The cavalry assault at Desheng Gate in the north of the city was regarded by Yang Yiqing as the last hope to save the Ming Dynasty.
But unfortunately, he underestimated the power of the enemy's weapons that transcended the ages, and also overestimated the effect of his own cavalry's surprise attack. Shortly after the 20,000 cavalry left the city, they were suppressed by fierce artillery fire, and then intensive shooting sounded. The Ming cavalry used an unimaginable force.
speed loss.
Yang Yiqing stood at the top of the city, watching the steady stream of "meteors" flying from the sky, the scenes of artillery sputtering everywhere, and the tracer bullet marks mixed with the barrage fired by the machine gun. The comprehensive fire suppression made people feel uncomfortable.
He felt deep despair.
"Mr. Yang Ge, Di Yi from the east of the city is already heading towards the city gate. You'd better retreat."
There was no chance of winning this battle, and the surrounding generals all felt sorry for Yang Yiqing.
Yang Yiqing said: "Ambush troops are lurking in civilian houses outside the city, and gunpowder is buried on the roads, ready to detonate at any time..."
The general said: "Diyi artillery is covering it. Not a single house is still standing outside the city. Even if gunpowder is planted, it will be detonated immediately. Dongzhimen is gone, and I am afraid that the city wall cannot be defended."
Yang Yiqing glared at the general in front of him and almost wanted to kill Ji Qi for throwing cold water on him.
But he finally sighed, as if he understood that some things couldn't be changed by his own power.
At this time, Li Chengxun, the minister of the Ministry of War, came over with a sad look on his face: "Mr. Yang Ge, Your Majesty, as Minister Gui of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, sent people to the east of the city to release Shangshu Zhang, and then issued an edict to formally relieve you of military power. Now.
Military power everywhere is controlled by Zhang Shangshu."
After Li Chengxun finished speaking, a team of uniformed guards surged behind him, seemingly trying to capture Yang Yiqing, who had previously taken over his power.
Yang Yiqing asked angrily: "Where is Zhang Bingyong? Let him come to see me!"
"After all, Yang Ge Lao and Zhang Ge Lao have sent envoys to the enemy camp and obtained the conditions for peace. At this time, the Ming Dynasty is obviously defeated. How can it contend with the powerful enemy? The situation is extremely dangerous. Zhang Ge Lao has already entered the palace to face the Holy Spirit.
.”
Li Chengxun had always stood by Yang Yiqing before, but now for the Ming Dynasty defenders, the situation was over and failure was an unchangeable reality. In order to avoid being infamy behind him, Li Chengxun had no choice but to accept the emperor's order.
Yang Yiqing's face was ashen. A group of guards in golden uniforms rushed in front of him. Chen Yin, the envoy of Nanzhen Fusi Town who was walking at the front, cupped his hands and said: "Mr. Yangge, I'm sorry. I have been ordered by the emperor to take you to face the saint. Please don't
It’s hard for me to wait.”
"This battle is not over yet..."
After Yang Yiqing said this, he looked outside the city, hoping for a miracle to happen.
Unfortunately, what happened was contrary to expectations. The Ming cavalry outside the city had lost the ability to continue fighting. The cavalry originally left the city through Desheng Gate, but the defeated troops seemed to be afraid that Yang Yiqing would deal with them on the spot when they returned from Desheng Gate, so they simply went to other city gates.
The sound of artillery was no longer intensive, and it was obvious that the Ming cavalry had lost its combat capability.
The last desperate struggle yielded no results at all.
"well!"
Yang Yiqing sighed dejectedly.
…
…
Inside the palace.
Zhu Si met Zhang Cong and learned that the commander-in-chief of the enemy troops outside the city was Guan Jing, who had accompanied Zhu Hao on overseas expeditions.
"Is the thief chief Zhu Jingdao?"
There seemed to be some hope in Zhu Si's eyes.
If it was Zhu Hao, some things seemed to be able to change. After all, the brotherhood was there.
Zhang Cong said: "Your Majesty, the soldiers and horses of King Qin from all over the country are now converging on the capital. However, given the current situation of the enemies outside the city, any amount of coming will be a drop in the bucket. Why not..."
"Do you want me to leave the city and surrender?"
When Zhu Si asked this question, he didn't look too angry or sad.
It seems that in his opinion, this is a good choice.
Zhang Zuo said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, we can't surrender. I can risk my life to escort your Majesty out of the city."
Zhu Sidao: "Should I commit suicide at this time? In this way, the Ming Dynasty can still exist, and those people below can openly support the new monarch and continue to resist to the end? In addition, even if I surrender, will it be a dead end in the end?"
Zhang Cong replied: "Your Majesty, the rebels only say that your Majesty's surrender may keep the throne and even enjoy eternal wealth, but I don't know whether it is true or not."
"Taking hold of the emperor to command the princes! This seems to be what Zhu Hao did."
At this moment, Zhu Si finally no longer regarded Zhu Hao as a friend.
The person who betrayed friendship was Zhu Hao, not Zhu Si!
Zhang Cong sighed: "The bandits outside the city said they would launch an attack before dawn, and they also said they would raze the capital to the ground. Yangge Lao in the north of the city sent troops out of the city, fearing that conflicts would arise. Please make an early decision."
"Do not worry."
Zhu Si calmed down at this time, waved his hand and said: "I want to see how they come in! Just wait!"
…
…
Zhang Cong was stunned for a moment.
The emperor was obviously scared to death and had already planned to surrender. Why did he suddenly become hardened when things came to a head?
After he exited Qianqing Palace, he seemed to have figured it out.
Zhu Si had plans to escape from the capital. Now he probably felt that the enemies outside the city wanted to use his name as emperor to suppress the entire Ming Dynasty, or that the enemies did not have the strength to rule the Ming Dynasty, so Zhu Si's name as emperor was still useful.
Therefore, Zhu Si felt that it would be better to wait until the war started to see if there was a chance to escape from the city in the chaos. If not, then decide whether to surrender.
Zhang Cong was very anxious.
Isn't this obviously speculation?
Are the lives of Ming soldiers and people in the city so worthless in the eyes of the emperor?
"Mr. Zhang Ge."
Zhang Zuo appeared next to Zhang Cong.
Zhang Cong said eagerly: "Eunuch Zhang, we must persuade your Majesty quickly, this matter cannot be delayed."
"Of course our family knows, but what can we do?"
Zhang Zuodao said, "The enemy is coming fiercely. A month ago, could you have imagined that the situation would have deteriorated to what it is today? Your Majesty is the master of the Ming Dynasty, and everything must be based on your Majesty's opinion."
Zhang Cong smiled bitterly: "So the capital of the Ming Dynasty is dispensable?"
Zhang Zuodao said: "If the complete city is left to the bandits, then they can use the capital as a barrier. It will be even more difficult for the Qinwang soldiers and horses from all over the country to restore the prestige of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhang Cong shook his head, not bothering to argue with Zhang Zuo, and said, "Then I'll go to the city gate to garrison right now."
"No need to go."
Zhang Zuodao said, "It doesn't matter whether you go or not. It's better to stay in the palace and accompany you... The horses in the palace are ready. As long as there is chaos in the city, your majesty will mix with the people and leave the city, all the way to Anlu...
"
Zhang Cong looked slightly surprised.
Previously, when the emperor wanted to leave the city, he even specially prepared a car. There were a lot of documents in the palace including the queen mother, empress, concubines, etc. But this time the emperor just wanted to... ride away on horseback?
What about the Queen and the Queen Mother?
Don’t want those concubines anymore?
Only looking out for yourself?
Zhang Cong instantly understood why the emperor was not in a hurry to surrender. The emperor had the idea of "all-or-nothing", that is, to run away alone and hide in the ends of the earth to maintain his freedom. As long as he left the city and ran to a safe place, he called for
All the soldiers in the world can do is to be diligent and diligent.
Zhang Cong wanted to say, isn’t this too natural?
…
…
At dawn, the fighting officially began.
Soldiers and horses outside the city launched an attack on the city from four directions of the capital at the same time.
Open the way with artillery first.
The Dongzhi Gate in the east of the city was the first to be breached. As the city gate fell, half of the city wall collapsed. The Ming soldiers had already hid in the houses in the city. Many people secretly replaced their armor and stomach, preparing to pretend to be ordinary people and escape from the city.
.
But it was obvious that both the monarchs and ministers, as well as the soldiers and civilians in the city, underestimated the power of firearms.
It can be said that Zhu Hao worked hard overseas for several years for this day. This time he brought back a thousand ships, a hundred thousand troops, and the number of firearms and ammunition that the Ming army and people could not imagine.
When it comes to razing, Hanhu Lake will definitely not be included.
The city wall has not completely collapsed, so we must not go into the city.
"His Majesty……"
When the tactics of attacking the enemy outside the city, that is, completely razing them to the ground and leaving no grass behind, were told, Zhu Si was immediately confused.
"Don't you care about the lives of the people...?"
Zhu Si originally thought that the other party did not attack the city because he was concerned about the safety of the people.
He just wanted to hide among the people and wait for an opportunity to escape.
Now it seems that it doesn't work.
Zhang Zuodao: "Your Majesty, it seems that the enemy will push them to the palace gate step by step. Moreover, some papers fell from the sky, saying that the emperor is unkind and unjust, causing harm to the people. If your Majesty does not surrender, no one in the city will be able to leave the city!"
Zhu Sidao: "The thief chief must not be Zhu Hao, he would not do this! He should be dead, Guan Jing and others came to me for revenge. But the problem is, it is not Zhu Hao who I killed! By the way, where are the Lu Song people? Also,
Lu Bing?"
Zhu Si's whole body became panicked.
"Your Majesty, if you don't surrender now, I'm afraid you won't have a chance! The east wall of the city has completely collapsed, and the rest of the city is no longer able to support it!"
Zhang Zuo also felt at this time that the situation was over.
Not to mention stubborn resistance, even if you surrender now, you don't know if you can save your life.
"Send people out of the city! Send people out of the city! I agree to surrender!"
Zhu Si's first consideration for everything was his own life. He originally wanted to use the people in the city as human shields, but he tried to escape by himself. When he found that the enemies outside the city were preparing to drag the ministers and people in the city to be buried with him.
At this time, Zhu Si finally knew that he had no way to escape.
…
…
Although Zhu Si repented at the critical moment, it was not easy for the war to stop at this juncture.
As dawn approached, the battle had only lasted for half an hour. At this time, only the southern wall of the capital city was still intact. The remaining three walls were already riddled with holes. All the city gates had collapsed and the walls were damaged in many places.
When Zhang Cong went on an envoy on behalf of the Ming Dynasty again, the artillery outside the city did not show any respect.
So much so that Zhang Cong did not dare to leave the city at all.
Fortunately, Zhu Hao knew Zhu Si's fear of death and gave him a certain buffer period before launching a street battle with the Inca Empire's spearmen, finally giving Zhang Cong the opportunity to bring the surrender credentials out of the city.
Zhu Hao then ordered that the momentum of attacking the city from all sides be stopped first.
Guan Jing meets with Zhang Cong.
Zhang Cong bowed his head and said: "His Majesty, Emperor Ming, is willing to submit to the new dynasty."
"It's not the new dynasty, it's the Chinese Empire."
Guan Jing emphasized.
With his weak political thinking, he didn't understand why Zhang Cong said it was a new dynasty.
In fact, the purpose of Zhang Cong's words was more like reminding the commanders of the siege troops outside the city that you might as well kill the emperor and become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty yourself, so that we ministers can continue to be ministers of the new dynasty, everyone.
It's fun.
As for that bullshit emperor, he will die.
Guan Jingdao: "After one hour, let your emperor lead his ministers out of the city and surrender! This is an amnesty order for you."
Zhang Cong took the so-called pardon in his hand and sighed: "This envoy will return to the city right now. Please abide by the agreement and spare the innocent people in the city."