Seiwa

In June of the fourth year of Jianwen, the fortifications of Nanjing City were completed, cannons were pushed to the top of the city, and soldiers patrolled day and night to guard against the Yan army.

Because Sheng Yong was captured, Xu Huizu stayed behind closed doors, and all the generals who were suspected of having an affair with the King of Yan were replaced, and there were no generals to guard the city. Fang Xiaoru suggested to Emperor Jianwen to send the vassal kings in Beijing to guard the gates of the inner city.

When the vassal kings received the edict, their expressions were very delicate.

Let them guard the city gate?Sure?

How did the emperor's head grow? Is he really the grandson of the old man?

In fact, there is no problem with Zhu Yunqi's genes, but who made Fang Xiaoru beside him, or was it a minister of the auxiliary country that Zhu Yuanzhang personally selected for him?

At that time, King Min had been recalled to the capital to take care of him together with King Qi.The places where Dai Wang and Zhou Wang were reformed through labor are a little further away, and they are on their way back to Beijing.

The generals to defend the city were appointed, and the imperial court began to recruit young men to help the army defend the city.The imperial decree is very clear, it is not a draft, but a call for the whole family.It means that except for those who are famous scholars, any exemption conditions will not work.It doesn't matter whether you are the only child in the family or whether you have brothers who join the army, as long as you meet the conditions, you must be called, otherwise you will be considered a rebel.

As soon as the edict came out, there was an uproar in the city, and voices of complaints arose everywhere.

There were rumors that it was Fang Xiaoru's idea to the emperor, and Fang Dashi's reputation immediately spread to the streets.

"It happened once before, and now it's coming again. This is not giving the people a way to survive!"

In fact, this time it really has nothing to do with Fang Xiaoru, it was ordered by the Ministry of War.Reluctantly, it was he who proposed to recruit young men to build city defenses before, and once the dirty water was splashed, he would not be able to wash it off even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Outside the capital, the Yan army set up a large camp and set up artillery.

In the capital, rows of white flags were already hung up.Because of the construction of city defenses, many young and strong died of illness.If they are transferred again, I am afraid that many families will go out of business.

In front of several residential houses in the north of the city, an old woman knelt on the ground crying. Several women supported each other with hemp belts around their waists, and they could no longer shed tears.

In a prosperous family of more than ten people, the remaining three males were also taken away. The old woman muttered, her grandson just turned 13!

Crying and crying, the old woman's eyes lit up with anger, and she cursed loudly: "Fang Xiaoru! Thanks to your reputation all over the world, you are so disregarding the common people, and you will not be rewarded if you do such a detrimental thing! You will not die!"

The door of a neighboring house suddenly opened, and a man in a Confucian shirt came out. When he saw the old woman kneeling on the ground, he frowned and said, "Ignorant woman, Fang Xueshi is dedicated to the country, how can you allow slander!"

"Pooh!"

It was not the old woman who spat on him, but the young woman beside him. Looking at the stunned man, the woman cursed, "They all have lost their conscience! Why doesn't the surname Fang defend the city with all his heart for the country! You Why don't you go?!"

"Scholars of our generation have fame and fame, how can they be compared with ordinary people!"

"Students?" The woman sneered, "It's just a group of bastards who talk a lot all day long and don't deal with human affairs!"

"you……"

The man's face turned red, he shook his head and thought of Mrs. Wuzhi, stupid common people!But his feet retreated into the door, and he didn't dare to show his face again.

Looking at the black painted door, the woman spat hard again.

what!

Coincidentally, the same situation occurs every day.

The people in the capital complained a lot because of the two conscripts. Yang Duo, Ji Gang and others took advantage of the chaos to move around, and all kinds of rumors came out frequently. What a certain university scholar is a hypocrite. There was no escape at night, and there was even news that the emperor had already left the palace and was driving to Xiangchu.

"The recruitment of civilian husbands is to deceive people's eyes and ears, and confuse King Yan. The emperor and the ministers of the court have already run away!"

"Emperor Gao is kind to the people, His Royal Highness King Yan is also kind to the people, but this is how it is today!"

"It is said that King Yan is the real dragon, but now it seems..."

The rumors became more and more intense, various versions were released one after another, and the morale of the army began to be unstable.The military officer defending the city suppressed it several times, but it only cured the symptoms but not the root cause.Even many military officers are dubious, let alone the soldiers below?

The emperor really ran away?

Has he really become the cannon fodder for delaying King Yan?

Those high officials in the imperial court also ran away?

People in the army were panicked, and the people were full of resentment, but Emperor Jianwen was kept in the dark.

As a standard otaku, Emperor Jianwen mostly learned the outside news from ministers and palace guards.Now the officials of the six ministries have their own plans, Xu Huizu and other nobles stay behind closed doors, military generals in the court are demoted, and those who guard the city are guarded. Only Fang Xiaoru, Huang Zicheng and others surround the emperor.What the emperor heard and saw was polished by these people.

Emperor Jianwen knew that the capital was besieged, but he didn't know that the people in the city were fluctuating and the city defense was in jeopardy.

Fang Xiaoru has an upright personality and is devoted to orthodoxy, with no room for a grain of sand in his eyes.As long as he thinks it is right and is good for the court, he will do it even if he is infamous.

Huang Zicheng knew that Master Fang's reputation was getting worse and worse. There were more people who scolded him than King Yan in the city, but he didn't take the opportunity to complain to the emperor. Instead, he discussed with Qi Tai and concealed the matter.

There is chaos in the city, and there can be no more chaos around the emperor.If these rumors were released by King Yan and the emperor got angry, they would be sinners.

It was rare for Huang Zicheng to be smart enough to guess the truth of the rumor, but the way he chose to deal with it was a big mistake.

Things have come to this point and they still have to whitewash the peace in front of Emperor Jianwen, what else can they be if they are not stupid to the limit?

The Yan army launched several tentative attacks, but failed to achieve results. They took the army back to the camp, and only sent people to shout to the city in turn.

"Your Highness is kind, and cannot bear to see the people suffer. But the Son of Heaven has no way... He can only follow the emperor's last order to calm Nan... There are traitors in the court, and the world cannot be peaceful unless it is!"

The loudest voices in the army were all gathered together, holding up their trumpets and yelling several times a day. The theme was clear, the central idea was clear, the language was rich and diverse, and their persuasive power was extraordinary. Even some diehards were born under such language offensives. Shaken, it shows that the person who wrote the article has a profound skill.

Meng Twelve Lang waved his hand, congratulations.

Liu Titiao, who is an old friend of Meng Qinghe, said, Meng Tongzhi really didn't consider changing his career to become a civil servant?

Such a great talent, what a pity.

At night, Xu Zengshou avoided the court's eyeliner and went to meet Li Jinglong in person.

The next day, an official went to Shu, asking the emperor to send someone to King Yan to make peace.

After court discussion, Emperor Jianwen decided to send Minister of the Ministry of War, Ru Yu, and Governor Wang Zuo to the camp of the Yan Army.

When drafting the decree in the Nuan Pavilion, a servant reminded Emperor Jianwen that Ru Shangshu and Wang Dudu had no friendship with King Yan. Would Yan King be happy to see them?I'm afraid they won't even be able to enter the camp.

Emperor Jianwen thought that what the servant said was reasonable, so he nodded and temporarily added Li Jinglong.

"Come on."

The decree was drawn up and sent out, and the eunuch who had reminded him before was also dragged out.

Emperor Taizu Gao issued an order that eunuchs were not allowed to interfere in politics.Only playing [-] boards without beheading his head is already an extra favor.

The servant did not beg for mercy, but thanked the emperor Long En.His forehead touched the ground, and a sneer formed on his mouth.The emperor must not have noticed the expressions of the eunuchs and palace people in the palace when the big Han general carried him out.

Outside the city, the Yan army camp

King Yan warmly received Li Jinglong, Ru Yu and the others, and raised his hand to interrupt them when they heard the matter of ceding land and withdrawing troops again.

"You don't need to say too much! Shigu's younger brother never had any crimes, and the emperor arbitrarily added crimes and reduced him to a common man, saying that 'righteousness destroys relatives'. Gu has no objection, the emperor still doubts, and people take the lives of Gu's family. Gu Raising troops is to respect the emperor's testament, to protect the imperial court regulations, and to destroy treacherous officials. The public and others will play the emperor, kill the treacherous officials, and the orphans will be disarmed and enter the city to apologize!"

After Zhu Di finished speaking, there was a sudden silence in the tent.

Li Jinglong has read the secret letter of the King of Yan and knows the inside story. He seems nervous, but in fact he has a well-thought-out plan.

It was not the case for Ru Yu, Wang Zuo, etc. After hearing what King Yan said, they were already sweating profusely.

It was just expulsion before, but now it is "killing".

If they were to be killed one by one according to the list listed by the King of Yan, if the King of Yan didn't do anything, the emperor would immediately betray his relatives.

Ru Yu and Wang Zuo looked at each other, it was useless to talk too much, they could only discuss with the emperor after seeing the emperor.

Everyone got up to leave, King Yan sent it outside the camp in person, and Li Jinglong took the opportunity to send out a secret letter with the capital's defenses and generals.This is what I have worked so hard to go through.

Yan Jun made way for Li Jinglong and others to leave.

Back in Wang Zhang, after reading the contents of the letter, King Yan laughed out loud and said: "God help me, really God help me!"

Immediately summon all the generals and order Shen Xuan to lead troops to storm Chaoyang Gate tomorrow.

"Follow the order!"

When the military order was passed to the camp, Meng Qinghe knocked on his head, Chaoyang Gate?He remembered that Jing Nan succeeded because Nei Ying opened the Jinchuan Gate for the Yan army. What happened to the Chaoyang Gate?

After pondering for a while, I couldn't come to a conclusion, so I just threw it away.

It doesn't matter which city gate it is, as long as you can enter Nanjing, you will be able to achieve great achievements.

Meng Qinghe stood up, walked out of the tent, looked at the last ray of sunset before sunset, took a deep breath, and smiled.

In four years, since he first arrived in this strange dynasty, he has walked step by step, looking forward to the success of thousands of days, and it is about to come.

On Bingchen in June of the fourth year of Jianwensi, the Yan army stormed Chaoyang Gate.

The defenders were unprepared, the wooden fortifications were ignited by rockets, the fire ignited instantly, and the food and ordnance accumulated here were all burned.

Shen Xuan ordered the infantry to slam the city gate with battering rams, originally as a test, but unexpectedly the city gate was knocked open a big hole.

Both the defenders and the Yan army were a little overwhelmed.

One side didn't expect the Yan army to have such a powerful weapon, and the other side didn't expect that the gates of the capital would be bumped so hard.

Shen Xuan also hesitated for a moment.This attack was actually to find out the truth of Li Jinglong's information, not to break the city.But the gate of the city has been knocked open, and it is a rare opportunity to fight. It would be a pity to retreat.

"Chaoyangmen's fortifications are unprepared, most of the defenders are recruits, and the city defense is weaker than other places."

"On the day of your Highness's siege, we will meet the army at Jinchuan Gate and Chaoyang Gate."

Zhu Di repeatedly read the secret letter left by Li Jinglong, and the handwriting was indeed Xu Zengshou's. In order to eliminate the last trace of doubt, he ordered Shen Xuan to attack Chaoyang Gate.

Unexpectedly, Shen Xuan's subordinates fought too bravely, and the battering ram proposed by Meng Qinghe was too sharp, and a feint attack broke down the city gate.

What to do now?

Continue to attack?

Must attack!

King Yan, who was watching the battle from the rear army, made a decisive decision and ordered Zhu Neng to lead the left army to press forward and attack Chaoyangmen together with Shen Xuan.Xu Zhong and Wu Jie led troops to attack Jinchuan Gate, Fang Kuan led the rear army to hold the formation, Qiu Fu... and Fang Kuan held the formation together.

This opportunity must not be missed, although it is not in the plan, but it is also a good opportunity to capture Nanjing, and all those who are delayed may hold back.

Seeing King Yan and his son lead the Mongolian cavalry straight to the Jinchuan Gate, Fang Kuan and Qiu Fu were very depressed, and the soldiers under their command were even more depressed.

The main general is weak, and the prince doesn't like to see him, and it becomes difficult to even lead the soldiers to earn military exploits.

Look at General Zhu's left army, and then look at the central army commanded by Shen. Which time is it not the charge that takes precedence in battle?

The team of these two fierce men is not as good as General Xu's front army and Lord Wu's right army?Still throwing the rear army aside.

The soldiers were very helpless, looking at the green light of the Nanjing city not far away, full of longing.

The comrades all went to attack the capital, but they were left behind to hold the line, what a fate!

Regardless of the depression of the soldiers of the rear army, the Chinese army who broke through the Chaoyang Gate was ordered to continue attacking, and without hesitation, brandishing knives and guns, they poured into the city gate like a tide.

The defenders of Chaoyang Gate scattered and fled, but before the reinforcements arrived, Shen Xuan ordered his subordinates to slow down their attack speed, occupy the city gate first, and join forces with Zhu Neng before moving.

"Commander, don't continue to attack?" Meng Qinghe felt it was a pity, "If you can go straight to the palace, it will be the first success."

Shen Xuan said, "It is the first achievement that cannot be contested."

Can't compete for the first achievement?

Meng Qinghe shuddered, and his brain, which was hot from excitement, suddenly woke up.

He forgot that breaking the Chaoyang Gate is already a great achievement, enough to make people jealous, if you continue to fight, it will not be so good.Everyone followed the prince and escaped from the dead, so why should one person take advantage of it?

"Also," Shen Xuan turned his head and looked at Meng Qinghe, "It was Zhang Fu, the deputy general of the Chinese Army who led the army to break through the city gate, General Zhu and the prince would say that when they asked.

"command……"

"kindness?"

"Remember the humble job."

"Just remember." Shen Xuan turned his head and looked into the distance, and there was a defender wearing a scarlet jacket in front of him, he pulled the reins tightly and held up his spear, "Twelve Langs must remember that the invasion of the capital is not the end, it is the beginning !"

After the words fell, the horns of the Yan army sounded, and Shen Xuan rode his horse to take the lead, "Follow me to kill!"

"kill!"

The greater the movement at Chaoyang Gate, the more attention it will attract the defenders.When the defenders sent reinforcements to Chaoyangmen one after another, Li Jinglong and King Gu had already opened Jinchuanmen.

King An and King Liao had a clear mind and didn't take the initiative to participate, but they didn't inform Emperor Jianwen either.Pretending to be defeated by the Yan army, he returned to the palace and stayed behind closed doors.

Princess Qingcheng brought back news that Anshou's mansion will be safe on the day King Yan enters the capital.

Several vassal kings are smart people and know what to do.

Chaoyang Gate and Jinchuan Gate were broken one after another, and Shence Gate and Taiping Gate were on fire at the same time.

Emperor Jianwen was shocked when he heard the news in the palace. King Yan entered the city? !

"Quickly, summon the ministers!"

Emperor Jianwen really panicked, unlike his father, who was born in the flames of war and experienced the chaos of war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.It's not like Zhu Di and other Northern Xinjiang vassals, who have been confronting Beiyuan all the year round, and regard fighting on the battlefield as commonplace.

He was born in the Ming Dynasty and after Zhu Yuanzhang pacified the world, he grew up in the palace and received the most orthodox Confucian education.

He has ambitions and ambitions. After ascending the throne, he reused civil servants to suppress generals, not just for personal preference, but also to consolidate the throne.

As soon as Emperor Gao came out of Xiaoxiao, he tried every means to cut down the vassals and implement Zhou rituals, also for the sake of the whole country.

Zhu Yunqi thought that he had done nothing wrong. Emperor Gao was alive, didn't he also eliminate the heroes who followed him to fight the country?

The only thing he did wrong was that he was too impatient, he believed too much in his orthodox status, he believed too much in Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng and other literati.

So far, it's useless to regret.

Sitting in the empty hall, Emperor Jianwen looked at the eunuchs who had gone and returned, knowing that no one would come in response to the imperial edict.

At this moment, he became a loner, a real loner.

"Where are the two lovers, Qi and Huang, now?"

"Return to Your Majesty, Qi Shangshu and Huang Hanlin went out to recruit soldiers two days ago."

Emperor Jianwen suddenly realized, and said: "Yes, it was an order from me, but I forgot."

Thinking of Huang Zicheng's return from Suzhou without success, and Fang Xiaoru's loud reprimand for his proposal to recruit soldiers abroad, Zhu Yunqi suddenly laughed.

"How can you abandon Your Majesty and run away when things happen to you?!"

"Blood spurts!"

"Bloody spitting?! If you hadn't lied about the military situation and concealed it for Cao Guogong, how could the war have come to this?! People who harm the country should be killed!"

"You...Your Majesty!"

The voices of Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng seemed to be still echoing in the hall, and Zhu Yunwen's laughter grew louder and louder, until finally he burst into tears.

Let's go, it's okay to go.

"Your Majesty?" the eunuch asked cautiously, "Do you want to give another order?"

"No need." Zhu Yunwen stood up, stood in front of the throne, overlooking the whole hall, without any anxious look on his face.

He is the grandson of Emperor Hongwu, the son of Emperor Xiaokang, he has his own dignity, no one can violate it, not even King Yan!

"Go back."

"His Majesty?"

"Get out!"

"The slaves obey."

In the empty Fengtian Hall, only Zhu Yunqi remained.

After a long time, he started laughing again, and the laughter became louder and louder. With anger and madness, it came out of the hall, against the backdrop of the burning capital, it was chilling.

"Long live, Son of Heaven, haha..."

The flames lit up the sky, and amidst the shouts of killing, the thirteen inner city gates of the capital were successively captured by the Yan army.

The vassal kings guarding the city either made their position clear like King Gu, or stayed behind closed doors like King An of Liao. Most of the generals led their troops to surrender after the Yan army entered the city.Those who were unwilling to surrender did not last long.The recruited young men and some soldiers bombed the camp, grabbed the sword and captured the Shangguan, and the city gate quickly changed hands.

The people in the city closed their doors tightly, but some ruffians took the opportunity to make trouble.

Meng Qinghe was ordered to deliver a letter to the Jinchuan Gate, and saw with his own eyes a few rascals who were bullying women, and a man in a Confucian shirt fell to one side, his face blurred by blood.

"killed."

Accustomed to seeing life and death, Meng Qinghe didn't hesitate at all when he gave the order.

Gao Fu drew out his long knife, the ruffian wanted to run away, but before he could take two steps, a cold light flashed, and his head fell to the ground instantly.

After disposing of a few ruffians, Meng Qinghe didn't stay. The military affairs were urgent and could not be delayed.Gao Fu put away the knife, looked at the tear-stained woman with a sackcloth around her waist, took out a bottle of wound medicine from her bosom, pointed at the scholar lying aside, "Use it for him, it will be fine after a few days .”

After the words fell, he turned his horse's head and followed Meng Qinghe.

The woman wiped away the tears from her face, walked to the scholar, gritted her teeth, and helped him up.

Before, she pointed at this man's nose and scolded him, but today, he almost lost his life trying to save her.

This kindness, she remembered.

Recalling Gao Fu who killed the local ruffian and Meng Qinghe who gave the order immediately, the woman clenched the medicine bottle tightly in her hand, and she will definitely repay this kindness if she has a chance in the future.

In the sixth month of Yichou in the fourth year of Jianwen, the Yan army went down to the capital and trapped the palace.

The dignitaries in the capital went to the king of Yan to denounce the emperor's innocence, listened to the slander of the treacherous officials, and persecuted the descendants of the heroes.

"We would like to return to Your Highness, please Your Highness to assist the Duke of Zhou."

King Yan smiled, but didn't nod.

Everyone thought that the platform was not high enough, and they were about to continue to work hard, but they saw King Yan wave his hand.

"The public and others are all people who understand righteousness and are dedicated to the country. I have followed the instructions of Emperor Taizu Gao to calm down and go to Beijing. At present, the most important thing is to arrest traitors. Others can be discussed."

Immediately, the King of Yan asked people to take out the draft list of treacherous ministers and hand it over to everyone present for circulation.

A total of more than 29 people were included in the list of treacherous ministers, and [-] civil servants in the left class.

Huang Zicheng, Minister of Taichang Temple, Qi Tai, Secretary of the Ministry of War, and Fang Xiaoru, doctor of literature, are among them.There are also Chen Di, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, Bao Zhao, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, etc., but none of them have been blackmailed by Zhu Di.

Although there is a letter from Daoyan from Beiping, saying that Fang Xiaoru is very knowledgeable, although his reputation has fallen, he is still respected by scholars and must not be killed.

When the great monk opened his mouth, Zhu Di would naturally not lose face and kill him, but it did not prevent him from being listed on the list of traitors and pouring a few ladles of dirty water on him.

During the rebellion, Zhu Di was often scolded, and most of the proclamations were written by Fang Xiaoru, so he was relieved no matter what.

It was Jie Zhao Xie Jin who was responsible for drafting and transcribing this list.

Due to a slight error in history, the date of breaking through the gate of Nanjing was slightly earlier, and the talented man Xie didn't have time to run at night, but after King Yan entered the city, he was the first to go out with Hu Jing and others, leaving a good impression on Zhu Di. impression.

At the end of the list, it is stated that all civil and military officials, soldiers and civilians who bind treacherous officials will be rewarded.

Civil and military officials are promoted, military officials are promoted, and common people give money.

The last one was added at the suggestion of Meng Qinghe. Xie Jin, who drafted the notice, didn't take it seriously. How could a mere military officer point fingers here?Thinking about his new vote for the King of Yan, his foothold was not stable, and he swallowed the words again.

After King Yan captured the inner city, he issued a notice to arrest treacherous ministers. Instead of entering the palace, he led troops to Longjiang and ordered not to disturb the people.

Many people couldn't understand the intention of King Yan's move, but those who understood were silent.

The king of Yan is advancing by retreating, and it depends on how the emperor chooses.

Life or death, all in one thought.

The next day, at dawn, the palace suddenly caught fire, the flames shot up into the sky, and thick smoke billowed.

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Di rushed to the palace immediately, and when he arrived at Donghuamen, the fire had already been extinguished.

The black-faced defenders knelt in front of Zhu Di's horse, "His Royal Highness, the fire started from the Fengtian Palace, and when the humble officials arrived, the emperor, queen and prince had all been buried in the sea of ​​flames."

Xu Huizu, Duke of the State of Wei who heard the news, let out a long sigh and knelt in front of Xu Da's altar for a long time until late at night.

The bells of temples and Taoist temples rang again inside and outside the capital, declaring to the world that Emperor Jianwen had achieved great success.

Standing in front of Fengtian Gate, Meng Qinghe had a question in his mind, is Emperor Jianwen really dead?

Turning his gaze to King Yan who was standing with his hands behind his back, he slowly lowered his eyes.

The bell has rung, and the body in the dragon robe has been found.Regardless of whether Zhu Yunwen is still alive or not, Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty, the heir chosen by Zhu Yuanzhang himself, is dead.