Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 352: The Perfidious Traitor

The first year of Jingwu
January 5

Chuxiong, Yunnan
The biggest flaw in the so-called delaying tactic lies in the word "slow".

Although Yang Weizhi used words to coax Sha Dingzhou into setting his sights on pursuing Mu Tianbo first, and during this period he worked hard to repair the city defenses and mobilize reinforcements from all directions, but when the other side recovered, they still could not allow such a force to block their retreat.

Therefore, as soon as Sha Dingzhou broke through Ningzhou, he turned around and rushed to Chuxiong, but he directly gave up chasing Mu Tianbo who fled to Yongchang.

"Yang Weizhi! You are a traitor who is treacherous and untrustworthy! Now that my army has returned victoriously, what else do you have to say?!"

As Sha Dingzhou's angry shouts spread, a soldier threw a round object towards the top of Chuxiong City.

After that, he stopped talking for a while, and only continued shouting when there was a commotion on the city wall.

"Now Lu Yongming surrenders and Mu Tianbo flees to Burma. If you can turn from evil to good, I can still keep your position. But if you still insist on doing wrong, Chuxiong will be the second Ningzhou!"

After being tricked like this, Sha Dingzhou didn't want to waste any more words with Yang Weizhi.

But after attacking for a while, Chuxiong City remained unmoved. Thinking of Mu Tianbo who fled to Yongchang, he couldn't help but become anxious.

It is inevitable to have such emotions.

Although he had made some preparations at the beginning of the rebellion, by now, except for appeasing the Guangxi soldiers, nothing had developed as expected.

Sha Dingzhou had also thought about this situation carefully.

The imperial court had been slow to respond, probably because it was still fighting the Tartars; the reason they couldn't catch Mu Tianbo was because he would run away at the slightest sign of trouble.

If that were all, he wouldn't be that anxious.

After all, Mu Tianbo was about to flee to Burma and had already lost the support of the people in Yunnan. The imperial court had to take care of the Tartars and had almost no power to interfere in Yunnan. As long as he could successfully take over all of Yunnan, all difficulties would be solved.

At that time, no matter whether the court would believe Wu Zhaoyuan's memorial or not, and whether Mu Tianbo was successfully captured, the fact that Sha Dingzhou became the lord of Yunnan was unchangeable, and the situation was completely stabilized.

But... Chuxiong can’t be taken down!
If it were any other city, if he couldn't take it, he would send troops to surround it. Sha Dingzhou also had tens of thousands of troops. As long as the internal and external traffic was cut off, he could lead his troops to attack other places.

But Chuxiong was only two or three hundred miles away from Kunming, and Yang Weizhi, who was experienced in fighting, had gathered a lot of troops in the city.

If Sha Dingzhou really dared to be careless, Kunming, which contained hundreds of years of accumulation of the Mu Palace, might fall into the hands of Yang Weizhi.

By that time, there would be no need to worry about whether the money and food would be available. Just losing Kunming would be enough to make the chieftains from all sides want to return to the Ming Dynasty.

This does not mean that Sha Dingzhou attaches too much importance to Kunming.

In fact, over the past few hundred years, the city of Kunming has long had a certain symbolic meaning in the hearts of the chieftains of Yunnan.

Take the Sha Dingzhou Rebellion as an example.

From the very beginning, he deliberately deceived Mu Tianbo in order to seize Kunming and gain the loyalty of local chieftains.

And things developed just as he expected. After Mu Tianbo fled Kunming, only a few chieftains came to his aid. However, after taking over the city, Sha Dingzhou became the leader of all the chieftains in Yunnan.

Under such circumstances, even though Sha Dingzhou knew that wasting time in Chuxiong was not a good idea, he dared not move before eliminating the hidden danger in Chuxiong.

"Sha Xuanfu, if you have the imperial court's appointment, then bring out the imperial edict and the cabinet's signature. As an official appointed by the imperial court, I, Yang Weizhi, will open the city and kneel to welcome you. But if you are not here, you and the chieftains will have to think about how to deal with the imperial court's troops when they arrive!"

"The Tartars have captured Ganzhou, and the imperial court has entrusted all matters in Yunnan to me! If you can open the city and surrender now, you will still be a traitor to the dark side, but if the imperial edict arrives, you will be a remnant of the Mu family!"

I don’t know if it was because Yunnan had little contact with other provinces, or because the troops from Guangxi gradually stopped advancing because of that letter.

Although he did not have high hopes for the court's appointment at the beginning, he felt more and more that the court, which was entangled by the Tartars, would allow him to be the new Duke of Qian.

"Sha Dingzhou, stop trying to talk nonsense. If you can conquer Chuxiong, just come over. If you can't, please do as you please!"

Facing Sha Dingzhou's threat, Yang Weizhi was not afraid at all. In the end, he was even too lazy to keep a straight face.

Among the cities he had seen, Chuxiong was ranked last. However, the chieftains of Yunnan also lacked siege methods. Apart from ant attacks, they had no other way to attack the fortress cities.

Under such circumstances, the reason why he was still pretending to be friendly with Sha Dingzhou was just to try his best to tie him down in Chuxiong. Now that the two sides have torn their faces apart, he has to be tougher.

"Okay! Since you are so stubborn, I won't show you any mercy!" After shouting loudly, Sha Dingzhou waved his hand forward vigorously, and then the soldiers behind him slowly made way for a path, and then seven or eight huge monsters slowly walked out of Sha Dingzhou's camp.

Is this a war elephant?!
Seeing the giant beasts shaking their long trunks, Yang Weizhi immediately associated them with the rumored big killer weapons.

But over the years, his knowledge of war elephants was only based on rumors, and he had never heard of any chieftain actually raising one.

When he saw this kind of thing at this time, on the one hand, he was shocked by its huge size, but on the other hand, he couldn't help but have other associations.

Could it be Myanmar?
"Reinforce the city gates!"

The turning of his thoughts did not delay Yang Weizhi's instinct. After the soldiers beside him received orders and ran down the city, he began to consider the significance of the appearance of the war elephants.

According to common sense, Myanmar at that time would not have the courage to interfere in the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty, but he had never heard that any of the Three Xuan and Six Wei in Yunnan raised war elephants.

In this way, apart from Sha Dingzhou secretly raising them, only Myanmar could provide them.

Forget it, let’s get through this first.

With this in mind, Yang Weizhi went down the city wall and headed straight for the city gate, but the worries brought by the huge size of the war elephant became more and more intense.

Basically, the city gate of Chuxiong was not very solid, and even if rolling stones and battering rams were used to push it up from the inside, it would not be foolproof.

What's more, most of the defenders in the city were local soldiers recruited from all directions. When they saw those huge monsters, they would probably be scared away. How could they possibly defend the city?

We can survive this! As long as we survive this, we can hold on!

On the way to the city gate, Yang Weizhi reminded himself again and again.

The importance of Chuxiong is self-evident. If this city is still there, Sha Dingzhou will be tied up. Even if the imperial court's reinforcements arrive late because of the Tartars, there is still a possibility of saving the situation.

But if
As soon as this thought came into his mind, Yang Weizhi immediately drove it away. However, just as he was cheering himself up, he heard hurried footsteps behind him.

"Yang Bing said wait a moment."

"Meng Xuanwei?"

Although Yang Weizhi's tone was full of doubt, he knew in his heart what the other party was up to.

No matter what, Yunnan is still dominated by the chieftain system. If the imperial court can maintain a stalemate with Sha Dingzhou, then these chieftains who are dissatisfied with his style will naturally become a help.

But if the situation were to reverse, how many people would fight to the death like Lu Yongming did?

"We are rough people, and we won't play tricks on you. If Chuxiong can be defended, we have been ministers of the Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years, and we will fight to the death with Sha Dingzhou. But now..."

At this point, Meng Xuanwei's eyes began to avoid left and right, as if the following words made him a little ashamed. However, shame could not overcome the importance he attached to the family business. In just half a breath, he cast his gaze straight at Yang Weizhi.

"Bingdao, since we came to rescue you, please tell me the truth. Is the imperial court really going to abandon Yunnan to Sha Dingzhou because it is too busy to take care of itself?"

"impossible."

Yang Weizhi's answer was decisive, but when he saw Meng Xuanwei's slightly suspicious look, he had to explain.

"Although the imperial court is being entangled by the Tartars, we will never abandon Yunnan to Sha Dingzhou. As long as we hold on for a while longer, the reinforcements from Guangxi will surely arrive on time."

The importance of Yunnan is self-evident to those with strategic vision, but it is difficult to explain it to a chieftain who has lived in Yunnan for several lifetimes. But whether it was out of trust in Yang Weizhi or he really understood the inner logic, Meng Xuanwei only thought about it for a moment, and without waiting for Yang Weizhi to explain further, he accepted the statement.

"Okay, Bingdao is a man, we will believe whatever you say, but let me be frank, we have elderly and weak people at home who need to be taken care of. If the city is not broken, we will defend it with you, but if it is broken, we cannot die here."

After he finished speaking, Meng Xuanwei turned around and left without waiting for Yang Weizhi's answer. Yang Weizhi seemed to be accustomed to this. He just raised his head to glance at the city wall and then quickly walked towards the city gate.

It takes a long time to say but a short time to do.

Although he was delayed for a while under the city, it was less than an incense stick of time. By the time he reached the city gate, the soldiers had just managed to set up the four battering rams.

Seeing this situation, Yang Weizhi felt depressed.

Normally, there is nothing wrong with this arrangement, but what awaits the city gate now is the impact of war elephants. If it is only supported by battering rams, it is possible that the city gate will be damaged due to the concentration of force at one point.

However, when he left the city, the war elephants had already walked out of the enemy camp. Even though they deliberately slowed down in the first half of the journey for fear of trampling their own soldiers, after a while it was time to speed up the charge.

Under such circumstances, how could Yang Weizhi have the time to adjust the arrangements?
"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Fire arrows!"

Sure enough, before he could say anything else, a heavy sound of footsteps entered the city, followed by the shouts of the generals on the city wall. However, the footsteps did not stop, but became even faster.

"Go move the stuff! Hold on!"

At this point, Yang Weizhi had no idea what was happening. After shouting to the terrified soldiers, he rushed directly to the city gate, apparently preparing to reinforce it with his own flesh and blood.

Afraid?

He was afraid too.

If the city gate was breached, people like him would inevitably be crushed underneath.

By then, not to mention flesh and blood, even hard objects will be crushed into powder under the trampling of that behemoth.

But he finally made it.

Even though this one was as meaningless as "removing the crown on your head in the hope of a fight", he still took it up without hesitation.

“Bang~~~!!!”

"General!"

With a loud noise like a landslide, this fighter who had fought for his life on the battlefield for most of his life was finally pushed back several steps by the force coming from the city gate.

However, this retreat not only did not make him feel afraid, but instead seemed to arouse the wildness hidden in his blood.

"You bastard! I won't retreat!"

"General!"

Seeing their general throwing his entire body on the city gate again like a moth to a flame, some of the surrounding soldiers actually followed closely behind him, trying to withstand the attack of the beast with their flesh and blood bodies.

"Okay! You are a real man! Today we will serve you as your majesty."

“Bang~~~!!!”

Yang Weizhi's bold words were finally interrupted by a huge force, but when he was about to rush forward as before, he saw several cracks already appeared on the city gate.

I'm afraid I can't bear it anymore.

The thought in his mind did not slow down his body's movements. Before he could even take half a breath, Yang Weizhi pressed his back against the city gate again.

At this moment, decades of battlefield experience emerged in his mind one by one. As far as he could see, everyone's movements were much slower than usual.

Why did they run away? Didn't we agree to guard the city gates until they were broken?
Yes, how could such a thin city gate possibly withstand the attack of a giant beast?

They probably had the idea of ​​escaping as soon as they saw the war elephants.

“Bang~~~!!!”

"Pfft~~!"

The giant beast outside the city crashed again, and Yang Weizhi rushed out in response.

At this time, the city gate had already collapsed, and the force transmitted to him was several times stronger than before. When he was about to get up from the ground, he spat out a mouthful of blood and fell heavily to the ground.

"I will not retreat."

The difficult struggle ultimately failed to make his body stand up as before. Feeling the strength constantly ebbing away, Yang Weizhi also had a sense of enlightenment in his heart.

Tried my best.

Already tried my best.

"Boom!"

Unfortunately, despite all efforts, Chuxiong was still lost.

It’s a pity that I didn’t live to see Your Majesty recover the country.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

His Majesty must be able to save the situation in Yunnan.

It might work.

Thoughts flashed through my mind, and the sounds of heavy footsteps reached my ears.

But when Yang Weizhi was quietly waiting for the city gate to fall, the earth-shaking footsteps seemed to gradually fade away, followed by a familiar yet unfamiliar explosion.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Fowling gun? Fire gun?
I'm afraid he is really going to die, otherwise how could I hear such a sound here?
But why hasn’t the city gate been broken yet?

Could it be that the chieftains in the city surrendered directly?

With this in mind, Yang Weizhi struggled to reach for the sword at his waist. When he tried to use it to support his body, another burst of cheers came from the sky.

"Wan Sheng!"

(End of this chapter)