I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 717 All-Desert

Chapter 717 A Desperate Gamble

Wang Wenzhou, in a frenzy, ordered his entire army to attack the city. After more than two hours of fierce fighting, of Wang Wenzhou's 2 troops, 8 were killed or wounded, leaving only a little over 5. The defenders on the city walls were also on the verge of collapse. Although Wu Sangui brought more than 3 soldiers into the city to provide reinforcements, the defenders inside the city also suffered heavy casualties in the face of Wang Wenzhou's relentless attack.

Wang Wenzhou looked up at the sky; it was almost dark. If he couldn't take down the city wall before nightfall, another group of soldiers might suddenly appear inside the city overnight.

Wang Wenzhou's attack on Beijing this time was completely different from Li Zicheng's siege of Beijing later. At Li Zicheng's time, the Donglin Party members in the capital all acted nonchalantly, as if it had nothing to do with them. Zhu Youjian was dead, and they continued to serve as his ministers; it was just that the emperor had changed.

This time, however, the emperor and his officials were truly of one mind in the capital, with the Donglin Party vowing to defend the city to the death. Although these civil officials were practically useless in combat, they were masters of rhetoric and could easily persuade tens of thousands of people to come out and defend the city in one night.

Wang Wenzhou was now truly making a desperate gamble; he felt he had no time left. If he delayed any longer, and reinforcements from all over arrived, he wouldn't even have a chance to escape and would only be left to await his death.

Wang Wenzhou, with Gao Guiying in his arms, took a sip of wine and solemnly said, "Jian Fengyu, bring me my armor. I'm going to personally attack the city!"

"Ah!" Sheng Lan's expression changed upon hearing this. This rascal should never be allowed to drink; look at how he causes trouble as soon as he drinks! My nemesis, what city are you attacking?

Sheng Lan hurriedly advised, "My lord, you mustn't! The brothers have already occupied a section of the city wall and are fighting the enemy. I estimate that it won't be long before we can take the wall. You mustn't put yourself in danger!"

Wang Wenzhou said irritably, "Jian Fengyu, are you even a man? What are you fussing about? This is the most crucial moment. I'm doing this to boost morale. If we can't take Beijing before dark, we might never have another chance!"

Sheng Lan looked at Gao Guiying and said softly, "Madam, please persuade the master!"

Gao Guiying thought for a moment, then took Wang Wenzhou's arm and said softly, "Boxin, stop fooling around! You don't know martial arts. How about this, I'll go and help you boost morale!"

"Sister, you're so good! How could I let you do something so dangerous! Listen to me, don't make a fuss! I don't want to be cannon fodder either. The key is, if I don't step in to boost morale, this battle will probably be fought for nothing!" Wang Wenzhou hugged Gao Guiying and kissed her.

"Sigh..." Wang Wenzhou sighed and said regretfully, "I was a little excited at the time. I really didn't expect that those cowardly bastards from the Donglin Party would fight so hard! Now we have no choice but to fight to the death! If we can't take Beijing, we won't even be able to go back to Hanshan. I'm afraid Hanshan has already fallen into Zhu Youjian's hands. I wonder if my baby Mu Yiyun has escaped yet."

Wang Wenzhou didn't bring Mu Yiyun along because he initially thought taking Beijing would be easy. He would then negotiate with Huang Taiji and Dorgon, as these two were tying down a large number of elite Ming troops.

But Mu Yiyun baby forcibly castrated Dorgon. If Dorgon sees Mu Yiyun baby, something bad will definitely happen.

At that very moment, at Cheng Benqing's residence in Hanshan, Mu Yiyun was holding a meeting to gather people and plan to reclaim...

Hanshan.

It turned out that once news of Wang Wenzhou's attack on the capital reached Hanshan, Sun Chuanting and Zhang Chengze realized they had been tricked. So, that very day, Sun Chuanting led his army and captured Hanshan. Because all the troops in Hanshan had been taken away by Wang Wenzhou, Sun Chuanting's forces encountered little resistance.

Afterwards, Jang Song-thaek discussed the matter with Sun Chuanting, and decided that Sun Chuanting would stay in Hanshan while Jang Song-thaek would lead his troops to the capital to defend the emperor.

Sun Chuanting was actually reluctant to stay in Hanshan, after all, serving the emperor was a prestigious job, and it would also bring him the honor of saving the emperor. However, he also knew that a large force had to remain in Hanshan, otherwise, as soon as the troops left, Hanshan would fall back into Wang Wenzhou's territory.

Cheng Benqing said solemnly, "Madam, please give the order quickly! These government troops are not government troops at all; they are clearly bandits and robbers! With them around, the people of Hanshan are suffering terribly! You don't know, just the day before yesterday, my neighbor's entire family was killed. The woman died a horrible death, and all their belongings were looted."

"I went to report to the authorities, but Li Decheng, the prefect of Hanshan, is a man who can't make decisions. That old bastard Sun Chuanting, however, claims it was the work of rebels! What rebels? When the government troops weren't in Hanshan, such a horrific thing never happened!"

“Yes!” Li Jinshui agreed, “Madam, now that the master is not here, only you can make the decisions!”

Mu Yiyun said with a wry smile, "Gentlemen, Hanshan has no troops now. What can we do? Are we supposed to let the people attack the Ming army?"

In fact, the atrocities committed by the Ming army were all secretly orchestrated by Mu Yiyun Baobao. Her aim, of course, was to incite hatred among the people of Hanshan, to incite them to rise up in rebellion, and to drive the Ming army out of Hanshan. Mu Yiyun Baobao knew the efforts Wang Wenzhou had made for Hanshan, and she did not want Hanshan to fall into Zhu Youjian's hands.

Cheng Benqing quickly replied, "Madam! The people of Hanshan are all men of courage and integrity! Please rest assured! Everyone will be eager to defend our home and country!"

"Defend Hanshan!" Li Jinshui reminded.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Cheng Benqing continued, "It is everyone's responsibility to protect Hanshan! When you first put forward this slogan, I was somewhat displeased! But now it seems that you were very farsighted! The court is no longer the court it used to be. The Ming army is like bandits and robbers, preying on the people of Hanshan! Those treacherous villains in the court should indeed be killed!"

Even now, Lao Cheng remains loyal to the emperor and loves his country. He always feels that the emperor is not wrong; the fault lies with those treacherous and wicked people around him! Wang Wenzhou's uprising to purge the emperor's inner circle was the right thing to do!

"Madam! For the sake of the people of Hanshan, please give the order! As long as you step forward and raise your voice, the people will surely support you!" Cheng Benqing pleaded desperately.

Mu Yiyun thought for a moment and then said, "In that case, let's do it this way! Let's go! We'll go to the street right now!"

"Madam, you mustn't!" Little Monster 001 hurriedly said, "Madam, the streets are full of Ming soldiers and officers, it's too dangerous for you to go out!"

Mu Yiyun said coldly, "If I don't go to the streets, how can I rally the people? My husband has always loved the people. If he knew what the people of Hanshan were going through, he would do the same! Don't try to persuade me!"

In a short while, the gates of Cheng Benqing's mansion opened wide, and Mu Yiyun led Cheng Benqing and others onto the street, protected by more than twenty guards in plain clothes.

"Protecting Hanshan is everyone's responsibility!"

"Fellow elders of Hanshan, take up your weapons and drive these scoundrels out of Hanshan!"

"Hanshan belongs to the people of Hanshan, and no one is allowed to prey on the people of Hanshan!"

In an instant, led by Mu Yiyun, everyone shouted slogans.