On the high river beach, the smoke of gunpowder was filled, and the artillery shells of the Qing army on the other side kept falling.

An armored personnel carrier was parked under the city walls, the commander blew a sharp whistle, and a dozen soldiers jumped from the vehicle and fell to their stomachs. A "woodpecker" machine gun was mounted on a dirt slope, condescending, ready to shoot.

Behind it is the ruined city wall of Nanjing. A few hundred meters away at your feet is the fortified area, and further on, there is an open river.

This is five kilometers south of Dinghuai Gate. It was clear that it had not yet been breached, but the defenders of the defensive line had already partially fled. The defenders' own gendarmes could not hold them down, and even some of them fled.

There was not a single Qing soldier below, but the Ming army defenders kept crawling out of the tunnel and running up.

The People's Guard machine gunners under the walls lowered their guns, aiming at the approaching rout, waiting for the commander's order. Although the gaze under the steel helmet was cold, his hands trembled a little. Although he is a deserter, he is a member of his own army after all.

The sound of a loud horn wafted from the armored car:

"We are the Imperial People's Guard, and we order you to return to combat positions at once...... Your Majesty is still in Nanjing, you are not allowed to take a step back, and those who violate it will be killed...... Your defense section has not been lost, so take the initiative to give up killing...... We are the Imperial People's Guard......"

The rout soldiers below ran closer and closer, and they all hesitated when they heard the announcement, and stood and looked at the armored vehicles in the distance above, and the black sword flag fluttering on a yellow background, not knowing whether to continue running or go back.

The rout soldiers behind also followed, and when they saw that the people in front of them were not running, they also stood up and gasped, and asked one after another:

"What's going on?"

"yes, what's wrong?"

"The People's Guard! Don't let you run away, don't talk about killing! ”

"Run, don't run fools! Those who didn't run away from the north are dead! ”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a shrill hiss above his head, and the dirt under his feet blew up a cloud of dust.

The routs were stunned, looking up, the machine guns in the distance were smoking, and a People's Guard officer waved his hand to let them go back.

At this time, the command "Kill or kill" on the loudspeaker of the armored vehicle in the distance stopped, and an officer shouted with a microphone on the spot:

"Go back! …… Emperor Qing has already released his words and will take Nanjing and burn it for ten days! Now you throw down your guns and run away, and soon the city of Nanjing will be full of corpses! …… Not only Nanjing, but soon your hometown will be the same! …… Now Her Majesty the Empress is still in Nanjing, and it is up to you to defend it! If you're still a Ming soldier, if you're still a man, go back and fight now! …… As the same Ming soldiers, I don't want to execute you! I don't want to despise you even more! …… Go back!! ”

The two sentences "take Nanjing and burn it for ten days" and "your hometown will be the same" almost immediately woke up all the defeated soldiers. They looked at each other, pulled their legs and rushed to the defensive line.

The People's Guard officer took off his hat, stroked his sweaty hair, and let out a long breath. The machine gunner on the side also buried his head, secretly rejoicing.

Under the strict supervision of the People's Guards, the defenders on both sides of the gap in the defensive line resumed their stubborn fighting, the gap in Dinghuaimen did not continue to expand, and the entire Nanjing defense section avoided the collapse of the entire line.

……

Panic has spread to the Purple Mountain Fortress.

The news that the Qing army had entered the city of Nanjing made it a mess here. The gendarmes in the fortress have all been replaced by Zhu Yourong's Praetorian Guards. Wearing steel helmets and armed submachine guns, they stood neatly in the central command hall, not moving at all, not squinting, bringing a sense of stability to this flustered hall.

Zhu Yourong was restless in his room, walking around. She knew that she couldn't leave the command hall at all, so she just asked the maid to go to the command hall every once in a while to retrieve the latest battle report.

Next to her, Zheng Gongyin, Zheng Yuxuan, and Mrs. Li were all sitting there, staring at her anxiously. They came here to persuade Zhu Yourong to leave Nanjing. At the beginning, Shen Rongxuan asked Zhu Yourong to live in the Purple Mountain Fortress, on the one hand, it was difficult to break through, even if Nanjing all fell, the fortress would be impregnable; On the other hand, the Purple Mountain Fortress is connected to the traffic tunnel of the Yangtze River defense line, and it can be evacuated to other cities through the defense line tunnel at a critical moment.

But now the southern access has been cut off. The Qing army had formed a breakthrough in the sub-mother continent between Nanjing and Ma'anshan, and that section of the defense line was lost. And here in Dinghuai Gate, more than 1,000 meters were flooded. Now it is no longer possible to go south to Ma'anshan, and if you want to go, you can only go east to Zhenjiang. If the Qing army formed another breakthrough between Nanjing and Zhenjiang, it would be cut off at both ends and would not be able to go at all.

"Rong Rong," Mrs. Li looked at her anxiously, "can't hesitate any longer!" You hesitate any longer...... We all have to fall into the hands of the Qing captives! ”

Zhu Yourong's face was white, he grabbed a fan hard, his chest kept rising and falling, he suddenly stood up, and suddenly paced.

"Rong Rong," Zheng Gongyin was so anxious that his mouth was full of bubbles, "Rong Rong, listen to me, now even Shen Ge Lao has suggested that you leave...... Let's go, let's go, the matter of Nanjing, Shen Ge will deal with it! ”

Zhu Yourong stopped suddenly, his eyes were bloodshot, and he said in a dry voice:

"You've heard that, right?"

"What did you hear?"

"Emperor Qing promised to capture Nanjing and burn it for ten days."

Zheng Gongyin and Mrs. Li glanced at each other, and Mrs. Li said softly:

"Rong Rong, you also believe this, Emperor Qing Yu is just talking, he can promise anything in order to take Nanjing...... It doesn't necessarily mean that it will be burned and killed. ”

Zhu Yourong stared at her, her voice trembling:

"Nurse, you don't think so, but what if you do?"

Mrs. Li licked her lips, now she was so anxious that she wanted Zhu Yourong to leave Nanjing, and she couldn't imagine where this stupid girl had heard the news. Now it's more and more difficult to go.

Zhu Yourong had already let these relatives around him go first, but these royal relatives were unwilling to accompany the holy driver. Now that the situation is in crisis, Zheng Gongyin has quietly told Mrs. Li just now that she should go first, but Mrs. Li can't give up Zhu Yourong anyway. It's no longer a question of whether to accompany the holy driver or not. Zhu Yourong was raised by her breastfeeding, like a daughter. Regardless of her life and death, she left first, Zheng Gongyin could do it, but Mrs. Li couldn't.

Zheng Gongyin glanced at Mrs. Li and said nonsense to Zhu Yourong:

"Rong Rong, it's okay, Elder Shen Ge will continue to send out news, saying that you are still in Nanjing's ......"

Zhu Yourong ignored his uncle's clumsy lie, picked up a report on the table, and said:

"Now there is a big hole in the defense line, and the Qing Lu wants to tear it along this opening to both sides, but the defenders on both sides of us can still resist it desperately, why? Because the soldiers know that I am still in Nanjing! Xiang Qing's troops are helping me desperately block the gap, and their slogan is 'Your Majesty is still in Nanjing, you can't take a step back'! If I leave at this time, the soldiers' will to resist will collapse! Nanjing is over! …… Nanking...... Nanjing will be burned and looted by them for ten days! Yangzhou 10th ...... The tragedy of Yangzhou on the 10th day is alive in Nanjing! ”

After saying that, she threw away the report, rushed to the inner room and slammed the door, threw herself on the bed and cried, no one could open it.

Mrs. Li was still distressed to call the door, Zheng Gongyin stepped forward and quietly called her aside, and made a look, and the palace maids outside all went out.

Zheng Gongyin whispered:

"Madam, you are Your Majesty's nurse, I am Your Majesty's uncle, and Your Majesty's personality is the most familiar to us. His Majesty is usually docile and gentle, but once he is stubborn, eight horses can't pull it back. ”

Mrs. Li shook her head and said:

"Master Hou doesn't have to persuade me, you have to leave, if Your Majesty insists on staying, I will not leave her and go by myself."

Zheng Gongyin waved his hand and said:

"Madame misunderstood. Benhou means to say......"

He moved closer, speaking the plan in a voice so low that it was barely audible.

Mrs. Li was startled, glared at him and said:

"Master Hou, this is an overkill! …… Although His Majesty is a child of our own family, ...... But she is a great tomorrow after all! This thing is too big! ”

Zheng Gongyin said in a low voice:

"Madame. Madame, please think about it, Your Majesty is the closest person in this world? ”

Mrs. Li observed his expression, rolled her eyes, and said slowly:

"If you want to say that the closest people, it is naturally His Majesty's grandfather, King Yanping, and several eldest princesses...... But if you want to talk about the closest person, it is ...... The Hou Ye and the concubine are two. ”

Zheng Gongyin smiled and said seriously:

"Not bad. It's you and me. …… His Majesty is a child of great affection. If this is done by outsiders, it will naturally be a great crime. But if we do this, even if she is angry for a while, and after thinking about it, we are for her good, then it will be over. In the future, we have saved Your Majesty's life first, and even if Your Majesty has grievances, it will be slowly resolved in the future. If you are not decisive today, and Your Majesty really falls into the hands of the Qing captives, then we will have nothing. ”

Mrs. Li nodded slowly, and then hesitated:

"The commander of the Praetorian Guard, I know him well. It's just that the Praetorian Guard, it stands to reason that they only listen to Your Majesty! How can we mobilize? ”

Zheng Gongyin said:

"Who said that he was going to be transferred, but he just reasoned with the commander of the Praetorian Guard, explained this reason thoroughly, and asked him to cooperate. …… We don't seize power or usurp the throne, it's for the good of Your Majesty, everyone knows this truth. Even if he is the commander of the Praetorian Guard, he is still a human being, and he does not want to accompany him to Nanjing and wait for death. If we support him, I will give him a large sum of money to give him glory and wealth for the rest of his life, and this is not a rebellious crime, so he has no reason not to cooperate. …… Hehe, it is said that it is His Majesty's Praetorian Guard, but in fact, His Majesty does not care much about the Praetorian Guard at all, and it is true that she is closer to the People's Guard. In fact, speaking of this Praetorian Guard, on the contrary, you are more familiar with Madame than Your Majesty. ”

Mrs. Li was moved by what he said, glanced at the closed door of the inner room, thought about Zhu Yourong who was stubborn inside, and nodded and said:

"Okay, Master Hou, the concubine will go and tell the commander of the Praetorian Guard!"

……

Zhu Yourong cried enough in the bedroom, got up and wiped his eyes, and felt a little strange why the nurse and uncle didn't continue to knock on the door to persuade them. She sat for a while, and finally couldn't help it, and opened the door and went out.

The nurse and uncle were gone, and there were two Praetorian Guard soldiers standing in the room, and when they saw her come out, they looked at each other, and then stood upright.

Zhu Yourong was surprised, why could the Praetorian Guard soldiers enter his room?

She asked:

"Why are you here?"

One of the soldiers looked at his companion and said:

"Back to Your Majesty, is it...... The Commander ordered us to come. ”

"What did you call you for? …… Hmm, what about Mrs. Lee? ”

Zhu Yourong said and walked out.

The two soldiers looked at each other again, gritted their teeth, and at the same time dodged in front of Zhu Yourong.

Zhu Yourong was startled, looked up at them, and said with a smile:

"What's wrong with you? …… Is there anything you'd like to tell me? ”

One soldier stubbornly said:

"Your Majesty, please rest in your room for the time being, Hou ...... Hou Ye and Mrs. Li are arranging for His Majesty to leave Beijing, and it will be fine soon, please ...... Please Your Majesty do not go out. ”

Zhu Yourong's eyes slowly widened, a little incredulous. She was stunned for a moment, then smiled again:

"Nonsense, get out of the way, I'm going out."

Another soldier raised his arm, stopped in front of Zhu Yourong's face, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, we have been ordered to protect Your Majesty in this room, please don't go out!"

The first soldier hastened to add:

"Mrs. Li said that Nanjing will fall immediately, this is for the good of Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yourong looked at them. Slowly, she finally realized what was happening.

Coup. House arrest.

Her head buzzed, and there was a strong ache in her heart......