My father is Jiajing

Chapter 174: His Majesty's Unpleasant Moment

"What time is it now?"

Emperor Jiajing was sitting on a cushion in the Wanshou Palace, holding the secret report sent by Huang Jin in his hand. He was so nervous that he could not calm down.

The eunuch who was serving nearby heard the Emperor Jiajing's voice, carefully watched the water leak in the abode, and replied softly, "It's already four o'clock, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jiajing opened his eyes slightly and read the secret report in his hand again. His nervous palms trembled inadvertently.

Then the Emperor Jiajing asked: "How long will it take for the troops from Henan and Shandong to arrive?"

The eunuch in attendance replied, "The Ministry of War reported yesterday that they would arrive the day after tomorrow."

Emperor Jiajing also knew that it was the day after tomorrow, but when he heard the people around him confirm that it was still the day after tomorrow, he became inexplicably anxious again.

According to Huang Jin's battle report, Prince Yu had already stationed on Gushan Mountain, 20 miles away from Chaobai River, waiting for the decisive battle.

But now Prince Yu's own army only has more than 6,000 people. The Jiajing Emperor couldn't help feeling panicked when he thought that Prince Yu was going to use 6,000 cavalry to unexpectedly charge into the Tatar army, disrupt the Tatar army's formation and morale, keep the bandits out of the Chaobai River, and make them unable to fight against the capital.

He was very afraid that Zhu Zaigui would be in danger in this crucial battle, but he could not do anything about it now. This was what made Emperor Jiajing most worried and anxious.

Emperor Jiajing was silent for a while, "Go and call Yan Song, Xu Jie and the people from the Ministry of War."

When the eunuch in attendance heard that Emperor Jiajing wanted to call Yan Song, Xu Jie and the people from the Ministry of War over at this time, he did not dare to delay and did not consider the current time, and went to call them immediately.

Around half past four o'clock in the morning, Yan Song, Xu Jie and people from the Ministry of War arrived at the Emperor Jiajing's residence.

The people who came from the Ministry of War were Minister of War Ding Rukui and Right Vice Minister of War Yang Jisheng.

"I will see you, Your Majesty."

After seeing Emperor Jiajing, the four of them bowed respectfully.

At the same time, the four people also felt the tense atmosphere in the temple. Although they didn't know why Emperor Jiajing was so nervous, they didn't dare to ask. They could only wait quietly for Emperor Jiajing to speak, and then answer the questions based on the information revealed by Emperor Jiajing.

Emperor Jiajing said, "I have received a secret report that the main force of the Tatars will attack Shunyi along the Chaobai River this morning. General Zhu San, the commander of the Suppressing Enemies, has deployed a large number of defenses here to await the attack of the bandits. I want to know if you have any other ideas to send more reinforcements to the Chaobai River front to ensure everything is safe."

Emperor Jiajing's words shocked Yan Song, Xu Jie, Ding Rukui, Yang Jisheng and others. They had never expected that they would face such a severe decisive battle so soon.

But thinking back, this is indeed inevitable.

Ever since the bandits raided the Great Wall from the direction of Dove Cave and entered the suburbs of Beijing, they have suffered a lot of losses in Huangyugou, Shixiaying, Qingshuitan and other places. Now their main camp has been destroyed, and they are unwilling to split their forces or station them in a fixed place as before.

Therefore, the bandits now move out in full force, risking everything, and advance forward step by step.

Faced with such a huge military force, anyone would have to retreat before they had sufficient strength, so now Emperor Jiajing asked whether he could continue to send reinforcements to the Chaobai River defense line.

Be it Yan Song, Xu Jie, or the Minister and Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, they all fell silent.

They all knew very well who was the final supporter of the capital. These people could be said to be the final guarantee of the capital's stability and they could not be shaken in the slightest.

In case of any unpredictable catastrophic consequences on the front line, the capital can still rely on these troops for the last defense and hold out until the various troops arrive to save the king and turn defeat into victory.

But if these troops are withdrawn from the city to reinforce the front line, if we win, everything will be fine, but if we lose, it will be no joke.

So the silence of the crowd at this moment was deafening, making Emperor Jiajing even more irritated.

"Are you all speechless? You are all my loyal subjects. The Ming Dynasty belongs not only to me, but also to you. Now the soldiers are fighting bloody battles outside, and you can't even think of a way to boost morale for the front lines. What use are you?" The rebuke from Emperor Jiajing directly broke the qigong that he had practiced for a long time. The whole person was like an angry dragon, sticking his head out from the sky with thunder, and calling everyone to account.

Yan Song, Xu Jie, Ding Rukui, Yang Jisheng and others could not help but lower their heads a little more. They all replied in panic: "I am incompetent."

Emperor Jiajing snorted and said directly: "I know you are incompetent. I just want to know if you have any other way to increase the strength of the front line. Yan Song, you speak first."

Emperor Jiajing started to call out names. Yan Song froze when he was called out by Emperor Jiajing. Then he slowly replied, "I dare not deceive Your Majesty. I have no practical way to increase the number of troops on the front line. But I believe that the way of the army lies in the spirit."

"The ancients said: 'The first attack is powerful, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted.' I think the most urgent thing is to actively encourage the morale of the soldiers on the front line. As long as we stop the Tatar bandits' first attack, the rest will be much easier."

Emperor Jiajing asked again: "How to boost the morale of the soldiers on the front line?"

Yan Song said, "Your Majesty summoned me the other day to prepare for the conferment of titles and titles. Perhaps you can do it in advance and send an important official of the court to deliver the imperial edict to the front line to boost morale."

Emperor Jiajing understood Yan Song's intention, which was to give him a false title but not a real one. He wanted to use a title to stimulate the morale of the soldiers on the front line, so that they would defend their honor and contribute to the court at the cost of their lives.

But deep down, Emperor Jiajing was unwilling to do so.

Because Emperor Jiajing was very afraid that after this decree was issued, Zhu Zaigui would be under more pressure and would be forced to fight against the almost crazy Tatar bandits.

Therefore, Emperor Jiajing would rather Zhu Zaigui take a step back and escape safely at the critical moment to save his life, rather than let him fight to the death because of the pressure of honor.

If something unexpected really happened in the end, these people would at most make a few meaningless remarks, but he would lose a lively son.

Emperor Jiajing said with a gloomy face: "We will discuss this matter after the war. In the two hundred years since the founding of our dynasty, there has been no precedent of conferring titles before the war is over. Although Zhu San is brave and strategic, he cannot be an exception. Otherwise, how can I rule the world from now on?"

Emperor Jiajing was still very clear-headed. Not only did he not want Zhu Zaigui to fight to the death for honor, he was also unwilling to break the court rules for a temporary battle.

Because once some rules are broken, the consequences are extremely serious. If future generals follow suit and ask for titles before the battle, how can Emperor Jiajing rule the country? Isn't this a way to cause chaos?

Therefore, Emperor Jiajing looked down upon Yan Song's suggestion and even felt a little disgusted. Was he really old and useless?
This was the first time that Emperor Jiajing had such wavering thoughts about Yan Song, but when he looked at Xu Jie again, he held back. Xu Jie was now even more useless. If he were to replace him, the forces of Xia Yan's faction would counterattack, and Emperor Jiajing himself would be the one to be passive.

Therefore, even though Yan Song is a little slow now, he is still much more obedient and useful than Xu Jie and others.

Emperor Jiajing no longer paid attention to Yan Song, his eyes fell on Xu Jie again and he said lightly: "Xu Jie, you also say something."

After hearing Emperor Jiajing's call, Xu Jie sighed helplessly. He really wanted to follow Emperor Jiajing's wishes and transfer some of the garrison troops in the capital out of the city, but Xu Jie knew very well how serious the consequences of doing so would be. Regardless of success or failure, he would lose the "maturity and stability" that the people of the world had high hopes for.

Therefore, no matter what, Xu Jie could not possibly give his suggestions in accordance with the answer that Emperor Jiajing wanted.

Xu Jie bowed his head and said, "I am incompetent, and there is no other way."

After hearing this, Emperor Jiajing's face became even uglier, and his eyes seemed to be shooting out swords that would poke several transparent holes in Xu Jie on the spot.

It turns out that he has no responsibility at all and is of no use at all.

This is what Emperor Jiajing said about Xu Jie. He really hated people like Xu Jie. If Zhang Cong were still alive, why would he do this? He would definitely say something that would please people and inspire them.

Unfortunately, this person is old and will never be seen again.

Now we can only use Yan Song and others reluctantly.

(End of this chapter)