1449: The Defense of Beijing - Emperor Jingtai’s reign

1449: The Defense of Beijing - Emperor Jingtai’s reign

S
Jun 3, 2026

1449, the Ming dynasty stands on the edge of destruction. Its armies had been destroyed, and the Emperor captured by the Mongols, who march on Beijing, the imperial capital. The panicking imperial court crowns the Emperor’s brother Zhu Qiyu, the reluctant Prince of Cheng, as the Jingtai Emperor in a desperate bid to save the empire. Discover the consequences of the Tumu Crisis, Yu Qian’s heroic defence of Beijing, and Jingtai’s attempt to stay gripped to a ‘temporary’ throne, ending in the most astonishing coup of the Ming dynasty’s history.