Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

Chapter 23: Thunderous Tactics!

Zhu You樘 was furious, his heart surging with murderous intent.

Huai En and Mou Bin were also in a difficult position, finding it hard to explain themselves.

In truth, it couldn't entirely be blamed on their inadequate supervision.

How long had they been in charge of the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Moreover, they had been dealing with affairs in the capital and hadn't had time to build an intelligence network covering the entire country.

The intelligence networks previously built by the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard had either been abandoned or infiltrated by civil officials and relatives of the emperor, making them temporarily unusable.

Most importantly, when the urgent report arrived in the capital, they were busy dealing with Zhou Dang and matters in the harem, and were indeed overwhelmed.

Wang Zhi, who had been waiting on the sidelines, volunteered.

"Your Majesty, now that the Tartars are about to reach the capital, I am willing to lead the Three Great Battalions of the capital to meet the enemy outside the city!"

"If I fail to repel the Tartars, I will offer my head in apology!"

The Three Great Battalions of the capital, namely the Five Armies Battalion, the Three Thousand Battalion, and the Divine Mechanism Battalion, were under the command of the Five Armies Governor-General's Office.

The Three Great Battalions of the capital, along with the Teng骧 Four Guards and the Three Thousand Feathered Forest Guards of the capital's Imperial Guard, formed the main force protecting the capital, both internally and externally.

Zhou Shou and Zhou Yu, who were previously executed by dismemberment, held positions in the Five Armies Governor-General's Office and had the authority to mobilize the capital's garrison troops.

They had even attempted to mobilize the capital's garrison troops to forcibly break into the Embroidered Uniform Guard's prison, but Mou Bin captured them in advance, and they deserved their deaths!

The Three Great Battalions of the capital were officially established during the Yongle era, and at their peak, they numbered as many as 700,000 men.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Three Great Battalions of the capital had considerable combat power.

However, in the Tumu Crisis, the main force was almost completely wiped out.

By the Hongzhi era, the number of troops in the Three Great Battalions of the capital had dwindled to less than 200,000.

Moreover, their combat effectiveness was uncertain.

Wang Zhi dared to lead the Three Great Battalions on an expedition, naturally having sufficient confidence.

During the Chenghua era, Wang Zhi had repeatedly patrolled the border towns, campaigned against the Haixi Jurchens, and pursued the Wala, repeatedly achieving military merits.

Zhu You樘 looked at Wang Zhi, feeling somewhat emotional.

"If it weren't for the timely intelligence from the Western Depot, I'm afraid I would have had to wait until the Tartars reached the capital before I knew about this."

Huai En and Mou Bin felt very uncomfortable after hearing this.

This Wang Zhi was truly terrifying.

In just a few days since the reopening of the Western Depot, he had not only investigated the officials who had retired in the capital but also rebuilt the Western Depot's intelligence network.

Now, he had become the most trusted confidant in Zhu You樘's eyes.

This made Huai En and Mou Bin very envious.

At the same time, they vowed in their hearts to work harder in the future.

So that Zhu You樘's attention could also fall more on them.

Huai En and Mou Bin originally thought that Zhu You樘 would naturally hand over the task of resisting the Tartars to Wang Zhi, but Zhu You樘 did not.

"Wang Zhi, I am very pleased that you have the determination to defend the city for me."

"But I have already decided on the candidate to resist the Tartars."

Zhu You樘 walked to the table and sat down, but found that the pen holder had been taken to smash Huai En.

"Huai En, bring me a pen!"

"Yes."

Huai En stood up and quickly picked up the pen, pen holder, and inkstone from the ground.

Then he walked to Zhu You樘's side, placed the pen holder next to him, and began to grind ink for him again.

"Wang Zhi, from which direction did the Tartars come?"

"Your Majesty, after the Tartar Prince entered Xuanfu, he feigned an attack on Gubeikou, and personally led the main force to sneak attack Huangyugou from Pigeon Cave, then followed the Xuanfu Great Wall towards the capital."

"Judging by the direction, they should go to Tumu Fort first, then to Miyun, attack Changping, and reach Tongzhou."

"Tumu Fort?"

Zhu You樘 sneered in anger: "Do these Tartars really think that my Great Ming has no one left?"

Zhu You樘 wielded his brush on the paper and quickly wrote a secret letter, handing it to Wang Zhi.

"Go, deliver this letter to a forbidden army commander named Gao Shun in Tongchang."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Tongchang was a military stronghold located between Tongzhou and Changping.

A forbidden army unit was stationed there all year round.

Wang Zhi took the letter, and although he had some doubts in his heart, he did not question Zhu You樘's decision.

He was just curious as to which forbidden army commander could gain Zhu You樘's trust so much.

That even such an important task as defending the capital was entrusted to him.

After Zhu You樘 made the deployment decision to defend the capital, he began to show his fangs to the officials of the capital.

"Mou Bin, Huai En, this is the only time, if there is a next time, I will skin you alive and pull out your tendons!"

"I will give you a chance to redeem yourselves, if you don't handle it well, I will hold you accountable!"

Mou Bin and Huai En were excited and grateful.

"Your subordinates thank Your Majesty for your grace! We will never fail to live up to Your Majesty's expectations!"

Zhu You樘 nodded in satisfaction, a cruel sneer appearing on the corner of his mouth.

Immediately, he issued orders to the leaders of the two Depots and one Guard.

"Wang Zhi, listen to my order, I order you to personally lead the Western Depot agents to bring Ma Wensheng back to me!"

"And send people to escort Ma Wensheng's entire family to the capital!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Mou Bin, listen to my order, I order you to set off immediately to capture Qiu Yue, and bring Qiu Yue's nine generations to me!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Huai En, listen to my order, I order you to immediately confiscate the homes of Wan An, Liu Xu, and Liu Ji, and do not let go of any of their descendants!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The three of them knelt down to receive their orders, and then Wang Zhi made a request.

"Your Majesty, Wan An's entire family has already been imprisoned by the Western Depot."

"Wan An has an old acquaintance with me, I ask Your Majesty to show mercy and reward Wan An to the Western Depot to handle."

Huai En was anxious!

Good you, Wang Zhi, the Western Depot has so many officials to handle, the Eastern Depot only got three people this time, and you still come to snatch people from us!

Do you really think the Eastern Depot's knives aren't sharp enough?

"Your Majesty, the Eastern Depot has failed in its duty to collect intelligence for Your Majesty in a timely manner."

"The Western Depot is busy with affairs, please let this old servant handle the three former Grand Secretaries, the Eastern Depot will definitely handle things beautifully!"

"Stop arguing!"

Zhu You樘 interrupted them.

"Since the Western Depot has already captured Wan An's family, then Wan An will be handed over to the Western Depot to handle."

"Don't be anxious now, there will be more opportunities to handle major cases in the future."

"All of you, step back."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Only after Zhu You樘 drove away the leaders of the two Depots and one Guard did he get a moment of peace.

Remembering the direction of the Tartars' attack, Zhu You樘 hated it so much that his teeth itched.

"These Tartars dare to go to Tumu Fort?"

"I will definitely make them go and never return!"

Due to certain well-known reasons, Tumu Fort has always been a disgrace to the emperors of the middle and late Ming Dynasty.

In the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong era, Esen Tayisi of the Wala led various tribes and invaded the interior in four routes.

One route was unimpeded, winning repeatedly in battles.

Emperor Yingzong decided to personally lead the expedition.

As a result, when he reached Tumu Fort, he encountered the Wala forces.

The Wala captured Emperor Yingzong alive and took him back to the grasslands.

Thus, Emperor Yingzong was given the nicknames of Great Ming War God, Ming Baozong, and Wala International Student.

But in fact, the Tumu Crisis was not a military defeat, but a mutiny.

There is a most important question, why did Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen personally lead the expedition?

This is definitely not because Emperor Yingzong was fond of boasting,昏庸荒淫, and favored eunuchs.

But because Emperor Yingzong wanted to seize power and settle accounts!