Chen Xi did not have much substantial understanding of the key passes in the northwest border. If you are a little familiar with it, it is Yulin Cangcheng, which is the headquarters of the three-sided governor and the governor of Yansui. It can be said that it is the most important part of the defense of the northwest border. It is now lost, which sounds absurd, but things have indeed happened.

He couldn't hold on and had nothing to do, so he had to pursue him. As a result, he was trapped by the Tatars' plan to lure the tiger away from the mountain. The situation in the northwest was completely broken, so naturally the capital could not sit still.

Chen Xi looked at Xie Qian in the dark and could probably guess why Xie Qian was so upset and irritable, because he proposed the tactic of actively pursuing Emperor Hongzhi.

Now that the war is deviated, Xie Qian has to bear great responsibility, but the tactics can be implemented mainly by Emperor Hongzhi. At that time, Xie Qian just praised Zhu Youzhang according to his wishes, so that Zhu Youzhang would be happy and agreed to the strategy of "staying first, wait for the Beiyi to withdraw troops and then wait for an opportunity to pursue".

This strategy is clever and proposes "waiting for an opportunity to pursue", but does not say that you will definitely pursue it. The Ming border army was trapped and ambushed by the Tatars. That was the problem of Liu Daxia, the commander-in-chief of the army, and the middle and lower levels of generals, and has nothing to do with the emperor.

Since it has nothing to do with the emperor, Xie Qian's charges can be relatively lighter. It depends on who will blame the defeat of the war in the end. But if you really find the person responsible, Xie Qian will not be able to escape.

The carriage was still moving, Xie Qian asked, "Yulin Guards are lost, what are your good plans?"

Chen Xi thought to himself that Mr. Xie should have been in a hurry to seek medical treatment. The big thing about Yulin Guard's loss is almost comparable to the impact of the "Tumu Fort Incident" on the Ming Dynasty. The good strategy is to tighten the defense of the pass. All the cities north of the capital and west of the capital are closed and closed, and the defense is strictly guarded. The capital is fully martial law...

In fact, martial law is not unfamiliar with the people in the capital and surrounding areas. In the past, the Tatars invaded the border, and every one or two years, two or three years, the capital was in a hurry. Not to mention the distance, just in the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, the capital ordered martial law three times. After Hongzhi ascended the throne, martial law was severed because the Tatars violated the border more than a dozen times.

Chen Xi asked: "I don't quite understand what the good strategy mentioned by Master Ge means? Didn't it suggest how to take back Yulin Weicheng and expel the Tartars?"

"Otherwise, what do you think?"

Xie Qian's voice became cold, as if he was in a state of breath and asked clearly.

Chen Xi sighed lightly: "The elders of the Ge should be very clear about the temperament of the Tatars. They can't occupy them for a long time because they cannot transport supplies from the grassland to pass. As long as the front line is lengthened, the Tatars will inevitably withdraw their troops if they do not continue. At that time... the border troops will naturally take back Yulin City. Why should they send troops to attack?"

Xie Qian asked cautiously: "From your opinion, the border town of the Ming Dynasty is lost, so he no longer cares about it and let the Tatars occupy it? Then wait for the Tatars to invade my border land, plunder the people, and even invade my capital in the east?"

Xie Qian's words sounded annoying, but looking at the Ming Dynasty, except for Hongwu and Yongle, there were the three major battles of Wanli, and they were basically in a state of shrinking and defending at the rest. The fundamental reason was that Emperor Yongle took the initiative to abandon the Hetao area and lost the natural dangers of Helan Mountain and Yin Mountain, which led to the Ming Dynasty's strategic situation towards the grassland tribe from offense to defense, bringing endless hidden dangers to future generations.

The emperor guards the country's gates, and the word "guard" represents the basic national policy of the Ming Dynasty. That is to say, the foundation of the Ming Dynasty was defended rather than attacked. When the Tatars and Oirat were strong, they could invade the border land of the Ming Dynasty and plunder the population, but they could never threaten the foundation of the Ming Dynasty's rule.

Although Chen Xi felt that the defense was cowardly, since the Yulin Guard, the most important of the three sides, has been lost, why not stick to the end?

Chen Xidao: "I think that under the current situation, it is best to keep the best strategy!"

"Your view cannot be used as the basis for the court's strategic adjustment."

Xie Qian did not scold Chen Xi, but raised the current real situation of the Ming Dynasty. "Since His Majesty decided to use troops in the northwest, the whole country has prepared for war, dispatched countless troops, and dispatched countless horses, and even made hundreds of cannons. The purpose is to promote the power of our Chinese army in this battle. However, the army had not yet left the frontier, and it was slightly defeated. Where is the monarch? Where is the morale of our Ming soldiers? Where is the prestige of the court?"

Xie Qian said this very loudly, but Chen Xi summed it up, it was nothing more than saying that the court spent so much money to fight this war, proclaiming to the outside world how great the war could achieve and that the people could consolidate the peaceful years of the people. The people also cheered and praised it as a peaceful and prosperous era and the emperor was wise.

But what is the result?

Before the Ming Dynasty's troops left the frontier, the Tatars themselves "delivered to the door". Before the Ming Dynasty's border troops accepted the "thank you gift", they gradually discovered that the Tatars were still so fierce, and the border defense was still full of loopholes. Now even the Yulin Guard has been lost, and the capital has had to declare martial law.

To put it bluntly, even the emperor and court officials could not afford to lose face. They did not want to cause unstable factors within the Ming Dynasty because of this defeat.

If foreign war fails, internal conflicts will arise. If you are not careful, it may cause the collapse of the dynasty. For example, the "Tumu Fort Incident" has led to the change of the throne.

Chen Xi thought, is the face of the emperor and the Ming Dynasty important, or is the safety of the country and the people more important?

In order to keep your face, even though you know that fighting with the Tatars will not have a good result, you still have to implement the wrong policy to the end?

Faced with the series of doubts issued by Xie Qian, Chen Xi just expressed his opinion in a tactful way: "I have no such opinion. If the elders think it is inappropriate, I will say that I have never mentioned it!"

Although Chen Xi's attitude made Xie Qian dissatisfied, Xie Qian also knew that he could not make things too difficult for others.

Chen Xi is not a god after all, and he was defeated in the northwest. Now the important officials in the court were in a hurry to hear the news. Even the emperor lost his composure and didn't know what to do. He now asked Chen Xi about countermeasures. It is commendable that Chen Xi could decisively say that it was difficult to defend and defend the pass. It was then allowed Chen Xi to find a way to take the initiative to attack and defeat the enemy. It was not realistic to achieve victory and save the face of the Ming Dynasty.

...

...

The carriage was parked in front of the Daming Gate.

When Chen Xi got off the bus, the entrance to the palace was deserted. The palace gate was already closed at this time and no one could enter or exit at will. But according to Xie Qian's meaning, it seemed that he was planning to take Chen Xi into the palace like this.

At this time, Chen Xi still couldn't understand why Xie Qian brought him here. Even if the emperor summoned ministers overnight to discuss, he would not summon him like a civil servant who had no official position and only had a false title of a third-rank right deputy chief censor. Chen Xi was not even qualified to enter and exit the palace gate.

Xie Qian got off the carriage, and seemed to have a little numbness in his legs and feet. He bent down and beat him there.

Chen Xi didn't go up to help, but turned around and looked at a carriage coming from a distance. In the faint light of the lantern, Chen Xi found that the man looked familiar. After closer, he realized that it was Ma Wensheng, the Minister of War.

"Yu Qiao?"

Ma Wensheng obviously came here under the imperial edict. After getting off the car, he saw Xie Qian at a glance. In addition, the previous strategy of sending troops to pursue the Tatars was proposed by Xie Qian, so Ma Wensheng naturally wanted to come over and ask Xie Qian what he meant.

When Ma Wensheng got closer, he realized that it was not a servant or a groom standing behind Xie Qian's side, but Chen Xi in casual clothes. Ma Wensheng called out, "Isn't this Chen Hanlin?"

"The student has met Shangshu Ma." Chen Xi quickly saluted.

Ma Wensheng smiled and nodded: "You are the prince's teacher. I can't stand your "student"? Yu Qiao, will you enter the palace now?"

Ma Wensheng was extremely arrogant and in his seventies. He was admitted to the palace by an imperial edict at night. He was still in good spirits. He was not as panicked as Xie Qian in his words. He saw that he was like a general at first glance.

In Shen Xi's view, Xie Qian lacks this kind of demeanor in the face of danger, of course, it is mainly because Xie Qian is prone to emotions and expressions, and is more like a person with a temperament.

As a junior, Chen Xi was not an important court official. Even if he followed Xie Qian to the gate of the palace, Ma Wensheng would just say hello to him and did not take him seriously.

Ma Wensheng and Xie Qian walked in front, Chen Xi followed behind them and headed towards the palace gate together.

Chen Xi was wondering in his heart that Ma Wensheng and Xie Qian were regular guests in the palace, so they would naturally not be blocked when entering and leaving the palace gate, but he was just a Hanlin official. In the past, he had to rely on the waist cards of the Zhan Shi Mansion every time he entered and exited the palace gate. Now the waist cards have been deprived of them. If he rashly entered the palace, he would not be blocked, or even regarded as a rebellious assassin?

As a result, when they arrived at the palace gate, the imperial guards guarding the palace gate and the palace guards just took a look and opened the palace gate, allowing the three of them to enter, and they didn't even come forward to interrogate Chen Xi.

Chen Xi felt very strange and thought to himself: "Are I so famous that the palace guards know who I am, and there is not even a symbolic examination?"

Chen Xi was full of doubts when he suddenly heard Ma Wensheng and Xie Qian quarrel loudly. Xie Qian raised his voice: "...I wrote a letter to Liu Shiyong before, asking him to stick to it and not to advance rashly. Now he is eager to make contributions, which has led to the disastrous defeat of our Ming border army. He must bear it!"

Because the two old guys were deliberately lowering their voices before, Chen Xi didn't hear what they were saying clearly, but Chen Xi probably understood that Xie Qian was so angry that Ma Wensheng should have considered the issue from the standpoint of Liu Daxia, the Minister of War, and believed that the strategy of the court's rash sending troops to pursue was wrong, so Xie Qian refused to do so.

Xie Qian felt that the main planner of this battle was the emperor, and the specific executor was Liu Daxia. I foreseeed the Tatars before the Tatars were invading the border before. The emperor asked me about the strategy, and my strategy was also to stand firm and wait for the Tatars to withdraw their troops. He also mentioned specifically "waiting for an opportunity to pursue". It was you, Liu Daxia, who was waiting for an opportunity to make a mistake. What does it have to do with me, an adviser?

Even if you have to find responsibility, it should be a problem for decision makers and executors.

Xie Qian now has a thought, no matter what the final result is, he will protect himself first.

Xie Qian knew that he was very responsible for this matter. Although the decision-maker was the emperor, he had never been investigated for defeat in the war. If he wanted to investigate, he was also a consultant, that is, Xie Qian was a verbal counselor.

Xie Qian did not want to shirk responsibility, but thought of the disheartened and desperate feeling of knowing that he was about to die in the thirteenth year of Hongzhi, so he did not want to experience it again. So this time he brought Chen Xi directly into the palace, not to blame Chen Xi, but to let Chen Xi be his think tank. In this desperate situation where he was surrounded by enemies, only Chen Xi was the one who Xie Qian trusted the most.

Ma Wensheng said: "Yu Qiao calms down first. When you see Your Majesty, how do you follow Your Majesty's orders!"

***************
Chapter completed!