CHAPTER XVII

For several days, Chongzhen couldn't swallow food, couldn't sleep at night, not only his eyes were deep-set, his face was gray, but he was also dizzy, and his body was difficult to support. But the death of the country is just around the corner, and he can't fall down and leave the fortunes of the country alone, nor can he go to Yangdezhai's royal couch to sleep for a while. He originally planned to swing his sword to kill Du Xun in Qianqingmen, but he came to the spirit temporarily, with a sense of anger, suddenly forgot his tiredness, strode out of the Qianqing Palace, went down the steps from Danqi, walked to Qianqingmen, and sat down on the dragon chair steadily. The palace maids and eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace saw the young emperor of the past again. But after Du Xun left, Chongzhen's mustered spirit collapsed, and he couldn't even eat lunch, returned to the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, sat down on the dragon chair, sighed hatefully, and muttered to himself:

"Even the domestic slaves who are raised dare to do this......"

He regretted very much that he had not executed Du Xun in the Qianqing Gate just now, thinking that he would betray the Lord and surrender to the enemy. After sulking for a while, he felt that his body could not support it, so he returned to Yangdezhai, and the palace ladies served him to lie on the royal couch, barely closing his eyes to rest. When Wei Qinghui was the only palace maid left in Yangde Zhai, he opened his eyes and gently commanded:

"If Wu Sangui's Guanning Iron Cavalry can come outside Beijing today, you will wake me up immediately."

Although Wei Qinghui understood that Wu Sangui would never come, she choked up and agreed to the word "obey the order". Chongzhen instructed again:

"I ordered Wang Chengen to send a message to the emperor's relatives and ministers to discuss the contingency plan at Chaoyangmen, and now the meeting is over. If Wang Chengen returned to the palace, he immediately knew about it. Also, I ordered Wu Xiang to take people to the city to arrest Du Xun, and once Wu Xiang comes back, you will start playing immediately! ”

"Emperor, since you didn't kill Du Xun just now, you have already let him out of the city, why do you want to arrest him back? The emperor is the respect of all times, why should he be angry with a shameless villain like Du Xun? ”

Chongzhen said hatefully: "Hmph, I don't fall for a day, the state has a punishment, and the ancestors also have family law!" ”

Wei Qinghui didn't dare to speak anymore, lowered her head, retreated lightly to the outside, sat on a chair and waited for the emperor's movements, and no one was allowed to talk in the vicinity. After a while, she heard no sound on the royal couch, thinking that the emperor was really sleepy and had fallen asleep, she sighed in her stomach and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Chongzhen was haunted by nightmares as soon as he fell asleep, and later he dreamed that he was kneeling in front of the god of Emperor Gao of Fengxian Palace. Grandpa Tai "appeared". There are two portraits of Emperor Taizu Gao in the palace: one is with a chubby face, peaceful and blessed; The other is an ugly statue with a long face and a prominent chin, which is a pig statue, which is very different from ordinary people. Since childhood, Chongzhen heard that the portrait of a pig's face was painted according to Hongwu himself. Now the one who "appeared" to him was this old emperor with a pig's face and a majestic demeanor. He was very frightened, trembled, fell on his head and wept, saying:

"The grandchildren are not good, there is no blessing and no virtue, and it is not enough to inherit the country. The thieves are about to break the city, the clan and society will not be protected, and the country will be destroyed. The grandson had no face to see the spirit of the emperor Taizu in the sky, and he had decided to die in Sheji to thank his ancestors and the world. ”

Hong Wuye sat on the emperor's throne, sighed, called his name and said, "Youzhen, what's the use of you martyrdom?" You should run away, run away and restore your ancestors. You are still young and you should not die in the palace in vain! ”

Chongzhen cried and asked, "Please make it clear to Emperor Taizu, how can a grandson escape from Beijing?" ”

Hong Wuye groaned and said: "You have to find a way to escape from Beijing, and if you can't escape, you will commit suicide and martyrdom." ”

"How do you get out?"

Chongzhen fell to the ground for a moment, but Emperor Gao did not answer. He boldly raised his head, but saw the smoke on the high throne, and the appearance of the "manifested" was gradually blurred, and at last only a gray, floating cloud of smoke remained, and a sigh came from the smoke.

Chongzhen couldn't help but cry bitterly.

Wei Qinghui stood next to the imperial couch and called out repeatedly: "Emperor! Emperor! ……”

Chongzhen woke up, but he hadn't fully woken up, and it wasn't clear whether he woke up crying or being woken up. He opened his eyes in a daze, saw Wei Gongren standing on the edge of the couch, and blurted out unconsciously:

"I dreamed of Emperor Taizu Gao! ……”

The people of the Wei Palace shouted again: "Emperor, the big thing is not good, you wake up quickly!" ”

Chongzhen's eyes widened suddenly, and he asked in a panic, "What's the matter?" What's the big deal? …… Hurry up! ”

Wei Gongren's voice trembled and said, "Wu Xiang came back from Pingzemen, and he saw that the traitors had broken through the outer city. The gates of the outer city were wide open, and thousands of infantry and cavalry entered the city from the Changyi Gate and the Xibian Gate! ”

Chongzhen's face was like earth, trembling all over, and he sat up from the couch, but his feet fell from the couch to the vermilion lacquer pedal, but he couldn't put on his boots. The people of the Wei Palace hurriedly knelt down and served him to put on the yellow satin boots embroidered with Yunlong. Chongzhen asked:

"Where is Wu Xiang? Where is it? ”

The people of the Wei Palace trembled and said: "Because of the rules in the palace, no one is allowed to enter the Yangde Zhai to do things, so Wu Xiang is waiting for the holy car in the Qianqing Palace at the moment. ”

Chongzhen asked in a panic: "Did you hear him say that the thieves have entered the outer city?" ”

The people of the Wei Palace replied calmly: "The defense of the inner city is very strong, please don't be afraid......

"The snapshot is really to me, what did Wu Xiang say? Fast! ”

Wu Xiang returned to the palace in a panic just now, asking the slave to wake up the emperor. Because the slave and maid said that the emperor was very tired, not long after the visit, he told the slave and maid that the traitor had entered the outer city from the Changyi Gate and the Xibian Gate, and that the big thing was not good, and the emperor must be played immediately. ”

Chongzhen understood everything, his whole body trembled even more, and his legs became weak. He wanted to go to the Qianqing Palace immediately to ask Wu Xiang in person. When he stepped off the pedal, his feet were weak, he staggered a few steps, and took advantage of the situation to sit down on the dragon chair. He didn't want to appear panicked in the eyes of the eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace, and instructed the people of the Wei Palace:

"Spread that Wu Xiang is here to do something!"

The people of Wei Palace were surprised, afraid that they didn't hear clearly, so they asked in a low voice, "Ask Wu Xiang to come to Yangde Zhai to do something?" ”

Chongzhen suddenly woke up from the confusion and changed his words: "Tell him to wait in the Qianqing Palace, and I will go to listen to him immediately!" ”

At this time, two teenage palace maids came in. A palace maid brought warm water to wash her face with a golden basin, knelt in front of the emperor, and put a face towel woven with white cotton thread as a tribute from Songjiang Mansion in the water, and embroidered a small picture of two dragons playing with pearls with yellow and red threads at one end of the face towel; Another palace maid also knelt on the ground, holding a silver plate with a dry white cotton face towel on it, in case the emperor wiped his hands with a dry towel after washing his face. But Chongzhen no longer cleaned his face with warm water after waking up in the afternoon according to his usual habit, but scolded in foul language: "Get out!" Then he bypassed the two palace maids kneeling in front of him, hurriedly walked out of Yangdezhai, and walked towards the front of the main hall of Qianqing Palace. Seeing him one step higher and one step lower, the Wei palace people hurriedly grabbed his left arm and whispered:

"Emperor, you have to be calm, the defense of the inner city is very strong, enough to support it for several days, and wait until Wu Sangui's King Qin's soldiers and horses arrive."

Chongzhen didn't hear Wei Qinghui's words clearly, in fact, he was not interested in listening to any empty words of comfort now, and the most concerned question in his heart was whether he could escape from Beijing, how to die if he couldn't, and how to deal with the palace dependents. When he had already approached the front of the Qianqing Palace, he did not want the eunuchs to see his fear and weakness, so he shook his left arm vigorously, got rid of the Wei Palace's hand holding him, and walked forward with strong steps.

He sat in the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace and listened to Wu Xiang's performance. It turned out that when Wu Xiang was ordered to arrest Du Xun on Pingzemen, Du Xun had already left the city, surrounded by a group of people, riding a horse, and was about to walk to Diaoyutai. He was talking to Wang Dehua in the city tower, when suddenly a eunuch guarding the city rushed in and told Wang Dehua that a large number of thieves had entered the Changyi Gate, and then they also entered the outer city from the Xibian Gate......

Chongzhen stopped and asked, "How did the city gate open?" ”

"I heard that it was opened by the ministers and soldiers and civilians who were defending the city. Hateful crowds of ordinary people forgot the grace of our dynasty for 300 years, and crowded into the city gate to greet the thieves, and some even set off firecrackers. ”

Chongzhen suddenly cried: "Oh my God! My two ancestors! ……”

Wu Xiang has been promoted to the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace for several years, and he is a person who follows the rules, looking forward to the improvement of the country's fortunes every year, but he unexpectedly fell to the point of losing the country, so when Chongzhen cried, he also knelt on the ground and cried loudly.

Wei Qinghui and several palace maids, as well as a few eunuchs, all stood outside the window of the Dongnuan Pavilion, heard the emperor and Wu Xiang crying bitterly, knowing that the outer city had been broken and a catastrophe was coming, some cried bitterly, some sobbed, and some did not dare to cry out, but their nostrils were sore, and hot tears flowed.

Wu Xiang cried for a moment, then raised his head and persuaded: "This is the case, please think of another way quickly!" ”

Chongzhen cried and asked, "Where are Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun now?" ”

Wu Xiang knew that Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun had changed their minds, and the head of the ministers guarding the Zhangyi Gate was Cao Huachun's disciple, but he didn't dare to tell the truth, so he had to reply:

"They were all in the city, and they led all the ministers and the army and the people to hold on to the inner city, and they did not dare to relax. However, the soldiers and civilians defending the city have no solid will, and the inner city is broken in front of them, please think of a way quickly, you can't count on Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun. ”

Chongzhen was silent for a moment, and once again remembered what Emperor Taizu instructed when he "appeared": "You have to find a way to escape from Beijing." But he couldn't think of a good way, so he asked himself:

"Are you waiting for the city to be killed and your ancestors to die?"

He suddenly decided to summon hundreds of civil and military officials into the palace to discuss a plan to help him escape from Beijing, so he said to Wu Xiang:

"You go to deliver the decree, and the bell rings urgently at the noon gate!"

Chongzhen once practiced martial arts, and personally presided over the internal exercises twice in the empty courtyard between the coal mountain and the Shouhuang Palace, so he was unwilling to die in the palace when he was dying. At this time, his mood was confused, and he could no longer think calmly, so he was whimsical to lead a part of the young ministers who had learned martial arts, and then select hundreds of young family members of the imperial family, and at the third watch tonight, he suddenly opened the gate and rushed out, and fled in battle, ran in the direction of Shanhaiguan, and then rushed to Nanjing. The inner city of Beijing had not yet been lost, and he decided to leave the crown prince in charge. Except for a few young and promising officials who could escort him and flee to Wu Sangui's army, the rest stayed to assist the prince. The queen and the concubines took it away if they could, and those who couldn't have to stay in the palace and commit suicide in accordance with the order. This decision made him feel sad and terrible, but now, what can be done if he does not take this path? Thinking of this, he couldn't help crying loudly again.

An emergency bell rang from the head of the city at the noon gate. He believed that the civil and military officials would come to the palace one after another when they heard the bell, and he would announce the decision of "pro-conquest" to the panicked ministers, and also announce a "pro-conquest" edict. So he stopped weeping, sat down in front of the royal case, and drafted the edict amid the constant sound of the bells. While drafting the edict, he whimpered and wept, and tore up the draft of the edict, tore it up and redrafted it, although he was usually more cultivated in writing, but today's edict is very difficult in wording. The fact is that his country is already in sight, and he fled in a hurry, and his life and death are unpredictable, but he wants to write the wording in a high-sounding manner, not only can it not damage the identity of the emperor, but if he can't escape, this edict will not become a stain on his reputation when it is passed on to future generations, so he changed the draft several times, and it is always difficult to be satisfied. It was not until the bell stopped for a long time that Chongzhen prepared the draft of the edict.

Chongzhen had just left the red pen, and Wang Chengen came in. He is now the only confidant at the emperor's side. Chongzhen had long hoped that he would enter the palace quickly, but now he heard the sound of the curtain, and when he turned around and saw that it was him who came in, he immediately asked:

"Wang Chengen, the thieves have entered the outer city, do you know?"

Wang Chengen knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, the slave maid heard that the thieves had entered the outer city, so they quickly left Qihua Gate, first to Zhengyang Gate, and then to Xuanwu Gate, to watch the situation in the outer city......"

"Quickly take a snapshot of the actual performance, what will happen to the traitor after entering the outer city?"

The slave and maid saw that the whole team of thieves and cavalry entered the city and lived in various places, and another team of cavalry passed down the strict order of the thief Liu Zongmin in the streets and alleys outside the Zhengyang Gate, not allowing the soldiers to harass the people, and ordered the people to live and work in peace. The slave and maid also saw that the outer city was full of thieves, and probably all seven gates of the outer city were opened. Emperor, since the outer city has been lost, people have no solid will, this inner city must not be defended, I hope Your Majesty will take the idea quickly! ”

"How was the Chaoyangmen meeting?"

"Qi Yu Emperor, the slaves and maids sent the ministers to pass on the emperor's edict separately, and summoned the royal relatives and ministers to gather in the Chaoyang Gate City Tower to discuss the matter. Everyone was afraid of donating money for the defense of the city, and they refused to come by order, and only Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yonggu, the commander of the horses, came to the Chaoyang Gatehouse. The people were not together, the meeting was not successful, and the two royal relatives returned to their homes crying. ”

Chongzhen said hatefully: "The royal relatives and ministers are deeply favored by the country on weekdays, and they are connected with the country with the same fate, and they share weal and woe, but today they are like this, it is really hateful!" ”

"Your Majesty, don't expect the emperor's relatives and ministers anymore, hurry up and make another decision, don't delay!"

"The bell has been ringing on the door at noon just now, and I am waiting for the civil and military officials to enter the palace, and the monarchs and ministers will discuss together."

"Although the bell rings at the noon gate, the matter has come to this point, and the ministers will not come."

"I want to enlist in person, look at the edict I just drafted!"

Wang Chengen was taken aback when he heard the emperor say the word "pro-Zheng", and quickly took the manuscript of the edict from the emperor's hand, read it again, but saw that the emperor wrote with a red pen on two pieces of yellow paper:

I bow down with contempt, inherit the inheritance of the ancestors, and descend to hundreds of millions of trillions in all directions, seven out of ten in the future. If the government is not repaired, the chaos will come. Or is the saint in the lower position? to dry the heavens, accumulate grievances against the people, the naked son becomes a thief, and the fertile land turns into hazelnut; The mausoleum was shocked, and the prince slaughtered. There is nothing worse than this in the disaster of the country. Now besiege Jingshi and break into the outer city. The sect and society are in danger, and there is no room for it. There is no tart felling, He Shen Guowei! I personally led the six divisions to discuss, and stayed in the East Palace to supervise the country, and the important affairs of the state were all paid. Tell your subjects, if you have the ability to work hard and be loyal and brave, or help with food, grass, equipment, mules, horses, boats, and carts, and listen to them before the army, so as to destroy the ugly. Divide the reward of the soil, and never break your word!

When Wang Chengen read the edict, Chongzhen anxiously stood up from the dragon chair and walked around in the warm pavilion. After a while, he asked Wang Chengen:

'You're done?' Is it feasible to do so? ”

Wang Chengen said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty is the lord of the ages, and he should have left Beijing a long time ago to 'personally conquer', but unfortunately it is too late now!" ”

"Late?!"

"Yes, please forgive the slave and maid for the death penalty, it's too late! ……”

Chongzhen's face was like earth, he trembled again, stared at Wang Chengen and stopped for a moment, and suddenly asked, "Do you want me to sit in the palace and die at the hands of the traitor?" ”

Wang Chengen continued: "If three or four days ago, the enemy was still outside Juyong Pass, and Your Majesty decided to carry out this plan of going out of Beijing to 'personally conquer', it would definitely be successful. At present, the 200,000-strong army of traitors has surrounded Beijing, and the outer city has been broken, and only the birds can leave the city. Even though Your Majesty is a heroic lord through the ages, with no soldiers and no generals, how can he go out of the city to 'personally conquer'? So far, the slave and maid have no choice but to say bluntly, please forgive the slave and maid for their capital crimes! ”

After listening to Wang Chengen's words, Chongzhen's mind began to sober up, and at the same time, he lost a wonderful survival power, and his whole body suddenly went limp, and he sat down on the dragon chair in a dejected manner, unable to say a word. In this moment when he had just regained his senses, he not only thought that Wang Chengen's words were very reasonable, but also remembered the "appearance" of Emperor Taizu Gao in his dream this afternoon. Although Emperor Taizu told him that he should escape from Beijing, when he asked Grandpa Tai how to escape, he asked twice in a row, but Grandpa Tai was quite kind and did not answer. When he cried and asked for the third time, the image of the great grandfather disappeared in front of him, and the high throne also turned into a cloud of smoke, but a deep sigh was heard from the front of his head, from the cloud of smoke that swirled around......

Wang Chengen said sadly: "Emperor, according to the slave maid, the inner city cannot be defended. ”

Chongzhen nodded, sighed helplessly, and ordered Wang Chengen to hand him the draft of the edict that had just been put back on the imperial case. He tore the manuscript to shreds, threw it to the ground, and said in a calm tone:

"The monarch is dead, and the righteousness is righteous, I will never think about it anymore, but no one among the ministers who hates it will die of death!"

Wang Chengen choked up and said, "The slave is willing to serve the emperor underground!" ”

Chongzhen stared at Wang Chengen's tearful eyes, nodded, and couldn't help but whimper.

Chongzhen concluded that tonight or tomorrow morning, the "thieves" would break through the inner city. In order to deal with the great changes in the country, although the dinner was in a hurry, he tried to eat as much as possible, and also ordered Wang Chengen and other ministers to have a full meal. He had understood that there was only one way to kill himself, and decided to "die for his country" when the enemy soldiers entered the inner city. But after dinner, he sat in the warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace to rest, and suddenly a desire to survive appeared in his heart again. He told Wang Cheng'en to quickly order 300 eunuchs who had been trained in internal exercises to serve outside the Chengtian Gate.

Wang Chengen was suddenly startled, and understood that the emperor's desire to flee was not dead. However, as soon as you leave the city, you will be captured alive by the "traitors", and you will be humiliated and die, and there is no way to live, so it is better to commit suicide in the palace. He immediately knelt down in front of Chongzhen's feet, choked up, and said:

"Emperor, now you can't fly away, and you can't get out of the city gate. Instead of feeding the tiger with meat, it is better to die in the palace! ”

Chongzhen had a nervous breakdown at this time and was unable to think calmly. After listening to Wang Chengen's admonition, he felt that it was reasonable, and the three hundred ministers who had practiced martial arts escorted out of the city were too few. However, his desire to flee desperately did not disappear, and he said to Wang Chengen:

"You go and order all three hundred ministers, all on horseback, with swords, bows and arrows, and wait at Chengtianmen, and don't make any mistakes. Go ahead! ”

He turned around and walked to the side of the imperial case, and before he had time to sit down on the dragon chair, he bent down to pick up the red pen, and scribbled a handwritten edict on a piece of yellow paper:

Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yonggu, the commander of the horses, quickly brought his family to escort him. This is the message!

After writing, Wu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace, immediately sent a long entourage, and quickly rode a horse to send the edict to the Xinle Hou Mansion, and then he sat down dejectedly and said to himself hatefully:

"I'm determined!"

At this time, Wei Qinghui came to bring tea to the emperor. For things like delivering tea, she didn't have to come in person, but in order to keep abreast of the emperor's movements, she decided to deliver tea herself. It's been almost an hour, and she hasn't left the outer room of the Qianqing Palace and near the window. Just now I heard that the emperor ordered Wang Chengen to quickly order three hundred ministers to escort him, and prepare to escape from Beijing. Although Wang Chengen knelt down to admonish him, the emperor did not change his mind. She understood that the emperor's mind was in turmoil, so she decided that as soon as she left the city gate, she would be captured alive by thieves or killed instantly. She knows the emperor's temperament best, once he is stubborn, he will hit the south wall, and no one can persuade him to turn back. She hurriedly ran to the back corner gate of the Qianqing Palace, planning to go to the Kunning Palace to play the queen and ask the queen to dissuade the emperor. But at the back corner door, I stopped and suddenly felt that something was wrong. She thought that if the queen was played at this moment, it would definitely make the queen and the palace relatives think that the country was dead, and the situation in the harem would be in chaos, and the palace would cry bitterly and commit suicide one after another. So she calmed down a little and decided to send tea to the emperor under the pretext, and then go to the emperor to act at the opportunity.

When Wei Qinghui entered the warm pavilion with a tea tray, he listened to Chongzhen's sentence "I am determined!" He was shocked, the tea tray shook, and the hot tea in the bowl almost spilled. She carefully placed the tea bowl on the imperial table, bowed down and said:

"Emperor, please have tea!"

She had hoped that Chongzhen would take a look at her, or say something to her, so that she could guess what the emperor was thinking at the moment. But the emperor neither spoke nor looked at her, as if he had not noticed her coming in at all. She peeked at the emperor and saw that the emperor's eyebrows were deeply locked, and his eyes were staring at the candlelight blankly, and her heart was clearly very chaotic. She didn't dare to stay by the emperor's side, tiptoed out of the warm pavilion, withdrew from the main hall, stood outside the window of the East warm pavilion, and continued to eavesdrop on the movement in the window. At this time, she already knew that there was a chief who rode with the eunuch to pass the decree, summoning Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yonggu, the commander of the horses, to enter the palace immediately. She understands that they are all the emperor's closest relatives, and they are the most favored by the emperor, but they are limited to the family law of their ancestors, and in order to eliminate the disadvantages of the previous generation of relatives interfering in politics, they were not allowed to hold official positions in the court, but their status and their weight in the emperor's heart are completely different from Wang Chengen. She didn't know what the emperor called these two royal relatives into the palace for, but she said silently in her heart:

"Heavens! Don't tell them to persuade the emperor to make up his mind and not to go out of the city! ”

Chongzhen was still thinking about how to open the city gate and rush out, maybe he could succeed. As long as you can escape, you will not lose your country. But he also thought that there was a chance that he would die in battle, and he had to find another way to make the prince immortal, hand over the protection of his cronies and ministers, temporarily hide in the people, and then escape from Beijing, flee to Nanjing, and restore the Ming Dynasty. But who will protect the crown prince? He still doesn't know that Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun have changed their minds, and in a panic, they think that only they can trust this important matter: one is that they are deeply favored by the emperor and should be grateful at this time, and the other is that they have relied on the royal power in the capital for many years, planting party henchmen, and intertwined roots, it is not difficult to hide the prince, especially Cao Huachun has served as the governor of Dongchang for many years, under his hands, there are all kinds of people in the three sects and nine streams, as long as his conscience is not clear, there must be a way to protect the prince from Beijing. After thinking for a while, he commanded:

"You send your ministers quickly, go to the city to pass the decree, and tell Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun to enter the palace quickly!"

After giving this message, he walked out of the Qianqing Palace and lingered on the Danqi for a long time, waiting for his cousin Liu Wenbing and brother-in-law Gong Yonggu to come with their families. Now he is no longer afraid of death, so he feels calm, but he is not willing to commit suicide. He was secretly thinking about how to lead three hundred young ministers who had undergone internal training and the henchmen in the palaces of the two emperors Liu and Gong, and suddenly rushed out of the city gate, or escaped by killing a bloody road, or died in the chaos. Even if he dies, he will leave the name of the heroic emperor in the history of the ages, and he is by no means an ordinary cowardly monarch of the dead country. When he thought about it like this, his spirit suddenly rose, and he had the spirit of "seeing death as home", and he only had infinite sorrow for the matter of martyrdom, and no longer had a sense of fear. He said with hatred in his heart:

"It was the ministers who mistakenly me, so today, how can I be the king of the dead country!"

He stopped and looked up at the sky. There were still thin clouds in the sky, and the moonlight was unknown. He thought once again that this was the night that was conducive to breaking through and escaping, and his intention to leave the city was even more determined. He lingered on the Danqi for a long time, guessing that the two royal princes he was waiting for who could lead the family to escort him should have arrived, so he stopped and planned to go back to the dormitory to prepare, when he suddenly saw Wang Chengen walking up to the Danqi from the west side, and he immediately asked:

"Have the three hundred ministers who have practiced martial arts arrived?"

Wang Chengen bowed down and replied: "Back to the emperor, the three hundred ministers have been ordered, and they are all lined up outside the Chengtian Gate to greet them. ”

Chongzhen didn't speak, turned around and walked towards the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace. When he stepped into the threshold of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, he turned back and said to Wu Xiang:

"Order someone to bring one of my royal horses!"

Wu Xiang asked, "Emperor, which royal horse to ride tonight?" ”

Chongzhen thought for a while, and in order to seek good luck, he replied: "Ride the auspicious ride tonight!" ”

He went to the warm pavilion to wait for a while, and suddenly Wu Xiang personally came in to report: Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, and Gong Yonggu, the commander of the horses, entered the palace and waited for the summons at the Qianqing Gate. Chongzhen said softly:

"Call them in!"

At this moment when the disaster of the country has come to the moment, Chongzhen originally hoped that after the bell rang at the noon gate, the civil and military ministers who lived closer would come to the palace as soon as possible, but he didn't expect that even no one would come until now. He usually hates "the ministers misleading the country" in his heart, but at this moment he sees that he has been conscientiously running the world for 17 years, and he has not lost his morality, but in the end he is so lonely and helpless. As soon as he heard Wu Xiangyu's report that Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu were coming, he immediately called them in, and at the same time said in his heart:

"I only have these two reliable people now, and they will definitely lead their family Ding Bao out of the city!"

The mood of the palace maids and eunuchs standing outside the Qianqing Palace suddenly became nervous. They all know that whether the emperor will risk death or not to go out of the city depends on these two royal relatives.

Wu Xiang personally shouted on the Danqi: "Liu Wenbing, Gong Yonggu quickly enter the hall!" ”

Liu Wenbing and Gong Yonggu are the most favored relatives of the emperor, and other imperial relatives are rarely summoned by the emperor on weekdays. The two of them are the only ones in the court, and they have more opportunities to see the emperor, and they are not afraid in front of the emperor. In the past, when the internal exercise was held, Chongzhen because he was young and practiced riding and archery, often ordered them to carry bows and arrows, ride horses in military uniforms, go north from outside the Donghua Gate, enter the north along the outside of the moat, go north to the east gate, and then enter the left gate of the mountain, and arrive in front of the Guande Hall in the northeast of the coal mountain, and then dismount and accompany the emperor to watch the eunuchs practice riding and shooting. Sometimes Chongzhen's interest came, not only shooting arrows himself, but also ordering the two of them to shoot arrows. They thought that this was the emperor's "special grace", and they always had to kowtow after archery to thank him. But tonight is not the usual time. When they heard the eunuch summoning them into the temple, their legs trembled and their faces turned pale as they walked inside. Entered the warm pavilion, kowtowed in front of the emperor, and waited for the edict. Chongzhen's expression was sad, and he ordered them to sit flat, and then said:

"I usually pay the most attention to the two of you among the emperors, because I am limited to the ancestral system, and the emperors are not allowed to give official positions, so as to eliminate the disadvantages of the previous generations of relatives interfering in politics. Today's state affairs are different from ordinary days, so we must break the old system, summon you to the palace, and entrust you with important tasks. ”

The two young princes, having understood from the Emperor's edict, stood up and said:

"Your Majesty, please."

Chongzhen continued: "The number of rebels entering the outer city is not very large. I plan to go out of the city to 'personally conquer' and fight to the death with the thief, like the spirit of the ancestors, turn evil into good fortune, and fight out of the encirclement, and there is still something to be done in the country. Erqing quickly entangled the family and Ding Ding, how about going out of the city with me tonight to fight? ”

Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle, knelt down again, choked up and said, "Your Majesty! The ancestral system of our dynasty is extremely strict, and the emperor's relatives and relatives are not allowed to keep many family slaves, let alone raise family members. The two families of the ministers and the horses, including men, women, the old and the weak, together are only two or three hundred domestic slaves, and there are even fewer who are proficient in martial arts......"

Chongzhen's heart was cold, his hands trembled slightly, and he looked at Xin Lehou, waiting for him to finish speaking. Xinlehou continued:

"Even if forty or fifty young and strong servants are selected, who have not practiced martial arts, plus hundreds of ministers, how can they protect the emperor from the city? Even if these hundreds of people are all elite soldiers with high martial arts, because the number is too small, they can't protect the emperor to fight a bloody way among the thousands of thieves and horses, and break through the siege and escape. These vassals and servants have never been in battle and have never seen the enemy. They feared that as soon as they left the gates, they would be scattered in panic, and those who could not flee would be killed or surrendered. ”

Chongzhen broke out in a cold sweat, unconsciously clenched and released his right hand, and listened to Xin Lehou continue:

"The minister is willing to serve His Majesty loyally and is not afraid of the liver and brain, but I am afraid that His Majesty's 'personal conquest' will fail, and the minister will become a sinner for the ages after his death."

Chongzhen was already awake and sighed unconsciously. He regretted that he blindly wanted to break through the siege and run away, and he didn't even think about the great difficulties, and even forgot the two "ancestral systems" of "the imperial family does not have many house slaves", let alone "supporting the family". He suddenly understood that his big array was actually Zhang Huang's disappointment. He asked the Lieutenant in a sad voice:

"Gong Yonggu, what is your opinion?"

Gong Yonggu knelt on the ground and cried and said, "If the emperor leaves Beijing half a month ago, it will not be too late. Now that the outer city has been broken, the inner city is under siege, and the suburbs are full of enemy horses, it is difficult to get out of the city gate, and I hope Your Majesty will think twice! ”

Chongzhen just cried, just regretted, and didn't make a sound.

Liu Wenbing continued: "Ten days ago, the traitor was still far away from Juyong Pass. Feng Yuanyang, the governor of Tianjin, sent his son Kaizhang to Beijing to present a secret recital, persuading the emperor to take advantage of Tianjin and go to Nanjing by sea. Kaizhang is the nephew of Feng Yuanbiao, the head of the household department, and lives in his home, but Feng Yuanbiao does not dare to deliver it, and the auxiliary ministers of the cabinet do not dare to deliver it, and even the old ministers of the four dynasties and Li Banghua, the imperial history of the left capital of the Imperial Procuratorate, do not dare to deliver it. Kaizhang came to Beijing on the third day of the first month of this month, and it was not until the rebels broke through the Juyong Pass that he left Beijing in tears and galloped back to Tianjin. At the time......"

Chongzhen said: "This matter, until yesterday, Li Banghua did not mention it to me. Nan Xing's good opportunity is lost, irretrievable! ”

"At that time, if the emperor accepted the invitation of the governor of Tianjin, he left Beijing with the three palaces and important ministers and went to Tianjin, how can there be today!"

Chongzhen said sadly: "I have been in the dynasty for 17 years, seeking treatment day and night, and I dare not slack off, but I didn't expect the country to be congested!" ”

Liu Wenbing usually pays attention to state affairs, likes to interact with scholars, and has many opinions on the disadvantages of the imperial court, but as a close relative of the emperor, he strictly abides by the ancestral system and does not dare to say a word about interfering in the affairs of the court. Now that the country is about to die, not only the emperor will be martyred, but his own family will also die. In the midst of great grief, he boldly said:

"Your Majesty, the country will die, and the whole family will do their best for the emperor. This is the last time the monarch and the minister face each other, please let Rong Chen say a few blunt words. It's just that it's too late to say it now. ”

"You might as well be straight."

Liu Wenbing said with tears in his eyes: "Since Hongwu, the emperor of my dynasty has been the emperor of the Han Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. This is the reason why it is not easy for the 'monarch to be the minister' in the three outlines, and it is also the trend that will come for a hundred generations. However, the prestige of the monarch is growing, and the congestion between the monarch and the minister will be born. Wei Zheng dared to commit Yan Zhizhi in front of Tang Taizong, and faced a court dispute, so he had the rule of Zhenguan. This kind of monarch and minister has no feeling of congestion, which is rare in modern times. Although His Majesty has the heart to govern, he has no amount of advice, and is often too strict with his subordinates, and in the past 17 years, the ministers have been repeatedly subjected to the scoop, denunciation, and death of the court because of their speeches. The ministers went to court, and when they saw the emperor asking, they trembled. Can you not get congested up and down? Your Majesty, as a wise lord, has been isolated since then, resulting in the catastrophe of the collapse of the heavens and the earth today! Your Majesty......"

Chongzhen had never heard anyone in the imperial family dare to speak to him like this, it was very unpleasant, but at this time, he was about to die of the country, his body, and the annihilation of the clan, he was not angry, and waited for his cousin to finish his words after crying a few times.

Liu Wenbing wiped away his tears with the sleeves of his robe, and then said: "Li Banghua and Li Mingrui are both fellow villagers in Jiangxi, and they originally advocated that the emperor move to Nanjing to avoid thieves and seek recovery. When Li Zicheng was still in Shanxi, moving south was a wise policy. However, because the emperor secretly said that he would move south, Li Banghua sent the prince to Nanjing instead, and the emperor sat in Beijing. This is a policy for the death of the country. Li Mingrui had very little prestige in the DPRK and advocated the emperor's move to the south, so the important ministers did not dare to respond. As soon as the emperor objected to the officials, he did not allow any more proposals to move south, so that a game of chess turned into a dead chess, and he was resentful for a thousand years. Li Zicheng was too talented to pass Datong, and he was still far from Juyong Pass, and the governor of Tianjin, Gu Mi, asked the emperor to quickly enjoy Tianjin, and went south by sea ship, and said that he would lead a thousand elite soldiers to Tongzhou to meet him. At that time, if the proposal of Feng Yuanyang was adopted, the country would not die, and the emperor would not be martyred. No one has ever dared to say that the court is congested, so there is today! What the minister said at this moment is already too late, and there is no way to save the overall situation. The ancients said, "When a bird is about to die, its song is also mourning." Please forgive the emperor for the sin of wailing! ”

Chongzhen was completely sober at this time, sighed, and said with tears in his eyes: "Since ancient times, it is not uncommon for the Son of Heaven to leave the capital and return to the country with difficulty, and there were two in the Tang Dynasty. Today, I want to be dusty, but I can't get it! Why is it so cool? ......" he said, and he couldn't help but cry bitterly.

The two young royal relatives also fell to the ground and wept bitterly, hearing the sound outside the palace.

Wei Qinghui, a few eunuchs and palace maids in the Qianqing Palace, who were more prominent in the Qianqing Palace, no longer obeyed the system of no eavesdropping, and were scattered outside the window with bated breath at the moment to eavesdrop, secretly crying.

The sound of cannons came from the west and north cities one after another, but the sound of the cannons was weak, and it did not alarm the crows in the palace. This cannon was an empty cannon fired by the defenders of the city from the city to the outside of the city in order to deceive the palace, to show that they were serious about fighting the enemy.

After crying for a while, Chongzhen sighed and asked them: "If it weren't for the ministers' empty talk and misguided the country, I went to Nanjing with my palace family half a month ago, can I leave Beijing safely?" ”

Liu Wenbing said: "If the emperor leaves Beijing half a month ago, the minister dares to say that nothing goes wrong. ”

Gong Yonggu also said: "Even if the emperor left Beijing five days ago, the thieves are still outside Juyong Pass, and they will be safe." ”

Chongzhen asked, "Was it too late five days ago?" ”

Liu Wenbing said: "Tianjin Wei is only more than 200 miles away from Beijing, as long as you go to Tianjin, you will not have to worry about getting to Nanjing." ”

Chongzhen was confused again, and asked in a reproachful tone: "At that time, the court was indecisive about the matter of moving south, why didn't you say anything?" ”

Liu Wenbing replied calmly: "The minister has already said that the ancestral family law is very strict, and relatives are not allowed to interfere in the government affairs. At that time, if the ministers violated the ancestral system and suggested moving south, the emperor would definitely not allow the ministers to speak! ”

Chongzhen said remorsefully: "Ancestral system! Family Law! I didn't expect that I had respected the heavens and ancestors for 17 years, and there would be the disaster of destroying the country today! ”

Chongzhen couldn't help but whimper again. The two royal princes fell to the ground and wept. After a while, Chongzhen suddenly said:

"I'm determined!"

Liu Wenbing asked, "How does Your Majesty decide?" ”

"I decided to commit suicide in the palace, martyred Sheji, and never thought about him again!"

Liu Wenbing choked up and said: "The emperor was martyred, and the ministers will die for the emperor, and they will never steal their lives." ”

Chongzhen thought of his maternal grandmother, and his heart moved, and asked, "How is Mrs. Yingguo?" ”

When it came to his grandmother, Liu Wenbing couldn't help crying, and then said while crying: "Mrs. Yingguo is eighty years old this year, and she didn't want to be affected by this catastrophe, so she didn't dare to say many words to her. Since the Empress Dowager Xiaochun entered the palace, Mrs. Yingguo couldn't meet because she missed her daughter, and she often cried. Later, when he learned that His Majesty was born, Mrs. Yingguo frowned slightly. Soon after, she was shocked to hear that the Empress Dowager Xiaochun had suddenly returned to heaven, and Mrs. Yingguo was very sad, and worried that a catastrophe was coming, she was sad day and night, constantly crying, and was seriously ill for many days. After ten years like this, His Majesty was crowned the king of letters......" Liu Wenbing suddenly regretted it, thinking of when this was, why did he say this gossip? So he stopped abruptly and fell on the ground and wept bitterly.

Chongzhen choked up and said, "You go on, go on." Mrs. Yingguo is eighty years old, and in the face of this tragic change in the country, she does not have to commit suicide for the country. ”

Liu Wenbing continued: "The minister and his family have decided to entrust Mrs. Yingguo to a reliable person tonight to take care of her for the rest of her life. The mothers and all the men and women of the family will set themselves on fire when the thieves enter the city. The minister has a sister who married to the Marquis of Wuqing, and her husband died after a year of marriage, and today the minister's mother has sent someone to take her back, so that the mother and daughter can stay together and die. ”

Chongzhen nodded tearfully, then looked at Gong Yonggu and asked, "How will Qing place the princess's coffin?" ”

Gong Yonggu said: "The princess's coffin is still parked in the middle of the hall and has not been buried. The minister had ordered the servants to pile up firewood and grass in front of and behind the hall. As soon as the thieves entered the city, the minister immediately led the whole family into the hall, ordered the servants to light firewood and grass, and died around the princess's coffin. ”

Chongzhen asked sadly: "The princess has five children and is still young, how can she let them escape?" ”

Gong Yonggu said with tears in his eyes: "The princess's children are all nephews of the eldest son, and they must not be allowed to die at the hands of thieves. Once the thieves entered the city, the minister tied the five young children to the princess's coffin, and then ordered the slaves to light a fire and die next to the princess. ”

Chongzhen's heart tingled again, and he couldn't help but hide his face with his sleeves and whimper.

Liu Wenbing said: "The matter has come to this, please don't have to be sad, but also please prepare to burn the palace quickly, when the emperor and the palace family generously go to the fire, to martyr the community, so that future generations will know that the emperor is the lord of the martyrs." ”

Chongzhen already had an idea in his heart about how he would die and how the palace dependents would do their best, but he didn't want to say it now. He approved of the self-immolation of the whole family of the two prestigious royal princes, nodded and said:

"Good! A royal dearest! I will live up to the society, live up to the two ancestors, live up to the grace of the country, and my monarchs and ministers will meet underground......"

The clouds were thicker in the sky, the moonlight was darker, and there was no starlight. The cold wind blew through the eaves, and the iron martindon. Occasionally, the sound of empty cannons could be heard from the top of the city, indicating that the ministers and soldiers were still defending the city.

Tonight, no one in the Forbidden City is sleeping, waiting for the enemy to break through the city, waiting for the emperor to set fire to the palace, waiting for death. There had been a sporadic light rain, but it had stopped again. The entire Forbidden City was shrouded in gloomy clouds.

Liu Wenbing raised his head and said, "Your Majesty! The matter has come to this point, please forgive the minister's bluntness, pardon the minister's bluntness. ”

Chongzhen guessed what he was going to say, and said: "My will to martyr the country has been decided, and I no longer have the idea of going out of the city, what do you have to say, hurry up and say it directly!" ”

"Your Majesty! …… In case, in case the inner city is lost, the emperor should burn down the temple, burn the three major halls, and burn the Qianqing Palace. The ministers saw the fire in the palace and knew that the emperor was martyred, so they followed the family to self-immolate to repay the emperor's kindness. ”

Chongzhen nodded and said, "Don't worry." I am not a cowardly lord, and I will never fall into the hands of a traitor. It's already the second watch, and the city is about to be broken, so let's go back quickly! Get out of the palace! ”

After the two emperors kowtowed and left, Chongzhen sat in the warm pavilion of the Qianqing Palace for a while, silently thinking about his thoughts. Now that the last thought of escaping from the city has been shattered, there are only three things left on his mind: first, how he himself committed suicide and martyrdom. The second is how the palace dependents should not fall into the hands of "traitors" and humiliate the country. Regarding the first matter, although the second emperor suggested that he set himself on fire in the palace, it was also a feasible way, not only to die a heroic death, but not to have the "thief" kill his body, but he had other ways to die, and he had already made up his mind, but because of the habit of being the emperor, he was unwilling to confide his true feelings to anyone at the moment. As for the second matter, he had been thinking about it in his heart for three days, and he had already made up his mind, but until the last moment he refused to announce his decision.

There is a third problem, how to get his three sons to escape from the palace, especially the crown prince to live, so that he can recover the country in the future. At this moment, he has no illusion of escaping, nor is he afraid of suicide, he can think relatively calmly, and he has the mentality of "seeing death as home".

The loyal Wu Xiang heard the two emperors suggesting to the emperor to set fire to themselves in the palace outside the window, but the emperor did not say that he disagreed. If he wants to burn the Qianqing Palace and the three major halls, he must prepare a lot of dry firewood in advance, and it will be too late at that time. He walked into the warm pavilion and knelt in front of Chongzhen, originally wanting to ask if he ordered the ministers to prepare firewood immediately, but he didn't dare to ask directly, and asked timidly:

"Emperor, what's the matter?"

Chongzhen asked, "Where is Wang Chengen now?" ”

"He's waiting in the Qianqing Gate."

"Are Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun here?"

"The slave and maid sent their ministers Pegasus to the city to deliver a decree, telling them to enter the palace quickly. I searched for a few places, but I didn't find them, and asked the emperor to forgive the slaves and maids for capital crimes, and it seems that they are all hiding. ”

Chongzhen hated and scolded him: "Damn! Then he said, "Lead the horses and serve!" Tell Wang Chengen to get ready to leave the palace! ”

Wu Xiang was shocked: "Where are you going to go out of the palace now?" But he didn't dare to ask more, so he immediately kowtowed and withdrew, and passed on the decree according to the emperor's instructions. He knew that the emperor was dead and escaped from the city, so he decided to set himself on fire. What he was anxious about was that if he didn't prepare a lot of dry firewood in advance, it would be too late to burn down the Qianqing Palace and the three major halls!

Chongzhen walked out of the Qianqing Palace and instructed a minister: "Load my three-eyed gun with ammunition!" Then a small promise carried the palace lamp, bypassed the east gable of the Qianqing Palace, and walked towards Yangdezhai.

The palace maids of the Qianqing Palace all knew that Li Zicheng's men and horses had broken through the outer city, and they were about to break through the inner city, and the emperor either committed suicide or was killed. Thinking that they themselves would be raped or killed, the catastrophe was just around the corner, and they were divided into several groups, and they wept and wept relatively well. Only Wei Qinghui did not cry with them. She just followed the two or three eunuchs of the Qianqing Palace to stand quietly outside the window close to the Dongnuan Pavilion and eavesdropping. When the two royal princes withdrew from the Qianqing Palace, she temporarily hid in a dark shadow; Later, Wu Xiang went to the warm pavilion to ask the emperor for instructions, and she stood outside the window again, so she knew the emperor's movements before the death of the country than all the palace maids. When Chongzhen came out of the warm pavilion, she hurriedly walked back to the back of the Qianqing Palace with gentle steps, and told the other palace maids first: "Sisters, the emperor wants to go back to Yangdezhai, don't cry anymore." Then she returned to the door of Yangdezhai and waited for the holy driver.

Chongzhen's mind was flustered, his face was pale, thinking not only about his own death, but also about the life and death of many palace dependents, princes and two kings. He was greeted by Wei Qinghui, returned to Yangdezhai, sat down on the dragon chair in a dejected manner, gasped slightly, glanced at the place where he had lived for seventeen years, and sighed unconsciously. Wei Qinghui quickly knelt in front of him and said in a trembling whisper:

"The country is not the fault of the emperor today, it is the crime of the ministers. The slaves and maids and all the people of the Qianqing Palace were deeply favored by the emperor and would never wait to be humiliated. Once the emperor raises a fire in the Qianqing Palace, the slaves and maids are willing to die in the fire to repay the emperor's kindness! ”

Chongzhen's heart moved, and he thought, "Could it be that she eavesdropped on my secret conversation with the two royal relatives?" If it was in normal times, he would definitely ask questions and punish him severely, but at this moment, he was about to die, and he had no intention of eavesdropping, so he said to Wei Qinghui:

"Get an old pair of boots for me!"

Wei Qinghui hurriedly found a pair of worn-out boots and knelt down to change them for him. Chongzhen stood up suddenly, and commanded:

"Take my sword!"

Wei Qinghui hurriedly took down the imperial sword hanging on the wall, and brushed the light dust off the scabbard with his long sleeves. She had never played with the sword herself, nor had she ever paid attention to where the sword should be hung, and in a panic she stood on the right side of the emperor, tied the sword to the silk, and suddenly heard the emperor angrily reprimand: "Left! She suddenly understood, and quickly turned to the left side of the emperor, and tied the sword firmly to the silk silk. Chongzhen glanced at the people of the Wei Palace, saw her red and swollen eyes and haggard face from crying, and thought that even the palace dependents had suffered, so he couldn't help but feel sour in his heart, and whispered sadly: "I want to come back!" Then he strode towards the front of the Qianqing Palace.

Wang Chengen waited on the Danqi. He had already asked Wu Xiang and knew that the emperor had listened to the advice of the two emperors and dispelled the idea of leaving the city. He had decided to lie on the ground and admonish him, but he didn't mention it at this time.

Wu Xiang guessed that the emperor just wanted to take a look at the situation in Beijing before the death of the country, and in order to prevent a sudden change in the city, he had to bring more ministers with him, so that he could return to the palace safely and set himself on fire. He also selected about 30 young eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace who had participated in the internal exercises, each with a sword, and stood solemnly under the Danqi. He himself stayed on the Danqi and stood beside Wang Chengen, and Chongzhen asked Wang Chengen:

"Are you ready?"

Wang Chengen replied: "Back to the emperor, they all waited outside the Chengtian Gate, together with the ministers under the slaves, a total of about 350 people. and brought the horses from the Imperial Horse Warden. ”

Wu Xiang continued: "Your Majesty, there are more than 30 young eunuchs in the Qianqing Palace who participated in the internal exercises the year before last, and they are all waiting for escort under the Danqi!" ”

"The ministers of the Qianqing Palace stay, don't leave the palace."

Wu Xiang said: "When the emperor leaves the palace, the slaves and maids should obey. ”

Chongzhen nodded and motioned for Wu Xiang to take a step forward, and whispered, "I still have to go back to the palace." As soon as the ministers of the Qianqing Palace went out, the palace maids did not know the situation and were bound to be in chaos; If the Qianqing Palace is in chaos, all palaces and courtyards will follow the chaos. You stay, lead the ministers to guard the palace, and wait for me to return. ”

Wu Xiang knelt down and said, "Please forgive the slave and maid for their capital crimes!" Do you want to prepare firewood and grass for the Qianqing Palace? ”

Chongzhen hesitated for a moment, and said in his heart: "It's all thinking that I should set myself on fire, alas, only Wei Qinghui knows about my nightmare!" He did not answer Wu Xiang's words, and said to Wang Chengen:

"Let's go!"

Chongzhen's Imperial Horse Jiliang Cheng had already been led outside the Qianqing Gate and waited. A small eunuch brought a vermilion lacquer stool. Chongzhen got on the Qibao carved gold carving saddle, and a long eunuch led the horse for him, bypassed the three major halls, and passed the Huangji Gate, and stationed the horse on the south side of the Jinshui River in the inner Jinshui River, and stopped for a while. He looked back for a while, thinking that the majestic palaces and carved balustrades left by his ancestors were only found in the sky, and in the blink of an eye they would no longer be his, and his heart suddenly felt tingling, and tears burst out of his eyes. Do you want to set it on fire? He hesitated in his heart, and couldn't be so ruthless, so he immediately turned his horse's head and continued to move forward.

Chongzhen was only followed by Wang Chengen, a eunuch leading the horse, and he had never walked so far at night in his seventeen years of emperor's career. He walked out of the noon gate alone, walked through the empty and dark courtyards on both sides, walked out of the end gate, and arrived at the courtyard that was roughly the same. The difference between this courtyard is that although there are also east and west row houses between Duanmen and Chengtianmen, they are broken in the middle, and two gates are built, the east leads to the Taimiao, and the west leads to Sheji. Chongzhen couldn't help but look left and right immediately, thinking that he had worked hard to run the world for 17 years, day and night, and never neglected political affairs, but he ended up today: the temple is not protected, and the society is lost! He rolled out tears again, and cried out in his heart:

"Heavens! Firmament! ”

Chongzhen was full of sorrow, rode out of Chengtianmen, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, paused for a moment, and looked around with tears in his eyes. Three or four hundred ministers led their horses and waited for orders. Wang Chengen understood that Chongzhen's mind was in turmoil, and he had nowhere to go when he left the palace, so he boldly asked him:

"Your Majesty, where are you going?"

Chongzhen sighed and said, "Go to Zhengyangmen!" ”

Wang Chengen was taken aback, and hurriedly admonished: "Emperor, the Zhengyang Gate must not be opened, and the holy car must not go out of the city!" ”

"I don't want to go out of the city. As the lord of a country, I only want to know how the thieves enter the outer city, how they set fires, and how they kill my people. Come up to the city with me! ”

Wang Chengen ordered three or four hundred eunuchs to immediately get on their horses, escort them from front to back, left and right, and huddled Chongzhen through the thousand-step corridor, walked out of Daming Gate, and came to Qipan Street. In front of it is the closed Zhengyang Gate, and outside the urn city is the enemy, where to go? Wang Chengen looked at the emperor and waited for orders. At this moment, the eunuchs guarding the city saw in the dim night that the lanterns on the chessboard street were scattered and crowded, and they thought that something had happened in the palace, and they were greatly alarmed, and asked what was the matter. After answering from below, the city could not hear clearly. One of the eunuchs guarding the city shouted nervously:

"Shoot the arrows! Shoot the arrows! Hurry up and shoot the arrows! There is a change in the imperial city, hurry up and release the arrows! ”

Someone shouted again: "Put the firearm!" Turn the muzzle of the cannon and fire down! ”

On the chessboard street, someone shouted to the city: "No arrows!" No guns! It's the Admiral King here, it's none other than that! ”

The people of the city asked, "What?" What? Who the hell is it? ”

Wang Chengen stepped forward, looked up at the city, and said in a majestic voice:

"It's me! I am the commander of the capital camp and the master of ceremonies. It's the Holy Driver, don't panic! ”

As soon as the city heard that it was the Holy Driver, it was silent. No one dared to look down, no one dared to make a sound anymore, only the sparse sound of a sparse chirp from afar. In the dim night of the city, three white lanterns were seen hanging from a high pole, indicating that the military situation had reached a moment of great urgency.

For a day, Chongzhen's mental state was panicked and confused for a while, and he looked at death for a while, just now he left the palace and the Forbidden City, and was blown by the cold wind in the middle of the night, and his mind was much clearer. At this moment, he was immediately on the chessboard street, because the city was going to shoot arrows and cannons, he was suddenly shocked in his heart, and his mind became calmer. After a pause, he came to his senses and asked himself, "Why did I come here when people are so suspicious?" He understood that he had intended to go up to the top of the city and take a look at the outer city. But he suddenly understood that at this time, the inner city was about to be defended, his own life was not guaranteed, and the society was not guaranteed, and he went to the city to see the thieves killing people and setting fire to the outer city, which was to no avail.

"Alas!" He sighed in his heart and said, "There are so many urgent matters to be dealt with at the moment, and we can't delay for a moment!" Can't afford to delay! …… Go back to the palace, hurry back to the palace! ”

At this time, three or four hundred people and horses were crowded on the chessboard street, and it was very chaotic. Wang Chengen knew that the emperor was in a hurry to return to the palace, so he came to him and said, "Please come with the slaves and maids and bypass from the east!" Without further ado! Chongzhen immediately followed Wang Chengen, surrounded by eunuchs, and turned east from Qipan Street to Baijia Lane to return to the palace. The south entrance of Baijia Lane is connected to the west entrance of Dongjiang Mi Hutong, and there is a fence. When he entered the fence, he suddenly stopped his horse and looked back sadly at the head of Zhengyang Gate, only to see three white lanterns hanging above the city. In fact, these three white lanterns had already been hung on a high pole, but Chongzhen and the eunuchs around him were crowded on the chessboard street just now, and they were standing at the wrong angle, so they didn't see it, and now they can see it clearly.

Originally, it was stipulated in advance that when the "thieves" attacked the outer city urgently, a white lantern would be hung; began to attack the outer city, and hung out two white lanterns; A large number of people had already entered the outer city, and when they arrived at the street outside the front gate, approaching the urn city, three white lanterns were immediately hung out. Now Chongzhen saw the three white lanterns, and suddenly slumped on the saddle, breaking out in a cold sweat. He hastened to grip the saddle with his trembling left hand, and the three-eyed gun fell from his right hand to the ground. The eunuch who led the horse for him bent down and picked up the three-eyed gun from the ground, and presented it to him with both hands, but he shook his head and asked for it no more.

Out of Baijia Lane, come to the street of East Chang'an Street, go west you can walk into the left gate of Chang'an, enter the Chengtian Gate back to the palace; Turn east to north, you can go to Chaoyangmen. Wang Chengen asked him:

"Where else is Your Majesty going?"

Chongzhen's mind was even more confused, only thinking about when the enemy would attack the inner city, how he should be martyred, how the palace dependents should deal with it, and how the crown prince and the second king would escape...... In his confusion, he was still fantasizing that Wu Sangui's rescuers would suddenly come from the east, so he replied casually:

"To Chaoyangmen!"

After walking a distance in the direction of Chaoyang Gate, a very spectacular mansion appeared on the north side of the road ahead, and Chongzhen asked:

"Where is this?"

A eunuch replied: "Emperor Qi, this is the Chengguo Mansion." ”

Chongzhen said: "Call Cheng Guogong out!" ”

Three or four hundred people stopped between the east and west two stone arches in front of the Chengguo Mansion, and a eunuch dismounted and went to call the gate of the Chengguo Mansion, and someone inside asked:

"Who called the door? What's the matter? ”

The eunuch replied: "It is the commander of the capital camp who ordered the commander, and the master of ceremonies, Master Wang, has something to visit the prince." ”

The voice in the door: "Grandpa Guo has not returned to the banquet in the mansion of Marquis Li in Goldfish Hutong, please come another day!" ”

The eunuch who called the door came back and said to Wang Chengen: "Master Nei, no one will have a banquet tonight. Zhu Guogong must be in the house. It's just that the people in the Zhu Mansion are afraid that you are here to donate military salaries, so they refuse under the pretext. I told him that it was the Holy Driver, okay? ”

Chongzhen said softly: "It's useless to see him, go back to the palace!" ”

On the way to Chengtianmen, Chongzhen said sadly to Wang Chengen: "Since Zhu Yong was crowned the Duke of the country, it has been hereditary for more than 230 years, and he has shared weal and woe with the country. ”

When he was about to walk to the left gate of Chang'an, Chongzhen was completely sober after this period of tossing about himself. Now that it has been the third watch, he needs to deal with the major affairs in the palace and prepare to die as soon as possible.

He temporarily stopped in the heart of East Chang'an Street and told Wang Chengen that the ministers did not have to enter the palace and went home. When these three or four hundred young eunuchs left one after another, only Wang Chengen, the eunuch of Bingbi, was left by Chongzhen's side, and there was also a promise from the Qianqing Palace, who led the horse for him, and one was Wang Chengen's personal eunuch. In the silent ten-mile long street, suddenly only the four lonely monarchs and ministers were left, which made Chongzhen tremble. The place where he temporarily immediately arrived was Zuo Gongshengmen in the south, and the Taimiao Temple was separated by the red wall in the north. He looked southwest at the front gate, where three white lanterns fluttered slightly in the cold wind. He looked again at the red wall, the tall pines and cypresses in the courtyard of the Taimiao, and occasionally the white cranes perched on the trees were suddenly awakened from their dreams by the sound of cannons, and whispered a few times with sleepiness. Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen:

"I want to go back to the palace, so you can go home too."

Wang Chengen said: "The slave maid said goodbye to her mother yesterday. Your Majesty was martyred, slaves and maids were martyred, righteousness is righteous, slaves and maids will never steal from the world! ”

Chongzhen often thinks about one thing angrily today: in ancient times, when the emperor was martyred, there were often many ministers who died, but when he died in the country, there was no loyal minister who came into the palace to die with him! He usually knew that Wang Chengen was very loyal, and listening to Wang Chengen's words at this time moved his heart. He looked at Wang Chengen fixedly, suppressed the surging feelings in his heart, and still did not lose his status as an emperor, nodded and said:

"Very good, after all, I don't forget the grace of my cultivation, and I am much better than many Wenchen who were born in school!"

Wang Chengen followed the "ancestral system" in the Forbidden City that no one except the emperor could ride a horse, and arrived at the dismount monument outside the left gate of Chang'an, quickly dismounted, handed over the horse to the eunuch who accompanied him, and he followed Chongzhen's horse into the palace on foot. He couldn't guess and didn't dare to ask, whether the emperor was going to set himself on fire in the Qianqing Palace or hang himself. When he walked into the east corner gate (i.e., Hongzheng Gate) of the Huangji Gate, he saw that the Huangji Palace was in front of him, and the three major halls were the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen asked timidly:

"Emperor, there is not much time, do you want to order the ministers to hurry up and move dry firewood to the three major halls and the Qianqing Palace?"

Chongzhen was shocked again, stopped Kiracheng, looked back at Wang Chengen, and then made up his mind again, and replied:

"I've had a claim since yesterday, so I don't need to ask!"

Wang Chengen didn't dare to ask again, but he was very anxious, afraid that once the thieves entered the inner city, it would be too late for the emperor to commit suicide calmly. He had already seen that Wang Dehua and Cao Huachun had changed their minds and had a secret discussion with Du Xun. When the appointed time comes, the nine gates of the inner city will be opened at the same time and the thieves will be put in. Not only was he worried that the emperor would not have time to die calmly, but there were also queens, imperial concubines, princes, two kings of Yongding, princesses, and many palace dependents in the palace......

CHAPTER XVIII

Outside the Qianqing Gate, Chongzhen dismounted and instructed Wang Chengen to temporarily go to the duty room of the celebrant to rest and wait for the call. He was already confident about the few things that should be dealt with immediately, and walked into the Qianqing Gate with firm steps. According to the rules of weekdays, a eunuch shouted in the Qianqing Gate: "The holy drive back to the palace!" Immediately, Wu Xiang and many other eunuchs knelt down next to Yonglu to pick up the car. Wei Qinghui and a group of palace maids were waiting for news in a corner of the Qianqing Palace, and when they heard that the emperor had returned to the palace, they hurriedly ran out of the dark shadows and knelt on the side of the Danqi to pick up the car.

Chongzhen didn't enter the Qianqing Palace immediately, thinking of the queen, Concubine Yuan, and princess...... He was about to die, and he let out a heavy sigh as he staggered on the dan mound. Suddenly, a eunuch came to him and knelt down in front of him, and said in a trembling voice:

"Qi Gong Emperor, please don't worry about the emperor, the slave has a plan to keep the emperor safe."

Chongzhen saw that it was a eunuch named Zhang Yin, who was a small promise in the Qianqing Palace, usually very honest, doing some rough work, and never dared to speak in front of him. At this time, when I heard him say, I felt strange: What kind of trick does this honest slave have? So he lowered his head and asked:

"Zhang Yin, don't be afraid, what are your plans?"

Zhang Yin replied: "Emperor, if the thieves enter the inner city, just surrender and it will be fine." ”

Chongzhen's eyes widened, and he kicked Zhang Yin hard, kicking him to sit on his back on the ground, and then pulled out his sword, slashed down diagonally, and killed Zhang Yin. This is the first time Chongzhen has killed someone with his own hands in his life, and after killing, his anger has not disappeared, and he trembles. The eunuchs and palace maids saw the emperor killing people in the palace for the first time, and they all fell to the ground in horror. Seeing that the emperor was still angry and walked down the Danqi with heavy steps, Wu Xiang hurriedly caught up, knelt in front of him and asked:

"Where is the emperor going?"

"Kunning Palace!"

When everyone heard that the emperor was going to Kunning Palace, they were all shocked, knowing that the tragedy in the palace was about to begin. Wu Xiang hurriedly ordered a eunuch to rush to Kunning Palace, and Empress Qiyu was ready to take over, and at the same time took two palace lanterns, and followed the emperor out of the Rijing Gate and walked north from Dongchang Street. Wei Qinghui also hurriedly pulled a palace maid, lit two palace lanterns, and went out from the back corner door of the Qianqing Palace to catch up with the emperor.

Zhou Hou was crying, and when he heard that the emperor had arrived, he hurried to the courtyard to pick him up. Chongzhen thought all the way, he wanted to summon some of the people in the palace to Kunning Palace, and told them to commit suicide, if anyone refused to commit suicide immediately, he would kill them with a sword, and never leave them to the thieves and lose the royal system. Because he was thinking that he was going to kill the palace family with his sword in person, he did not enter the main hall of Kunning Palace, and hurriedly walked into the side hall in the east. The queen followed him closely. The eunuchs and palace maids who knelt in the courtyard to take over all stood up and stood around the side hall door to wait, trembling and holding their breath.

Chongzhen sat down on the dragon chair in the middle of the side hall, ordered the queen to sit down quickly, and said to the queen:

"The general trend is gone, and the country is dying. You are the mother of the world, and you should die. ”

Zhou Hou was already prepared for death in his heart. The emperor's words did not surprise her. She didn't speak, just nodded her head in understanding. The palace maids of Kunning Palace knew that the queen was about to commit suicide, so they all knelt on the ground and cried. The eunuchs standing outside the hall cried because of the palace maids, some wept, and some whimpered.

In the past three days, Zhou Hou knew that the country was going to die, and he had a hatred in his heart that he could not say to anyone, but now it suddenly appeared in his heart again.

A month ago, when Li Zicheng was still in Shanxi, someone in the court suggested that the emperor move to Nanjing to avoid thieves and then try to recover. Some people in the court were in favor and some were against, so that the emperor could not make up his mind. Empress Zhou and Empress Yi'an, through their respective palace eunuchs, also knew about it. Empress Yi'an was in favor of moving the capital to Nanjing, but she was the widow of the Apocalypse, so it was inconvenient for her to express her views. One day, he came to talk to Zhou Hou for an excuse, retreated left and right, and quietly asked Zhou Hou to try to persuade the emperor to move the capital to Nanjing. Later, Chongzhen came to Kunning Palace in a depressed mood, and accidentally mentioned that Li Zicheng had led 500,000 horses into Shanxi, and the states and counties had surrendered, and he sighed unconsciously. Zhou Hou took the opportunity to say:

"Your Majesty, we still have a ...... in the south"

Chongzhen glared at that time, and was so frightened that Zhou Hou didn't dare to say any more. Since that incident, I have only heard in the palace that Li Zicheng's men and horses continue to come to Beijing, and the situation is getting worse day by day, and the catastrophe of destroying the country is almost day by day. After the week, he was sad day and night, and it was difficult to sleep and eat, but he didn't dare to ask the emperor for a word. She often thinks that poor couples in the people can discuss things together, but if they are in the royal family, they are not allowed to say a word about national affairs as a queen! She thought bitterly and repeatedly, although she did not read as much as Empress Yi'an, but she also had a slight understanding of the history of the rise and fall of the past dynasties. She also heard that Hong Wuye likes to kill people so much, and sometimes he listens to Queen Ma's advice! She is cautious, always wants to be a virtuous queen, and never asks about the government, but when it comes to the survival of the country, how can she not care? She once couldn't help but say half a sentence, and was reprimanded by the emperor's stern eyes, and she was not allowed to finish her words. If the emperor could listen to her advice and flee to Nanjing a month ago, he would not sit back and wait for the thieves to come, the country would perish, and the whole family would perish!

She had ten thousand words to say now, but she thought that her sons had not yet grown up, and that the princess was only fifteen years old, and that she had chosen a colt and had not yet married, so could she not see her children before she died? She didn't speak, waiting for her children to come, and for the emperor to speak, tears flowing down her face like a spring.

Chongzhen ordered the eunuchs to go separately and call the prince and the king of Yong and Ding to come quickly, and said to the queen:

"Without further ado. You are the lord of the six palaces, you have to set an example for the concubines, and quickly go back to your dormitory to hang yourself! ”

Zhou Hou said: "Your Majesty, don't urge me, I will never insult your Zhu family." Let me wait a moment. I can't see the princesses, I want to see my three sons when I'm dying! ”

When the queen said this, she couldn't help but hide her face with her sleeves and wept bitterly.

At this time, Wei Qinghui and some of the queen's personal palace maids such as Wu Wanrong had already entered the side hall, and they heard the queen say that she could not see the two princesses before she died, but the words of asking to see the prince and the second king, every word shook their hearts. The first one cried out loud, and then they all began to cry, and they all knelt in front of the queen and wept loudly. Dozens of palace maids and eunuchs standing outside the door all whimpered and cried.

Zhou Hou was still just in tears, trying her best to endure and refuse to cry, in order not to make the emperor cry so much that he mishandled the big things. At this point, she couldn't bear it anymore and wept bitterly.

Chongzhen was also extremely sad, and in a cry, he looked at the queen, had nothing to say, and couldn't help whimpering. He knew that the queen refused to die immediately, not because she was greedy for life and afraid of death, but because she wanted to wait to see her three sons. After a whimper, he wiped his tears with the sleeve of his robe again, and said to the queen:

"The inner city is going to be broken, you should die quickly. I am about to commit suicide and die in the community, and our husband and wife are subordinate to each other. ”

Zhou Hou suddenly held back her tears, and a sentence erupted from her heart: "Your Majesty, yes, just look at my sons, and I will die immediately." But there is one thing I want to say: I have been married to you for seventeen years, and I dare not say a word about state affairs. ”

Chongzhen understood that she was about fleeing to Nanjing, and whimpered and said: "It was the ministers who made a mistake, and now it is too late to regret it." You'd better die quickly! If you die or I die, we husband and wife will soon meet underground! ”

Zhou Hou didn't immediately get up and go to the palace to commit suicide, thinking that he was going to say goodbye to the prince and the second king, and thinking that he couldn't see the two biological princesses when he was dying, he cried even more. Seeing this situation, Chongzhen regretted that he had not made up his mind to flee to Nanjing, and couldn't help but cry bitterly.

Dozens of palace maids and eunuchs inside and outside the main hall of Kunning Palace all cried bitterly. There was a palace maid who entered the side hall and fainted to the ground, and Wu Wanrong pinched her with her nails and helped her up from the ground.

Chongzhen cried a few times, immediately held back, and ordered a palace maid to rush to Ciqing Palace, pay tribute to Empress Yi'an, ask her to commit suicide, and said:

"You play Empress Yi'an, the emperor and the empress will commit suicide and die in Sheji. Now that the catastrophe of the country is coming, the emperor invited her to commit suicide by hanging herself, don't destroy the dignity of her ancestors! ”

At this time, the crown prince, King Yong and King Ding were all summoned to the side hall of Kunning Palace. Zhou Hou was holding the fifteen-year-old prince with one hand and the eleven-year-old King Ding with the other, and she couldn't bear to leave them, crying even more painfully. King Yong was thirteen years old, and his biological mother, Emperor Tian, died of illness a year and a half ago. Zhou Hou is his mother-in-law, who treats him "as if he were his own". He now stood beside the queen and wept bitterly. The queen pulled King Yong again with the hand that had taken King Ding, and cried loudly in tears. Chongzhen urged the queen and said:

"Now that it has come to this, there is no use crying. Kill yourself, don't be too late. He said to a palace maid: "Hurry up and send a decree to urge Yuan Niangniang to commit suicide, urge Princess Changping to commit suicide, let's die quickly, don't delay until the thieves come in, and destroy the ancestor's national body." ”

At this time, from the Xuanwu Gate, there was the sound of the drum and the cloud board of the report, and I knew that the fourth watch was halfway through, and it was not far from the fifth watch. Behind the Kunning Palace is the Imperial Garden and the Qin'an Palace, and then there is the Xuanwu Gate. On the left and right of the Xuanwu Gate, close to the row houses in the Forbidden City, commonly known as the Langxia Family, live some eunuchs of lower status. At this time, one or two rooster cries came from the house under the corridor, mixed with the sound of the cloud board.

As soon as the queen heard the rooster's crow, she said bitterly in her heart: "Alas, the two daughters will never see each other again!" She let go of the hands of the crown prince and King Yong, stood up resolutely, and said to Chongzhen:

"Your Majesty, the concubine will take the first step and wait for the holy car on the road to the underworld!"

Although she is no longer afraid of death, and she no longer cherishes the glory and wealth of being a queen, she is very sad that she is so unfortunate and encounters the tragedy of destroying the country and the family. When she left, she was still unwilling, and looked at her three sons with tearful eyes, at the emperor who was about to commit suicide and martyrdom, and at the same time thought of her two daughters, and sighed deeply. She had been sleeping and eating for two days and two nights, and she was very tired, and her feet were too small, and she was wearing bow shoes. Fortunately, Wu Wanrong had already stood up from the ground and quickly helped her up.

Chongzhen watched the queen walk out of the side hall surrounded by a group of palace maids, and was once again full of grief, and commanded the prince and the second king in a sad voice:

"The Queen Mother will say goodbye to you forever. You send your mother back to the dormitory, come back quickly, I have something to say! ”

Because the fifth watch is approaching, Chongzhen knows that his time is running out. Thinking that he was about to kill people in the palace, he felt that he was already lacking in energy, and ordered the palace maids: "Bring wine!" Bring the wine! The palace maids immediately brought the wine, but they didn't have time to prepare the side dishes in a hurry. Chongzhen couldn't wait, and commanded sharply:

"Pour the wine!"

A maid of the palace poured a cup full of gold, put it on a rectangular silver platter, and placed it in front of him. He took his glass and drank it down, and said:

"Pour the wine!"

Although the imperial wine "Changchun Dew" brewed in the palace is not very powerful, he has drunk more than ten glasses in a row (he has never drunk so vigorously in his life), and he is already three points drunk. When he drank again and again, his demeanor was generous and composed, as if he had forgotten about life and death. The palace maids and eunuchs standing on the left and right saw his unusual demeanor, and their eyes were red, and they all lowered their heads, not daring to look up, for fear that he would swing his sword and kill people after he was drunk, and then kill himself. However, Chongzhen just borrowed wine to drown his sorrows and increase his courage, so he knew very well in his heart. He stopped drinking and commanded one of the eunuchs:

"Tell the master!"

The "master" in the palace is the crown prince. The crown prince immediately came to the side hall, and King Yong and King Ding also came, kneeling before him. The prince choked up and said:

"Back to my father, my sons and the others have sent my mother back to the palace."

"Did you kill yourself?"

The prince cried and replied: "The queen mother is about to commit suicide, and the palace ladies are preparing for her." ”

"Is your queen mother still crying?"

The queen mother just sighed deeply and stopped crying.

"Good, good. As a queen, she should be martyred. ”

He listened to the main hall of Kunning Palace, and sure enough, he couldn't hear the queen's cry, and then said:

"The thieves are about to enter the inner city, the sooner the better."

At this time, the queen was indeed calm, and when the crown prince and the second king wept and kowtowed to leave, she sighed and ordered a little eunuch to tie a white practice on the painting beam of the dormitory (Xinuan Pavilion of Kunning Palace) for her with the help of the palace maids, and set up a stool for stepping on her feet. In the dormitory, outside the window and in the main hall of Kunning Palace, there are many palace maids, holding their breath silently, very silent. Wu Wanrong waved away the little eunuch, knelt down in front of the queen, and said in a trembling whisper:

"Qi Niangniang, Bai Lian has been tied."

The queen did not get up immediately, and commanded softly: "Quickly bring the needle and thread, ask for white silk thread!" ”

Wu Wanrong didn't know what the queen wanted for a needle, so she had to give instructions to the palace maid kneeling behind her. Soon, the palace ladies got the needle and thread. Wu Wanrong caught the needle and thread, her fingers trembled slightly, and she asked on her back:

"Mother, what's the use of needlework?"

It turned out that Zhou Hou was only thirty-three years old this year, thinking that she was born with outstanding beauty, her skin was smooth and white, which could be called a "jade body", and she was worried that the body of the thief would be humiliated after entering the palace, so before hanging herself, she ordered an elderly palace maid who was usually skilled in female red to kneel on the ground and sew the opening of the dress with silk thread. When this palace maid choked back tears, panicked, and hurriedly sewed a dead dress, Zhou Hou was not thinking about her own death, but worried about the life and death of the crown prince and the second king. She wanted to know how the emperor arranged for his three sons to escape from the palace, and tried to listen to what was going on in the side hall. But the emperor's voice was not high, so she couldn't hear clearly. She sighed again, looked at the palace maid kneeling on the ground, and said in a trembling voice:

"Don't tremble your hands, hurry up and sew!"

The old palace maid, who was skilled in needlework, trembled even more violently, and her fingers were pricked twice in a row. Wu Wanrong saw it in her eyes, took the needle and thread, shed tears while flying the needle and thread, and quickly sewed the queen's placket and skirt to death. The queen said to Wu Wanrong: "Call the palace people to come!" Immediately, more than thirty palace maids knelt in front of her. She wiped her tears with her sleeve and said:

"I am the current queen, the mother of a country, and I should die with the emperor. You are not guilty and you can not die. When the day dawns, you will escape from the palace through the Xuanwu Gate. Although the country is poor, there are still a lot of gold, silver and jewelry in this Kunning Palace, and you can take the jewelry out of the palace at will. Wu Wanrong, hurry up and help me! ”

Wu Wanrong quickly helped the queen get up from the chair and walked to the place where she was hanging. She tried her best to stay calm, but she trembled slightly, her legs were paralyzed, and she couldn't help but rely on Wu Wanrong's support and move forward slowly. She was about to die in an instant, but her heart was still worried about her husband and son, and she sighed as she walked forward, and said to herself faintly:

"Your Majesty! The crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding, if they don't send them out of the palace, it's too late! ”

In the side hall, the crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding had already stood up from the ground and stood in front of their father, waiting for the face. Chongzhen suddenly noticed the royal robes and hats worn by his three sons, and was taken aback, and said in a reproachful tone:

"When is it, you guys are still dressed like this!" Immediately, he glanced at a group of palace maids and eunuchs standing in the side hall, and said, "Why don't you hurry up and find old clothes and hats for the master to change!" Replace it for the two kings! ”

Everyone hurriedly found three sets of worn clothes of the little eunuchs, and the two palace maids changed them for the prince, and the palace maids changed them for the second king. Chongzhen thought that the palace maids were too slow, so he tied the prince's clothes with trembling hands, and choked up while tying them, and said:

"Son! You are still the prince tonight, and you will be a common man after dawn. Escape from the palace and live among the people, you have to be incognito, and you must not reveal the identity of the prince. When you see an old man, you have to call him grandpa; When you see a middle-aged person, you have to call your uncle or uncle; When you see someone of your age, call your brother...... O my son, you see! As soon as you leave the palace, you are a common people, a homeless person, even more pitiful than a homeless common people! You have to be careful to save your life! Your father is about to die in the community. Your queen mother has gone before me! ……”

When Chongzhen personally took care of the crown prince's clothes and hats, the clothes and hats of the two kings of Yong and Ding were also changed by the palace maids. At this moment of parting from life and death, he took the prince's hand and wanted to say two words, but there was a burst of grief, and he was so choked that he couldn't say a word, only tears.

The queen was supported by Wu Wanrong and walked to the place where Bai Lian was hung from the beam. She finally looked at the palace maids who served her faithfully in the Kunning Palace with tears in her eyes, and seemed to have a sad goodbye. Except for Wu Wanrong, all the palace maids knelt on the ground to see off the queen, not daring to look up. Zhou Hou was supported by Wu Wanrong, climbed on the red lacquer painted gold stool, grabbed Bai Lian hanging from the painting beam with both hands, and suddenly thought that he would not be able to see the two princesses (one was only six years old) again when he was dying, and sighed hatefully. Wu Wanrong asked:

"Niangniang, what else do you have to say to the slave?"

Zhou Hou poked her head into Bai Lianhuan, her face was pale, she grabbed Bai Lian with both hands, and said to Wu in an unusually calm voice:

"I'm leaving. You go to the emperor and say that the palace has been led to hang himself in the sleeping palace, and he will go to Huangquan to meet the holy car first. ”

After finishing speaking, he kicked the stool, but did not move. Wu Wanrong quickly moved the stool away, and at the same time, Zhou Hou let go of his hands, and his body swung in the air, no longer moving. The palace maids looked up and wept bitterly together, and the eunuchs outside the window also cried.

Chongzhen heard a burst of crying from the palace maids and eunuchs inside and outside the queen's bedroom, and knew that the queen had hanged herself, so he unconsciously burst into tears, and said in a loud voice:

"Die well, die well. It is worthy of being the mother of a country in the Ming Dynasty! ”

He was about to instruct the eunuchs to escort his three sons out of the palace, when Wu Wanrong walked into the side hall with a panicked expression, knelt in front of him and said:

"Emperor, the queen ordered the slave maid to come to start Your Majesty, she has committed suicide by hanging herself from the beam in accordance with the order, and she was martyred!"

Chongzhen's eyes widened, looked at Wu Wanrong and asked:

"What else did the queen say?"

The queen said, she took the first step to meet the holy car on the Huangquan Road.

Chongzhen couldn't help but hide his face and cry bitterly. The three sons who stood in front of him wept so loudly that no one could lift their heads.

Chongzhen didn't dare to delay much time, he quickly stopped crying, and instructed the eunuch in charge of Zhongcui Palace to quickly send the crown prince and King Ding to the mansion of their maternal grandfather Zhou Kui, Marquis of Jiading, and ordered a reliable eunuch to send King Yong to the palace of Emperor Tian, and ordered the two royal princes to find a place to hide his three sons temporarily, and then flee south out of the city. After instructing the eunuchs, Chongzhen pinned his hopes for the restoration of the country on the prince, and he said to the prince:

"Son, your father has been running the world for seventeen years, respecting the heavens and ancestors, being diligent in government and loving the people, and has not lost his morality, and he is not the king of the country. All the ministers of the court and the central government misunderstood me and the country...... To the woe of today. Son! You are the crown prince, if you don't die, when you grow up, you will restore your ancestors and avenge your parents. A thousand words, just one sentence, my son! You're going to live! Stay alive! Restore the country! ......" He wept bitterly twice and ordered the eunuchs to take the crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding out of the palace as soon as possible.

He originally decreed: The women who had been summoned by him, regardless of whether they had titles or not, were concentrated in the palace of Qian Xuan's servants, waiting to be summoned to the Kunning Palace for disposal, that is, they were ordered to commit suicide immediately, and those who refused to commit suicide would be killed by him with his own hands, and they must not stay and be lost thieves.

However, it is now nearly five watches, and the roosters fed by the eunuchs who live in the left and right corridors of the Xuanwu Gate have begun to crow one after another. Chongzhen no longer called the palace dependents who were waiting in the Qian Xuan Palace, he walked out of the side hall and turned around and walked towards the main hall.

Wu Wanrong knew that he was going to take a look at the queen's corpse, so she hurriedly ran in front and told the palace maids to stop crying and take over. Chongzhen entered the Xinuan Pavilion of Kunning Palace, looked at the corpse still hanging on the beam, he pushed the corpse with his sword scabbard, nodded lightly and said, "It's already dead, go first, okay, okay!" He immediately turned around and withdrew, walked out of the gate of Kunning Palace with one foot high and one foot low, and turned towards Shouning Palace. Some of the eunuchs and palace maids followed closely behind him, and some people exclaimed in their hearts:

"Oh my God, I'm going to force the princess to kill herself!"

Hearing the crow of the chickens in the corridor getting thicker and thicker, Chongzhen's heart was very anxious, and he staggered towards Shouning Palace. Although he wanted to stay calm and deal with everything calmly before he died, his mind was already flustered, and he was afraid that it would be too late, and he would go faster and faster, almost making it impossible for the palace maids and eunuchs behind him to catch up.

Princess Changping, who lives in Shouning Palace, is the eldest daughter of Chongzhen and has been deeply loved by her father since she was a child. When she was young, although Chongzhen had every opportunity and the government was worried, she often hugged her and teased her. She was born like a flower and jade, and she was extremely intelligent, much like when the queen was a talented person. Last year, a colt had been selected for her, and she was supposed to be "married" this spring, but it could not be held because of the bad state affairs. At this moment, he wants to see if his beloved daughter has committed suicide and her body hangs on the beam...... His heart was suddenly very sore, his whole body trembled, and even his legs went limp. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't, and cried out in his heart:

"Oh my God, the country will be destroyed...... There is such a tragedy in the world! ”

Princess Changping, who lives in Shouning Palace, is sixteen years old this year, and just now a palace maid in Kunning Palace came to pass the decree and ordered her to commit suicide. She refused, and the palace maids guarded her from letting her commit suicide. Now the palace maids were crying around her, and suddenly when she heard that Banzai had arrived, she hurriedly took the palace maids to the courtyard and knelt down to take the car. Seeing that the princess was still alive, Chongzhen was anxious and angry, and said:

"Daughter, why aren't you dead yet?"

The princess took him by the clothes and cried and said, "Daughter...... In the clear! Father, Emperor......"

Chongzhen trembled and said, "Don't say it again! You are unfortunate enough to be born in the royal family, and you are guilty! ”

Princess Changping was about to speak again, when Chongzhen's right hand trembled and slashed with a sword. She ducked and slashed her left arm instead of her neck. She screamed in utter terror and fell to the ground, unconscious. Chongzhen saw that the princess was not dead, and raised the sword again, but his arm trembled more fiercely, he had no strength, and his heart softened, and after he barely raised the sword, he saw Fei Zhen'e pounce on the princess, crying and shouting:

"Emperor, cut it! Hack it! The slave is willing to die with the princess! ”

Chongzhen's wrist was even softer, the sword couldn't be cut, he sighed, turned around and walked out of Shouning Palace, and walked to Yikun Palace, where Concubine Yuan lived. After Chongzhen left, the palace maids in Shouning Palace and the princess's nurse were still crying around the princess. He Xin, the eunuch in charge of Shouning Palace, hurriedly found medicine to stop bleeding from the imperial pharmacy, and instructed the two older palace maids to carry the princess on the couch to give medicine and bandage the wounds of the princess, but there was no other way. The princess was still unconscious, neither **, nor crying. Because the queen is dead, the emperor is killing people in the palace, and there is something very wrong in Shouning Palace, and the eunuch He Xin and the nurse Chen Mama don't know how to deal with the unconscious princess. Fortunately, at this time, Wu Wanrong, who was loved by everyone, came.

It turned out that after Wu Wanrong and the emperor walked out of Kunning Palace, she didn't let the eunuchs interfere, and worked together with several more sensible and bold palace maids in Kunning Palace to remove the queen's body from the beam, place it on the imperial couch, slightly adjust her dress, close an eye that was not closed for the queen, and cover the body with a yellow satin quilt embroidered with dragons and phoenixes. She knew that the emperor was coming to Shouning Palace, and she didn't know whether the princess was alive or dead, so she ran after the emperor.

Wu Wanrong saw that although the princess was cut off on her left arm, because the emperor's hand was weak, she did not cut off her bones, let alone hurt the fatal place, and she would recover after waking up and recuperating for a few days. She called He Xin to the front of Shouning Palace, avoided everyone, and asked in a low voice:

"Father-in-law He, how are you going to save the princess from the palace?"

He Xin said: "The princess is already unconscious, if I send the princess out of the palace, the princess dies on the road, and my sins will not be atoned for." ”

"No, Grandpa Ho. As far as I can see, the princess's unconscious consciousness was caused by the extreme fright just now, and she must not have died. Why don't you take advantage of the dawn to take no one with you, carry the princess out of the Xuanwu Gate alone, and escape to the palace of Emperor Zhou? ”

He Xin's heart suddenly understood, and said: "Just do it, good idea!" ”

Fei Zhen'e had already come out, and when she heard their way to save the princess, she pleaded in a low voice, "Let me follow and serve the princess?" ”

He Xin said: "No! If there is one more person to follow, it is easy to leak the news! ”

The people of Fei Palace turned to the housekeeper of Kunning Palace: "Sister Wanrong, am I willing to sacrifice my life to protect the princess, let me go?" ”

Wanrong said, "You stay in the palace." Let Grandpa He quietly escape with the princess on his back, which is your loyalty to the princess. ”

"But I will not be insulted by thieves!"

"I know that. Or what I said to you the day before yesterday, we must all be innocent martyrs and never be humiliated. Once the traitor breaks the inner city, you come to Kunning Palace to find me, and we will all do our best with Wei Qinghui to repay the emperor's deep kindness. ”

Wu Wanrong hurried away because the palace people in Kunning Palace couldn't do without her. She had a good relationship with Emperor Yuan's concubine, and she wanted to see Concubine Yuan's end-of-the-art situation, but she didn't have time to go, and said sadly in her heart:

"Yuan Niangniang, you are not guilty, you don't deserve to die, but this is called a dead country!"

Actually, Concubine Yuan did not die at this time. As the imperial concubine, the country died, of course, she had to die with the emperor, so she was completely mentally prepared for death for three days. When the emperor committed suicide after urging Zhou in Kunning Palace, she committed suicide without hesitation, but because she was more generous to her subordinates on weekdays, the palace maids deliberately tied a half-decayed silk silk for her on the painting beam. As a result, before she could lose her breath, the silk silk suddenly broke off, and she fell to the ground and slowly recovered. Although she instructed the palace maids to tie the rope for her again and help her hang herself, the palace maids all knelt on the ground and cried around her, and no one would obey. Chongzhen came in, knowing that she had hanged herself because the rope was suddenly broken, and slashed her with a sword, injuring her arm. Because his arm trembled, and there was a cry in Yikun Palace, he didn't cut it again, paused his feet, and said, "Die by yourself!" He turned and walked out.

He ran to the palace of Qian Xuan's servant. All the attendants, beauties, and unnamed women were gathered there. These women, who do not have the opportunity to meet the emperor on weekdays, all belong to the emperor's group of concubines, and some are still palace maids, they have no relationship with the emperor, but they are waiting for the emperor's punishment with a kind of "palace grudge" that the emperor has neglected and is worried about the unpredictable future. When Chongzhen hurriedly arrived, they were so frightened that their faces were as pale as earth, and they trembled and knelt down to take the car. Chongzhen ordered them to commit suicide as soon as possible, without delay. They all kowtowed together and replied in a trembling voice:

"Slave obeys!"

When several women withdrew, there was a stubborn palace maid named Li Cuilian, who couldn't help but sigh hatefully and whispered:

"Slaves and maids do their best, but they don't look at death!"

Chongzhen asked, "Come back!" Why don't you look blind when you die? ”

The stubborn Li Cuilian reflexively knelt down again, and boldly replied: "I have been fortunate to be summoned by Your Majesty, and it has been two years since I have never seen Your Majesty again, and I cannot call myself a 'concubine' in front of Your Majesty, I am still a slave." Because no name is given, neither can the parents receive grace. Today, although the country is dead, although it should be martyred, but because there is no name in the palace, it is not blind to death. ”

Chongzhen was hit by this, and he was furious, only to hear the sound of brushing, he pulled out half of the sword, and stared at the palace maid kneeling in front of him. But the palace maid was not afraid, originally prostrated on the ground, heard the sound of the sword unsheathed, suddenly knelt straight, and at the same time stretched her neck straight, lowered her head, held her breath, and waited for her head to hit the ground. No one knows how Chongzhen changed his mind, but seeing that he returned the half-drawn sword back to the sheath, he whispered sadly:

"Your fate is not good, you were unfortunately elected to the last palace ten years ago. Now that the Ming Dynasty is gone, you are different from other palace maids, because you have been 'lucky', so you must not lose yourself as a thief. Seeing that you have a strong temperament, I will not kill you, but give yourself all the time, and hang yourself calmly, leaving a whole corpse. Go for it, the sooner the better! ”

Li Cuilian kowtowed and said, "Slave and maid receive the order!" ”

After Li Cuilian left, Chongzhen knew that the sky was about to dawn, and he didn't dare to delay, seeing that some women were very reluctant to do the festival, he stomped on him, swung his sword and cut down two, regardless of whether they were dead or alive, left in a cry, and ran back to the Qianqing Palace. Before he was martyred, there was another thing that made him most sad and couldn't decide, and that was the problem of Princess Zhaoren. Now he's ruthless.

He has a little daughter born to the queen, who is six years old this year, and is very good-looking, lively and lovely. Because he liked this little princess very much, he asked the nurse and a few palace maids to serve the little princess to live in the Zhaoren Hall of the Qianqing Palace, on the left side of the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, only separated by a sandwich road. Because the princess is still young and has no title, the palace calls her Princess Zhaoren. This little girl doesn't know how to lose her country, nor does she know how to commit suicide, what should she do? For three days, he was thinking about the few things he had to deal with in the palace before he was martyred, including the little princess. Now the few things that should be dealt with have been dealt with, and only Princess Zhaoren remains.

He hurried back to the Qianqing Palace. After passing the Jiaotai Palace, he was about to enter the Rijing Gate of the Qianqing Palace, and he said in his heart as he walked:

"My little daughter, it's not that my father is too cruel, it's because you are born with golden branches and jade leaves, you shouldn't die at the hands of thieves, and you shouldn't grow up and live in exile! Son, you died in the underworld and complained that your father was unkind to you! ……”

Chongzhen entered the Rijing Gate, did not return to the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, and directly ascended to the Danqi of the Zhaoren Palace. The little princess's nurse and the palace maids were crying together, waiting for the catastrophe to come, when they suddenly heard that the emperor had arrived, and they all hugged the little princess out and knelt down to take the car. The little princess was already learning the etiquette of the palace, and shouted in a very cute and immature voice: "Long live the father!" As soon as her words fell, Chongzhen gritted her teeth and raised her sword, and the little princess fell to death in a pool of blood before she had time to cry.

The nurse and the ladies of the palace cried together.

Chongzhen returned to the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, and the general eunuchs and palace maids stayed on the Danqi, only Wu Xiang and Wei Qinghui followed Chongzhen into the Warm Pavilion. Chongzhen turned around and ordered:

"Hurry up and get the wine! Spread the word that Wang Chengen is in! Suddenly, he heard the cry of Zhaoren Palace, and he ordered: "The wine will be sent to the Hongde Palace, and Wang Chengen will also wait in the Hongde Palace!" ”

After Chongzhen instructed, he pulled out the front placket of the plain satin dark dragon yellow robe, put the jade white robe facing up, spread the imperial case evenly, lifted the red pen, trembled, and scribbled the following last words:

I am not the lord of darkness, but the ministers who mislead the country and lose the country. I have no face to see my ancestors in the ground, and I dare not finally go to bed. When the thief comes, it is better to destroy the corpse than to hurt the people!

Chongzhen wrote the edict on the placket, threw down the red pen, heard the sound of cannons on the city, and guessed that the eunuchs and soldiers and civilians defending the city had opened the city gate and surrendered. He looked back at Wei Qinghui, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't say it. The people of the Wei Palace had already seen the edict he wrote on the placket of his clothes, and at this time they thought that the emperor also wanted her to commit suicide, so she quickly knelt down, straightened her body, stretched her neck and waited, and said with a generous whimper:

"Please give the slave a sword!"

Chongzhen shook his head and said, "I will be martyred immediately, you and the people of the capital should go out of the palace and flee for their lives!" ”

Hongde Hall is on the right side of the main hall of Qianqing Palace, and the Zhaoren Hall is symmetrical and the form is the same. In the past, Chongzhen summoned his ministers, in order to avoid red tape etiquette, they were not in the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, usually in the east and west warm pavilions of the Qianqing Palace, and sometimes in the Hongde Palace, that is, the so-called side hall of the Qianqing Palace.

When Chongzhen hurriedly left the Dongnuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace and walked into the Hongde Palace, Wang Chengen was already waiting outside the palace gate, and a pot of palace-made amber jade liquid spring wine and a marigold, and four kinds of cold dishes for wine (too late to prepare hot dishes) had been placed on the square table that had been temporarily moved. Chongzhen came in, sat down abruptly on the chair facing south in the middle, and said, "Pour wine!" Wei Qinghui, who followed him in, immediately picked up the silver pot with gold wire and filled the gold cup for him. He took off the heavy sword hanging from his waist, put it on the table with a loud bang, picked up the golden cup, drank it all, and said, "Pour it again!" Then he asked to the door of the temple:

"What about Wang Chengen?"

Wang Chengen hurriedly came in, knelt down and replied, "The slave and maid are waiting here!" Just now, the slave and maid had knelt at the gate of the temple to receive the holy car. ”

Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen, and remembered that Wang Chengen was indeed at the gate of the palace, but he didn't see who it was in the chaos. Because he was about to commit suicide, knowing that Wang Chengen was willing to die comforted and moved him. He commanded the eunuchs standing at the gate of the temple:

"Bring a chair for Wang Chengen and get a wine glass!"

Wu Xiang, who was standing at the gate of the palace, and several eunuchs were taken aback, and said in their hearts: "The emperor's rules and regulations are messed up!" But they did not dare to delay, and immediately took out a chair from the warm pavilion of the side hall, and found a porcelain wine cup of pastel grass insects commonly used in the palace. Wei Qinghui immediately filled the porcelain cup with wine. Chongzhen says:

"Wang Chengen, sit down!"

"Slaves don't dare!" Wang Chengen was surprised in his heart, kowtowed, and said.

"I have commanded you to sit down, for this is a special grace to reward your loyalty. Time is running out, sit down! ”

"Your Majesty, the ancestors customized, no matter what position the ministers have in the palace, they will always be the emperor's domestic slaves, and there is no reason to sit down."

"This is not usual, sit down!"

Wang Chengen bowed to the ground in fear and thanked him, then stood up and sat down on the chair opposite Chongzhen, not daring to sit down. Chongzhen picked up the golden cup, looked at Wang Chengen and said:

"I am about to be martyred, and you have to go with me. Come, drink this cup with me! "After that, drink it all.

Wang Chengen quickly knelt on the ground, his hands trembled slightly, holding the wine glass, and said:

"Thank you!"

He drank half of the wine in his glass, poured the other half on the ground, and said:

"Playing the emperor, the sound of cannons in several places on the head of the city suddenly stopped, and the defenders of the city must open the door to welcome the surrender. Since the emperor has decided to die in the community, he must not delay. What about the dry firewood that the ministers ordered to carry to start the fire? ”

Chongzhen's expression became very calm again, he was silent and did not answer, with a wry smile on his face, and motioned for Wei Qinghui to fill the golden cup for him again. The people of Wei Palace knew that Chongzhen rarely drank alcohol on weekdays, thinking that he was going to borrow wine to strengthen his courage, and he was afraid that he would get drunk, so he whispered after filling the golden cup:

"Emperor, the thieves have entered the city, please drink a cup less, so as not to miss a major event."

At this time, Chongzhen became very calm again, and his expression was generous and calm. Death is coming, it is a foregone conclusion, he is no longer afraid of death, nor is he worried, all he has is endless hatred of the country. For three days, he slept and ate nothing, lived in the unending stormy waves, and after a whole night of tossing, he experienced the tragedy of the palace, he needed to drink a few more glasses of wine, one to pour out the hatred in his chest, and the other to increase a little strength, so that he could more easily die calmly. He thought that after the enemy entered the city, he would not enter the palace soon, so after drinking the third glass of wine, he said to the people of the Wei Palace:

"Pour another cup for me!"

When the people of the Wei Palace poured wine again, Wang Chengen urged for the second time: "Emperor, the slave and maid estimate that the thieves are rushing towards the Forbidden City, and there are a lot of dry firewood piled up in the courtyard of the Great Kitchen. ”

Chongzhen picked up the golden cup and was silent, silent for a moment, sighed deeply, and put the golden cup down. Only the people of the Wei Palace knew that the emperor had no intention of burning down the palace. She saw him sitting in the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace a moment ago, with an edict written on the inside of his shirt. Although she stood three feet away behind the emperor and couldn't see the content of the edict, she knew that the emperor was going to commit suicide in her clothes, and she would never set himself on fire. What the hell do you want to swallow gold? Take poison? Hang oneself? Self-slaughter? Or water...... She didn't know. As for Wu Xiang and several other eunuchs who were more prominent in the Qianqing Palace, they overheard that Emperor Gong and Liu Erhuang personally suggested to the emperor that they set fire to the palace and burn down the three major palaces, but they did not know that the emperor had written an edict on the placket of his clothes, so they all thought that the emperor would set fire to the three major palaces and the Qianqing Palace. They also told Wang Chengen the news. Wang Chengen also thinks that this method is the most appropriate, not only the emperor died a heroic and clean death for his ancestors, but also did not leave the majestic palace to the "rebels". Wang Chengen was worried that the enemy soldiers would come soon, and he couldn't help but ask Chongzhen:

"Your Majesty, can you order the ministers to hurry up and carry the firewood?"

He shook his head, didn't speak, and glanced at Wei Qinghui sadly.

The Wei palace people asked softly, "Emperor, what do you command?" ”

Chongzhen sighed and said to the people of the Wei Palace: "How I will kill myself has been decided in yesterday's afternoon nap. ”

The people of Wei Palace said with tears in their eyes: "Yesterday afternoon, the emperor had a fierce dream, and he cried in the dream, and it was the slave who woke up the emperor. But the emperor dreamed of something and didn't tell the slave maid. ”

At this moment, Chongzhen's eyes appeared in front of the image he saw in the nightmare: a last emperor, the crown fell to the ground, the dragon robe was untidy, his hair was scattered, his tongue was slightly spitted out, one eye was open, the other eye was closed, and he hanged himself. But he didn't tell Wei Qinghui the terrible image he dreamed of yesterday, drank the wine in one gulp, put the golden cup on the table, and said loudly:

"Pour wine! Pour another glass! ”

Wang Chengen was shocked and said: "Your Majesty, the slaves and maids have been waiting for the emperor for many years, and they know that the emperor has worked hard, diligent and loves the people. But the emperor, listen, the Xuanwu Gate has already fought the fifth watch, and it will be too late to burn down the palace if it is delayed! ”

In the past few days, Chongzhen has often thought about some major mistakes in state affairs, which have led to the disaster of today's country. He has a set of habitual ideas, has strong self-confidence, and believes that many major mistakes are due to the ministers misleading the country, and he himself has no mistakes. In recent days, he has seen that he is about to lose his country, and every time he thinks about the various reasons for the loss of the country, there are several major events that make him hate the ministers of the court and the central government, and he cannot forget it. First, a few years ago, Manchuria's military strength was not as strong as it is today, and it was intent on making peace with the imperial court. Together with Yang Sichang, he advocated peace with Manchuria, and sought to rest the army with Manchuria for several years, so that the imperial court could get rid of the dilemma of fighting on both sides and concentrate on dealing with "thieves". Unexpectedly, the news leaked, the court was in an uproar, and a group attacked and made peace with Manchuria, Yang Sichang was forced to leave the imperial court, went out to supervise the division, and died in Huguang. Chen Xinjia, who succeeded Yang Sichang in presiding over the center, also knew that the country's top priority was to make peace with Manchuria in order to get rid of the situation of fighting on two fronts and being in a difficult situation both internally and externally. The peace talks were about to succeed, but unexpectedly, the news leaked again, and there was another uproar, which was more violent than the last attack on the peace talks, and he had no choice but to put Chen Xinjia in prison and behead him. If the Chinese courtiers of the DPRK had a little foresight at that time, avoided the dispute over the gateway, and were willing to consider the overall situation, so that the peace policy would be successful, the imperial court would have suspended its worries about the east, and the national strength would not have been completely exhausted, how could there be today! If one of Yang Sichang and Chen Xinjia is immortal and stays in the imperial court, how can there be today! Especially in recent days, what he has hated in his heart is that about the matter of moving south, how urgent, the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty have their own selfish intentions, the ministers oppose it, and the ministers dare not insist on it, so to this day! Also, how urgent is the matter of transferring Wu Sangui to King Qinqin in Beijing, the court has been discussing and discussing for many days, delaying the military plane, and waiting for the thieves to come east day and night, so that there is today! ……

"Pour wine! Fill up! He exclaimed, gritting his teeth.

Wei Qinghui trembled all over, and hurriedly filled the golden cup again. Chongzhen stretched out the middle finger of his right hand, dipped it in the golden cup, wrote a sentence on the case for Wang Chengen to see, and then took the golden cup and drank it all. What he wrote on the case was:

"Wenchen can be killed one by one!"

Seeing this sentence written by Chongzhen, Wang Chengen and Wei Qinghui both felt inexplicable. Especially Wang Chengen, he concluded that the enemy soldiers were rushing towards the imperial city, and after entering the imperial city, it was the Forbidden City, which had no defensive ability, and if he didn't hurry up and prepare the things to set fire for the burning of the Qianqing Palace and the three major halls, it would be too late to regret it. He looked at the emperor and said:

"Your Majesty, the ...... of the Qianqing Palace"

Chongzhen was distraught and didn't hear clearly, thinking that he was urging him to commit suicide, he said calmly: "Don't worry, it's still too late, it's too late." ”

At this moment, another burst of artillery was heard from outside the West City. Chongzhen was shocked.

Wang Chengen urged again: "Your Majesty, you need to prepare quickly......

Chongzhen said: "I have already thought about it repeatedly and made up my mind. You wait, and go out of the palace with me. He glanced at Wei Qinghui: "Pour another cup!" Pour a cup for Wang Chengen! …… Wang Chengen, after drinking this glass of wine, you will leave the palace with me! ”

Wang Chengen said: "But the emperor, now there is nowhere to go, only to set fire to the palace......

"The three major halls and the Qianqing Palace don't need to be burned."

"Wouldn't it be left to the enemy!"

Chongzhen didn't have the heart to answer, drank the last glass of wine, and ordered Wang Chengen to also drink the wine in the cup, get up from the chair, and prepare to leave. Wei Qinghui hurriedly picked up the sword from the table and prepared to tie it around the emperor's waist. But Chongzhen knew in his heart that this sword was useless, and he shook his head lightly to stop her. He said to Wu Xiang, the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace, and Wei Qinghui, the "housekeeper's wife": "You guys hurry up and escape, you don't need to wait." He said to Wang Chengen: "Out of the Xuanwu Gate!" Then he came out of the Hongde Palace.

From the palace courtyard of the Qianqing Palace to the Xuanwu Gate, you should go out of the Rijing Gate or the Yuehua Gate and turn north, but Chongzhen kept going forward and went out of the Qianqing Gate. Standing in front of the Qianqing door, he turned around, looked sadly for a moment, shed tears, and said in his heart: "I will never come back!" He glanced south again at the tall shadow of the Jianji Hall (the one behind the three major halls), sighed, and said in his heart, "I can't see it anymore!" He endured and did not weep, for there was no time to cry.

At this time, Wang Chengen, Wu Xiang and others knew that the emperor had no intention of burning down the Qianqing Palace and the three major halls, but they didn't understand the reason and didn't dare to ask again. Wu Xiang and Wei Qinghui led all the eunuchs and palace maids of the Qianqing Palace to send the emperor out of the Qianqing Gate. One eunuch waited outside the Qianqing Gate with Taiping Yi, another eunuch moved a horse stool, and four eunuchs waited with four sheep's horn palace lamps with a vermilion lacquer dragon head and short stick. Chongzhen got on the royal horse, took the apricot yellow silk reins, and waved his hand so that the eunuch who led the horse and the eunuch who played the lantern did not follow, as long as Wang Chengen followed the horse. He went east from the outside of the Qianqing Gate, turned north to the inner left gate, and walked in the direction of the east Yichang Street (a Yongxiang to the east of the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace).

The eunuchs and palace maids followed all the way to the inner left door, knelt down and kowtowed, Wu Xiang and Wei Qinghui choked up at the same time and said:

"The slaves and maids are driving for the emperor!"

Although the sky is already numb and bright, there are very high red walls on both sides of Yongxiang, and the red walls are full of palaces, and the sky is gloomy, and the night in Yongxiang is still very thick. The shadow of Chongzhen riding towards the Xuanwu Gate quickly disappeared into the shadows of Yongxiang, and he could not be seen, but the sound of horses' hooves could still be heard fading away.

On weekdays, when the emperor goes out of the Qianqing Palace at night, he always takes a step and a gorgeous lantern array, surrounded by eunuchs and palace maids. Wei Qinghui saw the emperor leave the Qianqing Palace like this for the first time, and couldn't help but look sadly at the direction where the emperor's horse's hooves gradually moved away, and whimpered. As soon as she whimpered, many palace maids and eunuchs cried.

In the Yongxiang (called Dongerchang Street in the palace) near the Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Hall and Kunning Palace before dawn, it is particularly dark at this time, bleak wind and cold rain, and most of the street lamps that no one cares about have been extinguished. The lonely sound of horses' hooves walked north, disappearing in the direction of the imperial garden close to the Xuanwu Gate, and the cries of the eunuchs and palace maids in the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace to bid farewell to the emperor had not completely stopped.

Wei Qinghui quickly got up from the ground, and sent two palace maids to Kunning Palace to ask Wu Wanrong to come and discuss important matters, and she went back to the house behind the Qianqing Palace to take care of some things before she died. She was still thinking about the emperor's whereabouts in her heart, and suddenly she had a conjecture. She hoped that the emperor would not find a place to commit suicide, but that the emperor might hide from the eunuchs left and right, and also instruct others to make secret arrangements for him in advance, and only take Wang Chengen to escape from the palace at this moment, hide in a place that even Wang Chengen doesn't know, and then escape from Beijing. But it was only a faint hope, and she didn't say it.

It's getting brighter. On the tower of the Xuanwu Gate, the drumming of the dawn stopped, and the cloud board stopped sounding. The gates of the inner city were wide open. The Dashun army began to enter the city in groups from different places, and the Qing court led by Li Guo and Li Yan also came from West Chang'an Street.

When Chongzhen passed by the Imperial Garden, a large black bird fluttered from the ancient cypress tree and flew out of the Forbidden City.

The eunuchs guarding the Xuanwu Gate had fled, and there were only two people left. When they saw the emperor coming, they quickly opened the door and knelt on the side of the road, bowing their heads and not daring to look up.

Chongzhen walked out of the Xuanwu Gate, walked out of the North Gate, crossed the stone bridge, crossed a deserted road, and entered the Banzai Gate and came to the compound of the Coal Mountain. At that time, there were more trees on and around the coal hill than in modern times, and the area was larger. Chongzhen came to the courtyard, at the foot of the west mountain, there was a sika deer that came out of the deer house at night from the grass startled up from the grass and ran into the dense forest.

After Chongzhen dismounted, he ordered Wang Chengen to lead the way in front and take a look at the top of the mountain along the path. Wang Chengen concluded that the "thieves" were coming to the imperial city, and he was anxious in his heart, and persuaded him: "Your Majesty, the sky is already bright, and I don't dare to delay any longer." Chongzhen didn't speak, and walked forward. Wang Chengen saw that he was stubborn and wanted to go to the mountain, so he had to walk in front and lead the way.

No one cared about the royal horse that was thrown down, the saddled saddle of the Seven Treasures had not been removed, the belly belt had not been loosened, the bridle inlaid with gold and jade was still there, and the yellow silk reins were put on the saddle, grazing slowly at the foot of the mountain, waiting for its owner to come back from the same way.

Wang Chengen led Chongzhen from the foot of the West Mountain, divided the branches with his hands, and went up the bumpy path. Since the end of Chongzhen, the state affairs have deteriorated, and the emperor and the concubines have not come to the coal mountain for many years, so the road up the mountain is in disrepair, not only bumpy, but also a lot of wild grass and weeds beside the road. Although the vertical height of the coal mountain is only 14 zhang in the old city measured by modern scientific methods, in the Ming and Qing dynasties, its peak was the highest place in Beijing. Therefore, the rugged path that Chongzhen walked up the mountain now seems to be very long. But I saw that the forest was dense and the mountain road was dark. There are many white cranes inhabited in the dense forest on the coal mountain, just woke up from the residual dream of dawn, a few heard the voice of people going up the mountain, suddenly opened their eyes from the pine and cypress branches, felt surprised, hesitated for a moment, spread their wings and took off, flew to Qiong Island in the North Sea, and sent out a few loud screams in the sky.

The sky was covered with dark clouds, so the sky was clear, but it was slow to brighten, and there were still scattered light rains. The cool breeze suddenly rose, and the pine waves were turbulent. Chongzhen tripped over a stone with his right foot in a panic, and he was caught up in the cold, but fortunately he caught Wang Chengen, who was leading the way in front, and did not fall. After this stumbling, his hair, which had not been combed this morning, was even more disheveled, and the boot on his right foot, which was slightly loose, was lost. After walking a few more steps, he felt a pain in the soles of his feet, and realized that one of the old boots he had temporarily changed was missing. But he didn't look back, nor did he tell Wang Chengen. He thought, he was about to hang himself and be martyred, what was the pain in the soles of his feet!

There are five peaks in the coal mountain, and each peak has a pavilion. They went up to the middle main peak of the coal mountain, which was the highest point of the coal mountain, and at that time it was also the highest point in the whole city of Beijing. There is a flat place less than two zhang square here, and a pavilion is built on it, which is the predecessor of the Shouhuang Pavilion rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty. If it is an ordinary mediocre king who has lost his country, he must be panicked and confused at this time, or cry bitterly, or try to escape, or kill himself quickly, so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy. However, Chongzhen is different. At this moment, he was able to stay calm, no longer crying, and no longer panicked. He first looked at the palaces in the Forbidden City, thinking that this large area of the imperial palace built from the Yongle period and later rebuilt and rebuilt by generations of ancestors is really a Qionglou Yuyu, there is no other place in the world, and from now on, it will no longer belong to him. He was deeply ashamed of his ancestors, and his heart was like a knife, and two lines of tears flowed out. He looked at the western, eastern, and outer cities, and imagined that the "thieves" had begun to rob, rape, and kill people everywhere at this time, and he could not help but feel bitter in his heart, and sighed and said:

"Alas, I am powerless to govern the country, and I have suffered the people of the city in vain!"

Wang Chengen said: "The emperor is really a holy monarch, and at this time he is still thinking about the people of the city!" ”

Chongzhen also said: "Since ancient times, the country has been destroyed, and the monarch has been martyred, and his subjects will die. I have been a monk for three hundred years, and I am deeply gracious, is you the only one who does not forget the grace of the king and does his best for me? ”

"Emperor, the slave and maid dare to speak, in the face of this catastrophe, the ministers inside and outside the Beijing Division, as well as the loyal and righteous people, once they know that the dragon is a guest, there will be many people who will die for the emperor's festival, not just a slave and a minister!"

Chongzhen's heart felt a little comforted, and he suddenly asked, "Where is Prime Minister Wen's ancestral hall?" ”

Wang Chengen pointed to the northeast direction, choked up and said: "In that direction, not far from the Guozijian." The emperor, a loyal minister like Wen Tianxiang who is willing to kill himself can not save the death of the Song Dynasty. Since ancient times, the rise and fall of the country is related to the number of gas, please ask the emperor to open a little, or hurry up and commit suicide, don't wait for the thieves to come to your side! ”

Chongzhen was thinking that Li Banghua, an old minister of the Four Dynasties who had a reputation for loyalty and integrity, had told him yesterday that he would hang himself in the shrine of Prime Minister Wen when the thieves entered the city, and he might have hanged himself at this time. In fact, Li Banghua heard yesterday that Li Zicheng's men and horses had broken through the outer city, so he moved to the ancestral hall of Prime Minister Wen with a servant, ready to commit suicide at any time. This night he kept sighing, crying, and wandering around the room. The more he thought about it, the more he thought that if the emperor adopted his proposal of "moving south", the Ming Dynasty would not have the disaster of today's country. After the siege of Beijing, he even went to the city to inspect the defense situation and was blocked by the eunuchs in the city, thinking about these situations, he secretly cried bitterly in the shaking candlelight.

At dawn, the servants told him that the "thieves" had entered the inner city. He walked to the statue of Wen Tianxiang, made three deep bows, and said with tears in his eyes:

"Banghua is in a national disaster, please follow Mr. underground!"

Then he glanced at the whitewashed whitewashed walls, at the hemp rope that the servant had tied for him on the beam, and at a solitary stool under the rope, and sat down at ease to sharpen the ink and plaster, as if he were chanting something. The faithful servant took a blank piece of paper and laid it on the table, bowed down in a trembling voice, and said:

"The thief has already entered the inner city, please write a will, and the old slave will definitely send a proper servant to Jishui Mansion."

Li Banghua said in his heart: "As a minister of the imperial court, the country has died, what else do you say about Jishui Fuzhong!" ”

He stood up, rolled up the sleeve of his right hand, and inscribed three lines of desperation on the pink wall:

The dignified husband is a disciple of the sages,

Loyalty and filial piety swear to the death,

I am worthy of the order in danger!

Li Banghua is not a poet and has no poetic talent, but these three desperate poems reflect his character and mentality at the time of death.

Before he died, Chongzhen thought of Li Banghua's suggestion to flee to Nanjing, and regretted it too late, and sighed deeply. He didn't tell Wang Chengen about this, turned to the southeast and looked in the southeast direction, and the first thing he saw was the majestic arrow tower of Chongwenmen, and then he saw the ancient observatory. Suddenly, he saw a fire coming from the easterly part of the Chongwen Gate. He shuddered all over, let out an "ah" from his throat, and stared intently at the firelight. In a moment, another flash of fire erupted not far from the firelight. The two fires quickly turned into blazing flames, illuminating a large area of clouds and red in the southeast.

Wang Chengen also looked at the fire in horror, and said to Chongzhen: "Emperor, that fire is the Xinlehou Mansion and the Gongfu Horse Mansion!" It must be that after the thieves entered the Chongwen Gate, they robbed and burned the two royal families first! ”

Chongzhen was still looking at the fire and smoke in the distance, and said in a trembling voice: "Burn well, burn well, what a loyal minister!" ”

Wang Chengen didn't understand what his words meant, and said: "Your Majesty, the more calm you must be at this time, so that you can die calmly." Maybe the thieves have already entered the Chengtian Gate! ”

Chongzhen thought that these two royal relatives must not be able to wait for the palace to raise fire, because the thieves had already entered Chongwenmen, and they could not delay, so they set fire to themselves first. What saddened him the most was that his grandmother was 80 years old and had encountered the disaster of losing her country. Limited to the strict etiquette system of the imperial court, he and his grandmother have the difference between monarchs and ministers, although his grandmother was named Mrs. Yingguo, but never entered the palace, and he did not go to see Mrs. Yingguo, so he has never met his grandmother in his life. Now, due to his death, his grandmother's whole family set themselves on fire, even if my grandmother can not die in the fire, she will only be left in the future, a lonely old woman who is 80 years old, how will she live? ……

Wang Chengen knelt down at his feet and pleaded anxiously: "The emperor is the lord of heroic martyrs, and he died generously, without further ado. If you want to hang yourself, please give an order immediately, and the slave and maid will prepare for the emperor. If it is already bright today, the thieves have probably entered the Forbidden City! ”

In Chongzhen's complex and diverse character, there were originally two qualities, strength and weakness, but when it was time to commit suicide generously, the strong side of his character was particularly prominent, and fear and weakness were gone. He already regarded death as home, knowing that the thieves might have entered the noon gate, but instead behaved very calmly and composedly, which was very different from Wang Chengen's panicked expression. He thought that the palace in the Forbidden City was majestic, the palace courtyard was cloudy, and there were thousands of households, and the thieves entered the Forbidden City to look for his traces everywhere, such as entering a labyrinth, and they would never know that he was on the coal mountain. Thinking like this, he became more and more calm, and whispered to Wang Chengen:

"Don't panic, let me stay a little longer."

Chongzhen continued to stand under the pavilion of the main peak of the coal mountain, holding on to the railing, and staring south, as if he heard the voices of new arrivals in the Forbidden City, but it was not clear. He really had no fear, his mood was very calm, and he secretly comforted himself and said: "This is nothing, the monarch is dead, and the righteousness is right." His mood changed from calm to relaxed, and many past events came to his mind one after another. suddenly remembered an old event in the early years of Chongzhen, as if it was right in front of him. At that time, the world had not yet eroded, and he came here to climb the heights with the queen Hetian and the second concubine Yuan on the Chongyang day, watch the autumn colors, look at the whole city, and drink in the pavilion. Because Chongyang came here to climb the heights in advance, the eunuchs planted many chrysanthemums on the roadside of the mountain and in the courtyard of the sunny mountain for him and the ladies to enjoy. He once thought that in the future, every time there was Chongyang, he would definitely come here with his palace dependents, or go to Qiong Island, climb high to drink, and celebrate the festival. But then the state affairs went bad day by day, not only did he never come here again in Chongyang, but he didn't even have the heart to come to Qiongdao......

Suddenly, he was startled from the memories of the past and returned to what was in front of him. Now, Concubine Tian died early, the queen has committed suicide, Concubine Yuan committed suicide, the eldest princess was cut by him, the little princess was hacked to death by him, the thieves are already in the Forbidden City, and he himself is about to commit suicide. He couldn't think about it any longer, but he felt a pain in his heart, sighed hatefully, looked at the sky and said:

"Oh my God! The ancestors of the three hundred years of the country were lost to me! Lost in my hands! It's a pity that I worked hard, ate and wore clothes, worked hard, dreamed of prosperity, but the ministers were greedy, the generals were afraid of death, there was only a battle for the door in the court, and there was a lack of ministers who shared their worries for me, and in the end they ended up with a tragic disaster of destroying the country and destroying the clan. Once the country is destroyed, personnel are wrong, the mountains and rivers change, where is the reason of heaven! …… Alas, heavens! What is the reason that I am not the king of the country and I am suffering from the disaster of the country? You answer me! You answer me! Answer me! ”

"Emperor, the sky is over, your eyes are closed, and you shouldn't ask. The thieves have entered the Great Interior, and the emperor must not delay! ”

Chongzhen broke out again, touching his head against the pavilion pillar, making a sound, and his hair was even more scattered. Wang Chengen thought that he was going to touch the pillar and die, but he saw that he did not touch the pillar with great force, and he was afraid that he would faint on the mountain, and the enemy soldiers would come, and it would be too late to kill himself. He grabbed Chongzhen's shirt and shouted:

"Your Majesty! Emperor! You can't die like this! It's better to hang yourself! ”

Chongzhen smiled coldly and said, "Yes, I want to be martyred by hanging, and I have decided in my dream yesterday. What is hateful is that I am not the king of the country, but the disaster of the country, and I will not be blind to death! He thought for a moment, and then said, "What you said is that I will hang myself." But I want to ask the sky, ask the earth, why did I destroy the country, what kind of heavenly principle is this? Alas! What kind of heavenly principle is this? Emperor Tianhoutu, please answer me! Answer me! ”

Wang Chengen persuaded: "Your Majesty! The thieves have entered the imperial city, entered the noon gate, the general trend has gone, at this time the sky should not be called, the earth is not spiritual, it is better to die as soon as possible, so as not to fall into the hands of the traitor. ”

Chongzhen calmed down again, sneered on his face, and said, "Don't worry, I will never fall into the hands of thieves!" ”

"The slave is worried about what to ......"

"You don't have to worry! In the Forbidden City, there are thousands of households, and the thieves enter the Forbidden City, and if they can't find me, they will inevitably rob property in the palace and rape the palace maids, and they will never come here soon. I came to this place to die calmly, but there are some things that I have to confide in the emperor and the queen of heaven! ”

"Emperor, the matter has come to this, it's all providence, please don't be too sad!"

Chongzhen suddenly hit his head against the pillar again, then beat his chest and feet, looked up to the sky and cried a few times, and then asked in a hoarse voice:

"The emperor is above, am I a mediocre and unscrupulous king of the dead country? Am I a lewd and drunken lord who ignores the government and government? Am I a weak, incompetent, ignorant, demented, or young and ignorant ruler who allows traitors to rebellious politics? Am I not the wise lord who rises at dawn every day, worships heaven with all my might, abides by the teachings of my ancestors, and always thinks of the best things? …… Oh my! Oh my! And thou hast answered me, Why hast thou forsaken me, that I may have come to this fate? Why is the emperor so ruthless? Why are you unreasonable! You said! You said! …… I can't call the heavens, are you deaf? It's really a godly emperor! Deaf! ”

A dull thunder rolled overhead, and a cold wind blew. He heard some strange noise in the woods, and thought that someone had entered the courtyard, so he shuddered, and quickly turned to look north. The sky in the compound was getting brighter. He saw that the courtyard was empty, there was no one, and due north was the Shouhuang Palace, the door of the palace was closed, and there was no light in the window, because there were a few pine trees in front of the palace, which was even more gloomy. He was staring at the Shouhuang Palace, and there seemed to be some noise coming from the hall, and then there seemed to be a strange faint cry. Since the palace has often been haunted recently, he suddenly understood: this is a ghost crying! This is Devil Cry! It's to cry for his country! It's to cry for his martyrdom!

He turned to the south to see how the thieves robbed and killed people in the palace. As in the past, it was already dark at this time, but this morning because of the low clouds, it was still very dark in the long alleys in the palace courtyard. He suddenly stared at the direction of the Qianqing Palace, and could only see the shadow of the palace shrouded in dark clouds, and he couldn't see any figures. He asked in his mind:

"The ministers naturally escaped from the palace, can those palace maids escape? Can Wei Qinghui escape? A gust of north wind blew the cold rain into the pavilion, Chongzhen looked up to the sky and sighed, and suddenly choked up on Wang Chengen and said, "Ah, I understand!" It's strange that the sky this morning was so gloomy, the cold wind was miserable, and there were two light rains, it turned out that the heavens and the earth couldn't bear to see my dead country, and they wept miserably! ”

Wang Chengen sensed from some unusual voices that many of Li Zicheng's troops had entered the Forbidden City, and sensed that many people had fled from the Xuanwu Gate in a hurry, running westward, and some running east. He stood up anxiously and said to Chongzhen:

"There are already a lot of thieves who have entered the Ouchi, and the emperor can't delay any longer!" He already understood that the emperor had decided to hang himself, and said: "Emperor, if the Holy Heart has decided to hang himself, this pavilion is on the main peak of the coal mountain, which is the highest place in Beijing, can he hang himself in this pavilion?" ”

Chongzhen did not answer. At this moment, he looked due south from the highest place where he was standing, not facing Kunning Palace, Qianqing Palace, and the three major halls, but facing the Fengxian Hall in the Forbidden City and the Taimiao Temple outside the Forbidden City, and the towering halls and tall tree shadows in these two places appeared in front of his eyes. He believes that he has lost the country left by his ancestors, and should not hang himself in front of his ancestors' temples. He had chosen a place to hang himself, but he didn't say anything. Although he had reached the moment of suicide and was very sad about the loss of his country, he was still delirious and was thinking about many problems. He suddenly thought about it, as if he felt a little liberated from the sea of suffering, thinking that after seventeen years of hard work for state affairs, he only got a rest today, and he no longer had to worry about going to the underworld. But this idea of liberation from the sea of suffering suddenly fluctuated again. He recalled that the Ming Dynasty that he inherited from the age of seventeen was a mess of state collapse, so that no matter how hard he struggled, he could only extend the Ming Dynasty for seventeen years, but he could not see Zhongxing. When Wang Chengen urged him to hang himself in this pavilion again, he happened to think that he had dreamed day and night for more than ten years to become the "master of Zhongxing" of the Ming Dynasty, but now he had lost the country, and he sighed and said:

"Seventeen years...... All came to naught! ”

Chongzhen's gaze crossed the Forbidden City, and he saw a burst of fire suddenly appear not far from Chongwenmen, and he knew that this was his cousin Liu Wenbing, the Marquis of Xinle. He guessed that it was his cousin's family who set themselves on fire for him. Although he also felt grief in his heart, he also felt little relief, and said secretly:

"Die well, die well, really be a loyal minister!"

However, he couldn't help but be anxious when he didn't see another fire, and thought in his heart: "Could it be that Gong Yonggu is deeply favored by the country, but he refuses to do his best for the court?" ”

In fact, a moment after Liu Wenbing's family set themselves on fire, Gong Yonggu also ordered his servants to light the firewood and grass that had been stacked in the hall of the Horse Mansion in advance, and suddenly the smoke enveloped the coffin of Princess An Le in the hall of the temporary house, engulfing the five young children who were tied around the coffin with ribbons. Gong Yonggu, who had a strong personality, could not bear to listen to the painful cries of the five children and hundreds of people in the courtyard again, and at the same time the fire was already burning his robe, he drew his sword, glanced at the princess coffin and the children in the fire, and cried out: "I shouldn't have ......" and killed himself, and fell into the fire.

Wang Chengen urged again: "Where the emperor was martyred, please decide quickly, don't delay any longer!" ”

"Well, no more delays. You follow me, you follow me! ”

From this time until he hanged himself, Chongzhen behaved as if he had just woken up from a big dream, and his attitude was unusually calm. There are no useless words of indignation and accusation, no more weeping and whimpering, no more sighs, no more tears.

He took Wang Chengen away from the main peak of Coal Mountain and went down the mountain to the east. After two more pavilions and about three zhang away, the path down the mountain was broken. During the Chongzhen period, only Chongzhen and the concubines came here to climb here by chance during the Double Ninth Festival, so there is only one path to climb the coal mountain, which has been in disrepair for a long time, and there is no road in the east, which is very secluded. Chongzhen ordered Wang Chengen to walk in front, separate the branches with his hands for him, and walk to the foot of the East Mountain. Halfway through, his yellow satin hat was hung by branches, and his hair was hung even more messily. At the foot of the mountain, there is an ancient locust tree and a small locust tree, not far apart, which are sprouting. Around the two locust trees, a few feet away, there were many miscellaneous trees, as well as last year's dead grass mixed with this spring's new grass. It is clear that the royal plants and trees do not care about the rise and fall of the country and the vicissitudes of the world, and they still sprout and turn green in spring.

A few years ago, state affairs were not out of control. In the late spring of the year, the weather is mild, Chongzhen is happy for a while, and the concubines come to see the peony in front of the Yongshou Palace. After reading it, Zhou Hou sat with Concubine Yuan in the Shouhuang Palace to eat tea and gossip, he took Concubine Tian to the foot of the coal mountain to take a leisurely walk, found this place, liked that this place is very quiet, and said to Concubine Tian:

"In the future, the war will subside, see the peace again, I will build a small pavilion in the middle of these two locust trees, a few feet in front of the planting of a few bushes of green willows, the time of all opportunities, you come to this pavilion to rest, play chess and play the piano, and enjoy the fun of peace and quiet!"

Since his beloved concubine Tianhuang walked here, this thing, this place, and this wish have always been kept in mind in his heart, so he chose to die here today. Came to the bottom of the ancient locust tree, he told Wang Chengen that he could commit suicide calmly here, and then untied the silk silk and asked Wang Chengen to tie it to the branch of the locust tree for him. "Chongzhen is just because a horizontal branch to the south is thicker, only more than one person high, and it is more convenient to hang himself, and there is no other meaning. But he and Wang Chengen both thought of the allusion of "Nanke Dream" at the same time. Wang Chengen's heart moved, and he didn't dare to speak. Chongzhen smiled miserably, sighed and said:

"The death of the country today is out of the will of heaven, not my sin. Seventeen years of dismal operation, always want to ZTE. However, the number of great bright qi has been exhausted, and everything has backfired and cannot be recovered. Seventeen years of ZTE's wish is just a dream of Nanke! ”

When Wang Chengen heard this, he deeply sympathized with the emperor and was very sad in his heart, but he did not make a sound, and quickly found a few bricks from the wild grass to put his feet, tied the yellow silk silk to the branch of the locust tree to the south for the emperor, and untied the green silk silk silk around his waist, and tied another hanging rope noose on a small locust branch next to him. At this time, Wang Chengen heard a noisy voice coming from above and below the Xuanwu Gate, and what particularly frightened him was that the Shaanxi accent asked Chongzhen aloud outside the Beimen Gate where Chongzhen had fled. Wang Chengen didn't understand how to urge the emperor to hang himself quickly, so he bowed to the emperor and asked:

"What else does the emperor command?"

Chongzhen shook his head and smiled miserably again: "It's okay." The queen is waiting, it's time for me to go. ”

He really had no fear of death at this time, and he had no extra words to talk about, and he knew that the "thief soldiers" had already occupied the Forbidden City, and some of them had gone out of the Xuanwu Gate and the North Gate in order to search for him, and if he took a step forward, he would enter the Coal Mountain Courtyard, and he must not delay any longer. So he looked calm, turned around and walked to the ancient locust tree, held the tree with his hand, and climbed the pile of bricks on the foot. He pulled the apricot yellow silk silk on the horizontal branch, felt very firm, and was about to hang himself, Wang Chengen shouted:

"Emperor, please wait, let the slave maid fix the emperor's hair!"

"Forget it, just cover your face with your hair. I have no face to see the two ancestors in the ground! ”

Chongzhen simply spread more long hair over his face, then inserted his head into the silk ring, kicked down the brick pile with both feet, let go of the hands that grabbed the silk silk, and fell, and the hanging body shook violently, never moving again.

Wang Chengen saw that the emperor had lost his breath, knelt down and kowtowed to the dead corpse three times, and said, "Emperor, please wait for a while, and let the slave and maid go with you!" Facing east again, he bowed three times to his mother, then got up and hanged himself from the branch of a small locust tree not far away.

The light rain stopped. The north wind stopped. The birds do not chirp, and the branches do not move. The compound of Coal Mountain was as quiet as usual. Suddenly, a Shaanxi accent came from outside the Xuanwu Gate, saying that many corpses floated up in the moat of Xihuamen, and maybe Chongzhen also threw himself into the water and died.

After Chongzhen left the Xuanwu Gate, the news immediately spread from the Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace to several adjacent palaces, and then spread throughout the Forbidden City. At that time, except for a few palace maids such as Wei Qinghui in the Qianqing Palace, they didn't know that the emperor went out of the palace to commit suicide, and the general palace maids thought that he had escaped from the palace.

The court maids of the Ming Dynasty were elected to the palace, generally before the age of ten. Most of them are from various prefectures and counties in Kifu, and once they enter the palace, they do not have a day to see their parents and family members again. Unless there is a national anniversary, out of the "emperor's grace", some of the older palace maids are released from the palace, brought back by their families, and married on their own, but there are few such opportunities, and most palace maids can only be closed in the palace for life until they die of old age. Due to their special circumstances, once they die, there is no way to escape.

Wu Wanrong of Kunning Palace and Wei Qinghui of Qianqing Palace, not only because they were the palace maids in charge of the emperor and queen respectively, but also because they were plain and well-versed in Dali and decent, they were deeply respected by all the palace maids. After Li Zicheng broke through the Juyong Pass, the police message came, and they agreed with each other when they met that once Beijing was lost and the emperor and queen were martyred, they would follow the festival and never steal their lives and be tainted by "thieves". They are all from good families, they were elected to the palace at the age of eight or nine, grew up in the palace, read and read in the palace, regarded loyalty as the highest principle of righteousness, and regarded women's chastity as more precious than life. But on the matter of chastity, they had a different idea about the emperor. According to their moral standards, a woman's body is not allowed to be touched by any man unless she is her husband, but the palace ladies do not have such a concept of chastity for the emperor. If they receive a little emotional affection from the emperor, and are looked at by the emperor with a smile in his eyes, they will think that it is the emperor's grace from heaven; If the emperor occasionally holds his hand or holds it in his arms, it is considered a rare favor; If you are called to stay with Yangdezhai for one night, that kind of thing is called "summoning luck", and the eunuch who is still sleeping will have to register the matter in the Yellow Silk Book, and may soon be titled, or at the latest after giving birth to a child. Wei Qinghui had been favored by the emperor before her death, but she was not "lucky". She knew in her heart that if the country did not die, she would be "lucky" by the emperor and get the title. This hazy favor made her even more determined to die.

Last night, when Chongzhen rode out of the noon gate, the queen didn't know what had happened, and ordered Wu Wanrong to come to the Qianqing Palace to ask Wei Qinghui what was going on. Taking advantage of this meeting, Wu Wanrong whispered:

"Sister Qinghui, the outer city has fallen, and I heard that the defenders of the city opened the city gate themselves to welcome the thieves into the city. The inner city could not be defended, and it was expected to fall into the hands of thieves. Once the inner city falls, we are all deeply favored by the emperor, and there is no reason to steal life and lose moderation. Three palaces and six courtyards, big and small, are all looking at you and me. Once the thieves enter the Forbidden City, the palace is in a panic, you are the housekeeper of the Qianqing Palace, and the prestige is the highest, at that time, Sister Wei, you have to make up your mind for everyone! ”

Wei Qinghui held Wu Wanrong's hand tightly and whispered, "Wanrong, what you said is very true. When it came time to die in the country, thousands of us were sisters and sisters, and there was no way to live. Duren are different from eunuchs. The eunuchs could escape from the palace, and there was a place to stay temporarily, and there was no humiliation or disgrace. These thousands of sisters were all selected into the palace before the age of ten, the younger ones were in the deep closed palace for nearly ten years, and the older ones were in the deep closed palace for more than ten to twenty years, and they never saw their parents and family members again, and they didn't know what relatives and fellow villagers they had in Beijing. They have nowhere to hide, they will be humiliated if they stay in the palace, and they will be humiliated when they go out of the palace to meet bad people, and it is better to die if they are humiliated. The sisters of Duren are unfortunate to be born as daughters, second are unfortunately elected to the palace, and third are unfortunate to encounter the tragedy of the country......" She suddenly couldn't speak, and couldn't help but whimper.

Wu Wanrong couldn't help but burst into tears, and said in a trembling voice: "Sister Wei, say it quickly, I can't leave the queen's side for too long." ”

Wei Qinghui continued: "I already thought about it a few days ago. The city is broken, the emperor and the queen will be martyred, and we will all die together for the emperor and the queen. All palaces and courtyards are full of sisters, and those who are ambitious can do their best with us, but not reluctantly, you can come to me when the time comes. Also, Fei Zhen'e also talked to me about the festival, don't look at her young age, but she understands righteousness and is quite strong. You must call Fei Zhen'e to come along, I will wait outside the Qianqing Gate. ”

Wu Wanrong said: "The palace maids of Kunning Palace and Shouning Palace are deeply favored by the queen on weekdays, and they are all willing to do their best when the time comes. Zhen'e is knowledgeable and reasonable, and talks with me privately on weekdays, I know that her mind has been decided, and she has no hesitation in doing so, of course I want to ask her to come to Qianqingmen to find you. ”

Wei Qinghui said again: "Zhen'e is a person who went out of the Qianqing Palace, her appearance is outstanding, and she is deeply loved by the emperor. We must not leave Zhen'e to the thieves! ”

Wu Wanrong nodded and said, "I understand, I understand." Just to repay the emperor's special kindness, the tip must also be exhausted. ”

……

After this conversation at the time of the third watch last night, the two palace maids never had a chance to talk again. Today's fifth watch, after Emperor Chongzhen left the palace from the Xuanwu Gate, Wu Wanrong really left only four older palace maids to guard the queen's body, and all the other palace maids followed her to the Qianqing Gate and met with the Qianqing palace maids who were beside Wei Qinghui. Immediately, most of the palace maids from Shouning Palace, Zhongcui Palace, and Chengqian Palace came. Yikun Palace Because Emperor Yuan's concubine did not die, the palace maids couldn't bear to leave their masters and didn't come. Some palaces do not have much contact with Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace on weekdays, and the news is closed, and many palace maids do not come. Before dawn, there were about 300 palace maids gathered at the Qianqing Gate.

Fei Zhen'e came with some of the palace maids of Shouning Palace. She stood beside Wu Wanrong, waiting for Wei Qinghui's instructions, and she was so nervous that she couldn't breathe. Suddenly, Wei Qinghui stood on the steps of the Qianqing Gate and said loudly to everyone:

"Duren sisters, we are blessed by the royal family, born as Ming people, and died as Ming ghosts. As a woman, chastity must not be lost. The moat outside Xihua Gate, the river water is clear and deep, and it is a good place for us to do so. The thieves are about to enter the Forbidden City, and all the aspiring sisters are coming with me! ”

Wei Qinghui jumped down the steps, holding Wu Wanrong with her left hand and Fei Zhen'e with her right hand, and ran south from the front of the inner right door.

Running from the Qianqing Gate to the Xihua Gate, you should generally go west first, turn to the inner right gate and go south, pass through the back right gate, then pass through the middle right gate, and finally pass through the Xuanzhi Gate, and have to turn to the southeast, cross the Jinshui River Bridge between the Huangji Gate and the Wuji Gate, in order to go west to run out of the Guiji Gate, bypass the Wuying Gate to the Xihua Gate. If you go this way, you have to go up to the high platform three times, and then go down the high platform. Although the palace maids are not very particular about binding their feet, they are still bound after all, and if they stagger to this road to go outside the Xihua Gate, they must have sore feet before they reach the Xihua Gate, their legs are weak, they can't run, and they don't reach the moat. In addition, if the palace maids ran to the front yard of the Huangji Gate and encountered "thieves" entering the noon gate, wouldn't they throw themselves into the tiger's mouth? Therefore, Wei Qinghui took everyone to the west from the front of the inner right gate, walked out of the Longzong Gate, and then went all the way to the south, and then crossed a Jinshui Bridge between the red wall of the Wuying Hall and the Chonglou, bypassed the Jinshui River in the south of the Wuying Gate, and then ran out of the Xihua Gate. Walking this road, you can not only avoid going up and down the high platform three times, but even if the enemy soldiers enter the palace from the noon gate, they will not meet head-on. Wei Qinghui chose this route for everyone in the boiling harem and the panic of the crowd, which shows that she is worthy of being the "housekeeper wife" next to Emperor Chongzhen, and has the highest prestige among thousands of palace maids.

What surprises us is that the system in the palace of the Ming Dynasty is very strict, unlike the palace maids of the Tang and Song dynasties who can go to the court with them. The scope of their activities is limited to the inner palace, and never to the outer court. The three major halls, the Wenhua Hall and the Wuying Palace, are all within the scope of the outer courts. In the past few days, Wei Qinghui has not only thought that she will set herself on fire with the emperor, but also often thinks that she will lead the palace maids to run out of Xihua Gate and commit suicide by throwing herself into the water. Although she lived in the harem and had never been to the vast forbidden area south of the Qianqing Palace, where palace maids were not allowed to go, she knew that the three major halls and the Huangji Gate were all built on a pedestal more than a zhang high from the ground. She knew very well that the emperor went to the Wuying Hall to summon the ministers from the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace, and did not take the side door built on the high pedestal on the right side of the three major halls, but turned right out of the Qianqing Gate, and went straight to the south through the Longzong Gate, and she also knew that not far from the Wuying Palace was the Xihua Gate, and the Xihua Gate was a wide and deep moat. For three days, she had been thinking about the possibility of leading a group of palace maids and sisters to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the moat, so she had already considered this path to Xihuamen.

When she started to set off from Qianqingmen, Wei Qinghui held Wu Wanrong and Fei Zhen'e's hands tightly, but because of the large number of people traveling with her, the situation was very chaotic, Wei Qinghui had to stop from time to time and greet everyone, so as not to leave someone behind and someone go the wrong way. Because Wu Wanrong is the head of the palace maids of Kunning Palace, she has a particularly close relationship with the palace maids of several palaces such as Chengqian Palace, Yikun Palace, the Prince's Zhongcui Palace, and the Princess's Shouning Palace, and she can't stop from time to time to take care of these sisters. Walking out of the land of Longzong Gate, not far from Baoning Gate, Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong and Fei Zhen'e were no longer hand in hand. When she let go of Fei Gongren's hand, she said a particularly affectionate sentence:

"Zhen'e, we are all people who have received the special grace of the emperor, you and I will join us when we cast the moat, and we will hold hands on the Huangquan Road!"

The so-called "receiving the emperor's special grace" is not understood by anyone among the palace maids, and Wu Wanrong only knows a little. Fei Zhen'e's heart was shocked, but she didn't make a sound. She followed behind the Wei palace people and continued to walk forward, and when she reached the halfway point, she suddenly said hatefully in her heart:

"I am deeply favored by the emperor, and I can't repay it, so I am unwilling to die by throwing myself into the river in vain!"

Then, her pace began to slow down. Many known maids passed over her. She continued to walk with the group, but her heart was more hesitant and her steps were more slow. In the blink of an eye, the distance between her and Wei Qinghui widened, and the distance between her and Wu Wanrong also widened.

When a large group of palace maids rushed by in a panic from the south side of the Jinshui River in front of Wuying's gate, the sky was already bright. More than a dozen eunuchs came out of the Guiji Gate (Youshun Gate) and said to the palace maids while fleeing to the Xihua Gate: "Flee quickly, the thieves have already entered the noon gate!" When the palace ladies heard the news, many of them had weak legs, and some of them could not walk by holding on to the pine trees. Wei Qinghui called and urged again, and led everyone to Xihuamen to continue running.

The eunuchs guarding the Xihua Gate had already fled, and more than a dozen eunuchs who had escaped from the noon gate also rushed out of the Xihua Gate and ran west across the stone bridge. Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong both arrived outside the Xihua Gate and stood there waiting for everyone. Two or three hundred palace maids came, but they didn't see Fei Zhen'e running out of Xihua Gate. After waiting for a while, Wei Qinghui ran back to the Xihua Gate, looked at the empty courtyard and shouted three times, but no one answered. She heard many voices in the courtyard inside the noon gate, but she didn't know where Fei Zhen'e had gone by mistake. She loves Fei Zhen'e and cares about Fei Zhen'e, for fear that Fei Zhen'e will fall into the hands of thieves. I couldn't hear Fei Zhen'e's answer, and my heart was in a hurry, and I almost burst into tears. After taking a few more steps forward, she shouted twice at the small courtyard of Nanxun Temple: "Zhen'e! Zhen'e! There was still no response. Wu Wanrong suddenly ran over, grabbed Wei Qinghui, and said hurriedly:

"Qinghui, don't call it anymore, if you delay it any longer, you will miss a big event!"

Wei Qinghui was ruthless, and followed Wu Wanrong to turn around and run out of Xihuamen again. She rolled out tears of sadness and resentment as she ran, and couldn't help but say to Wu Wanrong:

"I really didn't expect that Fei Zhen'e was a person who was greedy for life and afraid of death, didn't remember the emperor's grace, and was willing to lose his temper in the hands of thieves!"

When Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong returned to Xihua Gate, the two or three hundred palace maids were waiting for them in a panic, but it could be seen that many people were no longer as generous and determined to die without regrets as they were when they set off from Qianqingmen. At this time, a human voice with a Shaanxi accent came from the Guiji Gate, as if a "thief" asked the eunuch he met about the road in the palace loudly. Wei Qinghui glanced at Wu Wanrong, and then shouted to the palace maids:

"Sisters, the thieves have arrived, come with me with ambition!"

She ran to the river and jumped into the water. Wu Wanrong jumped into the water the second. Immediately after, there were about thirty palace maids who jumped into the water, mostly people from Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace. But nine out of ten palace maids refused to throw themselves into the water, and fled for their lives in panic. Most of them ran across the stone bridge and ran towards South and North Long Streets. Some palace maids vaguely remembered where they lived in the capital with fellow villagers or relatives, and when they asked for directions, the residents knew that the Forbidden City had fallen and that the emperor had escaped from the palace before dawn. The other part of the palace maids had nowhere to go, so they had to retreat to the Xihua Gate, follow the original path and run back to their palace, resigned to fate.

Soon after the deaths of Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong, the soldiers in charge of the Qing Palace led by Li Guo occupied the entire Forbidden City and sent troops to guard the four gates of the Forbidden City. The Wuying Hall and the Renzhi Hall behind it were booked as the temporary places where the Dashun Emperor was stationed, and a team of soldiers and eunuchs were specially sent to clean up and sort out various furnishings. The water drop place of the palace maids is close to the Wuying Palace. Before the arrival of the new emperor's holy car, more than 30 corpses were salvaged. In the afternoon, according to the traditional method in the palace, the body was sent to the palace for cremation.

It is already after the Guyu Festival, the tender green and new yellow willow silk on the moat bank hangs low as in previous years, swaying gently in the breeze, the birds chirp as in the spring of previous years, the carefree swallows still fly with their wings, and some whisper among the willow branches.