Chapter 881
Retreat
Chapter 881 Retreat
Before Chen Huai called for the camp, Esen had never doubted Arazhiyuan.
Since the expedition began, Arazhiyuan has not only obeyed orders but also repeatedly performed outstanding feats. He did not think that Arazhiyuan would ruin his important plans.
But... if he is still loyal to Toghtogbuhua, then it's hard to say.
Esen asked his confidants, "Who is Toghtog Bukhari's greatest enemy?"
The confidant replied, "Of course it is Your Majesty, Great Khan."
Esen seemed to be deep in thought: "So if they are allies, the person they most want to get rid of is me. They want to use someone else to do their dirty work."
"But that birdman was wearing Oirat tribe clothes and their badge, isn't that blatantly telling us that they were the ones who did the killing?"
“Look, even you suspect that someone is framing Arazhiyuan because of his attire. What if they are trying to do the opposite?”
Unable to refute the confidant's argument, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "Unfortunately, there's no evidence..."
Yesen pondered for a moment and said, "Send someone to keep an eye on Arazhiyuan's movements. That bird is most likely from the Mingying Sect. Arazhiyuan is close to the Mingying Sect, so they might have some contact recently."
They were indeed in contact. Pan Yun took out a letter tube representing the Mingying Sect, and after Xue Shao copied the handwriting on it to write a letter, he hung the letter and the waist tag back on the claw of an eagle.
Eagles are large and can carry heavy loads. Moreover, using an eagle to deliver a message, traveling 600 li at night is no problem.
Judging from the contents of the letter, the Mingying Sect had also received news that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had been shot and killed by the birdmen. This letter was written specifically to inquire about the situation and to distance themselves from the matter.
Pan Yun: "He wrote letters to Arazhiyuan and Sonam Gyaltsen to distance himself from the situation, but didn't take the initiative to explain himself to the Ming court. It seems that Mingyingzong values the Oirat more."
Xue Shao: "The Mingying Sect is outside the pass, and Esen's cavalry can get close in an instant, so they are naturally more afraid of Esen."
Pan Yun snorted, pinched the eagle, walked to the window, flicked his lips, and threatened, "Behave yourself, obediently deliver the letter, then come back to me. If you continue to work for the Mingying Sect, I'll roast you!"
The eagle gave her a mournful look, flapped its wings with difficulty, and that was its way of agreeing.
Pan Jun then released it.
The eagle flew to the Oirat camp, circled several times in the air, and finally saw the sign. With a whoosh, it lowered its wings and flew down.
Arachiin was astonished to see the token hanging on the eagle's leg. He reached out and caught the eagle before quickly opening the letter tube.
He had just taken out the letter and hadn't even had a chance to open it when the tent flap was flung open, and Boronahal rushed in with a group of soldiers.
The soldiers guarding the door were unable to stop them in time and were pushed to the ground.
Boronahal was Esen's eldest son.
Arachiin's heart skipped a beat. For some reason, he suddenly felt guilty and subconsciously crumpled the letter in his hand and threw it directly into the brazier next to him.
A soldier burst in and lunged forward, snatching half a letter...
Arachiin was furious: "Boronahal, what do you want to do?"
Boronahal was equally furious: "Arachiin, what are you holding in your hand?"
Arachi gripped the waist token in his hand tightly and said in a deep voice, "This is the waist token of my tribe. Everyone has one. But you guys dared to force your way into my camp without authorization. What do you want?"
The letter was half burned, and only fragments of text could be seen, but that was enough to surprise the soldiers.
He immediately handed the letter to Boronahalle.
Upon seeing the remaining words, Boronahal sneered, "I knew you were acting suspiciously, always advocating for a retreat. So it turns out you were the one who killed the Ming Emperor!"
Arachiin's expression changed completely. He realized he had fallen into a trap, but he didn't know who was behind it.
Boronahal was furious and shouted, "Come with me to see the Great Khan. You must give the Great Khan an explanation for this matter."
Arazhiyuan's eyes flashed, and he roared, "The Khan is still in Dadu, where did this Khan come from?" Without hesitation, Arazhiyuan turned and drew his sword from the table, charging directly at Boronahal...
At dusk, the scouts reported that strange lights were seen in the Oirat camp, and there was also a commotion, as if an internal conflict had broken out.
Upon hearing this, Yu Qian was slightly surprised: "Sowing discord is that effective?"
Chen Huai touched his neck and said hoarsely, "Should I go and call again tomorrow?"
Yu Qian glanced at him and sent out a large number of scouts to continue probing: "You should prepare for an ambush."
On the night of September 26th, the tenth year of the Zhengtong reign, a mutiny broke out of the Oirat camp. Oirat general Arazhiyuan led his tribal soldiers out of the camp, and Esen sent 8,000 troops to pursue them.
While the main camp was in chaos, Yu Qian ordered Chen Huai, Zhu Mian and others to charge into the camp, causing great chaos in the Oirat army camp, and Esen decided to withdraw his troops.
Heading east, they decided to join forces with the central army.
Yang Hong also brought good news: the Oirat army in the central route had been defeated and had retreated.
At Yu Qian's instruction, Zhu Qiyu immediately ordered Yang Hong to wipe out all remaining Oirat troops and not to pursue them further.
Although they desperately wanted to kill Esen, and even wanted to fight their way to the Oirat stronghold, they couldn't do it at the moment.
The Ming Dynasty's cavalry was far inferior to that of the Oirat Mongols; their army was better suited for defending cities.
The muskets were relatively lightweight, but the cannons, which played a crucial role in this counterattack, were too heavy and difficult to move.
A firearms formation can succeed once, but it is very difficult to succeed a second time.
Yu Qian was well aware of this.
Moreover, after news of the emperor's death spread, the rebellion in Fujian intensified, and various forces and countries in the southwest border region also took the opportunity to rise up. Wang Ji was completely tied down, and they had to return to the capital immediately to support the Prince of Cheng's ascension to the throne in order to bring peace to the country.
Therefore, they cannot pursue them.
It's simply a matter of recapturing the defensive lines and re-establishing a defense strategy.
For the latter, the court officials could only offer suggestions; the actual implementation depended on the local garrison commander.
Guo Deng's death in battle was actually a good thing. The Prince of Cheng did not pursue his family for concealing military intelligence, but he also did not reward them. However, this left the position of General of Datong vacant.
The Prince of Cheng was troubled, unsure of who to appoint to take over the reins.
The court officials all suggested Chen Huai, and Yu Qian also felt that Chen Huai was suitable.
Prince Cheng subconsciously looked at Pan Yun.
Pan Yun raised her eyes and glanced at him lightly. The Prince of Cheng then put the matter aside and asked her after everyone had left, "Grand Preceptor, is there anything wrong with Chen Huai?"
"Among the military generals around the late emperor, aside from the Duke of Ying, only Fan Zhong and Wang Ji possessed both martial prowess and moral integrity. Originally, Jing Yuan could also be used, but he was a son-in-law of the emperor," Pan Yun said. "I remember when Chen Huailiu was stationed in Sichuan, he was impeached more than once for encroaching on military farmland, being arrogant and lawless, and was even demoted for it."
If a military officer is impeached for other offenses, there might still be room for defense. However, if a military officer is impeached for embezzling military farmland, then the censor must have solid evidence to make such an impeachment.
The fact that he was demoted for this shows that it was true, and given Chen Huai's rank and official position, he probably seized quite a lot of farmland.
Pan Yun said, "Our Ming Dynasty's cavalry is no match for the Oirats, but when the Yongle Emperor was alive, we were able to sweep across the southern and northern deserts. How come we have been defeated so badly in just over twenty years, and we almost had to exhaust all our troops to barely win?"
She said in a deep voice, "Rome wasn't built in a day. The failure of the personal expedition is not solely the responsibility of Wang Zhen and the late emperor."
This means that the Ming Dynasty's army had problems long ago.
(End of this chapter)