What Zuo Mengeng told Yang Yipeng was not a warning, but the truth.
On the day when the Shandong New Army arrived at Huai'an Prefecture, the Northwest Rebel Army had already captured Fengyang.
The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Shangyuan Festival.
The spirit of the New Year has not yet dissipated, and people are still spending their days leisurely.
On this day, the streets of Fengyang have been extremely lively since early in the morning.
People walk around the streets to buy food, go in and out of temples to offer incense and pray for blessings, and there are indispensable grass-stage troupes performing acrobatics on the streets.
In this chaotic era, it is extremely rare for ordinary people to have such a day of peace.
Fengyang, also called Zhongdu, was built by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the meaning of "standing in the middle of the world and regulating the people of the four seas".
Since it is called a capital, it naturally has a palace.
Fengyang City also has the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City has four gates, namely the Meridian Gate, Donghua Gate, Xihua Gate and Xuanwu Gate.
In addition to the main hall, there are two halls of Wenhua and Wuying in the Forbidden City, two buildings of Wen and Wu, three east, west and back palaces, Jinshui River, Jinshui Bridge, etc.;
Other national institutions such as the Zhongshu Province, the Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Governor's Office, the Yushitai, and the Dasheji have also been established.
Inside and outside Zhongdu City, there are also the Chenghuang Temple, Imperial College, Huitong Pavilion, Star Observation Tower, Million Storehouses, Bell Tower, Drum Tower, etc. There are a total of ninety-four squares, twenty-four streets and alleys, three markets, and two downtown entrances.
A prosperous capital city.
In the barren land of northern Anhui, Fengyang's appearance was so sudden and so deformed.
At noon that day, a procession carrying incense came to Fengyang City along the official road on the south bank of the Huaihe River.
I saw a very large team, with gongs and drums, and a guard of honor as the leader.
Dozens of gongs and drums were carried by a group of big men, beating while walking, which was very powerful.
Behind them, there was a long team carrying scented wax and sacrifices, which was dozens of feet away.
Behind them, there are rows of strong men on horseback. The strong men are holding high flags fluttering in the wind. It is really spectacular when viewed from a distance.
Behind the cavalry, there were also a group of people on foot, who didn't know whether they were coming to offer incense together or just following to watch the fun.
This formation looked like a wealthy family at first glance, and the soldiers guarding the city did not dare to stop them and allowed them to enter the city smoothly.
Of course, this group of people is not here to offer incense, but to kill someone.
With the help of internal agents, Zhang Xianzhong figured out Fengyang's true and false situation, but he was still more cautious and did not choose to attack by force.
Taking advantage of the Lantern Festival, he sent out elite troops disguised as incense-burning troops and successfully sneaked into the city.
In the evening, the excitement in the city still did not dissipate.
But Zhang Xianzhong's main force had already rushed to the city.
Thousands of horses are galloping, thousands of armies are marching forward, and the earth is agitated.
Seeing this scene, the sentry on the city wall sounded a shrill alarm.
Fengyang City, which was originally peaceful and peaceful, suddenly became filled with murderous intent.
Yan Rongxuan, the prefect of Fengyang, was drinking and having fun with other officials. He was already drunk and alone, his consciousness was confused, and he was unable to quickly organize resistance.
But the Northwest Rebels would not wait for him.
As soon as the formation was organized under the city, Zhang Xianzhong ordered a storm.
The morale of the northwest rebels was so high that they carried all kinds of siege equipment and rolled towards Fengyang City like a tide.
The Ming army on the city was unorganized and could only resist sporadically, and was suddenly in danger.
However, it rained continuously all night, and when the Ming army was in a panic, a group of extremely vicious warriors suddenly came to kill them behind them.
As a result, under attack from both inside and outside, Fengyang's city wall only lasted half a stick of incense before it was completely lost.
The central capital of the Ming Dynasty completely opened its arms to the northwest rebels.
When the city gate was opened, Zhang Xianzhong was in high spirits and pointed his long sword.
"Charge into the city, capture the dog officer, and destroy Emperor Zhu's dragon vein."
When he learned that the Northwest Rebel Army had entered the city, Yan Rongxuan was so frightened that he peed his pants on the spot. Before he could escape in time, he unexpectedly came up with a sexy idea.
That is to say, he ran into the prison, changed into prison clothes, and pretended to be a prisoner.
Because wherever the Northwest Rebels pass, they will definitely open prisons and release prisoners.
Anyone who was imprisoned by the Ming Dynasty must have hatred towards the Ming Dynasty no matter what.
The Northwest Rebel Army releasing these people is equivalent to increasing its own strength.
Yan Rongxuan tried to use this method to get through.
Just when Zhang Xianzhong's troops invaded Fengyang, two other large armies arrived one after another from the northwest, namely Gao Yingxiang and Li Zicheng.
Seeing that Fengyang had been defeated, the two of them did not dare to neglect and also marched their troops into the city.
At this time, Zhang Xianzhong did not stay in the city.
He passed through the city and headed east.
Not long after leaving the city, the northwest rebel army collided with a group of Ming troops who were rushing in.
This group of Ming troops was Zhu Guoxiang and his three thousand soldiers and horses who were stationed in Shangyao.
Neither side was prepared, and a chaotic battle broke out immediately.
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty were few, good and bad, and had little fighting will. When they encountered the powerful Northwest Rebel Army, they were overwhelmed at the first encounter.
Zhu Guoxiang tried his best to maintain and stabilize his position, but he didn't have the ability at all.
A group of cavalry ran past him at lightning speed, and his head flew into the sky.
Prime Minister Zhu's troops were Fengyang's last military force.
At this point, Fengyang has completely laid down and is at the mercy of the northwest rebels.
Zhang Xianzhong still didn't stop and went straight to the imperial mausoleum.
A large army of soldiers and horses rushed into the imperial mausoleum. When they saw the eunuchs and soldiers, they executed them on the spot, and at the same time freed the slaves and common people.
The newly reborn slaves and common people were all brave, vying to be guides, and led the rebel army to arrest officials and eunuchs everywhere.
These officials and eunuchs who were usually domineering were helpless against the strength of the rebels. They were either killed or became prisoners.
The only pity is that Yang Ze, the eunuch guarding Fengyang, was not captured.
It turned out that this guy learned that the rebels were heading towards the imperial mausoleum, knew that something was wrong, and ran away with a few close followers without notifying anyone.
The battle at the Imperial Tomb quickly subsided.
Zhang Xianzhong rode a tall horse, surrounded by generals, and arrived in front of the magnificent mausoleum.
"Is this where the Dog Emperor's ancestors are?"
Some people knelt down and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, this is where the ancestors of Emperor Zhu who killed a thousand swords are buried."
Looking at the magnificent mausoleum, Zhang Xianzhong was furious.
"Bah, a lot of construction work was carried out for a dead man, but it caused the destruction of our people's families. Today I will avenge the people of the world and let that dog emperor bear the reputation of being unfaithful and unfilial."
He waved his hand and gave an impressive order.
"Come on, dig the graves of the Dog Emperor's ancestors for me, and then set this place on fire."
Tens of thousands of rebels suddenly accepted the order and took action one after another.
The Fengyang Ancestral Mausoleum, which had cost countless Ming Dynasty money to build and maintain, was completely destroyed overnight, and then a huge fire lit up the entire sky.
The red night sky looked more like the blood and tears of countless people rolling down the sky.
