Chapter 549 548 Choice
Wei Guangde did not wait long. The servant came to report, and King Yu invited him over.
King Yu is living a more and more prosperous life now, so unless something big happens in the court, he rarely goes to the yard in front.
Following the chamberlain to the inner courtyard of the palace, the area around the palace had been emptied. Except for some chamberlains, all the people in the palace had left.
“Meet His Highness King Yu.”
When Wei Guangde saw that King Yu Zhu Zaijing had already stood up to come over to greet him, he hurriedly saluted him first.
King Yu showed kindness, but he could not be arrogant because of his favor. He still had to have the proper etiquette.
For such an occasion, of course there is no need to bow down. Wei Guangde just bowed deeply to King Yu.
However, this is what King Yu can do when he is still in hiding. In the future, when King Yu becomes the emperor, it will be troublesome to see King Yu report the matter.
The Ming Dynasty followed the Yuan Dynasty's system of kneeling to the emperor. All officials, regardless of their rank, had to kneel and report political affairs to the emperor. After the report, the emperor ordered them to stand up before they could stand up.
When the emperor issued an edict, all the officials would kneel to listen.
The emperor rewards ministers, and the ministers must kneel in front of the emperor to receive the gifts, and then kowtow five times.
When the emperor and his ministers were discussing matters in the Ming Dynasty, only the person who reported to the emperor had to kneel down, while the others stood. When the kneeling speaker finished his speech, the emperor could order him to stand up.
Thinking about it, if he had anything to say to King Yu at that time, he would have to kneel down. Wei Guangde felt that his knees might not be able to withstand it.
Fortunately, Wei Guangde was not summoned by Emperor Jiajing a few times, and every time he had nothing to report, most of them were questions from the emperor.
Later history books criticized Emperor Jiajing for not going to court for twenty years. However, Wei Guangde's personal experience revealed that he quite liked this kind of emperor. He didn't have to get up early to go to court or kneel in the hall to report. He only had to write down. The article was sent to Xiyuan for everyone's convenience.
Of course, it is a common problem among civil servants in the Ming Dynasty to behave well when they get a bargain.
Now that Emperor Jiajing’s actions are good for everyone, they still have to show their concern for the country and the people in private and complain about Emperor Jiajing’s failure to go to court.
After Wei Guang Deping died, King Yu smiled and said: "Shandai, you and I are both teachers and friends, so we don't have to be so particular in private."
"I don't dare. Although His Highness has not corrected his name, But as the crown prince, you and I are truly the monarchs and ministers.”
Although he really didn't want to say these words, Wei Guangde still had to say them on this occasion.
Anyway, except for the chamberlain around King Yu, no one else was present.
"Haha, Shandai is so polite."
King Yu just smiled, and then asked seriously: "I wonder what the important thing is for Shandai to come here?"
>
Wei Guangde hesitated for a moment, organized his words, and told King Yu what he had said to Zhang Juzheng before.
"You said Ma Fang plans to lead his troops to attack the desert in the near future? A sneak attack on Anda Khan's camp?"
Wang Yu asked with a look of disbelief.
Having just escaped from the predicament of raiding the capital by cavalry, King Yu was naturally surprised when he heard that Ma Fang planned to retaliate in kind.
Over the years, Ma Fang's record was enough to reassure King Yu, so he was not worried about Ma Fang's risky moves at the first time.
In fact, Ma Fang has won and lost in recent years. However, in Wei Guangde's words, of course he only talked about the victories and did not mention the defeats. Even if he was mentioned, it became a A tragic victory after a bloody battle.
Seeing King Yu's expression, Wei Guangde didn't know how to express his mood at this time.
Maybe he is too sensitive.
After discussing with Zhang Juzheng, Wei Guangde became more and more worried about Ma Fang's participation in the battle.
How stupid he was for not answering King Yu’s question directly, he already made it very clear.
Next, Wei Guangde told all his worries about the war, including several possibilities he mentioned in his discussion with Zhang Juzheng, detailing the victory and defeat one by one.
"Although this battle is a bit risky, the Tatars have just been raging in the capital. I think we should take revenge this time."
Like the Jiajing Emperor, the emperors and princes of the Ming Dynasty had the same attitude towards foreign enemies, that is, to fight go back.
After the "Gengxu Incident", Emperor Jiajing was determined to prepare his troops for the Northern Expedition to retaliate, but due to various reasons, it failed in the end.
But this time the Tatars were in the same situation again, which naturally made King Yu excited and wanted to retaliate and go back with the most brutal revenge.
“However, Shandai, your and uncle’s concerns are justified.”
King Yu said in a deep voice, "How do you plan to perfect this strategy for Ma Fang?"
Ma Fang is only the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, and he can only govern the Xuanfu.
This dispatch of troops will inevitably take away most of the Xuanfu's mobile troops, causing the Xuanfu's defense strength to be greatly weakened. At this time, it is indeed necessary to supplement the Xuanfu's military strength.
In fact, the most important role of the Great Wall is not to keep the enemy out with a wall, like in a siege.
Thousands of miles of city wall, even if the Ming Dynasty filled in millions of troops for this purpose, it is actually impossible to fill the Great Wall.
The Great Wall is a defense system, relying on a complete defense engineering system composed of various fortifications such as city walls, watchtowers, gates, piers, camps, guards, towns, and beacon towers.
Many people in later generations believed that the Great Wall was useless. When foreign enemies invaded, they could just open a gap in the Great Wall and march straight in. Only people without strategic common sense thought so.
The garrison on the Great Wall actually plays a more important role as early warning, and of course they are also combat soldiers.
When traces of the enemy are discovered, early warning begins, and at the same time, of course, resistance must be carried out. The purpose is actually just to buy some time, so that the people in the interior can step up preparations for war, and create some time to strengthen the walls and clear the fields.
It takes time to open a gap, and you also have to defend against the attack of the defenders. The strategic advantage of a sudden attack by the nomads is completely lost. The beacon tower can quickly transmit military information to distant places, and it can also give the Central Plains region sufficient time to do things. Be prepared to resist attack.
Most nomads go to the Central Plains to plunder, and attacking cities is not their strong point. Once warning is given, the property and manpower they can grab will be greatly reduced.
Moreover, they generally do not dare to go deep into the hinterland to plunder, for fear of being cut off by the defenders at both ends of the gap.
The Ming Dynasty built a large number of forts along the Great Wall, which were actually the main fortifications to defend against the attacks of the Japanese cavalry.
These forts are as small as small cities and difficult to attack, and they are densely packed within dozens of miles behind the Great Wall.
If the Tatars broke through the border wall, they would either attack and loot these forts, or they would simply skip them and continue to go deeper to attack other large cities in the Ming Dynasty's interior. And the people in these forts The force is the main force to regain the city wall and prevent its smooth retreat.
Because of this wall, when the nomads attacked the Ming Dynasty, they could not choose a place to enter at will. Instead, they had to find ways to break through the passes along the Great Wall and seize a gate.
In this way, their huge troops can pass through the Great Wall smoothly, and the materials and people they robbed can also pass through the customs smoothly.
The purpose of supplementing Xuanfu's troops is naturally to have sufficient reserve troops to go up and expel the intruding Tatar army when the Tatars attack Xuanfu.
“My idea is to mobilize the soldiers and horses from Shanxi Town to support Xuanfu and make up for Ma Fang’s lack of defense in Xuanfu after he left.”
Wei Guangde said.
"Why Shanxi Town and not Datong? This time Datong's commander-in-chief Jiang Yingxiong and his men also performed extremely well, and their combat power was also good." King Yu wondered.
"It is not without reason that Governor Xuanda Jiang Dong has always chosen to be based in Datong."
Wei Guangde had to say.
"Ma Fang and Jiang Dong are at odds?"
Hearing this, King Yu frowned slightly.
Thinking of lobbying King Yu to come forward and help Xu Jie suppress Yang Bo, Wei Guangde explained to King Yu that Jiangdong wanted to transfer elite soldiers from the main barracks of Xuanfu.
When it comes to the struggle for power, it’s hard for King Yu to say anything else.
Rights are rights only if you hold them in your hands.
Once it is handed over to others, it is no longer within your control.
King Yu could understand Ma Fang's reason for rejecting Jiang Dong.
"The current chief military officer of Shanxi Town is Dong Yikui. He was recommended by the Ministry of War because of his meritorious service in the war. He has just been transferred from Xuanfu.
He has been in Xuanfu for many years and is very familiar with it. At this time Just let him rectify the Shanxi troops and send in reinforcements, so he can sit back and relax."
Wei Guangde continued, no. I was worried that King Yu would not understand the urgency of the matter, so he added: "This matter cannot be delayed. Based on my understanding of Ma Fang, he may have already deployed his troops to the border wall at this time and may leave the border at any time."
"However, what should I do? This matter must be discussed with Yang Shangshu of the Ministry of War. It is only reasonable and reasonable for the Ministry of War to take action."
King Yu is not a novice, he is just a prince. He has no right to use the army.
Furthermore, this is also inviting trouble. Beware that if the father finds out about it, it is possible to abolish him on the grounds that he has ulterior motives.
"Your Highness doesn't have to do anything. Naturally, I will go to see Yang Shangshu and tell him about Ma Fang's plan to raid Beihetan in the near future. However, I think there is something wrong, so I went to him to discuss some mistakes and omissions. How to make up for it."
Wei Guangde said that he told King Yu these things, and of course he couldn't create any problems for him.
This is inconsistent with his image in King Yu's heart, and will give people the impression of a troublemaker.
In fact, Ma Fang only mentioned it casually in his letter to clarify this battle.
But he thought it was a brush off, but he pointed out the target for attack, which made Wei Guangde alert. Ma Fang should have had this plan for a long time.
He would not be nervous if the raid time was advanced or postponed, but at this time, he felt it was extremely inappropriate.
Now, this feeling has become stronger and stronger.
“Since you have already had this idea, why don’t you come to see me, you might as well talk to Yang Shangshu directly.”
At this time, King Yu also realized that this was a troublesome matter. As a prince, he could not get involved, even though Emperor Jiajing did not seem to stop him from contacting foreign generals.
"As long as it's because of Jiangdong."
Wei Guangde continued at this time: "Your Highness should know that Jiangdong and Liu Tao are competing for the position of Governor of Jiliao."
King Yu nodded and said Said: "I heard about this."
"Yang Shangshu is also in his sixties. He has privately expressed his lack of energy many times before. I guess his plan seems to be to let Jiang Dong succeed him. location.”
Wei Guangde said.
“You want to prevent Jiang Dong from becoming the governor of Ji Liao and preventing him from joining the military department.”
King Yu understood a little bit, “It’s just that, after all, he is the person recommended by Yang Shangshu, so it’s not good to be alone. "Meet in this matter."
"There is a rift between Jiang Dong and Ma Fang. If Jiang Dong takes charge of the military department, it will be detrimental to Ma Fang."
Wei Guangde answered directly.
"Do you want to express your support for Liu Tao alone?"
King Yu hesitated. Behind Liu Tao was Xu Jie, and behind Jiang Dong was Yang Bo, both of whom were important officials in the court.
Originally, given his character, he would naturally stay away from the competition for the position of Governor of Ji Liao and not participate in it.
But now we know the relationship between Jiang Dong and Ma Fang, and the official position of Governor Jiliao is extremely sensitive.
Indeed, if Jiangdong comes to control Jiliao, he will almost be the sure candidate to be the next Minister of War, as long as nothing else happens to him.
You must know that he has already completed all the transitions required to become the Minister of the Ministry of War. From the Minister of the Ministry of War to the Minister of the Ministry of War in Nanjing, he is now just shy of taking over the post of Governor of Jiliao.
Wei Guangde didn't know what King Yu was thinking at this time, but he just saw him bowing his head and thinking for a long time.
Wei Guangde was not in a hurry and just waited quietly.
Wang Yu was also weighing the pros and cons at this time. If he got involved in this matter, he might offend Yang Bo.
As Wei Guangde said, Yang Bo is indeed considering his successor.
In fact, Xu Jie was older than Yang Bo, but in King Yu's memory, there seemed to be no news that Xu Jie wanted to become an official, and to outsiders, it seemed that Xu Jie was still very old and strong.
Thinking of this and Ma Fang who was involved, King Yu finally made the final decision.
At this time in Zhangjiakou, Ma Fang had already led his elite cavalry to the fortress for repairs, but the news he had been waiting for had not yet arrived.
The sneak attack on North Beach was certainly not a decision made by Ma Fang on the spur of the moment. He had actually been preparing for it for more than a year.
Not only did Ye Bushou be sent out to collect terrain information along the route, but they also continuously tracked the whereabouts of Anda Khan, striving to succeed in one blow.
Anda Khan is now surrounded by armies all year round. The older a person gets, the more he cherishes his life. The ambitions he once had are no longer there, and the fearless courage has also dissipated. All that remains is the experience accumulated after a lifetime of military service, and nothing more. Unparalleled deterrence.
Ma Fang has always targeted An Dahan, so naturally he has to take all influences into consideration, even the route of troops and the camping location, so as not to leave any loopholes.
But sometimes, being reckless and showing off your courage often leads to unexpected results. The emergence of the word "a wise man will make a mistake every time he thinks" also shows that adequate preparation is often the source of failure.
Now, Ma Fang has assembled the mobile forces he can mobilize in the Xuanfu into the Zhangjiakou Fort again in the name of patrolling the border. He only needs to confirm the location of Anda Khan before taking action.
Preparation is enough.
In his intentional or unintentional training, the Xuanfu Army had unknowingly conducted relevant simulation exercises many times.
Although there are many people participating, not many people know the complete details. This is also for the sake of confidentiality.
While he was waiting patiently, outside Zhangjiakou Pass, which was more than ten miles away from Zhangjiakou Fort, a fast horse was prancing towards the city gate with its whip raised.
(End of this chapter)