Emperor Ming: Your Majesty, you have caused me so much suffering.

Inside the Wenhua Hall.

All the important officials of the court gathered together.

Shang Lu and Peng Shi also appeared at the end of the hall. Zhu Qiyu gave the two a special task, instructing them to remember it without speaking.

Although the court's morale was temporarily stabilized, the idea of ​​moving south was abandoned, the main strategy of war was determined, and Zhu Qiyu was given the backbone, a real problem remained: how to defend the capital, defeat the Oirat Mongols, and rescue Zhu Qizhen.

Regarding the last point, Zhu Qiyu believed it was unnecessary.

Zhu Qiyu was not too panicked at this time. If there was no sound plan, he would leave everything to Yu Qian. After all, historically, this battle was won under Yu Qian's leadership.

Lying down might be a good strategy!

Zhu Qiyu looked at Yu Qian and spoke first: "Minister Yu, I am not skilled in military affairs, so you will bear a heavier responsibility. You will be in charge of the defense of the capital and will temporarily supervise the troops of all camps in the capital. Starting today, the eunuch Xing'an of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs will also be in charge of the Eastern Depot, and together with the eunuch Li Yongchang, he will assist you in managing military affairs. Prince Consort Jiao will supervise the troops to patrol the four gates of the Imperial City."

"Here you go!"

Yu Qian has been waiting for this moment!

Jiao Jing said he didn't care. Although he was stationed in the capital and in charge of the Shenji Battalion, he knew his own capabilities very well, and so did everyone present.

At this point, he would rather obediently hand over his military power and not cause trouble. After all, he was good at business and only knew how to ride a horse in battle, nothing more.

Jin Ying's expression showed slight displeasure. Wang Zhen was dead, and the Eastern Depot should have been returned to her. Now it had changed hands and fallen into Xing'an's hands.

He glanced at Xing'an, sensing that something was off about the man today, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. After all, both of them had been favored ministers of the emperor in the past, and Jin Ying didn't believe that Xing'an would betray the emperor. Betraying one's master would not end well.

At this moment, Xing'an was overjoyed. He never expected that his power would increase so much as soon as he showed goodwill. This Prince Cheng was indeed a kind person. Following such a person might not be a bad thing.

However, Xing'an was particularly cautious and quietly retreated behind the curtain, wanting to ask Empress Dowager Sun for her opinion.

The ministers glanced at Zhu Qiyu with slight surprise. This arrangement showed that the Prince of Cheng was by no means a reckless person. In this way, there would be a balance of power between the palace and the outside world. With two eunuchs supervising Yu Qian, Empress Dowager Sun could keep abreast of the situation in the capital and at least avoid any trouble.

Zhu Qiyu had no choice but to act this way.

He cannot yet interfere with the Twelve Directorates of the Palace, so having Xing'an Commander of the Eastern Depot is a way of repaying him. Sending Li Yongchang to supervise the army is firstly to reassure Empress Dowager Sun, and secondly because this person also holds the position of Director of the Imperial Horse Administration and Commander of the Beijing Garrison.

Before leaving, Zhu Qizhen handed over the military power of the Beijing Garrison to Empress Dowager Sun. Empress Dowager Sun's brothers all held real power. If it weren't for the fact that she didn't have military power, Zhu Qiyu could have joined forces with the court officials to trap Empress Dowager Sun in the inner palace.

Upon hearing Zhu Qiyu's arrangement, Empress Dowager Sun's expression immediately improved. Seeing Xing'an enter, she nodded to him, indicating that Xing'an should accept the order.

Upon hearing this, Xing'an dared not show any joy and went out with Li Yongchang.

"We obey your command!"

Zhu Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that Empress Dowager Sun hadn't intervened made things much easier. At least for now, military power wasn't a pressing issue. He was waiting for Zhu Qizhen to make a fool of himself.

"Minister Yu, do you have any solutions for the current situation?"

Yu Qian was prepared and analyzed, "Your Highness, the most urgent task is to immediately order martial law to be declared at the border, especially the two towns of Xuanfu and Datong. As long as these two towns are not lost, even if the Oirat break through the other defense lines and march south, they will not dare to stay for long."

Zhu Qiyu had considered this matter long ago. Yang Hong was the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu, so there was no problem with him guarding Xuanfu. Yang Hong was one of the most capable generals in the Ming Dynasty. Even the Oirat tribes deliberately avoided confronting Yang Hong, which showed that he had enough deterrent power.

As for Datong, the current commander-in-chief is Liu An, and the garrison eunuch is Guo Jing. Both of them are Zhu Qizhen's lackeys.

Zhu Qiyu was genuinely worried that the two would sell Datong directly to Esen. Once Datong fell, Xuanfu would be forced to go to war as well. No matter how capable Yang Hong was, he would be isolated and helpless, unable to hold out. Once Xuanfu fell, the nine-border defense line would lose its support, and the Oirat Mongols could march south at any time, causing the situation to collapse instantly.

The garrison eunuch Guo Jing has no good excuse to be touched, but Liu An must be eliminated.

Zhu Qiyu immediately decided, "Summon Liu An, the Earl of Guangning, back to the capital."

Yu Qian glanced at Zhu Qiyu in utter surprise. This coincided with his own thoughts, but he dared not respond hastily, as this action could directly sever the possibility of Esen communicating with the Nine Borders.

The ministers dared not respond upon hearing this. Liu An was stationed in Datong, but Zhu Qizhen had only been appointed for a short time, less than a month at most. What was the meaning of such a rapid replacement?

At Empress Dowager Sun's behest, Li Yongchang asked, "Your Highness, what is the purpose of this transfer? Frequent changes of generals may cause instability on the border."

Zhu Qiyu bluntly stated, "The young general in the capital urgently needs the Earl of Guangning, Liu An, to return to the capital for reinforcements. Are you all here to don armor and go into battle?"

Li Yongchang could only retreat and looked to Empress Dowager Sun for answers. Empress Dowager Sun was not an expert in military affairs, but she did not find anything wrong with Zhu Qiyu's words, because what she said was true: those who could fight were all left in the north.

Empress Dowager Sun had no intention of entrusting her life to those good-for-nothings in the capital, and at this moment she had no objections.

Wang Zhi and Hu Ying glanced at Zhu Qiyu and had to admit that they had misjudged him in the past.

"Your Highness, if we recall the Earl of Guangning to the capital, then the defense of the capital will be further guaranteed," Yu Qian prepared to play along with Zhu Qiyu, not minding flattering Liu An. Then, he changed the subject, "But if the Earl of Guangning returns to the capital, who will guard Datong?"

"Guo Deng, the military commander of Datong, had followed the Earl of Jingyuan (Wang Ji) in his early years and fought in many battles. He was a general who had fought in many battles. He was then promoted to the position of deputy commander-in-chief and appointed as the general of Datong."

"Here you go!"

Yu Qian was overjoyed, and this idea was once again agreed upon with Prince Cheng.

The Prince of Cheng is certainly knowledgeable in military affairs, and even if he is not, he is good at recognizing and employing people, which is already a huge advantage and plays a crucial role in stabilizing the current situation.

"Minister Yu, please tell me, how many troops are still in the capital?"

When asked about this, Yu Qian's face immediately fell.

"Less than a hundred thousand!"

"Detailed data!"

"Forty-three thousand two hundred, and nineteen thousand one hundred armored soldiers."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qiyu felt a headache coming on. The capital was empty, but it couldn't be left in such a state of emptiness.

In other words, apart from the old, weak, sick, disabled, and the fixed troops guarding the palace, the actual fighting force was less than 20,000. It sounds like a lot, but with the strong defenses of the capital, it might be able to hold off the Oirat army from moving south.

But the capital city is too big. There are nine gates in the capital. If each gate is divided equally, less than two thousand people are assigned to each gate, and they are left to guard the city in solitude.

If the Oirat forces concentrate their attack on one gate, the city will fall sooner or later.

In ancient warfare, there was no wireless communication to transmit messages in a timely manner, so it was not easy to send reinforcements. Any order from the general could cause chaos.

Moreover, the Oirat troops are more mobile. If the nine gates frequently support each other, creating dangerous situations everywhere, they may directly exhaust the Ming army, causing the army to surrender without a fight in fear.

Most importantly, with the Ming Dynasty's elite troops perishing under the Oirat cavalry, how much morale remained among these soldiers in the capital? The most terrifying thing was the collapse of morale.

Upon hearing this, the ministers sighed helplessly, and Chen Yi cursed Zhu Qizhen in his heart once more.

Empress Dowager Sun was also extremely flustered at this moment, and it was clear just how much trouble her son had caused.

Moving south was not an option at this moment, and peace talks were even more impossible. The emperor had taken 200,000 elite troops with him, and Empress Dowager Sun had lost confidence in whether she could really defeat the ferocious Oirat Mongols with just 20,000 troops.

In her panic, Empress Dowager Sun gestured for Li Yongchang to speak.

"Your Highness, the most urgent task is to mobilize all the troops in the land to defend the emperor!"

"No!"

Surprisingly, everyone in the hall objected, even Jiao Jing, an outsider to the field, spoke up.