"Everything about Tumu Fortress is weird, and I also think many of the details are incredible. The historical records we can see now have been modified and covered up so much that after almost two hundred years, they have changed beyond recognition. From my personal perspective It seems that I still sympathize with Yingzong." Zhang Shize took a sip of wine and said slowly.
Yang Fan nodded and said: "I checked the historical data and said that the emperor and ministers of the Yingzong Dynasty wanted to cheer up and revive the country's shrinking power since the Renxuan Dynasty. Yingzong had made three Northern Expeditions before Tumubao, and they all achieved Not a bad result.”
Zhang Shize nodded and said: "That's right, but he did not command these three Northern Expeditions. Yingzong was a young emperor who came to the throne at the age of eight. During the Zhengtong years, Zhu Qizhen fought in Zhengtong for three years (the Battle of Yijinai) and Zhengtong for six years (Fengzong). Three large-scale Northern Expeditions were launched in the 9th year of Zhengtong (Battle of Prefecture) and in the ninth year of Zhengtong (Battle of Kelesu)."
"During the three Northern Expeditions, he was ten, thirteen, and sixteen years old respectively. He was too young at the time, and the court was actually controlled by the ministers and the Empress Dowager Zhang. The Empress Dowager reused old ministers since Renxuan, among whom Yang Shiqi , Yang Rong, and Yang Pu, known as the "Three Yangs" in history. During his tenure as the cabinet minister, Sanyang stabilized the border defense, rectified the official administration, and developed the economy, which made the national power of the Ming Dynasty continue to rise. These wars were actually fought by Sanyang. "
Yang Fan said: "I heard that Queen Mother Zhang herself only listened to the government affairs, but never interfered with the government affairs. She got along better with the civil servant group. Later, her evaluation was quite high."
Zhang Shize said: "If the Empress Dowager had lived ten more years, the tragedy of Tumubao would never have happened. A tragic defeat on this scale was a victory that the Hu people in the north had never had since ancient times. A mere 30,000 cavalry were defeated. More than 200,000 people were recruited from the capital camp."
"In the early years of Zhengtong, the Empress Dowager and San Yang governed the country well, and our Ming Dynasty was quite prosperous."
"However, the good times did not last long. In the fifth year of Zhengtong (1440), Yang Rong died (posthumously named Wenmin); in the eighth year of Zhengtong (1443), the Empress Dowager Zhang passed away (posthumously named Empress Cheng Xiaozhao). In the ninth year of Zhengtong (posthumous title: Empress Cheng Xiaozhao) In 1444), Yang Shiqi passed away (posthumous title Wenzhen). In the eleventh year of Zhengtong (1446), Yang Pu passed away (posthumous title Wending)."
Yang Fan said: "Without these people, Wang Zhencai would have gained power."
"Yes, Yingzong was nineteen years old at that time, and there was no one to restrain him. He began to reuse eunuchs to compete with civil servants," Zhang Shize said. "The reintroduction of eunuchs was initiated by Xuanzong. At that time, the power of civil servants had already made the emperor uneasy."
"The Battle of Luchuan was also a matter of the Yingzong Dynasty. There were problems in both directions at that time." Yang Fan asked.
Zhang Shize nodded and said: "Yunnan has been at war, involving a lot of troops. We have also unified the north of the Great Wall, and there are border troubles in both the north and the south."
"Actually, there are more than just these two places. During the Renxuan period, the value of banknotes began to depreciate sharply, and the price of silver skyrocketed. A large number of refugees entered the mountainous areas to illegally mine silver mines. In Zhejiang, there were Ye Liuzong and other silver miners who gathered to rebel. In Fujian, there was also a rebellion by Deng Maoqi. . Huang Xiaoyang rebelled in Guangdong."
Yang Fan nodded, he knew these situations.
Ye Liuzong's people are all armed mining workers. The Ming government banned them from illegally mining silver mines. If we keep attacking them, these people will have no way out unless they mine. Eventually it caused war in Zhejiang.
People like Deng Maoqi were forced to rebel because the landlords colluded with the government to charge several times more land rent.
The situation in Guangdong is similar. The Guangdong government colluded with the powerful, and forcibly confiscated the land from the peasants, handed the land to the powerful, and forced the peasants to become tenant farmers. Then the two families share the benefits.
The farmers naturally refused and resisted one after another. However, the government and the guards came forward to suppress it. The peasants who had been deprived of their land were beaten and killed, and had no way to complain. So they rebelled one after another.
Guangdong was even more troubled at that time. Tyrants openly snatched farmers' crops after the crops were mature. Farmers who resisted were killed. If you don't resist, you will starve to death. At that time, it was called "occupying sand and grabbing land"
The Ming Dynasty had only been established for a few decades, but the local area had already become corrupted to such an extent. It is said that this time should be a period of growth, but the grassroots level of Ming Dynasty is decaying too fast. By the time Yingzong arrived, there were already signs of instability throughout the country.
Not only farmers are living in dire straits at this time. The guardhouse also fell into decay and could no longer be used. At this time, almost half of the military households in the guard station had escaped. The cruelty of the officers was worse than that of the local tyrants.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was alive, there was a thousand households. Because of the withholding of food and wages, more than a hundred of his subordinates starved to death.
Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and asked the remaining soldiers to fight him. The two sides stabbed each other with spears, and the Qianhu soldiers who hated him so much turned into a hornet's nest on the spot.
These rebellions restricted a lot of Ming's energy and military strength.
In order to suppress Deng Maoqi, the Beijing camp transferred more than 70,000 people. Rebellions in other places also occupied the elite troops of the Beijing camp. These things all happened before the Tumubao Incident.
"So, before Yingzong went to Tumubao, all the elites in the Beijing camp were emptied. Over the years, various places have pressed the gourd and lifted the gourd. Today, the Beijing camp will be mobilized, and tomorrow, the Beijing camp will be mobilized. The Beijing camp that remains in the capital has already been They are second-rate goods picked out from the rest." Zhang Shize explained.
Because the Jingying camp was also decayed, people working on empty wages and doing all kinds of fancy jobs began to appear in large numbers. At this time, only half of the Beijing camp with a capacity of more than 400,000 people could fight, and these people had all been transferred.
The Ming Dynasty's expedition to Luchuan was one of the four campaigns in which the Ming Dynasty conquered Luchuan, Yunnan, and launched the rebellion of Xuanwei Si Si Renfa and Si Jifa's father and son.
The four conquests took place in 1439 (the fourth year of Orthodoxy), 1441 (the sixth year of Orthodoxy), 1442 (the seventh year of Orthodoxy), and 1448 (the thirteenth year of Orthodoxy).
After years of war, the Ming Dynasty still could not completely quell the rebellion, which finally ended in the form of a treaty.
During this period, hundreds of thousands of attacks were launched continuously, resulting in the exhaustion of the army and the depletion of the treasury. Taking up too many military resources, the defense of Mongolia in the north was empty.
The most serious consequence of losing the war was the instability in Yunnan.
These are the consequences of Xuanzong and Zhu Zhanji abandoning Jiaozhi.
Not only were the toes gone, but Burma was also lost. And Yunnan is not stable either.
Zhu Zhanji abandoned Nuergandusi in Liaodong, which later caused the Jurchens to be left unmanaged, which led to their expansion. Later, the Chenghua Dynasty had to send Wang Zhi, the official of Xichang Factory, to lead an army to Liting to sweep the holes.
The foundation laid by Taizu and Chengzu basically lost their advantage during the Ren and Xuan dynasties. Outside the Great Wall, everything south of Yunnan and Guangxi was lost. Uzbekistan basically broke away, Qinghai was occupied by Mongolia, and Jeju Island was also taken by North Korea.
"What's even more terrible is that after the Choros became stronger, Renxuan allowed them to unify Mongolia. This directly caused border troubles in the north. It also caused the subsequent Tumubao Incident." Zhang Shize said with a sigh.
"I see, before Tumu Fort, there were wars all over the country, and there were hundreds of thousands of people fighting in the south. The Beijing camp had been hollowed out, and what was left was useless. No wonder, 30,000 people were defeated There are more than 200,000 Beijing troops," Yang Fan said.
"The Choros people are the Dzungars. I remember that their family name was Choros at first, and the current Junggar tribe is also named Choros." Yang Fan asked.
"Yes, the Dzungars are the descendants of Ye Xian. But now the Oara is called the Oirat Alliance. The leader of the alliance is no longer a Dzungar." Zhang Shize said.
