The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Seeing that Li Guangdi remained silent, Galdan was not angry. Instead, he glanced at the banner behind him, revealing a look of deep sorrow.

"Not long ago, when I was proclaimed Khan in Guihua, I felt deeply that my ancestors had half the blood of Emperor Gaozu of Han, yet this beautiful Central Plains was subjected to the cruel policies of the Manchu Qing, such as shaving heads, changing clothes, and collective punishment. I was filled with anger."

"Therefore, while proclaiming myself Khan, I also named my country Han, hoping to drive out the Manchu Tartars and restore peace and prosperity to the Central Plains. Unfortunately, while I have many capable warriors under my command, I have none who can offer strategic advice. Alas!"

Liu Mu didn't know if he was possessed by Liu Bang, or if the Liu family had inherited the genes of a movie star, or if it was a genuine expression of emotion, but he actually choked up and cried.

At the same time, Liu Mu's words were practically telling Li Guangdi directly that as long as he could explain himself clearly, he would become the chief civil official of the Han Dynasty.

As for whether or not they have Liu Bang's bloodline.

Does it matter?

As long as Galdan himself acknowledges it, that's fine. Besides, the imperial edict issued by the Three Hans states that the name Liu Mu is written on it.

Liu Mu in his previous life was a true descendant of Liu Fa, the King of Changsha, and his family genealogy had never been broken.

"May I ask, Your Majesty?"

Li Guangdi, a shrewd old fox, took a deep breath and shed tears, as if truly moved by patriotism. After looking around, he bowed respectfully.

"Do you aspire to emulate Genghis Khan, conquering the grasslands and the Western Regions, or to follow in the footsteps of Kublai Khan, marching south to become emperor?"

Galdan actually wanted to say, "I want them all!"

But this is something that can't be exaggerated. The speed of technological development is beyond the comprehension of people in this era, so they pretend to be respectful and humble.

"Please instruct me, sir!"

After four years in office, Li Guangdi finally felt respected and could put his knowledge from books to use.

"In the southwest, Wu Sangui and the other three feudatories command hundreds of thousands of troops. Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou have fallen, and even Sichuan and Yunnan are in imminent danger. It can be said that the Qing dynasty's rule is gradually fading away!"

"If Your Majesty were to send back the news of the execution of the envoy and the refusal of the marriage alliance, given the current Qing emperor's character, he would certainly flee to Taiyuan with his Eight Banners families. At worst, he would go to Guanzhong or the southeast!"

"At that time, Your Majesty will control the granaries of Hebei, and with Liaodong, the southern and northern deserts as your backing, you will be able to replicate the strategy of the Manchus entering the pass thirty years ago, which was to drive out the tiger and devour the wolf."

"But once His Majesty accepts the marriage alliance, he will be bound to the Manchu Qing dynasty, becoming like Wu Sangui and other figures considered traitors by the people!"

Galdan frowned. "Are you saying, sir, that Wu Sangui cannot replace the Manchus?"

Upon hearing Galdan's question, Li Guangdi revealed a mocking expression, "Wu Sangui, although ambitious, is always hesitant and indecisive. With such a large force of elite troops in Guan Ning, he only cares about the petty gains of the Manchus."

"Now that he has been branded as a lackey of the Manchus, even if he can drive out the Manchu barbarians, he will not be able to seize the throne. Heaven will not favor this man."

After hearing Li Guangdi's words, Galdan broke out in a cold sweat. He hadn't thought that much before; he was just planning to march into Beijing. If he could succeed, he would establish his rule over the Central Plains; if not, he would plunder and retreat to the grasslands.

In retrospect, it seems that he was already caught up in the political landscape of the Central Plains after he captured Zhangjiakou.

Advance and you live; retreat and you die!

The overall situation involves more than just military strength and supplies; it also involves the hearts of the people. We must never break our promise to the people.

Historically, Wu Sangui, halfway through his campaign, wanted to divide the country with the Manchus and rule separately along the Yangtze River. As a result, he died less than half a year after declaring himself emperor, and none of his descendants were any good.

This may be the way of Heaven, something unseen and intangible.

Having thought this through, Galdan stopped hesitating. "Wanyan Wu, find someone to replace Mr. Li, and together with those two Qing soldiers, kill them and dump their bodies outside the city."

After Galdan finished speaking, he whispered a few more words in Galdan's ear.

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Wu revealed a gleeful expression. Not long after, he secretly seized a Manchu soldier from among the prisoners, dressed him in Li Guangdi's official robes, and dumped him, along with the corpses of the two messengers, at the foot of Juyong Pass.

"My Emperor says that you Manchu barbarians are unworthy of a marriage alliance, and that your current emperor, Kang Youwei, should wash his neck and prepare to receive that knife!"

After Wanyan Wu finished speaking, he immediately turned his horse around and ran away, while Prince Yu, Fuquan, on the city wall also showed a look of fear.

It's surprising that Galdan remained unmoved by such a huge temptation, which shows that he really had the ability to break through Beijing, or that he knew something.

Without a second thought, Fuquan immediately ordered: "Buku, I must return to the capital to report this matter. You must defend Juyong Pass to the death and protect the safety of the imperial city!"

Upon hearing this, a strong and robust man dressed in a yellow-bordered armor immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"As long as the city stands, we stand; if the city falls, we die!"

Prince Yu patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction. He felt at ease leaving the city only because he had such a pure military commander defending it. If he had a smarter one, he would probably have surrendered the moment he left!

Upon realizing this, Prince Yu hurried to Beijing, determined to inform Emperor Kangxi within a day that if Galdan were to launch a surprise attack on the city, they would be in a dilemma.

Once Galdan had made all the necessary preparations, he handed over all command of the siege to Subutai.

Galdan was willing to give him troops to practice and gain experience, as he was a talented and loyal general.

However, before the attack on the city, Wang Jinbao, who had previously defended Zhangjiakou to the death, was bound hand and foot with hemp rope by the soldiers and stood in the middle of the battlefield with a wooden stick next to him.

After waking up from his serious injuries, this guy kept insulting Galdan, and he also cursed Galdan when offered to surrender.

Galdan wasn't Cao Cao, and Wang Jinbao wasn't Guan Yu. For someone as stubborn as him, who wasn't a born leader, the only option was to send him to his death.

"Attack the city!"

At Subutai's command, the axemen immediately raised their swords and swung them forcefully, beheading Wang Jinbao.

At the same time, a large number of crudely made shield carts, which were only lined with a single layer of hemp cloth, were also pushed by the infantry toward Juyong Pass.

Among these were fifty flying thunder cannons, only twenty of which had cannon carriages. The remaining thirty cannons had no carriages, so the soldiers had to dig holes and bury half of the cannon barrels to prevent vibration.

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to make the gun mount!

Buku had been watching the battlefield the whole time. When he saw those things hidden by tree branches, the first thing that came to his mind was those cannons that could breach cities.

"All cannons, aim at those piles of branches!"

"If you hit the target, I, the Commander-in-Chief, will reward you handsomely."

At this time, Juyong Pass had twenty heavy cannons weighing a thousand catties each, and fifty or sixty other types of breech-loading cannons, which was quite a lot.

Bang bang bang.

They started firing shells at a distance of four or five hundred meters, which precisely exploited the short range of the Flying Thunder Cannon.

Fortunately, there were no elite Han Eight Banners troops on the city wall, so the cannons were very inaccurate and slow to reload, posing little threat to the Flying Thunder Cannons.

However, the continuous barrage of cannonballs prevented the Flying Thunder Cannon from advancing to within 200 meters of the city wall, and more than a dozen cannons with gun mounts were lost.