Chapter 58: Muddled Response

  Yang Ling didn't have the kind of reverence for the emperor that scholars had at the time, and besides, when people are hungry, their patience is limited. He didn't have the mood to say something like "Your humble servant is terrified" or "Your humble servant dares not", and then wait for the emperor to laugh loudly twice and wave his hand, saying "I pardon you". So after hearing what Hongzhi Emperor said, he immediately lifted his head up and looked towards the back of the dragon throne.

  This emperor, with a rich and dignified demeanor, had an air of majesty. He wore a winged crown on his head and a dragon robe with a narrow sleeve, and his eyebrows seemed vaguely familiar. The Hongzhi Emperor saw his appearance and couldn't help but stand up suddenly, raising an eyebrow and laughing: "So it's you."

  Yang Ling let out an "ah" and suddenly remembered the father-son pair he had met last night, it turned out they were...... Yang Ling exclaimed in surprise and delight: "So the Emperor is......".

  The Hongzhi Emperor hastily coughed and gave him a signal, Yang Ling suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly swallowed the second half of the sentence. The emperor's private visit in disguise was enough to cause all officials to memorialize at that time. Although the people around were all close attendants of the emperor, they probably knew about the emperor's secret outing, but saying it out loud was a different matter.

  Hongzhi saw that he was quite clever, and a satisfied smile appeared in his eyes. He sat down slowly, smiling: "So it's you, I remembered your name, and only then did I realize that you were the one who wrote the letter, criticizing the government's mistakes, haha, do you know that my court is now arguing about your letter?"

  He said, pinching his brow lightly, although with a smile on his face, he revealed a hint of fatigue that was hard to conceal. Unexpectedly, at today's early court session, the Ministry of Revenue submitted a memorial to defend itself and shift responsibility. Originally, Hongzhi had only ordered the three judicial offices to discuss He Canjun's crime, but now He Canjun has been imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishment for over half a month, yet the officials in the court have already forgotten about him, starting to shift blame onto each other, bringing up all sorts of related and unrelated issues, making Hongzhi's head ache incessantly.

  Next to an old eunuch saw the emperor showing a tired expression, and hurriedly walked in front of him to open a small box. Yang Ling smelled a faint scent on the tip of his nose, looked up, and saw that there was a red pill the size of a longan on the velvet cushion in the box. Hongzhi picked up the red pill, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it with tea water.

  Yang Ling's heart moved, and he thought that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were mostly short-lived, and it seemed that not many lived beyond 40 years old. This was because the emperors of the Ming Dynasty had always taken Taoism as the state religion, and each generation of emperors liked to take the elixirs practiced by Taoist priests. Although these elixirs could refresh the mind and lift the spirit, most of them contained chronic toxins. Could it be that Hongzhi also took this kind of elixir?

  Hongzhi saw him dazed, and thought he was frightened by his own words, couldn't help but laugh: "Hehe, although the position is low, I dare not forget the country's worries, my heart is very relieved, Yang Qing doesn't need to be frightened".

  "Yes!", Yang Ling took the opportunity to pluck up his courage and said: "Your Majesty, I was at Jiming Post and followed the great army to fight against the Tartars. I have some understanding of the situation at that time. In my opinion, the Tartars gathered more than 20,000 people and invaded our Great Ming. The armies on both sides of Zhuo County and Chi County achieved meritorious deeds. Although there were some losses in Huai County, the merits and demerits can be offset. I venture to think that He Canjiang has no reason to be guilty."

  Yang Ling actually felt quite sympathetic to General He Shen, although this General He Shen also had his own motives. When facing the enemy, he would first deploy non-regular troops to launch a main attack, but when facing the Tartars, he was indeed cautious and did not dare to slack off. If it weren't for the two advisors urging him repeatedly on that day, he might not have been so rashly advancing.

  Now he has become a scapegoat and is locked up in prison, Yang Ling feels that it is too severe, so he takes advantage of the emperor's happiness to speak out his own opinion. After finishing speaking, he is also nervous and fearful, extremely tense, afraid that this emperor is also a master who is happy and angry without a reason.

  After taking the Hongwan, his spirit improved a lot. After hearing Yang Ling's words, he looked at Yang Ling with great interest and said, "Tell me, what reason is there not to punish him?"

  This morning, the Ministry of War, Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, and the Five Armies Commanding Office have once again set up a net to catch people. Emperor Hongzhi is having a headache over this matter, but now he can't get out of it either. If Yang Ling can come up with a reason to exonerate He Canjun, then everyone who was to be punished will be released, and the officials from various departments will naturally not continue to entangle themselves in this matter. This is exactly the outcome he wants right now.

  Yang Ling listened to Hong Zhi's gentle tone, and his courage was boosted. He slightly adjusted his thoughts and said: "Your Majesty, the Tartars attacked our Ji Ming with 5,000 elite cavalry. At that time, there were less than 400 soldiers defending the city. Fortunately, the city walls were strong and the cannons were effective, so we were able to hold out for a while. The enemy took away the big cannons behind the city gate and blasted them open. The lives of more than 10,000 people in the city hung in the balance. If He Canjiang hadn't led his troops to arrive on time, the entire city would have been slaughtered, and Ji Ming's ancient post house would have fallen into enemy hands. This is a great achievement."

  "When the mountain was sealed off by heavy snow, He Can's desire to cut down the enemy was urgent, and he mistakenly fell into an ambush. This is a mistake that can be made up for with achievements. After our army fell into the enemy's ambush, He Can was able to make a decisive decision and withdraw quickly, preventing the enemy from forming a large-scale killing array, and minimizing our casualties. The consequences were almost the same as if we had engaged in a frontal battle. Therefore, although this was a mistake, the losses did not necessarily reach the level of being ambushed."

  Yang Ling did not mention the loss of horses, chariots and supplies that Ming Jun abandoned when he fled for his life, nor did he mention the foolish interference of the two military supervisors. If he had brought it up, he would have been too insignificant to have any effect, and might have even gotten himself drawn into this maelstrom.

  "He changed his tone and said: 'Long live, I think that General He's troops were not as numerous as the enemy's, but he was able to achieve this victory, which is not a bad general. If we punish him too severely, I'm afraid the generals on the front line will take it as a warning and be afraid to use their troops in the future, only seeking to avoid mistakes and not seeking achievements. Wouldn't that make the enemy's arrogance even more rampant?'"

  "Hmm...", Hong Zhi nodded slightly, as if in thought. When he first received the urgent report from Liu Jin, and learned that they had suffered heavy casualties and lost generals, he was enraged and immediately issued an edict ordering the Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest He Shen and bring him back to the capital for punishment.

  Since ancient times, officialdom has been a place where everyone pushes the wall down. For those who serve in the court, guessing the emperor's intention is the top priority. When the emperor wants to punish someone, they all rack their brains thinking of how to fabricate crimes for this person, so that the emperor can punish him with more justification and dignity. Those with slightly higher moral integrity would not kick a man when he is down, but how many people are willing to speak out the truth and plead for him?

  Yang Ling's words were the first time Hongzhi had heard of these things, so his heart was suddenly moved. He had always regretted that he did not have the ability to drive the Tartars out like Taizu and Chengzu, making them flee at the mere sight of him. But as the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, he still hoped that he could at least make the Tartars dare not invade easily, so as not to let the people of the Great Ming be trampled by the barbarians.

  Whether or not to punish Zhang Jiucheng is not a big deal, but if it's because of being too strict with the imperial court, and making the border troops fearful and hesitant in future battles, that would be against his true intentions.

  It seems that the "punishment" storm in the capital can be calmed down, and Hongzhi secretly calculated in his heart, already having a plan. On the surface, he smiled ambiguously and asked: "The Ministry of War's Wang Shouren submitted a memorial, highly praising the military training methods you mentioned. Today, speak freely and let me see what unique insights you have."

  Yang Ling felt a bit depressed, what is the point of being a servant? Isn't it just to be a companion for your son? Why does it seem like hiring a teacher, and still need to take an exam first? He didn't know that the emperor had many things to worry about, if he wanted to test someone's abilities, it was because he had the intention of cherishing and reusing talent. If there was an official who was familiar with the rules of the court, at this time they would be eager to show off their skills, wanting to display all eighteen martial arts to win the emperor's favor.

  Yang Ling thought for a moment, then combined what he had seen with the situation of the military in later generations, and said: "Your Majesty, I have observed that among the generals in the army, their abilities are uneven. Although there are brave generals, many only value personal martial arts and do not have any talent for governing the army."

  Nowadays, people value morality over material goods and literature over military prowess. A hundred battle victories are not as valuable as a single exquisite piece of writing. Those who excel in both literature and martial arts often abandon the latter for the former, making it even harder to find good generals.

  Furthermore, the military commands are not uniform, the weapons and armor are not uniform, the supply of food and grass is not uniform, and the training in peacetime is extremely scarce. Even if there is combat effectiveness, it is difficult to exert itself. When I was in Jī Míng, I often saw the military drills, for a time, the flags were bright, the clothes were dazzling, the swords and guns were eye-catching, and the drums were loud. It looked like the military power was majestic. However, most of the time was spent on these formation practices, which emphasized appearance over actual effectiveness, and had little practical use.

  "If the military's daily drills could spare a little time for field exercises, new recruits can become seasoned soldiers and seasoned soldiers can become elite troops. With the firearms equipped by our great Ming army, it is indeed a rare and valuable weapon. If used well, the enemy will not be able to withstand a single blow. However, no matter how good the weapons are, they still need people to use them. Now, soldiers who know how to use firearms are already scarce, let alone mastering them. Therefore, I believe that actual combat training is the most effective way to strengthen the military."

  Hongzhi's face slightly sank, the shortcomings of the soldiers not knowing the general and the general not knowing the soldiers he was not unaware of, but dividing the army to control power is an important means for emperors to firmly grasp imperial power. If the generals are allowed to firmly control the troops and constantly practice and exercise, wouldn't that be giving power to others?

  Yang Ling saw the expression on Hongzhi's face and knew he was in trouble. Since ancient times, emperors have been most concerned about usurpation and seizure of power. Wasn't what he had just said exactly what Hongzhi feared? Yang Ling hastily said: "Therefore, I think it would be better to select good generals as instructors to specialize in training soldiers, with a thousand men as a unit, training them in the ability to fight independently and respond to changing circumstances on the battlefield. The commander-in-chief only needs to direct from the center during battles, even if the commander is not present, at most there will be some delay in coordination between different troops, but it will never lead to a situation where the entire army collapses due to the absence of the commander.

  In short, I think that since ancient times it has been the case that generals are valued more than soldiers. It is often said that it is easy to get a thousand soldiers but hard to find a good general. Using this method to train soldiers is actually valuing soldiers over generals. Take for example the Mongolian cavalry of olden days, how many of their military leaders had read military books and strategies, or understood literary and martial tactics? If the whole army is brave and skilled in battle, even without a good general, who can defeat them?

  He thought about how to replace some modern words with Hongzhi's understandable language, so some words were not expressed. The actual meaning is to strengthen the initiative combat capability of units below the regiment level, and high-level generals are only responsible for commanding in the middle, rather than being personally involved in everything. Although power has been decentralized, it has bypassed high-level generals, so the emperor's actual control has actually increased.

  。

  After hearing, Hongzhi vaguely felt that what he said seemed to be able to avoid the situation where the powerful ministers controlled the army and became self-important, and could also fully enhance the combat effectiveness of the Ming army, but for a moment, he didn't think it through.

  He was about to ask more details when the old eunuch beside him leaned in and whispered, "Your Majesty, the noon court is about to begin, you see..."

  "Hongzhi nodded slightly and said to Yang Ling: 'Yes, your words are reasonable, I will consider them. Come on, grant Yang Ling the imperial token for free movement in the palace, confer him the title of Tong Jinshi, from today on, he will be the reader of the Eastern Palace, take Yang Qing to Chunfang.'"

  "Thank you, Your Majesty!" Yang Ling knelt down to express his gratitude, received a jade token from the eunuch that allowed him to enter and exit the palace at will, and then followed the small eunuch who had led him in out of the room.

  Yang Ling followed the little eunuch through the Qianqing Gate and rushed to the Chunfang where the Crown Prince lived. They entered a palace, Yang Ling waiting outside while the little eunuch went in to report. After a while, the palace gate opened, and out came an official about fifty years old, who didn't even glance at Yang Ling, his sleeves fluttering as he stormed out in anger.

  Yang Ling looked at his back, still in a daze, and the small eunuch who had delivered the message also came out, saying to Yang Ling: "Yang Shidu, you wait here for now, Master Gu has already been informed, and the Crown Prince will summon you soon, I'll be off first".

  Yang Ling stood there, his heels aching from standing for so long. He looked around the cold and empty palace, where not even a single eunuch or palace maid was in sight. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he bent down to stretch his sore body. Suddenly, his lower back sank, followed by a tightening sensation on his shoulders, as if something had jumped onto his shoulders. Yang Ling let out a startled cry.

  He turned his head and found himself face to face with a fluffy thunder god, whose pointed mouth and cheeky face had a pair of beady little eyes staring at him without blinking.

  Yang Ling was so frightened that he let out a loud cry, and before he could grab it, Zhang Lei's face was also startled by his cry. He immediately retracted his head and jumped onto his head. At this time, a hoarse and unpleasant voice came from the side hall door: "Gu Dajun, has Li University left? Ah, who are you? Don't move randomly, or my little monkey will scratch your face full of flowers."