Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 249 Hu Tian: You guys should have said you liked being buried alive with the dead earlier!
From afar, looking at the trembling soldiers standing on the city walls of Zhen'an, who couldn't even muster a full set of armor, and the Zhen'an Prefecture officials, the Left and Right Provincial Governors of Guangxi, Lord Ji and Lord Wang Dayou, dressed in the robes of county magistrates, cautiously peeking down at the city below, their eyes were filled with helpless despair and struggle!

"My lords, time is of the essence. If you two are still unwilling to speak, then don't blame me for being rude." Seeing that the two provincial governors of Guangxi were unwilling to cooperate, Hu Tian spoke up again to remind them. He was confident that he could break down their psychological defenses little by little!

"Even if the city falls, it's just death!" Governor Ji Zuo looked at Hu Tian, ​​who was riding on horseback, with a resentful expression. Governor Wang You, standing beside him, also silently closed his eyes and remained silent.

"So the two of you like to be buried alive with the dead?"

You should have said so earlier! I, Lao Hu, would have absolutely supported you!

"When the time comes, you two will leave in glory, and I will have the soldiers and civilians in the city accompany you, to satisfy your desire for being buried alive with the dead!" Hu Tian would not tolerate the death threats from the two provincial governors of Guangxi. He told them directly and clearly, "If you two dare to commit suicide, I will have more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians in the city buried with you!"
The former provincial governor, Ji Zuo, who had stubbornly prepared to die with the city after its fall, was now filled with panic after hearing Hu Tian's smiling words. With his intelligence, how could he not understand the veiled threat in Hu Tian's words? Now, utterly helpless, the provincial governor could only stare at Hu Tian with helpless, angry, and terrified eyes, utterly powerless.

"Guards!" Hu Tian ignored the unwilling looks in the eyes of the two provincial governors of Guangxi and turned to call for help. In that instant, the pupils of the left and right provincial governors of Guangxi dilated, and their breathing became heavy, but the two stubbornly gritted their teeth and kept their mouths shut.

“Here I am!” The clear voice belonged to Zhu Zhanqi, the second prince of the Han Prince’s Mansion. The two provincial governors of Guangxi looked at the second prince of the Han Prince’s Mansion in astonishment, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"We began to persuade them to surrender, telling the soldiers and civilians in the city that our Shenji Battalion had more than 100 heavy artillery pieces, and with the rest of the artillery, we had more than 1,000 artillery pieces in total."

We don't want to hurt anyone, but if they continue to resist stubbornly, then don't blame us for being ruthless! Hu Tian's goal was also very clear: try to persuade them to surrender first. If it works, then we can win without bloodshed.

"I obey!" Zhu Zhanqi accepted the order without hesitation and left immediately. The two provincial governors of Guangxi, watching the second prince of the Han Prince's mansion leave without a second thought, also looked flustered.

"My lords, the city wall of Zhen'an City, which is less than five zhang high, cannot withstand my cannon fire."

"Putting everything else aside, just those hundred-odd heavy cannons alone—if even one cannon fires a single shell, the city wall will collapse!" Seeing the two provincial governors clearly panicking, Hu Tian continued his psychological offensive. He guessed that these two were probably about to give up too.

At the foot of Zhen'an Prefecture, Zhu Zhanqi had already begun persuading people to surrender. He took a small megaphone from who-knows-where and started shouting at the city wall.

"People of Zhen'an Prefecture, I, as the Second Prince of the Han Prince's Mansion, guarantee that as long as you lay down your weapons and surrender, we will absolutely not kill a single person!"

But if we continue to resist stubbornly, look at those more than a thousand cannons below the city. The city could fall within a quarter of an hour, and it's hard to say how many people will die then!

"Everyone's parents, wives, and children are all in the city." Zhu Zhanqi was using a megaphone to persuade them to surrender, while Hu Tian behind him was already planning the next attack.

"Messenger!" Hu Tian called out to the messenger without hesitation.

"General!" The messenger rode up without hesitation, respectfully awaiting Hu Tian's military orders.

"Tell the artillery battalion to prepare heavy artillery!"
If the city gates remain closed after the Second Prince returns.

"Heavy artillery, aim at the city gate! Open the city gate!" Hu Tian's meaning was clear: bombard the city gate with heavy artillery to intimidate the soldiers and civilians of Zhen'an Prefecture. "General Hu!" Seeing that Hu Tian had actually ordered the artillery battalion to prepare for attack, the Left Provincial Governor and the Right Provincial Governor were clearly even more panicked. They had thought that Hu Tian would continue to persuade them to surrender. But things didn't go as planned; Hu Tian actually went straight for the artillery.

The reason they were so panicked was that, as local leaders, they naturally knew the power of heavy artillery. For a small city like Zhen'an Prefecture, a single shot would basically shatter the city wall!

"My lords, please make a decision quickly, time is running out!" Hu Tian was not going to continue to tolerate these two uncooperative prisoners, and said to them with a ferocious expression.

"General, I have failed in my mission and have not been able to persuade them to surrender!" Soon after Hu Tian had just finished threatening the two provincial governors of Guangxi, Zhu Zhanqi returned. He was slightly disappointed, but still respectfully reported the result of the persuasion to Hu Tian.

"It's alright. We'll try to persuade him to surrender one last time after the bombardment." Hu Tian didn't blame Zhu Zhanqi. After all, the timing of persuasion was crucial, and besides, he would arrange for one last attempt to persuade him to surrender after the bombardment.

"Your Excellency, obey the order!" Upon hearing that he would be persuading the enemy to surrender again, Zhu Zhanqi immediately perked up and dashed off to prepare.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Soon, the cannon fire rang out, but it came and went quickly, lasting only a few times. As soon as the cannon fire subsided, everyone heard cheers erupt from the Yunnan army, a stark contrast to the terrified shouts from the walls of Zhen'an Prefecture.

"My lords, the city gates have been breached." Hu Tian sat upright on his horse, looking down at the two provincial governors of Guangxi, and spoke calmly, but his words did not elicit any response from the two men.

"My lords," Hu Tian asked again, seeing that the two provincial governors of Guangxi did not respond, "should I try to persuade them to surrender again, or should I attack the city directly?!" But they still did not respond.

"Someone come here!" Seeing that the two were still stubborn and did not respond to his question, Hu Tian stretched out his hand and called for help again.

"General Hu!" Before Hu Tian could issue his military order, Wang You, the Right Provincial Governor, with a sorrowful expression, resolutely reached out and stopped Hu Tian from issuing any further orders. Ji Zuo, the Left Provincial Governor, with a complicated expression, tried to pull his colleague back, but was refused by being shaken off.

Ji Zuo, the provincial governor, saw the determination in his colleague's eyes and reluctantly lowered his hand.

"Lord Wang, what do you have to say?" At this moment, Hu Tian smiled inwardly. He knew that one of the two provincial governors of Guangxi had finally given in.

"General Hu, can you really guarantee that you will not harm anyone in the town after entering it?!" Wang You, the Right Provincial Governor, asked Hu Tian with a serious expression.

"Rest assured, Lord Wang, my Crown Prince is extremely strict in his military discipline. Since I said I would not harm anyone, my Yunnan army will never harm any soldier or civilian in the city!" Hu Tian answered the Right Provincial Governor Wang's question with great seriousness.

"If Lord Wang doesn't believe me, you two can send one of you to accompany the army!" Finally, worried that his words might not be trusted, Hu Tian directly told the two provincial governors of Guangxi, "If you don't believe me, you can send someone to follow us and see for yourselves." However, the two provincial governors of Guangxi interpreted Hu Tian's words as having a different meaning.

"General Hu, are you willing to let us go?!" Upon hearing Hu Tian's words, the Left Provincial Governor asked with a face full of doubt.

"Of course, I, Hu Tian, ​​would naturally welcome you two to stay. If you do not wish to stay, I will not force you. After all, this is a battle with no suspense whatsoever!" Hu Tian said with a resolute expression. Indeed, in Hu Tian's view, this was a battle that was bound to be won; whether or not there were two provincial governors from Guangxi was merely icing on the cake.

Hu Tian's words struck a chord with the two Guangxi officials, but upon closer examination, they realized he was absolutely right. Without them, Hu Tian might have suffered greater losses during the siege. But that would also have meant greater casualties among the soldiers and civilians inside Guangxi!
(End of this chapter)