Who is the culprit of the "Tumu Fort Incident"?

Who was the culprit of the Tumu Fort Incident?

Emperor Zhu Qizhen of the Ming Dynasty Yingzong was the sixth and eighth emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He was only 9 years old when he first ascended the throne. At the age of 18, power gradually fell into the hands of a eunuch named Wang Zhen. Wang Zhen was originally a scoundrel in Yuzhou, Shanxi Province. He was lazy and greedy. In order to live a good life, he entered the palace. The young eunuchs who studied were called Mr. Wang. When Yingzong was the crown prince, he served him closely. When Yingzong succeeded to the throne, he promoted Wang Zhen to the position of eunuch responsible for memorials. < /p>

In 1441, the three newly built halls in the palace were completed, and all the officials celebrated at the Yingzong banquet. The eunuchs were not qualified to participate in this banquet. Wang Zhen complained about this: "I am the current Duke of Zhou, why can't I." Attend the banquet?" Someone told Yingzong, and Yingzong actually ordered the Donghua Gate to be opened to welcome Wang Zhen. This shows Wang Zhen's status in Yingzong's mind.

The main foreign invasion of the Ming Dynasty at that time was still from the north. When the Mongolian tribes were trading on the border, they exchanged cattle and horses for tea and silk from Ming Dynasty merchants, but secretly purchased copper, iron and weapons at high prices. At that time, the Ming Dynasty strictly prohibited copper, iron and weapons. Wang Zhen, relying on the emperor's favor, secretly made a large number of swords and arrowheads in order to gain huge profits, smuggled them and exported them to Mongolia. He was secretly executed by Wang Zhen, so everyone in the officials was in danger. Wang Zhen and his followers were doing whatever they wanted.

In late 1449, they also obtained enough weapons from Wang Zhen. , divided his troops into four groups, and launched a large-scale invasion to the south. At this time, Yingzong was already in his 20s and could not listen to the words of the civil and military officials. They all opposed it. This was a child's play of personal conquest. It was too dangerous to send Yingzong who had no combat experience to the front line. Kuang Ye, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Yu Qian, the Minister of the Ministry of War, stood up resolutely to dissuade them. Wang Zhi, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, also led all officials to suffer. But for a few days, Yingzong didn't listen at all.

On July 16, 1449, Yingzong and Wang Zhen set off from Beijing with an army of 500,000 men. The British Duke Zhang Fu, Chen Guogong Zhu Yong, and the Minister of Household Affairs Wang Zuo Kuang Ye, Minister of War, and a large number of civil and military officials accompanied the army. When the army set out, it was dark, windy and rainy. Everyone knew that this was not a good sign and everyone was worried.

On July 19, the army left Yongguan on the 23rd. When they arrived at Xuanfu, it was windy and rainy for days, and the roads were muddy. Countless people and horses fell and were injured on the road. Many ministers petitioned to postpone the advance. Wang Zhen was furious and said: "The imperial court has been raising troops for a thousand days and using them for a while. How can it be that the imperial commander personally marches and there is no battle yet?" , Do you just want to retreat? Who dares to obstruct the military law enforcement?”

At the beginning of August, the army arrived in Datong, and military reports from various places came one after another. It was known that people from all walks of life in Waci had entered the Great Wall, and quickly Going south, the army's return route was in danger of being cut off. At this time, Wang was shocked and panicked, and decided to retreat. Guo Deng, the deputy general of Datong, suggested to Yingzong that the army had better retreat to the southeast and return to Beijing through Zijin Pass. It's safe. The retreat along this road passed through Wang Zhen's hometown, Yuzhou. Wang Zhen wanted to invite Yingzong to visit his hometown, so he agreed to this suggestion. However, after walking 40 miles, he was afraid that the crops in his field would be trampled by the army passing through Yuzhou, so he suddenly changed his mind and ordered to advance from the northeast, following the road he had taken when he came, heading straight to Xuanfu, and he was also afraid that the Waqi army would occupy it. From his hometown, he sent thousands of vehicles to Yuzhou to carry his family's belongings and march with the army. Along the way, he commanded hundreds of civil and military officials and hundreds of thousands of troops at will, just like driving animals. The entire army was extremely angry. During the march, There were complaints.

On August 10, the army arrived at Xuanfu, and the gas pursuers had already caught up. The Yingzong sent the imperial army to the obedient Marquis Wu Kezhong, and the commander Wu Keqin led the army to break up the rear. The Ming army was running back and forth for many days, exhausted and weak. , more than half were killed or injured. Wu Kezhong and Wu Keqin both died heroically in battle.

On August 13, the army retreated from Xuanfu to Tumubao. This was an important post station surrounded by high peaks and only a few three-room paths could pass by vehicles and horses. At this time, it was only more than 20 miles away from Huailai County. If the army arrived in Huailai, they could defend the city. Because Wang Zhen had more than 1,000 vehicles transporting property that had not yet arrived, he advocated setting up camp in Tumubao and waiting. All civil and military officials felt that it was very dangerous to camp here and hoped to rush to Huai Lai quickly, but they were afraid of Wang Zhen and did not dare to speak. 65-year-old Kuang Ye risked his life and ran to Yingzong to fight. When Wang Zhen scolded him: "What do you know about military affairs, you're a nerd? If you keep nagging you, I'll behead you immediately." Kuang Ye replied sternly: "Am I afraid of death if I speak for the country and the people?" Wang Zhen called the warriors to push Kuang Ye out of the door. , Kuang Ye was shaking with anger, and he and Wang Zuo and others were speechless in the tent, crying bitterly.

At dawn the next day, the horns were blaring, and the Wachi pursuers arrived and immediately surrounded the Ming army's garrison. The terrain of the earthen fort was very high, and the Ming army dug more than ten feet of ground without getting a drop of water. The military was in a state of panic. Although it was early autumn, the summer heat had not subsided. There was no drinking water for two days, and the troops and horses were hungry and thirsty. At that time, the Waci army only had more than 20,000 cavalry, while the Ming army had hundreds of thousands. So the cunning one also ordered the army to retreat temporarily, and sent envoys with letters to negotiate peace, luring the Ming army to leave their positions and engage in field battles. At this time, more than 1,000 vehicles loaded with property by Wang Zhen had arrived. He wanted to find an opportunity to break out, so he ordered the entire army to move south quickly.

He also first noticed that the Ming army had pulled out of camp, and remained silent for the time being. When all the Ming troops were marching on the mountain path and could not see each other, they suddenly launched an attack, shooting at the Ming army from all directions with strong bows and crossbows. Being beaten passively, the team was in chaos and ran away in all directions.

At this time, Yingzong's station was under siege, and the guards and eunuchs around him were hit by arrows one after another. These arrowheads were exactly what Wang Zhen had sold to Wa Ci at a high price. Yingzong was so frightened that his legs became weak and he sat on the ground shaking. , unable to say a word, looked at Wang Zhen. The guard general Fan Zhong gnashed his teeth with hatred, grabbed Wang Zhen and cursed: "You are a dog eunuch, all important national affairs are ruined in your hands, you can't run away, today I will eliminate harm for the people of the world.". Then he hit Wang Zhen on the head with a hammer, and there was a bang. Wang Zhen's head was shattered, and his brains and blood spattered on Yingzong's body. In the end, Fan Zhong died in battle and sacrificed his life for the country.

Wang Zhen pursued personal gain and regarded state affairs as child's play. A single eunuch, relying on the Yingzong's favor, pushed hundreds of civil and military officials and hundreds of thousands of Ming troops into a desperate situation. However, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Army at that time did not bring shame to the motherland. The ministers who accompanied the expedition, including British Duke Zhang Fu, Shangshu Wang Zuo, Kuang Ye, cabinet bachelor Cao Nai, minister Ding Xuan, deputy capital censor Deng Qi, and hundreds of others were all heroic Many of the people who died for their country were civil servants who had never experienced war, and some were already gray-haired old people. All of them held weapons and died on the battlefield. Only Yingzong, as the emperor, surrendered in front of the enemy. His legs were shaking with fear and he could no longer stand, so he had to be carried away by the Waci soldiers.

In this battle of Tumubao, there were only more than 20,000 Wachi troops. The 500,000 Ming army, under the command of Yingzong and Wang Zhen, was completely defeated. More than half of them were killed or injured, and more than 200,000 mules and horses were lost. , all the clothes, armor and baggage were taken away by the enemy. This is what history calls the "Tumu Fort Incident", and this painful lesson deserves to be remembered by future generations.