Since Yuan Chonghuan's defeat and the 50,000 troops in the northeast of Shandong were blocked in Zhuozhou, the entire capital began to reorganize.
Considering that the capital might be besieged by enemy troops, Yang Sichang suggested that all the large numbers of refugees in the capital should be driven away.
On the one hand, it can prevent the spies of the Liaodong Army from sneaking in and taking advantage of the opportunity to cause damage. On the other hand, it can also reduce the population of the capital and reduce food consumption when it is besieged!
Nowadays, people in the capital are panicked and all businesses are in depression.
The southern officials in the DPRK had already transferred their families and industries to Jiangnan.
Even the gentry in the north also transferred their family property to farms in Zhili, Shanxi and other places.
Sentries of the Liaodong Army have also appeared outside Yongding Gate and Guangqu Gate.
Fortunately, the Liaodong Army has not yet appeared on the northwest sides of the capital, so the gentry of the capital are rushing to move.
However, the people in the capital were still very calm. After all, the Liaodong Army was not a foreign race and could not possibly massacre the people.
Thanks to advance publicity by the Intelligence Department, Liaodong's policies of "sharing the land between the peasants and the land" and "the gentry all receiving grain" were still supported by the majority of the people.
But at this time, the streets of the capital were full of Jin Yiwei responsible for taking people away.
At this time, the "Magic Fortune Teller" came to the door of the British Duke's Mansion. The servants of the Duke's Mansion saw that this man was unattractive, short in stature, and had an ape-like face, so they hurriedly drove him away.
Unexpectedly, the fortune teller said: "The British government is about to face a disaster. The people from Jin Yiwei have sealed off the 'Heaven and Earth' and will soon come to arrest the young master Zhang Zhiji!"
What this "divine fortune teller" said is really exciting.
Although they still didn't quite believe it, they didn't dare to neglect it at this time and still let the "divine fortune teller" enter the Duke's mansion!
The "divine fortune teller" said to the servants of the British Duke's Mansion: "If the Imperial Guards come later, no matter what method you use, you must try to delay their entry into the manor!"
After the "divine fortune teller" saw Zhang Zhiji, he took out a gold medal membership card of "Heaven and Earth", which was the original agreement between Li Xianzhong, Zhang Zhiji, Zhu Chunchen and others.
Because "Heaven and Earth" was only transferred to their names on the surface, Li Xianzhong would still get it back in the future.
And this gold membership card is the token of their agreement.
The situation was urgent, and the "divine fortune teller" went straight to the point and said: "I am Song Xiance, who is now the person in charge of the Intelligence Department in the capital. Chongzhen has sent people to seal up the two heavens and earthly places in the capital. All shareholders will be imprisoned. Gongshun Hou Wu Weiying and others have already Got caught!”
"Jin Yiwei's next target is the young master, so please prepare early!"
Zhang Zhiji couldn't believe his ears. His father Zhang Weixian held 80,000 troops in the capital, accounting for more than half of the capital's troops.
Chongzhen actually came directly to arrest him. Is he crazy? Song Xiance said: "According to the news in the palace, while Chongzhen was arresting the young prince, he had already sent people to invite the British prince to the palace in the name of "negotiating the defense of the capital."
"So the top priority is that we must prevent the British prince from entering the palace!"
In fact, both Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen and himself repeatedly persuaded his father to open the gates of the capital and welcome the Liaodong prince into the city!
It's a pity that my father has never been willing to bear the title of "Second Minister"!
Sure enough, Duke Cheng Guo was right. Chongzhen had already begun to doubt us. Even if we were loyal to the Ming Dynasty, we would still be jealous of him.
In the end, His Majesty will take action against us under the constant instigation of the ministers around him!
Zhang Zhiji was heartbroken and said: "Mr. Song, for this plan we must prevent my father from entering the palace. Please come with me. I hope it's not too late!"
At this time, a servant said: "To inform you, young master, the Jinyi Guards have come to fetch someone and started fighting with the servants in the mansion. Please leave the mansion quickly!"
Song Xiance also said: "Don't worry, young master, there are many experts from the Intelligence Department outside the mansion. As long as we leave Xuanwu Gate, we can intercept them!"
The British Duke's Mansion is located near Xuanwu Gate. When Zhang Zhiji and others left the back door of the Duke's Mansion, they were indeed blocked by many imperial guards!
Fortunately, dozens of experts from the Intelligence Department lurking in the capital also appeared behind these Jin Yiwei.
After a burst of fighting, the group of them finally reached Xuanwumen!
Song Xinai, the guard of Xuanwumen, was Zhang Weixian's confidant general.
After Zhang Zhiji passed through Xuanwu Gate, he quickly ordered Song Xi to close Xuanwu Gate.
They also seconded 100 sergeants on the city gate and rushed to the "Fifth Army Camp" near Guangqumen. Zhang Weixian was in the camp at this time.
When they arrived at the main camp, Gao Qiqian, the eunuch of the Beijing camp, had already arrived one step ahead!
Fortunately, Zhang Weixian had not left the camp yet.
When Zhang Zhiji broke into the tent, Gao Qiqian and Zhang Weixian were both shocked!
Zhang Zhiji said to Gao Qiqian: "Eunuch Gao, I have a few words to say to my father, so I won't delay your business, right?"
Gao Qiqian knew something bad was going to happen, but he was helpless at this time.
He had no choice but to say: "Young Master, please keep your story short!"
Zhang Zhiji pretended to walk in the direction of Zhang Weixian. When he passed by Gao Qiqian, he pulled out his saber and stabbed Gao Qiqian in the abdomen.
Gao Qiqian did not expect that Zhang Zhiji would directly kill him.
At this time, his eyes were wide open and he pointed at Zhang Zhiji, but he was speechless!
As a large mouthful of blood spurted out, he finally fell to the ground unwillingly!
Soon Zhang Zhiji's followers hacked and killed the guards around Gao Qiqian!
Zhang Weixian, who didn't understand why, scolded: "Ji'er, are you crazy? This is a serious crime of decapitation?"
Soon Zhang Zhiji knelt down and said: "Father, handsome, the child is not crazy, it is Chongzhen who is crazy!"
"Chongzhen was so suspicious that he actually sent people to Tongzhou to kill Zhang Fengyi, the Minister of War. Now Zhang Fengyi and Cheng Guogong have been forced to rebel by him!"
"Not only that, he also sealed the 'Heaven and Earth', and arrested many of our nobles in the capital. Even the obedient Marquis Wu Weiying was imprisoned!"
"If the child hadn't fought his way out of the Duke's Mansion, I'm afraid we would never have had the chance to see each other again in this life!"
Zhang Weixian is not stupid. How could he not understand Chongzhen's intentions after being a British prince for so many years?
While arresting his own son, he allowed himself to enter the palace at the same time. If he really went there, the most optimistic scenario would be that his military power would be taken away and he would be imprisoned!
He shook his head helplessly. After all, he was tricked by Zhu Chunchen, Duke of Cheng, and his son.
Only then did he notice Song Xiance next to Zhang Zhiji!
Zhang Zhiji said: "This is Song Xiance, the envoy from the King of Liaodong County. It was he who rescued the child!"
Song Xiance said: "The British Duke is unwilling to betray Chongzhen. Song admires him so much that the prince can understand. But the British Duke must not forget what happened to those who were on the wrong team in the 'Jingnan Battle' back then!"
"Today's His Majesty Chongzhen is mean, ungrateful, and self-willed. He is really not the appearance of a wise king. If Ming Dynasty continues to be in his hands, it will fall sooner or later."
"Even if the prince doesn't take action, Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others will probably succeed sooner or later by relying on the big killer weapon of "equalizing land and exempting them from taxes"!"
"Emperor Hongguang has a posthumous edict from Master Wanli. If the prince of Liaodong County follows the edict to revolt, it can't be considered rebellion, right?"
Zhang Zhiji also took the opportunity to say: "Master Wanli treats us with great honor. He loves money so much that he has no intention of attacking the capital. How did the two brothers Zhu Youxiao and Zhu Youjian deal with us?"
"Anyway, the child must have followed the edict of Lord Wanli and respected Emperor Hongguang Zhu Yousong!"
Song Xiance continued: "Since ancient times, the monarch and his ministers have not been suspicious, and suspicion has led to chaos. Therefore, if the monarch is suspicious of the minister, he will be punished, and if the minister is suspicious of the monarch, he will rebel. If the minister is suspicious of the monarch and does not rebel, he will be suspicious of the monarch and punished; if the monarch is suspicious of the minister, he will rebel. If you don't punish him, your officials will doubt you again and rebel against you."
"In fact, neither the Liaodong County Prince nor the British Duke has a way out!"
While Zhang Weixian was still hesitating, Chongzhen had already taken action.
Yang Sichang led the Yulin Battalion to attack Xuanwumen, Zhengyangmen, and Chongwenmen controlled by Zhang Weixian.
The main body of the capital city of the Ming Dynasty was transformed from the capital city of the Yuan Dynasty, and eventually formed a four-fold square city of inner city, imperial city, palace city and outer city. The inner city was rebuilt on the basis of the large city of Dadu.
There were two main ones: one in August of the first year of Hongwu (1368), and the other in the seventeenth year of Yongle (1419), when the south wall of the inner city was expanded two miles south.
The outer city was only newly built during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. The main reason was the need to strengthen the defense of the capital city.
However, the inner and outer cities of the capital may be different from ordinary cities.
The palace city, imperial city, and inner city were built in the early Ming Dynasty, following the inside-out approach.
The commonly known "Nine Gates of the Capital" actually refers to the nine gates of the inner city.
The outer city of the capital is actually a rectangular city, directly to the south of the inner city.
The three city gates, Xuanwumen, Zhengyangmen and Chongwenmen, are the gates connecting the outer city to the inner city and belong to the "Nine Gates of the Capital".
Zhang Weixian's Beijing camp was actually stationed in the outer city.
The 30,000 Yulin Battalion and the 20,000 temporarily recruited new troops are responsible for defending the inner city of the capital, and the 10,000 forbidden troops are responsible for guarding the imperial city and the palace city.
So these three gates are very important.
Now that the military situation is urgent, Zhang Weixian can no longer hesitate. The Yulin Camp has advanced firearms, and although the Jingying Camp has the superior force, it may not be its opponent.
Previously, the focus of defense was on the outer gates, but there were not many troops left to guard the three most important gates. He quickly ordered Zhang Zhiji to lead 30,000 people to rush to these three gates.
The reason why he did not go there in person was because he wanted to pave the way for his son.
Zhang Zhiji was particularly decisive this time. He should leave this "dedicated contribution to the city" to his son!
In the end, he opened the city gates such as Guangqumen, Yongdingmen, and Yongdingmen, and put the Liaodong Army outside the city into the capital.
Song Xiance quickly had people light up the smoke at the city gate as agreed!
As the smoke rose, Hong Chengchou outside the city knew that the matter was done!
The Liaodong cavalry quickly entered the city, but at this time their infantry was still some distance away from the capital.
So Zhu Chunchen's Ten Thousand Divine Machine Battalion quickly returned to the capital.
In fact, even without Hong Chengchou's military order, Zhu Chunchen would rush to the capital immediately. He was afraid that his home would be confiscated by Chongzhen!
This incident actually happened very suddenly.
Neither Chongzhen nor Li Xianzhong thought of it.
Jin Yiwei was so unreliable in handling matters that he actually let Zhang Zhiji run away.
It was originally very easy to capture the Beijing Camp, but I didn't expect that I actually forced Zhang Weixian back!
Wang Chengen on the side comforted him: "Your Majesty, don't worry, the Beijing camp is full of old, weak, sick and disabled people. The soldiers led by Yang Benbing are the elite of the Yulin camp, so it won't be a problem to recapture a few city gates!"
But Yuan Chonghuan and Wen Tiren didn't see it that way. Even if Yang Sichang could recapture the three city gates, how could the capital's troops alone resist the more than 100,000 Liaodong Army and the 80,000 capital camp?
The fall of the capital was inevitable.
At this moment, Wen Tiren could not care about so much. He knelt on the ground and said: "Now the capital is in danger. In order to ensure the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, I, your Majesty, Wen Tiren, request your Majesty to visit Nanjing!"
Yuan Chonghuan hurriedly said: "I second my suggestion. Your Majesty will patrol Nanjing as soon as possible before the rebel army encircles the capital. If you are too late, you may not be able to leave!"
Wen Tiren did not dare to mention the matter of moving the capital. In fact, everyone knew about this "tour to Nanjing".
Chongzhen must not be able to bring this up on his own, someone must speak for him.
The most important thing is that there is no time to argue now. If it is later, we will not be able to leave!
Wen Tiren had already thought about it. If Chongzhen was really confused and refused to leave, then he would submit his resignation and leave on his own.
Although Zhu Yousong will not kill him when he comes, his political career is basically over.
Next, Li Xianzhong will definitely control the government. With his Liaodong officials, he will definitely be marginalized!
So for Wen Tiren, he could only follow Chongzhen.
In fact, after being deceived by Song Xiance that day, Chongzhen had already started thinking about moving the capital.
At this time, Wen Tiren proposed to go to Nanjing, which was a good opportunity.
After all, it was Zhu Yousong who came over, and he had not thrown away the burden of his ancestral homeland.
Chongzhen asked: "Is it true that the capital cannot be defended?"
How do you ask the minister to answer this?
If you can defend it, then fine, you can stay and defend the capital.
Isn't this how Zhang Fengyi was sent to Tongzhou by Chongzhen?
If you say you can't defend it, you are shaking the morale of the army.
According to Chongzhen’s nature, I might not be able to punish you!
Wen Tiren and Yuan Chonghuan both looked at Wang Chengen at the same time.
At this time, Chongzhen was left alone, which was indeed a bit embarrassing.
Wang Chengen said: "I remember that when the Fengyang Imperial Mausoleum in Zhongdu was destroyed, Your Majesty was extremely sad. He once swore in front of the Ancestral Temple that he would go to Zhongdu to worship in person on the day of restoration!"
"Shoufu Wen, I wonder how the restoration of the Imperial Tomb in Zhongdu is going now?"
Wen Tiren quickly said: "According to the report from Governor Fengyang, it has been basically repaired!"
Chongzhen said quickly at this time: "Fortunately, Wang Chengen reminded me, otherwise I would have almost delayed the important event."
"By decree, I will leave Beijing today to visit Fengyang, the capital of China, to pay homage to the imperial mausoleum!"
Wen Tiren felt as if he had been granted amnesty and said quickly: "I obey the order!"
Outside the Xuanwu Gate, the competition between the Beijing Camp and the Yulin Camp has also reached a fever pitch!
Relying on the advantage of their flintlock rifles, the Yulin Battalion quickly gained the upper hand.
However, after the last "Wang Gong Factory Explosion", the armory of Yulin Camp was moved to the outer city.
So at this time, they didn't have any siege equipment in their hands, only some simple ladders.
After all, they never imagined that they would have to attack from the inner city to the outer city.
However, they still relied on the cover of flintlock guns to attack the tower of Xuanwu Gate.
Although the Jingying camp is not very strong, these Yulin camp are also new recruits this year.
Although the equipment was good, without any actual combat experience, the gap between the two sides was not as big as imagined.
Especially after Zhang Zhiji's reinforcements arrived, the two sides returned to a stalemate.
The Yulin camp continued to attack, and the Jing camp still controlled the city gate tower with its numerical advantage.
Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, the gate of Xuanwumen was suddenly opened.
The cavalry of the Liaodong Army rushed out directly.
This sudden scene frightened the Yulin Guards who were attacking the city!
Zhang Zhiji on the city quickly ordered his sergeants to shout: "Liaodong's cavalry has invaded the capital!"
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I am playing outside on Christmas today, so I will post 4,000 words first to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in advance!
(End of chapter)
