Chapter 149: Diligent and tireless, perfect and pure

"... Therefore, the Oirat of the West Mongols fled to the north of the desert, and the Tatar of the East Mongols split into two, among which Altan Khan surrendered to our dynasty in the fourth year of Longqing, and now only the Tumut Khan departments and the Duoyan Three Guards remain."

"It is time to sweep away the Duoyan Three Guards! Show martial power and prevent invasion, so that the system of China is respected and the barbarians are awed!"

Outside the Anmin Factory, Wang Chonggu spoke briefly, introducing the situation in the north of the Great Ming Dynasty and the historical origin of the past two hundred years to the Emperor.

Since the defeat of Toghus Temür Khan, the Northern Yuan had split into three major groups.

East Mongol Tatar, West Mongol Oirat, and Duoyan Three Guards.

In these two hundred years, the situation has been intertwined and changing, which can be said to be you singing and I appearing.

First is the West Mongol Oirat, one of the three groups.

Relying on attaching to the Great Ming to exchange for support, its strength expanded day by day.

After Esen succeeded to the throne, he finally accumulated strength and integrated the Mongol departments in one fell swoop, calling himself "Great Yuan Tian Sheng Great Khan."

To the Great Ming court, he began to sweep away his submissive appearance and reveal his fangs—"Repeatedly taught, not following the agreement, envoys coming and going often killing and plundering, and also holding other departments to invite and demand precious and rare things from China, and if not, they would create trouble."

At its peak, he used both kindness and power to conquer Hami, set up a province to remotely control Gansu, and invaded the Jurchens in the east to the seaside.

He even armed and invited the Great Ming Emperor to the tribe for study.

It can be said that the prestige was unparalleled and famous for a while.

But mixing in the world, you always have to pay back.

The tribe forcibly combined by war and personal prestige will eventually be burned because of the death of the individual.

After Esen died, the Oirat power was depressed, and the departments fought for power and profit, and the bottom was separated from the heart, continuing to be depressed for decades, and finally it was driven back to the northwest of the desert.

At the same time, the Mongol departments split again, and heroes rose together.

And the one who appeared immediately after was the East Mongol Tatar, another of the three groups.

After the successive defeats and deaths of Esen and the Chancellor Alachi, the Oirats retreated to the west of the desert, and the Tatars rose again among the Mongol tribes.

In the fifteenth year of Chenghua, after the East Mongol Dayan Khan succeeded to the throne, he cut off the treacherous ministers inside, drove out Ismayin outside, and personally conquered Dalan Tiligun to pacify the right-wing departments.

After decades of fighting east and west, Dayan Khan finally completely suppressed the West Mongols and unified the East Mongols.

"Annexing the tribes, full of ambition," they vaguely had the prospect and ambition of leading an army south.

But the lesson of the former, Dayan Khan was getting old, fearing that he would follow the footsteps of the "Great Yuan Tian Sheng Great Khan" who relied too much on personal prestige.

Thus, they began to refine internal politics, set about reforming the official system, enfeoffing their sons, consolidating the power of various tribes, and suppressing the Golden Family, which was called the New Policy of Northern Yuan... Following closely behind was the familiar sight of the policy dying with the person, and the renewed fragmentation of the Mongols.

With the event that Dayan Khan's third son, who controlled the right wing of the Mongols, ascended the throne, was forced to return to politics, and died, as a sign, the left and right wings of the East Mongol Tatar split into two.

There are many departments on the left and right, and it is messy.

But evolving to this day, the leader of the right wing is Altan Khan; the leader of the left wing is the Tumut Khan, the orthodox of the Golden Family.

In short.

Oirat, Tatar, and the Great Ming court, the three forces frequently played games, each had victories and defeats, and in the blink of an eye, it was two hundred years.

And as the last of the three Mongol groups, the Duoyan Guard participated in it in a different way—the slave of the three families.

In the twenty-second year of Hongwu, the Founding Emperor set up the Duoyan, Prince Tai Ning, and Fuyu Three Guards north of the Huangshui, recruiting the tribes of the former Yuan Liaowang, which is the so-called Duoyan Three Guards.

This is a de facto vassal relationship, but for the barbarians, it is just convenient to ride the wall.

They often detour between the court and Oirat and Tatar, sometimes guiding the two sides to invade the Ming border, and sometimes reporting military intelligence to the court.

The wall-grass career of the Duoyan Guard began in the Hongwu period, and it was out of control afterwards.

First, Emperor Xuanzong reasoned with soldiers and personally went to the Duoyan Three Guards to kill, and in fear, the Duoyan Three Guards bowed their heads to the court.

Then came the rise of Oirat, and the Duoyan Three Guards quickly knelt and slid, turning from a Great Ming vassal to the embrace of Oirat.

And when Oirat was weak, the Duoyan Three Guards immediately looked for another way out and found the Great Ming Dynasty again—"Once threatened by Oirat to follow them, now I have returned to the court, but the daily supply is difficult, begging for plows, seeds, and cultivated land to support."

The central government was angry, but still pinched its nose to give cultivated land, cattle, sheep, and agricultural tools, and the two combined again.

During this period, the Duoyan Three Guards were extremely obedient, and even often led the crowd to plunder the East Mongol Tatar.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. With the reorganization of the East Mongol Tatar, the Duoyan Three Guards began to flirt with the East Mongol Tatar again.

The court was out of reach at this time, and there was no way, so it could only symbolically make preparations—"Boli and the Three Guards have been communicating for more than a day... The way of prevention is naturally in me."

After this, the Duoyan Three Guards listened to orders in Boli's tent and once followed them to Central Asia.

And after Esen died, the East Mongols split into two, and the Duoyan Three Guards on the one hand claimed to be a Great Ming vassal, and on the other hand simultaneously submitted to the Tumut Khan.

Ideologically, they hoped to restore independence by taking advantage of the confrontation between the two sides, and behaviorally, they all plundered and offended both sides.

Such a split must have a lot of internal disputes.

Riding the wall for two hundred years, plus the Great Ming Dynasty once rushed to be a turtle, the Duoyan Guard now almost doesn't take the court seriously—if you can't beat it, you just bow your head and be sealed, it has always been like this.

Thus, in the Wanli period, the leader Dong Huli, in order to suppress internal disputes, focused on plundering the Great Ming Dynasty to transfer internal contradictions.

This spring, Dong Huli wanted to plunder in the Jiliao area because of food usage, but unfortunately met Qi Jiguang and hit a bloody nose.

Just didn't expect that he didn't pant, and was ready to come again next spring!

And Wang Chonggu's plan for this matter is as clear as his person.

He has different attitudes towards the Tatar moderate faction and the radical faction—more moderate than the moderate faction itself, and more radical than the radical faction itself.

He calls Altan Khan a brother, and shouts and kills the Duoyan Guard.

Wang Chonggu finished speaking and waited quietly for the Emperor's reply.

In the past, Emperor Shizong and Emperor Muzong did not want to start a border dispute, the Ministry of Revenue was arguing that there was no money all day, and the censors did not care about the barbarians.

But the situation is very different now!

The Emperor intends to train the Beijing Camp and rectify the border army.

When the Kaizhong Law was restarted at the beginning of the year, he even instructed Yin Shidan to fill the granaries of Jiliao first, and his purpose was self-evident.

And the Ministry of Revenue has also experienced two rounds of looting in Nanzhili and Huguang, and there must be a lot of surplus money.

Even the censors of these two years did not easily talk about kindness. Before opening the mutual market, they frequently urged Xuan Da to go out of the fortress to fight the autumn wind.

Of course, besides these, the most mature opportunity is that he, Wang Chonggu, entered the Cabinet and assisted in military affairs.

Can he only be satisfied with making some money?

Of course not!

In his position, he plans his government. If he can pacify the north and sweep away the Tatar disaster during his tenure...

That would not be in vain for a trip to the Cabinet!

Now Oirat is depressed and hidden, Altan Khan has surrendered, and the Golden Family Tumut Khan is a thin camel bigger than a horse, none of which are good objects for establishing prestige.

On the contrary, the Duoyan Guard, the descendant of the former Yuan Liaowang, has a big name, a small size, but jumps the most happily!

Isn't it just suitable for the court to use to "show martial power and prevent invasion, so that the system of China is respected and the barbarians are awed"?

Once this battle is won.

Whether it is to raise the prestige of the Cabinet or to shock the right wing of the Mongols, it will help pave the way for pacifying the Tumut Khan...

The unfinished work of the country for two hundred years may not be realized in the hands of Wang Chonggu!

Not to mention the living ancestral hall of the people, even the Martial Temple may not be able to take a peek!

Thinking of this, Wang Chonggu almost couldn't control it, revealing a smile of celebrating his success in advance.

Zhu Yijun looked at the strange smile on Wang Chong

Is the Jin Party plotting against me?

The Tumu Crisis? Or the Gengxu Crisis?

Must be careful with this fellow.

Zhu Yijun let his mind wander for a long while before shaking his head, casting Wang Chonggu's eerie smile out of his mind.

He immediately returned to the main topic: "Minister Wang, I live deep in the palace and do not understand military affairs; do not speak in such broad and generalized terms."

"Let me ask you."

"How many people are in the Duoyan Guard? How many combat soldiers? Is the surrounding geography of their place of residence clear? Is the climate there suitable for an expedition? Will there be Tatars watching and helping each other?"

The political correctness of a northern expedition does not need to be discussed; they have raided again and again, so where is the need to find any reason.

But fighting a war must be based on reality; one cannot just listen to two harsh words from Wang Chonggu, get hot-headed, and stand up to support the dispatch of troops.

Wang Chonggu was clearly prepared.

Upon hearing this, he immediately took a memorial from his sleeve and presented it to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, please listen."

"The Duoyan Guard is currently stationed and grazing between the northeast of Shanhai Pass to Xifengkou and Xuan-Da, nomadic outside the Great Wall, separated by only a wall; the climate is not much different from Jiliao and Xuan-Da."

"Moreover, now that we have prepared, it will be just the right time to send troops to sweep them away when the snow melts and the weather warms up around next spring!"

"As for the number of people you asked about, in recent years, the able-bodied have mostly been absorbed and lived among the tribes of the Prince of Shunyi and the Tumet Khan, and the number of people in the main body has been decreasing day by day."

"The main body of the Duoyan Guard now has less than 30,000 people! There are only 4,000 combat soldiers, among whom are over 1,000 cavalry!"

"As for whether there will be Tatars watching and helping each other..."

"Your Majesty, it is precisely because of this concern that we must strike first before Dong Huli can connect and harass our dynasty!"

Speaking to the end, Wang Chonggu's words were earnest, and he advised: "Your Majesty! The three guards are barbarians who follow the strong and oppose the weak; the weak are the eyes and ears of the eastern and western Tatars, and the strong are the wings of the eastern and western houses."

"Since the Gengxu year of Jiajing, they have incited harassment every year, which is truly hateful."

"How can Your Majesty bear to see the people of the border towns live without peace for a lifetime?"

"Now that you want to train troops and have a righteous cause, why not sweep away this scabies-like affliction first!?"

This speech was clearly aimed at persuading the Emperor and had been well-prepared.

But Zhu Yijun looked at Wang Chonggu speechlessly and reminded him: "Minister Wang, in the first year of Longqing, when Yingke of the Duoyan Guard led his troops to invade Jielingkou, the battle report wrote over 15,000 people."

"This year, when Dong Huli of the Duoyan Guard invaded our dynasty's Xifengkou, the battle report also had over 10,000 people."

"Not to mention whether they came out in full force, how did it become only 4,000 combat soldiers in your mouth, Minister Wang?"

Those who didn't know would think Qi Jiguang had killed 10,000 people.

This is a common problem among court officials.

Either they exaggerate, or they ignore the difficulty; in order to achieve their own goals, they always have to find ways to deceive the Emperor.

Whether it is local bandits or the clearing of barbarians by the guards, it is always "blocking the sky and the sun, the military might is terrifying," and the battle merits of annihilation are always "burning thousands of village houses, drowning tens of thousands in the river."

A cult group of three or five people can also make big news, making it seem like they are about to kill their way to the capital and seize the throne the next moment.

And if they hope the Emperor will send troops to somewhere.

Then the other side is few in number, poorly equipped, a scabies-like affliction, and a mob.

As long as the Emperor issues an edict, everything will get better.

Military intelligence is so mixed that the Emperor has no idea what the specific situation is.

As soon as the Emperor said this, Wang Chonggu secretly thought that he was indeed not easy to fool.

Wang Chonggu coughed lightly and did not answer the Emperor's question directly.

Instead, he took another memorial from the sleeve of his other hand.

Ignoring the Emperor's strange look, he respectfully presented the memorial and said: "Your Majesty, the previous one was the case file of the Ministry of War that I reviewed, which may have omissions, but even if we follow the Prince of Shunyi..."

Halfway through, Zhu Yijun directly interrupted Wang Chonggu.

The former looked at Wang Chonggu and pushed the memorial back.

He said earnestly: "Minister Wang, I know your enthusiasm, but don't be in such a hurry."

"Major state affairs cannot be decided privately by you and me, monarch and minister, in a few words."

"Besides knowing the enemy, one must also know oneself."

"The various armies guard the Nine Frontiers; is there any spare capacity to mobilize? Which unit will fight, and how many troops will be sent? How much silver and grain will be consumed? Is the cavalry sufficient, and can they patrol and fight outside the Great Wall?"

"I don't know any of these, so how can I discuss them with you?"

Seeing the Emperor repeatedly shirk, Wang Chonggu was a little disappointed.

Although the Emperor had not yet personally taken charge and military affairs were assisted by him, he could decide not to send troops, but if he wanted to send troops, it really wouldn't work without the Emperor's support.

Just as he was feeling lost.

Wang Chonggu only heard the Emperor change the subject: "You might as well draft the memorial in more detail, Minister, and we will discuss it at court then."

The former suddenly raised his head, revealing joy.

After saying this, Zhu Yijun looked at Ma Ziqiang: "Let's put aside the merits and demerits of the Duman campaign for now; after this matter is discussed at court, we will discuss it with the Ministry of War."

In principle, he was not opposed to small-scale wars; the southeast had been fighting all along, and no one had called it a waste of military resources.

But support is support, and it must be combined with specific circumstances.

For one thing, the financial burden must be assessed, and for another, the risk of developing into a major war must be avoided.

So it is best for the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to calculate it together.

Seeing the Emperor lightly brush over the Duman matter, Ma Ziqiang did not argue, but just bowed to show he understood.

Wang Chonggu, after being overjoyed, hurriedly knelt down: "I obey the decree!"

Saying this, he took back the two memorials into his sleeves.

At this moment, Zhu Yijun suddenly called him again, as if on a whim, and said: "Send a letter to the Grand Coordinator of Jiliao, Liu Yingjie, and the Grand Coordinator of Training Troops for the Four Frontiers, Qi Jiguang, asking them to state the details of the situation of the Duoyan Guard in Jiliao, and... express their stance on whether to send troops."

This was a steady approach; upon hearing this, Wang Chonggu only felt that this Emperor was methodical and flawless in handling things, and did not feel there was anything inappropriate.

After waiting for a while, seeing that the Emperor had no other instructions, Wang Chonggu bowed and withdrew.

Zhu Yijun nodded, signaling the eunuch not far away to see him off.

To put it bluntly, although the matter of the border generals submitting memorials to express their stance was just something he mentioned casually, in fact, one word from the border generals he mentioned would be more effective than three words from Wang Chonggu.

Uh, of course, I am not familiar with the Grand Coordinator of Jiliao, Liu Yingjie, so it is a sign of respect for his official rank.

The main thing is still Qi Jiguang.

As long as Qi Jiguang says it can be fought.

Zhu Yijun will support sending troops without hesitation.

Conversely, once Qi Jiguang feels it cannot be fought, even if the court discussion feels it can, Zhu Yijun will still have to overcome all opposition.

Not just the Duoyan Guard.

Even the Tumet Khan might have to rely on him.

Ma Ziqiang stood on the side, seeing Wang Chonggu withdraw and the Emperor lost in thought, he also hurriedly bowed and wanted to leave.

While waiting for the Emperor to go through the process, Ma Ziqiang was already prepared to step back.

"Grand Minister, please wait."

Hearing the Emperor ask him to stay, Ma Ziqiang hurriedly pressed his leg that was about to exert force back down, barely maintaining a respectful demeanor: "Please give your instructions, Your Majesty."

Seeing Ma Ziqiang's body sway, Zhu Yijun couldn't help but laugh.

He waved his hand: "Grand Minister, please stand up first; I just suddenly remembered two things I want to discuss with you."

Ma Ziqiang's surname is not good; in order not to call out "Ma Shang Shu" (Ma will lose) and get bad luck, court officials now call him Grand Minister.

After Ma Ziqiang straightened up, Zhu Yijun slowly said to him: "There are more than two months left until the Spring Examination; has the Ministry of Rites discussed the candidates for the two chief examiners?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Ziqiang quietly raised his head and glanced at the Emperor.

The chief examiner of the metropolitan examination is a key position.

Especially in the case of taking 407 people this session, how many students can be recruited? How many party members can be cultivated?

It can be said that the chief examiner of the metropolitan examination can not only gain fame but also gain real power!

Because of this, it is usually personally appointed by the Emperor's confidants.

For example, the chief examiners of the previous session were Zhang Juzheng and Lu Diaoyang.

Of course, this session is definitely not possible; after all, the sons of these two have already been granted special grace to take the examination, so if they still want to be chief examiners, that would be too disrespectful of the rules—even if the sons' papers are graded by the Emperor, this attitude cannot be lacking.

Subtracting Wang Chonggu, whose specialty does not match, and Gao Yi, who has a predetermined position.

This destined that there would be another candidate outside the Cabinet.

Ma Ziqiang did not know the Emperor's intention, so he had to say something that was neither meritorious nor faulty: "Your Majesty, the court is currently discussing it; there are three people: Gao Yi, Zhang Gelao of the Jianji Hall and Grand Preceptor of the Heir Apparent; Wang Xilie, Head of the Household Administration of the Heir Apparent and Head of the Hanlin Academy; and Zhu Da-shou, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites and Reader-in-Waiting of the Hanlin Academy."

Zhu Yijun said "Oh": "All are learned scholars..."

Ma Ziqiang echoed the Emperor.

At this moment, Zhu Yijun suddenly looked at Ma Ziqiang and asked suspiciously: "The Grand Minister is also a learned scholar, why are you not in the discussion?"

As soon as the words fell, Ma Ziqiang's heart jumped suddenly.

If someone else had said this, Ma Ziqiang would have thought it was irony—the three are either top scholars of the first rank or the top ten of the second rank, recognized learned scholars; how could he, a third-rank fellow jinshi, be embarrassed.

Even if he were in the discussion, he would not be able to compare to Wang Xilie in the court discussion.

Or rather, the consensus of court officials now is that Gao Yi and Wang Xilie will be the examiners, and even Zhu Da-shou, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, is just accompanying them.

But listening to what the Emperor meant, it was clearly pointing to something—isn't this obviously intending to let himself be the chief examiner!

Ma Ziqiang was hesitating about how to express his stance.

He saw the Emperor summon the Zhongshu Sheren (Secretariat Drafter) on the side and instructed: "Minister Deng, go tell the Cabinet that for the metropolitan examination examiners, include the Grand Minister in the recommendation to me."

Ma Ziqiang watched Deng Yizan go toward the Cabinet, his heart filled with both joy and worry.

The joy is that he has been favored by the Emperor again.

The worry is that there must be something difficult for him to do.

For a moment, Ma Ziqiang tried his best to restrain his expression and lowered his head: "Your Majesty, I am lacking in talent and learning..."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, interrupting his polite words.

"There is one more thing; I also suddenly remembered it when I was talking to Zhang Gelao Wang just now."

Seeing that the Emperor did not even let him finish the courtesies, Ma Ziqiang felt it was a bad sign and became more vigilant.

Zhu Yijun did not care what Ma Ziqiang was thinking and said to himself: "You also heard about the Duoyan Guard matter just now; it will be discussed at court in a few days."

"Now Zhang Gelao Wang and I both intend to let the Beijing Camp train and send them to Jiliao to assist the border troops."

"In this situation, I am thinking, whether we send troops or not, shouldn't we let the Beijing Camp Commander participate in the court discussion?"

"I ascended the throne at a young age and am not yet very familiar with the rites and laws of our dynasty, and I am afraid of breaking the system of the state..."

He paused for a moment, looked straight at Ma Ziqiang, and said thoughtfully: "Grand Minister, as a learned scholar, can you tell me if there is any way for military officials to participate in court discussions according to the rites?"