Inside the Xiyuan Palace, the atmosphere was so oppressive and tense that it was almost suffocating.
Even though Yan Song, Xu Jie and others were cabinet ministers, they were still trembling with fear and trepidation when facing the furious Emperor Jiajing. The saying "serving the emperor is like serving a tiger" is no joke.
In particular, the Jiajing Emperor was not an ordinary emperor. Although he did not attend the palace, he was in control of the situation and his power remained unchanged. Although Yan Song and Xu Jie were cabinet ministers, they were second only to the emperor and had great power. If they sneezed, the officials would catch a cold. However, as long as the Jiajing Emperor gave an order, they would be dismissed and sent home. Even their lives were in the hands of the Jiajing Emperor. From beginning to end, the Jiajing Emperor had always firmly controlled all the power of the empire, and no one could shake it.
Emperor Jiajing's character was also extraordinary.
He is extremely intelligent and extremely confident, even a little arrogant, stingy and vain.
The Japanese pirates from Shangyu besieged Yingtian. The Japanese chieftain also showed off his red clothes and yellow umbrella, which shook the foundation of the Ming Dynasty in the south of the Yangtze River. This action was a slap in the face of the Ming Dynasty and Emperor Jiajing.
This is fatal.
The damned Japanese pirates, why not fight anywhere else? Fight no more. The damned Japanese pirates, why not wear red clothes and yellow umbrellas
Yan Song, Xu Jie and others were so nervous that cold sweat began to break out on their bodies.
"This is the situation. What should we do now? You guys discuss it." Emperor Jiajing flicked the sleeves of his wide robe, casually sat down on the overturned table, squinted at Yan Song, Xu Jie and others, and said lightly.
Xu Jie did not say anything, but glanced at Yan Song imperceptibly. At this moment, he was very glad that he was the second assistant and did not need to be the first to speak.
Yan Song was usually eloquent, but at this moment he was speechless. He was old and slow to react, not to mention that he had stayed up all night writing poems last night. In addition, he was not good at commanding the army and was not proficient in military affairs. During the last Gengxu Incident, Yan Song fully exposed his inability to command the army. Therefore, after Emperor Jiajing asked the question, Yan Song was speechless for a while. He played to his strengths and avoided his weaknesses. He let others speak first, and then he summarized and extracted the essence.
Although Yan Song cannot command the army, he can command people. When His Majesty asks questions, there must be no silence.
Therefore, Yan Song chose to remain silent while at the same time warning Xu Jie with his eyes, indicating that Xu Jie should speak first.
Xu Jie received the hint from Yan Song's eyes, and a group of rough mud horses whistled through his heart. But there was no other way. For the sake of future events, he had to endure the humiliation for a while.
So Xu Jie cleared his throat and prepared to speak.
However, at this time, Emperor Jiajing spoke up and directly named Yan Hao, "Fenyi, you speak first."
Yan Song was startled and hurriedly saluted, but he was Yan Song after all, so he was only panicked for a moment, then he calmed down and slowly said: "These are just fifty-seven Japanese pirates. Yingtian is a huge city with high walls, deep moats, powerful artillery, and tens of thousands of defenders. How can a mere fifty-seven Japanese pirates capture Yingtian? Your Majesty, don't worry."
Xu Jie, who was standing by, couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly when he heard this. Why did Yan Song's answer sound a little familiar? Oh, yes, when the 30,000 northern barbarians approached the capital during the Gengxu Rebellion, Yan Song said that Altan was just a bunch of evil bandits and would leave naturally after looting, so Your Majesty didn't need to worry.
This is completely shameless and irresponsible nonsense that does not solve the problem! It makes no difference whether you say it or not.
This answer seems flawless, but it is actually bullshit.
"What I'm asking is what to do!" Emperor Jiajing naturally glared at Yan Song in dissatisfaction, then turned to look at Xu Jie, "Xu Jie, tell me."
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, there are only 57 Japanese pirates. With Yingtian's defense and military strength, we can deal with this group of Japanese pirates, whether we go to war or defend the city. How can an ant shake a big tree? However, I personally prefer to fight, strike with the power of thunder, destroy this group of Japanese pirates in one fell swoop, kill one to warn the rest, severely hit the Japanese pirates' arrogance, and deter the increasingly serious Japanese invasion in various parts of Jiangnan! Otherwise, if only 57 Japanese pirates dare to invade Yingtian, it will set a bad precedent. I am afraid that the Japanese pirates in various places will be greatly encouraged, and the Japanese invasion will become more corrupt."
Xu Jie stepped forward and bowed, then spoke calmly and confidently, and finally proposed the suggestion of "war".
Emperor Jiajing nodded in satisfaction, avoiding praise with his eyes, and continued to ask, "How should we fight?"
This was a very practical question, and Xu Jie had been prepared for it. He knew the character of Emperor Jiajing and knew that he was a person who valued results and focused on solving problems. Therefore, he had prepared a draft in his mind when he made the suggestion. After Emperor Jiajing asked, Xu Jie gave a relaxed answer, "Reply to the emperor, a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit. I think the same is true for this battle. Yingtian has more than 50,000 defenders, and we can select 7,300 elite soldiers who dare to fight. At the same time, we can order the surrounding prefectures to cooperate and send troops to encircle and destroy the Japanese! In this way, the mere 57 Japanese crowns will definitely be unable to escape and will die without a place to be buried."
After listening to Xu Jie's suggestion, Emperor Jiajing nodded approvingly.
Fifty-seven Japanese pirates dared to attack Yingtian, and even dared to commit the heinous crime of wearing red clothes Zhang Yiyu!
How could Emperor Jiajing get rid of the anger in his heart if he didn't kill this group of Japanese pirates who were so bold and presumptuous as to usurp the emperor's authority
Xu Jie's suggestion of "a lion fighting a rabbit" hit the mark exactly with Emperor Jiajing.
During the Gengxu Incident, the enemy chieftain Altan led 30,000 elite cavalrymen to the capital. Although Emperor Jiajing adopted a delaying tactic at the beginning, using the excuse that Altan's tribute documents were not in Mongolian, he delayed the arrival of reinforcements. However, when the reinforcements arrived, Emperor Jiajing ordered the then Minister of War Ding Ruling to prepare to launch a counterattack against the Tatar army outside the city. However, the then Minister of War Ding Ruwei only obeyed Yan Song in name. Yan Song was worried that the counterattack might fail, and if he failed, he would implicate him as the chief minister of the cabinet, so Yan Song ordered Ding Ruling not to counterattack and let the Tatar soldiers and horses loot outside the city and then leave. Yan Song patted his chest and assured Ding Ruling that he didn't have to worry about violating the imperial order, and that he would be safe as long as he was here. Under Yan Song's deception, Ding Ruling kept his troops in place and did not launch a counterattack against the Tatars. Finally, after the Tatar troops retreated in a swagger, Ding Rukui was angrily questioned by Emperor Jiajing and was beaten with a shiny ghost-head knife, ending his life.
When 30,000 Tatars came to the city, Emperor Jiajing wanted to fight back to save face. Now, a mere 57 Japanese pirates dared to come to the secondary capital Yingtian. How could Emperor Jiajing tolerate them leaving alive
Emperor Jiajing didn't want to relive the shame of that year!
When the Tatars besieged the city, Emperor Jiajing had already lost half of his face. If he allowed the Japanese pirates to leave safely now, he would lose all his face. This was a result that the self-important Emperor Jiajing could never accept.