I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Boom!

At midnight, a loud bang shattered the night sky.

Liu Fangliang suddenly woke up, his eyes still filled with sleepiness and fear, and asked, "What happened? Where are they firing?"

"Report!"

The sentry rushed over and knelt on one knee: "The Ming army has launched a strong attack from the south gate!"

"Order the defenses to hold the south gate at all costs! Send a contingent of troops from each of the other city defenses to provide support!"

"Wait a minute!"

Ma Chongxi pushed open the door and said, "My lord, we cannot divide our troops!"

Liu Fangliang asked, "Why can't we divide our forces?"

Ma Chongxi hurriedly said, "The Ming army cannot attack only the south gate. If they are going to attack, they will launch an attack from all four sides simultaneously. The south gate is just a decoy. If you, my lord, divide your troops now, the other gates will not have enough troops. Once a breach appears, it will be magnified infinitely, and Zhengding City will be finished!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fangliang felt a chill run down his spine, and a fine layer of sweat beaded on his forehead. He took a deep breath and quickly ordered, "Pass down the order: no troops are to leave their posts without permission. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

"yes!"

The sentry turned and left to relay orders to the various battalions.

Ma Chongxi then said, "My lord, you must be prepared. If the Ming army attacks, how should we fight them?"

"By the time the Ming army breaks in, everyone will be dead. What's the point of fighting then?"

Ma Chongxi shook his head: "There is always a way out."

Liu Fangliang's expression changed, and he said, "Strategist, please speak freely!"

Ma Chongxi was prepared and immediately said, "Our forces are at a disadvantage. If the Ming army really attacks the city, we must be prepared to fight in street battles."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fangliang scoffed dismissively, "The strategist overestimates the Ming army, doesn't he? Even if our forces are outnumbered, if we hold our ground and don't engage, the Ming army might not be able to take us down. We can simply wait for His Majesty's reinforcements to arrive, forcing the Ming army to retreat without a fight!"

Ma Chongxi looked at Liu Fangliang, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes, and said earnestly, "My lord, we must prepare for the worst!"

As he spoke, he took out a map and said, "I suggest that we immediately gather the able-bodied men in the city and have them assist in defending the city gates. Although these men have not received formal training, they can be sent out as cannon fodder when necessary to deplete the Ming army's ammunition, and at the same time, they can buy us more time."

Upon hearing this, Liu Fangliang hesitated, "Is the situation that serious yet?"

Ma Chongxi shook his head, his tone heavy: "The situation is already very serious. Sending cannon fodder to the front lines ahead of time will not only slow down the Ming army and deplete their ammunition, but also save us a lot of food. Before reinforcements arrive, we must prepare for a war of attrition."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Moreover, if we really reach a point where there is nowhere else to go, the women and children in these families... can also be used as our military rations."

"This, this... it really hasn't come to that yet..."

Liu Fangliang's face turned deathly pale. He felt a churning in his stomach and a slight nausea. Then, in a slightly trembling voice, he said, "How about this? I'll go to the city wall myself and take a look. You stay here to coordinate."

After saying this, he hurriedly put on his armor. Just as he stepped out the door, he suppressed his discomfort and turned back to say, "The strategist is wise and resourceful, truly a reincarnation of Zhuge Liang."

"Thank you for your praise, Your Excellency. However, the person I admire is not Zhuge Liang."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fangliang immediately became interested and asked, "Before the strategist praised him, he must have been even more capable than Zhuge Liang. May I ask who he was?"

Ma Chongxi smiled faintly and said, "Although Zhuge Liang is resourceful, he is indecisive and lacks ruthless methods. Those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities. The person I admire most is Jia Xu. This man truly uses any means necessary to achieve his goals. In the chaotic world, he assisted Cao Cao in establishing his hegemony. This is true wisdom."

"I see, I've learned something new!"

After Liu Fangliang finished speaking, he turned around and ran away as if fleeing.

It should be noted that Jia Xu rarely takes action, because when he does, the entire population of the city is often wiped out, and not even a dog is spared.

Even Cao Cao, who would rather betray the world than let the world betray him, felt uneasy when he saw Jia Xu.

I never imagined that Ma Chongxi was actually the Jia Xu of our time. I really underestimated him...

Flames soared into the sky above the south gate.

The Ming army's cannons roared incessantly, hurling shells at the ancient city walls.

Fortunately, these shells did not explode; although they were deafening, they did not cause much damage to the city walls.

The soldiers guarding the city were busy in a tense but orderly manner. Some were busy moving stones, while others were busy repairing the cracks in the city wall caused by cannon fire.

Liu Fangliang stood on the city wall and observed for a moment. He found that although the Ming army's offensive seemed fierce, it did not seem to be going all out. It was as if they were testing the city wall's defenses.

He began to feel uneasy, then remembered Ma Chongxi's warning that the attack on the south gate might just be a feint, and the real battle had not yet begun.

If the Ming army were to launch a simultaneous attack from all four sides, the defenses of Zhengding City would be in grave danger. While Ma Chongxi's suggestion to use the city's civilians as cannon fodder was cruel, it was an effective strategy under the current circumstances.

"Guards, relay my order: summon everyone in the city..."

Boom!

Boom!

Just as Liu Fangliang was about to give the order, suddenly, a roaring sound came from both the east and the west at the same time!

He suddenly realized that the real offensive had finally begun!

Sure enough, the Ming troops at the south gate seemed to have received orders, and the cannon fire became more intense, with shells raining down on them.

Boom!

A cannonball struck the city wall directly, sending bricks and stones flying everywhere, and a wail of pain erupted from the city wall!

Some of the soldiers defending the city were hit by stones, their blood splattering, while others were knocked to the ground by the impact, groaning in pain.

"My lord, what did you just say you were summoning?"

"Why bother summoning birds? Let's defend the city first!"

Liu Fangliang hurriedly ordered a full-scale defense. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and stood on the city wall, gazing northward.

The east, south, and west directions have all started, so why is there no movement only at the north gate?

It's important to understand that the north was Chongzhen's main force!

Something unusual must be going on...

No, the Ming army's main focus should have been the north gate!

"Prepare the horses!"

Liu Fangliang was shocked, because he remembered something even more serious: the guards at the North Gate were Hong Niangzi's former troops!

They thought the North Gate would be the main battlefield and where the fighting would be the fiercest, so they sent Hong Niangzi's people there to die first.

However, things may have already gotten out of control!

As he galloped toward the north gate, he suddenly saw a patrol of soldiers, about a dozen of them.

"You lot, come with me!"

These people looked at each other, but didn't move.

Liu Fangliang roared, "I told you to come with me, are you all deaf? Whose subordinates are you?"

The crowd remained motionless, all turning their gazes toward the leader.

By the dim light of the street fire, Liu Fang finally saw the other person's face clearly, and was immediately stunned. She asked, "Are you Guo Mang? No, shouldn't you be guarding the north gate?"

Guo Mang drew his sword and shouted, "Brothers, follow me to capture Liu Fangliang and rescue General Li Yan!"

"kill!"

The crowd immediately dispersed, forming a fan shape to surround them.

"court death!"

Enraged, Liu Fangliang drew his knife and charged towards the enemy.

However, they only brought a few followers, while the enemy had the numerical advantage. Moreover, their formation and coordination were evident from their positioning, and their advances and retreats were very methodical.

Even more frighteningly, after only a few rounds of fighting, they heard other footsteps approaching, and faintly heard someone shouting, "Liu Fangliang is over there, don't let him get away!"

The footsteps were quite loud; it seemed that a lot of people were coming.

Liu Fangliang knew the situation was bad, and without a second thought, he turned his horse around and headed straight for the government office.