Thang Long was originally named Zicheng, also known as Songping, and later called Hanoi. It is located in the delta area at the intersection of the Red River and the Dun River. It is a must-stop place whether you are going from the south to the north, or from the inland to the coast.<
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Even though the capital of Annan has been moved to Thanh Hoa, the strategic position of Thang Long City is still very important.
Now, the Ming army has made a comeback, with hundreds of thousands of troops approaching the city, and the end is as far as the eye can see.
In the first wave of confrontation between the two armies, the Annan army was completely defeated and simply gave up their frontline positions and all retreated to Thang Long City.
Since the Ming Dynasty withdrew its troops in the early years of Xuande, the Annan people have learned from previous lessons and re-reinforced the city wall, making Thang Long City even more impregnable.
The Ming army was fighting in a foreign land, and the supply line was very long. It was very inconvenient to transport grain from Yunnan to Annan, and it was very inconvenient. The losses along the way were considerable. One hundred kilograms of grain was transported to the front line, and only thirty grains were left.
A pound is considered good.
Perhaps the Ming army also considered the supply problem and did not rush to attack the city, but chose to camp twenty miles north of the city.
There are sufficient food reserves in Thang Long City to last for a year and a half, which is no problem at all. Therefore, the Annan people did not panic at all when the Ming army pressed on.
I won’t fight you, I’ll just cower up, if you can, hit me!
However, what they didn't know was that the original Qinghua garrison had the same idea.
The Ming army divided into two groups, one to surround Thang Long and the other to attack Thanh Hoa. Both cities were ready to defend. As a result, a small group of hundreds of troops suddenly ran to the west gate in the dust.<
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The defenders thought that the Ming army was coming to harass them, and they were about to fire arrows, but they realized that something was wrong.
The people below shouted that they were emperors!
The guards at the top of the city were stunned. The Ming Emperor personally went to fight. What happened?
However, it doesn’t look like it no matter how you look at it…
Finally, someone with understanding saw clearly that this was the Ming army. It was clearly the Annan Emperor Li Sicheng, with his crown prince Li Bin, a large group of civil servants, generals and hundreds of guards.
The defenders of Thang Long were immediately flattered. His Majesty the Emperor personally brought people to support him?
They hurriedly opened the city gate and let the emperor and his party into the city, and then they realized that it turned out that Qinghua City... was broken!
Seeing that everything was okay for the time being, Li Sicheng and his son felt relieved.
Thang Long City was the capital of Annan Kingdom for a long time. Although the capital has been moved to Thanh Hoa, the royal palace here still remains.
Its status is similar to Nanjing, the companion capital of the Ming Dynasty. In Annan, Thang Long is also called the Eastern Capital.
After entering the city, Li Sicheng hurriedly counted the civil servants and generals who had escaped with him, and assembled a temporary team.
Although the number of people is a bit smaller, at least it's like that.
The next step is to hold a combat meeting to discuss how to deal with the Ming army's attack.
After experiencing the Battle of Qinghua City, Li Sicheng had developed a deep fear of the Ming army's firearms.
With only two thousand people, they captured one of the strongest capital cities overnight.
There are 100,000 people here, but there has been no attack. What does it mean?
It shows that their firearms, especially ammunition, are not unlimited!
Otherwise, we would have attacked long ago, so what are we waiting for?
If this is the case, this battle can still be fought!
After the monarch and his ministers discussed it, Li Sicheng ordered Prince Li Bin to lead the entire army and prepare for a defensive battle.
Three days later, the Ming army outside the city still did not attack, but an army came from the west.
Li Bin stood at the top of the city and was shocked when he discovered that this team came from the direction of Qinghua City.
Could it be the Ming army that originally attacked Qinghua...
When the news reached the palace, Li Sicheng was eating and was so frightened that he threw away his bowl.
It’s over, it’s over, where are you going this time?
The huge Annan Kingdom has no place for itself...
Zheng Fu, Minister of War, said: "Your Majesty, the only option now is to fight to the death!"
Li Sicheng's face turned green and white for a while. After a while, he said, "Can you... hold on?"
"If you can't defend it, you must defend it. If the city is alive and the people are there, if the city is destroyed, the people will perish!"
"But, but..."
"Your Majesty, the Ming army has already attacked, why are you still hesitating?"
"How about..."
Li Sicheng struggled for a long time, and finally made up his mind and said weakly: "How about... let's surrender..."
"Your Majesty, you are Hutu! If the city is destroyed, the ministers may still survive, but you will not have any chance of survival!"
At this time, Zheng Fu already hates the fact that iron cannot become steel!
If the city is destroyed, as long as we, the courtiers, have a better surrender attitude, we can basically keep our jobs and even be promoted.
After all, if you are new here, you need someone to take care of you, right?
However, you, the emperor, are different. No matter what, the Li family will definitely die.
The country is made of iron and the emperor is the emperor of flowing water.
Li Sicheng had just fainted from anxiety. After hearing Fu Zheng's reminder, he finally woke up.
"What the Qing family said is absolutely true. Now we should defend to the death and fight the Northern Dynasty to the death!"
Zheng Fu saluted and said: "Now the 200,000 soldiers and civilians in Thang Long City are all thanks to His Majesty!"
Li Sicheng stopped eating immediately, put on his golden armor, and led his ministers to the city gate.
"Father, you are here!"
Li Bin's face was filled with joy. What the soldiers lack most now is morale. What better way to boost morale than the personal visit of His Majesty the Emperor!
"Your Majesty, don't panic, where are the enemy troops now?"
"Father, please look!"
Li Bin pointed to the city and said: "The main force of the 100,000 Ming army in the north is still standing still. Instead, this Ming army came from the direction of Qinghua City. It seems that there are about 2,000 people in number, but they do not carry artillery!" Hearing this, Li Sicheng's eyes lit up.
Sure enough, the Ming army had already exhausted all their ammunition when they attacked Qinghua City!
Without artillery, I’m still scared!
The strength of the Thang Long city wall is not as strong as that of Thanh Hoa City. Without the cannons that destroy heaven and earth, it is simply a dream to break the city with only flesh and blood!
"My son, don't panic. The Ming army may want to lure our army out of the city. Just ignore them!"
"Father is wise!"
At this time, Zheng Fu, the Minister of War, frowned and said: "Your Majesty, I feel that... something is not right..."
Li Sicheng asked: "What do you think of the Qing family?"
"Your Majesty, please see, if it is the enemy, they should camp outside the coverage of our artillery, and then look for opportunities to attack, but they are still advancing..."
The Annamites also have artillery, which they set up on the city gate tower.
Moreover, Annan's firearms manufacturing level has never been weak, and in some cases, it was even in a leading position.
During the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, after Emperor Taizong conquered Annan, he specially brought Li Shulin and his son, who were good at firearms manufacturing, back to the capital to be responsible for the improvement of firearms.
However, the new artillery brought by the Ming army this time was too terrifying. In comparison, the Annamite cannonballs were still big solid iron balls, which looked very spicy.