August.

A city on the border between Beizhili and Henan, the soldiers guarding the city are on duty, looking back from time to time, looking forward to something.

An old pawn came over.

"How's it going, have you been paid?" There was anticipation in the young defender's tone.

"Nope."

"Why hasn't it been ...... yet?"

"Doll, have you ever experienced the past, the imperial court even dragged on for six years at most. Old man, I also carried a knife for two years, and I didn't have half a penny. Moreover, even if the court sends it, it will be swallowed up by half of the generals, and it won't be much, haven't you seen it before? ”

"Phew." The soldier spat on the ground and cursed in a low voice, "This killing will be cut off by the thief sooner or later." ”

But he can only get over it, he is a small soldier, and he can't help the main general.

In fact, before April of the third year of Hongguang, the silver issued by the imperial court was still sufficient, even after the connection with the southern provinces was severed, the silver in the imperial treasury still supported them to pay a month's full salary.

However, the generals of the Ming army at that time had developed the habit of using the military salary of the imperial court to raise their elite families, and the same was true of the defenders of this city.

The family members are all dressed in good fine armor, have good food and accommodation, and their combat effectiveness even exceeds that of the Dashun army, but there is only so much silver, and the family members spend more, so the soldiers can naturally only spend less.

Before April of the third year of Hongguang, they could only get two-thirds of the salary, and now they can't get half a penny.

Soon after, they learned that the imperial court could not even distribute grain, and ordered all armies to collect them on the spot.

Solicitation, how to collect? They're going to have money?

By October, they had not had enough to eat for dozens of days in a row.

"Run, there's no way out." The old pawn said.

"Where to flee?"

"I went to Jiangnan and heard that the emperor there was Rende."

"Flee from the battle, talk about death."

The old pawn "cut" with a disdainful smile and stretched out four fingers:

"There were originally two battalions of soldiers and 4,000 men in the city, but now there are only more than 2,000 left. The more we escape, the more money they get, and if we don't run away and gather to mutiny, they will be more troublesome. ”

The young man's heart was immediately moved.

"I've already pulled a dozen people, I'll leave tonight, won't I join the gang?"

"In."

The pawn turned and left.

Night soon fell, and dozens of figures fell from the city.

After leaving the city and walking for a while, they were horrified to find that they saw the cold light reflected in their armor.

A pair of eyes, opened from the darkness.

The footsteps were chaotic, rushing towards the moonlit city.

"The thief has entered the city!"

In a few moments, a cry of terror swept through the city. The general mounted his horse and led the elite family members raised with the salary of the imperial court, and fled out of the city in a hurry.

And more soldiers, facing the menacing Dashun army, obediently laid down their weapons.

The small amount of money given by the imperial court was only enough for them to put three guns on the city wall.

……

Wang Chongzu stepped on the war horse again, and the emperor of Dashun will personally conquer Beizhili for the second time.

Except for the necessary troops to defend Dahua and Daxi in the south, the rest of the army almost poured out.

The army of 300,000 was mighty, and when they walked on the road, they were as dense as migrating ants, and there was no end in sight, which made people tremble.

The soldiers carried freshly cast muskets on their shoulders, and the carriages and donkey carts carried heavy cannons, announcing the achievements of Dashun's development in recent years.

Dahua repeatedly defeated the Ming army with firearms, and his prestige shook all over the world, so Wang Chongzu naturally thought of developing firearms. In fact, after seeing the power of firearms, several forces that exist in the world today have invariably developed firearms, and in addition to Dahua, Dashun should be the best development.

They recruited a lot of craftsmen to make firearms for the Dashun army and equip them into the army, so far a considerable part of the elite troops have been equipped, and the combat effectiveness has been greatly improved.

The number of artillery pieces is also quite large, and there are also a large number of heavy artillery.

The regime is now in full swing.

The defense line of Beizhili should theoretically have been deployed with 100,000 heavy troops of the Ming army, but at this time it was like paper paste.

In fact, this time and space, whether it is Emperor Wuxing or Emperor Hongguang, they all attach great importance to the military, in terms of military strength alone, whether it is troops, equipment or combat effectiveness, and even stronger than Chongzhen of the original time and space, even if it is not as good as the newborn Dashun, it will not be defeated so quickly, after all, they are the defensive side, and they naturally have an advantage.

So what's missing from the Ming Court?

The heart of the army and the hearts of the people.

Without a silver salary, even the sergeants could not even eat enough, so they lost their military spirit; The cumbersome and exorbitant taxes have lost the support of the people.

Even the hearts of the majority of the landlords and gentry could not be saved, and they were like weeds in the wasteland, which had been blown down by the wind called "Shun".

At this time, there was no city willing to defend for the emperor, let alone the last time there was a death battle under the city of Baoding, and the soldiers were no longer willing to fight for the emperor.

But there are still many generals who are willing to die for the Ming Dynasty. They led the elite soldiers under their command and fought fiercely until the last moment.

There are even generals who lead their own troops to launch a decisive charge against the boundless Shun army when the army under their command has surrendered.

There were also many gentry and civil officials loyal to the Ming Dynasty, who committed suicide by hanging themselves after the city fell and fell into the hands of the enemy.

But that doesn't change the outcome.

In December, when the snow was falling, the banner of the Shun army reappeared under the city of Beijing.

Zhu Yousong once again put on his battle armor.

Standing at the towering head of Beijing City, staring at the majestic Shun army below like a fierce beast, he whispered:

"Emperor Taizu, please protect me and survive this catastrophe."

……

"Will it break?"

At this time, the whole world was paying attention to the situation in northern Xinjiang. Even Zhang Xianzhong and Mu Tianbo, who were fighting fiercely in the southwest, set their sights on the north.

This is a battle of orthodoxy.

Beijing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, is a symbol of orthodoxy, and Zhu Yousong, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, is also a symbol of orthodoxy. Even though the world was in tatters at this time, it was still the same.

If Dashun can replace it, then it will be the orthodoxy of the world, at least in the eyes of many old-fashioned people.

Wang Chongzu is also very aware of this.

In the midst of the heavy snow, he led his troops and launched a fierce attack.

Amid the roar of firearms, the soldiers shouted and began to charge, to take the city that had not fallen for three hundred years with their flesh and blood.

Well-trained soldiers look so cheap at this moment.

(End of chapter)

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