On the 29th day of the fifth month of the second year of the Lingwu reign of the Daxin era.
Under the instruction of the current prime minister Qin Ruhui, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Su Chen, carrying the order from the Ministry of War of the Great Xin Dynasty, led an army of 50,000 into Nanjing in the Liangjiang region to relieve the garrison at Yingtianfu (the imperial palace).
Shen Shi Shi Fen.
The Imperial Guards stationed at the capital city spotted a large number of fully armed imperial troops approaching the city from the city walls.
Upon seeing this from atop the city wall, the on-duty commander of the Imperial Guard immediately ordered: "Close all gates of the imperial city! All Imperial Guards, prepare to meet the enemy!"
"Messenger, immediately report to General He that tens of thousands of troops have surrounded the city! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
At the command of the Imperial Guard commander, thousands of Imperial Guard soldiers sprang into action on the narrow walls of the imperial city, armed with swords, spears, and halberds, ready for battle.
Outside the imperial city, 50,000 troops from the Liangjiang region advanced step by step towards the imperial city in an attack formation.
The Viceroy of Liangjiang, Su Chen, rode a pure white Akhal-Teke horse at the very front of the army, acting arrogantly and domineeringly.
Behind him were hundreds of Yuhou Army soldiers on horseback, as well as Liu Feng, the commander of the Red-Clad Guards who came to help, and hundreds of Red-Clad Guards warriors dressed in flying fish robes.
"Who goes there? Halt immediately!"
On the walls of the imperial city, the commander of the Imperial Guards on duty immediately shouted sternly, "This is the most important place in the imperial city. Have you brought troops here to rebel?"
"Archers, prepare! If any of the scoundrels dare to take another step forward, shoot them down with a hail of arrows!"
brush!
Upon hearing this, squads of Imperial Guard archers immediately emerged from the crenellations of the city walls, drawing their powerful bows and crossbows to full draw, their arrows pointing directly towards the outside of the imperial city.
Seeing this, the captain of the personal guards of Su Chen, the governor of Liangjiang, outside the city, shouted arrogantly to the city wall, saying, "We are the Liangjiang New Army, dispatched by the Ministry of War to Yingtian Prefecture to relieve the garrison!"
"Look carefully, this is the Ministry of War's troop rotation order!"
As he spoke, the captain of the personal guards on horseback swiftly unfolded the Ministry of War's transfer order in his hand, waved it at the Imperial Guard commander atop the city walls, and continued:
"The Ministry of War has issued a troop rotation order. You are to immediately line up and leave the city to complete the troop rotation with the Liangjiang New Army. Do not cause any trouble!"
snort!
On the walls of the imperial city, the Imperial Guard commander sneered and said warily, "The Ministry of War is transferring the Liangjiang New Army to the capital for a troop rotation. How come we haven't received an imperial edict from the Emperor for such an important matter?"
"Besides, even if it's a rotation of troops in the capital, it should be an internal rotation within the Imperial Guards. When has it ever been your turn, the new army from the Liangjiang region, to come to the capital for a rotation?"
"In my opinion, you are clearly planning to raise an army and rebel!"
Seeing that the Imperial Guards on the city walls were not having any of it, Governor-General Su Chen of Liangjiang stopped wasting words and simply waved to his vanguard, saying calmly, "Begin the siege!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
"All troops prepare to attack the city!"
At Su Chen's command, the vanguard (suicide squad) of the Liangjiang New Army immediately carried ladders, battering rams, and siege engines, and headed straight for the imperial city with great momentum.
Seeing this, the Imperial Guards on duty on the city wall also hurriedly began to fight back.
"Archers, prepare!"
"put--"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
In an instant, a barrage of arrows was unleashed from the city walls of the imperial city. The arrows, like locusts swarming across the land, rained down on the attacking Liangjiang New Army.
However, the Liangjiang New Army, which had already made thorough preparations for the siege, was unlikely to retreat easily.
The soldiers in the vanguard raised their shields above their heads to deflect the arrows from the Imperial Guards on the city walls.
At the same time, the archers in the Liangjiang New Army also began to advance into the range of their crossbows, and then, under the command of their generals, they retaliated against the Imperial Guards on the city walls.
"Archers, fire!"
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Arrows flew everywhere again.
However, this time the arrows were aimed from outside the city towards the city walls.
The Imperial Guards defending the city and the Liangjiang New Army attacking the city exchanged fire at each other from a distance of one or two hundred paces until the vanguard soldiers used ladders to climb to the top of the city wall, at which point a fierce close-quarters combat began.
In an instant, the capital city of the Great Xin Dynasty was filled with shouts of battle and cries of agony.
Meanwhile, inside the Kunning Palace.
Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, who was lying on the dragon bed with the three-year-old Lingwu Emperor taking a nap, was awakened from her sleep by a faint sound of shouting and killing.
Su Wan'er frowned slightly, gesturing for the palace maid to put her off the bright red phoenix robe back on, and asked in a slightly angry voice, "Eunuch Cai, what's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"
Outside Kunning Palace, Cai He, the Grand Secretary of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who was on standby at any time, immediately reported to Su Wan'er inside the palace: "Reporting to Your Majesty the Empress Dowager, this old servant has already sent someone to investigate!"
oh?
At this moment, Su Wan'er, who was inside Kunning Palace, finally finished getting ready and walked out of the palace with the help of palace maids, ready to listen to what had happened herself.
No sooner had Su Wan'er stepped out of Kunning Palace than He Changdong, the commander of the Imperial Guards, hurriedly headed straight for Kunning Palace.
The impetuous He Changdong, not even bothering to greet Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, knelt directly on one knee before her and said in a solemn tone:
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The treacherous minister Qin Ruhui, in collusion with the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Su Chen, has launched a rebellion. At this moment, Su Chen is leading tens of thousands of Liangjiang New Army soldiers to launch a strong attack on the capital!"
"What?"
Upon hearing this news, Su Wan'er felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her mind went blank, and her delicate and graceful body went limp, as if all her strength had been drained away.
If it weren't for the palace maids supporting her, she would have fainted on the spot.
Kneeling on the ground, the Imperial Guard Commander He Changdong, oblivious to Su Wan'er's loss of composure, continued his report: "Your Majesty, the defenses of the capital city are not as easily defended as those of other cities."
"The Imperial Guards inside the city number only a little over ten thousand. Faced with the fierce attack of tens of thousands of rebel troops from Liangjiang, it's only a matter of time before the city falls!"
After a pause, He Changdong continued, "Your Majesty, this humble general has just led his troops to scout the entire capital. Currently, only the West Gate remains the weak point in the rebel army's attack."
"This humble general dares to advise Her Majesty the Empress Dowager that, before the rebel army breaches the capital, I shall personally lead my personal guards to escort His Majesty and Her Majesty out of the city."
"Otherwise, if the city falls, I will have no choice but to die for my country along with the Emperor and the Empress Dowager!"
"Your Majesty, as long as we're alive, we can always rebuild. If we don't leave now, it will truly be too late!"
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