Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 840 Employment is Unemployment

Zhang Luan left the residence where Qin Chang had temporarily hosted a banquet, took a carriage out of the city, and returned to his newly found hideout outside the city.

Upon returning, he went straight to his study, sat down at his desk by the window, picked up his brush, and wanted to write a memorial to the throne that was irreconcilable with Wang Yue, but he did not know how to begin.

"If Yanling were here right now, he could give me some pointers."

Zhang Luan muttered to himself, "He himself has submitted a memorial impeaching Wang Weining, so why doesn't he write to me to give me some pointers? To let me know what to do next to meet his expectations?"

Qi Niang brought in a wooden basin filled with steaming water and greeted him warmly, "Master, you've just returned. Wash your face with some hot water first."

Zhang Luan glanced at Qi Niang and shook his head, saying, "In this cold and dry weather, if you get a little water on your face, you'll quickly develop wrinkles... I'm not some pretty boy, why would I need to wash my face every day?"

Qi Niang said speechlessly, "Master, you should at least pay attention to your appearance, right? At worst, you can just wash your face and put on some lotion... I heard you just went out to take care of something important?"

"What important matter are you undertaking?"

Zhang Luan casually complained, "It's all because of that Wang Weining. He's in the Northwest and doesn't do anything productive. He actually bypassed His Majesty and led his troops into the grasslands!"
"At first glance, I thought he was about to wipe out the Tatar tribes of the steppe, and from then on, the Ming Dynasty would no longer have the threat of the Mongol barbarians!"

"What!?"

Qi Niang asked in surprise, "Wasn't it you, sir, who arranged for Minister Wang to send troops?"

"Qi Niang, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

Zhang Luan hurriedly corrected him, "When did I arrange for Wang Shichang to send troops to the grasslands? Even if there was any planning, it was my son Yanling who did it! Come, grind the ink for me."

Qi Niang put the basin of hot water aside and called a maid to take it out.

She herself came over to grind ink for Zhang Luan, asking as she did so, "What does Master want to write? I rarely see you write anything."

"Humph!"

Zhang Luan frowned and said, "This doesn't sound like a compliment... I am a scholar, and the pen is the sharpest knife in my hand. Once I pick up the pen, I can criticize whomever I want!"

"That's what the master said."

With a forced smile, Qi Niang asked, "Then who would you like to order?"

"Who else? Wang Weining, of course!"

Zhang Luan said, "Even my son has submitted a memorial to sever ties with him. As a father, how can I not keep in step with my son? Oh, by the way, you must keep the matter of Wang Yue's military expedition a secret and not talk about it outside."

"Why?"

Qi Niang looked puzzled.

Zhang Luan sighed, "Isn't it because very few people know about this? Even the court officials are unaware..."

Qi Niang asked in surprise, "So, I know about the current confidential matters of the court?"

"You're only finding out now?"

Zhang Luan said with a smug look, "Now you know how much I favor you, right? Speaking of which, it's really quite pleasant for a man to have a beautiful woman by his side to write something... It's much better than having to do everything himself before."

Qi Niang asked curiously, "Didn't the master have someone grind ink for him before? There must be quite a few servants serving in the mansion, right?"

Zhang Luan said helplessly, "My family has fallen on hard times, and it's not easy to even have enough to eat. How can I expect others to serve me? In my life, I've relied on my son, my daughter, and my grandson! I couldn't rely on my ancestors, and my cousin brought me some glory, but unfortunately, I couldn't count on him in the end! In the end... sigh!"

"My lord, are you about to begin writing? Would you like me to offer some advice?"

"Qi Niang asked."

Zhang Luan shook his head and said, "No need. I can't even explain the details myself. It's enough for you, a woman, to know that this is a matter!"
"Here's what we'll do: go and call two more maids in to help me burn incense and grind ink... Hehe, what we write isn't important, the ritual has to be perfect."

……

……

North of the Yellow River.

Wang Yue led his troops deep into the grasslands... and the difficulties he encountered were also beyond his expectations.

As the snowflakes fell, the main force of the Tatars disappeared again. Even though most of the local soldiers in Yansui were former subordinates of Wang Yue, they had lost their will to fight and all wanted to return to Yansui to reunite with their families as soon as possible.

The new army from the capital was exhausted from long hours of training and marching.

By the end of October, the Yinshan Mountains were covered with a thin layer of snow. Under such harsh conditions, the army still had to continue marching into unfamiliar territory, and from flat land to higher ground. In other words, the entire march was a climb uphill.

In addition, the military's transport of provisions, supplies, and artillery ammunition was too heavy, and the number of livestock was less than expected, etc...

A series of problems caused the troops to lose their fighting spirit even before they engaged the Tatars in battle.

Wang Yue originally intended to boost the morale of his troops through generous rewards and pep talks, but found that the effect was not ideal... This was also related to his unfamiliarity with the terrain north of the Yellow River... In recent decades, the Ming Dynasty has rarely taken the initiative to attack the grasslands, let alone cross the Yinshan Mountains.

Wang Yue, who called himself the military genius of the Ming Dynasty, could not create maps. He could only march according to the directions pointed out by the guide and his past experience.

Our current destination is only one place: Guanshan, where the Khan's court is traditionally located in the Tatar tradition.

It is said that Guanshan is a land of fertile water and grass, with numerous hot springs and lakes scattered around it. The towering mountains to the north block the cold air, so the ground does not freeze in the dead of winter and pastures still grow, making it the best choice for the Tatar tribe to spend the winter.

In particular, the Chahar tribe, to which the Tatar prince Batumonke belonged, usually stationed nearby, which was also the most common place for holding large meetings on the grassland.

Even if we can't say we've wiped out the Tatars by occupying this place, our achievement would be comparable to sealing the wolf's lair.

However, to reach Guanshan, one must cross the Daqingshan Mountain in the middle of the Yinshan Mountains, then head east along the valley on the southern slope of the Yinshan Mountains, passing Guihua and Fengzhou. After crossing the Dahei River, one can reach Guanshan to the northeast, or Weininghai to the southeast.

The straight-line distance in the air is not long, but to walk this distance on foot would take at least six or seven hundred miles.

The officers all had warhorses to ride, but the soldiers at the rank and file suffered greatly, often falling ill and injured after only six or seven days on the battlefield.

That day, the army marched to the vicinity of Lingzhao Temple on the top of Daqing Mountain and set up camp by a mountain stream. Wang Yue took the initiative to go to the rear guard under Zhu Yong to check the situation, intending to replace the vanguard with Zhu Yong's troops to lead the charge...

Now is not the time to claim credit. In Wang Yue’s view, in order to enable soldiers to continue high-intensity marches, the various units must rotate in an orderly manner.

Zhu Yong met Wang Yue in his own tent and explained the difficulties he was facing.

"...General Wang, you should know that I brought a batch of troops from Datong, along with the soldiers I brought from the capital before. Their fighting spirit is not strong."

"To put it bluntly, those Beijing garrison soldiers are all slippery and cunning! Sending them to be the vanguard will likely put the entire battle situation at a disadvantage!"

"Please think twice before you act, General Wang. Let them lag behind the rest of the troops and help them win when the wind is blowing their way."

Zhu Yong is not stupid.

When we first crossed the Yellow River, you, Wang Shichang, didn't think to put my men at the front, fearing I would steal the credit.

Now our troops have penetrated two or three hundred miles into the heart of the grasslands and climbed to the top of Daqingshan Mountain, but we still haven’t seen any trace of the Tatars. You suddenly realized this and started to promote the rotation of troops, sending my troops to lead the charge.

Are you sure you're not trying to scam me?

Wang Yue had his attendants bring out a map. Since there was nowhere to hang it, he simply spread it out and placed it on a makeshift table made of two stools. Pointing to it, he said, "The Tatars have clearly been on guard along the way. All the grassland tribes along the route have gone into hiding... There isn't even a place to plunder and sustain our war effort."

"I have already requested permission from the court to send a force from each of Pianguan, Datong, Xuanfu, and Jizhou beyond the Great Wall to harass the enemy and keep the Tatars from knowing where our main attack is headed." Zhu Yong thought to himself, "Do you think the Tatars are so foolish?"
Can't they find out that you, Wang Yue, are already the commander-in-chief of the three sides?

I didn't know you had sent troops to the Hetao region?
With you, Wang Weining, in charge of this route, will people believe that the main force of the Ming Dynasty is elsewhere?

Isn't this just like trying to hide something obvious, or adding unnecessary details?
Wang Yue said, "Next, we will descend the mountain. A hundred miles ahead is Dabansheng City, which is what our border people call Guihua. Now I need a force to lead the way and speed up the entire army's march."

Zhu Yong was filled with doubt and asked, "Does Commander Wang mean... that I should lead the troops ahead and advance quickly?"

"Right on my mind."

Wang Yue nodded in agreement.

Zhu Yong asked curiously, "Now that the army is exhausted, why doesn't Commander Wang consider resting here for a while? Since we have already consulted with the court and other border towns will send troops to distract the Tatars, why are we marching in such a large-scale manner? The Tatars are familiar with the terrain and there will always be spies hiding in the shadows to spy on our every move. Once they discover our movements, they will definitely avoid battle."

Wang Yue said, "That depends on your department's performance!"

Zhu Yong looked puzzled and didn't even bother to ask.

You, Wang Yue, are awesome, but how did you connect my opinion to whether the Tatars would avoid war?
Are the two related?
Why would they insist on going head-to-head with you?

After all, you are leading a large army deep into the grasslands. Your food supplies are finite. If there is a problem with the supply, you will naturally retreat. The Ming army will not be able to stay on the grasslands for long!

Wang Yue sighed, “The snow has been falling for several days now, and there will be fewer and fewer places where the Tatars’ livestock can safely spend the winter. The closer we get to Dabansheng City and their Khan’s court, the more the Tatars will value us.”

“When the Tatar scouts determined that we only had about 10,000 soldiers and that the entire army was exhausted, they would not let us advance! They would definitely organize a large army to meet us in battle.”

Zhu Yong asked, "If that's the case, is it still necessary for us to march so hastily? When the Tatars attack, our soldiers will be exhausted and our horses will be weary. How will we fight them?"

Wang Yue sighed, “Duke Baoguo, I know you are worried. But you have to think about it. We must catch them off guard... Ideally, the whole army should show signs of collapse at the slightest engagement. Given the deep hatred the Tatars have for me, how could they not seize the opportunity?”

"Otherwise, we will advance all the way while they retreat all the way. When will we have a chance to fight a decisive battle with our main force? As long as we fight a few tough battles in a row, we will make the main force of the Tatars fear us like tigers and avoid fighting passively. At this time, our army will suddenly accelerate and rush towards the settlement of the Tatar tribes. We will surely sweep everything away as if entering an empty land and gain huge profits."

"If we don't act in this way, how can we plunder the wealth of the Tatars, eliminate their manpower and resources, and demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty?"

Upon arriving here, Zhu Yong finally understood.

Wang Yue started off with lofty ambitions and hastily launched his campaign, seemingly aiming to pacify the grasslands and establish an everlasting legacy. But in reality, his true intentions were...

Similar to the Battle of Weininghai, they would seize the opportunity to raid the Tatars' rear camp, plunder their people, livestock, and valuables, and kill their elderly, weak, women, children, and few guards...

In other words, Wang Yue was obsessed with establishing his achievements!
All Wang Yue wanted was to have his title of Earl of Weining restored.

As for building some kind of everlasting legacy... excuse me, don't you know what it means to "raise a bandit for your own benefit"? If we completely wipe out the Tatars, what chance will our military achievements have?

After I finally managed to reclaim the title of Earl of Weining, the threat from the barbarians in the north was gone, and my military achievements would completely lose the emperor's trust...

When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked. Am I about to become unemployed right after starting a job?
Do you think a utilitarian like me would do something so stupid?

Zhu Yong said, "According to Commander Wang's idea, we should launch a thunderous attack and strike directly at the Tatars' rear camp, catching them completely off guard?"

"Correct!"

Wang Yue said, "The soldiers are working hard right now, but our firearms are very powerful, and we can basically be foolproof when fighting the Tatar forces head-on."

Zhu Yong asked, "What if we never encounter the Tatar tribe?"

"impossible!"

Wang Yue appeared very confident, “Going northeast from here, we will reach the Guanshan area, where the land is full of water and grass. The Tatars are not a monolithic entity, and it is impossible for them to share information. Moreover, many people do not believe that the Ming army can advance so quickly, so we will definitely encounter Tatar tribes and groups of people who are alone along the way.”

Zhu Yong's eyes lit up, and he murmured, "Such a good opportunity..."

Wang Yue smiled and patted Zhu Yong on the shoulder, saying, "Isn't it good to leave everything to you? While you're at the forefront scouting the enemy's situation, find out the main force of the Tatars and wait for the right opportunity to fight them."

"If we encounter the Tatar tribes, we can seize the opportunity to kill and plunder them, taking their heads. The credit is right before our eyes, which is far better than falling behind and not getting any credit, right?"

……

……

Zhu Yong finally agreed to Wang Yue's request to transfer troops from his own forces to relieve the vanguard of the entire army.

It wasn't that he thought Wang Yue's words made a lot of sense, but rather that as a subordinate, he often had no other choice.

Furthermore, if Wang Yue came with the mindset of grabbing a wave of credit and then running away, then whoever rushes to the front will indeed have a certain advantage in terms of gaining credit.

When Zhu Yong called his son Zhu Hui in and explained the whole story, Zhu Hui immediately expressed his dissatisfaction: "Father, that Vice Minister Wang is clearly using us!"

"His men are exhausted now, so he wants us to be the vanguard, risking a strong enemy! Hmph, if it were really a good thing, why would it fall into our laps?"

Zhu Yong said, "In military campaigns, do you think your father always wants to be at the rear? Do you think all the soldiers below would want to be dragged behind?"

Zhu Hui sneered and said, "As far as I know, the people below are eager to retreat to the south of the Yellow River. They had a lot of opinions when we were in the Hetao region. Now that the whole army has crossed the Yellow River and marched north, deep into the grasslands, all the merits are just fleeting clouds that cannot be touched. Who would sincerely want to fight the Tatars to the death?"

Zhu Yong said, "So, I told Wang Shichang that I wouldn't send all the troops to the front. I'll just let you lead an elite force to the front."

"You let me..."

Zhu Hui looked at his father in disbelief.

Only then did he realize that not only was Wang Yue swindling people, but now his own father was also trying to swindle him.

Zhu Yong shook his head with a sigh: "Dongyang, I didn't want it to be like this either, but you've had few opportunities to make achievements since you were a child. In the battle of Pianguan, Li Zisheng was magnanimous and took the initiative to share the credit with us. But now you are facing someone like Wang Shichang who is so greedy. If we choose to play it safe, then we will really be unable to achieve anything."

"As your father, I do not wish for the Zhu family to lose its ducal title after I pass away and it is passed down to you. Even if there is only a slight chance, I hope you can seize it."

Zhu Hui said bitterly, "The imperial court would have been better off letting Li Zisheng lead the troops. A commander who is willing to share military merits would be respected even by the rank-and-file soldiers! Alas, I have never seen a general who betrays his own men!"

Zhu Yong shook his head: "No matter how capable and prestigious Li Zisheng is, his ability to command in battle is far inferior to Wang Shichang's. If you ask who can help our family secure the position of duke, it is only Wang Shichang."

Zhu Hui asked in surprise, "Isn't there that young imperial brother-in-law from the Zhang family?"

"he……"

When Zhu Yong mentioned Zhang Yanling, his expression became slightly complicated. He sighed and said, "He's not even here. How can we expect anything from him? I imagine the Second Young Master Zhang is currently mining in Datong. I wonder what he's planning! If he really intended to lead troops, or even control Wang Shichang, he would have come long ago instead of hiding in the rear."

Zhu Hui asked, "Is it possible that Zhang Xiaoguojiu plans to send troops directly from Datong?"

"Can he command the troops in Datong?"

Zhu Yong sighed, "I have thought about this as well. But think about it, besides the New Army, the only people in the court who are willing to be controlled by him and obey his orders are probably Wang Shichang, right?"

Zhu Hui nodded: "Yes, which official in Xuanfu and Datong would give him face? Even you, Father, wouldn't dare to directly obey his orders to send troops, would you?"

Zhu Yongdao said: "Therefore, he may only want to stay in the rear to ensure the logistics supply of the entire army, and has no actual intention to go to the front."

"That makes sense. Given the Zhang family's current position in the court, there's really no need for him to add unnecessary details... These military merits are treasures to others, but what meaning do they have for relatives of the emperor like them?"
"No maternal relatives family can remain at its peak for more than fifty years. As the saying goes, 'A new emperor brings a new court,' so why bother making a fuss?"

(End of this chapter)