The secret report received by Yang 'Chao' was sent on 16 March. , the latest chapter access:.

Wang Chengen and his entourage were very fast, and they hired 800 slender men in Huai'an Yang 'Chao', these slender men who have been pulling fiber on the canal all the year round, their foot strength is better than that of Yang 'Chao', and under the heavy reward - each person in Beijing will be rewarded with platinum within ten days - and pulled a boat, so he ran fast!

They set out from Huai'an and entered the territory of Shandong in one day and night, and met Zhang Guowei, the secretary of the military department who was sent by Emperor Chongzhen to Zhejiang to recruit troops and salaries.

Zhang Guowei set out from Beijing on 8 March and told Wang Chengen about the situation in Beijing.

The situation is critical!

In January, Li Zicheng went east to Beijing, and on the second day of February, he built 3,000 ships at Shawukou, crossed the Yellow River, captured Fenzhou (Fenyang), Yangcheng (Yangcheng County, Jincheng City), Puzhou (Yongji), and captured Huaiqing (Jiaozuo, Henan) the next day, and killed King Zaiyan of Lujiang. On the fifth day of the first month, Taiyuan was conquered, Niu Yong, Wang Yongkui and other overseers of 5,000 people went out to die in battle, and on the eighth day of the first month, Zhang Xiong was the defender of the internal response, and the city was broken by shelling, and Cai Maode hanged himself. Rest in Taiyuan for eight days. On the 16th, on the 16th, Kexin Prefecture, the officials and the people surrendered, and Zhou Yuji, the general soldier of the Daizhou Guard, held the city.

After that, the city of Beijing severed its ties with Shanxi, and Emperor Chongzhen was uneasy, so he let Zhang Guowei go to Jiangnan to recruit troops, and at the same time transferred Wu Sangui, the general soldier of Liaodong, and Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, to lead troops into the guard, and summoned Tang Tong, the general soldier of Miyun, and Liu Zeqing, the general soldier of Shandong, to enter the guard.

At the same time, the great feudal generals, the chief military officer of Liaodong, Wu Sangui, Ping Xibo, the general commander of the Ping thief general, the left governor of the general army, Zuo Liang 'Yu' Ning Nanbo, the right governor of the general army of Jizhen, Tang Tongding Xibo, the left governor of the general army of Fengxi, Huang Degong, Jing Nanbo, and Liu Zeqing, the left governor of the general army of Shandong, each entered the substantive level.

It is hoped that these generals will be able to enter the king of Jingqin.

Yang 'Chao' knew that the Ming Dynasty was on the verge of extinction, and the Ming army in Shanxi, Henan Province could not stop Li Zicheng, not to mention, the key was that he had no intention to resist at all, and the officers and soldiers of many prefectures and counties were out of the city for dozens of miles to meet Li Zicheng, so it can be said that Emperor Chongzhen was in the north and the army was completely demoralized.

When Yang 'Chao' received Wang Chengen's letter, he immediately forwarded it to the civil officials in Huai'an, saying that he wanted to go north to Qinwang, and he had about 200 people. These officials are not too suspicious, but they hesitate to neither support nor block, obviously they don't want to be responsible, the Ming Dynasty has reached this time, and the civil officials still have no responsibility, and it is really time for her to die.

But that's enough, as long as the Huai'an Mansion doesn't try its best to obstruct itself, Yang 'Chao' needs to transfer troops to Huai'an. Then go north, and the cooperation of Huai'an Mansion is indispensable. At least not inhibitively.

At the same time, the carrier pigeon that flew to Nanjing was released, and the news was conveyed to Shi Kefa, so that Shi Kefa could help handle the documents for going north, so that his large army would immediately cross the river and go north.

It's just that the recruitment of the people has been slow, and the last time I hired 800 slender men from Huai'an, I almost 'pumped' all the slender men in Huai'an, and I didn't recruit enough in one day, so that Yang 'Chao' had to delay the trip and send people to the nearby along the canal to recruit.

However, Yang 'Chao' is not too anxious. He gave his men five days, and Yang Chao remembered that the city of Beijing fell on April 25, and it was only March 18 at this time, and there was still more than a month to go, and judging from the speed of his march this time, the first batch of men and horses from Nanjing to Huai'an could arrive in five days.

As long as the first army arrives, even if it is only three or five thousand people. Yang 'Chao' is also confident that he will compete with Li Zicheng in Beijing, and may not be able to defeat Li Zicheng's million-strong army in the field, but with the mobilization of manpower and material resources in Beijing, he should be able to defend for a few months, which is enough for the troops of other local armies to Qin Wang, with the strength of Zuo Liang 'Yu', Huang Degong and others in Jiangnan. As long as you arrive in Beijing, it will not be difficult to fight back Li Zicheng with Yang 'Chao'.

Therefore, Yang 'Chao' is actually not too anxious, after all, he did not receive the edict of King Qin, which means that Li Zicheng has not yet arrived in Beijing.

But Wang Chengen of Shandong was in a hurry, and he was in a hurry to return to Beijing because he wanted to be by the emperor's side when Li Zicheng rebelled. I have to say that he is careful, he knows that Emperor Chongzhen seems to be strong, but in fact, his heart is fragile, so he is stubborn, and being able to accompany the emperor in times of crisis is worth more than making a great contribution.

In fact, his Wang Chengen's cognitive ability, he didn't believe that a rogue like Li Zicheng could hit Beijing City, but from the news he got from Zhang Guowei, Li Zicheng has really become a climate, and he is almost invincible in Shanxi.

So Wang Chengen was in a hurry, drove a group of people like 'chickens' dogs, and took out a large bribe he had received, telling everyone that he would add another three hundred taels of silver, and asked them to rush to Beijing within three days.

Eight hundred slender men were divided into three shifts, day and night, pulling boats and running on the canal.

At the same time, through the post station in Shandong, he threatened the local government to send a highest-level urgent report, informing the emperor that he was rushing back, and also made it clear that the emperor had made the news that he had let Yang 'Chao' go north without authorization, and asked the emperor to punish him.

Wang Chengen's cleverness is very sufficient, he knows that the emperor will not punish him, but will think that he is decisive.

Post station pass, there is 800 miles of urgency said, all the way the horse stops people non-stop, pass the post station to change horses, eat and sleep are on the horse, a night can gallop 800 miles.

Wang Chengen's urgent report was much faster than that of his boat, which set off on the 16th and reached the city of Beijing on the 17th.

I have to say that Wang Chengen's urgent report is important, because at this time Emperor Chongzhen was desperate to the extreme.

Zhou Yuji, the general soldier of Daizhou Pass, blocked Li Zicheng, and the two sides fought for more than ten days. This is the most 'fierce' and only strong resistance that Li Zicheng encountered in Shanxi, so even if Zhou Yuji retreated to Ningwu in the north, he had already made way for Li Zicheng to advance eastward, but Li Zicheng pursued him to the death, and the army turned north to attack Ningwu. Zhou Yuji guarded, and finally the fire 'medicine' was exhausted, and he opened the 'door' and died in battle, and his whole body was like a hedgehog 'hair', and Mrs. Liu led more than 20 people to 'women' and 'women' to go to the house and 'shoot', and they were all burned to death.

On the first day of the first month of March, Li Zicheng Kening Wuguan, more than 70,000 soldiers were killed before and after, and the casualties were heavy, and Li Zicheng ordered the slaughter of the city in a fit of rage. The slaughter of the city had a deterrent effect, and that night Jiang Xuan, the chief soldier of Datong, surrendered, Wang Chengyin, the chief soldier of Xuanfu, handed over the table, and Li Zicheng followed closely with the subordinate Juyong Guan Changping. On the eighth day of the first month of March, the soldiers arrived in Yanghe. On the 11th, he drove into the Xuanfu and "the whole city was in an uproar." Burn incense to welcome".

Li Zicheng went to the suburbs of Beijing, Chongzhen was in a hurry, and called on the officials and even eunuchs in Beijing to donate money.

But what he got was the crying poverty of the lords and nobles, all of them were extremely stingy and unwilling to donate, Chongzhen hoped that his father-in-law, Zhou Kui, the father of Queen Zhou, would take the lead in donating. I hope he can donate 100,000 taels, but he said he had no money. 'Forced' was anxious to ask for help from his 'daughter', Queen Zhou 'privately' gave him 5,000 taels, he deducted 3,000 taels, and 'handed over' 2,000 taels.

Chongzhen's royal relatives are rich and rival the country, and in the end, this Zhou Kui was tortured by Li Zicheng, and 'forced' out 700,000 taels of silver, but his 'son-in-law' asked for money but was unwilling to give a cent, driven by his bad head, in the end the emperor could not raise 200,000 taels of silver. There was only one Taikang Bo Zhang Guoji who paid 10,000 gold, and Chongzhen directly promoted him to the rank of marquis.

In fact, if Chongzhen can be shameless and take the title to Jiangnan to sell, not to mention that 10 million taels of silver will definitely be sold.

The money raised was simply not enough to pay the army, let alone recruit new soldiers to defend the city, and it was of no avail.

He also convened civil affairs to discuss the matter, but he could not come up with an idea. The civil officials have three attitudes, the first is that Fan Jingwen and Li Banghua suggested that the prince should be asked to raise the army in Jiangnan; The second is Yu Shiguang Shiheng and others, who say that the prince wants to go to the south of the ministers, what is the 'desire'? It is believed that those who invite the prince to go south have ill intentions. The third is the university scholars Wei Dezao and Chen Yan, Chen Yan asked for retirement, and the emperor was worried about Li Zicheng and asked him. In order to leave safely, he told the emperor that he should not be worried, and the emperor agreed to his retirement and rewarded him with gold coins. The first assistant Wei Dezao repeatedly proposed that he wanted to go out of Beijing for a salary, but the emperor did not agree.

The world was hot and cold, and the ministers had their own ghosts, and later after Chongzhen's death. Fan Jingwen and Li Banghua both committed suicide and martyred him, but Shi Heng and others surrendered to Li Zicheng first, and Li Zicheng could not escape to Nanjing after his defeat and was killed by the small court. Chen Yan took the initiative to donate tens of thousands of taels of silver to Li Zicheng, and was appointed as an official by Li Zicheng, when Li Zicheng fled, he wanted to kill the courtiers, Chen Yan poured all his wealth, but only lived four days longer than other courtiers, and was finally beheaded by Li Zicheng. Wei Dezao was born as a champion, but he has been an official for a short time, and he is a newly promoted minister, and he has become the first assistant. When Liu Zongmin tortured, Wei Dezao probably didn't have enough money embezzled, Liu Zongmin was tortured and served, and he couldn't afford to beg for mercy, so he dedicated his 'daughter' to Liu Zongmin, Liu Zongmin rewarded his soldiers to play after playing, and finally Wei Dezao was blown up by Liu Zongmin with a bamboo board, and later tortured his son to death.

Chongzhen's ministers refused to donate, and Wenchen was noisy.

Li Zicheng did not delay at all, on March 15, arrived at Juyong Pass, the eunuch Du Zhizhi and the general soldier Tang Tong surrendered without a fight, Li Zicheng's Southern Route Army Liu Fangliang went east out of Guguan, Zhending Taishou Qiu Maohua, guerrilla Xie Sufu surrendered, the scholar Li Jiantai fled in Baoding, and Li Jiantai threw himself into a well and died.

On 16 March, Li Zicheng's troops crossed Changping and arrived at the Shahe River.

On the 17th, he entered Gaobeidian and Xizhi 'Gate', bombarded the city with artillery, Li Zicheng's cannon was the Ming Army Xiangcheng Bo Li Guozhen stationed outside the Xizhi 'Gate', but unfortunately the last moment of the most trusted nobles of Chongzhen, there was no consciousness of sacrificing his life for the country, Li Zicheng came, not only surrendered, but also let his artillery help attack the city.

In the middle of the night on 17 March, Li Zicheng's army broke through the Quang Ninh 'Gate'.

On March 18, Li Zicheng sent Du Xun, a eunuch who had surrendered in Changping, into the city to negotiate secretly with Emperor Chongzhen.

Li Zicheng's condition was to let Emperor Chongzhen make him a vassal king, cede the northwest area to him, and give him one million taels of silver to reward the army. Li Zicheng was willing to retreat to Henan, and was also willing to help the imperial court exterminate the Liukou and the Manchu Qing in Liaodong.

Li Zicheng hit Beijing City, and he still wanted Chongzhen to make him a king and give him some money, which was indeed very unproductive.

But it is not ruled out that he wants to blackmail the Son of Heaven to order the princes, but with Li Zicheng's political wisdom, he probably really wants to be a soil emperor, after all, looking at his behavior after occupying Beijing, he does not look like a politician, but like a complete bandit.

It's just that Li Zicheng's request, Emperor Chongzhen directly refused.

He had already made plans to die, but with a glimmer of hope, he asked the eunuch to continue to negotiate with Li Zicheng, in order to delay time and hope to wait for reinforcements.

And at this time, Emperor Chongzhen received a secret letter from Wang Chengen.

The desperate Chongzhen walked back and forth hurriedly after reading Wang Chengen's secret letter, and after reading it, the hand holding the letter trembled.

Exclaimed loudly: "Yang Qing actually went to Huai'an!" ”

Chongzhen also thought that Yang 'Chao' was in Zhejiang to suppress bandits, he couldn't believe it, in a month's time, Yang 'Chao' not only wiped out the Baitou Army, but also returned to Huai'an, and was on the order of Wang Chengen to go north to King Qin.

Chongzhen, who was already desperate, couldn't help but have a glimmer of hope, and immediately asked the eunuch to contact Du Xun and make new requests to Li Zicheng.

Emperor Chongzhen told Du Xun that it was not impossible to give Li Zicheng the title of king, but he was afraid that the ministers would oppose him, and hoped that Li Zicheng would give him three days to persuade the hundred officials, and hoped that Li Zicheng would stop attacking the city within three days.

Du Xun was overjoyed and went back to report the good news to Li Zicheng, but Li Zicheng was not a fool, he said that he accepted the emperor to persuade the ministers, and on the other hand, he did not relax the siege at all.

Wang Chengen hurried and hurried, and finally arrived at the city of Beijing on the third day, those people refused to take a step forward after arriving in Tongzhou, Wang Chengen's last journey was in the arms of Yang 'Chao' soldiers, riding horses.

Finding the east 'gate' that was not surrounded, revealing his identity, and ordering the officers and soldiers guarding the city to hang him to the city, fortunately at this time the city was a eunuch who supervised the army, so he did not embarrass Wang Chengen, and hung him and thirty Yang 'Chao' soldiers all to the city.

Wang Chengen immediately rushed to the palace.

And Yang Chao's thirty soldiers stayed outside the imperial city to help defend.

But the first thing they did was to release most of the pigeons, and inform Yang 'Chao' to enter Beijing immediately.

It's the night of March 19th!

When Yang 'Chao' received the news from Beijing, it was already 22 March, and his vanguard had already arrived at Baoying, which was half a day's journey south of Huai'an.

Yang 'Chao' couldn't help but be suspicious in his heart, and remembered clearly in his heart that Beijing City was breached on April 25, why it was only more than three months now that Li Zicheng actually attacked Beijing City, either because history had changed, or because the inner city of Beijing and the Imperial City had lasted for a month, anyway, no matter what the situation, Yang 'Chao' was about to go north without delay.

After leaving the order so that the follow-up troops did not need to assemble and immediately went north, Yang 'Chao' took the lead in setting off. Go back to the end of the Ming Dynasty as a warlord

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Section 301 of the text has history changed.