Chapter 430 429 Yan Ne Relocation

Speaking of the relationship between King Yu and Emperor Zhengde, they were actually uncle and nephew. However, when talking about Emperor Zhengde, Wei Guangde still noticed a hint of disdain in King Yu's eyes.

Wei Guangde understood the reason in his heart, but it was not his responsibility. If he talked about the relationship, it would harm the interests of the civil service group, including his own.

As for the records of some ridiculous things about Emperor Zhengde that Wei Guangde saw in the "Records" in the Hanlin Academy, he did not go to the bottom of it.

There are a lot of rumors among the people, but Wei Guangde can't control them.

However, since it is about the affairs between the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia, there are not only envoy exchanges and private transactions, but the most important thing is the war.

Naturally, when Wei Guangde talked about the Battle of Yingzhou that took place in October of the twelfth year of Zhengde, King Yu's previously cynical attitude began to become serious.

Wei Guangde felt a little strange, but he didn't ask. Instead, he explained based on the information and understanding he found.

"Before the Battle of Yingzhou, through the news brought back by the returnees and the discovery of the Ming army's sentry cavalry, we could judge the general attack route of the Tatars, so we could calmly deploy our troops and generals."

Of course, Wei Guangde would not discuss super-outline topics with King Yu. According to the records in "Records", although it is not the final draft, there is a high probability that there will not be much change.

When Wei Guangde finished briefly talking about the battle that lasted for several days, from the beginning, the Ming army encountered the Tatar cavalry around Yingzhou City, and then the battlefield gradually unfolded around Yingzhou City.

After finishing speaking, when Wei Guangde was about to talk about the impact of this battle on the political situation of Ming and Mongolia, King Yu suddenly asked: "Mr. Wei, why did the emperor come to the battlefield in person during this battle? I have heard someone say in private, The emperor's uncle's temple name was Wuzong, which was also due to his martial arts in this battle."

Before and after the Battle of Yingzhou broke out, Wei Guangde didn't say much, but since King Yu asked about it, he felt it was necessary to mention it.

In fact, in later generations, Wei Guangde also saw some accounts of this battle. Many people were grievances against Emperor Zhengde. Wei Guangde was the same before, but in this life, after learning more information, his views gradually changed a little.

"The outbreak of the Battle of Yingzhou was actually not accidental. In the eleventh year of Zhengde, the border army first investigated and learned that the Tatars had arrived in Weining Haizi, and predicted that the direction of their harassment would be Piantou Pass. The Ministry of War made a strict plan for this , selected elite soldiers and generals from regiment training to enrich the front line, and secretly mobilized elite troops from Liaodong and Yansui to lie in wait, waiting for the Mongols with open pockets. "

Wei Guangde said: "The results of the subsequent battles were also great. Twenty thousand Tatar cavalry split up and raided Piantou Pass and other places. They were pursued by our Ming army and defeated in Kelan Prefecture. More than eighty people were beheaded. This battle was led by Du Yu. The governor of Shanxi Province, Li Yue, commanded it, which was a great victory in Zhenxi.

With the victory in the battle, the Ministry of War summarized the Tatar customs of sending troops, so it took precautions in advance about the next military move of Prince Ranhan of the Tatar tribe (Dayan Khan) and made plans. Emperor Wuzong Zhengde happened to be patrolling the border at this time. , I am afraid that the news has been leaked from the Ministry of War.

Let him know the plan of the Ministry of War, so he chose to patrol the border at Xuanda at this time. "

Wei Guangde replied.

When later generations talk about the Battle of Yingzhou, most of them say that the Tatar army came to the city. Emperor Zhengde ran out from the capital to gather surrounding soldiers and horses to defeat the Tatars in Yingzhou. Obviously this was impossible.

Wei Guangde believed it before, but not now.

In ancient wars, mobilizing troops and generals did not mean that the troops and horses could be mobilized immediately after sending an order. The preparation alone took two or three days, and they could only march dozens of miles every day. Without long-term preparation, a big war would not be fought.

After having the experience of Baoan Prefecture, Wei Guangde already has a full understanding of the wars of this era.

"Some people say that the soldiers beheaded only the sixteenth-level captives. They are confused and think that the record is untrue. There are also the emperor's uncle who personally beheaded the first-level prisoners."

King Yu asked again.

Wei Guangde smiled, later generations also talked about this matter much more often, and most of them thought it was the ancients who fooled fools.

How long did the battle last for tens of thousands of people from Chen Shi to You Shi?

According to the time in between, it is how many hours from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

However, after the battle in Baoan Prefecture, Wei Guangde probably had some guesses. Maybe Level 16 really wasn't talking nonsense.

"First of all, the number of casualties in this battle is definitely not more than the number recorded in the "Records". It is true that hundreds of people were killed and seriously injured by our Ming army, but the number of minor and moderate injuries is not stated, maybe thousands, or even tens of thousands.

The sixteen levels of beheading recorded in the "Records" does not mean that only sixteen people were killed, but only sixteen heads were cut off, and the remaining Tatars were taken away by the opponent.

You must know that the Ming Dynasty did not win a great victory in the battle of Yingzhou. The two sides actually fought equally well, and the Tatars retreated rather than defeated.

As mentioned before about the great victory in Zhenxi, our army used superior forces to pursue the divided Tatar tribe, and only achieved the result of beheading more than 80 people, but actually killed and wounded thousands of people.

When the Ministry of War examines military merit, only the heads that have been captured are used as evidence, so the Ministry of War will not recognize the body being taken away or the head being damaged. "

Having said this, Wei Guangde looked at King Yu and said calmly: "So, Your Highness, don't think that only sixteen enemies were killed in this battle after seeing the sixteenth level beheading mentioned in the first draft of "Records". This was only verified and recognized by the Ministry of War." 's head.

In the northern border towns, most of the soldiers preferred heavy weapons, because both our Ming soldiers and the Tatars on the opposite side were all wearing leather armor, iron armor and other protective equipment, making them difficult to damage with spears and spears, and the power of heavy weapons seemed even greater.

However, this heavy weapon is good on the battlefield, but if it hits the enemy's head with a hammer, the head may be useless.

The result is that if you win a battle, you can plunder the battlefield and not miss a single head, but if you lose, you will get nothing. The two sides are evenly matched, and often the heads collected in the end are not recognized by the Ministry of War because they are damaged.

By the way, if there are traces of gunshot wounds on the heads, the heads will not be counted. ”

“I see, I understand. "

Prince Yu nodded slightly after listening to Wei Guangde's explanation, which was considered to have eliminated many of his previous misunderstandings.

That is, because Wei Guangde had been on the battlefield, he knew the key points, so he could explain it clearly to Prince Yu, otherwise he could only explain it according to the written meaning.

Afterwards, Wei Guangde talked about the impact of this battle on both sides.

"Prince Ranhan Dabagong of the Tatar tribe died shortly after this battle. It is unknown whether he was injured by a stray arrow on the battlefield. Emperor Wuzong Zhengde did not mention this matter. It can be seen that the battlefield was chaotic at the time and it was impossible to tell where the enemy chief was. However, after this battle, the border of the Ming Dynasty was somewhat quieter, and at least a large-scale military offensive of tens of thousands of people was no longer formed. "Wei Guangde continued.

"The emperor's uncle made great contributions in this battle. The victory of the Yingzhou battle, regardless of whether Prince Ranhan Dabagong was injured and died in this battle, at least the Tatar tribe did not continue to attack. "

Prince Yu said with some joy.

However, Wei Guangde looked strange when he heard this. Prince Yu suddenly attributed all the credit to Emperor Zhengde, which was not the point he wanted to express.

Wei Guangde didn't know whether Prince Yu said this intentionally or unintentionally, but he still said: "The military department made great contributions in this battle. The planning before the war and the presence of Emperor Wuzong Zhengde also greatly inspired the morale of the soldiers. It is not wrong to say that they have made great contributions. "

Wei Guangde just said this lightly. He didn't want to argue with Prince Yu. "However, the Tatars did not dare to move south in large numbers afterwards. In fact, it had little to do with this battle. The main reason should be the death of Prince Ranhan Dabagong.

After his death, the tribes he left behind were inherited by his descendants. As a result, the various forces on the grassland were in chaos and attacked each other for their own interests. In such an environment, they naturally would not pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

This situation continued until the 21st year of Jiajing. Altan Khan became the leader of the tribe after the death of his brother Jinang, and it took several years to reunify the other tribes.

It should be noted that Altan Khan is the grandson of Prince Ranhan Dabagong, and heir to the Ordos and Tumed tribes, and is considered to be one of the stronger tribal leaders.

Therefore, the absence of major battles on the border for more than ten years was related to the death of Prince Ranhan Dabagong, but it is not certain whether it was caused by the Yingzhou War. ”

“On the grassland, if the Khan dies, will the grassland fall into chaos?”

Prince Yu realized what Wei Guangde wanted to express. Once the Khan dies, the tribes conquered by force will seem to be divided and not subordinate to each other after the tribe is inherited by his descendants. This requires someone to re-initiate a war of unification before going south to attack the Ming Dynasty.

“That’s basically it. Although they also have a descendant who will inherit the Khan’s throne, the key is that their fiefdom is real fiefdom, and they get tribes, land and population respectively, which is different from the fiefdom of the Ming Dynasty, so internal friction is inevitable.”

Wei Guangde replied.

“Killing Altan Khan can temporarily solve the war in the nine borders?”

Prince Yu asked further.

“It’s possible. "

Wei Guangde's answer was also simple.

After Altan Khan died, whether the grassland would split again was only a possibility. After all, it depended on whether any of his descendants had enough prestige to make others bow their heads.

However, Wei Guangde saw the brilliance in Prince Yu's eyes, and couldn't help but guess that this prince would not intend to send assassination experts from the Jinyiwei to the grassland to assassinate Altan Khan after ascending the throne, right?

After all, no matter who it was, they would feel annoyed by the constant alarms from the north. Since there was a way to solve the problem, of course they would choose to give it a try, even if it could not be cured, but only temporarily relieved.

If it succeeded, the border could be relaxed for a few years or even longer. If it failed, they would have to fight anyway.

When Wei Guangde and Prince Yu came out of the study, they saw Yin Shizan and Zhang Juzheng sitting there discussing something.

Seeing them come in, Yin Shizan picked up a piece of paper at hand and handed it to Prince Yu.

"Minister Ouyang submitted a memorial today, and asked for an order to recommend the candidate for the left assistant minister of this department. "Prince Yu and Wei Guangde naturally knew what was going on. As for the official position vacated by Yuan Wei's promotion, no one knew what Emperor Jiajing would choose this time, whether he would summon the cabinet ministers to discuss, organize the meeting, or directly appoint him. "Did Master Gao pass on any news?" Prince Yu took the note and looked at it, then asked. "Su Qing had passed on the message before, and he had done what he should do, and left it to fate. "

Yin Shizhan replied.

Wei Guangde understood that no matter whether he summoned cabinet ministers or direct ministers for discussion, it would be nothing more than Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei. It seemed that Gao Gong had already run all the relationships he should run and said what he should say. As for what they would say in front of the emperor, he could only wait.

As for the push, it would be the six ministries and nine ministers, which involved a wider range of people. I think Gao Gong would not be idle these days, and he should also be building a good relationship with them.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde nodded and murmured, "Let it be up to fate."

Perhaps, others would think that Gao Gong had done a perfect job and had done everything he should do, but Wei Guangde knew that what he did was just useless.

No matter whether it was the cabinet ministers who discussed or pushed, in the end they could not get around Emperor Jiajing. As long as he did not nod, Gao Gong could not get promoted.

Will Emperor Jiajing recognize Gao Gong?

At least according to the news from Chen Ju, Gao Gong is out of luck.

Knowing that Wei Guangde would not tell him, firstly, this matter is just Chen Ju's speculation and cannot be taken as true. Secondly, this may be a small revenge that Wei Guangde wants for Gao Gong's actions against him twice before.

Although they belong to the same camp, it does not mean that there will be no internal conflicts of interest.

There are only so many benefits, and everyone wants to share more. However, when it comes to external forces, it is best if everyone can work together in the same boat and not run away or burn bridges.

"You should pay more attention to this matter. Whenever Master Gao needs your help, you and the palace must take action. You don't have to report everything to me first. You can just make up for it afterwards."

King Yu spoke at this time.

Yin Shizhen and the other three people all bowed to accept the order. In any case, King Yu is now their boss. Although there is a teacher-student relationship, it seems that in King Yu's view, only Gao Gong is worthy of teaching the relationship with him. .

On that day, Wei Guangde had no intention of inquiring about any information. Although Prince Yu expressed this intention to him before leaving Prince Yu's Mansion, he wanted to bypass him and inquire about the results.

There is no chance, what are you asking about, Wei Guangde thought to himself.

Near noon the next day, the news came that the official position of Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Personnel was not destined for Gao Gong.

"This time His Majesty Qian Gang was the one who made the decision. Without summoning anyone from the cabinet, he directly appointed Yan Na to the Ministry of Personnel. At the same time, he promoted Li Chunfang to replace Yan Ne as the left minister of the Ministry of Rites."

Yin Shizhen said as he handed the note he just received to King Yu.

"Hey, I didn't expect it to be like this."

King Yu couldn't hide his disappointment and said.

Wei Guangde was also shocked. He did not expect that Yan Ne would follow in Yuan Wei's footsteps and be quickly promoted to Zuo Shilang in the Ministry of Rites, and now he would immediately change to the Ministry of Personnel.

Did Emperor Jiajing plan to arrange for Yan Ne to follow up after Yuan Wei entered the cabinet?

And Li Chunfang, it seems that Yan Ne's position will be his next.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but feel horrified. He still remembered that Chen Ju said that it would not be long before Yuan Wei entered the cabinet, maybe within a few months.

He didn't say what Chen Ju said before, that Minister Qingci might be quickly promoted to the court in the next two years.

If Gao Gong wants to fight, just let him go. He should put his mind on places like Prince Yu's Mansion, Zhan Shi Mansion or Taichang Temple.

Zhanshi Mansion and Taichang Temple, these yamen are where Wei Guangde is most likely to improve his rank.

Who doesn't want to make progress? Now he is only at the sixth rank, and he is still a green-robed official.