Tumu Fort is located inside the line from Juyongguan to Datong.
It is part of the Great Wall defense system and is known as the three major forts in northern Beijing together with Yulin Fort and Jiming Fort.
The entire fort is laid out in the shape of a ship, about 150 feet wide from north to south and 300 feet long from east to west. The fort wall made of earth and bricks is about two feet high. There are more than a hundred households in the inner guardhouse.
However, since Yongle, most of the energy of the Ren and Xuan sects has been focused on people's livelihood and internal affairs.
During the entire ten years of Hongxi and Xuande, no troops were launched against Mongolia, and they basically used tribute to maintain stability.
As a result, the imperial court naturally did not pay attention to these border defense posts, which were the most proud of Taizu Taizong. Under the wanton annexation of land by the border defense generals, by the Zhengtong period, there were no soldiers left in the guard posts.
The so-called guard soldiers are military camps. Soldiers are registered in the military, 70% of the land is cultivated, and 30% of the land is trained. To put it bluntly, they give you a piece of land, cultivate the land to support yourself, and are completely responsible for your own profits and losses.
Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang once said with great pride that he could raise an army of millions without costing the people a grain of rice.
If we strictly follow Lao Zhu's ideas and implement them, we can naturally achieve this result. For example, the guardsmen during the Yongle period maintained a strong combat effectiveness.
But during the Xuande period.
I would rather be a rogue than serve as a guard.
Even if the law clearly stipulates that if a military household escapes, he will be charged with desertion, and if caught, he will be sentenced to death, his son will be castrated, and his wife and daughter will be confiscated. However, it still cannot stop the fleeing speed of guard soldiers. The number of fleeing guard soldiers across the country has reached an astonishing six One hundred thousand!
According to the "Records of Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty", in November of the eighth year of Xuande's reign, Shandong Inspector Zhang Cong visited Liaodong and discovered that there were only five or six garrison troops in Shanhaiguan.
Can you believe it?
Shanhaiguan is such an important strategic place, but the number of defenders is in single digits!
But it's no wonder these guardsmen are so miserable.
The land was gone, and they still had to carry heavy corvees to work for the border defense generals. If there was a war outside the customs, they had to raise their own rations and go out to fight.
In the end, the land was gone, and taxes still had to be paid!
I’ve lost all my land, why should I pay for my money? !
Moreover, this military household stipulation was passed down from generation to generation, so it could be said that there was no hope for the eighteen generations to come.
The heart is crossed and the feet are stamped.
GNMLGB, moistened.
The wind stirs up dust.
The earthen fortress covering an area of 1,000 acres and the ruined buildings should have hundreds of military households here, but now there are only a dozen or so poorly dressed sergeants coming and going from time to time.
Most of these soldiers were wrapped in leather cloth, and their armor and other iron tools had long since disappeared, probably to be exchanged for money to pay taxes.
Every one of them looked very much like Sparta.
At this time, the eyes of these Spartans were all focused on one person.
After all, a man wearing a different kind of clothes made of noble silk, and wearing something shiny and unknown on his face, was extremely conspicuous in this desolate place of Tumu Fortress.
Ji Boying didn't pay attention to the surprised looks of the Spartans and stood alone on the highest beacon tower in the earthen fortress.
Looking around the Tumu Fort from here and doing some on-the-spot investigation, Ji Boying finally understood why the Battle of the Tumu Fort was such a disastrous defeat.
Damn, this place is like a big tomb.
Camping in Tumu Fort is like leading people to a graveyard, which is a unique experience in the ages.
The terrain of Tumu Fort is extremely high, with a cliff to the north, a Yongding River ten miles away to the south, the retreat direction of the Baozong's army to the west, and the Pseudo River not far away to the east.
The whole process of Tumu Fort's defeat was also very simple.
When the Baozong Central Army arrived at Tumubao, they originally only had to continue their rapid march into Huailai City, which was only about twenty miles away. There was a city to defend the city, and then they ordered the surrounding troops to be diligent, and the army would be safe and sound.
After all, Wala also only wanted wealth in this wave, and had no intention of severely damaging the Ming Dynasty.
But the damn eunuch Wang Zhen, in the name of having more than a thousand military supplies that he could not keep up with (actually the private property that Wang Zhen had plundered during his trip north this time), persuaded the Baozong to order the entire army to camp in Tumubao and wait for the trains to follow. superior.
Kuang Ye, Minister of the Ministry of War, learned that Wang Zhen had abandoned the emperor and ignored the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers for the sake of private property. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood on the spot. He went directly to see Baozong, hoping that Baozong would lead a small number of elites to enter the pass first. He Lead the main force to stay and wait for the baggage.
But something magical happened again. Baozong did not hesitate to reject the suggestion of Kuang Ye, the Minister of War, and said that he would stay with Wang Zhen to wait for the arrival of the baggage.
How come you don’t trust the top leader of the Ministry of War when it comes to using troops? Why don’t you trust a dead eunuch? !
Why the hell don't you let Wang Zhen be the Minister of War?
As the old saying goes, if you don't seek death, you won't die. God of War is a typical death seeker.
Ji Boying briefly recalled the process of the Tumu Fortress change.
Then, his eyes fixed on the best-preserved small courtyard in the Tumu Fort.
If nothing unexpected happens, this small courtyard will become the temporary palace of Baozong.
The sunglasses flickered slightly, and a string of code-like silver data flashed past. This was the coordinates of this small courtyard.
When the space-time coordinates are there, Ji Boying can arrive with a group of emperors accurately, instead of constantly narrowing the scope to locate like he himself did.
'Wang Zhen. '
Looking at this desolate and windy land, and thinking that in ten other time and space, this is the burial place of hundreds of thousands of heroic souls, and all this is because of the mental retardation of a dead eunuch and a god of war, Ji Boying was filled with anger. .
If I remember correctly, Zhu Qizhen was on his way to Tumubao at this moment.
Huh~!
Wind and sand pass by.
Suddenly, there was a scene of surprise in the earthen fort. The Spartans who had been watching Ji Boying were almost so shocked that they forgot to pick up their pants after draining the water.
'People, people are gone? ! '
………………………
Half a day's journey away from Tumu Fort, there was a sergeant taking a rest.
This is the personal army of the Ming God of War.
In the temporarily arranged emperor's tent, a handsome and heroic young man, wearing a golden battle armor, sat at the head of the tent, with delicacies and wines placed on the table in front of him.
On the left side of the tent, there sat a middle-aged man with a beard that looked a little fake. He had a scholarly air about him. It seemed that Mr. Wang, despite having great power, still kept his hands on the book.
"Mr. Wang, do you think Zhu Yong can win?"
Zhu Qizhen, the God of War, frowned in a rare way. After all, the losses in the first two battles were too ugly.
Mr. Wang chuckled.
"Your Majesty, Duke Cheng Guo has led 3,000 battalions and 40,000 cavalry to the rescue. Nawala also has all his men under his command first, and only 20,000 people are chasing after him. The advantage lies with me!"
"Two to one, our army will definitely win!"
In Mr. Wang's view, fighting means that there are more people than there are people. Can two people win against one person? !
"Thanks to your words, I am relieved."
Zhu Qizhen nodded, then looked at Wang Zhen and suddenly smiled.
"Mr. Wang, you held the book upside down."
