I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 555 Disintegration
"We can't stop! Let the artillery troops continue to bombard at the established rhythm. The rhythm can be slowed down a bit, but they can't stop! Emphasize to the artillery troops again that their target is the Beijing city wall. They should lower their guns and fire. Don't let the shells fly into the city," said Zhu Houxuan as he flipped through the documents on the table.

"Okay, I've written down the order. I'll pass it on in a moment!" Chen Hong quickly recorded Zhu Houxuan's order with a charcoal pencil.

"However, many troops believe that it is meaningless to continue shelling the city wall. There is no one left on the north wall." Chen Hong said after a moment of hesitation.

"Why is it meaningless?" Zhu Houxuan said, putting down the document in his hand.

"Every shell fired has meaning. Rather than these shells falling on the people in the city, I would rather they fall on the walls of the capital. Enough blood has been shed in this war," Zhu Houxuan said with emotion.

Although the scene of hundreds of cannons bombarding the city walls of the capital was spectacular, the casualties were minimal after the defenders in the capital gave up fighting back.

"Your Highness is truly a kind-hearted person," Chen Hong said.

"Hmph, I don't believe in any Bodhisattva. Do you understand why I have to make such a big scene and keep bombarding the city walls of the capital?" Zhu Houxuan continued.

“Students are stupid.”

"In the city defense battles of all dynasties, city walls have always been an important symbol. The loss of city walls often means the fall of the city. That's why I let the artillerymen keep attacking the city walls of the capital, just to intimidate everyone in the city. The continuous artillery sound will gradually break through their psychological defenses." Zhu Houxuan said.

“The students have learned a lesson!”

"The siege has lasted four days. Everything I have done is to capture the city quickly," Zhu Houxuan murmured as he looked at the capital in the distance. "I am more anxious than any of you."

"Today's leaflet propaganda is to give all the guards in the city a reason to surrender, a reason they have to accept. Everything is to urge them to surrender or give up resistance. Otherwise, if the 5 guards and 2 Beijing troops in the city fight to the death to defend the city, they can only hold out for at least a month. By then, everything will be too late, and both sides will suffer heavy casualties, and the capital will become a ruin. That is not what I want to see." Zhu Houxuan said in a deep voice.

Chen Hong nodded silently and listened carefully.
"I never thought that I could make the guards in the city defect just by propaganda. I know that I can't do this with my prestige in the guards. Only my brother can do this."

"In fact, the content of the leaflets dropped in the city is quite logical. They can't prove some key points to be true, but we can't disprove them either. The leaflets we dropped in the capital are the same. Although they are logical, they also have the same problems. There are a lot of speculative content in them."

"What happened in the capital is confusing. I can't see the whole picture even from my position, let alone the guards who have limited information channels. For example, I still can't figure out why Jiang Bin would betray his brother. His brother has given him everything he can. What benefit can he get from betraying his brother? If I can't figure this out, then the guards in the city will be even more confused." "So I have to force the guards in the capital to make a choice that favors me."

"The bloody battle on the first day is inevitable. Only by holding on in that bloody battle can we have the basis for executing all subsequent plans. It can also make the army in the city realize that they cannot easily win. The shelling on the third day is to tell the people in the city that they have no chance of winning and their resistance is meaningless. Use the biggest scene to show off military force and break their psychological defenses." Zhu Houxuan was very interested in talking.

"It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm. Faced with the two stories told by Jiang Bin and I, which are difficult to distinguish true from false, human nature and biological instinct will drive them to make the decision that best suits their interests. They will believe that my story is true and Jiang Bin's story is false."

"To sum it up in one sentence: they will help whoever wins!" said Zhu Houxuan.

"The student has learned his lesson!" Chen Hong said sincerely.

"Now it seems that everything is going according to plan. The capital is now like a ripe fruit that can be picked soon," Zhu Houxuan said lightly.

"The front line has received a lot of news from inside the city, including information from employees of the Royal Group in the city, information from noble civil officials, and even many officers of the Guards are telling us that the resistance in the capital has begun to gradually disintegrate." Zhu Houxuan said absentmindedly while looking at the capital in the distance.

"Then what should we do now? Are we ready to enter the city?" Chen Hong asked hurriedly.

"Don't be anxious. I'm more anxious than you, but the time is not yet ripe, and it's too late today. But we can also do something after dark to speed up the collapse of the resistance forces in the city," said Zhu Houxuan.

It soon became dark, and the train guns stopped firing and returned to repair. The bright moonlight sprinkled on the earth and the broken and bullet-riddled city walls. Three or four hot air balloons were floating in the sky, still monitoring the movements in the city. From below, the glow of kerosene burning on the hot air balloons could be seen.
The capital city, which had been bustling all day, fell silent. At this moment, bursts of singing suddenly rang out around the capital city.
"Among the Three Kingdoms warriors, Zhao Zilong was the most courageous. He showed his heroism at Changban Slope, defeated thousands of generals and killed millions of soldiers. He brought peace with Adou in his arms."

"There was also Zhang Yide, who was waiting in front of Dangyang Bridge. There were seven consecutive crackling sounds, and two or three arches of the bridge collapsed, and the river water flowed back, scaring away Cao's millions of soldiers."

"."

This is one of the most familiar military songs of the Imperial Guards, and after singing this song, other military songs were sung around the capital.
Many old guards appeared outside the city. Some of them were very brave and sang while approaching the city wall within 100 meters, but they were not hit by the firepower of the defenders in the city.
After singing many military songs, one group of old guards began to sing a folk song from their hometown.
The capital city was thus enveloped in the sound of songs from all directions.
The singing continued all night long.
This night was also a sleepless night for many people in the city. I don’t know how many people didn’t close their eyes amidst the singing.
At dawn the next day, several teams of old guards climbed over the ruins of Anding Gate and Desheng Gate and entered the capital.
The guards on duty not far from the city wall appeared. They looked at the old guards entering the city with complicated expressions. From their tired expressions, red eyes and messy clothes, it can be seen that they did not have a good night last night.
The old guards raised their muskets alertly and pointed them at them.
"Bang!" A musket was thrown out from a house beside a street in the city and landed on the street.
(End of this chapter)