The Prosperous Era of Longwan

On October 11, the 42nd year of Jiajing, Xin Ai, Ba Du'er and others broke through the wall from Qiangziling and Modao Valley and invaded. They broke through the pass and ran to the capital, plundering Shunyi, Tongxian, Sanhe and other places.

Beacon towers in the direction of Miyun and Shunyi were lit one after another, signaling the arrival of the enemy into the distance.

When the beacon fire reached Tucheng, which was ten miles away from Desheng Gate in the capital, which was actually the pier closest to the capital, one of the pier soldiers guarding the pier quickly ran out of the pier and rushed towards the capital.

News of the enemy situation in the direction of Miyun reached the capital within half a day, causing turmoil in the court again.

The courtiers who had just been passionate about impeaching Yang Xuan, Wang Zhigao and others were surprisingly quiet at this time, because they needed to wait for the military's written battle report to be delivered.

How many people came from the Tatars, where did they enter the country, and what was their direction of action?

Although the beacon tower can quickly convey emergency enemy information, it is limited to a single method and cannot provide detailed information. Therefore, it can only provide early warning and allow the court to make early preparations, but it cannot transmit all the information.

All eyes in the capital were turned to the Ministry of War, which was the first government office to receive news of the enemy's situation. The people from the express delivery shop were already on their way.

The Tatars really came, and King Yu once again summoned Wei Guangde, Zhang Juzheng and others back to Prince Yu's Mansion to discuss the matter.

In the past, they mostly discussed information from the Japanese pirates in the south, but this time they wanted to talk about the enemy situation in the direction of Miyun not far to the north.

However, this time Wei Guangde's face was very serious, revealing that he was in a very bad mood at the moment.

Miyun is really too close to the capital.

If the Tatars were to attack, they could reach the gates of Beijing in three days. What could the capital do in such a short time?

The soldiers from the Beijing camp went up to the city wall, and then disappeared.

In such a short period of time, King Qin's edict issued by the capital to various towns could not be delivered to the generals. This had to be done after detailed battle reports were sent. The Ministry of War thought that the momentum was not right and asked Emperor Jiajing to issue such an order.

"Previously, Yang Xuan ordered Sun Bin to mobilize the elite troops of the Three Tun Battalions to go out of Shanhaiguan to reinforce Liaodong. Now the Tatars have appeared in Ji Town. I don't know if the order from the Ministry of War has been issued."

Yin Shizhen now worriedly introduced the situation obtained by Prince Yu's Mansion.

Although Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde did not report back to Prince Yu's Mansion about Yang Xuan's dispatch of troops to Liaodong, the informants arranged by Prince Yu's Mansion in various yamen still knew about it and sent the news to the Prince's Mansion.

Therefore, in the capital, there is really nothing that can be kept secret in the yamen. Unless the official is personally responsible for it, it is possible to truly keep it secret.

This is only possible, so the Ming Dynasty basically does not have any sense of confidentiality. Everyone treats national events as if they are market stories and laughs at them.

Of course, having said that, it also shows from one side that people of this era really have the temperament to despise the world, and have a condescending attitude towards the surrounding strength.

Hiding and tucking is the behavior of a small country with few people, and it is not suitable for the Ming Empire.

Although the Tatars in the north were having a good time, the imperial court also paid great attention to it, fearing that the Mongol cavalry would go south again and rule the Han people again just like they did when they destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty.

But who are the people in the imperial court? Even before becoming an official, I had such worries. But after I became an official, I heard and saw more, and I probably understood that the strength of the Mongols has actually declined significantly.

Harassing the border of Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty really has nothing to do with them.

But if everyone really gathered their best soldiers and powerful generals to fight, the Ming Dynasty could kill them all with human lives.

After all, the Mongols only have such a large population, and they are already very powerful if they can gather an army of 20,000 to 30,000 at a time.

If Anda Khan really wants to gather more than 100,000 people to fight the Ming Dynasty, saying that the Ming Dynasty has a vast territory and it is difficult to mobilize people and horses, but the area of ​​the Mongolian Tatars is smaller?

The tribes mobilized their troops, and they had to travel thousands of miles. It was actually difficult for everyone, and they couldn't easily launch large-scale legion wars.

National war is really not that easy to fight.

As for other surrounding countries and powers, including the Yi people who came from afar, their firearms were indeed sharp, but the craftsmen of the Ming Dynasty were not bad either. After a few glances, they could make them according to the instructions.

In the eyes of Ming officials, what the barbarians relied on was actually matchlock guns and folang machines, and we also have those things.

But they didn't know that front-loaded cannons, also known as Hongyi cannons, had already appeared in Western firearms at this time, but the technology was not yet mature at this time and there was no mass production.

The small amount of equipment was naturally hidden and tucked away, so as not to be seen by the people of the Ming Dynasty.

As for why it is a cannon instead of a howitzer, the technology is just that way now, and the range and power of firearms are limited.

Equipment determines tactics. With the current development of weapons, the fancy work of future generations will not be possible.

The Ming Dynasty in this era left a deep impression on everyone who was familiar with him, that is, he had many soldiers, generals, and strong strength.

Perhaps, in their view, any force, as long as Ming Dynasty takes it seriously, will only push one way, and there will never be a second way.

The attitude of officials is similar to that of the people. They all look down on foreigners and think they are all barbarians.

This aspect of the officials of the Ming Dynasty is similar to the practice of the beautiful country in later generations. They like to show off any good things they have.

Whether you call him showing off or arrogant, if he dares to show off, others can only be envious and jealous, and then obediently wag their tails.

In everyone's eyes, the beautiful country is the world's big BOSS, the well-deserved boss.

But now, the capital of Ming Dynasty is in danger.

The information collected by Yin Shizhen was limited to the fact that the Ministry of War wanted Ji Town to bring back soldiers and horses, but the actual progress was not yet known.

"I'm afraid we won't be able to count on the troops at Shanhaiguan in a short time."

Wei Guangde said.

He only made a judgment based on the marching speed of the Ming army and the distance between the two places. If the Jizhen army set off from Santun Camp, the leading troops would be able to reach the outskirts of the capital in two or three days. At least they would have no problem reaching Sanhe.

According to the currently known information, the only way for the Tatars to break through the Great Wall from Miyun is south, passing through Shunyi and continuing south, with Beijing and Tongzhou on the left and right.

However, whether they are coming to the capital or Tongzhou, the Tatars must first be able to cross the rivers, Wenyu River and Chaobai River.

Everyone in the room knew that when Anda Khan's tens of thousands of troops approached the capital, they were unable to cross the river and had to withdraw from the border wall after reinforcements from various places arrived in the capital.

"At this moment, Xiyuan should also be discussing this matter."

Zhang Juzheng said.

In his eyes, the current situation is actually very simple. He just copied the situation more than ten years ago.

The soldiers in the capital camp were prepared and went to the city to prepare for defense. The capital was under martial law and idle personnel were prohibited from entering and exiting. Then they dispatched guard stations from Xuanda, Yansui, Shandong, Henan and other places to the capital to guard.

It should be noted that at this time, the capital city knew that there were tens of thousands of Tatars entering the customs, but the specific number was not known.

Because when the Tatars broke through the Qiangziling Great Wall, the Ming army only roughly estimated the number of men and horses to be around 10,000 based on the size. To avoid making mistakes, they directly reported tens of thousands of horses and set off alarm beacons.

At this time, the enemy situation known to the capital was actually similar to that when Anda Khan's personal commander's army came.

Tens of thousands of extremely ferocious Tatars entered the customs, so the court could not help but feel nervous.

Zhang Juzheng said everything he wanted to say. These measures were actually what he saw when he was in the capital, but he only came up with them recently when he recalled them and looked through the records of that year.

If nothing unexpected happens, Xiyuan will soon issue martial law in the capital and order the deployment of troops to surrounding military towns for rescue.

However, while the matter was being discussed in the capital, Sun Bin, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, was sitting on pins and needles in the General Military Mansion of Ji Town to the east.

A few days ago, he received an order from Yang Xuan, the governor of Jiliao, to dispatch elite troops eastward to assist Liaodong.

Now the troops are out, but the Tatars appear in Miyun.

Now the remaining men and horses of the Santun camp are mainly infantry, and most of the highly mobile cavalry have been dispatched. They can barely make up 2,000 people.

What can we do with so many people?

What's more, this time Tatar broke through the area he was responsible for defending. Even if Yang Xuan was involved, his responsibility was not small.

He had already scolded Yang Xuan's eighteenth generation of ancestors immediately after receiving the news about the war.

Sun Bin, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, was not the one who wrote "Sun Tzu's Art of War". According to later generations, he was just a dim-witted person who was promoted through connections and resume.

Because Yang Xuan was relatively rigid in doing things, it was definitely not possible for Yang Xuan to mobilize troops just by opening his mouth, so he had to give him an order before he could execute it.

However, what he has to consider now is not to use the warrant to shirk responsibility, but to think about how to deal with the Tatars entering the customs.

Staring at the map on the table, he was still thinking about what to do. He was also waiting for further news.

From where did the Tatars break through the wall? Are places like Gubeikou and Miyun still there?

The remaining soldiers and horses of Santun camp have begun to gather and prepare to set off. He will collect the surrounding cavalry. He will take them to Zunhua first, then Jizhou, and go straight to Sanhe, at least to station in the outer areas of the capital.

As for the remaining soldiers, they followed behind. The two-legged ones could not outrun the four-legged ones, and Sun Bin did not dare to move with them.

Against the Tatar cavalry, it is safer to stay with the cavalry.

"Bang."

There was a sound, the door was pushed open, and a general wearing Qianhu armor quickly entered the room, holding a bamboo tube in his hand.

"Commander, there is news from the city wall."

The Qianhu handed the bamboo tube in his hand to Sun Bin. Sun Bin quickly took it, opened it, took out the letter paper inside and read it.

"Modaoyu Qiangziling enters the pass."

While reading, he murmured in his mouth, then put down the letter and looked at the map to confirm the location.

"Send people up to the city wall. After the cavalry is assembled soon, I will take people to Zunhua first. If there is any news about Gubeikou, Miyun and other cities, just intercept it and send it to me."

Sun Bin ordered.

He had been waiting for the message from the city wall to confirm the Tatar breakthrough. Now he knew that the cavalry was about to follow him.

Tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry were not something that these two thousand men could resist.

However, no matter what, he must lead his troops to Sanhe first. As for whether to go to Tongzhou, it depends on the situation.

The remaining cavalry of the Ming Army in Santun Camp will set off with the commander-in-chief after receiving supplies. The infantry still needs to be prepared, but the dry food should be ready in the evening, or they can set off overnight and march towards Zunhua.

At least there is no danger along the way, even if you are smeared, you are not afraid.

The generals of Ji Town are naturally very familiar with the terrain here.

As long as the Tatars do not break through the General Pass, places like Malanyu and the areas east of Jizhou will be relatively safe and will not be afraid of being attacked by the Tatars.

It's just that Huairou and Shunyi to the south of Miyun will be more dangerous, and they are just flat. As for Pinggu and Sanhe counties, the Tatars may have them, but they are definitely not the main direction of the Tatars' attack, and they are relatively safe.

When the general soldiers of Jizhen set off with the remaining cavalry from the Santun camp, the imperial meeting in Xiyuan had also ended.

Emperor Jiajing's behavior this time was also very capable. He copied the response strategy of the Gengxu Incident. He imposed martial law in the capital and ordered soldiers and horses to be gathered in all towns.

Although he was calm on the surface, Emperor Jiajing didn't want the Tatars to actually attack Beijing. He had already lost people once, and he didn't want to lose him a second time.

In Prince Yu's Mansion, after the Xiyuan meeting ended and important ministers such as the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers left, the news naturally spread quickly among the government and the public.

"The Beijing camp went up to the city wall to prepare for defense, to supplement the troops on the piers around the capital, and to convey the enemy's situation."

At this time, Li Fang was reading the news from the Ministry of War. These were the current military deployments.

The current King Yu may have passed the time of fear, but now he seems to be very calm about the upcoming changes.

"The Ministry of War has cooperated with the cabinet to mobilize troops from Xuanfu, Datong, Taiyuan and Ningxia towns, as well as Henan and Shandong guards, with a total of 100,000 troops to serve the king."

That night, the palace was still locked on time, but no one from the government offices dared to leave their posts without permission, even those from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Punishment.

On the towers of the inner and outer cities, there were many more soldiers of the Ming Dynasty than in the past. The lights above and below the city were brightly lit. The officers and soldiers of the Beijing camp and the government officials had already patrolled the streets. Everywhere in the city were people who had fled into the capital.

The quality of the people around the capital of the Ming Dynasty is still very high. You can see the beacon smoke in the distance more than ten miles north of the city. In broad daylight, the news naturally spread throughout the city very quickly, even if the court wanted to block the news.

With the beacon smoke, the people naturally knew what to do. Of course, they quickly packed up their belongings and fled to the city for refuge.

After all, the capital is also at the feet of the emperor. In the eyes of the people, it is safe as long as you enter the city.

At night, Wei Guangde didn't rest either. Even though he was not in Prince Yu's Mansion due to such a big movement, he still felt uneasy.

Look at the time and think about the messenger sent by the Ministry of War. They should have passed Changping by now, and they should arrive in Yanqing in the early morning. They should send the news to Xuanfu later tomorrow. It will be another day in the evening in Datong. As for Taiyuan and Yansui, we won’t know until three or four days later.

The messenger from the Ministry of War carried the edict to mobilize troops, and naturally used the method of changing horses at the inn, which is the so-called eight hundred miles expedited delivery to the four towns to mobilize troops. This is the fastest delivery speed in this era.

However, Wei Guangde is most worried about Shunyi's safety at the moment.

He has been to several cities in the north of the capital before, and is naturally very familiar with the terrain there.

Now Wei Guangde wished that the Tatars were still besieging Miyun, and even went to Huairou, so that the Ming army could have time to mobilize troops.

There is Shunyi City blocking it in the north, and the capital is much safer.

However, when the news that Shunyi was besieged and the surrounding villages and towns were plundered by Tatars reached his ears early the next morning, his mentality changed.