When Zhu Cixi left the inner campus, the sky was already dark, and March 15th, the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, was almost over. By this time tomorrow, Li Zicheng's vanguard will probably be wandering around Beijing!
The day after tomorrow, that is, March 17, the offensive and defensive battle in Beijing will begin. If history does not change, Shenjing of the Ming Dynasty will fall into the hands of Li Zicheng in two days. Emperor Chongzhen will hang himself on Meishan, and Zhu Cixiang will lose everything and become a prisoner of Li Zicheng's subordinates...
When Zhu Cixiang returned to Duanben Palace with a large team of people, the good mood he had when he distributed "options" to people in the inner school field was gone.
Although in the past day and night, Zhu Cixiang completed several unimaginable "transactions".
He has successfully deceived two big figures from the Ming Dynasty, Wang Chengen and Wu Xiang, into becoming his "angel investors." He deceived the innocent Queen Zhou and turned her into his accomplice. He also set a trap for an unknown number of brave men in Beijing, and finally issued "options" to Wu Xiang's servants - actually in front of Wu Xiang, and Wu Xiang did not show any dissatisfaction.
But the time left by history is too tight. There are now less than four days left before the city is broken!
There are only two short days left before Beijing is surrounded!
Therefore, even if Zhu Cixiang could piece together a team of two to three thousand people, he would not be able to transform them into real elites.
Without elite escort, there is still no absolute certainty in escaping from the hundreds of thousands of troops surrounded by Li Zicheng.
Therefore, the safest way is to escape tomorrow night before Li Zicheng's army surrounds Beijing.
In this way, in addition to the two or three thousand people he had improvised, he could also be protected by three thousand Nanhaizi Jingjun. Song Quan of Tongzhou also had one or two thousand troops... If the number was more, he could gather seven or eight thousand troops.
With so many people protecting you, going to Tianjin Guard is foolproof. After arriving in Tianjin, if we can still bring over some of Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army, plus Tianjin's defenders and Tianjin Guard's navy, we will have 10,000 to 20,000 people.
With this capital, he and Chongzhen are no longer naked, and it will be much easier to go to Nanjing to reorganize the country...
If Chongzhen doesn't shed tears without seeing the coffin...then he will have to fight in the city of Beijing! But it doesn't matter, Zhu Cixiang is still somewhat confident about breaking out of the encirclement and escaping. Even if we have to stay in Beijing for a few days, there is still some way to do it.
There are a lot of young men in Beijing. As long as there is money these days, someone will work hard!
And there is plenty of money in Beijing!
"Master Chitose, I've been waiting for you and dinner is ready. Can I pass it on to you now?"
At the gate of Duanben Palace, Dabao eunuch Huang Dabao had been waiting for a while. When he saw Zhu Cihong arriving, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.
Huang Dabao was responsible for Zhu Cihong's food. I don’t know when the imperial dining room of the Ming Dynasty palace stopped cooking for the emperor, prince, empress, queen mother, princess, concubine and other nobles - because the food in the imperial dining room was too unpalatable and the cost was high. Not a good deal. Let's just start their own gangs and serve the master's eunuch.
For example, Zhu Cixiang had one hundred and fifty taels of food expenses a month, and he left it all to Huang Dabao, a foodie eunuch, and he did a pretty good job.
"Let's eat something together." Zhu Cixiang turned to the head guard of the East Palace Zhu Chunjie, the clerk Bi Jiucheng, the accompanying eunuch Qiu Zhizhong, and a dozen other guards, "You all come and eat with me. Dabao, that's enough. Do you want to eat?”
"Enough, enough." Huang Dabao agreed.
"Dabao, come with us." Zhu Cixiang said with a smile, "Let's have a fun dinner together. I still have something to say to you."
A disaster is imminent. Even if there is dragon liver and phoenix marrow, Zhu Cihong will not be able to taste it. The most important thing is to take advantage of the opportunity to eat and stabilize your core team.
Wu Xiang's servants and the trapped heroes of the capital were all still on the periphery of Zhu Cixiang's power circle. The real core was still the guards around him, his confidant eunuchs, and the officials in the East Palace. Although these people are not good people, they can only be used now.
"Zhu Chunjie, Bi Shishu, you have been with me for a day today, do you know what I am going to do?" Zhu Cixiang said to his head guard Zhu Chunjie and Shishu Bi Jiucheng while picking up vegetables and cooking rice.
"I know, but, just..." Zhu Chunjie didn't know what to say.
"I know it too." Bi Jiucheng's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he spoke!
Among all Zhu Cixiang's close ministers and eunuchs, these two are the ones whose interests are most consistent with Zhu Cixiang's. Because the eunuchs and teachers around Zhu Cixiang are all old and may not survive Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen's brain was not working well, but his body was very good. Otherwise, he would not have been able to withstand so many official duties and endless mental blows!
Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen is only thirty-three years old this year. If he had lived to be over sixty, those elderly eunuchs and civil servants would have died long ago. But Zhu Chunjie and Bi Jiucheng were young and strong, so they could become Zhu Cihong's top confidants.
So as long as everything is safe and sound, Zhu Chunchen will at least be a guard commander in the future, that is, the commander of the Imperial Guard. Bijiucheng Shao will not be able to join the pavilion, and Bi Ge will be old in the future!
But what Zhu Cihong did today was really out of line for a prince!
As a prince, you should not take the initiative to seize military power! This matter is hidden from His Majesty now, but how many days can it be kept hidden? Once the Holy One finds out, I'm afraid the trouble will be huge. It may not happen to the deposed prince, but most of the people around the prince will have to follow suit, and maybe even their lives will be involved.
"Just going out of line?" Zhu Cixiang understood what Zhu Chunjie and Bi Jiucheng were thinking, and said with a smile, "I also know that I am going out of line, but I am not afraid!"
"Master Qiansui, you..." Zhu Chunjie frowned and didn't know how to persuade him.
Bi Jiucheng also looked confused.
"Because I have a dream from Taizu!" Zhu Cixiang's tone suddenly became serious, "Taizu told me that Juyongguan has been sacrificed to the rebels by traitors, and the army of rebels will soon arrive outside Beijing! Can we save it now? Daming, the only one who can save my father is me! For the sake of Daming and my father, what do I have to be afraid of?
And you also know what I have done today... Last month Wu Xiang offered a price of one million military pay. Today he didn't ask for anything. He wrote a letter to Wu Sangui to mobilize troops and dedicated his daughter to him. This palace is here! Do you think Wu Xiang would be so easy to talk to without the blessing of Emperor Taizu Gao? "
He is giving encouragement to his closest confidants so that they can unite firmly around him.
While Zhu Cixiang was speaking, the announcement from the eunuch on duty suddenly sounded outside the door of Duanjing Hall: "Master Qiansui, the Governor Wang is asking for an audience."
Wang Chengen is here.
"Invitation," Zhu Cixiang glanced at the people eating at the same table with him and whispered, "The news of the fall of Juyongguan has arrived!"
Wang Chengen had already walked in in a hurry, his face was pale. When he saw Zhu Cihong sitting there, he said anxiously: "Master Qiansui, Juyong Pass, Juyong Pass is really lost! Tang Tong and Du Zhizhi have failed the emperor's favor!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded, "How can what Taizu said in his dream be false? By the way, Wang Banban, have you eaten? If not, let's use some together. Dabao, go get some bowls and chopsticks."
Wang Chengen stepped forward and bowed, and then said: "Master Qiansui, the matter is urgent, how can you still sit still as usual?"
"No rush, no rush," Zhu Cixiang smiled, "there is still time to eat and sleep... Juyong Pass is still more than a hundred miles away, and the Badaling Mountain Road is steep, which is not conducive to the passage of the army. It is estimated that Changping will be captured tomorrow, and the capital will be surrounded the day after tomorrow. . You can rest and sleep peacefully tonight. We will travel to Tongzhou at night tomorrow night. We will definitely escape from the tiger's mouth.
Wang Banban, don't be anxious, there's no point in being anxious. Let's eat something together and then go back and take a nap. Starting tomorrow, I'm afraid I'll have to work day and night again. "
After listening to the conversation between Zhu Cihong and Wang Chengen, Zhu Chunjie, Bi Jiucheng, Huang Dabao, and Qiu Zhizhong all forgot to eat. They all looked at Zhu Cihong with their mouths wide open. They didn't know what they were thinking.
Zhu Cixiang glanced at his men with a smile: "Everyone is tired, let's take a rest after dinner!
Zhu Chunjie, none of your people are allowed to leave today. They are all resting in Duanben Palace. Early tomorrow morning, you will leave the palace in person and invite three gentlemen, Chen Rui, Li Shichun and Lin Zengzhi, to take them to the inner school grounds.
Bi Shishu, from now on, you will follow me and be my literary genius! "
