Chapter 541 540 Crimes?
"Prepare the sedan chair and enter the palace."
With the good news from Xuanfu, Yang Bo felt that he was capable again at this moment.
Although he was hit hard in the past two days, especially Sun Bin's defeat and death, he was under tremendous pressure.
Not to mention His Majesty and the courtiers, even he himself lost confidence in himself and felt that he was unable to fulfill the position of Minister of War.
His Majesty must see this good news as soon as possible so that he can regain his trust in himself.
"Sir, it's so late, Your Majesty should rest."
Ge Jin didn't know what he meant, so he quickly reminded him.
"Then go to Wuyi Hall first and hand it over to Mr. Ge."
In the past few days, the two cabinet ministers and the Minister of Rites have been staying in Xiyuan, accepting His Majesty's inquiries at any time.
The emperor fell asleep, but the news still had to be sent in to ensure that His Majesty would know about it as soon as he woke up.
When he reached an official position like his, his decision to leave or leave was actually only a matter of the emperor's thoughts.
However, after sitting in the sedan, he thought about more.
The Tatars have fled north, and the next step is to clean up the mess. Those who deserve rewards must be rewarded, and those who deserve punishment must be punished.
Although the capital implements a night ban at night, it depends on who is walking on the street.
Along the way to Xiyuan, Yang Bo's sedan met several waves of guards and soldiers from the Military and Horse Division who were patrolling the night. However, when the other party saw the mark on the lantern in front of the sedan, they immediately and decisively moved to both sides of the street without even the intention of stopping him for questioning. .
Shaking and swaying, the sedan quickly arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan.
Once here, it is already a forbidden area in the imperial city, so it is naturally impossible to enter directly without any obstruction.
Yang Bo was not in a hurry to get off the sedan chair. Naturally, some of his men knocked on the door, woke up the eunuch on duty, and then made an announcement.
It is really not easy to open this door.
Fortunately, Yang Bo's status was unusual. Although the servants guarding the door were very happy, they still had smiles on their faces, and there was no trace of impatience at all.
No accident, the news that Yang Bo was going to Xiyuan finally reached Huang Jin's ears.
"Yang Bo? Why is he here so late?"
Huang Jin was getting older, and he was not very willing to get up from lying down, let alone take care of things.
But Yang Bo wants to enter Xiyuan, which is actually a bit against the rules.
No matter how big the deal is, can't it be left to tomorrow?
Thinking that something big might happen, Huang Jin had no choice but to get up, get dressed and go out under the service of several eunuchs, and go to the gate of Xiyuan to check.
However, along the way, he was still worried, fearing that Yang Bo would bring big bad news, which would be difficult for him, the eunuch admiral, to handle.
Yes, if there is really bad news, can we not wake up His Majesty and tell him?
His old arms and legs couldn't afford to delay a big event.
Moreover, Emperor Jiajing's temper was very bad these two days, because the Ming army suffered a heavy loss this time.
Within half a year, the general soldiers of two towns were killed in succession, from Liaodong to Jizhen.
The night before yesterday, the emperor took a long time to fall asleep, but he couldn't fall asleep because he had something on his mind.
It's a little better today, but if something big happens again, I'm afraid it will be tonight
I don’t dare to think about it, I really don’t dare to think about it.
Huang Jin arrived at the gate of Xiyuan as quickly as possible. The door was not open. Without him, the great admiral, who would dare to unlock it.
"Who is outside the door?"
Huang Jin arrived at the door and asked loudly to the door.
"The younger one is Yang Bo and Yang Shangshu's attendant. Who is he?"
Yang Bo knew that the door was not that easy to open, so he did not have a sedan, but waited for the communication from outside.
Soon, a voice came from outside the sedan.
"Master, Eunuch Huang Jin Huang is here."
"Oh, I see."
Yang Bo just stood up. The curtain of the sedan chair had been lifted gently from the outside, and he got out of the sedan chair.
The two lanterns in front illuminated the road, and Yang Bo quickly arrived outside the gate of Xiyuan Palace.
"Eunuch Huang, I am Wei Yue."
Yang Bo rushed to the door and spoke.
"Master Yang, if you come to the palace so late, let's first tell you whether it is a good thing or a bad thing. If it is bad news, I advise you to enter the palace tomorrow.
The emperor has not had a good rest these past two nights. If you disturb his rest, neither you nor I can afford it. "
Huang Jin didn't dare to ask directly what was going on, because he was worried that Yang Bo would give him the ball and who would he ask to reason with.
Things are no different now than before. After all, when it comes to war, nothing can be done carelessly.
However, Yang Bo had a good impression on him, so I would like to mention a few words.
Regardless of whether Yang Bo can continue to serve as Minister of War, it is not a bad thing to form a good relationship first.
At this point, there is actually no room for improvement ahead of him, and at his age, he just wants to live out the past few years peacefully.
Yang Bo didn't know the meaning of Huang Jin's words and said hurriedly: "It's a good thing, it's a great thing. I came to the palace this time because I knew that His Majesty didn't have a good rest because of the bad war in the past two days. This is good." The good news was naturally reported as soon as possible.
If His Majesty has already rested, then the report will be reported tomorrow, but the battle report still has to be delivered to the palace. It would be fine to send it to Mr. Xu Ge in Wuyi Palace. "
"Good thing? Where did you win the battle?"
Hearing that it was a good thing, Huang Jin became interested and asked.
"The Xuanfu Ma Fang troops intercepted the Tatar army north of Pinggu. After a fierce battle, they beheaded more than a thousand people, snatched back three carts of plundered property, and rescued more than 2,000 captive people."
Yang Bo explained the general content of Ma Fang's battle report outside the door.
Ma Fang led his army to pursue them all the way. Seeing that the momentum was wrong, the Tatars not only gave up the slow-moving cart, but also ignored the young men and women they escorted, who planned to take them back to the grassland as slaves.
The cavalry charge was so powerful that no one dared to block it.
No one would stay on the road and wait to be trampled by thousands of horses. They all ran to both sides of the road alertly, leaving the road clear for the army to pass.
It wasn't until the Ming army defeated the Tatars and cleaned up the battlefield on their way back that the people hiding on both sides slowly came back and followed the Ming army back.
"Oh, that's really a big victory."
Huang Jin was relieved now.
Although he is in the inner court, he is in charge of the East Factory after all, and any report from the Jinyiwei, as long as it is not a secret letter, must go through his hands.
He knew more or less what was going on outside.
After hearing that Ma Fang beheaded a thousand people and rescued the captive people, this victory should be more credible.
By now, Huang Jin knew why Yang Bo was so eager to report the news.
In fact, he had felt two days earlier that Emperor Jiajing was somewhat dissatisfied with the progress of the war.
Although the reasons are complicated, especially the serious mistakes made by Governor Ji Liao, the Ministry of War cannot escape the blame.
In any case, the Ministry of War was derelict in its failure to predict the Tatars' march south.
The Tatars fought all the way to the outskirts of the capital, which was a serious mistake.
However, the war was still going on, and Emperor Jiajing would certainly not commit the foolish act of changing generals on the spot.
If there is an emergency substitution and the war worsens, the face will be even worse.
With these concerns, I have been holding back.
In fact, Huang Jin knew in his heart that as long as the Tatars withdrew from the Great Wall, Jizhen and even the Ministry of War might be held accountable by the emperor.
It’s just a matter of seeing who is unlucky in the end.
Yang Xuan will definitely not be able to escape, it just depends on the emperor's decision in the end.
With the victory of the Xuanfu Army, Yang Bo may be taken out.
"Congratulations to Yang Shangshu. This time the Ministry of War has conducted the task well, and your Majesty will definitely receive a reward."
Huang Jinle said cheerfully at the door.
He had already known about the north-south pincer attack strategy planned by the Ministry of War two days ago, and was afraid that it would be aborted, but he did not expect that the Ministry of War would be so decisive in giving Ma Fang an order to intercept it, and Ma Fang in the Xuan Prefecture would be so proactive that he would dare to go directly eastward. Take the initiative to fight the Tatar Huang Taiji.
The Ministry of War did not know about Wei Guangde's letter to Ma Fang.
In fact, Yang Bo was also thinking about this on the way, but he thought it was Ma Fangsa's sentry cavalry who discovered the Tatars' movements, so he took the initiative to attack.
But at the gate of the palace, he would naturally not expose his shortcomings.
Since his family knew his own affairs, Yang Bo certainly knew that there were major flaws in the war situation deduced by the Ministry of War.
This major flaw was naturally due to the fact that the Jizhen cavalry led by Sun Bin was defeated by the Tatars so quickly, and he himself died on the battlefield.
In fact, the information obtained by the Ministry of War is similar to the information obtained by Wei Guangde, but the time is slightly earlier.
The Ministry of War's prediction for the battle at Zhengguantun was that the two sides might fall into a stalemate, believing that even if Sun Bin could not defeat the Tatars, it was still possible for them to become entangled.
After all, there is the Miyun Army led by Hu Zhen in the north to assist in the battle, so the Ming Army will not be at a disadvantage.
Under such circumstances, the Ministry of War's first consideration was to close the western passage to prevent the Tatars from turning west and fighting back to Xuanfu.
As for the eastward advance, the Jizhen army was arriving in a steady stream at this time. Yang Bo predicted that Huang Taiji would not take the initiative to fight against the Jizhen army, which would only make him trapped in a tight siege.
Similar strategies are actually practiced by the Mongols.
Kill two or three border towns in the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty, and then cross the Great Wall and return to the grassland.
Unexpectedly, the cavalry led by Sun Bin was so incompetent that they were ambushed by the Tatars and completely defeated in the first battle.
"Master Yang, please bring in the battle report. When the emperor gets up tomorrow, I will ask your Majesty to read it as soon as possible. I believe he will be very happy."
Huang Jin said at the door.
"Then I'll have to trouble Eunuch Huang."
Huang Jin was unwilling to open the door, and Yang Bo was helpless, so he had to send the battle report through the crack in the door, then turned back to the sedan and returned to the military headquarters.
Huang Jin got the battle report, asked someone to take some oil lamps, and opened them for himself.
What was written in the battle report was exactly the same as what Yang Bo said, and then there was a happy smile on his face.
"Go to Wuyi Hall and see if Mr. Xu Ge and the others are resting."
Huang Jin thought about it and said.
In the early morning, the clouds of many days were swept away, and the long-lost sunshine was released from the sky, shining on the capital of Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Jiajing got up early, not because he didn't want to sleep, but because he couldn't sleep.
How could he continue to sleep peacefully after being slapped in the face by Tatars again.
More than ten years ago, when he was still dreaming about the great tomorrow, he was severely slapped in the face by An Dahan.
More than ten years later, he was severely slapped in the face again by the son of Ada Khan.
He really couldn't bear this tone.
Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, with an attendant combing his hair behind him, he stared blankly at his face in the bronze mirror. Although it was a little blurry, he could feel the haggardness on his face.
"Your Majesty, good news, great news."
After getting up at night, Huang Jin didn't get a good rest. After all, he was getting older, and he couldn't fall asleep for a long time because of his emotional excitement. This accidentally delayed his time.
Fortunately, he still had good news from the Ministry of War.
"What good news."
Emperor Jiajing did not move and just asked casually.
"Good news, good news from the Ministry of War. Ma Fang, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, intercepted the Mongolian Huangtaiji tribe north of Pinggu and bordering Miyun. After a fierce battle, the captive cavalry was defeated. The Xuanfu army beheaded more than a thousand people and rescued the captive people. "
Huang Jin was still talking endlessly, but Emperor Jiajing turned around suddenly, even though his hair was pulled a little painfully by his actions and he couldn't care less.
Before he could react to the servant behind him, Emperor Jiajing had already stretched out his right hand towards Huang Jin.
Immediately, a battle report fell into his hands.
He quickly unfolded it to watch, and then his face showed a hint of joy.
Finally, there is a general who can relieve the king's worries.
Finally regained some face.
As the emperor, can he be unhappy?
After quickly browsing it twice to make sure that no detail was missed, he put the battle report on the table, sat upright again, closed his eyes slightly, and asked the chamberlain behind him to continue his previous actions.
However, the sitting time was a bit long. Even though he had combed his hair, he did not get up.
When he opened his eyes again, he was still motionless, but between opening and closing his mouth, a decree had been issued.
"When something happened in Ji Town, we must investigate the merits and crimes. We ordered Yang Bo from the Ministry of War and Huang Guangsheng from the Ministry of Punishment to join the Metropolitan Procuratorate and Dali Temple to investigate the case and discuss the crimes. We also asked the Ministry of War to report the list of meritorious persons as soon as possible."
This time the Tatars ravaged the capital again. Although the Ming Dynasty suffered heavy losses, fortunately no city was lost. These are all meritorious people. Now that the Tatars are fleeing north, they will naturally be rewarded based on their merits.
However, let Yang Bo participate in the investigation of the Justice Department first to avoid any mistakes. Don't be considered guilty by the Third Justice Department and appear on the merit list of the Ministry of War, which would not look good.
But because of this, Yang Bo's matter is basically over.
At the beginning, if Emperor Jiajing could support Yang Bo, such a situation would not have occurred. At least in Shunyi, the Jizhen army could have blocked the Tatars and would not have caused more trouble.
Without waiting for Huang Jin to receive the order, Emperor Jiajing continued to issue an order: "Order the Ministry of War to pass the edict, and the troops of the King of Qin from all ministries will return to the town immediately without delay."
Huang Jin was slightly stunned when he heard what Emperor Jiajing said, and then immediately went down to deliver the order.
As the Tatars fled north, the capital naturally did not need rescue. However, such a strict order for all ministries to return to the town would inevitably give people an inhumane feeling.
But Huang Jin would not say these words.
The news that Ma Fang led the Xuanfu army to win the battle spread quickly in the capital in the early morning.
If the news hadn't reached Beijing late at night, it would have spread throughout the capital.
When Wei Guangde was having breakfast, he heard Zhang Ji talking about the news that was circulating outside.
"Ma Fang intercepted Huang Taiji and beheaded more than a thousand people, haha"
Wei Guangde chuckled while eating, his face seemed very happy, but there was still a little pity in his heart.
The first contribution this time should have been labor and capital.
Wei Guangde could only think about this in his mind, and he didn't know if the omnipotent Dongchang would find out his merits and report them to Emperor Jiajing.
However, it is best not to report it, because it seems that it will bring danger to yourself.
At the same time, the Supervisor of Ceremonies, Huang Jin, returned here and arranged for the chamberlain to go out to deliver the order, while he returned to the room and took down a box from the bookshelf.
Open it, find a note, and throw it into the brazier on the side without hesitation.