Chapter 29 Accident
Considering that it was Zhu Qizhen's first trip, Wang Zhen and Zhu Qizhen both chose to refer to Zhu Zhanji's border patrol route in the ninth year of Xuande, and continued westward to Datong before returning to the capital.
Firstly, the ninth year of Xuande is relatively close to this year, so the road that has been traveled before is relatively safe. Secondly, the veteran general Guo Xuan, Marquis of Wuding, is on this road, and Xuanfu, as a military stronghold, is even safer. Zhu Qizhen sent his great-uncle, the son-in-law of the emperor, Song Ying, as the vanguard to explore the way, and with the general officer of Datong, Zhu Mian, the Earl of Wujin, there, the road can be said to be stable.
In any case, in the opinion of the two, this road is safer than other roads.
The approximate time of this border patrol was also based on the border patrol period in the ninth year of Xuande, which was about one month. According to this standard, the food supplies prepared by Zhu Qizhen also referred to the old rules, which was three dou of food per month.
After all, he envisioned that this border patrol would last no more than a month, so three dou of grain would be enough, and there might even be some left over. Even if that wasn't enough, he could still restock at the nearest granary while on the patrol.
For this team of 50,000 people, this configuration is sufficient.
Along the way, Emperor Zhu Qizhen inspected the local people's livelihood just like he did when he went to Changping. Every time he arrived at a place, he summoned the local elders to see him. In addition, he also summoned the troops, which was quite like Zhu Zhanji's style.
The officials accompanying the emperor along the way were a little nervous at first, but seven days after the departure, when the imperial carriage was about to reach Juyongguan, everything was still calm and everyone gradually relaxed. Even the Prime Minister Cao Nai and the Minister of War Kuang Ye, who were very alert at the beginning, were no longer as nervous as before.
Wang Zhen saw Zhu Qizhen standing on the ridge of the field, deep in thought. He stepped forward with a smile and said, "Your Majesty, everything is stable in the army. We can set out tomorrow."
Zhu Qizhen looked at the harvested wheat ears and said, "Today, I saw the local people harvesting rice with the improved farming tools from the Wunong Temple, and I felt very emotional."
Wang Zhen was startled when he heard this. He carefully observed Zhu Qizhen's expression and said, "Is the Emperor thinking of the eldest princess...?"
Only then did he remember that Wunong Temple had been fully supported by the eldest princess until now, and he couldn't help feeling annoyed.
If the emperor softened his heart and decided to be lenient with the eldest princess, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?
Zhu Qizhen hummed, then said, "Although the Princess is not involved in state affairs, the Wunong Temple does still have some use. It is also an official office left by the Emperor. It would be a pity to abolish it just like that."
Wang Zhen heaved a sigh of relief after hearing what he said, and then said, "Your Majesty is right. This Wunong Temple is of great benefit to the people's livelihood. As long as it is taken over by Your Majesty and eunuchs are sent to manage it, it will also benefit the people."
As the two were talking, Cao Nai hurried over to pay his respects and said breathlessly, "Your Majesty, Marquis Wuding Guo Xuan has passed away due to a sudden illness..."
When these words were spoken, Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen both showed expressions of surprise.
Guo Xuan was fine some time ago. He was only 53 years old this year, which was considered young compared to the Duke of Ying and others. His death was so sudden.
Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment and then instructed Wang Zhen, "Marquis Wuding has been loyal to his country and has served Xuanfu effectively for a year. Order someone to escort his coffin back to the capital as soon as possible and properly place it."
"yes."
Seeing that he had made meticulous arrangements but had not considered returning to the capital, Cao Nai became anxious and took the initiative to speak: "Your Majesty, without Guo Xuan, Xuanfu is without a leader. It is no longer as safe as before the departure. It is better to return to the capital."
Not only Cao Nai thought so, but Kuang Ye, Wang Zuo and others around him also had the same attitude, obviously hoping that the emperor would give up his plan to patrol the border and return to the capital as soon as possible.
Zhu Qizhen glanced at the group and snorted coldly, "It's just the death of a general officer. How can it affect the overall situation? Besides, Xuanfu is not without suitable candidates to garrison there." He looked at Wang Zhen and said, "Left General Yang Hong is a brave and skilled warrior. He defeated the Wuliangha in the ninth year of Zhengtong. Send someone to inform Yang Hong to take over the position of general."
Before Cao Nai could say anything more, Zhu Qizhen frowned and scolded him, "It's just a small matter. As the Prime Minister, how dare you lose your composure like this? What a fuss!"
After Zhu Qizhen left, Wang Zhen spoke in a sarcastic tone, "This border patrol was ordered by the Emperor and cannot be changed. You should go back and prepare to continue your western border patrol tomorrow."
The next morning, the army continued its march towards Xuanfu.
After arriving in Xuanfu, Zhu Qizhen informed everyone in Xuanfu that Yang Hong would soon be stationed in Xuanfu to take charge of the overall situation, as a gesture of comfort. Zhu Qizhen then summoned the officers and soldiers who had previously been sent to Xuanfu for military examinations, briefly assessed them, and selected a few to continue accompanying the troops.
These are all talents he promoted. They have been in Xuanfu for six years and have a better understanding of the Xuanhua area. It will be safer to have them accompany him with the troops.
Shortly after leaving Xuanfu, the weather conditions became much worse. The army now encountered the rainy season in the north, the roads were muddy, and the weather was gradually getting colder. The shoes and jackets prepared before departure were obviously not enough to cope with such weather. There were inevitable complaints in the army. Fortunately, they were about to arrive in Huaian area and could take a short rest, but unexpectedly, bad news came soon.
When Xining Marquis Song Ying was on patrol in Yanghe area, he encountered the Oirat army. Due to the suddenness of the incident, he was defeated by the Oirat and almost all of his troops were killed. Only a small number of people fled to Datong and other places for help. Wujin Earl Zhu Mian led his troops to rescue, but there was no news for a while.
If Guo Xuan's previous death was just a small warning signal, then the information of Song Ying's death was a reminder to everyone that they must return as soon as possible.
Unlike the panicked ministers accompanying the army, Zhu Qizhen was ready to go and was even more excited than when he was hunting.
He finally faced the same situation as his father, when Zhu Zhanji led 3,000 elite troops to fight against the Wuliangha and won a great victory. The situation was slightly different now, but the time and moment were just like this, so Zhu Qizhen naturally had to seize this opportunity.
Zhu Qizhen believed that Song Ying's death was not only due to the fierce attack of the Oirat, but also related to the number of troops Song Ying led. With only 10,000 soldiers under his command, it was common sense that he would be defeated by the Oirat.
Zhu Qizhen still had nearly 40,000 men under his command. If he could gather some of his forces from the surrounding areas and attack Datong from both sides, he would surely be able to "take the Oirat" into his pocket. Of course, to be on the safe side, he immediately sent someone back to the capital to inform the Prince of Qing, who was in charge of the regent, and the officials in Beijing to send elite soldiers from the Beijing camp westward to increase the number of troops and improve the possibility of victory.
Zhu Qizhen was almost impatient and immediately sent people to notify the troops of various garrisons to gather in the Yanghe area as soon as possible, striving to attack the Oirat together with the Ming army in Datong.
The distance between Yanghe and Datong and Huaian is not much different. Even if they cannot arrive at the Yanghe battlefield at the same time as the Datong defenders, according to the strength of Zhu Mian and others, they should be able to temporarily delay the Wala, and then they may be able to surround them.
However, things were not as simple as Zhu Qizhen had imagined. The Ming army marched rapidly all the way and incorporated the troops gathered from all over the place. When they arrived in Yanghe, they did not see the Oirat, and they did not even see any living Ming soldiers.
The entire Yanghe was like a swarm of locusts, with the corpses of Ming soldiers lying everywhere in the wilderness. The armor of some soldiers had been completely stripped off. It was probably because the Wala army considered that reinforcements might arrive later, so they only picked up some soldiers' armor for their own use.
The morale of the Ming army, which had been marching rapidly for many days, dropped to freezing point when they saw the scene before them.
Because most of them knew very well that Song Ying definitely did not take so many soldiers with him, which means that the extra people here might be the army brought by Wujin Bo Zhu Mian to rescue Song Ying.
The number of people who invaded the border with Wala was far beyond their imagination.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
