Late Ming Dynasty: Starting with the overthrow of the county magistrate, a rebellion was launched to

Because the West Gate is the key to containing the main force of the Ming army, it must be attacked fiercely!

Disregarding casualties, Liu Zongmin ordered his troops to bombard the city with small cannons, causing fires to erupt on the wooden pillars of buildings and billowing smoke that blotted out the sky.

Chen Yongfu was personally in charge of the west gate. Seeing this scene, he could only curse and direct his soldiers to suppress the enemy with firearms and block them with arrows. He relied on the fortified city to hold on and hold back Liu Zongmin's main force, preventing them from sending troops to support the north gate. However, he also suffered heavy casualties. The main force of the rebel army outside the city brought the city's defenses to the brink of collapse several times.

While Chen Yongfu and Zuo Guangxian, the two pro-war factions, were locked in a fierce battle at the north and south gates, the hearts of the people inside the city began to waver...

Several cowardly county clerks and low-ranking officers gathered in a secluded alley in the south of the city, whispering amongst themselves, their faces filled with fear.

"The city will surely fall! With our limited forces, we are no match for 30,000 rebels. Defending will only lead to our demise!"

"Why not open the south gate tonight, surrender the city, and let Li Zicheng take over? He's known for accepting surrenders and betrayals; if we surrender, we can at least save our lives and property!"

"No! Our families are all in Luoyang and Kaifeng. If we surrender to the rebels, the court will surely purge us, and our entire families will be executed. Not a single one of us will survive!"

"I can't worry about anything else! I need to save my own life first! I can't worry about my family now!"

Before the words were even finished, Zhou Shilu arrived suddenly with a squad of city guards, immediately surrounding the group. As they were about to explain, Zhou Shilu coldly nodded to his personal guards, then, without questioning or uttering a single word, dragged them to the city's main intersection and beheaded them in public. His heads were then displayed high on a flagpole.

"Anyone who dares to speak of surrender, plot rebellion, or undermine morale will be punished as an example! Reinforcements from Luoyang will arrive soon. Those who defend to the death will be richly rewarded, while those who desert will be executed on the spot!"

Under the deterrent effect, the wavering atmosphere in the city subsided once again, and the people and soldiers gritted their teeth and held firm, daring not to have any more disloyal thoughts.

In the streets and alleys, able-bodied people spontaneously organized themselves and, under the leadership of yamen runners and soldiers, carried military equipment and provisions, transported wounded soldiers, and repaired city walls. The elderly, weak, women, and children cooked and boiled water at home and sent it to the city walls. The isolated city of Nanyang barely maintained its will to resist.

Until Li Zicheng personally supervised the battle

At 3:45 PM, the main force of the rebel army slowly moved forward. Li Zicheng, still wearing his worn black felt cloak, with a curved sword at his waist and a stern face, personally supervised the battle at the North Gate, surrounded by his strategists Niu Jinxing and Song Xianze, and his general Tian Jianxiu.

He stood atop the high slope, overlooking Nanyang, then his gaze swept over the city walls, now stained with the smoke of battle and stained with blood, before he frowned.

If Nanyang is so difficult to conquer, what will become of Luoyang in the future?

Attack! Launch a fierce attack!

"All troops, launch a general offensive! Day and night, attack from all sides! Today we will surely take Nanyang! Anyone who dares to shrink back will be executed!"

At a single command, the rebel army went into a frenzy, like enraged zombie beasts, launching wave after wave of attacks.

The west, north, and south gates were attacked simultaneously. The cannons roared, shaking the city walls. Rockets rained down on the city, flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke blotted out the sun. The entire city of Nanyang trembled under the barrage of fire.

Then, wave after wave of rebel soldiers surged forward, densely packed and seemingly endless. As the Ming army suffered heavy casualties, many sections of the city's defenses in Nanyang were under attack.

At this time, the west gate wall was blasted open by artillery fire, and bricks and stones kept falling off, threatening to collapse.

The siege ladders at the north gate were densely packed and countless. The rebel army had scaled the city walls several times, engaging in close combat and hand-to-hand fighting. The soldiers on the walls were almost all killed or wounded, and wave after wave of soldiers had to be replaced.

The south gate was completely besieged by Gao Yigong, cut off from all communication and becoming a corner of a dead city.

At this moment, Zuo Guangxian was fighting a bloody battle at the North Gate. His soldiers had been almost entirely wiped out, leaving him with only a hundred or so personal guards and remnants of his army. The arrow wound on his left arm finally burst open, and blood gushed out again, soaking through his battle robe.

Despite the excruciating pain throughout his body, he fought on relentlessly.

Once he retreats, the north gate will surely be breached.

Zuo Guangxian thought of his wife and children in Luoyang, gritted his teeth, suppressed his desire to retreat, and desperately brandished his sword, roaring...

"Defend to the death! Fight to the death! We'll live and die with the city!"

After five hours of such a fierce battle...

As night fell, the world was plunged into darkness, with only the firelight inside the city and the torches outside illuminating the scene. Yet, the rebel army's offensive showed no signs of abating; instead of retreating, they advanced with increasing ferocity.

Because the north gate is about to break down.

Even before dark, the experienced Li Guo had already determined that breaking through the city would be no easy task. He was naturally anxious to see Li Zicheng urging him to stop. Seeing that the north gate could not be breached after a long siege, he cursed loudly and then secretly mobilized engineers to lay down gunpowder in the ground under the city gate, braving the Ming army's firepower.

It was only now that the deployment was completed.

With a deafening roar, the North Gate, Bowang Gate, exploded open, sending bricks and stones flying and dust billowing into the sky. The heavy city gate was shattered and left wide open!

"Charge!"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the rebel cavalry swarmed in, roaring as they charged into the city. Wherever their iron hooves passed, the remaining Ming soldiers at the north gate were either killed or wounded.

Zuo Guangxian had thought he could rest at night, but upon seeing this, his eyes widened in horror and he was overcome with grief. He led his last remaining soldiers in a desperate attempt to block the enemy. Despite being shot multiple times and covered in knife wounds, he continued to wield his sword and fight until he finally collapsed from exhaustion. He was then pierced through the chest by a hail of bullets and died a heroic death.

On his deathbed, he faced the direction of Xiangyang, and with his last ounce of strength, he screamed in despair.

"Commander-in-Chief... This humble general... has done his best... Nanyang... cannot be defended..."

Just as Zhang Da had feared, once a single point in the so-called complete defense line was breached, the entire line would immediately collapse!

Once the north gate fell, the Ming army suffered a complete rout and had no power to organize resistance. The rebel army poured into Nanyang City like a flood, and the streets and alleys were immediately plunged into a fierce melee.

Shouts of killing, cries of agony, the clashing of weapons, and the burning of houses mingled together, turning the once prosperous Wancheng into a living hell in an instant. Rivers of blood flowed, corpses littered the fields, smoke billowed into the sky, and wails of agony filled the air.

Upon learning of the fall of the North Gate and the death of Zuo Guangxian at the West Gate, Chen Yongfu was devastated and cried out to the heavens. Despite this, he led his remaining troops in a desperate fight, resisting step by step. However, the city gates completely collapsed, forcing him to retreat to the central district.

Huang Degong's general reserve force also fought back desperately, engaging in fierce street battles with the rebel army. Swords flashed and blood flew everywhere. His soldiers suffered heavy casualties, but they still fought for every inch of land.

Zhou Shilu and Wang Dingguo led their troops to guard key locations such as the government office and granaries, and also began to engage in combat with the rebel army. The soldiers on both sides were bloodthirsty...

But all resistance was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

Finally, another piece of bad news arrived.

The Nanyang prefectural government office has fallen.

The rebel army's banner was planted on the roof of the government office, while the Ming Dynasty's banner was cut down and trampled on the ground. The defenses of Nanyang had completely collapsed.

Even Li Zicheng, having heard of this, had already ridden into the city, utterly disregarding the remaining Ming troops. Treading over the blood and corpses, gazing at the city ablaze with fire and smoke, a confident smile played on his lips. His eyes were arrogant as he gave the order.

"Order the entire army to eliminate the remaining enemy forces and pacify the people. Nanyang has fallen, and the overall situation in the Central Plains is settled! Next, we will rest and reorganize our troops, expand our strength, march eastward, take Luoyang directly, and seize the Prince of Fu's immense wealth!"

The rebel soldiers cheered, their voices echoing across the fields. At this time, the remnants of the Ming army retreated to the narrow central street, surrounded on all sides, out of ammunition and food, and plunged into utter despair. They could only rely on the street fortifications to fight desperately and prolong their lives.

But it should be over soon; they won't live past tonight.

However, just as the rebel army was celebrating their victory, the remnants of the Ming army were desperately defending their city, and Nanyang was about to fall completely, a scout overcame numerous obstacles and rushed to Li Zicheng's side, kneeling on the ground, his body trembling, filled with extreme fear and panic.

"Reporting to the King! Something terrible has happened! Urgent report from the north! From Luoyang... government troops have suddenly launched an attack from Luoyang! Several thousand light cavalry, traveling at double speed, have already breached our rear cities of Lushi and Luoning, burned all our grain and supplies, lost our main camp, destroyed all our provisions, captured the families of our soldiers, and cut off our entire army's retreat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the smile on Li Zicheng's face froze instantly. As if struck by lightning, he yanked the reins hard, and his warhorse reared up in shock, neighing loudly.

"What did you say? How could that be!"

Faced with Li Zicheng's disbelief, the scout repeated the story again...

Li Zicheng stared intently at Luoyang in the north, his eyes filled with murderous intent, a mixture of shock, rage, and disbelief.

"How could this be... impossible! Zhu Changxun, that greedy, cowardly, and incompetent fool! Wang Shaoyu and Li Xianfeng, those mediocre, cowardly, and opportunistic scoundrels! How dare they send troops to raid our rear! How dare they cut off our retreat!"

Niu Jinxing and Song Xianze's expressions changed drastically. Although they didn't know why these three good-for-nothings in Luoyang City dared to have such audacity, it was clear that their primary concern at the moment was not that...

"Chuang King! Our retreat has been cut off, our supplies burned, and our army is attacked from both sides, trapped in a desperate situation! We cannot linger in Nanyang. We must make an immediate decision: either return to reinforce our main camp, or retreat hastily and find another base!"

Generals Liu Zongmin and Tian Jianxiu were also deathly pale, and morale was in turmoil. The rebel army, which had been celebrating its victory, was instantly plunged into panic and chaos.

As the wind and snow swirled and fireworks soared into the sky, the sounds of battle that the remnants of the Ming army in Nanyang heard in their despair suddenly grew fainter and fainter...