Jiajing could not break Yan Song's delusion, so he said again:
"Money has its uses, troops have their destinations, and people have their thoughts... you cannot mold them all together...
War, after all, requires both sides to commit fully for a decisive battle. If Anda had intended a decisive battle early on, why would he have lingered at the border? With the gates wide open, why didn't he take Datong?
Yan Shifan, I have given you money, troops, and men. How will you find him for a decisive battle? What if he retreats into the vast desert? Will you chase him all the way to Daqingshan? If you don't pursue and don't advance, but instead huddle in the fort, why would you need so many men? And the money, just spent like this?
Therefore, do not be anxious, do not be flustered. Do the things you should do, such as returning to defend the capital. This is not a mistake, is it? As for reinforcing Datong from the three borders, and threatening Anda's flank from Jiliao, are these things not already being done by others?
If you take all the money, what will happen to Jiangnan? What about my Directorate of Weaving? If you replace the people, what will others think? After toiling in the borderlands for so many years, if you replace them all at once, won't they become disorganized themselves?
I believe that both the Grand Secretariat and the court meetings have deliberated well. As for whether it's a decisive battle, we shall see... Don't be so tense! I repeat what I said earlier: see the mountain as a mountain, see the water as water... Do not let delusions mislead yourself and others!"
After speaking, he immediately flicked his sleeves and left, his horsetail whisk trailing behind him. His steps were as usual, and he walked to the side hall.
...
The ministers, who had never seen such a display, truly witnessed something extraordinary today and had yet to recover. After Jiajing left, many began to whisper.
Yan Song intended to retort, but then he thought: Jiajing's argument about delusion had broken the momentum, at least in terms of public opinion. The court officials were no longer as timid as before, and it would be difficult to control them again.
Thinking of this, he admired Jiajing. With this Buddhist-like discourse, he had shifted the focus of the ministers. Yan Song's plan was to bind Zhu Mo with the concept of a decisive battle, creating an absolute and righteous pressure that would make the ministers realize that to deny the mobilization for a decisive battle and oppose the Yan family's control of the court was equivalent to supporting Zhu Mo, supporting the reforms, and further, to becoming an enemy of the gentry throughout the land...
Consider, who would dare to be an enemy of the gentry throughout the land? Therefore, the reverse logic was: to talk about a decisive battle, to talk about mobilization, was equivalent to denying reforms, equivalent to killing Zhu Mo, and also equivalent to implicitly allowing the Yan family's dominance. This was using the absolute righteousness of resisting foreign invasion as a support for the Yan family's power, and then using that power to create a killing formation against the enemy. Once all the ministers in the hall understood this logic, they would no longer dare to speak a single word of dissent? They could only pounce on Zhu Mo en masse, even challenging imperial authority. Therefore, Yan Song was certain that today was a victory, not a defeat. At most, he would make a slight concession to imperial authority in exchange for the rejection of Zhu Mo. But he never expected that Jiajing would play this hand and break this logical chain...
After all, he was the Emperor... Prince Yu, Xu Jie, and Gao Gong also echoed him, and Zhang Juzheng directly adopted an absolutely neutral stance. The ministers considered the balance of power and then the Emperor's extraordinary wisdom, and immediately shifted their allegiances.
It could be said that in today's battle, Yan Song gained substance but lost face. He indeed obtained control over preparations for money, grain, reinforcement of military strength, and deployment of personnel, but the outcome was completely different from what he had initially envisioned. But he was the Emperor, so what could Yan Song do?
Yan Song was displeased and couldn't help but think: when Anda makes significant progress, even you, the Emperor, will have to concede. Will you still say it's not a decisive battle then? When Datong is besieged, or Anda advances further along the entire front, then we'll see if it's a decisive battle. We'll see how you protect Zhu Mo and how you protect the reforms.
As the Grand Secretary, it was time for him to summarize. He immediately said:
"Your Highness, with the Emperor's decree and the Grand Secretariat's memorial just presented, I request Your Highness to make a decision..."
Prince Yu replied:
"This is a court assembly; it is for the Grand Secretariat to draft the proposals."
Mm-hmm.
Yan Song then said:
"Fellow ministers, now that Anda's army is pressing hard but hesitating, their intentions are not yet clear... but the risk of a decisive battle is very great. The Emperor also said that returning to defend the capital is necessary, but—the money, troops, and men must also be mobilized and prepared in advance. Otherwise, it will be too late, and the nation will be in peril!
Elder Grand Secretary Xu, today's court assembly is rare. For specific matters, let us listen more to everyone's opinions. How much money, how many troops and laborers to prepare, and how to deploy personnel? We need to think carefully. I am old and my eyes are failing. I now ask Elder Grand Secretary Xu to preside. By the afternoon at the latest, we must present a plan, which also needs to be reviewed by the eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial. What do you say?"
Xu Jie thought: If the Emperor had not personally intervened and suppressed it so skillfully, today's court assembly would have definitely turned to Zhu Mo and the reforms, and then it would have spiraled out of control... Yan Song had already built momentum, waiting to reject the reforms. Fortunately, the Great Ming still had heavenly blessings. With a wise ruler on the throne, stability was ultimately assured...
He immediately laughed and said:
"Elder Grand Secretary Yan, after I compile it, I will still submit it to you, Elder, to draft the proposal. I will merely assist by recording and organizing, hehe..."
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
Yan Song, supported by Yan Shifan, actually left.
...
Outside the North Gate of Datong,
A strong cold wind blew.
The generals, once again betrayed by the Yan faction, faced an unprecedentedly powerful enemy alone, and their hearts were filled with immense indignation.
As they faced the thirteen elite guard units assembled outside the city, their formation was like fire. Thinking that this expedition against eighty thousand enemies would likely lead to their demise, they were filled with a sense of tragic heroism.
Ma Lu clang-clang drew his specially made long saber and said with a hoarse voice, "Young Master Zhu, brothers, Ma Lu will go first!"
With that, he spurred his horse forward, followed by a cavalry squadron of two thousand men. Under the cold sun and strong wind, they left long tracks behind them.
The vanguard departed, followed by Ma Fang on the right wing. As he advanced again towards the Deshengbao area, he felt an extreme sense of helplessness, believing that fate ultimately destined him to die in this wilderness. Overwhelmed by sorrow, he suddenly let out three loud laughs that sounded like the hooting of an owl in the night. The soldiers, who admired this general known as "Grand Tutor Ma" by the Tatars, were all infected by the tragic atmosphere and suddenly shouted in unison:
"Grand Tutor Ma!"
"Grand Tutor Ma!"
"Grand Tutor Ma!"
Ma Fang rode ahead without looking back.
Zhu Mo and Li Wenjin, leading the main army and logistics, then slowly broke camp. Wang Chonggu held firm in the main city, while other generals defended the more than ten large forts.
On the North Gate Tower,
The Prince of Dai and Yu Zhen stood on the battlements, watching the army's departure from afar. The cold wind, inexplicably rising, also filled them with a boundless sense of grief.
The Prince of Dai murmured, "So close, so close..."
He had lived a life of timidity and suffered a great humiliation. Seeing the soldiers' tragic resolve, he regretted his life. If not for Zhu Mo and the generals' valiant efforts this time, Datong would have surely fallen, and he would have truly failed the founding emperor.
Yu Zhen, however, remained calm and collected—
Zhu Mo leading the entire army out to a decisive battle at Deshengbao would likely end in utter defeat. But apart from this plan, there truly was no other option but to passively endure attacks...
As a Jin Yi Wei, his professional habits took over, and he immediately thought of the aftermath. He ordered his personal guards, "Be ready at all times. If the situation changes, burn all my documents and escort the prisoner to Guyuan, delivering him personally to Lord Guo, the Governor of the Three Borders..."