The rebel outpost had approached the periphery of Jiangning, and from dawn, the Praetorian Guards and Jiangning Navy of the Imperial Horse Prison had left the city in confusion, for fear that the rebel army would come and block the city and not be able to get out.

The city has been completely plunged into chaos, and there are people everywhere who are setting fires and breaking down houses and robbing people, and I don't know how many traitors are making waves inside, how many homeless people and local ruffians in the city are following and taking advantage of the fire to rob, and the government army and the imperial camp army either abandon their armor and flee, or directly participate in the robbery.

Standing at the head of the city, you can see that there are groups of soldiers and horses participating in the robbery, although Chen Xiyan was ordered to stay, but he has no ability to stop the spread of chaos in the city - the rebels are coming, these generals who are taking advantage of the fire will probably rush to join the enemy, right?

At this time, there were only five or six generals who stayed in the city and were willing to obey Chen Xiyan's orders, and there were only three or four thousand imperial battalions who could directly control them, and the minds of these three or four thousand imperial battalions were extremely unstable.

The emperor and the officials in the city have run away, and the city is in chaos, if there is not the last bit of conscience or the last line of fear, who wants to stay in the city and wait for the rebels to kill?

The general trend has gone, and the general trend has been lost! Chen Xiyan, Wang Yue and others were full of despair.

"Where is Gao Zongting?" Chen Xiyan could only rush to the hospital at this time, and could only hope that Huaidong's deployment in Jiangning could be the last straw.

"Or at Donghua Gate." Zeng Mingxin said.

Chen Xiyan and the others, surrounded by more than 100 generals, went to Donghua Gate. When I crossed the southeast Chaoyang Gate, I met Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan stumbling over.

Zhang Yubo was holding a knife in his hand, wearing a leather armor, covered with bloodstains, and more than a dozen soldiers behind him were all stained with blood, and three or five people were still injured, supporting each other, obviously killed from the chaos in the city.

Although Zhang Yubo is a civil servant, he joined the army in his early years, arresting and arresting Kou, and he is a man and a chivalrous man, so he has the style of a military general. was supposed to be a famous handsome man with both civil and military skills, but his temperament was too straight, and he was not valued by Gu Wuchen at the beginning, and he was unwilling to dissolve into Huaidong later.

Zhao Shuhan was much more embarrassed, his forehead was torn, and his robe—apparently rolled in the mud several times.

"Chen Xiang, Jiangning City is in chaos!" Zhang Yubo roared in pain.

"Why didn't you two go west with the emperor?" Chen Xiyan asked.

"I can't bear to go, I don't have the face to go." Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan replied, and saluted Zeng Mingxin again, "Old man Zeng didn't leave either?" ”

"I can't bear to go, I don't have the face to go." Zeng Mingxin replied with the original words.

Chen Xiyan wanted to cry when he heard this, if there were three or four out of ten officials and generals in the city, and there could be sincerity like Zeng Mingxin, Zhang Yubo, and Zhao Shuhan, why would the situation be like this? It was Cheng Yuqian, Zuo Chengmu, and Zhang Yan who finally made cartilage eggs and rolled their families to the west.

Although Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan were good friends with Lin Lian, they were indeed loyal to the imperial court.

After the war in Xuzhou, Zhang Yubo finally chose to return to Jiangning, and Zhao Shuhan did not leave Jiangning to go to Huaidong even if he was depressed all these years-Chen Xiyan still knew this, but Zhang Yubo, Zhao Shuhan and Lin Lian's personal friendship was there, and they couldn't be used no matter what.

Chen Xiyan didn't expect that the two of them didn't leave Jiangning to avoid trouble in the end, nor did they go west with the emperor to patrol the hunt.

Chen Xiyan didn't say much, after meeting Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan, he continued to go to Donghua Gate, and encountered two waves of chaotic soldiers on the way, and they were all killed and retreated - Chen Xiyan didn't expect that in the end, there were still some loyal imperial camp generals who drew their swords and saw blood, and they actually started first with their own family.

Chen Xiyan still met Gao Zongting and Zhao Hu in the Donghua Gate Tower, and Chen Enze came with Gao Zongting and Zhao Hu.

When Chen Enze was by Lin Bin's side, he was still a teenager, but now he is dressed and armored, although he is thin, his eyes are bright, he is energetic, capable and alert, and he does not seem to be troubled by the current chaos in Jiangning City and has fallen into a collapsed situation, this mental outlook is far beyond the reach of the generals of the imperial army.

When Zhao Hu was in Jiangning, he came to prominence, and he was very reused and trusted by Lin Tie, and at this time, he had the demeanor of a general, climbed the city tower, and looked at the chaos in the city calmly.

Huaidong can become a force, and Lin Jian has the talent of a hero, but it also has a great relationship with Huaidong's ability to win people. The officers and soldiers festered for thousands of miles, Dong Yuan and Yue Lengqiu were also famous commanders, but their records also won and lost, and they could not be compared with the Huaidong Army.

Gao Zongting looked a little haggard, he had been working hard during this time, and he had not been able to take a good rest, and he was facing such a complicated situation when he first came to Jiangning, so he was naturally extremely exhausted.

Zhang Yubo and Zhao Shuhan were naturally overjoyed when they saw Gao Zongting, Zhao Hu, and Chen Enze present.

When Lin Xulu sent people to contact them several days ago to take them and their families out of the city, they refused Huaidong's kindness, knowing that Huaidong had made arrangements on Prison Island, but they didn't know the details.

Seeing Gao Zongting, Zhao Hu, and Chen Enze, three people who should not have appeared in Jiangning, only Huaidong had a response to this situation - Zhang Zhao and the others, although they disagreed with Huaidong a lot, they were sincere in wanting to save the lives of more than a million people in the city.

Zhang Yubo asked directly: "Mr. Gao, how many soldiers are coming from Huaidong?" ”

"Jiangning is in chaos too quickly, and it is also beyond our expectations," Gao Zongting said, "At present, there are only 3,000 people available on the estuary!" ”

"Only 3,000 people!" Zhang Yubo closed his eyes in pain, there were too few people.

Jiangning City is built by the mountains and rivers, it is not a square of rules and regulations, but generally each city wall is more than ten miles wide, with the city head step by step and a soldier and an auxiliary soldier, to hold Jiangning City, at least 20,000 soldiers, 20,000 auxiliary soldiers or people's bravery.

Jiangning City is dangerous, but too big.

Lin Tie was able to defend Yangxin City with 3,000 soldiers, although Yangxin City is not dangerous, but the key is small, only more than 1,000 steps around the city, and the city can arrange two to three soldiers per step. And Lin Tie will use soldiers, the morale of the Jiangdong Left Army at that time is strong, unless Hu Bing can fight the three thousand soldiers of the Jiangdong Left Army at the head of the city, otherwise it is impossible to take Yangxin City.

Jiangning City is so big, 60,000 soldiers and horses of the rebels' right wing and the two armies on the middle road are about to pounce, and it is impossible for 3,000 people in Huaidong to hold Jiangning City.

Huaidong soldiers and horses can be said to be the first elite in the world, Gao Zongting knows the soldiers, and Zhao Hu is also a brave general in Huaidong, but after all, he is a human, not a god. The soldiers and horses of the luxury family directly attacked Jiangning, and it was not a straw egg soldier or pus soldier like the imperial camp army, so it was impossible for Jiangning City to hold it, otherwise the Hanghu army would not have supported Liyang and would have been destroyed in less than ten days.

Meng Yishan was able to personally put on his armor and go into battle, and in the end, his life and death were unknown, which shows that even if the Hanghu Army was not as elite as the Huaidong Army, its determination to defend Liyang City was still extremely resolute.

Chen Xiyan was also powerless, all he could control was three or four thousand unstable imperial battalion soldiers and horses, and if he wanted to defend the city, he must first divide his troops to suppress the chaos in the city. Jiangning City is too big, and the number of residents in the city, including the influx of displaced people, is far more than one million, and now it is completely chaotic. The main force of the rebels can arrive in half a day at the latest, throw six or seven thousand people into it, and suppress the chaos in the city in half a day?

And I don't know how many rebel stakes and spies have been mixed in, but there are certainly any, and there are by no means a few, some have been lurking before, and some have recently infiltrated with the homeless.

The order in the city is not chaotic, and the hundreds or thousands of people who sneaked in the rebels can't set off a big storm, but at this time, they are mixed in the crowd of more than a million to disturb the chaos, plus more than 10,000 rebels, there are only six or seven thousand people, how can they be suppressed before the main force of the rebels arrives?

"Jiangning is difficult to defend, and the imperial city is difficult to attack!" Gao Zong's eyes stared at Chen Xiyan with blazing eyes, "No matter how chaotic Jiangning City is, there won't be many deaths, but we must not indulge in the trapped beast of the luxury family to wreak havoc on Jiangning!" ”

When Gaozu founded the country, Jiangning was the capital, the old city of Jiangning was the imperial city, and the new solid city wall was built on the foundation of the old city on the periphery of the imperial city, which is the scale of today's Jiangning City.

The pattern of Jiangning City and Yanjing City is the same, it is a triple city. Although there is no outline city, but in terms of pattern, it must definitely be included in the top three of the world's male cities, and the imperial city mainly encloses the palace city and the six official offices of Jiangning.

Although Jiangning City is large, more than forty miles in circumference, but the imperial city is much smaller, Zhou is only three miles, and the palace city in the imperial city is even smaller, more than 100 steps in April, and it is not even comparable to the Chu Wangfu in Xuzhou City. This is mainly due to the financial difficulties of Gaozu when he first founded the country.

When Emperor Yongxing went to Jiangning as the king of Ning, he directly took the old palace city as the palace of King Ning, and when the old palace city of less than 500 steps was used as the palace of King Ning, he felt that it was very crowded, and it is no wonder that after he ascended the throne, he always thought about spending huge sums of money to build a new imperial city on the periphery of Jiangning.

Although Jiangning City was in chaos, the imperial city was still in Chen Xiyan's hands, and after the Praetorian Guards of the Imperial Horse Prison withdrew, Chen Xiyan still trusted the general and led hundreds of people to defend several openings in the imperial city.

It is difficult for three thousand soldiers to defend Jiangning City, but it is not difficult to defend the imperial city, at least for seven or eight days.

Although the walls of the imperial city are not wider than those of the outer city, they are also as high as two zhang, six feet thick, and are built of bricks and stones.

"The imperial city is located in the heart of Jiangning, three thousand armor soldiers, enough to defend the palace, even if the rebels take the outer city, but as long as two days, the Huaidong water camp can take the Dongyang Mansion army to cross the sky and enter the prison island, threaten the rebels from outside the Donghua Gate, and make the rebels difficult both internally and externally," Gao Zongting said with a cut of gold, "and then wait for the Pengcheng County Duke to lead the main force of Huaidong soldiers and horses to come to help!" If the enemy does not retreat, he will fight to the death under Jiangning City! ”

"The heart's plan is feasible," Wang Yue saw that Chen Xiyan hesitated, knowing that he was worried about letting Huaidong's soldiers and horses enter the imperial city, and it was impossible for him to clear it up afterwards, but it was related to the people of the city, so he had to persuade him, "The rebels are in internal and external difficulties, and they will inevitably not be able to spare their hands to slaughter the city, as long as the imperial city is not lost, the rebellious soldiers in the city will also be deterred, and they will definitely be restrained - in addition, the sooner the rebels are expelled, the less Jiangning will be damaged." If the rebels are allowed to hold on to Jiangning for three or five months, even if they are recaptured, they will be completely reduced to a ruined city! ”

Huaidong soldiers and horses are not too much, if the 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhejiang and Fujian army completely occupy Jiangning City, and defend it according to Xiongcheng, Huaidong will not have a good way to use it except for cooperating with the Jiangzhou army for a long time.

If Prison Island is a key point approaching Jiangning City, it cannot be missed, and the Imperial City is even more of a key point that puts death first and then lives. The imperial city can't be taken, and even if the 60,000 soldiers and horses of the Zhejiang and Fujian army control the outer city, they won't have much of the mind to defend it.

As long as Huaidong elite Jiang Ning is in his heart, the luxury family will not dare to relax military discipline and slaughter the soldiers.

"The people of the city!" Zhang Yubo suppressed his voice and yelled at Chen Xiyan.

The siege war is the most cruel to the people in the city, Yue Lengqiu guarded Xuzhou, the people in Xuzhou starved to death, and almost one-third died of disease, how long can the grain storage in the hands of the people of Jiangning City support, two months or three months? Even if the luxury family does not slaughter the city, they still have the ability to keep Jiangning City for three or five months and drag the main forces of Huaidong and Jiangzhou soldiers to death in the periphery.

What the luxury family plans is, at this time it is basically understood:

First, Jiangning will be completely disabled, the Jiangzhou Army and the Huaixi Army will be starved of money and food, and the Jinghu Army will also be trapped by money and food for a long time.

The second is to drag the main forces of the Huaidong Army and the Jiangzhou Army in Jiangning.

The third is that after the luxury flying bear occupies the entire territory of Jiangxi, he will lead the main force of soldiers and horses to the east to enter Jiangning to participate.

The fourth is to shake the foundation of Da Viet's political power, and even if Luo can be invited to advance eastward, it can also change the deployment of troops.

The fifth is three or five months, which is enough for Donghu to make a complete strategic adjustment in Hehuai, attack from Xinyang or Nanyang, and tear open the defense line in the upper reaches of the Huai River - the luxury family votes for Donghu, at least they can be crowned king.

The reason why Donghu didn't move was not that Donghu didn't want to move, but that it was only a little more than a month from the fall of Yuling Pass to the arrival of the Zhejiang-Fujian army under the city of Jiangning. In such a short period of time, Donghu was not allowed to react at all, and it would take ten days and half a month to know that Jiang Ning's letter was going to reach Yanjing City through the secret sentinel.

In a month's time, Donghu can't react, but if the luxury family captures Jiangning City and defends it for three or five months, will Donghu still have no reaction?

The generals and colonels who did not leave the imperial camp at the end also looked at Chen Xiyan eagerly.

The emperor fled for his life in a hurry, and he still wanted the generals of the imperial camp who stayed behind to remain loyal to him, which was undoubtedly delusional. Therefore, as soon as the news spread, the imperial camp army was in chaos, and most of the soldiers fled the night before, and then the rebels caused even greater chaos.

There are not many generals left, some are influenced by Chen Xiyan, some are gathered in the imperial city to protect, and some of the generals promoted by Li Zhuo and Gu Wuchen from the bottom have not changed - there are various reasons for these generals to persist until now and have not dispersed, but it does not mean that they really have the will to die to hit the stone with an egg, and when the main force of the rebels comes, in a desperate situation, the vast majority of them will still choose to either disperse or surrender to the enemy.

When Li Zhuo was the general of the Jiangning garrison, Gao Zongting's influence on the former Jiangning garrison army was still there, with Gao Zongting and 3,000 soldiers in Huaidong, and these generals of the imperial camp who insisted on not dispersing now saw that there was still hope for defending the imperial city.