As soon as the command gave an order, the main force of the Ming army immediately began to attack the city.
Large rockets, thunder cannons, huge rocks and other long-range attack weapons were flying all over the sky, hitting the city with all their strength. The siege equipment was pushed into the city, escorting the soldiers to the city, and began to attack the city.
The Ming army's attack was very resolute, but the Song army's defense was not very resolute from the beginning. The Ming army attacked the city several times and was killed. If Zhao Mi hadn't led his elite guards to the city to set an example, there would probably have been no more. Tiankongfu City is about to be breached.
But this could not reverse the situation. The Ming army had suppressed the Song army since the beginning of the war. The Song army was quickly beaten by the Ming army and lost its temper.
Moreover, the thunder cannons and big rockets are really powerful, and there is no telling where they will land.
Some of the landing positions were very tricky. They landed directly on the city wall. With a bang, the surrounding Song soldiers were blown to pieces with blood and flesh flying everywhere. The Song soldiers a little further away were also bombed to pieces and could not get up.
The long-range strikes of the Ming army gave the Song army a full deterrent, and also gave a full deterrent to the Song army officers in the city.
Needless to say, those who can serve as officers in the Sanya Forbidden Army are all capable. Not only do they have some real military skills, but they are also very capable of making money as an official. Not to mention the big-headed soldiers, all officers live a miserable life. Very superior.
Such good days give officers a strong sense of superiority on weekdays, and they also feel that they and the soldiers are never on the same side. Therefore, under the common threat of death, officers often have a stronger will to survive.
The Ming army was short of three in the siege of the city, leaving the southern city gate empty without placing troops. Therefore, since the beginning of the siege, officers and their cronies continued to escape over the wall at night.
This situation became more and more intense, so much so that on April 27th and 28th, there were even cases of people escaping over the wall during the day, which caused the Song army in the city to lose heart.
Zhao Mi tried to suppress him, but it had the opposite effect, causing the officers who failed to escape in the city to launch a downward attack.
They did not dare to fight to the death with the Ming army, but they dared to show their fangs to Zhao Mi. This not only shows their cowardice, but also shows how unpopular Zhao Mi is - it is said that Zhao was responsible for the resignation of the former commander-in-chief of the Dianqian Division, Yang Cunzhong. The secret comes from it.
He had always wanted to be the commander-in-chief of the Dianqian Division, and for this reason he even fabricated charges against Yang Cunzhong. Yang Cunzhong had been the commander-in-chief of the Dianqian Division for many years and was highly respected and popular among the military. Zhao Mi hurriedly took over and led troops into battle. Unstable, this is the disaster.
On April 28, the Ming army was storming Huzhou Fucheng outside the city. Zhao Mi's soldiers and the rebels were also fighting fiercely inside the city. This strange phenomenon happened both inside and outside the city, which was a joke.
Needless to say, the result is natural.
The Ming army forcibly broke through the city wall and entered the city. Zhou Zhi's brave general Jing Tianyou took the lead in ascending the city and won the first victory. This boosted the morale of the Ming army and opened the gate of Fucheng. The Ming army then entered the city in large numbers and captured Huzhou Fucheng in one fell swoop.
Zhao Mi and the rebels were fighting fiercely, but when they saw that the city was in danger, they were so frightened that they forgot everything for a while and hurriedly fled together through the south gate.
However, the Ming cavalry had already surrounded the south gate from outside the city. They were very fast and soon arrived at the south gate. They intercepted the fleeing Song army and killed many people.
In the end, only Zhao Mi and a small number of personal guards managed to escape because they were fast enough on good horses. Most of the Forbidden Army were killed and captured by the Ming army. This Forbidden Army was equivalent to the annihilation of the entire army.
The capital city of Huzhou was breached and the gate of Lin'an was opened.
Zhou Zhi was overjoyed and did not stay much. On April 29, he organized his army and began to move south along the river. The cavalry galloped ahead, aiming directly at Lin'an City.
That is to say, later on April 29, Lin'an City received the news that Huzhou had been lost due to the return of waves of defeated troops, and the Ming army moved down the river to Lin'an.
This news completely detonated the uneasy atmosphere in Lin'an City. Lin'an citizens, who had been suffering from high prices and high-pressure curfew rule for many days, exploded and fled collectively. No matter what, they did not want to become a member of Lin'an with the Zhao and Song royal family. captive.
Although they were not the ones who experienced what happened in Kaifeng that year, they were the ones who heard about it. Especially after the royal family of Zhao and Song returned to Lin'an City more than a year ago, what happened in Kaifeng City that year once again became the headlines on the streets of Lin'an.
Everyone began to recall how the officials and people in Kaifeng City were tortured by the Jin people and then constantly humiliated and intimidated, and a consensus was quickly reached.
You must not stay in Lin'an, run away quickly, otherwise it will be too late!
The previous wave of panic had actually caused many people to flee, and this time it was an unstoppable frenzy of flight.
Before, it could be said to be a rumor, but few people in the officialdom believed it. They all tried their best to suppress the panic among the people, so the order in Lin'an was still well maintained.
But this time is different, this time it is true, the Ming army is really about to arrive in Lin'an.
Not to mention the common people, many low-level officials, handymen and armed forces serving the imperial court have already begun to pack their bags and run away with their families - it is not worth it for the pitiful little salary, it is really not worth it. .
The common people and petty officials fled in large numbers, and the garrison soldiers in the city also began to flee.
When the news came, the officers were also very panicked and did not take care of the soldiers for a while. So some soldiers quickly found their families and blended into the huge crowd and ran away to the west.
When the officers finally got instructions from the court to close the city gates and restore order in the city, even some of the imperial guards of the three yamen fled, as did the officers and soldiers, not to mention the fleeing people, officials and some low-ranking people who were really scared. Official.
There was chaos in the court for a while, but finally news came that the city gates would be completely closed and order in the city would be restored. No one was allowed to leave the house without orders. Anyone who left the house without permission would be treated as a rebel and would be executed.
Not only was the decree promulgated, but the palace guards actually took action and killed a group of people, shocking people's hearts and quickly calming down the order in the city.
This order was issued by Zhao Xing, but it was mainly due to the discussion among the prime ministers and assistants, and the pale-faced Zhao Xing nodded in approval.
To be more precise, this order was thought up by Shi Hao and asked Zhao Hao to agree.
Tang Sidui and Shen Gai were so frightened that they didn't know what to do.
Perhaps they also thought about what happened to the senior officials in the court when the Jin army came to Kaifeng City.
So facing Shi Hao's strong request, they no longer had the idea of arguing with him or showing their power.
Wang Lun, the head of the Privy Council, had long been dismissed from his position by Zhao Zhen due to the defeat in the war, and the Privy Council was temporarily appointed directly by the emperor.
So now that Tang Sidui and Shen Gai were too frightened and didn't know what to do, it was equivalent to Shi Hao taking charge alone.
Perhaps Shi Hao himself did not expect that in the hours between the evening of April 29th and the noon of April 30th, he actually became the most powerful person in the Southern Song Dynasty.
Shi Hao is the only person in Zaifu's team who can still maintain calm and make reasonable judgments.
During this period of time, even Zhao Xin, who had previously been the most ambitious and unwilling to admit defeat, was confused and unable to think. He relied on Shi Hao to put forward his opinions and then be adopted by him.
Shi Hao made several very pertinent suggestions.
First, Lin'an is required to enter a state of full alert. The palace guards represent the imperial power and appear on the streets of Lin'an to enforce the strictest alert orders. Anyone who appears on the streets without reason will be arrested and executed.
Secondly, the 20,000 troops deployed for defense in the coastal areas were immediately summoned to return to Lin'an to assist in defense, abandon coastal defense, and directly consolidate the defense of Lin'an City. The highest principle in everything should be to protect Lin'an City, and no mistakes should be made.
Third, Yang Cunzhong, who was recuperating in Lin'an, was invited to come forward and reorganize the troops currently in Lin'an City. Except for the imperial guards, they were all reorganized into the imperial camp. Yang Cunzhong was the commander of the imperial camp and was fully responsible for the defense of Lin'an.
Fourth, all supplies in the city have been fully allocated. Private sales of supplies are not allowed, only official distribution is allowed. Everyone must work hard for city defense in exchange for food and necessary daily necessities. Money is useless.
After these four suggestions were adopted and implemented by Zhao Hao, the order in Lin'an City was slightly stabilized.
The veteran general Yang Cunzhong was highly respected and had a high reputation. He came forward to command the army in Lin'an City, and the army in Lin'an City was convinced by him.
Seeing that he did not leave, he opened the warehouse and rewarded the soldiers with money, and the morale of the soldiers in the city gradually stabilized.
With the support of the army, no matter how chaotic Lin'an City is, it will not be chaotic. The force of the army is the best protection for order.
Shi Hao's actions quickly stabilized the extremely chaotic state of Lin'an City, but at the same time, it also put Lin'an City into an unprecedented state of alert.
Under such a state of alert, on the first day of May, the vanguard of the Ming army arrived outside Lin'an City.
After the small court of the Southern Song Dynasty went into exile in the south of the Yangtze River, Lin'an City, as the nominal and de facto capital, was approached and threatened by foreign troops for the second time, and was on the verge of collapse.
