Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 240 A Crushing Victory
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!"

After the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), a desolate bugle call resounded across the sky.

Outside Ningyuan City, countless figures appeared in the Ming army camp, the gates opened, and many cannons were pushed out.

Zhu Yuanzhang arrived in Ningyuan yesterday, on September 3rd of the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign.

The Ming army did not even set up camp on the spot to make thorough defenses.

Instead, they set up tents in an open area outside the city, cut some wood and made a simple, low fence, less than four feet high, with almost zero defensive capabilities.

They wouldn't even need the Guan Ning cavalry; if Wu Sangui were bold enough, he could easily cross over in the dark of night.

But Wu Sangui dared not come; instead, he sent someone to deliver a letter of surrender, requesting to submit.

Old Zhu smiled and burned all the surrender documents.

In fact, all 39 members of the Wu family are still living in Beijing.

Zhu Di was particular about how he killed people. Wu Xiang did not surrender to Li Zicheng, but was defeated and captured.

Therefore, although Wu Xiang wrote a letter to Wu Sangui urging him to surrender, to some extent, he cannot be defined as a traitor.

After all, Wu Xiang never surrendered to Li Zicheng and served him, and was later beheaded by Li Zicheng.

Therefore, allowing Wu Xiang to be let go does not mean that Wu Sangui can be let go.

This guy was one of the main culprits in the fall of the Ming Dynasty. If he hadn't opened up Shanhaiguan, given its fortifications, whether he had been stationed there or Li Zicheng had captured it, the Jurchens would never have been able to enter the pass.

So Zhu Yuanzhang didn't even bother to have Wu Xiang write him a letter. He simply dismissed all of Wu's family members from their posts and informed them that they could start preparing for Wu Sangui's funeral.

Inside the gate, a large number of Ming soldiers pushed the Hongwu Majestic General Cannon, which was a replica of the 75mm rapid-fire cannon, slowly to the front of the formation and began to line up.

Zhu was riding on horseback, with Zhu Di a little behind him and several other civil officials from Shanhaiguan as his attendants.

"Pity."

Zhu Di gazed at the distant city wall and said, "Wu Sangui is too cowardly. All those night vision devices and infrared cameras he prepared last night were for nothing."

"I heard that panic has broken out in Ningyuan City and many people have fled."

Wang Jiayan said, "They didn't dare to go back to Shanhaiguan, so they detoured through Jianchang and ran back. I guess they were trying to escape back to their hometowns during this chaotic time."

"Yes, this is enough to show that the morale of the troops in Ningyuan City is low and they have no will to fight."

Old Zhu thought for a moment, then said, "If we can only capture the ringleaders, I can forgive them. Soldiers are duty-bound to obey orders, no wonder they defected to the enemy later."

Wang Jiayan hurriedly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty's grace is boundless. I will immediately send someone to deliver the message."

"Ah."

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "No need for that trouble."

He then looked at Jiang Huan and said to him, "Make them surrender. If they do not surrender within 15 minutes, leave no one alive in the city."

Jiang Huan then beckoned to the head of the guards in charge of the drones and said, "Record the surrender speech, and take off the drones to broadcast the message to the whole city."

"Yes."

The leader then gave orders to the drone pilots.

About seven or eight minutes later, dozens of drones took off and sped toward Ningyuan City, which was not far away.

It was early September, and the north wind was howling.

As the future Huludao City, Ningyuan is bordered by the Bohai Bay to the south and the Northeast region to the north. The north winds and the sea breezes of the Bohai Bay intertwine, causing the wind force to reach level four or five.

Fortunately, the drones Zhu Yunfeng bought were all high-end DJI brand, costing tens of thousands of yuan each, and were very resistant to wind.

Thus, the drones took off successfully. Under the not-so-warm morning sun, the soldiers throughout the city watched as dozens of buzzing drones flew overhead over the Ming army's positions in the distance.

Many people panicked, with some shouting, "It's His Majesty the Great Ancestor's divine artifact! Heavens, it really is His Majesty the Great Ancestor's divine artifact! What do we do? What do we do?"

"Run quickly."

"Anyone who dares to run will be executed without mercy!"

"Don't move! Nobody move! Do you hear me?!"

"Emperor Taizu, spare my life! Emperor Taizu, spare my life!"

Chaos broke out on the city walls.

Some people were trembling with fear and wanted to run away.

Some officers, acting as supervisors, sternly rebuked others in an attempt to stabilize the front lines.

Some people even knelt down on the spot and kowtowed to the drone, begging to save their lives.

One of the drones was operated by a pilot, and the display panel was connected to a tablet via Bluetooth and placed in Zhu Yuanzhang's hand.

Old Zhu could clearly see the entire city from above, and could see the dense black dots moving on the city wall, and all the changes within the city were clearly visible.

In fact, not only the Guan Ning cavalry inside the city, but even the officials following behind Zhu Yuanzhang, such as Wang Jiayan, Yu Anxing, and Zhu Guodong, were all horrified, their faces showing expressions of shock.

If this drone were in ancient times, it would be practically indistinguishable from a magical artifact.

Many people on the city wall looked at each other in bewilderment. Some of the bolder ones picked up crossbows and tried to shoot down the drones hovering in the sky, but they were too low to reach them.

"His Majesty the Great Ancestor has decreed that those who surrender will be spared death, those who surrender will be spared death, those who surrender will be spared death."

"His Majesty's decree is to execute only the ringleader Wu Sangui, and all other stubborn resisters shall also be killed without mercy. You are hereby ordered to lay down your weapons and surrender immediately."

"This is the final ultimatum. Lay down your weapons, surrender outside the city and you will be spared. Those who resist will be killed without mercy."

"If they do not surrender within two quarters of an hour, not a single chicken or dog will be spared in the city!"

The drones used loudspeakers to continuously broadcast sounds downwards, and they didn't even stay in the sky, but hovered over the city, spreading the sound to every corner of the city.

At that moment, many people in the city broke down.

Originally, the Guan Ning cavalry were all Han Chinese, but when Wu Sangui led them to surrender to the Manchu Jurchens, it caused quite a stir.

Many people feared they would be forced to remain in Liaodong and unable to return home. Moreover, what would happen to their wives and children if they became rebels? Would they be executed by order of the court?

Therefore, during this period, many Guan Ning cavalrymen deserted.

Originally, there were 30,000 elite troops, but many were lost in the Battle of Shanhaiguan. In the last two months, many of them have secretly deserted, and the number of troops has been reduced to only about 20,000.

Now, with morale low and the army demoralized, the drone's announcement suddenly became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Almost as the shouting continued, many soldiers of the Guan Ning cavalry on the city wall threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground in fear and kowtowed, shouting, "I am willing to surrender, I am willing to surrender."

"Please spare my life, Emperor Taizu! Please spare my life, Emperor Taizu!"

With someone taking the lead, some of the hesitant people gradually knelt down as well.

It wasn't just the ordinary soldiers; even the supervising officers and lower-ranking generals were completely bewildered and at a loss.

"what happened?"

Just then, Wu Sangui, along with his personal guards and several generals, hurriedly climbed the city wall.

He was very worried last night that Zhu Yuanzhang would attack the city under cover of darkness, so he stayed on the city wall for the first half of the night to guard against the Ming army, and didn't go back to sleep until the second half of the night.

He had only slept for less than two hours when he heard the news that the Ming army seemed to be attacking the city, so he hurriedly brought his men over. "Greetings, Commander-in-Chief."

Upon hearing of his arrival, the city wall's garrison commanders Wu Guogui, Gao Dejie, and others rushed to greet him.

Wu Sangui had no time to pay attention to them. He looked up at the sky, his eyes filled with the same sense of bewilderment and helplessness.

What exactly is this?
Being able to fly in the sky and even shout at them—that's practically divine skill.

Outside the city, Jiang Huan had already noticed Wu Sangui when he appeared. He pointed at the screen and said, "Your Majesty, this should be Wu Sangui."

"Yes, start the announcement, I want to speak."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

As high-end products, these drones all have a loudspeaker function, equipped with the most advanced MP30 loudspeaker. When the volume is turned up to the maximum, they can achieve communication within a radius of several hundred meters. They are mainly used in multiple fields such as search and rescue, fire fighting, transportation, and construction sites.

Jiang Huan then adjusted the tablet, turned on the public address function, and ordered the drone operator to lower the drone for the public address. Only then did Zhu Yuanzhang pick up the walkie-talkie and say, "I am Zhu Yuanzhang!"

"I am Zhu Yuanzhang!"

A deep, aged voice came from the drone on the city wall.

Everyone stared wide-eyed at the buzzing drone. Wu Sangui felt his head buzzing and didn't know what to do.

“Wu Sangui released the Jurchens into the pass, allowing them to slaughter millions of people in the Central Plains. As a result, the Jurchens enslaved the Han people for more than two hundred years. This is a traitor to the Han people, and his crime is unforgivable.”

"However, considering that you are all soldiers who obey orders, if you capture Wu Sangui, I will pardon your death sentence. If you continue to be obstinate, you will all die when the city falls!"

The aged voice seemed devoid of any emotion, as if it were recounting something that was about to happen.

Everyone on the city wall was stunned. Wu Sangui was the first to react. He looked around and suddenly noticed that many of the soldiers around him were looking at him differently. Some of them had even reached for the swords at their waists.

He knew something was wrong, so he quickly hid among his guards, took out his bow and arrow, nocked the arrow, drew the bow, and fired an arrow at the drone in the sky in one smooth motion.

The drone pilot pulled to the right at the last possible moment, easily dodging the attack.

Wu Sangui shouted, "Don't believe the rumors! I'm just borrowing the Jurchen troops to do what the Tang Dynasty did when it borrowed the Uyghur troops to defeat the rebels. They are the real traitors. I heard that His Majesty has already been deposed by them."

"Capture Wu Sangui and hand him over to Emperor Taizu!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted something.

The next second, the Guan Ning soldiers on the city wall rioted instantly, drawing their swords and shouting as they charged toward Wu Sangui.

Wu Sangui immediately panicked.

The Guan Ning cavalry was not actually his direct subordinate; it was originally created by Yuan Chonghuan, while Zu Dashou, Wu Xiang, and others were Yuan Chonghuan's generals.

Emperor Chongzhen's execution of Yuan Chonghuan sparked discontent among the Guan-Ning cavalry. Zu Dashou, He Kegang, and others led the Guan-Ning cavalry to nearly flee eastward and collapse before Wu Sangui took over.

Besides being appointed as the General of Liaodong by the imperial court, making him the rightful commander of the Guan Ning cavalry, his control of the Guan Ning cavalry was mainly achieved by relying on his trusted family retainers as mid- to low-ranking officers to help him control the soldiers.

Now that a large number of soldiers have mutinied, he only has a few hundred personal guards and servants by his side.

Moreover, although these servants were all trusted confidants, when faced with life and death, they looked at each other and seemed to fall silent.

"They've all betrayed us! You've all betrayed us! Come with me to suppress the rebellion!"

Wu Sangui shouted in a panic.

"General, let's go quickly."

He treated his servants quite well, giving them the first paycheck when he received military pay, and some of them were loyal enough to draw their swords and protect him.

With the desperate protection of over a hundred of his servants, Wu Sangui escaped down the city wall and hurriedly headed north of the city.

To his despair, the drone followed him relentlessly, hovering overhead. Someone shouted, "Wu Sangui is here! Capture him and the whole city will be spared!"

Clearly, even without using rapid-fire cannons and automatic rifles, the psychological impact of the drones on the Guan Ning cavalry was already enormous.

Upon hearing the news, a large number of Guan Ning Iron Cavalry soldiers flooded into the city like a torrent.

In the distance, some people had already opened the city gates, and some fled the city, throwing down their weapons and surrendering to the Ming army; some stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do; and some even chased after Wu Sangui.

The city was thrown into chaos.

Apart from the Imperial Guards who came during the reign of Emperor Hongwu, the Ming soldiers stationed at Shanhaiguan during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen were all dumbfounded.

The drones also gave them a strong visual impact, to the point that many Ming soldiers were horrified.

Zhu Yuanzhang, mounted on his horse, calmly said, "Enter the city."

"Get into the city, hurry up and get into the city."

The more than ten civil and military officials of Shanhaiguan, including Wang Jiayan, Yu Anxing, Zhu Guodong, and Zhou Yuji, suddenly realized what was happening and hurriedly issued military orders.

A large number of Ming soldiers stepped forward and captured the Guan Ning soldiers who surrendered outside the city. In less than a quarter of an hour, Ningyuan West City was captured by the Ming army, and the entire section of the city wall was also taken.

Subsequently, Wang Jiayan and others entered the city first, and directed the soldiers to arrest the Guan Ning cavalry in the city and quell the riots in the city.

By the time Old Zhu entered the city, all that was left was cleaning up the battlefield.

Squads of soldiers escorted the bound Guan Ning soldiers out of the city along the streets to their camps for guard duty. The streets on both sides of the city, the city walls, and other key locations were also quickly brought under Ming army control.

Zhu Di, riding a horse and surrounded by numerous Jinyiwei soldiers armed with AK rifles, slowly entered the city.

Wang Jiayan, Yu Anxing, Zhu Guodong, and others were waiting for him at the city gate.

Just then, Zhou Yuji, who was leading the vanguard, rushed over and reported the good news to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Your Majesty, we have captured Wu Sangui alive!"

"What about people?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"behind."

Zhou Yuji pointed behind him.

Soon, a large contingent of Ming soldiers arrived from the nearby street. They bound Wu Sangui and several of his loyal and stubborn subordinates like pigs.

These men were covered in wounds, clearly having fought a bloody battle, but ultimately they were outnumbered and captured by the rebellious Guan Ning cavalry.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I am innocent! I did not surrender to the Jurchens. I only asked them to lend me troops. I am loyal to the court and to the Ming Dynasty!"

Wu Sangui let out a desperate shout, which even included wailing.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with coldness as he said, "He's not unaware of what he's done; he just knows he's going to die, Wang Jiayan."

"The minister is here."

Wang Jiayan hurriedly stepped forward and clasped his hands in greeting.

"Send men to escort them back to Beijing and have them executed by slow slicing at the Meridian Gate!"

"Yes!"

"It's still early, so we won't linger in the city."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked towards the northeastern horizon and calmly said, "Break camp and continue the march!"

(End of this chapter)