Yang Sichang received the report that Yulin camp had recovered Chongwenmen and Zhengyangmen successively.
But now he did not take Xuanwu Gate, but instead let the cavalry of the Liaodong Army rush into the inner city. Even if he recaptured the other two city gates, it no longer meant much!
He quickly sent people back to the palace to inform Chongzhen that the Liaodong Army had invaded the inner city, and asked Chongzhen to leave the capital and go south.
After all, Yulin Camp is also an elite division.
At this time, it was too late to form a formation, and the spearmen of the Yulin camp rushed towards the Liaodong cavalry.
The neighing of war horses and the sound of metal collision soon came from the city!
Although these spearmen all wore heavy cloth armor, it was still difficult to stop the Liaodong Army's cavalry.
As the cavalry's spears continued to pierce the chests of the soldiers of the Yulin Camp, the spearmen in front also fell in pieces.
"Bang, bang, bang"
Using the time bought by the spearmen, the shield bearers and fire gunners of the Yulin camp finally arranged their formation!
The area near the city gate of Xuanwumen is still relatively narrow, and the number of these Liaodong cavalry is not large, only 500 rangers deployed outside the city.
The Yulin camp was able to use flintlocks to block the city gate and repel the Liaodong cavalry that rushed into the city.
While the Yulin Battalion repelled the Liaodong cavalry, the Yulin Battalion on the city tower received no support, so the Beijing Battalion led by Zhang Zhiji took the opportunity to kill them.
The appearance of the Liaodong Army greatly affected the morale of the Yulin Camp.
At this moment, even if he continues to attack the city, it is absolutely impossible to capture Xuanwumen.
Those Liaodong cavalry just now should be just the vanguard, and their main force will arrive soon.
Moreover, there are cannons on Xuanwu Gate. Although the direction is towards the outer city, I believe it won't be long before Zhang Zhiji will have people turn the muzzles of the cannons.
The Liaodong Army's attack on the inner city is already unstoppable.
Yang Sichang gathered seven or eight thousand Yu Lin and deployed obstacles such as horses and horses on the streets to temporarily prevent the enemy troops from entering the city.
He himself quickly entered the palace to persuade Chongzhen to go south!
But he soon discovered that the Forbidden City was in complete chaos.
The imperial army guarding the imperial city had disappeared at this moment.
Only a group of martial eunuchs armed with swords and guns guarded Xihua Gate.
After entering the palace, it was already a mess, with eunuchs and palace maids running around carrying bundles everywhere.
After Yang Sichang inquired carefully, he found out that His Majesty had recently announced a visit to Zhongdu and had already left the Forbidden City and ran away from Xizhimen!
Only then did he realize that Wen Tiren, Yuan Chonghuan and others must have encouraged His Majesty to flee south!
Just when he was confused, Cao Huachun, the chief seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, hurried over.
I saw him panting and saying: "Yang Benbing, we finally found you!"
"Your Majesty has decreed that Yang Sichang, the Minister of War, should stay behind. He must lead all the troops to defend the capital!"
Although Yang Sichang had already guessed it, when Cao Huachun actually said it, he still felt a little desolate in his heart.
He tried his best to prevent the Liaodong cavalry from entering the city, just to buy Chongzhen time to escape.
But I never thought that His Majesty had already run away and asked me to stay and serve as his queen.
It turns out that in His Majesty's eyes, Yang Sichang is just a chess piece that can be discarded at any time, no different from Zhang Fengyi.
But Cao Huachun soon interrupted Yang Sichang's thoughts.
He said: "Our family can understand Yang Benbing's mood at the moment, but our Majesty Chongzhen has always been like this. He will hold you in the palm of his hand when he is of use, and discard you like a piece of grass when he is no longer needed!"
"Now that the palace is in chaos, please ask Yang Benbing to mobilize 2,000 people to maintain order in the palace!"
Since Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, the Si Li Jian was abolished, and the eunuch in charge of the Si Li Jian, known as the "Internal Prime Minister", is now just an abandoned son.
Cao Huachun is actually in the same situation as himself, but his mentality is much better than mine.
It was obvious that Cao Huachun was preparing to stabilize the order of the Forbidden City, seal up the remaining treasury, and hand it over completely to Zhu Yousong.
In fact, his father Yang He warned him before his death that Emperor Chongzhen was mean and ungrateful, but he was still too naive.
I currently have three paths to take.
One is to stay and organize the remaining troops to resist desperately according to Emperor Chongzhen's orders, buying time for Emperor Chongzhen to escape, and then being used as a model by Li Xianzhong and Zhu Yousong to scare chickens and monkeys!
Just like Fang Xiaoru back then, he gained a reputation as a loyal minister and then was killed by ten clans!
The second is to lead some troops to evacuate the capital and escort His Majesty to Fengyang, the central capital, in the name of escort.
Of course, whether he can successfully go to Fengyang is still a question. After all, there is Zheng Zhilong in Qingzhou, and he can also send troops to intercept Chongzhen who is heading south.
This is equivalent to a gamble. If I can successfully help Chongzhen return to Jiangnan, I will still be His Majesty's favorite!
The last option is naturally to lead the soldiers and horses to surrender directly to Li Xianzhong and support Zhu Yousong!
Naturally, there is merit in doing this. When Zhu Di invaded Nanjing, many officials did this.
But the problem is that there are too many people doing this. Although they can still occupy a place in front of Zhu Yousong, they will definitely be marginalized.
Moreover, he had offended Zhu Chunchen and Zhang Fengyi before, so this life must be difficult.
After much deliberation, he decided to leave the city to catch up with Chongzhen.
He neither had the courage of Fang Xiaoru to commit suicide, nor was he willing to give up his official career.
However, it is indeed necessary to hold back Li Xianzhong's main force, otherwise they will not be able to escape at all.
Yang Sichang said: "Don't worry, Zhang Zhang, I will mobilize the main force of the Yulin camp to enter the imperial city. We must not let these young people take the opportunity to cause trouble in the imperial city!"
He knew that the inner city could not be defended at all. Now he could only delay the time for himself by holding on to the imperial city and the palace city with the firearms of the Yulin Camp.
Chongzhen's flight took away almost all the available horses in the capital. Although there were nearly 20,000 people in the Yulin Camp, there were not many cavalry left.
He couldn't take these infantrymen away at all, so he could only let them use their remaining energy to defend the imperial city.
After arranging all this, Yang Sichang took only three hundred horses out of Xizhimen to pursue Chongzhen.
At this time, no one in the capital has been evacuated. Except for Yang Sichang, only the Jinyi guards who are still dealing with the aftermath are left.
Chongzhen really hated Li Xianzhong, so he ordered Li Xianzhong's wife Haqiya and his two legitimate sons to be taken away.
After all, his life or death during his escape this time was uncertain, so if he brought these "talismans" with him, he might be able to save his life at the critical moment.
As for the dozens of Li family children imprisoned in Jinyiwei Prison, they will all be executed!
The one who stayed to carry out this task was Huang Zheng, the fourth-rank Jinyi Guard governor.
When it was learned that Chongzhen had decreed the death of all the children of the Li family, there was a lot of crying in the prison, but only Li Rubai laughed!
Today, Li Rubai is 77 years old, and his hair and beard have already turned gray.
Most of the arrested people were distant branches of the Li family. After all, Li Chengliang himself had nine sons. Today, the Li family in Liaodong has long been a big family. There are hundreds of direct descendants of Li Chengliang alone. So many.
Except for Li Rubai, who took the initiative to stay in the capital, the others were just "abandoned sons" of Li Xianzhong.
It was these large number of Li family disciples that confused the two emperors Tianqi and Chongzhen.
Naturally, Li Rubai burst out laughing not because he was suffering from "heart-breaking madness", but because he knew that his family's great cause was almost completed.
Maybe Li Xianzhong was already attacking the capital at this time.
Li Rubai's status was special, so Jin Yiwei still gave him the last bit of dignity.
Soon Jin Yiwei brought a plate with a wine bottle and a white silk ribbon on it!
Huang Zheng said: "Your Majesty is merciful and has left the whole body for you. Please also ask General Li to go on his way!"
But at this moment, the hands of the guard carrying the plate were trembling. Finally, he knelt down in front of Huang Zheng and said, "Huang Zhen, Li Rubai cannot die!"
"The Liaodong Army will enter the city soon, and His Majesty himself has run away a long time ago. If the Liaodong County King knows that we killed more than 60 members of his Li family, I am afraid that our own 'nine tribes' will also be in danger because of this!"
Now, in addition to people from the Li family, there are also many children of powerful people in Beijing.
Even though they are prisoners now, those people will soon be "Conglong Heroes". If I act according to the edict of Chongzhen, I am afraid that I will die without a burial place!
In the end, Huang Zheng still didn't dare to take action!
The fifteenth day of July in the fourth year of Chongzhen is the day of the Ghost Festival.
Emperor Chongzhen Zhu Youjian fled in panic on the pretext of visiting Zhongdu!
A few hours later, the Liaodong Army, with the cooperation of the Beijing Camp, occupied the capital of the Ming Dynasty!
But at this time, they only occupied the outer city and the inner city.
The imperial city of the capital and the palace city are still in the hands of the Habayashi camp.
It is not difficult to break into the imperial city, but if these palaces are destroyed, won't I have to spend money to repair them?
Li Xianzhong said to Hong Chengchou: "It seems that your brainwashing of the Yulin Camp was very successful. Chongzhen has already run away. Are these people still determined to be cannon fodder for him?"
Hong Chengchou understood what Li Xianzhong meant and said: "Don't worry, Your Majesty, my subordinates will personally go to persuade you to surrender!"
Finally, with Hong Chengchou's personal testimony, Yulinying finally opened the gate to the imperial city.
Cao Huachun, the chief seal of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, was originally from the Intelligence Department. Soon Cao Huachun ordered the defenders of the palace city to surrender.
In fact, Li Xianzhong has always had a very curious question: How much money was in Chongzhen's internal funds?
Cao Huachun, as the Chief of Ceremonies, quickly transferred the accounts of the internal funds.
Li Xianzhong found that his internal funds were flourishing under the care of Wanli, a "miser".
Especially in the forty-seventh and forty-eighth years of Wanli, the amount of silver in internal funds rose sharply, reaching as high as 12.8 million taels at one time.
I should have contributed a lot to this.
But the next two, Taichang and Tianqi, are prodigal sons!
Even though Emperor Taichang only lasted a month as emperor.
However, under the deception of the Donglin Party, he spent a total of 5.2 million taels of internal funds.
Emperor Tianqi also spent a lot of money next, but Tianqi's expenses were mainly in the first two years. Later, under Wei Zhongxian's management, the internal funds actually increased.
However, in the last two years, a little more was spent desperately expanding the army to deal with Liaodong.
When it was finally handed over to Chongzhen, only 4 million taels were left.
Of course, under the deception of the Donglin Party, Chongzhen almost abolished the commercial taxation and mining administration during Wei Zhongxian's period.
In the first year, the eunuch's property was inspected and no internal funds were used, but naturally the internal funds could not be saved after that.
It has been less than 1 million taels every year.
Fortunately, there are still many imperial estates that can replenish silver every year. Chongzhen's estates in Beizhili alone have about 200,000 hectares (20 million acres).
Otherwise, his internal funds may really be at the bottom!
Li Xianzhong shook his head helplessly. No wonder Chongzhen was so frugal. It seemed that he was not acting, but really poor.
At this time, capturing Chongzhen naturally became the top priority.
Li Xianzhong withdrew, leaving only Mao Yuanyi and Hong Chengchou.
Mao Yuanyi said: "According to the intelligence, many gentry followed Chongzhen south this time, and they also brought a lot of family property with them!"
If Chongzhen is captured or killed at this time, the world will quickly defect to Zhu Yousong, just like Jingnan back then!
These gentry who supported Chongzhen would eventually support Zhu Yousong and continue to be his own resistance.
Moreover, a large number of Zhu Ming clans will be retained and continue to suck the bones and blood of the people of Ming Dynasty.
This is absolutely unacceptable to Li Xianzhong.
He said: "These people will have to pay the price for being in the wrong team. When Governor Hong goes south to pursue you, don't leave any of these people behind. Kill them all to avoid future troubles!"
After listening to Li Xianzhong's words, Hong Chengchou was stunned on the spot.
Everyone calls himself "Crazy Hong", but Li Xianzhong is actually crazier than himself.
Did he want to kill all the gentry in the world?
As early as when he was in Qingzhou, he heard that under the rule of Denglai and Denglai, all the gentry who opposed "dividing people into acres" and "gentry paying grain together" were directly killed by Zheng Zhilong.
But after all, this was done in the name of a pirate.
If the officers and soldiers he led did this, how would they be different from thieves like Li Zicheng?
He whispered: "My subordinates know the prince's determination to implement the New Deal and will never show mercy to these gentry who oppose them, but it is still inappropriate to kill them directly, right?"
Li Xianzhong smiled and said, "I didn't make it clear. No wonder Governor Hong is in trouble."
"Now that Zuo Liangyu is trapped in Jinan City, the entire Jinan Prefecture has basically fallen. I have ordered Wang Xifan of the White Lotus Sect to start an uprising in Zhili, Shandong."
"Now the Julu and Gaoyi lines south of Zhili have been occupied by Wang Xifan. Governor Hong only needs to drive these gentry to Wang Xifan when he goes south this time!"
"How can the officers and soldiers do such things as killing people and stealing goods? Naturally, it is left to the thieves and bandits. But Governor Hong of the prefectures and counties occupied by the White Lotus Sect do not have to rush to fight, they will take the initiative to give them up. When the time comes, your army will follow the thieves and bandits. Just receive it later!"
Hong Chengchou was shocked. Li Xianzhong was too cruel. He wanted the White Lotus Sect to kill a wave of gentry who opposed him first.
Nowadays, the gentry have known about Liaodong's policies for a long time.
Those gentry who escaped strongly opposed his policies. It seemed that he would not let any of them go!
Mao Yuanyi naturally knows the best about Li Xianzhong's thoughts. Without Zhu Yousong, I am afraid that Li Xianzhong himself would have almost become emperor.
The gentry they removed were actually digging at the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.
After Yang Sichang left the capital, he quickly caught up with Chongzhen and others near Fangshan, sixty miles southwest of the capital.
Seeing Yang Sichang coming, Chongzhen, Yuan Chonghuan and others were very unhappy.
Originally, he was counting on Yang Sichang to delay his retreat, but he unexpectedly ran out. Could it be that the capital had been lost?
Wang Chengen naturally knew what Chongzhen was thinking. He said: "Yang Benbing, you are so brave. Your Majesty ordered you to stick to the capital, but you actually dare to resist the order?"
Yang Sichang naturally knew that Chongzhen would say this, but he had already thought of a countermeasure.
He said: "Your Majesty, don't be alarmed. The capital has not been lost. I have recovered Xuanwu Gate and sent heavy troops to guard it. The traitor soldiers have not invaded the inner city!"
After Chongzhen heard that Yang Sichang had retaken Xuanwumen, his expression softened a little.
Could it be that Yang Sichang came to persuade him to return to Beijing?
He asked: "Then why is Yang Qing here?"
Yang Sichang said: "May I ask Your Majesty, are you ready to go south from Baoding and Zhending?"
Chongzhen said: "Governor Yuan's 50,000-strong army has already occupied Zijingguan and Yizhou ahead. I will be able to join them soon. Is there anything wrong with that?"
Yang Sichang said: "Your Majesty must never go south from Yizhou!"
"Your Majesty, with so many salutes and entourage, can only travel 70 to 80 miles a day, and the goal is too obvious! The elite cavalry in Liaodong can easily travel 150 miles a day."
"When His Majesty leaves the capital, almost everyone in the capital knows that even if Li Xianzhong does not completely occupy the capital, he will still come to pursue His Majesty."
Chongzhen directly ordered the execution of more than sixty Li family members. It would be a ghost if Li Xianzhong didn't come to chase him!
Yuan Chonghuan said: "The governor's 50,000 horses are in the area of Yizhou and Zijingguan. You can let your majesty ride ahead first. You will be safe when you get there!"
Yang Sichang said: "Even if you are lucky enough to get there, the number of troops in Liaodong plus the surrendered troops in the capital is now no less than 200,000. Governor Yuan, do you think your troops can stop the Liaodong army?"
"If we could really block it, you 50,000 people would have broken through Zhuozhou and reached the capital long ago. Why would Your Majesty even visit the Central Capital?"
Yuan Chonghuan also knew that he was in the wrong and had to remain silent.
Yang Sichang added: "Even if your Majesty can reach Zhending, the bandit army in Qingzhou has already reached Zhili, and this road will be impossible for your Majesty."
Hearing what Yang Sichang said, Chongzhen immediately panicked and said, "Then according to Yang Qing's wishes, what should we do?"
Yang Sichang knew that his goal had been achieved. He smiled and said: "Now it is definitely impossible to get through from Zhili. It will be easy for Your Majesty to escape. Let's gather the cavalry and go straight north to Juyongguan and enter Xuanfu."
"In this way, Xuanda's advancing and retreating border troops can be mobilized to escort them; even if Li Xianzhong comes after him, he will not be able to break through the dangerous passes along the way for a while, and he will definitely be able to stop his pursuit."
Chongzhen shouted: "This plan is brilliant!"
Then he glanced at Yuan Chonghuan and said: "As for these material synchronization troops and the gentry following His Majesty, Governor Yuan can continue to lead the march to Yizhou."
"In this way, the rebel army can be confused. Governor Yuan can also lead the army back to Shandong and organize more troops to fight against the rebel army."
This is really a reincarnation of the world, who will God spare?
Yuan Chonghuan had previously suggested that Chongzhen allow Yang Sichang to stay at the rear of the capital, but so quickly this important task actually fell on him!
At this time, the Sentinel Cavalry came to report. Liaodong's cavalry has already left Beijing, and is only thirty miles away from here at most!
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(End of chapter)
