At this moment, the palace was already overcrowded. Outside Qianqing Palace, eunuchs and maids could be seen running around at any time. This situation also happened in other palaces, because the news that Yixin led troops to attack the city had spread, and even The news that Xin Xin and foreigners led troops to approach Zhengyang Gate was also flying all over the sky, so the palace was full of chaos and chaos.
Li Zhen led the soldiers from the Jian Dao Battalion to sit in the Qianqing Palace. It was relatively stable and there was no chaos. Among them, Ci'an, Cixi, Zai Chun, the eunuch Han Laiyu, and other important personnel in the palace were all gathered here, and even , some concubines in the harem, etc. also came to Qianqing Palace and wanted to leave together.
Li Zhen glanced at the group of chattering concubines and frowned when he saw the luggage packed by these concubines and the eunuchs standing next to them one by one with their luggage.
These people carry too much stuff.
If he brought these people's luggage, without Yi Xin chasing after him, the team he brought would automatically collapse. Li Zhen thought about it and immediately said: "Everyone's luggage, except for the necessary things, bring unnecessary things." Throw them all away, remember, what is necessary refers to a change of clothes or two, not your gold, silver, agate jewelry, etc."
Li Zhen's eyes were like daggers and he said in a cold voice: "Yixin has colluded with foreigners, and the army is about to enter the Forbidden City. If you bring gold and silver jewelry, pearls, agate, etc., which will make it difficult for you to move, you will not be able to walk by then. , fell behind and were caught up by Yixin's soldiers, don't blame me for leaving you."
At this time, there were only a few guards in the Qianqing Palace and some soldiers from Li Zhen's Jian Dao Battalion.
Zhang Zhiping's soldiers have not arrived yet, so Li Zhen is still waiting. Without Zhang Zhiping's army, Li Zhen would not be able to leave the Forbidden City, and a group of soldiers must be escorted.
Cixi trusted Li Zhen's judgment, turned around and ordered the maids below her, and ordered: "Immediately give up all gold, silver, jewelry, pearls and agate, and throw away unnecessary clothes. Follow Lord Li's arrangement, leaving only two sets." I’m happy, there’s no need to keep the rest, um, all the antiques and the like that I carry are thrown on the ground and don’t need to be taken away.”
Cixi was the Empress Dowager of the West Palace. Before Xianfeng's death, she was even more favored by Xianfeng. She received countless rewards, including pearls, agates, antiques and jewelry, countless gold and silver money, and quite a lot of wealth. When she gave the order, the maids under her command reluctantly gave up their unnecessary possessions. Things, gold bars, ingots of silver, pieces of jewelry...
All the items were placed on the ground, shining brightly and dazzlingly with golden light.
After Cixi set an example for everyone, Ci'an followed suit.
Cixi and Ci'an were the giants in the palace, with countless money. Their money was piled on the ground, forming a hill, a golden hill. Then, one by one, the concubines followed suit. , threw the excess gold, jewelry and the like on the ground and gathered them together.
In this way, the main hall of Qianqing Palace gathered into a small mountain.
However, there were also a few concubines in the harem who were unwilling and still hid money, jewelry and the like on their bodies, or carried gold and silver jewelry packed in bags and were reluctant to abandon them. Li Zhen smiled coldly and did not force these concubines. , If you don’t throw it away now, it will affect your speed in the future. Li Zhen will not be merciful.
"Tap, step,,."
A burst of rapid footsteps came, and the sound of the footsteps seemed messy and fast.
After a while, an army came over.
This army was led by Zhang Zhiping. It was small in number, only more than 1,800 people. Zhang Zhiping rushed over, without even looking at the money and jewelry piled on the ground, he cupped his fists and saluted.
However, the soldiers under his command were still slightly affected.
Li Zhen nodded slightly, waved his hand and said: "General Zhang, I will give you a task now. Immediately pack up the gold, silver, money and jewelry piled on the ground. When we withdraw from the Forbidden City, we will retreat all the way. You will let the soldiers scatter them all the way." Bring down gold, silver and jewelry and tell all the brothers that as long as you leave Beijing, you will have a lot of money. If anyone is greedy for money now, I will kill him immediately if I find him."
Zhang Zhiping said: "Don't worry, sir, we will definitely complete the task."
As soon as he heard what Li Zhen said, he knew that Li Zhen was using money to throw on the ground to delay the pursuit of Yixin's soldiers, so he was very concerned. Zhang Zhiping passed the order and specifically asked one hundred soldiers under his command to clear up the piles on the ground of Qianqing Palace. He was responsible for scattering gold, silver, jewelry and other jewelry on the road. These one hundred soldiers were the bodyguards trained by Zhang Zhiping and were absolutely loyal, so he could rest assured.
"Report."
A soldier from the Jian Dao Battalion rushed in and said loudly: "Commander, the foreigners have broken through the Zhengyang Gate. Now they have entered the imperial city and are running towards the Taihe Gate. I am afraid they will be at the Qianqing Gate soon. Please tell me." Marshal withdraw immediately, otherwise it will be too late." According to the layout of the Forbidden City, Zhengyang Gate is at the front, and Taihe Gate and Qianqing Gate are both facing Zhengyang Gate.
Once Zhengyang falls, it will not be long before the remaining two gates are broken.
Seeing that Zhang Zhiping's soldiers had packed up their money, Li Zhen immediately ordered: "Two Queen Mothers, let's retreat through Shenwu Gate. We should first withdraw from Beijing to avoid the sharp edges of Yi Xin and the foreign soldiers, and then find a way to fight back."
Shenwumen is the north gate of the Forbidden City and the back gate of the palace. It is an important access control for daily access to the palace. Now that Yixin led an army to kill from the front gate, it was obviously impossible for Li Zhen to fight with a few soldiers. The only way to evacuate is through the back door.
Cixi hugged the infant Zai Chun and ran toward Shenwumen surrounded by soldiers.
There were thousands of people in the group, which can be said to be a mighty force.
In fact, there were not many soldiers accompanying them, only about 1,800 people led by Zhang Zhiping. However, the accompanying concubines, maids, and eunuchs accounted for a large part, numbering over a thousand.
Such a team seriously affects the speed of the journey.
After Li Zhen saw it, he decisively ordered the soldiers of the Jiandao Battalion to escort Cixi, Ci'an, Zai Chun, and the eunuch Han Laiyu and his party to hurry up, abandoning the eunuchs, palace maids or Xianfeng's concubines hanging behind, etc. He didn't pay any attention to it, so he walked much faster.
When they arrived at Shenwumen, Li Zhen suddenly issued an order for the army to stop.
Li Zhen looked at Zhang Zhiping and ordered in a deep voice: "Commander Zhang, outside is the Shenwu Gate. Let the soldiers explore the way first, and then ask a group of soldiers to move behind to protect our back. We will step in the middle."
In front of you is the Shenwu Gate. Once you leave the Shenwu Gate, you leave the Forbidden City.
Li Zhen was afraid of an ambush outside, so he asked Zhang Zhiping's soldiers to go out to explore the way. Zhang Zhiping knew the seriousness of the matter and immediately sent 300 soldiers to explore the way. As soon as this group of soldiers rushed out, there was a burst of sound outside Shenwu Gate. Bang bang bang gunfire, intensive gunfire came, and the soldiers rushing at the front were suddenly reduced to sieves, and their bodies were covered with bloody holes made by bullets.
The screams and wails of the soldiers could be heard endlessly, and corpses fell one after another, which made Zhang Zhiping extremely heartbroken.
However, Zhang Zhiping was also slightly thankful that he did not rush out.
He shed cold sweat on his forehead. If he had rushed out recklessly just now, he didn't know what the consequences would be. Fortunately, Li Zhen stopped everyone in time and asked the soldiers to test. However, even if the test is outside the Shenwu Gate now, There were enemy troops, and Zhang Zhiping knew he had to rush out. If he couldn't rush out, he would definitely not survive once Yixin's army caught up.
Zhang Zhiping yelled: "Brothers, rush out, as long as you rush out, the opportunity will come."
These soldiers were all the elites under Zhang Zhiping. They could only obey the orders and rush outside the Shenwu Gate without fear of death. Even so, the soldiers who rushed out were also fiercely attacked by the enemy soldiers outside the Shenwu Gate. Yixin had already thought of Cixi. , Ci'an and others may have escaped from Shenwumen, so they were prepared.
When Li Zhen and his party came out, the soldiers who were ambushing outside immediately came out to intercept them.
Li Zhen saw that his momentum of rushing out was blocked, and heard the faint noise coming from the direction of Qianqing Palace behind him. He felt particularly heavy. He looked at Yang Luchan and Dong Haichuan, and quickly ordered: "Mr. Dong, Mr. Yang, You two must be careful to protect the two Queen Mothers and not let them get hurt."
"As commanded."
The two men guarded Cixi and Ci'an with serious expressions.
Although the two of them were older, the rickety body suddenly straightened up, like a sharp sword unsheathed, exuding a strong momentum, which was completely opposite to the old man who had run away with the army before. This scene made many soldiers... He looked surprised, not expecting that the two old men following Li Zhen were so powerful.
Li Zhen ignored the looks of these people and looked at Long Ao again, and ordered: "Brother Long, let the soldiers of the Sharp Blade Battalion aim at the enemies outside and help the army break through."
"yes."
Long Ao agreed and left the 13th Guards of the Dragon Group to protect Li Zhen. Then he personally led the soldiers from the Jiandao Battalion to help Zhang Zhiping's soldiers attack. The soldiers from the Jiandao Battalion took aim and fired. The gunfire rang out, and Shenwumen The enemy soldiers outside immediately fell one after another. Although the firepower was still there, at least it was not the one-sided situation just now.
Zhang Zhiping encouraged the soldiers and charged again despite the hail of bullets.
More than 1,800 people, and more than 800 died before they rushed out of the Shenwu Gate and ran towards the north of the city. At this time, the number of concubines, maids and eunuchs following the army continued to decrease, but no one paid attention to it, because there were still more people behind. With pursuers chasing them, Li Zhen and his party rushed out of Beijing. It was already late at night.
At this time, everyone was mentally exhausted and their bodies began to be unable to support themselves.
Zhang Zhiping sighed: "It finally came out."
Li Zhen said solemnly: "I'm afraid, it's not that simple." He looked at the official road outside Beicheng, then looked back at the gate of Beicheng, feeling that Yixin's methods might not end there.
"Li Zhen, by order of Prince Gong, I have been waiting here for a long time."
A voice that felt very familiar to Li Zhen came out. Li Zhen had an impression of the voice, but couldn't remember it. He raised his head and looked forward, his eyes widening for a moment.
ps: Call it a day after three updates; sorry for the late update.