It was night, at the west gate of the capital, in the open space outside the city, piles of bonfires were burning. Han soldiers were singing and dancing unscrupulously to celebrate the upcoming victory under the threat of artillery fire from the Zhou army. The smell of wine, meat and barbecue and the laughter of the soldiers were everywhere.
voice
On the other hand, the top of the city was desolate and desolate. The soldiers were squatting behind the crenellations with their spears in their hands, their faces full of sorrow. Several generals came over from a distance. The soldiers immediately gathered around them and asked in all directions: "Sir, what are you doing?"
Our military pay is already three months in arrears!"
The pot-bellied general coughed dissatisfiedly, and Ma Bian shouted angrily: "This is Ma Shilang of the Ministry of War, who of you dares to be so presumptuous!"
If it had been in the past, when such high-ranking officials came to inspect, the soldiers would have knelt on the ground. But at this time, no one could care so much. Someone in the dark crowd shouted: "We don't care about horses or cows.
All we want is salary!" Then there was a chorus of responses.
Seeing the excitement among the crowd, Ma Shilang had cold sweat streaming down his fat head, and asked the accompanying officer in a low voice: "What's the matter, the military pay has been owed for so long?"
The accompanying official said: "Sir, the bank opened by your brother-in-law needs to replenish its positions. Didn't you allocate a sum of money?"
Only then did Ma Shilang think of this, and it was too late to allocate money temporarily. He got wise in his haste and climbed to a high place to shout to the soldiers, promising to pay the soldiers in full tomorrow and allocate additional reward money. This ended the military rebellion.
In the bud.
The soldiers calmed down for a while. Ma Shilang came down from the height, wiped his cold sweat and said: "Go back and arrest the person who led the trouble, and directly behead them in public. In extraordinary times, military law must be strict."
Then Ma Shilang inspected the fort again. At a glance, he saw the Han army's camp right in front of him. Under the light of the campfire, people were coming and going. Ma Shilang couldn't help but think about it and asked: "Why don't you take the opportunity to bombard the rebel army?"
Chief Qian, who defended the city, was speechless at this ignorant boss who only wanted to make money. He reluctantly explained: "Sir, now the Han army has occupied the Jiangfang Fort. If there is any movement here, the cannonballs over there will hit the enemy.
Come here, besides, our ammunition is scarce, and after this round, we won’t have any more.”
Ma Shilang wondered: "Where have the artillery shells allocated by the imperial court gone?"
Mr. Qian said: "They are all locked in the treasury by Lord Supervisor. If you want to use them, you have to pay bribes."
When he heard that the Supervisor of Ceremonies was involved, Ma Shilang was speechless.
After Ma Shilang left, a dark figure walked out of the corner and said to Mr. Qian: "The imperial court is so ignorant and the defeat has been determined. Why are you still hesitating?"
President Qian sighed: "What Deng Junmen said is absolutely true. It is better to surrender late than to surrender early. I will send someone down to the city to contact you."
…
At the same time, in the military camp inside the south gate of the capital, several armored military generals were talking to a lame man without legs. Although the lame man was dressed in common clothes and smelled strange, the military masters were all respectful and respectful.
, his words were full of respect and caution.
"Yes, yes, we will definitely do it."
"Master Zhuo, please be at ease. The south gate is in the hands of the general and cannot be lost."
After some assurances and promises, the generals sent the lame man out. The soldiers standing guard at the camp gate whispered: "Isn't this the lame Zhuo who collects sewage from toilets in the dilapidated village outside the south gate? How did he become a guest at our military gate?
"
Another soldier whispered: Be careful, there is no need to ask, the lame man must know people from the north. If anyone can build connections with the north these days, it will be great."
…
Log on to 6 Literature Network and support the version of Wulin Empire.
News that the Northern Han Dynasty had crossed the river quickly reached the ears of Xia Qinxin, the Queen of the Southern Han Dynasty. At that time, Xia Qinxin was washing her feet. When she heard that the Han army had boarded the south bank, she was so shocked that she kicked over the footbath and held a meeting overnight.
The imperial meeting discussed countermeasures.
The small imperial court of the Southern Han Dynasty was so busy that the incident was so sudden that they were not prepared at all. Their weapons, food, grass, vehicles, and horses were not in condition at all. They were improvising and it was too late.
The Southern Han Dynasty occupied a corner of the south of the Yangtze River. Although the imperial court carried out numerous campaigns, it never conducted a large-scale battle. A battle involving thousands of people could already be called a battle. Compared with the two Central Plains wars, it was insignificant and insignificant.
Same thing.
The army of the Southern Han Dynasty was also full of heroes. They were bandits and water pirates. They were unorganized and undisciplined. They relied on extensive management and gang family rules. They were far from the regular army. They could fight guerrilla warfare, but they really wanted to conquer the city.
, the level is not good enough.
According to the predictions of the Southern Han Dynasty, Yuan Feng lacked ships and was blocked in the north by the natural dangers of the Yangtze River. It would be impossible to come over without ten or eight years. They had plenty of time to slowly encroach on the territory of the Zhou Dynasty and hollow out the Zhou Dynasty in the form of ants moving.
Zhou’s family background.
The army of the Northern Han Dynasty played with gold and iron horses and fought in large groups, while the Southern Han Dynasty was good at infiltration, kidnapping, attacks, and explosions. The big explosion in the palace during the last Mid-Autumn Festival was caused by the meticulous work of the Southern Han Dynasty.
Today, at least 40% of the civil and military officials in the capital have personal connections with the Southern Han Dynasty.
Therefore, from beginning to end, Xia Qinxin paid no attention to the agreement to enter the capital first and become the king, thinking that he would win without a doubt.
Now that the news of the Northern Army crossing the river came, how could the small court of the Southern Han Dynasty not be thrown into chaos. However, the subsequent news made them relax. Although the Han army successfully crossed the river, they stopped when faced with the tall capital city wall.
steps.
Time and time did not wait for us. General Mu Ying mobilized his troops overnight, and military advisor Xia Nanfeng was also busy mobilizing weapons and supplies. After two days of busy work, he finally assembled a large army and marched northward in a mighty manner.
News of the Northern Han Dynasty's crossing of the Yangtze River had already spread throughout the land south of the Yangtze River. Regarding the fall of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the gentry, officials, soldiers and people in the south of the Yangtze River had already reached a consensus. However, regarding the dispute between the two Han Dynasties, people's hearts were overwhelmingly convinced that the Southern Han Dynasty would win.
This is because the army of the Southern Han Dynasty has gathered a large number of martial arts masters. They are all heroes with famous names, such as the Eight Heroes of Jiangnan, the Thirteen Heroes of Taihu, and the Heroes of Tianmu Mountain. Their martial arts skills are also all kinds of strange, and some of them can travel thousands of miles away.
Feijian takes a human-level swordsman-level figure.
Moreover, there is also the legendary Jiangnan strange woman Xia Qinxin who is the queen. People have long concluded that the queen is the orphan of the former Emperor Wu, and there are countless poignant and graceful versions. However, Xia Qinxin remains true to her origins.
It was the product of a marriage with Suzhou socialite Xia Nanyu when Emperor Wu went to the south of the Yangtze River.
The common people were ignorant and thought that with Empress Zhengshuo and a large group of martial arts masters, the Southern Han Dynasty was unparalleled in strength and unification of the world would not be a problem. Even the local officials were confused. When they heard that the Southern Han army was coming to attack, they opened the city in a hurry
After surrendering, the Southern Han army was invincible and reached the capital without a single blow, and many officers and soldiers were recruited along the way.
When the Southern Han army arrived at the foot of the capital, the Northern Han army still did not attack the city. Yuan Feng had his own strategy. The capital was already a turtle in the urn, and he could deal with it how he wanted. If he attacked rashly, it would only arouse them.
We share the hatred of the enemy and cannot bear the thought of another casualty on the eve of victory.
They acted on both sides, giving them a chance to escape and time to think. After a few days, not only was there no calm in the capital, but it became even more chaotic. Everyone was thinking about their escape route, and how could they have the mind to resist? Even the Zhou army on the wall
He and the Han troops below began to call each other brothers, throwing food and drinks at each other.
The troops of the Southern Han Dynasty finally arrived, and the army was spread out in the south of the city and the Purple Mountain in the east of the city, ready to compete with the troops of the Northern Han Dynasty.
Some generals asked Yuan Feng why he had to wait for the Southern Han army to come to claim credit. Did he really want to fulfill his promise to enter the capital first and become the king?
Yuan Feng smiled indifferently and did not answer. The so-called oath was not even a p in the mouth of politicians. It was just a delaying strategy. He attracted the soldiers and horses of the Southern Han Dynasty not to compete with them, but to take advantage of them.
Annihilation of...
…
The capital was attacked from the north and south, surrounded from all sides, and the Forbidden City was in a miserable state. It wasn't that everyone didn't want to run, but there was no place to run. Outside the capital, it was the territory of the rebels. It was better to stay in the tall capital, at least in the capital camp.
There are still hundreds of thousands of troops, and there is still enough food and grass. It will not be a problem to hold on for a few months.
The emperor sat in the Fengtian Hall. In the past, he did not like the spacious and empty Fengtian Hall, but loved to stay in the warm pavilion of the Yangxin Hall. Only now did he realize that the throne in the Fengtian Hall was his favorite.
Sitting here, I opened all the palace doors and looked around. I could see the double eaves and stacked pavilions and the layers of yellow glazed tiles. I could see the royal demeanor. Nowadays, this kind of scenery is hard to miss.
There are fewer and fewer eunuchs around. The palace that usually has people coming and going is now empty without even a ghost. God knows where these guys have gone. Even Cao Shaoqin has disappeared.
How did the emperor know that these daring eunuchs knew that the Great Zhou Dynasty would be destroyed and the palace would cease to exist, so they all went to steal the palace property. The big eunuchs stole jewelry, porcelain, calligraphy, paintings and antiques, the little eunuchs stole tables, chairs and benches, and even the imperial guardsmen took knives in the middle of the night.
Scraping the gold plating on the copper water tank.
Even if he knew this, the emperor had no intention to care about it. At this moment, he had a glass of bitter wine in front of him, but he couldn't swallow it. The day before yesterday, Concubine Cui was frightened by the sound of gunfire outside the city, and she accidentally miscarried. The stillborn baby was indeed a boy.
, the last hope of the old Zhang family was over, and the emperor's heart died.
I remember that back then, I was a gangster in Gaoyou County. Because I was bullied by an archer in the salt field, I was so angry that I led eighteen brothers including Shixin, Shide, Shiyi and Li Boxheng into the salt field and hacked the archer to death.
From then on, we embarked on a road of no return. At that time, my mother advised myself: It is better to live a peaceful life.
Zhang Shicheng did not listen to his mother's words, because rebelling against the Yuan Dynasty was the general trend at that time. Heroes were rising everywhere in the world. He was not the most powerful, but he was the most visionary. He maneuvered among the major forces. First, he
He married Liu Futong's daughter, later joined the King of Han, and then saw the opportunity to launch a rebellion, and finally got his wish and ascended the throne of the Nine-Fiveth Emperor.
But looking back at these years, apart from facing south and facing north, being respected by thousands of people, what else do I have?
The wife died, the eldest son died, the third son also died, the daughter was killed by herself, and the last son also died in the mother's womb. Although the second son and the fourth son survived, these two beasts competed for the position of crown prince.
, doing everything possible has already made oneself feel chilled.
In the end, you are alone, so what's the point of being a loner?
The emperor sat on the throne for a long time, imagining another way of life. If he had not killed the archer at the beginning, maybe he would still be living in Gaoyou with his children and grandchildren, or he would not have launched a mutiny.
High-ranking officials are well paid and have no worries about food and clothing.
There is no turning back when you shoot. It's all your own choice. If I had to do it again, I would still do it!
Suddenly a long bell rang in the palace, which was a funeral bell. A eunuch rushed over in a hurry and reported to the emperor: "The Empress Dowager Yan is here."