Outside Tongzhou City, Yang Rong did not wait for news of Zhu Zhanji's victory, but instead waited for Wang Xian and his cavalry.
Seeing Wang Xian's figure appear at this time, the victory of the battle was self-evident.
Mo Wen, who was at the top of the city, felt relieved and smiled at the soldiers who had not yet come to their senses: "Why are you still standing there, let's get out of the city!"
The soldiers rushed out of Tongzhou City and surrounded the thirty thousand people with the Shandong cavalry, forcing them to hand over their families!
Yang Rong was also a bachelor. He came to see Wang Xian alone and offered to use himself and the more than 10,000 hostages in exchange for the safe departure of the 30,000 troops.
"Scholar Yang seems to be frustrated..." Wang Xian looked at the man who ordered Xu Huaiqing to be killed expressionlessly.
"It doesn't make any difference whether I go back to Kyoto or not." Yang Rong said with a sad smile: "The emperor actually had the intention of negotiating peace for a long time, but he was persuaded to do so by the three of us. However, we lost this battle. We naturally have to bear our due responsibilities.
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Wang Xian pondered for a moment and said: "Okay. But there is one condition. Those people from Dongchang cannot stay."
This was the meaning of the question, so Yang Rong naturally agreed. After returning, he called the people from Dongchang together on the pretext of discussing countermeasures. Then officers and soldiers swarmed up and tied them all up.
Wang Xian fulfilled his promise and let go of the 30,000 troops.
Seeing the soldiers and his parents and brothers hugging each other and crying, he felt that this deal was a great deal.
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Hundreds of thousands of defeated troops fled back to Beijing, bringing news that the army was defeated and that the prince and Yang Rong were captured. After repeated stimulation in the past two months, such shocking news could no longer arouse the emotions of the people.
What a fluctuation. They were just worried that if the Duke of Zhen attacked Beijing, it would take a long time. What if the family ran out of food? How could the whole family survive?
The princes and ministers were also numb. No one was even surprised. It seemed that losing to Wang Xian was natural, but winning against him would be a miracle. Many people began to regret that they had not contacted Wang Xian secretly to see if they could surrender.
In the past. Now the capital has completely entered a state of war readiness. The nine gates are closed tightly. No one is allowed to approach the city wall. Even if they want to contact them, they have no way to contact them.
There were also many ministers who were absolutely loyal to Emperor Hongxi. After all, apart from Wang Xian, Zhu Gaochi was a good emperor who was generous to his subordinates and loved his people like his own son. These officials took the initiative to donate their property to recruit young men, appease and rectify the defeated troops, and defend the imperial court.
Beijing is doing its best.
There was a cold wind and rain in the Forbidden City. When she heard that the prince had been captured, Empress Zhang fainted. After hearing Yang Shiqi's report, Emperor Hong Xi was not very surprised. He just shook his head and sighed: "Why do we have to take this step..."
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"Your Majesty, only when you have done your best can you obey the destiny. How can you accept your destiny before you have done your best?" Yang Shiqi's expression was also very calm: "Now please send an envoy to the emperor to send the heads of the ministers to Tongzhou to negotiate peace with Wang Xian."
"Hey, if I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?..." Zhu Gaochi looked at this veteran who had ruined his empire single-handedly, but he couldn't utter a single word of blame, and there was no need for it.
"Even if I do it again, I will still do the same thing." Yang Shiqi laughed sadly and said, "It's a pity that there is no chance to do it again..."
"Anyway, don't worry, let's go back and say goodbye to my family today." The emperor sighed deeply. He couldn't bear to look at Yang Shiqi anymore and didn't want to see him again.
"Your Majesty!" Yang Shiqi endured it again and again, but finally couldn't bear it anymore and said to the emperor again: "There are still more than 200,000 troops in the capital, as well as Marquis Chengshan and others, as well as vassal kings from various places. Please don't be discouraged, Your Majesty. !" After a pause, he raised his voice and said: "As long as we delay time in the name of peace talks, Wang Xian's hundreds of thousands of troops outside the pass will be dragged to death! The final victory still belongs to the emperor!"
Zhu Gaochi's eyelids twitched a few times, but he did not open them after all. He just said slowly and in a strange tone: "You still don't give up..."
"This is what I said! Farewell to the Emperor forever!" Yang Shiqi burst into tears. He kowtowed to the Emperor three times and bowed nine times. Then he stood up slowly with his arms supported, and left with one foot deep and one foot shallow. He paid for it. All Qianqing Palace.
There was deathly silence in the dark palace. After a while, the eunuchs, who had been lowering their heads, realized that the emperor had passed out.
"Imperial Physician, call Imperial Physician quickly!" The scream of the old eunuch Zhang Cheng finally broke the suffocating silence.
When the emperor woke up, it was already midnight.
Zhu Gaochi asked the queen, Zhu Zhanquan and Zhang Cheng who were guarding the dragon bed to retreat, leaving only one person in the Taiyuan Hospital and the Zhouyuan Hospital.
Zhu Gaochi looked at the tent ceiling with distracted eyes, as if he was wandering. Zhou Yuanpang knelt in front of the dragon bed anxiously. After a long time, the emperor asked slowly: "Tell me the truth, how much time do I have?"
Judge Zhou was crying and did not dare to answer. He only heard the emperor say again: "If you don't tell me, I will kill your whole family."
Judge Zhou had no choice but to speak with difficulty: "The emperor's dragon body is extremely ill, and at any time... Bintian..."
"As expected..." Zhu Gaochi laughed, his laughter so captivating.
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There was great joy in Tongzhou City. The soldiers killed pigs and sheep to celebrate their victory and to celebrate rescuing their relatives.
Wang Xian, accompanied by Wu Wei, Mo Wen, and Er Hei, climbed the west city wall and had a distant view. Although he could not see the city of Beijing dozens of miles away from here, the city was five feet high and the magnificent capital of the Ming Dynasty. , but clearly appeared in everyone's mind.
"Sir, should we attack Beijing next?" Erhei touched his shiny bald head and said with one eye shining brightly. The great victory outside Tongzhou City came too easily, which always left him feeling unsatisfied, and also whetted the appetite of the Shandong soldiers. Hanged high.
Wang Xian looked at Erhei, shook his head slowly and said, "There is no such link in my plan."
"Ah?!" Wu Wei and Mo Wen were not surprised. They had obviously known Wang Xian's plan for a long time. But Er Hei was shocked and said: "Didn't your Excellency ask the soldiers to prepare for the attack?"
"It's just a show, to scare people." Wang Xian said with a slight smile.
"Why?!" Erhei couldn't understand.
"Because, if we can't win, we can't fight if we can't fight." Wang Xian said softly: "Don't be dazzled by the victory. Being able to get to this day is already our current limit." He sighed and said: "From now on. From the beginning, my goal was Tongzhou, not the capital."
"What do you mean you can't win?" Erhei asked in a muffled voice.
"Beijing City is not an ordinary city with high walls and thick walls. No siege equipment can climb its top. Moreover, there are more than 200,000 troops in the city. Even if half of them are defeated generals, but their families are all in the capital, they will still Defending the city desperately, there are also King Qin’s army coming one after another, the armies of feudal lords from all over the country, and... more than 200,000 elite border troops who were liberated after trapping Yagyu and the others. With our 50,000 to 60,000 horses, you can Do you think you can attack it?" Mo Wen explained for Wang Xian.
"Isn't there a tiger gun?" Erhei retorted unconvinced.
The so-called Tiger Cannon is the small cannon that swept across the imperial cavalry yesterday. It was secretly developed by Wang Xian based on the current artillery level and the Tiger Crouching Cannon of later Qi Jiguang, and ordered the Sixth Department of Jinyiwei. The cannon weighed less than five
It weighs ten kilograms, and the gun body is only three feet long. A carriage can transport four of them, and soldiers can also carry them individually. At critical moments, they can even pick them up and walk away. It completely overcomes the shortcomings of current cannons that are bulky and cannot be moved. It is especially suitable for accompanying large armies.
Mobile field combat.
Moreover, the barrel of the cannon is filled with one hundred small lead bullets weighing five cents, and a large lead bullet weighing thirty taels is used to hold down the top. When fired, the damage range is very large, and the lethality is also very impressive. There are several such Tiger Cannons.
, you can effectively block the battlefield. With a larger number, you can even block the intensive impact of cavalry.
After this kind of cannon was developed, it was treated as a top secret and secretly produced in the Qingzhou Mountains. Except for Long Wuye who was in charge, even senior officials like Erhei saw its power for the first time yesterday.
Yesterday's terrifying salvo of thousands of cannons gave Erhei and many others the illusion of being invincible.
"It is specially used to kill enemies in the field. It is of little use in siege warfare." Wang Xian shook his head.
"Hey..." Erhei sighed regretfully and asked again: "Then why do you say you can't fight?"
"The capital is not another place. If you attack the capital without a good reason, you will lose people's hearts." Mo Wen explained: "Our banner is 'Kill traitors and clear the emperor's side'. Now Zhu Zhanji and Yang Rong have been captured. If Yang Rong had not deceived
We, the emperor, should hand over Yang Shiqi soon. If we continue, we will only lose people's hearts. Without people's hearts, there is no future..."
"Then what's the point of not being able to fight?" Erhei asked in a muffled voice.
Mo Wen only said three words: "Juyongguan."
Erhei was speechless.
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The next day, the imperial peace envoys arrived.
The person who came turned out to be Yang Pu. This respected old man had traveled through mountains and rivers and detoured through Pingxing Pass. After more than a month, he finally returned to the capital. To receive such a task, how could he not feel as if he was in another world?
When he saw Wang Xian, Yang Pu was still in a dream, mechanically conveying the emperor's wishes to him, saying that as long as Wang Xian agreed to negotiate peace, he could agree to any conditions, and then asked someone to present Yang Shiqi's head.
Wang Xian looked at the head in the box and said in silence for a long time: "I agree to negotiate peace."
Yang Pu breathed a sigh of relief, but the generals in the room were shocked. After finally waiting for Yang Pu to retreat, the generals could no longer bear it and shouted loudly: "My lord, how can you promise the emperor?!"
"Yes, sir, let's work together to capture the city of Beijing. The whole world belongs to you, why should we negotiate for peace?!"
Wang Xian waited quietly for the generals to finish venting, and asked them only one question: "Do you know how many days our army has been without food outside Juyong Pass?"
Everyone was immediately speechless just like Mo Wen yesterday.