nucmednet Chapter 596 Conflict
Chapter 596 Conflict
Lin San thought to himself, "Finally, we've gotten to the point." He replied, "Abatai was defeated and fled in Changyi. We were on foot, and we couldn't catch up with them on foot, so we took the sea route to Tianjin to try and intercept the Tartars. But the Tartars are almost all cavalry. If we can't beat them, we can run away. We need the support of nearby troops, preferably cavalry that can hold them off. That's why the general ordered me to come to the capital to request the emperor and the Ministry of War to order the mobilization of troops."
Wen Tiren was secretly surprised. Liu Ye's appetite was really big. Beheading more than two thousand people was not enough. He actually wanted to completely swallow Abatai's army! This was a Beile of the Tartars, not some unknown cat or dog.
He pondered for a moment and asked, "How confident are you?"
Lin San confidently replied, "As long as we have one or two troops to entangle the Tartars, preferably cavalry to slow down their march, we are 70% confident that we can completely defeat this Tartar force. If we are lucky, we may even capture the Tartar prince Abatai."
Completely defeat and capture Abatai! Such a goal made Wen Tiren uneasy. If he was the one who orchestrated this battle, he would undoubtedly be credited for his strategic planning. With the Tartar prince as a stepping stone, his position as chief minister would remain unchallenged for many years to come.
He made the decision without hesitation.
"It's too late today. Go directly to the Ministry of War tomorrow and state these demands. The Ministry of War will naturally bring them up for discussion in the court. I will then express my full support. I believe His Majesty also hopes to see a great victory, and this matter will be settled." This arrangement not only severs the private relationship between the two parties but also openly supports the Qionghai Army's proposal, making it a win-win situation.
Lin San was overjoyed. Was this what the Han people meant by "having someone in the court makes things easier"? It seemed that the purpose of this trip to the capital had been achieved.
While things were progressing smoothly for Lin San with the Grand Secretary, Huang Gan, the deputy captain of the guards, encountered something strange at the Ministry of War with the severed head.
At first, everything was normal. After the long procession of carriages arrived at the Ministry of War, the guards questioned them and were shocked to hear that these were all Tartar heads. They quickly went to report.
Whether it was due to the government's inefficiency or some other reason, it took a long time before a middle-aged official emerged, who introduced himself as the head of the Bureau of Military Affairs. He instructed Huang Gan to lead the convoy through a side gate into the Ministry of War, park it in the empty courtyard, and then let Huang Gan leave with his men.
Huang Gan wasn't stupid. These heads were valuable items that could be exchanged for silver and official positions. If anyone took them and let them go without even counting them, who would be held responsible if the numbers didn't match up? Although they didn't care much about the imperial court's rewards, these heads were earned by the brothers of the First Regiment with their lives, and they couldn't let someone take them without knowing why.
He said, “Sir, since we have nowhere else to go, let us guard these heads. We can leave after the Ministry of War has inspected them.”
The person in charge, who was always cold and unsmiling, glared at him upon hearing this and said coldly, "Are you worried? Do you think I would devour your head? It's just some dead people's heads, not some treasure."
Huang Gan had followed Lin San from the bandit army to the Qionghai Army, and had had a smooth ride for the past few years. He was used to bullying others and was not used to being treated condescendingly. When he heard that the other party's words were unpleasant, he became emotional and retorted with a stiff neck: "Sir, this is the head of a Tartar, not the head of some cat or dog. It was earned by our brothers with sword and spear. You make it sound so easy. If you're so capable, go to the battlefield and cut one off to show our brothers what you're made of."
A flash of anger crossed the official's eyes as he said menacingly, "Do you know who you're talking to? Your system of rewarding and punishing merits is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Personnel. If I say these merits are yours, they are yours; if I say they aren't, they aren't. You've only beheaded a few people, and you're already getting too big for your britches!"
Huang was furious: "I don't want other people's credit, but we can't lose a single bit of the credit that is rightfully ours. We risk our lives to fight this war, not to put up with your lousy attitude!"
The official snorted: "As expected of a crude and ignorant military man. I also told you that these heads must be placed in the Ministry of War today for the Department of Military Affairs to check and verify them to see if any innocent people were killed and falsely claimed as merits. You can't just say they are the heads of Tartars."
Huang Gan refused to back down: "Let them count us. They're all real Tartars. Who's afraid of who? But we're going to stay here and watch you count them with our own eyes. Give us a number."
"This is the Ministry of War, not your barracks. How the Ministry of War operates is none of your business. If you want to guard it, then guard it as you please. I'll arrange for someone to come and inspect it when you leave."
Huang Gan was furious when he heard this. If they didn't guard the area, the tampering might be done, but if they guarded it, they wouldn't be allowed to check it. Wasn't this bullying?
In a moment of impulse, he said to the soldiers, "Brothers, the Ministry of War is bullying us. We can't let them bully us like this. Get on the cart and let's go!"
The official in charge shouted, "What do you think this place is, where you can come and go as you please? You may leave as you please, but once your head enters the Ministry of War, it must remain here."
The commotion alerted the inner court, and a group of people came out. The leading official asked in a deep voice, "Why is there such a commotion in this important place?"
The official in charge hurriedly stepped forward: "Lord Yang, this troublemaker has made baseless accusations against our Bureau of Military Affairs and even said he would monitor us to inspect the heads. His words were all aimed at belittling our Ministry of War. It is truly hateful."
The man at the head of the group was none other than Yang Sichang. After that audience, Emperor Chongzhen reinstated him as Vice Minister of War, promising to promote him to the rank of Vice Minister once Zhang Fengyi returned from his campaign, while Zhang Fengyi would be reassigned. The next day, Yang Sichang arrived at the Ministry of War to report for duty and begin exercising his authority. Minister Zhang Fengyi had already volunteered to lead the army out of the city to fight the Tartars, leaving Yang Sichang with the actual power of the Ministry of War.
The officials in the Ministry of War were all shrewd and astute. From the moment the Emperor appointed Yang Sichang as Right Vice Minister and placed him in charge of all affairs of the Ministry of War while Zhang Fengyi was away from the capital, they sensed an impending change in power; the head of the ministry was about to be replaced. As the saying goes, "A new emperor, a new court," and to keep their lucrative positions in the Ministry of War and avoid being eliminated in the initial burst of activity of a new official, clinging to the new Minister was essential. With this mindset, officials of all ranks treated Yang Sichang as if he were the Minister, and implementing his instructions was far more efficient than when Zhang Fengyi was in charge.
Yang Sichang's political philosophy was very clear: "To repel external aggression, one must first pacify the internal situation." He advocated negotiating peace with the Later Jin, maintaining stability in the north, and concentrating efforts on suppressing the bandits. When Huang Gan brought the severed head to the Ministry of War, his first reaction was disbelief. Since Chongzhen ascended the throne, there had never been a proper victory against the Tartars, let alone the astonishing achievement of beheading more than two thousand in one battle.