Li Zicheng stood up first, and Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Li Yan also quickly stood up. Li Shuangxi led ten guards to follow. When he walked out of Wuyingmen, he turned back to Shuangxi and asked, "Where is Wu Ruyi?"

Li Shuangxi took a step forward and bowed down and replied: "He was ordered to go to the front of the noon gate, and sent a team of soldiers to escort the prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding to the head of the camp. ”

Li Zicheng was taken aback: "Didn't you hear that Princess Changping was slashed by Chongzhen with a sword last night, and then carried out of the palace by the eunuch?"

Shuangxi said: "Yes, Erchen and Uncle Ruyi also find it strange. Uncle Ru Yi scolded the officials who came to report, he couldn't ask a clue, and hurried to Shouning Palace. ”

Li Zicheng looked at everyone and said, "Strange thing! It's really a strange thing! Let's go, let's look at Chongzhen's corpse!"

When Li Zicheng led Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other cronies to the north gate of Coal Mountain, because Shuangxi had already sent someone to run to inform Li Guo, Li Guo hurriedly came to the Wansui Mountain Gate to pick up the car. Li Zicheng asked, "How did Chongzhen's body be found?"

Li Guo bowed and replied: "Just now a eunuch saw Chongzhen's Yuma Jiliang come out of the compound of the coal mountain, go out of the north gate, look left and right, as if he wanted to enter the Xuanwu Gate, but refused to enter, raised his head and shouted a few times. The saddle bridle of this horse was not removed, and even the belly strap was not loosened. The minister couldn't find Chongzhen's whereabouts, he was sitting in the Xuanwu Gate to rest, got the report, immediately came to the Xuanwu Gate, took the royal horse to look at it, and suddenly understood in his heart, he patted the horse lightly, led the horse into the Long Live Mountain Gate, and said: Yuma, you lead the way, go to find the emperor, find your master! ”

Li Zicheng asked: "You took the soldiers into the coal mountain courtyard in the morning to check, why didn't you see the imperial horse?"

Li Guo replied: "According to the eunuchs of the imperial horse supervisor, every imperial horse in Chongzhen is very tame. Chongzhen got off the royal horse, no longer cared, and even the belly belt was not loosened, and hurriedly went up the mountain. The horse waited for his master to return, but did not dare to go far, and when he could not wait for his master, he grazed at the bottom of the mountain and went into the depths of the woods. ”

"When the minister entered the coal mountain courtyard, he only cared about climbing the mountain to find Chongzhen, and also encountered two sika deer who were frightened away, but he didn't pay attention to the royal horse. It is also that the minister is not familiar with the place, and he is negligent for a while. The horse waited in the dense forest for half a day, did not see the master return, only to look for everywhere on the mountain and down, to a secluded place to see that the master had hanged himself, then ran out of the Banzai mountain gate, stood on the road and screamed, telling people where Emperor Chongzhen was. ”

Li Zicheng nodded and said: "As the saying goes, good horses are human, it is true! Where is Chongzhen's body placed now?"

Li Guo said: "Put it under the hanging locust tree, how to dispose of it, wait for Your Majesty's decree." ”

"Let's take a look first. ”

The bodies of Chongzhen and Wang Chengen were placed on the barren grass at the foot of the coal mountain, less than a zhang away. Li Zicheng saw that Chongzhen's face was still very young, white and clean, and it was already gray after death, with a slightly delicate short beard, long hair scattered, his hat had been lost, his eyes were half-closed, his tongue was slightly exposed, there was a purple mark made of silk under his neck, and a boot had been lost.

Li Zicheng's heart moved, and he couldn't bear to look at it more. At this moment, he looked at Chongzhen's corpse, and instead of feeling the joy and excitement of victory, he had very complicated thoughts and feelings, which actually made him sigh in his heart.

Several eunuchs who followed him and the ministers all turned to the feet of Chongzhen's corpse at this time, led by a middle-aged eunuch with an obvious high status, knelt down to Chongzhen, and kowtowed three times, and the leading eunuch couldn't help but whimper quietly and burst into tears.

Li Zicheng asked the eunuchs, "Are there any eunuchs among you who are in the Qing Palace?"

The leading eunuch couldn't hold back a whimper, kowtowed, and said, "Back to the saint, the slave and maid are the ministers who have died in the country, and they were originally the eunuchs in charge of the Qing Palace, named Wu Xiang. ”

Li Zicheng glanced Wu Xiang up and down, and ordered him to park Chongzhen's body in the Shouhuang Palace and find a coffin to decorate.

"If your master is willing to let me not kill himself, I will definitely treat him with courtesy and care for life. It's a pity that he didn't know my true heart, and he clung to the ancient precept of the monarch's death, and forced the queen to commit suicide first, and he hanged himself. You are the eunuch in charge of the Qing Palace, I think you don't forget the old master, and you still have a conscience. You have to find a good coffin in the palace, carefully decorate your old master, and park it in the Shouhuang Palace, so that you can protect it and wait for my holy decree. Are there any palace maids in the Qianqing Palace?"

Wu Xiang replied: "Most of them committed suicide by throwing themselves into the water, and some escaped from the palace, and now there are still more than a dozen palace people still living in the Ganqing Palace, waiting for the fate." ”

"After you carry Chongzhen's body to the Shouhuang Palace, order the palace maids of the Ganqing Palace to comb Chongzhen's hair and change his clothes, boots and hats. ”

"Command!"

Wu Xiang kowtowed, and then asked: "May I ask the Holy Lord, in the seventeenth year of Emperor Chongzhen's reign, once he was martyred, he was deeply blessed by His Majesty's holy virtue and allowed a funeral, which is really an unprecedented benevolence since ancient times." I wonder if the emperor's robe can be used to crown the funeral?"

Regarding this matter, Li Zicheng had already adopted the opinions of Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others just now, but at this moment, his mind was very confused, and he actually forgot to discuss in Wuying Palace, so he couldn't make up his mind for a while, and glanced back at Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others.

Niu Jinxing hurriedly said: "In the humble opinion of the ministers, since Chongzhen is the king of the dead country, he naturally can't use the emperor's crown dragon robe to be buried. Moreover, the coffin found temporarily is not a coffin, and it cannot be buried in the emperor's clothes. His Majesty gave Yao Shun's benevolence to the king of the former dynasty and did not add the punishment of corpses, which is rare in the annals of history. Use palace casual clothes or regular court clothes to enter the funeral, and allow the prince, the second king and the old ministers of the previous dynasty to cry, which is enough for the ceremony. ”

Li Zicheng once again agreed with Niu Jinxing's opinion, instructed Wu Xiang to do the same, and said that the queen's funeral should also be handled accordingly. Li Zicheng instructed Bi Zheng to leave, and Wu Xiang, who was kneeling on the grass, suddenly said: "Your Majesty, the old master of the slave and maid, Emperor Chongzhen, wrote a few words on the placket of his clothes before he died, please take a look at it." ”

Li Zicheng asked in surprise: "What did you say?"

Wu Xiang said: "When Emperor Chongzhen wrote the edict, the minister stood outside the window of the warm pavilion of the Ganqing Palace and did not see it with his own eyes. At that time, only Wei Qinghui, the steward of the palace, stood beside Emperor Chongzhen and waited, and the minister listened to what the Wei palace people said. The emperor might as well take a look inside his shirt. ”

"Hurry up and open his shirt and let me see what last words he wrote?"

Wu Xiang kneeled to Chongzhen's leg on the barren grass, opened the placket of the robe, and sure enough, a few words were written crookedly in the robe. Li Zicheng and the ministers around him hurriedly looked down. Because Chongzhen was flustered and trembling at that time, and the font was sloppy, Li Zicheng couldn't fully recognize it, and ordered Wu Xiang to read it quickly. Wu Xiang read while everyone watched. After reading, everyone looked at each other, and for a moment they were silent, but they all thought about many questions. They could not help but be moved by the sentence "When a thief comes, it is better to break the corpse than to hurt a single person".

Then Li Zicheng said gloomily: "To this day, we have no immortal country and a king in the world, and there have been all generations of them, but they are not the same. Although Chongzhen lost the country, this is the number of qi, which is caused by the national fortune he encountered. The ancients said that the coffin was certain, and in my opinion, Chongzhen was not an ordinary king of the dead country. ”

Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and Li Yan did not speak. They were all moved because they saw Chongzhen's last words, and they also agreed with Li Zicheng's comments. However, this is a very sensitive issue, so no opinion has been expressed.

Li Zicheng looked at the other corpse on the grass, glanced at Wu Xiang again, and asked, "Who is the eunuch who accompanied Chongzhen to hang?

Wu Xiang replied: "Back to the saint, he is the chief eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch Bingbi Wang Chengen, when the army is about to arrive in Beijing, Qin ordered him to supervise the Beijing camp and the ministers to guard the city, but there are no soldiers and no pay, and he has no choice but to accompany the master to hang himself." ”

Li Zicheng said: "He is also a person who is loyal to his master. How should his body be buried?"

"Back to the emperor, Wang Chengen has a family living in the capital, and he can order his family to bring the body back and decorate the funeral by himself. ”

Li Zicheng said: "Since Wang Chengen has a family living in the capital, you can do this." ”

"Slave Command!"

Li Zicheng took Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and other ministers to the north of the coal mountain, looked at the Shouhuang Palace and other buildings from a distance, and then turned to the northwest foot of the coal mountain, along the loess road, and climbed the middle peak of the coal mountain. Prime Minister Niu Jinxing, military advisor Song Xiance, deputy military division general Li Yan, and Hao Houquan general Li Guo stood on his left and right. The adopted son Shuangxi and ten escort warriors stood a foot away on both sides of the middle peak of the coal mountain.

For more than ten years, Li Zicheng led the rebels of the old eighth team, which was initially active in Shaanxi and Henan. In Shanxi, he later entered Huguang, fought back to Shaanxi, and conquered Youyan in the east. He has walked through countless mountains and rivers, and he is not as comfortable as he is when he climbs the coal mountain at this moment. In fact, the coal mountain is not a mountain. It is the early years of the Ming Dynasty when the city of Beijing was rebuilt, the north city wall of the Yuan capital was demolished, and a part of the city wall was piled up to form this rockery, which not only can not be compared with the mountain, but also can not be compared with the hills of the remaining veins of the mountain. In terms of its area and height, it is not worth mentioning. According to the calculations at that time, it was 14 zhang from the top of the mountain to the ground. The middle peak of this small rockery was the highest point in Beijing at that time.

After Li Zicheng climbed to the top of the middle peak of the coal mountain, he looked southward, from the splendid Forbidden City to the southern city and the outer city with rows of houses, from the Wumen, Duanmen, Chengtianmen, Daming Gate, Zhengyang Gate until Yongding Gate. The sacrosanct Forbidden City is now under his feet. The imperial capital of the Liao, Jin, Yuan, and Ming dynasties is now stepping under his feet. To occupy Beijing is to destroy the Ming Dynasty and seize the world. After more than ten years of fighting, I have only now seen the real victory, and it is done.

Li Zicheng stood on the top of the middle peak of the coal mountain, and was both happy and amazed, and unconsciously let out: "Ah!"

It turned out that because Chongzhen's father and son were not missing, there were great hidden dangers for his Dashun Jiangshan, so that he could not rest assured after he was stationed in Wuying Palace. Now the prince and the two kings of water and Ding have been found, Chongzhen's body has been found, and there is only victory in front of him, only Zeji ascends the throne, recruits Wu Sangui, and then recruits Zuo Liangyu and the four towns of Jiangbei in the south, eliminates Zhang Xianzhong, unifies the whole country, and establishes the long-standing Dashun Hongye, and he will soon begin to rebuild the capital Chang'an according to the scale of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, although he also thought of the Manchurian criminals that Song Xiance and Li Yan were worried about, he thought that his Dashun Dynasty was not a stormy Ming Dynasty, and the Qing soldiers would not dare to come.

He said to Niu Jinxing with great ambition: "Prime minister, now that Chongzhen has his whereabouts, preparations for the enthronement ceremony must be accelerated. Although Beijing is good, it will be in the end, I should return to Chang'an as soon as possible, while appeasing Jiangnan, while operating Guanzhong, and laying the foundation of my Dashun Dynasty for all generations. ”

Niu Jinxing bowed down and replied: "When I first entered Beijing today, the six governments have not yet settled down. The minister has told the government that according to the auspicious date chosen by the military advisor, the emperor is going to take the throne on the 8th day of the fourth month. From the 26th, every 3rd, 6th, and 9th day, hundreds of officials sent a table to persuade them, and His Majesty gave them three concessions and then bowed down to the requests of the ministers. From tomorrow, the government will quickly prepare for the ceremony, as well as the law driving, halogen books and other things, the hundred officials will also prepare court clothes, and the Honglu Temple will also make many preparations. In the next three or four days, the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese ministers will inevitably surrender one after another, and they will also make the newly surrendered ministers in Beijing bow down to the grand ceremony and get the grace of His Majesty's rain and dew. ”

"When will Zhang Ruoqi and Tang Tong go to Shanhaiguan to persuade them to surrender?"

"The minister also has to discuss with Zhang and Tang how to go, and the household government will raise 50,000 taels of silver and 1,000 silk ribbons as a gift for His Majesty's army. It will take three days to leave at the earliest. ”

Li Zicheng said: "I hope that Wu Sangui can come to Beijing with my envoy before the eighth day of the fourth month." ”

Niu Jinxing said: "If Wu Sangui can't come to participate in the grand ceremony as scheduled because of the 500,000 people who have moved into the customs and need to be resettled, a congratulatory watch should be sent." As long as Wu Sangui has a congratulatory watch, that is, he will conform to the general trend and become a vassal before His Majesty, not only will he no longer worry that he will collude with the Manchurian Tartars, but he can also set an example for the southern towns. ”

Li Zicheng smiled and nodded, looked at Song Xiance and Li Yan, and asked them for advice with his eyes. The two of them have a more serious view of the Manchurian problem, and at present they also see the problem of Wu Sangui as more complicated. Because the emperor was full of ambition, Niu Jinxing's words had already made the emperor nod with a smile, and they had to nod respectfully, not daring to say their different opinions. Li Zicheng thought that the military advisor and Li Yan had the same opinion as Niu Jinxing, so he didn't ask any more questions, turned around and planned to go down the mountain.

At this moment, Shuangxi saw Wu Ruyi walking into the Banzai Mountain Gate from the gap in the trees, and immediately bowed down to him and reported: "Father Qi, General Wu has entered the Banzai Mountain Gate." ”

Li Zicheng said to the ministers around him: "Let's go back to the palace quickly." It's really a strange thing, I heard that Princess Changping had been carried out of the palace by the eunuch, and just now I heard that the princess did not leave the palace, and she threw herself into the well in the palace and was rescued. I ordered Wu Ruyi to go to Shouning Palace in person to deal with this matter, and he is here now. Let's go down the mountain. Two princesses...... What a strange thing?"