When Abatai led the remaining Jiannu slaves on the road of no return, nearly 60,000 officers and soldiers had gathered outside the city wall of Nanjing's outer city. These Ming officers and soldiers were cleaning the battlefield and setting up camp there.

Of course, according to Ming Dynasty's custom, they did not forget to build a "Jingguan"!

In just a few hours, a square "Beijing Temple" was erected there, but this "Beijing Temple" was headless, and those heads would be dedicated to the Xiaoling Mausoleum later.

The Ming troops under Nanjing City are not all direct descendants of Zhu Guoqiang. They include the subordinates he brought back from Liaodong, officers and soldiers of the Huben Army, of course brothers from the "Peacock Banner", and elites brought by Huang Degong and others.

When Zhu Guoqiang rode up, Xu Wenjue, Zhao Zhilong, Xie Sheng and others on the city wall all looked at him in astonishment.

What to do now?

This god of death has won!

what to do?

Everyone, look at me, and I'll look at you.

At first, for the sake of "the safety of the people in the city," they shut out Prince De. Now that they have won, what will they do next?

It’s not easy!

It’s really hard to handle!

The battles in the past two days, especially today's battle, were brutal and so many people died. Will Prince De blame everyone?

"Everyone, if Prince De enters the city, someone will definitely lose his head, and that person is a killer!"

Others were there to remind them that in the past, they thought it was just a name, but now... looking at the scene below the city, no one would doubt it anymore.

Thousands of heads were placed on carriages in front of the battle - they were all chopped off from the corpses of Jiannu, and there were hundreds of carriages piled up!

What was he doing cutting off these heads?

Of course, I would like to present my head in front of the Emperor Gao’s soul!

This guy is so cruel, he is not afraid of shocking Emperor Gao's spirit!

"Then... stop him outside the city?"

"bar!"

"We must stop it!"

"How to stop?"

"Of course I'm trying to stop you with righteousness!"

…

"The Crown Prince of Ming De Fan is here, why don't you open the city gate to welcome him!"

When the soldiers below the city shouted these words, Xie Sheng and others on the city hesitated for a while, and then saw Xie Sheng take a step forward, walked proudly to the arrow stack, and answered loudly.

"The officials and people of Nanjing have thanked Prince De for rescuing him, but I have something unclear. Why did Prince De negotiate peace with the leader of the captives without the permission of the court, and let him leave Nanjing privately? Is there something behind it?"

As Xie Sheng said this, he raised his hands and said loudly to the north.

"As officials of the Ming Dynasty, we are guarding the place under the emperor's orders. Naturally, we have to be responsible to the court and the people in the city. Before the matter is unclear, please forgive Prince De. Prince De cannot enter this city!"

After that, Xie Sheng said again, ignoring the commotion outside the city.

"But Prince De, please rest assured. We have already prepared money and food for the army to reward. We also ask the Prince to order his men to cross the river..."

Before Xie Sheng on the city wall could finish speaking, Zhu Guoqiang, who was already livid, rode his horse to the foot of the city wall, stared at the people on the city wall and said.

"You dare to stop me from entering the city?"

"Your Majesty, it's not us who want to stop you, it's your duty..."

"It's your duty, what a duty! Wow! After working for a long time, I realized that my soldiers and horses are fighting against Jiannu outside with ulterior motives, and it is your duty to surrender the city! Hum hum, I want to enter the city, who dares

Stop me!"

Zhu Guoqiang, who was riding a horse, stared at the people in the city and shouted loudly.

"Open the city gate!"

There were only three words, but these three words made everyone on the top of the city tremble slightly! This God of Death is really going to enter the city... we can't let him in!

"My lord, this city gate cannot be opened. Once the city gate is opened, this beast will definitely kill people!"

Just when everyone was panicking and trying to persuade Duke Wei not to open the city gate, none of them noticed that a group of officers and soldiers guarding the city quietly opened the city gate. The leader was a general in armor who opened the city gate.

Behind the city gate, I saw him walking in front of everyone, bowing to Zhu Guoqiang.

"Commander of the Xiaoling Guards, Mei Chun, welcomes the Crown Prince into the city!"

The city gate is open!

The people in the city were all stunned. Xu Wenjue, Zhao Zhilong and others all looked distraught. They never expected that the city gate was actually opened.

Zhu Guoqiang, who was riding on the horse, looked at Mei Chun carefully.

Mei Chun's ancestor Mei Yin was the son-in-law of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang. Before his death, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Mei Yin to assist the emperor's grandson Jianwen Emperor Zhu Yunwen who succeeded the throne. King Zhu Di of Yan rose in his fiefdom

After the soldiers rebelled, Mei Yin was ordered to garrison Huai'an and repelled Zhu Di's Yan army many times. Zhu Di was forced to bypass Huai'an and capture Nanjing from Yangzhou. After Zhu Di seized the throne, Mei Yin

He was forced to surrender. But he still cherished Emperor Jianwen and cursed Zhu Di. He was eventually exiled to Liaodong by Zhu Di. During the exile, he was pushed into the water by the escorting Jin Yiwei and drowned. After Mei Yin died, Zhu Di sent Mei Yin's son to do the hard work of guarding the tomb.

, the Mei family began to inherit the position of commander of Xiaoling Guard from generation to generation, and it has been more than two hundred years since it was passed down to Meichun's generation.

The irony of history is that during the Hongguang period, Zhao Zhilong, who held the military power in Nanjing and chose to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, was descended from Zhao Yi. Zhao Yi was ordered to lead the army to attack the King of Yan, Zhu Di. However, Zhao Yi betrayed and surrendered, assisting Zhu Di in capturing Nanjing. The Zhao family

He was favored by Zhu Di's lineage in all dynasties. In the late Ming Dynasty, Zhao Zhilong, who had been favored by Zhao Zhilong, rebelled and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. However, his ancestor died in resistance to Zhu Di. After that, Mei Chun, a descendant of the Mei family who was ignored after that, decided to die for Zhu Di's descendants.

.

When the Qing army entered the city, the entire city surrendered. Only Meichun led his troops to the Xiaoling Guard and fought for the city gate with the Qing army, hoping to drive the Qing army out of Nanjing. After the defeat, only 18 people were left to retreat to the Xiaoling Guard to defend the city.

, in the end, 300 Qing troops were wiped out at the cost of all 18 people being killed. In the "History of the Southern Ming Dynasty", there was only one sentence left: "Command Meichun to raise troops at Xiaoling Guard and die."

Such a person is a true loyal minister! It's a pity that the Ming Dynasty has never used such a loyal minister. However, the Ming Dynasty did not use him in the past, but now he can use him. Moreover, he was the first to open the city gate to welcome him.

"So Rong Dinggong is your ancestor, and he died for Jianwen. The Mei family has been loyal and loyal for generations. Today you are dedicating the city to me. You are so terrible that you can't see your ancestors under the terrible nine springs?"

Mei Chun was stunned by the prince's question, then he shook his head and said.

"Your Majesty is leading the troops to help Nanjing, so he should enter the city! Our ancestors know what they know under the spring. If I don't open the city gate, I won't be able to see my ancestors!"

There is a reason for everything in the world. In Meichun's opinion, people came from such a far away place to fight with the Donglu for several days and nights, and finally beat the Donglu away. Now the city of Nanjing is safe. But that's it.

There is no such thing in the world as shutting people out.

That's why he opened this door. Of course, he also knew what might happen after opening this door.

What will happen?

"Then what do you think of the princes in the city?"

Faced with this question, Mei Chun was silent for a moment, and then said in a deep voice.

"To surrender a prisoner is to be a traitor!"

"Then after I enter the city, I want to kill the traitor, will you stop me?"

When the words hit his ears, Mei Chun felt like thunder. Although he was very surprised in his heart, he thought about it and got up to guide the prince's horse.

"The final general is willing to lead the prince's horse and lead the way!"

His answer made Zhu Guoqiang laugh.

"Okay, follow me into the city!"

While leading the troops into the city, Zhu Guoqiang looked at the soldiers inside and outside the city gate. Most of them were wearing shabby mandarin duck war coats.

"Your Majesty, they are all members of the Xiaoling Guards. They guard the mausoleum and live in poverty, so... they make your Majesty laugh."

Are you kidding?

What are you laughing at?

A few years later, when all the Nanjing garrison surrendered, only the more than a thousand military households of Xiaoling Guard were the exception. They were the most miserable group of Nanjing officers and soldiers, with no food and clothing. Who would have thought that

This forgotten army would finally rise up and resist.

Seeing the soldier standing beside him holding a knife trembling slightly because of the cold, Zhu Guoqiang jumped off his horse and walked up to a veteran with white hair and beard.

"May I have your name?"

"As I said, the villain Zhao Lianchu will protect Xiaoling Mausoleum from generation to generation."

The surname is Zhao...

The veteran's answer made Zhu Guoqiang silently nod his head. According to historical records, Xiaoling Guardsmen such as Dong and Zhao were unable to go to the battlefield to fight against the Qing Dynasty because of their old age and weakness. After hearing the news of the loss of Xiaoling Tomb in the Ming Dynasty, they brought

The wife and daughter hanged themselves.

Is it him?

Zhu Guoqiang didn't know how to verify. They were just small people and didn't even leave their names. Now, there was no need to verify.

"Is it cold?"

"Yes, a little bit, but they are all useless because they are old and weak!"
To be continued...