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

Esen was conspiring with Zhu Qizhen to do something quite shameless.

They dressed some of the Oirat soldiers in Ming Dynasty armor, and even provided them with Ming Dynasty military flags. To the uninitiated, they would have been mistaken for Ming soldiers.

As for where these equipment came from, they were given to Esen by Zhu Qizhen for free at Tumu Fortress, and now they are being put to good use.

Fortunately, Yu Qian and others had anticipated this and ordered the entire army to change their battle flags early on, in order to prevent Esen from using a decoy to deceive the enemy.

However, for soldiers stationed at the border, there were not many new battle flags available at the moment. Most of them still had to use the old battle flags. Even if there were new battle flags, the soldiers probably wouldn't be able to recognize them all in a short period of time.

Esen raised his own banner alongside the dragon banner he had captured from Zhu Qizhen, and launched his first campaign southward under the pretext of "purging the court of corrupt officials and restoring Zhu Qizhen to the throne."

Esen traveled south from Yanghe as if strolling through his own backyard, arriving directly at Baiyangkou, just as Yu Qian and the others had predicted. Esen's first battle was at Baiyangkou.

As the three garrison commanders, Wang Yong, Xie Ze, and Yang Xinmin, watched the Oirat army approach, they were filled with dread, for among the large army were clearly Ming troops.

As the army drew near, the three realized that it was a puppet army; the shameless Oirat people had disguised themselves as Ming soldiers, trying to pass themselves off as the real thing.

While the three were on high alert, Esen sent someone to shout that he wanted to support the Ming emperor to go to the capital to purge the corrupt officials from the court and then restore him to the throne. He also urged the garrison commander to open the gates and accept the surrender, to set things right, and to act as Zhu Qizhen's loyalist army to march south together.

If the garrison commander dares to resist, he will be regarded as a traitor and his entire family will be executed.

This announcement directly shook the morale of the troops guarding Baiyangkou. When the soldiers learned that the retired emperor had arrived and was going to "purge the court of corrupt officials," they couldn't help but wonder if the emperor in the capital had usurped the throne.

This scene seems familiar. The Battle of Xiangji Temple once took place in the Tang Dynasty, and whoever lost was considered a rebel. Now, the Oirat Mongols are supporting the retired emperor as he marches south, and the battle in the capital will determine the fate of the world in one battle.

The defenders of Baiyangkou were now in a dilemma: to fight to the bitter end would be their only chance of survival.

If the Oirats support the retired emperor in capturing the capital and then restoring him to the throne, everyone will surely die. If they do not resist, and the emperor in the capital defeats the Oirats, they will still be punished for not resisting, and it will still be a dead end for everyone.

Just as everyone hesitated, Yang Xinmin burst into a tirade: "The Emperor has lost the army and disgraced the country, yet he shows no remorse. This time, he actually led the traitors to invade our borders and slaughter our Ming people. Now he even has the audacity to claim that he is purging the court of corrupt officials. This is utterly shameless! What face does the Emperor have left to rule the world! Traitor, let the Emperor go and ask the more than 200,000 loyal souls at Tumu Fortress if they agree! Soldiers, kill these traitors! I will take full responsibility for anything that happens to them."

After Yang Xinmin finished speaking, Wang Yong and Xie Ze exchanged a glance, walked to the two cannons, directed the cannons to point at the Ming army flag in the Oirat army, and personally lit the cannons. With a loud bang, the surprise attack was successful. Both sides were startled. When the defending army came to their senses, they realized that there was no way to retreat.

Esen was instantly enraged and immediately ordered an attack on the city.

In less than half a day, Baiyangkou was out of ammunition and arrows. Its combat strength and equipment were far inferior to those of the Oirat army. Zhu Qizhen's sponsorship made the Oirat army's advantage obvious at this moment.

After the fall of Baiyangkou City, only a few riders of the thousands of defenders escaped and fled south through Baiyanggou to report the news. Wang Yong, Xie Ze, and Yang Xinmin led the Ming army in street fighting against the Oirat Mongols in the city. The Oirat soldiers, wearing the finest armor of the Ming Dynasty, slashed at the Ming defenders who wore inferior armor.

At this moment, the Ming defenders were in despair. Their own armor had not only failed to protect them, but had instead become a weapon for the enemy.

Wang Yong and Xie Ze died with their eyes wide open in discontent. After Yang Xinmin had his confidants take the report away, he committed suicide. More than half of the thousands of soldiers were killed or wounded, and the rest were taken prisoner.

This battle caused the Oirat almost no trouble, and Esen captured Baiyangkou with almost no effort.

Standing atop the city wall at Baiyangkou, Esen looked south and suddenly realized that he might have made a serious strategic mistake: he had overestimated the strength of the Ming Dynasty.

Now, nearly two months after the Battle of Tumu, the Ming Dynasty's border defenses remain so weak even after the city has had time to rest and recuperate, proving that the Ming Dynasty's military strength is insufficient.

If he had quickly marched south after capturing Zhu Qizhen, he might have already captured Dadu, and he would have missed a golden opportunity.

Two months ago, Esen won the Battle of Tumu, defeating 200,000 elite Ming troops in one fell swoop, and dared not advance south.

Over the years, the grasslands had terrified the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Deep down, he still believed that the Ming Dynasty was invincible, and his southward expedition was merely an attempt to gain some benefits.

A vast empire with tens of millions of people could easily mobilize an army, but today's events made him realize that the Ming Dynasty might just be a paper tiger.

Thinking of this, Esen was filled with resentment and immediately summoned his three younger brothers, Bayan Temur, Boluo, Datong Wang, and Maonahai Pingzhang (Pingzhang is an official title).

Esen made his decision and said, "Leave a small force to garrison Baiyangkou and coordinate with Yanghe, and be wary of the Datong garrison. The main army will immediately break camp and head south to Zijing Pass!"

"Grand Tutor, the army has just finished fighting and should rest before heading south."

Mao Nahai Pingzhang was greatly alarmed. They had just finished a battle, and although it hadn't caused any trouble, continuous raids without rest were not the way to march.

Esen had made up his mind. He waved his hand and said, "No, leave the warriors who just participated in the battle to garrison Baiyangkou for rest and recuperation. The rest of the warriors shall set off immediately!"

"Grand Tutor, what is the reason?"

Esen explained, "Baiyangkou is such a fortress that we can easily take it. The garrison in Datong is holed up and won't come out, so I'm sure the Ming Dynasty's defenses are still weak. We've already wasted two months, and we can't give the Ming Dynasty another chance to breathe. We must finish this quickly; the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for us."

Upon hearing Esen's words, the group instantly realized that it seemed the army had been hopping around on the Ming border, and the Ming garrisons everywhere were like tortoises. Perhaps this assessment was not wrong.

"Grand Tutor, if that's the case, should we advance from Baiyanggou?" Mao Nahaipingzhang suggested. After all, Zijing Pass is one of the most formidable passes of the Ming Dynasty, and a hasty attack would certainly result in some losses.

"The road is too narrow, and supplies cannot be transported through. We must attack Zijing Pass. If the battle is hindered, we can retreat with ease."

Esen directly rejected this risky move. Sending a small force to launch a surprise attack via Baiyanggou would be acceptable. But for a large army to penetrate deep into the heart of the Ming capital via such a small path, and if they failed to capture the capital, they would have to retreat via a small path like Baiyanggou, which would be suicidal.

In the chaos, their own troops trampled each other, resulting in more than half of them being killed or wounded. Moreover, they couldn't transport any supplies and had to rely on individuals to carry their own food. They had to retreat after only a few days of fighting.

Esen's goal was the capital, so he naturally needed to secure a smooth road for himself to enter and exit at any time.

Mao Nahaipingzhang nodded and said, "I'll make the arrangements right away!"

On the other side, Zhu Qizhen's mood was particularly complicated. He did not expect that his Ming Dynasty would be so vulnerable. Perhaps the defeat at Tumu was not due to his bad command, but because the enemy was too strong. Otherwise, why would Baiyangkou have been breached in less than half a day?

It must be said that Zhu Qizhen took self-comfort to the extreme at this moment, and it is no exaggeration to call him the number one person of the spiritual victory method.

Zhu Qizhen watched as the Oirat soldiers cleaned up the mess. Many Ming soldiers who had died in battle were stripped naked and thrown onto wooden carts. These dead soldiers would likely become a pile of bones outside the city. Those who died in battle were his former subjects and soldiers loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Could this be considered as dying by his own hand?

Zhu Qizhen was momentarily dazed. He couldn't understand whether these soldiers truly hated him to the bone. They could have opened the city gates and accepted the surrender, but these people preferred to die in battle rather than open the gates!

However, after a short while, Zhu Qizhen quickly convinced himself that Yang Xinmin's words were treasonous and that these were rebellious traitors who deserved to die.

Just as Zhu Qizhen was lost in thought, Esen sent someone to inform him that he needed to head south immediately!

Zhu Qizhen was greatly surprised: "So fast?"