If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 78

As night fell, Zhu Gaoxu led [-] cavalrymen from Tangshan and headed towards Nanjing.

This was a time he deliberately chose. As someone who has led troops to fight all year round, Zhu Gaoxu knew clearly that the success rate of attacking a camp or stealing a city at night was much higher than during the day.

After all, you can see far and clearly during the day unless it is blocked by fog, but at night, even with a torch, it is difficult to see whether the person dozens of steps away is a person wearing armor or a female orangutan without clothes. .

As for Zhu Gaoxu, he wanted to take advantage of the night to bring the army into the city, so that under the cover of night, many of his actions would be much more convenient.

The distance from Tangshan to Nanjing City is not far, and it takes less than an hour to ride a fast horse. Therefore, by the time the moon reaches the zenith, these three thousand soldiers and horses have already arrived outside Nanjing City.

Zhu Gaoxu did not ask the soldiers to enter the city immediately. Instead, he ordered the team to stop and let the horses recover their strength.

War horses are very delicate animals, which not only require great attention and care when used on the battlefield, but also require daily maintenance.

A journey like this consumes a lot of physical energy for the horse, so after stopping, the cavalry has to quickly wipe the sweat off the horse with a dry cloth to prevent it from getting cold, and at the same time feed the horse beans fried with salt to replenish its physical strength. .

It can be said that for the cavalry, the horse definitely lives a better life than himself. At least after such a march, the cavalry has to wait on the horse, while no one waits on the cavalry.

If these cavalry could understand the treatment of their European counterparts at the same time, perhaps they would be envious, because most European cavalry can obtain a knighthood, own a fiefdom such as a village, and recruit several attendants for themselves. , During the war, there were people who helped with weapons and were busy waiting on them.

But in the Ming Dynasty, there was no such good treatment. The cavalry was a soldier on a horse. Although the treatment was slightly different from that of the infantry, they were still soldiers on the whole. Unlike the knights, they could be called the aristocratic and landlord class.

Closer to home, after a period of repairs, both men and horses regained their energy. Zhu Gaoxu then led the three thousand cavalry to the city gate, and then ordered the generals to come forward and call the door.

The defenders of this city gate were Zhu Gaoxu's old troops. He had already asked the other party to let him into the city.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu could enter the city through other city gates openly with the military defense change documents in his hand, but he still chose the city gate guarded by his own people, which was safer and could increase the success rate of this matter.

However, the commander-in-chief held his weapons and shouted in front of the city gate for a long time, but no one opened the door, and no one asked or answered.

Although there were torches burning on the top of the city, there was not a single human figure visible at first glance, which made people feel strange.

"Your Highness, King of Han, something seems to be wrong." The commander of the army rode back to Zhu Gaoxu and reported to him in a low voice: "There are only torches but no people on the city top. I shouted for a long time and no one answered. This is not right!"

Of course Zhu Gaoxu knew something was wrong. He had led troops and fought in battles. Of course he knew that there should be garrison handles on the city gate at all times, especially in places like Nanjing City, where there were heavy garrison handles.

Otherwise, he wouldn't need to get a special transfer order from the Ministry of War so that the army he brought could enter the city smoothly.But the current situation made Zhu Gaoxu feel uneasy.

But his long-cherished wish was right in front of him, so Zhu Gaoxu decided to take a gamble, then rode his horse forward and shouted to the city gate: "Eldest nephew, come out! Second uncle knows you are here."

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, there were only fires and no human figures on the city gate. There was no other possibility except an ambush, and the most likely person to do all this was the good saint Zhu Zhanji.

However, following Zhu Gaoxu's voice, the person who appeared on the top of the city was not Zhu Zhanji.

But it was Zhu Zhanchun who appeared here for some unknown reason.

"Second uncle, if you are looking for my eldest brother, he should be accompanying third uncle at the gunpowder depot of the Ministry of War now! If second uncle comes to the city, you can see my eldest brother and third uncle early tomorrow morning." Zhu Zhanqi Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing at the top of the city and looking at the city, shouted to him.

Although he did not agree to Zhu Zhanji's request to borrow troops from him, it did not mean that Zhu Zhanchun would not help.

He asked Zhu Zhanji to deal with Zhu Gaosui by himself, while he waited for Zhu Gaoxu at the city gate to deal with the second uncle and the soldiers and horses he brought.

"Zhan Yun? Why are you here?" Zhu Zhan Yun's appearance exceeded Zhu Gaoxu's expectation, but it failed to panic him. Instead, he guessed that Zhu Zhan Ji might have gone to Zhu Zhan Yun to borrow troops. Let him show up here.

This idea made Zhu Gaoxu's eyes change, but then a sneer appeared on his face, and he shouted to the city: "I have been ordered by the Ministry of War to change defenses. Time is tight. I don't have time to chat with my second nephew. Ask someone to open the door. I want to Lead troops into the city."

Listening to Zhu Gaoxu's shouting, Zhu Zhanjun shook his head slightly. Of course he knew that Zhu Gaoxu said this because he felt that the recruits he had only trained for a month could not stop the three thousand elites he brought, and he was sure that as long as he did not openly call for rebellion, I have no reason or excuse to stop him from entering the city.

After all, Zhu Gaoxu had the transfer order document from the Ministry of War. It was a normal procedure for him to lead troops into the city to change defenses. Before there was an imperial edict and a new order from the Fifth Army Governor's Office or the Ministry of War, Zhu Zhanqi really had no reason to stop them from entering the city to change defenses.

But Zhu Zhanjuan was not helpless against Zhu Gaoxu.

"Second Uncle, it's too late today. Please stay here all night outside the city. Let's go back to the city tomorrow morning!" Zhu Zhanquan stood at the top of the city and shouted towards the city: "If Second Uncle is determined If you want to enter the city tonight, please leave the army behind and enter the city alone."

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt a little angry, and then his expression changed, and he asked Zhu Zhanyu in a stiff tone: "What if I have to lead the army into the city now?"

"Then I have no choice but to be rude to my second uncle. The army wants to enter the city. I wonder if I can ask the two door gods?" Of course Zhu Zhanjuan will not play with Zhu Gaoxu to persuade him to surrender with reason and emotion. He didn't have the eloquence to do anything, so he took out two things from his sleeves and threw them out.

The two things he threw out grew when they caught the wind. When they landed on the ground, they had turned into two huge figures more than ten feet tall. They were wearing golden armor and holding sharp weapons. They looked like two giant figures. A huge door god stood in front of the city gate, and his whole body was emitting a dazzling golden light. The golden light reflected the entire city, and half of the sky seemed to light up.

(End of this chapter)