October 16, 1449, One Thumb, Ancona
“If you could go back to Chin, would you?” Amric inquired.
Chen considered the question for a very long moment before replying, “If you had asked me this question seven years ago, before the siege of Belgrade, I would probably have said yes.
Since Belgrade, things have changed. The bonds of brotherhood we have established with the Free Company in our many campaigns are something that cannot be easily broken. Secondly, many of us have settled down in Ancona. I for one have married a most wonderful lady.”
“With a baby on the way as well.” Amric cut in with a wide grin.
“That too.” Chen nodded with a grin of his own. “No, as far my band of Chin is concerned, the Free Company is our home now and it’s very unlikely we will return home.
That does not mean however that we do not miss home, especially on an occasion like this. I really miss walking along Chang’An Jie during festive periods. I have a good friend back in China. He is an Imperial Guard just like me. His name is Li Tie and he loves occasions like this. I can bet a month’s salary at this very moment he is walking down that street enjoying the good food, gambling, maybe even making friends with a young unmarried lady….”
Angry noises erupted from inside One-Thumb. Chen listened for a moment before sighing, "Amric, looked like my nephew had found some reason to disagree with your son Alaric again."
The sound of a mug smashing against the floor bought a wince to Amric's face," Indeed. I suggest we go in and sort things out before things get out of hand."
The sound of another mug smashing against a table quickly brought the two veterans on their feet as they hurried into the tavern.
October 16, 1449,Tumu Fortress, 40km north of the Great Wall, China
At that moment, Li Tie was definitely not walking the streets of Beijing. Rather, he was trapped inside a remote fortress, forty kilometers north of the Great Wall.
Li Tie, Commander of the Ming Imperial Guards, stood on the walls of Tumu and took a deep breath. The stench of the dead filled the air. The dead lay on the field in front of Tumu Fortress, their corpses feeding the thousands of birds that had landed on the fields.
He shook his head in disgust as he witnessed the birds feeding on the dead. It was a dishonor, he thought. They should be given a proper burial, not this! But yet any attempt to leave the walls of the fortress would be met with a volley of arrows and hence the dead were left alone to slowly rot.
A boy walked up to Li with a bucket of water. Nodding his thanks, Li slowly removed his helm and washed his soot filled face in the cool water. A moment later, as he dried his face, he took a long look at the Chinese soldiers manning the walls of the fortress. Behind the safety of the walls, thousands of wounded soldiers lie on the cold floor of the courtyards. Despair and hopelessness filled the faces of all the soldiers he could see. Shaking his head once more, Li thought sadly, how could things have come to this?
It all started in the spring of 1449 when Esen Tayishi, Khan of the Oirats Mongols tribe launched a sudden attack on China. Totally unprepared for the attack for it had been some years since the Ming Dynasty had went to war, the Imperial Court had advised the Emperor to hold off the Mongols at the Great Wall. However, Chief Eunuch Wang Zhen who had great influence over the Emperor for he was the Emperor’s childhood tutor, argued that it was a cowardly and disgraceful act to hide behind the safety of the Great Wall. Finally Wang Zhen succeeded in persuading the Emperor to lead an army to repulse the Mongol invaders. Wang Zhen himself commanded the army even though he had no military experience.
A week later, an army of 100,000 troops marched northwards to engage the Mongols. It was a disaster. The Chinese troops were woefully unprepared for war, many of them lacking proper training compared to the battle hardened Mongols. The Ming Armies met the 20, 000 strong Mongol army at Da Tong. Using the terrain and their superior fighting skills to their advantage, the smaller Mongol army defeated the much larger Ming army and only the brave rear guard action of the Ming Imperial Guards, elite troops of the Ming army, had prevented it from becoming a rout.
The defeated Ming Army made their way south towards the safety of the Great Wall, but for some reason which Li could not fathom, Wang decided to halt the army and make camp at the abandoned Tumu Fortress instead.
Li clenched his fist. 40 kilometers, that’s how far they were from the safety of the Great Wall. Instead they were now surrounded by the Mongols in a small fortress just a few days away from the Great Wall.
“Incoming!”
Li dived for cover as projectiles launched from Mongols catapults rained down on the fortress. One of the fired projectiles landed beside Li and his eyes widened when he realized that it was a human head. Swallowing hard, he turned the head around to look at his features. His blood turned cold. It was the face of a Chinese soldier, a soldier who had been part of a group of soldiers who had broken out of the fortress a few days earlier in an attempt to call for reinforcements.
All over the fortress, groans and cries of despair could be heard as the implications sank in. The call for help had failed. No help would be coming. Even as the thought ran through his mind, Li shook he head fiercely. It is not over, it is never over until I lie dead on the battlefield. Putting back on his helm, he walked around the fortress, assuring soldiers that all is not lost and that they can still survive.
An hour later, a eunuch approached Li,” Commander Li, the Chief Eunach would like to see all the military commanders.” Li nodded, gave one last assuring smile to the soldier he was talking to and made his way to the make shift war room.
Most of the military commanders had already arrived when he stepped in. He made his way in and greeted Wang Zhen, chief eunuch and commander-in-chief of this campaign.
“Good to have you with us, commander. You arrived just in time to hear my plan for the breakout.” Said Wang Zhen.
Breakout? Li glanced at his fellow commanders. All had the same confused look on their faces as he did. Wang Zhen allowed a moment for the commanders to resettle before he laid out his plan.
“The Mongols expects us to sit here and wait for reinforcements to come relieve us. So we shall do the unexpected. At dawn tomorrow, our forces will break out from every gate in the fortress and hit the Mongols in every direction. With the element of surprise and a three to one advantage in numbers, we can win this battle and drive the Oirat Mongols back where they belong!” Wang Zhen finished with a flourish and looked up expectantly at the commanders.
Li was stunned. This was a plan? Wang Zhen must surely be dreaming if he expects to gain the element of surprise. And a three to one advantage, that’s even more laughable. Of the 100 000 soldiers that started out on the campaign, nearly half were dead and many in the remaining half were wounded and incapable of fighting.
Before he or any of the other commanders could disagree, Wang Zhen pulled out a yellow silk parchment from his robe. It was a Royal Edict. Seeing the Royal Edict was equivalent to seeing the Emperor. Every commander in the room went down on his knees.
Wang Zhen announced, “This is a Royal Edict from the Emperor, giving his approval to my plan and that all commanders are to follow my instructions as if it comes from the Emperor himself.”
“As the Emperor wills it!” Every commander on his knees intoned, Li included though he could only feel the cold chill of fear in his bones. He could feel disaster about to strike tomorrow on the battlefield and there was nothing he could do since the Emperor had already approved of Wang Zhen’s plan.
Wang Zhen beamed with delight,” Good good. Now get up on your feet and return to your men. Your troop assignments will be ready within the hour.” As the commanders filed out, Wang Zhen smiled to himself. If all goes well the next day, he could still steal victory from the jaws of defeat.
After the crushing defeat by the Oirats at Da Tong, Wang needed a victory to redeem his honour. Retreating to the Great Wall would preserve the strength of the Army but do nothing to make up for his earlier error. Instead, it will only prove that he was wrong and that the Emperor should have listen to his other commanders and hold the line at the Great Wall. Such a loss of face was unthinkable, not to mention the potential loss in political power. Somehow he must make up for it and victory over the Mongols at Tumu was the perfect solution. His smile grew wider as he finished up the various commanders assignment, this might yet be his finest hour…
STOP! COOKIE TIME