"Well, now that we are the emperor, how can we climb the wall into the city?" Li Zicheng glanced at the ladder wrapped in yellow cloth and shook his head like a rattle.
Riding a big horse into the capital has been Lao Li's dream for many years. He has had this thought since the day he became a rebel. The so-called rebel who does not want to be the emperor is not a good rebel! Li Zicheng is definitely a good rebel with ideals and ambitions, so he has become the emperor.
And the emperor must look like an emperor! How can one climb into the city of Beijing? Aren't you still being a thief? Only thieves climb the walls and enter the house; emperors only use the front door.
"Your Majesty, the great military advisor has calculated it. Beijing is the city of the emperor. It should be conquered by the emperor himself, and the imperial camp should be located in the Temple of Heaven. Only in this way can the country be stable..."
General Quan Tian Jianxiu spoke. It was his idea to invite Li Zicheng to climb the wall! It's not that it was thoughtless, but it was carefully considered. Because Li Zicheng is a typical diaosi counterattack, and he used to rub shoulders with a bunch of old brothers. Now that he is the emperor, and the others are just like princes, why should they be convinced? Moreover, Li Zicheng was not particularly good at fighting. He was often beaten to the point where there were only a few people left, and he was only where he is today because of his brothers' life-saving protection. So in this case, in order to establish his own prestige, Li Zicheng had to resort to feudal superstition.
The so-called feudalism means finding a feudal ancestor for yourself. Li Zicheng didn't know what he thought. It was good that Li Shimin didn't cling to him, so he went to find a party member Li Jiqian.
In terms of superstition, they found a fortune teller, Song Xiance, who was the founding military advisor of the People's Republic of China. He also calculated the "eighteen sons, the main artifact" to prove that Li Zicheng had a destiny - that is, Li Zicheng was surrounded by a miserable background. There is not much culture, otherwise this "eighteen sons" would not be Lao Li.
The ancestor of Lao Li is Li Jiqian. Li Jiqian's surname is not really Li, but Tuoba. That "Li" was the surname given to his family ancestor by the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the early years. In the Song Dynasty, "Zhao" was given again, and Xia Jingzong Yuanhao changed his surname to Weiming, so Weiming was the surname of Xixia. Li Zicheng also recognized Xixia as his ancestor, which means that Wei became famous...
In addition to calculating the "eighteen sons, the main artifact", Song Xiance also calculated the route map for Li Zicheng to enter Beijing. To live in Diaoyutai outside the city, first attack the outer city, then take the inner city, and then live in the Temple of Heaven after entering the outer city... It's all planned by Song Shengun, and you have to do it in order to be successful.
In addition, Song Shengun also specifically told Li Zicheng to personally command the battle in Beijing. This is not what the hexagram says, but Li Zicheng's army is a bit mixed, and the old camp is a rogue bandit. Although it has been reorganized, it will inevitably lose control after entering the "golden nest and silver nest" of Beijing City. And the newly attached troops from the Ming Dynasty are more ferocious than the rogues!
If Li Zicheng hadn't personally stepped up the battle, this group of people might have robbed the entire city of Beijing!
Just grab some from other places, this city of Beijing is the residence of the emperor! The Dashun Dynasty also has a great possibility of seizing Beijing, but it cannot turn Beijing into an empty city.
Moreover, Li Zicheng is also planning to fight with the Manchus around the capital, so he still needs to win the hearts and minds of the people in Beijing...
"Tiansuo Harrier, why don't you climb in first." Li Zicheng pointed to the ladder wrapped in yellow cloth, "After entering, take down the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, and then take down all the gates in the outer city... other places, We will make arrangements after we enter the city in equal numbers. Remember, we must make no mistakes!"
After assigning Tian Jianxiu to enter the city first, Li Zicheng returned to Diaoyutai under the protection of the imperial camp. He had to work with the masterminds Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Gu Junen on how to rely on Beijing Jiancheng, Guan Ning's army, and Manchu reinforcements. Have a good fight!
However, Li Zicheng did not expect that his delay would give the Ming Dynasty feudal forces in the inner city of Beijing a critical breathing space.
Because it was already the night of the 19th when Tian Jianxiu, Chen Yongfu and others who entered the city had cleaned up Yongding Gate. Of course Li Zicheng would not sneak into Beijing in the middle of the night - that would be a bit like a thief! So he delayed entering the city until the morning of the 20th, and then settled in the Temple of Heaven. He first worshiped the heaven and the earth, and then summoned the generals to prepare for the siege. When the work was over, it was the evening of the 20th.
Therefore, the battle in the inner city of Beijing officially started on the morning of the 21st!
…
"You, you, what did you say?"
"Your Majesty, the bandits have already entered the outer city! Qiansui Lord also captured Zhang Jinyan, Xiang Yu, Liang Zhaoyang, Zhou Zhong, Wei Xuelian, Qian Weikun and other dozens of officials and civilians who had surrendered in the outer city, and dragged them all to noon Beheaded outside the door..."
After listening to the little eunuch's report, Emperor Chongzhen, who had just jumped up from the throne, felt weak in his calves and collapsed on the dragon chair again.
The outer city was broken...can the inner city be held?
Moreover, the crown prince actually killed dozens of people outside the Meridian Gate!
Killing people is actually nothing. Zhu Cixiang is now the governor of Fujun and directly under the direct control of military affairs, so he has the right to kill people. However, many of the people killed this time were court officials, and some of them had high official positions. The place of killing was outside the Meridian Gate, which is across from the Huangjimen Square where hundreds of officials go to court!
The most important thing is that he killed so many people at once without asking Emperor Chongzhen for instructions... What on earth did this son want to do?
Thinking of this, Emperor Chongzhen trembled.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... the situation is urgent. Only the imperial commander's personal expedition can protect the capital!"
Among the few courtiers, the only one who stepped forward was Bingke Zhongguang Shiheng.
He blocked the move to the south and impeached the treacherous minister Wu Xiang who had offered his daughter to his wife. He became a pillar among the court officials.
If Beijing City can survive the current crisis, then he will definitely be able to join the cabinet and become a bachelor in the near future.
But it is impossible to defend the city of Beijing by relying on Zhu Cixiang, who strongly supports Nan Xing. Because Zhu Cixiang had been arranging an escape these days and had no intention of holding on. Once the imperial court abandoned Beijing, it moved south to stay as the capital. Then Guang Siheng will be in big trouble! He took the lead in blocking the move south twice, especially when he blocked the crown prince from overseeing Nanjing. He blatantly said "I will become the story of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty."
This is equivalent to putting yourself on the opposite side of the Crown Prince!
Moreover, the purpose of impeaching Wu Xiang's daughter was also to seize the crown prince's power!
The combination of the two made Guang Shiheng the prince's mortal enemy. And the fact that the prince went on a killing spree outside the Meridian Gate today, and killed Xiang Yu, the official of the East Palace, without even acknowledging his relatives, has already made Guang Shiheng feel the danger of moving his head!
If the prince succeeds in promoting Nan Xing, Wu Xiang and Wu Sangui and his son will protect him. The day when the palace official arrives at the capital will probably be the time when the prince ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor.
Will Guang Shiheng still be alive by then?
Therefore, he must stop the southward migration and help Emperor Chongzhen regain military power!
There is only one way to achieve these two goals, which is to promote Chongzhen Yujia's personal expedition. Once the emperor personally conducts the expedition, the prince's power to support the army will naturally be revoked.
Emperor Chongzhen had many concerns about moving south. Once he went to the south, he could only plan to defend Beijing.
"Your Majesty, although the outer city is lost, it is not because the defenders of the capital cannot fight, but because His Highness Fu Jun deliberately abandoned the defense." Guang Shiheng gritted his teeth. He also knew that he and the prince were at odds, so he simply pointed the finger at the prince.
He told Chongzhen, "According to my investigation, the total number of defenders at the seven gates of the outer city is less than 1,000, which is basically a false defense. The number of defenders in the inner city is more than 20,000, and there are more than 20 Hongyi cannons. Buddha There are hundreds of cannons, countless squatting cannons and various types of muskets, and countless gunpowder. If Your Majesty personally leads the six armies, the bandits will never be able to break into the city."
Emperor Chongzhen, who was originally slumped on the dragon chair, has straightened up, "Yes! Yes! What Guang Qing said is very good... The inner city can be defended! I want to conquer it myself!"
Guang Shiheng breathed a sigh of relief and said again: "Without further delay, please send an imperial edict to your Majesty to announce your personal expedition!"
"Draw up an edict, quickly prepare an edict!" Emperor Chongzhen said repeatedly, "I want to lead the expedition in person! Go to Xuan Crown Prince again and tell him that I want to go into battle with him to defend against the enemy!"
When dozens of courtiers outside Huangji Gate heard Chongzhen's words, they couldn't help but blame Guang Shiheng in their hearts.
The situation in Beijing has just improved a bit, and you jumped out to cause havoc! Is it possible for you to fight a war yourself? Over the past decade or so, all good situations have been ruined by him. If he were to conquer an isolated city in Beijing, how could it be better?
Of course the courtiers knew that something was wrong, but no one dared to say anything... Now it was not only the court and the bandits who were fighting, the emperor and the prince were also fighting openly and secretly!
