My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 610 Queen Mother Zhang comes forward

Zhu Yong's betrayal brought great convenience to Zhu Gaoxu. Not only did it allow him to enter the capital without any bloodshed, but the defenders at the city gate also did not send any warning to the city, leaving the defenders in the city almost unprepared.

Therefore, when Zhu Gaoxu's army passed through the Zhengyang Gate and reached the main gate of the imperial city, which was the Chengtian Gate, the guards guarding the city were unaware of it. The Chengtian Gate was also wide open because there were many officials entering and leaving the imperial city during the day.

It was not until they saw Zhu Gaoxu leading the cavalry rushing over with murderous intent that the imperial city guards were alerted to the enemy's attack. By the time they tried to close the city gate again, it was already too late.

Zhu Gaoxu took the lead and was the first to enter Chengtian Gate. The cavalry behind him also swarmed up and directly controlled the city gate. Those who dared to resist were killed on the spot.

Zhu Gaoxu rushed into the Imperial City without stopping, and headed directly towards the Wuying Palace. Although it was his first time to come to the Imperial City of Beijing, the Imperial City of Beijing was copied from the Imperial City of Nanjing, so he was very interested in the buildings here. They are also very familiar with each other, not to mention the confidants sent by Zhu Zhanhe as guides.

Therefore, after Zhu Gaoxu passed through the Chengtian Gate, he ran along the straight road. When he passed through the Duan Gate and moved forward, he finally encountered resistance at the Meridian Gate. Because the guards at the Meridian Gate had received the news, they closed the city gate in advance.

However, there were not many defenders at the Meridian Gate, and there was only time to close the city gate in a hurry. At this time, Zhu Gaoxu had already arrived. For a while, the cavalry took turns to shoot arrows at the city gate, and waves of arrows overwhelmed the guards at the city gate. Don't start.

Zhu Gaoxu had already prepared for the siege. Taking advantage of the opportunity when the city gate guards were suppressed, he commanded a small team to step forward and bury a firearm specially used for siege outside the city gate. Then he only heard "bang bang". "With a sound, although the firearm failed to blow open the city gate, it still made the city door loose.

Then some cavalrymen carried a huge log as a collision angle, and under the control of two teams of soldiers, they slammed into the city gate.

The city gate had already been blown loose by gunpowder and could not withstand the impact of the giant wood. Therefore, it only took a few hits before the city gate collapsed. Although the guards behind the gate resisted desperately, they faced Zhu Gaoxu's iron hoof. , and only persisted for a moment before being defeated.

Zhu Gaoxu ignored the defeated troops and once again led his troops to rush into the inner palace.

The Meridian Gate is already the last line of defense in the palace. Now that the Meridian Gate has been breached, the entire imperial city is almost like a beautiful woman who has been stripped naked, without any power to resist.

In particular, Wuying Hall is not far behind the Meridian Gate, and it can be reached in a blink of an eye on horseback.

So just a moment later, Zhu Gaoxu had already reached the Wuying Hall. When he rushed into the hall on horseback, he saw that there was no Zhu Zhanji in the hall, but only a few veterans such as Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi.

"Your Highness the King of Han, why did you lead your troops into the imperial city? Could it be that you wanted to rebel?"

Xia Yuanji faced the murderous Zhu Gaoxu, but he was not timid at all. Instead, he strode forward to question him.

"Xia Yuanji, I'm too lazy to talk to you anymore. Please tell me where Zhu Zhanji is?"

Zhu Gaoxu raised his gun on his horse and pointed at Xia Yuanji, asking in a cold voice.

"King Han, Emperor Taizong treats you well, and Your Majesty is Emperor Taizong's designated heir to the throne. If you usurp the throne today, aren't you afraid that you will be embarrassed to see Emperor Taizong in the future?"

Jian Yi also stood up and asked Zhu Gaoxu loudly.

"Who told you that I wanted to usurp the throne? I came to Zhu Zhanji to ask why he didn't let me attend my father's funeral?"

Zhu Gaoxu snorted coldly. Although he didn't care about other people's opinions, he still wanted to let ministers like Jian Yi know that he would not have led his troops into the capital if Zhu Zhanji hadn't forced him.

"King Han, please calm down. You have come all the way from Tianzhu, and the late emperor personally issued the order to recall you. How could your majesty disobey the late emperor's order? I think there must be a misunderstanding!" Lu Yuan also stood up and advised at this time. , he was Zhu Di's favorite, and he had a good relationship with Zhu Gaoxu at the beginning.

"I don't care what misunderstanding there is, we must catch this kid Zhu Zhanji today, otherwise we will never retreat!"

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he turned his horse and left the Wuying Palace, and then sent people to search for Zhu Zhanji's whereabouts. He himself even led a cavalry group and prepared to enter the harem to search.

However, before Zhu Gaojiu entered the harem, he saw Empress Dowager Zhang coming towards him with people, blocking Zhu Gaoxu's way.

Seeing Empress Dowager Zhang, Zhu Gaoxu immediately dismounted from his horse and clasped his fists, saying, "Greetings, sister-in-law!"

"Second brother, what are you going to do with a knife and a gun? Are you going to bully us, an orphan and a widowed mother?"

Queen Mother Zhang asked Zhu Gaoxu with grief and anger.

"Sister-in-law, don't get me wrong. I only came to Beijing to attend my father's funeral. It was Zhanji who deceived me first and sent troops to block me in Tianjin and forbid me from entering Beijing. I had no choice but to resort to this trick!"

Zhu Gaoxu stood up straight and replied angrily.

He has sent people to take over all exits of the imperial city, so he is not afraid that Zhu Zhanji will take the opportunity to escape.

"Second brother, even if Zhan Ji did something wrong, he is a junior and has just ascended the throne and has no experience. As an elder, you should be more tolerant. After all, we are all a family. We can sit down and talk about anything we have to say. Why use the knife? What about using a gun?"

Queen Mother Zhang persuaded again.

"Okay! It's okay to sit down and talk. Sister-in-law, go and call Zhanji over, and I'll have a good talk with him!"

Zhu Gaoxu raised his eyebrows and answered directly.

"It's okay to talk, but I want to ask first, has the second brother entered the capital with such a big fanfare, have you ever thought about how it will end?"

Queen Zhang looked at Zhu Gaoxu nervously and asked again.

Zhu Zhanji hid in the harem because Zhu Gaoxu moved too fast. By the time he got the news, Zhu Gaoxu had already reached the Meridian Gate. He had no time to escape, so he had to escape to the harem. He originally wanted to leave the city through the Xuanwu Gate at the back. At that time, the army will be summoned to serve the king.

However, he did not expect that Zhu Gaoxu would move faster. He had already sent several lines of cavalry to take over the city gate, and suddenly blocked Zhu Zhanji in the imperial city. In desperation, he asked his mother, Queen Mother Zhang, to come forward to negotiate with Zhu Gaoxu.

Empress Dowager Zhang also came to see Zhu Gaoxu with the determination to die. After all, their mother and son are now blocked in the imperial city. If Zhu Gaoxu really kills them, the world will be left without a master. Zhu Gaoxu is likely to usurp the throne and proclaim himself emperor like Zhu Di.

Of course, there may be others who are dissatisfied, but Zhu Gaoxu is Zhu Di's son, and he almost took away Zhu Gaochi's crown prince position. Therefore, if he really proclaims himself emperor, he will encounter little resistance, especially Zhu Gaoxu and Military General Xun. The relationship between you is very good. If you get the support of these people, it will be easier to secure the throne.

But Queen Mother Zhang still had some hope in her heart, that is, she hoped that Zhu Gaoxu would care about his family ties and spare their mother and son.

(End of this chapter)