Liaodong, Fushun City.
With the end of the war in southern Liaoning and other places, people from all walks of life are gathering in Fushun. More than 40,000 Ming regular troops are stationed around Fushun City. In addition to local garrison troops, there are more than 60,000 troops.
This does not include the logistics supply personnel recruited due to the war.
Yang Yiqing, the governor of Liaodong, was not in Fushun. He first led his people to withdraw to Shenyang Zhongwei. The person with the highest say in decision-making in Fushun City was the eunuch Zhang Yong, followed by the honorable minister Jingshan who received the emperor's order to lead the troops. Hou Cuiyuan,
Following the heavy snowfall at the end of February, Fushun City no longer made any move to send troops. People from all parties gathered here, as if they were waiting for the snow to melt.
The security situation in the city has been extremely poor, with soldiers harassing the people in endless cases, and even the situation dozens of miles around Fushun is not much better.
Cui Yuan finally received a reply from Yang Yiqing that day. His heart suddenly dropped, and he quickly went to Zhang Yong to discuss the matter.
When Zhang Yong faced Cui Yuan’s bitter look, he roughly knew what was going on: “Prince-in-law, it’s not that Yang Zhongcheng who rejected the request for food adjustment, right?”
< p> Cui Yuan said with a mournful face: "If this continues, food and grass will be cut off, and people from all walks of life will have problems not to mention fighting, but even eating will be a problem. Now there is chaos in the city. If the food and grass problem cannot be solved, the next step is likely to be robbing the people. "The situation of the goods."Zhang Yong waved his hands helplessly and said: "It's useless to worry. We are short of food here, in fact, Liaodong is also short of food. This battle is still incomprehensible, and the court is clearly adjusting. We came to Liaodong to fight against the Jurchens, but the rationing was very slow, and even the transportation was insufficient. The batch of food that was shipped by sea... is now exhausted."
Cui Yuan is sitting there. Then, he looked a little dazed and said: "This battle was personally supervised by Cai Guogong and ordered by His Majesty. How could this happen? Cai Guogong will not fight an uncertain battle."
"Haha." Zhang Yong laughed. He said, "Cai Guogong is not a god after all. You see, we are in a bad situation now, but we don't know anyone who is worse than us. How is the situation of the Ji Liao general?"
"He..."< /p>
Cui Yuan thought of Tang Yin and suddenly felt sympathy.
If the lack of food and supplies on our side is terrible, Tang Yin's side cannot be described as terrible. It is simply a disaster.
Zhang Yong sighed: "Our family didn't understand it. We were well prepared at the beginning, so why did we cut it in half and the food and grass would not be supplied first?"
Cui Yuan asked: "Then should we ask His Majesty to temporarily end the war and wait for the supply of food, grass and baggage to resume?"
"That's not appropriate." Zhang Yongdao, "Now the whole court can They are all staring at us. The war in Liaodong is not going well, and even the local soldiers and horses in Liaodong are defeated on the ground of Jianzhou Guard. We won’t be able to retreat! The entire army will probably be wiped out by then.”
Cui Yuandao said: “He brought us all.They were Korean soldiers and horses, so even if the entire army was wiped out, it wouldn't be a big deal. ”
Zhang Yongyi raised his hand and said: “You must not say that. After all, North Korea is our vassal state, and its people are also our people.” Moreover, the people on the road, as well as Tang Yin and many soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, were really defeated. We cannot bear this responsibility. "
Cui Yuan said helplessly: "But in this situation, how can we lead troops out of Fushun? Previously, it was impossible to get in even at night. The terrain there was too complicated, and the Jurchens were not staying in one place. They were all hiding in the mountains and forests. As long as they sent troops in, they would either set up an ambush or attack at night, making it difficult to advance. ”
Zhang Yongdao: “Even Yang Yiqing, who has been in battle for a long time, has suffered a loss, and our situation is not much better. Besides, you still have those two people under your command..."
That's half of what I said.
I'm embarrassed to say that you, the coach, can't do anything alone. Who let you have Zhang Heling and Zhang Yanling under your command? Brother Huobao?
You expect them to lead the army to fight?
You can go to sleep.
Cui Yuan could not continue to advance without food supplies.
What followed was an order from the imperial court.
That day. Zhang Yong specially invited Cui Yuan over. Cui Yuan was still puzzled when he saw Zhang Yong handing him an order. Cui Yuan was shocked after reading it.
"This. What does it mean? Tang Shilang... transferred the three parties to the overall system? How is this possible? ”
When Cui Yuan saw this transfer order about Tang Yin, he was a little overwhelmed.
It is reasonable to transfer anyone, how could he transfer someone and still be out of touch until now? Tang Yin? Is this a problem for us, asking us to find him and let him take office in the northwest?
Zhang Yongdao: "The right deputy is the censor of the capital, the three sides of the general system, and the right of the household department. The title of Minister, do you know what this means? After he arrives in the northwest, he will almost be able to take control of things such as food, grass, supplies, etc., and taking control of three sides will mean that his level is higher than that of many governors, which means that he alone can call the shots in the northwest. "
Cui Yuan nodded and said: "I know what this position means, but... where can we find this person? ”
Zhang Yongdao: “This is not the point, but this. "
Speaking, Zhang Yong took out another decree.
After Cui Yuan read it, he was already restless. He hurriedly asked: "This What does it mean? ”
Zhang Yongdao: “Your Majesty wants us to report the current situation in Liaodong truthfully. We must report it, and the governor of Liaodong, Yang Yiqing, must also report it.” Our understanding is that His Majesty and Cai Guogong are aware of the troubles we have encountered in Liaodong, and the main problem is insufficient military supplies. This is to allow us to report on our own and make the difficulties clear to the court, so that His Majesty can attack. "
Cui Yuan shook his head and said: "I don't quite understand. "
Zhang Yong said with a meaningful look: "Do you know what it means that a crying child has milk? All we encounter now are difficulties. If we can’t even cry,Then we can only wait here to die. Our family seems to understand why Mr. Cai Guo fought such an ill-prepared war. This was to give him leverage to deal with the people in the court. This is to facilitate him to get the household department into his hands. ”
“No way? Cui Yuan said puzzledly.
“Why not?” Do you have a deeper insight? "Zhang Yong frowned.
You are a general who was born as a consort and has no political thinking, and you still refute me?
Cui Yuandao: "From what I can see, that Cai Guogong has a deep heart. Sheji is more concerned about the country and the people. He will not use the lives of the soldiers of the three armies as a bargaining chip to deal with the ministers of the DPRK. He must be encountering some difficulty now. "
Zhang Yong sighed: "Don't even think about it. Now the Ministry of Revenue is not in his hands. He planned such a war but did not prepare enough food and grass. The responsibility does not entirely fall on him. It was Hubu who deliberately dug holes to cause trouble for the soldiers. In fact, he was not to blame. "
Cui Yuan continued to shake his head and said: "I still don't believe that Cai Guo will use these methods. He must be fighting this battle to completely defeat the Jurchens. ”
Zhang Yong felt like vomiting blood when facing such a guy.
You are still Cai Guogong’s little fanboy, you talk to him about everything! You are really unexpected .
Zhang Yongdao: "Now that your Majesty wants us to cry, we should cry louder and make the situation here miserable. Only in this way can we have a chance to get the food and fodder back, and this battle can proceed. This memorial should be written by you, Marquis Jingshan, and our family's assistance to you is equivalent to saying that we jointly submitted the memorial. "
...
...
The capital, the imperial palace, the Qianqing Palace.
On this day Chen Kuan received the memorial from Liaodong, It was not the memorial about "Crying the Poor" that came from Fushun, it was just a normal military report.
Chen Kuan felt that the matter was important, so he hurried to the Qianqing Palace and handed the memorial to Zhu Youtang, and Zhu Youtang. Youtang took it over, looked at it, and put it aside.
Chen Kuan was puzzled and said: "Your Majesty, the war in Liaodong has not progressed, and it is probably not possible to continue like this. "
Zhu Youtang said: "Why is there no progress? In southern Liaoning and western Liaoning, haven't the issues related to the chaos in people's livelihood caused by the resettlement of the Jurchens been resolved? This battle has actually met my expectations. "
"Huh? ”
Chen Kuan never expected it.
He wanted to ask, Your Majesty, are our pursuits so low now?
Send tens of thousands of soldiers and horses , claiming to be 200,000, saying that they were going to wipe out the Tatars in one fell swoop, but in the end only Tang Yin and his troops penetrated into the hinterland of the Jurchens, while Yang Yiqing and other people were all defeated. You actually said that you met your expectations?
Let’s comfort ourselves, we can’t do this.
Zhu Youtang looked up at Chen Kuan and said, “You seem to have an opinion? "
Chen Kuan said hurriedly: "I don't dare. The servant just feels that the losses in this battle are too great. If nothing is achieved, the court willIt is inevitable that middle-aged people will make irresponsible remarks. ”
Zhu Youtang said: “If they want to say something, let them say it!” Not once or twice! When didn't they first think they were right, as if they had found a reason to criticize Bingkuan and the border army general, and then every time they let them know the deeper meaning behind it, and then remained silent? Many times, they are too short-sighted. "
Chen Kuandao: "But if the battle in Liaodong ends like this, all the previous preparations will be in vain. "
"Really? Zhu Youtang looked at Chen Kuandao, "How do you see that it was all in vain?" ”
After saying this, Zhu Youtang took the memorandum that he had put aside in his hand again.
Then he commented on a paragraph of content on it.
< p>Now Chen Kuan is even more curious. The emperor seems to have made a decision on his own initiative?"Since we can't keep up with food and grass, let's retreat to Liaodong first. Spring sowing is coming soon, and it is not enough for the new food crops to be planted in Yongping Prefecture alone. Liaodong also needs help. Since they are short of food and grass, let them cultivate by themselves. Do some farming work. " Zhu Youtang said.
Chen Kuan was simply shocked by the emperor's thinking.
If there is a shortage of food during the war, how about farming on the same spot?
I heard People who have dug wells on the spot have never heard of growing food on the spot. How dare they have time? Not to mention waiting for the food to be harvested. I am afraid that the people who are farming will starve to death before the food is planted.
Zhu Youtang said: "This war is originally going to be a war of attrition, a protracted war. If they don't farm on the spot, what can they do? "
Chen Kuan said: "Your Majesty, the Jurchens are incomparable to the Mongolian Tatars. Why not go out in force and eliminate the hidden dangers at once? If the matter is delayed for a long time, I am afraid that the soldiers will become resentful, which will not be conducive to the stability of the military morale. ”
At this moment, Chen Kuan was purely thinking about the emperor and the Ming Dynasty.
Obviously the Jurchens had no ability to resist, and they had been crippled in the previous battle. This time we should seize the opportunity to pursue the victory and solve the problem in one fell swoop.
How can such a powerful party take the initiative to slow down the war and fight a protracted war?
Even if it is necessary, To fight a protracted war, should we first occupy the Jurchens’ territory and then proceed?
Zhu Youtang sighed: “Even your vision is so narrow. ”
Chen Kuan looked ashamed, but he still didn’t feel that he had done anything wrong.
Because from a rational point of view, this matter cannot be justified. It seems that the emperor knew that the Liaodong War was going on. The problem is that he is trying to regain his respect and find excuses to convince himself to accept a protracted war.
At this time, Zhu Youtang seemed to have opened up his conversation and said, "You know why. Should the Koreans be used as the vanguard in this battle?
Chen Kuan said: "Because they are originally a foreign country, and this is using barbarians to control barbarians." ”
“Can’t say that. " Zhu Youtang said, "But it's not unreasonable. nowAlthough the Koreans did not achieve much success within the borders of the Jurchens, it was obvious that both sides were short of troops and food. "
Chen Kuan asked curiously: "Your Majesty, could it be said that the situation over there with the Jurchens is also not good? "
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Last year when they were harvesting food, they sent troops to fight. The main focus at that time was to set fire to make their food harvest insufficient, and what followed was a protracted war this winter. , how could the Jurchens have so much food in reserve?
Chen Kuan said: "If the Jurchens don't have enough food, it's a good time for us to send troops to destroy them." ”
“That’s not right. "Zhu Youtang said, "They don't have enough food and grass to last long. We will attack them with the main force. They still have some strength left. Isn't this causing trouble for ourselves? "
Chen Kuan thought about it, and this seemed to make sense.
"But Your Majesty, the centipede is dead but not stiff. "Chen Kuandao.
"Haha. "Zhu Youtang stood up, stretched with a smile and said, "That's it. They are dead but not stiff, and their fighting power is still there. If they want to fight our Liaodong soldiers, do they have a chance of winning? "
"No, but this requires stationing a large number of troops in Liaodong. "Chen Kuan seems to have grasped some joints.
"Isn't that right? They can't get any benefits from Liaodong, what should they do? Just waiting to die? It will definitely develop in another direction. They will not be able to take advantage of the imperial court, but some people are soft persimmons in their eyes. "Zhu Youtang said.
Chen Kuan almost blurted out: "North Korea? "
Zhu Youtang nodded and said: "Now you understand why the Koreans are the vanguard, and why I am not in a hurry to send the rest of the troops to fight them, right? "
Chen Kuan was confused by this series of ideas.
Zhu Youtang said again: "Even if they fight, there is no need to rush to solve the Jurchens' matter. , we have to wait until both of them lose. Of course, this is only an ideal situation. Nowadays, Liaodong needs people and land, so we should sow new crops in Liaodong first. I discussed with Bingkuan many border vassal towns suitable for self-sufficiency, and finally chose Liaodong. After all, transporting money and food to Liaodong is also the most time-consuming and labor-intensive. With this incident, Liaodong will be the most stable vassal town in the Ming Dynasty in the future. "Recent transcoding has been serious, which makes us more motivated and updates faster. Please use your little hands to exit the reading mode. Thank you