The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 38 The Northern Tartar Disaster
The battle of Gubeikou was about to begin, and the Summer Resort seemed to be filled with the smell of gunpowder.

The soldiers of the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Imperial Guards were all busy preparing for war.

The next morning, at around 3:00 AM, before daybreak, the huge summer resort was dotted with sparks of fire everywhere.

To the north, in Miyun County, the torches on the horse ranches within a radius of several miles were connected into long lines.

Wanli also set an example by riding horses with a group of princes, nobles and generals to the northernmost exit of the ranch to wait.

He looked at the hazy sky, which was already showing a glimmer of dawn, and then at the formations gradually gathering on the grass. He said decisively, "Yuan Gong, you lead the soldiers of the Beijing camp to set off first. Once they have assembled, we will leave. Deploy the formation across the bridge first, and at daybreak, begin a forced march, striving to reach Gubeikou by noon."

Upon hearing this, Duke Yingguo Zhang Yuangong hurriedly bowed and said, "Your humble servant obeys your command."

After saying this, he turned his horse around and galloped towards the place where the soldiers of the Beijing camp were gathering.

It is only about a hundred miles from Miyun County to Gubeikou. According to the records of later marathons, about 85 miles can be run in two hours, or one hour.

However, ordinary people certainly cannot run like this. Ordinary people can only run thirty or forty miles at most and have to rest for a while before they can continue running. Even well-trained soldiers cannot run hundreds of miles in one breath.

Wanli looked at the soldiers of the Beijing camp who were lined up in a long queue and slowly heading north, silently estimating the time.

Who will go first, the Embroidered Uniform Guards or the Imperial Guards?

He was just pondering this when Yongnianbo Wang Wei suddenly galloped over, clasped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I dare to ask you to bring 30,000 craftsmen with me to help you."

what?
Is the Queen worried about me?

Wanli was not quite sure whether to laugh or cry, so he said, "Father-in-law, was it Xier who asked you to come?"

Yongnianbo Wang Wei said somewhat embarrassedly, "Xier did tell me, but I didn't go there to cause trouble for you.

In fact, craftsmen are still somewhat useful when defending the city. Carpenters can help collect and transport wooden beams, stonemasons can help collect and transport boulders, and blacksmiths can help boil hot water and oil on the city walls, and even help throw boulders and wooden beams.

Moreover, we have already crafted 50,000 sets of weapons for the Beijing Camp. General Qi only brought 4,000 iron shields with him, so we still have 6,000 left here. Once the 30,000 craftsmen are equipped with these, they will be able to help kill the enemy."

This does make sense. As long as there are enough rolling stones and logs on the city wall that can be thrown down continuously, and boiling water and hot oil are poured down continuously, it will be a nightmare for the attackers.

Wanli heard this, thought about it carefully, and then said decisively: "Okay, Yingzhen, you lead the Jinyiwei to follow the Beijing camp, I will lead the imperial guards to follow, and the father-in-law, you lead 30,000 craftsmen to follow the imperial guards."

Not long after, the sky turned pale and the sound of orderly footsteps suddenly rang out in Yanshan.

On the mountain road from Miyun to Gubeikou, the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Imperial Guards and 30,000 craftsmen were like a long winding dragon, stretching for dozens of miles.

Wanli wanted to lead his army to Gubeikou immediately. Qi Jiguang only brought 4,000 troops. Even if the Gubeikou defenders were included, there were only more than 7,000 of them. Even if they could hold on, they would probably suffer heavy casualties.

What is the situation of the Gubeikou battle?
When he led his army to Gubeikou, the shouts and cries of killing were already deafening in front of him, and the sound of weapons clashing could be faintly heard.

Fortunately, the soldiers on the Great Wall behind were still lined up neatly and there was no movement.

As soon as he arrived at the south side of Gubeikou Pass, Penglai Marquis Qi Jiguang and Chengguo Duke Zhu Yingzhen came to meet him with several riders.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, he asked impatiently, "Yuan Jing, how is the battle going?"

Qi Jiguang explained in detail: "The Tuman army came from a long distance and was exhausted. They rested all night yesterday and only started to build the ladders around noon this morning.

They spent the whole morning building only about 2,000 ladders. At this moment, there were only about 20,000 barbarians carrying the ladders to attack the city, and with the archers following behind, there were more than 30,000 of them.

General Dong and Duke Yingguo are leading over 20,000 soldiers from the Beijing garrison to defend the front line of the city walls, so there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Fortunately, the soldiers of the Beijing camp arrived in time. With 20,000 against 30,000, the defenders should have the advantage.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand impatiently and said, "Yuan Jing, take me to see it quickly."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang quickly jumped on his horse and led them to the highest Wangjing Tower in front of the city wall.

After a while, Wanli ran up the Wangjing Tower, which was two or three hundred feet high, panting.

At this time, he could see the situation on the first line of the city wall in front of him.

At this time, the densely packed soldiers of the Beijing Camp on the nearly ten-mile-long city wall had already formed a black line in front of the arrow emplacements in front. The spearmen were stabbing down continuously on both sides of the gap in the arrow emplacements, while the swordsmen stood in the middle of the gap, constantly fighting with the barbarians who appeared.

"shield"!
Suddenly, a mighty roar rang out, and a shield formation suddenly appeared beneath the embankments, like a row of neatly arranged eaves. All the soldiers huddled beneath their iron shields. A black cloud of arrows suddenly rose from the sky and rained down like a torrential rain. "Kill!"
After a series of clanging sounds, the sword and shield soldiers immediately put away their shields, turned around and retreated, and the sword soldiers and spearmen immediately rushed to the gap between the arrow stacks.

Wanli looked forward again and saw that the barbarians under the city wall were densely packed in a line. There was also a black line on the hillside dozens of steps away from the city wall. Those were the barbarian archers.

It seemed that the row of archers would shoot a row of arrows every few breaths, and the barbarians under the city wall seemed to move with the arrows. As the arrows fell, they rushed up, and as soon as the arrows fell, they showed their heads from the gaps between the rafts.

The soldiers of the Beijing Camp dodged the rain of arrows and then rushed forward without regard for their own lives, fighting hand-to-hand with the surging barbarians. From time to time, a barbarian would be chopped down from the city wall, and the soldiers of the Beijing Camp would also be chopped down by the barbarians from time to time. The city wall was stained red with blood.

When Wanli saw this scene, his face was filled with shock.

To be honest, this was the first time he had seen a real war. Tens of thousands of people were fighting for their lives. The scene was truly tragic.

As he looked at the soldiers of the Beijing camp falling one after another, tears welled up in his eyes.

These people are also human beings. They risk their lives to defend their country, but their food and wages are pitifully meager.

One tael of silver is equivalent to five or six hundred yuan in later generations, and one stone of grain is more than one hundred pounds. They were willing to sacrifice their lives for the country with such a meager amount of food and wages.

Those corrupt officials who annexed tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres of land are just lying at home enjoying wealth and glory. Their descendants can live thousands of times better than these soldiers just by lying down.

This wouldn't work. He had to confiscate all the money from the corrupt officials to reward the soldiers who were defending the country.

Wanli looked at it for a while, then said solemnly, "Yuan Jing, it seems that the soldiers who killed the enemy and made meritorious contributions are rewarded for their military merits, right?"

This one.

Qi Jiguang hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, this used to exist, but it almost disappeared after the Jiajing period."

Upon hearing this, Wanli said sternly, "Why? I want to hear the truth."

truth?

You'll probably be very angry after hearing this.

However, I can take this opportunity to speak up for Dong Yiyuan.

Qi Jiguang hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "The military merit reward is 50 taels for each Northern Tartar head, 50,000 taels for killing 1,000 enemies, and 500,000 taels for killing 10,000 enemies. Perhaps this is a huge burden for the court.

These border troops without any background can hardly get this military reward. Even if the court approves it, it will fall into the hands of corrupt officials and will not be issued at all. As for those with background, they can make a fortune by killing innocent people and claiming credit.

Your Majesty, please forgive me. Please don't be angry when I tell you something.

In fact, whether the military merit reward is given or not is not a big deal to the border soldiers, they are used to it.

The key point is that they fought for the Ming Dynasty and still suffered injustice.

Dong Yiyuan, the defender of Gubeikou, suffered a great injustice.

In the 28th year of the Jiajing reign, Altan Khan invaded Xuanfu Town. Qiu Luan, the general of Xuanfu, was afraid of the enemy and dared not fight. His trusted subordinate Zhao Qing, the general of Xuanfu, fled without a fight. Dong Yang, the father of Dong Yiyuan, led a solitary army to defend Dishui Cliff. He fought to the death, killed dozens of enemies, and finally died in battle.

Acting General Zhou Shangwen recommended merit for Dong Yang, but Yan Song actually said that Dong Yang was a defeated general and wanted to hold him accountable for the loss of Dishui Cliff. General Zhou argued hard, but was thrown into prison by Yan Song!

When the Prime Minister was assisting the government, I wanted to redress the injustice done to Generals Dong and Zhou, but Zhang Siwei kept using various excuses to get in the way. I don't know what he meant."

These corrupt officials deserve to die!
Is it true that the disaster caused by the Northern Tartars was caused by the Ming border troops’ inability to resist the Northern Tartars?
Not at all!
Qi Jiguang guarded Jizhou Town for 16 years, and the northern barbarians never succeeded in invading. This is clear proof.

The disaster caused by the Northern Tartars was not caused by the border troops' inability to resist the Northern Tartars, but by the corrupt officials in the court who colluded with the enemy and sold out the country for their own selfish interests.

Xianning Hou Qiu Luan is a typical example of treason. This guy actually led Altan Khan to attack Gubeikou from behind and kill his way to the capital!

Yan Song was the godfather of Xianning Hou Qiu Luan. In the 25th year of Jiajing, Xianning Hou Qiu Luan was thrown into prison for being afraid of the enemy and cowardly in battle. It was Yan Song who rescued him and entrusted him with an important task, appointing him as the general of Xuanda.

As soon as Xianning Hou Qiu Luan got into trouble, Yan Song completely distanced himself from the matter, as if he had nothing to do with Xianning Hou Qiu Luan. How could such a thing be denied?
And there is Zhang Siwei, who knows how many acts of treason he has committed in secret.

You are a bunch of traitors who collaborate with the enemy and sell out your country. I will not be a human being if I don’t punish you!

Wanli gritted his teeth secretly, then said solemnly: "Yuan Jing, I have noted Dong Yang's achievements and will posthumously confer him a title. As for military rewards, you should carefully check the records from the Jiajing period to the present. I will definitely find a way to compensate the border soldiers."

(End of this chapter)