The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"No matter how bad the situation in Liaodong is, the safety of the capital is the most important. It is a major matter of concern to the world. If you are not careful, the whole country may be shaken."

Wei Guangde's last paragraph is actually definitely not nonsense, but is based on facts.

He felt that the important reason why Huang Taiji commanded the Eight Banners soldiers to march across the capital several times was an important reason why the emperor and his ministers were at odds in the late Ming Dynasty.

The surrounding areas of the capital cannot be protected, not to mention the courtiers in Beijing, and the Jiangnan officials will also feel that their country is about to die.

Therefore, all dynasties have paid great attention to the security of the capital and its surrounding areas. Even in later generations, the people of the capital will be able to enjoy living conditions far superior to those in other areas.

Wei Guangde's words may be just a light sentence to him and Zhang Juzheng, but to King Yu and Yin Shizhen, they undoubtedly revealed the deep fear hidden deep in their hearts.

Yes, the scenes that happened in the 29th year of Jiajing reappeared in their minds, and they couldn't get rid of them.

The Mongolian Tatars broke through the wall and marched directly to Tongzhou, a short distance away from the capital. This caused turmoil in the capital and countless people from around the capital swarmed into the city.

At that time, Beijing did not have an outer city that was later built, but the people there had no choice but to abandon their homes and flee to the inner city.

At that time, the streets of the entire capital were overcrowded and noisy until late at night.

The capital camp was unavailable, so Emperor Jiajing had no choice but to appoint ministers to guard the city gates by name, and the capital was under emergency martial law.

During that time, people in the capital were in panic. No one knew whether the Tatars would invade the city tomorrow.

"We really cannot do what Yang Xuan wants. The army must stay in Jizhen to protect the capital."

King Yu finally came to his senses at this time and shouted loudly.

Zhang Juzheng was a little surprised at King Yu's gaffe, and looked straight over. However, in his eyes, it seemed that Yin Shizhen was not surprised, and just nodded slightly.

Immediately, Zhang Juzheng probably guessed what was going on.

After Wei Guangde and others said goodbye and left Prince Yu's Mansion, Prince Yu was still frightened.

At that time, there was chaos not only among the people, but also in the court and the inner court. At that time, King Yu could only hide in his mother's palace and be in panic all day long.

And now, he is the master of Prince Yu's Mansion. In this room, it is like a small court, and he can feel some of the feeling of being an emperor.

When something happens, discuss it with the ministers, and let them brainstorm the essence of the problem and find a solution.

Unlike the Imperial Council, the decisions they made here would not affect the court, but it did allow him to gradually understand what it meant to govern a country.

Think about it, when Gao Gong was in the palace, he often summoned the palace officials to discuss government affairs with him and analyze the pros and cons for him.

Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, Wei Guangde, and Zhang Juzheng all expressed their opinions here, and King Yu felt that their remarks were very insightful.

From now on, let them join the cabinet.

When something happens, just call them to discuss it.

Listen to what they have to say and ultimately act in accordance with the outcome of the discussion.

Suddenly, King Yu felt that it was not difficult to be an emperor.

The so-called "carrying the sun and moon on your shoulders and carrying the stars on your back" is not as difficult as you might imagine. In fact, it is quite simple with a group of loyal and capable ministers.

King Yu slowly stood up and walked around the room. This was his small court, where he discussed matters with his ministers.

After leaving the door, he walked towards the backyard. Thinking of the newly born baby, King Yu felt happy again and his pace quickened a little.

From now on, let Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng be teachers for their sons.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng, the youngest members of Prince Yu's family, were just right to be their son's teachers and teach him.

Zhang Juzheng was talented and was responsible for the prince's writing. Wei Guangde had experienced war and taught the prince martial arts.

One culture and one force complement each other.

When Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and others left Prince Yu's Mansion, they did not know that his future had been arranged by Prince Yu. They were still talking quietly with Zhang Juzheng as they walked out of the Prince's Mansion.

What they were discussing at the moment was naturally whether Yang Xuan would listen to Yang Bo and leave Jizhen soldiers and horses to garrison in Jizhen.

During the last two-yang dispute, Yang Xuan did not listen to Yang Bo. Although Yang Bo followed Xu Jie's wishes and withheld the grain and grass that should have been allocated to Jizhen, it made him dare not send a large-scale army to Liaodong.

But this time, it seems that Yang Xuan intends to use this as an excuse to shirk some responsibilities to the Ministry of War. I don't know if Yang Bo can withstand the pressure.

"Mr. Xu Ge, I'm afraid I need to talk to my uncle."

Wei Guangde whispered, "This time we must stand clearly on Yang Shangshu's side and force Yang Xuan to submit.

The eldest uncle also saw His Highness's reaction just now.

I believe that Xiyuan will be the same.

It would be fine if the Anda tribe did not invade Jizhen, but if Yang Shangshu was really right, the consequences would be unpredictable. "

Zhang Juzheng nodded and replied: "I heard the teacher say about what happened last time. After all, it was just speculation at that time. It was not easy for him to choose to support Yang Shangshu. There was no obvious attitude in the palace. They just let them discuss the matter.

This time is different. If Jizhen's army enters Liaodong, Jizhen's troops will inevitably be empty. This is absolutely impossible. "

"What I fear most is that Yang Xuan will be stubborn and refuse to listen to the opinions of the Ministry of War and the Cabinet. The situation now is different from what it was before."

Wei Guangde was still a little worried and said, "I'm most afraid that he has already sent troops to Shanhaiguan by now. Even if we recover them by then, it will take a long time. If the Tatars take the opportunity to go south to attack the border wall of Ji Town, the result will be unpredictable."

At this time, Yang Xuan, as Wei Guangde said, was living like a year in the Governor's Mansion. Now he was eager to make some achievements to resolve some criticisms from the court.

He has received news that people from the Sixth Section and the Procuratorate of the Metropolitan Procuratorate have begun to impeach him, and there are so many people responding. He believes that Xiyuan will soon be overwhelmed by these impeachment memorials.

The only life-saving straw that Yang Xuan can grasp now is that when the Tatars attack the Liaodong city, the Jizhen army can arrive on the battlefield in time, defeat these Mongolian Tatars, and kill them.

For Yang Xuan, he also has to race against time.

No one knew whether Liaodong's urgent request for help would be delivered to him at the next moment, so he issued an order to the commander-in-chief of Jizhen early and ordered him to quickly lead troops out of Shanhaiguan to rescue Liaodong.

Of course, when he issued this order, he did not forget to issue strict vigilance orders to all the passes of the Great Wall in Ji Town. He did not want anyone to steal the tower.

Regardless of whether it is useful or not, at least this order must still be issued.

This is the way to survive in the officialdom. Knowing that after the transfer of Jizhen's army, there will definitely be flaws in the defense of Jizhen, but you still have to do what you should do, otherwise you will be derelict in your duty.

Although he was panicking, Yang Xuan also felt like he was strategizing and winning thousands of miles away.

Yes, in Yang Xuan's opinion, if Yang Bo hadn't held him back, and if Yang Zhao hadn't been too stupid, he would have fallen to the current situation.

Yang Xuan's official career was actually very similar to that of Yang Bo. From the governor of Jizhen, he went directly to the central government and became one of the nine ministers.

If Yang Bo can do it, he can do it too.

After breaking up with Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng looked at the sky and went directly to Xu Ge's mansion.

After a brief period of panic, the cabinet has returned to its previous calm and has begun to arrange the aftermath, including asking Taipu Temple to purchase additional war horses to supplement the losses in Liaodong. As for preparing for Yang Xuan to send troops to rescue Liaodong, the cabinet knows the plans of the Ministry of War, so naturally it will not give Yang Xuan special support. below.

These were all agreed upon when Emperor Jiajing summoned him before, so naturally he would not have thought that there would be any mistakes.

In the opinion of Xu Jie and Yuan Wei, Yang Xuan should be panicking at this time. His next step should be to obey the orders of the capital and never dare to make decisions on his own.

As for the evil ones, it’s better for the Ministry of War to take care of them.

However, after Zhang Juzheng came to the door, he told Xu Jie exactly what happened in Prince Yu's palace, especially Wei Guangde's worries.

He has great ambition but little talent, and cannot be put to great use.

This is Wei Guangde’s evaluation of Yang Xuan.

"When leaving the palace, Wei Guangde also analyzed Yang Xuan's mentality at this moment with me. He thought that under the impeachment of Yan Guan at this time, he must be eager to make achievements. Previously, the court was worried that the Tatars would take the opportunity to capture the Liaodong city. He thought that Yang Xuan would be here at this time. The Governor must also have this concern.”

Zhang Juzheng finally told Xu Jie in detail what Wei Guangde said about Yang Xuan's mentality when he broke up with Wei Guangde.

Xu Jie gently stroked his beard and listened quietly, but his heart was also in turmoil.

At this time, he had two worries in his mind. One was that Yang Xuan insisted on acting rashly and transferred soldiers and horses from Ji Town to aid Liao Dynasty, leaving the capital's defense empty. The other was that he was a little worried about Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde was too outstanding in Prince Yu's palace, which would inevitably affect the status of his disciple Zhang Juzheng in Prince Yu's mind.

Although Wei Guangde seems to be harmless to humans and animals, matters in officialdom are not as simple as whether you harm others or not.

As long as there is a threat to him, Xu Jie doesn't mind trying to get rid of the person, just like Gao Gong wanted to get Wei Guangde to Fujian.

Now that I think about it, Xu Jie felt a little compassion at the beginning.

Although Xu Jie maintained a good relationship with Gao Gong, this was only on the surface. In his heart, of course, he still hoped that he could replace Gao Gong's position in King Yu's heart.

However, the situation in King Yu's place was too special, and as a minister of Emperor Jiajing, he could not surrender categorically, which would only make him lose points in front of the emperor.

Therefore, he chose to let his disciple Zhang Juzheng enter Prince Yu's Mansion to enhance this relationship.

But after thinking about it, Xu Jie still regarded Gao Gong and even Wei Guangde as enemies in his heart.

In the past, Wei Guangde was not very discerning because after all, his official rank was there.

But in the past two years, through Zhang Juzheng, Xu Jie has seen that Wei Guangde's status in Prince Yu's palace is not low. His position in Prince Yu's heart is probably higher than that of Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen, who have been with him for many years.

After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he waited for the teacher to speak, but the teacher was indeed silent for a long time, as if he was still deep in thought.

Naturally, Zhang Juzheng couldn't interrupt the teacher's train of thought at this time, so he could only continue to wait.

For a long time, Xu Jie's eyes moved slightly, and he seemed to have come back to his senses. He said lightly: "What Shandai said makes sense, but I didn't think carefully."

Xu Jie got up and walked around the room, and then said to Zhang Juzheng: "I will make a note of this matter and contact Yang Shangshu early tomorrow morning to handle the matter."

After finishing speaking, Xu Jie turned to Zhang Juzheng and said: "You should also pay more attention to this Wei Guangde. Maybe he will be your ally who shares weal and woe in the future, or he may be an enemy who turns against you. You should be aware of it."

Hearing this, Zhang Juzheng immediately understood the teacher's instructions.

Wei Guangde is too capable and will inevitably compete with him for the right to speak in the court in the future. Even if he and Wei Guangde agree on many aspects, they will not change, just like their relationship with Gao Gong.

Teacher Xu Jie had warned him about this before, and he should always be on guard against Gao Gong's mischief behind his back.

Because there can only be one chief minister in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Juzheng bowed and agreed. After all, the teacher was doing it for his own good.

He could still tell this clearly.

After Zhang Juzheng left the Xu Mansion, Xu Jie was also thinking about this matter in his mind. Tomorrow morning he would send someone to ask Yang Bo and Yang Shangshu to come to the cabinet to discuss the matter. He also had to hold the general soldiers of Jizhen in order to control the situation in Jizhen. Soldiers and horses, at least let the court know what Yang Xuan is doing.

Based on Xu Jie's understanding of Yang Xuan, it was really possible that he would ignore the cabinet note.

At this time, in the Yanshan Mountains north of the capital, a huge cavalry unit was slowly walking along the winding mountain road.

This army was naturally the Mongolian tribal cavalry led by Huang Taiji. They had just annihilated the troops led by General Yang Zhao in Liaodong, and then used the mobility of the horses to quickly approach Jizhen.

In ancient times, the main road was called the pass and the small road was called the entrance. It is located at Gubeikou of the Yanshan Mountains and is one of the many passes of the Great Wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall is located in the southeast of Gubeikou Town, Miyun District, Beijing. It consists of Wohushan Great Wall, Panlongshan Great Wall, Jinshanling Great Wall and Simatai Great Wall. It is the throat of the Liaodong Plain and Inner Mongolia to the Central Plains.

When Huang Taiji went south this time, his first choice of attack target was naturally here.

However, the special geographical location of Gubeikou is naturally an area that the Ming army focuses on. It is tightly defended on weekdays, not to mention that Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, has just issued another order.

Hiding and watching from a distance, Huang Taiji found that the Ming army here was heavily defended and almost invulnerable, so he had no choice but to give up and find another place as a breakthrough.

Huang Taiji is not a fool. The Mongolian tribe has a small population. It is impossible for him to attack the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty regardless of casualties. After all, it cannot be defended.

Here, the passage for him and the others to advance and retreat is not worth the effort.

Abandoning Gubeikou does not mean that they will give up this opportunity to attack the Ming Dynasty.

The Jizhen army hurriedly left the Santun camp and maneuvered towards Shanhaiguan. The Ming army made a lot of moves, so the news would naturally reach the Tatar army through some channels.

Such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if Huang Taiji gave up, he didn't know how his father An Dahan would fix him when he returned home.

Although in recent years, Lao Khan no longer wants to fight and kill, so he also wants to restrain his subordinates, but after all, he has to eat.

Continuous natural disasters have made life extremely difficult for the Mongols, but the Ming Dynasty has always blocked the channels for mutual trade. No matter what methods he used to contact Ming officials, it was ineffective.

This time, Anda Khan also agreed to his request to send troops with the purpose of training Xin Aitaiji. If successful, he could force the Ming Dynasty to commit a crime.

Huang Taiji led his troops away from Gubeikou and headed east, observing Caojiazhai Pass, Yangjiabao and other forts along the way, and finally arrived at the Quanshui River.