"The bandit is coming! Run!"
The troops of the Jing Dynasty were rushing and screaming on the official road leading to Shunyi, like a group of frightened sheep. They had been running for several hours and had long since broken up into a team. Half of them had even lost their weapons. Only some of the knights protecting a few carriages were equipped with weapons and armor. However, they did not dare to turn back and fight the ferocious beast-like bandit cavalry. They just walked in the front row of the Pure Army soldiers on foot.
Behind these frightened escapees, on both sides of the road, everything was discarded, including carts, weapons, boxes, silk, gold and silver, calligraphy and paintings... There were also some elderly people and young children sitting on the roadside. Crying, the exhausted mules and horses were also abandoned by their owners. Some of them still had breath, lying on the ground, making long or short whines.
"The Ming Dynasty is over! The emperor doesn't care about us anymore, it's over, it's all over..."
"Whoever is kind-hearted, please bring my grandson with you. Even if I die, I will be grateful to you!"
"My family has been honored for more than two hundred years...how did it end up like this?"
"Da Ming, it's over! We are all so greedy..."
"We are sorry to our ancestors!"
Most of the people who followed Wang Chengen, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong from Dongzhimen were old and weak members of the noble family and leftovers. To put it harshly, it’s an abandonment! After leaving Beijing, their fate depends on them. It’s up to you to run as much as you can. If you can't run away, there is nothing you can do if you ask the bandits to kill you.
It's really no wonder Zhu Cixiang suffered their fate - there are seventy-two guards here in Beizhili! If the land and military households during Chengzu's reign could still be maintained, there would be 43,200 military households!
Even if six military households produce one elite soldier, there should be 67,200 elite soldiers. The old camp Li Zicheng brought to Beijing didn't have that many people yet!
But now, what about the more than 400,000 military households? What about the land of the Seventy-Two Guards? Where have they all gone?
Even if the land is gone and the military households are gone, as long as the hereditary nobles in Beijing still have the martial arts and military skills of their ancestors, they can still pull out more than ten thousand cavalry.
With more than ten thousand cavalry, they can fight to the death with Li Zicheng's old camp!
Well, even if there are not more than ten thousand cavalry, there must be one or two thousand elite officers, right? Can a few more military strategists similar to Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou preserve the Ming Dynasty?
It's a pity that there is no one!
Not only were there no ones who could fight, but they couldn't even run easily. There were only a few elites who followed Zhu Cixiang, because they were young, had good physical strength, and could run wildly on horseback. Most of the people who followed Wang Chengen could not ride strong horses, and some could only ride in cars. Moreover, the order was also poor and they carried many jars and jars. Some of them brought a lot of wives, concubines, and maids with them. I really don’t know if they were escaping for their lives or going on an outing.
As a result, the team dispersed as soon as they came out of Dongzhimen. They were all scrambling to get ahead, fighting each other for the road. No one was behind or clearing the way in front. Wang Cheng'en, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong did not have Wu Xiang's organizational skills, and they did not have that many backbones to help maintain order. Moreover, neither of them had the courage like Zhu Cixiang, who dared to personally break up the rear and leave the city in the last batch. They ran away first with the Pure Army. As soon as they ran away, the others were naturally in chaos and quickly fled in all directions, unable to form a team. The quick-thinking person abandoned his possessions, pretended to be a poor man, and fled to Tianjin, but he got away a lot.
But there were still some who were reluctant to part with their belongings, so they drove their carriages and horses, accompanied by their servants, and walked on the official road. As a result, before they had gone far, they began to be pursued by the Dashun Army's cavalry. At first it was the rangers and sentries, but by noon, more than two thousand cavalry commanded by Li Laiheng also arrived. When Li Laiheng saw that his opponent had many troops and a large number of brightly-dressed soldiers, he did not dare to pounce at the beginning, but used the tactics of pursuit. Continuously bites the opponent's tail to create an atmosphere of panic, forcing them to run away with all their strength.
The Nanhai Zi Jingjun didn't have much physical strength. They usually just ate and didn't have a drill for several days. How could they compete with Li Chuang's old camp who fought every day? Moreover, they had not had a chance to rest since they left Dongzhimen early this morning. They had been running all the way for several hours and were already extremely exhausted.
So when the cry of "The bandits are coming" sounded again, Wang Chengen, Zu Zepu, and Qiu Zhizhong looked at each other and shook their heads.
"Admiral Qiu, Zu Qianhu, what should we do?" Wang Chengen was already panicking. He now wanted to die.
It wasn't because he couldn't save Emperor Chongzhen's wife and children, but because he saw through Zhu Cixiang's ruthlessness!
Why is there a high probability of a successful breakout? It is clearly "killing the younger brother and imprisoning the father"! Zhu Cihong held Chongzhen in his hands and threw his three younger brothers to Wang Chengen and the others to use as bait... This was to drive the younger brothers to their death!
Emperor Chongzhen had four sons, and now he lost three of them at once, leaving Zhu Cixiang as his only son!
The prince is an only son, how can you waste him? The foundation of this country is as stable as iron! Even if Emperor Chongzhen arrived in the south of the Yangtze River, Shi Kefa and his gang would not dare to propose deposing Zhu Cihong. Who would the throne be passed to after he was deposed?
Now that there is only one heir to the throne, and Zhu Cihong has shown extremely high political, military, and economic talents, more officials will support his early accession to the throne.
It seems that Emperor Chongzhen will soon become the Supreme Emperor... Although Wang Chengen also feels that Zhu Cixiang is more capable than his father, letting him ascend the throne early is the only way to save the Ming Dynasty.
But Zhu Cixi actually resorted to lending a knife to kill his brother. Isn't it too cruel? He killed his younger brother and imprisoned his father. His ruthlessness surpassed that of Emperor Taizu Gao. He looked like Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty!
And how come Wang Chengen accidentally picked up such a vicious guy!
Although it would not be a disservice to the Ming Dynasty to hold up a prince who is as ruthless as Li Shimin, maybe the Emperor Taizu buried in Xiaoling is quite happy... With such powerful descendants, the Ming Dynasty can flourish again , Emperor Taizu Gao was of course happy.
But Wang Chengen really couldn't help Chongzhen!
How can Wang Chengen, an honest eunuch, not feel guilty?
Seeing Wang Chengen's face bursting with tears, Qiu Zhizhong understood what was going on. He quickly took out the edict he had prepared and handed it to Wang Chengen with both hands: "Eunuch Wang, Qian Suiye has expected this...so he has prepared this." The edict is for Li Zicheng."
"Giving an order to Li Zicheng?" Wang Chengen didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "It's a shame he can think of it!"
"Master Qian Sui has such a clever plan, how could he not figure it out?" Qiu Zhizhong said, "He asked you to take this edict and keep the two princes and Concubine Yuan as Li Zicheng's prisoners! He also asked you to bear the humiliation and bear the burden and keep the two princes. With Concubine Yuan Guifei, don’t get distracted by your thoughts.
At the same time, Master Qiantui also asked me and Zu Qianhu to work together to protect a prince to break out of the encirclement and go to Yongping. "
Zu Zepu was also advising: "My lord, don't be afraid. As long as the emperor and the prince are here, there is no danger to the two princes, and it doesn't matter if they fall into the hands of Li Zicheng.
Moreover, Li Zicheng would not be able to stay in Beijing for long. As long as the Manchurian soldiers came, he would definitely not be able to defend the city. After losing Beijing, he is a lost dog. Does he still dare to kill you and the two princes? "
Wang Chengen sighed, "Our family is sorry for His Majesty, and now we have no choice but to risk our lives to save the concubine and the two princes for His Majesty... I just don't know who our family should protect? Who do you two want to protect?"
Qiu Zhizhong said: "We will protect King Ding."
"That's right," Wang Chengen nodded, "Prince Ding and the Crown Prince are brothers. The Crown Prince doesn't have a son yet, so we have to keep him just in case, right?"
Qiu Zhizhong took out another edict and said, "My lord, this is what the Crown Prince gave to Concubine Yuan. Please pass it on to her... Mr. Qiansui doesn't want Concubine Yuan to die in vain, so he entrusts Concubine Yuan to take care of the fifth prince, and he will do it no matter what." The fifth prince brought him up."
Wang Chengen took the order and sighed again: "Master Qiansui is really thoughtful and has thought of everything..."
