Outside Juyongguan, Zhu Qizhen looked up at the starry sky with a heavy expression on his face.
One man can guard the barrier, but ten thousand men cannot open it. This is not just a saying. Sometimes the terrain alone can determine everything.
In the current situation, without heavy firearms, it would be impossible to capture Juyong Pass.
Yuan Bin looked at the sky, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, it's late at night."
Zhu Qizhen said slowly: "I can't sleep!"
It's already the sixth night, and I still haven't thought of a way to defeat the enemy.
The supplies on our side mainly rely on Orkhon City and surrounding market towns. If it continues to be consumed, it will be difficult to maintain supplies.
The conspiracy in the capital is unknown to what extent it has progressed. If the prince has ascended the throne, the situation will become increasingly difficult to control.
"Your Majesty, Duke Rui Guo and Marquis Beihai are here!"
Zhu Qizhen turned his head and saw Li Zhen and Ha Ming walking forward and kneeling on one knee to salute.
"No need to be polite, just get up and answer."
The two stood up, and Li Zhen said: "Your Majesty, waiting like this is not an option. I suggest that the Three Thousand Battalion launch an attack tomorrow morning!"
Ha Ming hurriedly said: "Mr. Rui Guo, didn't we just agree that Beihaiwei will take the lead?"
Li Zhen said: "Beihaiwei is not good at attacking cities, so it is better for the Three Thousand Battalion to take the lead!"
"But... the Three Thousand Battalion is not good at attacking cities!"
"We're equipped!"
"There are many of us!"
"We are familiar with the terrain around the capital!"
"We...there are many people!"
"Okay, stop arguing!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said: "Without heavy artillery, it is useless for anyone to attack. This is a siege, not an encounter. Comparing equipment and numbers is meaningless!"
You two look at me, I look at you, and you shut your mouth at the same time.
Zhu Qizhen said again: "After much thought, I think it is better to divide our troops and break through other passes."
Li Zhen said: "I am worried that other passes will also be heavily guarded."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said: "That must be the case, but as long as there is a way to break through, we can move troops to the capital."
The biggest problem now is that the news is blocked. The capital does not know what is happening outside the customs, and he himself does not know the extent of the situation in the capital.
If an army of troops storms into the capital, these people's conspiracy can be made public.
At least you can tell all the officials in the capital that I, Zhu Qizhen, am still alive and outside Juyong Pass.
Whoever dares to rebel must consider how many lives he has!
Li Zhen said: "If you divide your troops to attack, you need to plan a good route. The more troops and horses are divided, the better. Even if a troop only has a hundred people, as long as it can bypass the opponent's defense and enter the capital, it will be done!"
While the two were talking, Ha Ming looked up at the stars in the night sky, very lost in thought.
Li Zhen reached out and slapped him on the back and said, "Marquis of Beihai, what do you think?"
"ah?"
Ha Ming was a little stunned and quickly replied: "What?"
Li Zhen frowned and said, "The Emperor is asking you, how about dividing the troops to attack?"
"Oh, oh... no problem!"
Ha Ming nodded repeatedly and said: "Beihaiwei has five thousand people. They can be divided into dozens of small teams and attack on multiple lines. I don't believe it. Can they guard all the routes?"
Zhu Qizhen thought about it and seemed to have no better way, so he turned around and said: "Without further delay, we will determine the route tonight."
Li Zhen turned around to follow, but saw Ha Ming still looking up at the sky, and slapped him again.
"Let's go, what are we looking at?"
Ha Ming, however, was full of doubts and said: "How come this star... moves?"
Li Zhen was puzzled and asked: "What?"
Ha Ming pointed to the horizon and said, "Look, are those stars moving?"
Hearing this, Zhu Qizhen suddenly stopped and turned to look at the horizon.
Yuan Bin also realized the problem and stared at the moving stars that Ha Ming mentioned.
Only Li Zhen looked confused and asked: "Why do the stars move?"
The sadness on Zhu Qizhen's face suddenly disappeared, and he smiled knowingly: "Here he comes!"
"What?"
Li Zhen is still confused, what happened?
Are the stars in the sky coming to save you?
When Yuan Bin saw this, he explained: "This is the Kongming Lantern of the Academy of Sciences!"
Ha Ming was a little stunned, but Li Zhen had already reacted and said: "Reinforcements are coming!"
Zhu Qizhen laughed and immediately ordered: "Send the order, everyone is ready to fight. The target is Juyongguan!"
Li Zhen saluted and said: "Yes!"
Before Ha Ming could figure out the situation, he asked: "Your Majesty, what on earth is going on here?"
Beihaiwei is too far away from the Central Plains, so its knowledge of what happened in the capital is very limited.
In addition, the new invention of the Kongming Lantern is a military secret and cannot be easily spread, so Ha Ming did not know about it.
Zhu Qizhen said: "Go and prepare, you will understand in a moment!"
Ha Ming still didn't understand, but he had no choice but to agree: "I obey your order!"
Two quarters of an hour later, the lights in the camp were brightly lit, and everyone was in a state of preparation for war.
Zhu Qizhen rode a horse and walked at the front of the team, staring closely at the sky above Juyongguan.
A few flickering stars became bigger and bigger, and many small dots appeared behind them. Judging from the number, they were at least hundreds.
Ha Ming is still confused, what is this thing used for?
Didn't the emperor say that he would divide his troops? Why did he suddenly attack?
What's going on in the middle of the night?
Suddenly, a dazzling fire appeared in front.
Ha Ming was suddenly startled. Before he could react, a violent explosion sounded in his ears.
Boom!
Immediately afterwards, there was another burst of fire.
Boom!
Boom!
Explosions continued to appear, and Juyongguan was on fire!
Ha Ming opened his mouth wide and looked ahead in surprise, as if it had turned into a sea of fire.
He was shocked, what kind of weapon is this?
It can be seen from the power of the explosion that it should be a large artillery piece, but no sound of the cannon being fired was heard at all.
Could it be that the emperor has developed a cannon that does not need to be fired?
This is unreasonable!
The explosion in Juyongguan continued until all the stars in the sky fell, and there was a faint cry of killing.
Zhu Qizhen pulled out the embroidered spring knife from his waist and shouted: "The whole army attacks!"
Under the order, the army rushed towards Juyongguan like a tide.
Ha Ming seemed to want to find out what was going on, so he tried his best to rush to the front of the team. All he saw was fire in front of him, illuminating the surrounding area as brightly as day.
boom!
The suspension bridge in front of the city gate suddenly collapsed, and then, the city gate was opened from the inside.
A group of officers and soldiers dressed in royal robes rushed out. One of them stepped forward quickly and shouted: "My royal robes and guards, Wantong, respectfully welcome the emperor, long live the emperor!"
Zhu Qizhen tightened the reins, raised his horse and asked, "How is the battle ahead?"
Wantong said: "There are five thousand rebels in Juyong Pass, most of them have been wiped out, and a few have surrendered."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and asked, "How many of you are here?"
Wantong continued: "There are 500 Jinyi Guards and 150 people from the Academy of Sciences!"