The afternoon in Kyoto is actually quite sultry, and of course it is even more uncomfortable for the soldiers in armor.
But the soldiers outside the Danfeng Gate of the Imperial City were in high morale and were not affected by the sweltering heat at all.
The Danfeng Gate that stood in front of them was the south main gate of the imperial city. This could almost be said to be the last obstacle. As long as this gate was breached, the war against Xiahou would be completed.
The decisive battle outside Kyoto City achieved a brilliant victory. The Kyoto garrison was either dead or captured and disappeared.
Taishi Cunxu was very sensible. After winning the victory, he took the initiative to lower his profile and placed himself under Qin Xiao. The Rouxuan army would also obey Qin Xiao's dispatch.
Not to mention that Qin Xiao's influence on the princess's side far exceeds his own, but if Qin Xiao hadn't led his troops to arrive in time, the Rouxuan border army would have been completely wiped out outside the capital.
I am also grateful to Qin Xiao.
When the army entered the city, the defenders of other gates in Kyoto knew that the situation was over. Even the officials in the capital had switched sides, so naturally there was no need to continue to persist.
They were not the Royal Forbidden Army guarding the imperial city. Even Mo Xingde had died in the battle, so there was no need for everyone to fight against Qin Xiao's troops and they all surrendered.
Originally, Qin Xiao did not plan to launch an attack on the imperial city immediately. Long Ruijun rushed to Kyoto day and night, and had another fierce decisive battle under the city of Kyoto. Qin Xiao wanted to let everyone take a good rest and regain some strength.
Then we'll have the final battle.
However, the people from Ziyi Prison hacked and killed the capital officials in the street, which made Qin Xiao realize that even if the general trend was inevitable, Kyoto was Xiahou's territory after all, and if the delay continued, there might be changes, so he immediately ordered the imperial city to be surrounded first.
In addition to some soldiers and horses remaining to continue cleaning the battlefield outside the city and settling prisoners, nearly 30,000 Long Rui and Rouxuan coalition forces were divided into four groups and surrounded the imperial city from all sides, preventing anyone from escaping from the imperial city.
However, the main direction of attack is of course Danfeng Gate, so the main force is deployed outside Danfeng Gate. The 20,000 soldiers are surrounded by darkness. It is impossible to see the end of the army. Although the summer is hot, the sky and the earth are full of killing.
spirit.
After the army entered the city, they took the lead in controlling the granaries and arsenals of Kyoto, and then directly transported some equipment from the city walls of Kyoto to outside Danfeng Gate.
These equipment are mainly catapults. They were previously set up on the top of the city to defend Kyoto, but now they are used as weapons to attack the imperial city.
The Dragon Scale Forbidden Army guarding the city head of Danfeng Gate looked condescendingly at the dark enemy army with no end in sight, their flags fluttering. Even the most elite men in the empire felt chills running down their spines.
There are only two thousand forbidden troops guarding the imperial city in total, and they have to defend four sides. Knowing that the enemy's main attack direction is Danfeng Gate, Tantai Zhangyue can only draw troops from other sides to come for reinforcements, but even so,
Because the troops were stretched thin, there were only more than a thousand people on the Danfengmen city wall. The enemy troops outside were no less than ten times larger, and they were composed of two brave and skilled regiments, Long Rui and Rou Xuan. Tantai Zhangyue knew very well that even if the imperial army desperately defended the city, it would only delay the enemy's entry into the imperial city. This imperial city
The city will eventually be breached.
But he can only have the intention to defend to the end.
He is a member of Tantai Xuanye's clan, and he was previously the core general of Wuchuan Town. This status destined him to have no choice.
Tantai Xuanye and Qin Xiao were incompatible, and Wuchuan Town and Rouxuan Town had been grudges for a long time. Tantai Xuanye knew that as long as the city was destroyed, neither Qin Xiao nor Taishi Cunxu would let him go.
Although Tantai Zhangyue is now the supreme commander of the imperial guards, Feng Wu has always been responsible for guarding the south gate of the imperial city.
Feng Wu was single-handedly promoted by Tantai Xuanye. When the Prime Minister led the troops to attack the imperial city, he was just a captain. But after that battle, Tantai Xuanye directly promoted Feng Wu to Zhonglang General, and he was still a guard.
The Dinghai Divine Needle at the south gate of the Imperial City.
At this moment, Feng Wu looked solemn, and the heavy armor made him sweat all over his body, and sweat dripped from his forehead.
During the decisive battle between the two armies outside Kyoto last night, Feng Wu had already prepared for the worst and was waiting for the enemy troops to approach the imperial city.
Full preparations had been made in advance for this. The imperial city was piled with arrows. Every member of the imperial army was able to ride and shoot well, and everyone was equipped with a bow. They were preparing to use arrows to stop the enemy when they attacked the city.
At this moment, thousands of Forbidden Soldiers were lined up in several rows on the top of the city. The Forbidden Soldiers in the front row were already preparing their bows and arrows, while the Forbidden Soldiers in the back row were also ready. Once the battle started, the rows would be rotated so that the arrows would not stop.
Under the sun, I saw several cavalrymen galloping out from the dark crowd, arriving under the imperial city, reining in their horses and stopping.
The first person looked up at the city head and said loudly, "Is Colonel Feng Wu here?"
He was very angry and shouted loudly.
Feng Wu looked down at the cavalryman from a high position, his vision was a little blurry, and although the man was wearing armor, he seemed to be in the uniform of a fine cavalryman, and did not look like an enemy general. He frowned and said in a deep voice, "I am Feng Wu.
But he’s not a captain, he’s a lieutenant general!”
"It turns out Captain Feng has been promoted." The man smiled and said, "Colonel Feng, can't you recognize my voice? I am Mr. Nie!"
"Nie Laoben?" Feng Wu was startled. There were Forbidden Army soldiers whispering to each other. One said, "It's Nie Laoben. Why is he in the enemy's formation?"
This Nie Laoben is from the Dragon Scale Forbidden Army.
At the beginning, Tantai Xuanye sent 800 forbidden troops to Penglai Island secretly, led by Han Feng, the captain of the forbidden troops, in an attempt to unite
The Bashan Sword Sect wiped out the forces of all the sects in one fell swoop, and then seized the martial arts books from the Tianzhai Library, and Nie Laoben was among these eight hundred forbidden troops.
Later, except for the soldiers who died in the battle, all of the forbidden army came under Qin Xiao's command, and were incorporated into the Fire Armored Dragon Cavalry by Qin Xiao, who received very generous treatment.
This time the Long Rui cavalry entered the pass, and Nie Laoben also came with the army.
He was originally Sige of the Forbidden Army. Although his status was not very high, he was still well-known in the Forbidden Army. The most important thing is that Nie Laoben was formerly under Feng Wu and followed Feng Wu to defend the south gate of the imperial city. So at this moment
Some Imperial Guards on the city were surprised when they heard it was Nie Laoben.
The forbidden army was secretly transferred to Penglai Island by Tantai Xuanye. When they set off, no one, including Nie Laoben, knew where their destination was. Naturally, it was even less possible for the forbidden troops staying in Kyoto to know.
Eight hundred forbidden troops never returned, which has always puzzled the forbidden troops, but no one dared to ask Tantai Xuanye.
Although Tantai Xuanye knew that many Forbidden Army soldiers had joined Qin Xiao, he certainly did not dare to let other Forbidden Army officers under his command know about this matter.
Now that Nie Laoben appeared in the enemy's formation and came forward to shout, not only the soldiers of the Forbidden Army at the top of the city were surprised, but even Feng Wu was also shocked.
"Nie Laoben, you traitor, you betrayed the imperial court and defected to the rebels!" Feng Wu also understood that Nie Laoben's sudden appearance in the battle was definitely going to be detrimental to the Forbidden Army and he would immediately take the lead.
Nie Laoben said loudly, "General Zhonglang, the day we enter the Forbidden Army, we must swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty and the emperor. Am I right?"
"Of course, that's right." Feng Wu said loudly, "Every soldier who is incorporated into the Forbidden Army will swear allegiance to the saint."
"When the Tang Dynasty was founded, the Forbidden Army was set up. The founding Emperor Taizu personally said that the duty of the Forbidden Army is to guard the imperial city for the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. It is the armor of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty." Nie Laoben said, "I have been doing this since the day I entered the Forbidden Army.
For this sake, I will swear allegiance to the Tang Dynasty and the Emperor to the death."
"In that case, why did you join the rebels?" Feng Wu said angrily.
"Because I want to fulfill my promise." Nie Laoben said, "The emperor of the Tang Dynasty is surnamed Li. To be loyal to the Tang Dynasty, you must first be loyal to Li Tang. General Zhonglang, may I ask the so-called emperor you are loyal to, what is her surname?"
Feng Wu was startled, his lips moved, and he was suddenly speechless.
"The Xiahou family usurped the throne. As a member of the imperial army, we should have been at odds with the Xiahou family and swore to protect Emperor Li Tang to the death." Nie Laoben said, "But back then, the imperial army aided the emperor. Not only did they not put down the Xiahou rebellion for Li Tang, they even remained loyal to Li Tang for more than twenty years.
For her, this in itself is a violation of the oath of the Imperial Army."
After saying this, the expressions on the faces of the soldiers of the Imperial Guard at the top of the city varied.
In fact, if I insist on talking about it, Mr. Nie What Ben said makes sense.
The Li family founded the Tang Empire, and the Forbidden Army was established by the Li family's Taizu. Their duty was to guard the imperial city and protect the Li family, but now they are loyal to the Xiahou family.
Since ancient times, the royal family has had only one surname. If someone with another surname takes the throne, it is actually equivalent to a change of dynasty.
After Xiahou ascended the throne, although the name of the Tang Dynasty was still the same, many people knew that the Li Tang Dynasty had been usurped, and the Xiahou family was just wearing the name of the Tang Dynasty. In the final analysis, they continued to use the name of the Tang Dynasty.
This can conceal the fact that he usurped the throne.
What Nie Laoben said was very straightforward, but it made sense.
"Now that Princess Li Tang has launched an army in Xuzhou, people with lofty ideals all over the world are supporting the princess to revive Li Tang. As the imperial guards of the Tang Dynasty who should be loyal to Li Tang, they actually oppose Li Tang and point their swords at the princess's soldiers and horses. It is simply unbelievable." Mr. Nie said.
Ben had obviously practiced his rhetoric beforehand, and his words came out very fluently, "The princess has an order. Whether it is abandoning the dark and turning to the bright, or reining in the danger, previous sins can be forgotten. The princess will only pursue the culprit, and if the followers can wake up, they will not be punished."
General, if you lead your brothers to repent now, it's not too late!"
Feng Wu frowned, but did not immediately scold him.
Tantai Zhangyue stood aside, but what he heard was thrilling.
Although he temporarily has the right to command the Forbidden Army, this Forbidden Army is not his direct descendant. If these Forbidden Army turn against him because of Nie Laoben's words, the consequences will be disastrous.
"His lies are misleading the public, shoot him to death!"
Tantai Zhangyue said sharply.
Feng Wu raised his hand and said in a deep voice, "Wait a minute!"
"Feng Wu, what do you mean?" Tantai Zhangyue's heart trembled, his eyes were cold, and he said solemnly, "Is it because of his few words that you want to rebel?"
"Of course not." Feng Wu was respectful to Tantai Zhangyue, "The Forbidden Army kills the enemy openly and aboveboard. Mr. Nie has the courage to come and shout, just like a messenger. If the Forbidden Army shoots and kills now, it will be impossible to win. When they attack the city,
The first one among my subordinates will shoot him to death." Before Tantai Zhangyue could speak, he raised his finger and pointed at Nie Laoben and said, "Nie Laoben, if I give the order now, you will be shot into a hedgehog. However, if the Forbidden Army kills the enemy,
You are fair and aboveboard, shooting you now will only ruin our reputation. Hurry back, and when you and your companions come to kill you, I will definitely shoot you with my own hands!"
Tantai Zhangyue sneered and said, "Do you want to show mercy to him? He slandered the saint in the city and was treasonous. The two armies are fighting. What kind of messenger is there at this time? What can ruin your reputation? Now, you still have to deal with the rebels."
Are you polite?" But he directly reached out and grabbed the long bow from the hand of a forbidden soldier on the side, opened the bow and drew the arrow, and pointed it at Nie Laoben. Without saying a word, the bow string was loosened, and the sharp arrow was like a shooting star, carrying a fierce force.
The wind pierced the air and shot straight towards Nie Laoben.