Chapter four hundred and seventy seventh desperate Chongzhen
Looking at the dagger in Zhu Cixiang's hand and the determined look on his face, Chongzhen sighed and stopped talking. He turned around slightly and came to the crenel to watch the war that was so close at hand.
Although this was not the first time that Chongzhen watched a real battlefield, it was the first time he had direct face-to-face contact with the enemy. There were soldiers from Dashun who climbed up to the top of the city and were cut or injured by weapons and then fell off the city.
The sound of howling after being injured reached Chongzhen's ears from time to time. Chongzhen saw it in his eyes and listened in his ears, and his body was trembling slightly. Not to mention Queen Zhou and others behind him, they were all leaning on each other.
Trembling together.
The desperate resistance of the defenders on the inner city wall was beyond the Dashun army's expectations. This situation was quickly reported to Li Zicheng. In shock, Li Zicheng led his generals to the outer wall of the inner city to fight. From a distance, he could see the top of the city.
Although the number of the defenders was small, they were all extremely brave. They actively used various defensive equipment to attack the Dashun soldiers who were climbing towards the city wall, causing huge damage to them.
Li Zicheng couldn't help being shocked when he saw it. He said to the generals around him: "I didn't expect that there are people in the Ming army who dare to die. Their bravery is definitely not inferior to that of our Dashun army?"
Liu Zongmin, who was behind Li Zicheng, watched for a long time and took a long breath before saying: "Judging from the costumes of the defenders at the top of the city, many of them are not officers and soldiers, but young men in the city. But what makes me, Old Liu, strange is that these young men
How could Zhuang be so brave? Did they all take the wrong medicine? Mr. Li, what do you think?"
In Liu Zongmin's heart, he admired Li Yan's ability to make decisive decisions on the spot. After all, the current military system, training and political framework of the Dashun Army were mainly created by Li Yan.
Liu Zongmin had no choice but to be submissive, so he always habitually asked Li Yan when something happened.
Li Yan, who had been standing silently behind everyone, slowly put down the telescope in his hand, took a slow breath and then said word by word: "It's not that they took the wrong medicine, but Chongzhen is on top of the city."
"What?"
As soon as Li Yan's words came out, the people around him immediately exclaimed, "Chongzhen is on top of the city?"
"Yes, Chongzhen is on the top of the city!" Li Yan said with certainty: "There on the left front. A man wearing bright yellow clothes should be Chongzhen, and it can only be him, otherwise the defenders would not be able to do this.
Fight hard!”
As soon as Li Yan finished speaking, everyone with telescopes took out their telescopes and pointed them at the city head. Although the telescopes of this period were limited by their craftsmanship, they could not see too well from a distance of five hundred steps.
Clearly, but barely able to see, there is a man in bright yellow clothing standing on the top of the city, and around this man are three or four guards holding large shields.
"Sure enough, it's Chongzhen's child!" Liu Zongmin thought the telescope was in the way and didn't carry it with him, so he jumped anxiously and grabbed the telescope from Li Yan's hand and looked over. After looking at it for a while, he shouted excitedly,
"King Chuang, let's rush forward and capture Chongzhen's child alive. As long as we can capture him alive, the court will be doomed!"
Li Zicheng did not agree with Liu Zongmin's words. Instead, he shook his head and sighed: "It's useless. Since Chongzhen is standing at the top of the city, it means that he has made up his mind to die. I'm afraid he will commit suicide when the city is destroyed.
At that time, we still underestimated this great emperor!"
Speaking of this, Li Zicheng couldn't help but marveled. He didn't expect that Chongzhen was so bloody that he would personally go to the top of the city to encourage the soldiers to kill the enemy. This was really a rare thing for an emperor, but Li Zicheng was probably dreaming.
I never thought of the real reason why Chongzhen went up the city wall, let alone that a powerful army was speeding toward Beijing.
However, although Li Zicheng didn't know that Pang Gang, who had defeated him completely in Henan, was coming with an army of 100,000 people, he had fought against the imperial court for ten years and he certainly knew the importance of quick soldiers and quick victory. Since he knew
Chongzhen was on top of the city, so he would not miss this good opportunity.
Li Zicheng turned to Liu Zongmin and said: "Jixuan, immediately order your rear camp to prepare. Try to capture the inner city today. Can you do it?"
When Liu Zongmin heard this, he immediately patted his chest and said: "No problem, King Chuang, just don't worry, Old Liu and I will definitely capture the inner city before dark. I will capture that Chongzhen child in front of you and let him kowtow to you to apologize!"
"Okay, you are worthy of being our Mr. Liu!" Li Zicheng laughed, patted Liu Zongmin on the shoulder and said with a smile: "Go ahead, be careful!"
"As you command!"
Liu Zongmin hurriedly led several lieutenants to mobilize troops and horses.
After a meal, there was a sound of gongs and drums outside the city, and the thousands of Dashun soldiers who had originally attacked the city retreated like a tide. Before the soldiers guarding the city had time to be happy, they saw only one team.
A group of soldiers in gray-brown armor then swarmed up towards the city wall. Different from the first group of soldiers who attacked the city just now, this group of soldiers was braver and more numerous.
They were divided into five groups and took turns to attack the city. There were also two thousand archers who kept firing arrows at the city in an attempt to suppress the defenders. Suddenly, the situation at the city began to become urgent.
Seeing that the situation at the top of the city was not good, Chongzhen quickly asked Wang Chengen, who had been leading a few guards to protect him, "Big companion, the bandit army is powerful, do we still have any troops to move?"
Wang Chengen shook his head miserably and said: "For your information, Your Majesty, there are only about 3,000 chamberlains who were ordered by the Emperor to retreat to the inner city this morning, some young men, and about 6,000 remaining remnants of the Beijing camp.
There are no more soldiers and horses."
Chongzhen poked his head out of the crenel slightly and saw the enemy troops swarming like ants below. He gritted his teeth and walked to a large pot of golden juice. Regardless of the stench, he reached out and picked up a large pot.
He took a spoon, slowly scooped up a gourd of golden juice, walked to the top of the city, stuck his head out, pointed it at a ladder, and poured it down. He only heard several screams, and two big men who were about to climb to the top of the city poured it down.
Soldier Shun screamed and fell down.
Seeing Chongzhen's behavior, everyone around was shocked. No one could have imagined that a majestic emperor would pick up the golden juice to defend the city regardless of his identity, and did not care about the stench of the golden juice. Others did not
They know very well that this golden juice is mixed with human excrement, human urine, horse dung, cow dung and some poisonous herbs. The people who are poured on it will not only have their skin and flesh bruised, but also the wounds will be completely scalded by the golden juice.
People are just like being poisoned, howling and dying in pain. In this era, very few people can survive after being poured with golden juice. The power of golden juice is so great, but the taste of golden juice after boiling is also
It's very vicious and smells so bad it can kill people.
Huang Lei, a member of the Beijing camp, was not far away from Chongzhen. After seeing such a scene, he couldn't help shouting: "Brothers, the old and young men in Beijing, the emperor, with the dignity of the emperor, can personally scoop out the food regardless of his status.
The golden juice kills the enemy, we people must go forward and not fall behind, brothers, all kill the thieves!"
Seeing Chongzhen's actions and being encouraged by Huang Lei, the morale of the defenders at the top of the city, which had been somewhat low after fighting for a long time, began to rise again. They all stretched out their heads to attack the city with the weapons in their hands.
The soldiers of Dashun inflicted heavy casualties, and some soldiers even used forks to push down the ladders on the city wall again. For a time, the defenders on the top of the city became more and more courageous as they fought.
"You bastard, get on top of me, get on top of me! I'm going to peel off that Chongzhen boy's cramps!"
Liu Zongmin, who was under the city, saw that the offensive he launched was beaten back by the Ming army. In recent years, his temper had become increasingly fierce. When had he suffered so much from the famous army? He couldn't help but became furious and kept urging the next move.
launch an offensive forward.
"Hurry, hurry, you idiots. Hurry up and capture the city. The first one to capture the city will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of silver. Five beautiful women!"
Liu Zongmin had no culture, and he had no other means of motivating the soldiers, only naked interests, but the soldiers only accepted this trick. Isn't this what they were trying to do with their heads in their belts? The so-called man-made death for wealth
This is the meaning of a bird dying for food, so when Liu Zongmin's reward was announced, all the Dashun soldiers' eyes turned red, and they jumped up one by one, howling.
Facing the dense crowds of Dashun soldiers on the city wall, whether they were the servants who retreated to the inner city, the Beijing camp, or the young men recruited to the city wall, they all gritted their teeth and resisted with all their might. I have to mention here,
After all, the capital is the capital of the country. The inner city wall is indeed not only extremely strong, but also very tall. The city wall is six feet high and four feet wide. The artillery of the Dashun Army can only make a shallow indentation on the wall.
.The various equipment used to defend the city are also relatively complete.
After half a day of fighting, the defenders on the city wall also fought bloody battles. Not only did they gradually become more and more tenacious in fighting, some people also moved out many defensive equipment from the warehouse, such as spikes, rolling logs, and sledgehammers.
Stones and other materials were continuously moved onto the city wall from the top and bottom of the city. Chongzhen, who was so excited about killing, even threw stones and rolling logs at the bottom of the city himself. Although this was also done under the strict protection of several guards.
With today's personal demonstration, these remnant soldiers who had almost no morale miraculously withstood the Dashun Army's attack for most of the day. However, after all, there were too few defenders at the top of the city. The sun was about to set.
By that time, the garrison at the top of the city had been severely wounded, and there were only less than a thousand people left.
Chongzhen, who had been moving stones for a day, looked at the densely packed Dashun soldiers under the city. He couldn't help but feel a sense of despair in his heart. He was leaned behind the tall crenels, breathing heavily in the air, and felt that his body was about to fall apart.
Already.
At this time, Huang Lei, who was covered in blood, came over. He walked to Chongzhen and cried: "Your Majesty, our people have suffered all casualties and we are about to lose our defense. Why don't you hurry down to the city and let the villain cover your escape?"
Get out!"
Chongzhen looked at Baihu, whose face was streaked with gray and black, and whose armor was already stained with blood. He then glanced at the city gate tower next to him. Queen Zhou and the Crown Prince were on top. He smiled miserably and said: "Ai Qingxiu wants to comfort you."
Damn it, now that the inner city has been surrounded by bandits, where can I escape to? I don’t want to be captured by bandits on the way to escape. This will bring shame to my ancestors!"
Chongzhen's tone was sad and helpless. The eyes of Wang Chengen and Huang Lei beside him were filled with tears. Wang Chengen choked up and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. If Your Majesty marries your country, your servants will definitely follow Your Majesty."
Huang Lei also said loudly: "Your Majesty, there are villains, and I am also willing to follow the Emperor."
"Okay! I'm sorry for you!" Chongzhen patted the two of them on the shoulders, and his eyes were red: "I didn't expect that I usually have so many civil and military ministers, but in the end there was only a small Baihuhe who accompanied me.
Eunuch, it’s really God’s will to trick people!”
There was a sense of desolation in Chongzhen's tone, which made others feel sad.
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he walked to the corner and tried to lift a stone weighing more than ten kilograms. However, he was exhausted and couldn't move it several times. Seeing Chongzhen struggling, Wang Chengen wiped away his tears.
, also walked over and worked with Chongzhen to lift the stone, walked to the crenel and threw it down hard. There was only a "pop" sound, and a ladder was smashed into two pieces.
After smashing the stones down, Chongzhen and Wang Chengen walked towards the pile of stones in the corner. A strong wind blew and blew Chongzhen's hat to the ground, revealing the white hair on his temples. They looked at the old man with pale temples.
Tomorrow and an old eunuch were still working hard to move the stone. Huang Lei couldn't hold back the tears any longer. He roared and ran to the crenel with his sword raised. At this time, a Dashun sergeant climbed up.
At the top of the city, Huang Lei ran up to him and stabbed him, cutting off the soldier's head.
"kill!"
Huang Lei only felt an unknown fire burning in his chest. He was slashing hard at the top of the city. The strength that had gradually disappeared just now seemed to have returned to his body, until an arrowhead that had been flying from nowhere pierced him.
The man from the Beijing camp held his neck and slowly fell down... Seeing the sparse resistance, Chongzhen felt very calm at this time. He looked at the people who were constantly climbing towards the city wall through the ladder.
The soldier was indifferent in his heart, "Perhaps I will die here today! I have been the emperor for thirteen years and I am tired, really tired. I am finally relieved today!"
Queen Zhou, Concubine Yuan and the Crown Prince, who were standing at the city gate building and looking out, naturally saw the current situation. Queen Zhou took out a pot of wine from somewhere, slowly took out seven wine glasses, and arranged the wine glasses.
On the simple city bricks, he filled the wine glasses one by one, and said to everyone calmly: "Yuan Meizi, Cixiang, Cijiong, you have all seen the situation outside. The bandits are about to attack the city. You
My father is determined to die for his country. As members of the Zhu family, we naturally cannot live alone. There are several cups of poisonous wine here, so you can each take one and drink it!"
When everyone saw this scene, they all knew that they would not be spared, and they all burst into tears. On the contrary, Princess Zhu Ailao of Kunxing also picked up the wine glass in front of her. Her little face was unusually calm. She picked up the wine glass and said to Zhou
The queen said: "Mother, my child has received your kindness in raising me for more than ten years. I can't repay you. I can only repay you when my child is under the Nine Springs!"
After saying that, just as she was about to put the wine glass into her mouth, there was a burst of passionate drumming from the outer door. Soon, the drumming was getting closer and closer, and soon it was getting closer and closer.
Soon there was another dull sound of firecrackers.
Although these fire cannons are dull, they can be heard very far, and even the inner city can hear them clearly. When the sound of fire cannons came, not only the remaining defenders at the top of the city were stunned, but even the city
The Dashun troops outside were also surprised and looked back. However, the city of Beijing was so big that they couldn't see the outer city from their perspective.
"what is going on!"
Although the siege battle just now did not go well, Li Zicheng never showed a trace of anger or annoyance, because he understood that no matter how brave and tenacious the defenders on the opposite wall were, their number was too small, and the inner city
Its fall is only a matter of time. Even if it cannot be captured today, it will definitely fall into his hands tomorrow.
Therefore, he acted like an old god was there all afternoon. He neither sent anyone to urge Liu Zongmin nor scolded his mother. Moreover, as the sun went down, the resistance at the top of the city gradually weakened. Seeing that the attack on the city was promising, Li Zicheng
He became more calm, but the sound of gunfire from outside woke him up.
"No, these sounds of firecrackers are coming from outside the city!"
After all, Li Zicheng and the generals on the battlefield looked back. Although they could not see what was going on behind them, due to the intuition of a leader who had experienced the battlefield, Li Zicheng knew that it would definitely not be a good thing.
Li Zicheng turned to his adopted son Li Shuangxi behind him and said: "Shuangxi, send someone immediately to see what is going on outside the city! Did our gun go off!"
"yes!"
Li Shuangxi responded and was about to turn his horse and run back.
"etc!"
Suddenly, Li Yan called out to Li Shuangxi. At this time, Li Yan's expression became a little panicked. He asked Niu Jinxing loudly: "Prime Minister Niu, did you close the city gate today?"
Niu Jinxing shook his head: "No, our army has just captured Beijing. So many supplies and things have to be transported in, and the soldiers have to go out. How can we close the city gate tightly? It's not time to close the city gate yet.
Of course it’s still open!”
"not good!"
After listening to Niu Jinxing's words, Li Yan's forehead immediately broke out with beads of sweat, and he shouted sternly to King Chuang: "King Chuang, please immediately order the city gate to be closed tightly, and all the troops in the city to go to the city wall immediately. If they are students,
If the estimate is good, Pang Gang’s army must have arrived!”
"What, Pang Gang's men have arrived?"
Everyone was startled at first, and then Niu Jinxing suspected: "Isn't it possible? If Pang Gang had arrived, our spies should have known about it a long time ago. How come there is no news until now?"
"You... got stuck and Niu Jinxing is still suspicious of him. Li Yan was so angry that he wanted to retaliate with an old fist to wake him up, but he soon found that he no longer had to work hard to convince them. The fire gun outside the city
The sound got louder and louder, and soon the whole city was thought of. At the same time, a cavalryman named Dashun Jun also rushed to report. An overwhelming army of Zhou Jun was found outside the city. The leader's flag read big
The word "Pang"!!~!
{PiaoTian Literature www.PiaoTian.com thanks all book friends for their support, your support is our biggest motivation}