My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 950 Withdrawal
In the Battle of Yanghe, 40,000 elite Ming troops faced off against 30,000 Wala cavalry, but the entire army was annihilated. Governor Song Ying and commander-in-chief Zhu Mian were killed in the battle, and all 40,000 troops were buried here.

When Zhu Qizhen's 200,000-strong army arrived in Yanghe, the battlefield here remained the same. Wala only looted the battlefield of valuable weapons and armor, but corpses were discarded everywhere on the battlefield.

So when Zhu Qizhen and the others arrived in Yanghe, what they saw was a killing field full of corpses. Coupled with the current temperature and the washing of rain, many corpses were half rotten. The stench on the entire battlefield was as high as Like an endless hell.

Zhu Qizhen, who was sitting on the Dragon Boat, saw such a tragic scene for the first time, and was frightened for a moment. After all, he had grown up with the hands of women in the deep palace, and he was at most just ignorant of things like war. From reading some descriptions in books or hearing them mentioned, I can't imagine what the real battlefield is like.

It was only now that he witnessed the tragedy of the battlefield with his own eyes that Zhu Qizhen finally understood that fighting was not as simple and fun as he imagined, but that people would really die, which made him feel a little regretful.

But ahead was Datong. It took them more than ten days to get here. If they didn't even see the faces of the Wala people and were so scared to retreat just because of some dead bodies, Zhu Qizhen had no place to lose his face as the emperor.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen had no other choice but to bite the bullet and move forward. As for Wang Zhen, he was also frightened. After all, he was just a failed scholar before and never imagined that the battlefield could be so cruel.

In fact, not only Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen, many of the 200,000 Ming troops were stationed in various places. Most of the Ming troops who followed Zhu Di in the northern expedition have aged, and their children and grandchildren have taken over their roles as military households. Most of the army had never been on the battlefield, and they were summoned by a transfer order.

Now, these guardsmen, who were on the battlefield for the first time, saw the corpse-laden Yanghe battlefield, which made many of them frightened. Their morale was already weaker before they saw the Wala people.

Finally, a few days later, on the first day of August, Zhu Qizhen's army finally arrived in Datong.

However, people in Datong are now panicked, because the Ming army was defeated in two battles before, especially the Battle of Yanghe, which caused the main force of Datong to be completely lost. Wala's cavalry also took the opportunity to plunder everywhere, and the Ming army strongholds around Datong were attacked one after another. After being breached, many people fled to Datong City with their families and families.

The arrival of Zhu Qizhen's army finally gave Datong, which was depleted of troops, a little more defensive confidence. After all, the previous battle of Yanghe had wiped out Datong's elite. Now that there are so many people in the city, if Wa La kills them, Come in, the consequences will be disastrous.

Zhang Fu dragged his old body into the city and finally had time to take a breath. After all, he was so old and the journey was very hard, especially in the second half. Even he was hungry and full. Not to mention the soldiers in the army, there were about a thousand soldiers who died of cold and starvation on the road alone.

The soldiers in the army were also relieved. At least after entering Datong City, they finally had hot food to eat and a place to shelter their heads from the rain.

But on the night of entering Datong, Zhu Qizhen made an exception and summoned all civil and military officials to discuss matters, and even Zhang Fu was invited.

When Zhang Fu came to the hall, he saw that Kuang Ye, Wang Zuo and other ministers were already waiting in the hall. Everyone looked exhausted. The previous difficult march had already made everyone very tired. They had not even entered the city yet. After a good rest, Zhu Qizhen summoned him again to discuss matters. Everyone could only brace themselves.

After a while, Zhu Qizhen finally came to the hall and sat down on a chair in the middle. Wang Zhen and another eunuch Xi Ning stood on both sides of Zhu Qizhen.

"Mr. Wang, please announce the matter!" Zhu Qizhen cleared his throat and then ordered Wang Zhen.

"Yes!"

Wang Zhen agreed, then stepped forward and announced to the officials: "Your Majesty has an edict. There is insufficient food and grass in Datong City, and it may be difficult to support the army's garrison. Therefore, your Majesty has decided that the entire army will return to Beijing in two days!"

"what!"

Hearing Wang Zhen read out Zhu Qizhen's decision to withdraw his troops, all the civil and military officials below were wide-eyed in shock. They worked hard and endured hunger before finally arriving in Datong, but they only stayed for two days. Go back, isn't this a joke?

"Your Majesty, no, Wala is coming with great force. They are just outside Datong City. We are defending the city and we can still occupy the advantageous location. With our strength, Wala will never be able to attack Datong City. If we retreat now, it will only allow Wala to take advantage of it." machine!"

Zhang Fu was the first to stand up and object.

Datong is an important military town of the Ming Dynasty. The city walls are no worse than those of Beijing. Moreover, there is a large amount of food and grass stored in the city. Even if they have 200,000 troops, they will definitely be able to sustain it for more than a month. In comparison, the Oala outside the city People can't last that long, so as long as they can't break through Datong, they will retreat sooner or later.

In contrast, retreating out of the city now will give the Walas an opportunity to take advantage of them. If they are intercepted and killed on the way, the consequences will be disastrous given the current situation of the army.

"What the British Lord said is absolutely true. Datong City is tall and strong. Coupled with our military strength, even if the Wala people attack, they will definitely not be able to break through the city wall. Your Majesty can wait until the Wala people retreat before returning to the capital!"

Kuang Ye, the Minister of War, also stood up and expressed his position, and other ministers also agreed.

The 200,000-strong army was short of food and clothing on the road. They struggled with heavy rain and cold wind and finally arrived at Datong City. Now the entire army was exhausted, and even if they rested for two days, it would be difficult to recover.

The most important thing is that if the withdrawal is announced now, it will definitely cause a devastating blow to the morale of the army. By then, the morale of the army will be completely gone. If they are intercepted and killed by the Walas, it will only be more dangerous. It is better to stay in Datong. , relying on Datong's city defense, there is no need to worry about the Wala people coming in.

Zhu Qizhen, who was sitting on a chair, saw so many ministers objecting and showed an annoyed look on his face. The reason why he suddenly decided to withdraw his troops was mainly because after arriving in Datong, the eunuch guarding Datong Guo Jing reported to Zhu Qizhen secretly. It describes the terror of the Wala people. After all, in the previous battle of Yanghe, Guo Jing escaped by hiding in the bushes. Now he has long been frightened by the Wala people.

When Zhu Qizhen passed by Yanghe before, he saw the horror of the Yanghe battlefield. Now he heard Guo Jing's description, and he was even more frightened. At this time, he could not care less about losing face, so he decided to withdraw his troops, and Wang Zhen Very supportive of this.

(End of this chapter)