Who killed the Ming Dynasty?

The North Gate Arrow Tower, with its triple eaves, pierces the inky sky.

Zhu Cilang's headquarters (command center) was located here.

He stood before the desk, clad in black armor, his armor frosted with age. Under the flickering lamplight, the map slowly unfolded, and Li Yan, the military advisor, stood solemnly to his side, holding the military tally, his face serene.

The Great Western Army established five military governorates within the city, each guarding a specific area.

Zhu Cilang took in the city's situation, quickly calculating the advance speed of the various armies.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong had about 30,000 troops stationed in Chengdu. He occupied the Shu King's Palace and relied on 10,000 elite troops led by Wang Shangli, the central army commander, for protection.

Wang Ziqi, a valiant general under his command, stationed a large force in the north of the city to guard the granary; other rebel generals were assigned to guard the key points of the three prefectures: the front, left, and right.

Listening to the report from Military Advisor Li Yanbing on the movements of the various Ming armies, Zhu Cilang had already made his plans and immediately gave the order:

Zhou Dingchang was ordered to lead the Vanguard Battalion (rapid raiding force), with 1,000 cavalry and 3,000 infantry, to rush straight to Wang Ziqi's garrison in the rear army headquarters north of the city, and to annihilate him in one fell swoop.

After completing its mission, the unit was converted into a mobile blocking force, ready to be deployed at any time.

He ordered Zhang Wu to lead 4,000 infantrymen from the mobile army camp to ambush the enemy at the key road south of the city, waiting for the enemy to return to reinforce the front army headquarters;

The remaining 6,000 infantrymen were divided to guard the east and west alleys of the city, blocking the left and right armies and preventing them from supporting each other.

Zhu Cilang's "straight to the heart of the enemy" tactic has been deployed, and everyone has only one goal—to buy time for Wang Jing, the main attacking battalion commander, and to take down the enemy leader.

However, he knew that any plan would be subject to change in actual combat, and could only hope that Wang Jing's sword was fast enough.

He glanced at the markings on the map, then suddenly roared an order:

"Order the entire army—at 3:45 AM, advance, no retreat!"

"Yes, sir!"

Several messengers responded loudly, took the command token, and rushed into the night.

Watching their disappearing figures, Zhu Cilang's eyes were deep and thoughtful.

After two months of painstaking planning and countless calculations, the moment of truth has finally arrived.

At the very moment the messenger rushed out of the arrow tower,

In front of the Shu King's Palace.

Wang Jing tightened the reins and stopped in the darkness in front of the Zunyi Gate breach.

The corner tower of Zunyi Gate, which was blown up last month on Zhang Xianzhong's orders, now has a gap of more than ten feet wide.

This breach was precisely the passage that Zhu Cilang had chosen for the Ming army to breach the city.

Wang Jing slammed the scabbard against the saddle, the breaths of the two thousand iron cavalry behind him condensing into a white mist, the air filled with the chill of frost and snow.

"The founding emperor modeled this mansion after Nanjing, but now it has become a den of bandits!"

His voice was laced with suppressed anger, his gaze sweeping over the gap—

The collapsed corner tower's rubble and charred timbers were piled up along the moat, which had long been filled in to form a slope, perfect for a large army to charge into.

On the door panel used as cover, a faded Spring Festival couplet stands out starkly; the character "丰" (feng) in "五穀丰登" (wu gu feng deng) is pierced by the spikes of the deer fort.

Inside the breach, a few torches illuminated the enemy soldiers hastily deployed behind the sandbags.

"Damn it! They didn't even have time to put on their armor!"

Wang Jing snorted coldly, suppressing the surging agitation in his chest. The key to this battle was not anger, but speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

He suddenly raised his whip, the sound shattering the sky:

"Brave warriors! Stepping over the gates of hell opened by the traitors, follow me to crush the Shu King's mansion!"

His voice boomed like thunder as he issued the order in a stern tone:

"Archers arrayed, three-stage volley!"

The command flag slammed down!

The war drums for the attack on the Shu King's palace have now officially sounded.

The musketeers moved swiftly, instantly dividing into three ranks.

The first fifty men knelt on one knee, firmly mounting their three-barreled guns on the slope. Before the hissing of the fuses had even faded, a loud shout rang out:

"put!"

"Bang bang bang—!"

In an instant, fifty tongues of fire erupted simultaneously, the blinding flames illuminating the soldier's profile.

The lead bullets whistled out, and behind the chevaux-de-frise, six soldiers of the Great Western Army fell to the ground.

The "Abundant Harvest" couplet pasted on the bunker was torn to shreds in an instant.

The second musketeer stepped forward, and as soon as the matchlock touched the fuse, a pungent smell of sulfur filled the air.

"Bang bang bang—!"

Several clouds of dust suddenly burst from the sandbag wall, and three Western soldiers who were carrying stones froze on the spot.

The one-eyed man on the far left fell backward without uttering a sound, while the other two, still looking down blankly at the dark red bloodstains that had suddenly seeped into their chests and abdomens, collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Just then, a sharp whistle came from the darkness, and an arrow shot out from the shadows through the gap.

The arrows were accurate and deadly. A soldier holding a command flag was pierced through the throat by an arrow. The flag swayed and he collapsed.

Several Ming soldiers who were advancing fell to the ground, their blood instantly staining the rammed earth slope.

Wang Jing flew into a rage and shouted an order:

"Shieldbearers, advance to protect the formation! Musketeers, close in and unleash a barrage!"

Wooden shields were quickly erected, forming a mobile barrier. The gunners, relying on the shield array, fired fiercely at the figures that flashed out from the darkness.

But the defenders' arrows and the occasional volleys of fire continued to leave deadly muffled thuds on the shields.

The smoke of battle has not yet cleared.

Wang Jing's battle sword was already drawn, its gleaming blade cleaving through the night:

"Cygnathian team—forward! Sever the hooked rope! Break through the obstacle!"

The moment the order was given, the mountains shook and the earth trembled.

The elite halberd-wielding soldiers from Sichuan rushed towards the gap in three groups. The first group, armed with seven-foot halberds, vigorously swept away the deer fortress.

The second group carried bamboo fire pots on their backs. When they encountered the enemy, they would pour oil on the pots and throw them. With a flick of the fire flare, the flames would immediately swirl back towards the defenders, and the rising flames would instantly engulf several palisades.

A wave of scorching heat hit them, and the defenders let out screams as several fire-breathing figures rolled out from behind their bunkers.

The Ming army seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. The halberd-wielding soldiers were like tigers descending a mountain, unstoppable.

Suddenly, a series of mechanical sounds rang out, and several crossbow bolts shot out from the shadows. A captain who was at the forefront fell to the ground without even being able to utter a scream.

The second-in-command immediately took over, roaring as he plunged his halberd into the chest of the enemy crossbowman.

The moment the last palisades collapsed, the halberd-wielding soldiers swiftly changed formation to "butterfly wings," with soldiers on both sides thrusting like sharp blades opening and closing, while the central hook-and-sickle soldiers seized the opportunity to advance forward.

Seeing that the battle for the breach was turning in favor of the Ming army, with the defending troops retreating steadily, Wang Jing knew his time was ripe and roared deafeningly:

"Armored cavalry, prepare!"

The iron hooves of the horses, poised to pounce, began to paw the ground restlessly, and the scales of victory seemed to be tipping.

At that very moment, a heavy rumble of wheels suddenly erupted from within the breach!

"Report—!"

A messenger arrived at full speed, his voice trembling.

"General! The southwest pass is breached; the chariot formation is blocking the gate!"

Wang Jing's pupils suddenly contracted.

Twenty enormous battering rams, covered in wet cowhide, rumbled out of the shadows of the gap.

These colossal structures, each over ten feet tall, were clearly made from timber sourced from the royal palace's storeroom. On the six-inch-thick core of Sichuan nanmu wood, fragments of gold lacquer bearing the inscription "Chengyun Hall" still remain.

The battering rams were linked together with iron chains, forming an impenetrable mobile barrier.

Even more terrifying, each battering ram had firing ports on top, from which a dense barrage of arrows and projectiles poured down, completely sealing off the breach.

The Ming army's vanguard was immediately halted, and their offensive stalled. The first few halberd-wielders were instantly riddled with arrows.

Wang Jing's forehead veins bulged, and he roared:

"Damn it! They even dare to dismantle the pillars of the founding emperor! Men, bring out your sickles and halberds, and tear down these coffin lids!"