Three years ago, it was a night like this. It was hot and humid, and dark clouds gradually came over the city, covering the entire city of Nanjing. However, in addition to the power of nature, there was a chilling atmosphere filling the city.

Three days ago, the Jingnan army led by King Zhu Di of Yan arrived outside the Zhengyang Gate of the capital.

Just a few days ago, good news came from the front. The imperial court's 100,000-strong army defeated the Yan army near Jinan, capturing countless enemies. The King of Yan was even missing among the rebellious army. The direction of the army seemed to be heading in the near future.

We can capture Yanjing and completely quell this rebellion.

The ministers in the imperial court were busy writing congratulatory forms. A large number of congratulatory forms were placed on the imperial desk, forming two hills, each two or three feet high. Emperor Jianwen did not even have time to look through the splendid articles of these ministers.

Who would have thought that suddenly, a scout from the garrison discovered the flag of the Yan army thirty miles away from Zhengyang Gate. Emperor Jianwen initially thought it was a false report of the military situation, or the envoy of King Yan was planning to encircle Wei and save Zhao.

The king had been conducting military campaigns abroad for many years and had made numerous conquests. He had always used troops deceitfully. It is difficult to say that he had not sent a small army to the capital to bluff in order to understand the siege of Jinan, so as to attract the imperial army to return for rescue.

However, the news brought by the scouts became clearer and more shocking every time, and Emperor Jianwen was completely confused and panicked.

It turned out that this was not a lie about the military situation, nor was it a small force surrounding Wei and rescuing Zhao, but a total of five thousand elite cavalry. They were the tiger and wolf divisions under King Yan who had been fighting with the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty in the deserts and grasslands for more than ten years.

of elite.

If the main force of the imperial army was not involved in the Northern Expedition, even if there were another 30,000 troops left near the capital, they would still be able to fight. However, this time the imperial army was determined to complete its Northern Expedition in one battle, and the King of Yan's army had been operating north of the Huaihe River.

It has never been close to Jiangfang, so the capital's defense strength is not only the garrison division of 5,000 people, but also the 3,000 forbidden troops in the inner city.

It's just that those garrison divisions have never been in field battles, and they can usually show off their power to the people. When encountering a field army that has been battle-tested for a long time, they are basically like a sick cat meeting a tiger, only trembling. As for the forbidden troops, they usually wield swords and sticks.

, they have some combat power when fighting against each other, but they still have no power to parry against the troops fighting in the group army.

When Emperor Jianwen saw that something was not going well, he quickly sent people with imperial edicts and military symbols to the front line of Jinan to mobilize troops and return reinforcements. If everything went well, tens of thousands of troops would be able to return to King Qin in less than half a month.

Before that, even if they were outnumbered, they had to resist the Yan army's siege and wait for reinforcements from the army.

At this moment, Emperor Jianwen made another mistake. Perhaps because he wanted to see the true strength of the Yan army, or perhaps because he had never fought face-to-face with his rebellious uncle, Emperor Jianwen personally deployed a city defense strategy and

All the city-defending troops are divided into three lines of defense. The first line is the garrison division of 3,000 people, which faces the Yan army at Yuhuatai outside the city, in order to delay the Yan army for more than five days. The second line is the city-defending army of 3,000 people, including

The remaining garrison divisions and part of the Imperial Guards are committed to holding on to the city for more than ten days. The third line is the 2,000 elite Imperial Guardsmen in the Imperial City, who are guarding the city to the death, preparing to hold on until reinforcements arrive after the city is broken.

At first glance, layer-by-layer defense, mutual support, and delaying the siege army are indeed a way to stand firm and wait for reinforcements.

It's just that Emperor Jianwen made three mistakes. One was that he underestimated the terrifying impact of the Yan army's cavalry, and the second was that he overestimated the resistance of the garrison division. After all, the garrison division's advantage lies in defending the city, not in field battles.

, finally and most importantly, miscalculated the date when the Jinan reinforcements would return.

As soon as the war started, the three thousand garrison divisions did not resist for five days, and even within five hours, they were divided and surrounded by the attack of the Yan army's cavalry, and were gradually eliminated.

Emperor Jianwen stood on the Zhengyang Gate, looking in the direction of Yuhuatai. There were faint sounds of fighting, shouting, horse hoofbeats, and smoke covering the sun. However, within a long time, the sounds gradually weakened and finally disappeared.

Only then did Emperor Jianwen realize that he might have made a fatal mistake. If he had withdrawn the three thousand garrison divisions to defend the city, they would never have been wiped out by the Yan army so easily. Now every move in and out equals the loss of six thousand garrison troops in vain.

The city's defenses are becoming more and more shaky.

And what worried Emperor Jianwen finally came. He finally saw the Yan army with his own eyes, saw the black helmets and black armor of the Yan army cavalry, and saw the big word "Yan" on the flag. King Yan's five thousand cavalry officially arrived.

Set up camp three miles outside the city.

What puzzled Emperor Jianwen was that the Yan army did not take advantage of the victory to attack the city in one go. Instead, they took advantage of the opportunity and settled down. It did not look like an army coming for a surprise attack, but rather like an army planning to besiege the city for a long time.

Army. Doesn’t King Yan know that Jinan’s army will be reorganizing to come back soon? A quick decision is the best strategy. And judging from the troops besieging the city, they are not surrounded by iron barrels. At least there is nothing outside the north gate.

cavalry.

Of course Emperor Jianwen knew that this was another uncle's tactic. Although he did not see his uncle, he could clearly feel that the middle-aged man was in the military camp outside Zhengyang Gate.

Three days passed. Emperor Jianwen did not wait for the Yan army to launch an attack on the city, but waited for the news that some soldiers guarding the city quietly escaped from the north gate. There may even be some forbidden troops wearing civilian clothes. In the evening, a fast horse

The horses galloped from outside the north gate. After passing through the city gate, they rode towards the palace.

Then, Emperor Jianwen waited for the news that brought him to the brink of despair. There were no reinforcements.

Jinan's 100,000-strong army did indeed win the battle at first. The Yan army lost troops and generals, and even the King of Yan was missing. But the strange thing is that after the Yan army retreated, it could always gather effective forces to counterattack, and the imperial army attacked again and again.

Unable to retreat, they were unable to retreat, and were tightly entangled around Jinan Mansion by a mere 20,000 to 30,000 Yan troops.

Of course, they didn't know that all this was the plan of the monk Dao Yan. He used his weak troops to hold back the main force of the imperial army, and gathered the elites to be led by King Yan himself. He took advantage of the empty defense of the capital to surprise him and attack directly.

Huanglong.

This is of course a gamble. The King of Yan does not have enough strength and time to deal with the imperial court. Once the imperial court mobilizes the soldiers, horses and resources of the world, the King of Yan will be defeated. Only by taking a surprise and taking risks can there be a glimmer of hope for success.

At present, it seems that the balance of victory is tilting towards King Yan.

At night, King Yan was in the military tent.

The King of Yan, dressed in military uniform, sat in front of the Chinese army table. There was a map spread on the table, which was the city defense map of the capital.

"Tell me about the situation inside and outside the city." King Yan was holding a teacup in one hand and slowly turning the lid with the other. Of course, there was no good porcelain in the army, and it was just an ordinary blue and white teacup with a lid.

It has become a bit dim, but it has always been around King Yan.

A young officer in full armor bowed slightly and said unhurriedly: "In terms of city defense, less than 70% of the three thousand defenders have been left, and the rest have fled from the north gate. Not many of the imperial guards have escaped, but

It was reported that a lot of thefts had occurred in the palace. The residents of the city had stayed indoors. The doors of several ministers' offices were closed, but many servants were seen leaving quietly through the back door. Also, I went to Jinan this evening.

The government's fleet of horses has returned to the city, and the emperor must have already known the news that there is no hope of reinforcements." The person who spoke was none other than Zheng He, King Yan's favorite general, who was responsible for King Yan's personal bodyguard and military intelligence.

At this time, in addition to King Yan, the people sitting in the tent were accompanied by an old man dressed as a monk, who was none other than Monk Daoyan, Yao Guangxiao.

It turned out that the King of Yan delayed the siege but did not attack. In addition to using psychological warfare to put pressure on the defenders and civilians, forcing them to collapse without a fight, he was also waiting for the fast horses sent by Emperor Jianwen to move the reinforcements.

Of course King Yan knew that the reinforcements could not be moved back, but this news must be passed to Emperor Jianwen before he could attack the city. Otherwise, if Emperor Jianwen still had a glimmer of hope, he would definitely organize the defense of the city with all his strength. And if he knew that there was no hope of foreign aid, he would have no choice but to surrender.

, I’m afraid there is only one way to escape.

These were all planned by Monk Daoyan before King Yan led his troops south, and were part of the entire plan.

Of course, the last part of the plan is Monk Daoyan himself. He has to rush to King Yan's army in person to ensure the execution of the entire plan. With him coming secretly this time, there are a thousand elite soldiers who have been ambushed by him outside the north gate.

The riverside twenty miles away.

If Emperor Jianwen wanted to escape, the most feasible route was to take a boat from the river to the west or east. The cavalry under the King of Yan was fierce, but the sailors were no match for the court, so if Emperor Jianwen could really escape by boat to Dongting Lake or Poyang Lake, too

The Ming navy left by the ancestors will definitely bring trouble to King Yan.

Therefore, the last step of Monk Daoyan's plan was to intercept and kill the emperor on the riverside. It was necessary to keep the emperor on land. The entire surprise attack and siege plan also served this last step.

Because the five thousand cavalry are elite, siege is not their strong point after all. If the defending army fights to the death and fights into a stalemate, as time goes by, not only will the war in the north change, but the soldiers and horses from the various imperial courts in the south of the Yangtze River will also come to King Qin.

At that time, King Yan became the besieged party.

However, things often happen differently from people's plans, even for monk Daoyan who has such clever plans.

King Yan took a sip of warm tea, slowly placed the tea cup on the table, and said slowly: "Dao Yan, is the heat ready?"

Monk Dao Yan still had the same calm expression, "Your Majesty, that's all."

King Yan's eyes suddenly flashed, and he ordered in a tone that left no room for doubt: "Zheng He, order all battalions to attack the city immediately!"

"Yes!" Zheng He bowed to accept the order, quickly turned around and left the tent.

At this moment, a dazzling bolt of lightning struck diagonally from the sky, instantly illuminating the entire city gate in pale white. There seemed to be many ghosts in the darkness, making the entire battlefield look like a Shura field.

After the lightning, the earth fell into darkness again, leaving only the rumbling thunder and the endless sound of rain, just like a headless and tailless monster that wanted to swallow everything in the world into its belly.

Suddenly, the world seemed to become quiet, as if there was no other sound.

Being extremely quiet sometimes does not bring peace to people, but may bring fear to people.

Suddenly, like will-o'-the-wisps rising from hell, hundreds of fire dragons rose from the ground, facing the wind and rain, and rushed towards Zhengyang Gate.

Each fire dragon is an arrow made of fine steel. The arrows are wrapped with fire-coated cotton soaked in the Yanwang Mansion's unique fire oil. It is indestructible when exposed to water and ignites wherever it falls.

The enemies above were frightened by the deadly fire dragon arrows.

In the heavy rain, the soldiers guarding the city did not expect that the Yan army would launch an attack at this time, and they did not expect that the Yan army was not afraid of wind and rain and used fire dragon arrows when they came up.

In an instant, dots of fire ignited above the city gate. After a while, the fire suddenly burst into flames and merged into one body in the face of the wind. Along with the fire, painful screams were heard one after another from the city gate.

The soldiers who were on fire desperately patted the flames on their bodies, and those who responded quickly were already taking off their armor in a hurry, or fell to the ground and rolled over, hoping to extinguish the flames on their bodies. And those soldiers who were unfortunate enough to be hit by arrows had already turned into a

Like people on fire, they screamed and ran away on the city tower. For a time, the entire city wall was illuminated by the flames. During this period, there were shadows of people, accompanied by miserable cries, just like purgatory on earth.

In the wind and rain, thousands more fire dragon arrows came from the sky outside the city with great power.

At this time, King Yan was wearing a black helmet and black armor, riding on a pure black horse, quietly looking at the city wall in the distance that had turned into a sea of ​​fire.

Next to him was a thin old man wearing a gray cloak, who was riding a white horse and was none other than Monk Daoyan.

King Yan held the rein in his left hand, slowly raised his right hand, paused briefly, and then slashed downwards with decisive force.

King Yan made a gesture with his palm, and Zheng He beside him shouted angrily, "Kill!" He clamped his knees on the horse's belly, raised his long sword high, and shot out three feet away like an arrow from the string.

Following closely behind them were two thousand black-armored cavalry. Their hooves rumbled, mixed with the thunder in the sky, and they rushed towards the Zhengyang Gate like the hell-seeking Yama.

The screams on the city wall became weaker, but the fire was still spreading, but sporadic crossbow arrows began to be shot out in the firelight, trembling in the wind and rain towards the cavalry galloping in the distance, like the weak wind in spring.

Like Liu, he could not delay the cavalry's attack at all.

The ten giant city slaves on the city wall seemed to have been destroyed by the fire dragon arrow attack. The remaining few city slaves were struggling to prepare for the attack under the joint efforts of more than a dozen soldiers.

With a creaking sound, the huge city slave pointed at the cavalry coming from all over the field. However, in the darkness, the giant slave obviously had no idea where to go and could only take a rough aim.

Even so, the giant slave still exerted its great power as a weapon to defend the city. Only a few dull bangs were heard, and a few three-finger-thick crossbow arrows broke through the air and flew out into the darkness. The air was full of

Like cloth being cut open by a sharp blade, it made a faint hissing sound, hitting the deepest part of people's hearts.
To be continued...