Deng Yu's 20,000-strong army arrived very quickly.
But Emperor Xianfeng ran faster.
When Deng Yu arrived at the gate of Peiping City, he immediately received a report from spies that Emperor Xianfeng was about to run out of Shuntian Mansion.
Deng Yu: "...!"
Peiping had a high city and a deep pool. Coupled with the officials in the city, when the gentry heard that Zhu Hongwu was coming, they defended the city more resolutely.
Having no choice but to do so, Deng Yu finally just fired a few demonstrative cannons and chose to give up the idea of penetrating the city of Peiping.
But since he came here, he couldn't come in vain.
The Old Summer Palace outside Beijing became his target.
This royal garden, which was lovingly built by the Manchu royal family, was directly raided by Deng Yu as military resources for the northward march.
Then he led the army, pulling cart after cart of treasures, and swaggered away under the watch of many gentry and officials at the top of the city of Peiping, under the banner of the sun and moon of the Ming Dynasty.
At the same time, Chang Yuchun's navy also showed off its power in the Bohai Bay.
Every once in a while, they would fire two cannons and listen to the sound, which frightened the Qing troops on the shore.
"Did you hear that?"
"The Puppet Ming Dynasty entrenched in Guangdong defeated the British Armada!"
A teahouse in Tianjin.
Several young people are having a party.
"How could we not know about such a big thing!"
"And it's not just defeat, it's annihilation, total annihilation!"
"What a relief!"
"The British have been bullying us for many years, and they have become more and more arrogant in the past two years. I didn't expect that someone finally took care of them!"
"Alas...it's a pity that it's not the imperial fleet!" Someone sighed.
"Everyone, I think it would be better if it were not the imperial fleet!"
Suddenly a young man said in a deep voice: "Do you really want to carry this thing with you for the rest of your life?"
The young man pointed to the braid on his back as he spoke.
"Ziyu, be careful what you say!"
"This is not the place to say this!" Someone immediately reminded him.
"Is there anything you should be careful about?"
"I'm afraid you have forgotten whose hands Tianjin is now!"
"This is now the territory of the Ming Dynasty!"
The young man named Ziyu suddenly stood up with a smile, grabbed his braid, pulled out a knife from his body, and cut the braid in the middle with one blow.
Everyone around him couldn't help but feel horrified.
Keep your hair but not your head, keep your head but not your hair. After two hundred years of strict implementation, this law has already been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
"Ziyu, you are crazy!"
"Those people won't stay here long. They will return to Guangdong in two days to show off their power. Do you still want to go with them?"
A young man grabbed his sleeve and said anxiously: "Hurry up and hide inside while no one can see you. I'll have someone buy you a fake braid to wear."
"Brother Daolin, Ziyu has thanked you for your kindness here, but I don't need that thing anymore in my life. I have no relatives and will go south to Guangdong today!"
"Brothers, we will meet again soon."
"I know your family has a big business and it's impossible to go south, so I hope we won't see you again in the future!"
"Goodbye... maybe we are enemies!"
After Yu Ziyu finished speaking, he walked out of the teahouse with disheveled hair.
"After five thousand years of Chinese history, we have been human since then...!"
While singing, he strode away in long strides.
For some reason, he had been having trouble sleeping and eating when he was hesitant before, but now that he had finally made up his mind, he immediately became impatient.
He wanted to go to Guangdong to see what that place was like where the Han people did not have to be slaves, and to see how powerful the army was that could wipe out the British navy.
He wanted to dedicate his own efforts to that piece of land.
Everyone behind him looked at Yu Ziyu who was in a state of madness, with a trace of envy flashing on their faces.
But as Yu Ziyu said, each of them has a big family and a big business, so it is impossible for them to do whatever they want.
Along the way, I was surrounded by people.
Yu Ziyu didn't care at all. He walked all the way to the gate of Tianjin and saw a young general wearing red armor at first sight.
"General, can you take me to Guangzhou? I am willing to join the army." Yu Ziyu said.
Mu Ying saw such a young man with disheveled hair from a distance.
He knew very well that if he didn't take him for a ride, the young man would probably be taken credit for before he could reach Guangdong.
Of course, he would not watch the first compatriot who dared to cut off his braids encounter any mishaps.
Zhu Yuanzhang had long taught him about the power of public opinion.
They spent several months running to the city walls of Peiping to show off their power, wasn't it just to stir up public opinion throughout China?
If everyone was like this young man and dared to cut off the braids on their heads, then the Qing Dynasty of the Tatars would not have to fight at all and they would fall apart.
"Can!"
Mu Ying nodded and said with a smile: "You came at just the right time. We will leave soon. If you come a little later, you won't be able to see me!"
After he finished speaking, he turned his head and looked at the crowd behind him.
"Do you want anyone else to be like this little brother?"
"We are about to set sail south. This is your last chance!" Mu Ying said.
In the end, no second person came forward.
However, Mu Ying saw expectations, movement, and light in these people's eyes.
This is the light of hope.
"It doesn't matter!"
Mu Ying smiled and looked at the growing crowd in front of her: "We will come back, Daming will come back, it won't be long, and one day you will all cut off your braids!"
"Long live!"
Seeing Mu Ying leaving with Yu Ziyu, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted loudly.
"Long live, long live...!"
The sound grew louder and louder, gradually deafening.
Listening to the shouts, Mu Ying felt that this might be the public opinion that His Majesty often told her!
The public opinion belonging to the Ming Dynasty is rapidly accumulating. This is the advantage that the Ming Dynasty will have when it attacks the world again in the future.
Watching the pseudo-Ming fleet gradually move away from the Bohai Bay, Li Hongzhang breathed a long sigh of relief.
"These plague gods are finally gone!"
He muttered to himself, but soon he became frowning again.
To be honest, he wanted to rush back to Beijing to report everything that happened in Guangdong, and if he wanted to, he could indeed go before the navy led by Chang Yuchun.
But when he reached Tianjin, he suddenly didn't dare to leave.
He knew very well that if he returned to Peiping, no matter what happened, he would probably die.
So he didn't dare to go back.
"But if you don't go back, where else can you go?"
Li Hongzhang frowned tightly.
In fact, he knew in his heart that except for his teacher Zeng Guofan, wherever he went now would be a dead end.
"It seems that this time I will really become the teacher's lackey!" Li Hongzhang murmured to himself with a wry smile.