Chapter 549: It’s Better to Drive a Nail In Than to Cause Sudden Pain
Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had accompanied Zhu Di on two northern expeditions and were highly regarded by him. Their military tents were as spacious as those of high-ranking nobles. When they learned that Zhang Yue intended to move in and live with them, they were both extremely surprised. After all, although cabinet ministers held lower ranks, their powers were immense—far beyond what ordinary officials in the six ministries could compare to. Even Yang Rong, who knew how dangerous military campaigns could be and needed to be cautious about Zhang Fu, whose reputation among the nobles was extremely high, couldn’t fathom the emperor’s intentions, let alone Jin Youzi.
Zhang Yue, who had been living alone comfortably, was even less accustomed to sharing a tent with two such important cabinet ministers. Though he didn’t have the habit of talking in his sleep, who knew what might happen under pressure? So, whenever camp was set up at night, he would claim the tent was stuffy and go outside to hang a lantern, then spread out a cowhide mat and sit cross-legged to read for over an hour before entering to sleep. Even though these two scholars were ordered to accompany the emperor, his habit remained unchanged. By the time the army left Yingchang, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi thought Zhang Yue understood his place and gradually stopped caring about having such a young colleague in the tent.
During daytime marches, the Ming army’s formation was truly spectacular. At the center was the emperor’s main camp led by Marquis Anyuan Liu Sheng. Outside it were the left and right outposts, as well as the left and right flanks. Infantry was inside, cavalry outside, with the Divine Machine Camp further outside the cavalry. Beyond them were elite troops sent by various provincial authorities, encircling an area of twenty li in all directions. Soldiers were not allowed to leave this encirclement, whether herding or gathering firewood, and even those transporting military provisions had to follow closely behind the army. Three hundred li to the left, right, front, and back of the encirclement, Zhu Rong led troops to patrol, ensuring absolute security.
After following the army for days, Zhang Yue had long become accustomed to the sight of three hundred thousand soldiers plus tens of thousands of laborers marching in such a grand scale. He wasn’t as quick-witted as Jin Youzi, who could jot down poems while riding, but he still tried his best to record everything as they moved forward. Along the way, he saw several abandoned Mongol yurts, but he didn’t encounter even small groups of Mongol soldiers, let alone Altan. Remembering Altan’s arrogance when he attacked Xinghe and comparing it to his current avoidance of battle, Zhang Yue understood that this was the well-known principle of the nomadic tribes: to bully the weak and fear the strong, to attack when they could win and flee when they couldn’t—truly a proven truth.
During this period, there were indeed challenges encountered. For example, when the army was nearing Yingchang, Kaiping urgently reported that the Tartar invaders were rising up, but Zhu Di ignored any suggestions for reinforcements and focused solely on the most critical goal—attacking the enemy’s stronghold directly, ignoring everything else. Finally, after several days of fruitless searches, Zhu Rong managed to capture some Tartars who hadn’t had time to flee.
For Zhu Di, who was determined to resolve the issue with Arutai once and for all, capturing live captives was naturally a boost to his morale. As for Zhang Yue, who wasn’t yet qualified to participate in such operations, the results of interrogating these captives were obvious even without further thought. At that moment, he was ordered to deliver messages to Liu Sheng, the Marquis of Anyuan in the central army, and on his way back, he happened to meet Zhou Bailing, who had been promoted.
“Lord Zhang, I heard some Tartars were captured?”
“Just a few scattered herders who were terrified by the scale of the army. I doubt we’ll get much information from them,” Zhang Yue said with a smile upon seeing Zhou Bailing in full armor. “It’s not that I’m trying to dampen your spirits, but this time it probably won’t be like the previous two times—we might not be able to fight. Arutai hasn’t fully recovered his strength yet and still dares to provoke us. Moreover, knowing that his tribesmen are turning against him, he must now be completely isolated. With the precedent of being defeated by our army last time, he probably has no choice but to flee away from them. He can keep fleeing north, but we can’t keep chasing north indefinitely. After all, the Oirats are only pretending to be obedient this time and haven’t sent any troops to support them.”
“All of them are unruly wolves!”
As the two were talking, Liu Yongcheng, an eunuch from the Imperial Horse Supervision Bureau who had come to inspect the area with a few guards, overheard everything clearly. He ordered his attendants to stay silent and listened carefully for a while. Only after the two left did he frown thoughtfully before continuing his inspection unnoticed. When he returned to the imperial tent and learned that the captured Tartars had said many tribes had scattered in fear at the sight of the Ming army’s advance, with Arutai retreating in haste with just over ten thousand of his men, and although the eunuch who brought the news said the emperor didn’t believe it, combined with Zhang Yue’s words, Liu Yongcheng already believed it.
Waving his hand, he ordered the young eunuch to leave, then began to ponder. The expedition set out at the end of February, and now it was already early June—more than three months had passed. Although communication between the capital and the campaign site had never been severed, the emperor was worried about the capital, and the crown prince was worried about the campaign site; their concerns were likely the same in both cases. If Arutai truly escaped, they could immediately return. To avoid repeating the mistakes of the 12th year of the Yongle era, it seemed necessary to send a message to the crown prince in the capital right away, at least to be prepared.
With this in mind, that night, after leaving the imperial tent, Liu Yongcheng hurried back to his own tent. He was an old servant who had worked in the Prince of Yan’s mansion. Though his skills in reading and writing were not outstanding, he could write letters without difficulty. After hastily drafting the letter, he realized it would be inappropriate to send it mixed in with military reports at the post station, so he called over a young, trusted bodyguard.
“Mu Zheng, get ready tonight to deliver a letter back to our master. Hmm, we need an excuse… Ah, the emperor mentioned today that due to the hot weather and a shortage of military doctors, it would be good for us to send you to Kaiping. Once there, return to the capital at full speed and deliver the letter to Ma Yunma, the imperial stable master. Understood?”
“Yes, I understand!”
There were many clever people in the army beyond just one or two. Those military officers and nobles who had accompanied the emperor on the northern expeditions twice were pondering things, and Yang Rong and Jin Youzi, who had been by Zhu Di’s side all day, also sensed something was amiss. With so many ministers in the cabinet and so many ministers in the six departments, the two of them had never been reprimanded or criticized, so their ability to observe and judge situations was undoubtedly remarkable. The fact that they hadn’t advised Zhu Di against the northern expedition before didn’t mean they agreed with such a massive military campaign. Although they often schemed among themselves, they were now united as never before.
“If there’s no progress in the next few days, Brother Youzi, we should advise the emperor to withdraw.”
“It’s indeed wise to be extremely cautious when going deep into Mongolian territory.”
“Brother Youzi, do you remember that time during the last northern expedition when we got lost in a valley and almost lost our lives? The deeper we go into the grasslands, the less familiar we are with the terrain. Plus, with the Oirats watching us closely, we can’t wait until our supply lines are cut off before realizing the danger.”
“If we get the chance these days, let’s advise him. It seems the emperor is also hesitant today… Hey, is that Zhang Yue?”
Just as Yang Rong was about to speak, he suddenly heard these words and quickly looked up. Sure enough, he saw someone sitting at the entrance of the tent over there. Unlike usual, there was a small table in front of Zhang Yue, who seemed to be bent over writing something, with a burly man standing not far away. Recalling that Zhang Yue often wrote on horseback during breaks in the march, Yang Rong was greatly surprised. He quickly pulled Jin Youzi and quietly went around to the other side.
Though they moved carefully, they couldn’t hide from Peng Shisan. However, since Zhang Yue had mentioned earlier that he wanted to write something, Peng Shisan quickly decided to pretend not to see, standing there as if he knew nothing. Glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had already gone behind Zhang Yue, and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Using a medicine spoon to measure medicine ensures accurate dosing, but in urgent combat situations, even experienced people find it difficult to prepare the medicine within moments. If the craftsmen in the Armaments Department wrap the medicine in paper and weigh it first, soldiers could fight twice as fast! This is what I learned while defending Xinghe. Please try it out in the Divine Machine Camp…”
After skimming Zhang Yue’s memorial in an instant, Yang Rong and Jin Youzi straightened up almost at the same time. They exchanged a look, both feeling quite surprised. They knew the emperor liked to read Zhang Yue’s notes in his free time, and they had assumed this ambitious young man was plotting something major, never expecting it to be such a trivial matter. In an instant, the meticulous Yang Rong realized something and a faint smile appeared on his face.
He had indeed improved. Previously, he had always aimed for big things, but now he understood that everything should start with small steps.
It was already June, and they camped every night, so mosquitoes were never lacking. Although Zhang Yue carried special insect repellent, it still couldn’t keep up with the endless swarm of insects. Midway through writing, he couldn’t help slapping his neck hard. Wiping his wet forehead with his sleeve, he suddenly felt someone behind him and quickly turned around, only to find two thoughtful scholars standing there.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, father and son, hated most of all scholars forming cliques—even successful candidates and examiners were not allowed to have teacher-student relationships—although Yang Rong had been an examiner in the past and Zhang Yue was usually addressed as a scholar, they still followed the proper disciple protocol when they met. After standing up to pay his respects, he thought the two would ignore him and go straight into the tent. But Jin Youzi asked, “Yuanjie, was that article you just wrote meant to be presented to the emperor?”
As soon as these words were spoken, Zhang Yue immediately realized that the two of them must have been there for some time, and most likely had read some of what he had written. He discreetly glanced at Peng Shisan, who was about ten steps away, recalling that he had once mentioned to him what he intended to write. He knew right away that this guy was deliberately holding back. After some thought, he explained, “The Emperor is currently busy with military affairs. I’ve just written it down for now and will submit it once we return to the capital. As a clerk in the Military Armory Department, it’s my duty to pay attention to such matters.”
“It is indeed necessary to pay attention. As the saying goes, one cannot clean the whole world before cleaning one’s own house; it’s only right to focus on one’s own responsibilities,” Yang Rong said. He had been worrying about how to find an opportunity to suggest to the Emperor that they withdraw in the coming days, but then had an idea. He thought Zhang Yue’s memorial could also be a good opportunity, so he nodded and smiled, “But there’s no need to wait until we return to the capital. Show it to me once you’ve finished it. If I get the chance these days, I’ll help you deliver it to the Emperor. Also, it’s hot and stuffy inside this tent, but since it’s been soaked in medicinal liquid, you don’t have to stay outside every night. Although my brother Jin Youzi and I handle state affairs, there’s nothing confidential here in this tent.”
Zhang Yue wasn’t surprised that Yang Rong agreed to help deliver the memorial, but the latter part of his words relieved him. He had feared that Zhu Di was acting out of the emperor’s capricious nature, but he didn’t think Yang Rong and Jin Youzi were deliberately avoiding him. It was just that the matters handled by these two were extremely important. If he were accidentally tricked by someone, there would be no way to explain things even with ten mouths talking. Otherwise, even if he loved reading, he wouldn’t do it in front of everyone’s eyes.
As most people expected, when the 300,000-strong army arrived at Kuoluan Sea, it was indeed in a mess—only abandoned Mongolian yurts, leftover supplies that couldn’t be taken away, and hundreds of cattle, sheep, horses, and camels remained. However, having experienced the cunning of the Tatars and Oirats during his previous two campaigns, Zhu Di didn’t believe for a moment that Arutai had truly fled north. He stubbornly thought it was a trick by the Tatars. So, while the army set up camp, they sent more scouts in all directions to search.
Yet the news brought back by Zhu Rong and the others was completely contrary to Zhu Di’s expectations—there was not a trace of Arutai’s forces within 300 miles, and several captured herders said in terror that Arutai and his family had fled far away. Faced with Arutai’s clear refusal to engage in direct combat, Zhu Di was furious.
“Collect those livestock and burn Arutai’s abandoned supplies and yurts!”
Although the emperor had not spoken explicitly, by evening, the word “return” had already spread among the troops, and both civil and military officials had anticipated this outcome. Yet during dinner that night, Zhang Yue, who had been idle for days, was summoned to the emperor’s presence once again—of course, because of his memorial. Compared to his anger during the day, the emperor now seemed merely tired. After asking Zhang Yue detailed questions, he nodded and said, “After we return, go and discuss this with the Military Equipment Bureau of the Ministry of Works and the Imperial Armory Bureau. Do as you suggest. Now that Arutai is gone, I intend to punish the Wulangha. We will turn back tomorrow.”
Yang Rong and Jin Youzi had just tried their best to persuade him, but to their surprise, the emperor suddenly uttered such words, leaving them all stunned. Zhang Yue knew that the Wulangha referred to the Doyan Three Guards, who had always been fickle—allied with Zhu Di when it suited them to suppress rebellions, but colluding with Arutai when they rebelled. They were the most troublesome group. Rather than dealing a severe blow now only for them to rise again later, it was better to drive a nail in their coffin right away.
Glancing at Yang Rong and Jin Youzi, whose expressions were as stern as water, he pondered for a moment before speaking, “Since the Wulangha have allied with Arutai, they are essentially rebels. After the emperor launches a campaign against them, why not relocate the Danning Three Guards from Baoding Prefecture back to their original locations? The old city of Danning has been abandoned for some time; with minor repairs, it can be put to use again. With the Danning Guards and Kaiping Xinghe guarding each other’s flanks, they can control the Tatars in the east and the Oirats in the west, and even form a line with the Nurgan Commandery.”
Relocate the Danning Guards!
Zhu Di’s expression changed abruptly, his gaze turning as sharp as a knife. He locked eyes with Zhang Yue for a long time before snorting angrily but remaining silent. Yang Rong and Jin Youzi exchanged a look and simultaneously dismissed their original idea.
They had still miscalculated—this kid was just as bold as ever!