"By His Majesty's command, Li Guozhen, the admiral of the Jingying Camp, comes to see you!" In the camp, Meng Zhaoxiang and his men read out loudly in front of Li Guozhen and several other generals who were kneeling in obeisance.
"Admiral Li, go as soon as possible. Your Majesty is very anxious." Meng Zhaoxiang helped Li Guozhen up gently.
"Why is Your Majesty so anxious? The intruders are besieging the city now, and they may attack the city at any time. If we leave now, if the intruders attack the city, I, as the admiral of the capital camp, will lose the backbone of the army. I'm afraid..."
After Li Guozhen got up, he did not go to the palace directly according to the oral instructions. Instead, he argued with Meng Zhaoxiang that he was extremely unwilling to leave.
"Uncle Xiangcheng, since His Majesty has said so and is very anxious, as long as you work hard, it won't take long to go back and forth. If you don't go, you will be accused of treason."
Meng Zhaoxiang tried his best to persuade him that if he didn't leave, his plan would be difficult.
"Well, since it is His Majesty's order, I will pack up my clothes and set off immediately." Seeing Meng Zhaoxiang want to urge him, Li Guozhen stretched out his hand to stop him: "It is disrespectful to go to see His Majesty and dress in such a sloppy way."
At this point, Meng Zhaoxiang said no more. Now is the moment when everyone is in danger. If he talks too much, he will be suspected.
After Meng Zhaoxiang left the camp, Li Guozhen pulled several generals in the tent over, gathered them together and said, "You will bring a few good men to follow behind, so that if anything happens to the admiral, you can help."
"Admiral, why is this so? Your Majesty summoned you this time, not..." A general did not understand what he meant.
"His Majesty always sends orders to the eunuchs in the palace. Why is it someone from the Ministry of Punishment today? Have all the eunuchs in the palace died?" Li Guozhen sneered. Although he was not sure, he was quite suspicious.
"Moreover, why do you need to bring a few royal guards with you to deliver the message? This is the city of Beijing, under the emperor's feet. Even if it is surrounded by intruders outside, the city will be safe. Who are they to guard against?"
After the words fell, several generals also understood the meaning. Seeing that several people understood the meaning, Li Guozhen felt relieved, so he packed up, stepped on the long sword and left the camp.
"Servant Meng, let's go."
"Uncle Xiangcheng, you..." Meng Zhaoxiang pointed to the saber on Li Guozhen's waist, which meant that it would be inappropriate for you to bring a sword when you are meeting His Majesty.
"Don't worry, Minister, I will take it off when I get to the gate of the palace. It is mainly for the sudden invasion of the city, so that I can go back and take command in time." Li Guozhen laughed a few times and explained in an awe-inspiring manner.
"That's good."
Meng Zhaoxiang also saw that Li Guozhen was a little defensive, so he said no more. This man was definitely not low on scheming.
At this moment, Wang Guoxing and a group of royal guards were already ambushing on the rooftops around the road. Some were hiding in the surrounding houses, covering them with doors. They only waited for the command from the commander before they rushed out quickly.
Here, Meng Zhaoxiang and others led Li Guozhen and his party to the palace city at high speed. Li Guozhen, who was riding behind, watched the surroundings with vigilance and did not dare to let down his guard at all.
Just as a few people stepped into the ambush range, Li Guozhen suddenly reined in his horse and stopped. Meng Zhaoxiang stopped quickly and asked: "Uncle Xiangcheng, why did you stop suddenly?"
He deliberately spoke loudly just to be heard by Wang Guoxing who was ambushing around him.
"Shilang Meng, this road is a bit detoured. I'm afraid it will delay His Majesty's time. I know there is a small road and the fastest way is from there. Let's go that way."
Li Guozhen has experienced death, and his sense of smell is very sensitive. As soon as he entered this street, he clearly felt that this street was different.
The other streets were generally quiet, but here it was completely dead silence, the kind of oppressive silence.
"Uncle Xiangcheng, we have come here, don't take a detour, let's go quickly!" Meng Zhaoxiang was also extremely nervous. As long as he walked a little further, he would directly reach the center of the ambush. He would be killed on the spot.
Nothing goes wrong.
He didn't dare to take risks. If he escaped and opened the city gate directly, and intruders poured in, it would be a disaster.
"Shilang Meng, I'll go over there, you go over here, let's see who's faster." After Li Guozhen finished speaking, he was about to walk back on his horse. Just when he was about to escape, there was a sudden sound of a gun.
The sound rang out, making everyone startled.
Seeing that his own people had been exposed, Wang Guoxing no longer hesitated. When he saw that Li Guozhen was still coming, he moved slowly along the roof. When Li Guozhen heard the loud sound of firecrackers and felt that there was an ambush, he directly
He jumped deep and jumped onto Li Guozhen's horse.
"Quick! Catch him!"
Seeing that Li Guozhen was knocked down, Meng Zhaoxiang waved his hand, and hundreds of Jinyi guards who were ambushing around him instantly jumped out from the roof and rushed out of the house. The shouts resounded and surrounded Li Guozhen.
"How dare you! Attacking an official of the imperial court in the street is really a crime of treason!" Li Guozhen, who was pinned down, roared like crazy, his eyes were red and veins popped out on his forehead.
"Li Guozhen! You have occupied the people's fertile land, taken advantage of it, accepted bribes, and even attempted to surrender. Your Majesty ordered you to beheaded!"
Several Jinyi guards helped hold down the struggling Li Guozhen, and Wang Guoxing stood up and announced loudly and panting.
"Fart! Your Majesty, you have wronged me. Why are the other nobles like this and only arrest me? I refuse to obey!" Li Guozhen struggled desperately. Even though he had great strength, he still couldn't break free from the shackles of several royal guards.
"Don't worry, His Majesty has issued a list today, involving dozens of officials in the capital. The Jin Yiwei has confiscated their homes and beheaded them all. Even the first minister of the dynasty, Mr. Chen Ge and the Minister of War Zhang Jinyan have had their homes confiscated. What more do you have?
Said?"
Wang Guoxing didn't want to explain anymore, so he immediately ordered a royal guard to chop off his head.
"How dare you! If you kill me and no one takes over the capital camp, my subordinates will definitely avenge me!" Li Guozhen roared and howled, but there was still a glimmer of hope in his heart.
At this moment, a general rode his horse and came with a group of soldiers. Looking at the countless imperial guards in front of him and the admiral Li Guozhen who was pinned to the ground, he didn't know what to do for a moment.
"His Majesty's decree is here, you all kneel down and obey your orders!" Meng Zhaoxiang was prepared and stood directly in front of them, opened the decree and said loudly.
After the general heard the imperial edict, he immediately knelt down with the soldiers behind him.
"The Emperor of Heaven has issued an edict: Li Guozhen, the governor of the capital camp and the uncle of Xiangcheng, secretly colluded with the intruders, tried to abscond, occupied countless people's farmland, deducted military pay, and left the soldiers of the capital camp with no fighting spirit. Today, the Jinyi Guards are beheaded in public display! The Ministry of Punishment is specially ordered
Minister Meng Zhaoxiang takes over the capital camp and distributes wages!"
"Long live your Majesty, thank you so much!"
The first part is innocuous to them, but the last sentence about payment of salary is what they like to hear most. As long as they have money, they are naturally willing to continue to stick to the Ming Dynasty.
What's more, His Majesty said that Li Guozhen embezzled military pay. In response to this, they wished they could kill this beast themselves! Why would they want to save him?
"kill!"
After giving the order, Li Guozhen's head fell to the ground with a heart-wrenching "no".
[Author's digression]: The complete historical data about this Li Guozhen cannot be found. Just remember, this man is not a good person. He ran away when thieves attacked the city.