"Eat his mother, live with his mother. If you don't eat enough, there will be King Chuang..."
In the midst of the songs welcoming King Chuang, a group of officials of the Ming Dynasty who stretched their necks to welcome the new king finally saw the Dashun Tianbing who made them think about it day and night.
The number of this group of Da Shuntian soldiers was not large, that is, about a thousand people. There were about fifty or sixty horsemen walking in front, all with tall horses and armor. The people following behind were all infantry, with only cloth face armor for body protection. About three hundred of them carried firecrackers on their shoulders, and the rest carried swords and spears.
The ranks of the Da Shuntian soldiers were not very neat, and looked a little worse than the ordinary Beijing camp soldiers. However, according to the professional perspective of Zhang Jinyan, the former Minister of War, this unit, which at first glance looks the same as the Beijing camp troops, has a murderous intent that reaches the sky!
"What an elite soldier!" Zhang Jinyan stroked his beard, squinted his eyes, and nodded gently, as if he really understood.
He turned back to Shao Zhan Xiang Yu and said: "How can the Zhu family's ragtag soldiers compare to such elites? Even if they are ten times more powerful, it will be difficult to defeat them!"
Xiang Yu is from Sichuan, and he echoed with a Sichuan accent: "Enemies! Compared with Da Shuntian's soldiers, even Guan Ning's soldiers are far behind! The prince of the Zhu family was jumping up and down, thinking Blocking a car with a mantis' arms is really laughable!"
"That's right! Zhu Cixiang will be captured by the Da Shuntian soldiers in a few days..."
Xiang Yu shook his head and said with a smile: "That's not necessarily true. He will probably commit suicide and die for his country, right?"
While the two were talking, the "Da Shuntian Soldiers" had already arrived in front of them. The leader was a strong man with a pitted face and a messy beard. He was wearing long iron armor and a pointed helmet on his head. He looked ferocious!
Zhang Jinyan and Xiang Yu didn't dare to talk anymore. They were not worthless soldiers from the Beijing camp, but the heavenly soldiers from Dashun!
So Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu, and several other civil servants with lower official positions immediately stood up according to their official positions, and took out the congratulatory forms for surrender that had been prepared long ago, holding them with both hands and raising them above their heads.
Zhang Jinyan was the leader, so he spoke by name: "Zhu Ming's criminal ministers Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu, Liang Zhaoyang, Zhou Zhong, Wei Xuelian, Qian Weikun... and others respectfully welcomed Dashun's soldiers outside Zhengyang Gate, and congratulated King Chuang. Your Majesty, may you live long and boundless, and the great prosperity of the country may last for thousands of years!”
After he finished speaking, the officials who were welcoming the surrender and their servants shouted in unison: "We sincerely wish His Majesty King Chuang a long life and a prosperous country forever!"
"Hahaha..." The general of the Great Shuntian Army on the horse laughed, and then pointed his riding whip at everyone, "Are you going to submit to King Chuang?"
Zhang Jinyan said with a smile on his face: "General, we are all Zhu Ming's courtiers. Because we are dissatisfied with the foolish emperor who harms the people and the traitorous ministers who harm the country, we look forward to the great shuntian soldiers day and night, just like a baby looking to its loving mother... Today we finally got what we deserve." willing!"
"Oh," the general asked, "Is this what you mean?"
"We are all willing to submit to King Chuang..."
"Where are those people behind you?" he asked again, pointing to a group of servants holding sharp swords.
"We are also willing to be the pioneers of the King!"
"Okay, okay..."
Zhang Jinyan raised the memorial in his hand high and said, "General, we have prepared a letter of congratulations on surrender and want to present it to King Chuang in person."
"Okay, we've even prepared the letter of congratulations on surrender," the general nodded repeatedly, "You guys are really good, not bad...bring them all to me for a look."
have a look? This general can still read! Zhang Jinyan said in his heart: No wonder King Chuang has achieved such great success, he has so many talents under his command! This seemingly vulgar general turned out to be both civil and military!
Thinking of this, he took the lead and handed the congratulatory letter written by himself to this "pockmarked general", and other officials followed suit. The general took it with a smile and opened it one by one in a serious manner... He really knew how to read. When he opened a book, he would read out the official name and confirm it before giving it to one of his followers to put away.
After confirming all the letters of surrender and congratulations, the general pointed to the servants with swords behind the officials, and asked with a serious face: "Why are you still carrying swords? You can't bring swords to King Chuang!"
When Zhang Jinyan heard this, he quickly turned to the servants behind him and said, "Quickly, hand over the weapons and give them all to the Da Shuntian soldiers!"
The pockmarked general waved and summoned a group of infantrymen, asking them to go up and disarm Zhang Jinyan's servants. Seeing that the disarmament was complete, he ordered a group of soldiers to step forward and surround Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu and others.
"General, why is this?" Zhang Jinyan saw that something was wrong with the situation, and quickly raised his hands and said, "I have sincerely surrendered to Dashun..."
The pockmarked general ignored him, but turned around and shouted: "Master Qiantose, there are more than forty or fifty rebels here!"
Chitose Master? Rebellious thieves... Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu and others were confused for a moment.
Who is Chitose? Could it be that Li Zicheng's son is here? Then who is the rebel? Could it be that Dashun also called Zhu Ming's side rebels?
When I was confused, a rather surprised voice sounded: "Ah, Mr. Xiang, are you trying to fight against the Ming Dynasty?"
When Xiang Yu heard this voice, he felt familiar! This was the voice of Prince Zhu Cixi... He quickly followed the voice and looked at it. Hun'er was almost frightened to death.
Zhu Cixiang, who was dressed in iron armor and surrounded by several guards, was coming on horseback in a swaggering manner. When he reached the pockmarked general, he gently reined in the reins and looked at a group of captured rebels with a smile.
Xiang Yu is an official in the East Palace. Of course he recognized Zhu Cixiang at a glance. Now he couldn't even speak clearly: "You, you, you are His Highness the Crown Prince...why are you here?"
"Yes, yes, I am the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty!" Zhu Cixiang nodded with a smile, "Mr. Xiang, you are so careless, why didn't you see more clearly and then ran out to become a rebel... The rebellious generals are still He’s climbing the wall! It’s early!”
"Ouch!" Zhang Jinyan shouted at the side, "I'm so confused. The city gates are blocked. How can the Dashun soldiers ride into the city?"
"Hahaha!" Zhu Cixiang smiled, "Zhang Shangshu, Mr. Xiang, and you guys, do you know that joining the rebellion is rebellion? To rebel... you will be beheaded!"
When it came to "decapitation," Zhu Cixiang's tone became cold, and then he shouted: "Get them all for me!"
"Here!"
The East Palace guards who were following Zhu Cixiang were already ready to capture people. After hearing the order, they swarmed up and captured all the surrendering officials and the servants they brought with them.
Xiang Yu was already frightened, and when two East Palace guards fought with him, he begged repeatedly: "Master Qian Sui, please forgive me, please forgive me... I was confused for a moment, and I don't dare to do it anymore."
Zhang Jinyan still had some backbone, and knew that he could not get any favors, so he simply yelled: "Zhu Cixiang, you are a brat, you are about to die, and you still dare to be arrogant. When King Chuang's soldiers break the city..."
"Gagged! Bound!" Zhu Cixiang waved his hand fiercely, "Take them all to the Meridian Gate and behead them!"
As soon as they heard that they were going to be beheaded, the captured civil servants and their servants all started wailing. The cries of mercy and the sounds of wailing came one after another. The people watching on both sides of the street were also frightened, and they all dispersed in a rush. No one dared to sing the song to welcome King Chuang... It was better to escape for his life!
…
Meridian Gate is very close to Zhengyangmenwai Street where Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu and other rebels were arrested. After entering Zhengyangmen, not far away is Damingmen. There is a long street in Damingmen leading to Chengtianmen. There are government offices on both sides of the long street. On the east side are the Liubu, Zongren Mansion, and Hanlin Academy. On the right side are the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, Jinyiwei, General Affairs Department and so on. Most of the imperial officials of the Ming Dynasty served in these yamen, and the Tiananmen Square of later generations was also located in this area. Chengtianmen was later known as Tiananmen!
After entering Tiananmen, there is another wide walkway, with the altar of sacrifice and the Ancestral Temple on both sides. At the end of the corridor is the legendary Meridian Gate.
The so-called beheading at the Meridian Gate is probably about this - beheading at the gate of the Imperial Ancestral Temple? In real history, there is no such thing. Beijing has a special place for execution. In the Ming Dynasty, it was at Dongsi Archway, and in the Qing Dynasty, it was changed to Caishikou.
Usually no one is allowed to kill people here at the Meridian Gate, but today is an exception!
