Tumou's change is the biggest war in the early stage of the Ming Dynasty . Hundreds of thousands of troops were destroyed when facing the Mongolian Wala army. The emperor's commander-in-chief Ming Yingzong Zhu Qizhen was also captured. After the war, the Ming Dynasty's national strength fell sharply, losing its military control over the northern grasslands. Even the capital Beijing was in danger under the iron hooves of the Mongols. If it weren't for Yu Qian 's opposition and mobilizing the remaining military forces of the Ming Dynasty to win the Battle of Beijing, the Ming Dynasty would have very likely had a chaotic situation in the north and south Song dynasties. At that time, the Ming Dynasty regarded the change of Tumubao as a national humiliation. After the war, many civil and military officials and generals proposed to revive the army, but they never made it happen. Especially in the third year of Jingtai , the proposal of the Northern Expedition put forward by border general Yang Jun was rejected by Yu Qian, which ruined the Ming Dynasty's dream of revenge.
Yu Qian was the first hero in the Beijing defense war. If he had not opposed the opposition to move the capital to Nanjing and firmly presided over the Beijing defense war, I am afraid that the Mongolian Wala army would take advantage of the momentum of the victory of Tumu Fort and annexed a large area of land north of the Yellow River in the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop. Therefore, the historical evaluation of Qian is very high. Whether in the history of the Ming Dynasty or in the history books of the Twenty-Four Histories of China, Yu Qian was ranked first among civil officials. What Yu Qian admires most is neither excellent ability to govern the country nor noble moral sentiments, but the ability and courage to turn the tide when Beijing is at its most critical moment. From the decision-making process of the Beijing Defense War, it can be seen that Yu Qian puts the interests of the Ming Dynasty first and is a famous official who is not afraid of war and is both civil and military.
However, what is unexpected is that during the Jingtai period, Yu Qian became the biggest obstacle. At that time, Zhu Qizhen's younger brother, Zhu Qiyu, was the emperor, and the military and political power of the court was handed over to Yu Qian. Zhu Qizhen, who was welcomed from Wala, could only stay in the Nangong and be the Supreme Emperor and could not interfere in the government affairs of the court. After the Ming Dynasty welcomed Zhu Qizhen, the court launched a series of reform measures and began to restore the national strength that had been lost in the war. The most important of these measures is to revitalize Beijing's defense and the arms along the Great Wall of Ming Dynasty, solve the problems of corruption and lack of military equipment in the army, and strengthen the defense of the Mongolian Oirat. By the third year of Jingtai, these military rectifications were basically completed, and calls for revenge in the court and the public.
There are many civil and military officials who made these calls, some were old ministers in the era of Emperor Yingzong of Ming Dynasty Zhu Qizhen, and some were generals on the northern border of the Ming Dynasty. They regarded the change of Tumu Fort as a national humiliation and hoped that the court would send troops to the north to attack the Oirat to avenge the shame. At the same time, there were also changes in the Oirat in Mongolia. The Oirat Grand Tutor Yesen, who led Mongolian government affairs, and the Mongolian Khan Tutubuhua fought internally. The two sides raised troops to attack each other, which also brought the best opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to take advantage of the situation. Many civil and military ministers believed that this was the best opportunity to avenge the shame of the Ming Dynasty. At this time, we will surely be able to send troops to the north to attack Mongolia, and we will definitely be able to gain the benefits of fishermen, to eliminate the Mongolian tribes that have shown momentum of revival in one fell swoop, and to completely solve the major problems on the northern border. However, facing such a once-in-a-lifetime fighter opportunity, Yu Qian, the Minister of War who held the military power of the Ming Dynasty, expressed his opposition.
At that time, there were many ministers who wrote to the court to propose the Northern Expedition, including Nie Zhong, the small banner of the Jinyiwei, and Yang Jun, the guerrilla general. Nie Zhong was even willing to send his family to the prison of the Censorate and personally led his army to the northern expedition to Mongolia. Yang Jun wrote a letter to Yu Qian through formal channels, requesting to take advantage of the internal strife in Mongolia to attack his nest and eliminate the great troubles of Mongolia in one fell swoop. Such a call was widely supported by the government and the public, on the one hand because Tumu Fort became the national humiliation in the hearts of the Ming people, and on the other hand because Zhu Qizhen's capture completely ignited the hatred between the Ming people and the Mongols. However, Yu Qian, who has always been a pro-war faction, expressed his opposition and rejected Yang Jun's letter of the Northern Expedition, which was really unexpected.
Many history enthusiasts in later generations were very puzzled by this history, because this attitude was completely opposite to Yu Qian's strong attitude towards the main battle before the Battle of Beijing. At that time, Beijing was in a precarious state. Most civil and military officials in the court asked to move south to Nanjing, and some even arranged for their families to flee south in advance.In such a critical situation, Yu Qian resisted the opposition and chose to fight the Mongolian army with Yesian based on Beijing City , which was really a fearless courage. Therefore, no one would think that Yu Qian was a villain who was afraid of the battle, and they all thought that he would support the call of the Northern Expedition of the government and the opposition. However, after Yang Jun wrote the letter, he did not receive Yu Qian's support. Instead, he was rejected by the Ministry of War led by Yu Qian, which made people very confused, which also caused a lot of discussion in the court and the public.
No one thinks Yu Qian will be afraid to fight, but in fact Yu Qian is not a cowardly person. Some people believe that the corruption problem of the Ming Dynasty's army was not completely solved, and it was not the time to attack Mongolia, so they could only hide their strength and maintain a low profile. Some people also believe that when the Ming Dynasty welcomed Zhu Qizhen back, he signed a contract first. The rash sending troops to the Northern Expedition was to tear up the contract, which would damage the Ming Dynasty's appearance. Judging from historical records, these statements are actually untenable. In fact, Yu Qian had already proposed the idea of the Northern Expedition long before Yang Jun and Nie Zhong wrote the letter, but it was not discussed and approved in the court. Since Yu Qian, who was the Minister of War at that time, took the initiative to propose it, this shows that Yu Qian believed that the Ming army had the combat effectiveness of attacking the grassland and the northern expedition to Mongolia after the reform of the military system.
Yu Qian chose to propose the Northern Expedition at this time, which also considered the opportunity brought by the internal strife in Mongolia, and Yesen and Tutuobuhua fought each other. Such an opportunity is once a lifetime, and it is the best time for the Ming Dynasty to re-control the Mongolian grassland after Yongle years. As for the contract Yesen signed with the Ming Dynasty, it actually did not fall within the scope of Qian's consideration. Although Yu Qian was a civil servant and a master of Confucianism, he was not a pedantic literati. His ability to defeat the Beijing defense battle against all odds fully demonstrates his great wisdom and courage. The contract with Yesen was to welcome Zhu Qizhen's needs, and Yu Qian knew that Yesen agreed to a settlement was to free up his hands to deal with Tutuobuhua. At that time, both sides were considered to have their own needs, and there was no problem with the face of the Celestial Empire.
From the perspective of the fighter jet, Yang Jun, Nie Zhong and Yu Qian coincided with each other. Nie Zhong is the Jinyiwei who is responsible for Mongolia's grassland intelligence and is very familiar with the changes in the internal situation in Mongolia. Before the Tumu Fort Incident, Mongolia invaded the Ming Dynasty, and the Mongolian Taishi Yesen led the joint attack of the Mongolian Khan Tutubuhua. At that time, the Ola tribe was the most powerful among the Mongolian tribes. Although Tutuobuhua was a great knight, he had to obey Yesen. After the Beijing Defense War, the Oirat tribe was severely injured under the city of Beijing. Tuotuobuhua took the opportunity to win over tribes such as Tatars and 2 against the Oirat, and raised an army to fight for the rule of Mongolia with Yesen. Yang Jun was a guerrilla general responsible for patrolling Zhuchengs of Zhen, Bao, Zhuo and Yi. He was very familiar with the military changes in Outer Mongolia and believed that this was a good opportunity for the Ming Dynasty to make profits.
From the historical records, Yu Qian first proposed the idea of the Northern Expedition, which was not approved during the discussion of the imperial court cabinet . After Yang Jun and Nie Zhong wrote to the Ministry of War, Yu Qian knew that it would not be accepted if he submitted it to the cabinet again, so he simply rejected it directly. Judging from this process, the resistance of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition at that time was not actually in Qian and the Ministry of War, but in the imperial cabinet. Based on the political situation of the court at that time, it can be found that although Yu Qian was the minister who controlled the military and political power of the court, he was constrained in many places. As the chief hero of the Beijing Defense War, he supported the first person to take over the Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhu Qiyu, but failed to enter the cabinet, which shows that he was still suspicious of the emperor. This situation is also called one of the factors that prevented him from proposing the Northern Expedition proposal.
Considering all aspects of factors, the Ming Dynasty cabinet did not pass the Northern Expedition proposal at that time, and there may be the following aspects. First of all, Yu Qian was the Minister of War, which became a natural obstacle to the Northern Expedition. It is not that Yu Qian hindered the Northern Expedition, but that Yu Qian's identity and achievements made Zhu Qiyu suspicious and made the court ministers jealous. As mentioned in the previous article, although Zhu Qiyu was supported by Yu Qian and gave Yu Qian the greatest power in the court, he was not at ease with Yu Qian. He was afraid that Yu Qian would become a powerful minister, so he prevented Yu Qian from entering the cabinet. Yu Qian's great achievements shocked the lord and made many ministers of the court jealous, so he fell into the whirlpool of political struggle. If the Northern Expedition is carried out.Zhu Qiyu and the ministers would suspect that Yu Qian took the opportunity to seize power, and that they would not take the initiative to launch a war when the Ming Dynasty was not threatened by Mongolia.
Secondly, Zhu Qiyu's mind was not on revenge at the Northern Expedition, but on competing with Zhu Qizhen for the dominance of the crown prince. After Zhu Qiyu ascended the throne, the crown prince was not his son, but Zhu Qizhen's eldest son Zhu Jianshen . Zhu Qiyu always wanted his son Zhu Jianji to be the crown prince, but he was opposed by most court ministers. The third year of Jingtai was a time of fierce political struggle, and the two sides fought a tug-of-war for the position of crown prince. If the Northern Expedition occurred, the court would focus on the Northern Expedition, and the matter of the crown prince would be left unresolved. Zhu Qiyu didn't want to make a wedding dress for Zhu Qizhen, so he tried to abolish Zhu Jianshen and changed Zhu Jianji to the crown prince. So he would not allow the court to change his plan for major events, which would naturally hinder the Northern Expedition plan.
The third factor was that the Ministry of War did not come up with the candidates for generals who could lead the army to fight. Due to the Tumu Fort Incident, most of the elite soldiers and generals of the Ming Dynasty were destroyed in the war, so some of the Ming Dynasty lacked commanding generals. Although a group of generals such as Shi Heng and Yang Hong emerged in the Battle of Beijing, they were not enough to become the commander of the Northern Expedition Army. Yang Jun, who proposed the Northern Expedition, was just a guerrilla general, and Nie Zhong was just a small flag of the Jinyiwei, and neither of them was a general. Especially Yang Jun, in the war before the Tumu Fort Incident, he faced the Mongolian army and lost eleven cities including Dushi Yongning, which forced Zhu Qizhen to change the route to Tumu Fort, and eventually the entire army was destroyed. Therefore, the court distrusts the military generals and others very much, and needs to use civil officials who know the military to lead the army.
In the Zhu Qiyu court at that time, there were only two civil officials who knew the military, one was Yu Qian and the other was Wang Ji , but neither Zhu Qiyu dared to use it. Zhu Qiyu wanted to prevent Yu Qian from becoming a powerful minister, but at the same time, he could not do without Yu Qian guarding Beijing. Although Zhu Qizhen became the Supreme Emperor, there were still many old ministers who hoped that he could restore the throne. Once Yu Qian leaves Beijing, Zhu Qizhen’s old ministers engage in a conspiracy to restore the rebellion, Zhu Qiyu is likely to be demoted. Wang Ji himself was one of the most important generals in the army that Zhu Qizhen relied on. During the Zhengtong period, he entrusted Zhu Qizhen with important tasks and served as the commander of the expedition and confrontation three times. If Wang Ji was allowed to be the commander of the Northern Expedition to Mongolia, Zhu Qiyu would be worried that Wang Ji would take the opportunity to control the military power, and would even rebel and besiege Beijing.
Therefore, under these political considerations, Zhu Qiyu's first idea was to hold the throne firmly and gradually expel the old ministers left by Zhu Qizhen in the court, rather than considering the Northern Expedition to Mongolia to take revenge. In fact, for Zhu Qiyu, the Mongolians not only had no hatred for him, but also had kindness. If Yesen's army had not defeated Zhu Qizhen at Tumu Fort, Zhu Qiyu would have no chance to become emperor at all.
It is precisely for personal political interests that Zhu Qiyu will keep the throne of the emperor and put his son as the crown prince first. After Yu Qian proposed the Northern Expedition to be stopped by the cabinet, he could see Zhu Qiyu's thoughts. Although Yang Jun and others proposed the Northern Expedition proposal and the Mongolian grasslands also brought good opportunities due to the internal strife between Yesen and Tutuobuhua, Yu Qian had to shelve the suggestions of the Northern Expedition, considering various political reasons.
