Chapter 964

Pan Yue startled, looked up, and indeed saw Shi Heng standing not far ahead.

Shi Heng had come to escort his son Shi Hong to the Embroidered Uniform Guard recruitment.

Given Shi Heng's rank, he could easily have secured his son an appointment by favor, but with the current crackdown on military land and corruption, he did not wish to give others grounds for criticism, and besides, his son was certainly capable.

Just after delivering his son inside, he turned and saw Pan Yun.

The two stared silently for a moment; Pan Yun gave him a slight nod.

Shi Heng turned his gaze away, expressionless, and looked at the person beside her.

When he saw that besides her three senior disciples, Pan Yue was also with her, his eyes flickered slightly.

Wasn't it said that Pan Yun had advanced in realm and severed familial ties, growing distant from her family?

Each time she returned to Jingcheng, she never met any of the Pan family.

His gaze shifted between the two, then he sneered after a pause.

Pan Yun said to Pan Yue: "Brother, take Seeing Miao Zhen and the others to watch the contest."

Pan Yue glanced at Shi Heng, then turned and left.

Pan Yun stood still; Shi Heng hesitated long before stepping forward, a faint, mocking smile on his lips: "Why has the State Preceptor come to watch this minor contest? Does someone in your household also seek to join the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Pan Yun lifted her chin toward the opposite seating platform: "To watch them."

Shi Heng turned to look—the foreign envoys on the platform—and fell silent for a long while: "The Oirats didn't come this year."

Pan Yun: "They've just finished a war; I hear they've already killed Toghtoa Bukha and formally declared themselves khan. They're probably busy suppressing rebellious tribes now—why would they have time to come?"

Shi Heng was startled: "Yissü Temür declared himself khan? When did this happen?"

Pan Yun turned to him and smiled: "Last night."

Shi Heng was speechless instantly—events on the steppe last night, and Pan Yun knew of them today.

The news arrived so swiftly…

Shi Heng instantly thought of the radio units he had seen.

Shi Heng's eyes flickered: "The border…"

Pan Yun gazed northward and murmured: "At this hour, Kuang Ye's army should have left the city."

Shi Heng's heart surged; he suppressed his excitement and asked: "What does Your Majesty intend?"

"As the Great Ming's appointed Generalissimo of the Oirats, Tashih, Prince Huai, and Chancellor of the Central Secretariat, how dare he murder his sovereign and declare independence? The Great Ming must restore order, safeguard peace and stability in the Oirats," said Pan Yun. "If we don't act now, shall we wait until he consolidates his internal power and unites his people?"

Shi Heng: "The imperial treasury…"

"Chen Xun says the imperial treasury is not an issue."

Shi Heng internally scoffed—now the imperial treasury wasn't an issue?

But he agreed with this strategy, and he longed to take the battlefield himself—but…

He looked up at Pan Yun and said tightly: "State Preceptor, why conduct a military land purge now? Aren't you afraid of unrest in the ranks?"

He advised: "At this moment, we should focus outward—first quell external threats, then investigate military corruption." Pan Yun: "If the commander of Datong were Guo Deng, I would support your proposal—or if Datong's army were still what it was a year ago, I would advise His Majesty to first repel the foreign threat, then stabilize the interior. But now, Datong's army has been completely renewed: military lands seized by officers and local gentry have been reclaimed; soldiers and exiled convicts have returned to their proper places. Troop morale is high—even the convicts exiled there last year due to the imperial campaign have joined the army and undergone rigorous training."

Shi Heng's chest heaved; his face darkened further, his anger barely contained: "State Preceptor, if you had ever served in the military, you would not raise your sword first against your own troops. Corruption across the realm—if the military accounts for two-tenths, the civil officials and local magistrates account for five-tenths, and the imperial house for three-tenths. Whether for wealth or power, you must not begin with the military."

He stepped closer, lowering his voice: "State Preceptor, you cannot have soldiers risk their lives on the frontlines while receiving not a single benefit."

Pan Yun's face remained expressionless: "Soldiers treated as hired laborers and tenant farmers by you still have to go to war—why should they sacrifice their lives for your gains?"

Shi Heng: "If we don't seize military lands, are they not still hired laborers and tenant farmers?"

His mutiny was barely audible: "It's those above who make them laborers and tenant farmers!"

Pan Yun stared back coldly: "They say General Shi deeply understands the soldiers' hardships and has repeatedly petitioned to improve the pay and conditions of ordinary troops and reduce the people's burdens—how much of those benefits actually reached the soldiers and the people?"

Shi Heng: "If I didn't speak up, they'd get nothing. If I do speak up—even if I take nine-tenths, they still get one-tenth!"

Shi Heng sneered: "State Preceptor, in the military, we at least leave the soldiers one-tenth. But among local officials and gentry, they don't just seize the benefits granted to the people—they force the people to pay extra. Their corruption dwarfs ours by far—why don't you go after them?"

Pan Yun smiled softly: "How do you know I haven't?"

With that, Pan Yun walked past Shi Heng.

Shi Heng froze, too late to ask more—only her voice echoed in his ear: "General Shi, Yissü Temür is not of the 'Golden Clan.' The Jurchens will never submit to him. The imperial campaign has revealed how severely our northern defenses have decayed. The rear has been entrusted to you—how you proceed is your decision."

Shi Heng stood stunned, then slowly tore his gaze from her back and turned toward the Jurchen officers on the platform.

The Jurchens primarily inhabited the Nuerkan Regional Military Commissioner, an outpost established by Zhu Di after the Ming seized Liaodong Commandery through eight northern expeditions, using strong power to pacify the Jurchen tribes.

The Ming adopted an active northern strategy toward the Jurchens: appointing local chieftains, conducting regular inspections to maintain sovereignty, without stationing troops or levying taxes.

Ming garrisons extended only as far as Liaodong Commandery, with numerous garrison posts—this was the gateway to Jingcheng.

But after Emperor Xuande, the court reduced its deterrence and aid to the Jurchens, shifting from an active northern strategy to a passive one.

Last year, when the Oirat army invaded south in three columns, the eastern column came from Nuerkan—how deeply the Jurchen tribes were involved cannot be fully investigated.

Shi Heng's mind raced—he suddenly understood why the Emperor had begun by purging the military.

The Emperor, Pan Yun, and Yu Qian were planning a comprehensive overhaul of the northern strategy.

The Jurchens… the Jurchens…

North to beyond the Outer Khingan Mountains, west to Kuyu beyond the Tatar Strait—Kuyu's southernmost tip was separated by only a narrow strait from Ezo, which in later times became northern Japan, but now was a land of scattered tribes, still independent.

It was said the Japanese had long coveted this land, repeatedly attempting to seize Ezo and then enter Kuyu;

Westward, they sought to conquer Korea, then enter Jianzhou Guard.

All this intelligence had been gathered by Embroidered Uniform Guard agents stationed in Japan.

Neither the Ministry of War nor these military officers took Japan's ambitions seriously.

In their eyes, Japan was merely a tiny island nation, dreaming of invading the Great Ming—utterly delusional.

They dared only raid coastal areas—could they truly dare to land and seize territory?