In the evening, the palace of the king of Chungmu.

"Xianggong, has the matter of sending troops been decided?" When Li Yuntian returned to the palace with a tired face, Zhou Yuting asked the maid to bring a cup of iced white fungus soup, and then smiled and massaged Li Yuntian's shoulders.

Although the matter of sending troops to the Western Regions was a top-secret matter of the imperial court, soon after the retreat from the court, the officialdom of the capital spread the news that the Ming Dynasty was going to war with the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan coalition army, after all, the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan had an army of 700,000, so everyone was very concerned about the preparation for war.

Of course, no one is as optimistic about the future war as Wang Qi, in fact, Wang Qi has become a laughing stock in the outside world, thinking that his brain is stupid to read and read, and he wants to preach some royal etiquette with the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan.

After all, the scholars in the early and middle Ming Dynasty can be said to be the elite of society, and they naturally have the ability to distinguish right from wrong and are all smart people in society, but the rise of the Bagu Wen in the middle of the Ming Dynasty gradually imprisoned the minds of literati, so that many pedantic literati appeared later.

"It's settled, and the imperial court has decided to send 500,000 troops to the west to fight a decisive battle with the invading enemy in the Western Regions." Li Yuntian took the iced white fungus soup and drank it in one gulp, put down the small soup bowl in his hand and said in a deep voice, "The commander of the army is Wu Guogong, Song Hai, the left governor of the Houjun Governor's Mansion, and there are two deputy commanders, one is An Yonghou, the left governor of the left army Bai An, and the other is the Marquis of Chengning and Yang Sanyu, the right governor of the Central Army Governor's Mansion. ”

"Why, neither Uncle Zhang nor Uncle Niu are in charge!" Hearing this, Zhou Yuting's eyes suddenly flashed with a look of surprise.

Among today's nobles ranked according to prestige, not counting Li Yuntian's prince, Zhang Fu ranked first, Zhou Zheng ranked second, Yiguo Gong and Gyeonggi Governor's Governor Zhang Hao ranked third, and Marquis Anping and Niu Shihao, the right governor of the former Military Governor's Mansion, used to rank fourth.

However, because Niu Shihao was following Emperor Xuande to the north to conquer Mongolia in the Hala Helin area by the Northern Yuan Taishi Arutai led a surprise attack and was surrounded, resulting in the defeat of the Ming army and the hardships before fleeing back, so its prestige was greatly affected and its ranking declined.

Since Zhang Fu and Zhou Zheng were members of the military cabinet, according to the military cabinet, the military cabinet members usually did not participate in the command of the army, unless they served as the commander of the army at a critical moment, but they had to hand over the military power immediately after the fact, which was Emperor Xuande's power restriction on the military cabinet members.

Therefore, the most suitable person to serve as the commander of the army in the Western Regions is Zhang Hao, the governor of Yiguo Gong and the governor of the Gyeonggi Metropolitan Government, and he is the only one in terms of prestige and qualifications.

In addition, although Niu Shihao fought a big defeat when he followed Emperor Xuande's northern expedition, it is undeniable that he is one of the nobles with the deepest military attainments in the Ming Dynasty, and he also has a lot of status among the nobles, how can he get a deputy commander.

After all, Arutai had already reached the capital back then, and the Northern Yuan soldiers under his command were rampant in Beizhili, and the Manchu Dynasty was helpless in civil and military affairs, which made Niu Shihao's defeat weakened a lot.

Emperor Xuande did not punish those generals who lost the battle afterwards, but issued an edict to take the responsibility for the defeat, which made Niu Shihao and other generals of the defeated army very moved, otherwise they would be deprived of their lords according to the military system.

Therefore, even if Zhang Hao has no intention of being the commander of the Western Expeditionary Army, Niu Shihao will definitely fight for the position of deputy marshal, and the nobles will definitely give him this face, because there are very few nobles who can fight than Niu Shihao, otherwise it would not be Niu Shihao who led the vanguard army to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty Wang Tinghala and Lincheng.

So when Zhou Yuting learned that Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao were not the commanders and deputy commanders of the Western Expeditionary Army, she was quite surprised, there were not many opportunities to command an army of 500,000 like this, why did the two give up.

"It seems that my father-in-law has looked for Uncle Zhang and Uncle Niu." Seeing that Zhou Yuting was stunned that Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao did not join the Western Expeditionary Army, Li Yuntian smiled and said, "The two uncles are also worried about the future of the Western Expeditionary Army, so they stayed. ”

Zhou Yuting suddenly realized when she heard this, and nodded thoughtfully, because the Timurid Empire was menacing this time, Li Yuntian thought that the war between the Ming Army and the Timurid Empire was very likely to form a tug-of-war situation, which would last for two or three years, after all, both sides were among the world's top superpowers.

Moreover, the Ming army knew very little about the Timurid Empire's army, and there was a general pride and complacency among the generals, believing that the Ming Dynasty was the heavenly kingdom in the world, and the Timurid Empire, a barbarian barbarian in the Western Regions, was vulnerable.

What is particularly important is that the army of the Timurid Empire is more adapted to operations in the plateau and mountains, while the Ming army is more adapted to fighting in the plains.

If the other party is a small country, it is good to say that the Ming army has an overwhelming military advantage that can make up for this shortcoming, but in the face of the Timurid Empire, a large country that seems to have a strong military force with the territory of the Ming Dynasty, this shortcoming will affect the direction of the war.

If Li Yuntian led his army to the west, he would definitely take a defensive position in the Western Regions, and regardless of the gains and losses of one city or one place, he would try to disperse the enemy's forces and fight a war of attrition with the enemy.

Although the territory of the Timurid Empire was similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, its national strength was far inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, and as long as the materials of the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan army were consumed, it would make it fall into passivity.

Moreover, Li Yuntian would also gather Mongolian soldiers and Jurchen soldiers to participate in the war, and use the Mongolian cavalry and Jurchen cavalry as the main force of the Ming army's cavalry to compete with the cavalry of the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan.

At the same time, Li Yuntian would also recruit troops on the spot in Shaanxi, Gansu and Guanxi, and unite the small states of the Western Regions to resist the invasion of the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan Dynasty, so as to maximize his strength.

It's a pity that Li Yuntian is destined to not be able to become the commander of the Western Expedition, first of all, the nature of the Royal Praetorian Guard of the Xiaowu Army determines that Li Yuntian is the last line of defense to protect the safety of the Ming Dynasty, and only at a critical juncture will it be dispatched, and the Weisuo Army is the standing army of the Ming Dynasty to deal with foreign enemies.

In addition, the nobles of the Ming Dynasty are all holding back their strength and want to correct the name of the Weisuo Army, and Li Yuntian can't open his mouth to compete with them, otherwise wouldn't it be that he looks down on those nobles?

It was precisely because Li Yuntian was worried about the Ming army's westward expedition that Zhou Zheng would persuade Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao not to wade into this muddy water, so as not to suffer defeat in the bath at that time.

Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao knew that Li Yuntian's premonition had always been correct, and when Emperor Xuande went to the north, Li Yuntian tried his best to dissuade Emperor Xuande from going to Hala and Lincheng before going to Liaodong, thinking that the Northern Yuan might have a huge conspiracy.

However, at that time, the Wenchen military generals, including Niu Shihao, were carried away by the victory of the vanguard troops, and after capturing the Northern Yuan Dynasty Wangting Hala and Lincheng, they thought that the Northern Yuan had been defeated, so they strongly invited Emperor Xuande to follow the example of Emperor Yongle in Hara and Lincheng.

As a result, Emperor Xuande on the way back from Hara and Lincheng, on the bank of the river "Drinking Horse River", which was named by Emperor Yongle himself, was attacked by the Northern Yuan ambush soldiers.

So after Zhou Zheng's persuasion, Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao decisively decided not to participate in this western expedition, although this seems to be the loss of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to establish meritorious service, but in case of defeat, it will become a sinner of the Ming Dynasty.

This Western Expedition was different from Emperor Xuande's Northern Expedition, after the defeat of the Northern Expedition, Emperor Xuande took the initiative to take responsibility, so that the defeated generals could get out of the whirlpool of defeat, and once the Western Expedition failed, the generals of the army could not escape the blame, and the responsibility for such a big defeat would make it difficult to turn over.

Therefore, a strange phenomenon appeared in the court discussion, that is, Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao, who originally had a high call for commanding the Western Expeditionary Army, both declined the post of commander-in-chief on the grounds of physical discomfort.

Although this surprised the civil and military officials on the scene, it did not affect the overall situation of the Western Expedition, because in addition to Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao, there were other nobles in the Ming Dynasty who could command the troops, and this also made the other nobles overjoyed, thinking that the opportunity to establish meritorious service had come, and as long as they could win this battle, they would definitely be knighted.

Now that Emperor Xuande has broken the precedent of Emperor Hongwu and made Li Yuntian a prince, then as long as the 700,000 allied forces of the Timurid Empire and the Northern Yuan Dynasty are defeated, it is not impossible for the duke to become a prince.

Although the difference between the prince and the duke is only one level, there is indeed an insurmountable gap in the middle, otherwise Li Yuntian will not be the only one who can be crowned king in the world since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

If during the period of Emperor Hongwu, Wenchen and Xungui had to bow down when they saw the prince, but later Emperor Yongle cut the domain, and many of the vassal kings were exempted, but even so, the vassal kings everywhere were not dared to provoke by the local yamen, no matter how they were also nobles, how could they provoke these officials?

Under the temptation of Li Yuntian, the newly promoted prince of Zhongwu, those dukes and marquis of the Ming Dynasty who don't want to go further, and this expedition to the west is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, especially those dukes who dream of becoming princes.

Even if you can't be crowned king when you are alive, it is a great honor to be posthumously crowned after death.

"Xianggong, does this Western Expedition have anything to do with our martial arts?" Zhou Yuting remembered something while being stunned that Zhang Hao and Niu Shihao did not participate in the Western Expedition, and couldn't help asking.

Originally, this Western Expedition had nothing to do with Jiangwutang, because Jiangwutang and the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies could be described as two parallel yamen, but Jiangwutang controlled a lot of resources, and this Western Expedition would definitely be remembered.

"The materials for the Western Expedition Army were originally jointly responsible for the Jiangwutang and the Household Department." Li Yuntian couldn't help but show a wry smile at the corner of his mouth when he heard this, "However, Liu Shangshu of the household department cried in front of everyone in front of the prince during the court discussion, and said that he was unable to mobilize military supplies in a hurry, and he could only take out one million taels of silver as military expenses this year." ”

"One million taels, is he taking our martial arts hall as a big wrong?" Zhou Yuting's face suddenly turned cold when she heard this, this time it was an army of 500,000 troops, and the location was the Western Regions, people need to spend money to eat horses and chew anything, and the military expenditure for a year will be at least five or six million taels, and the household department will only take one million taels out, and the rest will clearly be subsidized by the martial arts.

Although the martial arts hall is rich, the money is not blown by the wind, and every penny is earned by Li Yuntian's hard work.

"Now that the enemy is present, these trivial things will be put aside for the time being, and the household department owes us a favor this time, and sooner or later it will have to be returned." Li Yuntian immediately laughed when he heard this, and comforted Zhou Yuting and said, "In the final analysis, Wutang is the emperor's, and we are just temporarily in charge, and everything will naturally be important to the great name." ”

In fact, although Jiangwutang did not send troops to participate in the Western Expedition this time, it also played a very important role and was responsible for the supply of grain and grass for the Western Expedition Army.

As early as a few years ago, Li Yuntian had established a Xiaowu army camp in Kansai, and also opened up a material supply line, which was jointly completed by the Xiaowu army and the civilian business group, which had a very high efficiency, so the logistics affairs were naturally handed over to the lecture martial arts.

In fact, the people of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies still want to fight for the power of grain and grass supply, after all, this is a fat gap, and their hands will be full of oil just by passing it.

However, Li Yuntian made it clear at the court meeting that it was okay for the Wutang to pay for it, but it had to be responsible for the logistical supply of the Western Expeditionary Army, and he did not want problems in the logistics supply of the Western Expeditionary Army, and the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army did not have the perfect logistics management and transportation system like the Jiangwutang.

Although the governors of the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies were a little reluctant to make this fat difference, after all, it was the money taken by the Wutang, and everyone also believed that Li Yuntian would definitely do his best to ensure the supply of the army of the Western Expedition, so they did not express any objections.

After all, Li Yuntian is still the left deputy of the Imperial Palace, even if they get the power of logistics and material supply, if Li Yuntian stares at who dares to go up and down to get oil and water, it is simply self-defeating.