For so many years, this was one of the few times that the imperial court had compromised with the Emperor.
Ever since the death of Zhang Juzheng, the Emperor took over the government. In the first few years, the civil officials used all kinds of methods to make the Emperor feel that he was a saint. During those years, Zhu Yijun was obsessed with the dream of being a saint and opened many doors for the civil officials.
It was not until some secrets of the Imperial Bodyguard and the East Faction Guards entered Zhu Yijun's ears that Zhu Yijun suddenly realized that his "dream of being a saint" was a dream of peace that the civil officials whitewashed. He had been used by them for a long time, but he was still complacently thinking that he was a saint!
Then, Zhu Yijun began to argue with the officials. This argument naturally destroyed the good reputation that he had accumulated in the past few years. The civil officials began to spare no effort to discredit the Emperor. In any case, the Emperor could not do anything to them.
The daily administration of the various departments of the imperial court had nothing to do with Zhu Yijun. The earliest Shen Shixing, Zhang Siwei, and the others had inherited Zhang Juzheng's style. They had strict control over the imperial court and specially selected selected memorials for Zhu Yijun to read. This made Zhu Yijun feel that his country was in good weather and the people were at peace.
As for those who really told the truth …
In any case, the Emperor lived in Beijing, in the Forbidden City. He was like a mascot that was kept in captivity. There was no way for him to go out. If he could not see it, it meant that there was no one. It was a very simple way of changing the method.
However, as the conflict between the Emperor and the officials intensified, and as Zhu Yijun began to pay attention to the East Faction Guards and the Imperial Bodyguard and began to cultivate his own eyes and ears, some things could not be hidden.
The officials realized that the Emperor could not be fooled, so they began to act shamelessly. They used very shameless methods to constantly deplete the Emperor's energy.
The so-called struggle for the foundation of the country was a means to make the Emperor spend too much energy to pay attention to the affairs of the country. It was a fierce battle between the officials and the imperial power.
In this battle, other than the special agents and eunuchs, Zhu Yijun was often alone and helpless. The attitude of the officials was quite tough, making it almost impossible for him to do anything he wanted to his country.
A lot of things could only be done through the eunuchs and spies to ensure that his country would not be completely out of his control. Even so, he still suffered a lot of obstacles and criticism.
In the battle of public opinion, the Ming Emperor lost badly, especially Zhu Yijun. He could not do what the Jiajing Emperor had done.
But this time, Zhu Yijun had the upper hand when all the civil officials were dispirited. After careful preparation, the civil officials had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill and accept the fact. No matter what, they could not let their lives be harmed by the Mongolians.
Xiao Ruxun seemed to be on the Emperor's side, but he was really good at fighting, and there was a high possibility that he could do what Li Chengliang could not do.
They were very dissatisfied with the fact that Li Chengliang had to call for help twice in half a month. Li Chengliang's repeated calls for help would only make them more panicked and feel that their safety was not guaranteed. But at this time, who would dare to leave the capital?
So, Xiao Ruxun was the best hope.
He did not let them down. Xiao Ruxun showed a strong desire to attack from the beginning. He was completely different from Li Chengliang who had been defending.
"There is no point in just defending. Attacking is the best defense! The war has been going on for almost two months, and the Mongols still have not retreated. This is enough to prove that the Mongols' goal was not to simply rob and leave, but to fight for a long time.
And until now, the siege of Yanmen Pass has not been solved. This means that their logistics are not a problem. I guess they must have used some way to ensure their logistics.
If the Mongols really have 100,000 people like the information said, then there are 40,000 attacking Zijing Pass. Zijing Pass is heavily guarded, and with the old general Li Chengliang guarding it, it should not be difficult to hold it. But it is not realistic to just defend and hope that the Mongols will retreat once they run out of food. Who knows how much food they have?
We must attack. We must take the initiative to defeat them! Only after we solve the siege of Zijing Pass can we say that we have enough troops to deal with the Mongols in other places. So, when I arrive at Zijing Pass, I will immediately attack and defeat the Mongols at the front. Then, we will split into two groups. One group will support Yanmen Pass, and the other will support Taiyuan. "
The few civil officials instantly felt that the atmosphere was different. Before this, they were lifeless and worried. They could not eat or sleep well, and they did not even have the energy to fight in politics. Many officials had already packed their bags and were ready to retreat at any time. How could they still have the energy to fight in politics?
But when Xiao Ruxun came, he did not say anything. The moment he opened his mouth, he wanted to counterattack. He wanted to defeat the Mongols head-on and fight in the field. First of all, the momentum was completely different. It was completely different from Li Chengliang's defensive strategy. Although they did not know what the result would be, the momentum was there.
Just like when Liu Bei appointed Wei Yan as the governor of Hanzhong, Wei Yan did not say anything. He first stated his goal and showed his momentum — Cao Cao will bring the army of the world to attack, and I will stop him for the king. Cao Cao's generals will bring 100,000 people, and I will eat them all for the king.
Throughout history, the garrison of Hanzhong had only been 30,000 soldiers. It was the same during Wei Yan's reign and Wang Ping's reign. However, Wei Yan had this momentum. As a general, he could lose anything but momentum. Hearing Wei Yan's words, Zhang Fei, who was extremely obsessed with the position of governor of Hanzhong, could not say anything else.
At that time, Zhang Fei had just defeated Zhang He's army and resolved the crisis of trust the people of Sichuan had in Liu Bei. He had gained a lot of face and prestige in Liu Bei's faction.
Moreover, he was one of the first two generals to follow Liu Bei. Before this, Guan Yu became the main general defending Jingzhou. Now, everyone thought that Zhang Fei would become the second governor of Hanzhong.
In the end, the one who won was not Zhang Fei, but Wei Yan, Liu Bei's trusted subordinate in Yuzhou. Liu Bei made an exception and promoted Wei Yan. Wei Yan's experience was much less than Zhang Fei's, so it was only natural that Zhang Fei would be dissatisfied.
However, Wei Yan did not smear Liu Bei's name. Not only did he boost his own momentum, he also made Liu Bei proud and gained Liu Bei's support. No matter how dissatisfied Zhang Fei was, he could not embarrass Wei Yan in public. Otherwise, he would be disrespecting Liu Bei. What happened later proved that Wei Yan did not disappoint Liu Bei.
It was the same now. In terms of experience, Xiao Ruxun was far inferior to Li Chengliang, a veteran general with decades of experience on the battlefield.
To put it bluntly, when Li Chengliang was fighting the Mongolian Jurchen on the battlefield, Xiao Ruxun's parents had yet to get married. When Li Chengliang was at the height of his power, Xiao Ruxun was still drinking milk in his mother's arms.
One could not say that one was better than Li Chengliang just because one's contributions and actual results were higher. Everyone had witnessed Li Chengliang's accomplishments and capabilities. Disregarding everything else, the fact that he was conferred a title of nobility proved that Li Chengliang was indeed a great general.
During the Ming Dynasty, conferring a title of nobility was almost as difficult as taking the imperial examinations. This was especially true during times of peace. Conferring a title of nobility was even more difficult. There would be a Zhuangyuan every three years, but when would a title of nobility appear?
Disregarding everything else, Li Chengliang was conferred a title of nobility. No matter what dirt was used to blacken him, he was conferred a title of nobility due to his military contributions. There was nothing that could be said about this.
However, the problem at hand was that Li Chengliang's performance over the past half a month had disappointed the court.
The court hoped that Li Chengliang could defend Zijing Pass and expel the Mongols at the same time to ensure the safety of Zijing Pass. They did not ask for help twice in a row, which made the people in the capital panic. Many wealthy merchants had even started to run south.
This was not only a military crisis, but also a political failure. In the Daming Dynasty, which had opened the way for politics, Li Chengliang had disappointed everyone. This disappointment was not a big deal, but it was equivalent to throwing away the last chance for glory.
Actually, Li Chengliang's luck wasn't good, or it could be said that he didn't have the emperor's trust. So much so that the emperor handed over 20,000 cavalrymen with sufficient battle strength to Xiao Ruxun instead of ordering them to rush to Redbud Pass's aid.
If the Emperor really had confidence in Li Chengliang and was willing to let Li Chengliang win a battle, then letting Li Rusong go and join the battle as father and son was not a bad story. However, the Emperor had always hated Li Chengliang in the depths of his heart. From the bottom of his heart, he did not want to see Li Chengliang make a comeback.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
