Chapter 64 Wang Zhen: When it comes to military strength, I have the advantage (please read more!)
Tumu Fort is located inside the line from Juyongguan to Datong.
It is part of the Great Wall defense system and is known as the three major forts in northern Beijing together with Yulin Fort and Jiming Fort.
The entire fort has a ship-shaped layout, about 150 feet wide from north to south, and 300 feet long from east to west. The earth-made brick wall is about two feet high, and there are more than 100 guard houses inside.
However, since Yongle, most of the energy of the Ren and Xuan sects has been focused on people's livelihood and internal affairs.
During the entire ten years of Hongxi and Xuande, no troops were launched against Mongolia. They basically used tribute to maintain stability.
As a result, the imperial court naturally did not pay attention to these border defense posts, which were the most proud of Taizu Taizong. Under the wanton annexation of land by the border defense generals, by the Zhengtong period, there were not even ten soldiers left in the guard posts.
The so-called garrison soldiers are military camps. When soldiers are registered in the military, 70% of the land is farmed and 30% is trained. To put it bluntly, they give you a piece of land and you can cultivate the land to support yourself. You are completely responsible for your own profits and losses.
Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once said with great pride that he could raise an army of millions without costing the common people a grain of rice.
If we strictly follow Lao Zhu's ideas and implement them, we can naturally achieve this result. For example, during the Yongle period, the guardsmen maintained a strong combat effectiveness.
But during the Xuande period.
I would rather be a bandit than serve as a guard.
Even if the law clearly stipulates that if a military household escapes, he will be charged with desertion, and if caught, he will be sentenced to death, his son will be castrated, and his wife and daughter will be confiscated. However, it still cannot stop the fleeing speed of the guardsmen. The number of fleeing guardsmen across the country has reached an astonishing six.
One hundred thousand!
According to "Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty", in November of the eighth year of Xuande's reign, Shandong Inspector Zhang Cong visited Liaodong and discovered that there were only five or six garrison troops in Shanhaiguan.
Can you believe it?
Shanhaiguan is such an important strategic place, but the number of defenders is in single digits!
But it's no wonder these guardsmen are so miserable.
The land was gone, and people still had to carry heavy corvees to work for the border guards. If there was a war outside the customs, they had to raise their own rations and go out to fight.
In the end, the land was gone, and taxes still had to be paid!
I’ve lost all my land, why should I pay for my money?!
Moreover, this military household stipulation was passed down from generation to generation, so it can be said that the next eighteen generations have no hope at all.
The heart is shaking and the feet are stamping.
gnmlgb, moisturized.
The wind stirs up dust.
The earthen fortress covering an area of 1,000 acres and the ruined buildings should have hundreds of military households here, but now there are only a dozen or so soldiers in simple clothes coming and going from time to time.
Most of these soldiers were wrapped in leather cloth, and their armor and other iron tools had disappeared long ago, probably to be exchanged for money to pay taxes.
Every one of them looks very much like Sparta.
At this time, the eyes of these Spartans were all focused on one person.
After all, a man wearing a different kind of clothes made of noble silk and wearing something shiny on his face was extremely conspicuous in this desolate place of Tumu Fortress.
Ji Boying didn't pay attention to the surprised looks of the Spartans and stood alone on the highest beacon tower in the earthen fortress.
Looking around the Tumu Fortress from here and doing some on-the-spot investigation, Ji Boying finally understood why the Battle of the Tumu Fortress was such a disastrous defeat.
Damn, this place is like a big graveyard.
Setting up camp in Tumu Fort is like leading people to a graveyard, which is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The terrain of Tumu Fort is extremely high, with a cliff to the north, a Yongding River ten miles away to the south, the retreat direction of the Baozong's army to the west, and the Pseudo River not far away to the east.
The whole process of Tumu Fort's defeat was also very simple.
When the Baozong's army arrived at Tumubao, they originally only had to continue their rapid march to Huailai City, which was only about 20 miles away. There was a city to hold on to, and then they ordered the surrounding troops to be diligent, and the army would be safe and sound.
After all, Wala also only wanted wealth in this wave, and had no intention of severely damaging the Ming Dynasty.
But the damn eunuch Wang Zhen, in the name of having more than a thousand military supplies that he could not keep up with (actually the private property that Wang Zhen had plundered during his trip north this time), persuaded the Baozong to order the entire army to camp in Tumubao and wait for the trains to follow. superior.
Kuang Ye, Minister of the Ministry of War, learned that Wang Zhen had abandoned the emperor and ignored the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers for the sake of private property. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot. He went directly to see Baozong, hoping that Baozong would lead a small number of elites to enter the pass first. He Lead the main force to stay and wait for the baggage.
But something magical happened again. Baozong rejected the suggestion of Kuang Ye, the Minister of War, without hesitation, and said that he would stay with Wang Zhen to wait for the arrival of the baggage.
How come you don’t trust the head of the Ministry of War when it comes to the use of troops? Why don’t you trust a dead eunuch?!
Why the hell don’t you let Wang Zhen be the Minister of War?
As the old saying goes, if you don't seek death, you won't die. God of War is a typical example of seeking death.
Ji Boying briefly recalled the process of the Tumubao incident.
Then, his eyes fixed on a small courtyard that was relatively well-preserved in the Tumu Fortress.
If nothing happens, this small courtyard will become the temporary palace of Baozong.
The sunglasses flickered slightly, and a string of code-like silver data flashed past. This was the coordinates of this small courtyard.
When the space-time coordinates are there, Ji Boying can arrive with a group of emperors accurately, instead of constantly narrowing the scope to locate the location like he himself did.
‘Wang Zhen.’
Looking at this desolate and sandy land, and thinking that in ten other time and space, this is the burial place of hundreds of thousands of heroic souls, and all this is because of the mental retardation of a dead eunuch and a god of war, Ji Boying was filled with anger. .
If I remember correctly, Zhu Qizhen is on his way to Tumubao right now.
Phew~!
The wind and sand pass by.
Suddenly, there was a scene of surprise in the earthen fort. The Spartans who had been watching Ji Boying were almost so shocked that they forgot to pick up their pants after draining the water.
‘People, people are gone?!’
………………………
Half a day's journey away from Tumu Fort, there was a sergeant taking a rest.
This is the personal army of the Ming God of War.
In the temporarily arranged emperor's tent, a handsome and heroic young man, wearing a golden battle armor, sat at the head of the tent, with delicacies and wines placed on the table in front of him.
On the left side of the big tent, there sat a middle-aged man with a beard that looked a little fake, and he had a scholarly air about him. It seemed that Mr. Wang, even though he had great power, still kept his hands on the book.
"Mr. Wang, do you think Zhu Yong can win?"
Zhu Qizhen, the God of War, frowned in a rare way. After all, the losses in the first two battles were too ugly.
Mr. Wang chuckled.
"Your Majesty, Duke Cheng Guo has led 3,000 battalions and 40,000 cavalry to the rescue. Nawala also has all his troops first, and only 20,000 people are chasing after him. The advantage lies with me!"
"Two to one, our army will definitely win!"
In Mr. Wang's view, fighting means that there are more people than there are people. How can two people win against one person?!
"Thanks to your words, I am relieved."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, then looked at Wang Zhen and suddenly smiled.