Chapter 209 208 Civil and Military

Wei Guangde had never thought about what Weng Pu was worried about, that is, the reinforcements from Xuanfu and Datong did not dare to take the initiative to fight when they arrived at the battlefield.

But after thinking about it carefully, Wei Guangde felt that it might be the case.

Wasn't it the same in the 29th year of Jiajing?

The surrounding troops gathered to support the king, but no army dared to take the initiative to attack the Altan Khan who was scattered and looting near the capital. In the end, they easily withdrew from the pass.

As for those battle reports, if you use your brain a little, you will understand that if they don't dare to fight at the beginning, how can you expect people to fight hard and fight to the death? Either they kill innocent people to take credit, or they will meet a few unlucky people who are separated.

"So, what the adults mean is to force the Xuanfu army to fight before the Datong army arrives?"

When Wei Guangde said this, he suddenly understood the meaning of Weng Pu's doing this. He took the initiative to provoke the war, so that Altan Khan would not dare to despise the Ming army, and the Datong army that arrived later could not stay out of it.

If the Xuanfu Army fought to the death and the Datong Army just stood by and watched, the lawsuit would have to be brought to the Jinluan Palace after the war. Xuanfu was not raised by a stepmother.

Although the Ming Army was afraid of the enemy and was afraid of fighting, they had to distinguish the occasion. Even if they were just pretending, they had to bite the bullet. It was no wonder that Weng Pu planned to send him to the Datong Army to supervise the battle.

Two people, two pairs of eyes were staring at the Xuanfu and Datong Army. In the end, the attitude of the capital must be based on their opinions.

"It would be best if the Xuanfu Army could severely damage the Altan tribe. The main thing is to show a fighting attitude. With the Datong Army approaching, the Altan tribe should choose to withdraw from the Great Wall."

Weng Pu said softly.

Wei Guangde was silent at this moment, and it took a long time before he asked a question, "Is the combat effectiveness of the border army really so poor?"

Although he was mentally prepared, Wei Guangde couldn't help but believe the words spoken by the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War.

That's ridiculous. If what Weng Pu is worried about really happens, the Xuanfu Datong Army will not dare to fight against Altan's army after gathering here. In the long run, what will the morale of the Ming army be? I'm afraid they will turn around and run away when they see the Mongols. It's useless to spend so much money to defend the Great Wall.

"There are some brave soldiers in the border army, but not many. So after the Datong Army arrives, you should pay attention to which generals have the courage to fight the Tartars. These people are the key to this battle. Pay special attention not to be led astray by those who are afraid of death."

Weng Pu continued.

"Sir Weng, I really don't understand. If that's the case, why don't you transfer these people away and leave the brave generals? And the Great Wall is still being repaired every year, but there are so many passes along the Great Wall. After going around the passes, I feel that the big passes can be defended, but the small passes can't be defended at all. There are not many people."

Wei Guangde said again.

"We have to defend it. The main reason for the small pass is that it is located in a remote area. You can see that there are many places with dangerous terrain along the way. If the border troops are a little stronger, even if the Tartars break through the pass, they will be blocked by the surrounding troops in the process of advancing inward.

Ahem, the reason why the big pass is a big pass is because of the terrain. It is more convenient for transportation, so it is naturally possible to station a large army, and the pass is more difficult to be broken."

Weng Pu explained.

After listening to Weng Pu's words, Wei Guangde understood why there are so many passes on the Great Wall, and why they can be divided into large and small passes. It is related to the road conditions.

Even if the Tartars break through the small pass, there is still a difficult mountain road behind, and it is naturally easy to be blocked by the reinforcements.

Of course, this requires that the Ming army still has basic combat power and full fighting determination, otherwise, as Weng Pu said, they will run away when they see the Tartars, no matter how good the terrain is.

But at this time, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered the information he had received before. It seemed that Xuanfu fought well this year. Except for a group of troops being surrounded and annihilated during the border patrol at the beginning of the year, the Tartar invaders fought well under the command of Xu Lun, the new governor of Xuanda. At least the scene was not bad.

There was no war in Datong this year, and it was unknown how strong it was.

At this time, Wei Guangde was a little moved. Since Xuanfu was going to start the war first, as long as he urged the Xuanfu army to fight bravely, the retreat of the Altan tribe was an inevitable result before the Datong army approached the battlefield. It was very likely that the Altan tribe would withdraw from the Great Wall before the Datong army started fighting.

Yes, Wei Guangde wanted to supervise the battle in the Xuanfu army instead of waiting for the Datong army. The final military exploits of the two were completely different.

For Weng Pu, no matter what the final result was, he had made good arrangements and made great contributions.

For Wei Guangde, if he followed the Datong Army and had no military achievements, then he would only be an assistant. But if he supervised the Xuanfu Army to defeat the Altan tribe, then it would be a great achievement.

Although Wei Guangde did not care much about military achievements, he still wanted to return to the Hanlin Academy to review, pass the exam and upgrade, and if he was lucky, he might get the title of Taichang Temple or Zhanshi Mansion, which would be great. He knew that his age was a disadvantage and he would not have the opportunity to move to the Ministry of Rites. Now moving to the Ministry of Rites is nothing more than being the head of the department. It is better to get experience in the Hanlin Academy and become a bachelor before moving to the Ministry of Rites. Before, he was more comfortable in the Taichang Temple and Zhanshi Mansion.

With Wei Guangde being appointed as a reviewer in the Hanlin Academy, Wei Guangde naturally revised his official career path again. Before, he thought he had to stay in the Hanlin Academy for three years and wait for the dissolution of the academy, but now he didn't need to, saving three years, and he could become an editor after passing the exam.

It's just that it seems to be a good choice to take this thing that is at your fingertips, and it's a pity to lose it.

Although Wei Guangde was worried that he would be assigned by the court to be a military civil servant, thus ending his dream of entering the cabinet, he did not want to miss the opportunity to make meritorious service, and it seemed that he could make his resume look better.

Wei Guangde was a little distracted, not knowing what to choose.

"Sir, when do you plan to leave for the Xuanfu Army?"

Wei Guangde thought for a while before asking.

"Calculate the time. The next two days, Li Zhen, the military officer of Miyun, will bring food and supplies. I will go with the food cart at that time. In this way, there will be more guards around me, and I will not be afraid even if I encounter Tartar scouts."

Weng Pu spoke out his plan.

Wei Guangde finally made up his mind at this moment and asked for this credit, so he immediately said: "Sir, your body has not recovered yet, and this is a tiring journey. I am afraid it will be bad for your condition."

While speaking, Wei Guangde still had a concerned look, as if he was very concerned about Weng Pu's physical condition.

Well, no matter what, the interception of his documents saved his career. At least he did not offend those powerful forces when he first entered the officialdom.

"If I just go to the Xuanfu Army to supervise the battle and force them to fight, I think I should be able to do it."

Wei Guangde carefully expressed his thoughts, staring at Weng Pu, paying attention to his expression.

"You, can't."

But what he saw was Weng Pu shaking his head, "If you go to Xuanfu to supervise the battle, I'm afraid you won't be able to grasp the timing."

"Huh?"

Wei Guangde was very surprised by Weng Pu's words. What did he mean by not being able to grasp the timing? It was nothing more than letting the Xuanfu Army fight, fight a little, wear down the spirit of the Altan tribe, and wait for the arrival of the Datong Army.

Then, Wei Guangde heard Weng Pu really say what he thought.

"Do you think this trip is just to urge them to fight?"

Speaking of this, Weng Pu shook his head again, "The key is to let them hurt the Altan tribe and make them feel afraid, so that they will retreat before the Datong army arrives."

Hearing this, Wei Guangde frowned slightly. It might be difficult to do it with the power of Xuanfu alone.

To hurt the Altan tribe, how strong the combat power must be to do it.

And according to Weng Pu's meaning, it seems that he can't go all out. The main purpose is to deter, that is, only send a small force to hurt the Tartars, let them know the combat power of the Xuanfu army, and force them away before the Datong army arrives.

"Sir, is the army here really so bad?"

It seems that Wei Guangde had asked this before, but he couldn't help but ask it again.

Weng Pu shook his head, nodded, and then coughed several times.

Thinking of Weng Pu's previous words, Wei Guangde suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Weng Pu asked him to pay more attention to the generals and officers below after he went to the Datong army, and look for those who dared to fight.

The overall combat power is not good, but some courageous and capable generals are selected to fight alone.

So that's what happened.

Those who are timid and afraid of death, let them wave flags and shout in the back to get credit, as long as they don't lead the team to collapse when they run for their lives.

Wei Guangde suddenly felt that in fact, the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were still very clear about the morals of the military generals, but they were unwilling to care about them, either openly or secretly.

There are only so many official positions, and leaving some incompetent people does not seem to be a bad thing for civil officials.

If all the incompetent people are demoted and talented people are promoted, I'm afraid someone will pick up the military to take back their rights. You must know that at the beginning of the founding of the country, the status of the military was not low.

Wei Guangde suddenly felt that although there were many brave generals in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, most of them seemed not outstanding enough, and most of them were short-lived, and most of them were mediocre, which was probably the result of manipulation by the civil official group.

To promote civil officials and suppress military officials, it is natural that the more mediocre the performance of military officials, the better, so that civil officials can stand out.

Weng Pu suddenly found that Wei Guangde's eyes seemed to emit brilliance for a moment, and then quickly returned to calm, but there was something else in his eyes, which seemed sharper than before.

Before, when Wei Guangde looked at people, his eyes were still very peaceful, but now it seems different from before.

Is this enlightenment?

Weng Pu has heard people say that once some people have an epiphany, their spirit will change, and the most obvious place is the eyes, which are the windows of the soul and are not easy to hide.

Thinking that Wei Guangde was born in a guard, Weng Pu suddenly realized that his previous words might really make him realize something.

At this moment, Wei Guangde was thinking about the way of being an official that he had just realized.

What did the books teach before?

Everyone is in an equal competitive relationship, and you can only stand out if you perform better than others.

This is of course true, but just now, Wei Guangde thought that you can be unremarkable, but you must make others look more mediocre.

The way civil officials treat military generals can actually be extended to the struggle between civil officials.

Two people compete for a position. In the past, Wei Guangde thought about how to perform better than others, so as to reflect his own advantages, but now Wei Guangde thinks about how to make the other party's performance look more mediocre.

To deal with a matter, even if there is no good way and it can only be handled in a very plain way, then you have to find a way to make the other party do worse than you.

As for what means to use, it doesn't matter.

These things that only old officials in the officialdom can understand were absorbed by Wei Guangde after a few words from Weng Pu.

But now, these things he thought of are useless for the current situation.

When two armies fight, they still rely on strength, not conspiracy and trickery.

"Have you figured it out?"

Noticing the change in Wei Guangde, Weng Pu asked tentatively.

Wei Guangde came back to his senses and hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Excellency is very insightful. I have figured it out. Thank you for your advice."

"Ahem."

Weng Pu coughed again and again, and it took a while to stop.

To be honest, Weng Pu also felt that his health was a little bad these days, and it was not suitable for a long journey to Bao'an Prefecture. He insisted on going by himself before, and he also doubted Wei Guangde's ability.

Just now, I said a few words, and it seemed that Wei Guangde understood, but he was not sure. After all, he had no contact with Wei Guangde before, and he didn't know how Wei Guangde's understanding was.

"If I send you, what will you do?"

Weng Pu curiously tried to ask, to see if he really understood or pretended to understand.

But in his heart, Weng Pu felt that Wei Guangde might understand. After all, he was a person from the guards, and it was hard to say whether he really had this kind of delicate mind.

However, he didn't know what Wei Guangde had realized.

"According to your Excellency's opinion, go to the Xuanfu Army to select capable and daring generals, and let them take the initiative to attack Altan Khan's troops. Other troops with less combat power should remain inactive and exert pressure. As long as one or two generals can perform well, it will affect Altan Khan's combat confidence and make them want to retreat."

Wei Guangde slowly expressed his understanding there, and Weng Pu, who was lying on the bed, nodded slightly. After Wei Guangde finished speaking, he sighed.

"Alas"

Weng Pu's sigh stunned Wei Guangde. He didn't understand Weng Pu's attitude for a while. Did he say something wrong?

When he was in doubt, he heard Weng Pu's words in his ears.

"If the border troops were a little stronger, this book would never be issued. We must wait for the Datong troops to arrive at the battlefield and go all out to completely wipe out this group of Tartars."

Weng Pu's words echoed in Wei Guangde's ears. He seemed to be concerned about the country and the people, but Wei Guangde was not thinking about what he said at the moment.

Civil officials always attach more importance to the interests of the civil official group.

Perhaps for the sake of long-term stability, they are willing to select one or two good generals to guard the border, but they are not willing to seriously select military men and make them too outstanding.

In the court of the Ming Dynasty, there are still noble groups. They are too deeply integrated with the guards. The civil official group is unwilling to let them restore the fighting power of the founding of the country through the guards and rise again in the court.

Nobles should still look like nobles. It is good to maintain the current life. They are greedy for enjoyment and love leisure.