Tang Tong, Wang Chengyun, Chen Yongfu, Bai Guangen, and Du Zhizhi were all standing in the open space about a hundred steps away from Guangning Gate in the outer city of Beijing. There were no lanterns or torches around them to avoid being caught by the city. The defenders bombarded them with artillery.
They came to call the city on Li Zicheng's order. The city cry on the 17th was a failure, and Du Xun even got involved. However, Li Zicheng did not give up the "war of hearts and minds", because the city wall of Beijing was high and strong, and Hongyi cannons were deployed on it. If we cannot capture the heart, but must attack by force, it will not be easy.
Because Li Zicheng's army came in a hurry and was lightly armed and did not carry many artillery, it could not hit the city wall of Beijing. Building large-scale equipment was not only time-consuming and labor-intensive, but also was of little use under the threat of the Hongyi cannons on the city of Beijing. But if we rely solely on ladder ants to attack, how many people will have to die to capture the city of Beijing?
Of course, the time has come when we must attack by force. Li Zicheng would not easily dispatch his old camp, but would let the surrendered Ming army attack the city. He would not feel bad about how many people died!
However, Tang Tong, Wang Chengyun, Bai Guangen and Chen Yongfu, the four generals of the Ming army who surrendered to Li Zicheng, did not want their men to suffer heavy losses.
For them, the military is their capital! The basis for getting promoted and making a fortune in the new Dashun Dynasty in the future cannot be wasted under the walls of Beijing.
And through Du Zhizhi, the four of them also knew that Beijing was very empty. There are only a few thousand Beijing troops and 3,000 pure troops.
Wu Sangui's Guan Ning soldiers did not arrive, and Shandong General Liu Zeqing's soldiers south of the capital also fled.
In addition to not having much military strength, there is also no pay in Beijing. I don’t know if the treasury, Ganei Treasury, has 200,000 taels of silver?
With no soldiers and no pay, it is basically an empty city. How can it be possible that the people can't cry out?
Therefore, in addition to the "big voice" calling for the city, the four general soldiers each brought hundreds of servants, and there were also 3,000 elite soldiers selected from their headquarters. It was these elite soldiers who had just fired a burst of firecrackers at Guangning Gate to scare the defenders on the city. Now they waited for the Guangning Gate to be opened, occupied it immediately, and then waited for Li Zicheng's old camp to arrive, which would be considered a meritorious service - the four of them would not dare to eat this piece of fat in the outer city of Beijing under any circumstances. , that has to be left to King Chuang’s inner circle...
"Brothers in the city, we are also the original soldiers of the Beijing camp! Now we have joined Emperor Dashun, we eat well and drink spicy food every day, and we are no longer angry with the Zhu family! Don't work for the Zhu family, and come with us. Let’s do it!”
"Brothers in the city, Emperor Dashun has millions of heavenly soldiers, and the capital cannot be defended. You should open the city gate to welcome King Chuang, so that you can become a hero of Conglong..."
The campaign for the city began. We did not talk about specific conditions first, but publicized the situation. In fact, there was no need for any publicity. Millions of troops were already approaching the city, so why should we publicize it?
The future of the Ming Dynasty is like a lice on a monk's head, it's obvious... it's going to end!
Therefore, the four generals of Dashun estimated that if they shouted a few times, the defenders on the city gate would respond, and then it would be time to negotiate terms. The four of them and Du Zhizhi collected a few boxes of silver, about three to four thousand taels, and carried them all. As long as the defenders of Guangning Gate were willing to surrender, the money would be given to them.
However, the development of things was far beyond their expectations.
Because the city gate will not open... Thanks to the efforts of the British Duke Zhang Shize, Guangning Gate has been blocked by dirt, gravel and other miscellaneous things.
Therefore, even if the garrison of less than a hundred people at Guangning Gate wanted to sacrifice the gate, they were unable to do anything.
And Zhu Cixiang has also arrived!
In the war, the current Zhu Cixiang is definitely not as good as Li Zicheng, let alone Dorgon.
But bragging! Haha, who is Zhu Cixiang afraid of? He is a professional braggart! In later generations, there will still be the Securities Regulatory Commission that can punish people like him, but now the Ming Dynasty does not have such a yamen!
Even if there were, with Zhu Cixiang's status as the successor to the feudal cause of the Ming Dynasty, would he still be afraid that others would accuse him of bragging?
That’s not to let it go!
Therefore, as soon as the Beijing soldiers below the city who had surrendered to Dashun finished shouting, the response from the city came, but it was not to surrender, but to persuade them to surrender.
"Brothers below the city, you surrender early! Now the imperial court has money! The noble officials in Beijing have all donated money under the inspiration of Prince Qiantose... So we are now paid one tael of silver a day! It is now Silver!"
What?
One tael of silver a day, or cash?
How can this be! ?
The four general soldiers all set their sights on Du Zhizhi. Eunuch Du's head shook even more wavyly, "Impossible, impossible... Even if the imperial court has money, the holy, oh, stupid king of the Zhu family will not be willing to give it!"
That’s right, Emperor Chongzhen dug it! How could you give so much?
Another message came from the city: "Brothers below the city, it's too late for you to abandon the dark and turn to the light! Master Qiantose said that as long as you defect, you can forget about it. Each of you will be rewarded with five taels of silver and cash in cash! Come and get the money!"
Really rich?
Tang Tong, Wang Chengyun, Chen Yongfu, Bai Guangen and Du Zhizhi all opened their mouths in surprise.
Before the five of them could react, some of the "loud soldiers" who were shouting from the city began to question.
"Just brag, who will believe it?"
"Even if the court has money, it won't give us these big soldiers!"
"It's useless even if you have money... Emperor Dashun's millions of soldiers have arrived, and the defense of Beijing is useless!"
Someone on the top of the city immediately responded loudly: "It's useful, how can money be useless?
Let me tell you, those of us who serve as soldiers cannot get a few taels of silver...the bulk of it will be given to the Manchus! "
"to whom?"
"Manchus! The Qing Dynasty...the imperial court borrowed troops from the Qing Dynasty! It sent 2 million taels and borrowed 20,000 Manchu soldiers. Together with Guan Ning's army, they are almost at the capital! As soon as the Manchu soldiers arrive, you will be finished. .”
"is this real?"
"Of course! We in the Ming Dynasty also made peace with the Qing Dynasty...Prince Chitose is going to marry Princess Princess Fu Zhengrui of the Qing Dynasty. From now on, the emperor of the Qing Dynasty and the emperor will be the in-laws."
"Really? Don't be ridiculous!"
"Haha, can such a thing be false? Can this be nonsense?"
That's right, can you talk nonsense about getting married?
Tang Tong, Wang Chengyun, Chen Yongfu, Bai Guangen, and Du Zhizhi were also a little panicked.
Don’t they know what Emperor Chongzhen’s temper is? He was a very serious emperor. How could he talk nonsense about the marriage between the crown prince and the daughter of a Manchu prince?
"Eunuch Du, is it possible that this is true?" Tang Tong couldn't hold himself back any longer, so he asked first.
"Yes, my father-in-law is a person close to the emperor of the Zhu family, so he knows better than us, right?"
"Eunuch Du, will the Emperor of the Zhu family deceive us about this?"
"Yes, Eunuch Du, you know the best about the Red Thief Emperor..."
Wang Chengyun, Chen Yongfu, and Bai Guangen also started asking questions. The Ming Dynasty borrowing troops from the Qing Dynasty is no joke!
How powerful are the Manchu soldiers! The officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty won more than they lost against Li Zicheng. Especially before Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng were beaten to death by the Qing soldiers (they didn't know that Hong Chengchou had surrendered to the Qing Dynasty), Li Zicheng was beaten everywhere by them. He was a real exile. Thieves... But when such powerful Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng met the Manchurian soldiers, they were completely wiped out!
"This, this..." Du Zhizhi shook his head, "Logically speaking, it won't happen, but it's not certain. Didn't Chen Xinjia die just because he leaked what he was talking about with the Manchus? Maybe the peace talks have always been going on. Do it in secret!”
"That must be the case!" Tang Tong clapped his hands, "Why else wouldn't the Emperor of the Zhu family run away? At the beginning of the year, weren't they still talking about leaving the capital? By March, they were silent..."
"It must be like this!" Wang Chengyun was also afraid. He, the chief soldier of the Xuanfu, had fought many Manchurian soldiers, and he knew how ferocious those people were.
If he had known that the consequence of surrendering to Li Zicheng would be to fight the Manchu soldiers, he would have held on to the end in Xuanfu.
Bai Guangen, who had participated in the Battle of Songjin, also suffered from panphobia and gasped: "If this is really the case, it will be really difficult to win this capital!"
Chen Yongfu was the calmest among them. He snorted: "It's just 20,000 Manchurian soldiers... We'll keep an eye here and let people fire cannons. You go and report to the emperor first. I believe the emperor has his own way to deal with it."
