On the second day of the second month of the first year of Longwu, the Boluo army finally arrived at the periphery of Nanjing. Prior to this, the Qing army successively conquered Taipingfu, Dangtu, Jiangning Town, Dashengguan, Xijiangkou, Guabu, Longtan, Chunhua and other large and small cities on the periphery of Nanjing, compared with the last attack on Anqing, Bolo was obviously much more cautious, the city strongholds on the periphery of Nanjing were uprooted one by one, and cadres were assigned to guard the town in case the Ming army was reinforced.

Bolo knew very well that Nanjing was different from Anqing, and even in a strategic sense, it was much more difficult to attack Nanjing than Anqing. Since the time of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, he spared no effort to improve and repair the city of Nanjing, and today, the city of Nanjing, which is located at the point of the Yangtze River waterway, has actually become a city that is almost perfect.

Wan Yanliang, the male lord of the Jurchen Dajin generation, was in Nanjing, and the quarry rock north of Jinling, which was called Jinling at that time, broke the halberd and sank into the sand, which made the Jurchen people's majestic cause collapse halfway. Therefore, when facing Nanjing, a city second only to the capital of Beijing, Bolo, who has always been full of confidence, actually felt powerless.

Bolo also feels the same way as Scofa in the city. After all, Shi Kefa was born as a civilian official, and although he was involved in military affairs, he was not proficient, so when he stood at Jubaomen and looked south, some of the confidence he had accumulated with great difficulty became empty in a blink of an eye.

Seeing the soldiers and horses of the Qing army gathering at the foot of Jubao Mountain, the line from Xitian Temple to Bao'en Temple, the outermost defense line of the Ming army was submerged in the Qing army brigade like an ant colony. The military horses stretched for dozens of miles, in short, from the sight of people, the end of the rolling array of soldiers and horses could not be seen far away. It is this vast ocean, after quietly occupying the first line in the south of the city, and then rapidly spreading to the north, east and west of the city. The soldiers of the Ming army reported the news to and from the city to and from the city, gushing. It's like the water of the East China Sea.

Suddenly heard the sound of "Gege" in his ears, no need to ask, it was sent by Qian Defu, the eunuch who guarded Fengyang Town, and Duan Xinian, the chief soldier of Fengyang, who had entered the city before. Suddenly there was no color.

Chen Zizhuang and Li Yan's reinforcements surprised Shi Kefa, and their reinforcements at least showed that Zhu Ping'an was concerned about the war in Nanjing, although he was far away in Liaodong, but Shandong and Henan still had more than 100,000 of his horses, as long as he was there, Nanjing City would have the hope of holding on.

But the surging Qing army really made everyone's hearts heavy. Now in the city of Nanjing, plus Li Yanzhong's battalion and Chen Zizhuang's soldiers and horses, there are only 60,000 people. Although there are still 40,000 of the rest of the people, they are all ordinary people who have not been through the battle array, and it is unknown how much role they can play. As the saying goes: "Ants bite more elephants to death", the Qing army's more than 200,000 horses gathered under the city of Nanjing, and it was really difficult to determine the outcome of the battle.

Among the people, only Yan Yingyuan and Chen Mingyu, who are unknown, are calm as usual. It's just past the New Year, and the weather is still cold. Piles of fires were lit at the head of the city to keep out the cold, and everywhere there were groups of soldiers gathered around the fires. Pointing at the Qing army in the distance. Yan Yingyuan and Chen Mingyu, two tall and one short, changed into the cotton armor of ordinary soldiers, used a wooden stick to insert cold steamed buns and roasted them on the fire, and broke off a piece from time to time and stuffed it into their mouths.

After watching for a long time, everyone had no plan, so they came to the pavilion at the head of the city to take shelter from the cold. The war is on the verge of breaking out. Shi Kefa didn't have the heart to beat around the bush with everyone, how to fight next, he still wanted to listen to the opinions of the audience, especially Yan Yingyuan, who was strongly recommended by Zhu Ping'an and has now been appointed as the main general of the city.

Previously, the Ming army's abandonment of the outer gates was due to Yan Yingyuan's proposal. He believes that now that the Ming army is short of troops, it is better to shrink the troops to the gates of the capital than to disperse and guard the gates of the outer city. In addition, the gates of the outer city have not had time to be renovated on a large scale, and their defensive capabilities are unsatisfactory, so it is better to give up first. His suggestion was met with unanimous opposition from the ministers in Nanjing, and in the end it was Shi Kefa who forcibly implemented it, and the pressure on him can be imagined.

Inside the pavilion, the windows on all sides were wide open, and the cold wind penetrated unhindered, and it was even more chilling than in the city. Everyone was complaining, and Duan Xinian and Qian Defu had already scolded and ordered someone to close the window. When he ran from the person to the front, he was dumbfounded, and the window lattice was empty, and there was no window sash at all.

Yan Yingyuan replied lightly, "The pavilion at the head of the city is the town general who waits and sees the enemy's situation, directs the strategy, removes the window sash, and the field of vision is broadened, and the cold wind can make people more sober." You need to know that this is not the place to write poems and sway the wind and moon! ”

One sentence made everyone shut up, Qian Defu relied on himself to be an internal official, and wanted to argue and scold a few words, but he was tightly pulled by Duan Xinian. Duan Xinian and Zhu Ping'an have known each other for more than ten years, but they know the temperament of their young master. Yan Yingyuan was recommended by him, don't look at the petty officials who are still not in the stream, but I don't know that he will not soar in the future. Moreover, Zhu Ping'an is very strict in governing the army, and this Yan Yingyuan seems to be a martial artist who is not easy to get along with, so it is best not to ask for trouble.

In the center of the pavilion is a large sand table. This is also a necessary setting for the military department in the Shandong Lecture Martial Arts Hall, although Yan Yingyuan has not entered the Lecture Martial Arts Hall for further study, but he has won Lu Zhenfei's words and deeds, so he is also handy in this regard.

The sand table is the configuration of the entire Nanjing city, and the red and white flags also mark the comparison of the strength of the two armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties, as well as the location of the station.

Faced with Shi Kefa's questions and the distrustful eyes of a group of officials. Yan Yingyuan did not mention what kind of arrangement would be used to deal with the attack of the Qing army, but replied to the question: "Cabinet Department, Ying Yuan is not talented, entrusted by King Rui, to come to Nanjing to assist the cabinet to defend the city. Fortunately, he was trustworthy and entrusted with the heavy responsibility of defending the city. In fact, what kind of strategy to defend the city is not the most important, the most important thing is whether the cabinet can give Ying Yuan a guarantee that during the defense of the city, Ying Yuan will command all the soldiers and horses, as well as the generals and officials of various ministries! ”

"Bold!" Qian Defu finally couldn't help it, and immediately jumped out, "Don't forget, before that, you were just a mere official in Jiangyin." If it weren't for the respect of the Governor Lu and the Cabinet, how could we be today! All the people present, who is not a member of the imperial court, a central cadre, how can it be ordered by your little canonical history! ”

Yan Yingyuan remained silent, and Chen Mingyu on the side was still unmoved, nibbling on the roasted brown steamed bun.

Yan Yingyuan's words made Shi Kefa really embarrassed. entrusted all the affairs of defending the city before, but for Zhu Ping'an's sake, it was expected that he would not recommend a wine bag and rice bag to take on this heavy responsibility. It's just that although there are not many ministers left in Nanjing now, their status and grade are all above Yan Yingyuan. Today, Yan Yingyuan not only has to take care of the affairs of defending the city, but also has the power to command the officials of all sizes in Nanjing, which Shi Kefa is a little embarrassed about.

"The affairs of the soldiers, kneel down with one heart and one heart, and share the same hatred of the enemy. In this way, we can be like an arm and a finger, and attack and defend freely. It was precisely because Ying Yuan was just a small official that he dared to ask the cabinet for the right to command the city. Please be considerate and forgiving! ”

For a moment, Shi Kefa was silent. The crowd was also angry.

But at this time, a person strode forward, "What General Yan said is very reasonable. At this time of life and death, if the military order cannot be unified and everyone is united, I am afraid that even if Nanjing City is cast in copper and iron, it will be difficult to resist the repeated onslaught of hundreds of thousands of Qing troops! ”

"I am a loyal battalion under the command of Yang Duchen of Henan, and I am willing to obey General Yan's dispatch!" Li Yan, who was dressed in a white robe, gave Yan Yingyuan a deep squeeze and said that he would fully cooperate.

Li Yan stood up, but everyone was speechless. Everyone knows that half of the 60,000 defenders in Nanjing are under Li Yan's command. Although this person is a rogue, he is also a talent that Zhu Ping'an values. As soon as he said it now, everyone had nothing to say.

Li Yan looked at Chen Zizhuang again, "What does Mr. Jisheng think?" ”

Chen Zizhuang frowned, although he was quite unimpressed by Li Yan and Yan Yingyuan's singing and harmony, but he understood the importance of smooth military orders at this time, so he nodded slowly. "I, the Fengyang Army, am also willing to obey orders!"

So, everyone unanimously turned their attention to Lu Jiude. Now the rest of the people in Jingying are all his subordinates, and what his attitude is has become very important.

Lu Jiude smiled nonchalantly, "At the moment of the great enemy, our family also knows that it is enough to deal with it, but in such a big battle, it is better for our family to retreat despite the difficulties!" As he spoke, he arched his hand at Yan Yingyuan, "In this way, there will be General Lao Yan!" ”

"Don't dare!" Yan Yingyuan hurriedly returned the salute, "Please also ask Lu Gong for more advice!" ”

In the blink of an eye, a battle for military power settled. Yan Yingyuan's eyes flashed, and he said loudly: "Ying Yuan also understands that today's incident is really a big offense to you. But the situation forced him, Ying Yuan was entrusted by King Rui to defend Nanjing, the city was in the people, the city was in the city, and the people were killed, so he really didn't dare to be negligent. Moreover, just now the latest news was sent by the Military Intelligence Department under the command of King Rui, you may not know that Zhu Youlang, the king of Gui, has been enthroned as the emperor in Wuzhou under the support of Qu Shiyun, Ding Kuichu and others! ”

As soon as Yan Yingyuan's words came out, everyone was shocked. Unexpectedly, Guiwang Zhu Youlang actually established himself as the emperor at this time. As we all know, Zhu Youlang is already the only surviving descendant of Shenzong, and his people are dissatisfied with Zhu Yujian's early succession, and Qu Shiyun, the governor of Guangxi, and others are also his staunch supporters. When Zhu Yujian ascended the throne, Guangxi did not send anyone to congratulate him, and Zhu Youlang did not respect Zhu Yujian's holy decree and went to Hengzhou to take up the domain.

Now that the Longwu court was coerced by Zheng Zhilong to go to Fujian, this was a godsend for Zhu Youlang. It's just that his rebellion is a big trouble for the Longwu Imperial Court. Whether Nanjing can be held has also become the key to whether the Longwu Imperial Court can continue and gain the recognition and users of the people. (To be continued......)