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

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Qiyu had already ordered everything to be cleaned up.

The civil and military halls should be separated. Discussing military matters in the civil hall seems to imply using civil officials to control military affairs.

As the group entered, they were greeted by a huge sand table and a massive map of the capital's defenses hanging to the side.

"Duwei is standing by the sand table. Minister Yu, you will preside over the military discussion. But before that, I have a question. Now that Zijing Pass has been breached, if Esen does not gather his troops in the capital, but instead turns around and besieges Juyong Pass, and then marches south after the three armies have assembled, what will happen? Have you considered this move? In the past, when Genghis Khan attacked the Jin army, he breached Zijing Pass and then attacked Juyong Pass from both sides, which led to the breach. We must guard against this move."

Upon hearing Zhu Qiyu's words, the expressions of many officials who were unfamiliar with military affairs changed drastically. Yu Qian and others, however, glanced at Zhu Qiyu with considerable surprise, realizing that His Majesty was not entirely ignorant of military matters.

After discussing with Chen Mao that day and confirming that Zijing Pass might not be able to be defended, Zhu Qiyu even went to look through past battle examples. Esen had always wanted to restore the glory of the Great Yuan Dynasty, so it was impossible that he was unaware of this tactic.

Yu Qian seemed to have anticipated this, replying, "Your Majesty, do not worry. Juyong Pass is not the same Juyong Pass it was two hundred years ago. Its fortifications have been continuously repaired since the founding of the nation, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is an impregnable fortress."

"Although Juyong Pass only has 30,000 troops, it is well-equipped. His Majesty previously ordered the generals to go to Tumu Fort to collect equipment. Among them, Yang Hong and his son obtained more than 9,800 helmets, more than 5,200 sets of armor, more than 290 round shields, more than 11,000 lances, more than 22,600 muskets, 440,000 arrows, more than 800 cannons, and 18 barrels of gunpowder. Only a small amount was sent to Xuanfu, and the rest remained at Juyong Pass!"

"With the existing weapons and equipment at Juyong Pass, even if the Oirat army were to attack the pass in its entirety, it would not be able to take it in the short term, and Esen would not dare to gamble everything. There is still a large army stationed in the capital. If Esen attacks Juyong Pass from both sides, he will also be caught in a pincer attack by our Ming Dynasty. Even if the Oirat takes Juyong Pass by then, they will not be able to invade the capital again."

Zhu Qiyu was taken aback, only then remembering this matter. There had indeed been a report earlier that he had once wanted to transport these weapons back to the capital, but Yu Qian stopped him and left them at Juyong Pass to stabilize the northern gateway to the capital.

After all, Nanjing had already stepped up the process of transporting weapons here. It was unexpected that the decision to become a "beggar" would actually give the Ming Dynasty a lot more confidence.

The exact amount of wealth the Ming Dynasty emptied and handed over to the Oirats during the Battle of Tumu is still unknown. Even the weapons left over by the Oirats are quite substantial, demonstrating how abundant the resources were at the time. Ironically, these very weapons are now inflicting heavy losses on the Ming army.

Perhaps Zhu Qizhen, this pig, not only lost these 200,000 elite troops, but also caused a continuous stream of Ming soldiers to die on Ming weapons captured by the Oirat Mongols.

However, Zhu Qiyu was not in the mood to care about these things at the moment. Instead, he understood why Yu Qian and the others were not so worried about the fall of Juyong Pass. With such firepower and the existing equipment at Juyong Pass, even if the Oirat managed to take Juyong Pass, they would probably have to pay a heavy price.

At that time, the Oirat army would probably only be able to stroll around the gates of the capital before slinking back to the grasslands in disgrace. This was quite a gamble.

Shi Heng echoed, "Your Majesty, even if Esen leads tens of thousands of troops to the capital, we are absolutely confident that we can keep the Oirat forces at the gates of the capital. As long as we fortify our defenses and scorch the fields, if the capital region lacks food supplies to support the Oirat army, and with the harsh winter approaching, the Oirat's provisions will run out, and they will surely retreat without a fight."

Shi Heng's words were agreed upon by the generals. As long as the Oirat army did not gather all its troops under the walls of the capital, they were confident of holding the city.

At this moment, Yu Qian loudly objected, "Your Majesty, no! I request that the nine gates be closed and the troops be sent out of the city to meet the enemy, instead of holding out in the city."

These words shocked everyone; this was a desperate gamble with no way out.

"reason?"

"Your Majesty, although Juyong Pass is unlikely to be breached in the short term, we must still be on guard. War is unpredictable, so we must be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. Moreover, the Tuotuo Buhua tribe at Gubeikou is not incapable of moving south."

"According to the report, Gubeikou has suffered very few attacks. Toghtoa Bukha is not in a hurry to go south and is observing the actions of Esen's army. Once Esen leads his army to besiege the city, if our Great Ming holds firm and does not come out, Toghtoa Bukha will definitely lead his army south to join Esen. If the Liaodong loyalist army cannot contain Toghtoa Bukha, the pressure on the capital will increase greatly."

It must be said that Yu Qian's reasons were quite valid. They could not be passively attacked. If they retreated, the morale of the Oirat army would be boosted. If Tuotuo Buqa and others saw that they had a chance to break through the capital, they would dare to head south regardless of everything. After all, it would be impossible not to be envious of the wealth of the capital.

"Does Minister Yu intend to strike first and proactively seek out Esen for a decisive battle?"

"Your Majesty is wise, that is indeed the case. Esen entered through Zijing Pass with only tens of thousands of troops. He came with the momentum of a great victory and will surely underestimate us. As long as our Great Ming can severely damage Esen and blunt his momentum, Toghtoa Bukha will certainly not dare to go south. Arazhi Yuan is blocked outside Juyong Pass. Esen is fighting alone. As long as his army's morale wavers, he will surely become fearful."

"Your Majesty, the Oirat are not invincible. As long as our Great Ming has the determination to fight to the death, we will surely win this battle!"

Zhu Qiyu glanced at his ministers and, as the saying goes, "a kind heart cannot command an army," so he immediately decided to adopt Yu Qian's strategy.

The ruthless fear the stubborn, and the stubborn fear the reckless.

"Please provide the token and seal!"

Xing'an was prepared and hurriedly brought out his tokens and seals.

"Minister Yu, from this moment forward, the entire army is under your command. Give the order!"

Yu Qian's hand trembled slightly as he accepted the token and seal. The lives of more than 200,000 soldiers were in his hands, a burden as heavy as ten thousand pounds.

"I obey your decree!"

Yu Qian turned around, holding the token and seal in one hand, and said, "All generals, heed my command!"

The generals stood solemnly!

"Andingmen, Tao Jin!"

"Dongzhimen, Liu An!"

"Chaoyang Gate, Zhu Ying!"

"..."

"Deshengmen, Fan Guang, Shi Heng, Yu Qian!"

"I will obey your orders!"

The generals were greatly encouraged. Deshengmen was about to face the Oirat army head-on, and Yu Qian was determined to fight to the death by personally going down into battle against Esen.

"Jiao Jing and Zhang Ni, you two lead your troops to defend the city. Without orders from the general, you must not rashly leave the city to provide support."

Yu Qian decided to hold back a plan: even if the army was defeated, if he could defeat most of Esen's army, he could still defend the capital with the help of Jiao Jing and Zhang Ni's battalions, as well as the old, weak, sick, and disabled soldiers in the main camp.

"I will obey your orders!"

Yu Qian turned and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty!"

Zhu Qiyu nodded slowly.

"Your Majesty, I request that you take command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the four guard battalions of the Imperial Horse Administration, and supervise the battle within the city. Anyone who shows cowardice shall be executed without mercy."

"Very well!" Zhu Qiyu took over the task of overseeing the battle, and then said, "Gentlemen, what do you think if I were to issue an edict ordering the princes to send troops to defend the region?"

Zhu Qiyu had not summoned the princes to the capital because he was worried that some members of the imperial clan would cause trouble by abusing their prestige. But now things were different. If he could defeat the Oirat Mongols, he could control this new army.

Summoning the princes to the capital to serve the emperor is not expected to be of great help by these members of the imperial clan, but it can test their attitudes and make it clear who supports him.

Anyone who hesitates or refuses to serve the emperor should be noted down in their notebook. They can be held accountable openly later. It is a rule established by Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang that all vassal kings have the responsibility to serve the emperor and protect the country.

Zhu Qiyu would not mind providing good wine and meat to any members of the imperial family who came to the capital in the future; those who did not come, then they need not come again.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Yu Qian was the first to react, followed by Wang Zhi and others.

The Ming Dynasty now has only one sun!