Wang Chengen was suddenly startled, and understood that the emperor's desire to flee was not dead. However, as soon as you leave the city, you will be captured alive by the traitors, and you will be humiliated and die, and there is no way out, so it is better to commit suicide in the palace. He immediately knelt down in front of Chongzhen's feet, choked up and said, "Emperor, now you can't fly away, and you can't go out of the city gate." Instead of feeding the tiger with meat, it is better to die in the palace. ”

Chongzhen had a nervous breakdown at this time and was unable to think calmly. After listening to Wang Chengen's admonition, he felt that it made sense, three hundred ministers who had learned martial arts escorted out of the city, which was too few. However, his desire to flee desperately did not disappear, and he said to Wang Chengen: "You quickly go and order all three hundred ministers, all on horseback, with swords, bows and arrows, and wait at Chengtianmen, don't make mistakes." Go for it!"

He turned around and walked to the side of the imperial case, didn't have time to sit down on the dragon chair, bent down to lift the red pen, and scribbled a handwritten edict on a piece of yellow paper: "Tell Liu Wenbing, Marquis of Xinle, Gong Yonggu, the commander of the horses, and bring the family to escort him quickly." ”

After writing, he ordered Wu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Ganqing Palace, to immediately send an entourage, and quickly rode a horse to send the edict to Xinle Houfu, and then he sat down and said to himself hatefully: "I have made up my mind!"

At this time, Wei Qinghui came to bring tea to the emperor. For things like delivering tea, she didn't have to come in person, but in order to keep abreast of the emperor's movements, she decided to deliver tea herself. It's been almost an hour, and she hasn't left the outer room of the Ganqing Palace or near the window. Just now I heard that the emperor ordered Wang Chengen to escort all 300 ministers and prepare to escape from Beijing. Although Wang Chengen knelt down to admonish him, the emperor did not change his mind.

She understood that the emperor's mind was in turmoil, so she made this nonsense decision, as soon as she left the city gate, she would be captured alive by thieves, or killed instantly. She knows the emperor's temperament best, once he is stubborn, he will hit the south wall, and no one can persuade him to turn back.

She hurriedly ran to the back corner gate of the Ganqing Palace, planning to go to the Kunning Palace to start the queen and ask the queen to dissuade the emperor. But at the back door, I stopped for a moment, and suddenly I felt that something was wrong. She thought that if she played the queen at this moment, it would definitely make the queen and the palace relatives think that the country was dead, and the situation in the harem would be in chaos. So she calmed down a little and decided to send tea to the emperor under the pretext, and then go to the emperor to act at the opportunity.

When Wei Qinghui entered the warm pavilion with the tea tray, he listened to Chongzhen's self-talk of "I have made up my mind!", and was shocked, the tea tray shook, and the hot tea in the bowl almost splashed out. She carefully placed the tea bowl on the imperial table, bowed down and said, "Emperor, please drink tea!"

She originally hoped that Chongzhen would take a look at her, or say something to her, so that she could guess a little bit of the emperor's thoughts at the moment. But the emperor neither spoke nor looked at her, as if he had not noticed her coming in at all. She peeked at the emperor and saw that the emperor's eyebrows were deeply locked, and his eyes were staring at the candlelight blankly, and her heart was clearly very chaotic. She didn't dare to stay by the emperor's side, tiptoed out of the warm pavilion, withdrew from the main hall, stood outside the window of the East warm pavilion, and continued to eavesdrop on the movement in the window.

At this time, she already knew that there was a chief who rode with the eunuch to pass the decree, summoning Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yongtuan, the commander of the horses, to enter the palace immediately. She understands that they are all close relatives of the emperor, and they are most favored by the emperor, but they are limited to the family law of their ancestors, and in order to prevent the disadvantages of the previous generation of relatives interfering in politics, they are not allowed to hold official positions in the court, but their status, their weight in the emperor's heart, is completely different from Wang Chengen. She didn't know what the emperor called these two royal relatives into the palace for, but she said silently in her heart: "God, tell them to persuade the emperor to make up his mind and not to go out of the city!"

Chongzhen was still thinking about how to open the city gate and rush out, maybe he could succeed. As long as you can escape, you will not lose your country. But he also thought that there was a chance that he would die in battle, and he had to find another way to make the prince immortal, hand over the protection of his cronies and ministers, temporarily hide in the people, and then escape from Beijing, flee to Nanjing, and restore the Ming Dynasty. But who is the order to protect the crown prince?

He still doesn't know that Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun have changed their minds, in a panic, thinking that only they can trust this important matter, they are deeply favored by the emperor, and should be grateful at this time, they have relied on the royal power in the capital for many years, planting party henchmen, intertwined, it is not difficult to hide the prince, especially Cao Huachun has served as the governor of Dongchang for many years, under his hands, there are all kinds of people in the three religions and nine streams, as long as his conscience is not clear, there must be a way to protect the prince out of Beijing.

After thinking for a while, he ordered: "You send your ministers quickly, go to the city to pass the decree, and tell Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun to enter the palace quickly!"

After giving this commandment, he walked out of the Ganqing Palace and lingered on the Danqi for a long time, waiting for his cousin Liu Wenbing and brother-in-law Gong Yonggu to come with their families. Now he is no longer afraid of death, so he feels calm, but he is not willing to commit suicide. He was secretly thinking about how to lead 300 young ministers who had undergone internal training and the henchmen of the two imperial palaces, Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu, to suddenly rush out of the city gate, or escape by a bloody path, or die in the chaos. Even if he dies, he will leave the name of the heroic emperor in the history of the ages, and he is by no means an ordinary cowardly monarch of the dead country.

When he thought like this, his spirit suddenly rose, and he had the courage to regard death as his home, and he had only infinite sorrow for the martyrdom of his country, and no longer had a sense of fear. He said hatefully in his heart: "It is the ministers who have mistakenly died, so that today, how can I be the king of the lost country!"

He stopped and looked up at the sky. There were still thin clouds in the sky, and the moonlight was unknown. He thought once again that this was the night that was conducive to breaking through and escaping, and his intention to leave the city was even more determined. He lingered on the Danqi for a long time, guessing that the two imperial princes he was waiting for who could lead the family to escort him should have arrived, so he stopped and planned to go back to the dormitory to prepare, when he suddenly saw Wang Chengen walking up to the Danqi from the west side, and he immediately asked: "Have the three hundred ministers who have practiced martial arts arrived?"

Wang Chengen bowed down and replied: "Back to the emperor, the three hundred ministers have been ordered, and they are all lined up outside the Chengtian Gate to greet them. ”

Chongzhen didn't speak, turned around and walked towards the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Ganqing Palace. When he stepped into the threshold of the main hall of the Ganqing Palace, he turned back to Wu Xiang and said, "Order someone to bring me my imperial horse!"

Wu Xiang asked, "Emperor, which imperial horse to ride tonight?"

Chongzhen thought for a while, and in order to seek good luck, he replied, "Ride Kira Cheng tonight!" Chongzhen has four beloved royal horses, and Kira Cheng is one of them.

He went to the warm pavilion to wait for a while, and suddenly Wu Xiang personally came in to report: "Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yongtuan, the commander of the horses, have been edicted to enter the palace and wait for the summons at the Ganqing Gate." ”

Chongzhen whispered, "Call them in!"

At this moment when the disaster of the country has come to the moment, Chongzhen originally hoped that after the bell rang on the noon gate, the civil and military courtiers who lived closer would come to the palace quickly, but he didn't expect that even no one would come until now. He usually hated the ministers for misleading the country in his heart, but at this moment he saw that he had been conscientiously running the world for 17 years, and he had not lost his morality, but in the end he was so lonely and helpless.

As soon as he heard Wu Xiangyu report that Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu were coming, he immediately called them in, and at the same time said in his heart: "I only have these two reliable people now, and they will definitely lead the family Ding Bao out of the city!"

The mood of the palace maids and eunuchs standing outside the Ganqing Palace suddenly became nervous. They all know that whether the emperor will risk death or not to go out of the city depends on these two royal relatives.

Wu Xiang personally shouted on the Danqi: "Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu quickly enter the hall!"

Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu are the most favored relatives of the emperor, and other imperial relatives are rarely summoned by the emperor on weekdays. There are only two of them in the court, and they have more opportunities to see the emperor, and they are not afraid in front of the emperor. In the past, when the internal exercise was held, Chongzhen because he was young and had practiced riding and archery, he often ordered them to carry bows and arrows, ride horses in military uniforms, go north from outside the Donghua Gate, enter the north along the outside of the moat, turn north at the East Gate, and then enter the Zuoli Gate of the mountain, and arrive in front of the Guande Hall in the northeast of the coal mountain, and then dismount and accompany the emperor to watch the eunuchs practice riding and archery.

Sometimes Chongzhen's interest came, not only shooting arrows himself, but also ordering the two of them to shoot arrows. They thought that this was the emperor's special grace, and they always kowtowed after archery. But tonight is not the usual time. When they heard the eunuch summoning them into the temple, they walked inside, their legs trembling and their faces turned pale. Entered the warm pavilion, kowtowed in front of the emperor, and waited for the edict.

Chongzhen's expression was sad, he ordered them to sit down, and then said: "I usually pay the most attention to the two of you among the emperors, because I am limited to the ancestral system, and the emperors are not allowed to give official positions, so as to put an end to the disadvantages of the previous generation of relatives interfering in politics. Today's state affairs are different from ordinary days, so we must break the old system, summon you to the palace, and entrust you with important tasks. ”

The two young princes, because they had already understood from the emperor's edict what was going on to summon them to the palace, stood up and said, "Your Majesty, please make it clear." ”

Chongzhen continued: "The number of rebels entering the outer city is not very large. I plan to go out of the city to fight to the death with the thief, if the ancestors have a spirit, turn evil into good fortune, and fight out of the siege, there is still something to be done in the country. Erqing quickly entangled the family and Ding Ding, how about going out of the city with me tonight to fight?"

Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, knelt down again, choked up and said: "Your Majesty! The ancestral system of my dynasty is extremely strict, and the emperor's relatives and relatives do not have many house slaves, let alone keep family members. ”

Chongzhen's heart was cold, his hands trembled slightly, and he looked at Xin Lehou, waiting for him to finish speaking. Xin Lehou continued: "Even if the two families of ministers and concubines and horses are selected, even if they select forty or fifty young and strong slaves, who have not practiced martial arts, plus hundreds of ministers, how can they protect the emperor from the city? These vassals and servants have never been in battle and have never seen the enemy. They feared that as soon as they left the gates, they would be scattered in panic, and those who could not flee would be killed or surrendered. ”

Chongzhen broke out in a cold sweat, unconsciously grasped and released his right hand, and listened to Xinlehou continue: "The minister is willing to serve His Majesty loyally, and he is not afraid of the liver and brain, but I am afraid that His Majesty will lose the conquest in person, and the minister will become a sinner for the ages after his death." ”

Chongzhen was already awake and didn't feel a long sigh. He regretted that he blindly wanted to break through the siege and run away, and he didn't think about the great difficulties, and even the imperial family did not have many house slaves, let alone support the family, and forgot these two ancestral systems. He suddenly understood that his big array of thoughts was wrong, but he was actually panicking.

He asked the Captain of the Horse in a sad voice, "Gong Yonggu, what is your opinion?"

Gong Yonggu knelt on the ground and cried and said, "If the emperor leaves Beijing half a month ago, it will not be too late. Now that the outer city has been broken, the inner city is under siege, and the suburbs are full of enemy cavalry, it is difficult to take a step out of the city gate, and I hope that Your Majesty will think twice. ”

Chongzhen just cried, just regretted, and didn't make a sound. Liu Wenbing continued: "Ten days ago, the traitor was still far away from Juyong Pass. Feng Yuanbiao, the governor of Tianjin, sent his son Feng Kaizhang to Beijing to present a secret recital, persuading the emperor to take advantage of Tianjin and go to Nanjing by sea. Feng Kaizhang is the nephew of Feng Yuanbiao, the head of the household department, and he is in his home, but Feng Yuanbiao does not dare to deliver it, and the auxiliary ministers of the cabinet do not dare to deliver it on his behalf, even the old ministers of the four dynasties. Li Banghua, the left capital of the Imperial Palace, did not dare to deliver it on his behalf. Feng Kaizhang came to Beijing on the third day of the first month of this month, and it was not until the rebels broke through the Juyong Pass that he left Beijing in tears and galloped back to Tianjin. At the time......"

Chongzhen said: "This matter, until yesterday, Li Banghua did not mention it to me. Nan Xing's good opportunity was lost, and it was irretrievable. ”

"At that time, if the emperor accepted the invitation of the governor of Tianjin, and borrowed the three palaces and important ministers to leave Beijing and go to Tianjin, how could there be today?"

Chongzhen said sadly: "I have been in the dynasty for 17 years, seeking governance day and night, and I dare not slack off, but I did not expect to lose the country to the monarch and ministers. ”

Liu Wenbing usually pays attention to state affairs, likes to interact with scholars, and has many opinions on the disadvantages of the imperial court, but as a close relative of the emperor, he strictly abides by the ancestral system and does not dare to say a word about interfering in the affairs of the court. Now that the country is about to die, not only the emperor will be martyred, but his own family will also die.

In great grief, he boldly said: "Your Majesty, the country will die, and the whole family will do their best for the emperor." This is the last time the monarch and the minister face each other, please let Rong Chen say a few blunt words. It's just that it's too late to say it now. ”

"You might as well be straight. ”

Liu Wenbing said with tears in his eyes: "Since Hongwu in our dynasty, the dignity of the throne far exceeds that of the Han, Tang and Song dynasties. This is the reason why it is not easy for the monarch to be a minister in the three outlines, and it is also the trend that will come for a hundred generations. However, the prestige of the monarch is growing, and the congestion between the monarch and the minister will be born. Wei Zheng dared to make a direct admonition in front of Tang Taizong, and faced a court dispute, so he had the rule of Zhenguan. This kind of monarch and minister has no feeling of congestion, which is rare in modern times. ”

"Although Your Majesty has the heart to govern, he has no amount of advice, and is often too strict with his subordinates, and in the past seventeen years, there have been many people among the ministers who have been subjected to the scoe of the court, denounced, and given death because of their speech. The courtiers went to court, and when they saw the emperor asking, they trembled. Your Majesty, as a wise lord, has been isolated from the situation, so that the heavens and the earth have collapsed today! Your Majesty, ......."

Chongzhen had never heard anyone in the imperial family dare to speak to him like this, which was very unpleasant, but at this time, he was about to die of the country, his body, and the annihilation of the clan, so he was not angry, and waited for his cousin to finish his words after crying a few times.