Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

At 11:45 AM, Zhu Qiyu, clad in heavy armor, stood atop the Zhangyi Gate tower.

Eight hundred guards of the imperial army lined up on both sides, each with a solemn expression.

Xing'an reported in a low voice: "Your Majesty, each gate has already drawn 20% of its troops to form a rapid reinforcement army, totaling 16,000 men, as planned."

General Shi has already led his troops to garrison at the Imperial City Training Ground, fully prepared and awaiting orders.

Zhu Qiyu nodded, his gaze still fixed on the distance: "Have all the spies been sent out?"

Yu Qian's voice came from behind: "At three-quarters past dusk, they have split into nine groups and left the city, each group consisting of three men, all of whom are skilled night watchmen."

He was still worried, so after temporarily entrusting the affairs of the Ministry of War to Vice Minister Wu Ning, he personally donned his armor and rushed to Zhangyi Gate.

Zhu Qiyu did not turn around: "Minister Yu shouldn't have come."

Yu Qian walked to the crenellations and looked out into the boundless darkness: "With Your Majesty here, how can I sit idly in the rear?"

The two remained silent for a moment.

Apart from the sound of the wind and the occasional rustling of armor, there was no other noise on the city wall.

Zhu Qiyu suddenly spoke up: "Minister Yu, what do you think Esen is thinking right now?"

Yu Qian pondered for a moment and said, "Our 'reinforcements' are arriving one after another, and morale is rising."

He attacked the city for two days, suffering 5,000 casualties but achieving nothing.

Furthermore, with their supplies burned, their morale has begun to waver.

If he cannot capture the city today or tomorrow, he will have no choice but to retreat!

Zhu Qiyu gripped the hilt of his sword tightly: "So he will definitely come."

"But it may not be Zhangyi Gate. Esen's military tactics were cunning. Using feints and deceptions was his usual trick."

What I fear is that he might launch a feigned attack on several gates, creating the illusion of widespread conflict, and then concentrate his elite forces to launch a fierce attack on one location while our army is exhausted from fighting.

Zhu Qiyu's heart stirred.

This is exactly what happened during the final stage of the historical defense of Beijing.

Esen attacked Xizhimen, Deshengmen, and Zhangyimen simultaneously to create the illusion of a full-scale offensive, and finally concentrated all his strength to launch a fierce attack on the already exhausted Zhangyimen.

But the situation has changed in this life. Will Esen's judgment be different? Will his choice change?

"Report!"

A messenger rushed up the city wall and knelt on one knee: "Your Majesty! General Sun from Xizhimen reports urgently that Oirat cavalry have been spotted two li outside the city!"

Almost simultaneously, another messenger rushed up the stairs on the other side: "Urgent report from Andingmen! There are moving lights three miles to the north, it seems a large force is being mobilized!"

Then came the third one: "Urgent report from Deshengmen..."

The fourth, the fifth...

Seven of the nine gates reported unusual activity at the same time!

Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian exchanged a glance, both seeing the seriousness in each other's eyes.

Then Zhu Qiyu said in a deep voice: "Order all sects to strictly guard their positions and not to move without permission!"

Bows, crossbows, and firearms are prepared but not to be fired; no action should be taken unless the enemy is within a hundred paces!

After the messenger left, an eerie silence fell over the city wall.

Yu Qian frowned and stroked his beard: "Esen is trying to test the strength of our army and tire us out."

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "He knew we would be prepared, so he first used small groups of troops to harass us from multiple directions, creating tension and observing our army's reaction."

If we panic and frequently redeploy our troops, he will be able to discern where the feints are and where the real strength lies.

Yu Qian sighed, "This is a battle of winning hearts and minds. It is easy to defend a city, but difficult to win hearts and minds."

Time passed second by second.

Military reports came from various gates one after another, all of which were small-scale engagements. The Oirat cavalry would fire a few arrows and then retreat, without launching a full-scale attack.

This harassment tactic is extremely mentally taxing, requiring the defending troops to be constantly vigilant, which inevitably leads to fatigue over time.

At the beginning of the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the garrison on the city wall had already been rotated once.

Zhu Qiyu remained standing on the wall.

Xing'an handed Zhu Qiyu a mink cloak and whispered, "Your Majesty, it is past midnight."

Zhu Qiyu knew that it was about time; if the Oirats really wanted to launch a night attack, the hour of Chou (1-3 AM) would be the best time.

People are most tired at this time, and are most likely to let their guard down.

As soon as Xing'an finished speaking, a burst of red fire suddenly exploded in the sky to the northeast!

A soldier on the watchtower exclaimed, "Fireworks! From the direction of Dongzhimen!"

Immediately afterwards, a green signal also appeared in the northwest direction!

"Xizhimen!"

"Andingmen also has one!"

……

Within ten breaths, fireworks signals were raised in five of the nine gates.

This is an alarm signal that scouts have discovered the movements of the Oirat army!

Zhu Qiyu's heart tightened.

Is Esen really going to attack multiple goals at the same time?

This is contrary to common sense in military strategy!

Attacking a city at night by dividing forces is a major taboo in military strategy. Obstructed vision, poor command, and dispersed forces make it easy to be defeated one by one.

Yu Qian also frowned: "Your Majesty, the five gates' warning seems critical, but upon closer inspection, there are many suspicious points."

Esen divided his forces at night to attack five gates, making command and coordination even more difficult.

The Oirat Mongols claimed to have 150,000 elite troops, but at most 60,000 could be used for sieges.

If the city is divided into five routes, each route would only have a few thousand men, making it impossible to breach the city.

I predict that Esen will make four routes a feint and one route the real one.

Those four feints were all diversionary tactics, intended to force me to divide my forces to provide reinforcements.

Once my reinforcements are dispersed to various gates, he can then launch a full-scale attack on his true objective with his main force.

Zhu Qiyu murmured, "What do you think the real target is?"

All five gates detected the army's movements, but there was no movement at Zhangyi Gate.

No warning fireworks were set off at night.

This made Zhu Qiyu wonder if he had guessed wrong: Esen's main target was not Zhangyi Gate, but other places.

Yu Qian thought for a moment and replied, "It's still Zhangyi Gate, which we attacked the other day."

He must have thought that the Ming army believed the Oirat Mongols had suffered a loss at Zhangyi Gate and would not launch a major attack there again.

Seven gates are currently under attack, but enemy troops have yet to appear at Zhangyi Gate.

Military strategy dictates, "When the enemy is weak, make him appear strong; when he is strong, make him appear weak." Esen (Yessen) is highly likely to do the opposite and continue attacking Zhangyi Gate!

As soon as he finished speaking, a scout covered in blood was helped up from below the city.

A broken arrow lodged in his chest, his voice barely a whisper: "Zhangyi Gate... five li northeast... there's an ambush at the old garden of Jintai Ward... at least five thousand... all elite armored soldiers..."

Zhu Qiyu and Yu Qian exchanged a glance, both seeing the "I knew it" look in each other's eyes.

Zhu Qiyu immediately ordered: "Send orders to all gates to strictly guard their positions and not to make any rash moves!"

Also, tell Shi Heng that if no black smoke is seen rising from Zhangyi Gate, his rapid reinforcements are not to move an inch!

Yu Qian added, "Your Majesty, you can order the gatekeepers to feign weakness and reduce the number of crossbows and firearms fired to create the illusion that the defenders are exhausted and short of arrows, thus luring Esen's main force to appear as soon as possible."

Zhu Qiyu praised, "Excellent plan! Let's do it this way!"

The order was quickly issued.

Half an hour passed quickly.

Battle reports came from various departments one after another: the Oirat had indeed launched an attack, but it was not large in scale.

About a thousand cavalrymen raided outside Dongzhimen, but they fired arrows and fled.

The infantry probed at Xizhimen, but were repelled by crossbowmen.

The situations at Andingmen, Deshengmen, and Fuchengmen were similar.

Each of the groups consisted of about a thousand men. They attacked for a while and then retreated, seemingly testing the defenders' reaction and firepower.

As Yu Qian listened to the battle report, a cold smile appeared on his lips: "As expected, it was all a feint attack. The enemy troops at each gate did not linger in battle and retreated as soon as they were approached."

If they were truly going to attack, they would surely use ladders to scale the walls; they wouldn't be so frivolous as to do it so lightly.

Zhu Qiyu nodded; everything was as he had guessed.

Now we'll see when Esen launches his attack.

Just then, countless flames suddenly ignited in the darkness below the city, followed by deafening shouts of battle.