Chapter 876
Feeling the urge to give up
The ministers exchanged glances and decided to send troops to reclaim all the land occupied by the Oirat Mongols, wipe out the remaining Oirat forces, and prevent them from wreaking havoc within the Great Wall.
“Contact Yang Hong, the general of Xuanfu, and we will fight together,” Cao Nai said coldly. “If Yang Hong refuses or is passive and reluctant to fight, we will ask him where Yang Jun is now.”
Yang Jun committed a capital crime, but they are not pursuing it now, giving the Yang family a chance to atone for their crimes.
If they dare to deceive him again, unless Yang Hong intends to rebel, no one can protect him and his son.
Yang Hong was obviously aware of this as well, having received the imperial edict to establish a new emperor a night earlier than the one from Datong Prefecture.
Upon receiving the imperial edict in the evening, he felt that this was an opportunity for the Yang family to escape danger and even advance further. The emperor had become the retired emperor, and under Esen's control, the threat to the Ming Dynasty was minimized, while the threat to the new emperor was increased.
As long as he stays in Xuanfu, is loyal to the country and the new emperor, and makes enough contributions, some mistakes can be minimized or even eliminated.
Yang Hong only has one son, Yang Jun.
Although he was disappointed in his son's lack of progress, what could he do as a father?
Yang Hong took a deep breath, made up his mind, and began to convene his generals to discuss a new defense line for Xuanfu and to intensify efforts to eliminate the remaining Oirat troops inside the pass.
They had just finished their meeting and formulated various operational strategies when an urgent report came from Datong.
A lieutenant general asked doubtfully, "It's already late at night, why is a military report coming at this time? Could it be that Datong has not been defended?"
Yang Hong's expression changed, and he hurriedly summoned the messenger.
If Datong is not defended, it will pose a great threat to Xuanfu.
Guo Deng's previous defeats and concealment of military intelligence allowed the Oirat army to infiltrate and pose a significant threat to Xuanfu.
The messenger rushed in, panting, and knelt down to report: "The Emperor has perished, the Oirat have been defeated, and have retreated fifty li!"
Yang Hong was stunned, then his face turned pale, and he asked urgently, "What did you say? How could the emperor be murdered? Who killed the emperor, Esen?"
He looked on incredulously. What benefit would Esen gain from killing the emperor? Why didn't he protect the emperor?
What use is a dead emperor?
This would only incite the resentment and fighting spirit of the Ming people, and also cause all of Yang Hong's plans to fail.
Little did the messenger know that he was outside the battlefield at the time, only ordered to send a message to Datong, and only knew the key information: "His Majesty's body has been recovered."
Yang Hong received this message that evening, so he was the first on the front lines to know that a new emperor had been established in the capital, and the emperor had become the retired emperor. The retired emperor had already become the former emperor before the imperial decree reached the front lines.
No, although the capital decided to establish a new emperor, the new emperor has not yet ascended the throne, so the emperor is still the emperor and has not officially become the retired emperor.
So, the emperor still passed away.
The new emperor will ascend the throne legitimately, and there will be no longer a retired emperor overshadowing him.
Yang Hong slowly sat down in the chair.
When an emperor dies, the new emperor and his court officials will only remember his good deeds, while all those who did bad things to the emperor will be brought out and punished.
Yang Hongxin's heart sank, a pang of pain rising within him. He asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is Yang Jun now?"
"He is guarding the South Third Detachment."
Yang Hong: "Transfer him to the Seven Northern Garrisons and order him to join the vanguard battalion in driving out the Oirat forces and expelling the Oirat central army from Xuanfu."
The generals were taken aback and exchanged glances.
The Seven Northern Garrisons were the very front of the front lines. The soldiers stationed there, regardless of their status, were mostly surviving, with only two or three out of ten remaining. After each battle, the troops had to be replenished.
Yang Jun could be taken care of elsewhere, but in the Seven Northern Garrisons, the soldiers were in danger of dying at any moment. Apart from the suicide squad, who would have time to take care of this young general?
A general who had a good relationship with Yang Hong and had watched Yang Jun grow up hesitated and called out to him, "General, isn't the Seventh Northern Garrison too dangerous?"
“Yang Jun has learned his skills for so many years, and it is time for him to repay the emperor’s kindness. The Seven Northern Garrisons are in danger, but which of the soldiers in the Seven Northern Garrisons is not born of a father and mother? If they can go, why can’t he go?” Upon hearing this, the soldiers in the tent were all deeply moved. Immediately, two adjutants volunteered to go to the Seven Northern Garrisons, but Yang Hong refused.
“There are more suitable positions for you.”
After all the soldiers had withdrawn, Yang Hongcai clutched his chest, his eyes filled with unbearable sorrow.
He estimated that Datong should receive the imperial edict from the capital early tomorrow morning. Cao Nai and others moved to Datong with the emperor to guard the city, and the imperial carriage was there at the moment.
Whether for the sake of the Ming Dynasty or to assert themselves before the new court, they had to react.
Yang Hong felt that there was no better way to express his feelings than to drive out the Oirat Mongols, reclaim lost territory, and avenge the late emperor.
There were people like Chen Huai, Jing Yuan, Zhu Mian, Liang Cheng, and Wang Gui there. Even Kuang Ye proved himself suitable for the position of Minister of War with his military achievements. His merit in guarding Xuanfu was not particularly outstanding among them.
With the emperor in danger, everyone has made mistakes. Now, the only option is to continuously correct these mistakes and perform meritorious service to offset them.
His identity is acceptable, but Yang Jun's is not.
His status was too low, and the mistakes he made were too great.
Yang Hong suppressed his pain, and sure enough, the next afternoon, he received an order from the Emperor of Datong.
That was a joint operation order issued by Cao Nai in the name of the Emperor.
The imperial court is now divided into two parts: the inner court and the outer court. The place where the emperor travels is the inner court, since nearly half of the officials of the six ministries and nine ministers have been sent to accompany the emperor on his personal campaigns.
Yang Hong asked, "Has the list of casualties for the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers been released?"
The messenger said, "We are still taking stock. Some people are missing and cannot be found immediately, while others are confirmed dead but their bodies have not yet been found."
Yang Hong's heart sank, and he asked, "Do you have an approximate number of people?"
The messenger's voice also lowered: "The number of civil and military officials who have died in battle has now reached eighteen, including Duke of Yingguo, Grand Secretary of the Cabinet Zhang Yi, Vice Censor-in-Chief Deng Qi, Earl of Xiangcheng Li Zhen, the brothers Marquis of Gongshun Wu Kezhong, General of the Guards Fan Zhong, Earl of Xiuwu Shen Rong..."
It includes nobles, civil officials, and military generals.
And most of them died on the way back to Huailai.
Yang Hong's heart sank to the bottom, knowing that he and his son had offended half of the civil and military officials in the court.
These people are dead, and their families can no longer do anything to them, but there are still the remaining followers. As long as they hold grudges, it will be difficult for the Yang family to rise to prominence in the future.
Unless he can achieve extraordinary feats and wield sufficient power, he will be able to confront those who survived the war.
With this in mind, in his cooperation with Datong Prefecture, Yang Hong took the lead and fought bravely, and actually turned defeat into victory, winning two small victories in the battles against the Oirat.
On the 18th day of the ninth month of the tenth year of the Zhengtong reign, an urgent report came from the border that the emperor had died on the 16th day of the ninth month of the tenth year of the Zhengtong reign, and the whole country was in mourning.
At that time, the future emperor Zhu Qiyu was meeting with Chen Xun, who had finally returned to the capital, in the cabinet. When the military report arrived, the cabinet fell silent for a moment, and then it exploded.
The ministers wept bitterly, urging the emperor to send troops to avenge the late emperor.
Zhu Qiyu's tears were also flowing freely. He hadn't yet considered himself the emperor, hadn't yet entered the role, and hadn't yet experienced the sweet taste that power brought him. So at this moment, all he could think about was how good Zhu Qizhen had been to him.
The late emperor had only two sons, himself and Zhu Qizhen. The brothers had always had a good relationship. After the late emperor passed away, Zhu Qizhen specially left his younger brother in the capital. He also entrusted him with the task of overseeing the country with great confidence when he personally led the expedition.
It can be said that at this time, the two had a pure brotherly relationship, so when he heard that his brother had died, he agreed to the ministers' suggestion without thinking and sent a large army to the border to avenge his brother and the Ming Dynasty!
Yu Qian stood to the side, opened his mouth slightly, but didn't object; instead, he volunteered to lead the troops. (End of Chapter)