On the Zhengyangmen Gate Tower.

The people around looked at the speaker next to Chongzhen, their eyes widened with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

After listening blankly to "Zhu Yuanzhang" scolding Li Zicheng three times, some people finally reacted and immediately knelt down and knelt down to the speaker.

"The great ancestor has appeared!"

"Our Ming Dynasty can be saved!"

"Taizu, Taizu, wuwuwu..."

Some eunuchs, soldiers in golden robes, and soldiers guarding the city thought of the current crisis in the capital and the suffering of the Ming Dynasty over the years, and even couldn't help but cry bitterly.

In such a scene, even if Chongzhen and Zhu Aelao knew that the words in the speaker were spoken by Hao Guangming, they could not help but be affected by the atmosphere and their eyes turned red.

What's more, to Chongzhen's ears, the voice in this speaker was as rich as that of a senior man in his forties or fifties, which was different from Hao Guangming's voice.

Coupled with the various miracles displayed by Hao Guangming, he suddenly came up with an idea: Could it be that Taizu really showed up and sent Mr. Hao to help the Ming Dynasty?

Even Zhu Yulao couldn't help but think: This sound may not be the manifestation of Taizu, but what if it allows me to have the adventure of going to Mr. Hao's world? Maybe it is really the manifestation of Taizu?

Just as the father and daughter were thinking about it with red eyes, they suddenly heard the sound of drums.

Dong dong dong...!

Although the sound of the drum was not as loud as the acoustics, it still shook the capital.

What followed was a tsunami-like shout of killing from the mountains below the city.

"Kill!"

This movement finally made everyone on the city gate tower come to their senses.

"The intruders are about to attack the city in a big way!" Wang Chengen exclaimed, and then he said to Chongzhen with a pleading look on his face: "Your Majesty, this place is dangerous. Can you please return to the palace quickly?"

Chongzhen said stubbornly: "No! I'm not going anywhere!"

Wang Chengen was so anxious that when he saw Zhu Aina next to him, his heart moved and he winked at her.

Zhu Aao's scalp went numb when she saw thousands of intruders running towards Zhengyang Gate below.

Speaking of which, this was her first time seeing a battlefield.

Seeing Wang Chengen's look, she hesitated briefly and said: "Father, this speaker has been used, and it seems to have angered the intruder. Why don't we go back to the palace first and then worry about it."

However, Chongzhen looked at the xenon lamp in Zhu Ya'ao's hand, and then at the slightly westward sun, thinking that if the intruders attacked, would the xenon lamp be able to defeat the enemy under such a bright sun?

Boom boom boom!

Suddenly, several cannon shots were heard from below the city. When Zhu Aona followed the sound, she saw several black dots heading straight for the Zhengyang Gate Tower!

'Danger!'

When this thought appeared in her mind, her nerves were tense and goosebumps stood up. For a moment, she couldn't move or even think!

Bang bang bang...

I remembered the sound of crashes one after another, and the tower swayed slightly.

Zhu Yuluo finally regained her ability to think, and then she realized that the cannonballs had hit the city wall but not the tower.

She subconsciously looked to her side, only to see that Chongzhen had just come to his senses, with a look of fear in his eyes.

thump!

Wang Chengen knelt down in front of Chongzhen and cried anxiously: "Your Majesty, it is really dangerous here. Please return to the palace quickly."

Hearing this, Chongzhen looked at Wang Chengen, then at Zhu Aona. Seeing that his daughter's face was pale, he finally said with difficulty: "Go back to the palace..."

After saying that, he turned around and walked down the tower.

Zhu Ailao came to her senses and hurriedly followed.

Wang Chengen did not follow, but stood up and asked Qianhu in Jinyi to hold the stereo, and then sternly glanced at the surrounding defenders.

At this time, the sound of artillery fire came one after another, but it was the second round of artillery fire from the intruders.

Unfortunately, the intruders did not have a cannon that could threaten the inner city wall. Even if they fired foam continuously, they could only provide cover for the intruders attacking the city, and could not cause much harm to the defenders on the city wall.

If the defenders of the city were elite soldiers, they would naturally not even frown in this situation.

It's a pity that there are not enough troops on the inner city wall, and there are also weak soldiers who have not gone through the battle formation.

Although they were not as frightened as Chongzhen and Zhu Ayao who faced shelling for the first time, they were both very nervous.

When I saw the crowd of intruders rushing towards me in the darkness of the city, shouting for murder, I became even more nervous and even frightened.

If it weren't for the fact that Emperor Chongzhen had received a lot of silver rewards in the past two days, some people might have abandoned their weapons and fled by now.

Since the invasion of the outer city last night, they have not only bombarded the inner city wall with artillery to deter the Ming army, they have also filled in several sections of the inner city's moat.

So amidst the thundering drums and roaring cannons, many intruders rushed to the wall carrying simple ladders and began to attack the city.

At this time, the Ming army also began to fight back under the command of the general.

Most of the means of defending the city were used, such as firing cannons, firing arrows, rolling stones, beating logs, and gold juice (boiled dung water).

Although the generals and soldiers of the Ming army were not as good as the invaders, the over four-foot-high city wall and many defensive equipment were able to temporarily block the invaders who were attached to them.

···

Shortly after Chongzhen and Zhu Aela returned to the palace, Ni Yuanlu came.

Since being appointed as a cabinet minister by Chongzhen yesterday, Ni Yuanlu has quickly taken over the work of Wei Dezao, Chen Yan and others, and it was not until this afternoon that she was barely finished.

But he discovered a huge problem, so he hurried to meet Chongzhen.

The situation was urgent. After Ni Yuanlu saluted, he said directly: "Your Majesty, there is no food available in the inner city. If it is not solved in time, not only the people in the inner city will not be able to buy food tomorrow, but even military rations will not be guaranteed."

Chongzhen became anxious when he heard this. He frowned and asked, "How could this happen?"

Ni Yuanlu said: "The food in the city relies on the supply of various granaries outside the city, and the reason why the capital's grain storage is mostly in the outer city, there are only three granaries in the inner city.

I went to check this morning and found that the grain stored in the three granaries has bottomed out, and most of it is old grain. At most, it is only enough for tonight."

When Chongzhen heard this, he couldn't help but clenched his fists, his knuckles turned white, and said, "Chen Yan should have been responsible for this food matter before, right?"

Ni Yuanlu said: "First, Chen Yan was responsible. Later, he was dismissed by His Majesty because he was responsible for the intruders. Later, Wei Zaode should be responsible."

At this point Ni Yuanlu stopped.

There was one thing he didn't say - Wei Zaode took over the position of chief assistant not long ago, only about a month.

Of course, since Wei Zaode was once responsible for this matter, he cannot escape responsibility.

Chongzhen did not expect this. Instead, he remembered the surrender of Chen and Wei to Li Zicheng. He could not help but gritted his teeth and said: "These two mediocre and incompetent people really betrayed my trust!"

Ni Yuanlu couldn't help but sigh in her heart after hearing this.

Although he didn't like Chen Yan or Wei Dezao either, he didn't think Chongzhen's words were right.

Chen and Wei were not without talents, but they were not talented as prime ministers and assistants. It was Chongzhen, the emperor, who failed to use them in the right place.

After walking a few steps left and right, Chongzhen looked at Ni Yuanlu and asked, "Do you have a plan to solve the problem of food and salary?"

Ni Yuanlu said: "For the current plan, we can only borrow food from wealthy households and nobles who still have food left in the inner city."

"Borrow food?" Upon hearing this, Chongzhen remembered the two previous times he borrowed money from the ministers. He couldn't help snorting coldly: "Why borrow food when we have reached this point? In my opinion, we might as well forcefully requisition all the food in the inner city.

Got it!"

"Absolutely not!" Ni Yuanlu looked horrified, then knelt down with a plop, cupped her hands and said: "Your Majesty, those who have food in the inner city are almost all nobles, and rich households all have servants to protect the courtyard. If Your Majesty forces a conquest

If the food causes everyone to resist, and if the soldiers guarding the city are involved, they may be taken advantage of by the intruders!"

Ni Yuanlu’s words are very clear.

It's not that food cannot be forced, but the timing is wrong and Chongzhen doesn't have enough soldiers and horses.

Although Chongzhen was angry and anxious, he understood this truth after being reminded by Ni Yuanlu.

However, if we don’t requisition food but just borrow it, can we borrow it?

Even if you borrow, how much can you borrow?

At this time, Zhu Yuyao, who had been listening, suddenly said: "Father, my daughter has an idea, but it's hard to say it in front of Mr. Ni Ge."

Naturally, Ni Yuanlu had noticed Zhu Yuyao a long time ago.

Initially he didn't care.

But at this moment, he couldn't help but frown when he heard that Zhu Ailao said that he wanted to participate in political affairs.

However, before he could say anything, he heard Chongzhen say: "Ni Aiqing, please come outside the palace later, and I will have a few words with Nainao."

Chongzhen opened his mouth, and Ni Yuanlu naturally couldn't say anything else, so she backed away.

But his brows furrowed even more tightly.

If it was Prince Zhu Cixiang who was following Chongzhen to participate in military and political matters at this time, he would think it was very reasonable.

But now it was Princess Zhu Aona of Kunxing, which made him confused.
Chapter completed!