I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Outside Juyong Pass lies Chadao City.

Li Zicheng was stationed in the central command post, awaiting battle reports from the front lines at any time.

Chang Ning, holding a teapot and wearing a fawning smile, knelt down to serve.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! After today, the army will be able to march straight to the capital!"

Li Zicheng ignored him and stared intently at the map on the table.

Chang Ning dared not say anything more, but stole a glance and saw that Li Zicheng's eyes were full of excitement and longing!

From then on, the world changed hands. Who wouldn't be excited about such a thing?

Unfortunately, he was a eunuch, and even if he had contributed to the rise of the emperor, he would never be able to be ennobled or appointed as a high-ranking official.

However, wealth and honor are inevitable. Thinking of the nephew back home, he could be adopted and have him carry on the family line…

"Report!"

A scout rushed in, panting, and said, "The gates of Juyong Pass are open!"

"good!"

Li Zicheng slammed his hand on the table, sending the teacup flying and splashing Chang Ning with scalding hot tea.

Chang Ning shivered from the burns, but endured the pain and said, "Your Majesty is wise and mighty, in accordance with the will of Heaven. The Ming army is like a mantis trying to stop a chariot; they are overestimating their own strength!"

Li Zicheng laughed heartily and said, "You deserve credit for persuading Juyong Pass to surrender. Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly!"

Chang Ning hurriedly prostrated herself on the ground, sobbing, "This servant has never met a wise ruler in my life. I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's kindness and am willing to follow you to the death!"

"Report!"

The scouts returned with another report: "Our army has captured Juyong Pass!"

Li Zicheng became even more excited and exclaimed, "Investigate further and report back!"

"yes!"

The scout turned and left, and only a short while later, another battle report arrived.

"Tang Tong's main force is being attacked from both sides by our army; defeat is inevitable!"

Li Zicheng hurriedly said, "Send word to Liu Zongmin that he is a fierce general and should be persuaded to surrender."

"yes!"

After the scouts left, Chang Ning said, "Your Majesty is wise and powerful, kind-hearted, and eager for talented people. Tang Tong has repeatedly opposed Your Majesty, yet Your Majesty is unwilling to take his life. This shows how magnanimous Your Majesty is. Sooner or later, the world will be in Your Majesty's hands."

Li Zicheng suddenly asked, "What was Chongzhen's attitude towards talent? How did it compare to mine?"

Chang Ning hurriedly said, "Emperor Chongzhen is narrow-minded and intolerant of others. During his seventeen-year reign, he changed nineteen Grand Secretaries. In recent days, he has become even more tyrannical, killing people and confiscating their property, which has aroused the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people, causing them to become disaffected and alienated."

Li Zicheng nodded: "In that case, it is only right and proper for me to seize the Zhu family's empire!"

Seeing that Li Zicheng was in a good mood, Chang Ning continued, "Your Majesty is the chosen one by Heaven, and Emperor Chongzhen is naturally no match for Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng's smile grew even more smug.

At this moment, Li Yan, who was standing to the side, frowned and took two steps forward.

He simply couldn't stand it anymore. They hadn't even reached the capital yet, and it was too early for them to be so complacent.

"Your Majesty is wise, which goes without saying. However, Beijing's city walls are high and fortified. We still need to devise a detailed plan on how to attack next."

Seeing this, Chang Ning was displeased, but still smiled and said, "What Mr. Li said makes sense, but His Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and is naturally protected by Heaven. Moreover, Du Zhizhi is already working for our army. If he goes to persuade Chongzhen to surrender, we might be able to take Beijing without bloodshed!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Oh? Du Zhizhi has such ability?"

Chang Ning quickly nodded: "Your Majesty may not know, but Du Zhizhi is the head of the Imperial Horse Administration and is quite familiar with Emperor Chongzhen and the court officials. If he goes to persuade them to surrender, he will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan frowned even more deeply.

He did not trust the eunuchs, but if he directly opposed them at this time, he might anger Li Zicheng.

So he changed his approach and said, "Your Majesty, although Du Zhizhi has his uses, the affairs of Beijing still require careful consideration and should not be rushed."

At that moment, another scout rushed in to report.

"Report! General Liu is back!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng asked in confusion, "Why did he come back instead of taking over Juyong Pass?"

"this……"

The scout looked terrible, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

Li Yan sensed something was wrong and asked, "What exactly happened?"

"General Liu... has been defeated!"

"What?"

Li Zicheng almost jumped up. Hadn't they already captured Juyong Pass?

Why did we suddenly lose again?

What's going on?

Li Yan asked again, "Explain yourself clearly, General Liu was defeated?"

"Exactly!"

The scout was terrified, sweating profusely and at a loss for what to do.

"Alright, you can go now!"

Li Yan gave an order, then looked at Li Zicheng and said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. Let's wait for General Liu to return to find out what happened..."

"How could we possibly lose?"

Li Zicheng, his face grim, suddenly turned to Chang Ning and asked, "Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"This servant...this servant...doesn't know..."

Chang Ning was so frightened that her legs went weak, and she knelt on the ground, too afraid to get up.

"Didn't you say you'd already reached an agreement with Du Zhizhi, and he agreed to open the city gates?"

"That's exactly what he said, and I wouldn't dare to lie to him!"

Li Yan said, "According to the scouts, Du Zhizhi did indeed open the city gates, but we don't know what happened afterward, perhaps..."

He paused, then suddenly frowned and asked, "Could Du Zhizhi be feigning surrender?"

Li Zicheng's face grew even uglier. If Du Zhizhi feigned surrender, tricking him into bringing 5,000 troops into the city, he could then trap them like turtles in a jar...

"You bastard!"

Thinking of this, he was instantly enraged and kicked Chang Ning in the chest.

Chang Ning was kicked away and crashed heavily to the ground, seeing stars before his eyes.

But he didn't dare utter a sound. He struggled to get up, knelt on the ground again, and kowtowed repeatedly.

Li Zicheng was not known for his good temper, and he immediately reached for his knife.

Fortunately, Li Yan stepped forward to stop him, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't stoop to the level of this eunuch. In my opinion, it's true that Du Zhizhi opened the city gates."

Li Zicheng asked, "Tell me, how could Liu Zongmin have been defeated?"

"Your subject dares not speculate. As for what exactly happened, we will know once General Liu returns and we ask him!"

"snort!"

Li Zicheng snorted coldly and threw down the knife.

Chang Ning finally breathed a sigh of relief, only to find that her whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

These people come from humble backgrounds, are capricious, and are too difficult to please.

Finally, Liu Zongmin retreated to Chadao City in disgrace.

He knelt before Li Zicheng, his face full of dejection, and said, "This humble general failed to capture Juyong Pass. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Li Zicheng frowned and asked, "What exactly happened?"

"This...sigh!"

Liu Zongmin sighed heavily, then continued, "According to the original plan, Tang Tong's troops were already under attack from both sides, and signs of defeat were evident. But at that moment, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly appeared, personally leading a large army to attack from the rear, catching our army completely off guard. All five thousand soldiers inside Juyong Pass have fallen; their fate is now unknown!"

"The Chongzhen Emperor? Why would he come to Juyong Pass?"

Li Zicheng stood up from his seat, his face full of disbelief.

The others present also looked surprised, exchanging bewildered glances, all expressing disbelief.

Liu Zongmin nodded and said, "I don't know what happened, I just came!"

Li Zicheng asked, "Are you sure it's the Chongzhen Emperor? Are you sure you can see clearly?"

"It must be right!"

Liu Zongmin said firmly, "Although I didn't see anyone, I could clearly see that huge dragon banner. Who would dare to use that banner except for the Chongzhen Emperor?"

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng's face instantly turned extremely gloomy.

He paced back and forth inside the tent, his fists clenched, muttering to himself, "How is this possible? How could he show up at this time? Why was there no prior notice? Something's wrong, nothing's right..."

Chang Ning trembled with fear, secretly thinking that things were going badly and that Li Zicheng might take his anger out on him.

Sure enough, Li Zicheng arrived before Chang Ning and asked, "You tell me, what's going on here?"

"This servant...this servant...doesn't know..."

Chang Ning was on the verge of tears, thinking to herself, "How would I know what happened?"

I'm just a eunuch, this is so hard for me!