Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

September 25th.

On the Deshengmen city tower, Zhao Shan, an old soldier on night watch, wrapped his worn-out cotton armor tighter and breathed white breath into his palm.

He squinted and looked toward the official road to the north.

At first, it was just a slight disturbance on the horizon.

Then, a dark mass of cavalry swept across the horizon like a tidal wave.

"The Oirats are here!"

Immediately afterwards, gongs were struck wildly from all the watchtowers.

Esen reined in his warhorse and gazed into the distance at the giant city bathed in the morning light.

Beijing, the ultimate prey that men of the grasslands dream of.

Bayan Temur rode closer, his eyes burning with greed: "Brother, we've arrived!"

Esen turned to the left: "Arachiin, what do you think?"

Arachiin stroked his beard: "Our food supplies are only enough for half a month; we must attack quickly."

Esen said in a deep voice, "Chahan will lead his troops to besiege Andingmen, Saikanwang will besiege Xizhimen, and I will lead the central army here. We will surround three sides and leave one side open, so that they can have a way out."

This is a psychological tactic.

If the Chaoyang Gate on the east side is left unbesieged, the defending troops will be inclined to retreat and will not fight to the death.

Bayan Temur pointed to a felt-covered carriage behind them: "How will the emperor use that?"

A glint of light flashed in Esen's eyes: "Bring him up."

Upon receiving the news, Zhu Qiyu immediately donned his armor and prepared to climb the city wall.

Grand Secretary Chen Xun, Minister of Personnel Wang Zhi, and other civil officials knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty! Arrows have no eyes; we beg Your Majesty to move into the city to oversee the battle!"

"Your Majesty's body is of inestimable value; how can you personally tread such a dangerous place!"

"The disastrous Tumu Crisis of the past serves as a stark warning, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Qiyu remained silent; he had long ago stated that he would personally lead the defense of the city.

Of all the civil officials, only Yu Qian had any support, but this did not affect his decision.

Boosting morale is only one objective.

Another, more important objective was for Zhu Qiyu to establish his authority in this battle.

How can one establish authority in the military?

Of course, we should lead the charge!

Zhu Qiyu walked to the front of the battlements and looked down at the outside of the city.

Five miles away, the Oirat army was arrayed in battle formation.

The trebuchets, cloud carts, and shield carts are slowly moving forward.

This was the first time Zhu Qiyu had ever seen an ancient war formation in person.

The chilling atmosphere made Zhu Qiyu's blood surge.

Zhu Qiyu turned around and helped the elderly Wang Zhi to his feet: "Mr. Wang, I know you are loyal, but I must stand here in this battle."

Just then, a horn sounded outside the city.

The Oirat army split to the sides, and dozens of riders escorted one person forward slowly.

The man was wearing an apricot-yellow robe with a dragon design and a winged crown, but the robe was tattered and the crown was askew.

Zhu Qizhen.

Esen rode alongside Zhu Qizhen, shouting towards the city wall in broken Chinese:

"The Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty is here! You subjects, why do you not open the gates to welcome him?!"

The city wall was deathly silent.

All eyes were on Zhu Qiyu.

Zhu Qiyu stood on the city wall again and said loudly, "Grand Tutor Esen! In that case, escort my imperial brother into the city!"

Esen was taken aback, not expecting Zhu Qiyu to react so quickly and actually turn the tables on him.

He turned his head and said a few words to Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen trembled, then slowly raised his head to look at the city wall.

The two brothers looked at each other.

Zhu Qizhen's lips moved, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a few words: "Qi... Imperial Brother... Open the city gates and let me into the city."

Zhu Qiyu clenched his fists; he wanted to curse out loud.

How shameless must one be to do something like this?!

Meanwhile, the faces of the many ministers behind Zhu Qiyu also turned pale.

Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang destroyed the Yuan Dynasty, recovered the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and unified the country.

Emperor Taizong Zhu Di launched five expeditions to the northern deserts, defeating the various tribes of the grasslands and forcing them to submit.

In less than ninety years, the enemy had driven the capital to its gates.

The former emperor even helped the enemy outside the city by ordering his own army to open the city gates wide.

Outside the city were 100,000 Oirat cavalry. If the city gates were opened, Beijing would instantly become hell.

The soldiers guarding the city wall were all furious, most of them only just learning about Zhu Qizhen's "glorious deeds".

Zhu Qiyu calmed himself down and said, "Your Majesty, if I open the gates, I fear I will plunge millions of people in Beijing into misery. Please forgive me!"

Zhu Qizhen suddenly screamed, "Zhu Qiyu! I am the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! I order you to open the city gates! Do you dare disobey my decree!?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qiyu suddenly drew a bow from the waist of the guard beside him, nocked an arrow, and pulled the string with fluid movements.

"Whoosh!"

The arrow flew in an arc and landed ten paces in front of Zhu Qizhen.

"This arrow marks the boundary; anyone who crosses this boundary will be killed without mercy!"

A sudden silence fell over both the city walls and the surrounding area.

A moment later, Shi Heng was the first to raise his sword and shout, "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Immediately following this was a shout from all the soldiers on the city wall.

Esen's face turned ashen, and he waved his hand to lead his men back to their ranks.

Shi Heng strode forward, knelt on one knee, and said, "Your Majesty! The Oirat are arrogant. I request to lead the cavalry out of the city to counterattack and blunt their momentum!"

Zhu Qiyu stared at Shi Heng for a few moments, then slowly shook his head and said, "General Shi's courage is commendable. There's no rush. Your time to charge will come."

Sycophant.

Shi Heng had previously suggested abandoning the nine outer gates and only defending the inner city.

The reason they're now going out to "bravely" confront the enemy is because they've realized Zhu Qiyu won't agree.

As night fell, bonfires were lit in the Oirat camp, stretching like a galaxy on the ground.

The nine gates of Beijing were also brightly lit, with guards taking turns on night watch.

Zhu Qiyu, wearing a cloak, inspected the city wall accompanied by Xing An, Cheng Jing, and eight hundred personal guards.

After inspecting a section, Zhu Qiyu climbed to the highest point of the city tower.

From here, you can see the lights of thousands of homes in Beijing, and you can also see the enemy camps outside the city with their bonfires burning brightly.

He suddenly spoke: "Xing'an."

"Your subject is here."

"Do you think I can win?"

Xing'an knelt down: "Your Majesty is chosen by Heaven and will surely defeat the enemy!"

Zhu Qiyu smiled but didn't say anything.

He knew the historical outcome of the Battle of Beijing.

He also believed that he had done a better job than Zhu Qiyu in history.

Therefore, we must win this battle!

After completing his inspection, Zhu Qiyu went to the Ministry of War.

Yu Qian had already summoned the generals guarding the nine gates and officials from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works to discuss the war.

Meanwhile, in the central tent of the Oirat army, Esen sat cross-legged on a wolf-skin cushion, with a sheepskin map spread out in front of him.

Bayan Temur, Arazhiyuan, Saikanwang and other key generals sat on either side, the tent filled with the aroma of roasted mutton and milk tea.

Esen said, "Of the nine gates of Beijing, Desheng Gate is the most fortified and has the strongest garrison, but the Ming army has limited strength and is unable to defend one area at a time."

Bayan Temur blinked and tore off a piece of mutton, completely unaware of Esen's meaning.

Arajiin asked, "What does the Grand Tutor mean?"

"Exhaust the enemy, and launch repeated feint attacks on each gate, keeping them constantly on edge day and night."

Once they are exhausted, we will concentrate our forces to attack their weakest link.

Which subject is the weakest?

Esen's finger landed on a spot on the map: "Zhangyi Gate, according to the prisoners, the commander of Zhangyi Gate is a nobleman's son, and he's not very capable."

Bayan Temur grinned maliciously: "Then let's play with them for a few days first."