"I bow down with contempt, inherit the inheritance of my ancestors, and descend to hundreds of millions of trillions in all directions, and seven out of ten are here. If the government is not repaired, the chaos will come. Or is the saint in the lower position? As for the wrath of the heavens, the resentment of the people, the naked son became a thief, and the fertile land turned into hazelnut; The mausoleum was shocked, and the prince slaughtered. There is nothing worse than this in the disaster of the country. Now besiege Jingshi and break into the outer city. The sect and society are in danger, and there is no room for it. There is no tart felling, He Shen Guowei! I personally led the six divisions to discuss, and stayed in the east to supervise the country, and the important affairs of the state were all taken care of. Tell your subjects, if you have the ability to work hard and be loyal and brave, or help with food, grass, equipment, mules, horses, boats, and carts, and listen to them before the army, so as to destroy the ugly. Divide the reward of the soil, and never break your word! ”

In a slightly remote corner, Chongzhen hastily wrote this edict for help, and after stamping the small seal he carried with him, he ordered Wang Chengen to send capable men to sneak out of the city immediately, make the world clear, and gather loyal and righteous people from all over the world to crusade against the traitors.

"Emperor, this matter, the slave maid sent Wu Liangfu to do it! He is more familiar with the personnel in the south! Wang Chengen took over this special purpose, and after a little thought, he had a candidate.

Under the interweaving of shouts and the sound of horses' hooves, Chongzhen, a small team like a frightened bird, circled all the way through the streets and alleys of the inner city, avoiding the soldiers and horses of the Dashun army. From time to time along the way, there were scattered eunuchs who joined the team. The team, which originally consisted of only more than 100 people, has reverted to the scale of four or five hundred people.

When he was about to walk to the left gate of Chang'an, Chongzhen was completely sober after this period of tossing about himself. Looking at the sky, it is now the fourth watch, and the sky is about to brighten, and there is less and less time left for him. He needs to deal with the important affairs in the palace and prepare for martyrdom.

He temporarily stopped in the heart of East Chang'an Street, and suddenly only this small team of people and horses was left in the wide and noisy ten-mile long street in the past, which made Chongzhen tremble. The place where he temporarily immediately arrived was Zuo Gongshengmen in the south, and the Taimiao Temple was separated by the red wall in the north. He looked southwest at the front gate, where three white lanterns fluttered slightly in the cold wind. He looked again at the red wall, the tall pines and cypresses in the courtyard of the Taimiao, and occasionally the white cranes perched on the trees were suddenly awakened from their dreams by the sound of cannons, and whispered a few times with sleepiness. Chongzhen said to Wang Chengen: "I want to go back to the palace, you should also go home." ”

At this time, Chongxu's side stood the eunuch Wang Chengen, and there was another one who was the promise of the Qianqing Palace who led the horse for him, and the other was Wang Chengen's personal eunuch. Wu Xiang led the four or five hundred eunuchs to stand a little farther away on the street.

Wang Chengen said: "The slave maid said goodbye to her mother yesterday. If His Majesty is martyred, then the slave and the maid will be martyred, and the righteousness is righteous, and the slave and the maid will never steal the world! However, things have not yet reached the end of the mountain, and Your Majesty must not give up the world's actions lightly! ”

Chongzhen often thinks about one thing angrily today: in ancient times, when the emperor was martyred, there were often many ministers who died, but when he died in the country, there was no loyal minister who came into the palace to die with him! He usually knew that Wang Chengen was very loyal, and listening to Wang Chengen's words at this time moved his heart. He looked at Wang Chengen fixedly, suppressed the surging feelings in his heart, still did not lose his identity as an emperor, nodded and said: "Very good, after all, I don't forget the grace of my cultivation, and I am much better than many scholars who were born in school!" ”

Wang Chengen followed the "ancestral system" in the Forbidden City that no one except the emperor could ride a horse, and arrived at the dismount monument outside the left gate of Chang'an, quickly dismounted, handed over the horse to the eunuch who accompanied him, and he followed Chongzhen's horse into the palace on foot. He couldn't guess and didn't dare to ask, whether the emperor was going to set himself on fire in the Qianqing Palace or hang himself. When he walked into the east corner gate of the Huangji Gate (that is, the Hongzheng Gate), he saw that the Huangji Palace was in front of him, and the three major halls were the Qianqing Palace, Wang Chengen asked timidly: "Emperor, there is not much time, do you want to order the ministers to hurry up to the three major halls and the Qianqing Palace to bring dry firewood?" ”

Chongzhen was shocked again, stopped Ji Liangcheng, looked back at Wang Chengen, and then made up his mind again, and replied: "I have an idea since yesterday, so I don't need to ask!" ”

Outside the Qianqing Gate, Chongzhen dismounted and instructed Wang Chengen to temporarily go to the duty room of the celebrant to rest and wait for the call. He was already confident about the few things that should be dealt with immediately, and walked into the Qianqing Gate with firm steps. According to the rules of weekdays, a eunuch shouted in the Qianqing Gate: "The holy drive back to the palace!" Immediately, more than a dozen eunuchs knelt down to the side of the south road to pick up the driver. Wei Qinghui and a group of palace maids were waiting for news in a corner of the Qianqing Palace, and hurriedly ran out of the dark shadows and knelt on the side of the Danqi to pick up the car.

Chongzhen did not enter the Qianqing Palace immediately, thinking that he would kill in the palace in a moment, and his wife and daughter were about to die, he hesitated on the Dan Qi and let out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, a eunuch came to him and knelt down, and said in a trembling voice: "Qi play the emperor, please don't worry about the emperor, the slave and maid have a plan to keep the emperor safe." ”

Chongzhen saw that it was a eunuch named Zhang Yin, who was a small promise in the Qianqing Palace, usually very honest, doing some rough work, and never dared to speak in front of him. He wondered: what is the trick of this honest slave? Could it really be that the ancestor has manifested his spirit? So he lowered his head and asked, "Zhang Yin, don't be afraid, what are your plans?" ”

Zhang Yin replied: "Emperor, if the thieves enter the inner city, just surrender and it will be fine." ”

Chongzhen's eyes widened, and he kicked Zhang Yin hard, kicking him to sit on his back on the ground, and then pulled out his sword, slashed down diagonally, and killed Zhang Yin. This is the first time in Chongzhen's life that he killed someone with his own hands, and after the killing, his anger was still not gone, and he trembled. The eunuchs and palace maids saw the emperor killing people in the palace for the first time, and they all fell to the ground in horror.

After a few breaths, Chongzhen casually pointed to a palace maid and ordered her to rush to Ciqing Palace, play Empress Yi'an, and ask her to commit suicide, "You play Empress Yi'an, now that the disaster is coming, the emperor asked her to commit suicide immediately by hanging herself and martyring herself." Don't spoil the dignity of your ancestors! ”

He also said to a palace maid: "Hurry up and send a decree to urge Yuan Niangniang to commit suicide, urge Princess Changping to commit suicide, let's die quickly, don't delay until the thieves come in, and damage the ancestor's national body." ”

At this time, from the Xuanwu Gate, there was the sound of the drum and the cloud board of the report, and I knew that the fourth watch was halfway through, and it was not far from the fifth watch. Behind the Kunning Palace is the Imperial Garden and the Qin'an Palace, and then there is the Xuanwu Gate. On the left and right of the Xuanwu Gate, close to the row houses in the Forbidden City, commonly known as the Langxia Family, live some eunuchs of lower status. At this time, one or two rooster cries came from the house under the corridor, mixed with the sound of the cloud board. Hearing the crow of the chickens in the corridor getting thicker and thicker, Chongzhen's heart was very anxious, and he staggered towards Shouning Palace. Although he wanted to stay calm and deal with everything calmly before he died, his mind was already a little flustered, and he was afraid that it would be too late, and he would go faster and faster, almost making it impossible for the palace maids and eunuchs behind him to catch up.

Princess Changping, who lives in Shouning Palace, is the eldest daughter of Chongzhen and has been deeply loved by her father since she was a child. When she was young, although Chongzhen had every opportunity and the government was worried, she often hugged her and teased her. She was born like a flower and jade, and she was extremely intelligent, much like when the queen first entered the palace. Last year, a horse had been selected for her, and she was originally going to "get married" after the beginning of spring, but it could not be held because of the bad state affairs. At this moment, he wants to see if his beloved daughter has committed suicide and her body hangs on the beam...... His heart was suddenly so sore that he trembled all over, and even his legs went limp. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't cry, and cried out in his heart, "Oh my God, the country will be destroyed...... There is such a tragedy in the world! ”

Princess Changping, who lives in Shouning Palace, is sixteen years old this year, and just now a palace maid in Kunning Palace came to pass the decree and ordered her to commit suicide. She refused, and the palace maids guarded her from letting her commit suicide. Now the palace maids were crying around her, and suddenly when she heard that Banzai had arrived, she hurriedly took the palace maids to the courtyard and knelt down to take the car. Seeing that the princess was still alive, Chongzhen was anxious and angry, and said, "Daughter, why aren't you dead yet?" ”

Princess Changping held his clothes and cried and said, "Daughter...... In the clear! Father, Emperor......"

Chongzhen trembled and said, "Don't say it again! You are unfortunate enough to be born in the royal family, and you are guilty! ”

Princess Changping was about to speak again, when Chongzhen's right hand trembled and slashed with a sword. She ducked and slashed her left arm instead of her neck. She screamed in utter terror and fell to the ground, unconscious. Chongzhen saw that the princess was not dead, and raised the sword again, but his arm trembled more fiercely, he had no strength, and his heart softened, and after he barely raised the sword, he saw a palace maid pounce on the princess, crying and shouting: "Emperor, cut it!" Hack it! The slave is willing to die with the princess! ”

Chongzhen's wrist was even softer, the sword couldn't be cut, he sighed, turned around and walked out of Shouning Palace, and walked to Yikun Palace, where Concubine Yuan lived. After Chongzhen left, the palace maids in Shouning Palace and the princess's nurse were still crying around the princess. He Xin, the eunuch in charge of Shouning Palace, hurriedly found medicine to stop bleeding from the imperial pharmacy, and instructed the two older palace maids to carry the princess on the couch to give medicine and bandage the wounds of the princess, but there was no other way. The princess was still unconscious, neither moaning nor crying. Due to the extraordinary incident, the eunuch in charge He Xin and the nurse Mama Chen did not know how to deal with the unconscious princess. Fortunately, at this time, Wu Wanrong, the housekeeper of Kunning Palace, who was loved by everyone, came.

Wu Wanrong saw that although the princess was cut off on her left arm, because the emperor's hand was weak, she did not cut off her bones, let alone hurt the fatal place, and she would recover after waking up and recuperating for a few days. She called He Xin to the front of Shouning Palace, avoided everyone, and asked in a low voice, "Gonggong He, how do you plan to save the princess from the palace?" ”

He Xin said: "The princess is already unconscious, if I send the princess out of the palace, the princess dies on the road, and my sins will not be atoned for." ”

"No, Grandpa Ho. As far as I can see, the princess's unconscious consciousness was caused by the extreme fright just now, and she must not have died. Why don't you take advantage of the dawn to take no one with you, carry the princess out of the Xuanwu Gate alone, and escape to the palace of Emperor Zhou? ”

He Xin's heart suddenly understood, and said: "Just do it, good idea!" ”

However, the voice from behind him was like a basin of cold water pouring down head-on: "Go to the palace of Emperor Zhou?" Have you forgotten about the 10,000 pieces of silver? What if the traitor enters the city, and the princess's grandfather sacrifices the princess to the traitor in order to keep the wealth and wealth for a long time? ”

Behind him, it was the palace maid who pounced on Princess Changping just now.

"You slut! Who made you talk?! He Xin was a little angry.

"Wait a minute! You listen to her first. Wu Wanrong was quite calm, probably because she had just sent Queen Zhou away, and she already had some immunity to the miserable scene in front of her.

"As the slave and maid saw, it was hidden in the city. Our princess had a good friendship with the county lord in the south that day. Moreover, she was injured in Liaodong at that time, and the princess Niangniang also took the imperial doctor to Tianjin to inquire about her injuries. At that time, the slave and maid were also on the side. The two also married sisters. The county lord also gave us a token of the princess, saying that if there was something to do, go to a shop opened by any merchant in Nanzhong to show the token, and they would be ordered. ”

"So what are you waiting for? Find it! Wu Wanrong hurriedly roared, "Father-in-law He, you take care of the princess here, I'll go and tell the emperor!" ”

In the side hall, the sword in Chongzhen's hand was dripping blood from the drop, just now outside the Zhaoren Palace, he hacked to death the little daughter who had just begun to learn the etiquette in the palace with a sword, and looked at the daughter who fell in a pool of blood, "My little daughter, it's not that my father is too cruel, it's because you are a natural golden branch and jade leaf, you shouldn't die at the hands of thieves, and you shouldn't grow up and live in the people!" Son, you died in the underworld and complained that your father was unkind to you! ……”

The crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding had already risen from the ground and stood in front of their father, waiting for the edict. Chongzhen suddenly noticed the royal robes and crowns worn by his three sons, and was taken aback, and said in a reproachful tone: "When is it, you are still dressed like this!" Then he glanced at a group of palace maids and eunuchs standing in the side hall, and said, "Why don't you hurry up and find old clothes and hats for the master to change!" Replace it for the two kings! ”

Everyone hurriedly found three sets of worn clothes of the little eunuchs, and the two palace maids changed them for the prince, and the palace maids changed them for the second king. Chongzhen thought that the palace maids were moving too slowly, so he tied the prince's clothes with trembling hands, and choked up while tying them: "Son! You are still the prince tonight, and you will be a common man after dawn. Escape from the palace and go to the people, you have to be incognito, and you must not reveal the identity of the prince. When you see an old man, you have to call him grandpa; When you see a middle-aged person, you should call your uncle or uncle, and when you see someone of your age, you should call your brother...... O my son, you see! As soon as you leave the palace, you are a common people, a homeless person, even more pitiful than a homeless common people! If the ancestors are blessed by the spirit of heaven and let you escape to Shandong, remember that everything must be arranged by Liang Guogong and his son! You have to be careful to save your life! Your father is about to die in the community. Your queen mother has gone before me! ……”

When Chongzhen personally took care of the crown prince's clothes and hats, the clothes and hats of the two kings of Yong and Ding were also changed by the palace maids. At this moment of parting from life and death, he took the prince's hand and wanted to say two words, but there was a burst of grief, and he was so choked that he couldn't say a word, only tears.

Chongzhen didn't dare to delay any longer, he quickly stopped crying, and instructed the eunuch in charge of Zhongcui Palace to quickly send the crown prince and King Ding to the mansion of their maternal grandfather, Zhou Kui, Marquis of Jiading, and ordered a reliable eunuch to send King Yong to the palace of Emperor Tian, and ordered the two royal princes to find a place to hide his three sons temporarily, and then go south out of the city. After instructing the eunuchs, Chongzhen pinned his hopes for the restoration of the country on the prince, and he said to the prince: "Son, your father has been in charge of the world for 17 years, respecting the heavens and ancestors, diligent and loving the people, and has not lost his morality, and he is not the king of the country. All the ministers of the court and the central government misunderstood me and the country...... To the woe of today. Son! You are the crown prince, if you don't die, you must lie down and taste the courage, endure the humiliation, and you must be patient for a while, even how the powerful ministers bully you. When you grow up, you have to restore your ancestors and avenge your parents. A thousand words, just one sentence, my son! You're going to live! Stay alive! Restore the country! ......" He wept bitterly twice and ordered the eunuchs to take the crown prince and the two kings of Yong and Ding out of the palace as soon as possible.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! ”

Wu Wanrong stumbled from the direction of the Rijing Gate and shouted and shouted.

"This minion! At this time, what are you still panicking about?! ”

"Emperor! Emperor! The slave and maid have a great joy to announce to the emperor! Wu Wanrong held a gold-inlaid jade token in her hand, carved with a plum blossom blooming in frost, and on the back was a huge gunboat sailing proudly in the wind and waves.

"This is the Zhaoyang County Lord's mother gave to Her Royal Highness the Princess on the same day, holding this token, it is like seeing the Zhaoyang County Lord himself, and the Nanzhong merchants will be ordered. Your Majesty, with this help, a few young masters can go south out of the city smoothly! ”

"Heavens! Firmament! ”

At this juncture, Chongzhen never thought that the day when Princess Changping was sent to Tianjin to visit Li Huamei's injury, it was originally just to show the monarch's care and love for his subordinates, but he didn't want to, he could do a little spring breeze, but he looked at such an autumn rain!

He knew that in order to win people's hearts wherever the Dashun army and horses went, they often did not loot the merchants and civilians, which was much stronger than the Ming official army.

Moreover, he had also heard a little that there was some indescribable ambiguity between the Nanzhong businessman and the traitor Li Chuang, and the two sides often had contacts. Whenever Li Chuang's troops attacked the city and broke the town, they did not commit any crime against all kinds of merchants, buying and selling in public.

However, he couldn't care about it at this time. As long as a few of his children can break out, escape from Beijing with the help of the protection of Nanzhong merchants, join Li Shouhan and his son, and reorganize the Ming Dynasty, what about the more materials that Nanzhong merchants sell to Li Chuang?

"Wu Wanrong, you will take the crown prince, King Yong, King Ding, and escape from the palace with the princess on your back! Find a reliable Nanzhong merchant shop and take refuge! ”

"Emperor, there is a jewelry shop outside Di'anmen, which is familiar to slaves and maids!"

After arranging everything, Chongzhen pulled the sword out of the vermilion pillar, "Big companion." ”

"The slave is here."

"Are you willing to accompany me on this journey again, and make this fight for the crown prince, Yongwang, Dingwang, Changping and others to escape?"

"The slave is willing to follow the emperor's tail!" (To be continued.) )