Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 257: The False Emperor's Army Besieged the City, and the True Emperor Broke the Defense

Northwest, Dunhuang City.

Xu Bin, standing on the tower, gazed through the layers of flying sand and gazed at the distant horizon. The wind was howling, blowing up the flags on the top of the city, making a rustling sound, and from time to time the sound of war horses neighing could be heard.

"They're coming!"

A quick and powerful shout broke the silence on the top of the city wall, the voice trembling with fear. With this warning, all eyes on the city wall instantly focused, heartbeats accelerated, and the tense atmosphere almost solidified.

In the distance, below the skyline, a yellow torrent slowly rose. It was the dust raised by the army, covering the sky and the sun, like a giant dragon rising from the desert, rolling towards Dunhuang City with an indomitable momentum. The sound of horse hooves, the sound of chariot wheel axles, and the roars of the soldiers shook every inch of the land and the tense hearts of everyone in the city.

The muscles of the soldiers guarding the tower were tense under their armor, and the fingers holding the weapons turned white due to the force. On the arrow tower, the archers were ready to go; at the city gate, the heavy soldiers guarded, and the iron chains and huge wood were ready to meet the possible collision.

Xu Bin took a deep breath, turned his head and looked behind him, thinking to himself: "His Majesty should have gone far away."

Soon, the army surged to the foot of Dunhuang City like a tide, the yellow sand flew under the horses' hooves, the battle flags fluttered in the wind, and the whole world seemed to be filled with this surging fighting spirit. The commander, Wang Yue, wearing armor, sat majestically on his warhorse, his sharp eagle eyes fixed on the Dunhuang tower in front of him.

On the city wall, the figures of the defenders looked particularly tall in the afterglow of the setting sun. They were lined up in neat rows, archers, spearmen, swordsmen... every type of soldier was ready for battle.

"General, they should be determined to defend to the death." The guard stepped forward and said, "We only have 50,000 troops. Let's wait for General Yang and his men to arrive before attacking."

Wang Yue stared at the tower for a while, then slowly raised the sword in his hand, pointed the tip of the sword at the Dunhuang tower, and said in a deep and powerful voice: "Attack immediately, Dunhuang is an empty city."

The guards were shocked, but they dared not disobey the order.

Soon, after the Shenjiying's artillery fired a round, the guards knew that the general's judgment was correct, because there were no people left on the city wall and the place was in chaos.

An hour later, Wang Yue led his army into Dunhuang City.

He came to the palace in the city, and his personal guards searched it thoroughly. Finally, they came up to report that they did not find the fake emperor and those fake princes.

"It seems that he ran away a long time ago." He frowned.

He pondered for a while, then immediately ordered spies to investigate and sent someone to report to the commander in chief at the rear.

……

A camp somewhere in the Hexi Corridor.

Yang Guifang stood on a hill, looked westward, and sighed: "Spring in Weibei has faded, and the people in Hexi have not returned. The grass is growing in the border town, and the pear blossoms are flying in the guesthouse."

The place where he is standing now has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times.

The Hexi Corridor was the only way for the Central Plains dynasty to reach the Western Regions. Controlling the Hexi Corridor was equivalent to holding the key to the Western Regions. It directly cut off the connection between the two major plateaus and prevented the two major nomadic areas from merging into a powerful dynasty.

This area is not only suitable for farming, but also very suitable for horse breeding. It was an important military horse production area of ​​the Central Plains Dynasty. At the same time, the opening of the Silk Road made the Hexi Corridor an important channel for economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

The geographical location of the Hexi Corridor made it an important barrier for the Central Plains dynasties to resist the invasion of nomadic peoples in the north. Historically, many Central Plains dynasties ensured the security and stability of their borders by controlling the Hexi Corridor.

"General, urgent news." The personal guard stepped forward and handed over a report.

Yang Guifang took it and opened it. After scanning it, she laughed, "Wang Yue has already taken over Dunhuang City. He was decisive and guessed that Dunhuang was an empty city."

After saying this, he pondered for a moment and gave the order: "Send my order to Zhu Yong who is still in the south, tell him not to come to Dunhuang, turn around and head south to the border of U-Tsang to wait for orders."

"Yes." The guard took the order and left.

Yang Guifang stood alone on the top of the mountain, her heart pounding.

All this was within his expectation. The emperor of Dunhuang must have fled to Chagatai. This was easy to deal with. Deep down in his heart, he did not want to personally order the killing of the emperor of Dunhuang.

In that case, later history books may not write about him, but unofficial history will definitely say that he was Yang Guifang who killed the emperor, and scold him for betraying the ancestors of the Ming Dynasty and supporting the false emperor. Supporting the false emperor is fine, and you can pretend not to know, but killing the emperor will be an extremely huge stain.

"He fled to Chagatai. The situation there is complicated. It would be better for him to die there." Yang Guifang said to herself coldly.

……

Hala state.

It was originally a city of Chagatai, but now it was controlled by the Guanxi army led by Yuan Bin. The Zhengtong Emperor fled here with everyone.

The palace in the city.

The orthodox emperor sat in the main seat, and below him stood the six princes, as well as the military advisor Wu Sidao and the general Yuan Bin. The emperor glanced over and smiled: "This place is not bad, it looks better than Dunhuang."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Yuan Bin reported, "Further west from here, there are more than a dozen cities, all of which belong to us. I have recently planned to capture the city of Alimali, which was once the capital of Chagatai."

The Zhengtong Emperor nodded immediately: "Okay." In his opinion, he was the emperor, so of course he had to have a decent city. At this time, a guard came to the palace and hurriedly reported: "Your Majesty, Dunhuang City has been captured."

"What? So fast?" The Zhengtong Emperor stood up in surprise. "Aren't there 10,000 defenders in the city? We have also specially reinforced the city walls. I thought we could hold out for at least three months."

The guard held up the battle report, and Yuan Bin took it, opened it, and said, "Your Majesty, it was the Shenji Battalion. The imperial court's new Hongwu cannon is extremely powerful. It broke through the city gate in just a few rounds."

"So strong?" Fear flashed in the eyes of the orthodox emperor.

Zhu Qiyu, who had been silent, spoke up: "The false emperor has been developing firearms over the years, allocating funds to the arsenal of the Ministry of War every year. The power of muskets and artillery is indeed getting stronger and stronger."

The Zhengtong Emperor began to feel afraid. He only had 150,000 troops at most. He had no chance of winning against the imperial court's 200,000 troops. And now the imperial court also had the powerful Shenjiying.

"Military Advisor, what should we do next?" Emperor Zhengtong asked Wu Xingdao.

Wu Xingdao pondered for a while and said, "If my prediction is correct, the imperial army will not advance westward in a short time, and we still have time. After the imperial court takes Dunhuang, they will definitely deploy troops at Yangguan and Yumenguan. After that, they will wait for the imperial court's orders. Once the imperial army leaves Yangguan and Yumenguan, it will truly enter the Western Regions, which will cause reactions from all parties. They will take this step only after they have made sufficient preparations."

After hearing this, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief, which meant there was still time.

At this time, another guard came in and reported: "Your Majesty, the envoy of the Golden Horde has arrived."

The Zhengtong Emperor regained his imperial demeanor and waved his hand: "Please come in."

After a while, a general in armor came to the palace. When the Zhengtong Emperor saw his face clearly, he stood up from his chair in shock and hurried forward: "Brother Boyan, is that you?"

"It's me, Your Majesty." The general's tone was also slightly excited.

It turned out that he was Boyan, Yesen's younger brother. After being separated from Yesen in Mobei, he followed the army of the Golden Horde to the Golden Horde. There, he was appreciated by the Khan of the Golden Horde, who ordered him to lead the army south to Chagatai and form an alliance with the western part of Guan.

"Brother Boyan, I didn't expect that we would meet again." Emperor Zhengtong was overjoyed.

"Your Majesty, I am very happy to see you again." Boyan said.

There is true love between them.

If it weren't for Boyan's care, the Zhengtong Emperor would have died long ago during the years he was captured and spent in the grasslands. The Zhengtong Emperor was able to escape from the grasslands with Boyan's help.

After some excitement, Boyan introduced his situation. After listening to him, the Zhengtong Emperor was filled with emotion: "Brother Boyan, the past is over, and we are fighting side by side now."

"Your Majesty, we must defeat the imperial army." Boyan's eyes were blazing with fire. "My elder brother is still imprisoned in the capital. I want to rescue him."

Wu Xingdao, who was standing aside, had a flash of surprise in his eyes. He didn't expect that the person sent by the Golden Horde was Bayan. This meant he could use him.

……

Beijing.

In the morning court, Zhu Qizhen announced that the frontline army had taken Dunhuang and deployed defenses at Yangguan and Yumenguan. All the ministers were excited. After more than a hundred years, the Ming Dynasty's battle flag was finally erected at these two passes.

"Your Majesty, the army must continue westward and conquer a vast territory, far beyond the Han and Tang dynasties."

"Continue the Western Expedition!"

"Expand your territory, Your Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon throne with a smile on his face. He was of course happy to have taken Dunhuang so quickly, which would frighten those ministers who had second thoughts. Tell them not to think about the emperor in Dunhuang, because he would never come back.

After the morning court, the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Qizhen summoned the cabinet ministers and the Ministry of War to hold a small court meeting, of course, the topic was whether to continue westward. The enthusiastic young people in the Ministry of War suggested to go west immediately, while Timur and the Golden Horde were dividing Chagatai, and they could get a share of the pie.

However, some old officials suggested not to be so anxious, to understand the situation in the Western Regions, and not to rush in. The Ming Dynasty must definitely march into the Western Regions, but the timing must be grasped.

Zhu Qizhen was very satisfied when he heard this, because they were discussing when to march, not whether to stop there. For him, he must march into the Western Regions and kill the Zhengtong Emperor, who was a future trouble.

Besides, the Timurid Empire and the Ottoman Empire are fighting for hegemony, so how can the Ming Empire be left out? We have to let them know who is the boss of the world.

"We really can't march rashly." Zhu Qizhen said, "Let Ding Xiu send the Jinyiwei to the Western Regions to find out the situation there, and then we can make a decision."

"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers bowed together.

After Zhu Qizhen discussed with his ministers, they all withdrew.

A palace maid serving tea came up with tea, looking curious and nervous.

(End of this chapter)