Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Sun Tang understood that if the city gates were breached, the Oirat cavalry would file in.

No matter how many soldiers there are, they cannot maneuver freely in the narrow space of a city gate.

A single charge by the cavalry could break through the defenses; we must not let them breach the gate.

Sun Tang made a quick decision: "Cheng Xin, you continue to command the city walls to suppress the enemy in front. I will lead the cavalry out of the city to disperse that cavalry force."

"General, no! It's too dangerous!"

Sun Tang had already descended the city wall: "If the city gate falls, we'll all die. Open the side gate, cavalry assemble!"

In addition to the main gate, Xizhimen also has a side gate in the southeast corner, which is used for the passage of carriages and horses on weekdays.

At that moment, the side door was slowly pushed open.

Sun Tang mounted his horse.

Twelve hundred riders followed him out of the side gate and rushed straight at the Oirat cavalry that was burning the main gate.

The Oirat cavalry clearly did not expect the defenders to dare to come out of the city to counterattack.

Their attention was entirely focused on the city gate, and by the time they noticed the Ming cavalry charging from their flank, the distance between them was less than a hundred paces.

Sun Tang took the lead and cut off the arm and bow of a Oirat soldier who was nocking an arrow.

The cavalry behind him quickly cut into the enemy formation.

With limited space outside the city gates, the cavalry of both sides were crammed together with almost no room to maneuver, resulting in the most brutal close-quarters combat.

Sun Tang cut down three people in succession, but his own left arm was also slashed, the iron armor cracked, and blood seeped out.

He ignored everything and continued charging forward.

The soldiers on the city wall were greatly encouraged when they saw their commander come out of the city to fight.

Sun Tang's charge was effective.

The Oirat cavalry was cut in half, and the follow-up troops were entangled by the Ming cavalry.

The fire at the city gate was brought under control, and the soldiers inside the city finally extinguished the flames.

But Sun Tang is in danger.

Esen saw the Ming cavalry that had left the city.

The white yak-tail banner leans forward, and the horns sound a long blast.

At least five thousand elite soldiers charged out from the Oirat main force.

The cavalry split into two groups, one of which charged straight at Sun Tang's troops.

Another force attempted to bypass the battlefield and attack the Xizhimen side gate from the side.

A guard shouted, "General! Reinforcements! The main force of the Oirat has moved!"

Sun Tang looked back and his heart sank.

His 1,200 cavalry had been locked in combat with 2,000 Oirat cavalry for a quarter of an hour.

Although they haven't lost, they are already showing signs of fatigue.

If another five thousand fresh troops were to arrive now, they would have absolutely no chance of winning.

Worse still, there was the Oirat cavalry that tried to circle around to the side gate.

If they really break through, Xizhimen still won't be able to hold.

Sun Tang made a decisive decision: "Retreat! Retreat back into the city!"

"General, there are enemy cavalry at the side gate!"

Sun Tang saw it too.

A force of about a thousand Oirat cavalrymen was about to reach the side gate.

The guards are working hard to close the city gate.

But if this cavalry gets close enough, the city gates won't be able to close.

Sun Tang shouted, "Splitting the troops! I'll take five hundred men to cover the rear and block the pursuing enemy! The rest of you, return to reinforce the side gate and make sure to keep the enemy outside!"

After saying this, Sun Tang led five hundred cavalrymen to turn their horses around and meet the pursuing Oirat army.

Five hundred against several thousand.

Sun Tang knew that this might be the last battle of his life.

But he cannot retreat. If he does, the other retreating soldiers will be caught up, the side gate will fall, and Xizhimen will be breached.

Sun Tang reined in his horse: "Form ranks! Spears in front! We will fight to the death, and the enemy will not be able to pass!"

Five hundred cavalrymen quickly dismounted and formed ranks.

In the face of an enemy cavalry with overwhelming superiority, dismounting and forming ranks can actually make better use of long weapons.

They quickly formed a circular formation, with spears pointing outwards like a forest, and archers inside drawing their bows and nocking arrows.

The first impact caused the circular array to shake violently, but it did not break.

The second time, the third time.

The circular formation grew smaller and smaller, and fewer and fewer people survived.

Sun Tang was hit by another arrow in the left shoulder. He broke the arrow shaft and continued to swing his sword.

One by one, his personal guards fell down, and less than two hundred of the five hundred men remained.

Esen's main camp is getting closer and closer.

Is it over?

Just then, thunderous war drums sounded from the direction of Xizhimen.

Sun Tang valiantly cut down an enemy cavalryman, and took a moment to look back.

To everyone's surprise, the main gate of Xizhimen was open.

A dense mass of infantrymen poured out of the gate; it was Gao Li and Zhang Ni's reinforcements!

Almost simultaneously, shouts of killing rang out from the side gate.

Mao Fushou's reinforcements arrived from inside the city and blocked the side gate.

The battlefield situation reversed instantly.

Gao Li and Zhang Ni's troops numbered about three thousand, all of them infantry.

After leaving the city, they quickly deployed, with spearmen in front, shield bearers on both flanks, and musketeers in the rear.

The Oirat cavalry also discovered this new force.

They diverted some of their forces to Gao Li's troops, but their formation was already in disarray.

Sun Tang saw an opportunity.

He shouted hoarsely, "Those who can still move, get on your horses! Charge with me!"

The remaining hundred or so cavalrymen quickly ran back and then mounted their horses.

A strange scene unfolded on the battlefield: a hundred-plus men charged toward the main force of several thousand, while the entire army of several thousand retreated.

At the same time, the Oirat horns sounded, signaling the order to retreat.

It turned out that Esen had heard the urgent report from his scouts: Shi Heng at Deshengmen had led his troops out of the city and was moving towards Xizhimen.

Esen realized that if the fighting continued, the Ming army's reinforcements would surround the city, and the Oirat cavalry would suffer heavy losses due to the narrow terrain below the city.

The Oirat cavalry retreated like the receding tide, leaving behind a field of corpses, including both nomadic and Han Chinese.

Sun Tang pursued for over a hundred paces before finally exhausting himself, his vision blurred, and he collapsed from his horse.

His personal guards hurriedly rescued him and carried him back into the city.

The battle lasted three hours.

The Xizhimen garrison suffered more than 2,000 casualties, of which less than 500 of the 1,200 cavalrymen led out of the city by Sun Tang returned.

The Oirat suffered even greater losses, with over three thousand corpses left beneath the city walls and countless wounded.

But Xizhimen held firm.

Soon after, Yu Qian personally went to Xizhimen to reward the troops.

Looking at the wounded and unconscious Sun Tang, he said to his generals, "Without General Sun today, Xizhimen has fallen."

It wasn't until nearly afternoon that Zhu Qiyu finally had a chance to come to Xizhimen.

Yesterday, the Oirat army appeared to be at Deshengmen.

However, very few people actually participated in the battle, and they only probingly attacked several times.

The actual combat force was deployed at Zhangyi Gate.

Therefore, Yu Qian and Zhu Qiyu decided to strengthen the defense of Zhangyi Gate today.

Yu Qian even personally went to Zhangyi Gate to direct the operation.

As a result, only a few thousand people harassed Zhangyi Gate today.

The other doors were in a similar situation.

Zhu Qiyu was stationed at Desheng Gate.

Initially, Deshengmen had more than 10,000 elite cavalry.

However, the unit only made a feint attack for a short while before heading northwest.

Zhu Qiyu immediately guessed that Esen was planning a feint attack.

First, they deployed a large number of troops at Deshengmen, making the Ming army believe that they were attacking Deshengmen.

Then, using the cavalry's superior mobility, they could flank and attack other city gates.

Understanding Esen's intentions, Zhu Qiyu immediately ordered his troops to pursue him outside the city.

He didn't know how many enemy troops were at Xizhimen, but he didn't see Esen at Deshengmen.

Then Esen would most likely launch a major attack on Xizhimen; he couldn't let those 10,000 elite cavalrymen get past there.

Otherwise, Xizhimen might not have been able to be defended.

Finally, Zhu Qiyu even led the 800 guards of the imperial guards out of the city to intercept them.

Even so, several thousand elite cavalrymen rushed towards Xizhimen.

After the battle, Zhu Qiyu was surrounded by all the officials of the Six Ministries of the Cabinet.

They knelt down before Zhu Qiyu and cried out in unison, begging him not to put himself in danger again.

The Ming Dynasty must not suffer another defeat at the hands of the northern barbarians.

Wang Zhi and others even bluntly stated that if Zhu Qiyu did not return to the palace now, they would all kneel and die at Desheng Gate.

Zhu Qiyu appealed to their emotions and reasoned with them.

They even brought up the story of Emperor Renzong Zhu Gaochi leading his army to defend Beijing during the Jingnan Rebellion.

Finally, they persuaded the minister.

But he also made a vow that he would not leave the city again in this battle, but would only supervise the battle from the city walls.

The courtiers then relented.