When Zhu Yuanzhang rode through Chengtian Gate, the soldiers guarding the city did not recognize him.
But seeing that he was able to ride out from the imperial city, with eunuchs and royal guards following behind him, he hurriedly saluted and let him go.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at these soldiers and saw that although they were brightly armored and handsome in appearance, they were all lazy and decadent, without the tension of a battle, and his heart sank.
However, he also knew that this was not the time to prepare, so he reined in his horse, walked slowly through the city gate, and looked towards the inner city with some worry.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally thought that the inner city would be in chaos when the rebels besieged the city. Unexpectedly, the city was in order and there was no trace of panic.
Although there are few pedestrians on the street, the shops are open as usual.
In particular, there are some weird colorful flags planted in front of some shops, fluttering in the wind, which is really embarrassing.
Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled, so he drove his horse forward slowly and looked at each shop carefully.
Only then did he realize that although they were all open for business, the expressions of the clerks in each store were different.
Most of the store clerks were frowning or talking in small groups. Only the store clerk with the colorful flags was energetic and arrogant.
"What's up with those colorful flags? Have they been hung before?"
Zhu Yuanzhang pointed to the colorful flags in front of a shop and said to Wang Chengen behind him.
After Wang Chengen heard this, he was silent for a while and whispered: "According to the old slave, these colorful flags were hung up in the past two days. I heard that they donated military salary for their merits, and Governor Wang specially gave them to them... ..”
As Wang Chengen spoke, he secretly observed Zhu Yuanzhang's expression.
The Governor Wang mentioned by Wang Chengen was Wang Dehua, the Admiral of Dongchang.
Although both of them have the surname Wang, it is well known to the world that they are at odds with each other.
Wang Chengen was also worried that telling Wang Dehua directly would arouse Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion, so he only said some things that were clear and kept silent about the rest.
In fact, when Zhu Yuanzhang saw those colorful flags, he had already guessed half a dozen of them. Seeing Wang Chengen's evasive words at this moment, he couldn't help but turn his head and glare at him.
He said angrily: "As an eunuch with a pen, and now you are the admiral of the capital camp, you actually let Dongchang do what he did during this critical time. How can you live up to our great trust?"
When Wang Chengen heard this, he immediately got off his horse and kowtowed in apology.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he was agile when dismounting, and thought that he was the queen of the generals, and that Chongzhen had handed over the power to him before.
If it is a temporary change, it will cause trouble, which is not a good thing.
So he calmed down and said softly: "That's all, things are complicated at this time, so I won't blame you, but you should be more cautious in the future and don't be confused again!"
After saying that, another whip was struck on the horse's buttocks.
The horse neighed and ran forward quickly.
When Wang Chengen saw this, he quickly got on his horse and chased Zhu Yuanzhang.
After a while, Zhu Yuanzhang arrived in front of Zhengyang Gate.
Zhengyang Gate is one of the nine gates in the inner city. At this moment, not only are there many people on the city wall, but there are also many soldiers and people carrying supplies around the city gate.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, he felt a little relieved.
However, when he got closer and saw that most of the soldiers carrying stones and arrows were sallow and thin, with depressed expressions, and that the people were working under the coercion of some fat-headed soldiers, his heart sank again.
Just when he was about to ask Wang Chengen for the name of the defender, he heard another noise coming from the city gate.
Zhu Yuanzhang followed the sound and saw a group of ragged people rushing in desperately, but the soldiers at the city gate used long spears to stop them, so a quarrel broke out.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"
At this time, a burst of yelling sounded from the crowd.
Then I saw a dozen servants wearing small hats and green clothes arrogantly pushing the people forward.
And in the middle of them, a wealthy young man wearing a silk shirt, with sharp eyebrows and starry eyes walked leisurely forward, looking at the common people with disdain.
When the soldiers guarding the city saw this group of people, they not only did not stop them, but instead welcomed them in respectfully.
When the people outside the city saw this, they became more noisy. Several angry young people had already begun to snatch the spears from the soldiers and wanted to force their way into the city.
"Bold, are you going to rebel?"
As a rough voice sounded, a fat middle-aged man wearing a crown and a bullfight suit came out.
When the soldiers guarding the city saw the middle-aged man, they all bowed and saluted: "Hello, Mr. Cao!"
It turned out that the person who came was Cao Desi, the guard of Zhengyang Gate.
Cao Desi waved his hand sarcastically, looked at the people outside the city with contempt, and shouted: "If these unruly people dare to break through the city gate, they will be charged with treason and killed without mercy!"
"We are all from the outer city. Why can they go in but we can't?"
As soon as Cao Desi finished speaking, a burly man about thirty years old, wearing a square scarf and a Confucian shirt walked out of the crowd and asked with an annoyed look on his face.
"Why? Because he paid me the money. If you give me money, I will let you in!"
Cao Desi looked at the man like he was an idiot and said arrogantly.
"We have also paid money. Over the years, taxes have increased every year. We have paid on time. Don't we just hope to get your protection in times of war?"
"Now that the rebels are attacking the city, not only do you not protect us, but you also ask for silver from us. What's the point?"
Although the middle-aged man looked angry, he still argued peacefully.
"It's not like I took your money. The young man is mumbling in front of me. Anyway, if you want to enter the city today, you have to pay the money."
"If you don't have any money, just go back to me. Otherwise, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Cao Desi seemed to have lost his patience and shouted loudly at the middle-aged man. At the same time, he patted the long knife on his waist with his right hand in demonstration.
"Li Changru, you are a poor scholar who has not even been admitted as a scholar. What are you doing here? Even if Lord Cao lets you in, do you have a place to live?"
"Besides, even if the rebels enter the city and rob you poor guy, you'd better be smarter and go back quickly to avoid embarrassing our Shen Village here!"
At this time, the former rich man scolded the middle-aged man with disdain.
It turns out that the middle-aged Confucian scholar Li Changru and the wealthy son Shen Youcheng are both from Shenjia Village in the outer city. Li Changru was originally a tenant of the Shen family, but because of his diligence and studious, he was highly praised by Shen Wushuang, the head of the Shen family.
Shen Wushuang used him as an example to reprimand Shen Youcheng many times, so Shen Youcheng was very dissatisfied with him.
Although Li Changru was talented and knowledgeable, the government was corrupt and most of the imperial examinations were based on wealth, so he has not been able to obtain any honors.
Although he knew that this was not his fault, he gradually felt ashamed when he saw that many of his classmates had achieved fame.
At this moment, Shen Youcheng exposed it to his face, and his face immediately turned red.
When Shen Youcheng saw this, he said even more proudly: "Look at how bad you are, go back and show me the village!"
When Li Changru heard this, he instinctively stepped back, but bumped into the people behind him. Then he saw the hopeful glances from all around.
So he steeled himself and said loudly: "The laws of the Ming Dynasty do not stipulate that civilians are not allowed to enter the city. Instead, they require that soldiers must protect the safety of the people during war. Aren't you afraid of being punished if you openly violate the law like this?"
"choke!"
Cao Desi pulled out his long sword and said arrogantly: "Law? I will let you know what the law is today!"
As he said that, he charged towards Li Changru with a knife.
When Li Changru saw this, he subconsciously took a few steps back.
Then he walked forward slowly and said angrily: "The sky is clear and the sun is bright, and the world is bright. I don't believe that the emperor has no law at his feet!"
Hearing this, Cao Desi was stunned for a moment, then grinned and sneered: "Haha, what about the emperor's feet? Why don't I kill a few idiots like you who don't understand current affairs at the emperor's feet?"
After saying that, Cao Desi strode forward.
And those soldiers seemed to have become accustomed to it, and they tacitly made way for him.
This Li Changru was also very tough. He didn't even take a step back and stood there with dignity.
"Ah!—kill!"
Cao Desi roared loudly, raised his long knife and struck at Li Changru.
