With a burst of crying, a team of Ming soldiers walked in with dozens of women and children. There were many dependents of the bannermen in the city, and the situation of these bannermen women was very bad, because their hair and clothing were quite different from those of Han women. What's worse is that even though these can be disguised, they have a fatal flaw, that is, the banner women do not bind their feet, and the heavenly feet they were originally proud of have become a source of danger at this time.

"Duke Yuguo, these are all banner people, whether they are beheaded on the spot or taken outside the city." When the junior officer who led the team saw that Li Laiheng was here, he stepped forward to ask for instructions.

"Spare your life, my lord." Before Li Laiheng could give instructions, a banner woman suddenly rushed out of the ranks, knelt down in front of Li Laiheng, kowtowed repeatedly, and pleaded: "We are innocent, and we also hate our ancestors because they mistreated the Han people......"

Several Ming soldiers scolded and rushed over to hold the woman down. The woman's face was squeezed and distorted on the ground, and her voice was still muffled and she cried out, "My lord, what do you get by killing us useless women and children?" Why don't you spare our lives and show your magnanimity? Adult ......"

The little officer who led the team drew his waist knife, scolded and stepped forward, and with a cold light, he raised it high......

"Slow!" Li Laiheng suddenly raised his hand to stop it, groaned for a while, and said in a deep voice: "First put them in temporary custody, and how to deal with them in the future is up to His Highness to decide." ”

Although the pleas of the women of the banner people and the cries of the women and children who were arrested touched Li Laiheng, they were not the main reason for his decision. He just served as the commander of the first army, Li Laiheng was careful, he thought that His Royal Highness Min has a benevolent name, "those who surrender will not be killed, and those who abandon weapons will not die" is the most shouted words by the Ming army. Killing flag soldiers is because they are potentially dangerous, and it seems unnecessary to kill women and children.

If this causes an adverse impact on the Fashuo army. Or make His Royal Highness Min unhappy, then this happy revenge killing will be a little more than worth the loss. Therefore, Li Laiheng decided to hand over this matter to His Royal Highness Min, whether to kill or stay, he and the Fa Shuo army had no responsibility.

………………

Breaking Nanjing in seven days, this is not Zhu Yongxing's arrogance. Rather, there is a historical basis and a practical reason. After the main force of the Taiping army arrived in Nanjing, it took only seven days to break through Nanjing. Moreover, the city of Nanjing is huge, the city wall is more than 30 kilometers in total, and then there is a blasting siege, and the city of Nanjing, which is too large in the defensive range, has become useless.

In fact, under the cover of the Ming army's golden drums and bombardment of the southern city, the sappers worked day and night, dug through two tunnels in only five days, and began to fill gunpowder under the city wall near Fengyi Gate.

And just the day before. A division of the Yanshuo army ambushed the Qing army in Jurong County, which had arrived from Suzhou to reinforce them. In the hills and mountains, in the grass and trees, the Ming army covered the forest and strangled the danger, surrounded it with firearms, and annihilated thousands of Qing troops in one fell swoop.

Although the Ming army did not besiege the city on all sides, it sent troops to either set up ambushes or intercept on the road from the southeast to reinforce Nanjing. successively repelled or annihilated several armies that came to aid the Qing Dynasty, including 500 horse infantry who attacked Xu Guodi under the command of Admiral Su Song; 1,300 horse infantry selected by Zhang Dengxuan, a staff general of the Jinshan Battalion; 800 officers and soldiers stationed in Hangzhou to assist in the defense of Yatari; There were 600 Manchurian soldiers in armor stationed in Hangzhou.

These came to aid the Qing army after receiving the Yushu of Lang Tingzuo's transfer of troops to Nanjing. Immediately march rapidly and go to Nanjing from the southeast gap deliberately set aside by the Ming army. Reinforcements were ordered. There was no meeting and then acting, and the next time it came, it was giving the Ming army a chance to break through.

Of course, there are still fish that slip through the net, but these Qing soldiers who entered Nanjing have no impact on the overall situation, and they are waiting to be stewed with a spoonful.

"Zhongshan is pale and yellow. Millions of heroes have crossed the river...... It's not appropriate, it's not appropriate. ”

"The tiger is better than the past, and the world is turned upside down and generous...... Well, you can. ”

"It is advisable to chase the poor bravely, not to sell the name of the overlord...... It's not a good time! ”

"If there is love in the sky, the sky will be old. The right path in the world is the vicissitudes of life...... This sentence is good, it can be used. ”

The sun had not yet risen, but the air was already filled with the chill of dawn, and the grass was covered with gray dew.

At this historic moment, Zhu Yongxing sat on Zhongshan under the protection of his guards, looking at the ancient capital of Nanjing, feeling excited, but thinking about how to plagiarize.

From the thirteenth year of Yongli (the sixteenth year of Shunzhi, 1659) to the present (the seventeenth year of Yongli, the second year of Kangxi, 1663), more than three years, Zhu Yongxing stayed behind from an empty clan that left Burma and entered Yunnan, ups and downs, ups and downs, and finally came to the moment of setting a milestone. It will only take two or three years to get the south of the river as the foundation, and the south to the north, and it will be completed!

Zhu Yongxing suddenly felt exhaustion hit his heart, and couldn't help shrinking into the chair. He was exhausted, and he was overdrawn too much.

The fog shrouded Yifengmen, and the Qing army, which had been tossed by the Ming army's feint attack for a day, was asleep, and Lang Tingzuo and other Qing Dynasty officials were also sleeping in Meimei's early sleep.

Forced by the strength of the Ming army outside the city, he did not dare to go out of the city to fight, so according to Zhu Guozhi's strategy, he arrested a few blind people, buried a few vats, and let them listen. Keyi Fengmen was built on the mountain, and the listening effect was not good, plus the Ming army was beating golden drums and artillery bombarding the city, and the hearing of several blind people was disturbed by Yanzhòng, and they did not hear anything famous. Naturally, Lang Tingzuo and the others did not know that the catastrophe was coming, and the end had come.

Suddenly, boom, boom, earth-shattering loud noise woke up the Qing army's sweet dream, and the Ming army detonated the gunpowder in the tunnel of the Yifengmen section in the north of the city. In this blasting, in order to break the city in one fell swoop, the gunpowder was used sufficiently, and the two tunnels were blasted almost at the same time, and the thick city wall of Nanjing City was blown open four or five zhang wide gap.

The golden drums sounded in unison, shouting to kill the heavens, and the Ming army, which had been waiting for a long time, rushed to the city wall with a shout, and the first was the commando team composed of elite soldiers drawn from the three armies of Shuo, Dangshuo, and Poshuo. By the time the fog and dust had cleared, the Ming assault team had already entered the city, followed by a well-organized follow-up force.

Although the Yanshuo army is the main force in the siege, it is not good to favor one over the other. Therefore, there are three commandos, enter the city first, who fights well, who captures and kills more Qing Dynasty officials, depending on your own ability. In the follow-up troops, the artillery and artillery of the other two armies were transferred to cooperate. to increase combat power.

The three assault teams, all of which were elite of each army, each of 500 men, rushed into the city in the dust, and the Qing soldiers at the gap were either killed or wounded, and did not organize resistance at all. The assault team immediately split up and went to the city to kill, seizing the commanding heights in the north of the city, Jilong Mountain and Gulou Gang, respectively. and the Taiping Gate.

In addition to seizing key points, it is also one of the tasks of the commando to quickly advance and create favorable conditions for the follow-up troops to enter the city.

The walls on both sides of the gap were occupied, and the access to the city was safe; The Ming army continued to pour in, and it was already the tenth five-hundred-man team; Jilong Mountain and Gulou Gang were occupied, and the assault team was killing the small battalion......

The sound of gunshots, explosions, and shouts of killing spread throughout the city of Nanjing, and the rising sun shot a red light behind it, enveloping this ancient city that trembled in the flames of war.

The city is falling! Zhu Yongxing put down the binoculars. I felt that my palms were cold, and I was nervous and excited, and I sweated a lot.

Nanjing's gains and losses are really an important chess piece militarily. Nanjing has always had the saying that "three rivers and five lakes, including Dongwu and North Vietnam", it is the throat of the waterway, choking the Yangtze River and the key point of the canal. The north can cut off the Jingshi grain road and the food road, which is equivalent to cutting off the blood vessels; The west can crisscross the Yangtze River. Choose a place to cross to the north.

As soon as Nanjing was lost, the Qing army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was like a turtle in an urn. It's hard to escape the day. The green flag in the south will inevitably fall like a tide, anyway, there are endless defectors, and the remaining Manchurian and Mongolian Eight Banners and Han Eight Banners, as well as the northern green camp, there are more than 30,000 people left, except for the destruction. There was no other outcome to be desired.

The Qing court, which lost the south of the river, has been fighting since it entered the customs, and has been tossed enough by the Ming army rising in the southwest in the past three years. Tearing down the east wall and making up the west wall is busy, and it is estimated that there are not many belongings left.

"Your Highness, the Duke of Syria is here to report. The Death Commando killed Zhu Guozhi, the governor of Jiangsu. A personal guard unfolded the military report and read it to Zhu Yongxing.

"Oh, so fast." Zhu Yongxing smiled faintly and said: "Pass on the orphan edict, the first construction of the word commando will be rewarded, and each person will be rewarded with five taels of silver dollars." ”

It turned out that Zhu Guozhi was awakened by the sound of artillery, and when he learned that the Ming army was entering the city, he immediately turned blank, hurriedly sat on a sedan chair carried by four people, and dozens of Qing soldiers opened the way and fled to the city. But Ke Kui, who was stationed in the city, was unwilling to open the city gate to receive him, and educated and criticized him that he should not run to the territory of the banner people, and should organize the people to resist the Ming army and defend the outer city, so as to do it himself.

Zhu Guozhi had no other choice, so he had to order the palanquin man to carry him and flee around. fled to the small camp, and happened to run into the Ming army's commando. The Qing soldiers who escorted the car dispersed in a hurry, and the sedan chair driver also threw away the sedan chair, leaving Zhu Guozhi behind. The Ming army rushed forward, resulting in the life of the governor of Jiangsu.

In many Qing court dramas, and even in the book "Emperor Kangxi", Zhu Guozhi is described as a loyal minister, and he is portrayed as an official who is as clear as water and as a mirror, and he is angry with Hai Rui and ashamed of Bao Gong's righteous image. However, in history, Zhu Guozhi belonged to the Han Army Zhenghuang Banner, and during his tenure as governor of Jiangsu, he looted excessively, known as "Zhu Baidi", and first created the Jiangnan sales case in the name of resisting grain. In the Weeping Temple case, he fabricated charges to kill Suzhou Jin Shengsi, Ni Yongbin and others.

is such a bastard who is desperately engaged in accumulation for the Qing court, and does not hesitate to brutally suppress suspected anti-Qing remarks and thoughts, blatantly accepts bribes, and unscrupulously withholds military salaries, and has won the title of "Zhu Baidi" among the people. After being transferred to Yunnan in history, during the rebellion of the three feudatories, the soldiers of the Wu army who hated him to the bone killed him, and his flesh was divided and eaten, and it can be said that there were no bones left.

In recognition of his loyalty to the Qing court, the Qing court wrote a book and biography for him, repeatedly publicizing his deeds to the whole world, and rose to the level of a model of loyalty. Poisonous inheritance, until many times in modern times, Zhu Guozhi still appears in books and screens as a sage, which is really puzzling in a society with developed information.

For example, in the "Three Emperors of Kang Xiao", who fantasized about living for another 500 years and continuing to create a literary prison and continue to oppress the Han people, Zhu Guozhi was upright and clean, and at the last moment of his life, Zhu Guozhi righteously and sternly rejected Wu Sangui's persuasion and denounced him for splitting the country (was there such a term and concept at that time?). He shouted the slogan of equality between the Manchus and the Han Dynasty to the officers and soldiers of Wu, and passed away with a smile on his face.

Well, in the time and space of Zhu Yongxing, Zhu Da traitor died quickly, died a nest, and his ugly head was picked on a high pole, becoming an ornament for Ming soldiers to show off their exploits.

The battle in the city was still ongoing, and the Ming army entering the city had completed the initial deployment, while the Qing troops in other places were transferred to intercept it. The Ming army withstood the stubborn resistance of the Qing army, formed a strong firepower with artillery and muskets, and steadily advanced. The pace has slowed down.

The east side is not bright, and the west side is bright. Although the offensive in the north of the city encountered some resistance, it created an opportunity for the siege in the south of the city.

The Poshuo army in the south of the city, taking advantage of the gap when the Qing soldiers in the city were transferred to the north gate, took advantage of the panic atmosphere brought about by the rumors of "city breaking", implemented the strategy of multi-point flowering, and led the troops to build a cloud ladder. Kill the city walls. The Qing soldiers in the city were divided and killed by the Ming army.

In the usual siege warfare, it is the right thing for the common people to close their doors and avoid danger. But as soon as the news of the destruction of the city spread, many ordinary people peeked at the door, hoping that the Ming army would soon occupy Nanjing.

The Breaker Army, which entered the city from the south, only launched a little, and the residents of the city immediately responded positively, fearing the danger and struggling to remove the dirt bags and bricks that blocked the city gates. Open the Jubao Gate and the Water West Gate in the south of the city. Then, the Hanxi Gate in the west of the city was also opened, and the Ming army immediately entered the southern city and advanced towards the city.

There are many reasons that determine the outcome of a war, but as far as a short-term decisive battle is concerned, the decisive factors are nothing more than four aspects: first, military strength, that is, military strength and military command; the second is harmony, that is, the people's will and public tendency; The third is the time of day. i.e. climatic conditions and the timing of the decisive battle; Fourth, geographical advantages, that is, natural conditions and mountains and rivers.

In these four areas. The Ming army was almost completely occupied. The residents of the city not only contributed, but also volunteered to act as guides, leading the Ming army to attack various points in the city. The Qing army in the city was besieged from several sides, and the heart of resistance was suddenly lost, and they were defeated and fled.

Break the city from the early hours of the morning. By about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the Ming army had basically controlled the situation in the city, except for a few enemies who fled out of the city and fled from the southeast, but more than ten miles outside the city. There were also Ming troops responsible for intercepting the Qing army. The chances of these stragglers being able to escape are slim.

That's a bit of a quick time! When Zhu Yongxing got the military report, he did not smile, but his face was solemn. The Ming army conquered Nanjing so quickly, which can only show that the Eight Banners soldiers in the city saw that they could not do anything, and did not fight to the end, but withdrew to the city to hold on. And attacking this city within a city will be the bloodiest and fiercest battle.

The inner city where the Manchurian flag soldiers are stationed is the city within a city in Nanjing, like the Forbidden City in Beijing. After the Qing army entered the customs, the Han people were never at ease, the gap between the Manchus and the Han could not be completely filled, the flag soldiers and the green battalion did not belong to each other, and the flag soldiers in various places in addition to guarding the place, there was also a task that could not be made public - monitoring the green battalion!

Nanjing Mancheng is the imperial city built by Zhu Yuanzhang when he was the emperor in Nanjing, which is majestic, strong and gorgeous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Aung Bang Zhangjing Ke Kui did not have much confidence in the defense of the outer city, so he had already started to abandon the big and protect the small, hoarded a large amount of military ammunition and food in the city, lined up the city tower densely with fire guns and artillery, and led thousands of banner soldiers and mobilized banner men and dependents to prepare to hold the city and struggle to the death.

Zhu Yongxing knew very well the severity of this battle, and had already given an order to the besieging troops not to rush to attack the city in a hurry, so as to suffer casualties and lose morale. First control the whole city, and then besiege the whole city.

When it was nearly night, the city was further stabilized, and Zhu Yongxing entered the city from Fengyi Gate under the escort of his own soldiers. As the first breakthrough, the street leading from Fengyi Gate to the city was the place where the Qing army resisted most fiercely, and the Eight Banners also joined the battle, trying to drive the Ming army out of the city. It was only later that the Ming army from other directions also broke through the city, and the Eight Banners learned that the loss of the outer city was a foregone conclusion, and they withdrew to the city in panic.

The blood and corpses everywhere have been preliminarily removed, but there are still obvious traces where Zhu Yongxing has passed. The streets were rubble, bloodstained, and charred with artillery and grenades. The further they went, the less obvious the signs of battle became, and the Qing soldiers had lost their fighting spirit and fled in defeat.

did not go to the Liangjiang Governor's Mansion to rest, Zhu Yongxing went straight to Mancheng, and on the way he met the Xuguo Gong Ma Weixing with a group of generals. Zhu Yongxing did not listen to persuasion and insisted on inspecting first, Ma Weixing and others had no choice but to follow and went straight to the commanding heights of Jilong Mountain.

Jilong Mountain is also known as the North Pole Pavilion, connecting Jiuhua Mountain in the east, Gulougang in the west, and Xuanwu Lake in the north, extending into the city for Zhongshan Mountain. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was named after its round mountain and resembling a chicken coop. Jilong Mountain is about 100 meters high and is an important commanding height in the city. Emperor Qi Wu of the Southern Dynasty went to Zhongshan to shoot pheasants and heard the rooster song here, so the chicken cage mountain was renamed the chicken song mountain. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, an observatory was set up on the mountain, also known as Qintian Mountain.

Overlooking the imperial city, but see magnificent, large-scale, rigorous layout, and the city walls are strong, and the fortifications are complete. Zhu Yongxing couldn't help but be speechless for a long time, his face was solemn.

"Your Highness, our army and the Broken Shuo Army have surrounded the city, and the first part of the Dangshuo Army is chasing and destroying the fleeing enemy, and the rest are holding the city." Ma Weixing thought that Zhu Yongxing was worried about breaking through the city, so he was busy explaining with relief: "The interrogation of the prisoners learned that there are only a few thousand banner soldiers in the city, and even if the city walls are strong, it is difficult to withstand the artillery bombardment of our army. Even if it takes a little more time, it can be broken with tunnel blasting. ”

Zhu Yongxing nodded, smiled perfunctorily, and said: "Pass on the lonely edict, besiege the city to be vigilant, and don't let the enemy have a chance." In addition, he ordered the generals of all armies to go to the Liangjiang Government Office after dinner for a military meeting. After speaking, he raised his binoculars and looked at it for a while, and went down the mountain to return with some depression.

What aroused Zhu Yongxing's displeasure was to see the current imperial city, which was once known as the "world's first palace", the Ming Imperial Palace, why after five or six hundred years, it would be lost in his memory, leaving only some infinitely sentimental ruins? (To be continued......)