On the 19th, just after dawn, when Zhu Youzhen was running around like a fly without a head, Zhang Jinyan, the secretary of the military department guarding the Zhengyang Gate, was the first to open the city gate and receive Li Jibu, the army of the South Road of the Mandate of Heaven, into the city.

Immediately the eunuch Wang Xiangyao surrendered at Xuanwu Gate, Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo of Chaoyangmen, also opened the city gate, and received the Mandate of Heaven army into the city, Cao Huachun also opened the Xizhi Gate, in less than half a day, the nine gates of the inner city and the seven gates of the outer city all fell.

The Mandate of Heaven army surrounded the imperial city, the battle was no longer suspenseful, and there was no meaning, the governor of Jingying, Li Guozhen, the governor of Xiangcheng, was forced to helplessly, and personally led the remnants of the three battalions of soldiers to surrender to the Mandate of Heaven army outside the city, and the battle inside and outside the city gradually stopped.

God is beautiful, and the weather today is exceptionally beautiful, the sky is clear and cloudless, and the heavens and the earth seem to be full of auspicious joy.

Jingshi did not grieve because of the demise of the Ming Dynasty, and not many people paid attention to the whereabouts of Zhu Youzhen, and the people were guided by the Han Qing Bureau, like a festival, every household posted a yellow sticker on the door, which said "Long live the Yongchang Emperor of China" and "Long live the new emperor", they gathered at the city gate, the market square, and the traffic arteries, and warmly welcomed the Mandate of Heaven army into the city.

The people's expectations for Li Zicheng are very high, and they really regard him as their own, and some people are still worried about "Li Gongzi" distributing five taels of silver to the poor, but they don't dare to say it.

It was already three moments, Li Zicheng entered the inner city from the Desheng Gate in the north, and under the guidance of Cao Huachun, along Deshengmen Street, from Taipingcang to Xuanwumen Li Street, and then turned east, he was already in Zhengyangmen.

The people along the way welcomed and knelt down on the ground, the voice of "Long live the emperor" was endless, Li Zicheng waved to the people with a smile, He Xiaomi followed closely behind Li Zicheng, but his expression was solemn, although he had already guarded his own soldiers around Li Zicheng, and among the people who welcomed, there were also many people from the Han Qing Bureau, he was still very nervous.

He is the emperor's personal bodyguard, and he must ensure that nothing goes wrong.

Li Zicheng turned to the south, this is already the gate of the imperial city, looking at the three big characters "Daming Gate" on the door, a strange smile appeared on his face, but he said in his heart: This Daming Gate should also be changed to "Huaxia Gate", right?

The inner gate of Daming Gate is Chengtianmen (Tian'an # Gate), which is the real south gate of the imperial city, Li Zicheng walked through the square in front of the door, stopped for a moment in front of Chengtianmen, and thought to himself, this name is not bad, the Mandate of Heaven Army is "born from heaven", is it that everything is determined by heaven?

The name "Chengtianmen" naturally does not need to be changed, and if necessary, it can even be used to make a fuss in the future.

Li Zicheng did not stop any longer, along the avenue paved with gold bricks, through the end gate, in front of which is a stone bridge with white marble railings, and under the stone bridge is the moat of the Forbidden City, called the Jianzi River.

After crossing the Jianzi River from the stone bridge, it is the south gate of the Forbidden City - the Noon Gate.

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty worked and lived in the Forbidden City, and if there were no huge changes, they would never be able to leave the Forbidden City for the rest of their lives.

Li Zicheng dismounted in front of the noon gate, not because the Forbidden City was sacred in his heart, but because Cao Huachun told him that there were many undulating steps in the noon gate, and it was really inconvenient to ride a horse.

I don't know where Zhu Youzhen is now?

What does it feel like that the home where you have lived all your life is occupied by others?

He remembered that he sent Du Xun into the city yesterday to talk to Zhu Youzhen, and Zhu Youzhen obviously agreed to the throne in front of Du Xun, but he didn't know what happened later.

Could it be that Zhu Youzhen is this kind of villain with no credit?

According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, only the emperor can go through the main gate, Wenchen can enter and exit the east gate, and the military generals and princes of the clan can enter and exit the west gate.

Although Da Ming was gone, Cao Huachun still proposed such a rule to Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng smiled and said nothing, this rule is a way for the Ming Dynasty to deter courtiers for more than half a year, whether to abolish it or not, he has not considered it yet.

However, this time when he entered the palace, none of the Wenchen generals in China accompanied him, and those who followed Li Zicheng were eunuchs such as Cao Huachun, Wang Xiangyao, and Wang Dehua, who were in the barracks.

The personal soldiers naturally guarded Li Zicheng's side at any time, and Cao Huachun, these eunuchs, no matter how high their status, were not civil and military officials, they could only be the emperor's minions, and they could also follow the emperor to the middle gate.

However, Cao Huachun and others have just defected to the Heavenly Mandate Army, and have not yet been officially recognized and awarded official positions by Li Zicheng, so their identities are a little embarrassing.

Cao Huachun, Wang Xiangyao, and Wang Dehua glanced at each other, but finally did not dare to go through the main gate, but entered from the east side of the door.

In the noon gate, it is a wide courtyard, on the east and west city walls, there are four pavilions that connect the eaves and ridges, the bright corridor is connected, and the Huangji Gate in the north is added, and the city is surrounded by a relatively closed courtyard structure.

Near the front is the arc-shaped inner Jinshui River, across the east and west, resembling a jade belt, Li Zicheng walked from the Jinshui Bridge equipped with a white marble railing, the transnational Huangji Gate, facing the majestic Huangji Palace, the pink palace wall, the bright yellow glazed tile, the top of the heavy eaves palace, the front eaves out of the corridor, the golden carving dragon and the bird under the fang.

Cao Huachun whispered to Li Zicheng that the Imperial Palace was nine rooms wide and five rooms deep, taking the meaning of the imperial ninety-five supreme.

Li Zicheng smiled lightly, if you don't cultivate the royal road and benevolent government, no matter how beautiful the palace is, you can't keep the dynasty, this Zhu Youzhen, I don't know where to cry! Thinking of this, he casually asked, "Gonggong Cao knows where Emperor Chongzhen is now?" ”

"Slaves don't know!" Cao Huachun bowed slightly and said, "The palace city is so big, as long as Emperor Chongzhen doesn't go out of the city, he can always find it!"

Li Zicheng nodded, the Jingshi was defeated, but Zhu Youzhen's whereabouts are unknown, it is always a disaster, and after the overall situation is stable, he will be found.

Unconsciously walked to the front of the Huangji Palace, Li Zicheng naturally did not need to sit in the palace today, and did not need to climb the steps, he passed through the Zhongzuo Gate on the right side, passed through the Zhongji Palace, Jianji Hall in turn, and passed through the Qianqing Gate before coming to the Qianqing Palace.

The door of the Qianqing Palace was closed, and Li Zicheng frowned lightly, could it be that Zhu Youzhen was still waiting for death in the palace?

Cao Huachun bowed down to Li Zicheng's side and whispered, "Your Majesty, the slave went to open the palace door?" ”

Li Zicheng nodded, no matter whether Zhu Youzhen is in the Qianqing Palace or not, the door of this palace must be opened, he has already been proclaimed emperor in Xi'an, and it is reasonable to stay in the Qianqing Palace, there is no need to hide it.

Cao Huachun stepped forward and knocked on the door, and the palace door soon opened, Cao Huachun whispered a few words to the palace maid who opened the door, and then turned back and said: "Tell the emperor, Emperor Chongzhen is not in the Qianqing Palace, and the palace maids closed the palace door because they were afraid." After a pause, he said, "Will the emperor enter the palace now?" ”

Since he is here, he naturally wants to enter the palace and settle down as soon as possible, and there are many important things waiting for him to deal with.

Li Zicheng followed Cao Huachun into the Qianqing Palace, and went to clean the room by himself, Li Zicheng sat down in the hall and officially summoned Cao Huachun, Wang Xiangyao, and Wang Dehua.

They were the first eunuchs to defect to the Mandate of Heaven.

Speaking of which, eunuchs are also bitter people, who have worked hard all their lives, and even their bodies are incomplete, so they can neither enjoy the joy of family life, nor can they leave a son and a half daughter.

Li Zicheng hadn't thought about this problem before, but now that he has entered the palace, he must come up with a specific opinion on the issue of eunuchs.

It is cruel to leave behind such a person as a eunuch, and it is completely inconsistent with the modern system he advocated; If the eunuch system is abolished, it may have negative effects, and it is not unreasonable for these previous dynasties to implement the eunuch system, at least to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline.

The issue of eunuchs must be carefully considered, and it is difficult to reach a conclusion for a while, and if the eunuch system is abolished, there must be corresponding restraint measures.

Cao Huachun, Wang Xiangyao, and Wang Dehua knelt respectfully in front of Li Zicheng, and they knew in their hearts that the time had come to decide their fate.

"No rudeness!" Li Zicheng's face was a faint smile, looked at Cao Huachun and the three of them, and said: "I asked you about it, you must tell the truth-if you lie, I may not know, if I know that you have lied, you should be able to imagine the consequences!"

"The slave must not dare to deceive the emperor!"

The three of them all stood with their hands bowed, and they didn't dare to breathe, Wang Xiangyao and Wang Dehua even looked at Li Zicheng's face, and saw that Li Zicheng's face was like a spring breeze, and their hearts were a little settled.

"Why did you open the gates of the city and receive the Mandate of Heaven army into the city?" Although there was a faint smile on Li Zicheng's face, there was a terrifying bearing, which made people have to look up from the bottom of their hearts, "You are the chief eunuch in the palace, Chongzhen should treat you well, right?" ”

He knew in his heart that just like the love and friendship of the later generations, just know that it is okay, don't test it, if you intentionally test it, the result is likely to be disappointment.

Cao Huachun's feelings for Zhu Youzhen are likely to be in this situation, and it is obviously unrealistic to withstand the test of the country, and when the Ming Dynasty is about to fall, their loyalty will be gone.

Li Zicheng asked them like this, not to humiliate them, but to see how much truth they could tell.

Cao Huachun saw the wind and steered the rudder and opened the city gate for the Mandate of Heaven Army at a critical moment, which not only saved time, but also reduced the casualties of soldiers on both sides, which was very beneficial to the Mandate of Heaven Army, and the Mandate of Heaven Army also needed such people.

But in the final analysis, when Zhu Youzhen had not yet given up resistance, Cao Huachun and the others betrayed their master and privately let the Heavenly Mandate Army enter the city, this kind of character will be difficult to trust in the future, if the Heavenly Mandate Army is facing a desperate situation, will they betray the Heavenly Mandate Army again?

Li Zicheng prefers people like Zhou Yuji, the master only recognizes one, even if the master himself has a problem, he must follow the black to the end; At least like Sun Chuanting, when the mountains and rivers are exhausted, can we recognize the general trend and conform to the trend of history.

Cao Huachun knelt on the ground and said unhurriedly: "The Ming Qi is exhausted, either the Mandate of Heaven Army, or the Tartars outside the pass, rather than the Tartars, it is better to die to the Mandate of Heaven Army, after all, they are Han brothers!"