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.
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"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 the 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. The Mongols were marked with blue arrows and the Ming army was marked with red.
This way of working on the map made Zhang Shize's eyes light up. It turned out that the battle of Tumu Fort could be replayed 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, met Oala at Mao'erzhuang (today's northern area of Yanggao County, Shanxi). He was quickly defeated and died in battle." Zhang Shize instructed on the map.
Yang Fan immediately drew the marching routes of the two armies, using a cross to represent the battlefield. He then 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, Song Ying, the Marquis of Xining, Zhu Mian, the Bo of Wu Jin, and Shi Heng, the left-hand general, 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
Mian died in battle, Shi Heng fled back to Datong City on horseback, and Guo Jing escaped by hiding in the grass."
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 for two days. We just set off."
Zhang Shize shrugged and said that was how he set out.
Yang Fan is also a loser. How can 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 6 Hou Boxun nobles, of whom 1 had never been on the battlefield, which was more than half. 18 of them were from the Yingzong.
A total of 14 people died in this battle, including 8 who had never been on the battlefield. This shows how poor the military quality of this self-conscripted 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, and are greedy and incompetent soldiers. Once a war begins, they become mediocre and ignorant."
"Most of those who have never been on the battlefield are the "Second Generation" and "The Third Generation", 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 influence 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."
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"Actually, if the emperor brings two other people with him, even if Tumubao is defeated, at least the whole army will be able to 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 3,790 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 10 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 the marching route of Yingzong. Then he asked: "I heard that they could not find the Mongols near Datong. Later, the eunuch Ning Xi said that he had received information that the Wala people had set up an ambush under Datong City.
, prepare to ambush the army and encourage 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 come
He trampled their seedlings and asked to return to Datong. He took the same route from Juyongguan back to Beijing. As a result, he was overtaken by 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 secret."
"These are all attempts to bury Wang Zhen. In your words, Wang Zhen is the scapegoat of 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, from Datong to Yu County, to Zijingguan and into the interior.
Correct. The road is wide and easy to walk, and the distance is relatively short."
"It's not like the road we are taking is a mountain road. It is winding and narrow and 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?"