The rebel outposts were already close to the outskirts of Jiangning. From dawn, the Royal Guards and Jiangning Navy troops left the city in chaos, fearing that the rebel army would come and block the city and prevent them from getting out.
The city has fallen into complete chaos. People are setting fires and breaking and looting everywhere. I don’t know how many traitors are making trouble inside. How many refugees and ruffians in the city are following to take advantage of the fire. Either the government army or the imperial army.
Either abandon your armor and run away, or directly participate in the robbery.
Standing at the top of the city, you can see groups of soldiers participating in the robbery. Although Chen Xiyan was ordered to stay behind, he is no longer able to stop the chaos in the city from spreading. When the rebels come, these generals who take advantage of the chaos will probably rush to surrender to the enemy, right?
At this time, there were only five or six generals left at the top of the city who were willing to take orders from Chen Xiyan, and there were only three to four thousand imperial troops under direct control, and the minds of these three to four thousand imperial troops were extremely unstable.
The emperor and all the officials in the city have fled, and the city is in chaos. If there is not the last bit of conscience that has not been extinguished or the last glimmer of fear, who would be willing to stay at the top of the city and wait for the rebels to come and kill them?
The situation is over, the situation is lost! Chen Xiyan, Wang Yue and others are filled with despair.
"Where is Gao Zongting?" Chen Xiyan could only seek medical treatment in a hurry at this time. He could only hope that Huaidong's deployment in Jiangning could be the last straw to survive.
"Maybe at Donghua Gate." Zeng Mingxin said.
Chen Xiyan and others, surrounded by more than a hundred generals, headed for Donghua Gate. When they passed through Chaoyang Gate in the southeast, they met Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan stumbling over.
Zhang Yubo was holding a knife in his hand and wearing a leather armor. His whole body was covered in blood. There were dozens of soldiers behind him, all of them were covered in blood. Three or five of them were injured and they were supporting each other. They were obviously from Manchu City.
He was killed in the chaos.
Although Zhang Yubo was a civil servant, in his early years he served as a military commander and joined the army. He did common things such as arresting bandits and being a chivalrous man, so he had the style of a military general. He was supposed to be a famous commander with both civil and military skills, but he was too straightforward and was not taken seriously by Gu Wuchen in the past.
And they are unwilling to merge into Huaidong.
Zhao Shuhan was in a much more embarrassed state, with a bruise on his forehead and a robe that had obviously been rolled in the mud several times.
"Prime Minister Chen, Jiangning City is in chaos!" Zhang Yubo roared in pain.
"Why didn't you two go west with the emperor?" Chen Xiyan asked.
"I can't bear to leave, I have no shame to leave." Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan replied, bowing to Zeng Mingxin again, "Master Zeng is not leaving either?"
"I can't bear to leave, I have no shame to leave." Zeng Mingxin replied with the exact words.
Chen Xiyan wanted to cry after hearing this. If three or four out of ten officials and generals in the city could have such sincerity as Zeng Mingxin, Zhang Yubo, and Zhao Shuhan, why would the situation be like this? Even Cheng Yuqian, Zuo Chengmu, and Zhang Yan ended up making soft eggs.
, the Juan family traveled westward.
Although Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan were on good terms with Lin Fu, they were indeed loyal to the imperial court.
After the war in Xuzhou, Zhang Yubo finally chose to return to Jiangning. Even though Zhao Shuhan had been depressed over the years, he never left Jiangning and went to Huaidong. Chen Xiyan was still aware of this, but the personal friendship between Zhang Yubo, Zhao Shuhan and Lin Fu
There, you can't use them anyway.
Chen Xiyan did not expect that the two of them did not leave Jiangning to avoid disaster in the end, nor did they follow the emperor on a hunting tour to the west. Judging from their appearance, they probably did not know what Huaidong had back up.
Chen Xiyan didn't say much. After meeting Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan, he continued to Donghua Gate. On the way, he encountered two waves of insurrectionary troops, and they were all killed and retreated. Chen Xiyan did not expect that in the end there were some loyal imperial army generals who drew their swords.
The blood actually started on my own family members.
Chen Xiyan still met Gao Zongting and Zhao Hu at the Donghua Gate Tower. Along with Gao Zongting and Zhao Hu, there was also Chen Enze.
When Chen Enze was with Lin Fu, he was still a young man. Now he is wearing clothes and armor. Although he is thin, his eyes are bright, energetic, capable and alert. He does not seem to be bothered by the current chaos and collapse of Jiangning City.
, this mental outlook is far beyond that of the generals of the Royal Camp.
Zhao Hu had risen to prominence when he was in Jiangning, and was highly valued and trusted by Lin Fu. At this time, he had the demeanor of a general. He climbed up the tower and looked at the chaos in the city calmly.
Huaidong can become a powerful force. Lin Fu has the talent of a hero, but it also has a great relationship with Huaidong's ability to win people. The officers and soldiers have been rife for thousands of miles. Dong Yuan and Yue Lengqiu are also famous commanders, but their records also have victories and defeats. No matter what,
It cannot be compared with the Huaidong Army.
Gao Zongting seemed a bit haggard. He had been working hard during this period and had not been able to take a good rest. He was faced with such a complicated situation when he first came to Jiangning, so he was naturally extremely worried.
Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan were naturally overjoyed to see Gao Zongting, Zhao Hu and Chen Enze present.
Lin Xulu sent people to contact them several times in the past few days to take them and their families out of the city, but they rejected Huaidong's kindness. They knew that Huaidong had arrangements on Prison Island, but did not know the details.
Seeing the appearance of Gao Zongting, Zhao Hu, and Chen Enze, three people who shouldn't be in Jiangning, they just assumed that Huaidong had already prepared a plan to deal with this situation - Zhang and Zhao, although they had many disagreements with Huaidong,
But wanting to save the lives of more than a million people in the city is sincere.
Zhang Yubo asked directly: "Mr. Gao, how many soldiers are coming from Huaidong?"
"Jiangning went into chaos too quickly, beyond our expectation," Gao Zongting said. "Currently, there are only three thousand people available at the mouth of the river!"
"Only three thousand people!" Zhang Yubo closed his eyes in pain, there were too few people.
Jiangning City is built on the mountains and rivers. It is not a regular square shape, but generally each city wall is more than ten miles wide. Calculated with one soldier and one auxiliary soldier at the top of the city, it will take at least two soldiers to defend Jiangning City.
Ten thousand soldiers and twenty thousand auxiliary soldiers or civilian warriors.
Jiangning City is dangerous but too big.
Lin Fu was able to defend Yangxin City with 3,000 soldiers. Although Yangxin City was not dangerous, the key was small. It only took more than 1,000 steps to circle the city. After all, two to three soldiers could be arranged at each step of the city.
Soldiers. And Lin Fu knew how to use troops, and the morale of the Jiangdong Left Army was very high at that time. Unless Hu Bing could kill all the three thousand soldiers of the Jiangdong Left Army at the top of the city, it would be impossible to capture Yangxin City.
Jiangning City is so big that the rebel right wing and center armies of 60,000 troops are about to attack, and there is no way that the 3,000 people from Huaidong can hold Jiangning City.
The soldiers and horses of Huaidong can be said to be the most elite in the world. Gao Zongting knew military affairs, and Zhao Hu was also a brave general of Huaidong. But after all, he was a human being, not a god. The soldiers and horses of the She family who attacked Jiangning were not like the imperial army.
There is no way Jiangning City can be defended by the idiot soldiers, the pustified soldiers, otherwise the Hanghu Army would not have been able to defend Liyang and be destroyed in less than ten days.
Meng Yishan was able to put on armor and go into battle in person, but was eventually killed and his life or death was unknown. This shows that even if the Hanghu Army is not as elite as the Huaidong Army, it is still extremely determined to defend Liyang City.
Chen Xiyan also felt powerless. He could only control three or four thousand soldiers and horses of the imperial camp, which had unstable hearts. To defend the city, he must first divide his troops to suppress the chaos in the city. Jiangning City is too big, and the residents in the city
Add in the influx of refugees, far more than one million, and it is now completely in chaos. The main force of the rebels can arrive in half a day at the latest, and throw six to seven thousand people in. The chaos in the city can be suppressed in half a day.
?
And we simply don’t know how many rebel secret agents and spies are mixed in, but there must be some, and they are by no means a small number. Some have been lurking in the past, and some have recently infiltrated with the refugees.
There was no chaos in the city, and the rebels, who had sneaked in with hundreds or more than a thousand men, could not cause a big storm. But at this time, they were mixed in with the chaotic crowd of more than a million, plus more than 10,000 people.
How could the rebels, with only six to seven thousand men, be suppressed before the main force of the rebels arrived?
"Jiangning is difficult to defend, and the imperial city is difficult to attack!" The Gao clan stared at Chen Xiyan with bright eyes, "No matter how chaotic Jiangning City is, not many people will die, but we must not allow this trapped beast of the She family to wreak havoc in Jiangning!"
When Emperor Gaozu founded the country, he made Jiangning the capital and the old city of Jiangning as the imperial city. On the outskirts of the imperial city, a new solid city wall was built on the basis of the old city. This is the scale of Jiangning City today.
The layout of Jiangning City is the same as that of Yanjing City. It is a triple city. Although there is no outer city, in terms of layout, it must be ranked among the top three majestic cities in the world. The imperial city mainly encloses the palace city and the official offices of the six departments of Jiangning.
Although Jiangning City is large, with a circumference of more than forty miles, the imperial city is much smaller, with a circumference of only three miles. The palace city in the imperial city is even smaller, with more than a hundred steps in circumference, and is not even as good as the Prince of Chu's Mansion in Xuzhou City.
.This was mainly due to the financial difficulties when Emperor Gaozu first founded the country.
When Emperor Yongxing came to Jiangning to establish vassal status as Prince Ning, he directly used the old palace city as Prince Ning's residence. When he used the old palace city less than 500 steps away as Prince Ning's residence, he felt that it was very crowded. It is no wonder that after he ascended the throne, he often
Thinking of spending huge sums of money to build a new imperial city outside Jiangning.
Although Jiangning City was in chaos, the imperial city was still under Chen Xiyan's control. After the Royal Guards of the Royal Horse Prison withdrew, Chen Xiyan was still a trustworthy general and led hundreds of people to guard the few openings in the imperial city.
It would be difficult for 3,000 soldiers to hold Jiangning City to the sky, but it is not difficult to hold the Imperial City, at least for seven or eight days.
Although the walls of the imperial city are not as wide and thick as those of the outer city, they are still two feet high and six feet thick, and are made entirely of masonry.
"The imperial city is located in the heart of Jiangning. Three thousand soldiers are enough to defend it. Even if the rebels capture the outer city, it only takes two days for the Huaidong Water Camp to receive the Dongyang Mansion's troops from Chaotiandang and stationed on Prison Island. From the east
Threatening the rebels outside Huamen, making the rebels besieged internally and externally," Gao Zongting said in a decisive tone, "Then we will wait for Pengcheng County Duke to lead the main force of Huaidong troops to come to the rescue! If the enemy does not retreat, we will fight to the death in Jiangning City!"
"The secret plan is feasible." Wang Yue hesitated when he met Chen Xiyan, knowing that he was worried about letting Huaidong troops enter the imperial city. It would be impossible for him to tell the truth later, but it concerned the people of the city, so he had no choice but not to persuade him, "Rebel
If the army is besieged internally and externally, it will inevitably be unable to use its hands to massacre the city. As long as the imperial city is not lost, the rebels in the city will be frightened and will restrain themselves. In addition, the sooner the rebels are driven out, the less damage Jiangning will suffer. If the rebellion is allowed,
The army has held Jiangning for three to five months. Even if we take it back, it will be completely reduced to a ruined city!"
There are not many soldiers and horses in Huaidong. If the 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army are allowed to completely occupy Jiangning City and defend based on Xiongcheng, Huaidong will have no good method except cooperating with the Jiangzhou Army to besiege it for a long time.
.
If Prison Island is a key point approaching Jiangning City, it cannot be ignored, and the Imperial City is a key point that must be put to death before survival. If the Imperial City cannot be taken, even if the 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhejiang and Fujian Army control the outer city, they will not be able to defeat it.
How resolutely will you defend yourself?
As long as Huaidong elite Jiang Ning is in his heart, the She family will not dare to relax military discipline and send soldiers to massacre and plunder.
"The city is full of people!" Zhang Yubo shouted at Chen Xiyan in a suppressed voice.
The siege was the most cruel to the people in the city. Yue Lengqiu defended Xuzhou. The people in Xuzhou died of starvation, and almost one-third died of illness. How long can the grain reserves in the hands of the people in Jiangning last? Two months or three
Month? Even if the She family does not massacre the city, they still have the ability to keep Jiangning City for three to five months and drag the main force of Huaidong and Jiangzhou soldiers to death on the periphery.
It was basically clear at this time what the She family was planning:
The first is to completely cripple Jiangning. The Jiangzhou Army and Huaixi Army will be deprived of money and food, and the Jinghu Army will also be trapped in money and food for a long time.
The second is to drag the main forces of the Huaidong Army and Jiangzhou Army in Jiangning.
The third is that after She Feixiong occupied the entire territory of Jiangxi, he led the main force of troops eastward to Jiangning to participate.
The fourth is to shake the foundation of Dai Viet's regime. Even if Luo Xiancheng can be invited to march eastward, the deployment of troops can also be changed.
The fifth is three to five months, which is enough time for Donghu to completely adjust his strategy in the Hehuai River, launch a fierce attack from Xinyang or Nanyang, and tear apart the defense line in the upper reaches of the Huaihe River. If the She family surrenders to Donghu, they can at least be crowned king.
Why is there no movement in Donghu? It’s not that Donghu doesn’t want to have any movement, but it’s only a little more than a month from the fall of Yuling Pass to the time when the Zhejiang and Fujian armies arrive at Jiangning City. In such a short period of time, Donghu is simply not allowed to do anything.
What kind of reaction? You must know that Jiangning's news report will reach Yanjing City through secret sentry, which will take at least ten days and a half.
One month would be too long for Donghu to react, but if the She family captured Jiangning City and defended it for three to five months, would Donghu still be unable to react?
Those generals who did not leave the imperial camp at the end also looked at Chen Xiyan eagerly.
The emperor rushed out of the city to escape, and it was undoubtedly delusional to hope that the remaining imperial soldiers would remain loyal to him. Therefore, as soon as the news spread, the imperial army was in chaos. Most of the soldiers fled the night before, and then the chaos started and more people started to fight.
Big chaos.
There are not many generals left, some are influenced by Chen Xiyan, some have their families gathered in the imperial city to protect them, some are sincere and unchangeable generals who were promoted from the bottom by Li Zhuo and Gu Wuchen - there are various reasons for these generals to persist.
They have not dispersed yet, but that does not mean that they really have the will to fight to the death. When the main force of the rebels comes over, in the desperate situation, the vast majority of them will still choose to either disperse or surrender to the enemy.
When Li Zhuo was appointed as Jiangning garrison general, Gao Zongting's influence on the original Jiangning garrison general school was still there. Gao Zongting was there and there were 3,000 Huaidong soldiers, which also allowed these imperial army generals who insisted on not dispersing to see that the imperial city guard still existed.