Chen Biao did not tell anyone except Zhu Yuanzhang and Xu Da that he thought Kuyuk Timur would attack.
Beiping was full of Yuan Dynasty spies, so Chen Biao didn't need to tell anyone about his prediction. He just ordered the military and civilians to make war preparations, repair the city walls with cement, and be ready to defend the city at any time.
The walls of Dadu were strong, and Kuyuk Timur's surprise attack made it impossible to build large siege equipment in a short period of time, so they could only cut down trees to make siege vehicles.
Chen Biao considered whether to cut down all the trees near Peking, then he smiled and felt that it was unnecessary.
Kuyuk Timur's surprise attack was based on two reasons: first, the information gap caught him off guard; second, there was an insider inside Dadu, which might cause chaos in the city, and someone might even sneak open the city gates; third, none of the generals guarding Peking were there, and Kuyuk Timur thought that he was just a child and might not be able to integrate the army in a short time, so the Ming army's combat effectiveness was extremely low.
Chen Biao said that what Kuyuk Timur said was all right.
Chen Biao summoned the guards and pulled out a "necklace" of tokens strung together with a rope from his arms.
He went to Haozhou to pay homage to his ancestors, and Zhu Yuanzhang... Emperor Hongwu gave him half a tiger talisman. He returned to Yingtian and then to Peking, never returning the half. Emperor Hongwu told him to keep it, just in case.
So there was half a tiger talisman hanging in the middle of his "necklace", and five tokens on each side of the tiger talisman that read "The King is here in person, for Chen Biao's exclusive use."
"The army is under my command, is that okay with you?" Chen Biao shook the token necklace, making it clang.
Before anyone else could speak, Zhao Desheng stepped forward, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Military Advisor, of course I will listen to you. My Lord... His Majesty said that I will listen to you even without the token. I just want to broaden my horizons. Can you show me the token?"
So many tokens!
Chen Biao was not stingy and threw the token necklace to Zhao Desheng.
Zhao Desheng quickly caught it with both hands. The other generals leaned over and looked at the token and tiger talisman in amazement.
Oh my god! Ten gold medals that say "The King of Light is here!"
Now no one among them is willing to argue and say things like "there is no Ming King anymore, only the Ming Emperor". They can only shout "Oh my God" in their hearts.
Deng Yu was curious: "Military Advisor, why ten yuan? Does Your Majesty have any deeper meaning?"
Chen Biao said, "It has a profound meaning. He was afraid that I would lose it, so he was too lazy to replace it for me."
Deng Yu: "..." Your Majesty is joking, absolutely joking, right? How could such a majestic and terrifying Majesty say such a bizarre thing?
The garrisoning generals included the troops led by Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng, and the troops led by Chen Biao's three brothers.
Zhu Wenzheng's deputy general was named Xue Xian, Li Wenzhong's was named Li Rong, and Chen Ying's was named Ning Zheng. With the exception of Ning Zheng, the other two had fought alongside Chen Biao in Hongdu. While they didn't know Chen Biao's true identity, they didn't doubt any of his decisions.
When Mu Ying was in Hongdu, he was only in charge of a musket team, but now it has been expanded into a complete team, so his deputy general Ning Zheng is his new general.
Ning Zheng was originally the adopted son of Wei Decheng, an early general of Zhu Yuanzhang who died in battle in the 16th year of the Zhizheng reign. Later, due to his many contributions under Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang allowed him to return to his original surname.
Chen Biao had lived in Zhu Yuanzhang's army with Wei Decheng since he was young, so his loyalty to Zhu Yuanzhang was self-evident. However, Zhu Yuanzhang thought he was too young and did not tell him his true identity.
Before leaving, Chen Ying repeatedly told Ning Zheng to follow Chen Biao's instructions in everything, but Ning Zheng still had doubts about this.
Because Chen Biao was now a civil official, based on his loyalty to Zhu Yuanzhang, he believed that civil officials should not interfere in military affairs.
But now when Ning Zheng saw the token necklace that Chen Biao took out, he felt numb from the inside out.
Forget it, the lord himself doesn’t mind, so why should he mind?
Ning Zheng clasped his fists and said, "I obey your orders! I will follow the governor's orders!"
Others said, "Why call him prefect? Call him military advisor!"
Ning Zheng: "...Yes, I will follow the military advisor's orders."
Ning Zheng was looking at the overly fanatical expressions of the people around him, as if their 30,000 defenders could easily defeat Kuyuk Timur's claimed 100,000 troops.
Well...it's not impossible?
They were now well-rested, and the difference in numbers between them and Kuyuk Timur's army was not too great. Compared to the battle to defend Hongdu, the current situation was indeed quite good.
The only problem is that this group of people may not be able to adapt to the climate in the north, and Shangdu may also send troops to assist Kuyuk Timur .
After easily taking control of the military power, Chen Biao assigned his students to his posts.
"You just need to watch carefully and learn well. You don't need to do anything unnecessary." Chen Biao said, "In this battle, you will understand why I gave such a cruel order."
Half of his students had a flash of embarrassment on their faces, while the remaining half glanced at their classmates.
Especially Chen Biao’s two younger brothers, their nostrils are almost turned up to the sky.
Are you out of your mind questioning my brother?
After Chen Biao arranged the students, he asked Chen Gou'er and Chen Mao'er to follow Song Yan who was guarding Peking.
He wanted to lead his army directly into battle.
Defend the city?
Chen Biao had already obtained a rough estimate of Kuyuk Timur's troops from Xu Da. Kuyuk Timur didn't even have 100,000 elite soldiers when he fought Xu Da. After such a long battle, Kuyuk Timur was considered quite good to have 50,000 elite soldiers.
If there are more than 50,000 people, the remaining people must be the civilians driven along the way by Kuyuk Timur.
Not counting the civilians and new recruits, there are a total of 30,000 elite soldiers in his city.
He is well-rested and has better weapons, so he is not afraid of anything!
Chen Biao said calmly, "Now that our lord has ascended the throne, we should offer him a great gift. Follow me to the battle!"
Although Ning Zheng decided to follow Chen Biao's command, he couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Going to war? Not defending the city?"
Chen Biao smiled and said, "I knew he would come a long time ago and have already inquired about his situation. He has only 40,000 elite soldiers, while we are well-rested and have better weapons. Can't we give him a fight?"
Ning Zheng was still worried: "Did you expect this long ago? This number is indeed... But they must have spies in Beiping City. If our entire army leaves the city and only new soldiers are left to guard it, something will definitely go wrong."
Chen Biao shook his head: "No, don't worry, I have arrangements."
Although Ning Zheng was very worried, the others held his shoulders and told him to listen to the military advisor and not to worry.
Even Chen Ying's other subordinates advised him to be at ease, "Is there anything that the military advisor can't predict? Just wait for the meritorious service."
Ning Zheng had no choice but to put aside his anxiety and ordered the entire army to prepare to set off.
Before Chen Biao led his army to war, he ordered the troops to beat gongs everywhere to spread the word.
"The Yuan army led 30,000 men to attack us. We must go out and beat them back. Keep a close eye on the old Yuan officials around you and kill anyone who dares to leave. You have divided up the land, and these people are just waiting for the Yuan army to come back and take away your land!"
"When the Yuan army returns, your fields will once again become hunting grounds and pastures for the Yuan nobles, and all of you will starve to death. Think about how you've lived these past few years! Grab your sticks and defend the city! Once we've defeated the Yuan army, we'll come back and hold a celebration!"
The Ming army beat drums and gongs along the streets, telling the people of Peking in the most straightforward words that the Yuan army was coming and they had to go out to fight.
The common people were terrified and went out to stop the Ming soldiers who showed no fear at all: "Ah? Why are the Yuan troops coming back again? Can you win?"
The Ming soldier laughed and said, "Haven't you heard of the reputation of our military advisor, Chen Biao? There's nothing to worry about. The military advisor is simply afraid that when we go out to fight, those former Yuan Dynasty officials and nobles whose land you've divided will seize the opportunity to rob you. Until we return, you'll have to protect yourselves ."
The people nodded: "Oh, that's true . We have Lord Chen."
So the people went home, picked up sticks, hoes and sickles, and spontaneously began to patrol the streets according to the street household registration compiled by Chen Biao.
When the Ming army assembled at the gates of Peking, the people, young and strong, men and women, all went out, while the old and young waited behind closed doors. All the shops and gates along the street were automatically closed, and the merchants who did not understand the situation were persuaded by the people of Peking to return to their inns and wait.
"Master Chen is only fighting that blind thief Yuan, he will be back soon. Maybe if Master Chen shouts in front of the battle line, that Yuan will fall off his horse and die. Don't get carried away."
The merchant immediately said, "No, no, of course we trust Master Chen. We're from the south, and everyone knows how powerful Master Chen is!"
The people are very proud.
That’s right, our Peking prefect is so powerful, you can keep praising him!
After listening to his subordinates' reports, Chen Biao said to the generals behind him, "Are you relieved now?"
The generals didn't know what the complicated emotions in their hearts were. In short, they felt that they had endless energy and wanted to ride their horses to the front of Kuyuk Timur right now.
Liu Lian, who was on his first expedition with the army, sighed, "General Chang conquered Bashu with only a thousand cavalrymen. I heard that he relied on the people's support."
Chen Biao raised his whip and said, "The will of the people is the will of the people. If anyone tells you that the will of the people is only the will of the aristocracy, and that the common people, who make up the vast majority of the people in the world, are stupid and numb, and have no idea what loyalty and righteousness are, you can spit in his face. Let's go!"
The generals smiled, and the carriages, pulling cannons, drove towards Juyongguan in a mighty procession.
The Yuan Dynasty did not need the Great Wall and it was abandoned, but Juyongguan, as a key pass defending the Yuan capital, still existed.
At this time, Kuyuk Timur had already stationed in Bao'an Prefecture for recuperation.
Tongmo Town, located right between Juyongguan and Bao'an Prefecture, will be the place where Kuyuk Timur and Chen Biao meet for the first time.
Tongmo Town will have a new name in the future, called Tumu Fort.