Zhu Youjian cheered up and staggered to the harem.
"Go and make Concubine Kang commit suicide!"
Zhu Youjian ordered in a deep voice.
Concubine Kang was the beloved concubine of Emperor Guangzong and his adoptive mother.
Following his footsteps, he came to Renshou Palace.
"His Majesty!"
The ladies in the palace all saluted, their faces full of surprise. Not only did the emperor have disheveled hair, but why did he come?
"Is the royal sister-in-law here?"
Zhu Youjian asked softly.
"Your Majesty, what do you want?"
The queen of Xizong, Zhang Yan.
After Xizong died of illness, Zhang Yan was revered as Queen Yi'an. Emperor Chongzhen treated this woman who was both mother and sister-in-law with great respect, and the harem did not dare to act recklessly.
Although she is nearly forty years old, Zhang Yan still has a beautiful face, elegant appearance, and a simple hair crown. She opened her red lips through the curtain and said reproachfully:
"Why does the emperor have time to come to my place? The intruders are getting more and more aggressive, so we should suppress them."
"Sister-in-law——"
Zhu Youjian cried out sadly and said: "Youjian is incompetent and has lost all his ancestors' inheritance. The city of Beijing is in ruins..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yan was stunned. She pondered for a while and then said: "I already know what your Majesty means."
"It's just that Your Majesty should move south, why are you here?"
"There are still six departments in Nanjing, and half of the country."
"That's too late!"
Zhu Youjian shook his head, knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "Youjian can only repay the kindness of the emperor's sister-in-law in taking care of her in the next life."
With that said, he staggered away and never looked back.
"Queen——" The maid on the side turned her head.
"Prepare Bai Ling!"
Zhang Yan watched his embarrassed figure with tears in his eyes, and his beautiful face was full of sadness:
"Is this the end of the two hundred and seventy-seven years of the Ming Dynasty?"
At this moment, she thought a lot about entering the palace, Hakka's troubles, miscarriage, and Zhu Youxiao's death from illness.
After many hardships, she thought that with King Xin's succession to the throne, the Ming Dynasty would be able to reverse its decline, but she didn't know that the situation was getting worse.
"I have no face to see the late Emperor!"
Zhang Yan got on the chair expressionlessly, looked at the serving palace maid, and couldn't help but said: "You should also find a chance to leave the palace!"
Thumb——
At dawn on March 19, fires broke out everywhere, and the sky outside the city was already filled with flames.
It will be bright at this time.
"Ring the bell and summon the officials to court."
"Dong dong dong——"
The deep and loud ringing of the bells resounded throughout the front hall and echoed throughout the imperial city.
After sitting and waiting for a long time, Chongzhen stared blankly at the empty palace and remained silent for a long time.
"Your Majesty?" Wang Chengen said sadly.
Chongzhen twitched the corner of his mouth, raised his hand helplessly, pointed at the empty palace, and said with a despairing heart:
"The ministers have misunderstood me. The king died in Sheji, and the world has been abandoned for two hundred and seventy-seven years. It is all because of the misunderstanding of the treacherous ministers that it has ended up like this."
With that said, accompanied by Zhaohui, he took Wang Chengen, the only one left by his side, to climb Jingshan Mountain, also known as Meishan Mountain.
The steps were heavy and the Jingshan Mountain in the past seemed particularly steep.
"Master, slow down!"
Wang Chengen supported the frail Emperor Chongzhen and climbed up to the Shouhuang Pavilion in Jingshan step by step.
Chongzhen was panting, looking at the capital city where the war was raging, his eyes were blank.
He took off his white and blue robe and said, "Bring me a pen!"
Wang Cheng'en, the eunuch holding the pen as the Supervisor of Ceremonies, carried a red pen with him and handed it over.
Chongzhen closed his eyes, and after a while, he picked up his pen and wrote:
"In the seventeenth year since I ascended the throne, even though I was ungrateful and wrathful, all my ministers misunderstood me and led to the rebels approaching the capital. When I died, I saw my ancestors lying in the ground without a face.
Cover my face. Let the thieves split my corpse, but do not hurt any of the people."
After finishing writing, he was filled with grief and anger: "I am not the king of the country that has perished, but in fact I am the minister of the country that has perished."
"Your Majesty——"
Wang Chengen couldn't help but lose his voice when he saw him taking off his belt and hanging it on the pavilion.
"Help me!"
Chongzhen smiled: "After I die, you will collect my body!"
With tears in his eyes, Wang Chengen picked him up.
Clang——
As his body struggled, he gradually became silent.
"Master, you are gone, what's the use of keeping me alone?"
Wang Chengen wiped away his tears, took out his belt and hung it up directly.
He turned around and saw Chongzhen's body hanging in the air. His left foot was bare and his right foot had a red shoe. His face was miserable and full of unwillingness.
"Slave, I'm here to accompany you."
After saying this, he also hanged himself.
The cold wind howled, and no one noticed the two corpses hanging together in the Shouhuang Pavilion in Meishan Mountain.
At this time, Andingmen.
When the intruders attacked, the eunuch guarding the gate, Fang Zhenghua, armed with a three-eyed gun, killed the enemies on the city.
Undaunted, he led the eunuchs and the defenders to continuously fight back, killing and wounding dozens of people. However, he was outnumbered and had to be captured.
Asked: "Who are you?"
Fang Zhenghua was not afraid and said sternly: "I am the general manager Fang Zhenghua."
"court death--"
For a time, the rebel soldiers hacked him to death.
Here, Prince Zhu Cihong, King Yong, and King Ding were sent to the home of the state leader Zhou Kui, but the door was closed and no one was allowed to enter.
The eunuch was anxious, so he picked up the ax and started to chop. Even though he penetrated several inches, the door still didn't open.
"Master, I can't get in!" The eunuch cried sadly: "What should I do?"
"The world is so hot that even my grandpa can't be trusted anymore."
Zhu Cixiang was a young man after all. He did not expect that his grandfather would refuse him entry behind closed doors at this time.
The younger brothers were even more panicked.
After a while, the streets were filled with troops. When they saw the three young men accompanied by the eunuch, they immediately arrested them.
The direct line of the Ming Dynasty was destroyed.
…
On March 19th, it was broad daylight.
Zhang Jinyan, the Minister of War, took the initiative to open the Zhengyang Gate to welcome Liu Zongmin's troops.
At noon, Li Zicheng, guided by the eunuch Wang Dehua, rode a horse, wearing a felt hat and light blue robe, entered Chengtian Gate and entered the inner hall.
Prime Minister Niu Jinxing, Shangshu Song Qijiao, Yu Shangyou, ministers Li Zhisheng, Zhang Jiran and others followed on horseback.
Li Zicheng ascended to the Huangji Hall, sat on the throne, looked down at the ministers, and felt an unspeakable feeling that spread throughout his body.
At this time, he felt as if he had undergone some kind of baptism and was reborn. In a real sense, he became an emperor instead of the grass-headed king he was before.
After more than ten years of fighting in the south and the north, escaping from death, he finally completed his great cause.
I am the emperor, the emperor in the true sense.
After a long time, he finally came to his senses, and an astonishing light emitted from his single eye:
"Da Suo harem, I want to get accurate information about Chongzhen. I want to see him alive and his body when he dies."
"Your Majesty, I was in the harem and found that all the queen and concubines were killed. Only Princess Changping was still alive. She was chopped several times."
Liu Zongmin ran over in a hurry.
He was the fastest to break into the palace, plundered the gold, silver, and the palace maids, and enjoyed himself greatly.
"No news about Chongzhen?"
Li Zicheng frowned: "Princess Changping? You take good care of her and see if you can find out the news about her father."
"As you command!"
Liu Zongmin nodded and said roughly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, Chongzhen can't escape."
"Control Queen Zhou!" Li Zicheng thought about the aftermath and couldn't help but said: "Place it outside Donghua Gate."
After speaking, he said to Niu Jinxing and others: "Pass on my decree, and in three days, all the ministers of the Ming court will come to see you. Anyone who violates this will be responsible for the consequences."