The Prosperous Era of Longwan

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. It was commanded by Li Yue, governor of Shanxi Province, and it was a great victory in Zhenxi.

With the victory in the battle, the Ministry of War summarized the usual Tatar troop dispatching practices, so it took precautions in advance about the next military move of Prince Ranhan Daba Gong 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. It took two or three days just to prepare, 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 fooling 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 the sixteenth level really wasn't talking nonsense.

“First of all, the number of casualties in this battle is by no means 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 of 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 prefer heavy weapons, because both our Ming soldiers and the Tatars on the opposite side are wearing leather armor, iron armor and other protective gear, which makes them difficult to damage with spears and spears, and the power of heavy weapons appears to be 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, after a battle is won, it's okay if you win, and you can scour the battlefield and not miss a single head. However, if you lose, you won't gain anything. Both sides will be evenly matched, and often the final heads collected will be too little. It was not approved by the Ministry of War inspection due to damage.

By the way, if there are traces of bullet wounds on the head, the head will not be counted. "

"That's it, I understand."

King Yu nodded slightly after hearing Wei Guangde's explanation, which eliminated a lot of his previous incomprehensions.

That is to say, Wei Guangde had been on the battlefield and knew the key points, so he could explain it clearly to King Yu. Otherwise, he could only explain it according to the written meaning.

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

"Prince Ranhan Daba Gong of the Tatar tribe died shortly after the battle. It is unknown whether he was injured by stray arrows on the battlefield. Emperor Wuzong Zhengde did not mention this matter. It can be seen that the battlefield was chaotic at that time and it was impossible to distinguish the enemy chieftains. However, after this war, the border of Ming Dynasty calmed down a bit, at least there was no large-scale military offensive involving tens of thousands of people."

Wei Guangde continued.

"The Emperor's uncle made the greatest contribution to this battle. The victory of the Battle of Yingzhou, regardless of whether Prince Ranhanda Ba Gong was injured and died in this battle, at least the Tatar tribe did not continue to attack."

King Yu immediately said happily.

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

Wei Guangde didn't know whether King Yu said this intentionally or unintentionally, but he still said: "The Ministry of War has done a lot of credit in this battle. The planning before the battle, and the presence of Emperor Wuzong Zhengde also greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. It is not wrong to say that the greatest contribution is taken."

Wei Guangde just said this lightly, he didn't want to argue with King Yu, "However, the Tatar tribe did not dare to go south in a big way afterwards. In fact, it had little to do with this battle. The main reason should be the death of Prince Ranhan Daba Gong.

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

This situation lasted until the 21st year of Jiajing. Anda Khan became the tribal leader after the death of his brother Ji Nang. It also took several years to reunite other tribes.

It should be noted that Anda Khan is the grandson of Prince Ranhan Daba Gong. He inherits the Ordos Tribe and the Tumote Tribe and is considered the leader of one of the stronger tribes.

Therefore, there was no war on the border for more than ten years, which was related to the death of Prince Ranhan Daba Gong, but whether he was caused by the Battle of Yingzhou cannot be determined. "

"On the grassland, if the Great Khan dies, will the grassland fall into chaos?"

King Yu realized what Wei Guangde wanted to express. Once the great khan died and the tribes were inherited by his descendants, the tribes that were conquered by strength would seem to be separated from each other and not subordinate to each other. This would require someone to re-launch a battle for unification. Will go south to attack Ming Dynasty.

"In general, although one of their descendants will inherit the throne of the Great Khan, the key is that their enfeoffment is a real enfeoffment, and they receive tribes, land and population respectively, which is different from our Ming Dynasty's enfeoffment of vassal states, so internal strife is inevitable."

Wei Guangde replied.

"Killing Anda Khan will temporarily resolve the Nine-Border War?"

King Yu asked further.

"possible."

Wei Guangde's answer was simple.

After Anda Khan dies, will the grassland be divided again? This can only be said to be possible. After all, it depends on whether any of his descendants have enough prestige to make others bow their heads.

However, Wei Guangde saw the brilliance in King Yu's eyes and couldn't help but guess that after he ascended the throne, His Highness would not plan to send assassination masters from the Jinyi Guards to the grasslands to assassinate Ada Khan, right?

After all, no matter who you are, you will feel bored when faced with the constant warnings from the north. Since there is a solution to the problem, of course you will choose to give it a try, even if it cannot cure the problem, it will only provide temporary relief.

If it succeeds, the border can be relaxed for a few years or even longer. If it doesn't succeed, it will be fought anyway.

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

Seeing them coming in, Yin Shizhen picked up a piece of paper and handed it to King Yu.

"Ouyang Shangshu submitted a memorial today, requesting an order to recommend a candidate for the left minister of the headquarters."

Prince Yu and Wei Guangde naturally knew what was going on. The official position vacated by Yuan Wei's promotion did not know what Emperor Jiajing would choose this time, whether to summon cabinet ministers to discuss, organize a meeting to recommend, or appoint him directly.

"Have you received any news from Master Gao?"

King Yu took the note and looked at it, then asked.

"Qing Su sent a message before and he did everything he was supposed to do. He just resigned himself to fate."

Yin Shizhen replied.

Wei Guangde understood that whether he summoned cabinet ministers or direct ministers to discuss, it was nothing more than Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yuan Wei. It seemed that Gao Gong had already run away all the relationships that should be run away, and had said what needed to be said. As for them What to say in front of the emperor, I really can only wait.

As for the recommendation, it would be the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers, which covers a wider area. I think Gao Gong will not be idle these days, and he should be building a good relationship with them.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde couldn't help but nodded and murmured: "Let fate happen."

Perhaps others would think that Gao Gong's work was perfect and that he had done everything he should do, but Wei Guangde knew that all he had done was useless.

No matter whether the cabinet ministers discuss or push, in the end they can't get around Emperor Jiajing. As long as he doesn't nod, Gao Gong will not be able to get up.

Will Emperor Jiajing approve of Gao Gong?

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

Knowing Gui Gui knew, Wei Guangde would not say it. Firstly, this matter was just Chen Ju's speculation and should not be taken seriously. Secondly, this might also be a small revenge that Wei Guangde wanted 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.

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 didn't 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.