Yongli Ming Dynasty
Chapter 124 Leaving the City
Chapter 124 Leaving the City
In the evening, the sky in Guangzhou has completely darkened.
The lights on the top of the city were bright, and there was a torch every few dozen steps. The night wind blew over the city wall, pulling the flames into long, thin tails.
There was light above the city wall, and there was fire below the city wall.
In the dark night, dozens of meters away from the city wall, huge fires were set up every few hundred meters, lighting up the ground in front of the city wall.
Looking down from the city wall, one could vaguely see some soldiers riding on horses in the darkness, driving the people to add firewood to the fire. The faint sound of crying could be heard in the night wind.
Zhu Lang stood on the top of the city wall, looking at the fires in the dark night, with a gloomy look on his face.
Since the afternoon, he has been sending messengers to Zhaoqing to ask for help. However, as soon as the messengers fell out of the city, they were immediately discovered and strangled by wandering Qing cavalry.
Li Chengdong dispersed the cavalry in all directions, with five men in each group guarding a section of the wall. With only 20 to 30 cavalrymen deployed on one wall, Guangzhou was surrounded like an iron barrel.
Li Chengdong's actions were obvious. He was trying to intercept the messengers in the city.
His behavior made the people in the city more certain that there must be a large number of Qing troops behind Li Chengdong, otherwise he would not have to kill the messenger and should have retreated as soon as possible after the failed surprise attack.
Seeing that the city was surrounded by Qing cavalry, Jiao Lian assembled dozens of cavalrymen to escort the messenger out of the city. However, just after the team left the city for a few miles, they were immediately ambushed by a group of cavalrymen who were hiding somewhere unknown, and had to retreat back to the city in a panic.
Jiao Lian then suggested assembling all the cavalry in the city to escort the messenger out of the city, but was immediately rejected by Zhu Lang.
Now Zhu Lang only has these 300 imperial guards to fight. Whether he defends the city or escapes, he will rely on the protection of these 300 imperial guards. These 300 imperial guards must not be damaged.
He was sure that as long as the 300 imperial guards left the city, Li Chengdong would definitely send people to attack them with all his strength, regardless of casualties.
The situation at this time was different from the surprise attack in the afternoon. At that time, Li Chengdong was in the army, but this time, Li Chengdong hid in the rear and commanded the soldiers to charge.
Even if all of Li Chengdong's soldiers died, there would still be a large army coming from behind. But if the 300 imperial guards in the city were killed or wounded, Zhu Lang would have nothing left.
Zhu Lang saw that the messenger had been killed, so he wanted to send another messenger out of the city at night. However, at dusk, the Qing soldiers drove the nearby people to light fires around the city.
The Qing troops outside the city were determined to cut off the messengers inside the city.
As soon as it got dark, he sent Li Chengzhi to send a group of messengers out of the city. However, judging from the situation outside the city, he was afraid that the result would not be very good either.
There was a sound of footsteps, and Li Chengzhi hurriedly climbed up the tower.
"How is it? Has the messenger left the city?" Zhu Lang looked at Li Chengzhi and asked immediately.
"We sent five people, three of them were killed as soon as they left the city, and the other two were chased out of sight by the Qing army. The situation is unclear, but the result is probably..." Li Chengzhi's face was heavy, and he shook his head slightly.
Zhu Lang looked at the dark night outside the city, and his face became gloomy.
The two of them were speechless, only the whistling night wind blew over the city.
After a while, Li Chengzhi looked at the silent Regent standing on the wall, and suddenly spoke softly:
"Your Highness, do you not want to leave?"
Since the afternoon, ministers have been asking His Highness to evacuate immediately on the grounds that the Qing army is approaching.
However, His Highness kept refusing to see everyone, saying that the situation of the Qing army was still unclear and that there were still doubts.
This reason could be used to evade the ministers, but it could not be hidden from Li Chengzhi, because it was Li Chengzhi who was interrogating the Qing army.
Half an hour after the discussion in the government office, Li Chengzhi had already presented the re-interrogated intelligence to His Royal Highness the Regent.
They captured more than a dozen people alive. Although their positions were high and low, the routes they described were all consistent with what Ma Bao had said.
First, the troops gathered at the border of Tingzhou Prefecture, then Chaozhou and Huizhou, and then a light-armed raid. In addition, the Qing troops who were reluctant to leave the city basically confirmed that what Ma Bao said was true.
He didn't understand why His Highness the Regent hadn't left at this point. Although he had abandoned the city and fled, it was not a crime committed without cause. Shouldn't he keep himself useful at this time?
Zhu Lang glanced at Li Chengzhi in front of him, but did not explain. He was silent for a moment, and suddenly spoke softly
"Go and bring Ma Bao here."
"Your Highness..."
Li Chengzhi saw that His Majesty the Regent had ordered him to bring Ma Bao over, and he knew that His Majesty was still unwilling to give up and wanted to send a messenger.
But before he could persuade him again, His Royal Highness the Regent had already waved his hand to interrupt him, his face darkened.
"If we leave now, it's not Guangzhou that will be lost, but Guangdong Province"
"Go and bring Ma Bao here. If things are impossible, I will make the decision myself."
"Now, bring Ma Bao here first."
Seeing the determined look on the face of His Royal Highness the Regent, Li Chengzhi had no choice but to retreat. Soon Ma Bao was brought to the top of the city wall.
Ma Bao still had heavy chains on his hands. He looked at the young man in dragon robes standing in the dark with a puzzled look on his face. He wondered what this strange Ming emperor was going to do.
Zhu Lang didn't care what Ma Bao was thinking at this time. When he saw Ma Bao coming up, he immediately said, "Li Chengdong, disperse the cavalry, divide them into groups of dozens of people, block the four city walls, and kill the messengers in the city."
"Li Chengdong has set up an ambush outside the city. The imperial guards in the city cannot move lightly. You are a member of Li Chengdong's army and should be very familiar with the situation in his army. Do you have a way to get the messenger out of the city?"
Ma Bao was slightly surprised when he heard what Zhu Lang said. He thought for a moment and then spoke in a deep voice.
"Li Chengdong is a veteran general in the army. He has captured countless cities in Jiangnan and is very experienced in sieges. He is a skilled general and will not make any major mistakes."
"Before we raided Guangzhou, we had already obtained the topographical map of Guangzhou through the gentry of Chaohui."
"If you want to send a messenger now, the only way is to the south. Outside the South Gate is the Pearl River. Don't fall off your horse, as that will make you too conspicuous and you will definitely not be able to hide from Li Chengdong's scouts."
"Just send the messenger out, and then find a boat to go by water. This is the only way you can secretly send the messenger out."
Zhu Lang's face darkened when he heard this. How could he not know that he could send the messenger out of the city without falling off his horse?
The walls of Guangzhou are vast. If the Qing army was only sending one person out of the city, it would be difficult for them to be discovered.
But now the city is surrounded by Qing cavalry. If the messenger has no horse to leave the city, how long will it take to find a horse outside the city?
I'm afraid that by the time the messenger finds the horses, the main force of the Qing army will have already arrived outside the city. How can we waste time now?
They also thought of taking the water route, but there were also problems with taking the water route.
Sure enough, Ma Bao immediately spoke up
"This method is also problematic. Based on my understanding of Li Chengdong, the ships near the Nanmen River must have been sunk by his men."
"Since he has decided to intercept the messenger, he will definitely not leave such an obvious loophole. Even if your people take the water route, it will probably take a whole day to find a boat."
"Besides, going to Zhaoqing by water is not as convenient as going by land. Li Chengdong's surprise attack failed, so he must have sent someone to notify the rear army."
"I have already said that if the Qing army marches at full speed, they will definitely reach Guangzhou within three or four days. If your people are still lingering outside the city, by the time the Qing army approaches the city, it is still unclear whether your messenger has arrived in Zhaoqing."
Zhu Lang's face turned grim when he heard this. He only had 300 men, while the main force of the Qing army had at least 10,000 men. 300 versus 10,000. Even if there were walls to defend the city, and even if there were hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city, he could only hold out for a few days at most.
It was impossible to hold out for ten days or half a month. Even the food in the city did not allow him to hold out for that long.
After Ma Bao finished speaking, both of them were silent for a while.
The city was completely silent, with only the night wind blowing past, making a whirring sound.
Ma Bao stood on the side of the city wall, looking at the young man in dragon robes in the dark. He was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke:
"Everything I said is true. You should have verified it. Why don't you run away?"
Ma Bao had a puzzled look on his face. He really couldn't figure out what the man in front of him was thinking.
The Qing army captured more than one of him, so it was easy to verify his words. Just looking at Li Chengdong's posture, it was clear that what he said was true.
According to his estimation, after the Ming Dynasty court learned of his news, they should have fled the city in the afternoon. After all, the sooner they evacuated, the safer they would be.
But now it was already evening, and the Regent of the Ming Dynasty was still asking him how to send the messenger, which really made him a little confused.
Zhu Lang glanced at Ma Bao in front of him, his eyes flashed, and he suddenly spoke
"If I leave now, Guangzhou will be occupied by the Qing army outside the city. Behind the city wall are hundreds of thousands of people of our Ming Dynasty. If I leave, what will they do?"
Ma Bao was shocked when he heard this. He opened his mouth slightly and looked at the serious-looking young man in front of him. For a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
He thought of many reasons, but he never expected that the Ming emperor in front of him would give such a reason.
People, when will this ever become a reason for the Ming emperor to fight to the death?
"You are indeed different from those emperors of the Zhu family"
Ma Bao stood on the wall and was silent for a long time before he spoke softly.
After finishing speaking, Ma Bao fell silent again, looking at the young man in front of him with a complicated expression.
He followed Li Chengdong to raid the convoy today, and naturally saw the scene of the young man turning around and shooting. It can be said that it was because of the regent's resolute counterattack that this originally very successful raid failed.
In the chaos of the army, the rear troops have been killed and scattered, and the enemy has already rushed into the front. At this time, even the veterans who have been on the battlefield for a long time may not dare to fight with their backs.
He traveled with the Shun army from east to west and met countless Ming vassal kings and officials.
These people might swear to fight to the death or commit suicide to preserve their loyalty, but he had never seen any princes and royal family members who dared to fight to the death in the chaos, not to mention that the opponent was the great Ming emperor.
Not to mention the emperor, even ordinary rich men, after enjoying wealth and luxury, how many of them are not afraid of death, let alone the emperor?
So when he knew that the man who turned back to fight today was the Ming emperor they were going to attack, he was shocked and took the initiative to tell the truth about Tong Yangjia.
He couldn't explain the reason. If he had to, it was that he felt it was a pity for such a Han emperor to die in the hands of the Tartars without knowing why.
In the dark night, the evening breeze blew, and the light of the torches on the top of the city jumped unsteadily, illuminating the face of the young man in front of him.
"If you want to send the messenger as soon as possible, I have another way."
Ma Bao's eyes flickered as he looked at the young man in the dark. He licked his lips and suddenly spoke softly.
(End of this chapter)
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