paranoianovel Chapter 569 The Fall of the Capital
Chapter 569 The Fall of the Capital
soon.
The battle report from the Ming Empire then reached Zhu Ying's ears.
Liu Lei, the commander of the royal guards, rode a winged dragon and reported to Zhu Ying, who was in the void above: "Your Highness, the three armies of our Great Ming Empire have arrived at a distance of fifty miles from the capital of the Ming Kingdom!"
"The army has just wiped out the martial arts masters of the Dragon Guard Manor!"
As Liu Lei finished speaking, a look of satisfaction appeared on Zhu Ying's face.
"very good."
"Continue the attack!"
"Tell Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen that their three armies must breach the Ming capital today!"
As soon as Zhu Ying finished speaking, Liu Lei, who was in charge of the guards, immediately accepted the order!
"Yes, sir!"
soon.
Wang Wei then relayed Zhu Ying's order to the generals of the Ming Empire. Soon after, the three armies of the Ming Empire marched in a grand procession toward the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
at the same time.
Within the capital of the Ming Dynasty, inside the Imperial Palace and the Fengtian Hall.
The entire civil and military officialdom was in complete chaos!
"Have you all heard? The army of the Great Ming Empire is about to arrive in the capital! It seems that our Ming Kingdom is doomed today!"
"Insolence! With martial arts masters from all over gathered in the Ming Kingdom, how could my Ming Kingdom possibly perish!"
"That's right. Besides the help of these martial arts masters, there's also the Golden Wheel Monk of Tibet and the Prince of Zhennan of Dali. The Ming Dynasty definitely has the strength to fight this battle!"
"But...where have the Golden Wheel Monk and the Prince of Zhennan gone?"
Soon, the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty noticed something amiss: the Golden Wheel Monk, who had been in the palace, and the Prince of Zhennan of the Dali Kingdom had both disappeared!
When Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting on the dragon throne, learned of this, he was furious!
"what?"
"The Golden Wheel Dharma King and the Prince of Zhennan have disappeared? How is this possible! Send people to search immediately! We must find them!"
The Ming emperor shouted in a panicked tone.
At that moment, Zhu Wushi, the Iron-Blooded Marquis, said to the Ming Emperor in an icy tone, "Your Majesty, the Golden Wheel Monk and the Prince of Zhennan must have heard that the Ming Empire's army was about to arrive in the capital, so they fled directly!"
"Bo and Dali were small countries; they could never defeat the powerful Ming Empire!"
As soon as Zhu Wushi finished speaking, a murderous look appeared on the face of the Ming emperor!
"hateful!"
"These Tibetan and Dali kingdoms are actually trying to fool me! They're practically courting death!"
"Immediately send men to attack Tibet and the Dali Kingdom!"
Zhu Houzhao gave the order in a fit of rage, but Cao Zhengchun, Zhu Houzhao's right-hand man, quickly stopped him, saying, "Your Majesty, the three armies of the Ming Empire are about to invade our capital!"
"Right now, our Ming Kingdom is in dire straits. The most urgent task is naturally to deal with the Great Ming Empire!"
"As for the matters concerning the Dali Kingdom and Tibet, let's discuss them another day!"
After Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, all the Ming officials in the Fengtian Hall stood up to persuade him.
Zhu Houzhao sighed helplessly, and then turned his gaze to Wu Longhui.
It should be noted that among the current Ming Dynasty, Wu Longhui is the only general who fought against the Ming Empire and survived.
Therefore, for this Ming emperor, he could only place all his hopes on Wu Longhui!
"Wu Longhui!"
"How many troops are currently remaining in the entire capital?"
Upon hearing Zhu Houzhao call his name, Wu Longhui, who was inside the Fengtian Hall, immediately stood up from among the officials.
After a moment's thought, Wu Longhui immediately replied, "Your Majesty, in the past few days, people from all over the country have come to the aid of the emperor, in addition to the Imperial Guards..."
"Currently, the total number of troops that can be mobilized is approximately 150,000!"
After hearing Wu Longhui's report, the Ming emperor fell silent.
To be honest, he knew very well that with only 150,000 troops, it would be impossible to stop the Ming Empire from attacking the city.
After all, not long ago, Wu Longhui led an army of 300,000 to fight against the Ming Empire at Shanhaiguan, and the final result was that the entire army of 300,000 was wiped out.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao was very clear that the possibility of relying on these 150,000 imperial guards to stop the Ming Empire's advance was almost zero.
But since things had come to this, he had no other choice.
The Ming emperor handed over the military tally and said to Wu Longhui, "General Wu, the fate of the Ming Dynasty is entirely in your hands."
"I entrust this army of 150,000 to you. You must resist the siege of the Ming Empire no matter what."
"As long as you can withstand this attack from the Ming Empire, I will certainly not treat you unfairly."
To be honest, when Wu Longhui heard what Zhu Houzhao said, his emotions were extremely complicated, because he knew how terrifying the power of the Ming Empire was.
With just 150,000 troops, let alone withstand the onslaught of the Ming Empire, it would be quite remarkable if they could even hold out for an hour.
But now that things have come to this, Wu Longhui, as the Grand General of the Ming Dynasty, cannot disobey the imperial decree.
Therefore, Wu Longhui had no choice but to accept the imperial decree with a heavy heart.
"Your Majesty, I will obey your command. Please rest assured, I will defend the city to the death."
Wu Longhui then accepted the tiger tally and hurriedly left the Fengtian Hall to begin preparations for war against the Ming Empire.
After Wu Longhui left...
The atmosphere in the entire Fengtian Hall was quite oppressive.
Clearly, most Ming officials did not have much confidence in the upcoming battle to defend the city.
At this point, Zhu Wushi began to persuade the Ming emperor to surrender.
Zhu Wushi slowly stepped forward from among the officials and said solemnly to Zhu Houzhao on the dragon throne, "Your Majesty, things have come to this point, and there is no point in continuing the fight."
"For the lives of my Ming soldiers, for the livelihood of my people, I implore Your Majesty to surrender to the Great Ming Empire immediately. Only in this way can..."
Before Zhu Wushi could finish speaking, a deep voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall:
"We must never surrender!"
As the voice faded, an elderly man with white hair slowly appeared before the crowd.
This person was none other than Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang.
When everyone saw Zhang Sanfeng arrive, they were naturally quite surprised. Even the Ming Emperor Zhu Houzhao stood up from his dragon throne!
"Zhang Sanfeng, Grand Tutor Zhang, what brings you here?"
The Ming emperor hurriedly walked up to Zhang Sanfeng and asked him questions.
Zhang Sanfeng stroked his beard and said to the Ming emperor with a serious expression, "Some time ago, I was cultivating in seclusion in Wudang Mountain and was unaware of the fall of the Song Dynasty."
"Now that I have emerged from seclusion after my reclusive life, my disciples have told me that not only has the Song Dynasty been destroyed, but the Jin Dynasty has also been defeated by the Ming Dynasty, and all the masters of Shaolin Temple have been wiped out."
"After hearing this, I was naturally quite angry. Then I heard that the Great Ming Empire was going to attack the Ming Kingdom, so I came here to help."
After Zhang Sanfeng revealed the purpose of his visit, the Ming emperor was naturally quite excited.
Zhu Houzhao tightly grasped Zhang Sanfeng's hands, his voice trembling as he said, "I truly thank the Grand Tutor. If the Grand Tutor can help my Ming Dynasty withstand this attack, I will naturally reward him handsomely!" However, after Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Zhang Sanfeng shook his head and said calmly, "I came here not for wealth and glory, but for the sake of chivalry."
"Shaolin and Wudang have always been on good terms. Now that Shaolin has been wiped out by the grandson of the Ming emperor, I, as the founder of Wudang, must seek revenge."
However, after Zhang Sanfeng finished speaking, Zhu Wushi, who was standing to the side, let out a cold laugh.
"Hmph! Grand Tutor Zhang, you are too confident. If I remember correctly, you are only at the Martial Arts Divine Realm. But the Grand Prince of the Ming Dynasty has already entered the Qi Condensation Realm."
"Do you really think that the Wudang Sect alone can kill this grandson of the Ming Emperor?"
Faced with Zhu Wushi's sarcastic remarks, Zhang Sanfeng responded with a serious expression: "How do you know that I am only at the Divine Power Realm?"
After saying that, a bit of internal energy gathered within Zhang Sanfeng's body.
This scene left Zhu Wushi somewhat stunned.
Zhu Wushi swallowed hard and hurriedly asked, "Could it be that you have also broken through the peak of the Martial Arts Divine Power Realm and entered the Half-Step Qi Refining Realm?"
When Zhu Wushi sensed the internal energy within Zhang Sanfeng, he was greatly surprised.
However, Zhang Sanfeng did not answer Zhu Wushi's question.
Instead, he turned to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that as long as I am here, as long as the Wudang Sect is here, this grandson of the Ming Emperor will certainly not harm Your Majesty in the slightest."
"Very well, in that case, I will rely entirely on the Grand Tutor."
……
While Zhang Sanfeng was talking with Zhu Houzhao, outside the capital, the three armies of the Ming Empire had arrived simultaneously.
On the city tower,
Wu Longhui, the Grand General of the Ming Dynasty, looked uneasy.
Especially when he saw the Ming army coming from outside the city, his tension was almost visible to the naked eye.
A guard said to Wu Longhui, "General, the enemy is coming. What should we do?"
Wu Longhui didn't have much time to think and said directly, "If we rely on the capital to defend it to the death, we will surely fail."
"The cannons of the Ming Empire are extremely powerful. Once the enemy fires their cannons, the city walls will surely collapse."
"So now, the only option is to strike first and take the initiative."
When Wu Longhui was stationed at Shanhaiguan, he had clashed with the Ming Empire. At that time, Wu Longhui intended to rely on the terrain of Shanhaiguan for defense, but unexpectedly, after the Ming Empire deployed its cannons...
The entire city wall of Shanhaiguan collapsed instantly.
Therefore, Wu Longhui was well aware that the Ming Empire's cannons were extremely powerful, and that defending the capital to the death would be tantamount to suicide.
Therefore, Wu Longhui simply chose to take the initiative.
Not long after,
All 50,000 cavalrymen are in place.
Wu Longhui, clad in armor and riding a warhorse, addressed the soldiers guarding the city: "Open the city gates!"
Immediately, the city gates slowly opened. Then Wu Longhui roared, "Charge! Anyone who retreats in the face of battle will be killed without mercy!"
As soon as Wu Longhui finished speaking, the 50,000 cavalrymen dared not hesitate and immediately charged towards the army of the Ming Empire.
Meanwhile, in the Ming Empire...
When Lan Yu saw Wu Longhui leading 50,000 cavalrymen out of the city, he showed some surprise.
"This Ming general has some backbone; he actually chose to take the initiative to attack."
"In that case, I, the general, will play with them for a while."
After Lan Yu finished speaking, he also put on his armor and personally led the cavalry of the war cavalry battalion to meet them.
To ensure fairness, Lan Yu did not allow the cavalry of the war cavalry battalion to use modern weapons.
They still fought with cold weapons.
Moreover, Lan Yu only led 10,000 cavalrymen.
But despite this,
After the two armies clashed, the cavalry battalion led by Lan Yu instantly gained the upper hand!
Every cavalryman in the war cavalry battalion wildly brandished his weapon, relentlessly hacking and slashing at the Ming soldiers.
Lan Yu was even able to fight against a hundred men single-handedly.
He rode his warhorse straight into the enemy's midst and began a frenzied slaughter.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn,
Wu Longhui's 50,000 cavalry had suffered more than half casualties. Upon witnessing this scene, he was deeply shocked by the strength of the Ming Empire's cavalry.
Therefore, Wu Longhui dared not hesitate and could only hastily order a retreat.
"Retreat! Retreat immediately!"
"Stop hitting them!"
"The army of the Ming Empire is too strong; we are no match for them."
As Wu Longhui retreated, he shouted loudly at his soldiers.
Unfortunately, Lan Yu did not give these Ming soldiers any chance to retreat.
In the blink of an eye, Lan Yu's cavalry battalion, taking advantage of their horses' speed, bypassed the enemy and cut off the Ming army's retreat.
What followed was the battle of annihilation.
The Ming Dynasty's 50,000 elite troops were almost completely wiped out, with only the commander Wu Longhui and a few guards managing to escape to the capital in a panic.
Wu Longhui, who had escaped back into the city, did not hesitate and immediately ordered, "Shoot arrows! Shoot arrows now!"
Instantly, the soldiers guarding the city drew their bows, and countless arrows rained down from the sky, heading straight for the soldiers of the Ming Empire!
When Lan Yu saw that Wu Longhui was preparing to defend the city, a hint of disdain appeared on his face.
after that,
Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and the artillery regiment led by Guo Zhen simultaneously launched their red-coated cannons, all aimed at the city walls of the capital.
Moments later, all 100 cannons fired their shells simultaneously.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
With a series of booming sounds, the entire city wall of the Ming capital collapsed completely.
Suddenly,
The three armies of the Ming Empire stormed into the capital with unstoppable momentum and began a frenzied pursuit of the Ming soldiers.
Wu Longhui, the commander, was seriously injured and completely powerless to fight back.
at the same time,
Inside the palace, in the Fengtian Hall, the Ming emperor and his officials heard the deafening roar of cannons.
This startled everyone. (End of Chapter)