In the Yongxiang near the Ganqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall and Kunning Palace before dawn, it was particularly dark at this time, bleak wind and cold rain, and most of the street lights that no one cared for had been extinguished. The sound of lonely horses' hooves walked north, disappearing in the direction of the imperial garden close to the Xuanwu Gate, and the cries of the eunuchs and palace maids in the courtyard of the Ganqing Palace to bid farewell to the emperor had not completely stopped.

Wei Qinghui quickly got up from the ground, and sent two palace maids to Kunning Palace to ask Wu Wanrong to come and discuss important matters, and she went back to the house behind the Qing Palace to take care of some things before she died. She was still thinking about the emperor's whereabouts in her heart, and suddenly she had a conjecture. She hoped that the emperor would not find a place to commit suicide, but that the emperor might hide from the eunuchs on the left and right, and order others to make secret arrangements for him in advance, and only take Wang Chengen to escape from the palace at this moment, hide in a place that even Wang Chengen doesn't know, and then escape from Beijing. But it was only a faint hope, and she didn't say it.

The sky was bright, and on the tower of Xuanwu Gate, the drumming of the dawn stopped, and the cloud board stopped sounding. The gates of the inner city were wide open, and the Dashun army began to enter the city in whole groups from different places, and the Qing court men led by Li Guo and Li Yan also came from West Chang'an Street.

When Chongzhen passed by the Imperial Garden, a large black bird fluttered from the ancient cypress tree and flew out of the Forbidden City. The eunuchs guarding the Xuanwu Gate had fled, and there were only two people left. When they saw the emperor coming, they quickly opened the door and knelt on the side of the road, bowing their heads and not daring to look up.

Chongzhen walked out of the Xuanwu Gate, walked out of the North Gate, crossed the stone bridge, crossed a deserted road, and entered the Banzai Gate and came to the compound of the Coal Mountain. Chongzhen came to the courtyard, at the foot of the west mountain, there was a sika deer that came out of the deer house at night from the grass startled up from the grass and ran into the dense forest.

After Chongzhen dismounted, he ordered Wang Chengen to lead the way in front and take a look at the top of the hill along the path. Wang Chengen concluded that the thieves were coming to the imperial city, and he was anxious and persuaded: "Your Majesty, the sky is already bright, and I don't dare to delay any longer." Chongzhen didn't speak, and walked forward. Wang Chengen saw that he was stubborn and wanted to go to the mountain, so he had to walk in front and lead the way.

No one cared about the horse that had been thrown down, the saddled saddle had not been removed, the belly belt had not been loosened, the bridle inlaid with gold and jade was still there, and the yellow silk reins were on the saddle, grazing slowly at the foot of the mountain, waiting for its owner to return from the same way.

Wang Chengen led Chongzhen from the foot of the West Mountain, separated the branches with his hands, and went up the bumpy path. Since the last years of Chongzhen, the state affairs have become increasingly corrupt, and the emperor and the concubines have not come to the coal mountain for many years, so the road up the mountain is in disrepair, not only bumpy, but also a lot of wild grass and miscellaneous trees beside the road. The vertical height of the coal mountain is only 14 zhang, and its summit is the highest in Beijing. So now the rugged path that Chongzhen walked up the mountain seems to be very long.

But I saw that the forest was dense and the mountain road was dark. There are many white cranes inhabited in the dense forest on the coal mountain, just woke up from the remnants of the dawn, a few heard the voices of people going up the mountain, opened their eyes from the pine and cypress branches, felt surprised, hesitated for a moment, spread their wings and took off, flew to Qiong Island in the North Sea, and sent out a few loud screams in the long sky.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, so the sky was clear, but it was slow to dawn, and there were still scattered light rains. The cool breeze suddenly rose, and the pine waves were turbulent. Chongzhen tripped over a stone with his right foot in a panic, and he was caught up in the cold, but fortunately he caught Wang Chengen, who was leading the way in front, and did not fall. After this stumbling, his hair, which had not been combed this morning, was even more disheveled, and the boot on his right foot, which was slightly loose, was lost.

After walking a few more steps, he felt a pain in the soles of his feet, and realized that one of the old boots he had temporarily changed was missing. But he didn't look back, nor did he tell Wang Chengen. He thought that he was about to hang himself, what was the pain in the soles of his feet?

There are five peaks in the coal mountain, and each peak has a pavilion. They went up to the middle main peak of the coal mountain, which is the highest point of the coal mountain and the highest point in the whole city of Beijing. There is a flat place less than two zhang square, and a pavilion is built on it. If it is an ordinary mediocre king who has lost his country, he must be panicked and confused at this time, or cry bitterly, or try to escape, or kill himself quickly, so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. However, Chongzhen is different, at this moment, he can stay calm, no longer crying, and no longer panicked.

He first looked at the palaces in the Forbidden City, thinking that this large area of the imperial palace built from the Yongle period and later rebuilt and rebuilt by generations of ancestors can really be said to be Qionglou Yuyu, there is no other place in the world, and from now on, it will no longer belong to him. He was deeply ashamed of his ancestors, and his heart was like a knife, and two lines of tears flowed out. He looked at the west, east, and outer cities, imagining that the thieves had begun to rob, rape, and kill people everywhere at this time, and he couldn't help but feel bitter in his heart.

"Alas, I am powerless to govern the country, and I have suffered in vain to the people of the city. ”

Wang Chengen said: "The emperor is really a holy monarch, and he is still thinking of the people of the city at this time. ”

Chongzhen also said: "Since ancient times, the country has been destroyed, and the monarch has been martyred, and his subjects will die. I have been a monk for three hundred years, and I am deeply gracious, is you the only one who does not forget the grace of the king and does his best for me?"

"Emperor, the slave and maid dare to speak, in the face of this disaster of the heavens and the earth, the courtiers inside and outside the Beijing Division, as well as the loyal and righteous people, as soon as they learn that the dragon is in the sky, there must be many people who will die for the emperor, how can it be just a slave and a minister?"

Chongzhen's heart felt a little comforted, and he suddenly asked, "Where is the Wen Cheng Ancestral Hall?"

Wang Chengen pointed to the northeast direction, choked up and said: "In that direction, not far from the Guozijian." The emperor, a loyal minister like Wen Tianxiang who is willing to kill himself can not save the death of the Song Dynasty. Since ancient times, the rise and fall of the country is related to the number of qi, please ask the emperor to open a little, or kill himself quickly, don't wait for the thieves to come to his side. ”

Chongzhen was thinking that Li Banghua, an old minister of the Four Dynasties who had a reputation for loyalty and integrity, had told him yesterday that he would hang himself in the words of the Prime Minister Wen when he was in the city of thieves and soldiers, and he might have hanged himself at this time. In fact, Li Banghua heard yesterday that Li Zicheng's men and horses had broken through the outer city, so he moved to the Wenxin National Ancestral Hall with a servant, ready to commit suicide at any time. This night he kept sighing and crying, wandering around the room all the time.

The more he thought about it, the more he thought that if the emperor adopted his proposal to move south, the Ming Dynasty would not have the disaster of destroying the country today. After Beijing was besieged, he even went to the city to inspect the defense situation and was blocked by the eunuchs in the city, thinking about these situations, he secretly cried under the shaking candlelight.

At dawn, the servant told him that the thieves had entered the inner city. He walked to the statue of Wen Tianxiang, made three deep gestures, and said with tears in his eyes: "Banghua died in a national disaster, please follow Mr. Wen underground." ”

Then he glanced at the whitewashed whitewashed walls, and at the hemp rope that the servant had tied for him on the beams of the house, and at a solitary stool under the rope, and sat down at ease to sharpen the ink and plaster pen, as if to recite something in his mouth.

The faithful servant took a piece of white paper and spread it on the table, bowed down in a trembling voice and said, "The thief has already entered the inner city, please write a will, and the old slave will definitely send a proper servant to Jishui Mansion." ”

Li Banghua said in his heart: "As a minister of the imperial court, the country has died, what else do you say about Jishui Fuzhong?"

He stood up, rolled up the sleeve of his right hand, and inscribed three desperate poems on the powder wall: "The dignified husband is a saint and a sage as a disciple, loyal and filial piety swears to die, and I am worthy of being ordered in danger." ”

Li Banghua is not a poet and has no poetic talent, but these three desperate poems reflect his character and mood at the time of death.

Before he died, Chongzhen thought of Li Banghua's suggestion to flee to Nanjing, and regretted it too late, and sighed deeply. He didn't tell Wang Chengen about this, turned to the southeast and looked in the southeast direction, and the first thing he saw was the majestic arrow tower of Chongwenmen, and then he saw the ancient observatory. Suddenly, he saw a fire coming out of the easterly part of Chongwen Gate, and he was suddenly shocked, and he let out a sigh from his throat, and fixed his eyes on the firelight. In a moment, another flash of fire erupted not far from the firelight. The two fires quickly turned into blazing flames, illuminating a large area of clouds and red in the southeast.

Wang Chengen also looked at the fire in horror, and said to Chongzhen: "Emperor, the fire burned the Xinlehou Mansion and the Gongfuma Mansion, it must be that after the thieves entered the Chongwen Gate, they robbed and burned these two royal families first. ”

Chongzhen was still looking at the fire and smoke in the distance, and said in a trembling voice: "Good burn, good burn, really loyal minister!"

Wang Chengen didn't understand what his words meant, and said: "Your Majesty, the more calm you must be at this time, so that you can die calmly." Maybe the thieves have already entered the Chengtian Gate?"

Chongzhen thought that these two royal relatives must not be able to wait for the palace to raise fire, because the thieves had already entered Chongwenmen, and they could not delay, so they set fire to themselves first. What made him most sad was that his grandmother was 80 years old and had encountered the disaster of losing her country. Limited to the strict etiquette system of the imperial court, he has a difference between him and his grandmother, although his grandmother was named Mrs. Yingguo, but she has never entered the palace, and he has not been to see Mrs. Yingguo, so he has never met his grandmother in his life. Now because of his death, his grandmother's whole family set themselves on fire, even if my grandmother can not die in the fire, she will only be left with a lonely wife who is 80 years old, how will she live?

Wang Chengen knelt down at his feet and pleaded anxiously: "The emperor is the lord of heroic martyrs, and he died generously, without further ado. If you want to hang yourself, please give an order immediately, and the slave and maid will prepare for the emperor. If it is already bright today, the thieves will probably have entered the Forbidden City. ”

In Chongzhen's complex and diverse character, there were originally two qualities, strength and weakness, but when it was time to commit suicide generously, the strong side of his character was particularly prominent, and fear and weakness were gone. He already regarded death as home, knowing that the thieves might have entered the noon gate, but instead behaved very calmly and composedly, which was very different from Wang Chengen's panicked expression.

He thought that the palace in the Forbidden City was majestic, the palace courtyard was cloudy, and there were thousands of households, and the thieves entered the Forbidden City to look for his traces everywhere, such as entering a labyrinth, and they would never know that he was on the coal mountain. Thinking like this, he became more and more calm, and whispered to Wang Chengen: "Don't panic, let me stay for a while." ”

Chongzhen continued to stand under the pavilion of the main peak of the coal mountain, holding on to the railing, and staring south, as if he heard the voices of new arrivals in the Forbidden City, but it was not clear. He really had no fear, his mood was very calm, and he secretly comforted himself and said: "This is nothing, the monarch is dead, and the righteousness is right." ”

His mood changed from calm to relaxed, and many past events came to his mind one after another. suddenly remembered an old event in the early years of Chongzhen, as if it was right in front of him. At that time, the world had not yet eroded, and he came here to climb the heights with the queen Hetian and the second concubine Yuan on the Chongyang day, watch the autumn colors, look at the whole city, and drink in the pavilion. Because Chongyang came here to climb the heights in advance, the eunuchs planted many chrysanthemums on the roadside of the mountain and in the courtyard of the sunny mountain for him and the ladies to enjoy.

He once thought that in the future, every time there was Chongyang, he would definitely come here with his palace dependents, or go to Qiong Island, climb high to drink, and celebrate the festival. But then the state affairs went bad day by day, not only did he never come here again in Chongyang, but he didn't even have the heart to come to Qiongdao.

Suddenly, he was startled from the memories of the past, and returned to the events in front of him. Now that Concubine Tian has died early, the queen has committed suicide, Concubine Yuan has committed suicide, the eldest princess was cut by him, the little princess was hacked to death by him, the thieves are already in the Forbidden City, and he himself is about to commit suicide. He couldn't think about it any longer, he just felt a pain in his heart, sighed hatefully, and looked at the sky.

"Alas, oh my God! The ancestors of the three hundred years of the country, unexpectedly lost to my hands, but sigh that I worked hard, ate and dressed, worked hard, dreamed of prosperity, helpless civil servants are greedy, military generals are afraid of death, there is only a battle for the door in the court, there is a lack of ministers who share worries for me, and in the end I will end up with a tragic disaster of destroying the country and destroying the clan. Once the country is destroyed, no personnel will be the same, the mountains and rivers will change color, what is the principle of heaven? Alas, heavens, I am not the king of the country and I am suffering from the disaster of the country? You answer me! You answer me! Answer

"Emperor, the sky is deaf, both eyes are blind, and you shouldn't ask. The thieves are already inside, and the emperor must not delay!"

Chongzhen broke out again, touching his head against the pavilion pillar, making a sound, and his hair was even more scattered. Wang Chengen thought that he was going to touch the pillar and die, but he saw that he did not touch the pillar with great force, and he was afraid that he would faint on the mountain, and the enemy soldiers would come, and it would be too late to kill himself. He grabbed Chongzhen's shirt and shouted: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You can't die if you touch it like this! It's better to hang yourself!"

Chongzhen smiled coldly and said, "Yes, I want to be martyred by hanging, and I have decided in my dream yesterday. What is hateful is that I am not the king of the country, but the disaster of the country, and I will not be blind to death!"

He thought for a moment, then continued, "What you said is that I will hang myself. But I want to ask the heavens, ask the earth, why did I perish the country, what kind of heavenly principle is this? Alas, what kind of heavenly principle is this? Emperor Tianhou Tu, please answer me! Answer me!"

Wang Chengen persuaded: "Your Majesty! The thieves have already entered the imperial city and entered the noon gate, and the general trend has gone. ”

Chongzhen calmed down again, and said with a sneer: "Don't worry, I will never fall into the hands of thieves!"

"The slave is worried about what to ......"

"You don't have to worry! In the Forbidden City, there are thousands of households, and thieves and soldiers enter the Forbidden City, and if they can't find me, they will inevitably rob property in the palace and rape the palace maids, and they will never come here soon. I came to this place to die calmly, but there are some things that I have to confide in the emperor. ”

"Emperor, the matter has come to this, it is all providence, please don't be too sad. ”

Chongzhen suddenly hit his head against the pillar again, then beat his chest and feet, looked up to the sky and wept bitterly, and then asked in a hoarse voice: "The emperor is above, am I a mediocre and unreasonable king of the dead country? Am I a lord who is absurd and drunk, and ignores the government? Am I a weak and incompetent, ignorant and demented, or young and ignorant, and allows traitorous ministers to mess with the government? Am I not a wise lord who rises at dawn every day, worships the heavens with all his might, and always thinks of the wise lord who makes great efforts to govern the country?"

"Oh my God! Why did you abandon me and let me end up like this? Why are you so ruthless? Why are you unreasonable? You say! You say! I call the heavens, are you deaf? It is really the emperor's deafness. ”