Southern Ming, my destiny is too abstract

Chapter 56 Heavy Rain Without an Umbrella

Zhu Cixuan certainly did not have the ability to divide the sea.

But he has the skills to swim in the Han River.

[Han River Diving: You can't drown in the river.]

"Go ashore and approach the first battlement at the city gate, where the outer sloping part of the gate is."

"Maduba faces the river to the east, and the city wall is half a foot lower. You only need to run two steps and step on the ridge to climb up the city wall."

No one knows how to build a wall better than me.

The criterion for building a wall is whether it can be climbed over.

Even if the wall of Maduba was twice as high, Zhu Cixuan felt that he could easily climb over it.

Zhu Cixuan ordered the arrangement of one hundred good swimmers selected from the Hongsha Siamese soldiers.

Bai Wenxuan, who had already advised several times, said again: "Your Highness, crossing the city wall at night is indeed a good idea, but how can we let you go into battle in person?"

Ma Baotong said: "It's too dangerous, let me go."

Zhu Cixuan put on his oil-silk raincoat and cloak and said, "You two landlubbers from Shaanxi Province, how can you cross the river at night in such a heavy rain?"

"Just cover us well."

"Dangerous? Can it be as dangerous as the ancient city?"

Zhu Cixuan looked at the two of them seriously.

Deng Kai and others were convinced by him after the battle with Gu Cheng and have been obeying his orders.

However, these generals in the town were not aware of his cheat and still considered his safety as their top priority.

Bai Wenxuan and Ma Bao were the most trusted generals of Emperor Yongli, and he did not want the prince to take any risks.

"The country has been defeated and has fallen into the Middle-earth. There is no other way except for us to die for it."

"Emperor Longwu and Emperor Shaowu died for him."

"Li Chengdong, Qu Shisi, Wen Anzhi died for him, and Gao Wengui died for him."

"You may also die for your country in the future. If the civil and military officials are like this, should the king and the crown prince avoid death?"

"I am already eighteen years old, and the world has been in turmoil for seventeen years."

"The four emperors of the Ming Dynasty all died when their cities were broken and their kings were destroyed."

Zhu Cixuan looked around at the civil and military officials around him and said solemnly:
"I will not do this. I will be the vanguard alone, unlike my father, the Yongli Emperor, who fled when the emperor escaped and his subjects fled when the city fell."

"You are in the front. If you die and the city is broken, you will die again."

Bai Wenxuan and Ma Bao's expressions were somewhat moved, their lips moved, but they stopped trying to persuade him to come in, and just leaned forward again to show their loyalty.

Having witnessed the prince charging into battle and slaying generals, they also understood that the prince would not act without a purpose.

The prince who was born in the south was indeed more suitable for crossing the Nujiang River at night than them.

The guard beside him handed over a dozen jade tablets and said, "Your Highness, I'm afraid you won't be able to swim with all these."

Zhu Cixuan tied a specially made leather belt to hold the jade scepter.

"You are still not confident in my military strength, so please keep an eye on me."

Zhu Cixuan inserted the jade tablet, stood on the shore and dived into the turbulent Nujiang River.

Everyone on the shore exclaimed in surprise.

A jade sceptre weighed nearly one jin, and the prince, carrying a weight of twenty jin, sank into the river in an instant, and disappeared without a trace.

In a panic, everyone wanted to rush down to save people.

The waves splashed and Zhu Cixuan emerged again.

Jade does not float on water, so he was pulled to the bottom of the river in an instant.

My strength is too low and I can’t swim up no matter how hard I try.

The Nujiang River surged endlessly under the heavy rain, trapping people in the turbulent flow and drifting with the water.

When he was about to choke on water, a surge of strength inexplicably surged out of his body, allowing him to float to the surface.

Everything was fine, except that I inexplicably saw the shadow of the Prince Charming on the river bank, and then the energy began to continue.

"Suicide Squad, follow me."

Hundreds of soldiers wearing raincoats and carrying buoyancy devices rushed into the river.

The Nujiang River under the heavy rain is like an angry beast. The mother river that feeds the Mon people of Mawlamyine has lost its former gentleness and is wildly devouring everything.

Crossing the river at this time and place at night is purely a gamble with your life.

but.

The Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, a nobleman more honorable than their king, rushed to the front.

What do these untouchables have to be afraid of?

The pound of gold given to each member of the suicide squad before departure was enough to buy ten of their lives.

Looking at the soldiers drifting in the Huanglong River, Bai Wenxuan wiped the rain off his face. He could not see anything clearly under the rain.

Even the nearby Madu Bacheng could only be seen as an outline, and the sounds of fighting were no less than a violent storm.

……

The river waves submerged Zhu Cixuan again and again, and the paddling of his arms could not resist the wrath of nature.

Only the external force surging from his body allowed him to successfully surface again and again and raise his head to breathe.

Occasionally, I could hear the screams of the suicide squad.

The rain was so heavy that even the Dutch warships left the river and docked at the port on the seaside.

Only some boats of Bei Daiyun's navy were still docked at the ferry at the north gate.

The heavy rain lashed the surface of the Nujiang River, and no strange sounds could be heard.

The people on the boat focused their attention on the battles at the north and east gates, shooting arrows from the side from time to time.

No one noticed the dozens of human figures floating across the Nujiang River.

After hearing the sounds of fighting outside the eight cities of Madu, Zhu Cixuan began to move towards the river bank.

Taste the light salty flavor of sea water.

Zhu Cixuan dived into a wave of the river, and his body hit the shore east of Madu Bacheng.

He hurried to the foot of the city wall and sat down to recover his strength. One by one, figures jumped out of the river and onto the shore, slowly gathering towards him.

I roughly counted the number of people and found that four out of ten were still alive.

After a short rest, the soldiers silently drew their daggers.

Zhu Cixuan was the only one in front, climbing up the city wall to the Eight Gate Tower of Madu.

"who?"

The twenty or so guards stationed on the city wall roared.

He rushed forward with his weapon drawn.

Madu Bacheng faces the river to the east and the sea to the south. Bei Daiyun and the Dutch in the city never thought that someone would cross the Nujiang River on a rainy night to attack both sides.

Only a small number of soldiers were deployed, and the main forces were concentrated on defending the west gate and the north gate.

Zhu Cixuan opened his raincoat like a jade-faced grenade king, pulled out the jade scepter with both hands, and fired continuously.

A brick hit him and a soldier fell to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, half of the defenders on the city wall fell.

The Siamese soldiers who followed them up immediately rushed forward to finish off the enemy. In a blink of an eye, only the suicide squad soldiers were left on the city wall.

Zhu Cixuan retrieved the jade tablet and ordered, "Put on their weapons and clothes and go to the north gate."

A quarter of an hour later.

The Hongsha soldiers at the gate of Madu Bacheng looked at the oil-silk raincoats on Zhu Cixuan and others.

The cloak covered his face and his face could not be seen clearly.

But it doesn't matter. Bei Daiyun has been paying the Dutch and the soldiers of the Malacca Sultanate for this month. The members are complicated and they don't know each other.

Apart from Bei Daiyun’s soldiers, could there be any other Ming troops in the city?
What's more, judging from the fine texture of the silk in the raincoat and the sophisticated equipment, they must be elite soldiers that Bie Daiyun hired at great expense.

Hongsha Bing asked in awe, "Sir, what are you doing?"

Zhu Cixuan pulled out a piece of paper and said, "We are here to take over the North Gate under the orders of Bie Daiyun."

Hong Shabing took the paper blankly without even looking at the order on it.

He can read and guard the city gate.

Zhu Cixuan ordered the suicide squad to move forward and remove the logs blocking the city gate.

"The Dutch are about to flee. We need to bury gunpowder at the city gate and detonate it when the Ming army enters the city. This will create chaos and allow Bie Daiyun to exit the north gate and board a boat."

Hongshabing nodded as if he understood, and even ordered his men to help remove the logs.

When I saw that the twenty or so people behind them only had weapons.

Suddenly he asked, "Where's your gunpowder?"

"Wait, why are you guys tampering with the door bolt?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Hong Shabing saw a piece of jade hitting him, and then his body fell to the ground uncontrollably.

It was only when the dagger touched my neck that I heard the young man's voice.

"Do it!"

……

Madubacheng, as the earliest royal city of the Mon people, also has a royal palace.

The palace hall was brightly lit.

Bie Daiyun sat upright on his seat, and the betel nut residue scattered on the ground showed that he was not as calm as he looked.

"How long until daybreak?"

Bie Daiyun would ask about the time almost every time he finished chewing a betel nut packet.

The waiting attendant habitually replied, "Sir, there are still five hours."

Bie Daiyun sighed:

"This night is so long, even longer than the night in Avana."

On the night of Avana, the crown prince of Ming suddenly revolted. He hurriedly found Mangbai, evacuated the royal capital, reorganized his troops and sailed north. Before daybreak, the entire army moved south to Bimyu.

But tonight, he just sat there, eating betel nuts and drinking mixed tea.

"Why is the Crown Prince of Ming so sure that he can capture Maduba tonight? Does he think that the dark night of Hongshawadi will bless him?"

"In the cities of Ava and Tongu, he relied on his own bravery and killed the king to defeat the army. But in Maduba, how can one man's bravery break through the city gates?"

"Even the giant elephant can't do it."

Bie Daiyun asked doubtfully.

But the attendants remained silent.

Bie Daiyun shook his head and didn't expect them to answer.

Although firearms were difficult to use in heavy rain, the Dutch on the city wall had made preparations and put up sheds and umbrellas to keep out the rain.

The weapons used to defend the city have been weakened, but it has also increased the difficulty for the attackers, making it very difficult to even climb the walls.

"Mix me another cup of tea."

After the servant added some sesame oil and mixed it, Bie Daiyun blew the hot steam off the tea.

Just as he was about to drink, his confidant suddenly broke into the hall.

"Sir, the Ming army has entered the north city."

Bie Daiyun stumbled and the scalding tea splashed onto his hands, burning them red.

Bie Daiyun put down the tea bowl as if nothing had happened and said resignedly:

"The Crown Prince of Ming is truly blessed by the gods and Buddhas."

"Go and fetch my elephant."

The confidant knelt on the ground and cried bitterly, "Sir, I will help you escape from the city in disguise."

Bie Daiyun shook his head: "How can we just throw away the wealth and glory of three generations?"

"If I can die as a duke, my life will be worth it."

Bie Daiyun gave his final instructions: "After I die, you take my wife and children and surrender to the Crown Prince of Ming."

(End of this chapter)