Chapter 541 540 Merits and Sins?

"Prepare the sedan chair and enter the palace."

With the victory report from Xuanfu, Yang Bo felt that he was doing well again at this moment.

Although he was hit hard in the past two days, especially the defeat and death of Sun Bin, he was under great pressure.

Not to mention His Majesty and the court officials, even he himself had lost confidence in himself and felt that he was unable to be competent for the post of Minister of War.

It is necessary to let His Majesty see this victory report as soon as possible so that he can regain his trust in himself.

"Sir, it's so late, His Majesty should rest."

Ge Jin didn't know what he meant by that, and hurriedly reminded him.

"Then go to Wuyi Hall first and hand it over to the elder."

In the past few days, the two cabinet ministers and the Minister of Rites have been staying in the West Garden, ready to answer His Majesty's inquiries at any time.

The emperor has fallen asleep, but the news still needs to be sent in to ensure that His Majesty will know about it as soon as he wakes up.

At an official position like his, in fact, it's only up to the emperor to decide whether to stay or go.

However, after sitting in the sedan chair, he thought more.

The Tartars have already fled north, and the next step is to clean up the mess, reward those who deserve rewards, and punish those who deserve punishment.

Although the capital is under curfew at night, it depends on who is walking on the street.

On the way to Xiyuan, Yang Bo's sedan chair encountered several waves of patrolling Jinyiwei and Bingmasi officers and soldiers, but when the other party saw the mark on the lantern in front of the sedan chair, they immediately and decisively let them go to the sides of the street, without even stopping to question them.

After swaying, the sedan chair soon arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan.

At this point, it is already a forbidden area of ​​the imperial city, so it is naturally impossible to enter directly without any obstacles.

Yang Bo was not in a hurry to get off the sedan chair, and naturally his men went to knock on the door, wake up the eunuchs on duty, and then report.

It is really not easy to open this door.

Fortunately, Yang Bo's status is not ordinary, and those eunuchs guarding the door, although they are in a hurry, still have to smile on their faces, and there is no sign of impatience.

As expected, the news that Yang Bo was going to enter the West Garden eventually reached Huang Jin's ears.

"Yang Bo? What is he doing here so late?"

Huang Jin is old, and he is not willing to get up after lying down, let alone take care of things.

But Yang Bo's going to the West Garden is actually a bit against the rules.

No matter how big the matter is, can't it be put off until tomorrow?

Thinking that there might be something big, Huang Jin had to get up, dress up with the help of several eunuchs, and go out to check at the gate of the West Garden.

However, along the way, he was still hanging in his heart, for fear that Yang Bo would bring bad news, which would make it difficult for him, the eunuch admiral.

Yes, if there is really bad news, can he not wake up His Majesty to tell him?

He can't afford to delay the big things with his old arms and legs.

Moreover, Emperor Jiajing's temper has been very bad these two days, because the Ming army suffered a big loss this time.

Within half a year, the generals of two towns died, from Liaodong to Jizhen.

The night before yesterday, the emperor took a long time to fall asleep, but he just couldn't sleep, and he was worried.

It's a little better today. If something big happens again, I'm afraid it will happen tonight.

I dare not think about it, I really dare not think about it.

Huang Jin tried to get to the gate of Xiyuan as quickly as possible. The door was not open. Without him, the admiral, who would dare to unlock it?

"Who is outside the door?"

When Huang Jin arrived at the door, he asked loudly to the outside.

"I am the long-term attendant of Yang Bo, the Minister of Yang. May I ask which lord it is?"

Yang Bo knew that the door was not so easy to open, so he did not have a sedan chair, but waited for the outside to pass.

Soon, a voice came from outside the sedan chair.

"Master, Huang Jin, the eunuch Huang is here."

"Yes, I know."

Yang Bo got up, and the curtain of the sedan chair had been gently lifted from the outside, and he also got out of the sedan chair.

Two lanterns in front of him illuminated the way, and Yang Bo soon arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace.

"Eunuch Huang, I am Wei Yue."

Yang Bo spoke to the door.

"Lord Yang, come to the palace so late, tell me first whether it is good news or bad news. If it is bad news, I advise you to come to the palace tomorrow.

The emperor has not rested well these two nights. If we disturb his rest, you and I can't afford it."

Huang Jin didn't dare to ask what happened directly, worried that Yang Bo would kick the ball of whether to report to him, and who would he go to for justice.

Now is different from the past. After all, it involves war, so it can't be sloppy.

However, Yang Bo left a good impression on him, so he just said a few words.

No matter whether Yang Bo can continue to be the Minister of War, it is not a bad thing to make a good relationship first.

At this point, he actually has no room for advancement, and he is old, and he just wants to spend these years in peace and stability.

Yang Bo knew what Huang Jin meant, and hurriedly said, "Good news, great news. I came to the palace this time because I knew that His Majesty didn't get enough rest in the past two days because of the bad war. Naturally, I will report the good news as soon as possible.

If His Majesty has already rested, then I will report it tomorrow, but the battle report still needs to be submitted to the palace, and it can be sent to Wuyi Hall and handed over to Xu Ge Lao."

"Good news? Where did they win the battle?"

Hearing that it was good news, Huang Jin became interested and asked.

"Xuanfu Ma Fang's troops intercepted the Tartar army north of Pinggu. After a fierce battle, they beheaded more than a thousand people, recovered three carts of looted property, and rescued more than 2,000 abducted civilians."

Yang Bo explained the general content of Ma Fang's battle report outside the door.

Ma Fang led his army to pursue them all the way. Seeing that the momentum was wrong, the Tatars not only gave up the slow-moving cart, but also ignored the young men and women they escorted, who planned to take them back to the grassland as slaves.

The cavalry charge was so powerful that no one dared to block it.

No one would just stay on the road and wait to be trampled by thousands of horses. They all ran to both sides of the road alertly, leaving the road clear for the army to pass.

It was not until the Ming army defeated the Tatars and cleaned the battlefield on their return that the people hiding on both sides slowly came back and followed the Ming army back.

"Oh, that's really a big victory."

Huang Jin was relieved now.

Although he is in the inner court, he is in charge of the East Factory after all, and any report from the Jinyiwei, as long as it is not a secret letter, must go through his hands.

He knew more or less what was going on outside.

After hearing that Ma Fang beheaded a thousand people and rescued the captive people, this victory should be more credible.

By now, Huang Jin knew why Yang Bo was so eager to report the news.

In fact, he had felt two days earlier that Emperor Jiajing was somewhat dissatisfied with the progress of the war.

Although the reasons are complicated, especially the serious mistakes made by Governor Ji Liao, the Ministry of War cannot escape the blame.

In any case, the Ministry of War was derelict in its failure to predict the Tatars' march south.

The Tatars fought all the way to the outskirts of the capital, which was a serious mistake.

However, the war was still going on, and Emperor Jiajing would certainly not commit the foolish act of changing generals on the spot.

If there is an emergency substitution and the war worsens, the face will be even worse.

With these concerns, I have been holding back.

In fact, Huang Jin knew in his heart that as long as the Tatars withdrew from the Great Wall, Jizhen and even the Ministry of War might be held accountable by the emperor.

It’s just a matter of seeing who is unlucky in the end.

Yang Xuan will definitely not be able to escape, it just depends on the emperor's decision in the end.

With the victory of the Xuanfu Army, Yang Bo may be taken out.

"Congratulations to Yang Shangshu. This time the Ministry of War has conducted the task well, and your Majesty will definitely receive a reward."

Huang Jinle said cheerfully at the door.

He had already known about the north-south pincer attack strategy planned by the Ministry of War two days ago, and was afraid that it would be aborted, but he did not expect that the Ministry of War would be so decisive in giving Ma Fang an order to intercept it, and Ma Fang in the Xuan Prefecture would be so proactive that he would dare to go directly eastward. Take the initiative to fight the Tatar Huang Taiji.

The Ministry of War did not know about Wei Guangde's letter to Ma Fang.

In fact, Yang Bo was also thinking about this on the way, but he thought it was Ma Fangsa's sentry cavalry who discovered the Tatars' movements, so he took the initiative to attack.

But at the gate of the palace, he would naturally not expose his shortcomings.

Since his family knew his own affairs, Yang Bo certainly knew that there were major flaws in the war situation deduced by the Ministry of War.

This major flaw was naturally due to the fact that the Jizhen cavalry led by Sun Bin was defeated by the Tatars so quickly, and he himself died on the battlefield.

In fact, the information obtained by the Ministry of War is similar to the information obtained by Wei Guangde, but the time is slightly earlier.

The Ministry of War's prediction for the battle at Zhengguantun was that the two sides might fall into a stalemate, believing that even if Sun Bin could not defeat the Tatars, it was still possible for them to become entangled.

After all, there is the Miyun Army led by Hu Zhen in the north to assist in the battle, so the Ming Army will not be at a disadvantage.

Under such circumstances, the Ministry of War's first consideration was to close the western passage to prevent the Tatars from turning west and fighting back to Xuanfu.

As for the eastward advance, the Jizhen army was arriving in a steady stream at this time. Yang Bo predicted that Huang Taiji would not take the initiative to fight against the Jizhen army, which would only make him trapped in a tight siege.

Similar strategies are actually used by the Mongols.

Kill two or three border towns in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and then cross the Great Wall and return to the grassland.

Unexpectedly, the cavalry led by Sun Bin was so incompetent that they were ambushed by the Tatars and completely defeated in the first battle.

"Master Yang, please bring in the battle report. When the emperor gets up tomorrow, I will ask your Majesty to read it as soon as possible. I believe he will be very happy."

Huang Jin said at the door.

"Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Huang."

Huang Jin was unwilling to open the door, and Yang Bo was helpless, so he had to send the battle report through the crack in the door, then turned back to the sedan and returned to the military headquarters.

Huang Jin got the battle report, asked someone to take some oil lamps, and opened them for himself.

What was written in the battle report was exactly the same as what Yang Bo said, and then there was a happy smile on his face.

"Go to Wuyi Hall and see if Mr. Xu Ge and the others are resting."

Huang Jin thought about it and said.

In the early morning, the dark clouds for many days were swept away, and the long-lost sunshine was released from the sky, shining on the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Jiajing got up early, not because he didn't want to sleep, but because he couldn't sleep.

How could he continue to sleep peacefully after being slapped in the face by Tatars again.

More than ten years ago, when he was still dreaming about the great tomorrow, he was severely slapped in the face by An Dahan.

More than ten years later, he was severely slapped in the face again by the son of Ada Khan.

He really couldn't bear this tone.

Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, with an attendant combing his hair behind him, he stared blankly at his face in the bronze mirror. Although it was a little blurry, he could feel the haggardness on his face.

"Your Majesty, good news, great news."

After getting up at night, Huang Jin didn't get a good rest. After all, he was getting older, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time because of his emotional excitement. This accidentally delayed his time.

Fortunately, he still had the good news from the Ministry of War.

"What good news."

Emperor Jiajing did not move and just asked casually.

"Good news, good news from the Ministry of War. Ma Fang, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, intercepted the Mongolian Huangtai Ji tribe north of Pinggu and bordering Miyun. After a fierce battle, the captive cavalry was defeated. The Xuanfu army beheaded more than a thousand people and rescued the captive people. "

Huang Jin was still talking endlessly, but Emperor Jiajing turned around suddenly, even though his hair was pulled a little painfully by his actions and he couldn't care less.

Before he could react to the servant behind him, Emperor Jiajing had already stretched out his right hand towards Huang Jin.

Immediately, a battle report fell into his hands.

He quickly unfolded it to watch, and then his face showed a hint of joy.

Finally, there is a general who can relieve the king's worries.

Finally regained some face.

As the emperor, can he be unhappy?

After quickly browsing it twice to make sure that no detail was missed, he put the battle report on the table, sat upright again, closed his eyes slightly, and asked the chamberlain behind him to continue his previous actions.

However, the sitting time was a bit long. Even though he had combed his hair, he did not get up.

When he opened his eyes again, he was still motionless, but between opening and closing his mouth, a decree had been issued.

"When something happened in Jizhen, we must investigate the merits and crimes. We ordered the Ministry of War, Yang Bo, and the Ministry of Punishment, Huang Guangsheng, to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple to investigate the case and discuss the crimes. We also asked the Ministry of War to report the list of those who had meritorious service as soon as possible."

This time the Tatars ravaged the capital again. Although the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses, fortunately no city was lost. These are all meritorious people. Now that the Tatars are fleeing north, they will naturally be rewarded based on their merits.

However, let Yang Bo participate in the investigation of the Justice Department first to avoid any mistakes. Don't be considered guilty by the Third Justice Department and appear on the Ministry of War's list of meritorious deeds, which would not look good.

But because of this, Yang Bo's matter is basically over.

At the beginning, if Emperor Jiajing could support Yang Bo, such a situation would not have occurred. At least in Shunyi, the Jizhen army could have blocked the Tatars and would not have caused more trouble.

Without waiting for Huang Jin to receive the order, Emperor Jiajing continued to issue an order: "Order the Ministry of War to pass the edict, and the troops of the King of Qin from all ministries will return to the town immediately without delay."

Huang Jin was slightly stunned when he heard what Emperor Jiajing said, and then immediately went down to deliver the order.

As the Tatars fled north, the capital naturally did not need rescue. However, such a strict order for all ministries to return to the town would inevitably give people an inhumane feeling.

But Huang Jin would not say these words.

The news that Ma Fang led the Xuanfu army to win the battle spread quickly in the capital in the early morning.

If the news hadn't reached Beijing late at night, it would have spread throughout the capital.

When Wei Guangde was having breakfast, he heard Zhang Ji talking about the news that was circulating outside.

"Ma Fang intercepted Huang Taiji and beheaded more than a thousand people, haha"

Wei Guangde chuckled while eating, his face seemed very happy, but there was still a little pity in his heart.

The first contribution this time should have been labor and capital.

Wei Guangde could only think about this in his mind, and he didn't know if the omnipotent Dongchang would find out his merits and report them to Emperor Jiajing.

However, it is best not to report it, because it seems that it will bring danger to yourself.

At the same time, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Huang Jin, returned here and arranged for the chamberlain to go out to deliver the order, while he returned to the room and took down a box from the bookshelf.

Open it, find a note, and throw it into the brazier on the side without hesitation.