Xiao Ruxun had never imagined that Wang Hui was still alive. He had believed that Wang Hui had died outside the capital, so he had always blamed himself for what had happened to Wang Hui. Now that he had received such good news, it was truly a pleasant surprise.
Moreover, the Great Northwest and Guanzhong had been pacified. Liu Gu, Deng Zilong, and Ma Wei had actually managed to do this. It had to be said that the heavens were truly looking after them.
This was the will of the heavens!
The last bit of Shen Yicheng's strength had also ceased to exist.
On the nineteenth day of the twelfth month, while Xiao Ruxun was leading his army to Zhuozhou, he received a message from Li Rusong. He was already approaching Shanhai Pass with twenty thousand soldiers and would soon be able to enter Shanhai Pass. After that, they would set out for the capital. Everything would be in accordance with Xiao Ruxun's instructions.
Neither father nor son of the Li Clan were stupid. They were both smart.
Smart people!
Xiao Ruxun helplessly sighed.
The army then began to advance.
At this juncture, everyone in the army was abnormally excited, and this excitement was reflected in every part of the army. In the past, if the army marched just a little faster, some of the civil officials would complain that they were tired, but now, they no longer complained. Every day, they would ask when they would arrive at the capital. In the past, some people would complain that it was cold, but now, they no longer complained. Their faces were red, clearly excited.
It was as if the road to power was so exciting and exciting that they could even ignore fatigue and cold for it.
Everyone knew where they were running, everyone knew what they were doing, and everyone understood what they could gain by doing this.
Zhuozhou had been 'heavily' guarded by Shen Yicheng's soldiers, but a trifling garrison of three thousand soldiers had been unable to withstand a single blow from the frenzied army. Xiao Ruxun was sure that if there were bulldozers, the walls of Zhuozhou would be flattened by a group of soldiers driving a bulldozer over, the entire city flattened.
Let's see how they attack?
The cannons roared in unison, twenty red barbarian cannons bombarded the walls of Zhuo Prefecture, riddling them with holes. Then, the army carried scaling ladders and attacked the city from the front. In less than an hour, the city wall was breached, and an hour later, Xiao Ruxun's army entered Zhuo Prefecture and continued to advance.
Fangshan and Liangxiang were not obstacles at all. They were not even worth mentioning.
On the 21st of the twelfth month, Fangshan and Liangxiang were breached one after another. Although there were troops stationed there, they did not even have the courage to raise their swords in the face of the red-eyed Zhennan Army. They were routed thousands of miles away amidst the shouts of killing.
At this point, Shen Yicheng probably already knew that he was being attacked from both sides and that the capital had become an isolated city.
Naturally, Da Yun surrendered, and didn't fight. Instead, he negotiated terms with Yuan Huang's emissary on the other side of the city wall. Looking at the pitch-black cannons outside the city and the row of cannons behind them, as well as the ferocious and murderous soldiers behind them, Da Yun estimated how long he could resist.
And then, he decisively opened the gates and surrendered.
An hour ago, Shen Yicheng's men had sent a letter saying that reinforcements had arrived and that Da Yun was required to leave the city and recapture the Tianjin Garrison.
Recapture my ass! You have reinforcements, but others don't?
Do you think I'm seeking death when I'm surrounded by an endless mass of soldiers?
Did you think I would come all this way just to be sent to my death? I can't even see the young emperor, and you want me to swear allegiance? Swear allegiance to your ass!
Open the gates and surrender! Reverse the attack!
Wuqing surrendered, and Da Yun brought Zhao Hu with him to persuade Tongzhou to surrender. On the 21st of the twelfth month, when Xiao Ruxun's army broke through Fangshan and Liangxiang, the ten thousand Gansu soldiers left in Tongzhou rose up, killing the commander of the capital and defeating the soldiers. They opened the gates to welcome Zhao Hu and Da Yun, and after a chaotic battle, Tongzhou was captured.
Thus, Yuan Huang led his army to a place forty li east of the capital's Chaoyang Gate. The cavalry arrived in the blink of an eye, and there were no more obstructions.
At the same time, Xiao Ruxun reached Lugou Bridge, and two armies of nearly one hundred and eighty thousand gathered in the capital. If what Li Rusong said was true, then once the twenty thousand cavalry under Li Rusong's command arrived and joined them, they would form yet another army, bringing the total force to two hundred thousand.
An army of two hundred thousand was enough to completely surround the capital. In truth, this was exactly what Xiao Ruxun had done. On the 23rd of the twelfth month, Xiao Ruxun's order was passed to the entire army. Following Xiao Ruxun's orders, the entire army spread out and surrounded the capital, not leaving a single gap for Shen Yicheng. They had no intention of giving him a path of survival.
And Xiao Ruxun himself had set up his headquarters on the southern bank of the Lugou River, directly across from Lugou Bridge.
This was the place where he had triumphantly led his army back more than half a year ago. It was also here that he had been welcomed by Minister of War Xiao Daheng, and it was here that he had begun the most glorious period of his life. Soon after, Shen Yicheng's mutiny had left him battered and exhausted, almost losing his life. If not for Liu Huangchang's secret assistance, he would have died in the capital.
At the time, Xiao Ruxun had never imagined that he would lead an army of two hundred thousand to the capital in just a little more than half a year, surrounding it and sneering at the capital's lofty walls.
At the time, he had only thought about vengeance and fleeing for his life. Far too many things had happened in this short period of time, and his mentality had undergone a massive transformation. He had begun to calmly reflect on everything he had done, including his failures.
Although he didn't want to admit it, he had truly been a little too naive. He had believed in the integrity of scholars and their 'strength of character', but he had never imagined that politicians and scholars were two completely different things. Whether a person had been a scholar or a general, as long as they were a politician, they were two different people.
Shen Yicheng was like this, and he was the same.
Shen Yicheng could use despicable schemes to deal with his political enemies, but could he not?
When playing politics, one truly couldn't care less about integrity …
With this understanding, Xiao Ruxun stood here, leading an army of two hundred thousand, coldly gazing at the capital that he had once regarded as his home.
Now that he was here, Xiao Ruxun was in no hurry to order an attack, nor was he in a hurry to negotiate with Shen Yicheng. He ordered the army to rest and reorganize, using the excuse of waiting for Li Rusong's cavalry. Afterward, he brought Ye Mengxiong and Ruxun to that small pavilion outside the capital.
From a certain perspective, this was the place where everything began.
Back then, in this small pavilion, Xiao Ruxun had sworn to Ye Mengxiong that every man had a responsibility for the rise and fall of the world. Although Ruxun was a crude general, he still had the heart to serve his country, a vow that would never change in this life.
He had used these words as the greatest respect he could give to this old man.
After six years, he had once more returned to this place. Things were the same, and so were people …
Just like before, there were a few appetizers, but what was different was that there was a pot of warm wine.
"Back then, it was also here that Duke Ye was framed by a scoundrel and had no choice but to flee south to Nanjing. Meanwhile, I did my utmost to vie with Li Rusong for the right to go to Korea to pacify the Japanese invaders. In the end, I won, and then I made a great contribution in Korea. Only then did I have the qualifications to advance. But ultimately, without Duke Ye's trust and support, I would not have been able to accomplish so much in the Ningxia campaign and gain His Majesty's favor."
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