There are still two days left before going to war, Chen Xi doesn't want to go anywhere, and he stays at home to accompany his wife and children, because he knows that he will be away for the next six months or even a year and will never be able to enjoy the joy of family.

However, others would not make him feel relaxed. After returning from the palace, there were endless people visiting him. Chen Xi did not see any of them, which seemed very inhumane.

It was not until sunset that a person he had to see came to the Shen Mansion... Li Liu, Minister of Works.

Chen Xi knew that Li Yu was a representative from the ministers in the court. Now he is cooperating with the Ministry of Works to manufacture weapons. If even Li Yu is not seen, then the friendship between friends will be over in the future. It is like Zhang Mao has to meet him when he comes to visit.

Chen Xi invited the guest into the study, and Li Wu looked very embarrassed: "Zhihou, you should know why I came?"

Chen Xi nodded: "Of course I know that in two days, Your Majesty will be in charge of the army, but now nothing has been decided, which has caused panic among the people in the court. There are too many visitors today, and I have not received them because there is really nothing to say... Your Majesty's arrangement has not been decided yet, and I even summoned to the inner garden for this reason and was questioned by the Queen Mother."

Li Jue sighed lightly: "This trip is a helpless move. I know you are in trouble, but who said you are the one who leads the implementation of the national policy? Now others don't know the inside story and can't get answers from Your Majesty. I can only find a way to get information from you..."

Li Jue did not force Chen Xi to answer. The trip seemed to be just to complete the errand. He would leave after getting some answers from Chen Xi.

Chen Xi gave Li Li a general explanation, including the previous out of Beijing to train troops and the general idea of ​​going to war in the future: "...It is unrealistic to pacify the grassland at one time. Even if we are strong and have enough time, the Tatars have a vast grassland and occupy the right time, place and people. We actually don't have much advantage."

Li Li stared wide and asked, "So, will the war be limited to a certain range?"

Chen Xidao: "Everything must be stopped in time. When we start a war, we must think about how to end the war and not let the situation get out of control. The same is true for this battle. It is difficult to achieve the Tatars in one fell swoop... In fact, as long as the enemy avoids them far away, we will naturally withdraw from the grassland after we are exhausted. Therefore, this war must be fought very cleverly, we must know how to seize opportunities and make contributions in one fell swoop... What do you think?"

Li Ju smiled and said, "Yes, it's best to stop it if you can. If you force it too much, it will backfire. The Ming Dynasty really can't stand the torture... Now everyone knows that Your Majesty has no descendants and no eyes on the sword. If there is anything wrong with it, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty fall into a lasting turmoil?"

Chen Xi responded with a smile. He might be perfunctory to others, but Chen Xi tried to maintain a sincere attitude towards Li Liu, an old friend. After all, this person was acquainted with Weimo.

Li Wu said: "I don't hide it. Many court officials want to get news about you and Your Majesty from me. You will reveal some things. If you can say it, don't force it. I just want to give an explanation after going back. After all, you will send troops the day after tomorrow... What the people in the court are most concerned about now is who will take care of the affairs of the capital after Your Majesty goes to war? After all, Master Xie is not here..."

Chen Xi smiled wryly and replied: "Your Majesty has not explained this matter, and I have not taken the initiative to ask about it. As a minister, you should not be overruled, especially this major decision that concerns the stability of the country."

Li Ju nodded understandingly, "I also think you may not know Zhihou, but others think you may know something. Your Majesty transferred Mr. Xie to three sides. No one can understand this move."

Chen Xidao: "It is probably because of a villain who slanders his slander. When I know, I immediately wrote a letter to ask Your Majesty to take back his orders, but the memorial was suppressed. Obviously someone was interfering with it."

After Li Li confirmed that Xie Qian was exiled not by Chen Xi, he asked nervously: "Is it a member of the inner court?"

In front of Shen Xi, Li Li didn't have much scruples. If he was in public, he would have to be cautious in his words and actions. In the end, the status of eunuchs was always stable, sometimes even more powerful than that of the chief minister and nobles, and had a variety of methods. He would be vicious and vicious when revenge was brought on by others.

Chen Xi nodded slightly: "I also suspect that it may be related to the people in the inner court. Your Majesty now has many slander ministers around you. When I came back this time, although I went to see you immediately, Your Majesty obviously did not want to discuss matters with me. It seemed that he had made a decision, so he had to leave. Your Majesty said that the court meeting would be held, but now there is only one day left to send troops, and it seems that it is difficult to fulfill his promise."

Li Li lowered his head, thought for a while, and asked again: "Who are the ministers whom Your Majesty want to accompany you?"

Chen Xi still shook his head: "I don't know."

Li Ju nodded slightly, probably understanding that Chen Xi was not fully trusted by Zhu Houzhao, but was more like a simple executor. Regarding the matter of sending troops, either Zhu Houzhao made arbitrary decisions or discussed with his close ministers around him, and Zhang Yuan must be the key figure.

After talking about the matter they were concerned about, the two talked about the situation in the court again.

Chen Xi sighed: "No matter what, if you can stay in the capital, I must be on the front line of the battlefield. My idea is to use myself as bait to lead the Tatars into the encirclement. After all, I cannot circle around the vast grasslands with the Tatars. Now the central army led by His Majesty is mainly responsible for setting up ambush..."

When Li Ju heard this, he couldn't help but feel sorry: "Zhihou, why are you doing this? The war with the Tatars can be discussed slowly from a long-term perspective. Do you do this... wouldn't you put yourself in danger?"

Chen Xi smiled bitterly and said, "In the past, when I fought with foreigners, I didn't let it die before I could live? Sometimes it was a matter of love."

When Li Li thought about it a little, he immediately realized that it was true. Whether it was Chen Xi fighting with the Folang Ji people or several times when he started fighting with the Tatars, he always won the most with few defeats and survived in a desperate situation.

This is also a place that others praise Chenxi, but doing so seems very dangerous to many people. After all, not every time you have such good "luck".

Others do not have an intuitive understanding of Chen Xi's ability, so they can only regard Chen Xi's combat strategy as "good luck".

Chen Xi was very frank about Li Li and said basically what he could say. The rest was things that he didn't know or outside his ability. Li Li expressed his understanding of this and left with satisfaction.

...

...

On the afternoon of March 18, Zhu Houzhao finally woke up. He patiently listened to Xiao Twist reading aloud, probably listening to the memorial presented on Chen Xi, but unfortunately he did not leave a deep impression.

After reading it, Xiao Tiaozi held Chen Xi’s memorial in his hand and said happily: “Your Majesty, according to Lord Shen’s arrangement, this victory should be a sure thing.”

"oh."

Zhu Hou responded, still listless.

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was not in high spirits, Xiao Guozi did not dare to comment rashly. After a long time, Zhu Houzhao asked thoughtfully: "Mr. Chen said in the memorial that he would charge forward as bait. If something happens, wouldn't this war be abandoned halfway?"

Xiao Zhuozi said: "It shouldn't be possible. Since Lord Shen made such a arrangement, I believe there must be a complete solution and will not let the Tartars succeed easily."

Zhu Houzhao shook his head: "No matter how capable Mr. Chen is, he cannot figure out all the Tartars' responses clearly. If he encounters unexpected situations, wouldn't he say that I will lead the troops to fight the Tartars in person?"

"Well?"

Xiao Zhuozi thought for a while and replied respectfully, "If something happens to Lord Shen, your Majesty should lead troops to retreat immediately to the pass to avoid accidents."

Zhu Houzhao raised her head and glared: "You kid, you believe that I am incompetent and have to rely on Shangshu Chen in everything, right?"

Xiao Guozi knelt down and kowtowed: "Your Majesty, don't misunderstand me. How dare I be disrespectful to Your Majesty? In my heart, Your Majesty is majestic and martial, and has repeatedly fought against the barbarians since he ascended the throne. This is enough to prove that Your Majesty is wise and powerful, and is truly a wise ruler for the ages."

Even if the little twisted words are hypocritical, Zhu Houzhao still enjoys it after hearing it.

Zhu Houzhao said: "I also want to win a battle, but if Mr. Chen does not cooperate, it will be a little difficult. I am confident that I can pave the grassland and achieve great achievements. The main reason is that I have seen the assistance of capable ministers like Mr. Chen. If I do not cherish the opportunity in front of me, I will leave many regrets for future generations."

Xiao Zhuozi continued to compliment: "Your Majesty will live with the sun and the moon for thousands of years. How can you leave trouble to future generations?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "You just think that I am leaving regrets? It's hard to say how old I can live. Who knows if those elixirs are useful? Since ancient times, no king is willing to go there. Things are unpredictable!"

Xiao Taozi continued to kneel there, not even daring to say anything, for fear that Zhu Houzhao would be punished for saying something that was unpleasant.

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand: "Go and call Eunuch Zhang, I want to ask him a few words."

Xiao Tiaoziru received a general amnesty and quickly stood up and went out to pass the message. When he went out, he heard Zhu Houzhao mutter: "Who said that if I lead the troops alone, I can't win the battle?"

...

...

When Zhang Yuan arrived, Zhu Houzhao had finished the meal and was sitting there studying the sand table.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself: "Your Majesty used to like this because he had not ascended the throne at that time and had no fun. But now Your Majesty is the magistrate of the Nine Fives. There are so many fun things inside and outside the palace. Your Majesty is still studying what this is done? Could it be that Your Majesty really wants to lead the troops personally and show off on the battlefield?"

"Your Majesty, I'm here." Zhang Yuan bowed.

Zhu Houzhao looked up at Zhang Yuan and said, "Come on, Eunuch Zhang, how is this happening between inside and outside the court? Have the troops, horses, food and grass been mobilized?"

Zhang Yuan was full of confidence. Even if he didn't understand many things, he would do his homework in advance, just to satisfy Zhu Houzhao and leave him in the capital to supervise the country.

Zhang Yuan said: "When you go back to your Majesty, the food and grass have been transferred from the Beijing camp to the front line in batches. At the same time, according to the order of the Ministry of War, the 30,000 to 40,000 local garrisons stationed around the capital will be successively launched. The troops led by Your Majesty himself the day after tomorrow will probably have 20,000."

Zhu Houzhao frowned and asked, "So I've brought such a few people when I arrived at Xuan Mansion?"

"A lot, your majesty."

Zhang Yuan said earnestly, "After Your Majesty arrives at Xuan Mansion, the local people are between 100,000 and 150,000, plus Datong, the three sides and the frontiers, the total force is about 300,000 to 400,000... These people are enough to fight a big battle."

Zhu Houzhao was still dissatisfied: "Always, these soldiers and horses are mostly used to exchange garrisons for places with little practical experience. They are mostly responsible for farming on weekdays, so what kind of use can they be used? These people don't even use new firearms, and they can stay in the border guards everywhere! I guess there are less than 100,000 soldiers who can go to the front line to kill the enemy."

Even though Zhang Yuan was ready, he was still confused when he heard what Zhu Houzhao said, because he didn't know how many of the 300,000 to 400,000 people had to go out of the frontier and go deep into the grassland.

Zhu Houzhao asked again: "What do I think about the imperial commander-in-chief, the Duke of the Capital, and the civil servants? What are my reactions? Who else is there to say anything about my military service?"

Zhang Yuan originally wanted to take the opportunity to suppress political enemies, but he was not clear about the purpose of Zhu Houzhao's question for a while, so he could only tell the truth: "Go back to Your Majesty, the nobles and ministers in the capital are preparing their luggage to go out with their companions. Your Majesty has not designated who will go northwest with you, so... they all think they will be summoned by Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "I and Shangshu Shen will lead troops to fight in this war. What does it have to do with them? When will I say I want to recruit them to accompany me?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan was very surprised and thought to himself: "No wonder His Majesty doesn't announce the entourage now, and his feelings have never been planned to be accompanied by others. This is not good. It is best to let the thorns in the court go to war with His Majesty, so that no one dares to do the right thing if I stay in the capital."

Zhu Houzhao said: "If I continue to pass the message, I will say that this time I will lead my troops to fight, and there is no need to worry about Chinese and Chinese military officials. Their responsibility is to maintain the stability of the capital, the court cannot be in chaos, and the capital cannot be in chaos. This time, I basically did not transfer the troops of the Beijing camp to fight. At most, I just helped transport food, grass and supplies, and then transferred the chief minister to the northwest..."

Zhang Yuan was a little discouraged. He was still thinking about how to ask Zhu Houzhao for instructions and rush some people who opposed him to accompany him.

Zhang Yuan said: "Don't your Majesty need an aide by your side and discuss it at any time?"

Zhu Houzhao frowned: "Aren't there many officials from the Ministry of War? The Governor's Office of the Five Army will also send people to you. In addition, the rest can stick to their respective positions."

Zhang Yuan continued: "Your Majesty, you should bring more ministers and military officers around you. When Emperor Yingzong went to war, he brought many important officials and made suggestions at any time."

Zhu Houzhao sneered: "Don't mention the old stories of Yingzong to me. You want to curse me for failing to go to war, right?"

Zhang Yuan then remembered that Yingzong's personal expedition was not a positive example, so he quickly knelt down and apologized: "Your Majesty, I made a mistake, for example, please forgive me! I was just trying to remind Your Majesty to bring more ministers and discuss it at critical moments."

Zhu Houzhao said with a stern face: "Those ministers usually regard themselves as loyal. When encountering major events, they will not only not give me advice, but will instead pull me back. At that time, there will be many situations. For example, if the battle situation is slightly set, they will tell me to withdraw their troops, and I will definitely be troubled. However, Eunuch Zhang... Heroine Zhang usually understands my intentions more accurately and deserves my trust..."

When Zhang Yuan heard this, Emperor Zhengde clearly had the intention of bringing him to the battle, which scared him. He hurriedly said, "I am just anxious about His Majesty's urgentness, and I think about His Majesty everywhere and do things diligently, but I am not good at military affairs, and I am afraid I cannot make plans for His Majesty..."

Zhu Houzhao interrupted Zhang Yuan: "Stop talking, I plan to take Eunuch Zhang to Xuanfu. As for the court affairs, I will leave them to the cabinet and there are six departments and government offices to deal with them."

When Zhang Yuan heard this, he wanted to die. He made a lot of effort and finally made a plan.

He hurriedly knelt down: "It's not that I don't want to accompany Your Majesty, but after Your Majesty goes to the expedition, someone needs to help Your Majesty stabilize. Mr. Xie has gone northwest, which is enough to become Your Majesty's right-hand man. If I'm stupid, it's better to stay in the court and be loyal to Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao said with a dark face: "It is said that it is helping me with work, but in fact it is because I can't bear to leave the power of the capital, right? As the chief of the Secretariat, after I, Mr. Xie and Mr. Shen left, you have the final say inside and outside the capital, right?"

"I don't dare, I have no intention of this." Zhang Yuan knelt there and kept kowtowing.
Chapter completed!