The Revolt of the Three Feudatories: All-in at the start in Beijing

Seeing that Jiang Muning had stopped, Gao Qilong put his hands on his hips and looked at Jiang Muning with interest.

"I'm asking you!"

"Why rebel?"

Jiang Muning turned his head to look behind him, but he wasn't looking at the soldiers. Instead, he was looking at the flames getting closer and closer to the north gate. It wasn't a fire, but the torches of the army.

Remembering the words Gao Qilong had blurted out after gambling with him, he gritted his teeth and stepped forward!

"General, Wu Sangui first betrayed the Ming Dynasty and hanged the Yongli Emperor of the Southern Ming. Then he rebelled against the Qing Dynasty and attempted to restore the Ming, and subsequently rebelled against various rebel armies and declared himself emperor. He can truly be described as a fickle and unpredictable person!"

"Now the Han Dynasty is thriving, the people live in peace and prosperity, and the army is rising through the ranks based on merit. Even my younger brother has been promoted to the rank of adjutant general and is hereditarily appointed as the commander of a local garrison. How can I not rebel?"

Gao Qilong was a general of the Great Western Army who followed the Southern Ming in resisting the Eight Banners. He hated fickle people the most and had many complaints in private, but few people knew about them.

Or rather, they know but dare not say it!

Thus, Jiang Muning could only tell the truth about Wu Sangui's affairs, and then add that his younger brother was a Han Army adjutant. What does this mean?

This means there are people on the Han side.

We won't be bullied anymore!

As expected, Gao Qilong's expression turned gloomy and uncertain.

Martial artists all have their own pride. Ma Bao, apart from his personal bravery, knew nothing about troop deployment. As his deputy, Gao Qilong was quite unhappy.

In particular, Wu Sangui was fickle and capricious.

Thinking of this, Gao Qilong narrowed his eyes!

"What are your plans?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Muning was overjoyed and spurred his horse forward.

"General, the Han army has already assembled outside the city, and all lighting equipment is ready. As soon as the city gates are opened and the drawbridge is lowered, the Han army can charge into the city!"

"You know my character; I always mean what I say. If we can welcome the Han army into the city this time, the credit will be yours!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qilong quickly climbed the city wall. Even though the moon was too crescent to see clearly outside the city, he could still see the metal reflecting the afterglow of the setting sun.

"To lower or not to lower!"

"If I surrender, how am I any different from Wu Sangui?"

"If we don't surrender, are we destined to remain under Wu Sangui's command, with no hope of ever rising above our circumstances?"

Jiang Muning, who was below, saw that the firelight was getting closer and closer, less than three hundred paces away, and rushed forward and shouted anxiously.

"Gao Qilong!"

"If you're a man, give me a word!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qilong could no longer tolerate Wu Sangui and immediately drew his long sword.

"Open the city gates!!!"

"Lower the suspension bridge!"

"Archers, prepare!"

These three thousand men were all Gao Qilong's direct subordinates. They had been through thick and thin since the uprising in the southwest. Upon receiving the order, they did not hesitate at all and began to move the sandbags behind the city gate.

This was prepared to prevent artillery fire. Wu Sangui had suffered at the hands of Yue Le, so he naturally had to imitate it perfectly!

A series of clicking sounds followed.

Jiang Muning was overjoyed. Holding a torch, he went to the top of the city wall, swayed it three times to the left and five times to the right, and then extinguished the torch!

This is the secret code agreed upon by both sides!

Before long, three hundred paces from the city, torches were lit, illuminating Han soldiers dressed in cloth-covered iron armor and wielding long swords, hammers, and shields.

Jiang Zhaoning, as the main force of this attack, organized a total of 20,000 armored soldiers from twenty garrisons. He and Jiang Zhaoning served as the vanguard, entering the city to fight street battles at the forefront, while the musketeers followed behind to fire their guns.

Seeing that the city gates were open and the drawbridge was lowered, Jiang Zhaoning drew his sword and pointed it at Fangcheng!

"His Majesty the Emperor has decreed that anyone who captures the false emperor Wu Sangui, regardless of their status, will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver, granted the title of county marquis, and bestowed with a fiefdom!"

Regardless of rank or status, even ordinary soldiers could try to take Wu Sangui's head from the general.

This immediately ignited the army's enthusiasm.

"Kill Wu Sangui! Kill Wu Sangui!"

……

At that moment, Ma Bao had just ridden his horse to the North Gate and happened to see Gao Qilong ordering the city gates to be opened and Jiang Muning waving torches. He was immediately furious.

"Gao Qilong!"

"You dare betray His Majesty!"

"Truly a traitor, utterly disloyal and without regard for his father!"

Having served as Ma Bao's adjutant for several years, Gao Qilong instinctively felt fear upon hearing Ma Bao's reprimands. Jiang Muning immediately stepped forward to support him, then looked at Ma Bao.

"Ma Bao, you are nothing but a brainless fool. Relying on Wu Sangui's favor, you have acted lawlessly and owe Jiang a debt of 368 taels of silver. Do you even know that?"

"Someone with your gambling skills, do you even know the difference between a ruler and a father?"

Gao Qilong was not good with words, but Jiang Muning, a gambling addict, had a mouth that was like a motor, making Ma Bao so angry that his teeth itched.

Seeing that he had already gathered more than two thousand men around him, all of them elite troops from the central army, Ma Bao could no longer restrain himself and immediately gave the order.

"Kill! Whoever captures the city gate will be promoted three ranks!"

The surrounding area was already brightly lit by torches, which Gao Qilong did intentionally to make it easier for his men to shoot arrows or fire muskets.

When Wu Jun charged forward, he was met with a hail of arrows, interspersed with lead bullets fired from arquebuses.

With a commanding view from their vantage point, Wu's army lost nearly three hundred elite soldiers in just one round, who retreated one by one to Ma Bao's side.

Just then, Wu Sangui, clad in golden armor, arrived with over five thousand elite troops, blocking the entire north gate.

Upon seeing that the rebel was Gao Qilong, Wu Sangui was not surprised at all, and simply asked indifferently.

"Gao Qilong, you were a general in the Great Western Army, and later joined the Southern Ming in resisting the Qing. I did not look down on your background, and I have treated you well. Why have you rebelled against me?"

"Close the city gates now, and I will forgive and forget what happened!"

Upon hearing this, Gao Qilong, standing atop the city wall, took a deep breath, then looked intently at Wu Sangui, a slight sneer appearing on his lips.

"Wu Sangui, there's no point in dwelling on your deeds. If you want to seize this North Gate, you'll have to pay with your life!"

Although the words were simple, the expression on his face was something Wu Sangui could not tolerate, because Galdan had shown him the same expression when he looked at him.

I just look down on you!

Just as Wu Sangui was furious and ordered an attack on the city, he heard a deafening shout!

"To be appointed general and ennobled, we swear to kill Wu Sangui!"

At the same time, from the north gate, Han soldiers dressed in khaki cloth armor and carrying spears, swords, and shields charged towards Wu Sangui step by step.

It's over, it's over!

Losing Nanyang means losing the Central Plains.

If I had known, I would have launched the decisive battle first. At least, whether I won or lost, I would have been able to give myself an explanation.

It seems we have no choice but to retreat!

Thinking of this, Wu Sangui immediately gave the order!

"Ma Bao, gather the army and head out of the city through the south gate to Wancheng!"

"Messenger, convey my decree: all troops must immediately withdraw to Wancheng. Except for weapons, armor, and cannons, nothing else is to be taken!"

That's right, Wu Sangui's thinking was very simple: since they couldn't stop them, they would fight a decisive battle with the Han army in Wancheng!

Turn the page, and you'll find yourself in another world.