The situation was so critical and dangerous, of course Chongzhen didn't want to sit still, he sighed for a while, and immediately began to save himself.

He immediately sent his eunuchs and asked them to leave the city quickly, let the reinforcements from other places come in, and rush to the capital as soon as possible. At the same time, he issued an order again, and the ministers who had already dispersed and returned home returned to the Jianji Hall to discuss matters.

After all the ministers arrived, Chongzhen immediately pressed the current Liukou to the city, and Li Guozhen, the mayor of Xiangcheng, led the remnants of the Beijing soldiers to surrender to the enemy outside the city, and gave a brief explanation to everyone.

The courtiers, who were already scattered, suddenly became more and more flustered when they heard such terrible news.

At this time, the situation of the entire court, "everyone was panicked and at a loss." When the scholars and doctors meet, they only say no, or they say that they are harmless, or they say that they have nothing to do. There are also recommendations to patrol the streets and close the door, and there is no chance of winning. ”

There are also some ridiculous bureaucrats who are lucky, "It is still said that the city is strong, and there are handsome people to lean on, and they have not been injured for three months." Therefore, there is a lot of coal and rice in the city, and there is nothing to ask. ”

Hearing these disorganized and almost useless suggestions, and seeing the chaotic atmosphere of the court like a vegetable market, Chongzhen became more and more confused, and the precious time passed quickly in such a boring dispute.

Corresponding to the chaotic imperial court, the last thousands of defenders of the capital were forced by the eunuchs to ascend to the head of the city to defend the city. Their hasty defense at the head of the city was even more chaotic to the point of being difficult to control.

Because of the heavy responsibility of defending the city, it completely fell into the hands of the eunuchs at this time, and the remnants of the soldiers who were driven to the city to guard the battlements were neither trained in peacetime, but also lacked food and wages, "The soldiers guarding the battlements are hungry and cannot eat." Mother or son, carrying porridge to the city and shouting wildly, not knowing where to guard, the chaos is so much, and there is no one who eats again a day. ”

Two days later, Li Zicheng's army finally gathered in the capital from the north and south, and surrounded the entire Beijing tightly.

The iron flow is rolling, filling the four fields, and firmly enclosing a huge capital in the middle, the water is impassable, and the birds and birds are difficult to fly.

Outside the Desheng Gate in the north of the capital, Li Zicheng, who was riding a black barge horse, wearing a signature blue tight-fitting arrow suit, wearing a white Fan Yang felt hat, a dark face, thick eyebrows and thick beard, and a tall hooked nose, looked at the capital of the Ming Dynasty that appeared in front of him, and his heart was indescribably emotional.

After more than ten years of hard work, he has become the emperor of Dashun State, and now he has swept all the way to the north of the Ming Dynasty, and now, he is going to take advantage of the situation to take the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Speaking of which, the rapid defeat of the Ming Dynasty this year really exceeded its own expectations.

You know, last summer, I was defeated by Li Xiao in Henan, and fled all the way back to Shaanxi, thinking that it would take a few years to recover, but I didn't expect that the speed of the Ming Dynasty's festering was far beyond my imagination, and finally let me pick up a big bargain.

When Li Xiao's main force of the Tang army was attacking Liaodong with all its might, the decaying and festering Ming Dynasty lost its most reliable pillar, and the entire Central Plains was empty, so that he could unify Shaanxi and Gansu so smoothly, establish Dashun, and cross the Yellow River eastward, all the way to Shanxi, Xuanfu, and most of the Northern Zhili, and finally approached the capital. This fortune is strange, and it is really unreasonable.

How many things in the world have brought the vicissitudes of wine.

Li Zicheng sighed for a while, and then shouted at the formation: "Niu Jinxing!" You're a dog, get me out! ”

King Chuang's vulgar and affectionate shout caused a group of Dashun soldiers next to him to laugh. In the midst of laughter, Niu Jinxing, a scholar of the Tianyou Temple and a scholar of the Ministry of Engineering, came out of the battle with a look of charity and came to Li Zicheng's side.

"Niu Jinxing, you are a dog, you have to agree to send some persuasion letter to that Chongzhen guy. Exercise! We've all attacked the city, and we're about to take the capital in one go, and you're going to take off your pants and fart in one go, it's really a superfluous move. “

Niu Jinxing smiled and arched his hand to Li Zicheng: "King Chuang, forgive me for speaking bluntly, what you said is not right." “

"What's wrong?"

"King Chuang, this old saying is good, if the name is not right, it is not good. Let's raise troops so far, why don't we have a reason? That Emperor Chongzhen, no matter how you say it, he is also the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and we, no matter what you say, are also his former subordinate subjects. Therefore, before attacking the city, we must first take advantage of morality, but this matter must not be sloppy. “

Niu Jinxing paused for a moment and continued: "King Chuang, the conditions we put forward to Chongzhen are nothing more than these three points, one is that Chongzhen ceded the entire northwest to us, and we can downgrade ourselves and become the king of the northwest." The second point is that let the Ming Dynasty come up with a million dollars of silver to reward our army, and we can't let us go all the way in vain. The third point is that after we are entitled, we can lead the army to help Chongzhen pacify other rebel armies and the Qing army outside the Guan, but for Chongzhen, the emperor, he neither obeys the edict nor enters Beijing to worship. As long as Chongzhen agrees to these three points, we will withdraw our troops immediately......"

"you! Bull Venus, you coward! With such good conditions, Chongzhen didn't agree, could he be a fool? In case Chongzhen really agrees, how the hell will you let me step down! Let these hundreds of thousands of soldiers retreat back to Shaanxi? Li Zicheng looked stunned and interrupted Niu Jinxing's words hatefully.

Seeing that King Chuang was angry, Niu Jinxing shook his head again and again, and persuaded him: "King Chuang, don't worry, listen to me." These three conditions, I dare to predict, that Chongzhen guy will definitely not obey, and will definitely refuse. “

"! Why the fuck does he think that?! “

"King Yuchuang, that Chongzhen, I really saw through him. He is a stubborn and incompetent person, but he thinks very highly of himself, and he values his own face more than his life. Such a person can't distinguish between priorities and priorities, and he can't figure out the severity, and he will only go to death for the sake of the so-called face, and he will not be flexible at all. “

"Well, that's what you're talking about, I think so too."

"King Chuang, just like the current capital, there are no soldiers and no food, under the heavy pressure of our army, it is already in danger, and it will definitely not be able to hold it. As the king of a country, he should immediately recognize the situation and retreat to the south with the entire Ming court, which is the best strategy. According to the detailed report we placed in the city, there was a squire Li Mingrui who proposed to Chongzhen to move south, but Chongzhen finally rejected this correct suggestion because of the capital of the temple and the Son of Heaven guarding the country. It can be seen that this person can't see the situation clearly at all, and he doesn't understand how to change with the times, so he ended up with the result he is today, which can be regarded as self-inflicted. “

Niu Jinxing said this, his face was full of emotion and mockery, he paused, and continued: "Therefore, after our letter of persuasion was sent, although Chongzhen hesitated and wanted to agree, for the sake of the so-called face and dignity, he would definitely refuse easily in the end, which is inevitable. Then, as long as he refuses, then we will be regarded as doing our duty to him. From then on, our army will occupy the moral high ground, and Chongzhen will only get the notoriety of a dumb king, so that after our army captures the capital, Chongzhen will be captured or killed, and there will be no more scholars to blame. What is not to do such an empty favor? ”

Hearing Niu Jinxing say this, Li Zicheng's face showed a smile, he bowed to Niu Jinxing, and motioned him to do it as soon as possible.

At the behest of Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing immediately dispatched the eunuch Du Xun, who had surrendered, and let him enter the city to deliver a message to the emperor.

Du Xun surrendered to Xuanfu together with Wang Chengyun, the chief soldier of Xuanfu, when Li Zicheng attacked Xuanfu, and together with Wang Chengyun, he became the internal response of the Liukou to attack Xuanfu, and finally forced the governor Zhu Zhifeng to death, and successfully surrendered the city.

Because of this stain that cannot be washed away, Du Xun, who knew that it would be a dead end if he returned to the Ming Court, began to work for the Liukou with all his heart, acting as a guide along the way, pointing out the truth and probing, and working very hard.

He sold himself completely in this way, so he was quite trusted by Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing, and this time he went to the palace to convey a message to Chongzhen, and Du Xunzi was the best candidate.

Du Xun accepted the order, so he shouted under the city, asking to enter the city, and soon the city put down the drawbridge, let him run into the capital quickly with one man and one horse.

After entering the city, Du Xun galloped all the way to the palace. After passing through the streets and alleys until after noon, he hurriedly dismounted, and then someone took him and galloped towards the Qianqing Palace, where the emperor was reviewing the chapters.

When he came to the outside of the palace, Du Xun saw the figure inside in a patched Ming Yellow Dragon robe, and he couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion in his heart.

Soon, news came from the palace and ordered him to enter. Du Xun took a deep breath, bowed slightly, and entered the palace gate.

A few steps away from the imperial table, Du Xun knelt down.

"Your Majesty, old slave, old slave ......"

Chongzhen put down the Yanghao jade pen, put the piece aside, and then coldly looked Du Xun up and down, but he snorted coldly and did not speak.

Seeing the emperor's behavior, Du Xun was ashamed in his heart, and his face was inexplicably hot.

For a while, there was an embarrassing silence in the Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, the old slave is in Xuanfu, and he is really forced to ......"

In the end, it was Du Xun who spoke first, and as soon as he said a word, he was interrupted impatiently by Chongzhen: "Du Xun, I don't have the heart or time to listen to you about the past, what do you want to say to me, what do you want to convey to the thief, just say it bluntly." ”

Du Xun raised his head, looked at the emperor in front of him with complicated eyes, looked at the master he had once been loyal to, his throat swelled, and he wanted to speak again.

In the end, he didn't say anything, only took out a handwritten letter from Niu Jinxing from his arms and handed it to Chongzhen with both hands.

The little eunuch took the letter from his hand and handed it to Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen opened it with a frown, and after a glance, his face was very ugly.

Du Xun looked at his face, and saw that the emperor's face was so embarrassed, and he secretly said that it was not good in his heart, he was deeply afraid that the narrow-minded emperor would be angry and take his own head to vent his anger, which would be bad.

Fortunately, the emperor only coughed lightly twice in the end, and then sneered: "Okay, Li Zicheng, a giant coward, didn't come to attack the city directly, but now he has proposed these three conditions to me, but why?" ”

Du Xun heard the emperor's question, and felt a little relieved in his heart, so he replied: "Emperor, these three conditions are really the king's pity for His Majesty, and he can't bear to add swords and soldiers to the capital." Now that the situation in the capital is so dangerous, how can it withstand the hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers of the king of Chuang! In the opinion of the old slave, it is okay for His Majesty to agree to his request for the time being......"

"Shut up! I am the son of the great tomorrow, but the king can die, how can the land obtained by the bloody battle of the ancestors and ancestors be exchanged with the rogue, how can this really be true! Chongzhen jumped up from the dragon chair with a furious face.

"Your Majesty, although you say that, but you are in a hurry, why should Your Majesty be confined to death?" Du Xun hurriedly persuaded: "Your Majesty, I committed a capital crime under the arson, but I also received the emperor's favor, so I have to speak up to Your Majesty. Your Majesty, you are now trapped in a lonely city, with no soldiers and no generals, how can you resist the hundreds of thousands of heroes who broke into the king! Your Majesty is a body of ten thousand gold, how can you not think about yourself! Taking a step back, even if His Majesty has the intention to martyr Sheji, what are the people in the city? What is the Ming Dynasty? The old slave said a heart-wrenching word, even if Your Majesty died for the country, how would it help the Ming Dynasty's Jiangshan Sheji? Besides, now, the Ming Dynasty is still based in the south, it is still there, and the number of qi is still not exhausted, how can Your Majesty be so disheartened, bent on seeking death and not thinking about cheering up? ”

After listening to Du Xun's hard advice, Chongzhen began to calm down.

He stared out the window in a daze, the muscles on his face twitching, his throat surging constantly, and he looked weird that he wanted to say but didn't want to say.

In the end, he let out a long sigh and said slowly to Du Xun: "This matter is very important, can you let me discuss with the group first and then reply, okay?" ’

Du Xun bowed to the ground: "Of course you can, I hope that Your Majesty will make a quick decision, such a last opportunity is not missing, Your Majesty must take advantage of it!" “

Subsequently, Du Xun said goodbye and left, and Chongzhen saw him leave, his face was full of loss.

As soon as Du Xun left, Chongzhen immediately held a meeting in the Jianji Hall to discuss countermeasures with the ministers.

Chongzhen first gave a brief explanation of Li Zicheng's negotiation plan and these three conditions, and then asked everyone how to deal with it when it was so urgent.

What Chongzhen didn't expect was that in this Jianji Palace, the atmosphere was extremely dull, and the civil and military ministers of the Manchu Dynasty were like a group of cowing lambs, and no one came forward to make a decision or speak.

Chongzhen's eager and anxious gaze swept over every face that cowered and retreated, and gradually, his originally earnest face began to be full of disappointment.

This Manchu Dynasty civil and military, all of them Mu Ze Huangen, now when this is in danger, they are all shrinking turtles, which is really hateful and hateful.

Perhaps, such a guy has already found a way out, just waiting for Li Zicheng to enter the capital, and then worship the new lord one by one, and then enjoy the high-ranking officials.

Chongzhen's anger rose from his heart, and he shouted angrily: "Chen Yan! “

Hearing the emperor's nod, Chen Yan, the first assistant of the cabinet, walked out of the court class with an unwilling face.

"Chen Yan, the situation is so critical now, how can you, as the first assistant, not say a word or a single suggestion, what is the reason?!"

The treacherous and cunning Chen Yan, when he heard the emperor's angry question, he was not only afraid of taking responsibility, but also worried that the emperor would use himself to vent his anger, so he pretended to be panicked, kept silent, and blindly bowed his head.

Seeing Chen Yan come again, the restless emperor gritted his teeth with hatred, he stood up from the dragon chair, stared at Chen Yan in front of him with his eyes like a knife, and finally threw down a sentence hatefully: "Hmph, don't think that I don't know what Xiao Jiujiu you are fighting in your heart now." You are thinking that you should abandon the Ming Dynasty and join the thieves in order to gain fame and fortune! With such intentions, I really look at the fire! “

After Chongzhen finished hating, the next answer to him was that there was still silence.

At this moment, Chongzhen's heart was infinitely sad.