On April 29, the fifteenth year of Yongye, the Ming army once again launched the battle of the Western Regions.

After the preparations for the previous few months of this battle in the Western Regions, the Ming army invested stronger forces on the Zhangye front line. In addition to the original main force of Yue Zhongqi, the Ming Dynasty mobilized a whole new army's main division to support it. In addition, it also brought the latest siege cannons from the Central Plains. This heavy cannon is much more powerful than the cannons equipped by the Ming army. The cannon itself weighs more than 4,000 kilograms, the gun mouth caliber is 26 times, and the range is as high as 1,400 meters.

This heavy cannon is much more powerful than the so-called "red-clothed cannon" and "magnificent general cannon". Due to the continuous improvement of the current smelting technology of the Ming Dynasty, the weight of the heavy cannon is similar to that of the previous heavy cannons, but its power is sufficient that the previous heavy cannons cannot be compared.

In order to cast these cannons, the Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Works spent a lot of effort. Until now, the new heavy cannons like the Ming Dynasty were only just forty-nine.

There were 32 heavy cannons transported to the front line. It was not that the Ming Dynasty did not want to pull all of the forty-nine cannons over, but that these heavy cannons were extremely difficult to serve, the operation requirements were too high, and transportation was extremely inconvenient.

Each heavy cannon requires eleven people to operate, and the thirty-two cannons require at least 352 people. In addition, artillery command and logistics support, the total number of heavy artillery regiment composed of heavy cannons exceeds 1,200 people, and there are also hundreds of horses and vehicles.

These heavy cannons are too heavy and it is extremely difficult to transport them by ordinary means. In order to pull these 32 heavy cannons to the front, the Ming Dynasty mobilized thousands of civilians and a large amount of manpower and material resources.

Although these cannons are as difficult as masters and the technical requirements for the operators are too high, they have to admit that these heavy cannons are indeed well-deserved.

When thirty-two heavy cannons lined up, and with the order of shelling, the Ming army's heavy cannons began to show their power. The extremely strong city wall of Zhangye, which was difficult to conquer before, became like a piece of paper under the overwhelming bombardment of heavy cannons.

In just two days, Zhangye City collapsed under the bombardment of heavy artillery, and the Qing army defending the city and the Russian soldiers wearing Qing army uniforms had almost no power to fight back.

Dizzy when the Qing army, who was hit by heavy artillery, fled in a panic, was in a panic, and the Ming army directly led their troops to capture Zhangye and took down the city that had blocked the Ming army for half a year.

After Zhangye took it down, the Ming army did not stop and immediately continued to rush westward and headed straight to Jiayuguan.

The defenders of Jiayuguan were shocked when they saw the remnants of Zhangye fleeing in a panic. When they learned that the Ming army had dozens of giant cannons that could be destroyed by one shot for hundreds of miles, the Qing army in Jiayuguan was even more frightened. Although Jiayuguan was stronger than Zhangye, you should know that Jiayuguan was known as the most powerful pass in the world. But the times have changed, and the way of fighting was also different. The previous cold weapon war had transformed into a hot weapon war. With the powerful power of the Ming army, can this Jiayuguan, which is known as the most solid, be able to defend it?

In addition, although the Qing army built a defense line east of Jiayuguan, strengthening the wall to prevent the Ming army. It should be noted that the construction of Jiayuguan was originally intended to prevent attacks from the Western Regions, so whether it was geographical location or the setting of the wall, from the beginning, the direction it targeted was not the east but the west.

The Qing army's reinforcement of the walls and defense lines of Jiayuguan cannot be said to be useless. If the Ming army did not have such a powerful heavy cannon, it might be a big problem to block the Ming army with Jiayuguan. But now, under the premise of having a "big killing weapon", even Zhangye has only been defending for two days. Even if Jiayuguan can block for a few more days, it would still be a result of defeat.

What's even more terrible is that at this time, the allies of the Qing army, that is, the Russians who pretended to be the Qing army, no longer do it.

Russia joined this war because in order to curb the Ming Dynasty's pace of conquering the Western Regions, Russia intended to preserve the Qing regime and thus cause chaos to the Ming Dynasty for its interests in the Far East.

From this point of view, Russia has not actually joined the war directly, otherwise the Russians would not have worn the Qing army's clothing to perform this kind of stunning the bell.

Moreover, the Russian government has always told the Ming court that it was not the Russians who were involved in the war in the Western Regions, but some free Cossacks and Mongolians. These people were all spontaneous behaviors and had no relationship with the Russian side.

So from these aspects, Russia's purpose is very obvious, and it can help the Qing Dynasty block the footsteps of the Ming army and make the Ming army's strategic plan in the Western Regions fail. Russia is very happy to see this result.

Under such circumstances, there was no problem with Russia's joint efforts in the Qing Dynasty, and even the Russians performed extremely well on the battlefield with their bravery. This was enough to prove this in the stalemate of the previous few months. With the help of the Russians, the Qing Dynasty also had a greater confidence in blocking the Ming army.

But now, the Ming army has moved such a heavy artillery group directly, and even the Russians can't stand it even if they claim to be fighting nations!

Under heavy artillery, no matter how brave you are, you can't compete. In Zhangye, more than 1,000 Russian troops stationed in the Qing Dynasty were killed by heavy artillery before the official battle was formally fought. Almost all those who fled back were scared out. In the eyes of these Russians, the war with the Ming Dynasty had no chance of victory. Fighting a war that was doomed to fail, and even losing life meaninglessly. How could the Russians do such a loss-making business?

In this way, the second day after the miserable troops in Zhangye fled to Jiayuguan, the Russian army in Jiayuguan suddenly "farewell without saying goodbye".

When the news reached the Qing commanders, they were shocked about how to defend against Jiayuguan, and intended to stop the Russians from leaving.

But at this time, the Russians' intention to leave was decided, and they could no longer stay here to work hard for the Qing Dynasty. In their opinion, the war had ended, and the next thing was the affairs of the Qing Dynasty and the Ming army themselves, and they had no relationship with Russia.

The Qing generals were unable to make a plea and even had no choice but to threaten with military force. But this was also useless. The Russians showed extremely "brave" without saying a word and directly warned the other party how to do this, then the Russians would fight for the dignity of the empire and the reputation of the soldiers. In other words, the Russians directly fought with yesterday's ally, the Qing army.

In this case, if one fights against Jiayuguan, there is no need to defend Jiayuguan. In desperation, the Qing Dynasty could only watch the group of Russians leaving to save their lives. As soon as the Russians left, the morale of the defenders of Jiayuguan fell to the bottom. In this case, how could Jiayuguan still be defended?

On May 10, the Ming army arrived at Jiayuguan from Zhangye and began to attack Jiayuguan.

On the evening of May 11, Jiayuguan, known as the world's most powerful pass, fell. The commander of the Qing army committed suicide the moment before Jiayuguan was broken. The four thousand Qing troops guarding Jiayuguan scattered after the commander committed suicide, and thus Jiayuguan fell into the hands of the Ming army.

After taking down Jiayuguan, the Ming army completely opened up the key points of the Hexi Corridor and exited west from Jiayuguan. The Western Regions were already visible to the Ming Dynasty.

Less than half a month after Zhangye fell, Jiayuguan was gone, and the Russians who had previously assisted the Qing Dynasty in the war also ran away.

These bad news continued to spread from the front line to Zhenyuan City (Hami). Yongzheng was so shocked by the news that he was stunned for a moment.

In order to save the situation and find a way out, Yongzheng hurriedly held a meeting. However, the Qing Dynasty is no longer the Qing Dynasty in the past. Although Yongzheng still had the name of an emperor on his head, the Qing Dynasty is no longer the time for the emperor to make a decision in one sentence. The so-called Eight Kings' Discussion on the Government has replaced the Qing Dynasty's system of supremacy of imperial power, and the emperor has become a decoration.

In addition, Prince Guo, Prince Cheng and others were not afraid of Yongzheng at all. His agents had to come up with a good solution at the meeting. They also took advantage of the frontline war to directly accuse Yongzheng of improper employment and to bear the main responsibility, intending to take this opportunity to seize power and completely drive Yongzheng off the throne.

In this way, the entire Qing court was in chaos at a critical moment when it was facing a critical moment. The Qing court center could not discuss any solution to the problem. On the contrary, the quarrels continued due to the struggle for power.

At this time, Yongzheng, who was unwilling to lose his power, suddenly attacked and used his remaining military force to directly announce the dissolution of the Eight Kings' political affairs, and regained the power in the name of the emperor.

But Prince Guo and Prince Cheng had been prepared for a long time. They had been strongly dissatisfied with Yongzheng before, not to mention the time. Then all parties began to fight continuously, and then the situation became worse and worse, and eventually the struggle led to the outbreak of another civil war in the Qing court.

This outbreak completely ended the original formal unity of the Qing court, thus completely splitting the Qing court.

When Prince Cheng announced his ascension to the throne with the support of Prince Guo, the central center of the Qing Dynasty was divided into two, with Emperor Yongzheng in the east and Prince Cheng in the west.

These two brothers completely broke up and became emperors. The Qing court became two people. This result made Yue Zhongqi laugh when she learned about it.

The split of the Qing court made the attacking Ming army no longer have any worries. After taking Jiayuguan, it took a little repair and continued to rush westward. Its army was almost unsatisfactory. Its march was extremely fast and could almost be described as unstoppable.

On June 2, the 15th year of Yongye, the Ming army captured Guanxi (Yumen) and occupied Handongwei (Guazhou) on June 11. Then the Ming army marched northwest from Handongwei. In just half a month, it fought fifty miles southeast of Zhenyuan City (Hami) on June 27.

"Your Majesty! Let's go! If you don't leave, it will be too late!"

In Zhenyuan City, Ma Qi begged Yongzheng to abandon the city and leave, but at this time, Yongzheng was already like a walking corpse, standing there motionlessly, and a report in his hand trembled slightly.

"Let's go? Where else can I go?" Yongzheng murmured, his expression was extremely bitter, and he no longer had the spirit of the first time he had ascended to Dabao.

"Go to the west or to the north, no matter where you go, as long as you are still here, the Qing Dynasty will be there!" Ma Qi cried and persuaded.

Yongzheng didn't speak for a long time. After a while, he sighed: "Do you bow your head to Lao Shi and Lao Si? Or do you want to rely on others to be a king of a country that will be destroyed?"

"emperor!"

"Needless to say..." Yongzheng waved his hand, he glanced at Ma Qi who was kneeling in front of him, and said with great emotion: "Ma Qi, you are a loyal minister, I know."

"emperor……."

"You go, go to the west, and take as many people as you can. Although Lao Shi and Lao Shi Si are not very good, they are the princes of the late emperor after all, and my brothers, with them here, the Qing Dynasty is also considered to be dependent on it."

"Your Majesty, you..."

A smile appeared on Yongzheng's lips. This smile seemed so helpless and far-fetched at this moment.

"I don't have to worry about it, I have my own plans." After saying this, Yongzheng stopped looking at Ma Qi on the ground, sighed and turned around and entered the inner room.

The Ming army was about to attack the city, and the whole city of Zhenyuan was panicked. There were people walking away in a hurry everywhere. Some of these people were ordinary people, but more were ministers and nobles from the central Qing Dynasty. When the troops were at the city, Zhenyuan City could not be defended at all. This is something that everyone knew in their hearts. In this case, saving their lives was the most important thing.

Even in the "deep palace", Yongzheng could hear the noise and crying outside the road that was not far away. Yongzheng sat in a chair, but in front of him were three extraordinary things, namely a knife, a pot of wine, and a white silk.

These three things were specially prepared for him by Yongzheng. At this moment, he felt the final outcome facing Emperor Chongzhen. Suddenly, Yongzheng regretted it. He did not regret his previous decision, but regretted not going to the Coal Mountain when he was in Beijing, and took a good look at the crooked neck tree where Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide.

"What did Chongzhen think about at the end? By the way, there was an eunuch named Wang Chengen who accompanied him. I don't know who would accompany me at the end..."

This thought flashed through Yongzheng's mind, and suddenly he felt a little funny to think about it. He shook his head, got up and went aside, and took out the Diamond Sutra that he had not finished writing some time ago. He was going to use the last time of his life to copy the Diamond Sutra.

Yongzheng's calligraphy is very well written. This Diamond Sutra has 32 chapters in total and 5,130 words. Yongzheng is writing each character with great care.

It was not until the evening that Yongzheng finally fell down the last word. After he finished writing the last word, Yongzheng got up and looked at the finished Diamond Sutra carefully, and nodded with satisfaction.

"My calligraphy has made progress again." Yongzheng said to himself. This Diamond Sutra is the best and most satisfying thing he has written.

"What a pity...it's a pity..." Yongzheng sighed again. It's a pity that such good words and such good scriptures cannot be passed on.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound of cannons came from his ears, which made Yongzheng return to reality from his thoughts. He did not call someone to ask where the cannon sound came from, because it is meaningless to ask this question now.

Yongzheng picked up the Diamond Sutra that he had just finished writing and sighed again, and then placed it directly in the brazier. As the flames began to ignite, the Diamond Sutra first emitted a bright fire, and as time passed, the fire gradually darkened, and the Diamond Sutra also turned into a pile of ashes.

"It's time...it's time..." Yongzheng said to himself. He walked back to the table with the three things, looked at the three things intently, and finally chose the pot of wine.

Yongzheng reached out to take the wine pot and poured it directly into his mouth. When the strong wine fell into his stomach like a knife, Yongzheng seemed to have returned to his youth when he was in a teenager's clothes and horses.

A pot of wine was directly drunk by Yongzheng. He threw the drunk wine pot to the side, and then sat down with a big sword.

As soon as he sat down, Yongzheng felt a stomachache like a stir and couldn't help but groan. He tried hard to hold back and sat up straight, intending to maintain his last dignity as an emperor.
Chapter completed!