The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 376: Thunder
"Has Shanxi Town surrendered?"

"Your Majesty, only Qin Yuji, the deputy general of Shanxi Town, is still resisting the enemy, but his situation is grim. All those around Ningwu Pass have surrendered. Qin Yuji has too few servants and few firearms, making it difficult for him to hold out."

In the western warm room of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Wuding looked at Zhang Dong, Qiao Yiqi, Yang Hao and others standing in front of him, his expression becoming increasingly gloomy.

The palace maid brought hot tea, Pei Dahu waved his hand, and all the bystanders left.

"The momentum is like a rainbow, advancing by a thousand paces. The Chuang army is more powerful than I imagined."

Emperor Wuding spoke in a nonchalant tone, as if the rapid progress of the rebel army in Shanxi had nothing to do with him.

However, everyone knew that the situation had become extremely critical.

Except for the 20,000 troops stationed in Japan and Korea, the rest of the Kaiyuan troops have been transferred back to the capital. Emperor Wuding even sent people to recruit the Jianzhou and Haixi Jurchens to enter the pass, and let Burhanggu and Dudu lead the troops to deal with the bandits.

The opponent Liu Zhaosun faced this time was unprecedentedly powerful.

The number of vagrants exceeds 300,000 and is still growing.

The north was full of refugees. When the rebel army crossed the border, the refugees rose up in rebellion. It was obviously unrealistic to expect the border troops who were owed wages to resist the rebel army.

After leaving the capital and heading west, apart from Man Gui who had died in battle, there were only a handful of people who obeyed Emperor Wuding.

"A month ago, he was in Shaanxi, and now he is approaching the capital."

The Emperor of Da Qi stared at the situation map of Northern Zhili hanging on the wall. Based on the intelligence about bandits reported by Zhang Dong and others, he drew a map of the marching route of the rebel army from Shaanxi to the capital with a pencil.

The speed of the Chuang army's advance in Shanxi exceeded everyone's expectations, and the reactions from all parts of Shanxi made the rulers and ministers of the Great Qi dumbfounded.

At this moment, Liu Zhaosun finally understood the desperate situation Zhu Youjian faced in 1644.

Everyone was amazed when they saw the map. Along the thousands of miles of road, except for Ningwu Pass, all other passes were unobstructed. No wonder Li Xianzhong still had time to proclaim himself emperor in Taiyuan.

"Li Xianzhong also became emperor?"

Zhang Dong quickly unfolded a secret report:
"Your Majesty, on February 8th, the rebels proclaimed themselves emperor in Taiyuan. Li Xianzhong proclaimed himself the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, claiming to be the 49th generation descendant of Li Shimin. He established Taiyuan as the capital and said he would emulate Li Yuan and overthrow the Qi Dynasty. He compared the Qi Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty and Your Majesty to Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty. He said he would rid the world of thieves and eradicate the tyranny of Qi."

Qiao Yiqi stamped his feet in anger. Yang Hao's beard trembled. Just as he was about to curse, Emperor Wuding laughed out loud:
"Comparing me to Emperor Yang of Sui is really flattering me. I wish I could be as capable as Yang Guang."

Liu Zhaosun recalled the great achievements of Emperor Yang of Sui in conquering Korea and digging the canal, sneered twice, and added:
"Yang Guang was simply too merciful. He didn't kill all those traitors, leaving behind a scourge like Li Yuan. I'm not as soft-hearted as he is. Do these traitors really think I'm a pushover? They all want to invade the capital and become Dong Zhuo."

"I obey the will of Heaven and hold the throne of Heaven. I have just founded the Qi Kingdom. Who is this Li Xianzhong to be so arrogant?"

Qiao Yiqi said, "Your Majesty, the bandits have slaughtered no fewer than 100,000 civilians in Shaanxi and Shanxi. They've even killed General Man Gui. I'm afraid General Deng and the artillery commander are also in grave danger. These evil bandits should be hacked into pieces."

Emperor Wuding had always wanted to cut Li Xianzhong into pieces, but the current situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable to the Great Qi, and the Shaanxi uprising was out of control from the very beginning.

"How is Xi'an Prefecture?"

Zhang Dong quickly reported, "Your Majesty, Xi'an was captured by bandits last month."

Liu Zhaosun asked in surprise, "Did Li Xianzhong do it too?"

"It's not Chuang Ni, it's Centipede Block, that is, Zhang Zicheng. He also has 50,000 to 60,000 troops under his command."

The bandit leader Scorpion Block in history became Centipede Block, and Zhang Xianzhong became Zhang Zicheng. History is always evolving, giving people a sense of helpless absurdity.

"go on."

Zhang Dong said calmly:
"The bandits attacked the city for half a month but failed. On the 30th day of the first lunar month, a group of bandits pretended to rescue the imperial army. Xi'an Governor Hu Tingyan, despite the advice of General Wang Rong, insisted on letting the fleeing soldiers into the city. Not long after, the fleeing soldiers, along with the soldiers themselves, set fire to the gunpowder storage in the Bell and Drum Tower, causing chaos in the city. The bandits took advantage of the chaos and broke into the city. Zhang Zicheng allowed his troops to loot, and the city flowed like a river of blood, with countless casualties. Qin Wang Zhu Cunji surrendered to the bandits, and Governor Hu Tingyan jumped into a well and died. More than a dozen people, including the governor, also died."

"This Hu Tingyan has some backbone."

Emperor Wuding turned his head to look at Qi Jin and said to the general who stayed by his side:

"You can't eat your guts. These civil officials, when faced with disaster, slit their own throats and harm the people of an entire city. From now on, any general of the Great Qi who commits suicide in battle will be charged with treason."

Several ministers nodded in agreement.

Liu Zhaosun sighed deeply:
"Li Xianzhong, you are a beautiful woman, but why do you become a thief? Moreover, you are my enemy. Isn't it for the people of the world?"

Emperor Wuding thought about it for three days and three nights in the Forbidden City, but still couldn't figure out why Li Xianzhong wanted to attack the capital.

Since his rise to power, Emperor Wuding has taken good care of the people under his rule, whether it is rent or corvee. Whether he was in Kaiyuan or now in the capital, the taxes and corvee he levied are at the lowest level, even less than half of that of the previous Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Wuding tried his best to take care of the refugees. Despite this, Li Xianzhong and his men refused to let him go and even treated Liu Zhaosun as the "target of revolution", which made Emperor Wuding feel puzzled.

"Do I look easy to bully? Li Xianzhong wants to attack Beijing, the Prince of Gui wants to attack Beijing, and even the prince of Fujian wants to attack the capital!" Emperor Wu Ding left behind Yang Guozhang Hao and Pei Dahu.

Yang Hao had always opposed entering the Pass to quell the rebellion. Kang Yingqian didn't know the situation in Shaanxi and Shanxi, but Yang Hao knew it clearly. In his opinion, the area inside the Pass was almost a powder keg that could be ignited at any time, and Liu Zhaosun and his Great Qi were now sitting on the powder keg. At this time, the emperor was still trying to light the fuse himself, which was really foolish.

"Your Majesty, the arrow of the rebellion is on the string and must be launched. Shanxi has at least 80,000 troops from all directions, plus the families and children of the border troops. Hundreds of thousands of mouths depend on Li Xianzhong for food. If we don't attack the capital, the bandits will disband on their own. We can only wait to be surrounded by millions of refugees in the capital!"

Emperor Wuding was still indignant.

"Fight! Another war in Northern Zhili will leave nothing alive. I know the disaster is severe everywhere, and Da Qi can't save so many people. Let alone Shaanxi and Henan, even in the capital, people are starving to death every day... Food won't suddenly increase. The best way to help the bandits is to kill more of them."

Yang Hao was furious and said angrily:

"Your Majesty, do you mean to say that we should fight a decisive battle with the bandits in the capital? Are we just going to be surrounded and killed by bandits from all over the place?"

Liu Zhaosun said confidently, "Yes, of course. Do you think you still need to escape?"

Yang Hao suppressed his anger, moved closer to the emperor, and said in a low voice:
"Your Majesty, haven't you seen how many boatmen Tianjin has lost this year? When Li Xianzhong arrives, these people will all be thieves. The capital will be undefendable no matter what. I have a plan that will ensure everything is safe."

Emperor Wu Ding interrupted his father-in-law and asked directly:
"What's the next step?"

Yang Hao was stunned for a moment:
"The worst option is to stay in the capital and wait for the Korean and Japanese troops to return to rescue us, and then we can combine our strength to inflict heavy damage on the bandits."

Liu Zhaosun slammed the table and stood up, saying loudly:

"Alright! It's settled! We'll work together inside and outside to inflict heavy damage on the bandits!"

Yang Hao looked bewildered. After thinking for a while, he advised:
"Your Majesty, the number of bandits will only increase, and many of them are ordinary people. Should we kill them or not? What can we use to fight them? The capital's food will soon run out, and people's hearts are unpredictable. I hope Your Majesty will reconsider!"

Emperor Wu Ding patted his father-in-law on the shoulder and said calmly:

"Father-in-law, people will eventually die. I will die too. Some will be killed, some will starve to death. The world is too vast. I am only the emperor of Qi, which covers a few provinces. I can only care for those around me. I can't save the rest. Let some starve to death, beat others to death, and finally rob the rich and powerful. With fewer people, there will be enough food. Hasn't it always been like this?"

~~~~~

In history, the winner is always the king, or to be more precise, the survivor is the king. No matter what, only those who survive in the end are qualified to talk about history.

"Remember, between me and Li Xianzhong, only one can survive. If I die, you will all die too. There is no other reason. Staying alive is the reason."

Liu Zhaosun specifically instructed Pei Dahu to send more people to closely monitor the production of firearms in Wanggongchang in the near future. At this time, all the craftsmen in Wanggongchang had been replaced by people from Kaiyuan workshop.

According to the time traveler's gradually blurred memory, the strange apocalyptic explosion will happen soon.

The so-called Apocalypse Explosion is roughly like this:
On the morning of the sixth day of the fifth lunar month in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign of the Ming Dynasty, everything in the Forbidden City was as peaceful as usual. The Emperor was still enjoying his breakfast when suddenly, a loud bang erupted, like a bolt from the blue! The sky instantly darkened as night, and the entire Qianqing Palace shook violently.

Zhu Youxiao ran all the way with his eyes closed, from the Qianqing Palace to the Jiaotai Hall in one breath.

"The Emperor was dining in the Qianqing Palace when the palace shook and he rushed to the Jiaotai Palace. None of the eunuchs could follow him, and only one attendant helped him along. Tiles flew off the railings of the Jianji Palace, causing the attendant's brain to burst, and the throne and table in the Qianqing Palace were overturned."

——"Tianbian Dichao"

The Forbidden City was in ruins. Over 2,000 workers working on the three main halls had died. The palace's elephants had gone mad, running loose in the streets and trampling countless people to death! Human limbs and severed arms were scattered across Chang'an Avenue. "From Shunchengmen Street in the east to Xingbu Street in the north, it was three or four miles long. The surrounding area of 13 miles was completely reduced to rubble. Tens of thousands of houses were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were killed."

A massive stone lion weighing five thousand kilograms was blown off Fuma Street and found outside Shuncheng Gate! This wasn't the farthest thing. Records indicate that many large trees in Beijing were blown to Miyun. Miyun is about 70 kilometers from Beijing, and even the Hiroshima atomic bomb wasn't powerful enough to knock the trees off Miyun.

The Xuanfu general happened to be visiting relatives that day. As they reached Yuanhongsi Street, an explosion occurred, and the group of seven vanished without a trace! Even more terrifying was a man named Zhou Jiyu from Shaoxing who was going to Caishikou to buy cloth that morning. Halfway through his journey, he ran into some friends and quickly bowed. But before he could finish his greeting, his head flew off!
······
There are many different theories about the cause of the explosion.

Such things as earthquakes, gunpowder explosions, hurricanes, meteorites, atmospheric static electricity, high-energy thermonuclear explosions inside the earth, the annihilation of meteorite antimatter and earth matter, even alien invasions, UFO landings, and so on.

Of course, many people also say that the so-called Tianqi explosion was just an ordinary gunpowder production accident. In the late Ming Dynasty, politics was in ruins and discipline was lax, and similar accidents occurred frequently. It was just that this time it became more famous after being artistically exaggerated in the court reports.

However, after experiencing time travel personally, the travelers have a new understanding of the world.

Perhaps there really is some mysterious force controlling everything.

He was not sure whether the Apocalypse Explosion would actually happen.

Fortunately, there were more important things to do in Beijing in the early summer of 1626.

The Tang Emperor Li Xianzhong's eastern expedition army is approaching Beijing, and the vanguard has even reached Miyun.

Compared to supernatural beings like aliens and Cthulhu, the threat from rogues is concrete and deadly.

(End of this chapter)