Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

Sun Tang leaned against the cold city wall, sweat mixed with blood sliding down his forehead.

He blinked hard, and the dark mass of cavalry in his field of vision began to move forward. A dozen breaths later, the cavalry suddenly accelerated!

Sun Tang roared, "Raise your shields!"

The ground began to tremble.

The Oirat cavalry began to lower their spears, and their warhorses increased their running speed to the maximum.

Sun Tang seemed to see the ferocious faces of the Oirat soldiers charging at the forefront.

"Release the arrows!"

"shot!"

Arrows and iron bullets rained down from the city walls.

However, only a few unlucky horses had their eyes injured and were then thrown off.

The soldiers who were thrown from their horses were turned into mincemeat under the iron hooves in a matter of moments.

Sun Tang felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

The support from the city walls was practically ineffective.

"boom!"

Suddenly, the sound of cannons rang out.

The cavalry at the forefront were immediately knocked to the ground, horse and rider.

The fallen warhorse blocked the cavalry behind it.

This caused a moment of chaos in the entire Oirat cavalry operation.

However, the Oirat rear guard quickly adjusted their formation, bypassed their fallen teammates, and immediately accelerated.

Sun Tang raised his sword and shouted, "Fight to the death!"

The shield wall crashed in with a deafening roar!

Half of the shield bearers in the first row coughed up blood and flew backward.

The sounds of shields shattering, bones breaking, and warhorses neighing mingled together.

However, the Oirat cavalry that charged into Sun Tang's battle formation also suffered greatly.

The immense inertia caused most of the warhorses to be instantly pierced by the spears behind the shield bearers.

The battlefield instantly turned into a meat grinder.

Sun Tang took the lead and cleaved down a Oirat cavalryman who had charged over the shield wall with a single stroke.

His left arm was slashed open by another rider's spear, leaving a deep wound that exposed the bone.

Every breath, Ming soldiers fell, and every breath, Oirat cavalry charged into the fray.

The shield wall began to loosen under the continuous impact, and the formation was broken into pieces.

Half an hour later, Sun Tang was covered in blood, and it was impossible to tell whether it was his own or the enemy's.

He looked around and saw that less than a thousand of his two thousand five thousand soldiers were still standing.

Five hundred paces away, Esen's cavalry were beginning a new round of regrouping.

Zhu Qiyu clenched his fist on the city wall.

According to estimates, Shi Heng will need another 15 minutes to reach Zhangyi Gate.

Half an hour later... Sun Tang couldn't hold on any longer.

Esen sat on his horse, watching the battlefield expressionlessly.

The lieutenant reported in a low voice: "Grand Tutor, Ming reinforcements are approaching from the west, numbering about four thousand cavalry."

Ethan sneered, "Hmph. By the time he gets here, it'll be over."

At the same time, he looked up at the city wall, his gaze sweeping over the figures on the city tower.

Suddenly his gaze froze.

A human head, impaled by a spear, has appeared on the plaque above Zhangyi Gate at some unknown time.

The lieutenant followed his gaze and his face instantly turned deathly pale: "Grand Tutor...that is...that is..."

Although the head was covered in blood, its outline was still clearly discernible: Bayan Temur.

Esen swayed, his voice trembling: "When...?"

"The Ming army must have deliberately hung it up there just now."

A surge of rage rose from the deepest recesses of his heart, and Esen coldly declared, "All troops, advance! Take no prisoners, take no survivors. I will use the heads of these two thousand Ming soldiers to build a mound of heads!"

Sun Tang's last line of defense began to collapse.

Just then, dust rose on the horizon.

Shi Heng's cavalry finally arrived!

Esen immediately ordered half of his forces to meet the attack.

However, after a morning of fighting, coupled with the long march, the Shi Heng cavalry were showing signs of fatigue.

However, Shi Heng's goal was not to engage in a direct battle with the Oirat army.

His task was to draw away the Oirat forces and relieve the pressure on Sun Tang.

On the city wall, Yu Qian whispered, "Your Majesty, General Sun's troops... cannot be saved."

Zhu Qiyu closed his eyes in pain.

On the battlefield, Sun Tang had fewer than a hundred men left by his side.

They stood with their backs to the city wall, forming the final circular formation.

All around were layers upon layers of Oirat cavalry, and in the distance were the Shi Heng tribesmen roaming.

Sun Tang could no longer lift his left arm and could only use his right hand to support his sword.

He looked around at his brothers, who were covered in blood, and suddenly smiled: "Gentlemen, I have no regrets in this life for being able to fight alongside you to the death today."

The remaining soldiers shouted in unison, "We are willing to die with our general!"

Just then, cannons suddenly roared from the city wall.

The artillery pieces that had been fired earlier were finally reloaded.

Sun Tang looked up at the city wall, then grinned, and with his last strength raised his sword: "Great Ming! Victory!"

The shouts of a hundred men drowned out the neighing of the Oirat cavalry's horses.

Then they charged the Oirat cavalry in what would be the last charge of their lives.

Fifteen minutes later, the battlefield gradually quieted down.

Shi Heng's troops have already withdrawn to Fuchengmen, and the four thousand cavalrymen he led that were harassed and attacked suffered almost no losses.

Of Sun Tang's three thousand men, not a single one survived.

Their bodies were mixed with the remains of the Oirat cavalry, covering an area a hundred paces outside Zhangyi Gate.

Esen did not order the collection of the corpses, nor did he continue the siege.

He simply rode his horse slowly to the front of the formation, looking up at the head on the city wall.

The lieutenant cautiously stepped forward: "Grand Tutor, the Arazhi Academy troops have already retreated northward."

Esen didn't turn around: "Understood. Order all camps to pack their belongings and break camp tomorrow."

With the return of the main force, an eerie atmosphere began to permeate the Oirat camp.

News of Bayan Temur's death has already reached us.

Five thousand elite troops were wiped out; not a single one escaped.

This was a devastating blow to the Oirat.

It was not just a loss of troops, but a collapse in morale.

Bayan Temur was Esen's younger brother and a symbol of bravery in the Oirat army.

His death in battle made all the warriors of the grasslands begin to doubt: Was attacking Beijing really the right choice?

Esen looked at Arajiin with a gloomy expression: "Arajiin."

Arachi stepped forward: "Grand Tutor."

"Why stop the attack? If you had followed the plan and led your troops forward, Bayan Temur would not have been surrounded, and five thousand warriors would not have died in vain."

All eyes inside the tent were fixed on Arajiin.

Arachibana remained unfazed: "Grand Tutor, that's a trap set by the Ming army."

Shi Heng's retreat and the opening of the city gates all seemed too deliberate.

If I lead my troops to follow, the loss will likely be more than five thousand men.

Esen slammed his fist on the table: "Excuses! You're clearly afraid of the enemy and war!"

Arazhiyuan looked up and stared directly at Esen: "Grand Tutor, how long are you going to keep deceiving yourself?"

These words shocked everyone in the tent.

Esen's eyes flashed with murderous intent: "What did you say?"

Arachiin stood firm: "I say, we have already lost this war!"

After three days of siege, nearly ten thousand people were killed or wounded, yet no victory was achieved.

Now Bayan Temur has also died in battle.

Grand Tutor, how many more warriors of the grasslands will you send to their deaths for your ambition?

Esen abruptly stood up, his hand on the hilt of his sword: "Arazhiyuan, you are undermining the morale of the army!"

Arachiin raised his voice: "I am stating the facts!"

"Grand Tutor, ask the chieftains in the tent, ask the men of their tribes, how many are still willing to continue attacking Beijing?"

Some generals lowered their heads.

Arazhiyuan continued, "We came south from the grasslands to plunder wealth so that our people could have a prosperous winter."

But what have we gained now?

The fallen warriors, the empty saddlebags, and the impregnable city of Beijing!