What is the easiest way to remove the windshield

Plan on buying a new windshield seal/gasket. If you favorite parts place has two gaskets to chose from, spend the money on the better ones. The cheaper ones tend to split at the corners sometimes. Which you can't fix. You get to buy another gasket and do it all over again.
To save the glass I find it best to slice the rubber gasket to ribbons. I use one of those cheapo disposable razor knives with blades that have 8 snap-off tips. Really cheap at Wal-Mart. Buy two or three. I like them versus regular hardware store "utility knives" because the blades are flexible. You never want to "pry" against the glass. With the flexible blades if you accidentally do usually the blade will snap off. No problem, load another one. I'd rather snap a whole box of blades than crack a windshield.
I slice the rubber "away" from the windshield inside and out and all the way around. The glass is supposed to have "bedding compound" in between the glass and rubber. Over the years this stuff tends to harden up and act like glue even though it isn't. Some folks like to slice the rubber off the car. I don't as this tends to scratch all the way through the paint. If the car is to be repainted no big deal. Glass is very resistant to scratching as long as you are slicing along the side. Some folks will push glass out, I never do. I slice until I can push the glass away from the car from the inside at all four corners with just my fingertips. Double check to make SURE it's completely cut loose at the bottom center of the glass and the bottom corners (been bitten by that a couple of times). Then I find a helper. Each with one hand inside the car and one out we lift the glass up and back a bit then scooch a folded towel under the center bottom edge. Then we can set the lower edge on the towel and tilt the glass up on it. Then simply carry it over the hood.
You can, and I do, do this by yourself. But it sucks. If the glass has replaced it's likely thinner and lighter, much easier to manage. Original windshields are thicker and surprisingly heavy, especially for one person trying to reach over and support it in the center AND pick it up off the car. With only two hands you have to pick up a windshield by the edges close to the middle. With two people you can grab at the corners.
Worst come to worst, it's just a windshield. And you just can't beat a brand new windshield for being able to see where you are going, especially at night.