Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

There were quite a few people who came to say goodbye; I encountered several along the way.

Mao Zilian also led eighteen strong servants into the street. When they encountered Han Qixian, they bowed to him and exchanged very brief glances.

More and more ministers from various ethnic groups gathered and waited outside the collapsed building.

Finally, Ma Kuo led Yang Zaixing and Hua Rong out, and his soldiers also went to fetch warhorses.

"Are the Ming Dynasty's armors of good quality?" Ma Kuo asked smugly as he mounted his horse.

Li Shi quickly exclaimed, "Unparalleled in this era!"

Ma Kuo then pointed to his soldiers and asked, "Are the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty brave and valiant?"

Zhang Hao exclaimed, "Unrivaled under heaven!"

"Hahahaha!" Ma Kuo burst into laughter.

The brothers Wanyan Zongpan and Wanyan Zonggu also came to see him off, and they were very helpless when they heard this.

Wu Qimai's spies were also observing in the shadows, and secretly slipped back to the palace to report the news.

Apart from those in the know, no one took it seriously.

The Ming envoys were about to leave; this was merely a show of force.

There were a total of fifty-three people who entered the city: Ma Kuo, Hua Rong, Yang Zaixing, thirty cavalrymen, and twenty musketeers.

Musketeers also rode warhorses, specifically for traveling.

The brothers Zongpan and Zonggu came over to pay their respects and personally led the Ming envoy out of the city.

Arriving at a street corner, heading west leads to the imperial city, while heading south leads out of the city.

"Qiang!"

Ma Kuo suddenly drew his sword and killed Wanyan Zonggu, who was leading his horse: "Follow me and kill!"

The fifty-three men turned their horses around and charged toward the imperial city.

Mao Zilian led eighteen strong servants and rushed towards Wanyan Zongpan and his entourage.

The incident happened so suddenly that everyone was stunned.

Wanyan Zongpan was pinned to the ground by Mao Zilian. Looking at his younger brother who had been hacked to death in the street, he shouted in shock and anger, "We've already made peace talks, why are you going back on your word?"

Han Qi spoke first: "Your Highness, do not panic, and everyone, please do not be alarmed."

"The Ming envoy made it clear long ago that Wu Qimai had killed countless people, and he must die before peace can be negotiated."

"The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are a benevolent army and will not kill indiscriminately. You should go and appease the officials and people in the city."

With Han Qixian, the former chief Han official, speaking up, many civil officials immediately calmed down.

They dispersed and went about their business, dispatching their subordinates and attendants to quickly appease the people in the city.

Even Wanyan Zongpan stopped making a fuss and obediently let himself be pressed to the ground.

He knew he wouldn't die; otherwise, he would have been dead long ago.

Chapter 3485 The Great Jin Seizes Power

Han Qixian squatted down beside Wanyan Zongpan and said softly, "Your Highness, there are still Jurchen soldiers outside the city. You need to go and appease them personally."

"It is said that Wu Qimai, in order to seize power, leaked the entire military strategy of the Jin Dynasty and betrayed the Jin soldiers at the front."

"Now, for his own selfish reasons, he has gone back on his word and sabotaged the peace talks, trying to drag the remaining soldiers down with him to their deaths."

Wanyan Zongpan was deathly pale; this was a threat.

Betraying the soldiers on the front lines was exactly what Wanyan Zongpan did.

If he doesn't cooperate with the Ming envoy today, his actions will inevitably be publicized, and he will be unacceptable to the Jurchen tribes, becoming a traitor hated by everyone.

The Korean company first asked, "Has the Crown Prince understood?"

"Understood, understood, I will immediately leave the city to appease the soldiers!" Wanyan Zongpan nodded repeatedly.

……

Like city gates, palace gates also have opening and closing times.

At this very moment, the east gate of the imperial city is wide open.

The guards were very relaxed because a preliminary peace agreement had been reached.

The Ming envoy is leaving today. Once the Ming emperor grants permission, the two sides can formally and peacefully resolve the issue.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves grew closer and closer.

The guards frowned at first, thinking that some nobleman was riding his horse nearby.

Then it dawned on me that the sound of hooves was not right; it was definitely not the sound of several horses running.

"Dozens of cavalrymen charged in and quickly closed the city gates!"

The guards on the city wall cried out in terror.

The guards outside the city gate rushed in, while the guards inside struggled to push the city gate open.

"Rush over!"

Yang Zaixing took the lead, braving the arrows flying from the city wall, and charged toward the increasingly narrow city gate.

Actually, it doesn't matter if the raid fails.

Because Wanyan Zongpan had already been forced to leave the city to appease the army.

If the "truth" of Wu Qi's betrayal of the soldiers at the front is revealed, the Jin soldiers outside the city will surely rebel.

They were routed by the Ming army and then the emperor unjustly executed Jin Wuzhu. They needed an outlet for their grievances, fears, and anger.

The tyrannical ruler Wuqimai was the perfect target for venting his frustrations!

All the blame will be placed on Wu Qimai.

It was Wu Qimai who harmed the soldiers on the front lines, and it was Wu Qimai who unjustly killed loyal ministers and generals.

If it weren't for Wuqimai's collusion with foreign enemies, the brave and fearless Jurchen soldiers certainly wouldn't have lost!

Now, the Ming envoy's decision to execute Wu Qimai certainly does not constitute going back on one's word or breaking one's promise.

The Ming envoy was avenging the Jurchen warriors!

The Ming envoy was seeking justice for the loyal ministers and generals of the Jin Dynasty!

Wanyan Zongpan was not an unfaithful or unfilial descendant.

The eldest prince was putting righteousness above family ties, seeking justice for countless Jurchen soldiers!

Even if Yang Zaixing fails to break into the imperial city, the Jin troops outside the city will be brought in to completely surround the imperial city where Wu Qimai is located.

Civil officials of various ethnic groups also sided with the Ming envoy.

Outside the east gate of the imperial city, arrows rained down.

Although the Ming Dynasty's elite cavalry did not equip their warhorses with heavy armor like the heavy cavalry, they did not.

But there are also lightweight vests, especially after cotton was promoted.

The vital parts of the warhorse were covered with cotton armor.

A normal pair of cotton armor weighs thirty to forty pounds, but a horse's cotton armor is much lighter.

Because it was mainly used for arrow protection, the compressed cotton padding was not thick, and the riveted iron plates were not numerous.

At that moment, countless arrows fell on the armor and horse armor, turning Yang Zaixing and his horse into a pincushion.

It looks scary, but the injury isn't serious.

Just as the city gate was about to close, Yang Zaixing rushed in through the gap that was only wide enough for two people.

In their panic, the guards inside failed to use their spears to block the doorway.

Riding the momentum of his charge, Yang Zaixing took down two people in succession.

After breaking through the guards, Yang Zaixing continued running for another twenty paces before finally slowing down and coming to a stop.

Then, he reined in his horse, turned around, and charged back, his body and horse riddled with arrows, making him appear to the guards like a demon descended to earth.

"Bang bang bang bang!"

Hua Rong, leading twenty musketeers, was already on horseback firing at the city walls.

"The southern bandits have firearms, run!"

These newly formed imperial guards were all sons of nobles.

Although he practiced martial arts regularly, he spent more time studying. Occasionally, he would go to the battlefield with the army, but it was only to suppress rebels—there was no danger, and he could even earn merits.

The Ming army's firearms were a well-known fact to them, and this was due to deliberate propaganda by the Jin court.

The Jin army suffered repeated defeats on the front lines and always needed to find a plausible excuse.

Gradually, a consensus was reached that the Jurchen soldiers were still very brave.

The reason they were often defeated was that the Ming army did not have martial ethics and relied entirely on firearms to turn the tide of battle.

The message spread that the Ming Dynasty's firearms were invincible, and this belief took root in the hearts of the people in the capital.

Therefore, Yang Zaixing charged into the city gate alone, and the Jurchen guards did not flee on the spot.

But as soon as the muskets fired outside the imperial city, the Jurchen guards on the city walls immediately fled, and the Jurchen guards at the city gates followed suit.

Yang Zaixing pursued and killed them all the way, and Ma Kuo also led the rest of his soldiers in.

The imperial city was successfully captured by the Ming army, but there was still a palace city inside.

Chapter 3486 Peace Talks

When Ma Kuo led his troops to the palace gate, Wu Qimai had already personally arrived, fully armored.

Wu Qimai stood on the city wall, accompanied by several of his sons.

The leaders of the imperial city and palace guards he appointed were Bai Yangong, a cousin of Poluhuo (historically changed to Bai Yanjing to avoid a taboo), and Wudabu, the youngest son of Wanyan Talan.

Bai Yangong's real name was Wanyan Yaoshe. Just by looking at the Han name he gave himself, you can tell that he was a Jurchen nobleman who actively pursued Sinicization.

Wu Qimai was furious and no longer wanted to speak, so he let the more cultured Bai Yangong take charge of the negotiations.

Bai Yangong angrily rebuked, "Ma Kuo, you have wasted your time studying the classics. Do you even know what integrity and trustworthiness are?"

"When two countries go to war, let them fight. Even if you launch a surprise attack, we admit that our strategies are inferior."

“But you lied and said that peace talks had been held and everything had been agreed upon, yet you broke your promise and launched a surprise attack on the palace.”

"You have been sent as an envoy to the Jin Dynasty many times. Have the Taizu Emperor and the current Emperor ever treated you unfairly?"

"When have we never been treated to good wine and meat?"

"You have damaged the reputation of the Ming Dynasty in order to gain merit for yourself, which is disloyal."

"You, as an envoy, attacked the capital of another country; this is disrespectful."

"You broke your promise, which is untrustworthy."

"You repay kindness with enmity, which is unjust."

"How can someone who is disloyal, unjust, rude, and untrustworthy have the face to live in this world?"

"Does the mighty Ming Dynasty lack talented individuals to appoint someone like you as an envoy?"

After being thoroughly berated, Ma Kuo felt a surge of satisfaction and burst into laughter: "What I call disloyalty, injustice, rudeness, and dishonesty! Wu Qimai, as the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, leaked military secrets and betrayed the soldiers at the front. What is he?"

Did the emperor betray the soldiers on the front lines?

All the guards turned to look at Wu Qimai.

Wu Qimai finally snapped: "You're spouting nonsense! Shoot him dead!"

Ma Kuo quickly rode back, and when the rain of arrows stopped, he sent a loud-voiced cavalryman to shout: "Emperor Wuqimai of the Jin Kingdom has revealed his entire military strategy to our Great Ming in order to regain power."

“Even before the war started, he sent someone to Nagamatsu Island to deliver a message.”

"And it was clearly written in the secret letter that the Jin army's western route would retreat along the entire front, luring our army deep into the territory and then seizing the opportunity to encircle and annihilate it."