Jingtai: Making the Ming Dynasty Great Again

"Enemy attack!"

Zhu Qiyu was taken aback.

Three assassins carrying fireworks were dispatched from each direction.

Besides them, several night watchmen followed behind.

Just now, Zhu Qiyu was wondering why there wasn't a single messenger at Zhangyi Gate.

From this perspective, all the people sent out were dealt with silently.

At the same time, the defending general roared, "Fire arrows! Fire arrows!"

Although the archers were prepared, they were still caught off guard by the sudden attack.

The Oirat even deployed cavalry with ladders to quickly reach the city walls.

The cannons on the city wall were also firing at full power.

However, these cannons were previously in fixed positions, so their extremely long range seemed somewhat useless at this point.

It could only temporarily separate the Oirat vanguard and rearguard.

As the defenders rained down arrows, the first Oirat soldiers who had scaled the city walls fell to the ground with screams.

But then even more people flocked to it.

Zhu Qiyu drew his sword: "Hold the city walls!"

The battle escalated rapidly.

Zhu Qiyu had no idea how many Oirat troops were on this side.

Apart from the torches lit by people nearby, the distance remained pitch black.

"Your Majesty, be careful!"

Cheng Jing suddenly tackled Zhu Qiyu to the ground, and a stray arrow flew past Zhu Qiyu's helmet and embedded itself in a pillar behind him.

Zhu Qiyu pushed Cheng Jing aside, stood up, and shouted, "I am with you! The Ming Dynasty will surely win!"

The defending troops' morale soared: "The Ming Dynasty will surely win!"

Yu Qian had taken command: "Musketeers, fire at will! Rolling logs and stones, prepare!"

But the Oirat soldiers were too numerous, and ladders were erected one after another on the city walls.

Dozens of men have already climbed onto the city wall and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the defenders.

Zhu Qiyu disregarded his previous promises to the ministers and led eight hundred imperial guards into the battle: "Personal Guards, follow me to kill the enemy!"

These carefully selected warriors were all valiant and quickly suppressed the Oirat soldiers who had stormed the city.

But the crisis is far from over.

The Oirat battering rams began to strike the city gates.

Yu Qian roared, "Pouring the golden juice! Signal! Light the signal fire!"

Boiling excrement was poured down from the city wall, and a series of agonizing screams immediately echoed from below.

At the same time, three plumes of smoke rose from the beacon towers on the city wall.

This was built on Zhu Qiyu's orders, and it was built at every gate.

Its purpose is to let the rapid support forces in the city know where support is needed.

The smoke signals were particularly conspicuous against the backdrop of the firelight.

According to Zhu Qiyu's orders, troops would only be dispatched upon seeing the signal fire at Shi Heng.

Fifteen minutes later, the ground began to shake.

Shi Heng led eight thousand cavalrymen from the Imperial City Training Ground.

There were eight thousand infantrymen running after them.

The defenders on the city wall cheered, "Reinforcements have arrived! Reinforcements have arrived!"

The Oirat seemed to have been prepared, as Shi Heng's cavalry had just rushed out of the city gate.

At the same time, a group of Oirat cavalry appeared from the northwest and rushed towards Shi Heng.

Zhu Qiyu rushed to the crenellations and looked out, only to see that the area outside the city had descended into chaos.

Shi Heng's troops were divided and surrounded by the Oirat cavalry. Although they fought bravely, they were clearly at a disadvantage.

The gatekeeper, his face covered in blood, rushed in to report: "Your Majesty! The city gate is about to collapse!"

Zhu Qiyu gritted his teeth: "Minister Yu, you command the city defenses! Han Cheng!"

Han Cheng, the commander of the vanguard of the imperial guard, stepped forward and said, "Your subject is here!"

"Follow me down the city walls to reinforce the city gates!"

Yu Qian and Cheng Jing simultaneously objected, "Your Majesty, you mustn't!"

Zhu Qiyu said decisively, "If the city gates fall, all is lost! Minister Yu, the city walls are now in your hands!"

After saying this, Zhu Qiyu ignored the two men and led eight hundred personal guards down the city wall.

Inside the city gate, the defending soldiers were fighting fiercely with the Oirat army.

Just now, Shi Heng led his troops out and repelled the Oirat forces attacking the city.

But before the city gates could be closed, hundreds of Oirat infantrymen surged in.

With Zhu Qiyu's arrival, the pressure on the city gate guards was greatly reduced.

After fighting for about fifteen more minutes, the infantry of the rapid reinforcements finally arrived at the city gate.

With the addition of these 8,000 infantrymen, the battle line was finally pushed to within 50 paces of the city gate.

The Oirat soldiers who had stormed the city were temporarily driven back.

The defending troops successfully closed the city gates.

At the third quarter of the hour of Yin (3:45 AM), a faint glimmer of light appeared in the east.

The battle had been going on for over an hour, with both sides fighting with bloodlust.

When Zhu Qiyu climbed back onto the city wall, his armor was splattered with blood.

More than half of his eight hundred personal guards have been lost.

Zhu Qiyu then saw the battle situation on Shi Heng's side.

More than 20,000 Oirat cavalry are engaged in a fierce battle with the rapid support force led by Shi Heng.

Fortunately, Shi Heng quickly engaged in a melee with the Oirat cavalry when he charged out.

They prevented the Oirat cavalry from launching an attack.

Otherwise, we could use 8,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry to deal with a charge of over 20,000 steppe cavalry.

Shi Heng had already lost.

Yu Qian had clearly noticed Shi Heng's situation long ago. Seeing Zhu Qiyu retreat from outside the city, he immediately got down and ordered, "Send word to Shi Heng to break through towards the city gate!"

The defending general loudly objected: "Minister Yu! It's too dangerous to let the Oirat cavalry approach the city gate!"

Zhu Qiyu agreed with Yu Qian's order: "We can't worry about that now! The rapid support troops are all elites, we can't afford to lose them outside the city!"

"Order the city gates to be opened. Archers and musketeers, take your positions and welcome our troops into the city!"

Upon receiving the order, the garrison on the city wall quickly adjusted their deployment.

Shi Heng's troops were divided into several groups and were making a difficult move toward the city gate.

Zhu Qiyu ordered: "Open the city gates!"

The city gate slowly opened a crack.

The archers, musketeers, and spearmen, who had been prepared beforehand, lined up inside the gate.

If the Oirat cavalry attempted to break through the gate, they would be met with a crushing defeat.

The soldiers on the city wall shouted in unison, "General Shi Heng! Break through to the city gate!"

Upon hearing the shouts, Shi Heng led his personal guards in a fierce charge, finally carving a bloody path through the enemy lines.

The remaining Ming troops fought and retreated, moving towards the city gate.

Upon seeing this, Bayan Temur personally led five thousand elite cavalry straight towards the city gate: "Seize the gate! Seize the gate!"

Zhu Qiyu shouted, "Release the arrows!"

The Oirat cavalry at the forefront were thrown into chaos, their men and horses falling to the ground.

But Bayan Temur was exceptionally brave and continued his charge despite the casualties, and was about to reach the city gate.

Just then, deafening battle cries rang out from the northeast.

Someone on the city wall exclaimed in surprise, "It's General Sun Tang!"

Zhu Qiyu looked over and saw Sun Tang, the garrison commander of Xizhimen, leading three thousand elite soldiers to attack.

Zhu Qiyu roared, "That Sun Tang! How dare he lead troops to our aid without authorization!"

Sun Tang's sudden attack caught the Oirat Mongols off guard.

Bayan Temur had no choice but to divide his forces to deal with the situation, which greatly reduced the pressure on the city gates.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shi Heng led his remaining troops into the city, and the city gates were immediately closed.

However, Sun Tang's three thousand elite troops were once again surrounded.

Zhu Qiyu urgently ordered, "Open the city gates! Bring General Sun in! Once he enters the city, musketeers, archers, and cannons, fire at full speed to slow down the pursuing troops!"

Zhu Qiyu then rushed to Shi Heng's front lines: "General Shi, form ranks and prepare for battle! Once Bayan Temur enters, cut off the pursuing troops!"

Zhu Qiyu also lost his temper: Since you want to come in, then I'll let you in!