At the end of the afternoon, the entire city's soldiers and civilians gathered at the General Office Square of Dushi City.
Of course, Zhang Yanling did not put his money on Asbath. Although Zhang Yanling felt that the conditions offered to Asbath were generous enough, as long as Asbath had some courage or ambition, he would not let go of this opportunity.
.
However, after all, I don’t know much about Asbath, and the relationship between him and Batu Munch remains at the level of hearsay, personal speculation and analysis. I cannot fully understand Asbath’s inner thoughts. Therefore,
, in this case, it would be foolish to place all your hopes on Asbath.
Because of this, Zhang Yanling must make every effort to prepare for the final decisive battle with the Tatars. He also made preparations for a breakout if the situation was uncontrollable.
Zhang Yanling formulated two final escape plans. The first one was to have Zhu Houzhao and others evacuate from the rope ladder prepared on the west city wall after the city was breached. Below the west city wall of Monolith City is a steep cliff. Although it is not conducive to escape, it is
But it is not conducive to the enemy's pursuit. If you can go down to the cliff and then escape to the Dushi River as quickly as possible and cross the Dushi River, you will have a good chance of escaping.
However, this route is too dangerous. Not only are the cliffs steep, but there is no road at all. If you are not careful, you may accidentally fall to your death. Moreover, the Tatars may have arranged manpower on the cliffs on the banks of the Dushi River. After all, the Tatars do not
You may not have thought of this. But it was precisely because of the complex terrain that it was possible to escape.
Another plan is to force a breakout. Gather the existing troops and horses in the city. Once the city is breached, launch a southward breakout. You can choose to cross the river or sneak into the mountains.
Zhang Yanling personally prefers the second method, although the first method seems easier to succeed and more secretive. After all, only some people will protect the emperor when escaping, and it seems that no one is aware of it. But after Zhang Yanling observed the terrain
I think this route is actually very difficult to follow.
The reason why Monolithic City was built here was to take advantage of the terrain, with cliffs and canyons to the east and west, and gentle slopes to the south and narrow slopes to the north. This is a natural fortress. In terms of defense against attacks, in addition to attacks from the north and south,
, it is almost impossible to attack on the east and west sides. Similarly, for the defenders who want to escape here, they can only break out from the north and south sides. Forcibly escaping from the complex and dangerous terrain on the east and west sides is actually more dangerous than breaking out from the front.
The risk is greater. It just feels like it might be safer.
The method of frontal breakthrough seems to be more dangerous and reckless, but Zhang Yanling feels that by concentrating troops and horses to break through from one point, and taking advantage of the loose formation after the Tatars swarm the city after the city is broken, there will not be too many deep troops to block it.
Coupled with the use of cannons and firearms to open the way, and the protection of the sophisticated equipment of the Han generals in imperial robes, it was even more possible to break out.
In the end, everyone discussed and decided to adapt to the situation. It will depend on the battle situation. If the breakout can be gathered from the south city, priority will be given to breaking out from the south city. If the breakout from the south city is blocked, they will break away from the west city wall. At that time, all soldiers and horses will gather at the west city wall to defend the blockade, ensuring
Zhu Houzhao was able to escape.
Although such a plan was made, everyone knew in their hearts that tonight's battle would be very bad, and they would probably die here. The soldiers and civilians in the city were obviously aware of this, and an atmosphere of panic filled the city, and everyone was depressed.
They were doing things loudly and the atmosphere was extremely dull.
Under this situation, Zhang Yanling felt that it was better to carry out a pre-war mobilization. If the battle was fought with such morale, the city would certainly not be able to hold, and a breakout would be impossible. Morale must be boosted and fighting spirit must be boosted to meet this final battle.
Except for the soldiers who stayed at the top of the city to monitor the enemy, all the soldiers and civilians of Dushi City gathered in the square in front of the military office. There were only more than 3,000 soldiers and civilians, men, women, and children, and only more than 1,000 soldiers who could fight were left.
After several days of suffering, the soldiers and civilians looked haggard and gray-headed. Many of them had not been able to sleep well for several days. They were all unkempt, with bloodshot eyes, gloomy expressions, and frowning brows.
Zhang Yanling asked Zhu Houzhao to say a few words to boost the morale of the soldiers and civilians. Zhu Houzhao also knew that he had to say something, so he stepped forward and said loudly: "Fellow soldiers and common people, the Tatars are going to attack the city tonight. I
I can only rely on you to kill the enemy. I make a promise to you here. If you can tonight
Defend Monolithic City, and I will reward you heavily after I get out of trouble. Everyone in this Monolithic City, I will promote you to an official position, reward you with gold and silver, and give you generous rewards. I will do what I say. I hope you will
Everyone can kill the enemy bravely. I am with you tonight, and like you, I swear to live and die with the city."
After Zhu Houzhao said these few words, the soldiers and civilians standing below looked numb and unfazed.
Zhang Yanling frowned and thought: At this time, all your promises of promotion and wealth are in vain. Who cares about rewards when your life is gone? Besides, are they killing the enemy just for rewards? Zhu Houzhao's mobilization
It can be said to be of no use.
Zhu Houzhao was also a little embarrassed. He thought that when he spoke, there would be a passionate scene below. As a result, everyone's reaction was mediocre, and there was no expression of gratitude on their faces, let alone the roaring and tsunami that aroused fighting spirit.
But after all, he grew up in the palace, has little experience, and does not understand people's hearts. He only knows that at this time, the reward of promotion and wealth is the most useful, but in fact it is not.
"Uncle, tell me, my words seem to have no effect." Zhu Houzhao smacked his lips and said to Zhang Yanling.
Zhang Yanling nodded and cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, please rest. I will say a few words."
Zhu Houzhao nodded and turned around. Liu Jin hurriedly came forward and helped him sit down.
Zhang Yanling walked to the entrance of the stage, glanced at the soldiers and civilians in the audience, pondered for a moment, and suddenly shouted sharply: "Everyone, please be more energetic, why are you all crying and mourning? It's like a funeral, there is no morale. You are a bunch of cowards, you are afraid
What?"
Everyone was stunned. Why did Mr. Zhang open his mouth and start swearing?
"Are you afraid? Yes, there are tens of thousands of Tatars in the north and south of the city. They are a large area of darkness. They are as ferocious as tigers and wolves, killing people without blinking an eye. So you are afraid, right? They are going to attack tonight, and you will all die.
, so you are afraid, right? However, you are afraid
Is it useful? If you are afraid and timid, will the Tatars be merciful? Even if you kneel in front of them and beg for mercy, they will chop off your heads. Will they spare you? Therefore, fear is useless and can only let you
You will die more cowardly, and you will die more oppressively."
Everyone was silent and stared at Zhang Yanling on the stage. Zhang Houye's words were straightforward, but they were true. The Tatars were like tigers and wolves, with no mercy. When the Tatars invaded border towns, they always burned, killed and looted.
To beg for mercy from the Tatars is not to ask evil wolves and tigers to show mercy. It is simply wishful thinking. However, what the Marquis said is too hard to accept.
"Of course, I know that it is normal to be afraid at this time. Ants are still alive, let alone humans? How can we remain indifferent when facing life and death? To be honest, I am also afraid. However, I am not afraid of Tatars.
It’s because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to resist the Tatars and let them succeed.”
"Everyone, do you know why the Tatars attacked our Monument City? Yes, that's because they learned that the emperor was here. They wanted to capture the emperor and use him to blackmail our Ming Dynasty in exchange for the gold and silver they need.
, armor, weapons, war horses, supplies, in exchange for helping him
They are craftsmen who build siege equipment in exchange for all the armaments they urgently need. To put it simply, the Tatars are not angry that the Ming Dynasty drove them out of the Central Plains. They want to make a comeback, reoccupy the land of the Central Plains, and enslave the people of the Ming Dynasty. Only then
It’s what’s on their minds.”
"I'm afraid they will succeed. Then their iron hooves will step into the land of Ming Dynasty, our great rivers and mountains, and thousands of people will be destitute and ravaged by them. Personally speaking, my family, brothers, wives, concubines, and relatives
I will have to live an inhuman life under the iron heel of the Tatars. This is what I am really afraid of. What I am afraid of is not death. What I am afraid of is not being able to protect my wife, parents, relatives and friends. If I, Zhang Yanling, die,
If we can exchange for their peace, why would we regret dying? Why should we fear death? I believe you are the same as me. You also don’t want your parents, wives, children, sisters and brothers to be ravaged and bullied by the Tatars, under their iron heel.
Live a miserable life. You can also sacrifice your lives to protect their safety, right? If you think the same way as me, then you must kill the enemy at all costs, regard death as home, and not be afraid of life and death."
The soldiers and civilians in the audience began to commotion, their emotions became intense, and their eyeballs began to become bloodshot. Zhang Houye's words hit their weak point. Who is willing to let his parents, wife and children fall under the iron hoof of the Tatars? That is unimaginable. Therefore,
If this war has such serious consequences, why not fight to the death?
"Everyone, every time you kill a Tatar today, you are eliminating a hidden danger for the people of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, it is not only for your own parents, wives and children, you are also protecting the people of the entire Ming Dynasty. We are in Dushi City today.
The battle is destined to be a heavenly one
A battle that attracts attention and is admired by thousands of people. After this battle, our names will be praised by people all over the world. Not only people who know us, but also people who don’t know us will respect us as heroes, and people in future generations will also praise us.
Merit. Because we will leave a name in history."
"No one has ever died since ancient times, and his loyalty will be recorded in history. Everyone will die. Even if you don't die today, will you be able to live a hundred years? You will eventually die one day. We may not be able to choose the time of our birth or the poverty of our birth.
To be rich, you choose to be noble or humble. But today, we are all warriors regardless of whether we are rich or poor, old or young.
Soldiers who defend the country of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the Ming Dynasty. We are equal. We may not be able to avoid death, but we can choose how to die. Whether to kneel and die in humiliation with someone's head chopped off, or to fight to the end with the enemy.
His body was wrapped in horse leather and stained with blood on the battlefield, and his name will be remembered forever. There is no need for me to say more about such an answer. I think you all have your own answer."
Everyone's emotions had been completely ignited by this point, their blood rushed to their heads, their whole bodies were boiling with enthusiasm, and their fighting spirit was burning. No one was in a decadent state anymore, and everyone started roaring.
"We are not afraid of death. We will fight the Tatars to the end."
"I vow to fight the Tatars to the bitter end."
"Live and die with the city!"
"..."
The soldiers and civilians roared in anger.
Zhang Yanling looked solemn and nodded slightly. He slowly stretched out his arms, raised them high, and shouted loudly: "My Ming Dynasty... is invincible in the world!"
"I am invincible tomorrow!"
The roars of thousands of people echoed through the mountains and fields, reaching into the sky.