Wei Xuezeng narrowed his eyes and slowly said, "If it was just the Eight Tigers, that would be fine. Without the Emperor, the Eight Tigers are just eight cats. If you want to kill them, cut them up, do as you please. However, the previous dynasty is not far away. If His Majesty really wants to reverse the situation, it will definitely cause a strong backlash from the officials. His Majesty is well versed in the art of politics and will not do so. Then, what should we do?"
The middle-aged scholar was dumbfounded. After a while, he pointed uncertainly at the letter in Wei Xuezeng's hand. "Could it be?"
"When the dynasty was first established, the Founding Ancestor established a military and civil hierarchy. It was only because of the long period of time and the drastic changes in Tumu Castle that led to today's situation. If His Majesty really wants to support someone to fight for power … with the war continuing, the dynasty is in urgent need of generals. If there is no one that can be used, then forget it, but if there is someone …"
Wei Xuezeng did not finish his words, but he had said everything that needed to be said.
Thus, Wei Xuezeng sat down and picked up his brush to write down the military order.
"This Governor wishes to mobilize Deputy General Ma Gui and Bureau Head Xiao Ruhui to lead three thousand troops to reinforce Ping Lu City. We will do our best to protect Ping Lu City and threaten Bo Bai's rebel army from the side."
The middle-aged scholar understood tacitly. "This Governor is wise."
Wei Xuezeng smiled and then said, "This Governor also needs to write a memorial to His Majesty. Even if ink runs out in the west of the river, Ping Lu City will not surrender."
The middle-aged scholar shook his head helplessly and bowed again. "This Governor is still wise."
Wei Xuezeng twirled his beard and smiled, not saying anything else.
Not long after, a messenger called Ma Gui and Xiao Ruhui, who had just arrived at the Flower Horse Pool Camp, to the commander's camp. The two entered and knelt on one knee. They cupped their fists and saluted. "I greet Governor!"
"Mm, rise. Generals, this Governor has an important matter to entrust to the two of you."
Ma Gui and Xiao Ruhui exchanged a glance. Then, Ma Gui cupped his fists and asked, "May I ask what instructions does Master Tai have?"
"Bo Bai, the traitor, ignored the grace of the heavens and rebelled. He committed the most heinous of crimes. But there are some people who are even more detestable than Bo Bai. They held a strong city in their hands but did not resist. Instead, they bent their knees and became a traitor. They have no moral integrity to speak of, causing our West River's forty-seven castles to be wiped out, creating our current predicament! This Governor really hates these people who have no master and no father! I originally thought that West River was full of these people, but I didn't expect that there would be one more person who stood up against the odds, defending the city and not surrendering, restraining the enemy for my army. This is a great merit, and I want to report for him. "
Wei Xuezeng turned his gaze to Xiao Ruhui. "City Head Xiao, your younger brother, Xiao Ruxun, has defended Pinglu City and refused to surrender. Right now, he is fighting against the traitor Bo Bai. This supervisor truly did not expect that there would be such a loyal general in West River."
Xiao Ruhui blinked her eyes, revealing a look of wild joy. "Does Master Tai mean that Fourth Brother I is still defending Pinglu City?"
Wei Xueceng smiled and nodded. "Just now, I received a letter from General Xiao asking for help, so I summoned the two of you. I want you to lead three thousand troops to reinforce Pinglu City. You must ensure that Pinglu City is not lost. If Pinglu City is saved, you can combine the two armies and try to attack Ningxia Town from the east. Attack Ningxia Town from the east and harass the rebel army's flanks. Of course, the most important task is to ensure that Pinglu City is not lost!"
Xiao Ruhui was overjoyed and immediately cupped his fists. "I obeys!!"
Ma Gui's expression was calm. He cupped his fists and bowed. "I obeys!"
As soon as they left the camp, Xiao Ruhui could not hold back her surprise and clenched her fists tightly. Ma Gui watched from the side with a little envy.
The Datong Ma Clan was not a Han, but they were one of the clans of generals that had followed the Ming court in the early days. Under the trend of the decline of the clans of generals, only two clans of generals rose against the trend. One was the Liaodong Li Clan, and the other was the Datong Ma Clan. At that time, they were known as the East Li Clan and the West Ma Clan. Interestingly, these two clans were not of Han origin. The ancestors of the Ma Clan were Ming Hui, while the ancestors of the Li Clan were Ming Korean.
The Datong Ma Clan had produced fierce generals for generations. Starting from Ma Gui's ancestors, they had been guarding the borders of Daming for generations. Ma Gui was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief Military Officer in the 10th year of Wanli. He was then promoted to the position of Chief Military Officer in Ningxia, reaching the second rank. However, he accidentally offended Ceng Qianheng, who was sent by the imperial court to inspect the nine borders. He was impeached and demoted.
Ma Gui did not take bribes, nor did he do anything that angered the heavens and the people. The reason he was impeached was because he was angered by Ceng Qianheng's attitude of looking down on martial artists. He defended himself with a few words and offended Ceng Qianheng. After Ceng Qianheng returned to the court, he submitted a memorial to Ma Gui. As a result, Ma Gui was demoted.
Nowadays, it was not that the warriors of Daming were unwilling to rise up and fight against the literati. It was because the literati controlled the way of promotion and the supply of supplies. The Ministry of War, the Selection Department, and the Ministry of Revenue were all controlled by the literati. Sometimes, even the Emperor could not intervene. For example, when Zhang Juzheng was still alive, he had the power of the six ministries. The Emperor did not even dare to breathe when he was reprimanded. Even the powerful Qi Jiguang Li Chengliang had to tremble under the shadow of Zhang Juzheng.
The generals of Daming had now developed to the point where they were not afraid of the Emperor, but they were afraid of the civil officials. To put it bluntly, the Emperor did not have the confidence to face the literati group. Any warrior family with a little knowledge would take the Tumu Fort incident to heart. The Tumu Fort incident had completely destroyed the military noble group that could compete with the civil officials group. This allowed the civil officials, under the leadership of Yu Qian, to seize the power of the military officials. Taking advantage of the national crisis, they created the strongest civil officials group in history, forcing the later Emperor to let the eunuchs fight against them.
In the early days, the military officials under the command of Taizu could compete with the civil officials, but they were almost killed by Taizu. Chengzu created a new military officials group that could compete with the civil officials. As a result, the Tumu Fort incident wiped out the military officials group in one fell swoop. Emperor Jing was supported by the civil officials group. When Emperor Yingzong restored to the throne, he could not succeed without the support of the surviving military officials who cooperated with the civil officials. Later, when he saw the powerful civil officials group, he was really afraid, so he thought of ways to get rid of Yu Qian, but he could not do anything to the civil officials group that had already grown big.
The later Emperor was even more helpless. In order to vent his dissatisfaction, he let the eight tigers go, not only disgusting the civil officials, but also the whole world. Emperor Jiajing cleaned up the eunuchs and used the civil officials' superb political skills to suppress the civil officials for decades. When Emperor Longqing ascended the throne, he did not have his father's means, and the civil officials were indulged again, directly creating the giant beast Zhang Juzheng. Emperor Wanli lived under the shadow of Zhang Juzheng for ten years before he ascended the throne. The entire military group trembled under the feet of Zhang Juzheng.
Aggrieved … They thought that Zhang Juzheng's life would be better without everyone, but a patrolling censor could control a second-grade military official. How could they count on the Emperor? The Emperor was criticized by the civil officials every day in the court until he could not raise his head. They were all in the same boat. If they really wanted to talk about it, who would care about who?
Under such a background, currying favor with the civil officials to get better treatment was the only way for the military officials who wanted to live a better life. Who asked the purse of money and the power of personnel to be in the hands of the civil officials? They could not be tough even if they wanted to, so they might as well be soft! The incompetent military officials curried favor with the civil officials for the treatment, and the capable military officials curried favor with the civil officials for their own ambitions. In short, if the military officials wanted to live a good life, they needed a backer in the court.
Who was the backer?
Therefore, Ma Gui was a little envious. Xiao Ruxun had defended the city well. He had managed to please the Governor-General of the three borders, Wei Xuezeng, the moment he defended the city. This person was someone who dared to go against Zhang Juzheng. If he could hold on until reinforcements arrived, he would definitely receive Wei Xuezeng's appreciation and be recommended to the imperial court. He would then be able to easily reach the pinnacle of his life.
He was not like him, who had made so many contributions and fought his way up to the position of commander-in-chief. Yet, he was just a mere censor. Of course, the civil officials would protect each other. How could a small group of people dare to be disrespectful to the Scholar Star?
It was good to lean against a big tree … Ma Gui knew of Xiao Ruxun's name. It should be said that there were not many people in the nine borders who did not know of him. A military official had married the daughter of the Ministry of War's Minister. In modern times, this would be the same as a poor country bumpkin marrying the daughter of a multinational corporation's chairman.
"General Xiao Shen is General Xiao's fourth brother? That's amazing! It's really not easy for him to be able to defend the city in a place where the rebel army is everywhere. "
Ma Gui took the initiative to talk to Xiao Ruhui. Xiao Ruhui was quite capable and was very responsible in leading the troops. The four sons of the Xiao clan each had their own military positions. This was quite rare in the nine borders' families of generals.
Xiao Ruhui turned to look at Ma Gui and immediately nodded with a smile. "General Ma, you're too kind! That kid is only doing his duty. As a garrison, it's his duty to guard the place. It's not a big deal. However, this kid usually likes to read and write poems. He just doesn't read up on military strategies. I thought that this kid was thinking of taking the imperial examinations, but I didn't expect that he still hasn't forgotten his duty. "
As she said that, Xiao Ruhui's countenance changed.
"It's just that we don't know how the situation is now. The rebel army has the advantage in numbers, and he only has 3,000 troops under him. It's very difficult for him to defend the city. General Ma, let's quickly send reinforcements!"
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