When the little eunuch saw Zhu Yuanzhang's sharp eyes, he couldn't help shrinking, and he bowed with fear on his face and said: "Your Majesty, Wu Tongzhi is outside asking for an audience!"
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that the rebels were taking action, and after signaling the young eunuch to bring Wu Mengming in, he slowly stood up with some reluctance.
"Wu Qing, but the rebels from Baoding have arrived?"
Seeing Wu Mengming's worried look, Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly.
Wu Mengming was stunned and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, according to the information from Jin Yiwei, there are about 30,000 rebels heading towards the capital. It is estimated that they will arrive in an hour."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Have Ping Xihou and others left the capital?"
Wu Mengming said: "Pingxihou set out at the beginning of Xushi in accordance with His Majesty's instructions. Now I think he must have arrived near Juyongguan."
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect to sleep for such a long time. After being slightly startled, he looked at Wu Mengming and said, "How is the situation with Li Chengdong?"
Wu Mengming said: "General Li should have noticed that the army is preparing for war at this moment."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded again and said: "Okay, go and tell Wang Shangshu that no matter who comes to help today, the city gate is not allowed to be opened!"
Wu Mengming responded with a confused look on his face, turned around and walked out of Dongnuan Pavilion.
Seeing that Wu Mengming still didn't understand the key, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but shake his head secretly.
It turned out that he had already seen that Li Zi's division of troops to attack Li Guozhen was a trap, and one of his purposes was to force him to attack Juyong Pass.
Because if he didn't send troops, he would have to sit back and watch Li Guozhen fail.
Once Li Guozhen is defeated, Li Zicheng will have no worries. After joining Liu Fangliang's army, he can form an encirclement of the capital again.
If the reinforcements see that the rebels are gaining strength and defect before the battle, the situation will become even more passive.
Moreover, Li Zicheng not only asked Liu Zongmin and others to stand by in order to prevent him from worrying about the empty capital and not sending troops, but also deliberately spread the news of Ma Chongxi's defeat, just to strengthen his determination to send troops.
But if he sends troops to attack Juyongguan, Liu Zongmin will definitely lead his army to attack.
Although Liu Zongmin's military strength may not be able to capture the capital, it is enough to allow Gong Yonggu to return to the army.
At that time, Liu Zongmin would attack Gong Yonggu halfway and annihilate his main force, so that he could truly besiege the capital.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw this through and took advantage of his plan. He sent Gong Yonggu to lead his army out of the city to attack Juyong Pass, and at the same time ordered Wu Sangui and others to defend Liu Zongmin.
Although he knew that Wu Sangui would not do his best, facing Liu Zongmin's tens of thousands of troops, unless Wu Sangui surrendered to the enemy, he would still have to fight with the rebels even if he was just pretending.
At this moment, the people of the capital were warring. After Liu Zongmin's battle, even if he could come to the capital, he would not be able to capture any of the city gates.
The only way is to gather troops to attack the city first, and then pretend to be reinforcements and open the city gate in the dark.
Because Gong Yonggu didn't see through the matter, Zhu Yuanzhang was worried that he would reveal his flaws, so he didn't point it out.
Moreover, in order to prevent Gong Yonggu from being too close to the city, Zhu Yuanzhang would return to the capital after learning the news, and deliberately advanced the time of dispatching troops to avoid affecting his plan.
When he heard that the rebels had arrived, he knew that his guess was not wrong. Because he was worried that Wang Jiayan and others would fall into the trap, he specifically asked Wu Mengming to go and remind him.
Sure enough, not long after, there was a burst of gunfire from the south of the capital.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the sound of cannons, he became more certain and studied the city defense distribution map.
After a while, Wu Mengming ran in again with a look of panic and said hurriedly: "Your Majesty, Liu Zongmin suddenly appeared at Chaoyang Gate with his army. Due to the strength of the rebels, Wang Shangshu asked your Majesty to issue an order to immediately recruit the Western Marquis to return for reinforcements!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked when he heard this and said in a deep voice: "How many troops are there in the rebel army?"
Wu Mengming was stunned and said: "According to reports from those who came, the rebel army stretches for several miles, and there should be no less than 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses."
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "Even if Liu Zongmin unites Liu Fangliang's army, the total number will only be 70,000 or 80,000."
"What's more, Wu Sangui and Li Chengdong are still blocking the attack. There is no way the rebels can have so many people. You should send someone to investigate quickly and come back to us after you find out the situation!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was dissatisfied, Wu Mengming hurriedly responded and hurried out again.
"Zhang Dabiao!"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, and then shouted outside.
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Dabiao walked into Dongnuan Pavilion, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what are your orders?"
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at him and said: "Immediately rush to Chaoyang Gate with your eighteen cavalry, convey our decree, and order Wang Shangshu to close the city gate tightly. Reinforcements will come soon, but you must not open the city gate!"
"If anyone disobeys the imperial decree, regardless of official position, he will be beheaded on the spot!"
Zhang Dabiao was stunned and said: "Your Majesty, if General Mo takes the Eighteen Riders, your safety..."
"It doesn't matter. There are still guards guarding the palace, so we won't be in danger. Go and do it quickly!"
Zhu Yuanzhang interrupted Zhang Dabiao loudly without waiting for him to finish.
Although Zhang Dabiao only stayed with Zhu Yuanzhang for a day or two, he also knew his character. After bowing and saluting, he left Dongnuan Pavilion.
Zhu Yuanzhang walked back and forth uneasily as he listened to the sound of cannon outside the city.
"Did we make a mistake in our estimation? Wu Sangui really didn't resist and let Liu Zongmin come over?"
"But even so, according to Wu Mengming's information, the rebels only have more than 30,000 people, and there is Li Chengdong blocking them. It is impossible for them to arrive so soon!"
"Could it be that those 30,000 people were just a cover? In fact, Liu Fangliang's army has quietly joined Liu Zongmin?"
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang's hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.
"No, Liu Fangliang only has a total of only 100,000 men. If his entire army went north, the war in Baoding would have ended long ago. From this point of view, he only has 60,000 to 70,000 men at most."
"If he divides his troops to attract Li Chengdong, he will only have 30,000 to 40,000 men at most. Adding in Liu Zongmin's Laoba Battalion, the total number will only be around 60,000."
"This number is comparable to what Wu Mengming said, but it is impossible for such a large number of people to come to the capital quietly, especially since Wang Yongji is dissatisfied with Wu Sangui. Even if he is unable to fight, he will send someone to deliver the message. "
"We haven't received any news yet, which means they haven't encountered the rebels. Then Liu Zongmin and others should have arrived in secret, and the number of people will definitely not be too large."
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little more relaxed and walked to the case again to study the topographic map of the capital area.
"No, with Wu Sangui's cunningness, it's impossible not to discover Wang Yongji's little tricks. Could he have already used Liu Zongmin's help to get rid of Wang Yongji?"
As this thought came to his mind, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang thought that Wang Yongji was also a battle-hardened man, and it was impossible not to be wary of Wu Sangui. In addition, he had three thousand soldiers on hand, and he was Wu Sangui's nominal boss. No matter how he calculated it, Wang Yongji couldn't. He will soon die in battle.
Thinking of this, he relaxed a little.
At this time, there was another rush of footsteps outside Dongnuan Pavilion, and then Wang Chengen was seen running in in a hurry.
