zhou had been winning, he used Zhang Zhou to attack with reckless force, regardless of the life and death of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But now Xiao Jing also made it clear that Zhang Zhou did not purely increase the consumption of the Ming treasury in governing the army, but pursued the principle of military priority, and the expenditure of the Ming treasury did not increase because of this.

In this way...... It did not affect the people's livelihood, but it still won the victory on the battlefield, which is called ability.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty certainly wants to govern the people with benevolence and filial piety, but the hearts of the people also need this northern military use to govern." If the Ming Dynasty repeatedly violates the border, and the border army officers and soldiers are unable to do anything except to hold on, and then preach to the people about benevolence and filial piety, it will help to educate? Your Majesty sometimes has no choice. ”

"Huh." Li Dongyang smiled and said, "Gonggong Xiao, you still respect Zhang Bingkuan. ”

Xiao Jing shook his head: "If it's always like this, it's okay." It's a pity...... Since ancient times, which powerful minister has not come out of the capable minister? Our family is also afraid. ”

What you are afraid of, you don't need to say more.

Li Dongyang understood that if Xiao Jing said that he wanted to stand in the position of the emperor, he must find a force to balance Zhang Zhou, and not let Zhang Zhou's family dominate.

What does this mean, Li Dongyang also understood.

Xiao Jing not only has to stand in the position of the emperor and support what Zhang Zhou did, but also guard against Zhang Zhou's abuse of power, which will affect the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

"Hmm." Li Dongyang nodded.

This conversation can be regarded as an open and honest conversation between the internal and external ministers before Xiao Jing officially took over the helm of the celebrant and the minister, Zhang Zhou, the biggest minister in the Ming Dynasty.

It can't be called an alliance, it's better like ...... Clarify your position and cooperate for a win-win situation.

As for Zhang Zhou, he is already winning, and he doesn't need to cooperate with them.

……

……

Zhang Zhou did not enter the palace until near noon the next morning to meet Zhu Youji.

Early that morning, the details of Liaodong's use of troops had already been reported to the government and the opposition, but the minister adhered to a principle, that is, not to casually criticize until there were results in the war.

Or rather...... On the same day, Zhu Youzhu asked for leave and did not go to the court, and there was no way for them to criticize it, even if they wrote a note to advise the king, it would take a process, and it was impossible for the emperor to approve this kind of note at any time.

"Your Majesty." Zhang Zhou met the emperor, but it was in the palace back garden.

Zhu Youzhu said: "I am in a nervous mood today, I haven't rested well in the past two days, I can't sleep at night, and I am groggy during the day, so I came here for a walk." ”

Zhang Zhoudao: "Didn't the imperial doctor prescribe a few pairs of calming medicines to His Majesty?" ”

"It's useless." Zhu Youzhu said, "I actually know that ordinary people are probably like this, unless I can find some sustenance, but in addition to this matter of governing the country, what else can I use as sustenance?" ”

This is the problem......

Zhang Zhou felt that this emperor understood very deeply.

When you are an emperor, in addition to governing the country, of course, you can also indulge in lust, or like your future nephew Zhu Houxi, you can send your affection to Taoism and pursue immortality......

"Bingkuan, you should also know about the use of troops in the north, I am not too worried about whether this battle can be won now, but I think of a question, this battle is the joint operation of the men and horses of Jizhou and Liaozhen, once there is a dispute over the division of military merits, have you ever thought about how to resolve it?" Zhu Youzhi is a king, and in terms of realm, Zhang Zhou also thinks it is quite high.

Before the war happens, don't think about winning or losing, think about how to divide the work.

Zhang Zhou smiled: "Isn't it a good thing that there is a dispute?" ”

Zhu Youzhu smiled and said, "Is it still a good thing?" ”

Zhang Zhou sighed with emotion: "There is competition, there is vitality, if whoever is sent can get the credit, the credit is in the dispatch and not in the handover, which is also the reason why the minister has never wanted His Majesty to praise the minister too much." ”

"You...... This is also humble. Zhu Youzhu glanced at Zhang Zhou.

"The dispatch of troops by Jizhou and Liaodong is a last resort under the situation, no matter which side has more credit, if there is a dispute afterwards, it also gives the ministers of the DPRK and China the opportunity to help and mediate." Zhang Zhoudao.

"How?" Zhu Youzhu was interested.

Zhang Zhoudao: "In the past year, the minister thinks that the people used are the people who are protected by the minister, and the ministers of the DPRK and China have a lot of complaints about this, thinking that the ministers are nepotistic. ”

"Hmm." Zhu Youzhu nodded.

In fact, what Zhang Zhou said was not only what the minister was worried about, but even the emperor would not say that he had no idea about it at all.

Whoever Zhang Zhou uses can be awesome, will these people listen to Zhang Zhou or the emperor in the future?

Zhang Zhoudao: "In fact, the ministers also hope that there are ministers who can establish meritorious deeds on the battlefield, which are recommended by the ministers of the DPRK and China. Now the employment of people is used by ministers, but when it comes to merit...... can be separated from relatives, and then the ministers will also make a choice between Wang Xian and Lu Wan, and who to favor. ”

"You ......" Zhu Youzhu frowned, "Bingkuan, do you want to speak so directly?" They are all people recommended by you, but you push them to the minister of the DPRK and China? ”

"There's no way, Your Majesty, every time the ministers want to use soldiers, the ministers think there is a problem and want to resign, so why not let the ministers secretly plan for Your Majesty in the future, and the ministers recommend the way to use troops and the candidates for using soldiers, and then everyone will be happy?"

Zhang Zhou actually made it clear.

He deliberately created a dispute between Jizhou and Liaodong over the division of merit, so that the generals and commanders of the army would have some disputes, so that the traditional civilian officials could choose to deal with the other side.

Sounds like digging a hole for yourself.

But what is Zhu Youji's identity? How could he not know the balance between the court and the center? He used Zhang Zhou precisely to use Zhang Zhou to balance the current situation of strong and weak Chinese in Korea.

(End of chapter)