The reason why the Tumubao Incident is regarded as a turning point in the Ming Dynasty's transition from prosperity to decline is not just because of the large-scale casualties suffered by the Jingying camp and the Xunqi in this battle.
Its impact is far more profound than anyone imagined.
Needless to say, the resulting civil prosperity and military weakness brought about. More importantly, the Ming Dynasty turned the civil fortress into a dividing line. In the border confrontation, the Ming Dynasty changed from the offensive during the Taizu Taizong period to a defensive one.
Even if there was Liting sweeping holes during the Xianzong period, it was just a temporary counterattack.
Generally speaking, the defeat of this war changed the Ming Dynasty's border defense policy, and selectively and completely gave up its actual jurisdiction over some areas outside the customs.
But now, this influence is gradually spreading...
The first to bear the brunt were the border generals who guarded the various passes along the border. The civil war shocked the capital and made all the officials panic. As the border generals who had close contact with the Oara army, this was naturally even more true.
The border guards at these five passes are escaping, like a big flag, revealing the current turbulent situation on the border.
This is actually a vicious cycle. The disastrous defeat in the Civil War made the border generals fearful and unwilling to resist, which in turn led to loopholes in the border defense. Only then did Ye Xian's army take advantage of the situation and attack the capital directly.
Regarding border matters, relatives have the most say, so the first person to speak was Xincheng Bo Zhao Rong.
"Your Majesty, when a large army was sent out to win the battle, the imperial court concentrated a total of 30,000 troops at each pass. They lined up heavy troops at Juyongguan, Dushikou, Ma Ying, Longmen Guard and other places to prepare for reinforcements, leaving the passes empty of troops. There are also civil engineering matters ahead, so the guard will inevitably feel uneasy."
"On this occasion, we should increase the number of troops at each pass. In addition to Juyong, Zijing, Dushi, Longmen and other strong cities, there are thirty-six large and small border passes. Seven of them can pass through people and horses. It is appropriate to increase the number of 1,500 people. It is appropriate to add 500 troops to the twenty-nine places that can be accessed by people but not by horses."
A skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and not all relatives are trash.
Zhao Rong is one of the more promising among the young men. These days, Shi Jing is in charge of the Beijing Camp and Zhao Rong is in charge of the Fifth Army Commander's Office, so they naturally do a lot of homework.
So what I say is relatively organized.
This matter is related to the Emperor's expedition. When the army goes out, the border defense will naturally be mobilized, the most important part.
During the time of peace, the defense of the border was basically defensive. Except for a few key cities with heavy troops, the distribution of troops at other passes was relatively even.
However, these forces can only cope with small-scale blocking battles.
Since the Ming Dynasty wanted to go to war with Wala, it had to mobilize heavy troops to prevent Wala and focus on attacking one of the passes.
Therefore, as the army went out, the troops on the border also concentrated.
Specifically, some of the defenders at each pass were transferred to form a mobile force of 30,000 people.
This force consisted of 6,000 men and was stationed in five strong cities: Zijing, Juyong, Dushi, Longmen, and Yongning. It was under the unified command of the governor Qianshi Sun An.
The main purpose is to prevent a certain pass from being attacked by a large army, so that forces can be concentrated to quickly reinforce it.
At the same time, because these cities are key places, if the army attacks first, reinforcements can be provided on the spot.
During the civil engineering battle, one reason was that time was urgent.
Second, there are always reinforcements from those with more people to places with fewer people.
The guards at each pass did not expect that an army of more than 200,000 people could be completely wiped out...
Fall back to the present.
Although Ye Xian's army was still watching with eager eyes outside the pass, because they had robbed the Supreme Emperor, during this period, Ye Xian was more negotiating (robbery) with the Ming court.
Its main force did not move, but sent out rangers to harass the border.
As a result, the pressure on various passes was greatly increased. These rangers ranged from one hundred to five hundred at a time, and they were not interested in fighting, but mainly focused on looting.
By the time the reinforcements arrived, they had already run away with the looted supplies.
At the same time, due to the deployment of troops, the garrison strength at many passes was empty, and the pressure to engage in head-on combat with these small groups of rangers was great.
There were some defenders who had the strength to fight and not escape, but they were often too tired to cope with the situation and lacked the troops in their hands. If they were not careful, they would break through the pass and loot and set fire to the soldiers and civilians.
Because of this, the guards of the five places risked being prosecuted by military law and abandoned the city and fled.
After Zhao Rong finished speaking, everyone thought for a moment, and then Yu Qian stood up and said.
"That's not right. The 30,000 troops led by Sun An were originally intended as reinforcements. They were set up to attack the city in a large-scale attack first by Fang Ye. Now Ye Xian's army is still waiting outside the pass. The new army of the Ministry of War has reported that the main force seems to be moving. , If our army is scattered and we attack with the main force first, and it is difficult to mobilize our troops quickly because they are scattered everywhere, they will be defeated one by one."
As the Minister of War, Yu Qian also knew the situation on the border very well.
In fact, the border was in turmoil. When the military reports were received from various passes, it was already brewing secretly. The guards at these passes abandoned the city and fled, which was just a concentrated outbreak.
The reason why they have not dispersed their troops for a long time is just to be prepared and pretend to be harassed by rangers. In fact, after the Ming Dynasty divides their troops, they will carry out various strategies to defeat them.
Zhao Rong's face looked a little ugly and he asked.
"Then what should we do according to Yu Shangshu's wishes?"
"With insufficient troops in the hands of the border generals, it is naturally difficult for them to arouse their desire to fight against the enemy. We can't let these border generals rely on their lonesome courage to fight against a large number of people and have no choice but to die for their country, right?"
Yu Qian took a step forward and raised his hands to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Zijing, Dushi, Huailai, Longmen and other places are all important places, and unlike Xuanfu, Datong City's high-ranking generals are brave. If there are not enough troops, once there is a loss, the captors can directly attack the capital. Therefore, I believe that the 30,000-strong army led by Sun An cannot be moved lightly."
"As for the lack of troops at the passes, the Ministry of War has urgently dispatched 50,000 troops from Nanzhili, Henan and other places, and they can arrive within half a month."
"In order to prevent the bandits from plundering, we can order the fortress cities such as Zijin to gather the people at the passes for the time being. When the thieves come, we will temporarily avoid them. When the army arrives, we can relieve the urgent need of troops."
This is the difference between civil servants and military officials. For Zhao Rong, he is more concerned about the people's hearts and hopes to ensure the living environment of the border generals as much as possible.
But Yu Qian is much colder, he considers the overall situation!
Although dividing the troops is helpful to stabilize people's hearts, it also involves risks.
According to Zhao Rong, 1,500 troops were added to each of the seven passes with people and horses, and 500 troops were added to each of the 29 passes with people but different horses. Basically, the 30,000 people could not be left. How much.
Once this happens, attack in a big way first, using the main force to attack one place.
Then the originally concentrated and mobile army is scattered everywhere, and it is difficult to mobilize and control it for a while, and it is easy to be defeated one by one.
You must know that once the army is dispersed to various passes, the power to mobilize troops will inevitably be delegated to the garrison of each pass.
Compared with today's unified deployment under one general, the efficiency is by no means the same.
Therefore, Yu Qian's meaning is very clear. The people can temporarily move to Zijing, Juyong and other strong cities for temporary refuge.
As for the defender, he must continue to defend the city until the reinforcements mobilized by the imperial court from within the pass arrive.
However, Zhao Rong was not so easy to give in. He took a step forward, stood in front of Yu Qian, and said the same thing.
"Let's not talk about what we should do if we send a small group of rangers to burn, kill, and plunder in the past half month."
"Talk about the soldiers from Nanzhili and other places. They have been in the customs for a long time and cannot train well. If they suddenly go to the border to guard, how long will it take to get familiar with the environment?"
"Ola Shan's cavalry warfare mostly focuses on plundering. Can they adapt to Wala's fighting methods?"
"How can we deploy troops from within the pass as quickly as if we could mobilize troops on the spot and defend the city securely?"
After saying that, Zhao Rong turned to the emperor above him and said.
"Your Majesty, the guards at the five passes have abandoned the city, which shows that the morale of the soldiers on the border is very unstable. If this continues, the morale of our defenders will be low and they will collapse at the first touch. Therefore, I believe that we should divide our troops in various places to boost people's morale. Stabilize morale and enable the general to defend the city to the death."
This should be regarded as the first time since the civil war that Xun Qi has spoken out so strongly on a major national issue.
Although Zhao Rong lacks qualifications, he is a serious Commander-in-Chief of the Fifth Army, and he is in charge of the most important Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese Army.
In terms of status, he is indeed comparable to Yu Qian, the Minister of War, not to mention the entire Jingnan family standing behind him.
After giving in for so long, I finally got tough on this matter.
Two senior ministers, one civil and one military, had different opinions, so it was natural for the emperor to decide.
So all the ministers turned their attention to the emperor who was thinking deeply...
