Preparations for the escape began a few days ago, and by the evening of the 20th, they had been prepared for four or five days.
Here in the palace, under the arrangement of Zhou Hou, Queen Yi'an, Zhou Hou herself, Yuan Guifei, Prince Ding, Prince Yong, the fifth prince, Zhu Cixi's unmarried concubine Ning's little beauty, two princesses, and Chongzhen Several of the emperor's concubines had packed up their clothes and put on common people's clothes. The confidant maids and eunuchs who served them also changed their clothes.
The carriages used for the escape were also ready. They were purchased from the private sector by Huang Dabao and two royal merchants, Soy Sauce Huang and Lao Misu, at a high price in the past few days. They were strong and durable, and not as eye-catching as the royal vehicles. These vehicles and drivers are now all concentrated in the Bingzhan Bureau's outer factory outside Bei'anmen, and are under the care of the Right Battalion of Kenan Camp.
In the inner school yard, there are now hundreds of horse-drawn carriages, mule carts and camels. There were boxes of various sizes in the car and on the camel's back. They looked heavy, and most of them were filled with yellow and white things.
In addition, a large number of chariots, horses, camels and fully armed soldiers were also gathered in and around the Wengcheng at Chaoyangmen and Dongzhimen.
Gathered in Chaoyangmen Wengcheng were the main force of the Kenan camp, the elite of the Beijing camp, and some of the East Palace guards. Most of the key disciples of the royal family who had contributed money in the capital also arrived at Chaoyang Gate, each preparing horses and servants, as well as a small amount of soft goods and dry food. And they all followed Zhu Cixiang's instructions and put on common people's clothes. Those who had armor to wear wore coarse cloth clothes over the armor.
The situation in the Dongzhimen area was a bit chaotic. There were too many carriages and people, and the organization was too poor. There was so much chaos that not only the Dongzhimen Wengcheng could not fit in, but even Dongzhimen Street was crowded. The nobles who were about to run away from Dongzhimen also put on common people's clothes. The women's families even specially smeared plaster on their faces. They were all dark. I wonder if they could hide it from the eyes of the bandits?
The sounds of crying and quarreling could be heard on Dongzhimen Street from time to time. It turned out that some nobles were eager to run away, and they couldn't wait any longer, so they quarreled with the Jingjun who were maintaining order on Dongzhimen Street and Dongzhimen Wengcheng.
The commander of this pure army is Zhu Cixiang's original eunuch, now the eunuch Qiu Zhizhong, the imperial horse supervisor. Seeing the chaotic and noisy scene, he was so anxious that he was sweating profusely. There are some rogue cavalry outside the city!
How could this messy group of guys and the more than 2,000 to less than 3,000 clean troops he had just taken over escape?
Just when he was anxious to get angry, noisy and noisy sounds suddenly came from Dongzhimen Street.
One of Qiu Zhizhong's godsons, who was also an eunuch, rushed up to Qiu Daxuan who was anxious in Wengcheng. Just as he was about to bow down, Qiu Daxuan shouted: "What are you praying for? If you have anything to say, please tell me!"
"Godfather, the emperor and Qiantose are here!"
"What?" Qiu Zhizhong was stunned, "Did you read that correctly?"
"How can I be wrong about this? Godfather, hurry up and meet him!"
Qiu Zhizhong quickly tidied his python robe, and then took a few large swordsmen from the Jingjun to the inner gate of Wengcheng. As soon as I got there, I saw the emperor's guard of honor, the guard of honor of the East Palace, and the queen's guard of honor coming together along Dongzhimen Street.
Walking in front of these ceremonial guards was a group of big Han generals in golden helmets, all riding tall horses and carrying long-handled swords, which looked very majestic.
Really the emperor? Qiu Zhizhong didn't dare to neglect, so he stepped forward quickly. After taking a few steps, he was stopped by a golden-armored general.
"Eunuch Qiu, Master Qiansui is right behind. You can go and pay your respects."
Qiu Zhizhong glanced at the man. He was an extremely grown-up man, with a neatly trimmed beard. His eyes were very big, and they were as wide as copper bells.
"Isn't this Lin Dayan? But he got an official position?"
Qiu Zhizhong recognized this man. His name was Lin Yihu, a member of the Tianjin Guards. He was selected as a Han general because of his height. He was just an ordinary Han general without an official status. But today he seems to be an official taking care of things.
"Haha, Eunuch Qiu has good eyesight," Lin Dayan smiled, "I won the appreciation of Master Qiantose and became the commander of the guard camp."
There were not many guards in the East Palace, and they were not organized into battalion leaders. Moreover, many old guards were incorporated into the Kenan Battalion as officers. Therefore, before Zhu Cixiang recruited the Han generals, he did not have any guard battalion. He only transferred a bureau of soldiers from the Kenan camp, plus some original guards, all in the name of guards, and commanded by Wang Qi.
And yesterday morning, after Wang Qi and his men recruited the Han generals, the number of guards increased to more than a thousand, enough to form a battalion. Therefore, the name of the East Palace Guards Battalion came into being, and Wang Qi served as the Chief Qian, which was the commander of the first battalion. The following General Managers, General Managers, and Flag Managers are all temporarily appointed. Because Lin Dayan had a bold personality and good martial arts skills, he had always had prestige among the generals of the Han Dynasty, so he was given the title of general.
Qiu Zhizhong politely congratulated Lin Dayan, and then walked forward quickly. After walking for dozens of steps, he saw Zhu Cihong, who was dressed in the prince's uniform, Wang Cheng'en and Zu Zepu walking side by side, seemingly still. He was explaining something while walking.
Seeing Qiu Zhizhong running up sweating profusely, Zhu Cixiang quickly waved to him and asked him to come forward and talk.
"General Zu, this is the Royal Horse Supervisor Qiu Zhizhong, who was originally my companion." Zhu Cixiang introduced Zu Zepu and Qiu Zhizhong with a smile, "This is Zu Zepu, who was just appointed by this palace as Ji Zhizhong." Chief Military Officer of the Prefecture. The road leading from Dongzhimen is led by General Zu. Qiu Banban, you will be appointed as the eunuch guarding Jiliao."
He leaned down, got close to Qiu Zhizhong, and whispered: "Qiu Banban, please remember to this palace that no matter what, you must arrive in the army of Wang Yongji, the governor of Jiliao, in Yongping."
With that said, Zhu Cihong took out several copies of the Fujun Crown Prince's Order and handed them to Qiu Zhizhong. This edict was drafted by the cabinet and approved by the prince, which is equivalent to a legal imperial edict. Then he whispered: "Read it on the way. You will know what to do after reading it."
Qiu Zhizhong took the order with both hands, glanced at the chariot behind Zhu Cihong, and asked: "Master Qiansui, the emperor..."
Zhu Cixiang said: "Everything remains the same, we just need to hide it from others."
Qiu Zhizhong nodded and said, "Old slave, I understand."
Zhu Cixiang added: "Accompany me to the tower and prepare a place for me to change clothes."
Zhu Cixiang arrived wearing the prince's regular clothes in order to create the illusion that he and Emperor Chongzhen were at Dongzhimen. Therefore, he could not leave from Dongzhimen Street as is and had to walk through the city wall to Chaoyang Gate. Moreover, he had to change clothes with the guards around him, put on the mandarin duck battle coat of the soldiers from the Beijing camp, and leave quietly.
After going up to the tower, Zhu Cixiang called Wang Chengen and Qiu Zhizhong to his side again. While asking them to help him change his clothes, he whispered: "There are many people and horses on this road, and it is difficult to escape. But there are still three princes. Your Majesty, you must be absolutely foolproof! Do you understand?"
"Old slave knows what to do." Qiu Zhizhong nodded, "But where should I go after I escape?"
"Go to Wang Yongji's army in Yongping." Zhu Cixiang said, "I have also taken care of Zu Zepu... He will take the ancestral family's servants to protect you eastward.
If anything happens, you and Zu Zepu will work together to protect a prince and break out to Yongping! "
After the instructions were given, the clothes were almost changed. Zhu Cixiang stopped staying and immediately led his guards to Chaoyang Gate.
The security over Chaoyang Gate was much tighter. There were soldiers from the Kenan Camp and the Beijing Camp armed with weapons both above and below the city. Wu Sanfu and Zhu Chunjie were waiting on the city wall. When they saw Zhu Cihong approaching, they quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Everyone is here? How are you preparing?" Zhu Cixiang asked when he saw them.
"Everyone in the palace is here, but the old royal family hasn't come yet..." Zhu Chunjie replied, "Those who have arrived have all changed into common people's clothes, and no one knows."
Wu Sanfu said: "Most of the Kenan Camp, most of the East Palace Guard Camp, the Tiger Guard Camp adapted from the elite of the Beijing Camp, the Dragon Riding Camp adapted from the Han General and other strong men have all arrived... There are more than 6,000 people in total, all of whom have arrived. They are still elite, and they have been rewarded all over again, so their morale is not bad.
There are also more than a thousand descendants of noble families and capable servants, all of whom are capable of fighting.
In addition, Eunuch Huang and the two imperial merchants also summoned two thousand strong men who could also fight. They also managed more than 600 carriages, mule carts and more than 200 camels. "
"Okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded, "I will come as soon as I go... You can send someone to urge the old emperor and tell him that he won't wait until the time comes, so you won't wait for him."
