Daming: My boss Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 416: Leave immediately (revised)
When Li Wei attacked the capital, Lan Yu, Lu Zhongheng and others were still attacking the imperial city with all their strength.

The imperial city is small in area, so their army of more than 100,000 people cannot fully deploy, but this does not prevent them from taking advantage of their strength. The army of more than 100,000 people cannot attack together, but they can take turns to attack without interruption.

Thousands of soldiers continued to charge against the artillery fire and bullets of the pro-army forces. Some used large objects such as ladders as cover, some raised shields for defense, and many more could only run as fast as they could, risking their lives and deaths. Let God decide.

Accompanied by the deafening sound of gunfire and shouts of death, the rebels left corpses all along the way. Some lucky soldiers finally rushed to the city. They immediately had to face the various huge rocks and rolling logs dropped by the defenders on the imperial city, as well as Non-stop musket fire.

Of course, they were also protected by bows and arrows, trebuchets and mortars. When they found an opportunity, they would set up various ladders, flying ladders and other tools and start climbing up.

The imperial city is so towering that even if you have tools, it is very difficult to climb up, not to mention that the pro-soldiers on the city will use tools such as bumping bars to knock down their ladders.

Whenever a ladder was knocked down, many soldiers climbing on it would fall down like ants. Those who climbed higher would be killed on the spot if they fell.

Lan Yu looked at the soldiers attacking the city, feeling restless.

After Lu Zhongheng commanded an offensive, he returned to him and cupped his hands and said: "It still doesn't work, their firearms are too powerful!"

The pro-army firearms not only caused great damage to ordinary soldiers, but more importantly, threatened their large siege equipment. These siege equipment were often destroyed by the opponent's artillery before they were put up and put into use. .

"It's a shame that they moved all the firearms in the Ordnance Bureau, and not even a single bullet was left!"

Tang Shengzong cursed in a low voice.

Although these nobles have not used the firearms made by Li Wei, they are also very aware of the power of these things, otherwise they would not agree to the proposal of Zhang Fengyi and others to join forces with Li Wei.

After conquering the outer city, they immediately went to the Ordnance Bureau to search, only to find that all firearms and ammunition had been emptied and nothing was found.

Lan Yu frowned tightly and said in a deep voice: "Our military strength is far superior to that of the other party. As long as we continue to attack, they will definitely reveal their flaws when they are tired. We only need to climb up the city wall and fight in close quarters to suppress their firearm advantage. The city can be destroyed in no time!”

Lu Zhongheng and Tang Shengzong looked at each other. Lan Yu was right, but even if they won, they would suffer heavy losses. This was definitely not a good strategy.

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but think of Li Wei. If they could use his firearms, it would be much easier to break the city.

It's a pity that people like Zhang Fengyi are also unreliable, and they failed to do what they promised.

While several people were looking sad, Li Shanchang, Zhang Fengyi and others suddenly arrived hand in hand.

Lan Yu and others were a little surprised to see them. Scholars like Li Shanchang couldn't help with the war. They usually stayed at the rear and waited for news. Why did they suddenly come to the front line today?

"General Blue!"

"Mr. Korea."

Several people greeted each other, and Lan Yu asked directly: "Why are you here?"

Unlike Lan Yu and others who looked gloomy, Li Shanchang looked happy at this time and said: "Good news, Li Wei has led his troops to Beijing and has broken through the Shence Gate and entered the city."

When Lu Zhongheng, Tang Shengzong and others heard this, they all showed expressions of surprise.

"Great! Then let's send people to discuss with him to attack the city together!" Lu Zhongheng said.

Li Shanchang nodded lightly: "That's exactly what I meant. I came here to inform everyone."

Tang Shengzong and other generals present also nodded in agreement after hearing this.

But Lan Yu was shocked when she saw this, and quickly interrupted loudly: "No!"

Everyone was stunned and looked at him.

These nobles had always been at odds with Li Wei before. Except for a few people like Hu Hai and Sheng Yong, the others basically regarded Li Wei as an enemy. However, in order to cause trouble, they had already discussed joining forces with Li Wei, but Lan Yu didn't know about this yet.

Lan Yu was still merciless at this time, but when she saw that Lu Zhongheng and others had no objection to this, she immediately turned ugly and said in a deep voice: "Li Wei is not the same as us at all, how can we join forces with him? Don't forget the past. "

Li Shanchang spoke softly and advised: "One moment, another moment. Now that the war is urgent, we might as well join forces to break the city first. It will not be too late to deal with other grievances after the major issues are settled."

"Yes, Duke Liang should temporarily put aside his personal grudges and focus on the overall situation!" Zhang Fengyi also said.

Lan Yu's face was livid, and he glanced at everyone, and he suddenly understood. Apparently these people had already discussed it before, and he was the only one who was still in the dark!

"No, I don't agree. If you insist on doing this, then I will lead the troops to retreat immediately!" Lan Yu said angrily.

Everyone looked at each other in shock when they heard this.

This time, Lan Yu's own soldiers and horses accounted for half of the 200,000 troops they had pieced together. If he really withdrew, the remaining 100,000 troops and horses they had pieced together would definitely be no match for the promenade armed with firearms. The army just withdrew from the capital and fled.

Li Shanchang, Lu Zhongheng and other people who were familiar with Lan Yu tried to persuade him, but Lan Yu was resolute and everyone had no choice but to temporarily give up the idea of ​​joining forces with Li Wei.

However, they did not give up completely. They still forced Lan Yu to break the city as soon as possible, otherwise they would still strive to join forces with Li Wei.

The huge pressure forced Lan Yu to do his best to attack the imperial city as soon as possible and stop these people from looking for Li Wei.

The battle lasted from morning to night, until nightfall, before Lan Yu ordered the troops to withdraw and attack again tomorrow.

There was a mess outside the imperial city, but the inside of the imperial city was not affected at all. At the same time that Li Wei broke through the Shence Gate, Guo Ying, who got the news, immediately sent people into the palace to report to Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the Qianqing Palace, many generals gathered here, including Geng Bingwen, who hurriedly came after the truce, as well as Guo Ying, Mao Xiang, etc.

Although Lan Yu and other rebels have invaded the city, they have not yet fully taken control of the outer city. Guo Ying and others still have no problem entering and exiting the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting on the dragon chair, full of energy and not at all weak as before.

Recently, under Dai Sigong's full treatment, his condition has improved a lot. With strong energy, it is not difficult to completely conceal his illness.

"Your Majesty, even if Li Wei has entered the city, shouldn't we take back the outer city as planned?" Guo Ying asked, holding up his hands.

To show the enemy's weakness, it was Zhu Yuanzhang's plan to put all Lan Yu and Li Wei into the city. Now that everyone was here, it was naturally time to close the net.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not answer, but looked at Mao Xiang and asked: "Is there anyone suspicious in Li Wei's army?"

Mao Xiang was stunned for a moment, then thought for a moment and said, "They are all his old subordinates and students, and no suspicious persons have been found."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a moment. Mao Xiang felt anxious and lowered his head to wait for instructions.

After a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang looked back with some disappointment.

In fact, he was asking about the person who kidnapped Li Wei. That person was able to rob Li Wei in public from the heavily defended city of Yangzhou. His method was very unusual. He was eager to find out who this person was.

It's a pity that this time he couldn't lure this person out by using himself as bait.

Fortunately, people like Lan Yu and Li Shanchang have already jumped out. As long as these people are dealt with and Li Wei is suppressed, the country will be stable. It will be difficult to shake the Ming Dynasty again.

"understood."

Zhu Yuanzhang responded lightly at first, and then sternly ordered to everyone: "Mao Xiang and Guo Ying, order you two to assist Zhang Long and retake all the gates in the capital. We must trap all the rebels in the capital and not let anyone go." !”

"I obey the order!" Mao Xiang and Guo Ying accepted the order in unison.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Geng Bingwen again and said, "You can let go of your hands and feet here."

"Yes, I obey the order." Geng Bingwen also respectfully accepted the order.

When we withdrew to the Imperial City some time ago, the firearms and craftsmen from the Arms Bureau moved into the Military Affairs Bureau in the Imperial City.

Although the Bingzhan Bureau is smaller than the Ordnance Bureau outside, the tools for producing firearms are very complete. Now they not only have enough ammunition to squander, but they can also replenish it while producing. With the advantages of firearms and city walls, the Outer Blue Bureau The hundreds of thousands of troops led by Yu couldn't attack at all. They even had the strength to counterattack. They were just hiding their clumsiness these days.

After arranging the battle, Zhu Yuanzhang asked them to retreat.

After everyone left, Zhu Yuanzhang took out several memorials from his sleeves and placed them one by one in front of him.

These are secret memorials from other nobles, including Geng Bingwen and Zhang Long, two marquises currently stationed in the capital.

When Li Shanchang went around sending secret letters to nobles, Zhu Yuanzhang did not stop him when he learned about it. Instead, he secretly asked people to imitate his handwriting and send secret letters to those nobles whom he had not contacted.

Some of these people ignored it after receiving it, and some immediately reported Li Shanchang in secret reports. Geng Bingwen and Zhang Long were loyal ministers who had withstood the test.

Zhu Yuanzhang put aside the secret notes of Geng Bingwen and others and picked up another one.

The signature of this memorial is none other than Tang He, who has been recuperating for a long time.

Although Tang He, Feng Sheng and others have returned home, their prestige in the army is still there, so they did not escape this test.

Tang He's secret report is here, and he can be used as a minister. Although Feng Sheng did not join forces with Li Shanchang and others, he did not report it as decisively as Tang He.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Tang He's memorial, then put it away, summoned his guards and issued a secret edict.

At the Ordnance Bureau, Li Wei and his people hurried here. They saw that the middle door of the Ordnance Bureau was wide open at this time, and there was no one inside. The workshops that were originally in full swing were silent, and the boilers of the steam engines were also turned off. Many The equipment had been toppled to the ground and had obviously been rummaged through before him.

Li Wei's heart sank, and he quickly ordered Chen Su, Xie Feihu and others: "Look around to see if there are any usable ammunition, including raw materials such as sulfur, saltpeter, and so on!"

"Yes!"

Chen Su and others immediately responded and each led people to search everywhere.

Li Wei then walked into the Ordnance Bureau and looked around.

He soon discovered that although many of these devices had been knocked down, they were not destroyed and could continue to be used after just a little tidying up.

Xie Feihu, Chen Su and others quickly searched the arms bureau, but they could not find any firearms or ammunition, not even raw materials such as brimstone and saltpeter.

Li Wei frowned when he heard their report.

"Teacher, could it be robbed by Lan Yu and those people?" Xie Feihu asked.

Li Wei shook his head gently: "No, if they had obtained the firearms from the Ordnance Bureau, the Imperial City would have been breached long ago."

"Yes, it seems that the imperial court was well prepared and hid all these things in the morning." Chen Su also agreed.

Li Wei frowned for a moment, then suddenly said: "Chen Su, you stay here, the others will follow me to Guangjiku to have a look!"

Guangjiku is a warehouse for storing saltpeter and sulfur. Together with Wuziku and Guangyingku, it is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry.

Chen Su nodded in agreement, and then Li Wei hurriedly left with the remaining Xie Feihu and others.

Guangjiku is located on the outskirts of Xicheng, not too far from the Ordnance Bureau. When Li Wei arrived with his troops, there were still a few clerks staying in the warehouse, but when they saw them arriving, they ran away in fright.

Unfortunately, two legs could not run as fast as four legs. Li Wei casually ordered a few cavalry to chase after him. He, Xie Feihu and others violently opened the warehouse. They saw that this large warehouse was empty at this time, with no saltpeter or sulfur. trace.

"Sir, have mercy on me, my lord, have mercy on me..."

At this time, the cavalry who were chasing after him had already captured the few petty officials. They were low-ranking petty officials and had no backbone. When they came to Li Wei, they kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Li Wei glanced at them and asked in a deep voice: "Where are the things in this warehouse?"

"We've moved, they've all moved!" a clerk replied hurriedly.

Li Wei frowned and asked, "When did you move?"

"Just a few days ago, before the rebellion...the capital fell, people from the palace moved everything away, leaving only a few of us to guard it."

Another clerk followed closely, feeling regretful as he said this. They did not expect that an empty warehouse would also attract rebels.

Li Wei frowned and pondered. It seemed that the imperial court had already prepared and moved all important things into the imperial city. If this was the case, then there was something strange about the loss of the capital!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy in his heart.

"Let's go back to the Ordnance Bureau!" Li Wei shouted immediately.

Xie Feihu and others did not suspect anything and immediately followed him, turned their horses around and hurried away.

In the Ordnance Bureau, Chen Su was leading people to build defense facilities when he saw Li Wei returning with Xie Feihu and others.

"Master, how are you?" Chen Su stepped forward and asked.

Li Wei shook his head, and then said loudly: "Pack up immediately, bring the tools and equipment you can bring, and let's evacuate quickly!"

Chen Su looked shocked and said, "Why?"

Now that Lan Yu's rebels are fighting with the pro-army, it's a good time for them to reap the benefits. He doesn't understand why Li Wei is so eager to retreat.

Li Wei said in a deep voice: "I feel something is wrong. It is not suitable to stay in this capital for a long time. Let's leave quickly!"

Chen Su frowned for a moment, thinking about the fact that his own army withdrew early when attacking Shen Ce Gate before, he also felt that something was wrong. However, this opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and he was still unwilling to return empty-handed.

"Master, should we wait and see?" Chen Su said.

Li Wei said seriously: "Don't wait any longer, leave now!"

Seeing this, Chen Su had no choice but to bow his hands and say yes.

Immediately, he and Xie Feihu and others packed up the things in the Arms Bureau and took everything that was not too heavy with them.

The equipment in the Ordnance Bureau was made after many years of accumulation. Even if Li Wei personally led these students to do it again, it would not be easy to make all the current equipment. It is not easy to make ready-made equipment. It's best to go.

While everyone was busy cleaning up, a fast horse suddenly galloped towards the Ordnance Bureau.

(End of this chapter)