Along the outer wall of the Forbidden City, after circling for half a lap, Tank arrived outside Chengtian Gate.
At this moment, a large number of troops had gathered at Chengtian Gate.
The Imperial Guards, the Eastern and Western Bureaus, and the Five City Patrols were all on high alert.
Not only that, but the capital garrisons stationed outside the city were also rapidly entering.
Seeing Tank approaching, these people immediately drew their weapons.
However, within the capital, these people were not qualified to carry firearms, and the weapons they drew were mainly swords and sabers.
Fang Er chuckled, grabbed the machine gun, and pulled the trigger at the ground in front of them.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang~~
The bluestone slabs were shattered, sending debris flying.
Such powerful firepower shocked everyone present, causing them to retreat several steps.
Li Shimin smiled with satisfaction at Fang Er, stood up on the turret, pointed his AK rifle diagonally towards the sky, and shouted to the other side.
"Great Tang Emperor Li Shimin is here. Quickly send the current Emperor to greet me!!"
"Otherwise, don't blame me for fighting my way in!"
As he threatened, the barrels of the four tanks all pointed towards Chengtian Gate.
Everyone present was stunned.
"What the hell, where did these lunatics come from?"
Although they didn't know why these things were equipped with something like artillery, no one dared to take the chance.
Thinking that it would take time for the capital garrisons to arrive, the Commander of the Imperial Guards, Luo Yangxing, nervously stepped out from the crowd and pointed at Li Shimin.
"Do not try to bluff us with such nonsensical words!"
"Who are you people, daring to trespass into the palace? Do you think you can run amok with just these few contraptions?"
Fang Er smiled upon seeing his dou niu uniform and jumped off the tank. "You're from the Imperial Guards, right? What's your rank?"
Luo Yangxing, eager to stall for time, replied, "Commander of the Imperial Guards, Luo Yangxing!"
Upon hearing his title, Fang Er smiled even more happily and pointed at the tanks.
"These contraptions you speak of, they made Dorgon run away with his tail between his legs this morning. Do you think they're not qualified to run amok?"
"You should recognize Zu Dashou's token, shouldn't you?"
Ge Luoyang, standing nearby, immediately threw the token towards Luo Yangxing.
A junior officer from the other side ran out, picked up the token, and presented it to Luo Yangxing.
Looking at the characters "Jinzhou Governor" and the hidden insignia, Luo Yangxing was certain the token was genuine.
However, he still didn't believe Fang Er's words.
Having just defeated Dorgon this morning, they were now in Beijing. Traveling over a thousand li, how was that possible?
Moreover, when had the Qing army become so vulnerable?
On Chengtian Gate, a eunuch rushed into the palace.
Before long, he appeared in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Zhu Youjian, seated behind the imperial desk, saw him enter and quickly asked, "Great Eunuch Wang, what was that cannon sound just now?"
The one he called Great Eunuch Wang was none other than Wang Chengen, who would later commit suicide with him.
Wang Chengen looked as if he were constipated. After much deliberation, he began counting on his fingers.
"Your Majesty, a group of people have come from outside the palace. The leader claims to be the former, former, former, former, former, former—"
"Former what?" Zhu Youjian was somewhat exasperated. It was such a critical moment, and yet he was stammering.
"That person said he is Emperor Taizong. I can't even count how many dynasties ago this ancestor was!"
"Great Eunuch, are you joking with me? Emperor Taizong's bones should have long turned to dust!"
"Your Majesty, but that's what the person said. They also have four strange war chariots, equipped with continuously firing firearms and cannon barrels. The earlier cannon fire should have been their doing." Although questioned, Wang Chengen reported the information he heard verbatim.
"And they also said that they had made Dorgon run away with his tail between his legs outside Jinzhou City this morning~"
"When they said these things, I was on Chengtian Gate and saw it clearly."
Zhu Youjian was stunned for a moment before walking out from behind his desk and saying to Wang Chengen, "Accompany me to see!"
Wang Chengen quickly advised, "Your Majesty, you must not! Those people's firearms are too powerful. What if they have ill intentions?"
Zhu Youjian smiled upon hearing this and said with self-deprecation, "They've brought cannons all the way to Chengtian Gate. If they truly had ill intentions, could you stop them?"
After speaking, he walked directly out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Wang Chengen suddenly didn't know how to respond, so he could only jog to catch up, while also calling for the Imperial Guards stationed outside the hall to escort him.
Outside Chengtian Gate, Li Shimin, who had been waiting for a long time, became impatient and said to Fang Er.
"Boy, what are you dawdling for? In my opinion, we should just blast them with a cannon!"
"What kind of people are they, to be trampled on by foreign races? Why should we give them any face?"
Fang Er said with a wry smile, "Father, we could fire that shot outside the outer city, but we can't fire this one!"
Setting aside the issue of saving face, with so many people in front of them, if they were to open fire, how many people would die?
Whether others knew or not, this Luo Yangxing was a rather capable official.
Li Shimin finally couldn't help but ask, "How do you know so much about the affairs of this Ming Dynasty?"
Fang Er was speechless, but a flash of inspiration struck him. "Big Sister Qin Liangyu told me! She is from this era, and with her integrity, I believe her."
Li Shimin always felt that this fellow's answers were not straightforward, but he couldn't pinpoint why.
A burst of hurried footsteps could be heard from a distance. Soon, squads of musketeers appeared outside Chengtian Gate, surrounding the four tanks, and even bringing several small cannons.
Judging by their appearance, they should be Franji cannons.
The general leading the troops waved his hand and said, "Give me—"
"Hold on!"
Luo Yangxing, seeing this, quickly stopped him.
"These four contraptions are too strange, and their cannons are still pointed at Chengtian Gate. If they were to engage in combat, Chengtian Gate would be lost in an instant."
"Moreover, he clearly heard the sound of Li Shimin moving around on the tank.
The dull sound explained everything.
This thing was made entirely of fine iron, and its plating was not thin!
With Franji cannons alone, it would be difficult to inflict any damage. If these people were angered and charged directly into Chengtian Gate, what about the Emperor's safety?
The situation was at a stalemate.
The Imperial Guards, the Eastern and Western Bureaus, and the Five City Patrols blocked Chengtian Gate.
Several thousand imperial garrison soldiers surrounded the four tanks.
Fang Er did not want to force his way through, as a direct confrontation would lead to countless deaths.
Just then, Zhu Youjian appeared on top of Chengtian Gate. After he clearly saw Li Shimin's appearance, he said to Wang Chengen.
"Quickly go and fetch the Painting of Emperor Taizong's Expedition! The one painted by Yu Shinan!"
Not long after, he looked at the painting that was brought to him and compared it with Li Shimin's appearance, muttering in shock, "How can there be someone in this world who looks so alike?"
"Boy, I'm hungry~~"
Li Shimin grumbled, rubbing his stomach unhappily.
Fang Er casually took out a can of beef and handed it over. "Here, have this to tide you over?"
Li Shimin rolled his eyes. "What about wine?"
Fang Er smiled and quickly took out a bottle of Erguotou and opened it.
A gentle breeze blew, carrying the aroma of wine and meat, causing the surrounding imperial garrison soldiers to involuntarily swallow.
"Such fragrant meat!"
"Such fragrant wine!"
Gulp~~
Gulp~~
The next moment, the sound of rumbling stomachs erupted from the crowd, spreading like a contagion, one after another.
It was still a while before dinner, and these people had all run here on empty stomachs. The scent was so enticing that it was unbearable.
Fang Er, however, smiled, a rather ungracious smile.
"Father, you go inside and eat first~ I've thought of a way to enter the palace."
As he spoke, a can of herring appeared in his hand.
Li Shimin's face turned green upon seeing this. He had heard of this thing from Chai Shao!
After he climbed into the tank cabin and squeezed in with Li Tai, Fang Er said to Luo Yangxing.
"Commander Luo, it's getting late, I'm afraid everyone hasn't eaten yet, right?"
"I, this official, will treat everyone to canned food~"
With that, he threw the can of herring he was holding over.
Luo Yangxing had remained vigilant. Seeing that the can he threw was almost identical to the one Li Shimin had just eaten, he didn't pay it much attention.
But he also didn't pick up the can that had fallen by his feet.
Fang Er didn't rush, smiling and saying, "Commander Luo, do you think this is not enough? I have more here, ensuring everyone will have some!"
Then, he threw the cans one after another.
He didn't just throw them towards Luo Yangxing, but also threw quite a few towards the surrounding imperial garrison soldiers.
What kind of life were the imperial garrisons living now?
During the Little Ice Age, they might not even have enough to eat, let alone meat!
In less than ten minutes, a soldier couldn't resist the temptation and picked up a can.
Where there was one, there was a second.
Soon, the dozens of cans that were thrown were all picked up, and even the people from the Imperial Guards and the Eastern and Western Bureaus followed suit.
The Ming army had never seen these tin cans. Holding them in their hands, they didn't know how to open them.
Fang Er picked up a can of beef and said loudly to them, "Brothers, there's a ring on this. See it? Pull it, and it opens!"
The soldiers holding cans quickly tried as he instructed.
Ge Luoyang and the others quickly covered their noses and mouths with their sleeves.
Fang Er put on a gas mask as quickly as possible.
The next moment, the opened cans of herring emitted a foul stench.
The concentrated might of dozens of cans, each capable of spreading over ten meters, was unleashed.
"Ugh~ Yue~!"
"Cough! Cough! What is this thing, it's so outrageously foul!"
"Despicable! To use such a lowly method~~ Ugh~!"
On the periphery, the Ming soldiers who were further away had no idea what had happened.
But those who were close to the tanks had already begun to flee in disarray.
"It's too smelly, I've never smelled anything so foul in my life!"
On Chengtian Gate, Zhu Youjian pointed at those people in great alarm and said, "Great Eunuch, what happened to them?"
Wang Chengen, worriedly pulling his sleeve, said, "Your Majesty, let's return to the palace quickly. Perhaps the food that person gave them was poisoned!"