Chapter 849
Diversion
The Duke of England's gaze was deep: "I hope you will remember what I said today. You are the Minister of War. If you return to the capital alive, please promote the lower-ranking soldiers. Only they know best what the situation is like on the border."
“Over the years, the court has neglected border defense, to the point that lower-ranking soldiers know everything but are powerless to do anything; middle-ranking soldiers know nothing but pretend to know; and upper-ranking soldiers, like us and Your Majesty, are far away in the capital, wanting to know everything but knowing nothing.”
Kuang Ye's pupils contracted sharply; the Duke of England looked exactly like he was giving his last words.
The Duke of England smiled at him and carefully instructed him: "His Majesty is somewhat willful, but he has the qualities of a wise ruler. He is just misled by Wang Zhen. You just need to focus on guarding Datong. Wang Zhen... leave him to me. I hope that when you return to the capital, you can wholeheartedly assist His Majesty and create another prosperous era."
Kuang Ye's eyes were slightly red. When he left the Duke of England, his face was resolute and his aura was fierce.
As soon as Kuang Ye left, Zhu Mian and Chen Huai came out from behind the screen, knelt before the Duke of Ying, their eyes red.
The Duke of England sat in his chair, looking down at them: "I've been giving you all face in front of Kuang Ye. Although I haven't been out much over the past ten years, I've heard some bad rumors. It's common for officers in various garrisons to line their own pockets, and for military farms to become private land. The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty have become their farmers. As military nobles, are you two completely unaware of these things?"
Their faces flushed red, and they lowered their heads.
The Duke of England said in a deep voice, "Or are you two involved, knowingly committing a crime?"
"My lord..."
The Duke of England raised his hand to interrupt them, and said in a deep voice, "Don't argue with me. I have no intention of investigating you. I'm just telling you that if the termites continue to gnaw, the pillar will collapse, and the termites will also be overthrown. Now is your chance to replace me, or even surpass me, and become the number one in the army, the pillar of the Ming Dynasty."
The two looked up at the Duke of England in surprise: "Your Excellency, this time it's just..."
"How can you still not understand!" The British Duke slammed his hand on his chair and exclaimed excitedly, "I've said so much to Kwong Ye, yet you still think I'm exaggerating and underestimating our enemy. How can you possibly win? How could you possibly win?"
The Duke of England pointed to the door and said, "Get out, get out!"
Zhu Mian and Chen Huai exchanged a glance, then could only bow and get up to leave.
Once outside, both men fell silent: "Is the Duke being too nervous?"
Chen Huai felt uneasy and said, "It's best to be cautious. Everyone should be careful on this expedition."
Zhu Mian nodded slightly.
The servant closed the door, poured tea for the Duke of England, and said softly, "Your Excellency, why don't you talk to them properly?"
The Duke of England said expressionlessly, “They are all so old and have served as officials for many years. They are all very stubborn. It takes some drastic measures to win their hearts. I just hope they can survive and remember my words so that the Ming Dynasty will not be left without anyone to use.”
The servant who was always by the Duke of England's side felt that the current situation was not good, but it was not that serious, was it?
How could the Duke of England not know the doubts of his attendant?
But how could he tell him that it was all just his inferences and feelings?
From the moment he realized that Guo Deng had concealed military intelligence, he guessed that the Datong defense line had made a mistake.
In recent years, the Oirat Mongols have been making frequent moves, suddenly launching a three-pronged attack southward. It is unknown how much preparation they have made in secret. Meanwhile, the Ming Dynasty is riddled with internal conflicts. On the surface, the Ming Dynasty's military strength far surpasses that of the Oirat Mongols, and its generals are also quite capable. However, all of these are in the hands of a eunuch.
The Duke of England had fought and led troops his entire life, and he knew all too well the consequences of a general's chaotic command. Even without the formidable enemy of the Oirat Mongols, it would have been a tragedy.
Moreover, he was surrounded by powerful enemies. He already sensed that the return journey would not be peaceful, and that he would die on the way to the imperial expedition.
The Duke of England drew his sword and examined it inch by inch. Before he died, he asked the Duke to do one last thing for the Ming Dynasty and for His Majesty.
However, it's important to choose the right time so as not to burden the family.
The attendant, unaware of his thoughts, continued to urge him to take care of his health: "You've already retired, so you can just observe these state affairs. Why get so worked up? His Majesty only sent you to accompany the army as a figurehead..."
"Has the Emperor finished packing?" the Duke of England interrupted him, asking, "Should we be setting off?"
The attendant immediately went down to inquire.
The emperor was indeed prepared. The procession was relatively orderly, except for the chaos at the camp outside the city.
Pan Yu and his group, who had already broken camp and traveled twenty miles, were caught up with. Their battalion was transferred to Zhu Mian's command and left to guard Datong.
Just as the messenger relayed the order, instructing them to step aside and let the imperial vanguard proceed first, a new messenger arrived, ordering them to immediately head west, detour back to Datong from the west, and await further orders on the left side of Datong.
The first soldier carried an order from Zhu Yong, the chief officer of the central army, and the second soldier carried an order from Zhu Mian.
In the past, they would definitely have listened to Zhu Yong, but now that they are staying in Datong, they will definitely listen to Zhu Mian.
Seeing that the captain hesitated, Pan Yu leaned close to his ear and said, "Sir, our lives are now in the hands of Lord Zhu Mian. Besides, the imperial procession is passing through here. If we wait until they've all left before turning back, it will be completely dark by then. With so many people, what if someone manages to sneak among them back to the capital..."
The commander immediately replied, "I will listen to General Zhu."
Without specifying which general it was, they led the way to the west, causing their troops to veer off course and stretch westward, eventually winding their way back to the left side of Datong.
Of the 80,000 reinforcements left behind, Wang Zhen randomly selected the most elite Shenji Battalion and cavalry battalion to take away. He even wanted to choose the most elite battalions from the Five Armies Battalion to take with him.
This caused chaos in the military camp, but what caused even more chaos was that Wang Zhen discovered the next day that they were in a sorry state. Wouldn't passing through Weizhou like this make them a laughingstock among their fellow villagers?
Moreover, after this ordeal, the army was in disarray, and the vehicles and people occasionally trampled over the fields along the way, crushing many unharvested crops.
Wang Zhen felt uneasy. If he brought such a large army back to his hometown and trampled on the crops of his fellow villagers, wouldn't his reputation in his hometown be even worse?
He wanted to return home in glory, not to go back and get scolded.
Coincidentally, there was some unusual activity in a grove of trees that they passed through that day. Wang Zhen sent his troops out to investigate and found some hoof prints on the road. The scouts said they were cow hooves, so he immediately went to find the emperor.
"Your Majesty, enemy activity has been detected ahead. Scouts have spotted a large number of hoofprints, suggesting that a large Oirat army may be lurking ahead."
The emperor jumped to his feet: "An ambush?"
"Yes!" Wang Zhen said, "I have already sent Song Ying with troops to investigate, but Your Majesty's safety is paramount, and we cannot take the risk. I'm afraid we can't go to Weizhou. Your Majesty, we should return the way we came."
The emperor frowned: "Return the way we came? But we've already traveled for two days and one night..." (End of Chapter)