The story goes like this: After six years of orthodoxy (144 1), the then Taizu Empress Dowager was critically ill and could no longer reprimand Wang Zhen. Sanyang can do nothing. Wang Zhen actually controls the power of state affairs, and all foreign governors and officials must pay tribute to Wang Zhen with some gold and silver treasures as usual when they return to Beijing. It doesn't matter how much, but it must be expressed to show respect for the dead eunuch.
It was also at this time that this man came back from the governor of Shanxi, not to mention gold and silver, and did not even bring back a bottle of old vinegar. Wang Zhen was so angry that he flew into a rage and locked the man up at once.
Wang Zhen is an extreme person. He won't go easy on such a person who obviously loses face. He is ready to fabricate charges and kill this man. But to his surprise, this person seems to have a lot of background.
Not only local bureaucrats and ordinary people helped him to speak, but even important officials in the DPRK, such as Yang Shiqi, interceded for him, and even some c's came forward to demand that Wang Zhen never do anything, otherwise he would be good-looking. The captain is very difficult. )
Wang Zhen, who has always been fond of playing tricks on people, finally realized that although this person's power is not high, it is not simple and cannot be "destroyed humanely", so he uncharacteristically released this person (even if he didn't let go).
This man is really bad. He was badly beaten, but he didn't say a word He kept lambasting Wang Zhen, losing face at all. He insisted on fighting him to the end. You can do many things to me.
This tough guy with background is Yu Qian.
Unfortunately, there were too few such people at that time.
Preparation and selection
In these few short days, Wang Zhen has always dreamed of making a name in history, while others have their own actions.
First of all, ministers heard the news like a bolt from the blue, immediately fried the pot, headed by Wang Zhi, the official department minister, wrote against it.
The official department is the personnel department, ranking first among the six departments because of the authority to appoint competent officials. The official ministers also have a special name-Tianguan, which shows their high prestige.
Under the leadership of Wang Zhi, hundreds of officials joined forces to pay homage to and oppose the expedition. Unfortunately, Wang Zhen was the supervisor of the ceremony and won the trust of the emperor. His opposition was invalid.
In addition to these people, there are two Ministry of War officials who also wrote against it. They are Minister of War Kuang Ye and Assistant Minister of War Yu Qian.
Kuang Ye, a native of Yizhang, was born as a scholar in Yongle. He is honest and clean, and he is very dissatisfied with Wang Zhen's misconduct. This time, he wrote a letter against it, which is a manifestation of his always decent conduct. As expected, his objection was also rejected, but this was not the end of his dissuasion. In fact, as a person who participated in this expedition from beginning to end, he kept his loyalty to the last moment of his life.
And this is in money, which is the protagonist of our later chapter. To say that this person is not generally strong, his ability and popularity are not generally high. He offended Wang Zhen, the number one red man, and never admitted his mistake. Even under the nose of Wang Zhen, he can be reinstated as assistant minister of the Ministry of War, but Wang Zhen can't help, which shows his solid foundation and deep background.
After the protests of two senior Ministry of War officials were rejected, they had to continue their work and prepare for the expedition. According to the regulations, the emperor went to war and the main leaders of the Ministry of War should accompany him. After internal consultation, he finally made a decision:
Master Kuang accompanied him to the war, and Yu Qian temporarily replaced the Ministry of War.
Facts have proved that it was this decision that saved the national luck of the Ming Empire.
Let's take a look at the five key words of the Ming Dynasty:
The army was defeated, the emperor was captured, the capital was empty, people were in panic, and the surrender (escape) faction.
It is really a national subjugation.
This scene is familiar, yes, a very similar situation happened 323 years ago.
In October of the first year of Jingkang in the Northern Song Dynasty (1 126), the northern nomads attacked the Northern Song Dynasty, and Taiyuan was calm and fell. 1 1 In the middle of the month, Jin Jun crossed the Yellow River. Song Qinzong panicked and didn't know what to do, but the ministers had no fighting spirit and advocated surrender.
In this case, on the second day of1February, Song Qinzong formally surrendered to Kim.
In the second year of Jingkang (1 127), on April 1st, Wang returned to Korea with more than 400 captured concubines and maids of Zhao and a large amount of gold and silver they plundered, and the Northern Song Dynasty perished.
If you compare it, you will find that the two dynasties separated by more than 300 years are so similar. Soon they were all defeated, the capital was empty, people were in panic, and the remarks of surrender and escape were rampant. Moreover, the situation in Daming at this time is even more unfavorable, because their emperor has fallen into the hands of the enemy and he wants to fight.
But Daming didn't end up like the Northern Song Dynasty, because compared with the Northern Song Dynasty, Daming had one more person and a roar at this time:
"It is recommended that everyone who moves south should be killed!"
The speaker is Yu Qian, assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
Yu Qian
In the thirty-first year of Hongwu (1398), the Ming Empire sent away its founder Zhu Yuanzhang, which was a great loss for the empire.
But in this year, an ordinary family in Qiantang County, Zhejiang Province (now Hangzhou) gave birth to a future savior of the empire. This is naturally our protagonist Yu Qian.
Of course, Yu Qian was not a rescuer at that time. For him as a baby, the most important task and goal at present is to eat milk.
Because of the good family environment, Yu Qian has his own study, where he spent his childhood. Like all scholars at that time, Yu Qian's study career began with the Four Books and Five Classics.
To tell the truth, things like the Four Books and Five Classics can easily cultivate nerds, but Yu Qian seems to be an exception. He is very motivated and studies hard, but he never sticks to what is in books. Besides studying exam contents, he also likes reading extracurricular books (such as The Art of War). History tells us that children who like reading extracurricular books are generally promising in the future.
Just like today's groupies, Yu Qian also has his own idol. He hung the portrait of this idol in his study (which he is familiar with) and worshipped it day and night.
Once, the teacher who taught him to read found that he often looked at portraits and asked him curiously why he did it.
Hearing this, Yu Qian immediately replied seriously: "I want to be like him in the future!" " "
The figure in the portrait is Wen Tianxiang.
In addition, Yu Qian wrote two sentences in his study as a compliment to Wen Tianxiang.
Martyrs, forget me, sacrifice their lives for justice.
It is better to die right than to die carefully and completely]
In my opinion, this is the young Yu Qian's commitment to his future behavior.
After more than 30 years, he realized his promise with his life.
In the 19th year of Yongle (142 1), Yu Qian was twenty-three years old. By this time, he had passed the provincial examination and was about to go to Beijing to catch it.
From then on, he will bid farewell to his hometown, the hometown of Jiangnan water town, and go to Beijing, which is full of clouds and clouds.
The road ahead is difficult, but Yu Qian is not afraid. He knew that a wider world was waiting for him, and it was time to realize his lifelong ambition.
Yu Qian packed his bags, bid farewell to his family, looked at the long road ahead, recited a poem and embarked on a journey.
[Sword Dance Atrium,
Hao Gezhen Lin Luan!
That's what the husband wants,
Don't be pedantic! 〗
Yu Qian, the world is vast. Start your brilliant life!
A cool breeze
In this exam in Beijing, Yu Qian successfully passed the Jinshi exam and was finally appointed as an imperial envoy. After the Zhu Rebellion in the first year of Xuande, Yu Qian severely taught the extremely failed captaincy with his loud voice, harsh words and profound reprimands, which left a deep impression on Ming Renzong.
Since then, Yu Qian has embarked on the road of Qingyun.
In the fifth year of Xuande (1430), Emperor Xuanzong of Ming Dynasty appointed Yu Qian as the right assistant minister of the Ministry of War and appointed him as the governor of Shanxi and Henan. This year, Yu Qian was only thirty-two years old.
He is only 32 years old, but he is already in the third category, the deputy ministerial level. It is a miracle. Yu Qian has become the envy of his peers.
Of course, this is inseparable from the appreciation of some people in the DPRK, and it is "Sanyang" that focuses on cultivating and reusing him.
People with rich experience in officialdom like Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong naturally know the goods, and talents like Yu Qian can't escape their eyes. In fact, at that time, some people did express dissatisfaction with the rapid promotion of money, but smiled and said, "This man is a rare genius and will become a pillar in the future! I just promoted him for the country. "
A wizard is not a wizard, a pillar is not a pillar, and Yang Shiqi is not responsible. Only by making achievements will everyone recognize you.
Yu Qian left Beijing and started his career as a local official, but he didn't expect it. That was nineteen years.
During this 19 year, Yu Qian, the governor of Henan and Shaanxi, lived up to Yang Shiqi's great trust and worked conscientiously. During his tenure, his prestige was very high and the people respected him very much. What's more, he is not only capable, but also clean.
During the Orthodox period, Wang Zhen came to power. He is a plucking type. When local officials come to Beijing to report the situation, they will bring something more or less. Even some daily necessities, Wang Zhen also comes to the net, which makes people laugh and cry. However, Yu Qian is very different. He is the governor and has great power, but he can do it without greed. Not only are you not greedy, but you also don't let others be greedy.
When one is greedy and the other is not greedy, contradictions arise.
So after six years of orthodoxy (144 1), Wang Zhen, who always looked down on Yu Qian, made an excuse and locked up the governor. As we said before, Wang Zhen didn't know Yu Qian's popularity was so high. If he wants to kill this man, the consequences may be extremely serious. So Wang Zhen gave way and he released Yu Qian.
This incident also made Wang Zhen understand that Yu Qian could not be offended. Later, when Yu Qian was reinstated, Wang Zhen didn't even dare to fart, which showed that Wang Zhen was a bully and a pure villain.
In prison, Yu Qian of Wang Zhen was still cursed. After he was released from prison, he still adhered to the principle and was as clean as ever.
Someone once advised Yu Qian to give something as a favor. For such persuasion, Yu Qian wrote a poem to answer.
It is estimated that he himself did not expect that this unintentional answer turned into an eternal famous sentence and was praised.
[Spaghetti mushrooms and string incense,
It is a disaster for capital to be used for civilian purposes.
The wind and sleeves floated into the air,
So as not to talk too long! 〗
This is how the idiom remain uncorrupted comes from. Mr. Yu Qian owns the copyright, please pay attention.
In the 13th year of orthodoxy (1448), Yu Qian was called to the capital as an assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and his immediate supervisor was Lord Kuang.
Master Kuang is a very decent man. During his tenure, he established a good relationship with Yu Qian, who cooperated closely and had deep feelings.
If this continues, it is estimated that Yu Qian will stay until Kuang Ye retires and takes his place. He will be a second-class official, and after his death, he will be awarded the honorary title of a prince's tutor (from the first grade), leaving two records in the history of the Ming Dynasty: Yu Qian, a native of Qiantang, when he was born, when he died, and when he was an official.
That should be it.
For Yu Qian and Kuang Ye themselves, such a life seems beautiful, but history cannot assume that Kuang Ye will not retire and Yu Qian will not live so dull. Fourteen years of earth-shattering orthodoxy have finally come.
After that, we are familiar with the contents, such as trade disputes, border defeat, eunuch's dream, stupid decision-making, well-meaning persuasion, going its own way, marching at random, and finally mutually assured destruction.
Yu Qian watched all this happen, but he was helpless and extremely painful. Master Kuang is a good boss and leader. He has given himself a lot of help. In a sense, the fate of that sacrifice on the expedition road may belong to him.
Stop being sad and do something.
hero
When the country is in danger, there are always some people who stand up and serve the country. Such people are called heroes.
In everyone's heart, there is a desire to be a hero, even Wang Zhen is no exception, and he also hopes to get this title when he goes to war.
But not everyone can be a hero. If it were so easy, wouldn't everyone be heroes? !
Generally speaking, a hero is such a person:
The so-called hero dares to do what others dare not do, dare to do what others dare not do.
The so-called hero, save the day, help the building down.
The so-called heroes are strong and resolute, and they have repeatedly lost and fought.
Such a person can be called a hero!
But in my opinion, the real hero is more than that.
The so-called heroes are actually a group of people who are afraid.
To be a hero, you must first learn to be afraid.
What is the solution? Wait for me to solve:
We have all experienced naive childhood, and aspiring teenagers often dream of making great achievements and starting a career in the future, and let me come and go!
But when you really integrate into this world, you will find that this is not your own world. You will encounter many disappointments and setbacks, and things will never develop as you think.
So people began to shrink back and start to fear.
They began to realize that it is not so easy to survive in this world.
So some people sink, and some people are negative.
However, at this time, the hero appeared.
There are no natural heroes in this world. No one is born resolute, resolute and brave. We are all the same person in mom's arms.
If your life is smooth sailing, it is certainly worth congratulating.
But unfortunately, this is impossible. In the process of your growth, you will inevitably encounter all kinds of setbacks.
And these setbacks will bring you many unhappy experiences, such as hesitation, pain and despair, which will make you fidget.
It hurts to be beaten! You don't know shame until you are scolded!
When you suffer these pains and humiliations, you will understand how difficult it is to achieve your goals, and you will begin to fear all the obstacles that stand in your way.
If you encounter these difficulties, feel fear and pain, and can't persist, you should realize at the same time that it is time to decide your own destiny.
Because fear is not negative, it is actually the beginning of a person's real strength and the starting point of becoming a hero.
People who don't know fear don't know what difficulties are and can't overcome them.
Only those who know fear can arouse their own strength.
Only those who know fear have the courage to overcome it.
Who knows the horror of fear, who can transcend it, conquer it, and finally become its master, who is a hero.
Therefore, the title of hero does not only belong to those who have made great achievements in history and made a name for themselves. In fact, all those who understand fear and finally overcome it are heroes.
Because even if you live a mediocre life, you can still be proud of it when you are old and look back.
At that difficult moment, I made a brave choice. I am a worthy hero!
This is what I think of as a real hero-a person who fears and overcomes his fears.
The key is the moment of fear, whether you choose to beat him or avoid him.
The dividing line of life is here, and crossing this step is a hero! It's a coward to take a step back!
Yu Qian is not a born hero.
At least he was not a real hero until the morning of August 18, the fourteenth year of orthodoxy.
Although he is an honest official, although he ranks third and holds great power, these are not enough to prove that he is a hero.
He also needs to show his fear and his ability to overcome it.
Yu Qian is a very strong person. He has always been tough, from his denunciation of Zhu to his refusal to buy. It seems that there is nothing in the world that he is afraid of.
But this time is different. As an assistant minister of the Ministry of War, he has to face the Valla army and the depressed morale in the city. You can ignore your own life and death, but now the burden of the country has been on yourself and must be handled with caution. Once there is a mistake, the consequences are unimaginable.
Yu Qian knows very well that if he escapes, he will lose half the country, so he cannot escape.
What about fighting? It's easy to talk big, but when Walla attacks, words can't repel the enemy. In case of a command error, the Ming Dynasty may be destroyed.
Fight or flight is a question.
Faced with such a heavy burden and such a huge responsibility, who can not hesitate and who can not be afraid!
Yu Qian is also a human being, and he will be afraid, but he is immortal because he can overcome fear.
He is not a tough guy by nature.
After more than ten years abroad, he was recalled to Beijing as an assistant minister of the Ministry of War. He is not always smooth sailing. He was promoted to the highest level, pushed out by others, imprisoned and almost lost his life. But whether it is success or failure, all this has been honing him.
It is also in this day-to-day training that he gradually becomes firm and strong.
Strong enough to overcome fear.
When Master Kuang left, Ji's eyes were still in sight. At this time, he should stand up and save the crisis.
But the emperor who was trapped in the enemy camp became a hostage. First, the elite soldiers, the panicked people in the city, the demoralized and vulnerable Ming army, and the escapists who only cared about themselves like Xu Kun fanned the flames. Everything reminded him:
This is a mess, a dead chess.
Be a martyr for your country and forget your body.
I'd rather die right, meticulous and intact!
Yu Qian finally took this step.
I will take responsibility for the rise and fall of the country!
Chapter 16 Decision!
"It is recommended that everyone who moves south should be killed!"
This is how Yu Qian reprimanded Xu Kun.
He went on to say:
"Beijing is the foundation of the world. If you move the capital, great events are inevitable! Don't you forget the southern crossing in the Song Dynasty? " (I don't watch Song alone)
His roar awakened those who were hesitant. Wang Zhi, the first official of North Korea, stood up and publicly supported Yu Qian, while Shang Lu, another winner of the Ming Dynasty, later became an important minister of Xianzong, stood on his side. Under the influence of these people, the hawks finally moved Zhu Qiyu and strengthened his determination to resist to the end.
Because Yu Qian once represented the Ministry of War and was the representative of the hawk faction, Zhu Qiyu handed over the important task of defending Beijing to Yu Qian.
This is the highest honor and the heaviest burden in the world.
After leaving for Korea, Yu Qian walked out of the mourning hall, looked at the cloudy sky, and recalled this morning in shock, feeling thrilling.
But at this time, Yu Qian has no time to think much, because his thin body has shouldered the burden of the rise and fall of the country.
On the morning of August 18, he made the most important choice and completed the most important change in his life.
On this day, his immortal legend began.
August nineteenth.
Yu Qian held his first military meeting. It must be noted that although the assistant minister of the Ministry of War is the chief officer dealing with the army, he has never commanded the army before. He is a scholar.
Having said that, it is not impossible for a scholar to go into battle. The Southern Song empire organized the war as a civilian, and finally defeated Jin Yanliang's hundreds of thousands of troops in quarrying.
Although Yu Qian is a civil servant, he has also studied the art of war and is good at arranging troops, which is believed to be the basis for reading extracurricular books when he was a child.
So extracurricular reading is really essential.
But when Yu Qian really understood the current situation in Beijing, he realized that what he was facing was a real mess.
Except those who fled and surrendered, the pressure of the army was really unbearable. The defeat of the civil fort almost cost me everything, and even a few decent horses in the capital could not be found. The number of soldiers is less than100000, and they are all old, weak, sick and disabled soldiers and retirees.
It doesn't matter. The key is low morale. The first-class troops were sent out to fight, only to be wiped out. Those who get away with it, in order to hide their incompetence, will naturally describe the enemy extremely badly.
The second-rate troops in the city are naturally afraid when they hear the comments of these predecessors. In their eyes, they and his Mongolian cavalry are simply alien monsters. How many heads does a person have? You can't kill him.
But the most serious problem is that the emperor (agent), the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty, has no confidence in himself, and Zhu Qiyu is not a timid person. However, in the face of such a powerful enemy, he has no clue. Although he has agreed to resist at present, if he is defeated again, Zhu Qiyu is likely to change his mind.
Therefore, the most important task at present is to stabilize the morale of the army.
Yu Qian listened to his subordinates' reports and remained silent. After carefully studying the military protection map, he issued his first military order with a deep and powerful voice:
"From now on, I was ordered to call the following troops to Beijing to guard:
1, prepare for war. Including two Beijing reserve forces and Henan reserve forces;
2. Prepare the Japanese army. Including the enemy forces in Nanjing and Shandong;
3. grain transport army. Including all grain transport troops in Jiangbei;
4, Ningyang Hou and his Zhejiang army (strong combat effectiveness).
After receiving the order, all the troops set out immediately and arrived in the capital on time for protection. If they don't obey, the military orders will be cut! "
There are100000 troops in total. It can be seen that these troops are not the main force, but mostly reserve or logistics forces.
Where did the main force go?
It's all buried in the civil fort.
There is no way. The three most elite battalions in Beijing and the main forces near Beijing have been completely annihilated, leaving little. Even those who fled back were frightened and demoralized. If you want to defend Beijing, you can only rely on these reserve and logistics forces.
Besides soldiers, we need something more important to defend the capital-food.
Beijing has a large population. To solve the problem of feeding these people, we must hoard and transport a lot of food.
Although there is still enough food in the capital at present, this abacus will not work if it is besieged for a long time. In fact, Tongzhou, not far from Beijing, stores a lot of grain. To what extent? There are millions of rice in the warehouse. So much food was enough for Beijingers to eat for a year, and it was the largest granary at that time.
However, ministers do not seem to want to use these grains, and even advocate burning Tongzhou granary.
This is another strange thing. You don't need delicious food. Why burn it?
You know, ministers don't stick their heads in the water. Because these lines are visible and unnecessary.
At that time, Tongzhou was not a part of Beijing. In fact, it is still a long way from Beijing. Although there is a lot of grain in Tongzhou granary, it is difficult to transport it to Beijing, because it is dangerous to arrange the transportation of migrant workers, not to mention a lot of manpower.
At that time, the first cavalry units had been swaggering around Beijing Customs, but it took a long time to transport them. Maybe in the process of transportation, other cavalry units have invaded. Once the troops take the lead in breaking through Zijingguan, Tongzhou will be the next day. And those grains naturally became the first batch of rations, so to transport food, troops must be sent to guard it.
But in this situation, the military strength to defend the capital is insufficient, how can there be redundant people to keep food?
This is a difficult problem. There seems to be no better solution than burning.
But Yu Qian solved this problem in a very clever way.
This is his second command:
"All the called troops must enter Beijing from Tongzhou, and the foot soldiers bring their own food and transport it to Beijing."
When the problem is solved, the grain in Tongzhou will be transported to Beijing by hundreds of thousands of soldiers.
See, this is the level.
The so-called level is to be able to do things that others can't do and come up with ways that others can't think of.
Everyone has the courage of a man, but the problem lies ahead. Whether we can handle it well depends on our ability.
Yu Qian is a brave man, but also a capable man. In the handling of this matter, he cleverly linked the two issues, which not only delayed the March, but also avoided the expenses of migrant workers, and at the same time ensured the safety of the grain delivery team, killing two birds with one stone.
It is not ordinary people who turn the tide, but also ethnologists.
Only when you are both wise and brave can you be a national scholar.