In the dark night, Zhou Qingfeng arrived outside Chaoyang Gate. The morale of the army was high, and the soldiers shouted in unison 'Wan Sheng'. This triumphant momentum urged the sound to shake the sky, and it could be heard for miles and miles. The Ming troops guarding the city wall watched and watched, and they all trembled. When the officials and people in the city learned of this, they were full of joy and sorrow.

The Northern Expedition was not only about a city, but also about cutting down the roots of the Ming Dynasty. Zhou Qingfeng mobilized half of the main force of the current 'revolutionary army', 50,000 militiamen, 100,000 former migrant workers, and nearly 200,000 young and strong people to act in concert. More than a dozen river steamboats, thousands of four-wheeled carriages were responsible for the logistics and transportation. The daily consumption of people eating horses alone is more than 100 tons, and there are countless other funds.

"Are the passages to the north under control?" Zhou Qingfeng looked at the dark city in the cold wind and asked.

Qiao Xuenian, as the acting chief of staff of the General Staff, took up his post after studying in the blessed land of Dongtian for a few years. He put his legs together and reported loudly: "Your Excellency, Changping and Miyun in the northwest have sent two cavalry battalions and subordinate militias to intercept them. All the gates of the capital were also quickly blocked by us, and it was impossible for the large groups of people in the city to escape.

However, some of the gentry in the city fled directly over the city walls and moats, and our manpower was still difficult to arrest, so we could only wait for the follow-up personnel to arrive to strengthen the interception. In addition, according to the information sent back by the Ministry of Security to the intelligence officers in the city, a large number of officials and gentry in the city have swallowed money and hanged themselves, and even set themselves on fire after mutilating their families. There is nothing we can do to stop it. ”

Zhou Qingfeng stared at the direction of the city and opened the eye of the sky, the once magnificent imperial capital was exhausted, and the head of the city was gray, and there was no more brilliant light. In the past year, the strategy of the 'revolutionary army' to stay firmly in Tianjin and bury itself in development is correct. The effect of not fighting is better than fighting, less lives are ruined, and more people return to their hearts. He asked again, "What about the emperor?" ”

"The eunuch Cui Wensheng in the palace sent a small eunuch to say that he had taken control of Yongdingmen and Zhengyangmen in the south. He only wants to be a loyal dog of the handsome, and he is willing to open the city gate and welcome the king. Qiao Xuenian said.

"Cui Wensheng?" Zhou Qingfeng snorted and sneered a few times, "Want to be my dog?" Which is so easy, he is not worthy of it. ”

Qiao Xuenian said again: "There are also three battalions of the puppet Ming Xiangcheng Bo Li Guojiao commanding the three battalions of the Beijing Division stationed outside the city. He also sent people to cry and beg for surrender, saying that he had no sins in the past, and that he had no blood debt with my 'revolutionary army'. He was willing to lead his army to surrender, just to keep his family alive. ”

Zhou Qingfeng closed his eyes slightly, and after a moment, he turned his head to look behind him.

Today's major event, several traversers have all arrived. Xu Bing opened his mouth and said: "If there is no blood debt, it is allowed to surrender after screening." For the officials in the city, the innocent can keep the basic family wealth, dismiss the servants, and wait for the investigation. Those who have achievements can be hired at their discretion, but there are only a few such people. Most of the ...... is still the life of writing memoirs. ”

This was the conclusion of several bigwigs of the 'revolutionary army' after discussion, although for many officials and gentry to deprive them of power and wealth was like skinning them, it still left their lives. Zhou Qingfeng nodded in agreement, "Let's do it according to the plan we planned in advance, liberate as peacefully as possible, and kill fewer people." ”

Speaking of 'killing less', Huo Feng whispered on the side: "Xuanwu refuses to surrender, and he is on the Chaoyang Gate opposite." The thousands of Xuanjia soldiers he trained were either stubborn people selected from among the gentry, or die-hard loyalists who had fled from the previous purges, all of whom were now stationed on the city walls. ”

"Some people, some things, will eventually be thrown into the dustbin of history." Zhou Qingfeng ordered: "Order the troops to spread out as planned and attack the city overnight." After taking control of the city wall, troops were sent to block the streets of the city, and those who stirred up trouble were executed on the spot. ”

The main force of 25,000 troops of the five guards brigades had arrived in the capital from the direction of Tongzhou, and before the follow-up militia was in place, they began to storm the city in battle formation, or accept the enemy's surrender.

The capital is divided into an outer city and an inner city, and some of the city gates have been empty, and some of the city gate defenders heard the cannon fire outside the city and immediately fled in disgrace. The Guards went very well, unbelievably well. There is only one part of Chaoyangmen, and there are still thousands of people on the gloomy city wall, and Xuanwu, who led the troops, is determined to be martyred for the Ming Dynasty.

Just when there was a deterrent rumbling cannon sound in other directions of the capital, Binghuang flew to Chaoyang Gate and shouted: "Grandpa Xuanwu, Zhou Qingfeng asked you to lead your troops out to fight, so as not to destroy the city of hundreds of years in vain." He said that if you send 5,000 soldiers, he will also send 5,000 soldiers, and he will personally work with you to give you a chance to turn the tables. ”

Xuanwu was in front of a bonfire in the city tower, and several people around him were the children of officials and gentry who had a deep blood feud with the 'revolutionary army'. These people were either raided or their fathers and brothers died in the purge. Now that the enemy is pressing, they have no other way but to fight to the death.

I heard Binghuang say that both sides gave 5,000 each, and they were willing to do it themselves. Xuanwu Zhenren immediately responded: "Okay, I'm worried that I won't have a chance to fight with that kid to the death, since he is willing to come, I will naturally accompany him." But I only have more than 3,000 people, and he can only give 3,000. ”

The ice phoenix ran back and forth again, and replied, "That villain said, 'Three thousand, three thousand,' and he wants you to come out of the city quickly and die." ”

Wow, ......, Xuanwu was holding a heavy steel axe, and shouted angrily. He immediately ordered the Xuanjia army to go out of the city to fight the thief Zhou Qingfeng to the death. When the Xuanjia army heard that their enemies were willing to fight in person, their morale immediately increased. They already felt that there was no hope of survival, but now they can fight with Zhou Qingfeng, even if they beat off a cold hair of the other party, they will earn it.

Torches raged on the walls.

The gates opened, and groups of heavily armored infantry began to march out of the gates. These are the strong soldiers that Xuanwu Zhenren has spent most of his time training for, all of them are heavily equipped, wearing helmets and armor, and holding iron guns, which can be regarded as majestic.

Dozens of bonfires were lit outside the city to illuminate the battlefield. Xuanwu Zhenren led the troops into formation, and when he came out, he shouted and scolded: "The surname Zhou, my people have all come out, what about your people?" ”

The fire flickered in the darkness, and the cold winter breathed into ice. Three thousand heavy infantry formed a hedgehog array, and the dense iron spears pointed outward, looking at it was full of murderous and intimidating.

Zhou Qingfeng rode out of the darkness on a 'dog meat' and stood a hundred meters away from the hedgehog array. Xuanwu Zhenren immediately strode forward and shouted again: "What about your people? Hurry up and fight against me. ”

Zhou Qingfeng frowned slightly, and snorted coldly: "You old monster, you want to fight with me with this old-fashioned way?" Isn't the Ming army without muskets and artillery? You're all armed with big iron guns and heavy armor? You're not here to fight for life and death, you're here to bring people to die. ”

Xuanwu Zhenren was not convinced, "Don't look down on me, the Xuanjia army, Zhu Hongwu trained such a strong soldier back then and seized the world." ”

"That was more than 200 years ago, are you full of rocks in your head?" Zhou Qingfeng was about to be angry, "Your kind of heavy party formation seems to be powerful, but in fact, you are slow and inflexible. Even if it was more than 200 years ago, haven't you ever seen something called a cannon? I thought you were a character, but now I realize you're a fool. ”

Xuanwu gritted his teeth, holding a heavy axe and scolding: "There is a kind of you who use artillery to bombard, we are not afraid of you!" ”

"Kill yourself." Zhou Qingfeng's face suddenly turned cold, and he raised his hand and shouted: "Fulfill him, fire." ”

Boom Boom Boom ......

In the darkness, strong sounds and flames suddenly erupted from the left and right flanks of the hedgehog array. It was thirty-six large-caliber guns of a separate heavy artillery regiment firing. Eighteen doors on one side, diagonal solid bullets constitute crossfire. When the Xuanjia Army was out of the city, this heavy artillery regiment was quietly building its own artillery position. Now as soon as the fire is fired, the earth shakes.

Under the fierce artillery bombardment, the Xuanjia army of more than 3,000 people immediately burst out with an extremely heavy cyan army array. But this light did not play any defensive role in the face of artillery fire.

A solid bullet weighed more than a dozen pounds, and flew at an initial velocity of more than 400 meters per second, and each shell bounced on the ground once It was a deep ravine, and hitting the thick hedgehog array was a bloody path.

The formation of the Xuanjia Army is too dense, they are one by one, one by one, and it is not over if a cannonball goes down without killing a dozen people. Any thick armor and heavy helmet is like waste paper, and it will rot with a bang. Along with the rotting body, the armor-wrapped human body was shattered and turned into rotten flesh.

Thirty-six guns, thirty-six shells, and thirty-six staggered ballistic trajectories immediately shattered the thick large formation. In just an instant, more than 3,000 people were killed or wounded, more than 5 or 600, all of whom were smashed by shells.

The sound of artillery was deafening and deafening......

After the shelling, there were corpses everywhere......

Even Xuanwu Zhenren felt the sound of roaring echoes in his ears. And the big array that was bombarded was full of stupid soldiers. They hoped for a fair fight with their enemies, but they didn't expect a merciless cannonball waiting for them.

Zhou Qingfeng was at the scene of this tragic shelling, and shouted proudly: "Old monster, do you still think you can fight with me?" ”

Xuanwu Zhenren roared and shouted: "Say that three thousand people against three thousand people? How can you use so many cannons? ”

"Artillery is not human, right? Do you think my cannon is still the same gadget from more than 200 years ago? Do you think my cannon is still the kind of stupid guy who can easily weigh thousands of pounds? You want to fight face-to-face, don't you? I will fulfill you. Zhou Qingfeng shouted: "Musketeer, take turns shooting." ”

Still in the darkness behind Zhou Qingfeng, rows of dazzling fires suddenly appeared. The muskets of a hundred men in a horizontal squad began to fire in turn. As soon as the gunshots rang out, the Xuanjia Army, who was still stupid, began to fall down in pieces. About five or six seconds later, another volley of muskets was firing. And so on alternately, without a break.

Under the sound of banging gunshots, the stunned Xuanjia Army finally understood that he had reached the last moment of his life. The soldier who was still alive realized that his only chance was to move forward, forward, and rush to the wolf-riding guy, even if it was better to spit on him than to be shot alive now.

The impact of the Xuanjia Army was launched, and there was no possibility of turning back. They howled with spears and bravely charged, but they kept falling. Every step forward comes with great sacrifices. Finally, someone rushed forward a few steps, and they were immediately killed by the projectiles fired from the concentrated fire. At a distance of 100 meters, the flintlock pistol already had very good accuracy and great power.

Heavy armor became a burden to the Xuanjia army, and these bulky armor could not provide any defense for the soldiers, but only slowed down the speed of the impact. A small projectile can easily pierce them, passing through the soldier's body.

Rows of soldiers charged, rows of soldiers fell. And then thirty-six shells of heavy artillery bombarded them, this time it was canned shotguns, and there were hundreds of steel projectiles in one shot, and if you were lucky, you could sweep away dozens of people in one breath - thirty-six rounds bombarded them, and the flesh and blood of the soldiers who hit flew sideways, fell in pieces, and they were really emptied in the blink of an eye.

The strong soldiers who had worked so hard to train had no power to resist, and they were almost killed in a dozen breaths. Xuanwu Zhenren was extremely sad and indignant, raised the steel heavy axe and howled towards Zhou Qingfeng. It's just that Zhou Qingfeng's body didn't move, and several people flashed out behind him continuously.

The Fire Phoenix Ice Phoenix was the first to make a move, followed by Ye Najia Gang who also used a stunt, and then a row of musketeers aimed at it, firing dozens or hundreds of bullets in one go.

The stout and burly Xuanwu real man was beaten and his beard danced wildly, and his body retreated. Immediately after him, he simply showed his true body, revealing the original shape of the turtle body and snake neck, and the huge mouth opened and bit down towards Zhou Qingfeng. But as soon as his huge body appeared, he became the best target for hot weapon shooting.

Without waiting for the basalt giant tortoise to bite in its mouth, the musketeers who had already reloaded their ammunition fired in a concentrated fire under the contact of the military formation—only a small amount of gun flame could be seen in a single row of rounds. But when the fire was fired, the whole night lit up with a dazzling fire. Hundreds of bullets all hit the neck of the basalt snake.

Mini ammunition is much more powerful than ordinary smoothbore ammunition, and the scales under the snake's neck fly wildly, and the skin is open. Xuanwu twisted his neck uncontrollably in pain, and even took a few steps back. Just a few paces away, it couldn't get up again.

Thirty-six heavy guns opened fire again, and the oval solid shells specially designed for siege had a strong ability to penetrate and pierce armor. Xuanwu also hoped to rely on his huge size to exert his strength advantage, but his huge size became a target to attract firepower. All thirty-six shells hit him, crashing into his body and tumbling and twisting, creating a terrible cavity effect.

This is heavy artillery......

The moment it was shot, the huge body of the Xuanwu giant turtle was directly lifted away, spun in the air, threw flesh and blood, and finally smashed to the ground, unable to move again.

The battlefield was filled with smoke, but everything was quiet, and the heavy artillery fire and gunfire ceased. Only the crackle of burning torches and the wails of the dying. It was also the first time that the soldiers of the 'revolutionary army' had seen the casualties caused by their own full fire. After more than half a minute of silence, they erupted into strong cheers, celebrating their strength.

Zhou Qingfeng didn't make a move from beginning to end, even if he was under the nose of Xuanwu Zhenren, but he didn't even look at it properly. It was only when the roars of the guards rang out that he drove the 'Dog Meat' forward and came to Xuanwu's neck.

"You ......, you cheat. Say yes, you'll do it yourself. "The size of the Xuanwu Zhenren has shrunk and he has regained his human form. He collapsed on the ground, with terrible wounds on his chest, abdomen, waist and legs.

"You can't even beat my men, why let me shoot." Zhou Qingfeng's expression was cold, and he rode past Xuanwu and headed towards Chaoyangmen. He slowly accelerated in the fierce wind of the night, his shout changed from low to high, his momentum suddenly expanded, incomparably powerful, "There will always be people who will die for the old times, and I will go to meet my time." ”