The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 36: Collaborators and Traitors
As the sun sets, the majestic Great Wall still stands tall among the mountains, silently guarding the people of the Central Plains.

Suddenly, smoke rose from the direction of Gubeikou, and the smoke columns rising into the sky were endless, as if a forest fire had broken out.

This means that the number of invading northern barbarians is not just a few, but at least tens of thousands.

The beacon towers on the east, south and west sides of Gubeikou also quickly lit up smoke signals to sound a warning.

Wolf smoke, wolf smoke, wolf smoke!
There are smoke signals everywhere in the direction of Gubeikou!
When the people in the capital saw this, they couldn't help but change color with horror.

At this time, countless Mongolian cavalrymen came roaring from the mountains and ravines outside the pass, followed by a large number of infantrymen, too numerous to count.

On the crisscrossing Great Walls such as Wohu Mountain, Panlong Mountain, and Simatai, the Ming Dynasty soldiers stood in neat rows, as if there was an extra Great Wall of flesh and blood on the city walls.

Dong Yiyuan, deputy general and garrison commander of Gubeikou, stood on the tall Wangjing Tower, looking at the dense swarms of northern barbarians swarming in, without any fear on his face.

He glanced back towards the capital, then said with a determined face, "Pass the order, the entire army will hold on to the death, and not a single retreat is allowed until the last soldier."

In fact, the defense of Gubeikou is very good.

From the first to the third year of the Longqing reign, Qi Jiguang and Tan Lun built the Gubeikou defense system here. The Gubeikou section of the Great Wall is also the most complete defense system between Jizhou Town and Xuanfu Town.

However, there are only five thousand households stationed in Miyun Guard at Gubeikou.

At present, the border garrisons are also seriously short of manpower, and the shortage of the garrison at Gubeikou is the most serious.

Because in the 29th year of Jiajing, Altan Khan, led by the traitor Qiu Luan, took a detour through Pigeon Cave and Huangyugou and captured Gubeikou from behind. The defenders of Gubeikou were almost wiped out!

The garrison at Gubeikou has not yet made up for the shortfall. There are only about 3,000 border troops and garrisons capable of fighting, while the northern barbarians rushing in are more than 30,000.

Dong Yiyuan knew that he could not retreat, because the Emperor was in Miyun and Huairou Mountain Resort, a hundred miles away. Even though he knew he could not defend it, he could not take a single step back. He had to use his own life and the lives of his soldiers to buy time for the Emperor.

He only hoped that the Emperor would see the smoke signals and return to Beijing quickly.

As for his own life and death, he had long since disregarded it.

He was a member of the Xuanfu Vanguard Army. His ancestors had been stationed in the northern border for generations, and many of them had died on the battlefield.

For example, his father Dong Yang.

In the 28th year of the Jiajing reign, Altan Khan invaded Xuanfu Town. His father led his troops to defend Dishui Cliff. Although he knew he would die, he fought to the death and eventually died in battle.

This is the fate of border generals and also their duty.

The heroic spirit of his deceased father is watching him from the top of the Great Wall. There are no cowards in the Dong family, only loyal people who sacrifice their lives for the country!

At this time, Wanli was also standing outside the water house looking north.

There had been no war in Gubeikou for over 20 years, so why did tens of thousands of northern barbarians invade at this very moment?
Zhang Siwei, do you want to show me your power or do you want the northern barbarians to break through Gubeikou, rush to the capital to plunder, and slap me in the face?
At this point, there is no doubt that there is no such coincidence in the world.

The Gengxu Incident in the 29th year of the Jiajing reign was not a coincidence. It was also because there were traitors in the Ming Dynasty court who collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country.

If Xianning Hou Qiu Luan had not sent people to investigate the situation near Gubeikou in advance and lured Altan Khan's army to attack from the rear of Gubeikou, Gubeikou would not have been so easy to capture.

At this moment, Zhang Siwei knew that the defense system of the Gubeikou Great Wall had been fully built and there were no loopholes to exploit, while the Gubeikou defenders had not yet been replenished, so he simply let the Northern Tartars attack Gubeikou head-on via the river valley avenue that was convenient for the army to pass through.

There are at least tens of thousands of northern barbarians invading this time, and the 3,000 border troops stationed at Gubeikou are definitely not able to hold it.

How to do it?

Can Qi Jiguang hold the city with less than 20,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp?
This seems unlikely.

The Beijing Army had been rotten for a long time, and Qi Jiguang was not a god. It was impossible for the soldiers of the Beijing Army to be reborn in just one month.

Qi Jiguang's tone clearly showed that he was unsure. He just wanted to use his own life and the lives of the soldiers in the Beijing camp to cover his retreat.

Could he ask the soldiers of the Beijing camp to cover their retreat?
If Gubeikou is not defended, what will happen to the weapons workshop he just built?
Zhang Siwei, you traitor and collaborator with the enemy, just wait for me!

Do you think I will panic and rush back to the capital with the Jinyiwei, the Imperial Guards, and even the Beijing Camp? I will not do as you think.

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then said decisively: "Yingzhen, quickly send a fast horse to convey my oral order. Order the 20,000 border troops stationed in Jizhou who are on rotation to pack up overnight and set out before noon tomorrow. They must reach Gubeikou within three days.

If any of the guards fail to arrive, the commander will behead them in public, and all the thousand-household and hundred-household officials will be dismissed and investigated."

Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen hurriedly bowed and left.

Wanli said to Qi Jiguang: "Yuan Jing, quickly select 4,000 elite soldiers from the Beijing Camp, mount the warhorses of the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Imperial Guard, and go to Gubeikou for support.

I will personally lead the remaining troops on foot to support you at dawn tomorrow morning. You and the Gubeikou defenders will hold out until tomorrow afternoon. Is that okay?"

what?
His Majesty is going to take the risk himself!

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang said anxiously, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. You should return to the capital immediately. The smoke signals are too dense and are growing louder and louder. I'm afraid the number of the northern barbarians invading this time is more than 100,000."

Wanli shook his head with a determined look on his face and said, "I cannot retreat. If I retreat, the elite troops of the Beijing Camp that you have worked so hard to train, as well as the Jizhou garrison, will all be wiped out.

Moreover, even if I take away all the elite Jinyiwei and the imperial guards, Gubeikou may not be defended. By then, the Gengxu Incident will happen again, and the wealthy areas of the capital will be ravaged by the northern barbarians again. I am afraid that most of the people will be abducted!
Most of the people living near the capital are the families of the soldiers of the Beijing camp. I can't let them fight for their lives while their families are abducted and humiliated and tortured by the northern barbarians.

I brought 20,000 elite soldiers from the Jinyiwei and the Beijing Camp, and the garrison at Gubeikou now exceeds 40,000. With Gubeikou's defense system, even if the Northern Tartars have over 100,000, we can definitely hold out for three days.

By the time the elite troops from the Jizhou border garrison arrive, the garrison at Gubeikou will exceed 60,000, and the more than 100,000 northern barbarians will definitely not be able to break through.

At the height of Altan Khan's power, he only had over 100,000 men. Can the current Northern Tartars be stronger than Altan Khan back then?"

This is indeed true. The soldiers in the Beijing camp have not been training for a long time, and their combat effectiveness may not be as strong as that of the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards.

It is not certain that he can hold out for three days with more than 2,000 personal guards and less than 20,000 newly trained soldiers from the Beijing camp. Even if he can hold out for three days, with the addition of 20,000 elite border troops stationed in Jizhou Town, they may not be able to withstand the more than 100,000 northern barbarians.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang hesitated.

Seeing this, Wanli simply said to Li Xuancheng and Shan Sinan: "Uncle, General Shan, you can definitely protect me from the huge army, right?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xuancheng nodded solemnly.

Shan Sinan bowed without hesitation and said, "I will fight to the death to protect His Majesty."

These two can be said to be the most powerful masters in the world today. With them protecting His Majesty, the Northern Tartars should not be able to get close to His Majesty.

If Gubeikou falls again, the consequences will be unimaginable.

At this time, there is no time to hesitate.

Seeing this, Qi Jiguang gritted his teeth and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty is wise. If the Jinyiwei and the elite imperial guards were here, Gubeikou would definitely be able to be defended. I will lead the elite troops of the Beijing camp to Gubeikou to provide support."

Soon, four thousand elite soldiers of the Beijing camp rode their horses and galloped northward in the sunset, and the entire Yanshan Mountain was suddenly filled with the sound of thunder.

Wanli looked at Qi Jiguang's rapidly receding figure, thought for a moment, and then said solemnly, "Yingzhen, send a fast horse to convey my oral instructions to Qianji. Tell him that if this battle is unfavorable, he can only mobilize troops from Northern Zhili and Liaodong for support. Remember not to mobilize troops from Xuanfu Town and Datong Town to support him.

If the cabinet wants to mobilize troops from Xuanda, let him tear up the cabinet's transfer order."

There must be Zhang Siwei's confidants among the border troops of Xuanfu Town and Datong Town, because since Yang Bo took office as the governor of Xuanda in the 29th year of Jiajing, it seems that all the governors of Xuanda are from the three major families of Puzhou!

Zhang Siwei is not just vicious.

If the Northern Tartars failed to break through Gubeikou, and he personally led his troops to stay in Gubeikou, this guy would probably take the risk and mobilize the troops from Xuanfu Town and Datong Town to join forces with the Northern Tartars to kill him in Gubeikou.

By then, the Ming Dynasty would have become the world of the three major families in Puzhou, and the stupid Empress Dowager Li and the unlearned and uncultured Prince Lu would definitely become Zhang Siwei's puppets.

We must be on guard against traitors who collaborate with the enemy. A strong fortress is usually breached from the inside.

In the 29th year of the Jiajing reign, if it were not for the treason of Xianning Marquis Qiu Luan, Altan Khan would never have been able to reach the capital.

(End of this chapter)