My father is Jiajing

Chapter 139 How is San'er?

It's another spirited late night.

During the day, Emperor Jiajing dozed off for more than two hours. Around noon, the first battle report was finally delivered to the Wanshou Palace.

After Huang Jin received the battle report, he immediately reported it to Emperor Jiajing.

"Your Majesty, this is the battle report that Gubeikou just sent us. It says that the soldiers of Gubeikou fought hard and devoted their lives to serve their country. They kept the enemy outside the Great Wall for their emperor and father, and have repelled three rounds of attacks by the Tatar bandits."

Emperor Jiajing took an elixir to calm himself down, then took the battle report from Huang Jin, read it again in detail, and praised in a good mood: "Not bad, not bad, this Ding Rukui is really good at using people. As long as Gubeikou is defended for three days, the Xuanda garrison led by Qiu Luan and the Liaodong soldiers who were urgently summoned will be able to reach the capital. Once the garrison soldiers from Henan, Shandong and other places arrive, the Tatars will be trapped like a turtle in a jar, nothing to be afraid of!"

Huang Jin followed the Emperor Jiajing and said, "Yes, yes, the Emperor is in control of the situation. The bandits are just villains who have achieved success. How can they compare with the heavens? The Emperor can turn them into ashes with a flick of his hand."

Emperor Jiajing laughed at Huang Jin's words, "He only knows how to say nice things. This Anda is not that easy to deal with. Since I ascended the throne, he has been making trouble in Xuanda, trying to force me to open a trade. How can I let him do what he wants?"

After reading the first battle report, Emperor Jiajing was filled with confidence, thinking that Gubeikou had really blocked Andada's main force and he could rest easy.

But three hours later, after an extremely urgent battle report was sent from the front line, Emperor Jiajing could no longer remain calm.

The battle report said that the bandits in Gubeikou were most likely a feint attack. A fire suddenly broke out in the direction of Pigeon Cave west of Gubeikou. General Luo Xihan led his troops to rush to the rescue. Governor and Chief Censor Wang Ruxiao was still holding on to Gubeikou to determine the situation.

When this battle report was delivered to Emperor Jiajing, his originally calm mood suddenly became anxious.

The Jiajing Emperor shouted angrily, "Where is Ding Rukui? Call him over!"

Huang Jin was also startled and hurried to find Ding Rukui.

By the time Ding Rukui arrived before Emperor Jiajing, it was already completely dark.

Looking at Ding Rukui's haggard face and bloodshot eyes, you can tell that he hasn't had a good rest for the whole day and night and is tense all the time.

But Emperor Jiajing did not care about this. He looked at Ding Rukui who was kneeling on the ground with cold eyes and asked, "How many troops are there in Pigeon Cave?"

Ding Rukui also received the battle report early, and was sure that the attacking bandits at Gubeikou were just a feint, and that Anda's main force was very likely to have broken through the Great Wall at the Pigeon Cave.

Ding Rukui lowered his head in shame and replied: "Your Majesty, I didn't know that there were less than 700 soldiers guarding Pigeon Cave."

When Emperor Jiajing heard that there were only 700 defenders in Pigeon Cave, he was so excited that he almost rolled his eyes.

Can seven hundred defenders stop the main force of the Tatars?
Obviously, this is impossible!

Emperor Jiajing was furious. "You promised me to reinforce the defense line of Gubeikou and concentrate all my troops there? Why did the bandits appear from the Pigeon Cave now? And you don't know the situation yet. Can you give me an approximate number? Is that useful?"

The series of questions from Emperor Jiajing made Ding Rukui lower his head in shame, not daring to face them.

At this point, Emperor Jiajing knew that anger would not solve the problem. He said, "Immediately order Wang Ruxiao and Luo Xihan to lead the main force to intercept the main force of the bandits. We must not let them enter the important areas of the capital!"

Ding Rukui replied, "Yes, I have sent an urgent letter through the Ministry of War, ordering Wang Ruxiao and Luo Xihan to mobilize the main force to the Pigeon Cave to stop the bandits."

After hearing Ding Rukui's answer, Emperor Jiajing felt relieved. He hoped that Wang Ruxiao and Luo Xihan could arrive in time to delay Anda's pace and buy time for reinforcements. Emperor Jiajing asked, "Where is Qiu Luan?"

Huang Jin glanced at Ding Rukui, who seemed to be distracted, so Huang Jin replied: "I think they should be close to Xishan. In another day, they should be able to reach Miyun to stop the bandits."

When Emperor Jiajing heard Huang Jin say that Qiu Luan would take another day to arrive, he couldn't help feeling a little impatient and powerless.

Emperor Jiajing ordered Ding Rukui again: "We must buy Qiu Luan one more day and do not let the bandits spread any further."

Ding Rukui replied "yes" with a bitter heart, but he knew that this was an order that could not be completed at all.

Because there are only more than 20,000 officers and soldiers blocking the enemy in the suburbs of Beijing, and this time, Altan claimed to have an army of 200,000. Even if half of them were squeezed out, there would still be more than 100,000 people.

To expect these guards of the capital, who are rarely seen with weapons, to stop Andada's army of more than 100,000 strong is simply wishful thinking!
At this time, Ding Rukui also took a deep breath and said, "The situation on the front line is unclear now. I suggest that Your Majesty urgently summon the people of the capital and the martial arts students from all over the country to guard the capital to be fully prepared!"

After hearing Ding Rukui's suggestion, Emperor Jiajing's face turned extremely ugly. He knew very well that once such an edict was issued, it would be equivalent to telling the people of the capital who were unaware of the truth that the situation was critical and they were needed to temporarily defend the city.

This move will inevitably cause unrest among the people and make the people in the capital panic-stricken. In this way, the majesty of the emperor and the court will be wiped out.

Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, Emperor Jiajing would never be willing to issue such an edict to highlight his incompetence.

Emperor Jiajing also fantasized about controlling the enemy within the Great Wall. Even if the enemy might break through the Great Wall, they would be stopped in Jizhen, Miyun and other places and would never be allowed to get close to the capital.

But many times, many things will not go as people wish, but will only go in the direction that people least want to see.

Emperor Jiajing looked at Ding Rukui coldly. He was unwilling to accept the suggestion he had just made. He said, "I know what is going on. You just need to gather your troops to stop the invading Tatar bandits. Don't disappoint me."

Ding Rukui bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Although Emperor Jiajing was extremely angry, he remained rational. He was well versed in the ways of kindness and severity, and knew that being too strong would only make people fearful and disloyal.

So at the end, Emperor Jiajing also showed a gentle expression, and said with some concern: "You have worked hard these two days. After the order is issued, you should also have a good rest. I don't want my Minister of War to die before the crisis is resolved."

Sure enough, after hearing the emperor's caring words, Ding Rukui was so moved that he burst into tears and bowed to the emperor again, "I thank your majesty for your care. It is my duty to be loyal to your majesty. I will not let you down and will do my best to defend the capital."

Emperor Jiajing said gently: "I know you are loyal, but you are not made of iron. Rest when you need to, and don't hold on for too long."

Ding Rukui was deeply moved and bowed to Emperor Jiajing again, then left the Wanshou Palace. He hurriedly sorted out the real-time battle reports he had received and adjusted the troop deployment according to the real-time situation.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing also relaxed his body and mind for a rare moment. He turned to Huang Jin and asked, "How is San'er?"

When Huang Jin heard Emperor Jiajing asking Zhu Zaigui, she quickly apologized, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I haven't had time to read Prince Yu's secret report yet."

Emperor Jiajing nodded and did not blame Huang Jin. He was indeed too busy with the Tatar invasion of the capital these days, so it was normal that he did not have time to take care of Prince Yu.

Emperor Jiajing said, "Let's wait and see. We don't know how long this crisis will last, but we must not let Shunyi get into trouble. Otherwise, I will feel bad for San'er. It's not easy to accumulate such a huge family business."

(End of this chapter)