What made Yang Rusong vomit blood even more was that since Yang Chengzu and the others wanted to surrender, they should surrender as soon as they met. But what's the point of going around like this for four or five days before surrendering? This is definitely a waste of his time to rescue the capital.

!

But even so, Yang Rusong was not willing to deceive Yang Chengzu. He confessed to the surrender envoy that the Runing Army was going to rescue the capital and was very likely to fight a fierce battle with the main force of Li Zicheng's Dashun Army. He also pointed out that this trip was quite dangerous.

Moreover, Yang Rusong also asked Yang Chengzu and others to choose: give up surrender and get out of the way, or work with the Runing army to rescue the capital.

Unexpectedly, Yang Chengzu chose to go to Beijing for rescue without hesitation. He had a new attachment and wanted to make a contribution, but it can also be seen that Yang Chengzu and the others had an unforgettable hatred for Li Zicheng!

So the two armies began to go on the road together. Unexpectedly, as they got closer and closer to the capital, the road became more and more blocked. A large number of people fleeing south began to block the rapid march of the Runing army.

At the end, a large number of defeated troops who fled south began to appear. It was the defeated troops of the three major battalions of the Beijing Camp stationed outside the city. They told Yang Rusong that Li Zicheng's Dashun Army had arrived in the capital.

Now Yang Rusong was in a panic. He ordered his troops to clear all obstacles and rush to the capital as quickly as possible. At the same time, more than 4,000 Chu troops from the capital camp led by Liu Yuanbin fled south. When they saw the arrival of Runing's army,

, also returned to the capital with Yang Rusong's troops and joined in the rescue.

At this time, the only official army left outside Beijing was Liu Guqian's Ruzhou Army. Although some soldiers of the Runing Army also fled when the main force of the Dashun Army arrived, those who remained with Liu Guqian still

There are more than 6,000 people. This can also be seen that the degree of unity of the officers and soldiers of the Ruzhou Army is indeed much higher than that of other soldiers in the Beijing camp.

But Liu Guqian just suffered from being unable to enter the city. He wanted to bring Xue Lian's whole family, and even Xue Chenglin, to the army, and then escort them to escape from Beijing. But because the city gates of Beijing were blocked by sand and gravel

, it couldn't be cleaned up at all, so Liu Guqian could only jump around outside the city.

But when the main force of the Dashun Army arrived, even Liu Guqian's Ruzhou Army was unable to escape. The only remaining army outside the city was like a candle in the darkness, attracting the Dashun Army.

The main force rushed over.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Guqian immediately moved his troops outside Yongding Gate, ready to help Xue Lian and others leave the city at any time. Then he relied on the defense line formed by the residential buildings outside the city to block the Dashun army's attack. That's it.

After successive fierce battles, Liu Guqian persisted until late at night on the 19th, and by this time there were only three or four thousand remaining Ruzhou troops.

When Yang Rusong's troops arrived at the outskirts of Beijing, they found that the Dashun Army had already camped dozens of miles outside the city. Fortunately, Yang Rusong also arrived in Beijing in the evening of the 19th. By this time, the Dashun Army had already

Started resting in the camp.

The troops of Yang Rusong and Yang Chengzu were almost all cavalry, and they moved very quickly. Therefore, when the spies from afar arranged by the Dashun Army had just returned to camp to report the enemy's incoming attack, the Runing Army had already entered the Dashun Army.

In the camp, the Dashun Army had no time to make any preparations.

At this time, the entire Dashun Army was recuperating and preparing for the siege tomorrow. Some of the main forces of the Dashun Army were also gathered near Xizhimen, preparing for Cao Huachun to open the door and surrender.

Therefore, there were not many Dashun Army troops at Yongding Gate, and they were all surrounding the Ruzhou Army, preparing to attack the whole army at dawn. Therefore, there was no way to prepare for the surprise attack from behind.

So when the Runing army rushed to the camp, the Dashun army was in chaos and was killed by Yang Rusong and Yang Chengzu. The remaining Dashun army outside Yongding Gate also fled in large numbers. So the Runing army and the Ruzhou army successfully fought

Come together.

But when the news of the Runing army's attack on the camp reached Li Zicheng, he quickly mobilized his main force to surround him. Because Li Zicheng was afraid that the supporting army was protecting Emperor Chongzhen's escape, the Dashun army was absolutely determined to kill them all. Li Zicheng would not let it.

This variable affected its own military operations, causing the Dashun Army's change of dynasty to be incomplete. Therefore, the Runing Army, which was cut off from its retreat, also had no way to escape.

At this time, Xue Lian and Li Zhu, who were still in the capital, felt like they were shooting themselves in the foot. They began to well-intentionedly want to bring more relatives and friends, which eventually turned into a big move for half the city. And because of the imperial court's

In the "City Closure Order", the officers and soldiers descended upon the wind and the Dashun army surged at great speed, causing Xue Lian's family to be blocked in the city.

Facing the siege of the Dashun Army, some people joined the fleeing crowd; some even dispersed and found a quiet corner in the city to hide, not to mention the chaos.

Moreover, when the Dashun Army appeared outside Yongding Gate, they found that they could no longer escape from the city. Many civilians also began to stay away from this fleeing team, for fear that they would suffer disaster. After all, the Dashun Army was here to change dynasties, and would not

The butcher's knife is pointed at the common people, so as long as you behave honestly and obediently, your own life risk should be guaranteed.

Fortunately, this escape team was composed of nobles. The fall of the Ming Dynasty also meant the destruction of these nobles. The Dashun Army would definitely completely eliminate them both financially and physically. So from this point on

In a sense, the nobility is not even as good as the civil servants. After all, the civil servants can also defect to the new dynasty and become tired ministers.

Therefore, the team that was forced into a desperate situation tried their best no matter what. They began to clean up the sand and stones blocking Zuo'anmen, Yongdingmen and You'anmen, and prepared to rush out of the city to fight for the last time. After all, in the city

There were also Liu Guqian's troops outside to escort them out of the city.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Yang Rusong's reinforcements arrived in time, and he brought good news and bad news to Xue Lian and the others.

The good news is: this support army is just the vanguard of the Runing Army. As long as it holds on for a few days, the main force of the Runing Army will arrive.

The bad news is: the arrival of reinforcements has caused the Dashun Army to attach great importance to it, and they have also assembled a large number of troops to follow, so it has become impossible to escape from the city.

So Xue Lian, Yang Rusong and others made a decisive decision and moved all their troops into the outer city, preparing to rely on the outer city wall to defend until the main force of the Runing army arrived.

…

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen, who was in the palace, already felt that the situation was over. So he asked the palace to prepare a temporary banquet, summoned his wife, concubines, and children, and held the last supper with the family. The taste of this dinner was indescribable. By the time the family burst into tears,

After drinking heavily until the cups and plates were in a mess, Emperor Chongzhen pulled out his sword and said fiercely to his family: "This is the end, you can die!"

Queen Zhou cried and said: "I have served your Majesty for eighteen years, but I didn't listen to my advice and moved south as soon as possible, so that we would be where we are today!" After saying goodbye to her children in tears, she returned to her home.

Kunning Palace committed suicide by hanging from a beam.

…

The once solemn inner palace was filled with blood and became a place of execution. The maids of each palace fled out of the palace one after another, but they did not know the way home and were interrogated everywhere. When the officials and people in the city saw this situation, they also knew it.

Something bad has happened in the palace.

As for the warrior battalion guarding the northern wall of the inner city, after learning that the rebels had entered the city, they also gathered more than 3,000 people to escort them to the imperial city. Unexpectedly, they learned of the great changes in the palace halfway. This last group

The Royal Forest Army also immediately collapsed.

The three princes in the palace were frightened and overwhelmed. Emperor Chongzhen asked the eunuchs to take them to escape outside the palace and hide in the home of Chengguo Gong Zhu Chunchen and others. He also said earnestly: "Today you are princes, tomorrow you will be commoners."

Now, in the midst of chaos, you must keep your name anonymous and keep your traces secret. When you see an old person, call him an old man, and when you see a young person, call him uncle or uncle. If you save your life and avenge your parents, don’t forget today’s lesson.”

Emperor Chongzhen also issued the last edict, requiring all civil and military officials to gather at the Prince's residence (i.e. Zhu Chunchen's house) and obey Zhu Chunchen's command. However, when the edict was sent to the cabinet, there were no ministers on duty in the cabinet, so the eunuch took the edict.

He put it in the cabinet and reported it to the emperor, but the emperor was no longer in the palace.

After doing all this, Emperor Chongzhen staggered out of the Xuanwu Gate (today's Shenwu Gate) and climbed up Meishan (today's Jingshan) north of the Forbidden City. This is the highest point in the capital. In the past two days, he has also

He had climbed to the top of the mountain several times to observe the situation of the surrounding city guards. Before he died, he came here again, which shows that he still had a trace of fantasy in his haze, hoping to see a sudden miracle from heaven here.

But these two days have been miserable and rainy. It was late at night and foggy, and the surroundings were pitch black. He could only hear the rumble of cannons, but he could not tell the direction. After he woke up a little in the wind and rain, he realized that miracles were impossible.

It happened. Looking around, there was only one close eunuch, Wang Chengen, who came next. With everyone betrayed and separated from their relatives, what hope was there?

Before leaving the palace, Emperor Chongzhen had already written a will in advance. Because his mind was confused, he only wrote one sentence: "I have lost the world, and I dare not go down to see my ancestors, nor do I dare to finally go to bed." At the last moment,

His mind seemed to be clearer again, and he felt that there were some words that he had not finished. So he cut his finger and wrote on the lapel of his clothes: "I mistakenly listened to the words of the civil servants and lost the world. My body was broken into pieces by thieves, but no harm was done."

My people." No matter what Emperor Chongzhen thought at the time, his last words also proved that when a person is about to die, his words must be good.

When everything was over, Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen hanged themselves beside the Shouhuang Pavilion on July 19, the 16th year of Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen was thirty-three years old.
Chapter completed!