Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 175: Taizu is here, Ming Dynasty is saved
In full view of everyone, the commander was captured alive.

Zuo Liangyu's troops, who were originally in high spirits and preparing to attack Xiangyin, suddenly paused and were all dumbfounded.

However, no one dared to move.

The shock from the enemy's artillery bombardment just now has not yet subsided for them.

In fact, Zuo Liangyu's refugee camp fled to the west after the first round of artillery fire.

Many refugees were so frightened by the explosion that they fled in panic with their families.

If the elite soldier camp had not been far away and the general had barely been able to control it, it would probably have been scattered by now.

This has nothing to do with being elite or not, it's human instinct.

After all, compared to our later generations who were born in peacetime and lack respect for firearms, the ancients actually knew how powerful the explosion of gunpowder was.

No talk of fireworks.

Just talking about the late Ming Dynasty, both the Ming army and the rebel army had considerable reserves of gunpowder for matchlock guns and cannons.

Explosions are common if gunpowder is not properly stored or used.

In addition, the manufacturing materials of matchlock guns and cannons were not up to standard, and barrel explosions were common.

During the Battle of Songjin, the Ming army's artillery burst rate was as high as over 30%, and the matchlock muskets burst so many times that the soldiers of the Shenjiying were so terrified of the guns in their hands that they would rather use knives than guns.

Therefore, the Ming army's regular troops knew how powerful the explosion was.

The muskets and artillery displayed by Fu Youde and Feng Sheng's troops were more than ten thousand times more powerful than those in the hands of the Ming army.
This horrific explosion flattened an area of ​​hundreds of feet to the ground. Is that the power that a cannon could produce?
Therefore, it is because we know how terrible it is that we feel fear in our hearts.

Many of Zuo Liangyu's elite troops were trembling and almost ran away, let alone charging at the enemy.

The situation remained deadlocked for a while.

While those generals were trying hard to keep their troops from collapsing, they sent people to discuss what to do with Zuo Menggeng.

But Zuo Menggeng was also at a loss, turning around anxiously on the spot like an ant on a hot pan.

Fortunately, after a while, the soldier who had delivered the walkie-talkie to them came over and told them that Zuo Liangyu had been invited over for negotiations and asked them to stay where they were.

At the same time, about four to five hundred cavalrymen slowly came out of the city, holding guns in their hands, and staring at the huge army in front of them with seriousness.

Zuo Liangyu's troops were already in a state of panic. Under the threat of guns and artillery, they could only obey orders obediently, just like the French who were attacked by Germany in Paris. They were like lambs to be slaughtered and dared not move a single step.

In comparison, Zuo Liangyu's situation was slightly better - he could move.

After being captured by the sixty-year-old man Fu Youde and taken to the Ming army command post on the hillside, the two soldiers in charge of escorting him released him.

It was not until this time that Zuo Liangyu could see clearly the situation inside the tent.

This is a large square tent with a long table in the middle. On the table there are maps, tea cups, the same small black box that could make sounds, and a long glass box that could glow.

There is also a table on the left side, on which is still a big black box about three or four feet long. There is a person sitting in front of the black box, with strange decorations on his ears. There are wires connecting the decorations on his head to the big black box in front of him, and no one knows what they are used for.

"Report to His Majesty that Zuo Liangyu has been captured."

Fu Youde walked over and said to the announcer.

The announcer then called headquarters.

The announcer at the headquarters in Changsha reported to Zhu Yuanzhang.

A moment later, the two sides connected the telegram.

Fu Youde put on his headphones and said to Zhu, "Your Majesty, we have successfully completed the mission and captured Zuo Liangyu alive."

"Well, well done, let him answer it."

"Yes."

Fu Youde took off his headphones and said, "His Majesty wants to talk to you. You only have one chance. Choose carefully whether to live or die."

Zuo Liangyu took the headphones with a little hesitation, put them on like him, and then tentatively asked, "Who?"

"I am Zhu Yuanzhang."

A strong voice came from the other side, and then said: "Zuo Liangyu, you should be sentenced to death. But considering that you have been loyal and diligent throughout your life, and that you were often forced to do things against your will, I will spare your life. I order you to lead your troops to Changsha to see me immediately."

Zuo Liangyu did not dare to say anything offensive, but asked cautiously: "You said you are His Majesty Taizu, what is your proof?"

"hehe."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "You will know when you get to Changsha."

The signal over there was disconnected.

Zuo Liangyu asked a few more questions, but got no response, so he had no choice but to take off his headphones.

Fu Youde asked, "What does His Majesty ask you to do?"

"Let me go to Changsha to meet him."

Zuo Liangyu's face didn't look very good.

"Why, you don't want to go?"

Feng Sheng sneered at the side and said, "Remember, if His Majesty wants to kill you, it's no different from killing a pig or a dog. Now it's not a question of whether you want to go or not, but if you don't go, then you will die. Do you understand?"

Zuo Liangyu didn't say anything, but just nodded silently.

Now I am the fish on the chopping board.

He is a man who knows the times.

Not to mention that the other party was too powerful, he was indeed intimidated.

The most terrifying thing at the moment is that all the enemies before them say that they are from the early Ming Dynasty, and they believe it without a doubt.

And all he saw were epoch-making products that had never been seen before.

In this situation, even the most suspicious person would probably become shaken in his heart and would subconsciously guess, think, and believe.

Zuo Liangyu was not a good person at all. He robbed the people and committed banditry that could not be justified.

However, troubled times tend to turn people into bandits.

Who with a little bit of humanity would want to become an inhuman beast?
So deep down in his heart he couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope.

It would be great if Taizu really came to put order into this chaotic world.

In the afternoon, Zuo Liangyu was released.

He gave an order to set up camp on the spot for the refugee camp, while he led his Ming regular army to Changsha.

Feng Sheng led three hundred people to follow and escort.

It is called following and escorting, but in fact it is no different from escorting.

After all, have you ever seen an escort threatening someone with a gun to his head?

But don’t underestimate the 300 people.

Each soldier of the Hongwu Dynasty used an AK with 30 bullets in his hand, and carried ten magazines on his back, a basic quantity of 300 bullets and several grenades.

This means that each soldier has 330 rounds, and 10 people means almost rounds of bullets.

It might not be possible to kill all the 30,000 or so people led by Zuo Liangyu, but once Zuo Liangyu made any unusual moves, it would be easy to kill a few thousand people in a very short period of time.

The journey was uneventful.

In the evening of the next day, this Ming army unit arrived outside Changsha city.

Zuo Liangyu was brought into the city half-forced by Feng Sheng.

Of course his men were furious.

However, sometimes anger is useless.

The situation is better than people.

If the other person is much more powerful than you, you will naturally be beaten.

At this moment, Old Zhu was talking to Young Zhu Di.

Strictly speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang only reigned for nine days until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

I came to check on September 17th, and started sending supplies from the Hongwu Ming Dynasty and the modern times on September 18th.

Today is September 26th.

Therefore, Lao Zhu is currently in the strategic layout stage and has not yet taken the initiative to attack.

Including dealing with Zhang Xianzhong and Zuo Liangyu, they mainly waited for the opportunity. These people were originally entrenched around Changsha, and attracting them to attack actively was the best strategy.

You must first transport enough food, weapons and ammunition, and retain enough troops at the stone tablet before you can consider turning the passive situation into the active one.

But Zhu Di's side was the only proactive force, so naturally they had to keep under observation at all times.

Young Zhu Di was now rushing to Tongguan.

Transportation was very inconvenient in ancient times.

The Battle of Ruzhou took place on September 22, but Chongzhen did not know the news until October 8.

He was very angry when he learned that Sun Chuanting was defeated, and ordered to strip Sun Chuanting of his titles of commander-in-chief and minister of war, and asked him to "take the blame and gather the remaining troops, guard the pass, take opportunity to provide assistance and suppress the rebellion, and seek merit to redeem himself."

But before that, on October 6, Li Zicheng had already captured Tongguan, and Sun Chuanting was killed in the battle.

This shows that message delivery is difficult.

In comparison, the straight-line distance between Ruzhou and Tongguan is only about 200 kilometers, but the actual distance is more than 300 kilometers.

Li Zicheng's army had a large number of cavalry, and they could travel at a speed of thirty to forty kilometers a day, so they could arrive within ten days.

Young Zhu Di had only 1100 infantrymen. The straight-line distance between Changsha and Tongguan is more than kilometers. Going through Xiangyang, via Wuguan, into Shaanxi, and then to Tongguan, the distance is about kilometers.

Even though he set out overnight on the evening of September 60th, the soldiers marched at a speed of kilometers a day, and they are still in the Nanyang Basin and have not even reached Wuguan.

There are only ten days left before Tongguan is breached and Sun Chuanting is killed in battle. Time can be said to be quite tight.

Judging from the current situation, it is very likely that young Zhu Di was one day late in his journey, and Sun Chuanting had already been sent there when he had just arrived at Wuguan.

For this reason, Lao Zhu meant for him to find a way to get some horses locally.

Whether it was robbed from the government army or from the peasant army.

Even if you "buy" it from ordinary people, it's fine.

Now the Nanyang Basin is occupied by Li Zicheng's rebel army, but there are still a few isolated areas of the imperial court, namely Yunzhou, Junzhou and Guanghua, which are the areas of Shiyan, Danjiangkou City and Gucheng County in Hubei Province in later generations.

It was garrisoned by Ming Dynasty's Huguang Censor Gao Doushu, Yunyang Prefect Xu Qiyuan, Guerrilla General Wang Guangen, Guerrilla General Liu Tiaoyuan and others.

Li Zicheng attacked Yunyang many times but failed to capture it.

If the young Zhu Di wanted to go through Wuguan, he would naturally have to pass through Xiangyang and Yunyang. Xiangyang was Li Zicheng's territory, and Yunyang was Gao Doushu's territory. If there were horses, both the government troops and the rebel army could rob them.

At present, Li Zicheng's main force is advancing rapidly towards Tongguan, and there are not many troops left behind.

Historically, Gao Doushu was preparing to recapture Xiangyang during this period, but not long after, he received news that Sun Chuanting was defeated and killed in battle, and he was forced to retreat.

Therefore, it can be said that the strength of both sides is not very strong, and even if young Zhu Di has only 800 people, it is enough to deal with them.

This is the advantage of having modern information.

Even if the situation outside is unclear, Zhu Yunfeng and his friends can go back to their modern homes and connect to WIFI to check information, and immediately know the current situation in the Nanyang Basin.

For the young Zhu Di, it was like having a God's perspective. Even if the forces of various parties were intertwined and complicated, he could still see them clearly.

After explaining the current situation to young Zhu Di, old Zhu was preparing to start the next stage of planning - dealing with Zhang Xianzhong.

Feng Sheng brought Zuo Liangyu into the tent.

From the moment he entered Prince Ji's Mansion, Zuo Liangyu had been looking around curiously.

He saw military tents and barbed wire fences that he had never seen before everywhere in the mansion.

Soldiers equipped with spears were constantly patrolling back and forth, and a large number of civilians were carrying supplies.

Bags of rice were piled up like small mountains.

Many laborers were also pulling wood and building simple houses to store the baggage that was constantly being brought in.

Along the way, we saw dozens of newly built warehouses that could store grain. I'm afraid they would be enough to feed the hundreds of thousands of people in Changsha for ten years.

Zuo Liangyu really wanted to know where they got so much food.

"Your Majesty, Zuo Liangyu is here."

Feng Sheng entered the tent and reported to Lao Zhu.

Zuo Liangyu came in.

Old Zhu turned around and looked at him dignifiedly.

At that moment, Zuo Liangyu almost fell to his knees.

Things like coercion are illusory, but things like temperament are real at certain times.

From the way a person dresses to his appearance, to having been in a high position for many years, it is natural that he seems to have a certain kind of nobility.

It's like when you see Chen Daoming, you think of the emperor. When you see a person named Zhuge, you instinctively think he is very smart. This is the association caused by temperament changes and inertial thinking.

Some people are invaluable just by standing there.

The same is true for Lao Zhu.

He was wearing a simple dragon robe from the early Ming Dynasty, with his hands behind his back, and turned his head.

That look was so sharp that it made one's hair stand on end, as if being stared at by a dragon.

This feeling cannot be reflected in Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He.

Because there are no emperors in later generations, and officials are not seen in daily life, naturally one cannot feel this kind of majesty.

But even so, Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He could often feel the murderous aura emanating from Old Zhu.

Especially when facing civil and military officials, it seemed as if he was about to drag them out and behead them in the next second.

However, as an ancient man, Zuo Liangyu was able to understand this temperament.

He was stunned for a moment.

Liu Xizuo, who was standing beside him, immediately shouted, "How dare you, Zuo Liangyu, not kneel down when you see His Majesty Taizu."

"I, Zuo Liangyu, pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Zuo Liangyu naturally knew Liu Xizuo.

Civil officials have always been so domineering towards military generals. Seeing that even he acknowledged that this was Taizu, they hesitated for two seconds and knelt on one knee.

"Well"

Old Zhu lowered his head and stared at Zuo Liangyu, his eyes as sharp as a sword, as if he could see through him.

A few seconds later, just when Zuo Liangyu felt a chill on his back and his hair stood on end, Old Zhu said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zuo Liangyu let out a long sigh, stood up from the ground, and unconsciously wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The pressure from the old man in front of him was too great.

In particular, not only the old man was staring at him, but every general, every official, and every soldier in the tent was staring at him.

It seemed that if he had any evil intentions, he would be hacked to death in the next second, which further intensified the pressure.

"Although you already know me, you still have to go through the process."

Old Zhu turned around and looked at the map on the table. He said as he read it, "Xiao Ji."

"exist."

Ji Hyuk stood up.

"Send him to the Hongwu Dynasty."

"Yes."

Ji He waved to Zuo Liangyu and said, "Come on, I, the Duke of Chu of the Ming Dynasty, will personally take you to the Hongwu Dynasty. You will have a chance to meet the regent, Prince Biao. But forget about Yan Wang Di, he is now in Shaanxi to help Sun Chuanting fight Li Zicheng. You will have a chance to meet him in the future. How about it? Are you excited?"

"Yes, thank you, Duke Chu."

Zuo Liangyu followed Ji He out of the tent. Only then did he realize that his back was soaked with sweat, as if he had just been fished out of the water.

Now he was completely convinced that the person in the tent was probably the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Great.

His Majesty Taizu has arrived.

The Ming Dynasty is saved.

(End of this chapter)