Zhou Yuji, the general of the Ming Dynasty's capital camp, shouted in his hoarse voice:
"Hold on, you must hold on for me, and you must never let the thieves in yellow climb the Nanjing City Wall."
Five days ago, the city of Nanjing was surrounded by thieves in yellow clothes overnight.
During these five days, the thieves in yellow attacked the city with extremely high intensity.
The thieves in yellow were also very methodical in attacking the city.
They first used artillery to clear away the red cannons on the top of Nanjing City.
The artillerymen of the Yellow Thieves have extremely high accuracy, and they can accurately predict the impact point of the artillery shells.
The cannonballs of the thieves in yellow are very powerful.
Their explosive shells don't need to hit the Hongyi cannon.
It only needs to land next to the Hongyi cannon to destroy the Hongyi cannon through a huge explosion.
After several days of siege by thieves in yellow.
The shrapnel that fell off the city wall was piled three inches thick.
There are still several functional Hongyi cannons on the city wall.
But here on the northern city wall, all the artillerymen were killed.
No one knows how to operate the Hongyi cannon anymore.
All soldiers know that standing next to the Hongyi cannon is the position with the highest death rate.
The artillery and infantry of the thieves in yellow also cooperated very closely.
The artillerymen of the thieves in yellow attacked the Nanjing city wall first, and the shells just exploded, not even for a moment.
The infantrymen in yellow clothes took advantage of the time when the city wall was under shelling, and immediately set up ladders to attack the city.
The Beijing camp commanded by Zhou Yuji had suffered 30% casualties in just five days.
The Beijing Camp is already on the verge of collapse.
Two days ago, Zhou Yuji had to let the young men he recruited to defend the city.
When the soldiers of the yellow-robed thieves rushed up, he sent out soldiers from the Beijing camp to fight bloody battles with the yellow-robed thieves.
Without this method, Jingying would have collapsed long ago.
The consequences of this were that the young men were incompetent in combat, and the thieves in yellow frequently rushed to the city.
The morale of the soldiers in the Beijing camp is now extremely low.
Zhou Yuji saw the soldiers in yellow clothes again, climbing the ladder and rushing towards the city.
There was a lot of gunpowder, and cannonballs were placed in a row, but he could no longer send out artillery, so he operated Hongyi cannon to defend the city.
We can only defend the city with traditional rolling logs and stones, as well as large grenades made by learning from the thieves in yellow.
These three kinds of city defense equipment have achieved limited results and cannot stop the yellow-robed thieves from attacking the city.
The soldiers from the Beijing camp on top of the city showed signs of gradually collapsing.
Zhou Yuji personally supervised the battle, and any soldiers who dared to escape were killed by him with a knife.
"For the sake of Ming Dynasty, follow me and kill."
Zhou Yuji led his soldiers and climbed to the top of the city carrying long swords.
When the Ming army saw their commander ascending to the top of the city, their morale, which was about to collapse, was somewhat restored.
Zhou Yuji immediately swung his sword and slashed at the yellow-clothed thief at the top of the city.
He chopped down three people in a row, and then heard two gunshots.
He saw an officer in yellow clothes holding a revolver and shot him twice.
Zhou Yuji felt severe pain in his chest and then lost consciousness.
"General Zhou was killed in battle."
"General Zhou is killed in battle, everyone, run away!"
The soldiers from the Beijing camp on the city wall saw Zhou Yuji killed in battle.
Already on the verge of collapse, they immediately collapsed and scrambled to run down the city wall.
The Qin army climbed onto the north wall of Nanjing City. They held the wall, and then a steady stream of Qin troops climbed onto the city wall.
They used explosives to blow open the blocked northern gate of Nanjing.
The Second Army of the Qin Army rushed into Nanjing along the city gate.
…………………………
"The city is broken!"
"The thieves in yellow have entered the city!"
As the defeated troops shouted loudly, everyone in Nanjing City already knew that Nanjing City had been captured by the Qin Army.
When Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, heard the news, he immediately rushed into the palace with his confidants.
He was stopped by the little eunuch and kicked aside.
Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixi saw Li Ruolian, commander of the Jinyiwei, and led his men into the palace.
He concealed his panic expression and said calmly: "Commander Li, are you going to rebel? Are you going to take me to collect the reward from the thief in yellow?"
Li Ruolian first knelt down and kowtowed to Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cihong.
He then picked up Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cihong.
"Your Majesty, there is no time to explain. The thieves in yellow have broken through Nanjing City and will come to the palace soon.
The city of Nanjing can no longer be defended, so we must seize the time to escape.
I, Li Ruolian, am deeply trusted by Emperor Chongzhen and have been sent to protect His Majesty.
I will do my best to protect His Majesty's safety.
Your Majesty must not be caught by the thief in yellow, otherwise he will end up dead."
When Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixi heard that Nanjing City had been captured, he turned pale with fright.
When he received this news, he stopped struggling.
Li Ruolian escaped from the palace holding Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixiang.
In the process of escaping, he took off all the imperial robes and crowns on Zhu Cixiang's body and threw them away in the palace.
Li Ruolian changed Zhu Cihong into clothes that ordinary people wear.
Only by wearing such clothes can you not attract attention.
The Jin Yiwei who followed Li Ruolian were all carefully selected by him and loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
They also put on ordinary people's clothes to hide their identities.
Li Ruolian led Zhu Cixiang through a secret passage to a dilapidated house. They zigzagged through the alley.
Nanjing has already been under curfew, and no one noticed their whereabouts.
Li Ruolian went around a big circle and came to the house he had already chosen.
This family was born after Zhongliang of the Ming Dynasty, and they had a child about the same age as Zhu Cixiang.
He was already seriously ill and was frightened to death by the sound of artillery attacking the city five days ago.
When Li Ruolian got the news, he immediately found the family and asked them to hide the news and bury the child secretly.
He did this kind of thing just in case, but he didn't expect it to be used now.
Li Ruolian's plan was to have Zhu Cixiang pretend to be the dead child.
In order to confuse the thief in yellow, Li Ruolian brought a boy about the same age as Zhu Cixiang.
He planned to use the power of Jinyiwei to escape as far away as possible, preferably overseas.
The success rate of this plan is very low, and other Jin Yiwei are not worthy of trust.
Li Ruolian did this mainly to confuse the thieves in yellow, lead their investigation astray, and ensure the safety of the real Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cihong.
…………………………
Lu Jiude led his troops to resist at the west gate, and the thieves in yellow had already breached the west gate.
But he still dragged his last breath to resist the attack of the thieves in yellow.
Soon a young eunuch ran to Lu Jiude's side.
"Ancestor, Commander Li Ruolian has taken the emperor away.
We have blown up the secret tunnel and removed all traces."
After Lu Jiude heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief.
People like Li Ruolian are loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
I hope I can take the emperor with me and escape the pursuit of the thieves in yellow.
"Everyone, follow me to kill the thief."
Lu Jiude led the remaining soldiers who did not collapse and launched a charge towards the thieves in yellow.
They were all shot to death randomly.
Lu Jiude would rather die than surrender to the thieves in yellow.
…………………………
Wu Sangui led the troops and was resisting the attack of the yellow-robed thieves at the East Gate.
He saw that the thieves in yellow who came from the North City Gate had already reached the East City Gate.
With his blood-red eyes, he scanned the army of yellow-clothed thieves who were coming to kill them.
"Heaven will destroy me, Wu Sangui."
They have been heavily besieged by thieves in yellow. Guan Ning's cavalry background is not good at defending the city.
Now Guan Ning's army has reached its end. No matter how strong the general is, he cannot turn defeat into victory when encountering this kind of battle situation.
"Who would have thought that Emperor Hongguang only served as emperor for eleven days.
I originally thought that with my strength, coming to Nanjing would help the Ming Dynasty maintain the situation in the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Who would have thought that the thief in yellow would arrive so quickly and not even give me time to prepare.
The court of Nanming was too short-lived, it only existed for eleven days."
Wu Sangui let out a long sigh, feeling that things were impermanent.
"Capture Wu Sangui and go to the Qin army to receive the reward."
Wu Sangui was sighing when he suddenly heard a shout.
He saw his mastermind Zheng Bin instigating a group of officers from the Guan Ning Army to surround him.
"Zheng Bin, what are you doing? How dare you rebel against me."
Then Wu Sangui saw the Ming army generals behind Zheng Bin.
He reacted immediately.
They want to use themselves as a stepping stone for advancement.
"I am also a person who loves the Qin army. I will order the entire army to surrender."
Wu Sangui reacted immediately and others took the credit for him.
It's better for him to take credit for his merits. Even if he is tried by the Qin army, at least he can save his life.
Zheng Bin sneered and said: "It's too late, Mr. Wu Ge surrendered in person, so all the credit goes to Mr. Wu Ge.
How can these little soldiers under our hands have any merit in preserving glory and wealth?
If we dedicate you to the Qin army, it will be completely different.
Mr. Wu Ge's worth is very high among Qin Jun."
After Zheng Bin finished speaking, he immediately encouraged: "Everyone, hurry up and capture Wu Sangui, the Qin army is about to attack here.
If you are too late by then, you will regret it too late.”
When the generals of Guan Ning's army heard this, they immediately led their own soldiers and swarmed forward to capture Wu Sangui.
He took the initiative to surrender to the Qin army that invaded the city.
…………………………
Qian Qianyi looked at the chaotic palace. Emperor Hongguang had disappeared and all the people in the cabinet had fled.
The thieves in yellow invaded the city, and their newly established small court immediately collapsed.
Qian Qianyi dreamed of becoming the first assistant, but he failed in his struggle with Wen Tiren in the capital and was driven back to Nanjing.
When Emperor Chongzhen died, he took the opportunity to become the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, after only eleven days as chief minister, the Ming Dynasty collapsed.
As the chief assistant, it is better to resign.
Qian Qianyi took a carriage and hurried back to Qian's Mansion. He had received the news on the way.
Tens of thousands of thieves in yellow have entered the city.
All the four city gates of Nanjing were lost, and the Ming Dynasty was unable to recover.
When Qian Qianyi returned to Qian Mansion, his sons, wives and concubines immediately gathered around him.
"Father, what should we do about the current situation?
As a large family in the southeast, our Qian family is exactly the gentry that King Qin is targeting.
I told you to prepare in advance, disperse your family property and escape, but you still have confidence in the Ming Dynasty."
"Husband, the thief in yellow has broken in. You need to make an idea. What should our Qian Mansion do?"
Qian Qianyi heard the chirping sounds of his wife and son.
He snorted coldly, flicked his sleeves and robe, walked out of Qian's Mansion, and came to the pond outside Qian's Mansion.
If Qian Qianyi knew what to do, the situation in Ming Dynasty would not have developed to this extent.
A feeling of despair immediately emerged in his heart.
Qian Qianyi found a big stone by the pond, picked it up, and stood by the pond hesitating.
"The old minister is deeply favored by the Ming Dynasty and wants to live and die with the Ming Dynasty.
Emperor Sizong, I will follow your footsteps and reunite with you underground."
Qian Qianyi made up his mind and walked towards the pond holding the stone.
He looked at the pond and felt a little hesitant.
"I feel sorry for the Ming Dynasty. As the chief minister of the dynasty, I am unable to turn things around and save the Ming Dynasty.
I feel sorry for Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Taizu conquered the country and lost the last part when I was the chief assistant.
I feel sorry for Emperor Sizong and Emperor Hongguang.
The Ming Dynasty has died, and the pillars of the old minister have collapsed, and the old minister will always follow the Ming Dynasty."
Qian Qianyi hugged the stone and took two more steps towards the edge of the pond.
The soles of his shoes had already touched the water's edge, and the warm river water in July soaked Qian Qianyi's ankles.
"The water is too cold to go in."
After Qian Qianyi finished speaking, he threw the stone into the pond and understood what he was thinking.
"Life has always been difficult to die.
It is easy to die, but the old minister must remain useful and revive the Ming Dynasty."
After Qian Qianyi said this, he returned to Qian's Mansion.
After thinking about it for a long time, I felt that I couldn't sit still and wait for death.
He summoned several civil servants from the Ming court.
On behalf of the Ming Dynasty, he surrendered to Su Xiong, the commander of the Qin army who entered the city.
…………………………
Su Xiong led his troops to approach Nanjing City, which was completely controlled by the Qin army.
He saw an official, leading a group of civil servants, surrendering to them on behalf of the Ming Dynasty.
"Commander Su Xiong, I am Qian Qianyi, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty, and I surrender to the Qin army on behalf of the Ming Dynasty."
Su Xiong looked at this official with a groveling look.
He asked: "Where is the Crown Prince Zhu Cihong? Now it should be Emperor Hongguang.
Why didn't he surrender to our army in person?"
When Su Xiong saw this situation, he felt that conquering Nanjing was not a success.
Failure to catch Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixiang, his identity is a huge hidden danger.
There will always be careerists who will resist the rule of the new dynasty in the name of Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixiang.
Qian Qianyi bent down and said: "Old minister, I don't know where Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixiang is now.
After the Qin army broke through the gates of Nanjing, the veteran wanted to meet Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixiang, but he had disappeared from the palace."
Su Xiong waved his hand and asked these Ming Dynasty civil servants to retreat.
The matter of Hongguang Emperor Zhu Cixi can only be left to the secret guards for continued investigation.
His main task was to capture the city of Nanjing. Now the last city of the Ming Dynasty has been captured by them.
Su Xiong came to the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion in Nanjing as his temporary office.
He immediately issued various orders.
"Let each army immediately tally casualty data.
Li Zhengfeng congratulated his master and immediately screened the prisoners of the Ming army.
The First Army is now in charge of southern Zhili and restoring order in major cities as soon as possible.
Select some officials to assist the people in harvesting rice.
The remaining armies were stationed outside Nanjing, waiting for the king's orders.
Send a message requesting the king to dispatch civil officials as soon as possible, especially the governor of Southern Zhili to manage the area.
Even the king doesn’t think we can capture the southern provinces so quickly. Now only Fujian has sent governors to manage it.
The other southern provinces did not send governors to manage the local areas.
The last city of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing, was captured by us.
The Ming Dynasty has completely perished, and we have achieved our initial goal of unifying the world.
There will no longer be such a nationwide mobilization war in the near future."
Su Xiong explained everything that happened after the war.
Ordered Chief of Staff Li Wenfang to write relevant military reports in the name of the Southern Battlefield Command.
Su Xiong personally wrote a letter to King Su He of Qin, telling him that the Ming Dynasty was completely destroyed and the world had been unified.