Ming Dynasty: Moral blackmail? I, Emperor Chongzhen, have no morals!

The next morning, a faint glimmer of dawn appeared on the horizon.

Zhu Jian led the Ming army to completely surround Gucheng.

At this time, Zhang Xianzhong inside Gucheng had also made preparations to defend the city and was watching the army outside the city from the city wall.

Zhu Jian, standing in the army, also gazed upon this weathered valley city.

"Issue an order to Xiong Wencan and Zuo Liangyu: bring all the cannons from Xiangyang City here! I'll give them two days!"

"Your Majesty, should we first persuade Zhang Xianzhong to leave the city?" Hong Chengchou felt that they should try diplomacy first, and only fight if Zhang Xianzhong refused to leave the city.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian nodded slightly, mounted his horse, and said, "Raise my imperial banner!"

After saying that, he mounted his horse and headed out of Gucheng.

Li Dingguo, standing on the city wall, pointed at the dragon banner slowly approaching outside the city and exclaimed, "The dragon... the dragon banner! It's the emperor!"

Zhang Xianzhong was also keeping a close eye on the dragon banner, a bad feeling creeping into his heart!

"Zhang Xianzhong, I'm giving you three days. Either leave the city and accept reorganization, or be annihilated in Gucheng!"

After finishing his speech, Zhu turned his horse around, showing no intention of continuing the conversation with Zhang Xianzhong.

As the emperor, the fact that he came here in person is already a great honor. If he continues to resist, then the only option is to eliminate him.

"This..." Li Dingguo was speechless when he saw the emperor arrive and issue the final ultimatum.

Seeing this, Zhang Xianzhong slammed his hand on the wall, making a loud cracking sound, and roared, "Damn it! The little Emperor Chongzhen has gone too far!"

"General, shall we leave the city?" Sun Kewang asked from the side.

"No way! Let's have a decisive battle then!" Zhang Xianzhong said angrily, then turned and left, leaving Li Dingguo and Sun Kewang looking at each other in bewilderment.

Back in the main hall, Zhang Xianzhong was still cursing and swearing.

He truly hadn't expected that the emperor was no match for Xiong Wencan. At least Xiong Wencan offered benefits in an attempt to divide and win over the emperor, while the emperor directly issued him an ultimatum, truly thinking he was easy to bully.

Sun Kewang, Liu Wenxiu, Li Dingguo, and Ai Nengqi quickly entered the hall. Sun Kewang spoke first, "Godfather, I think if things don't work out, let's break out first! Don't we have three days? We'll prepare for a day tomorrow, and break out the day after tomorrow evening!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong wavered slightly. He had initially thought the situation was not right and that he should hold out for a while before breaking out. But now that the emperor had arrived and was surrounded by elite Ming troops, why should he continue to hold out? He should break out as soon as possible to avoid any unforeseen complications.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Go and prepare! We'll break out tomorrow night! We're going to break out to the southeast!"

"Southeast? Aren't we going into Sichuan?" Sun Kewang asked doubtfully.

Zhang Xianzhong shook his head. "No, Dingguo is right. If there are ambushes on the way into Sichuan, our entire army will be wiped out. There shouldn't be any ambushes to the southeast! We have three days to consider this, so Zuo Liangyu probably won't receive news of the battle so quickly!"

"Yes!" The group accepted the order and left.

Zhang Xianzhong planned to strike first. He believed that Zhu Jian had given him three days because he wanted to attack the city in three days. He would let the soldiers rest for the next two days so that he could make a move in advance and break through the encirclement. Once he broke through, he could go straight into Jiangxi and fly freely!

As night fell, the bright moon in the night sky emitted a cold light.

Inside the Ming army's main tent, brightly lit, Zhu Jian leaned over, examining the map on the table. He lightly pointed towards the east gate of Gucheng: "Zuo Liangyu will send twenty cannons tonight by water! They will arrive in Gucheng before dawn tomorrow!"

"Once we arrive, lay them all out outside the East Gate! Prepare for the siege tomorrow morning!"

Hong Chengchou was taken aback: "Didn't the Emperor give Zhang Xianzhong three days? Tomorrow is only the second day!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jian said in a deep voice, "If Zhang Xianzhong had truly surrendered, he should have immediately come out of the city to greet and pay homage to me upon seeing me! He shouldn't be pondering whether or not to leave the city!"

Zhu Jian believed that if other generals were in charge, it would be worth considering, since they were above the court and the emperor. But now that the emperor had come to this place in person and he had seen him, he still didn't leave the city. One day or three days would be the same!

Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou's arm trembled. He realized that the emperor before him was as unfathomable as the sea and did not play by the rules. People say that a gentleman's word is as good as his bond, and an emperor's word is even more so. But the emperor before him did not care about the reputation of the relationship between ruler and subject. He did not care about repaying evil with kindness or using courtesy before resorting to force.

All one can see in him is deception and cunning, and a deep-seated secret! Is this the emperor's true method?

Zhu Jian thought that the first striker would gain the upper hand, and the one who strikes later would suffer the consequences. He never cared about any of those nonsense principles. There was only one word: win!

In Zhu Jian's eyes, those great Confucian scholars taught the way to govern the world, not the way to be a ruler!

The emperor wanted great benevolence, not petty kindness and righteousness. If they were allowed to break through the encirclement, it would be more difficult to send troops to suppress them later. In order to reduce the sacrifices, Zhu Jian would not discuss benevolence and righteousness with them. If they had grievances, they could go down to Yama and tell him. What Zhu Jian had to do was send them to see Yama!

Hong Chengchou, stunned for a moment, bowed slightly: "As you command!"

.......

The next morning.

Outside the East Gate, Zuo Liangyu, with 500 artillerymen, 20 cannons, and a considerable amount of gunpowder, had already laid out and were waiting for Zhu Jian's orders.

Upon receiving the imperial decree from Zhu Jian, he began dismantling the cannons on Xiangyang City, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Now, aside from the cannons and artillerymen mentioned in the imperial edict, he dared not bring a single soldier with him as he arrived outside Gucheng...

Before long, Zhu Jian arrived at the artillery position, surrounded by Hong Chengchou, Cao Bianjiao, Liu Guoneng, and Gao Jie.

Upon seeing the emperor arrive, Zuo Liangyu immediately stepped forward, bowed, and knelt, saying, "This humble general, Zuo Liangyu, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

"Rise!"

"You don't need to stay here anymore. Quickly return to Xiangyang and lead your troops to Gucheng! Also, have Xiong Wencan come to Gucheng to meet me!"

Without hesitation, Zuo Liangyu quickly replied, "As you command!"

Zuo Liangyu recently discovered that the army in the south was no longer receiving its pay from the military administration bureau, but was still receiving its pay from the local authorities as before, which made him feel alienated.

Now that the generals around the emperor are considered close advisors, he is still out of the loop. So he plans to take advantage of the opportunity to meet the emperor and show his loyalty in order to pave the way for his future promotion!

After Zuo Liangyu left, Zhu Jian glanced at the rising sun.

He announced, "Cao Bianjiao, He Renlong, prepare to attack the city!"

"As you command!"

.......

Bang! Bang! Bang! Three cannonballs landed on the walls of Gucheng, causing immediate chaos.

Upon hearing the cannon fire from within the city, Zhang Xianzhong rushed to the city wall and shouted urgently, "Fire! Fire!"

Sun Kewang ran up to Zhang Xianzhong, panting heavily: "General, the Ming army is attacking the city from the east wall!"

"Wasn't it supposed to be three days? Why is the Ming army attacking the city?"

He then spat out, "Damn it, defend the city!"

The shouts of battle from both sides were deafening, and large sections of the dilapidated city walls of Gucheng had been blasted away by cannon fire.

Zhang Xianzhong's troops on the city wall fired arrows at the people below, while the Ming soldiers below retaliated with three-eyed muskets.

Standing at the rear, Zhu Jian looked at the attacking soldiers and said, "Keep the artillery fire going, continue the suppression!"

Zhang Xianzhong's garrison in the city was not so relaxed; most of the soldiers on the east city wall were wounded in no time.

The musket was very effective at suppressing the arrows fired by the defenders on the city walls, as it could be fired from below the city walls at an angle without aiming.

Under the cover of artillery fire, the attacking soldiers began to ram the city gates.

Cannonballs exploded, sending dust flying onto the city walls and knocking down many soldiers. At this moment, Li Dingguo, protecting Zhang Xianzhong, walked down from the city walls, saying, "General, the Ming army's firepower is too fierce! Let's break out, or the Ming army will breach the city!"

"good!"

Just as they were heading west, the east gate was breached by Ming troops, who poured into the city, shouting, "Surrender and you will not be killed!"

Cao Bianjiao captured one of Zhang Xianzhong's soldiers inside the city and questioned him, "Where is Zhang Xianzhong?"

"We're heading towards the west...west of the city...!" the soldier stammered.

Then Cao Bianjiao suddenly chased after him towards the west!

Not long after.

The Ming army occupied the eastern city and compressed Zhang Xianzhong's forces into the western city. Outside the western city, there were still a large number of Ming troops besieging but not attacking!

"General! The Ming army has occupied the east city, and there are still tens of thousands of Ming troops outside the west city. We can't escape!" Sun Kewang said urgently!

Zhang Xianzhong's troops have now been scattered by the Ming army. There are people everywhere, but the soldiers can't find their generals, and the generals can't find their soldiers!

Zhang Xianzhong looked around and saw more and more Ming troops surrounding his less than three thousand men in the western city, growing increasingly desperate!

At the same time, Zhu Jian, escorted by thousands of soldiers, slowly entered the city and walked westward along the main street. Meanwhile, Ming troops inside and outside the city shouted loudly that those who surrendered would not be killed!

Zhang Xianzhong and his troops huddled beneath the western city wall, watching the imperial banner draw ever closer. His throat tightened: "Chongzhen, you are unworthy to be a ruler! Why have you ordered the attack before the three-day deadline has passed?!"

Zhu Jian's lips curled slightly, and he said disdainfully, "If you were truly willing to surrender, you should have come out of the city and knelt before me the moment you saw me! Even if you realized it too late, you should have entered the camp last night!"

"The reason you didn't come is because you wanted to break out, right?"

Upon hearing Zhu Jian's words, the generals and confidants around him silently lowered their heads. It seemed this emperor understood them very well... They had indeed intended to strike first and prepare for a breakout, but they hadn't expected Zhu Jian to strike before them!

Seeing that Zhang Xianzhong and his men remained silent, Zhu Jian slowly drew his Emperor's Sword from his waist and threw it in front of Zhang Xianzhong. The sword landed on the ground and stuck at an angle, gleaming with a dazzling cold light.

"Zhang Xianzhong, you were a powerful warlord. I will grant you some dignity; use this Imperial Sword to commit suicide! Save the lives of your thousands of followers!"

A true hero should end his life in a dignified manner. He disdained the slow, agonizing death methods employed by Emperor Chongzhen (Zhu Youjian). He, Zhu Youjian, would kill, but not torture! Since the outcome was the same—death—why not give him a dignified exit, while also winning over the hearts of the people?

After a moment's thought, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly burst into laughter and slowly stepped forward: "I thought I would be executed by slow slicing, but I never expected that I could still use the Emperor's Sword to commit suicide with dignity!"

"Godfather!"

"General!"

When the crowd saw Zhang Xianzhong step forward, their eyes welled up with tears, and they shouted in unison.

Zhang Xianzhong glanced back at the crowd below the city, his gaze slowly sweeping across them, as if trying to imprint the faces of all those who followed him into his mind.

He then turned back and said, "I hope the Emperor will keep his final promise and spare the lives of these young men!"

Zhu Jian said softly, "We are all sons of the Ming Dynasty. If we can't survive, who would want to rebel?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xianzhong repeatedly exclaimed, "Good! Good! Good!"

"Such words! You are worthy of this supreme position!"

Then he muttered to himself, "We started this uprising because we truly want a way to survive!" Without hesitation, Zhang Xianzhong pulled the Emperor's Sword from the ground and swung it at his neck. Instantly, blood gushed out, staining the yellow earth red...

"Godfather!"

"General!" Upon seeing Zhang Xianzhong commit suicide, many people bowed down and knelt, tears streaming down their faces.

"Issue the imperial decree! Zhang Xianzhong shall be buried with the honors due to a duke or marquis. All his followers shall be pardoned. Those who wish to continue serving in the army shall be incorporated into various units; those who do not wish to serve shall be given travel expenses to help them make a living!"

After saying this, Zhu Jian turned his horse around and said as he rode, "Please invite Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons to the camp to see the Emperor!"

In Zhu Jian's mind, soldiers could be dismissed, but generals could not be spared. If they were unwilling to follow him, they would be placed under house arrest and given a life of wealth and honor to prevent future rebellions... This was also a responsibility to the Ming Dynasty and its soldiers!