The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After confirming that there was indeed fire in the distance to the north, Emperor Jiajing didn't say anything, but just got off the high platform with his sleeves rolled up.

On the way to Yongshou Palace, Emperor Jiajing suddenly stopped and told Huang Jin, who was following behind him: "Quickly announce Xu Jie to enter the palace to see me."

Although it was already late at night, if the emperor wanted to see the chief minister of the cabinet, the locked palace door had to be opened.

After returning to the Yongshou Palace, Huang Jin hurriedly took out the gold medal, called the eunuch outside the door and said: "Go to the house of the Chief Assistant quickly and ask him to meet you in Xiyuan."

With this gold medal, the eunuch had a chance to get out of the palace. Naturally, the eunuch knew the power of it, so he hurriedly took the gold medal and hurried out.

By the time Xu Jie entered the gate of Xiyuan, nearly an hour had passed.

It’s not that Xu Jie’s residence is far away from Xiyuan. It’s because the eunuch came out of the palace with a gold medal. There were quite a few eunuchs and palace guards who needed to be alerted. Without the approval of one person, the eunuch couldn’t leave the palace even half a step under the order. .

Xu Jie was walking in Xiyuan. To be honest, he was in a complicated mood.

It wasn't him who entered Xiyuan today, it should be Yuan Wei, but for some reason the emperor admitted him.

Moreover, so much time has passed, and I don’t know if His Majesty still has leisure waiting for me.

The two young chamberlains in front were walking quickly with lanterns in their hands, and Xu Jie had no choice but to step forward and follow them.

When he stepped into the gate of Yongshou Palace, Xu Jie was panting and sweating profusely.

While waiting for His Majesty's summons at the palace gate, a chamberlain next to him brought a hot towel to wipe him, and he drank some warm tea, which made him feel a little better.

As I got older, I was woken up from bed and traveled such a long way. The most important thing was that I didn't know why the emperor summoned me, so I couldn't help but feel extremely uneasy.

When everything came together, Xu Jie really felt tired of being in front of an official.

However, this idea only occurs when he feels uncomfortable. If he really wants to abdicate in favor of others, I'm afraid it will be a different story.

After all, that is a right.

Whether it is to enjoy the happiness brought by his own rights or to bring good news to his family, he will not give up his position as chief assistant easily.

Not long after, the little chamberlain who had informed him came out and ushered him into the main hall.

When he entered the hall, he found that the atmosphere inside the hall was solemn. Even though the hall was brightly lit by candles, the depressing atmosphere still lingered.

Xu Jie was slightly shocked. There was no one else in the hall except the emperor and Huang Jin. Wasn't Yuan Wei summoned?

He entered Zhiwuyi Hall today. What happened?

"I have met your Majesty."

Xu Jie barely suppressed his fear and bowed to Emperor Jiajing on the throne.

"I love your life."

Emperor Jiajing watched Xu Jie finish his salute and then said, "In calling your beloved into the palace so late, I just want to know where are the Tatars? How far are they from the capital?"

Xu Jie felt slightly relieved when he heard Emperor Jiajing ask about the war in the north.

It's not that he isn't worried about this, but because he has the Minister of War to back him up, even if he has any responsibilities, his responsibilities are not as big as Yang Bo's.

After thinking for a while, Xu Jie said: "In the afternoon, the Ministry of War sent battle reports from all parties and news from the Beijing camp. At present, the Mongolian Tatars, led by the bandit chief Huang Taiji, should still be harassing the area near Shunyi."

"Is it just Shunyi?"

Emperor Jiajing asked with a slight frown.

"It is reported that most of the Tatars are located around Shunyi and Pinggu, and a small number of them have traveled to and from Huairou, Sanhe and other places."

Xu Jie replied, then remembered the documents he saw two days ago, and hurriedly added: "A few days ago, a small group of Tatars appeared near Tongzhou, but they were unable to advance because of the river obstruction."

These were sent to the palace as soon as possible after the cabinet received the official letter from the Ministry of War. At this time, Emperor Jiajing's questions made Xu Jie very puzzled.

"Is there something wrong with the official document from the Ministry of War?"

A terrible thought appeared in his mind, but then he thought that Yang Bo was still cautious, and he should not make any mistakes.

"I will go up to the high platform tonight and see the light of the fire. This thief is not far from Beijing."

Compared with the information obtained by Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao in Sanhe County, and Sun Bin, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, the Ministry of War had obviously discovered that the leader of the Tatar army this time was not Anda Khan, but his son Xin Aitaiji.

In fact, the official document has been delivered to all parties, but Mikawa has not yet received it at this time.

Xu Jie's expression changed drastically when he heard Emperor Jiajing's words.

Looking out from the high platform of Xiyuan, how far can you see with your eyes?

I can actually see the firelight, this

At this time, Xu Jie came to the conclusion in his mind that someone from the Tatars should have crossed the Wenyu River and was approaching the capital.

Damn it, he didn't get this information from the Ministry of War when he left office this afternoon.

Xu Jie then panicked and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know about this, so I'll go to the Ministry of War to find out."

"Go ahead and order the Ministry of War to instruct all armies to attack them together. If there is anyone who allows the enemy to fight cowardly, he will be severely punished."

Emperor Jiajing then spoke.

Seeing Xu Jie walking out of the palace door quickly, he stood up, walked slowly to the palace door and looked out.

To be honest, he was very confident in Yang Bo at first, but the fire he saw tonight made him feel a little worried about the current court.

After returning to Yongshou Palace from Gaotai, he asked Huang Jin to find the war reports of the past few days. After reading them in detail, he confirmed that there was no mention of the Tatars crossing the Wenyu River or the Baichao River. Where did the fire come from.

It can only be said that the Ministry of War failed in its duties, and the cabinet is also responsible.

I went to great lengths to call Xu Jie today just to give him a heads up. I hope he can figure it out.

Xu Jie had already left Yongshou Palace at this time, and hurried out of the palace under the leadership of the chamberlain in front of the door. He wanted to go to the Ministry of War immediately to understand the situation.

He had already figured out the reason why Emperor Jiajing invited him here. He was afraid that it was just to torment him and make him understand that now was not the time for ease and enjoyment.

Xu Jie made up his mind to find a room to rest in the Ministry of War tonight, so as to grasp the enemy's situation and the movements of Jizhen's army as soon as possible.

However, what if the Tatars really find a ferry to cross the Wenyu River?

Then you have to face the capital directly.

Xu Jie couldn't help but feel more and more irritable when he thought of this. He knew what the soldiers in the Beijing camp were like, and there weren't many who could fight in them.

It's not that the Beijing camp only has a bunch of trash. In fact, there are tens of thousands of capable warriors in the Beijing camp. It's just that most of these people go to the homes of the powerful in the capital to look after the homes and courtyards, as well as in the farms outside the city.

What they don't want is naturally a bunch of old, weak and disabled soldiers.

No, we have to get a troop of soldiers and horses from Sun Bin to station outside Dongzhimen to guard against Tatar raids.

When the sun came up the next day, Xu Jie had already rested for the night at the Ministry of War and returned to Xiyuan to handle official duties.

At this time, due to the war, the cabinet had moved to Xiyuan, and all official documents were sent to Wuyi Palace for processing.

The Ming army's Jizhen cavalry, led by Sun Bin, galloped away thinking about Tongzhou.

After the Tatars moved south from Miyun, they mainly harassed areas east of Huairou, west of Pinggu, and around Shunyi. There was no large group of Tatar cavalry in Tongzhou, so it was certainly very safe.

Sun Bin was willing to accept Yang Xuan's order.

As for leading troops to attack from south to north, it must be carried out, but how to operate it is another matter.

Sun Bin has made up his mind to rest in Tongzhou for two days and let the soldiers repair before talking about the northward march. He only hopes that the Tatars will go back in these two days. Xuanfu's forward army should have passed Juyong Pass.

The cavalry moved very fast, and Sanhe was not far from Tongzhou. In just half a day, the army had arrived in Tongzhou.

However, martial law was already under martial law at the top of Tongzhou City at this time, and Sun Bin could only lead his troops to wait outside the city. It was not until Lu Yi, the deputy military envoy of Tongzhou, climbed up to the city tower that he opened the city gate to let them in.

But before he could rest before entering the city, Sun Bin quickly received an order from the Ministry of War.

"Detach a group of troops to station at Dongzhimen."

At this time, Sun Bin was dissatisfied.

If he doesn't need 8,000 men and horses, the Ministry of War will allocate 2,000 cavalry to strengthen the capital's defense.

Late yesterday afternoon, the news that a small group of Tatars crossed the Wenyu River and looted several surrounding villages had reached the capital last night, and Xu Jie could only sleep peacefully after seeing this urgent report.

The battle report stated that the number of Tatars who crossed the river was no more than a hundred, and they had returned to the north bank of the river after looting. They only had one boat, which could not meet the needs of the large army crossing the river.

With the answer to the emperor, Xu Jie was naturally relieved.

However, Xu Jie still reminded Yang Bo about the unexpected Tatar crossing the river.

Regarding what happened tonight, Emperor Jiajing summoned him to Xiyuan in the middle of the night instead of hearing the news from the Ministry of War, which actually explains the problem.

The emperor asked him to supervise all ministries, and they should work more diligently during this time of national crisis.

At the same time, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening, a force of troops was needed outside the capital city to be on standby. Once Tatars were discovered crossing the river, they would attack immediately to eliminate the enemy invaders.

Therefore, the Ministry of War issued this order overnight.

At this moment, the closest thing to the capital was naturally the Jizhen army commanded by Sun Bin. It was not surprising that the order was issued here.

There are still 6,000 troops, let's wait until the Xuanfu army arrives.

Naturally, Sun Bin did not dare to delay the order from the Ministry of War. He immediately selected two thousand people and ordered them to set off again after lunch and rush to Dongzhimen of the capital overnight.

Once there, the Ministry of War and the Beijing Camp would naturally allocate supplies to them.

Everything seemed to be still in his hands, and Sun Bin was not worried because two thousand soldiers and horses were transferred away.

Such a mood disappeared on the second day.

When he received an official document from Yang Xuan, asking him to immediately lead his army to Zhengguantun on the border of Sanhe County to rescue Sanhe Ginseng General Fujin who was besieged by the Tatars, he didn't know what words to use to express his mood at the moment.

Just arrived from Sanhe to Tongzhou and only had one day's rest. Not only did the troops and horses have been divided into two thousand people, but now some of them were surrounded by Tatars.

Immediately, Sun Bin summoned the generals Feng Zhao, Zhao Qin, Hu Can, guerrilla Yan Zhan and others to discuss the matter.

In Yang Xuan's official document, he was asked to lead 3,000 troops to rescue Fujin. The previous order was still valid, requiring the remaining 5,000 troops to attack Shunyi.

He took away 3,000 men. Where did the remaining 5,000 troops come from? Now Sun Bin was really being roasted on the fire.

He deliberately ignored this order, but the biggest official in Tongzhou City was not him, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen. Although he had the highest rank, it was Lu Yi, the deputy envoy of Bingbei Road, who really had the word.

Does he dare to disobey?

Don't dare.

In the current Ming Dynasty, military generals really don't dare to contradict civilian officials. The most important thing is that he has no foundation in the court and has no one to talk to when something goes wrong.

The mission, which he thought was foolproof, unexpectedly encountered unexpected changes one after another. At this time, one can imagine the depression in Sun Bin's heart.

Fortunately, according to the official document, Miyun Deputy General Hu Zhen will also lead his troops. He will lead two thousand cavalry to flank the Tatars. According to the official document, the Tatar cavalry in Zhengguantun is only more than two thousand. It is already the largest force nearby.

Speaking of which, according to Yang Xuan's plan, the Ming army will invest nearly 7,000 troops in Zhengguantun, including 5,000 cavalry and more than 2,000 infantry. It is indeed capable of fighting more than 2,000 Mongolian Tatars.

After letting the generals read Yang Xuan's order, Sun Bin began to order the generals.

"Feng Zhao and Zhao Qin led their troops to follow me to Zhengguantun to rescue General Fu. Hu Can led the remaining troops to go north and move closer to Shunyi."

Relatively speaking, after this order was issued, the most dissatisfied person was actually Hu Can. He only had 3,000 men, but he was going to Shunyi, which meant that he wanted to eliminate the Tatars he saw along the way.

Although they are all skirmishers, he has less than 3,000 men in his hands. If the Tatars react quickly enough and quickly contact a few groups of skirmishers, he will be in danger.

And the troops led by Sun Bin will expand to 7,000 people after arriving at Zhengguantun, so their safety will be assured.

Helpless, Lu Yi, deputy envoy of Tongzhou Bingbei Road, was watching eagerly. How could he dare to disobey military orders.

"I have sent people to prepare food and fodder for you. According to Governor Yang's order, you must unite sincerely and fight to the death to kill the enemy."

Seeing that everyone had accepted the general's order, Lu Yi immediately said with a smile.

But in his heart, he still despised these warriors.

I was very active when I was trying to make money, but when I really wanted to fight hard, there were not many brave men in sight.

He also had another order from Yang Xuan, which was that when Yang Xuan was worried that Sun Bin and others were afraid of the enemy, he could directly take down Sun Bin in the name of military preparation.

He had no authority to deal with Sun Bin, a second-grade general, but he could be ordered to detain the person first.

Soon, the lobby was empty, with only Sun Bin and Lu Yi left.

The other generals have already returned to their respective military camps to prepare. At this time, of course, rescuing troops is like putting out a fire, and there can be no delay.

Although, in their hearts, they may still have the intention of delaying time, it is obvious that Lu Yi will not give them this opportunity.

When Sun Bin led his troops out of the city again, he was in a very complicated mood.

After a series of unexpected events, he unconsciously had an ominous premonition.

At this time, in Zhengguantun, more than 2,000 people led by Fu Jin had suffered heavy losses, and there were only more than a thousand capable soldiers.

He and Sun Bin left Sanhe one after another. Their original intention was to patrol the Sanhe border and expel the intruding Tatars. Unexpectedly, they were attacked by a large group of Tatar cavalry and had to retreat to Zhengguantun to defend.

He knew that when Sun Bin led his troops into Sanhe County, the whereabouts of the Ming army had been discovered by Huang Taiji's scouts.

Using cavalry to attack infantry was the Mongols' favorite method of attack, which naturally caused Fujin heavy losses.

And letting them retreat into Zhengguantun was actually the bait Huang Taiji wanted to put to the Ming army.

Although he did not plan to attack the capital, he wanted to teach the Ming court a lesson. It would not work without annihilating a Ming army.

At this time, Huang Taiji was recalling various stragglers, asking them to stop looting and prepare a pocket to hold the Ji Zhen Ming Army cavalry.