The weather is getting hotter and hotter, summer is coming soon.
The morning mist will soon be pierced by the sun, and only in the darkness of the early morning is it still lingering.
On the thick city wall of Datong, two soldiers on the lookout were dozing off, talking intermittently to avoid falling into real sleep.
In the distance, something darker in the darkness is moving quietly, very fast, but with very little movement.
Until the first screams were heard outside Datong City, the villages and towns outside Datong City were suddenly plunged into a sea of flames. Countless cavalry were galloping, and villagers were fleeing. Those who were close to the city were desperately running towards the city gate.
The two soldiers' eyes widened in an instant. One quickly rushed to the Bell and Drum Tower nearby, while the other waved his arms desperately at the nearby sentry and shouted: "Enemy attack, enemy attack, inform the general quickly, the Tatars are coming!"
The dull bells rang throughout Datong, the fighting was like snow, and the shields were like forests!
The green mountains wake up naturally with the chirping of birds, and the green trees stretch themselves with the chirping of cicadas.
Xiao Feng, who was debt-free and light-hearted, took a day off and had a good sleep, then took Qiaoqiao to work on infrastructure construction in the yard.
There was a lot of commotion. The daughter of Wang Tuiguan of Shuntian Prefecture next door stepped on the bench and looked at the wall. She saw something new in the yard and discussed it with Qiaoqiao.
Miss Wang is two years older than Qiaoqiao. She is in the stage of turning from a girl to a young girl, so she should be reserved.
However, Wang Tuiguan is busy with work and spends little time at home. His wife loves him very much and his discipline is not strict. Besides, Tuiguan is not a big official, and he has not developed such a temperament as a young lady.
"Qiaoqiao, what is that vertical pole?"
"Master said this is called the horizontal bar!" Qiaoqiao said proudly, holding on to the horizontal bar.
When the blacksmith shop shot this thing, it took a lot of effort. They also went to the Ministry of War Yamen to prepare a case and made sure it was not a controlled weapon before they shot it.
But the craftsmanship is pretty good. If you take good care of it, it will definitely be used by your grandchildren. For training climbing, jumping, and balancing, the horizontal bar is an absolute artifact.
Although climbing trees can have a similar exercise effect, Xiao Feng always felt inappropriate imagining Qiao Qiao, a little girl, climbing a tree with him.
The sandbag was hung on a nearby tree branch. It was sewn by Qiao Niang. She used the strongest coarse cloth available in the world, three layers of cloth and one layer of cotton, and then filled with iron sand.
Cotton must be placed. Although sandbags that are too hard can strengthen the rigidity of the fists and feet, over time, they will actually be very harmful to the bones.
Xiao Feng knew that many of the ancient martial arts training techniques were life-killing techniques, and the training methods were actually not as advanced as modern fighting science.
However, internal strength has been basically lost in modern times and cannot be explained from a scientific perspective. He decided to learn it if he had the opportunity.
Qiao Niang went shopping for groceries and came back with rumors from the street.
"Sir, they said there was a fight in Datong. The Tatars surrounded Datong and fought fiercely. The price of food in the city has increased!"
Xiao Feng was stunned for a moment, then smiled lightly: "I know."
Xiyuan, the meeting hall outside the Jingshe.
Today, Jiajing rarely left Jinshen Jingshe and sat in the lobby, listening to the arguments of his ministers.
The chief minister of the cabinet, Yan Song, remained calm and silent. With his status, he did not need to be the first to stand up. Naturally, there was someone directly responsible for this matter.
Ding Rukui, the Minister of War, knew that he could not escape. When he received the emergency military situation last night, he was well prepared.
"I believe that my ambition should not be underestimated. We should mobilize soldiers from the surrounding garrison, supplemented by the Forbidden Army as reinforcements. We will rely on Datong City to hold on while waiting for opportunities to go to war."
Jiajing is non-committal. This is his usual style. You argue first, and then he will summarize it in the end. It is best not to have him summarize it, and you can come to the conclusion yourself.
As for whether the conclusion is right or wrong, those who are qualified to argue here are all the best people in the world. How wrong can they be?
As long as I don't see any obvious mistake, I won't express my opinion. In this way, in the future, the wrong will be your fault, and the right will be my sage.
Sure enough, the people who came out to make a noise appeared immediately.
Pan Huang, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, expressed his objection: "The Datong garrison does not have many cavalry, so it is suitable to hold on. If we mobilize surrounding troops and horses to support, if nothing else, it will be difficult to sustain food and grass."
Pan Huang is not an anti-war faction. He has served as minister and minister of various ministries. He is experienced and seasoned, so he is more concerned with discussing matters.
Ding Rukui was very dissatisfied. The Ministry of War was in charge of wars, and the Ministry of Households was in charge of money and food. It was only natural that you were holding me back, and you were right and confident!
"Long live, I think Pan Shangshu's words are wrong! The Tatars invaded the border many times, taking whatever they asked for, and treating our army as if they were nothing. They plundered our finances every year and countless people.
We, the people of the Ming Dynasty, have become the slaves of the barbarians, which makes people cry and hate them with blood. If our army does not seize the opportunity and give them a severe blow, I am afraid this situation will never end!"
There is a reason why Ding Rukui was so fierce. He wrote "Ten Points for Preparing the Border" and "Long Strategies for Retreating the Captives". He wanted to discuss with Jiajing how to fight the Tatars, but Jiajing had no response.
Later he learned that Yan Song had thrown all his hard work into the wastebasket. But he didn't dare to file a complaint!
Over the years, everyone has reached a consensus that suing Yan Song in front of Jiajing is seeking death, so Ding Rukui could only endure it.
But as the Tatars kept fighting like this, sooner or later he, the Minister of War, would become the biggest scapegoat, so he could only fight hard, hoping that one victory would cover all defeats.
Ding Rukui's political sense is still very sensitive. Although he did not know that in the original history, he would become Yan Song's scapegoat next year and be dragged to the West Market, but he now feels the danger.
Jiajing closed his eyes slightly, no one knew what he was thinking. Yan Song was also as motionless as a pine tree, and the emperor and his ministers seemed to be competing with wooden figures.
Zhao Wenhua came out. As a direct descendant of Yan Song, he was very good at controlling the rhythm for Yan Song. Although the war seemed to have nothing to do with the Ministry of Industry, since the creation of offensive and defensive weapons required the participation of the Ministry of Industry, it was normal for him to express his opinions.
"What Mr. Ding said is a bit biased. We will go to the country tomorrow and have the momentum to subjugate the enemy. It is also the best policy to hold on and leave the enemy with nothing to do.
The lower official is in the Ministry of Works, and he is well aware that there is a shortage of money in the court today. Not to mention, the Ministry of Works is building construction in various places, and the food and grass used by the mules and horses are often scarce.
If a large army is mobilized, let alone the food for the people, it will not take a day or two to gather fodder for the army. Do horses have to graze all the way to fight?"
Ding Rukui was furious, but he knew that Zhao Wenhua's statement actually represented Yan Song and it was not easy to curse. On the other hand, what Zhao Wenhua said was not all unreasonable.
The most important thing for the cavalry is actually not the food for the people, but the food for the horses. Don't confuse these two things.
Ordinary horses may be able to survive by eating grass, but if you want the horse to work, you must add food. Horses rushing on the battlefield need the best food. And the best horse food is sorghum.
Sorghum is not a staple food. It is grown in various places for wine making and horse feeding. The place where it is grown most is Shandong.
If it is normal, you can still buy it slowly and transport it slowly. But now when the army is approaching the city, the troops and horses can be mobilized so quickly. How can you have time to wait for you to buy and transport it?
To put it bluntly, there are people going to Shandong to collect sorghum right now. Shandong is far away from Datong and it is absolutely impossible to make it in time.
So Ding Rukui was speechless. At this time, a man who was unfamiliar to everyone stood up. He was tall and powerful, and his voice was like a bell.
"When we do our best, what's the point of quarreling? The Tatars come and go like the wind, and they won't give us much time to prepare.
Do we therefore have to stay closed forever and let them burn, kill and loot outside the city? Aren’t we the people of Ming Dynasty who live outside the city wall?"