Xie Qian's mansion.

In the past two days, Xie Qian has resumed his official duties, but he still has not returned to the cabinet to be on duty, and he usually only walks around the yamen, and if there is something to be handed over, he needs to do it alone with Li Dongyang.

At the moment, he is not so much a cabinet minister as a personal adviser to Li Dongyang, because he is now only responsible to Li Dongyang.

"Yu Qiao, you don't have to worry, as far as I know, it has snowed heavily in various parts of the north, and there is still no progress in the war, even Bo'an has entered the grassland without any gains, it seems that this war will end in vain, with Your Majesty's reflection on this matter, you will definitely not be angry with those who advocate stopping the war and recuperating."

Li Dongyang seemed to be in a relaxed mood.

He came to tell Xie Qian the good news.

Xie Qian held the teacup in his hand, but he seemed to be full of concern, and sighed: "Even so, I am ashamed of my ministers, why didn't Your Majesty allow me to resign?" ”

Li Dongyang said: "It is the time for the DPRK to employ people, and when you leave, didn't you cheapen Zhang Bingkuan's people for nothing?" This time there was such a big commotion, but in the end, it was a good time to weaken his prestige and let His Majesty face up to the border defense again, at this time you are gone, isn't it tantamount to admitting defeat? ”

"Huh."

Xie Qian had a wry smile on his face.

Li Dongyang saw Xie Qian's passivity and insolence.

Li Dongyang said coldly: "No matter what, you can't leave, this is something I discussed with Zhongtang, if you leave, then the cabinet will be disrupted, and Your Majesty will definitely take this opportunity to let Zhang Bingkuan enter the cabinet." If his reputation is damaged in this war, but he enters the cabinet because of this, this should not be what you want to see, right? ”

Obviously, we won, but in the end, because you Xie Qian took the initiative to resign, it was us who lost.

"Binzhi, you're still too persistent." Xie Qiandao.

"The same goes for you." Li Dongyang said, "Don't think that I don't know your thoughts, in terms of Zhang Bingkuan's precautions and mustard heart, you are better than me, until now, the DPRK and the Central Government still maintain a clear stream, that is, our cabinet, but you can't spoil the good situation." ”

"Hmm."

Xie Qian just nodded.

He also did not answer Li Dongyang's question directly.

Li Dongyang got up and said: "In the past two days, the issue between the DPRK and China is mainly to let His Majesty order the withdrawal of troops everywhere earlier, so as to ensure that the winter is safe everywhere, and the money and food for the winter are already being deployed. With your ability, I believe that Your Majesty will still rely on you very much, and this time it can be regarded as Zhang Bingkuan lifting a stone and hitting himself in the foot. ”

"Huh."

Xie Qian smiled bitterly again.

Li Dongyang said: "Do you think it's not?" ”

Xie Qian shook his head, but still didn't say anything, neither said that he shook his head because Li Dongyang said "no", but still felt that Li Dongyang said something wrong.

"You, you...... It's a bit too much to be negative. Li Dongyang said with emotion, "But there will be a time when the willows will be bright." I believe that God will not always favor only one person who ascends to the throne by clinging to the king, and heaven and earth have their own righteous path. ”

……

……

Zhang Mao's men and horses stumbled into the ground in Ningxia.

And he still didn't get any further news from Zhang Rui and Ma Yi's department.

"Grandpa, the situation is not good." Zhong Decai ran in front of Zhang Mao, looking anxious.

Zhang Mao said: "Is the Tartar here?" ”

Zhong Decai said: "It would be good if you came, as far as I know, the Tartars have been retired for nearly ten days, and there has been no movement of the Tartars anywhere in the past few days." ”

"Isn't that a good thing?" Zhang Mao was still thinking about how to write the music, but now he suddenly seemed to have found the direction again.

Zhong Decai was like a roundworm in Zhang Mao's stomach, seeing Zhang Mao's indifferent expression, he couldn't help but be surprised: "Grandpa doesn't want to take the credit for the Tatar retreat on himself, right?" ”

"What do you mean?"

Zhang Mao glared at Zhong Decai and said, "Isn't it because the old man led the troops to come that the Tartars retreated?" ”

Zhong Decai couldn't help but smile bitterly.

It seemed that the British duke was really optimistic, and he hurriedly said: "Grandpa, don't you think that it is still a few years ago, when the news in the northwest is blocked, and what the frontier generals say is what it is, right?" ”

Zhang Mao threw the pen on the ground and said angrily: "You mean, someone will falsely accuse the old man of falsely reporting his military exploits? ”

Zhong Decai also said vaguely: "That's right. Now the northwest is full of Cai Guogong's people, and their self-proclaimed righteousness is actually the exclusion of you, if you do this, it will be tantamount to the truth. ”

"What about that? I can't let the old man tell His Majesty that in fact, the old man didn't do anything, and before the old man could lead the troops, the Tartars ran away, and then they ......."

Speaking of this, Zhang Mao suddenly stopped talking.

Because he suddenly realized that what he seemed to be doing was gradually matching what Zhu Hui did in the first year.

Zhong Decai said: "Grandpa, it's not nice to say, maybe Baoguo Gong also felt that he had done a lot of things at that time, but what was the result?" ”

"Don't talk nonsense, just say what to do now, don't say something big every time, don't the old man know that this battle is not easy to fight? But someone should always tell the old man, how should this matter be solved? ”

Zhong Decai said tentatively: "Grandpa, why don't we also lead the troops into the grassland like the little grandfather...... Do a gangster scene? ”

"What?"

Zhang Mao frowned and said, "That's how you became Xixi?" Tell the old man to lead the troops into the grassland? The old man heard that there is a lot of snow this winter, and there is not much snow on our side, but the north is full of snow, and you go to the grassland, do you not want the old man to come out alive? Can this old bone stand up to the toss? ”

Zhong Decai said: "Then you can either meet the governor of Ningxia, or find a way to meet with the king of the trilateral general system, and they will play to show you merit, and it is better to say a thousand words than others." ”

Zhang Mao also looked very hesitant, but he was also very annoyed and said, "Where can I see them?" Why is it so troublesome to bring a soldier? ”

Zhong Decai sighed: "If we had won a big battle, naturally it would not be so troublesome, who let Tartar not show his face?" Now I hope that the little grandfather can perform better and break the enemy in the grassland......"

"The credit will also belong to Wang Bo'an, who let him go out with the surname Ma? This son of a ......"

Zhang Mao scolded, but in his heart, he was the same as Zhong Decai, hoping that his son could bring some miracles.

But then Zhong Decai poured a basin of cold water on him: "However, the generals at the border pass said that the snow in the north was too heavy, and the men and horses everywhere had to withdraw their troops." There is also a benefit, that is, Cai Guogong planned this battle completely, and if it doesn't work out, it may be ...... for us Pretty good. ”

"What a fart! Before, I was afraid of winning, and His Majesty attributed the credit to Zhang Bingkuan, but now I am afraid that I will return without success, because the old man will suffer with him! ”

Zhang Mao was also annoyed.

is obviously an opponent with Zhang Zhou, but because the two are now martial arts, they seem to have many interests in common.

It was as if the Chinese courtiers were still waiting for him Zhang Mao to receive nothing, so as to impeach Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren, who transferred troops to Zhang Mao without authorization.

"Hurry up and send a letter to Ningxia and tell them to allocate money and food, and the old man can't let the soldiers starve to death, and then ...... Let Ningxia tell the old man, this should be the credit of the old man, right? Outside of the pass, the old man is a ...... who won the battle."

Zhong Decai's face was embarrassed.

He was embarrassed to say that in fact, the credit was not yours at all, but your son and Ma Yi had earned it.

……

……

All the people who went out to the grassland, except for Wang Shouren, who had no news all the way, the rest of the roads began to retreat.

Even Wang Qiong, who was complacent before, had to accept the fact that the Tatars were hiding and not fighting head-on, and also realized that with the Ming Dynasty's understanding of the grassland terrain, it was difficult to find traces of the main Tatar force on the vast grassland, and he could only withdraw to the Ming Dynasty before the weather became worse, so as to ensure that the Ming soldiers would not have abnormal attrition outside the war.

"Lord Wang, there is news just now from Yulinwei, saying that the soldiers who went out of the customs this time have not gained anything, only the people of Xinjian Bo all the way, and there is no news so far."

The ministry will bring the news to Wang Qiong.

Wang Qiong looked very regretful and sighed: "The only one who can win is Wang Bo'an, with his shrewdness and wisdom, and with his strategy and courage, how can he return in vain?" I thought I wouldn't lose to him, it seems...... It's still dwarfed. ”

The general said: "Now that the road to the south has been closed due to snow, it may not be too easy to cross the river." ”

Wang Qiong immediately pointed to a place on the map and said: "From here to cross the river and go south, this war, I can be regarded as admitted." I just hope that the court will not pursue it too much. ”

In Wang Qiong's view, in this war, he has lost the opportunity to perform by himself.

It will end in vain.

……

……

Wang Qiong is also disheartened, he feels inferior to Wang Shouren, after all, he is also the chief officer, Wang Shouren is a young descendant, Wang Qiong has always regarded himself as a senior, and now he has to admit that the front wave is not as good as the back wave.

At this time, the people of the East Road, that is, Cui Yuan and Zhu Feng, who withdrew their troops earlier than Wang Qiong, were still experiencing some unexpected situations that they were unwilling to bear.

It's just continuing to find a way.

"You've been heading south for the past two days, aren't you?" Two days after the withdrawal of troops, Zhu Feng found Cui Yuan and asked eagerly.

Cui Yuan was also painstakingly studying the topographic map, and when he heard this, he glanced up at Zhu Feng and said, "The basic north and south can still be distinguished, but that's it...... I don't know if it's going southwest or due south. ”

Zhu Feng said: "Aren't you going to the southeast?" ”

Cui Yuan said helplessly: "The report from the one who explored the road in front said that it was a slightly easterly direction, the road was very rugged, and the terrain was too undulating, so I could only find another way out." ”

Zhu Feng said with a look of annoyance: "Why is this kind of terrain everywhere, where are we?" ”

"This ......"

Cui Yuan couldn't answer this question, he didn't have much to hide in front of Zhu Feng, and there was even a feeling of sympathy for his brother and brother, "Zhijie, you don't have to worry, this is not the map given by Cai Guogong is also indicated, and there is ...... around The terrain is from low to high, like a plateau, and we just need to find a relatively gentle road for now. It's not easy to find your way this winter and summer, especially on this snowy day......"

Zhu Feng said: "Then according to the current progress, how many days can I go back?" ”

"Probably...... It will take another six or seven days...... Maybe it's about ten days. Cui Yuan said, "Continue to look at the situation, the Tartar will not appear now." We just need to find our way back. ”

Zhu Feng sat down and said with a depressed face: "I never thought that when I went outside, I couldn't even find my way back." ”

Cui Yuan smiled: "There is a road, but it is not easy to walk on a snowy day, you look at the scene outside...... Every day is gray, everywhere is white, the army is familiar with the grassland environment, there may be heavy snowstorms, fortunately we bring more things, even charcoal fire, don't worry too much. If you insist on ten days and half a month, it will not be a problem. ”

Zhu Feng said: "There are a lot of frostbitten soldiers. ”

Zhu Feng continued to smile and comforted: "So we don't have to be too anxious, and we can't be bitter about the soldiers." ”

"Hmm." Zhu Feng couldn't say anything, he could only comfort himself, this was a temporary difficulty and could be solved.

……

……

On the third day of the retreat, the ranks came to an abrupt halt.

According to the military order, he asked to stop in place, but he did not ask to be stationed in place, as for the reason, Zhu Feng didn't know, so he hurried to find Cui Yuan.

Fang learned that there was an unexpected situation ahead.

"An Bianhou is here."

Cui Yuan had already found several generals to discuss things in advance, and when he saw Zhu Fenglai, he looked very handsome.

is probably also telling his soldiers that even if I have no experience in some things, you can still trust this Anbian Marquis, after all, he is a great man who fights tough battles.

Cui Yuan walked over, and all the generals saluted him.

Cui Yuan dragged him to a makeshift white tent and showed him a map.

"What happened?" Zhu Feng looked confused.

Cui Yuan glanced at him, meaning to let him show some bearing, and then said loudly: "The wind is a little strong, you take a breath first." Yes, the camp with Tartars was found in front. ”

"Camp? Over here? ”

Zhu Feng was even more confused.

Said that you are going south, but there is a camp of Tartars in the south?

Cui Yuan said: "Yes, at first I thought it was a small group of tribal people, but then I sent Ye Bushu to probe forward, and found that the surrounding camp is not small, at least it is a tribe of tens of thousands of people, everywhere is white and vast, and it is not easy to find, that is, someone is melting snow to get water, and was discovered by the sentinels, so I reported back and followed their way to find where their camp was." ”

Zhu Feng asked, "Could it be the people of Duoyan Sanwei?" They...... It seems to be around Daning. ”

The general on the side said: "Master Hou, now we are not around Daning, in fact, here is at least three hundred miles away from Daning. ”

Zhu Feng looked at Cui Yuan, with a questioning look, as if asking, didn't you say that we have been in the north of Daning?

Cui Yuandao: "Actually, there were some deviations in our march at the beginning, and on the way to the north, we turned around and went northwest, which is why I always said that we would withdraw to the southeast. I didn't expect the Tartars to camp in such a place, there is actually no way to go south here......"

Zhu Feng understood as soon as he heard it.

The Tatars had found a place where there was no southward and northward movement, and if the Ming army wanted to find them, they would have to walk at least three hundred miles horizontally.

As a result, because they got lost and took an unusual road, they ran here by mistake.

Zhu Feng instinctively thought, is this shit luck?

Then he realized that this hellish place was not suitable for war, especially the weather...... Besides, it is impossible for the other party not to find them, and it is not easy to pursue the Tatars in the steppe. (End of chapter)