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

Chapter 98 Can Zhu Qizhen still personally lead an expedition?

He was heartbroken and angered by Zhu Qiyu!

After being revived, Esen stared blankly at the door. Bayan Temur and the King of Datong greeted him softly and then stood by, not daring to speak.

Esen reviewed the day's battle in his mind. He had been fighting from morning till night and realized that he had underestimated his enemy and squandered this great opportunity on the first day.

Ultimately, Esen's early life was practically a protagonist's script.

In the words of later generations: Brother, things went incredibly smoothly!

When Esen was young, he followed his father, Toghon, in his campaigns across the north and south. At the age of thirty, he seamlessly took over his father's throne and became invincible on the grasslands. All the tribes surrendered one after another. Even the Great Khan, Toghtoa Bukha, had to be mindful of Esen's mood. The Battle of Tumu Fortress brought Esen to the pinnacle of his life.

The Ming Empire, which had dominated the grasslands for decades, was defeated by its own hand. Its elite troops were destroyed, and even the emperor was captured. What's more, it only took him ten days to lead his elite cavalry to the gates of the capital, and the recapture of Dadu was only one step away.

In the past, only Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan had been able to achieve such feats. Esen believed himself to be the third, on par with the legends, and that the moment to surpass them was now upon him.

Although Esen was not well-versed in the culture of the Central Plains, he still firmly believed in the idea that he was ordained by Heaven.

After the Battle of Tumu Fortress, Esen firmly believed that he was the chosen one, but today's events have dampened his spirits!

Could it be that the Ming emperor's fate was even stronger, and he himself violated the taboo of "kings not meeting" during the Chu-Han Contention, thus incurring divine punishment?

Esen didn't believe in this superstition.

After a short while, his expression returned to normal, and he still wanted to turn the tide.

"Bayan Temur, send someone to urge Arazhiyuan to stop tying down the Ming troops and focus all his efforts on attacking Juyong Pass without delay!"

Esen felt that with his current forces, it would be difficult to completely destroy the Ming Dynasty. If the Araji tribe could break through Juyong Pass and join him, adding tens of thousands of troops, the outcome would be uncertain.

"King Datong, send a messenger to inform Toghtoa Bukha that he should launch a fierce attack on Gubeikou and quickly lead his army south. Otherwise, if the war is delayed, I will personally go to him to demand an explanation!"

"Here you go!"

Esen's meaning was clear: if they lost this battle, Toghtoa Bukha would have to take the blame.

Then Esen will have an excuse to weaken Toghtoa Bukha again, or even replace him. His father, Toghon, dared not replace the Golden Family, but Esen has the audacity to do so!

However, since Toghtogbuqa is still the Khan, he still needs to be shown respect on the surface.

The two men gave Esen's order and went back.

"Grand Tutor, what is the next strategy? Should we remain inactive and wait for Arazhiyuan and the Khan to arrive before engaging in battle?"

Esen rose and paced back and forth for a long time before turning around and saying, "No, the north gate of the Ming capital is heavily guarded, and the south gate may be undefended. We should rest well tonight and attack from the south gate, Zhangyi Gate, tomorrow. The Ming cavalry is now scarce, and the cavalry that were transferred from Zhangyi Gate today will surely be merged into Shi Heng's cavalry. Only infantry will remain here, giving us a significant advantage. If we attack the south gate, the Ming garrison in the north will certainly not be able to provide support in time."

Having experienced today's great battle, Esen has also noticed some clues. The Ming cavalry is severely insufficient and can no longer form a fighting force. If the Ming generals are not foolish, they will definitely redeploy cavalry to keep Shi Heng's cavalry force capable of fighting.

The Ming Dynasty deployed its strongest troops to defend the north and west gates, but the south gate was not necessarily heavily guarded. As for the eastern gates, they initially abandoned any attempt to attack them.

The terrain in front of the East Gate is open, and the movements of our cavalry can be detected at any time, allowing the Ming garrison to provide timely support.

Secondly, attacking the East Gate would require bypassing most of the capital, lengthening the supply lines. The Oirat army's supplies would come from Zijing Pass in the west. If the Ming Dynasty cut off the supply lines, the battle would be impossible.

The remaining concern was that Esen also feared another reinforcement army might arrive from the south. If such an army did arrive, it would inevitably pass through Tongzhou, east of the capital. If such an army appeared at that time, the Oirat army would be caught in a pincer attack.

Esen dared not take the risk. According to intelligence, the Ming Dynasty still had two elite armies fighting in the south. If he returned to the capital at this time, he would not even have time to escape.

Now that the north and west gates are no longer viable, the only option is to target the south gate, moving the main camp southwest towards Zijing Pass.

Esen was still somewhat uneasy, so he immediately summoned Xining.

When Xining heard that the Oirat army had suffered heavy losses in a single day, and that the men were all in a daze, he could only feel a mixture of joy and sorrow.

He was worried that his dream of living a life of luxury in the capital with Esen would be shattered, but he was also happy that the Oirat invasion was not going well. This made Xi Ning even more important, at least in the short term, as he would not be abandoned.

happy Ning's judgment was correct; after the defeat, they immediately requested assistance.

"happy Ning, I intend to attack the South Gate. Do you have any plans to help me?" Esen didn't beat around the bush and wasn't worried about happy Ning leaking military information.

Since happy Ning has no reason to help the Ming Dynasty anymore, such a person would probably be chopped into mincemeat if sent back to the Ming Dynasty.

Upon hearing this, happy Ning was secretly shocked. He hadn't expected Esen to make such a move. However, when it came to military strategy, happy Ning was only a novice. He considered himself to be exceptionally talented.

However, Xi Ning was particularly adept at intrigue and scheming. He always felt that Esen would never use Zhu Qizhen as his trump card, and that he was using it too conservatively. He believed that the day the negotiations failed, Esen should have dragged Zhu Qizhen on a “tour” of the Nine Gates the next day and made a big fuss.

Would the Ming army dare to engage in open field battles? If the Ming army dares not engage in open field battles, then let their retired emperor "inspect" the nine gates, making the soldiers of the nine gates completely hesitant to act rashly. This way, the morale of the army will be disrupted before the battle begins, and the effect will be much better.

As a result, Esen, without saying a word, launched a series of battles, settled Zhu Qizhen in his camp, provided him with good food and drink, and did not take any action. He was truly foolish and incompetent.

"Grand Tutor, I believe you should make use of the Ming Emperor. Even if you intend to attack the South Gate, you should take the Ming Emperor with you and inform the Ming general that you are welcoming the Ming Emperor into the city, thus making the general hesitant!"

Esen was taken aback by these words. Could it be that his defeat was due to his kindness? This tactic, though despicable, seemed to actually work.

Bayan Temur's feelings for Zhu Qizhen were different. Upon hearing this idea, he was somewhat worried and said, "If that's the case, what if the Ming army takes the opportunity to seize the Ming emperor? The Ming emperor cannot die in the midst of my Oirat army!"

Esen paused for a moment, indeed having such concerns. He couldn't rule out the possibility that some soldiers, loyal to the emperor in the capital, might do it on purpose. If Zhu Qizhen died in the Oirat army, the Ming Dynasty would probably go completely mad, and he might not be able to return to the grasslands in time.

Esen looked at Xi Ning, who stared speechlessly at the three "idiots" before him. Xi Ning said, "First, let the Ming Emperor appear in the camp, then quickly withdraw. Next, raise the dragon flag and place it in the main force. Use a chariot and have someone impersonate the Ming Emperor. The Ming army won't know the Emperor has already withdrawn. As soon as their morale wavers, we can quickly break through the southern defenses!"

Upon hearing this, Esen and his men suddenly understood and finally showed their joy. In short, they wanted to let Zhu Qizhen make a brief appearance and then leave.

"If this battle is won, I will remember you for a great service!"

"Serving the Grand Tutor is simply my duty!" happy Ning replied with flattery.

After happy Ning left, Bayan Temur coldly stared in the direction happy Ning had gone and said, "This man is cunning and extremely ruthless. Grand Tutor, you must be wary of him."

"This person is still useful. When he is no longer useful, we can kill him."

Yesen was naturally wary, wondering whether this person was trustworthy or not. But for now, Xi Ning's knife was useful, and he wouldn't throw it away so easily.

In the Oirat camp, Zhu Qizhen was told by Bayan Temur that he would be going on a campaign with the Oirat army the next day. He was so shocked that he could not speak. It was as if he was going to be roasted on a fire.

Zhu Qizhen liked to personally lead military campaigns, but he couldn't do it this way!

After inquiring about the reasons, Bayan Temur did not hide the news of the Oirat's defeat.

"What? The Grand Tutor has been defeated?"

This news stunned Zhu Qizhen instantly. How could his younger brother be so capable in battle? He had wiped out 20,000 Oirat troops in a single day, not to mention the number of Ming soldiers killed or wounded. Such a remarkable achievement was something he had always dreamed of.

Zhu Qizhen suddenly realized a problem: Esen might not be able to capture the capital, so his dream of restoring the throne was becoming increasingly distant.

Zhu Qizhen was aware that even if he were welcomed back to the capital, his fate would likely not be good, given his actions these past few days.

Seeing that Zhu Qizhen was in such a "difficult" situation, Bayan Temur said, "Your Majesty, if you are unwilling to do so, I can go and persuade the Grand Tutor on your behalf."

"I will do as you say, and I don't want to put you in a difficult position!" Zhu Qizhen felt this was his last chance, and he wanted to take a gamble, but he couldn't reveal his true feelings, so he implicated Bayan Temur in his words.

Upon hearing this, Bayan Temur believed it to be Zhu Qizhen's true feelings and was deeply moved. He immediately bowed respectfully to Zhu Qizhen.

"Your Majesty, I will protect you with my life!"

Yuan Bin watched this scene from the side, his feelings particularly complicated.

On the other side, Wang Zhi and Hu Dan harbored an intense resentment towards Zhu Qiyu. When they went to Xizhimen, they were stopped by the Embroidered Uniform Guard under the pretext of it being a military stronghold, leaving them anxiously waiting outside the city.

However, this resentment quickly turned into great joy. The Oirat suffered heavy losses, the Ming army won a series of victories, the crisis in the capital was mostly resolved, and good news kept coming. The entire capital was in a sea of ​​joy, as if the retreat of the Oirat army was just around the corner.