It was originally agreed in advance that when the "thieves" attacked the outer city urgently, a white lantern would be hung out; began to attack the outer city, and hung out two white lanterns; A large number of people had already entered the outer city, and when they arrived at the street outside the front gate, approached the urn city, and immediately hung out three white lanterns. Now Chongzhen saw the three white lanterns, and suddenly slumped on the saddle, breaking out in a cold sweat. He hastened to grip the saddle with his trembling left hand, and the short fire hammer fell from his right hand to the ground. The eunuch who had led his horse bent down and picked it up from the ground and presented it to him with both hands, but he shook his head and said he didn't want it anymore.

"Your Majesty! This place is not far from Chaoyang Gate, and the slaves and maids and others swore to protect His Majesty to the death and rushed out of the city to meet the new army! Wang Chengen was quite calm, holding the short firearm that he had brought with him on the battlefield of Changqing in his hand.

His confidence comes from the three hundred eunuchs behind him who have undergone internal exercises. The eunuchs each carried a state-of-the-art spear in their hands, and straddled an ochre-red cowhide medicine bag diagonally on their backs. Wang Chengen can be said to be full of confidence in these internal fire soldiers. During his daily secret drills, he had seen the guns fire several times in a row without worrying about the barrels overheating.

"These hundreds of slaves and maids can fight against more than 10,000 elite soldiers who are rebellious!"

Chongzhen is not as confident as Wang Chengen. sighed deeply, and felt annoyed in his heart, when he was blocked by Guang Shiheng and others, he did not go south as resolutely as Emperor Wuzong, so he was in such a situation today. 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 from the easterly part of the Chongwen Gate. He shuddered all over, let out an "ah" from his throat, and stared intently at 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, that fire is the Xinlehou Mansion and the Gongfu Horse Mansion!" It must be that after the thieves entered the Chongwen Gate, they robbed and burned the two royal families first! ”

Chongzhen was still looking at the fire and smoke in the distance, and said in a trembling voice: "Burn well, burn well, what a loyal minister!" ”

The Chongwen Gate, one of the nine inner gates, was opened by the officials first, and the Shunjun horse infantry of the brigade poured in, and immediately exposed Chongzhen, Wang Chengen and others who were at the entrance of Mixiang Street in the Dongjiang River to the knife edge of the Dashun army!

Although I don't know who they are, these more than 300 people have already silently told the soldiers of the Dashun Army that the small team in front of them has oil and water!

"Up! Capture these thieves alive! ”

More than 1,000 Dashun military horses who took the lead in entering the inner city, along Chongwenmenli Street, from the bottom of Chongwenmen City, along the stone path that stretched to the Dongdan archway, rushed straight to Chongzhen and others standing at the intersection of Dongjiang Mixiang, four or five thousand horses' hooves knocked on the slippery stone slab with snowflakes falling on it, making a crisp knocking sound like firecrackers.

"Dismount! Array! Wu Xiang, the eunuch who led the three hundred eunuchs, snorted and expressed a little contempt for these Dashun cavalry who swarmed in.

"Although we are some deviants with no eggs, but today in front of the emperor, we also have to show the group of officials who have betrayed the lord and surrendered to the traitors, who has eggs and bones!"

Since Wang Chengen participated in the Battle of Changqing, the eunuchs in the palace have often put on their lips words like "Although we have no eggs, we have also done things with eggs", and from time to time they will take them out to squeeze those civil officials.

In the blink of an eye, three hundred internal firecrackers had been lined up in three rows, squatting or standing, blocking the street in Chongwenmen. The indifferent eunuchs opened the magazine, put the medicine in it, and then wrenched their arms, reset the magazine, and observed the situation of the dragon head and flint with the corner of their eyes, and then raised the fire gun according to the command of the leader Wu Xiang.

Wu Xiang lined up these musketeers in three columns with a column of 100 people, and the 300 muskets shrouded the cavalry of the Dashun army running in the distance of the street in the shadow of death. These eunuchs have already crawled out of hell, and death, for them, is just a much simpler and more comfortable thing than purification. At this time, what are you afraid of? The musketeers in the first two rows just calmly and indifferently looked at the cavalry rushing from the opposite side.

The sound of hooves rattled and soon the cavalrymen rushed into a hundred, ninety, and eighty paces, and the facial features on their faces, which looked a little hideous and distorted because of excitement and nervousness, could be seen more and more clearly.

Just when the cavalry of the brigade had rushed past eighty paces, and the dozen or so cavalry in the vanguard had already rushed into a distance of sixty paces, Wu Xiang shouted with a voice like death: "Fire!" ”

Bang bang, the sound of the platoon sounded, a large puff of gunpowder smoke rose out, and the cavalry who rushed in front overturned a large area on their horses.

The screams of people and the wails of horses mingled together.

The fall of the cavalry of the vanguard suddenly affected the speed of the impact of the subsequent cavalry, charging through narrow streets, no more than in the field, which could pass in a roundabout. The body of a comrade lying in front of him is the enemy's best obstacle at this time, which seriously affects the speed of the charge. Even if you trample on it regardless of it, those bodies that are bleeding and steaming will also become the best tripping ropes and pits, and tearing off the cavalry who are speeding up one by one from their horses!

Seeing the cavalry on the opposite side gathering in a group on the street, how could Wu Xiang let go of such a good opportunity? At that moment, a dense volley of projectiles came again, causing another scream in the street, and the person who was shot rolled to the ground in pain, letting out a heart-rending howl.

"Third column, come forward! Shoot! First team, lying position, loading! ”

Suddenly, the flames from the mouth of the gun continued to form a chain of fire. White smoke rose in an instant, forming a thick wall of smoke above the firecracker's head. Before the large snowflakes could reach the ground, they melted into water droplets and fell on people's robes.

"Reload! Shoot! ”

In the smoke, Wu Xiang, who led the team, used the sharp voice characteristic of eunuchs to convey terrible orders without any virtue. In the blink of an eye, the firecrackers who were lying on the ground fired the projectiles in the firecrackers again!

"Damn gelding!"

The officers of the Dashun Army who led the team had already seen through the smoke that the people on the opposite side who had killed and injured his Hundred and Tenth brothers turned out to be nothing more than a group of eunuchs, and he couldn't help but be so angry that he jumped like thunder.

"What kind of firebolt are they using?! Shoot so fast! ”

The officer, who was also old from the war, soon noticed that the situation on the other side was somewhat different. After the shooters finished the projectiles in their hands, they did not have to reload in a standing position, they were very comfortable to lie on the ground or take a squatting position to complete the loading action, and then continue to splash round after round of projectiles endlessly to the Dashun army.

"General! There's a big guy in there! An officer pointed to Chongzhen, who could be seen faintly, and pointed to the general with some excitement, "Maybe it's a prince or something!" ”

"Good! Tell the brothers to retreat first, anyway, their firecrackers have been fighting for a long time, and they can't fight any more! Let's tidy up the team, rush over in one go, and capture that noble man alive! ”

"Good! Well played! Looking at the Dashun army that was retreating like a tide, Chongzhen was so excited that tears were about to come out of almost his eyes! In an instant, he wanted to personally lead these three hundred eunuchs to recapture Chongwenmen. Fortunately, he will leave a strong mark on his martial arts in the future history. Let future generations know that the emperor of the Zhu family, not only Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was able to lift a three-foot sword to break through the Tartars and restore the Han family, but also not only Chengzu Zhu Di was able to go on an expedition to the desert and go into battle in person, not to mention Wuzong Zhu Houzhao, who was able to eat and live with the soldiers in Yingxian, and even killed one enemy with his own hands, and personally commanded this battle, which achieved the record of killing 16 enemies, wounding 563 people and killing 25 people, which is known as the great victory of Yingxian! Tens of thousands of elite horsemen under the command of the little prince of Tatar had to withdraw from the Great Wall because of the record of sixteen people killed, and they did not dare to peep into the border fortress for several years, and did not dare to approach Yingxian for a hundred years. "My martial arts should not be inferior to the martial arts!" Chongzhen muttered to himself.

"Emperor! You can't fight! While the traitor retreats temporarily, let's go! In the end, Wang Chengen has experienced the training of fighting on the battlefield and knows how to grasp the rhythm, when even if Chongzhen's horse head leads him to gallop eastward.

After walking a distance in the direction of Chaoyang Gate, a very spectacular first house appeared on the north side of the road ahead, and Chongzhen asked, "Where is this?" ”

A eunuch replied: "Emperor Qi, this is the Chengguo Mansion." ”

Chongzhen said: "Call Cheng Guogong to come out and escort!" ”

Three or four hundred people stopped between the east and west two stone arches in front of the Chengguo Mansion, and a eunuch dismounted and went to call the gate of the Chengguo Mansion. What's the matter? ”

The eunuch replied: "It is the commander of the capital camp who ordered the commander, and the master of ceremonies, Master Wang, has something to visit the prince." ”

The voice inside the door: "Grandpa Guo has not returned to supervise the battle at the Beijing camp outside Chaoyang Gate at this time, please come another day!" ”

The eunuch who called the door came back and said to Wang Chengen: "Father-in-law, this is the case with several noble mansions in the city. It is said that the lord is supervising the battle outside the Chaoyang Gate, and in the eyes of the slaves, this is just an excuse, and these people are afraid that they are all hiding in the Beijing camp outside the city! The slave told him that it was the Holy Driver who had come here, okay? ”

"They're so smart!"

Chongzhen snorted, which was an evaluation of the sprinting record-breaking behavior of these nobles.

"Alas, I am powerless to govern the country, and I have suffered the people of the city in vain!" Looking at the dozens of fires in the city, my ears were full of shouts and horses' hooves, and as the snow fell, it was dark in front of me. This post-apocalyptic scene made Chongzhen's little excitement just now disappear.

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

Chongzhen also said: "Since ancient times, if the monarch is martyred, there will be subjects who will die. I have been raising the soil for 300 years, and I am deeply gracious, I don't know how many people have not forgotten the grace of the king, and have done their best for me? ”

"Emperor, why do you have to say such bad luck? It is said that my Ming Dynasty still has half of the rivers and mountains in Jiangnan and Shandong, that is, Tongzhou, Jimen, Tianjin and other places are still in the hands of my Ming officials! A comeback is never a difficult task! is the emperor of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and there was also a car out of Beijing! However, in the event of the catastrophe of the collapse of the heavens and the earth, the ministers inside and outside the Beijing Division, as well as the loyal and righteous people, as soon as they learn that the dragon is a guest, there will be many people who will die for the emperor's sacrifice, not only a slave and a maid! ”

Chongzhen's heart felt a little comforted, and he suddenly asked, "Where is Prime Minister Wen's 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 a matter of qi, please ask the emperor to open a little, or hurry out of the city, don't wait for the thieves to come to your 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 Prime Minister Wen when the thieves entered the city, and he might have hanged himself at this time.

In fact, Li Banghua heard yesterday that Li Zicheng's men had broken through the outer city, so he took a servant to move to the Wen Tianxiang ancestral hall, which was respectfully known as Wen Xinguo, and was ready to commit suicide at any time. This night he kept sighing, crying, and wandering around the room. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that if the emperor adopted his proposal of "moving south", the Ming Dynasty would not have the disaster of today's country. After Beijing was besieged, he even went to the city to inspect the defense situation and was blocked by the officials who defended the city, thinking about these situations, and secretly wept bitterly in the shaking candlelight.

Just now, when the servant reported to 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: "Banghua died in the country, please follow Mr. underground!" ”

Then he glanced at the whitewashed whitewashed walls, at the hemp rope that the servant had tied for him on the beam, and at a solitary stool under the rope, and sat down at ease to sharpen the ink and plaster, as if he were chanting something. 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 lines of desperation on the pink wall:

The dignified husband is a disciple of the sages,

Loyalty and filial piety swear to the death,

I am worthy of the order in danger!

Chongzhen didn't know that there were more than 20 officials who died for his Ming Dynasty like Li Banghua, but there were only more than 2,000 shameless people who went to various city gates to welcome the Dashun army into the city! When the order in the city was chaotic, dozens of palace people and eunuchs in the palace city threw themselves into the Jinshui River or suspended beams and wells.

Several gates in the inner city have been sacrificed by the city guards, and the Dashun army horses have entered from all over the gates. The Dashun army and horse, which had just fought with the eunuchs in Chongwenmen, also chased down the streets of Chongwenmen again after a little rest.

"Liu Jiangye! General! Fang had just discovered Chongzhen's Shunjun officer, and excitedly led a man with a bland face to rush to the general surnamed Liu.

"This is the guy from the merchant outside Chongwen Gate, Master General, do you know who the person who fought with us just now?"

"Who?!" General Liu grabbed the reins of the horse.

"I know a big eunuch inside, he is the eunuch of the emperor's side, the eunuch of the ceremonial eunuch Bingbi, and the commander of the capital camp Wang Chengen. The people he was able to accompany out, and the team he led were all the elite of the eunuchs, so there was no doubt that he must be the emperor! ”

After listening to the analysis of the guy who came to report the news, he couldn't help but be very excited about General Liu and the dozen or so officers around him, if he could catch Chongzhen alive, this would undoubtedly be the biggest credit for breaking through the city of Beijing.

"Good! You go back first, we just have to chase it, and when we catch up with Chongzhen Xiaoer, it is naturally rewarded! ”

After sending the fellow, General Liu led more than a thousand cavalry under his command to pounce like a whirlwind, splashing the snow on the streets everywhere.

The guy looked at the infantry cavalry in the distance, and couldn't help but smile at the corner of his mouth. He rhythmically tapped on the door of a shop on the street, and the door opened, revealing the wary face of the shopkeeper.

"Tell the above, Chongzhen's whereabouts have been reported to the Dashun army, and thousands of people have chased down! Chongzhen can't leave the city if he wants to! ”

"Good! The shopkeeper must be very happy to know this! ”

After a brief conversation, the guy walked along the street wall with a yellow piece of paper with the word Shunmin on his turban.

A moment later, his corpse appeared at the intersection of Dongjiang Mixiang and Chongwenmenli Street, where the eunuchs and the Dashun army had a brief fierce battle just now, and collapsed with several corpses of the Dashun army.

General Liu led thousands of men and horses to chase closely behind him, so that Chongzhen had no way to go to the sky and no way to enter the earth.

The Dashun army that got the news rushed to the east of the city one after another, blocking the road to Chaoyangmen layer by layer. Chaoyang Gate couldn't rush out, so Chongzhen could only escape in the direction of Miyagi under the escort of more than 100 eunuchs.

In the dormitory of Kunning Palace, a little eunuch had already tied a white practice to the painting beam and set up a stool for stepping on his feet. In the dormitory, outside the window and in the main hall of Kunning Palace, there were many eunuchs and palace maids kneeling, holding their breath silently and very silently. Wu Wanrong, the housekeeper of Kunning Palace, waved away the little eunuch, knelt in front of Queen Zhou, and said in a trembling whisper: "Qi Niangniang, Bai Lian has been tied." ”

"I am the current queen, the mother of a country, and I should die with the emperor. You are not guilty and you can not die. When the day dawns, you will escape from the palace through the Xuanwu Gate. Although the country is poor, there are still a lot of gold, silver and jewelry in this Kunning Palace, and you can take the jewelry out of the palace at will. Wu Wanrong, hurry up and help me! ”

Wu Wanrong quickly helped the queen get up from the chair and walked to the place where she was hanging. She tried her best to stay calm, but she trembled slightly, her legs were paralyzed, and she couldn't help but rely on Wu Wanrong's support and move forward slowly.

The queen was supported by Wu Wanrong and walked to the place where Bai Lian was hung from the beam. She finally looked at the palace maids who served her faithfully in the Kunning Palace with tears in her eyes, and seemed to have a sad goodbye. Except for Wu Wanrong, all the palace maids knelt on the ground to see off the queen, not daring to look up. Empress Zhou was supported by Wu Wanrong, climbed on the red lacquer and gold painting stool on the foot, grabbed Bai Lian hanging from the painting beam with both hands, and sighed hatefully. Wu Wanrong asked, "Niangniang, what else do you have to say to the slave?" ”

Zhou Hou poked her head into Bai Lianhuan, her face was pale, she grabbed Bai Lian with both hands, and said to Wu in an unusually calm voice: "I'm leaving." You go to the emperor and say that the palace has been led to hang yourself in the sleeping palace and go to Huangquan to see the ancestors and ancestors. Please don't think about the concubines, Zhongxing Sheji is important! (To be continued.) )