Chapter 551 Impossible! This is impossible!

The city of Beijing has been quite unstable recently.

As tens of thousands of troops from the capital camp set out on the expedition, from the very beginning all the departments and offices of the imperial court were busy preparing for various affairs surrounding the Northern Expedition Army to ensure that the army would not be constrained outside.

But then, who would have thought that the Tuman tribe in the east of Mongolia would actually launch an attack on Jizhen.

Among the nine border towns, Ji Town was actually established from the very beginning. In addition to guarding the Great Wall defense line on the northwest side of Yanshan Mountain, it was also to control Liaodong and the three towns of Xuanfu and Datong.

Now, the Mongolian Tuman tribe took advantage of the Ming Dynasty's Beijing army's expedition to the northwest and suddenly led their troops to appear outside the Great Wall defense line of Jizhen, which shocked the entire court.

When the news was just delivered to the court.

Some people even immediately called for Yan Shaoting to lead the northern expedition army back to the capital to protect the safety of the capital.

Some people also clamored to submit memorials, hoping that the central government would issue an order to transfer troops from Shanhaiguan and Xuanfu to Beijing.

Naturally, people in the court were in panic for a while, as if the Mongols were really going to cross the Great Wall again and attack Beijing.

The central government was much calmer than the frightened court officials.

The cabinet kept the memorials asking Yan Shaoting to turn around and return to Beijing with the northern expedition army without discussing them, and did not even present them to the emperor.

As for those officials who dared to clamor for the transfer of border troops from Shanhaiguan and Xuanfu to the capital, the cabinet this time unanimously reprimanded them verbally, and then the Censorate began to review these officials who submitted the memorial.

"These people are really out of their minds!"

"Did they all get kicked in the head by a donkey when they went out?"

In the cabinet classroom, Li Chunfang cursed with a sullen face, and threw a pile of memorials recently sent by the Ministry of Public Security onto the ground.

In the room, everyone, from Gao Gong to Gao Yi, remained silent and just watched Li Chunfang cursing in front of everyone.

Li Chunfang glanced around, his face becoming increasingly gloomy. "I think these people have really lost their minds! How many times has this happened? They even dared to petition for border troops to enter the capital. Do they really think that a small tribe of barbarians can fight their way out of Beijing? I think they are afraid of losing their heads, so they have lost their minds!"

In the classroom, Yuan Wei and Zhao Zhenji looked at each other, a smile flashed in the corners of their eyes, but they just didn't say anything.

Hu Zongxian lowered his head and read several front-line reports submitted to the cabinet by the Ministry of War, thinking about how the court should deploy troops and prepare food and wages.

Gao Gong stared at Li Chunfang with deep eyes, watching the other party yelling and cursing here.

Li Chunfang's face was full of resentment, but he couldn't express his pain in his heart.

Because even though the Cabinet has already sent a letter to reprimand the officials in the court who submitted petitions to withdraw border troops to the capital, and even the Censorate has started to take action, this group of people still submit petitions again and again.

I really feel that the Tuman tribe will attack Beijing tomorrow.

If you don't look closely, you won't know that these people are all members of the Qingliu Old Party.

idiot!

They are all fucking idiots who were kicked by a donkey!
Li Chunfang sat down angrily, but was thinking quickly in his mind.

And his gaze quietly swept towards Gao Gong, who was sitting in the first seat.

After all, he had already scolded them, and it was the duty of court officials to submit memorials to express their opinions. Even if they were a little stupid, Gao Gong should not have punished them harshly.

Hu Zongxian put down the memorial he had not yet finished reading, looked up at Gao Gong, and said, "Prime Minister, the army has been on the march for more than a month. According to the report of the Ministry of War, the general's march and deployment this time are all about stability. I don't think there will be any major problems on the front line. And according to the speed of the general and his men, they should be fighting with the people of Altan's tribe in the front now."

After finishing speaking.

Hu Zongxian paused.

No one spoke in response.

He then glanced at Li Chunfang and continued, "As for the Tuman tribe's invasion, it's not a big deal. In the opinion of the Ministry of War and me, the reason why the Tuman tribe suddenly led troops to invade this time must have been because they had negotiations with the Altan tribe. They are just a small force pretending to attack our border, trying to make our dynasty fall into a two-front war and cause internal unrest in our dynasty."

Li Chunfang immediately slammed the table and said, "That's what I mean. The Tuman tribe's invasion this time was to cooperate with the Altan tribe. Among the Mongols outside the Great Wall, the Altan tribe is the most powerful. The Tuman tribe has only tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. How can it cause a big chaos? It is not worth our hasty response."

Hu Zongxian nodded and said with a smile, "Jizhen has always been close to the capital, and the court has stationed a large number of troops there. The terrain in the northern part of Yan is complex, and the mountain roads are difficult to travel. Now there are soldiers from the garrisons of various prefectures in Hebei outside the city, plus the officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp who originally stayed in the capital. Even if the Tuman tribe happens to break in, there is nothing to worry about."

His voice echoed in the house.

In this room, the person who knows the most about military affairs is naturally Hu Zongxian himself.

Apart from him, no one present had any experience in commanding troops.

When Hu Zongxian expressed his thoughts in full.

Gao Gong finally hummed, and a smile finally appeared on his tense face: "Ruzhen said so much, and both sides have been analyzed. I think the situation is similar to what Ruzhen said. But..."

When the word "but" came out of Gao Gong's mouth, a look of worry immediately flashed across Li Chunfang's face.

Those idiots from the Qingliu old party repeatedly submitted memorials offering bad advice.

It would not be an exaggeration to accuse Gao Gong of disturbing the morale of the people and the army.

Zhao Zhenji suddenly spoke before Gao Gong could say anything: "But the officials in the capital are concerned about the country, and the civil officials in the court have always neglected military affairs, so it is understandable that they talk nonsense. I think it is better to ask the emperor to issue an order to correct the people's hearts. As for the others... I think we should keep our eyes on Runwu and wait for their news. As long as the Altan tribe is repelled, driven out of the Hetao area, and escaped back to Mobei, the Tuman tribe outside Jizhen will not be a concern. By then, as long as the news of the defeat of the Altan tribe spreads, the Tuman tribe will retreat on its own. In the future, when our dynasty reorganizes its troops and hoards food and wages, we will find a suitable opportunity to lead troops from Liaodong, Jizhen, and Xuanfu to kill and avenge the Tuman tribe."

in the house.

Li Chunfang looked at Zhao Zhenji intently.

He really didn't expect that just when Gao Gong seemed to be about to punish those officials in the court who were talking nonsense, it would be Zhao Zhenji who stood up and spoke.

Gao Gong also had a hint of surprise and confusion in his eyes, and he turned his head to look at Zhao Zhenji.

Logically speaking, Zhao Zhenji was pushed to the position by the Yan family, and the Qingliu Old Party and the Yan family have been sworn enemies for many years. It would be good enough if they don't add insult to injury to the Qingliu Old Party now, so how could they possibly speak for the other side?

Only Yuan Wei glanced at Zhao Zhenji with a smile.

In my heart, I already gave the other person a thumbs up.

If we talk about the person who knows the most about military affairs in the cabinet today, it is undoubtedly Hu Ruzhen, but if we talk about the person who knows how to behave the most, it can only be Zhao Mengjing.

It seems that he is speaking for the Qingliu Old Party.

But this is just a side job.

What Zhao Zhenji really wanted to express was that among all the things happening in the court today, none was as important as the affairs of Yan Shaoting's northern expedition army, who was leading the troops to fight the enemy outside.

And the sentence of seeking revenge on the Tuman tribe someday can naturally be seen as a foreshadowing for Yan Shaoting to lead troops to war again in the future.

After all, if Yan Shaoting conquered the Altan tribe, expelled the Tartars, and recovered the Hetao area, he would be the most skilled in northern military affairs in the court. In addition, the court had always used civil officials to control military affairs for so many years, so when they conquered the grasslands again, how could they abandon him and select someone else to lead the army?

Such a comparison.

Instead of adding insult to injury to the old Qingliu party, it would be better to promote Yan Shaoting.

After all, the Qingliu Old Party just made a few nonsense remarks. If they really want to settle the account, they can't be fined anything. At most, they will be fined a few months' salary for their inappropriate remarks, which is the most.

But after hearing what Zhao Zhenji said.

Even Gao Gong, who originally wanted to punish the Qingliu Old Party, was persuaded and immediately turned to look at Hu Zongxian.

"Ruzhen, I don't think there's any urgent matter at the Ministry of War recently, so I think Runwu is also going smoothly."

Gao Gong spoke very slowly, trying to make his wording more precise: "I think that this time the court will send troops to Hetao, it should be able to recover the old territory. However, once Hetao is recovered by our dynasty, how to govern it in the future will be the top priority. I have recently selected archives from the warehouse and brought them home to read at night. In the early years, our dynasty had border guards in Hetao. Now that Runwu has recovered Hetao, shouldn't we also make preparations in advance and select troops from where to garrison the important places in Hetao? As for the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, once Hetao is recovered, they will have to set up government offices, select officials, relocate people to farm and guard the border, and formulate household registration and land registers."

Seeing that Gao Gong finally stopped pursuing the matter of the Qingliu Old Party's nonsense, Li Chunfang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his head and moved his lips again.

He felt that Gao Gong was thinking too much now.

Now that the front line hadn't even sent back a victory memorial, Gao Suqing had actually begun to plan to set up border guards, build government offices, and relocate people to cultivate land in Hetao. Hu Zongxian, who was named, raised his head.

He was just about to start by telling about the recent discussions he had had with the Ministry of War regarding matters related to the recovery of Hetao.

outside the house.

But there were already footsteps being heard.

Listening to the sounds outside, they were surprisingly frivolous, and I could even hear faint laughter.

Everyone in the room couldn't help but frown.

Now is the time for the country to use military force, and the Tuman tribe in northern Yan is invading, which can be said to be a serious matter for the country. And the people outside are still so frivolous, which is too impetuous.

But before anyone could open their mouths, they started to scold outside.

Su Yu, the secretary of the Imperial Decree Office, rushed to the door of the classroom with a group of officials working in the cabinet.

Perhaps it was because this group of people were too complacent, so Su Yu, who was rushing in the front, lost his balance and was pushed by the people behind him and bumped into the door.

There was a clang.

The door was pushed open by Su Yu, and he staggered and fell to the ground in the classroom.

Now it was Gao Gong and others' turn to be stunned.

They had no time to reprimand these officials for their frivolous behavior.

Su Yu, who was still lying on the ground, raised high a memorial in his hand that was painted with crimson tail feathers.

"Great victory!"

"Great victory!"

"The general's victory report has finally arrived!"

"My husband won the fight!"

"We have been away from the old land of Hetao for a hundred years. Today, my master has returned victoriously!"

"We have returned to our old place!"

"We have returned to our old place!"

"Hahaha……"

The young man forgot all the rules for a moment and started shouting. He was so excited that he even called Yan Shaoting "his teacher" in front of the cabinet.

But his shout completely frightened the elders in the room.

Hu Zongxian was the first to stand up. With his eyes wide open, he quickly stepped forward and snatched the memorial with painted tail feathers from Su Yu's hand.

The others no longer had time to admonish Su Yu and his group of young officials.

Even Gao Gong suddenly stood up, knocked over the chair behind him, and rushed to Hu Zongxian.

"Open!"

“Open it now!”

"I want to understand what is written in the memorial."

Gao Gong's face flushed red, his eyes filled with excitement and shock.

Recover Hetao!

This is the old place that the Ming Dynasty lost for over a hundred years!

The territory was recovered today, and it was recovered when I was the Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

Just because of this matter, even if Gao Gong stepped down and returned home now, he would still leave a great mark in history!

In just a moment, Hu Zongxian was surrounded by a crowd.

Li Chunfang, who was left behind, stood up slowly, his face solemn, his mouth moving as he murmured softly.

"How can this be?"

“It’s so fast?”

"impossible!"

"This is impossible!"

"How is this possible?"

It's not that he didn't believe that the imperial court could recover Hetao, but he didn't believe that Yan Shaoting could lead the army to drive the Mongols out of Hetao and recover the old territory so quickly.

How long has it been?

It seemed as if the army had just left the capital yesterday, and today they brought back news of the recovery of Hetao.

He was strict in economics, which was rare in the court.

But could it be that Yan Shaoting is also a genius in military affairs?

Just when Li Chunfang was in a trance because of the victory report from the front line.

At Gao Gong's urging, Hu Zongxian had already opened the wax-sealed memorial.

In front of everyone, Hu Zongxian, with a smile on his face, began to recite under the expectant gazes of Gao Gong and others, as well as Su Yu and others who had finally crawled up from the ground.

Skip the customization before the memorial.

Hu Zongxian began to read the details of the front line.

"At first, the Northern Expedition Army followed the Dragon and Tiger Army camp with 3,000 soldiers, and followed the Dragon and Tiger General Yan Hu, one man and three horses, to the southern part of Qiantuo. The Dragon and Tiger Army met the enemy's front force of more than 10,000 people at Guimaochuan. General Yan Hu personally led the camp soldiers to charge back and forth five times, killing 7,000 enemies. The remaining enemy front force was less than 5,000, and they were defeated. They threw away their armor and fled to the north. The defeated enemy soldiers ran into the rear formation, causing chaos."

"That day, General Yan Shaoting ordered the central army to march quickly and arrive at the battlefield at dawn. He found that the Dragon and Tiger Army had suffered 1,500 casualties and 700 deaths. He heard that although the enemy had quelled the chaos in the front line, the enemy's morale was still in disarray. So he sent a large army northward to the mountain pass. The large army pressed on the border, and the enemy was defeated. The morale of the army became more and more chaotic and almost collapsed. Some enemy generals were cautious and retreated step by step."

"However, when the general was on his way, he ordered the Shenji Battalion to go around the enemy's rear and move out from the side. They set up high artillery and saw the enemy fleeing, but the enemy formation was intact. The Shenji Battalion then opened fire, firing bullets and arrows, thunder and fire. The enemy did not know the details of our army, and felt that there were thousands of soldiers and horses behind them. They were in complete chaos and their formation collapsed. The enemy generals were no longer able to stabilize their morale, and the enemy troops fled in all directions, with more than ten thousand abandoning their weapons and surrendering."

"The enemy army was greatly defeated. General Yan Hu, who was wounded in twelve places, asked for a fight again before the battle. He then led the cavalry of the Loyal and Brave Camp and the Divine Camp to pursue the enemy. After three days of attack, he killed countless enemies."

"Three days later, Deputy General Qi Jiguang led the Shanzi Camp to attack the enemy camp at the foot of Daqing Mountain. They met Deputy General Wang Chonggu who led 20,000 troops to attack from the west. The two generals defeated the enemy camp, annihilated more than 10,000 enemies, captured nearly 10,000 enemies, and captured more than 100,000 cattle and sheep."

"The general personally led the central army, sweeping across the front from south to north. Yan Hu led the cavalry to attack non-stop. The enemy generals Xin Ai and Huang Taiji were defeated and gathered more than 10,000 defeated soldiers, crossing the Daqing Mountains and flooding the grasslands. Yan Hu also led his troops into the south of the desert, attacking for several days, tailing the enemy and killing thousands of enemies. He captured and killed the enemy generals Xin Ai and Huang Taiji, beheaded them in front of the enemy army, and led the remaining enemy troops to surrender immediately. He then ordered his subordinates to present the enemy's head to the central army, and led his troops to attack the south of the desert."

"General of the Northern Expedition, your servant Yan Shaoting, is reporting to His Majesty the Emperor that in this battle, our dynasty killed more than 30,000 enemies, captured more than 40,000 enemies, and recovered 180,000 cattle and sheep. We also recovered 8,000 looted border residents and countless treasures. I am reporting that the Hetao area, the former territory of the Ming Dynasty, has now been recovered!"

Hu Zongxian let out a long breath, his eyes sparkling, he took a deep breath, held his head high, and looked to the end of the memorial.

"Report to His Majesty the Emperor..."

"The old land has been recovered, and the country has been revived!"

"The country will last forever, and the prosperity will last forever!"

…………

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(End of this chapter)