There were ten thousand Ming troops coming down the river. Since they were not equipped with horses, they did not land to pursue them. They shelled the north bank for a while and then moved towards the south bank.
A general got off the ship, followed by more than a dozen generals Ma Bian, and hurriedly ran towards the city gate where the emperor was. He ran to the city and knelt down and shouted: "Your Majesty, Liu Zongmin, the commander-in-chief of Lanzhou, arrived too late to save you. It is a capital crime. It is a capital crime."
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Zhu Youxiao looked down and saw that this general had a strong back and a ruddy complexion. He was carrying a fierce general. He felt very happy and said, "Please come up and speak, Mr. Liu."
The city gate opened, and Liu Zongmin and his party entered the city and came to the enemy tower at Yifeng Gate. They unarmed their weapons and bowed and kowtowed before the emperor. Zhu Youxiao asked: "Why did the Tatars break through the Western Army's defense line? You have to give me an explanation."
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Liu Zongmin kowtowed and said: "Long live the revenge. Under the banner of revenge for the traitor Liu Ziguang, the Tatar army marched 500,000 people brazenly eastward. Originally we could have defended it with our sharp weapons, but those rats in the red shirts had no sense of national justice."
, greedy for life and afraid of death, surrendered to the Tatars and acted as a pawn for the tiger. After a long attack on Lanzhou, he took a detour and attacked the capital from thousands of miles away. After the guilty officials found out about the matter, they had no time to report to Governor Yuan, so they brought their own troops to the rescue at Xingye.
The thought of being a step too late surprised Wanzai."
Even though Liu Zongmin was a rough old man, what he said was quite beautiful. The ministers all stroked their beards and nodded. Zhu Youxiao said: "No wonder the Tatars can run so far. It turns out there are traitors. Huh, this is Liu Ziguang's religion."
What a good soldier! By the way, what is Liu Aiqing's official position?"
Liu Zongmin kowtowed and said, "I will temporarily take over the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Lanzhou Army."
"Okay, I will give you the title of Minister of War. Liu Aiqing must serve the country well."
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Liu Zongmin kowtowed, with a smile that couldn't be concealed on his honest face.
"Get up and speak, someone, come and give Liu Aiqing a seat." Zhu Youxiao was very satisfied with Liu Zongmin's attitude. It would be great if the Ming Dynasty could have more loyal and brave generals like Liu Zongmin.
The stool was moved over, but Liu Zongmin didn't dare to sit down firmly. He only dared to touch the stool with his buttocks. Rather than sitting on it, he was more like squatting. His expression was also very humble. Zhu Youxiao and the ministers all smiled faintly.
Everyone thought in their hearts that this boy could be taught. So everyone asked him questions one after another.
"Master Liu, how many soldiers and horses did King Qin bring with you this time?"
"Does General Liu have any chance of winning against the North Bank Tatars?"
"What kind of help does General Liu need? Food, grass or equipment?"
Faced with many problems, Liu Zongmin responded calmly, saying that he came with fifteen thousand troops, all of whom were elite warriors who had fought in hundreds of battles. They had beaten the crap out of the Tatars in the Western Regions, otherwise the Tatars would not be seen today.
He ran away with Liu Zongmin's flag. He was very confident in dealing with these gangsters, but now he lacked war horses and ammunition, making it difficult to pursue them effectively. Another important problem was that the brothers rushed to the rescue at starry night. So many people were crowded in the small cabin, and they were already
I haven't slept for seven days and seven nights, and haven't had a decent meal. If possible, please provide a straw mat for the soldiers to sleep peacefully before annihilating the Tatars.
All the ministers shed tears and sighed. What a loyal and brave soldiers. With them here, they are no longer afraid of the Tatars. The soldiers have endured hardship for so long, but they need a good rest. It just so happened that the army in Beijing camp lost 50,000 people and all the barracks were empty.
When you come out, just go in and rest.
Zhu Youxiao immediately issued an order to open the door to welcome King Qin's soldiers and horses into the city, and rewarded the three armies with pigs, sheep, wine and a banquet to celebrate the victory. If those old ministers were still there, they would never act so hastily. Is the capital of Gyeonggi so easy to enter?
We set up tents for them to set up camp outside the city, but now there are only sycophants left in the court, who has such intentions?
Liu Zongmin's troops entered the city, and they were indeed very powerful. At first glance, they looked like a mighty army, and there was a murderous look in their eyes. Zhu Youxiao was reviewing the troops entering the city at the city gate. He was in a very good mood and had many soldiers.
How can you not be happy when you have a strong general?
A catastrophe has been avoided. Everyone from the emperor to the common people is very lucky. The Tatars have fled northward in panic, and more than ten thousand elite Western troops are defending the capital. What else is there to fear? Everyone is celebrating tonight, and they will not return unless they are drunk. It is night, and the emperor is here
Fengtian Palace held a banquet to celebrate the victory, and rewarded Liu Zongmin with one hundred taels of gold. Other generals of the Western Army also received rewards.
Xun and others made great contributions to strategizing, and they were all rewarded. For a time, everyone was happy and shouted, "Long live the Holy Ming."
On the other hand, the common people's homes in the capital were in a state of depression and desolation. An army of 50,000 people was destroyed on the north bank. The court did not want to collect their bodies quickly. Instead, they celebrated a small victory. I really don't know how much a pound of shame is. In the evening
The land security guard sounded the gong again and announced that in order to reward the Qinwang's teachers, every common person must donate a handful of money. If you don't have money, you can just give it to chickens, ducks and geese. Anyway, you can't treat the soldiers of the Western Army badly. The people were even more indignant.
It was obvious that the Western Army had let the Tatars in due to lax security. It was natural to come to the rescue at this time. Why should we reward them? Besides, hadn't the imperial court just raided the people's property? Three feet of land had been scraped off. Why did they do it again?
How can we make a living by collecting money?
When the emperor held a banquet, he naturally could not give orders by guessing and eating. In fact, it was just a formality, and everyone just tasted it. After drinking for three rounds, Zhu Youxiao left the banquet, and all the officials dispersed and went back to their homes.
Liu Zongmin returned to the military camp. All his subordinates had finished their meal and were sharpening their knives one by one. They were waiting for his return. When they saw the Commander-in-Chief, several generals took off their helmets, revealing their Mongolian pigtails, and asked coldly
: "Have everything been arranged?"
Liu Zongmin replied: "Okay, I divided half of the reward to the officials in the Beijing camp. They will not return to camp tonight, and the defense at the top of the city will not be tight. We can take action, but...
…”
"But what?"
"You must do what you promised me."
"Don't worry, I will never give you less of my promise. Didn't the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty just give you the fictitious title of Minister of War? Our Majesty promised you a dignified throne. He is much more generous than Zhu Youxiao. You still have
There’s nothing to hesitate about.”
Liu Zongmin was relieved and said in a deep voice: "Okay, everything will proceed as planned."
Late at night, a group of soldiers came out of the military camp in the north of the city. They were all dressed in black, with white cloth strips wrapped around their left arms. The weapons in their hands were also painted black. Their targets were the city gate and the Beijing army barracks. By this time, the Beijing army had had enough to drink.
Laojiu fell into sleep, and the soldiers standing guard at the gate of the camp also dozed off holding their guns. The group of men in black quickly eliminated the guard posts with crossbows, marched into the barracks, poured heavy fire oil everywhere, and prepared to set the camp on fire.
At the same time, inside Yifeng Gate, a group of officers and soldiers in Jinyi came over with lanterns. The gatekeeper shouted: "Who is it? Stop." The officers and soldiers in Jinyi replied: "The guards in Jinyi came to inspect the city defense on the order of Eunuch Wei." The officers and soldiers. He quickly greeted them with a smile, opened the Luzhai, and let these superior officers in. Who would have expected that after they came in, they drew out their steel knives and suddenly attacked, hacking the guards and soldiers to death and rushed to the tower. The soldiers who were drinking in the enemy tower heard the commotion and came out to watch, and were fired upon by them. The blunderbuss was used to force each of them to the ground, and their heads were pressed with futons. The fire blunderbuss was fired at close range, and the sound was not loud enough to kill all the people. Then they lit a few lanterns and waved them towards the river in the night.
The same few lights appeared on the dark river surface. This was the response of the Western Army who stayed on the ship. The Yangtze River Navy had been killed by them, and the warship quickly sailed to the north bank to carry the Mongolian army.
On the north bank, Anu Duan sat on his horse with a smile on his face: "Nanjing City is easily accessible."
Just after midnight, a fire suddenly broke out in the north of the capital. The flames reached a height of more than ten feet. It was terrifying. Countless rebels wandered through the streets, shouting that the Tatars had entered the city. For a while, people shouted and horses neighed, and dogs barked incessantly. , the soldiers of the Five Cities Soldiers and Horses Division who were patrolling at night did not know where they were. There was no one on the street to maintain order, and the chaos reached the extreme.
It was extremely hot in the summer in Nanjing, and the common people were sleeping in the courtyard. When they heard the chaos outside, they got up and lay down at the crack of the door to look outside. They saw a large group of Tatar cavalry galloping on the street, holding torches and scimitars in their hands. So ferocious! The people were shocked. Didn't they talk about defeating the Tatars today? Why did they enter the city at night?
The common people were shocked, and the officials were even more surprised. Anyone with a little bit of brains knew that the bad thing was happening. The Western troops who entered the city today must have lured the Tatars in. There is no good way to do it so far. Going out in chaos is just a mess. If he died, it would be better to hide at home and wait until dawn to see what happens.
Wei Zhongxian's mansion was very close to the palace, and was also the target of the rebels' main attack. However, Eunuch Wei's soldiers still had some fighting ability. When they saw someone who could not answer the command, they opened fire. The two hit each other. Wei Zhongxian quickly put on his clothes and stood up. He thought Someone was coming to assassinate me. I heard that the Tatars had entered the city and I was so frightened that I lost my mind. I stayed for a long time before I was escorted to break out and rush to the palace. The city wall there was tall and guarded by elite imperial guards. It was considered the safest place. 's location.
There are many yamen in the capital, and there are even more people on duty. However, the police officers in units such as Dongchang Jinyiwei Yingtianfu only go to work in the morning and do not live in the yamen at night, but in their own homes. This makes it difficult to organize effective operations. To resist, the troops in the Beijing camp were concentrated together, but it was easier for them to get dumped. The poor soldiers were drunk and sleepy, so they died in the sea of fire, and their deaths were even more unjust.
In fact, if it had been a year ago, the Tatars would not have succeeded so easily. The key is that the people in power in the capital now are all Wei Zhongxian's direct descendants. They are all thinking about how to make money. No one took serious work seriously, and they were careless, thinking that the capital city had not been invaded by foreign enemies for a hundred years, so it would be safe this time. It was these reasons that led to such an ending - the capital city of the Ming Dynasty was suddenly destroyed overnight. Soon he fell into the enemy's hands.