Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 2 Ten Thousand Kingdoms Come to the Dynasty _ Chapter 14 Tumu Fort
In July of the 14th year of Zhengtong (1449), he also unsheathed his sword first.
The Mongolian cavalry was divided into four groups and launched attacks against the Ming Empire from four different directions.
Among them, the first group attacked Liaodong, the second group attacked Gansu, the third group attacked Xuanfu, and the last group also led the group to attack Datong.
The war broke out in full force.
When the news reached the capital, the ministers were very nervous and immediately held an emergency meeting to discuss countermeasures. Many ministers were unsure about the sudden incident, but one person was different and very excited.
This person is Wang Zhen again.
You were the one who took bribes, you were the one who inspected the goods, and you were the one who caused trouble. Now that there is a war, what else do you have to be excited about?
It should be noted that Wang Zhen has never been a militant. In the eighth year of Zhengtong (1443), Liu Qiu, a scholar at the helm, once gave a memorial to the emperor, pointing out that the increasing number of Mongolian envoys must have evil intentions, and he hoped that they could be reunited as soon as possible
Rectify the military system and actively prepare for war.
Liu Qiu did not expect that his petition out of patriotic enthusiasm would result in his death.
After Wang Zhen saw the memorial, he was furious. I don't know if he had accepted Yexian's money or if he thought Liu Qiu was accusing him of not fulfilling his responsibilities. Anyway, he found an excuse and put Liu Qiu in jail.
Soon after, he ordered his confidant Jin Yiwei to command Ma Shun to kill Liu Qiu.
Such a dead eunuch who brought disaster to the country and the people would naturally not have any patriotic sentiments.
He was excited because, in his opinion, this was an opportunity to realize his ambition and become famous in the world.
In order to achieve his goal, he began to plan secretly.
At that time, Ye Xian's military strength was already very strong, and the border generals of the Ming Dynasty were no longer opponents. The Datong defenders suffered successive defeats and were in distress. After a meeting, the court decided to send the consort Jingyuan to fight.
The consort Jingyuan was a very capable general, and his expedition eased the tense situation at the time.
However, the day after he left for the expedition, news came out from the palace, which shocked everyone.
The emperor is going to conquer it himself!
This is exactly what Wang Zhennan was trying to do.
Wang Zhen wanted to go on an expedition and make meritorious deeds, but he did not have the ability or prestige to lead troops. In order to achieve his goal, he thought of the emperor.
The emperor is his own student and always listens to himself. Only with the help of his name can he realize his dream of commanding an army!
At Wang Zhen's instigation, Yingzong Zhu Qizhen issued an order for a personal expedition, summoned a total of 200,000 troops, and immediately prepared for the expedition.
I want to mention here that many historical books say that there were 500,000 people in this expedition. According to my research, this is inaccurate. Because based on the time of mobilizing troops and the defense situation near the capital at that time, it is absolutely impossible to defeat the enemy within a few days.
It is possible that an army of 500,000 people was summoned. At that time, the total strength of the three major battalions in the capital was about 170,000. Including nearby troops, the total number should be about 200,000.
We know that there is a saying among military strategists: before the troops and horses move, food and grass go first. Those who fight also need to eat and sleep, so food tents must be prepared. In a sense, fighting is about logistics.
During Zhu Di's expedition, he would requisition a large number of migrant workers, cattle, horses and vehicles, and set up a special grain transport team. The logistics preparation time often lasted several months.
So how long did it take for the 200,000 troops led by Wang Zhen to prepare for departure?
Answer: Less than five days!
I received an urgent report from the border in mid-July and set off on July 17!
In the opinion of Wang Zhen, a fool, all he had to do was gather together the men. He learned through side reports in advance that there were only 20,000 to 30,000 troops, so he conscripted an army of 200,000, thinking that he would be able to win this way.
Yes, this elementary school student can also do arithmetic. Two hundred thousand versus twenty thousand, an average of ten people versus one person. It seems that without fighting, one person can trample his opponent to death with just one step.
This is what Wang Zhen thought, and his combat thoughts seemed to originate from this.
Ignorance, extreme ignorance! Wang Zhen, a little man who was born in the city, finally showed his true colors at this moment. In his opinion, war seems to be equivalent to a gang fight on the street. Both sides are holding watermelon knives to chop at each other. Who is more powerful?
Whoever has more momentum will win.
Having said that, what is the difference between war and fighting? Why isn't the more people the better?
In order to explain this problem, we need to open a special topic.
How war is made
More than a thousand years ago, a man named Han Xin said something to Emperor Liu Bang: When Han Xin leads troops, the more the better!
This is not only an idiom, an eternal saying, but also a confident statement.
In my opinion, in the more than a thousand years since Han Xin said this, there will be no more than fifteen people who are qualified and capable to claim this.
And if you have carefully studied military affairs, you will find that it is really difficult to lead more troops, the better.
To explain why, we must start with what war is.
Let me explain in advance, please don’t misunderstand me. This is definitely not an introduction to the troublesome political nature and class nature. What we want to talk about is the form of war - the struggle between people.
Because if we take off all the outer packaging of war, we will find:
War is just another form of fighting.
Below, I will use the model theory in economics (an economic analysis method that first presupposes the basic framework and continuously adds conditions) to illustrate this problem.
Let’s start with two people. I believe everyone has had the experience of fighting, and fighting between two people is what we commonly call “one-on-one”.
"One-on-one" is actually a more painful thing, because you are the one who hits someone, and you are also the one who gets beaten. Whether you win or lose depends entirely on you. Of course, if you are taller and stronger than the opponent, it just so happens that you can win or lose.
If you have practiced martial arts (fighting is best, routines are not very effective), then victory will most likely belong to you.
Now let's expand the scope. If you have two people and the other party is still one person, then your chances of winning are very high. If two people fight one, as long as you have a thicker skin and are not afraid of people saying that you can't win, I believe it.
, victory will be yours.
Next, let's add another person. You have three people, and your opponent is still one person. At this time, you don't need to take action. You only need to let the other two people come up, get a glass of boiling water, drink it while watching, and give on-the-spot command.
There is no need to add more one by one. If you now have a thousand people and your opponent is only one, what will be the result?
I believe that in this case, you will not win, because the person who is your opponent must have escaped long ago.
Until now, you may still be optimistic, because you have always had the advantage.
However, the real test is coming. If you have a thousand people and your opponent also has a thousand people, can you win?
You can divide a thousand people into several teams to attack the opponent, but your opponent may gather everyone to defeat you one by one. Can you guarantee your victory?
It sounds tricky, but actually we are just getting started.
Next, let’s multiply this number by one hundred. You have 100,000 people and your opponent also has 100,000 people. How do you fight this battle?
At this time, you are in trouble. Not to mention how you arrange the attack of these 100,000 people, just talking about the 100,000 people themselves, will they really listen to you?
You have to understand that the 100,000 people under your command are all human beings with their own thinking. Some are cheerful, some are gloomy, some are gentle, and some are violent. They have different dialects and habits, and they may not necessarily give your orders.
If you are willing to listen, they may not understand it even if they are willing. If there are foreign friends (such as North Korea) inside, then you will have to find a few translators.
This is the difficulty of conducting. It seems that the only way to reduce this difficulty is to vigorously promote Chinese and Mandarin.
If you consider the difference in their IQ and understanding ability, you will have a headache. These 100,000 people have different levels of education, some are illiterate, some are Hanlin, and have different abilities to understand orders. If you ask them to move forward, they may interpret it as retreat.
If you go back and forth, you will faint.
It's difficult to do, right? Don't worry, there are even more difficult things to do.
We then put these 100,000 people into the battlefield. Now you don’t know where your enemy is. They may be hiding, or they may divide their troops into several groups and prepare for an ambush. And you have to consider how to use your 100,000 people to find the enemy.
and defeat them.
In addition, you also have to consider the food and accommodation issues for these 100,000 people, where the food will come from, and how many days it can last.
Your mind is a little confused, and the following situation will make you even more confused.
You also have to consider the speed at which the army is marching, the terrain, whether it will rain or not, whether the river will rise, whether the mountain road will be blocked, whether the morale of the soldiers will drop after a long march, and whether they will rebel.
Will your superiors (if any) restrict your power, and will your subordinates mutiny?
Do your soldiers have equipment? Are the equipment good? What is the level of training of the soldiers? What is the quality of the enemy's commander? What is the enemy's equipment? What are the enemy's tactics? How strong is your mental endurance? How do you retreat after a defeat?
Whether the victory can be pursued, etc.
In fact, the situation on the battlefield is much more complicated. I believe that after reading this, you have understood that, let alone taking 100,000 people out to fight, you can just take 100,000 people out for a tour, and you can be safe.
It's already pretty good to come back.
You may think that this is the end of the matter, but on the contrary, the real test is yet to come. Don’t forget that our goal is to do more, the better.
If you multiply the number of people under command by ten times, one million people, you will find that you are no longer facing one million people you can rely on, but one million troubles, a real disaster.
From one hundred thousand to one million, your number has increased tenfold, but your problems may have increased a hundredfold. If any small problem is not taken seriously, it will get out of hand. One million people, every day
Not to mention how much food is consumed, each of them has his own idea, and no one is a fool. How do you control a million people and make them follow your orders?
Military command is like a pyramid. The number of people commanding is directly proportional to the commander's commanding ability. The more people commanding, the higher the requirements for ability. From ancient times to the present, there are very few people who have the ability to stand at the top of the tower.
of.
The more the better is a state. It means that the commander's ability has exceeded the limit of the number of people and has broken through the top of the pyramid. Whether it is one hundred thousand, five hundred thousand or one million, for the commander, it is no longer possible.
significance.
Because under this kind of commander, there is always only one soldier under his command. When ordered to go forward, never retreat, and when ordered to go east, never go west.
Advance together and retreat together, live and die together.
This is the highest state of the art of conducting.
Therefore, those who are good at leading troops and the more the better are the true military geniuses.
Such a person is called a military god.
The above is the construction process of the model. I believe everyone should have a general understanding of the relationship between war, numbers of people, and command capabilities. However, this model is idealized, and we would like to add two special situations here.
First of all, this model is based on ordinary people, excluding people with special powers, such as Guo Jing, Yang Guo, Zhang Wuji, etc., who can break through the earth's gravity, jump more than ten meters, pass through walls and enter rooms, and carry responsibilities like the great shift of the universe.
A unique skill of this kind, one can defeat hundreds or even thousands of them.
If you have a thousand men, and your opponent is really one of the above-mentioned legendary figures, then you should run away quickly. Not only because the opponent has a unique skill, but more importantly, because the opponent is a positive character, a main character, and the protagonist.
, according to the plot restrictions, you can't beat him even if he is asleep. You are only a few pounds, and you dare to fight against the hero? The plot is limited, and he is a sure winner.
Secondly, the equipment between the two sides should not be too disparate. For example, if the opponent has a musket and you have bricks, even if there are twice as many people, it will probably be useless.
in conclusion
In short, war is not a group fight. The more people you have, the more likely you are to win. In fact, some people in street fights have begun to pay attention to tactics. From time to time, they will also sneak up on the enemy halfway and attack from both front and rear.
It can be seen that things are always moving forward.
It is very easy to bring hundreds of thousands of people out to fight. Even if you take the entire population of the country, no one will care about you. The problem is that you have to be able to guarantee victory. And people like Bai Qi, Han Xin, Chen Qingzhi, and Li Jing are capable of doing this.
There are really too few people.
For example, Hu Zongnan, the famous general of the Kuomintang, had hundreds of thousands of troops under his command for a long time, but he was always led by the opponent with only tens of thousands of people, and was finally beaten to pieces. It's not that he didn't want to work hard, it was because he was too ambitious and insufficient.
His Huangpu classmates finally gave him a definition - "Hu Zongnan, that is, a group leader."
Wang Zhen, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, is also a slave.
He was just a small academic officer in the past, and he was still an academic officer with poor academic skills. Later he became a eunuch. However, this man with a disability and weak will suddenly became the commander-in-chief of 200,000 people (the actual commander-in-chief).
The power is in his hands).
The consequences are both conceivable and unimaginable.
Preparation and decision
In these few days, Wang Zhen has been dreaming of leaving his name in history, while other people have also taken their own actions.
First of all, the ministers. When they heard the news that was like a bolt from the blue, they immediately went crazy and wrote letters to object. The leader was Wang Zhi, the Minister of Civil Affairs.
The Ministry of Personnel is the Ministry of Personnel. Due to its authority to appoint officials, it ranks first among the six departments. The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel also has a special title - Tianguan, which shows its high prestige.
Under the leadership of Wang Zhi, all officials jointly submitted a memorial to oppose the expedition, but unfortunately, Wang Zhen was the chief ceremonial officer and had the emperor's trust, so the opposition was ineffective.
In addition to these people, two chief officials of the Ministry of War also wrote against it. They were Kuang Ye, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yu Qian, the Minister of the Ministry of War.
Kuang Ye, a native of Yizhang, was born as a Jinshi during the Yongle period. He was an incorruptible and very upright person. He was very dissatisfied with Wang Zhen's misdeeds. This time he wrote a letter to object, which was a manifestation of his consistent upright character. As expected, his The objections were also dismissed, but this was not the end of his dissuasive behavior. In fact, as a person who participated in the expedition from beginning to end, he retained his loyalty until the last moment of his life.
And this is Yu Qian, the protagonist of our next chapter. To say that this man is really not that strong, his ability and popularity are not that high either. He has offended the number one celebrity Wang Zhen, and has never done anything to him. After admitting his mistake, he was actually reinstated as Minister of War under Wang Zhen's nose, and Wang Zhen couldn't do anything to him, which shows his solid foundation and profound background.
After the protests of these two senior officials of the Ministry of War were rejected, they had no choice but to continue their work and prepare for the expedition. According to regulations, when the emperor went on an expedition, the main leaders of the Ministry of War should accompany him. After internal deliberations, a decision was finally made:
Kuang Ye accompanied him on the expedition, and Yu Qian temporarily acted as the agent for the Ministry of War.
Facts have proved that it was this decision that saved the fate of the Ming Empire.
Compared with them, the performance of the other two auxiliary ministers was really disappointing. San Yang was dead, Hu Hui had no ability, and Zhang Fu, who should really be effective, said nothing.
This is so inappropriate. Zhang Fu led his army to pacify Annan. He had experienced hundreds of battles. It is impossible that he did not know the danger of this move. This man was a veteran of four dynasties. Wang Zhen did not dare to do anything to him. If he wanted to When it came to arguing, Wang Zhen might not be his opponent yet, but Zhang Fu, who was old and had heart failure, remained disappointingly silent.
Although he said nothing, although he knew the danger, Zhang Fu finally set off on the expedition with the emperor, not as a commander, but as a companion.
You leave your son to me, and I will accompany him to the end.
The ministers were in a mess, each with their own plans and actions. The emperor also had his own, and the emperor was also a human being. Before going on a business trip, he had to hand over the work and say goodbye to his relatives, so that he could pack his bags and hit the road.
Zhu Qizhen is now faced with these two tasks. He first handed over the power of the country to his younger brother Zhu Qiyu. It should be said that Zhu Qizhen is a gentle person, and he has a very good relationship with his younger brother. His younger brother was also very well-behaved and was never greedy for things that should not belong to him, such as the throne. It was for this reason that Zhu Qizhen safely handed over the power of the country to him.
However, what Zhu Qizhen does not understand is that the world is constantly changing, things will change, and people will also change.
When a person becomes accustomed to a certain kind of authority and privilege, he can no longer bear the pain of losing them.
While power brings people dignity, it also brings them selfishness.
After explaining the state affairs, Zhu Qizhen went to say goodbye to his wife, Queen Qian.
The seventh year of Zhengtong (1442) was not a good year for the Ming Dynasty. It was in this year that Empress Dowager Zhang died and Wang Zhen seized the power of the country. However, for Zhu Qizhen himself, this year
But he was happy, because in this year, he married his queen Qian.
Since ancient times, there have been almost as many queens as there have been emperors, and the number of queens can never be less. In fact, queens have always been a political force that cannot be ignored. From Wu Zetian to Cixi, they played important roles in history.
Their roles are by no means less than those of some male protagonists. Of course, more queens are unknown and buried in the dust of history. However, there are also some queens who have been recorded in the annals of history because of their outstanding political talents and tactics.
Queen Qian is one of them, and her name has been passed down to future generations.
But she is different from those queens in history. She did not rely on her own machinations and political means to make people remember her.
She relies on the simplest and most sincere thing - feelings.
She impressed the historians of the past dynasties with her true feelings, so her deeds were passed down and moved more people.
So in the following chapters, we will also tell about this extraordinary woman and her immortal legend.
A woman's legend is immortal because of her true love.
Is there a real relationship between the queen and the emperor? I believe this is also a question that many people have. In my opinion, the answer is yes.
At least in this Queen Qian, I saw real feelings, pure feelings without any utility.
In the palace of three thousand beauties, countless conspiracies are constantly being staged every day. In order to compete for favor and power, weak women who are originally powerless will become more vicious and vicious than men, and some even do not hesitate to fight for power.
Kill your own flesh and blood to achieve your own political goals (Wu Zetian).
But this does not mean that they are hateful or abominable. In fact, in my opinion, they are a group of pitiable people.
In that world where power determines everything, with the title of queen and concubine, only with power can you control your own destiny. If you want to stabilize your position, you must eliminate all emotions and sympathy and become ruthless.
.There is no other way.
In my opinion, what these poor women did was not selfish, but self-protective.
But in the eyes of our descendants, the so-called harem is just a mess of bad debts, with constant competition for favors, thrones, and heirs, endless troubles, and a complete mess.
This Queen Qian is a lotus blooming in the smoky harem.
Zhu Qizhen loved his first wife very much and took good care of her. Queen Qian was not born into a wealthy family, so she knew that life was not easy. Even after becoming a queen, she was not used to a pampered life, and she just treated her with all her heart.
Her husband often made some needlework. Zhu Qizhen wanted to grant marquisships to her relatives several times, but she refused.
In the eyes of many people, the queen had no worries about food and clothing, her mother cared for the world, and sewing was just a pastime.
But this does not seem to be the case. If Empress Qian knew that a few years later, she would use her needlework skills in exchange for things, I wonder what she would think.
All in all, this queen is not ordinary. She doesn't want an official position or money. She seems to have no other requirements besides being devoted to her husband.
Later facts also proved that her feelings for Zhu Qizhen were real and could withstand the test. In her eyes, the only identity of this man named Zhu Qizhen was just her husband, regardless of whether Zhu Qizhen was the emperor. , he is still a prisoner, or a prisoner held by his own brother, this identity has never changed.
On the night when Zhu Qizhen said goodbye to him and prepared to go on the expedition, no one knew what was said between them, but I believe that this wife, like all ordinary wives of soldiers who went to war, would ask their husbands to Take care of yourself, stay safe, and say something that has been said countless times but still deserves to be said:
"I'll wait for you to come back."
Go on an expedition
On July 17, the fourteenth year of Zhengtong (1449), the army set off for the expedition.
Regardless of the obstruction of countless people, Wang Zhen insisted on going out to find the glory of his dream.
Along with him on the expedition, there were many civil servants and military generals who were the pillars of the country, including:
British Duke Zhang Fu, Cheng Guo Duke Zhu Yong (Zhu Neng's son inherited the title from his father), cabinet member Cao Nai, cabinet member Zhang Yi, Minister of War Kuang Ye, etc. The whole list is very long, so I will not list it separately. In short, the people of the imperial court Many elite civil and military personnel left with him.
Very few come back alive.
At this time, Zhu Qizhen had no idea that his legendary experience was about to begin. For this young man who was only 23 years old, this was an exciting and exciting experience that he had always respected. "Mr. Wang" is not wrong, and personal expedition is undoubtedly the only correct method.
Objectively speaking, Zhu Qizhen is responsible for this upcoming failure, but the main responsibility does not lie with him, because he is just a young man who does not have much political experience and is too easy to trust others.
Wang Zhencai is the culprit of all this.
Let’s not say who is responsible for the moment. In fact, on the same day that the army set off, a big war broke out in Datong hundreds of miles away.
The battle took place in Yanghe. This battle ended with the complete annihilation of the Ming army. It must be noted that this battle fully demonstrated the strength of the Yexian army, because the Ming army came well prepared and obtained Datong. Guo Jing, the guarding eunuch, had full support. But even under such circumstances, the Ming army was still no match for Ye Xian's army.
In addition to the annihilation of the entire army, the leading general Song Ying was also beheaded by the formation. The eunuch Guo Jing who accompanied the army was smart enough to hide in the grass and pretend to be dead, and finally escaped.
Only one person escaped, his name was Shi Heng, and he was also the commander-in-chief of the army.
All of his subordinates were killed first, and he himself fled. This was the greatest insult for a commander, but Shi Heng was lucky. Soon, he would have the opportunity to pick up a weapon with his own hands. Revenge for the dead compatriots.
The victorious ones have already cleaned up the battlefield, recharged their batteries, and waited for their opponents to arrive.
Wang Zhen, who was still in his dream, didn't know all this. He always naively believed that as long as the army set off, saw the enemy and swarmed up, they would win.
Under the guidance of this idiot, the 200,000-strong army advanced toward Datong along Juyong Pass and Huailai. What awaited them in front was a death trap.
On August 1, the army arrived in Datong. Guo Jing, who was almost killed in Yanghe, had escaped and met his immediate boss Wang Zhen.
Seeing Guo Jing's frightened eyes and posture, Wang Zhen couldn't help but laugh at him.
"I have an army of 200,000 men. Are you still afraid?"
But what Guo Jing said next really shocked Wang Zhen, who was never a coward.
He vividly told Wang Zhen the story of the previous battle, and described the tragic situation of the defeat in detail.
Wang Zhen, the Superintendent of Ceremonies, is also a slave.
In the days when he was in great power, he was domineering and arrogant, and he even dreamed of making great achievements. In fact, deep down in his heart, he knew very well that he was just a villain and a coward who deceived the emperor's trust and pretended to be powerful.
So he changed his previous heroic words and immediately ordered the class.
At this time, the army has just arrived in Datong and has not gone far. If it withdraws on time, there will be no problem. It is not yet clear the details of this 200,000-strong army and will not attack immediately. Although the division has failed,
Even if it’s just a trip.
But Wang Zhen, a dead eunuch, wants to do some tricks.
Wang Zhen is a villain and an upstart, and all his behavior patterns are based on this identity. Upstarts like him have one common characteristic - they love to show off.
Wang Zhen's home was in Yu County, which was under the jurisdiction of Datong Prefecture at the time, so he decided to invite the emperor to visit his hometown. What was there to see in the small Yu County?
In fact, Wang Zhen's purpose is very simple, just like today's rich people like to drive back to their hometowns, then blow the horn several times, wake up the whole village, and then let the whole village come out to see him.
new car, new clothes.
Wang Zhen brought the emperor and 200,000 people back to his hometown for this purpose.
He just wanted to show off. The poor academic officer back then has become famous now!
Although he has become a eunuch.
Wrong again and again
Since Wang Zhen decided to go home and have a look, let's go. The army then changed direction and set off towards Yu County.
In fact, Wang Zhen's decision was correct, because from his hometown Yu County, it was the only way to enter Beijing from Zijingguan. As long as you followed this road, you could reach the capital safely.
On August 3, the army began to move forward, but after only fifty miles, the team suddenly stopped. Then after receiving the order, all the troops immediately turned around, returned to Datong, and returned to Beijing along the Juyong Pass where they came from.
This is simply a crazy decision. The army is extremely exhausted. If we continue to move forward, we will be able to return to Beijing soon and ensure safety.
Instead of walking on a good road, halfway through, I actually had to turn back and take a long way back to Beijing!
The person who issued this order must be crazy if he doesn't have a valid reason.
Wang Zhen had a legitimate reason, and it seemed to be a noble one.
"The autumn harvest is coming. If the army passes by Yu County, it will trample the crops. We order the army to turn around so as not to disturb the people."
It's so noble. Wang Zhen, the Supervisor of Liturgy, trampled on human life, took bribes, harmed the country, and falsely accused Zhongliang. Now he suddenly cares about the crops in Yu County. He is really "clearly aware of everything."
Later historians all detested this "noble behavior", and many people analyzed that the fields in Yu County should be Wang Zhen's own, that's why he cared so much.
In fact, in my opinion, it doesn't matter whether it belongs to Wang Zhen, because even if these fields are not his, it does not show how noble his character is. It is nothing more than giving small favors to show his power.
Wang Zhen finally saved Yu County's crops and showed his authority, but of course, he also paid a certain price.
The price is hundreds of thousands of lives.
It rained heavily, making it more difficult for the 200,000-strong army to march. Morale was extremely low, and the soldiers were filled with resentment. However, things had reached this point, and it was useless to say anything. Let's go honestly.
On August 10, after an arduous journey, the army arrived at Xuanfu. Seeing that the army could safely enter Juyong Pass, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But at this moment, Ye Xian, who had been following, finally saw the true face of this Ming army. After several trials, he already understood that as long as he launched an attack, he would definitely be able to defeat this so-called behemoth.
After avoiding and following for a month, the Guizhou tiger finally made his first attack.
Fortunately, the Ming army discovered Ye Xian's attempt and immediately sent out the main force of more than 50,000 cavalry to block the attack. The man in charge of this army was Zhu Yong.
Zhu Yong's father Zhu Neng is an excellent commander, just like Zhang Fu's father Zhang Yu, but the difference between Zhu Neng and Zhang Yu is that Zhang Yu's son Zhang Fu is also an excellent military talent, but
His son is not.
Zhu Yong set out confidently with an army of 50,000 people. Although he was responsible for the rearguard, he actually had twice as many soldiers and horses as Xian Xian, because according to reliable information, Xian Xian only had 20,000 cavalry. This is exactly what Zhu Yong did.
The root of courage and self-confidence.
Blind self-confidence is often more terrifying than inferiority complex.
There is no need to go into details about the specific process, let’s just talk about the results:
"They died in ambush in the Yao'er Ridge, and all the 50,000 horsemen they led were lost."
Fifty thousand people fell into an ambush of 20,000 people, and the entire army was wiped out. This fully demonstrated that Zhu Yong was not a good commander.
But in my opinion, the 50,000 troops who died at Yaoerling were lucky, at least they still fought hard and died.
They didn't die in Tumubao, and they didn't die so cowardly.
After Zhu Yong was eliminated, the road to victory was finally opened. In front of Ye Xian was a smooth road without any obstacles.
Tumubao
Although Zhu Yong's command was unfavorable, his army still bought three days for His Majesty the Emperor.
Three days to save lives, but only three days.
Departing from Xuanfu on August 10, the Ming army took three days to arrive at Tumubao. It was only twenty-five miles away from the military town of Huailai. As long as they entered Huailai, everyone would be safe.
I think everyone can guess the following things without telling me, but another person objected.
This person is still Wang Zhen.
As usual, he found a reason, but this reason was not noble at all.
"I still have more than a thousand vehicles that have not arrived. The army will not enter the city for the time being. They will wait here!"
It is not difficult for a person to make a mistake once, but what is difficult is to make mistakes from beginning to end. There are very few people in the world who are as stupid as Wang Zhen and do not realize it.
I have nothing to say about this Mr. Clerk of Ceremonies. Putting aside his evil deeds, his stupidity and ignorance alone are enough to make him notorious for thousands of years and be reviled by thousands of people.
The saddest thing about a person is not that he is scolded, but that he has nothing to scold.
In this way, the Ming army lost its last chance to escape.
Ye Xian finally arrived. He wiped away the blood stains Zhu Yong left on his knife and prepared to kill again.
On the night of August 14th, Ye launched a sudden attack. The Ming army was caught off guard and the entire army retreated. However, due to the large number of people, they did not dare to go too deep. The Ming army took this opportunity to form a tight formation and dig trenches to prepare for a long period of time.
Combat.
According to my estimation, Ye Xian's troops at this time should be more than 20,000, but around 50,000 or 60,000, but even with this strength, he could not defeat the entrenched Ming army.
So he thought of a way.
On August 15, Ye Xian suddenly sent an envoy to express his willingness to negotiate peace. Wang Zhen was very happy and immediately sent Cao Nai to participate in the peace talks. At this time, as if to show his sincerity, Ye Xian's army had retreated.
Faced with this situation, Kuang Ye, the Secretary of the Ministry of War who was familiar with the art of war, calmly analyzed it. He believed that this was a trick of the Yexian army and should not be credulous and should wait for reinforcements.
It was at this moment that Wang Zhen finally completed a major event in his life. He made full use of his stupidity and made the last mistake.
"The army will get out of the trench immediately and move immediately!"
In this military operation in the 14th year of Orthodoxy, Wang Zhen started with a mistake and ended with a mistake. He was able to persist in his wrong opinions. Even though he knew his stupidity and ignorance, he was still able to carry forward the spirit of shamelessness, turn a deaf ear and truly do what he said. It’s time to carry out the mistake to the end.
Li Jinglong, you will no longer be lonely in heaven, because a person who is stupider, more idiotic, and more ignorant than you has appeared, and this person will come to accompany you soon.
As expected by Kuang Ye, only three miles after the army set out, Ye Xian's army, which had disappeared, appeared. "The cavalry rushed in and cut down the army with long swords."
After a long period of running around, the 200,000-strong army, which had been demoralized by Wang Zhen's repeated torment, finally reached its limit and ushered in the final outcome - collapse.
A complete collapse, the 200,000-strong army was completely disorganized, and everyone was running away. At this moment, no matter you are a general, a bachelor, or an ordinary soldier, there is only one thing you can do - run away.
Speaking of escaping, it is really a technical job. In addition to looking in the right direction, you also need to have sufficient physical strength to build a foundation. This time, the ministers who usually do not work suffered a disaster because the soldiers did not do a good job in the massacre. Quite thorough, no matter what your status is, whether you are a Jinshi (Cao Nai is the number one scholar) or a Jinshi origin, everyone is equal before the saber.
Zhang Fu, a veteran of the Four Dynasties, once swept through Annan with great majesty. He was also killed in this battle, and a generation of famous generals died.
In addition, more than 50 people including the consort Jingyuan, the Minister of War Kuang Ye, the Minister of Hubu Wang Zuo, the ministers Ding Xuan, Wang Yonghe, and cabinet members Cao Nai and Zhang Yi were all killed.
Property damage was also severe:
"There are more than 200,000 mules and horses, as well as clothing, armor, equipment, and baggage. You can get everything first."
Decades of accumulation and decades of talent are all wiped out.
The 200,000-strong army collapsed and more than 50 ministers died in the battle. They should not have died. This was the final outcome. But what is gratifying is that one damned person finally died.
The guard general Fan Zhong fought hard among the rebels. He knew that everything was over and he would die here.
Naturally, he was unwilling to do so. The 200,000-strong army was destroyed just because of one man's wrong command.
It's a pity that he didn't die in my hands.
It seemed that God wanted to fulfill his last wish. Not long after, he actually found this person among the rebels.
The characteristics of this man are also very obvious. He is a eunuch and has no beard.
So Fan Zhong rushed over, grabbed the panicked Wang Zhen, and smashed his head with a hammer.
"I will kill this thief for the sake of the world!"
Kill well! Kill well!
Unfortunately it's too late.
end
September 12, the 14th year of Orthodoxy (1449).
"I, Juyongguan Patrol Commander Yang Jun, reported that I recently picked up the weapons left behind in Tumu Fort, and found more than 6,000 helmets, 5,800 armors, more than 11,000 magic guns, and 600 magic guns.
The rest are eighteen barrels of gunpowder."
September 13, the 14th year of Orthodoxy (1449).
"Yang Hong, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, reported that the weapons left behind in Tumu include more than 3,800 helmets, more than 120 armors, more than 290 round medals, and more than 22,000 magic guns.