On the 26th day of the twelfth month of the 26th year of the Wanli Era, the countdown to the Wanli Era began.
Compared to the scattered outer city, the defenses of the inner city were much tighter. Some of the preparations made to defend against the Northern Barbarians showed their effectiveness at this moment. All kinds of defensive equipment were prepared on the walls, and the soldiers seemed to be on standby. However, just from the atmosphere, one could see the huge gap between the two armies.
Two hundred thousand elite soldiers against a hundred thousand dispirited motley crew. Xiao Ruxun didn't know how to lose.
After fighting so many battles for so many years, he had always been outnumbered. He had never fought a battle that went so smoothly.
This also made him deeply understand the weakness of Boss's Empire. Why the snake could swallow an elephant, and why the barbarians outside the Great Wall could charge in as if there was no one there. This was the reason, this was the reality.
No matter what, a motley crew would never be a match for well-trained elite soldiers.
The moment the cannons roared, it was decided.
With the advantage of distance, Xiao Ruxun ordered the siege troops to use the Hongyi Cannons to bombard the city walls, destroying some of the defensive equipment on the city walls and destroying the defense organization and fighting spirit of the soldiers on the city towers. This would further destroy their already weak fighting spirit and completely destroy them. This would reduce the difficulty of the siege as much as possible.
After all, they were the attackers. If they were not careful, they would suffer a wave of damage. It wasn't easy to climb up the nine-meter-tall city walls with ladders. Just crossing the moat required a lot of maneuvering. In order to reduce the casualties of his soldiers as much as possible, Xiao Ruxun did his best.
The rumbling of the cannons rang out. The scorching solid shells wrapped in scorching air streaked across the air in a beautiful arc before falling on the city walls.
The city towers were instantly in a mess.
"It's a pity that it's not easy to control the accuracy of these cannons. I don't know when the cannons that can control the accuracy of these cannons will be able to be used in our army. Otherwise, it would be easier to attack this city. Every shot would hit the target. What a scene it would be!"
Zhou Yao followed beside Xiao Ruxun and heard Xiao Ruxun muttering to himself.
"Even without the advantage of the cannons, His Majesty's army is brave and skilled in battle. The morale of the soldiers on the city walls has long been taken away by His Majesty's army. I don't think they can hold out for long. This city will definitely be breached in less than two hours."
Xiao Ruxun smiled.
"This is the Daming Capital City, built with the full effort of several generations of emperors. Why is it so fragile in your eyes?"
Zhou Yao said, "There's no city in the world that can't be conquered. Whether it's majestic or not, the sturdiness of a city can never be determined by the thickness of its walls. Whether it's a capital city or not, has there been a lack of capital cities that have been conquered since the beginning of history?"
Xiao Ruxun nodded.
"Of course there are a lot of capitals that have been breached. In your opinion, what kind of city is the most difficult to breach?"
"A city formed by the will of the people must be indestructible."
Zhou Yao's answer was very orthodox.
"Hahahaha, well said, well said. A city formed by the will of the people is indeed indestructible."
After a pause, Xiao Ruxun said again, "Do you think this city can still be the capital?"
Zhou Yao was shocked.
"Your Majesty, you mean …"
"I mean, this city doesn't seem to be suitable to be the capital."
Xiao Ruxun said slowly, "Zixian, I don't think it's suitable to be the capital of the new dynasty."
"This … Your Majesty, although Yan Jing is the capital of the former Ming Dynasty, it has been the capital for more than two hundred years. All the facilities are very complete and can be used with a little reorganization. If you want to change the location of the capital, it will inevitably cost a lot. Your Majesty, do you want to move the capital to Nanjing?"
Zhou Yao looked at Xiao Ruxun.
"This can be discussed. I haven't decided yet. But, Zixian, don't you think the weather has been getting colder and colder in recent years?"
Zhou Yao froze for a moment. "Your Majesty, you mean?"
"The colder the weather, the further north one goes, the less food can grow in the land. As the capital, Yan Jing is located at the gate of the country. It is completely unable to be self-sufficient in food and other resources. Thus, it has to rely on the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to meet its needs. This gives me the opportunity to strike a decisive blow.
There are more than one million people living in the capital. How can the food and other resources they need be few? The people of Jiangnan are tired for a long time. Moreover, there have been many incidents along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal due to special circumstances. These are all malpractices, and I want to get rid of them.
The status of the capital is indeed important, but I don't think it's good to expend too much of the country's energy to support the capital. If we can move the capital south to a region that can still provide for itself and reduce the pressure on the people, wouldn't that be better? "
Hearing Xiao Ruxun's words, Zhou Yao hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty doesn't want to keep Yan Jing?"
Xiao Ruxun shook his head. "Yan Jing can continue to exist as the capital of the new dynasty, but I will only keep it as a strategic military city. The ordinary people will need to move south, and only the soldiers will be stationed there as the base for the northern expedition. The Beijing-Hangzhou Canal will only be used for military supplies. This will reduce the pressure on the entire Beijing-Hangzhou Canal and greatly reduce the consumption of manpower.
In the past, Emperor Cheng moved the capital to Yan Jing for the northern expedition against the Mongolians. In the current situation, Yan Jing has completely become the front line. Not only do we need to ensure the livelihood of the people and officials, we also need to maintain a large number of troops stationed there. The consumption is too great. I don't want to keep the system of the nine borders. There is no longer any meaning in continuing to use Yan Jing as the capital. "
If this was the case, it seemed like a new idea?
Zhou Yao suddenly felt that Xiao Ruxun's words made sense.
The capital was too close to the front lines, and while it was true that the Son of Daming was valiant in guarding the gates, the price was a little too high. Over the years, the capital had been threatened many times. Placing the Emperor in such danger truly did not seem like the correct choice.
If the capital was moved south and Yan Jing became a strategic military city, it was not impossible …
At the very least, there was one thing that Xiao Ruxun had said that was correct.
The northern grain harvest had been poor for years, and it was impossible for them to be self-sufficient. They needed a large amount of supplies from the south, and not only did this consume too much manpower, it was also easy to cause problems. A major reason why Xiao Ruxun had been able to quickly succeed this time was that he had cut off the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, cutting off the source of food for the Shen Yicheng government and rendering them powerless to resist.
From this, it could be seen that the new dynasty truly was not a good choice to make the capital of Beijing. If it was purely used as a strategic military city and a large number of people were moved south, it would greatly reduce the pressure and help the people recover.
Moreover, the new dynasty was now completely bound to Xiao Ruxun. The strength left behind by the previous dynasty was simply not enough to contend against the strength in Xiao Ruxun's hands. If Xiao Ruxun wanted to choose another place as the capital, he would feel almost no pressure.
If he really wanted to change the capital at this time, there was a very good chance of success.
As Zhou Yao looked at the rumbling cannons and the billowing smoke of the battlefield, he knew that there was truly a very good chance of success.
Under the barrage of cannons, the ancient and majestic walls seemed to be on the verge of collapse, seemingly incapable of resisting this assault.
And Xiao Ruxun did not seem to intend to wait any longer.
He gave the order to seize the city.
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