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 Xunqi in this battle.
Its impact is far more profound than anyone imagined.
Needless to say, the resulting civil prosperity and military weakness caused by this. What is more important is that with the civil fortress as the dividing line, the Ming Dynasty's border confrontation changed from the offensive during the Taizu and Taizong period to a defensive one.
Even if there was Li Ting 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 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 generals escaping at these five passes are 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, in the past, a large army was sent out to win the battle. The imperial court had concentrated a total of 30,000 troops at each pass. Heavy troops were deployed at Juyongguan, Dushikou, Ma Ying, Longmen Guard and other places to prepare for reinforcements. As a result, all the passes were empty of troops.
There are also civil engineering matters ahead, so the guard will inevitably feel uneasy."
"On this occasion, we should increase troops at various passes. In addition to Juyong, Zijing, Dushi, Longmen and other strong cities, there are thirty-six border passes, large and small, and seven can pass through. 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 humans 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 have naturally done 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 times 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 guard against Wala and focus on attacking one of the passes.
Therefore, as the army went out to fight, 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 the five fortified cities of Zijing, Juyong, Dushi, Longmen, and Yongning. It was under the unified command of the Governor General 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 places with more people going 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 eagerness outside the pass, because they had robbed the Supreme Emperor, during this period, Ye Xian was more negotiating with the Ming Dynasty (robbery).
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 engaged in looting.
By the time the reinforcements arrived, they had already run away with the looted supplies.
At the same time, due to the redeployment of troops, many pass defenses were 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 at hand. If they were not careful, they would break through the passes, loot and set fire to them, and kill the soldiers and civilians.
Because of this, the garrison guards at the five locations abandoned the city and fled, risking being prosecuted by military law.
After Zhao Rong finished speaking, everyone thought for a moment, and then Yu Qian stood up and said.
"No, the 30,000-strong army led by Sun An was originally a reinforcement force. Yifang Ye first launched a large-scale attack on the city. 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, we will attack first with the main force. If the troops are scattered and it is difficult to mobilize quickly, 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, but it just broke out in a concentrated manner.
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, but in fact, after the Ming Dynasty divides their troops, they can 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 the desire to fight against the enemy. We cannot let these border generals rely on their lonesome courage to fight against a large number of people and have no choice but to sacrifice their lives for the country, right?"
Yu Qian took a step forward and raised his hands to the emperor.
"Your Majesty, Zijin, Dushi, Huailai, Longmen and other places are all important places, and unlike Xuanfu, the high-ranking generals in Datong City 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 troops led by Sun An cannot be moved lightly."
"As for the shortage of troops at the passes, the Ministry of War has urgently mobilized 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, you can order the fortress cities such as Zijin to gather the people at the passes for the time being. When the thieves come, they will stay away for the time being. When the army arrives, the urgent strength of the troops can be relieved."
This is the difference between civil servants and military officials. For Zhao Rong, he is more concerned about the people's hearts and minds of the generals, hoping to ensure the living environment of the 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 would not be able to survive.
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 definitely not the same.
Therefore, Yu Qian's meaning is very clear. The people can temporarily move to Zijing, Juyong and other fortified cities for temporary refuge.
As for the defenders, they 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.
"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."
"Speaking only of soldiers from southern Zhili and other places, who have been in the customs for a long time and cannot train well, and 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 tactics?"
"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 abandoned the city, which shows that the morale of the border soldiers 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 everywhere to boost the morale.
Stabilize morale and enable the generals to defend the city to the death."
This should be regarded as the first time since the Tumu Incident 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 Xun family standing behind him.
After giving in for so long, I finally got tough on this matter.
When two senior ministers, one civil and one military, had different opinions, it was natural for the emperor to decide.
So all the ministers turned their attention to the emperor who was thinking deeply...