Among the four ancient capitals, Luoyang, Chang'an, Beijing, and Nanjing, only in terms of city, Nanjing has the strongest defense capability.
Especially after various repairs by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, it can be said to be extremely solid.
For example, the outer wall of Nanjing reached an exaggerated 120 kilometers, which was the longest in the world at that time.
As a result, Nanjing's outer wall was in vain, and there were not so many soldiers and horses to garrison at all. Moreover, the strength of the troops was spread thin, making it easier to break through one by one.
Therefore, Huang Degong had no choice but to abandon the outer wall and only guard the inner city. Even so, his military strength was still lacking.
The inner city is bounded by the Yangtze River to the north, Zhongshan Mountain, Lime Mountain and Houhu Lake to the east, forming a natural barrier, and the Qinhuai River to the west.
In this way, all the pressure is concentrated in the south of the city.
The cannons roared and the war drums continued.
In this land that has been peaceful for hundreds of years, war has once again ushered in.
It's so bloody, unexpected, and unbelievable.
Huang Degong struggled to maintain it.
Of course, this is better than the original history.
After Emperor Hongguang learned of the fall of Zhenjiang, he immediately discussed with Ma Shiying and secretly left Nanjing and headed west.
But now, Zuo Liangyu has not rebelled, and Huang Degong has served the king promptly, making the entire Hongguang court much more stable.
Even so, there was still panic in the city of Nanjing, and the Manchus' horrific record made them fearful.
At this time, Donglin-Fushe, this deformed alliance, was already undercurrent at the time of Nanjing's crisis.
Fushe, Jishe, etc. are composed of scholars and selected people. They are controlled by the second generation of officials from the Donglin Party. They have no official positions and are only responsible for guiding public opinion.
The Donglin Party is composed entirely of officials, more than 90% of whom are from South Zhili, with distinctive local characteristics.
Qian Qianyi, the great son of Donglin, looked compassionate, took a sip of tea, and sighed: "The fate of the country is difficult..."
"There are traitors in the court and there are Tartars outside. How can we be invincible?"
Wang Duo, the Minister of Hubu and a scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, said angrily: "The eunuchs are harming the country, the eunuchs are harming the country!"
Qian Qianyi was helpless. At this time, it was useless to talk more. He still had to consider the next situation.
Academician Cai Yichen shook his head and sighed: "When the situation has reached this point, it is better to consider the court more."
"In the past, when the Southern Song Dynasty was defeated, Wen Tianxiang and others persisted for more than ten years when they were loyal. We can also follow our example."
On the side, Li Zhan, the censor of Zuodu, his eyes lit up, he nodded slightly, and showed a smile: "The country has been supporting scholars for three hundred years, and it's time to serve."
Qian Qianyi shook his head slightly, not commenting on this.
Of course he understood what these people meant. The subtext was to keep a useful body and leave Nanjing, so as to establish another vassal king as emperor and persist in resisting the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, the first step is to leave Nanjing, and the rest will come later.
Tactful yet decent, the reader has a lot of thoughts.
"Nowadays, the court is in a precarious situation, and there are probably not many promising and wise kings among the vassal kings from other places!"
Qian Qianyi smiled slightly and said lightly.
"Where is King Yu?"
At this time, Wang Duo suddenly said: "Huguang is doing pretty well now."
"A domineering person!"
Qian Qianyi shook his head, with a sense of disgust in his eyes: "Although he is good at martial arts, he is not a wise king and is not advisable."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
For civil servants like them, a wise king must be obedient, like Xiaozong and Mu Zong, who rule from the top.
Besides, the domineering King Yu still has his own team, how can they occupy the core position?
Therefore, even if he has the image of Zhongxing, everyone does not like him.
“The King Lu in Hangzhou is pretty good.”
Li Zhan said casually.
Qian Qianyi nodded slightly. Although he didn't say a word, everything was unspoken.
At this time, everyone picked up the tea and took a sip, with endless aftertaste.
At this time, Ma Shiying, the chief minister of the cabinet, was also discussing the future with Ruan Dacheng.
Although in front of Huang Degong and others, he looked like he had the pearls of wisdom in hand, in fact, he was already panicking like an old dog in his heart.
The Nanjing court knew exactly how Yangzhou City was breached, and it took a few days to fire a volley of artillery.
He didn't think Nanjing could resist.
"Now, the greatest confidence in our hands is the emperor."
Ruan Dacheng said decisively with his face full of thought.
"Emperor, Emperor——"
Ma Shiying murmured. He paced anxiously and said anxiously: "At this point, the emperor can't even protect himself..."
"No, you mean to be a slave?"
Ma Shiying's eyes were sharp for a moment, staring at Ruan Dacheng, and warned: "How can we become second ministers after we have read poetry and books? How can we forget the kindness of the emperor?"
"Of course I understand." Ruan Dacheng took a deep breath and said solemnly: "I mean, take His Majesty and leave Nanjing City."
"In Jiangxi, Huguang, and Lingnan, there are loyal ministers of the imperial court everywhere. If we resist, the Ming Dynasty will not be destroyed for three hundred years."
Ma Shiying's expression softened a lot and he spoke the truth:
"The king and his ministers are one. Although I, Ma Shiying, love power, I am still a minister of the Ming Dynasty..."
Ruan Dacheng had a look of approval, but he was very contemptuous in his heart. With the appearance of Emperor Hongguang, can Daming be saved?
On the other side, the nobles of Nanjing City are also discussing the future.
If the civil servants were still discussing the decision, including Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong, Baoguo Gong Zhu Guobi, Wei Guogong Xu Jiujue, Longping Marquis Zhang Gongri and other nobles, they all sat down one after another.
Among them, the Nanjing garrison was Xincheng Bo Zhao Zhilong. His ancestors were from hundreds of households and were the virtuous ministers who accompanied the founder Zhu Di Jingnan.
These nobles are different from the literati. They have families, and have continuous wealth.
Therefore, the greatest hope is to preserve wealth and wealth, whether it is the emperor or the Ming Dynasty, they can sell it off.
In a short period of time, the regulations for surrender were decided.
The three forces in Nanjing all lost hope in Nanjing. Only Huang Degong was kept in the dark and still worked diligently.
At the same time, the Search Division had already reported that Yangzhou had been massacred and Zhenjiang had fallen, and had been transferred to Xiangyang.
Zhao Shu was stationed in Xiangyang. After learning the news, he decisively issued a military order and asked Jiujiang Prime Minister Hui Deng and Bai Wang to immediately mobilize all his troops and send troops to Anqing Prefecture.
As the chokepoint city upstream of Nanjing, the importance of Anqing is self-evident.
Once Anqing is captured, it will take the initiative towards Nanjing and move down the river without any resistance.
"Hahaha!"
Prime Minister Hui Deng laughed, and the military order in his hand made him inexplicably excited: "I have been in Jiujiang for more than a year, and I can finally move my muscles and bones."
"My sons, there is Zhou Lang in Chibi, and in the battle of Anqing, I am Hui Lang!!!"
After saying that, the feather fan in his hand was swaying more and more, saliva was splashing everywhere, and his face was full of pride.
Half a day later, Bai Wang from Huangmei County gathered his army, joined with him, and directly attacked Anqing City and captured the important city.
As for whether this was a rebellion, they didn't care.