Chapter 569: Podu

Soon.

The battle reports of the Great Ming Empire reached Zhu Ying's ears.

As the Commander of the Royal Guard, Liu Lei, riding a Pterosaur, reported to Zhu Ying, who was positioned above the void: "Reporting to His Imperial Grandson, the three main armies of our Great Ming Empire have arrived within fifty miles of the Ming Kingdom's capital!"

"The army has just annihilated the martial arts experts of the Dragon Protection Villa!"

As Liu Lei's voice fell, a look of satisfaction appeared on Zhu Ying's face.

"Very good."

"Continue the offensive!"

"Tell Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen that these three armies must break through the capital of the Ming Kingdom today!"

Following Zhu Ying's command, Liu Lei, as the Commander of the Royal Guard, immediately accepted the order!

"As you command!"

Soon.

The Royal Guard passed Zhu Ying's orders to the generals of the Great Ming Empire. Immediately after, the three main armies of the Great Ming Empire surged forward in a grand procession toward the capital of the Ming Kingdom.

Meanwhile.

Inside the capital of the Ming Kingdom, within the Imperial Palace's Fengtian Hall.

The entire civil and military bureaucracy was in a state of total chaos!

"Have you all heard? The armies of the Great Ming Empire are about to arrive at the capital! It seems our Ming Kingdom is doomed today!"

"Presumptuous! All the martial arts experts are gathered in the Ming Kingdom; how could we possibly fall!"

"That's right! Besides the help of these martial arts experts, we also have the Golden Wheel Dharma King from Tibet and the Prince of Zhennan from the Dali Kingdom. The Ming Kingdom definitely has the strength to fight this battle!"

"But... where have the Golden Wheel Dharma King and the Prince of Zhennan gone?"

Soon, the civil and military officials of the Ming Kingdom noticed something amiss. The Golden Wheel Dharma King and the Prince of Zhennan of the Dali Kingdom, who were in the palace just moments ago, had vanished!

When Zhu Houzhao, sitting upon the dragon throne, learned of this, he was nearly driven to death by rage!

"What?"

"The Golden Wheel Dharma King and the Prince of Zhennan have disappeared? How is this possible! Send people to search immediately! You must find those two!"

The Emperor of the Ming Kingdom shouted in a panicked tone.

At that moment, Zhu Wushi, known as the Iron-Fisted Marquis, spoke to the Emperor in a cold voice: "Your Majesty, the Golden Wheel Dharma King and the Prince of Zhennan must have heard that the Great Ming Empire's army was approaching the capital and fled directly!"

"Tibet and the Dali Kingdom are small nations in themselves; it is impossible for them to defeat the powerful Great Ming Empire!"

As Zhu Wushi finished speaking, a murderous intent flashed across the face of the Ming Emperor!

"Damnable!"

"Tibet and the Dali Kingdom actually dared to mock me! They are simply seeking death!"

"Send troops to attack Tibet and the Dali Kingdom immediately!"

Zhu Houzhao ordered in a fit of rage, but Cao Zhengchun, who was Zhu Houzhao's right-hand man, hurriedly intervened: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the three main armies of the Great Ming Empire are about to invade our capital!"

"Currently, our Ming Kingdom is in a state of extreme crisis. The priority, naturally, is to deal with the Great Ming Empire!"

"As for the matters of the Dali Kingdom and Tibet, let us discuss them at a later date!"

After Cao Zhengchun finished speaking, the Ming officials in the Fengtian Hall also stepped forward one after another to persuade him.

Zhu Houzhao let out a helpless sigh, then turned his gaze toward Wu Longhui.

One must know that in the current Ming Kingdom, Wu Longhui was the only general who had engaged the Great Ming Empire and survived.

Therefore, for this Emperor of the Ming Kingdom, he could only place all his hopes in Wu Longhui!

"Wu Longhui!"

"How many troops are currently left in the entire capital?"

Hearing Zhu Houzhao call his name, Wu Longhui immediately stepped out from among the officials in the Fengtian Hall.

After a brief moment of thought, Wu Longhui responded immediately: "Reporting to Your Majesty, in recent days, various regions have sent troops to aid the throne, plus the previous Imperial Guards..."

"Currently, the total number of troops that can be mobilized is approximately one hundred and fifty thousand!"

Upon hearing Wu Longhui's report, the Emperor's face fell into silence.

To be honest, he knew very well that relying solely on one hundred and fifty thousand troops would be insufficient to stop the Great Ming Empire's siege.

After all, not long ago, Wu Longhui had led an army of three hundred thousand to battle the Great Ming Empire at Shanhai Pass, and the final result was the total annihilation of those three hundred thousand troops.

Thus, Zhu Houzhao was very clear: the possibility of relying on these one hundred and fifty thousand guards to block the impact of the Great Ming Empire was almost zero.

But since things had come to this, he had no other choice.

The Emperor of the Ming Kingdom handed over the military tally and said to Wu Longhui: "General Wu, the fate of the Ming Kingdom rests entirely in your hands."

"I entrust these one hundred and fifty thousand troops to you. No matter what, you must hold back the Great Ming Empire's siege."

"As long as you can withstand this invasion by the Great Ming Empire, I will certainly not mistreat you."

Truthfully, when Wu Longhui heard Zhu Houzhao's words, his inner emotions were extremely complex, because he knew exactly how terrifying the strength of the Great Ming Empire was.

Relying only on these one hundred and fifty thousand troops, let alone resisting the Great Ming Empire's impact, even holding out for a single hour would be quite remarkable.

But as things stood, as the Great General of the Ming Kingdom, he could not defy the imperial decree.

Thus, Wu Longhui could only grit his teeth and accept the order.

"This general obeys. Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I shall defend the city to the death."

Immediately after, Wu Longhui took the Tiger Tally and hurriedly left the Fengtian Hall to begin preparations for the battle against the Great Ming Empire.

After Wu Longhui left, the atmosphere in the entire Fengtian Hall became quite oppressive.

Clearly, most of the Ming officials did not have much confidence in the upcoming siege.

At this time, Zhu Wushi began to persuade the Emperor to surrender once more.

Zhu Wushi slowly stepped out from among the officials and said to Zhu Houzhao on the dragon throne with a heavy tone: "Your Majesty, things have reached this point; there is no longer any meaning in continuing to fight."

"For the lives of our Ming soldiers and the livelihood of the people, this official implores Your Majesty to surrender to the Great Ming Empire immediately. Only then can we..."

Before Zhu Wushi could finish, a deep voice suddenly rang out from outside the hall

"Surrender is absolutely not an option!"

As the voice fell, an elderly man with white hair slowly appeared before everyone.

This person was none other than the Grandmaster of Wudang, Zhang Sanfeng.

When everyone saw Zhang Sanfeng's arrival, they were naturally quite surprised; even the Ming Emperor, Zhu Houzhao, stood up directly from his dragon throne!

"Zhang Sanfeng, Grand Preceptor Zhang, why have you come?"

The Ming Emperor hurried to Zhang Sanfeng's side to inquire.

Zhang Sanfeng stroked his beard and said to the Emperor with a serious expression: "A while ago, I was in secluded cultivation within the Wudang Mountains and was unaware of the fall of the Song Kingdom."

"Now that I have emerged from my seclusion, I heard from my disciples that not only has the Song Kingdom fallen, but the Jin Kingdom has also been defeated by the Great Ming Empire, and the experts of the Shaolin Temple have all been exterminated."

"Upon hearing this, I was naturally quite enraged. Then, I heard that the Great Ming Empire intended to attack the Ming Kingdom, so I have come specifically to assist."

As Zhang Sanfeng explained his purpose, the Ming Emperor was naturally quite moved.

Zhu Houzhao gripped Zhang Sanfeng's hands tightly, his voice trembling as he said: "I truly thank the Grand Preceptor. If the Grand Preceptor can help my Ming Kingdom withstand this impact, I will certainly reward you handsomely!"

However, after Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, Zhang Sanfeng shook his head and said indifferently: "I have not come this time for wealth or honor, but for the righteousness of the martial world."

"Shaolin and my Wudang have always been on good terms. Now that Shaolin has been exterminated by the Great Ming Imperial Grandson, as the Grandmaster of the Wudang Sect, I must seek vengeance."

But after Zhang Sanfeng said this, Zhu Wushi, standing nearby, let out a cold sneer.

"Hmph! Grand Preceptor Zhang, you are being far too confident. If I remember correctly, you are merely at the Divine Ability Realm of martial arts. But this Great Ming Imperial Grandson has long since entered the Astral Qi Realm."

"Do you truly believe that the Wudang Sect can kill the Great Ming Imperial Grandson?"

Facing Zhu Wushi's sarcasm, Zhang Sanfeng responded with a serious face: "How do you know that I am merely at the Divine Ability Realm?"

As he spoke, a small amount of Astral Qi gathered within Zhang Sanfeng's body.

This sight caused Zhu Wushi to freeze for a moment.

Zhu Wushi swallowed hard and hurriedly asked: "Could it be that you have also broken through the peak of the Divine Ability Realm and entered the Half-Step Astral Qi Realm?"

Having sensed the Astral Qi within Zhang Sanfeng, Zhu Wushi was greatly shocked.

However, facing Zhu Wushi's inquiry, Zhang Sanfeng did not provide an answer.

Instead, he turned to Zhu Houzhao and said: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. As long as I am here, as long as the Wudang Sect is here, the Great Ming Imperial Grandson will certainly not be able to harm Your Majesty in the slightest."

"Good. In that case, I shall rely entirely on the Grand Preceptor."

...

While Zhang Sanfeng and Zhu Houzhao were conversing, the three main armies of the Great Ming Empire had simultaneously arrived outside the capital.

Upon the city walls,

Wu Longhui, the Great General of the Ming Kingdom, looked uneasy.

Especially when he saw the Great Ming armies arriving one after another outside the city, his nervousness was almost visible to the naked eye.

A guard said to Wu Longhui: "Great General, the enemy has arrived. What should we do?"

Wu Longhui did not spend much time thinking and said directly: "If we rely on a static defense of the capital, we will surely fail."

"The firepower of the Great Ming Empire's cannons is immense. Once the enemy opens fire, the city walls will inevitably collapse."

"Therefore, at this stage, we can only strike first to gain the advantage and take the initiative."

When Wu Longhui was at Shanhai Pass, he had fought the Great Ming Empire. At that time, he had intended to rely on the terrain of Shanhai Pass for defense, but he had not expected that once the Great Ming Empire deployed their Redcoat Cannons, the entire wall of Shanhai Pass would instantly collapse.

Thus, Wu Longhui knew very well that the Great Ming Empire's Redcoat Cannons were incredibly powerful; to defend the capital would be nothing short of suicide.

Consequently, Wu Longhui simply chose to take the initiative.

Before long,

Fifty thousand cavalrymen were all in position.

Clad in armor and mounted on warhorses, Wu Longhui said to the defending soldiers: "Open the city gates!"

The city gates of the capital slowly opened. Then, Wu Longhui roared loudly: "Charge! Anyone who retreats in battle shall be executed without mercy!"

As Wu Longhui's voice fell, the fifty thousand cavalrymen did not dare to hesitate and immediately charged toward the Great Ming Empire's army.

Meanwhile, on the side of the Great Ming Empire,

Lan Yu showed a hint of surprise upon seeing Wu Longhui leading fifty thousand cavalry out of the city.

"This Ming general has some backbone, actually choosing to take the initiative."

"In that case, this General shall play with them for a while."

After Lan Yu finished speaking, he also donned his armor and personally led the cavalry of the War Cavalry Regiment to meet them.

To ensure fairness, Lan Yu did not allow the cavalry of the War Cavalry Regiment to use modern weapons; they fought using cold weapons instead.

Furthermore, Lan Yu only led ten thousand cavalrymen.

Despite this,

Once the two armies clashed, the cavalry of the War Cavalry Regiment led by Lan Yu instantly gained the upper hand!

Every single cavalryman in the War Cavalry Regiment swung their weapons wildly, continuously slaughtering the Ming troops.

Lan Yu himself fought like one against a hundred; he rode his warhorse directly into the heart of the enemy ranks and began a frenzied slaughter.

In less than the time it takes to burn an incense stick,

More than half of the fifty thousand cavalry led by Wu Longhui had already suffered casualties. Seeing this, Wu Longhui was deeply shaken by the strength of the Great Ming Empire's cavalry.

Thus, Wu Longhui did not dare to hesitate and could only hurriedly order a retreat.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"

"Stop fighting!"

"The strength of the Great Ming Empire's army is too great; we are no match for them!"

Wu Longhui shouted to his soldiers as he retreated.

Unfortunately, Lan Yu gave these Ming troops no chance to retreat.

In a flash, the War Cavalry Regiment led by Lan Yu utilized the speed advantage of their horses to circle around to the rear of the enemy, cutting off the Ming army's retreat.

What followed was a battle of annihilation.

The fifty thousand elites of the Ming Kingdom were almost entirely wiped out, with only the commander, Wu Longhui, leading a few guards in a frantic escape back into the capital.

Upon escaping back into the city, Wu Longhui did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Shoot arrows! Shoot arrows quickly!"

Instantly, the defending soldiers pulled their bowstrings, and countless arrows rained down from the sky, heading straight for the Great Ming Empire's soldiers!

However, when Lan Yu saw that Wu Longhui intended to hold the city, a look of disdain appeared on his face.

Afterward,

The artillery regiments led by Lan Yu, Mu Ying, and Guo Zhen simultaneously pushed out the Redcoat Cannons, aiming them all at the city walls of the capital.

A moment later, hundreds of cannons fired their shells simultaneously.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

With successive thunderous roars, the entire city wall of the Ming Kingdom's capital completely collapsed.

Immediately,

The three main armies of the Great Ming Empire surged into the capital with irresistible force, beginning a frenzied pursuit of the Ming troops.

As the commander, Wu Longhui was currently heavily wounded and completely unable to fight back.

Meanwhile,

Inside the Imperial Palace, in the Fengtian Hall, the Emperor of the Ming Kingdom and the civil and military officials all heard the deafening roar of the cannon fire.

This instantly terrified everyone.