Currently, Zhu Yijun was an emperor without military power. Just like the literal meaning of the word, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was basically blind to the current state of the army. He knew nothing about the number of soldiers, weapons, rations, salaries, and other things that were related to the lifeline of the empire.
Some emperors muddled along, some were not satisfied.
For example, Emperor Zhengde was not willing to be fooled, so he secretly went to the border to personally investigate the situation, and then took the opportunity to fight a battle to accumulate a lot of prestige. Later on, he fought several battles, and when Prince Ning rebelled, he personally led the army to gain prestige, hoping to completely control the army.
Unexpectedly, Prince Ning was too useless, and Wang Yangming was too fierce. They were defeated in a few moves. Zheng De saw that it was not good — personally leading the army was to increase prestige, to control the army, to increase the time the emperor and the army spent together, to let the soldiers know of the emperor's existence, and to be loyal to the emperor.
If you beat up the people, what am I doing? Wouldn't it be a joke if I personally led the army?
That was why he forced Wang Yangming to release Prince Ning and continue fighting.
Since Zhu Yijun ascended the throne, other than the Imperial Bodyguard of the East Faction Guards, there was no armed force that he could control. Even the Imperial Guards of the capital were not under his control.
All the emperors of the previous dynasties had tightly controlled the Imperial Guards, but the emperors of the Ming Dynasty did not. They only ordered eunuchs and spies, and could only order eunuchs and spies.
Something happened at the border, and the city of Beijing was threatened. Zhao Zhigao said that he would select elite soldiers to rush to Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass. At this moment, Zhu Yijun was blind to the generals and army of his empire, and did not know anything.
Which general could fight? Which army was good at fighting? Which army was close to the battlefield and could be mobilized urgently?
This was the responsibility of the cabinet and the Ministry of War. He did not know, and how many years had it been since the last war, and where the talents that emerged from the war had been transferred to, he was also not very clear.
As an emperor, he was almost completely isolated from the army, and this in itself was extremely abnormal.
Other than the puppet emperors in history, there had never been a generation of rulers with real power who did not understand and was not familiar with the army. It could only be said that the real power on the surface was in fact a mascot.
Zhu Yijun felt aggrieved!
He knows how to appoint people, but, but you have to let him know the existence of those people before he can use them properly!
Shi Xing quickly rushed over. On the way, he saw Shen Yicheng walking back with a solemn face. He didn't know what had happened, but Shen Yicheng didn't pay attention to him, and he didn't want to pay attention to Shen Yicheng either. He nodded and rushed to the Imperial Palace. When he arrived at the Imperial Palace and saw Zhao Zhigao and Shen Li kneeling on the ground, he knew that the emperor was very angry.
The situation this time was indeed too outrageous. Shi Xing himself felt guilty.
"Subordinate Shi Xing pays respect to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor … "
"Alright! Don't say such things! Shi Xing, I ask you, which elite troops can be transferred to help Pingxing Pass and Yanmen Pass? "
Zhu Yijun didn't play by the rules at all, and Shi Xing almost choked to death. Shi Xing's mind was also in a daze. After sorting out his thoughts, Shi Xing quickly said, "Your Majesty, the closest towns to Yanmen Pass and Pingxing Pass are Taiyuan Town, Yulin Town, and Xuanfu Town. We should transfer troops from these three towns to help Yanmen Pass and Pingxing Pass."
"Are there any elite troops in these three towns? The 100,000 Northern Barbarians have come south and conquered Datong in a few days. They are coming with a fierce momentum. I don't want to see the reinforcements sent to be defeated and thrown away their helmets and armor! "
Zhu Yijun stared at Shi Xing.
Shi Xing also muttered in his heart. He knew better than anyone how rotten the Nine Borders was.
People had already said that the entire Nine Regions had become like this. There were a lot of problems, and everyone knew that.
Among the thousands of generals in the Nine Borders, there weren't many who could fight, and there were even fewer who could command troops and had a strategic vision.
It wasn't that the two of them were on the leaderboard, but that they had strategic foresight and leadership abilities. They weren't ordinary brave generals who charged forward and attacked fiercely. There were many brave generals, but at this moment, what was needed was a famous general who could lead.
Li Rusong and Ma Gui were two famous generals who were well-known in the Nine Borders. If there was a problem with the country, these two would definitely be the first choice of the Everlasting Dynasty.
As for the others … well, other than the evildoer Xiao Ruxun, there really wasn't anyone else. Xiao Ruxun was in Myanmar, and distant water couldn't put out a nearby fire. Otherwise, he would really want to recommend Xiao Ruxun to take charge. Only then would he feel at ease. But now, only Ma Gui and Li Rusong were good choices.
Ma Gui was trapped in Datong and couldn't even protect himself. Li Rusong was leading troops in Liaodong. Perhaps he could still be mobilized, but it was a little late. If he could be mobilized immediately, it would be best if there was a famous general in the capital.
How could the group of Dukes, Marquises and Earls in Beijing be used?
That group of useless people could only play with birds, fight crickets, or fish for money. The capital camp was even worse than the border army. They were given free pay to prevent them from causing trouble. They couldn't be counted on.
There were some people who were good at defense and could be used, but this wasn't a self-defense battle. The defense line had been broken, so they had to fight in the field.
This group of cavalry had broken through the Great Wall and entered the interior, so they could only defeat him and drive him away in the field. But heavens, after so many years, how many times had the Daming cavalry defeated the Mongols in a field battle? Cavalry was cavalry, but they weren't cavalry for battle. They were cavalry that could escape faster.
In this emergency situation, who could really be of use? Other than those who couldn't be mobilized, only the elite cavalry under Li Rusong in Liaodong and the Jurchen cavalry that he could mobilize could be used. The rest could be mobilized, but whether they could win was a question mark. Li Rusong's cavalry had made great contributions in Korea.
But what they needed now was someone who could quench their thirst. Li Rusong couldn't do it. It would take at least half a month for him to arrive on the battlefield. In this half a month, it was hard to guarantee that the Mongols wouldn't break through Zijing Pass and threaten the capital. Before Li Rusong's cavalry arrived, they still needed someone to hold the situation, or at least protect Zijing Pass.
Then, it could only be that person, right?
There was a commander-in-chief and a brave deputy general. That person was too old, and if they wanted to charge, they had to choose someone else.
It wasn't that the Nine Sides didn't have any strong generals, but among the famous and powerful generals, Da Yun was in Gansu, and Du Tong was in Ningxia. With these two, Gansu and Ningxia could be protected, but distant water could not quench their thirst. There was also Wang Bao, whom Shi Xing was very satisfied with, but he died of illness not long ago.
The former commander-in-chief of Ji Town, You Jixian, was also very brave, but he was currently being impeached and investigated. He had just been removed from his post, so it wouldn't be appropriate to use him immediately.
Looking at the many brave generals in the Nine Sides, the only one who could be used was Chai Guozhu. Chai Guozhu was guarding Ji Town. If he was mobilized, who should be assigned to guard Ji Town? Would something happen?
But … forget it! He couldn't care so much!
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