After Zhu Houzhao returned to Zhangjiakou Fort, he immediately sent someone to investigate Jiang Bin's information, and also cared about the situation of Hu Songyue and Liu Xu behind the palace.

Soon things were rewarded.

Hu Songyue and Liu Xu's troops were retreating in an orderly manner. After hearing that the Holy Lord returned to Zhangjiakou safely, they did not fight. They accelerated their evacuation while ensuring that they were not attacked by sneak attacks. On the day Zhu Houzhao returned to Zhangjiakou, the two were less than a hundred miles away from Zhangjiakou.

As Zhu Houzhao returned to Zhangjiakou, he learned more about the front-line military information, and Wang Shouren also presented more detailed information. After watching, Zhu Houzhao was furious and actually scolded Xiao Jing, who invited him to report the matter.

Xiao Jing didn't know what he had made, because his presence in this war was very low. Zhu Houzhao had the previous lessons of Liu Jin and Zhang Yuan's blinded Shengshen, and he had no intention of listening to Xiao Jing's opinions in this military use.

In Zhu Houzhao's opinion, Xiao Jing was originally a foolish old minister who wanted to be replaced. He would only find Xiao Jing as a punching bag when he needed to expel his anger.

"Your Majesty calm down."

Xiao Jing was scolded so much that he had to show his loyal attitude to protect his master and said pitifully to Zhu Houzhao, "Don't be angry with the dragon body!"

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "I went on a war and finally saw the true faces of some people... You guys are all loyal, brave and resourceful, but when they arrived on the grassland, they were like bear bags, and there was not even a person who was responsible for the trouble!"

Xiao Jing thought to himself: "What does this have to do with me? Is Your Majesty pointing at the mulberry tree?"

Zhu Houzhao turned her head and glanced at Xiao Twist and asked, "I asked you to send someone to the capital to ask Shen Shangshu about his opinion. Have you followed the order?"

"Your Majesty, you have sent someone."

Xiao Tiaozi said respectfully, "It may take several days to get a reply."

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "The situation on the grassland is still unknown. There may be Tatars invading the border in the future. How can we wait for a few days at this time? Can't the 800-mile rush inquiry be made? If it really doesn't work, it's okay to ask Shangshu Shen to come to Zhangjiakou Fort in person."

"Your Majesty, don't be anxious." Xiao Jing persuaded again.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Xiao Jing with a slant, realizing that he was a little out of control, and after taking a breath, he said quietly: "I am just angry. Why can't I do what Shen Shangshu can do? Isn't the grassland a place I can go?"

Speaking of this, Zhu Houzhao was extremely frustrated. Xiao Jing and Xiao Tiaozi next to him finally understood that the emperor was unwilling to return home. This time he led his troops out of the frontier and entered the grassland to prove his ability to Shen Xi. Unfortunately, things didn't go as expected.

Xiao Jing said: "Your Majesty, Shangshu Shen has been studying military books since he was a child, and he has been in the army for many years and has rich experience..."

Originally, Xiao Jing wanted to compare Shen Xi's ability with Zhu Houzhao, but after he was halfway through the talk, he realized that doing so was simply a blow to the emperor's self-confidence. Even if he was talking about the facts, he could not talk nonsense.

If Zhu Youzhang was pursuing the truth, the Zhengde Emperor in front of him liked to be flattered, and he didn't say that his temper was unstable, and he also liked to be a little bitch, otherwise there wouldn't be so many slanderous ministers.

Zhu Houzhao was furious: "You just want to say that I am not as good as Shangshu Shen, right? I admit this, but you must remember that it is me who made Shangshu Shen, not Shangshu Shen! I will immediately send someone to investigate Jiang Bin's situation. If there is any news, I will report it immediately. At the same time, I will urgently order General Hu and General Liu to lead troops to help, so there must be no mistakes!"

...

...

Zhu Houzhao went inside to rest.

Xiao Tuozi and Xiao Jing came out together. Xiao Jing sighed, looking sad and helpless, while Xiao Tuozi lowered his head and said nothing.

Xiao Jing said: "Little Twist, what exactly happened on the grassland? Will you still hide it from me now?"

Xiao Twisted his head and closed his eyes and said, "Eunuch Xiao is a tough guy. What Your Majesty doesn't want to say. If anyone says it, wouldn't he seek death?"

"You little thing."

Xiao Jing was so angry that he stamped his feet, "You think you have the ability to take on such a big thing?"

Xiao Guozi shook his head: "No one can disobey Your Majesty's wishes. Why is Eunuch Xiao asking so clearly? Can't you look at it from Your Majesty's previous words?"

"Tell me! I won't tell others." Xiao Jing said in a frustration.

Xiao Guozi continued to shake his head: "Your Majesty asked him to ask Secretary Chen about his intention, and Eunuch Xiao went to ask Secretary Chen... No matter what happens, you have to ask Your Majesty to say it. If Your Majesty doesn't let go, whoever says it will be like letting his head move... Eunuch Xiao is naturally not worried at such an age. Our family is young and wants to live a few more years."

Xiao Jing heard Xiao Tiaozi say it seriously, and knew that it would be useless to force him. He was so angry that he stamped his feet again, and then left with his sleeves.

...

...

Zhu Houzhao was very depressed, but he was unable to change the situation of the battle, so he could only hope that Hu Songyue and Liu Xu could rush to help Jiang Bin, which might bring him surprises.

But obviously Hu Songyue and Liu Xu are not the kind of people who rely on their own subjective judgment to solve battlefield problems. The achievements they have made in the past are more to abide by the strategies formulated by Chen Xi, meticulously complete them, and then achieve military achievements without any danger. But now what they think is to safely withdraw the troops they led back to the Ming Dynasty, and they have no thoughts about rushing to Jiang Bin to help.

A few days later, Zhu Houzhao realized that Jiang Bin's troops were wiped out, and there was no news at this moment, which meant that there was no possibility of good news coming.

Liu Xu and Hu Songyue clearly stated in their memorial that they had not received any information from Jiang Bin's troops and that the transmission of information on the grassland had been blocked by the Tatars, which means that the Tatars took the initiative in this battle.

"Your Majesty, do you think you are asking Secretary Chen to come and let him arrange the next strategy?" Xiao Jing took advantage of the matter to Zhu Hou to ask for instructions carefully.

Although Xiao Jing doesn't know what happened on the grassland now, he can basically judge that Jiang Bin was defeated and it is likely that the entire army will be wiped out. This kind of news cannot be concealed by him, the eunuch in charge of the seal.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Even if you ask Secretary Chen to take charge of the army at this moment, it will be useless. What should I do if I throw that person away? But has Secretary Chen not reported the memorial in the past two days?"

Xiao Jing said in embarrassment: "Shangshu Chen has submitted a memorial, but it all involves the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel and does not involve the military information in the northwest."

"well!"

Zhu Houzhao sighed heavily, looking very frustrated. At this moment, he no longer had the ambition of going on the war, like an eggplant beaten by frost. He waved his hand and said, "Appoint it. I will go back to the Xuanfu Palace in two days, and hand over the Northwest military and political affairs to Wang Shouren, the Minister of the Ministry of War. He has been the governor of Xuanfu for a long time and should have his own opinions on the subsequent battle situation. It would be more appropriate for him to take over."

Xiao Jing asked for instructions: "Will you ask Mr. Wang to take over now, or wait a few days before your Majesty leaves?"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Xiao Jing and said angrily: "Let him take over now. I don't want to pay attention to these bad things... It's such a fucking trouble."

...

...

Zhu Houzhao became the boss of the hand, and threw all military and political affairs to Wang Shouren, and at the same time, he handed over a huge burden.

After Wang Shouren took over, he felt a big headache. The war had developed to such a situation, and it was certain that the defeat was a crushing defeat, but for the sake of the emperor's face, he could not explain to the people of the world in this way. After all, the Ming Dynasty had maintained an absolute winning rate against the grassland. A few years ago, he defeated the grassland and even selected a khan to go to the capital to monitor and live. In less than three years, it was said that the grassland tribe had risen again, causing the Ming Dynasty's invincible army to suffer a crushing defeat. This blow to the morale of the Ming army and the civilians was extremely heavy.

Under the shadow of Shenxi, the military and civilians in the northwest must look up to Chenxi's great achievements no matter what they do, and Wang Shouren feels that he cannot do it.

But Wang Shouren is a sage who has been famous in history, and his abilities are beyond words. After he took over, Xuanda's defense further strengthened, and at the same time urged Hu Songyue and Liu Xu to lead their troops to retreat to the pass, fearing that another defeat would occur.

However, at this time, Hu Songyue and Liu Xu had no intention of withdrawing from Zhangjiakou immediately. They led their troops to station one hundred miles away from Zhangjiakou, as if they were really waiting to rescue the people who had not yet withdrawn on the grassland.

"Old Hu, something is wrong. Why did Lord Wang let us stay on the grassland? Lord Wang has sent a quick horse several times to urge us to withdraw from the pass." Liu Xu hurried to Hu Songyue, who used a telescope to observe the surrounding terrain on the high ground outside the camp, and said something.

Hu Songyue said: "We are in charge of the palace. Of course, it is Your Majesty and Lord Shen who ask us to do what we do, so what we do... Your Majesty did not ask us to withdraw, and Lord Shen said that we should stay on the grassland and wait for news. We are in a hurry to retreat. Aren't we disobeying the military order?"

Liu Xu nodded and said, "That's the reason, but the question is, what are we waiting for here now? We don't send troops! We advance but don't advance, and we retreat but don't retreat. It's similar to waiting for death. What if the main force of the Tartars comes to kill? It's not easy to withdraw from the pass at that time... We are not all cavalry, and we don't have Lord Shen to take charge of the central army. What's the point of guarding here?"

Hu Songyue looked back at Liu Xu and frowned and said, "So, don't believe Lord Shen's judgment? Liu Lao Er, don't forget who gave us our current status! You were like me, just a low-level officer who was just a living and waiting to die. How could you think that you would succeed and have a lot of wives and children at this time?"

Liu Xu was scolded to the point of being disgraced and said angrily: "Who said he would not listen to Lord Shen? But now Lord Shen is neither the Minister of War nor does he serve in the northwest. Now Lord Wang urges us to go back. He is Governor Xuan Da and the Minister of War."

Hu Songyue looked disdainfully: "What Lord Wang, is there any comparison with Lord Shen? His origin is pretty good, but he has never made any achievements on the battlefield. When he was promoted, he relied on the appreciation of Lord Shen and his father's connections... When he arrived at the battlefield, I, Old Hu, didn't believe in others, so I believed Lord Shen. Lord Shen said he would let him wait, even if the sky fell, he would have to wait, unless Lord Shen asked us to withdraw our troops!"

"well!"

Liu Xu was a little dissatisfied with Hu Songyue's attitude, but he knew that he could not twist Hu Songyue, so he could only let him go. After all, he also thought that Chen Xi had no reason to harm them.

...

...

The military affairs in the northwest were not only managed by the Governor General of Xuanda. Wang Shouren would inform the Ministry of War in the capital every day, so that the Ministry of War and even the Governor's Office of the Five Army knew what was going on in the northwest.

At first, Wang Qiong wanted to invite Chen Xi to the Ministry of War to talk several times, but found that Chen Xi deliberately avoided being involved in this matter and learned to be smart. He no longer expected Chen Xi to appear in public, nor asked Li Yu to convey it on his behalf. Instead, he went to visit alone, and went to the Shen family in the middle of the night, silently, just to prevent outsiders from knowing it.

Wang Qiong came in person. Chen Xi could have refused, but now Wang Qiong is visiting in the early morning. He is obviously in his private identity and is still in such a difficult situation. Chen Xi could not refuse to see him, so he met Wang Qiong in the study.

After the two sat down, they briefly talked about the affairs of the Ministry of War. Then Wang Qiong hurriedly told the military situation in the northwest and begged Chen Xi to analyze the current situation.

Wang Qiong said: "...Your Majesty rashly sent troops. You agreed at the beginning, but the situation that followed was obviously beyond expectations... It was because Jiang Bin led the troops and horses to advance rashly, which caused the accident, but it may not be said that he must have been defeated, right?"

Chen Xi stared at Wang Qiong: "Brother Dehua means, is there any help in this chess game?"

Wang Qiong sighed: "Your Majesty has great trust in the slander ministers, so that the slander ministers who have never proved on the battlefield led their troops deep into the grasslands. This is a dangerous move. Now the dangerous move is almost dead. If you don't interfere, it will not be a matter of one person, but will have to do with the destiny of the country."

Chen Xi nodded: "Actually, who would like to see the war develop to such a situation? It's nothing to send troops. The tribes on the grassland are now fighting severely and they are unable to take care of themselves. They have no intention of fighting with the Ming Dynasty, so they can hide if they can. But if the Tatars find that their retreat has not been exchanged for the Ming Dynasty's withdrawal, but instead, there are all the troops underestimating the enemy and even entering their encirclement, what will they choose?"

"The war that could have been avoided has caused the current situation due to the improper timing and route of advance. After all, some people are too confident and think that the grassland tribes are unintentional to fight and can pretend to be powerful, show off their strength, and are defeated by the Tartars who are swarming out without any defense. How do you think they should save them?"

Wang Qiong pondered Chen Xi's words for a moment and asked, "Does Zhihou feel that this move is unsuccessful?"

Chen Xidao: "If you want to save yourself, you can only save yourself by someone trapped in a chess game... Now the information on the grassland has been completely blocked, and the Tatars are still very good at controlling information transmission. When they were led by the troops deep into the hinterland of the grassland, they also tried to pass the news back, but they were all blocked. Now Jiang Bin leads his troops, and the situation is no different from the beginning."

Wang Qiong nodded and agreed, because he knew very well that Jiang Bin's ability was very different from Chen Xi. Since even Chen Xi said that he could not send the news back, it was easy to understand that Jiang Bin's powerlessness was powerless.

Chen Xi said again: "Send troops to help at this time, you may suffer even greater defeat. However, if you refuse to send troops, you will be blocked all the time. If you don't know the situation in the grassland, why not find some ways to divert the Tatars' attention?"

After Chen Xi reminded him, Wang Qiong's eyes lit up: "What does Zhihou mean is to send troops from the side to harass the grassland, so that the Tatars are unwilling to fight on the front line of Zhangjiakou?"

Chen Xi smiled slightly: "I didn't say that. This is Brother Dehua's own understanding, but I think this is not a bad thing. Brother Dehua's advice is very good. If the troops sent from the side and let the Tatars know the current predicament, perhaps there will be no more trouble outside the North Pass."

"this……"

Wang Qiong was a little embarrassed, "But now there is no better control over the situation in the north of Zhangjiakou. What's the point of doing this? What if there is trouble if there is a place to send troops around?"

Chenxidao: "If the Tatars have wiped out all the troops of Jiang Bin, why is it necessary to block the news? It is highly likely... that Jiang Bin was defeated but was not wiped out, but was waiting for reinforcements... As for the troops sent by the side, they can stop at the right time. As long as the Tatars feel the pressure, they will naturally withdraw their troops."

"Why did the Tatars want to drive away the Ming army and horses to achieve their goal, so why did they still have to fight hard? If they continue to fight, wouldn't they be afraid that the Ming Dynasty would launch another war to completely clear the grassland?"

Wang Qiong's body was shocked, obviously shocked by Chen Xi's words.

"Isn't it? Don't look at the Tatars taking the initiative now. If the Ming Dynasty changes its strategy and turns to attack the whole line, especially if Shen Zhihou leads his troops to attack, there will be no peace in the grassland! The Tatars are afraid of being afraid of weapons, so how dare they do whatever they want?"
Chapter completed!