The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 378: Battle in the Capital

"The writing is brilliant and magnificent. Who wrote this manifesto? There are many allusions in it that even I don't know."

Liu Zhaosun held the bandits' manifesto seized from outside the city by the Suoyi Guard, read a few sentences in a hurry, and couldn't help complaining, what kind of dynasty is it now, and Li Xianzhong is still using the four-six style (parallel prose) of the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

It is flashy but not practical, with flat and uneven tones, and it is difficult and tiring to read.

"It could be the bandit leader Ma Jinxing. It's said he was a successful candidate..."

Grand Secretary Qian Qianyi coughed twice and then began to explain in detail to Emperor Wuding the many allusions involved in the manifesto.

Such as Shang Yang's reforms, the Battle of Feishui, Ji An, the fall of Qin and the rise of Han, Wang Mang's reforms, Pan Lu Deng (Deng Tong) Xiao Xian...

But then His Majesty the Emperor said:
"The writing is excellent, but I wonder how the battle went. Luo Binwang wrote 'On Behalf of Xu Jingye to Punish Wu Zhao,' a poem still widely circulated today. But what was the final outcome for Xu Jingye, who fought against Wu Zetian?"

Qian Qianyi said quickly.

"Xu Jingye was ultimately defeated and fled to Runzhou, where he was killed by his own men."

Liu Zhaosun patted Shui Taire's shoulder and said meaningfully:

"Li Xianzhong will also be defeated. Let him continue to capture cities and territories! The north is rotten. I don't want so much land. Give it all to him and let him eat it. Let him eat as much as he wants! The more he swallows, the faster he will die."

Yang Hao and Qiao Yiqi looked at each other and said nothing.

Standing next to him were important ministers such as Wang Huazhen and Yuan Keli. Kang Yingqian had been squeezed out of the core of power in the Great Qi Dynasty, and the one who replaced Kang was the father-in-law Yang Hao.

Yang Hao was not content with just being a royal relative. He now had immense power. Not only was he the highest civil official, he also served as the chief minister of the Great Qi Dynasty cabinet.

With the status of the emperor's father-in-law, he can call the wind and rain and make soldiers out of beans in the court. It can be seen how important it is to recruit a good son-in-law.

Shanxi was not originally under the sphere of influence of Kaiyuan. After Liu Zhaosun proclaimed himself emperor, the generals and lieutenant generals simply changed the name on the yamen plaque to Qi, and considered the change of dynasty complete.

Other than that, everything else remains unchanged.

It is obviously nonsense to expect these local tyrants to support Emperor Wuding.

Yang Hao has been in officialdom for many years, so he can still see through the tricks of Shanxi officialdom.

"Your Majesty, I and the other ministers all believe that it is time to move the capital."

As soon as these words were spoken, several other civil servants echoed them. Each of them quoted from classics and discussed everything from Pan Geng's relocation of the capital to Emperor Wen of Wei's reforms. Liu Zhaosun was convinced by what he said.

"Your Majesty, I am not afraid of death, but I will stay in the capital and defend it to the death. I have a sense of foreboding."

Qiao Yiqi was outspoken and directly expressed his doubts.

Emperor Wu Ding looked at this old subordinate who had followed him for many years and comforted Qiao Dazui:

"Don't worry, Qiao Qing, your premonition has never been better."

After saying this, he looked at his confidants around him and said loudly:
"Move the capital? Where to? Hangzhou or Fuzhou? Or treat Hangzhou as Bianzhou?"

The scene of the Jingkang Incident appeared in Emperor Wuding's eyes.

While Huizong and his son were hunting in the north, Prince Kang Wanyan Gou crossed the Yangtze River on a mud horse and headed south. He was chased by the Jin army from Hangzhou to Fuzhou. He was frightened to the point of incontinence and also suffered from male infertility problems.

"Come, quickly bring me the History of the Song Dynasty. I want to take a good look at it and see how Zhao Gou migrated south."

Emperor Wu Ding spoke in a bad tone, and everyone around him stopped talking. Yang Hao said with a stiff upper lip:
"Your Majesty, we are not going to the south. The Gui Wang rebels in the south have already reached the canal. We are going to Liaodong..."

"Liaodong?"

Liu Zhaosun stared at his father-in-law with a fierce look, which made Yang Hao shudder.

After a long time, the young emperor finally said word by word:

"Three years ago, I led a great army into the pass, saying that I would lead everyone to conquer the world. Now, I have been defeated miserably, leaving my head outside the pass and my butt inside the pass, at the mercy of others. How can I face the people of Liaodong! I will not escape, and the prince will not go south. I have mobilized elite troops and will fight a decisive battle with Li Xianzhong in the capital. This battle will decide the outcome. After we destroy the bandits, we will deal with that so-called Hongguang Emperor! Conquer Jiangnan!" Yang Hao shook his head in shock. Qiao Yiqi couldn't help but say:
"Xiang Yu refused to cross the Yangtze River in the past, and finally had to..."

Emperor Wuding interrupted Qiao Yiqi:
"I am not Xiang Yu, and Beijing is not Gaixia. If I destroy Li Xianzhong, the north will be pacified. If I destroy Zhu Changling, the south of the Yangtze River will be pacified! Then I will be the master of the world, and the Great Qi will become the country on which the sun never sets."

~~~~~
However, the reality is cruel.

On the sixth day of the third month of the first year of Wuding, the Tang army arrived at Juyongguan. Song Tong and the eunuch Cao Zhizhi, the supervisor of the army, surrendered without a fight. The "key to the north gate" of the capital, known as the natural fortress, was opened to the Tang army without a single arrow being fired.

In the evening of that day, the vanguard of the Tang army arrived at the earthen city north of the capital (the ruins of the northern city wall of Yuan Dadu). Li Xianzhong set up camp in Gonghua City, Shahe, between Changping and Beijing, and set up the Tang army's central camp there. General Liu Zongmin served as the commander-in-chief of the siege, responsible for capturing Beijing.

On the 17th, Liu Zongmin led 80,000 troops to the outskirts of Beijing, and the Tang army immediately began to gradually clear the outer positions and fortifications.

Among the 80,000 people, except for 20,000 former Tang army members, the remaining 60,000 were refugees who surrendered to the Qi army from Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places, as well as those who joined during the eastern expedition.

Upon learning that Yongdingmen had recently experienced war and the city walls were damaged in the battle, Liu Zongmin immediately ordered the focus of the attack to be shifted from Deshengmen in the north to Yongdingmen in the south.

Nearly 100,000 troops surrounded the city of Beijing, and artillery was set up in front of the moat, roaring at the Yongdingmen position.

The artillerymen captured from the military towns of Shaanxi and Shanxi used the captured Shenjiying Shenhuo Feiya to fire indiscriminately at the other side of the moat.

Those large rockets that were used to performing Brownian motion always flew everywhere after being ignited. Hundreds of them turned around and rushed towards the Tang army formation.

Hundreds of cannon fodders who were gathering their strength to prepare for the ant-like siege were immediately killed or injured.

This behavior of betraying teammates led to a large-scale fight between cannon fodder and artillery.

Liu Zongmin was furious and sent the old battalion forward to indiscriminately kill dozens of the cannon fodder and artillerymen who were fighting each other.

They barely suppressed this inexplicable internal conflict, but the artillery refused to fire the Divine Fire Flying Crow produced by the Divine Machine Camp, and the refugees in the front row also consciously stayed away from the artillery.

"There are always casualties in war! A few deaths are enough to make you a fool. You immortal, you bastard, you bastard, you idiot, every time you walk here, you step on a few dead bodies. The silver and women are all in the city. Instead of attacking the city properly, you are even using your own people to fight against each other. If you can capture this city, I will give you all the rewards! If anyone dares to lay a hand on his own people again, I will castrate him!"

Liu Zongmin rode on a dark Hexi horse, waving his whip and scolding loudly, using all the curse words he had learned from leaders from various places in recent days.

After scolding, he was still not satisfied and swung the whip at the running refugees.

"You idiot, you're looking for death!"

The elite soldiers of the old camp brandished their swords and whips to suppress the mob in front of them.

The artillery continued to fire, accompanied by explosions and misfires, as iron balls flew across the sky above the suburbs of Beijing in the biting cold wind and smashed into the Qi army positions.

Liu Zongmin reined in his horse and stood on a small mound south of Yongding Gate, with a large flag with the word "Liu" written on it fluttering in the wind above his head.

The wilderness was filled with cold air. Liu Zongmin shivered, rubbing his hands in surprise.
"You damned government troops, why don't you fight back? Do you want me to push the shield cart to the city?"

If Liu Zongmin had not received accurate information that the main force of the Kaiyuan Army was still in the capital, he would have thought that his relative, Emperor Wuding, might have already abandoned the city and fled.

From Shaanxi to Shanxi, and then to Henan, Liu Zongmin had a smooth journey. Except for a few fights with Qin Yuji at Ningwu Pass, he basically had no rivals.

He showed no worry about conquering the capital. Scouts reported that there were still tens of thousands of defenders in the city, but so what?
The Tang army had fought against Liu Zhaosun's men before. The troops in Hequ, Shanxi were defeated by the old camp.

I guess by now, that dog official named Deng has had his head chopped off by the centipede.

"No, Centipede likes to chop people into pieces and cook them in oil."

Liu Zongmin narrowed his eyes, recalling Zhang Zicheng's hobby of killing. As dusk fell, the Tang army fired two rounds of artillery fire, but the gun barrels overheated and finally died down. The artillerymen, as if granted amnesty, retreated to build fires and cook.

Liu Zongmin said impatiently:
"That's enough. Save your ammunition. If that bastard Liu Zhaosun stands on the city wall and gets smashed, that would be terrible. King Chuang would have to use his head as a sacrifice to Xiong Li."

A bear named Li Lai was the nephew of Emperor Zhenbao. He died three months ago on the mountain road between Pianguan County and Hequ County. It was said that he died a tragic death.

(End of this chapter)