The next morning.

Zhang Mao waited before the noon gate early in the morning, and when he saw Xie Qian coming, he was busy going up to greet him, and he didn't even pay attention to the ministers who greeted him.

"Yu Qiao, I'm looking for you for something." Zhang Mao looked very anxious.

Xie Qian's eyes were bloodshot, he stayed up late last night and was on duty in the cabinet room, obviously not having the heart to communicate with Zhang Mao.

Zhang Mao didn't see it, and said directly: "I heard that last night, there were many military generals in Beijing, who were already discussing where the Tatars would come from. ”

Xie Qian pretended to be surprised and said, "Is there such a thing? I think the situation is serious, or are there any rumors in the Jingshi? ”

Zhang Mao's brows furrowed.

He could naturally hear that Xie Qian was perfunctory to him.

Saying that, Liu Jian and Li Dongyang also arrived surrounded by others, obviously someone knew about the debate in Yanwutang, and they all wanted to ask the cabinet for clarification.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't talk about the affairs of the court outside the court, everyone be careful." Liu Jian said in public.

This was also said to Zhang Mao, Zhang Mao's face was not good, and he was surrounded by Wenchen, he looked out of place, so he had to run back to Wuxun's side, and before the others arrived, a group of Wuxun surrounded him again.

From time to time, someone asked: "Old man Zhang, let's send troops to Hetao, are the Tartars also coming from somewhere?" Is Jingshi's defense enough? ”

Most people don't care about the strategy and tactics with the Tatars, they care more about their own lives...... Zhu Hui is said to have taken away a lot of elites from the Ming Dynasty, and also took away a large number of artillery, firearms, and other awesome firearms, and the capital's defense must have been greatly reduced.

What if the Tatars come to besiege the city and send reinforcements or something...... Maybe there will be a crisis in the Ming Dynasty.

The main reason is that the change of Tumubao and the subsequent defense of the capital have formed a great psychological shadow on the politics of the Ming Dynasty and the military and civilians, and everyone is afraid of coming again.

"Isn't there still Zhang Bingkuan?" Zhang Mao was also annoyed.

I'm still asking someone to ask, what do you mean by asking me?

I didn't go to that seminar, so how do I know if the Tatars are killed or not, and where do I know where the Tatars are coming from?

……

……

In the court.

The atmosphere is a little depressing, because Zhang Zhou is not there, it seems that this atmosphere is missing an outlet.

This will not even know who to turn to...... Zhu Hui led the troops into the Hetao, and the Tatars may take advantage of the weakness to enter, which is not to blame Zhang Zhou, the emperor didn't say everything, Zhang Zhou was not too involved in this matter...... And at a critical time, Zhang Zhou has to rely on Zhang Zhou to defend against foreign enemies.

At this time, to impeach Zhang Zhou, you need not only a reason, but also consider the consequences of the impeachment.

Colleagues will think, why do you have nothing to provoke that evil god? At a critical time, you have to use him as a door god.

After the court discussion reached the middle section, Liu Jian came out and said: "Your Majesty, there have been rumors in Beijing recently, discussing the Tatar invasion of the border, thinking that now the Ming border is empty, if the Tatars gather to attack, it will not be easy to mobilize people everywhere, and it should be reported as soon as possible to the soldiers and horses in the conquest abroad, and do the act of withdrawing troops to protect the territory and the people." ”

Many people present breathed a sigh of relief, and finally someone raised the question.

As long as Zhu Hui comes back with his troops, it seems that there will be a bottom, and the Tatars will not come to attack.

Zhu Youzhu said: "For the sake of rumors, give up the army on the grassland and damage the military prestige of the dynasty, does Elder Liu Ge think it is appropriate?" ”

Liu Jian said: "Stabilizing the hearts of the army and the people is the best." ”

Zhu Youzhu looked at Li Rong on the side and said, "Is everyone in the Beijing division in danger?" ”

Li Rong smiled and said: "Back to Your Majesty, there has been no such discussion among the people of Beijing, this discussion came from the discussion of the generals in the Yanwu Hall yesterday, it is said that the topic was proposed by the king of the household department, and it was handed over to the generals for discussion, but it was only an internal discussion, and it was not announced to the public. ”

Zhu Youzhu frowned and said: "I haven't said anything about it, how can I say that there is a discussion in Beijing?" Or is someone watching Yanwutang's every move? ”

The Emperor would not be happy.

This made the ministers present very embarrassed.

Liu Jian is also old and serious in the end, he explained lightly: "There are many people in Yanwutang, and this matter is not covered up from the outside world, plus the stakes are very high, a little rumor will cause some waves." ”

"Alas!" Zhu Youzhu sighed and said, "In my opinion, some people are just unfounded, the Tatars will invade the border every year, and there are several times a year when they stop, and now that my soldiers are strong, do they still have to be afraid of the Tatars?" Where did you come from, just call him back. ”

The minister felt the pride in the emperor's mouth.

There is a great feeling of not taking the Tatars in their eyes.

Liu Jian saw that the emperor's contempt for foreign Yi was not a good omen, and he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, now that the Ming Dynasty has tens of thousands of soldiers on the expedition, if the Tatars come to attack at this time, all towns in the north have soldiers and horses and lack of defense. ”

Ma Wensheng, the secretary of the ministry, also came out and said, "The old minister seconded the proposal." ”

The first assistant of the cabinet and the secretary of the ministry came out to speak, which meant to put pressure on the emperor, but it was obviously to let the "military department" come out and take responsibility.

This is actually indirectly putting pressure on Zhang Zhou.

Let your kid ignore the border preparations recently, you dare not come to the court, the emperor is still so conniving, we usually endure it, now there is a war in the northwest, and the court will open military topics at any time, why don't you ask at this time?

"Ladies and gentlemen, in fact, Bingkuan has long mentioned to me that he wants to increase the number of patrol personnel in Ningxia, Gansu, Yansui and other places, and repair the beacon tower that has been in disrepair for a long time, in case of emergency, these things have been done long before Baoguo Gong led troops to the expedition. The Ministry of War did not slack off on the defense of the north. Of course, Zhu Youzhu has to speak to Zhang Zhou.

Liu Jian said: "The defense in the north is not only in the three sides. ”

Having said that, Liu Jian and many people present had actually heard it, as if Zhang Zhou thought that the place where the Tatars might invade was in the trilateral land.

Otherwise, why did the emperor say that he would strengthen the inspection and prevention of Ningxia and other places?

"Could it be that in the past two years, in Datong, Biguan, Jizhou and Liaodong, etc., there has been a laxity in guarding? Have the generals of these local military affairs been reported? Zhu Youzhu threw the question to Li Rong again.

Li Rong said calmly: "Back to Your Majesty, the new uncle of the Xuanda Military Affairs in general has recently proposed to the imperial court to increase food and salary, but there is no mention of lax precautions, as for Jizhou, as well as Liaodong and other places, there has been no mention of related drawbacks, I think it is...... Not a big problem. ”

It can't be said that there is no problem, and the words can't be said to be dead.

But there was no complaint in the locality, that is, there was no problem, only Wang Shouren had nothing to ask for money and food, and he also said that he was preparing for the autumn, and he did not say that he wanted to use it to repair the pass or because of the lack of lax precautions.

"Ladies and gentlemen, don't mess up because of a little unprovoked rumor, in my opinion, even if the Tatars dare to come now, they will not get any advantage, and you should have confidence in the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Youzhu comforted him.

The ministers present looked a little weird, and they were all thinking, you don't have confidence in the soldiers, but in Zhang Bingkuan, right?

"Nine border defense, I naturally know in my heart, even if there is something, I will discuss with the military department and the listening office, etc., by the way, how is the defense of the Beijing division recently?" Zhu Youzhi suddenly aimed at Zhang Mao, who had been silent all along, but seemed to be more anxious than anyone else in his heart.

Zhang Mao listened, does this still have anything to do with me?

But Zhang Mao immediately thought that before he entered the palace, the emperor must have known about going to communicate with Xie Qian at the gate at noon.

He felt that he was being watched, and this was tantamount to asking for trouble for himself.

Zhang Mao walked out and said: "Your Majesty, the old minister is old, and he is a little slack about the defense of the Beijing Division, but I think that under the guidance of His Majesty and the Ministry of War, the Beijing Battalion can complete basic training and defense, even if the Tatars attack, no matter how many soldiers and horses, there will definitely be no return." ”

This will make Old Man Zhang take the initiative to "show weakness", which also made the Wenchen present unexpected.

You, Zhang Mao, are you going to lift Zhang Bingkuan?

You don't have a heart, but a conspiracy, right?

Want to shake the pot at a critical time?

Zhu Youzhu was not annoyed, he said: "With your age, you are far from being old, go to the barracks to take a walk, by the way, I am going to appoint a military officer to supervise the military affairs of Bauhinia Pass, Juyong Pass and Baoma Pass, do you have any recommendations?" ”

"This ......," Liu Jian was asked for a while.

Zhu Youzhu said: "There is no need to ask, recently the governor of Liaodong Lu Wan's Lu Qing's family is going to return to Beijing, and I will appoint him to serve as this position temporarily, what do you Qing family think?" ”

This made Liu Jian puzzled.

He even glanced sideways at Li Dongyang, as if to say, you can help me analyze it, what does Your Majesty mean by this?

When Lu Wan returned to Beijing, he originally thought that Zhang Zhou was transferred back to cooperate with him, but now that the emperor has transferred Lu Wan to be the governor of the three passes, it is obviously a bit of a "demotion", after all, the governor of Liaodong is a genuine local feudal official, and the governor of the three passes is just a temporary errand, and the authority in his hands is much smaller.

But when this kind of Tatar might invade the territory, the emperor was not very at ease in the northwest, and sent someone to guard the "last pass" in the northwest of the Ming Dynasty and find the trusted Lu Wan, which again reflected his trust in Lu Wan.

Between this drop and the letter, what the emperor wants to do, Liu Jian is not sure for a while.

"That being the case, the matter is so decided." Zhu Youzhu didn't plan to discuss with these people either.

Even the trilateral general system can be determined in one word, and the governor of the three internal passes is determined, and it is necessary to discuss too much with you? Let you recommend people, I still don't believe it.

Although you civil officials want to tie the credit to Wang Xian and the soldiers of Jizhou, I have not forgotten Lu Wan's feat of leading the troops to run thousands of miles, which is comparable to Wang Shouren.

……

……

The court meeting ended.

On the way out of the palace this time, the minister had already fried the pot.

If it was only speculated in a small area that Zhang Zhou might have a "conspiracy" behind his back, this court discussion almost confirmed this matter.

A group of people surrounded Liu Jian: "Liu Ge Lao, you can see that the original expedition to Hetao is just a pretense, and the drunkard's intention is actually that the Tatars take the initiative to attack, this is to force the Tatars to disturb the border, how can the war in the northwest be fought like this?" ”

Liu Jian, as always, chose to remain silent at these joints.

Xie Qian said: "If you don't fight like this, how can you fight?" If you don't send troops, the Tatars won't come? Last year, Ningxia and other places were still attacked and harassed by the Tatars for several months? ”

"But this time I went out to the Hetao, but tens of thousands of soldiers and horses on three sides were transferred. It's not comparable to last year. ”

Many people were outraged.

Xie Qian said: "The land of Hetao is the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and it is only a few days for the Tartars to retreat, and the back roads of the Tartars have been cut off, which is much better than last year." ”

As he was talking, Lin Han, who had nothing to do with him on the side, came out and said, "Everyone, such matters should be discussed by the court, and they should not be brought to this occasion, so you should disperse quickly." ”

Xie Qian smiled and said, "Yes, shouldn't you ask the Ministry of War about this kind of thing?" Or ask the household department. You've seen the attitude of us before, don't we want to ask? Your Majesty may have already made up your mind, and it is useless to say more. ”

You have to be embarrassed, go to Zhang Bingkuan, we have already tried, and it turns out that the emperor does not listen to our cabinet.

"The secretary of the military department, he will not enter the court at such a time, what is the difference between having him and not having him?"

"Yes, he should be impeached! Let him occupy the pit ......"

"The affairs of the border affairs of the Ming Dynasty are about to be deserted by him alone! This kind of person is simply ...... Daming's moth! ”

Righteous indignation is righteous indignation, but these words seem to be complaining in front of everyone, so that they really want to impeach Zhang Zhou, but no one seems to want to pick the head.

When the crowd really dispersed, the three members of the cabinet walked to the duty room, Xie Qiancai said as if jokingly: "Speaking of which, we all know that the border government of the Ming Dynasty is not working without Zhang Bingkuan, and we all know where Your Majesty's self-confidence comes from, and I still do this kind of senseless dispute, I don't know what they think." ”

Li Dongyang said helplessly: "Maybe they are waiting for the cabinet to impeach Zhang Bingkuan." ”

"Huh." Xie Qian sneered, "Feelings remind us? What a bunch of ...... People who don't know how to measure. ”

……

……

Zhang Zhou's house.

I woke up late last morning because he was resting at home that day, and I wanted to sleep early in the morning and feel the family atmosphere with my family.

But this will be the case, Li Rong ran to see him in a hurry after the dispersal of the dynasty.

“…… There is a dispute in the court, and after hearing that after the dispersal of the dynasty, this matter is also being discussed, and His Majesty also wants to know when this Tartar will come, and if he can kill the arrogance of the Tartar, this breath in His Majesty's heart can be regarded as ...... Soothing some ......"

Li Rong's words were actually telling Zhang Zhou to quickly pinch his fingers and calculate, His Majesty couldn't wait to watch a good show.

Zhang Zhoudao: "Gonggong Li, this matter is a bit difficult for me, I can't calculate, if I can't calculate it, didn't I say it earlier?" ”

Li Rong said with a sad face: "You can even count when a natural disaster happens, God can see through you, the movement of this Tartar is not a matter of your words." You just use the eye of the sky to see, is it coming soon? ”

Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "I don't have such ability, I can only say that there is a great possibility of coming from Huamachi, as for when it comes, whether it can win with one blow after coming, there are many factors, and it depends on whether you can do it in terms of personnel!" ”

(End of chapter)