Yang Fan's map was processed by Yao Guang, removing all the modern parts, and then printed it out.
"I just like your map. It looks like the real terrain." Zhang Shize praised.
Yang Fan took out his red and blue pencils and prepared to draw the enemy's and ours' marching routes, combat positions, camp locations, etc. on the map.
"Because the previous three Northern Expeditions had been successful, the young Yingzong believed that the Mongols were nothing great. In addition, Ye Xian's constant harassment also exhausted the court's patience. The court gradually began to resume war with the Oara people. the meaning of."
"At that time, the Oara people were divided into four groups, and thousands of people invaded Gansu along the way. I don't know who this general was. In one group, the Great Khan Totuo Buhua led 30,000 people to invade Liaodong. The remaining two groups, with 30,000 elite cavalry in each group, He also personally led the attack on Datong first. The group was led by Ala Zhiyuan to attack Xuanfu. The number of people on this group is unknown, but it is estimated to be 20,000 to 30,000 people."
Yang Fan used a blue pencil to draw the Mongolian advance route on the map. Mongols are identified with blue arrows. The Ming army used red logo.
This way of working on the map made Zhang Shize's eyes light up. It turns out that we can review the Battle of Tumu Fort in this way.
This method is really intuitive and clear. Yang Fan also wrote the name of the general, the number of people, and the time on the arrow. The situation on the battlefield is clear at a glance.
"On July 11, we also attacked Datong first. Wu Hao, the right-hand general of Datong in the Ming Dynasty, faced Oala at Mao'erzhuang (today's north of Yanggao County, Shanxi). He was quickly defeated and died in battle." Zhang Shize instructed on the map.
Yang Fan immediately drew the marching route of the two armies, using a cross to represent the battlefield. Then he wrote that the Ming army was completely destroyed.
"On July 15, four generals, Song Ying, the governor of Datong, Jingyuan, the prince-in-law, the commander-in-chief, Zhu Mian, and Shi Heng, the left-counseling general, each led 10,000 troops to Yanghe (today's northwest of Yanggao, Shanxi) for defense. Immediately afterwards, Xining Hou Song Ying, Wu Jin Bo Zhu Mian, Zuo Sheng General Shi Heng and others led the Ming army to fight against Wala in Yanghe. Due to the obstruction of the eunuch Guo Jing, the Ming army was defeated and the entire army was destroyed. Song Ying and Zhu Zhu Mian were defeated. Mian died in battle, Shi Heng fled back to Datong City on his own, and Guo Jing escaped by hiding in the bushes."
Yang Fan then marked the situation of both sides on the map.
"Then the news reached the court, and the emperor and ministers were anxious. So, on July 17, the 14th year of Zhengtong, Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty ignored the objections of Wang Zhi, the Minister of Personnel, and other ministers, and together with Wang Zhen, led the army to march in person. Before leaving, Yingzong first established a prince, and then ordered his younger brother, King Zhu Qiyu, to stay in the capital and supervise the country. For this expedition, the army was hurriedly assembled and set off within two days of the order. All preparations were insufficient, and everything was in chaos."
Yang Fan asked in confusion: "Two hundred thousand people, we can't even prepare enough food and grass in two days. We just set off."
Zhang Shize shrugged and said that was how he set out.
Yang Fan is also in trouble. How could this be more fucking unreliable than this?
Zhang Shize smiled bitterly and said: "You can't stand this, and there are even more unreliable ones. During the orthodox period, there were 26 people named Hou Boxun, 15 of whom had never been on the battlefield, which was more than half. 18 of them were from the Yingzong. People who personally conquered the country. A total of 14 people died in this battle, 8 of whom had never been on the battlefield. This shows how poor the military quality of this personally expedition team was."
"I have carefully studied the composition of these two types of personnel. Those who have been on the battlefield and are famous, such as the British Duke Zhang Fu, are old men who have not touched a bow or horse for many years."
"But those who have led troops for many years, such as Chen Huai, Wang Gui, Gu Xingzu and others, are annexing land, serving as private sergeants, greedy and incompetent soldiers. Once a war begins, they are mediocre and know nothing about it."
"Most of those who have never been on the battlefield are the "Second Generation of Honors" and "The Third Generation of Honors," such as Xiangcheng Bo Li Zhen, Xiu Wu Bo Shen Rong, Sui'an Bo Chen Xun and others who have only been in the title for a few years. They are young. He is very powerful, relying on his ancestral shade to take charge of the affairs of the five government affairs, and wearing the aura of marquis, uncle, and governor, but in fact he does not understand war and has no military ability."
"Zhang Fu should know about military affairs. He has fought in the north and south all his life. Although he is older at this time, he is still a veteran." Yang Fan asked puzzledly.
Zhang Shize was a little embarrassed, but still said: "Although he is my ancestor, but to put it bluntly, Zhang Fu has never fought against the Mongolian cavalry. He lacks experience in fighting against the cavalry. He is far behind you in this aspect. .”
"Actually, if the emperor brings two other people, even if Tumubao is defeated, at least the whole army can retreat. It will not cause catastrophic consequences."
Yang Fan asked: "Who are these two people?"
"Chen Mao and Wang Ji were two rare generals of the Ming army. After Chengzu ascended the throne, Chen Mao guarded the northwest and participated in the Ming army's Northern Expedition. He was the vanguard of Zhu Di's northern expedition and had rich experience in fighting the Mongolian cavalry."
"Wang Ji is one of the most famous leading civil servants of our dynasty. He beheaded 53,790 enemies in total over the years. His number of beheadings was more than three times that of Wang Yangming, and the quality also exceeded that of his junior Wang Yangming. Wang Ji commanded the orthodox army for three years. The Battle of Jinai was the first Northern Expedition of the Yingzong Dynasty. Although there were not many beheadings, more than 150 Tatar nobles were captured, and the Tatar leadership was almost wiped out. This shows how powerful he is."
Yang Fan asked: "After sending troops in such a hasty manner, what happened next?"
"The troop dispatch route is our current march route. It's just that we left the fortress from Zhangjiakou in Xuanfu and walked through the grassland to Guihua City. They originally went to Datong via Xuanfu."
Yang Fan marked Yingzong's marching route. Then he asked: "I heard that they could not find the Mongols near Datong. Later, the eunuch Ning Xi said that he had received intelligence that the Wala people had set up an ambush under the city of Datong and were preparing to ambush the army. They encouraged Yingzong to retreat. "
Zhang Shize said: "Yes, the weather suddenly changed, there were heavy storms, the road was muddy, and the carriages and horses got stuck in the mud. The journey was extremely difficult. The officers and soldiers were soaked and miserable. They all shouted for retreat. So the army retreated."
Yang Fan said: "I heard that Wang Zhen's hometown Yu County was on the way from Datong to Zijingguan. He wanted to take the emperor to his hometown to show off, so he asked to take the road to Zijingguan. Halfway through, he thought that the army might He trampled their seedlings and asked to return to Datong. He took the same route from Juyongguan back to Beijing. As a result, he caught up with him halfway."
Zhang Shize said with a smile: "Let me tell you a secret that only my family knows. This is what my servant told me after he escaped."
"What a secret."
"These are all attempts to bury Wang Zhen. In your words, Wang Zhen is the scapegoat for Yingzong. All the wrong things Yingzong did were later blamed on him. This is called the taboo of the venerable."
"In fact, it was Yingzong's idea to send troops and it had nothing to do with Wang Zhen. Such a hasty dispatch of troops was also caused by Yingzong's young mentality. He was young and impatient at the time. As for the retreat route, it goes from Datong to Yuxian County, to Zijingguan and into the interior. Correct. The road is wide and easy to walk, and the distance is short."
"It's not like the road we took is a mountain road. It's winding and narrow, making it difficult to pass. If we really walked all the way back like this, nothing would happen. There would be no Tumu Fort defeat."
Yang Fan asked: "Whose idea was it to change the route?"
