Many things that happened in Shandong had already begun to panic many people in the capital ten days before the army approached the capital. If it was only some high-level and even careerists with a small background who were unwilling to see the Son of Heaven really master the powerful strength, most of the ordinary wealthy families were influenced by Confucianism and felt that it was not a big deal, so the monarch was a Zhongxing cheer up and could solve the internal and external troubles in front of the Ming Dynasty. So when the news of the "collusion" between the army of the Son of Heaven and those thieves in Shandong became more and more conclusive, many people felt panic, and it was not limited to some very secret places in the past, and even some people began to openly discuss it in ordinary restaurants and tea shops.

"Have you heard of that? Shengshang recruited more than 100,000 recruits from all over Shandong this time, not counting the hundreds of thousands of people including the entire relevant family members, who are approaching the capital in a mighty way... A businessman from a small background was talking in a restaurant

"What's this? Although the saint seems to be a little anxious today, isn't it a good thing? At least the entire capital doesn't have to worry about it anymore as it did a few months ago. Although there are elite imperial horse supervisors around the saint, the number is too small after all, if the Jiannu outside the gate enters the customs again... An official who came to Beijing was unimpressed.

"What do you know, don't say anything else, do you know the current financial geometry of the imperial court? The minimum way to support a person who eats the emperor's food is to gather? Not to mention tens of thousands, but more than 100,000 people. With the saint's habit of not being stingy with those new army warriors, I am afraid that he will soon make up his mind on the heads of everyone in the capital, and now the nine gates of the capital seem to be not so strict! Prepare early! ”

Some sporadic rumors outside are nothing, but some discussions outside, combined with some news from home and the ideas of many family members, began to shake many people. Especially those civil officials and even ordinary business travelers whose backgrounds are not too deep, they have already prepared to flee at the beginning.

But he didn't expect that the entire capital was suddenly heavily guarded, and even during the day, the various city gates were only allowed to enter and not to exit, except for some dung trucks or coffins that seemed to have no problems. Although some people thought that there were still some ways to get out of the city, there were very few people who were ready to flee after hearing the slightest rumor.

However, as many local families in Shandong fled to the capital to cry and complain, the facts of local horror in Shandong began to be placed in front of many people.

"What? The saint didn't even let go of the Yan Shenggong family, and the same was true of the vassal royal families such as King Lu? "When I met the guests in private, many nobles in Beijing felt shocked.

"Today's saints are not openly bandits, and those who do these things are thieves, but even if they are low-class people in the local area, who doesn't know that today's team and those thieves are wearing the same crotch? The thieves on the front foot burn and loot all evil, and the forbidden brigade of the Son of Heaven on the back foot has arrived, specifically robbing the silver that the thieves have tortured and looted, and the collusion and cooperation between each other is what ordinary people can see... ”

"Can't hesitate any longer! Hurry up and get out of Beijing! "A man from Beijing who had a relationship with a local person in Shandong made up his mind. Some of the old warriors in the capital even felt the rumors, and even some nobles in the capital began to feel uneasy at this time.

Because there are some things that can be thought of with a little thought: so many people come to Beijing, and if nothing else, it is inevitable that they will not be able to rely solely on the inner treasury and the state treasury to provide for food. Some news from Shandong has made many people regard the current Son of Heaven as Wang Mang's generation.

More and more people began to flee out of the city in a steady stream under such circumstances, of course, some of them ended up away from Beizhili because of caution, but most of them planned to leave directly by swagger and horses, and were detained and intercepted by the cavalry who returned to the Yongwei battalion in advance to the area around the capital in advance. At most, a thousand cavalry is of course small for the huge capital, and even if it is scattered into a sparse team of three zhang apart, it will not be able to encircle the entire capital. However, the interception target is not the enemy soldiers who break through the encirclement, but those large families in Beijing, and a small number of servants, so it will not be a problem at all. In just a few days, a convoy of dozens of horses and horses, including hundreds of servants, were seized and treated like prisoners of war, and no one in the capital dared to leave.

When the mighty team led by Xiao Xuan came to the capital, the weather was still a little cold in early spring. According to the original plan, the huge team was also stationed at the head of the capital. The city, which stretches for dozens of kilometers and some of the military camps in its vicinity, is not too crowded even for hundreds of thousands of people. In order to avoid a large-scale epidemic in early spring, when they began to set up camp near the city walls of the capital and build new residences, they also began to select many young people who had not yet reached the age of military service to carry out sanitation and cleaning throughout the capital while the weather was still cold. At the same time, he began to collect tailors, cloth, and makeshift military uniforms and hats belonging to the new battalion from all over the capital. After all, although the newly established new army of about 60,000 or 70,000 recruits had undergone fairly strict training at this time, their military uniforms and hats were often very inappropriate.

After a lot of experience over the past year, Xiao Xuan has also realized why modern Western armies attach great importance to military appearance. China did not realize this until the era of the New Army after the Eight-Nation Alliance. If everyone's outfit is similar to that of the late Qing Dynasty Xiangyong, it is not as good as the Taiping Army or the Boxers, wearing extra-large clothes like singing, and the whole person is like a zombie in the late Qing Dynasty. Even if there are strict discipline requirements comparable to those of modern armies, they will achieve twice the result with half the effort. To a large extent, the strict military uniforms, housekeeping, and good food are an adjustment to the cultural atmosphere of the army, making people feel that although life is not easy, it is not a kind of torture deliberate by the officials, but has ardent expectations for everyone.

However, although Xiao Xuan has taken a lot of actions after returning to Beijing, including counting the arsenal, health campaigns, collecting stationery resources such as pen, ink, paper, inkstone, etc., as well as relevant craftsmen in the capital, etc., he did not plunder or disguise plagiarism as some people imagined in Shandong and other places. The hearts of many dignitaries in the capital also calmed down a little, until an unexpected thing began to make many people inside and outside the capital who originally supported the emperor who was still a little vigorous began to realize that this is by no means the Ming Jun that many people expect in their minds.

(End of chapter)