Chapter 642 641 Shanxi

After leaving Chen Yiqin's house, Wei Guangde leaned on the carriage, and couldn't help thinking of Ge Shouli.

This Minister of Revenue probably didn't expect that he had been abandoned by the cabinet of the Ming Dynasty without knowing it.

In fact, judging from Ge Shouli's work performance since he took over as the Minister of Revenue, he is a man who wants to do things, but things are unpredictable.

As soon as he took office, he encountered two big men in the cabinet fighting each other, and he was also caught in the crossfire.

Maybe he just wanted to avoid right and wrong in his heart, but some right and wrong can't be avoided.

Especially since he is already in a high position, the Minister of Revenue, ranks high among the six ministries.

The Ministry of Personnel has been dragging its feet on the things that Ge Shouli handed over. In the first few days, he thought that the Ministry of Personnel had to follow the normal procedures, so he didn't think much about it.

But as time went on, more than ten days later, Wei Guangde didn't give him any news, and Ge Shouli couldn't sit still.

However, it would be difficult for him to meet Wei Guangde in the Ministry of Personnel at this time. When he looked inside the duty room, the door was closed, and it was obvious that he was not in the government office.

He asked someone and found out that he had gone out to do business.

Ge Shouli had no choice but to ask Yang Bo, the Minister of Personnel, to urge him to come, so a few more days passed.

But what he didn't know was that when he stepped into the door of the Ministry of Personnel, even if Wei Guangde was doing business in the duty room, he would immediately change places.

He really couldn't refuse in person, because Ge Shouli's request was a common practice, and it was also a very small matter.

But someone above wanted to use the sling, especially Chen Yiqin's intention to change people, so he couldn't refuse this person's intention.

Although he was already a third-rank assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the Ming Dynasty, he was also a high-ranking official in the court, but he was still far behind the cabinet ministers and the six ministers.

After more than ten days, Ge Shouli felt something was wrong, and the officials under the Ministry of Personnel also spread the news secretly, all laughing at him for overestimating his own abilities.

How could the current Minister of the Ministry of Revenue swallow this breath? Now it is only spread in the government office. If it spreads out, will he still have the face of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue?

When he came to the Ministry of Personnel again, he still didn't see Wei Guangde, so he had to go to Yang Bo.

However, this time, the answer he got from Yang Bo was that the Examination and Merit Department reviewed the performance of the officials of the Ministry of Revenue in recent years, and there was no low-ranking person, and the current official positions in various places were full, so it was really impossible to transfer them out.

Only then did he know that the Ministry of Personnel had no intention of replacing the people of the Ministry of Revenue from the beginning, which was a naked disregard for him, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Although the Ministry of Personnel is known as the Heavenly Official, it manages the official hats of officials all over the world, but it really can't manage the Minister of Personnel and the Vice Minister.

But his Ministry of Revenue is not a vegetarian. If the Ministry of Personnel wants to withdraw money from the Ministry of Revenue in the future, you can dream.

Ge Shouli was still thinking whether to suppress the salary of the Ministry of Personnel and the silver of Zhitang for three months to kill Yang Bo's prestige, but after getting on the sedan chair, he realized that he could hardly see any important official documents now.

Ge Shouli realized it at this time. It was difficult to retaliate against the Ministry of Personnel due to internal instability.

If this matter was impeached, it might not be effective.

After all, it involved two assistant ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, as well as the Shangshu and assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

The most important thing is that if they did this, wouldn't they be afraid of being investigated by Xu Shoufu?

Xu Jie?

Thinking of this smiling tiger, Ge Shouli shuddered for no reason.

When he arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, everything was normal at first, but it changed drastically since that memorial.

And he didn't sign the memorial, so he wouldn't be resented by Xu Jie for this?

Wouldn't Xu Ge Lao be so petty?

Or, was his generosity in the past just a disguise?

Ge Shouli was a little unsure, so he stopped the sedan bearer and did not return to the Ministry of Revenue. Instead, he went to the Cabinet. He wanted to determine Xu Jie's attitude towards him.

Those people in the Ministry of Revenue dared to treat him like this. Obviously, it was not their own idea, but someone above them was fanning the flames.

He had not made any enemies since he came to the capital, so it was reasonable that no one should target him.

If there must be someone, it could only be Xu Jie.

After a cup of tea, when Ge Shouli walked out from the inner room, his steps were still a little shaky.

Xu Jie's attitude towards him was the same as usual. He still spoke softly and gently. Regarding the things he reported, he patted his chest and asked him to go back and wait for news. He would communicate with the Ministry of Personnel.

However, he had encountered such a situation several times in the Ministry of Personnel, and it was another tactic of procrastination.

Although Ge Shouli had been a Beijing official for a short time, he had rich experience in local officials. Naturally, he could observe the words and expressions and contact the Ministry of Personnel. He could also roughly judge.

Xu Jie and Yang Bo were in the same group. It was no wonder that when Xu Jie was impeached, Yang Bo contacted some old officials to sign a joint letter to support Xu Jie.

Ge Shouli knew that he could not stay in the Ministry of Revenue.

As the minister of the six ministries, if he could not get the support of the officials in the government office and the help of the cabinet, how could he do anything?

After leaving the cabinet, Ge Shouli went home and locked himself in the study, and he was too lazy to go to the government office.

At this time, he was a little discouraged. He thought he had seen through all the conspiracies. It was the old man Xu Jie who was making trouble. He hated that he did not stand on his side to deal with Gao Gong.

After thinking for a night, for the purpose of self-preservation, Ge Shouli hurriedly submitted his retirement after taking over the position of Minister of Revenue for a few months. On the grounds that his elderly mother had no one to take care of her at home, he asked Emperor Longqing to allow him to go home to take care of his mother.

The memorial was sent to the cabinet. Xu Jie drafted a bill to praise Ge Shouli's filial piety and repeatedly mentioned that his mother was old and weak, and that Ge Shouli should be allowed to return home to pay respects to his mother.

Emperor Longqing didn't know what the purpose was, maybe he was in a bad mood after Gao Gong left, but he approved it directly, and asked the cabinet and the Ministry of Personnel to select a candidate for the Minister of Household Affairs as soon as possible.

According to the usual practice, such a resignation letter must be carefully considered, rejected twice first, and then approved when the third time is sent.

After all, Ge Shouli was not punished for making a mistake.

Last time, Xu Jie discovered that he wanted to release the people placed by Xu Dang in Ke Daoli, and stopped him. But to deal with some people in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, Wei Guangde took action directly.

With Wang Ting, the imperial censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, acting as internal correspondent, a few backbones of the Xu Party would be directly dispatched to the outside world. Finally, the official department would just make a report to the cabinet and the emperor.

The agreement does not require the approval of the cabinet or the emperor. After all, it is only arranged by officials below the fifth rank. Even the cabinet has no right to interfere with the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel.

Regarding Wei Guangde's move, Xu Jie just frowned. Although he didn't like it, he didn't want to break up with Yu Zhuan's old friend in a short time.

Because he also thought that behind Wei Guangde's action, there should be the tacit approval of Chen Yiqin and others, and perhaps the purpose was to vent his anger on Emperor Longqing.

He had offended the emperor and his ministers and made them angry. It would not be a bad thing if he could solve the problem of forcing Gao Gong to leave.

This is what Xu Jie thought. As for whether Emperor Longqing can express his resentment, it is unknown.

However, at this time, the court's attention was once again attracted by the Datong Battle Report.

On the tenth day of the fifth lunar month in the first year of Longqing, more than 10,000 people from Anda's tribe invaded Rendagou and other places in Datong. General Liu Guo led troops to resist and fought in Xishan and Xiejiawa. Anda led them back.

In the following months, the Anda tribe continued to linger near Datong, repeatedly sending troops to harass the military forts in Datong, and even large groups of captive cavalry appeared outside the Xuanfu Great Wall.

All signs show that Anda Khan has a big plan this time, and he seems to be planning to find the weak points in Xuanda's defense line and break through again.

After discussion, the Ministry of War reported the military situation and allowed the Datong Army to redeploy the troops originally deployed back to the frontline fort defense. At the same time, the Ministry of War ordered Ma Fang of the Xuan Prefecture to assemble a large army and be ready to support Datong at any time.

According to past military information, the Ministry of War analyzed that it was unlikely for the captives to invade Kou Xuan Mansion. In fact, the previous several attacks on Xuan Mansion had not yielded any benefits. Especially after the Wanquan battle last year, Anda Khan should not dare to raise troops to invade Xuan Mansion again.

Of course, based on previous intelligence, the Ministry of War also issued orders to other border towns to strengthen vigilance to prevent raids by cavalry.

However, such an order actually has no meaning at all for the border town where wars have been going on all year round.

It's just an errand for the Ministry of War.

Everything that needs to be done is done, and the next step is to wait for the general in Bian Town to send back the battle report.

Regarding the war, with the current speed of news transmission, it is impossible for the capital to remotely control the war. It can only make arrangements in advance, and the final decision will be made by the commander-in-chief of each town based on the situation.

On the fourth day of September, the capital finally received an urgent report from the border town. Anda Khan led an army of 60,000 cavalry and divided into three groups to attack Shuozhou, Laoying and Piantou Pass.

Among the positions of these three troops, Shuozhou belongs to the defense area of ​​Datong Town, while Laoying and Piantouguan belong to the defense area of ​​Shanxi Town. It can be said that Anda Khan's purpose is very clear. He wants to defend the weak defense areas of Datong Town and Shanxi Town. Troops everywhere.

Tian Shiwei, deputy general of the Laoying Guards, defended the city and sent guerrilla general Jun Zhen to lead his troops to fight. After the defeat, he retreated back to the city and did not dare to leave the city. Anda Khan then led his troops south.

When the governor-general Wang Zhi heard of the change, he sent 6,000 cavalrymen to Yanmen Pass on a starry night journey. 20,000 cavalrymen from Datong and Yansui also arrived, but they all looked at each other and dared not move forward.

At this point in the battle report, the Ministry of War analyzed the focus of Anda Khan's advance, that is, the attack on Laoying was the main force of Anda Khan, while the attack on Shuozhou and Piantou Pass was a feint, with the purpose of distracting the Ming army. troops.

In the following days, battle reports continued to come in from various parts of Shanxi. The main force of Anda Khan went all the way south. Although it did not conquer important cities, it looted and defeated many guard posts along the way. The Ming army suffered heavy losses.

"This is a map of Shanxi. What do you think Ada Khan has in mind?"

In Chen Yiqin's study, there was a map of Shanxi spread on the desk. Chen Yiqin stood in front of the map and informed Wei Guangde that the imperial court now knew the route of Anda Khan's advance.

After Laoying went south, Anda Khan did not attack Yanmen Pass as most people expected. He did not even reach Daizhou, but went south along the Fen River.

When Shanxi officials panicked, thinking that the purpose of Anda Khan's march was to attack Taiyuan, no trace of Anda Khan's army was found around Taiyuan Prefecture.

"Up to now, no military report has been sent from Shanxi, and I don't know where Anda Khan's army has arrived. It's really making people sleepless and sleepless. Your Majesty has pressed me many times today."

Chen Yiqin no longer had the grace and calmness of the past at this time. You must know that this was the first time Emperor Longqing ascended the throne. If he received a major blow at this time, it would be a provocation to the emperor's prestige. The emperor would lose face, and officials like them would have a hard time.

"The largest city in Shanxi is Taiyuan Prefecture. The Tatars are attacking thousands of miles away. If they don't take Taiyuan Prefecture as their target, what's their plan?"

Speaking of this, Wei Guangde's finger stopped at Yangqu in the north of Taiyuan Prefecture, and then slid eastward, all the way to Meng County, and finally to Guguan.

"According to the military report, there are only 30,000 soldiers on this route to attack Guguan. Do they want to attack Zhending Mansion!"

When Chen Yiqin thought of this, he was so shocked that he didn't dare to say anything anymore.

But he soon shook his head and said, "Anda Khan does not have enough troops, so he should not dare to invade the capital again.

Someone from the Ministry of War has analyzed this route, although this is the most reasonable explanation given by Shanxi Military News at the moment. "

After breaking the solid pass, the captives can reach Zhending, and then go north to Baoding and other prefectures until they approach the capital from the southwest.

This route is a bit far, but it can bypass important passes on the Great Wall such as Yanmen Pass, Daotou Pass, and Zijin Pass, and reach directly to the foot of the capital.

The appearance of such a scene during the new emperor's enthronement ceremony was a big blow to Emperor Longqing's domestic prestige.

And precisely because the distance is too far, there is a lot of opposition within the Ministry of War. Once the Luqi is defeated in a battle, it may lead to the annihilation of the entire army.

Fighting is actually fought with momentum. Lien Zhan and Lianjie's momentum is high. Once defeated, if this kind of expedition with troops is blocked, it is very likely to be surrounded and annihilated by the swarming Ming army.

"Are you sure the Tatars have passed Jingle?"

Wei Guangde asked with a frown.

"Yes, Jingle has discovered traces of Luqi."

Chen Yiqin replied.

Wei Guangde pointed to Lan County to the west of Jingle and asked: "Are there any traces of Tatars in Lan County?"

"No."

After receiving Chen Yiqin's affirmative answer, Wei Guangde shook his head, and then his face turned gloomy: "The Tatars entered the pass and attacked for hundreds of miles. They have already entered the hinterland of Shanxi, and they disappeared."

Yes, according to the final military report, Jingle is only two hundred miles away from Taiyuan Mansion.

"The army marches in concealment, doesn't it?"

Chen Yiqin asked, not knowing what was going on.

"You can still hide when you enter the hinterland. The only thing you can do is kill everyone along the way, otherwise the scouts sent by the surrounding cities will find out the news."

Wei Guangde just replied in a low voice, "It has been a few days. Has the Ministry of War sent a message to Zhenwu, Baoding and other prefectures to urgently mobilize the various garrison stations in Northern Zhili to support Shanxi?"

Then, he quickly found Yanmen Pass by sliding his finger up and said: "The army here should give an order to detach one of them to march westward and stationed at Ningwuguan, and the Yansui Army will station in the old camp to block the Tatars' retreat."

"Last time, the Ministry of War received news. It is said that the traitor Zhao Quan told Anda Khan that Shizhou and Xizhou are rich and rich in iron. Do you think the target of the Luqi is there?"

Chen Yiqin suddenly said.

Wei Guangde soon found Shizhou to the west of Taiyuan Mansion, and Xizhou was to the south of Shizhou.

After determining the locations of Shizhou and Xizhou, Wei Guangde suddenly discovered a problem, that is, if Anda Khan's goal of entering the customs this time is really the two places mentioned by Zhao Quan, after the Yansui Army marches eastward to support Shanxi, the Tatars can completely After looting, we also headed west and entered Yansui Town. From Yansui to the border wall, the distance seemed to be closer than the way we came.

"The official road to the west of Shizhou leads to Wubao, Suide, Mizhi, and you can reach the Yansui border wall."

Wei Guangde slid his fingers and looked at Chen Yiqin and said, "Where are Yansui's 10,000 horses?"

"It should be at Piantou Pass. Someone suggested before that they should follow and pursue us, but you also know that the orders below may not be carried out."

Chen Yiqin replied.

The Ming army was able to defend the city but had little chance of winning in the field.

"It's over, it's over."

Wei Guangde shook his head and sighed.