Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1076 The Night of the City Breaking
Zhu Su's confidence naturally had its reasons. Since the implementation of the "false surrender plan", Hu Jinyi in the city has not made any moves, which means that he did not kill Ma Jingchang. This is one of the reasons.

The second reason is that Ma Jingchang is actually the eunuch Ma Sanbao who is close to Zhu Su.

Ever since Zhu Su brought Ma Sanbao out of the palace, he discovered that this eunuch, who was suspected to be Zheng He, was indeed different from ordinary people.

Not only is he meticulous and quick-witted, he is also eloquent and can speak eloquently.

At the same time, he had a very high talent for languages. During the time he and Zhu Su were in Annan, Sanbao was the first one to learn the Annan language.

In fact, at the beginning, Zhu Su did not think of letting him implement this plan, but instead turned his attention to Cao Yuan and the leaders of the rebel forces, wanting to select one person from among them to implement the strategy of false surrender.

But after several rounds of screening, they still couldn't find the right candidate. These people were not very loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and many of them were just trying to get by. They might not be willing to risk their lives and go to Thang Long City to be an undercover agent who faced a life-threatening situation.

Cao Yuan was willing to do so, and he could speak the Annam dialect to a decent level, but he was only a general and was far from being smart enough to be an undercover agent, so he was not suitable to enter Thang Long City.

In the end, it was Sanbao who volunteered, and Zhu Su noticed that in this dark place, there was such a suitable candidate: Sanbao was fluent in the Annan dialect, was quick-witted and adaptable, extremely loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and because he had helped Zhu Su sort out various intelligence about Annan for many years, his understanding of the situation in Annan was even no less than that of the local gentry.

Moreover, although he was a eunuch, he had his own demeanor. If he was not told about his eunuch identity, almost no one would find out that he was a eunuch. It was perfect for him to disguise himself as an Annan man and sneak into Thang Long City.

Moreover, by this point, Zhu Su had basically believed that the eunuch serving him was indeed the famous eunuch Zheng He. Asking Zheng He, who had made seven voyages to the West, to fool a usurper of the throne of a small country in Annan was like using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken.

How can there be no success?

Sure enough, six days later, the Ming army found the signal that had been agreed upon with Sanbao on the Annan city wall: first the torches on the top of the city wall turned left three times, and then turned right three times, and so on. This was to inform those outside the city that the city gates would be opened at Chou time the next day.

"Sanbao has succeeded." Zhu Su was excited after receiving the news from the front line. "Whether the city can be captured depends on tomorrow."

"Order the three armies to prepare. Tomorrow, I will personally lead the troops into the enemy city."

"Your Highness, this is inappropriate!" Li Wenzhong stood up and interrupted Zhu Su's military order. "Your Highness is the son of His Majesty, how can you risk your life! Even if you enter the city gate, the cunning barbarians will surely have set up many ambushes."

"Brother Baoer, don't worry. I have already made preparations. Besides, if there really is an unavoidable risk, San Bao will definitely not send out a signal..." Zhu Su said.

"Although our army has been prepared, we cannot say that there is no danger at all." Li Wenzhong, however, was impartial and said to Zhu Su, "Your Highness must not take the risk yourself. I think Jiujiang can enter the city on your behalf."

On the other side, Li Jinglong's face froze, and he looked at his father with resentment. The atmosphere of fatherly love and filial piety spread in the general's tent.

"Duke Cao is right. I also think that Your Highness should not put himself in danger." Mu Ying also stepped out. "However, Jiujiang lacks experience in leading troops and may not be able to respond to emergencies. I would like to take Your Highness' place and sign a military order to capture Thang Long City for Your Highness."

Lan Yu was also anxious when he saw this, and said, "Your Highness, I am of similar stature to Your Highness. If I were to wear Your Highness's armor, I guarantee that the Hu bandits would not be able to recognize me."

"Let me take over for Your Highness temporarily..."

A group of people actually started arguing in the commander's tent to compete for this position. Zhu Su held his forehead with a headache and said, "I already know your loyalty to the country."

"However, I will do this trick myself."

"I'm afraid you won't be able to use the methods I prepared. If you are worried about my safety, wait for the signal and take down the outer wall of Shenglong City for me as soon as possible."

"If the city wall is down, I will have a way to retreat, and I will be safe from danger."

The crowd was arguing with each other, but after hearing Zhu Su's final decision, they had no choice but to obey.

So, at Chou time of the next day, in the dead of night, the gate of Thang Long City slowly opened.

Like a bloody mouth ready to devour anyone.

……

"Your Majesty, everything is ready." Hu Jinyi's trusted adviser Fan Julun said to him.

Tonight, Hu Jinyi came to the East Gate Wengcheng where the ambush was held, just to see with his own eyes the moment when the ambush killed the King of Zhou. Standing on the tower, in the dim light of the fire, he saw the well-prepared soldiers of the Dayu Army crouching and hiding behind the parapet.

Everyone held a bow and arrow in their hands, ready to shoot at the city. As soon as King Zhu Su of Zhou appeared at the foot of the city, thousands of arrows would be fired at once.

Originally, Hu Jin's intention was to fill the city wall with kerosene and lay out hay, and when King Zhu Su of Zhou entered the city, he would use rockets to ignite the kerosene and hay and burn him to death in the city wall.

However, his favorite minister Ma Jingchang who had recently surrendered to him advised him to give up this idea. The reason was: After all, King Zhou Zhu Su was of noble status. Although he had to enter the city in person to claim the credit, out of caution, someone would definitely clear the way for him before he could enter the city.

If the pioneers who were exploring the city found that the city was full of hay and gunpowder when entering the city, wouldn't that alert the enemy? King Zhu Su of Zhou would certainly not continue to force his way into the city.

It would be better not to add unnecessary details and just shoot them with a rain of arrows... Anyway, there is no place to stay in the city wall. The Ming army entered the city quietly and could not have brought siege equipment such as ladders and battering rams. As long as they entered the city wall, they would be lambs to be slaughtered. If they were to be killed, they could be shot to death with a rain of arrows.

Hu Jizhen thought about it and it made sense, so he praised "Ma Jingchang" and thought that he really cared about Annan. Hu Jizhen had tried to test Ma Jingchang several times in recent days, and each time, Ma Jingchang responded appropriately and spoke sincerely. Hu Jizhen's favor for him also increased day by day, and he thought he was a great talent.

Ma Jingchang is a nice person and speaks nicely. Brother Jimao really likes being with him!

Just as he was thinking about this, someone came over to report to Hu Jinyi: "Your Majesty, there is news from the front that the Ming army has sneaked in."

"Is it flying a flag? Can you see clearly which unit of the Ming army it is?" Hu Jinli was alert and asked a little anxiously.

"The Ming army held their tongues and advanced quietly, without raising any flags."

"But these Ming troops are densely packed, and they are all cavalry... It is obvious that those who came are not ordinary people." said the general who delivered the message.

"They are all cavalrymen. With so many cavalrymen guarding him, the person coming must be Zhou Wang Zhu Su himself." Ma Jingchang said. Hu Jinyi nodded, agreeing with this statement.

"Even if it was Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao, he wouldn't be surrounded by cavalry guards... It must be Zhu Su, the Prince of Zhou."

"Pass the order down, hide your bodies well and don't scare the Ming army away. If anyone lets the team down, I will kill all his clans!"

They were about to capture Zhou Wang Zhu Su. Hu Ji was so excited that he was shaking all over. Even his voice became much sharper, making him sound more like a eunuch than Ma Jingchang. A group of Annan soldiers hid under the women's wall, not even daring to raise their heads, for fear that they would be seen by the Ming army. Hu Ji was also wearing a royal robe, crouching in the shadows, thinking about what words he would use to humiliate Zhou Wang Zhu Su.

"Your Majesty, the Ming army has entered the city."

I could hear the dull sound of horses' hooves kicking. Apparently, in order to launch a surprise attack on the city, the Ming army even wrapped the horses' hooves with a thick layer of cloth.

The Ming people were quite well prepared, Hu Jinlei thought to himself, and when he stole a glance and saw that almost all the Ming troops had entered the city, he suddenly stood up and shouted.

"Close the gates! Light the fire!"

"Hahahaha, King Zhou Zhu Su! You've fallen into my trap!"

The Annan soldiers in the city had already received instructions and had even practiced many times in secret. At this moment, many torches were lit in the East Weng City in an instant, making it as bright as day. The densely packed archers on the city wall came out from behind the parapet at the same time, making an astonishing noise.

"Zhu Su! If you surrender, I can still spare your life. Otherwise, when thousands of arrows are fired at you, don't blame me, Hu Jinyi, for not cherishing our friendship!"

Hu Jinyi declared loudly in the firelight. He was dressed in a royal robe, which made him particularly conspicuous in the flames, like a god.

He was looking forward to looking inside the city wall, wanting to see the Ming army panicking in surprise, or even trampling on each other, but to his surprise, the Ming army in the city wall remained unusually calm, and the leader even looked up at him with a playful expression.

"That...what is that..." Someone finally discovered the biggest abnormality in the Ming army.

The firelight was dim and I couldn't see clearly. I just felt that there were horse shadows among the Ming army, and they seemed to be all cavalry.

At this moment, under the firelight as bright as daylight, they discovered that the horse-like shadows in the front row of the Ming army's formation were not war horses at all, but things that only had the shape of horses.

"Have you ever heard of... the Trojan Horse?"

In the city wall, Zhu Su, dressed in a cool golden armor, gave a mocking smile to Hu Jili, who was frozen on the city wall.

"Come on! Break the city!" Zhu Su shouted.

“Break the city!!”

In a moment, the Ming army's roar shook the world, and countless arrows poured down, but Zhou Wangwei, who was dressed in armor, was not afraid at all. Di Meng led his men to push the wooden horses disguised as war horses to the gate of the inner city, and Gou'er raised the rifle in his hand and aimed it at Hu Ji'e.

With a "bang", bricks and stones of the parapet in front of Hu Jilin flew everywhere, scaring Hu Jilin. He quickly shrank his body to avoid it, and for a moment, he even forgot to give orders.

In such a short time, Di Meng had already led his men to push the wooden horses to the gate. With a shout, the Ming army, which had retreated far away, threw torches to the wooden horses at the gate. Then, there was a loud "bang". Hu Jinyi felt the wall under his feet shaking violently, and his ears buzzing. He leaned over the parapet and looked out. The Ming heavy cavalry, wearing helmets and armor, and even their horses were covered with armor, had already begun to ride their horses and whip them, rushing towards the gate.

"The city gate is open!" Hu Jinyi was so shocked by this reality that he felt dizzy.

"Those wooden horses of the Ming army... were filled with gunpowder!"

"Who said... who said that the Ming army would sneak into the city at night and couldn't have brought siege equipment!"

Hu Jinli looked around for Ma Jingchang, wanting to catch him and interrogate him, but when he looked around, Ma Jingchang was nowhere to be found.

They wanted to organize people to stop the Ming army from entering the city, but outside the city, there was a deafening cry of killing. The dazzling light of torches outside the city turned the sky completely bright: the Ming army was actually attacking the city at this time.

"I've fallen into a trap!" At this point, Hu Jili finally realized what was happening.

……

"Fortunately, the gunpowder in this wooden horse is enough to blow up the city gate. If it is not enough, then everything will be over." In the city, Zhu Su rode on a war horse and breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Su had been to Thang Long Prefecture before, and there was no urn city there. Apparently, this urn city was added later by Hu Jinyi. Perhaps because of this, the gate of the inner city of the urn city was not as tall and solid as the gate of the outer city.

When Mu Ying rushed into the outer city through the blown-up gap, he took a quick glance at the gate of the inner city and came to this conclusion.

The Ming army tricked the enemy into entering the outer city and then bombed the inner city, which was enough to establish a victory. Sanbao, who used the alias Ma Jingchang, had already come to Zhu Su's side and said to him respectfully from his horse: "Your Highness."

"Well done, Sanbao. You deserve the most credit for conquering the city this time!"

"In the future, I will make your name known through the ages, and make you a figure revered by future generations like Taishigong in the history of China!"

Sanbao's face was red, and it was obvious that Zhu Su's words also made him very excited. Zhu Su pointed to the empty war horse brought by Gou'er beside him and said, "Come on, get on the horse."

"Follow me, let's take this city together!"

"Yes!"

As Sanbao got on his horse, Zhu Su led his men out of the city wall and headed for the key locations in the city. Hu Jinyi deployed his troops to fight back, but without the advantage of the city wall, he had no ability to resist the Ming army's internal and external attacks.

Soon, the army led by Li Wenzhong, Mu Ying, Lan Yu and others defeated the defenders of the city wall who were in a pincer attack, rushed into the city and successfully joined Zhu Su.

After Hu Jinyao's resistance failed, he was forced to give up the street fighting with the elite Ming army in the city and retreated into the palace with his last troops, preparing for a final resistance.

(End of this chapter)