At night on March 20, the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign, when the sky darkened, the section from outside Chengtian Gate to Daming Gate was brightly lit, like daylight. Both sides of the wide road, inside and outside each government office, were also crowded with officials and their families who were preparing to flee.
There are so many officials, big and small, in Beijing. Some of them ran away due to various reasons before, but the vast majority of them did not run away. As of the night of the 19th, there were thousands of officials in the inner city alone who had not yet fled. If their families and servants are included, there will be more than 50,000 to 60,000 people.
But now the officials and their followers who have gathered outside Dongzhimen, Chaoyangmen and Chengtianmen only number more than 10,000 people. In other words, most of the officials in the capital still chose to stay and wait for the new master.
However, the group of nobles that Zhu Cixi valued most, including four bachelors and the chief officers of the Six Ministries and Jiuqing Metropolitan Procuratorate, all chose to follow and evacuate.
In addition, Tang Ruowang of Qintian Prison also brought a group of subordinates and believers to the Meridian Gate early in the morning, following Pan Shuchen, the general of the overcoming army sent by Zhu Cixiang.
In addition to the bright lights outside the Meridian Gate, the Zhengyangmen Urn City to the south of the Meridian Gate is also brightly lit, with flags flying, and a large group of soldiers gathered. Zhu Cixiang's Lao Taishan Wu Xiang is still guarding there, with more than twenty red gates. The Yi artillery was also concentrated on the walls of Wengcheng at Zhengyangmen, Chongwenmen and Xuanwumen.
At the same time, the imperial edict of martial law in the inner city of the capital was also issued before nightfall. At this moment, the streets and alleys of the inner city were filled with Beijing soldiers carrying weapons and patrolling.
Notices of high-priced conscription were also posted in front of the Rong government and several military divisions, as well as inside the Xuanwu and Chongwen city gates. The price of recruiting soldiers has skyrocketed from one tael of silver a day to three taels of silver a day!
What does this mean? Are the emperor and the prince still running away? Why are they prepared to defend to the end in the inner city of Beijing?
The officials gathered outside the Meridian Gate felt strange and started talking one after another.
"What's going on? Are you still running away?"
"Maybe you won't run away? I heard that the emperor is awake..."
"Are you awake? The prince..."
"I'm afraid it won't get better!"
"Alas! God forbid!"
"Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say..."
"Why should you be careful? If you let him go through any more trouble, there will be nothing left!"
"is not that right?"
"Imperial decree! There is an imperial decree..."
Just when the officials were talking about it, someone suddenly shouted again.
Imperial decree! Not an edict!
The hearts of the officials present sank! However, they all headed outside Chengtian Gate. For major imperial edicts issued in the Ming Dynasty, a float was set up outside the Meridian Gate to carry the edict. It was carried to the Chengtian Gate and read out by the edict officer. Then the imperial guards put the edict in a cloud box and tied it to a dragon pole with colorful ropes. Lower slowly. Officials from the Ministry of Rites will then receive the order.
When the officials rushed outside Chengtian Gate, the edict had already finished reading the imperial edict, and the edict had been sent down in a cloud box. Qiu Yu, a scholar of Dongge University who is also the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, is taking out the imperial edict from the cloud box.
Immediately, an official who was familiar with Qiu Yu came up and asked, "Brother Min Zhong, what does the imperial edict say?"
Qiu Yu is a bachelor of the cabinet, and the official decree was drafted by him, so naturally he already knew the content.
He sighed: "The Holy One is not leaving!"
"ah?"
"What?"
"What's going on?"
Qiu Yu shook his head, "Your Majesty is awake..."
"That prince..."
All the officials took a breath.
They were all involved in yesterday's "Palace Change"...
"The prince left the city to supervise Nanjing." Qiu Yu's next words made everyone feel relieved. "We will leave the city as usual and escort the prince, Yongwang, Dingwang and the fifth prince to Yongping Mansion, and then take the sea route to Shandong."
Yongping Mansion is the territory within Shanhaiguan, where Governor Ji Liao is stationed, and most of Wu Sangui's army is also on the boundary of Yongping Mansion.
So after Zhu Cixiang left the city, he should go straight to Yongping to meet Wu Sangui...
"Then Your Majesty?"
Qiu Yu said in a tragic tone: "The Holy One will stay in Beijing! The emperor is guarding the gate of the country, and the king is dead... The Holy One will soon go to the Zhengyang Gate Tower to supervise the battle!"
Really?
The officials present were shocked!
The emperor is so great! He stayed to block Li Zicheng and let his sons and ministers escape... This is a good emperor!
The officials who were about to run away actually felt a little guilty. They all felt that they had been fooling the emperor in the past and had taken bribes. It was really inappropriate... After leaving the capital, they must do their jobs well and strive to be less corrupt. The Ming Dynasty was corrupted!
Just when everyone was moved, the originally closed Chengtian Gate suddenly creaked open, and they saw that the lights were brightly lit inside, and a group of Jin Yiwei holding torches lined up from inside. Following these royal guards were the chamberlains carrying swords and spears.
Is this... the imperial commander's personal conquest? Just these royal guards and eunuchs? Can you defend Zhengyang Gate?
The officials thought as they stepped aside to make way for the road. Just as he stood firm, he saw Emperor Chongzhen's guard of honor. The ceremony was not as grand as in the past, and there were not many Han generals in golden helmets to protect them.
The emperor himself wore a helmet and armor and rode a tall horse. He was escorted by Luo Yangxing in a flying fish suit and Gao Yushun in a red python robe, and slowly left the Chengtian Gate. The crown prince, Zhu Cixiang, also wore a helmet and armor and rode a horse, walking behind Emperor Chongzhen.
The officials couldn't believe their eyes. Was he really the emperor of tomorrow? I can't see clearly, and I don't have a torch to shine a lantern on...
"Your Majesty, Qiu Yu, congratulates your Majesty for your personal conquest! I wish my Emperor victory in flying the flag and defeating the bandits. Long live my Emperor, long live, long live..."
Qiu Yu, a bachelor of Dongge University and the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, took the lead and knelt down, then loudly sent the emperor off to the expedition.
Seeing him kneel down and kowtow, other officials didn't dare to stand. They all knelt down and said long live Shanhu.
Emperor Chongzhen, Luo Yangxing, Gao Yushun and others left Chengtianmen and Damingmen and headed towards the Zhengyangmen Urn City amid the shouts of long live the mountains.
However, Zhu Cixiang did not follow them, but stopped at the Daming Gate. Qiu Yu, Wei Zaode, Fang Yuegong, Fan Jingwen and other great scholars stood up one after another and walked towards Zhu Cihong.
Seeing the officials approaching, Zhu Cixiang immediately raised his voice and said loudly: "Everyone, please bring your family members and come with me!"
Boom boom boom...
Just when Zhu Cixi was heading east along Chang'an Street with the Ming officials who were feeling guilty and preparing to go to Jiangnan and be less greedy, more than twenty red cannons were fired at the same time on the towers of Zhengyangmen, Xuanwumen and Chongwenmen. Roared!
Tang Ruowang and several of his students and subordinate officials were responsible for aiming. The targets of the more than twenty cannons were the Temple of Heaven and the Shanchuan Altar, which were less than 3 miles away from Zhengyang Gate. The Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Mountains and Rivers are both huge targets, almost as big as two cities. And just three miles is a very short distance. As long as you load and aim according to the standard, it is almost impossible to hit it blank.
Therefore, the more than twenty solid artillery shells all hit in the first round and fell within the scope of the Temple of Heaven and the Temple of Mountains and Rivers. It didn't cause much damage, but it shocked Li Zicheng, who had just entered the Temple of Heaven.
One of the cannonballs landed near the Temple of Heaven where he lived tonight! If we have to be more accurate... we will have to be disgraced again!
"Long live! Long live! Long live..." Immediately afterwards, the voice of Shan shouting "Long live the mountain" came from the direction of Zhengyangmen.
"Report..."
Soon the leader of the old Shun Army battalion responsible for monitoring Zhengyang Gate came to report: "Report to the Emperor, the Emperor Zhu Thief personally marched on the expedition and went to the arrow tower of Zhengyang Gate!"
"What!? The emperor of the Zhu family went on a personal expedition... and even went to the archery tower?"
"The emperor came out on his own?"
Not only Li Zicheng did not expect, but his great military advisor Song Xiance and Du Zhizhi, who had rebelled from Emperor Chongzhen, did not expect that Chongzhen would have such courage and personally go to the city to supervise the battle.
Now... I'm afraid the battle in Beijing won't be fought!
