Chapter 5: Where to Go?
The expressions of Wang Jiayan and other noble officials immediately fell.
Wang Cheng'en's shout also startled Wang Jiayan and the others, who immediately began to weep for joy: "The spirits of the founding emperor and the ancestor are watching over us, the sovereign is blessed with great fortune, the Ming Dynasty is saved, the Ming Dynasty is saved! Haha!"
Li Zicheng and others, however, took a full quarter of an hour.
"Bring me the bow." Li Zicheng extended his hand, and General Liu Zongmin of the Dashun army immediately presented a finely carved bow, followed by a beautifully crafted feathered arrow.
Imagining an overwhelming cavalry of 60,000 people charging towards us
There is no need for Li Zicheng to show mercy, as Chongzhen has already led his troops to break through the encirclement
Li Zicheng frowned and asked, "Military advisor, is there news from the Chaoyang Gate?"
Le Ma turned his head back, gazing at the majestic arrow tower of Chaoyang Gate, and Chongzhen was somewhat lost in thought
The city gates have been opened to welcome the King of Chaos
The King of Chaos has arrived, and no taxes shall be collected
Wang Cheng'en pinched his thigh hard, confirming whether this was merely a fleeting dream
So many people just stand still, allowing Chongzhen to chop; it would take until the Year of the Monkey and the Month of the Horse.
Since the Holy Majesty is to embark on a southern tour to the capital, how can going north to Changping not be akin to driving a chariot south while heading north?
Song Xiance immediately echoed, "Your servant congratulates Your Majesty!"
Li Zicheng's gaze, however, transcended these surrendered officials and turned towards the plaque of the Chengtian Gate
Although Li Zicheng hated Chongzhen to the core, he did not wish to bear the infamous label of regicide. Moreover, in order to strengthen the legitimacy of the Dashun dynasty, it would be preferable to force Chongzhen to abdicate, which made it even more imperative that he not die
Looking at the three gilded characters "Chengtianmen" on the plaque, Li Zicheng was filled with emotions
The more than 600 cavalry before the breakout surprisingly became more than 700 cavalry after the breakout
Liu Zongmin laughed heartily and then shouted, "Come here, immediately send troops to seal off the Forbidden City, the fake Ming Ministry of Revenue's granary, and the inner treasury of the young Emperor Chongzhen!"
To conduct a thorough search of the mountains and seas for these mere hundreds of troops
A quarter of an hour later, Li Zicheng finally stood beneath the Chengtian Gate
The person to be captured is Chongzhen, and the target is the treasury of the Ming Dynasty and the funds from Chongzhen's private treasury
Therefore, they are willing to obey Chongzhen now because of his leadership.
In the second year of Chongzhen, when he and his nephew Li Guo rebelled against the officials, did he ever think that there would be a day like today
Note: 1 step in the Ming Dynasty = 5 feet = 1.6 meters
However, as soon as Liu Zongmin's words fell, a swift horse galloped to Song Xiancai's side
After Song Xiance listened to the report from the scout, he immediately bowed and said: "In response to Your Majesty, there is news."
Ultimately, at this point, Wu Sangui had already transformed into a warlord
As far as the eye can see, both sides of Zhengyangmen Street are already crowded with welcoming citizens
It was just last year that he led his army to defeat Sun Chuanting, breaching Tongguan and securing the central region. He was only thinking of carving out territory to establish a kingdom, never considering that today would come
Going to Yongping to find Wu Sangui? Am I asking for trouble?
The young Chongzhen actually had the audacity to personally lead the imperial guards in breaking through from Chaoyang Gate
The strategist Song Xiance of the Great Shun Left Army hurriedly leaned close to Niu Jinxing's ear and whispered a few words. Niu Jinxing then exclaimed loudly: "The Lord's arrow strikes the heavens, which indicates that it is the will of heaven for the Li family to replace the Zhu family in ruling this world"
Is that so? Liu Zongmin's expression shifted slightly as he hurriedly asked, "What exactly was that series of loud noises just now?"
I never expected this, truly unexpected
They managed to escape? They actually escaped from the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of bandits?
However, Li Zicheng was not particularly worried about this. Looking across the entire Ming Dynasty, apart from Wu Sangui's Guanning Army, which could barely be considered a match, the rest were merely insignificant forces.
"Command the Right Martial General, do not harm the life of Chongzhen," Li Zicheng specifically instructed
Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Liu Fangliang, and others, both civil and military, simultaneously opened their mouths, ready to express their congratulations loudly, but before they could utter a word, it got stuck in their throats
Upon hearing this, Chongzhen merely smiled wryly.
Upon hearing these words, Wang Jiayan and other noble officials breathed a sigh of relief, and deep within their hearts, a renewed sense of hope emerged.
but ultimately it was shot in the middle of the character for 'heaven' and the character for 'door' below it
As he looked at the officials who were overwhelmed with joy and tears, Chongzhen's heart remained utterly unperturbed
Long live the King of Breakthrough! Long live the King of Breakthrough!
Ah? Going to Changping? Wang Jiayan doubted whether there was something wrong with his ears. The bandit army had come all the way from Xuanfuzhen and Juyong Pass to Changping. Isn't going to Changping akin to a sheep entering a tiger's den?
Since the establishment of the regime in Xiangyang, the bandits have repeatedly achieved victories on the battlefield, seizing a large number of warhorses from the Ming army, making the formation of a cavalry force of 60,000 men entirely feasible
Upon seeing this, Liu Zongmin and his trusted generals displayed expressions of constipation, wanting to laugh but daring not to do so
Outside Chaoyangmen, in addition to Li You's five thousand elite troops, there are also over one hundred thousand Jingying soldiers
Hmm? Li Zicheng felt somewhat surprised
Li Zicheng originally intended to shoot the character "Tian"
The two primary tasks upon entering the city are, first, to capture individuals, and second, to seize money
Song Xiance said solemnly: "The false emperor Chongzhen personally led the imperial guards to break through from Chaoyang Gate, and the loud noises just now were caused by the false Ming imperial guards detonating explosives."
... ...
"No, we will not go to Tianjin Wei," Chongzhen shook his head and said, "That is a dead end"
"What a fine bow." Li Zicheng weighed the treasured bow in his hand
This city of Beijing has truly been captured
"It is not a big deal to go in the opposite direction; it merely means taking a few more unnecessary detours," Wang Jiayan said. "The problem is that Changping has long been under the control of bandits; would this not be throwing ourselves into the net?"
Chongzhen anticipated a significant opportunity to break through, but he never expected it to go so smoothly; throughout the entire process of the breakout, he faced almost no substantial resistance
At this point, Liu Zongmin and others also reacted, and they all followed suit to congratulate Li Zicheng
Ladies and gentlemen, behold as I shoot an arrow that pierces the sky of the Great Ming!
If it is said that they obeyed Chongzhen before this, it was merely because he was the emperor
Chongzhen lightly tapped a sentence and then comforted, "However, everyone should not lose heart or become discouraged. Even though hundreds of thousands of bandits have surrounded the capital, we can easily break through the encirclement."
Do not rejoice too early," Chongzhen said coldly. "Breaking through the encirclement is merely the first step. Next, the bandits will surely dispatch a large contingent of cavalry to scour the mountains and seas in pursuit of you and me, the monarch and his ministers.
This is a person who can strangle the Yongli Emperor with a bowstring, a true regicide
Moreover, officials such as Gong Yonggu and other noble dignitaries experience a sense of being in a different world.
Wang Jiayan and Jin Xuan, who are knowledgeable about military affairs, were particularly struck by the fact that they never expected the Emperor, who had never experienced the battlefield, to possess such a seasoned command skill.
Wang Jiayan and other noble officials once again experienced a profound sense of despair
Therefore, we are safe for at least the next few hours
Jin Xuan frowned and said: "If we head directly south, it would indeed be easy for the bandits to discern our intentions and send cavalry to intercept us in advance. However, even if we do not head directly south, the imperial entourage can certainly go to the Yongping area to meet up with the Guan Ning army of the Pingxi Bo."
Wang Jiayan and others could only remain silent and obediently follow Chongzhen northward
They suddenly remembered that the bandits claimed to have six hundred thousand cavalrymen
The illustrious Ming Dynasty has indeed fallen!
The pursuit of a mere few thousand bandit cavalry is even less of a concern
Immediately, he drew the bow and nocked an arrow, shooting it swiftly towards the plaque above the Chengtian Gate
After a pause, Niu Jinxing emphasized almost with a shout: "The Lord is indeed destined by heaven; otherwise, our Great Shun army would never have been able to capture Beijing and overthrow the Zhu Ming so swiftly"
The young Chongzhen wishes to break out? A delusional dream!
After a pause, Li Zicheng threw the ornate bow towards Liu Zongmin and shouted loudly: "Advance to the Imperial City!"
It is approximately six hundred steps from Zhengyangmen to Chengtianmen
Even though the current Wu Sangui is not the Wu Sangui of twenty years later, he may still harbor a trace of affection for the Ming Dynasty. Chongzhen would not dare to take this risk; it is not that one should fear a myriad of possibilities, but rather the one possibility that could go awry.
Amidst the resounding cheers of hundreds of thousands of commoners and servants, Li Zicheng, accompanied by civil and military officials such as Liu Zongmin, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Li Yan, and Liu Fangliang, urged their horses forward with great ambition
In the tenth year of the Chongzhen era, Yang Sichang gathered an army of 100,000 and, employing the strategy of "four corners and six angles, ten sides casting a net," achieved a great victory over the rebel forces. When he fled into the Shangluo Mountains with only 17 cavalry, including Liu Zongmin, who would have thought it would come to this day
It is only a distance of a little over twenty steps, yet it surprisingly missed the target, which is indeed quite embarrassing
Li Zicheng was in high spirits, turning his head to look at Niu Jinxing and smiling, "What the Chancellor says is always right"
As Li Zicheng rode in on his green horse, the hundreds of thousands of citizens and the servants of the noble families lining both sides of the street erupted into frenzied cheers
At this moment, Wang Jiayan inquired: "Your Majesty, shall we proceed to Tianjin Wei next?"
Six hundred thousand is certainly false, but sixty thousand cavalry is most likely true
At this moment, Chongzhen said: "My mind is made up, you ministers need not say more."
Upon thinking of this, Li Zicheng could no longer contain the surging emotions within his heart
A warlord, can you expect him to be loyal to the emperor and love his country? Nonsense
At a quarter past the third hour, Li Zicheng finally led the central army into the city through the Zhengyang Gate.
Indeed," Wang Jiayan deeply agreed, saying, "Under the command of Ping Xibo, there are still 40,000 iron cavalry, and the Guan Ning army possesses unparalleled combat strength. If we can advance eastward to join forces with them, we should be able to ensure the safety of the imperial entourage.
Is it that, in the end, one cannot escape the fate of being captured and taken back?
Because many soldiers either seized or picked up the warhorses abandoned by the bandits on the battlefield, although the number of soldiers decreased, the number of warhorses actually increased by more than 100
On either side of the main gate, a multitude of civil and military officials from the Ming Dynasty were already kneeling.
Because Li Zicheng's arrow was unexpectedly shot low
These noble officials were completely unaware that Chongzhen had swayed their emotions with just a few words, effortlessly gaining command over this army
Moreover, the bandits would be unable to ascertain our whereabouts in a short period of time
Liu Zongmin also laughed heartily and said, "Is the young Emperor Chongzhen in such a hurry to set off?"
Among them are high-ranking officials dressed in bullfighting costumes and even python robes
Then let us take the dry road to Zhuozhou. Wang Jiayan deeply agreed, saying, "The dry road is safer than the waterway"
"We cannot go to Zhuozhou either, as that would also be a dead end," said Chongzhen, his gaze flickering. "We shall go to Changping!"
It was certain that this was not a dream, and Wang Cheng'en could not help but exclaim in astonishment: "Your Majesty, we have broken through the encirclement!"
Yang Sichang, Sun Chuanting, and others in command are probably no different, right