Zhu Si was tough on the lips, but he was relatively empty in his heart, saying that the king was dead, but he wanted to run away more often.

On the same day, Zhu Si hurriedly summoned the cabinet ministers Liu Chun, Zhang Xuan, and the six Shangshu and others into the palace, and only talked about one thing, that is, how to defend the Beijing Division, and Zhu Si made it clear as soon as he came up that he was ready to leave the capital to these people in front of him, and he himself was ready to go south to Anlu, so that the ministers could help him defend the Beijing Division.

“…… If the saint is not there, how can the morale of the army be stabilized? Please Your Majesty for the Jiangshan Sheji, for the people of Limin, and stay in Beijing. ”

Wang Shizhong, as the secretary of the military department, did not give Zhu Si any good advice on the use of troops before, but he insisted on his position on persuading Zhu Si to defend the capital.

Zhu Si was furious and reprimanded: "I heard that the walls of Nanjing City were directly blown down by thieves, so the city walls of Beijing are almost undefended, and the situation is so dangerous that I still stay behind to defend ...... There is not even a barrier to lean on, wouldn't it be easy for the thieves to kill me in front of me? ”

Wang Shizhong hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, although the city wall is strong, it is a dead thing, and it is not enough to rely on, the key lies in the people's hearts." Although the city of Nanjing was broken, Di Yi did not invade the city, so he was afraid of street fighting...... Although the thieves' firearms are advantageous, they are not conducive to close combat, as long as they enter the city, we can give full play to the advantage of numbers, and attack them in groups, and the thieves will suffer huge casualties, and they will flee in defeat. Please believe in the heart of the army and the people to fight to the death! ”

"You!"

Zhu Si was angry and no longer argued with Wang Shizhong.

He also seemed to have figured it out, if he chose to escape, the minister would definitely disagree, so what was the point of arguing with these people about whether he could go or not?

It's better to leave those who want to defend to the death and take care of themselves, which is the best policy.

Zhang Xuan said: "Your Majesty, if you want to move the capital, you should take the land of Guanzhong as the foundation and return to Anlu...... I'm afraid it's hard to last long. ”

Zhu Si said coldly: "Since I have left the capital, where is it different?" I know that there are passes such as Tong Pass, but can I count on these passes to resist the artillery of thieves at critical times? How did the Nanjing city wall break?

"Hmph, should I say that I can't count on you people? If Zhu Jingdao was in Beijing, I wouldn't have to worry about this at all! ”

At a critical time, Zhu Si finally remembered his good brother Zhu Hao again.

Zhang Xuan was very angry when he heard it.

The situation is critical, you still don't believe us, and you still remember Zhu Hao's goodness? What kind of ecstasy soup did that kid give you?

Zhang Zuo came in from outside, looking nervous: "Your Majesty, the thieves have begun to divide their troops and prepare to besiege the capital...... It's too late! ”

When Zhu Si heard this, he was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.

He was about to give the order to move the capital, Wang Shizhong rushed out, knelt in front of Zhu Si, looked like a dead admonition, and roared loudly: "Your Majesty, the Son of Heaven guards the country, the king is dead, even if the minister is dead, he can't let His Majesty leave the capital at this time!" ”

"The surname Wang, are you going to rebel?"

Zhu Si originally thought that he, as the emperor, had the power to kill and take away the subjects of the world, and could do whatever he wanted, but in fact, in the previous Zuo Shunmen incident, he was indeed unscrupulous, and the minister seemed to have no threat to him in recent years.

Who would have thought that when the survival of the family and country was in danger, the military department in front of him would be so tough, this was something Zhu Si never expected, and he also wanted to use the emperor's majesty to scare Wang Shizhong away, who would have thought that Wang Shizhong would not eat him at all.

Zhang Xuan thought to himself.

You can run, just give us a notice when you leave the city, you have to summon the minister to discuss, which will not only delay time, but also be boring.

Why is this all the trouble?

Zhang Xuan said: "Wang Butang, now we should step up the defense of the Beijing Division, what are you thinking about at this time?" Your Majesty, please arrange for your ministers to be stationed on the city wall, and the ministers will definitely live up to the emperor's grace. ”

This means, let's stop making a fuss here, and think about how to block the invincible enemy outside the capital.

Zhu Si pointed to the soldier Shangshu Wang Shizhong who was kneeling in front of him, and his eyes were about to split: "Drag this fang down!" The post of secretary of the military department was temporarily replaced by the cabinet minister Zhang Xuan! ”

The Emperor was also furious.

"Your Majesty......"

A group of people want to intercede for Wang Shizhong.

Zhu Si said menacingly: "At the beginning of the use of soldiers, Wang Shizhong did not make any correct judgment, so that the thieves killed all the way to Jingshi, and now he still wants to bite back, saying that everything is my responsibility." What qualifications does this kind of unkind, unrighteous, disloyal and unfilial person have to stay in the court? ”

"Your Majesty......"

Wang Shizhong wanted to show the demeanor of a minister's death, but suddenly found that he was going to be used as a scapegoat.

What the emperor said sounded reasonable.

If it weren't for the incompetence of you, the secretary of the military department, why would you let the enemy kill at the feet of the Son of Heaven, and you still want to pull the emperor on your back?

The emotional Jingshi has been captured, the emperor will die, and you just go and surrender to the enemy as a courtier?

Emperor Immortal Sheji, you're embarrassed to join the enemy, aren't you?

……

……

Wang Shizhong was taken down.

Zhu Si had to drag his family and escape from Beijing that night, and at the same time instructed 10,000 soldiers and horses in the Beijing camp, plus Jinyiwei, Jinwuwei and other palace guards, it didn't matter whether other imperial relatives brought it or not...... The most important thing is that your family is safe.

The preparation time was unusually rushed, and it was not even half an hour before and after.

Just before dark, Zhu Si was about to leave the city from Xizhimen, but was told that there were enemies everywhere outside the city.

"Get out of town!"

What Zhu Si is thinking about now is to break through.

The capital is too dangerous, or is the place of Anlu far away from the emperor and far away from the sea, so I don't believe that I can escape quickly, can that group of people catch up?

When you chase you to Anlu, it's a big deal that I flee to the west, there will always be places that you can't catch up, and when the soldiers and horses of the King of Qin in various places kill you, I will come back to be the emperor.

What he thinks...... In the eyes of the minister, it is simply unreasonable.

But Zhu Hao felt that this was the best way for Zhu Si to keep the throne.

Don't look at cowardice, but when you obviously can't beat it, only if you stay in Qingshan, you will have a chance to turn the tables, otherwise you will stay in the capital when the strong enemy is around, the goal is so big, sooner or later you will burp.

Since ancient times, the emperors of all dynasties have proved one thing, that is, before the capital is besieged, fleeing is often a good choice, for example, if Emperor Chongzhen, a descendant of Zhu Si, fled to Nanjing in time, then the Ming Dynasty may not be able to last for dozens or even hundreds of years.

Of course, there are also examples of success in sticking, but the price of sticking is to live and die with the capital, but not every emperor has that courage.

The magnates who rode on the heads of the people did not have the courage to defend to the death, as evidenced by the surrender of Li Zicheng by the officials and nobles in the late Ming Dynasty.

……

……

The soldiers and horses of the Beijing battalion in the city were killed from the Xizhi Gate, and they wanted to take advantage of the fact that the enemy army outside the city was not assembled to rush out of a gap and create conditions for the emperor to escape.

When the cavalry rushed out of the city, they realized that the idea was too naïve.

The artillery is no longer a point, line of fire, but all-round coverage, a crackling artillery fire, the cavalry is basically not on the horse, even the city gate has been blown up into potholes, the city wall near the left also has many defects.

The remaining cavalry, who did not die, fled back to the city in disarray, like frightened birds.

At this time, Zhu Si knew that he had even blocked the way to escape.

Now it's time to fight to the death.

In order to vent his anger, Zhu Si asked Wang Shizhong to be executed directly, and put it on the head of the city in Dongzhi Gate to show the public, and even hung Wang Shizhong's head on the city gate tower.

Of course, no one at night cares about what hangs on the city gate.

Wang Shizhong became the first person to bear the black pot for the imperial court in this war.

When Zhu Si returned to the Forbidden City, the whole person was wilted, and at this time, Gui Cao, the secretary of the ministry, happened to enter the palace, explained the current situation to Zhu Si, and made suggestions: "...... If the city of Jingshi is really broken, His Majesty will immediately put on ordinary clothes and leave the palace, choose a private house to hide, deceive the thieves, and wait for the situation to stabilize a little and quietly sneak out of the city, and the minister will arrange people to escort His Majesty to Anlu, in order to plan for the future. ”

Gui Cao is more rational.

He saw that if the emperor did not leave, it was tantamount to pushing the Ming Dynasty to a dead end.

When the emperor dies, rebellions will arise in various places, and at that time, the vassal kings will each claim the emperor, and the generals with military power will also take advantage of the situation.

Only Zhu Si survived to Anlu, the backbone of the Ming Dynasty was still there, and the rebels in various places were less named.

"You can also see that Jingshi can't hold it, can you?"

Zhu Si agreed with Gui Cao's proposal.

Now all the intelligence indicates that the enemy is from the South Seas Java.

They don't even understand the language of the Ming Dynasty, if he, the emperor, changes into ordinary clothes, how do they know that they are the emperor?

Taking advantage of the chaos to get out looks dangerous, but it is already the last chance.

Gui Cao said: "The minister has a bad idea, maybe the predicament is now caused by Zhu Jingdao." ”

"What do you mean?"

Zhu Si frowned.

Gui Cao was talking for Zhang Xuan, and said, "How similar are the firearms used by the thieves to those weapons invented by Zhu Jingdao before?" Muskets, artillery are very similar...... Maybe it's because he has been at sea for many years, and he has long been kidnapped and robbed by thieves, and he has done things for thieves, so he has today's crisis. ”

"Huh."

Zhu Si smiled and said, "You really dare to think about it." ”

Gui Cao shook his head and said: "The minister also knows that now is not the time to worry about this, but if Your Majesty wants to escape, you need to guard against the courtiers ...... Recognize. ”

It means that if you run away as the emperor, it is better to be careful, the enemy will not recognize you, but the minister is very familiar with you, in case someone reports you, you will die without a place to be buried.

Zhu Si asked, "After the thieves break the city, won't they slaughter the city?" ”

"This ...... I don't know. ”

Gui Cao also looked worried, but still spoke comfortingly, "But judging from the performance of the thieves on the Tianjin Acropolis after breaking the city, it shouldn't be." They just let the soldiers and civilians in the city leave in an orderly manner, and they didn't even stop the officers and soldiers who were mixed with the fleeing people, and they didn't know what to think. ”

"What kind of road is this?"

Zhu Si completely figured out what the other party was going to do.

Since this enemy army landed in the Ming Dynasty, it has repeatedly broken the cognition of the Ming monarchs and ministers, and they have never seen such a war before.

As he was talking, Zhang Zuo ran in and shouted: "Your Majesty, the thieves have attacked the city!" I heard that the soldiers and horses outside the Dongzhi Gate have been ......"

"What's wrong?"

Zhu Si was nervous.

Zhang Zuodao: "It is likely that it no longer exists, and now the east of the city is in chaos, and the people in the city are running to the south of the city, dragging their families with their mouths, and the city has become a pot of porridge!" ”

"Have all the people gathered to the south of the city?"

Zhu Si's eyes lit up, as if he had found a way out.

If he wants to go out of the city in disguise as a common person, he naturally has to follow the crowd, so the south of the city is where he should go now.