Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 116 The Jiashen Rebellion
In the northern part of Shanxi in spring and February, there is a lonely, heavy snow, layer after layer, and the air is full of depression.

Since the fall of Pingyang in Shanxi, Hejin, Jishan, and Xinghe have also fallen.

At the beginning of February, Liu Zongmin crossed the Yellow River, broke through Fenzhou, inspected Hequ and Jingle, attacked Taiyuan, captured Jin Wang Zhu Qiugui, and governor Cai Maode was killed.

Li Zicheng set up a grand car, carried the sedan chair at 81, and selected an auspicious time—it was the right time. He drove into the city from the southern suburbs and lived in the Prince Jin's mansion.

Before that, Liu Zongmin took [-] cavalrymen and copied the king of Jin and other wealthy gentry families, and obtained a lot of money to reward the three armies.

"The big thing is bad—"

Just as civil and military officials gathered together to share the joy of victory, suddenly General Guoyi Wu Ruyi broke into the hall:

"Your Majesty, the urgent document submitted by Zehou from Chang'an."

Li Zicheng frowned.

"Presumptuous—" Seeing Niu Jinxing, he said angrily, "Why did you come in without calling?"

"what?"

Wu Ruyi was taken aback, seeing that Li Zicheng's complexion was not good, he hurriedly apologized.

"Forget it!" Li Zicheng sighed: "Present it."

There are no rules at all, I am the emperor.

Soon, the documents were spread out by Li Zicheng.

I saw that it reported three things:
Old Huihui died of illness.

Zhang Xianzhong entered Shu.

Xiangyang was besieged.

Immediately, the letter was passed on.

"Your Majesty, Beijing is in sight, so what is a little Xiangyang?"

Song Xiance said hastily: "The most important thing now is to take Beijing and replace Ming Dynasty with Shun. In this way, only one edict is needed, and the world will naturally be peaceful."

Li Yan, Niu Jinxing and others all agreed.

With the enthusiasm of setting the world, Li Zicheng couldn't wait to say:

"Then leave him alone, let's set off immediately and take down the city of Beijing."

At this moment, his eyes were filled with eagerness.

Everyone is equally impatient to live in Beijing City.

Immediately, Chuangjun was like a broken bamboo.

On February [-]th, soldiers came to Ningwu Pass.

On the first day of March, Zhou Yuji, the general of Ningwu, vowed to resist, and the city was hard to rush. More than [-] people were killed and injured by the intruding army, and the city was massacred with heavy casualties.

That night, Jiang Guan, the commander-in-chief of Datong, surrendered, and Wang Chengyin, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, also arrived.

On the [-]th, the Dashun Army marched into Xuanfu.

On the [-]th, the garrison of Juyongguan, the gateway to the northwest of Beijing, the eunuch Du Zhizhi and the general Tang Tong surrendered without a fight, and Li Zicheng's army drove straight in.

In this way, the number of soldiers of the Shun Army continued to expand, from 300,000 to more than [-].

……

But at this time, the city of Beijing was in chaos.

On the streets in February, there are few people, the branches and leaves have fallen, and only dead trees are left. It seems like the end of the world.

There was panic in the palace, and tens of thousands of people in the city left Beijing with their families.

The panicked Emperor Chongzhen once again issued his own edict.

He also issued an order to Qin Wang, ordering the army from all over the world to come to Qin Wang.

Helpless, he asked the princes and nobles to donate, but the result was only 200,000 taels.

He summoned Li Mingrui, a Hanlin scholar, for the second time to inquire about moving south.

Li Mingrui persuaded him tirelessly: "Your Majesty can go to Shandong to pay homage to the Confucian Temple under the pretense. As long as you arrive in Huai'an, you will be safe and sound."

Chongzhen looked hesitant, but he was quite inquiring about the stations, army, and canal along the way.

Li Mingrui urged earnestly and earnestly: "The destiny is so secret, you should break the sacred heart inside, and don't cause the worry of biting the navel."

As a last resort, the court meeting was held again.

The topic is also very straightforward: how to solve the crisis in Gyeonggi.

"Li Mingrui advised me to move south. The monarch died in Sheji, where will I go? He also advised me to let the crown prince go to Nanjing first. What do you think?"

Emperor Chongzhen looked at his ministers expectantly.

Chen Yan frowned, he had always opposed the "south move", and signaled to the military department to give him time to do it.

Guang Shiheng understood, and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, please kill Li Mingrui.

If you don't kill Li Mingrui, it's not enough to stabilize the hearts of the people; if you don't kill Li Mingrui, how can you rule the world! "

To put it bluntly, Guang Shiheng strongly demanded to follow Yu Qian's example and guard the capital.

Therefore, the meaning of moving south is nothing more than that.

Up and down the court, people's hearts are all turned south.

On March [-], the news came that Li Zicheng's troops were approaching Juyongguan and took Changping where the imperial tomb was located.

Therefore, the court meeting was held again, and Du Xun, the eunuch who guarded the mausoleum in Changping, also participated in the court meeting.

He was sent by Li Zicheng to negotiate terms.

Facing the ministers and the emperor, Du Xun trembled and prostrated, trembling:

"Thieve Li said three things. One is to rule the northwest as king, and the other is to pay millions of troops to the army. Finally, he hopes that the court will suppress the thieves and keep the captives, and listen to the instructions instead of the announcement..."

After listening, Chongzhen's eyelids twitched a little, looking at the ministers with tired eyes.

To be honest, this condition is not bad, the Northwest has long been gone, it is barren, and money does not matter.

But, if I agree, wouldn't I be Song Huizong?

After a long time, he opened his mouth and said:

"What do you gentlemen think?"

Facing Chongzhen's inquiry, the ministers remained silent.

This is looking for a scapegoat again!

Everyone is too familiar with Emperor Chongzhen's consistent practice.

Whenever there was a major event, the emperor always pushed the ministers to the front of the screen to sing.

If the opera singing is successful, it can be attributed to his "heavenly wisdom, sageness, and discretion".

The lessons learned from the past are vivid in my mind.

In the 15th year of Chongzhen, the emperor secretly dispatched Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, to discuss with the Qing army a collegial matter.

Unexpectedly, the leak caused an uproar inside and outside the court.

Chongzhen became furious and killed Chen Xinjia without hesitation, regardless of the persuasion of ministers Zhou Yanru, Chen Yan and others.

It's too decisive to unload the mill and kill the donkey.

Not getting a response at this time, Chongzhen sighed secretly in his heart, but he couldn't bear to lose face.

His eyelids trembled, and he was anxious, so he turned his head and looked at Wei Zaode, the chief assistant of the cabinet: "This matter is urgent, you can decide it yourself."

(Zhang Yanzhi's death is not far away, and he resigned at the end of February)

"My minister, I would like to listen to the holy order!"

Wei Zaode was born as the No. 13 scholar in Chongzhen for [-] years, but in just four years, he served as the chief assistant, which can be described as a miracle in the officialdom.

He has always been very eloquent and eloquent, but at this moment, he shut up and pouted his buttocks without saying a word.

"I'm asking Qing's family for any suggestions?" Chongzhen couldn't help asking again and again, Wei Zaode was like a dumb man, kneeling on the ground with his butt sticking out...

Chongzhen felt that he was mad, and overturned the dragon chair, "push the emperor to sit on the ground".

"Then, reject the conditions of the intruder."

Now, all the ministers were in an uproar.

The ministers were dumbfounded, and really couldn't understand the emperor's operation.

The court was in chaos.

Only Wang Cheng'en, who was at the side, understood the emperor's mind quite well.

He couldn't hold back his face and refused to bear the infamy.

Finally, he's betting.

The city of Beijing was also besieged in the second year of Chongzhen. King Qin's division arrived and relieved the siege.

In addition to the orthodox year and the Jiajing year, Emperor Chongzhen had a great luck in making three consecutive rescues.

Moreover, as early as the fifth day of March, he granted Wu Sangui the title of Xibo Ping, granted his request to abandon Ningyuan City and enter Shanhaiguan, and urgently ordered him King Qin.

Therefore, as long as Wu Sangui is king, the capital will be saved.

only……

Wang Chengen left with the angry emperor, and after holding back for a long time, he couldn't help but say:

"My lord, Wu Sangui's relocation to Ningyuan and the number of 100,000 people entering the customs could not have been resolved in a short period of time. Moreover, Shanhaiguan is more than [-] miles away from the capital, and the messengers came back and forth, plus marching. It took more than ten days to arrive..."

Hearing this, Chongzhen was silent for a long time.

"Slave servants are damned to lie about government affairs!"

"No, you're right."

Chongzhen sighed, his voice hoarse: "It's just that I would rather be a king of a subjugated country than a prisoner of a subjugated country."

After the court discussion ended, Chongzhen's mind changed a lot. In the entire court, he didn't even have a person to discuss.

"I am not a king of subjugation, they are all ministers of subjugation, idiots."

In desperation, he decided to hand over all the military power to defend the palace and city gates to the eunuchs.

Not long after the oral order was issued, he came to the city gate in person to inspect the defense.

However, the result disappointed him greatly.

The plague was rampant, corruption was prevalent, coupled with years of mobilization, more than half of the soldiers in the Beijing camp were killed or injured, and there were less than [-] weak soldiers.

The Beijing Army had nearly [-] war horses, and only [-] horses were left to ride.

You know, forty-nine cities and tens of miles, 150,000 crenels, one hundred and eighty thousand are not enough.

On the city tower, thousands of old, weak and remnant soldiers lacked food and clothing, and were skinny. Most of them lay down and fell asleep when they went up to the city tower, and no one seriously defended them.

Seeing the emperor coming, the officer supervising the battle was so anxious that he whipped him.

But when one got up, the other lay down again, without giving the emperor any face.

Zhu Youjian's face was livid: "Okay, okay, the majestic Beijing camp is full of things like this."

The majestic emperor of Ming Dynasty couldn't even do anything to ordinary soldiers.

Only now did he truly understand that his own Daming was really rotten to the bone.

At this moment, he missed Sun Chuanting, Sun Chengzong and others very much.

Leaving the city gate disappointed, Zhu Youjian felt more and more sad.

The splendid and majestic Forbidden City is home to tens of thousands of people. At this time, there is a feeling of loneliness. The afterglow of the setting sun casts down, and its shadow becomes more and more slender.

Wang Chengen saw it in his eyes, felt pain in his heart, and hurriedly supported him: "Master, it's better to go back to eat, you haven't eaten all day."

"I can not eat!"

Zhu Youjian's temples were gray, his face was ashen, and he had no energy at all.

The once majestic and heroic, vowed, but now, has become a loner, betrayed by all.

In the huge Forbidden City, he felt extremely sad.

The palace maids and eunuchs who passed by walked fast, and they were extremely perfunctory to the emperor, obviously trying to escape for their lives.

Zhu Youjian was surprised, what was he running away from at this time?
Wang Chengen directly stopped him for questioning, and the maid said: "Your Majesty, the intruders have already started to attack the Nine Gates, and it is rumored that the three major battalions of the Beijing Camp have already surrendered the thieves."

"what?"

Zhu Youjian's expression became even more ugly. The Nine Gates are where the outer city is located, and the three major battalions have surrendered to the bandits. Obviously, Beijing really can't hold it anymore.

Thinking of this, he hurriedly said: "Get out of the palace!"

Wang Chengen hurriedly responded, prepared his car and left Miyagi.

The slightly crude frame, walking on the imperial road, Zhu Youjian's eyes are full of desolation.

I saw that those relatives of the emperor, honorable and high-ranking officials closed their doors one by one, as if they were isolated from the city, forming a world of their own.

"Send someone to knock!"

Immediately, Wang Chengen had someone beat him, and even if the name of the emperor was mentioned, no one answered the door.

Zhu Youjian sighed: "Go back, it seems that they have made a decision."

Zhu Youjian couldn't help but sneered at the fact that these nobles and relatives who were living with the country were like this at this time:
"I've read history books, and I've never seen it. It's ridiculous, ridiculous that the nobles of the previous dynasty can inherit the wealth of the new dynasty."

As he spoke, he boarded Meishan, looked from a distance, and saw the area around Anhuamen, which was also surrounded by beacon fires.

"Is that the gate guarded by Fang Zhenghua? Has he surrendered too?"

Zhu Youjian said sadly.

Wang Chengen glanced over, bowed his head and said, "I don't know."

"It's just a pity for my people."

Zhu Youjian sighed deeply: "I have been in the imperial court for seventeen years, and I have never been kind to the people. Now, in the end, I have caused them to suffer, alas——"

After wandering for a long time, he seemed to think of something, it was already dark, and he returned to Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, intruders have entered the city."

At this time, the eunuch Wang Lian ran over in a hurry, crying.

"I know."

Zhu Youjian nodded numbly, and after drinking two glasses of wine, his face turned slightly rosy.

"Your Majesty, your status is valuable, so you should vote!" Zhang Yin, the eunuch who was waiting on the side, couldn't help but said.

"Surrender? Live?"

Zhu Youjian's numb expression changed, and he suddenly became irritable: "I think you want to live!"

As he said that, without waiting for the latter's reaction, he directly pulled out the guard's waist knife, killing him with one stroke, bleeding profusely.

"Pooh--"

Looking at the corpse, Zhu Youjian said coldly: "If I vote, what will the crown prince do? What will Daming do?"

As he said that, his eyes were crazy, and he laughed wildly: "If this is the case, isn't Daming really dead?"

"It's not that easy to take away the world of my Zhu family."

"I would rather die than let the bandits sit in the world."

After going mad for a while, he finally regained his composure, continued to drink, binge-drinking, and never put down his chopsticks on the dishes in front of him.

The blush on his cheeks became more and more obvious, and Zhu Youjian wrote the imperial edict, ordering Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Cheng, to lead the army and assist the prince Zhu Cihong.

Immediately afterwards, he asked people to call the prince, queen and concubine, and after a few simple instructions, he ordered people to send the prince, King Yong, and King Ding to the family of Xun Zhou Kui (the later family) and Tian Hongyu (the concubine Tian).

Facing Queen Zhou, who married the married couple, Zhu Youjian rarely let go of his emotions and cried loudly: "Queen, you are the mother of the country, and you deserve to die for the country."

"I have been with you for 18 years, Your Majesty has not heard a word from my concubine, so that today.

Now His Majesty ordered my concubine to die, how dare I not die?"

Empress Zhou looked sad, and took one last look at the emaciated and crying emperor, barely showing a smile and saying:

"It's just, Your Majesty, you should have sent the prince south long ago!"

Saying that, she explained Bai Ling by herself, and refused the maid's help: "This is my last journey, let me do it myself!"

The chairs, the white silk, and the empress made the Qianqing Palace even more desolate.

"Kangdang—" the chair fell.

"Ah—" Witnessing his wife's death with his own eyes, Zhu Youjian's crying became hoarse.

After a long time, he turned his head and said to Concubine Yuan: "You can go with the queen too."

"Concubine, thank you Your Majesty!" Concubine Yuan cried and bid farewell, and then hanged herself to death.

Looking at the two corpses, Zhu Youjian said sadly: "Don't blame me, royal people, they have their own royal life, and they must not go to the shame of Jingkang. This is better for you."

Order people to restrain the corpse.

After resting for a long time, it seemed to have slowed down a bit. Zhu Youjian turned his head and said to Wang Chengen who had been with him all the time: "Go and call the two princesses here!"

"Your Majesty—" Wang Chengen couldn't bear it.

"Go!" Zhu Youjian waved his hands and said, "This is the best ending for them."

Soon, Princess Kunxing (Princess Changping), 15 years old, and Princess Zhaoren, the six-year-old youngest daughter, came.

"Father!" the two princesses saluted.

Looking at Princess Changping's pretty face, Zhu Youjian wept and shouted mournfully: "Why were you born in the emperor's family!!!"

After speaking, he covered his face with his left sleeve, drew out the knife with his right hand, and slashed fiercely, hitting her left arm, and then slashing her right shoulder, thinking that she was dead, so he let her go.

Six-year-old Princess Zhaoren was also stabbed to death.

The little face was full of horror.

At the last moment, she was still calling her father sweetly.

"Ah!" With a low growl, Zhu Youjian endured the pain.

Immediately, he took the knife and hacked several concubines to death.

(End of this chapter)