Near noon on the 19th, the city of Beijing was buzzing with people, war horses neighing, and large groups of bandits entering the city. These bandits galloped past. They were dressed in white clothes, wearing green hats, holding powerful bows in their hands, and carrying long swords.
arrows, and a short stick tied to his waist.
The common people opened their doors as usual, and pedestrians on the street stood on both sides of the road to watch. It was silent, only the sound of armor and horse hooves could be heard. They seemed to have been mentally prepared for this day, with numbness and indifference written on their faces...
…
Li Zicheng, wearing a felt hat and naked clothes, rode a black barge horse with more than a hundred elite cavalry. He entered through the Desheng Gate and turned to the Daming Gate. The puppet military adviser Song Xiance, the puppet cabinet Niu Jinxing and Song Qijiao and other five cavalry followed him.
The puppet general Li Mou, deputy generals Tian Hualong, Li Yan, etc. divided the troops into separate generals.
Li Zicheng entered from the West Chang'an Gate, bent his bow and raised his head to the sky, laughing loudly. He relied on his ability to shoot out of the capital, shot at the Chang'an Archway, and said: "If you shoot at the middle character, the world will be at peace." Who would have expected it?
The arrow shot into the corrugations.
Song Xiance quickly said: "Shoot in the ditch, with Huaihe River as the boundary."
In fact, from the perspective of physiognomy, there is an empty place inside the corrugated corrugations. Once it becomes empty, it is a sign of death.
Li Zicheng grew ugly and blinded in one eye. When he arrived at Chengtian Gate, he looked forward to contentment. When he saw the four words "Chengtian Gate", he wanted to use it to confuse the crowd. He bent his bow and pointed at the door board, loudly saying to the thieves: "I can
If you are the master of the world, shoot the center of the four characters with one arrow."
Who would have thought that when he shot it, he missed and only hit under the word "天". Li Zicheng was unhappy.
Niu Jinxing said again: "If you are in the middle, you will divide the world."
Li Zicheng became happy and smiled with his bow. The eunuch Wang Dehua led 300 people to greet the Shengmen Gate first. This eunuch who Chongzhen once valued did the most shameless thing.
The eunuch Cao Huachun, who had surrendered earlier, guided Li Zicheng and his entourage Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, and Song Qijiao to enter the palace through Chang'an Gate, and the Forbidden City changed hands...
But not everyone is as shameless as them.
The prince-in-law Gong Yonggu and Xinlehou Liu Wenbing received the emperor's secret edict on the 18th and rushed to the palace. Chongzhen asked them if they could fight in the streets for him. Chapter 552: Fight out of the capital to resist the bandits.
Tell him that it is impossible. Chongzhen said: At this point, my will has been made.
Gong Yonggu replied to the emperor: "We have piled firewood at home, and we are determined to commit suicide as a family to repay the emperor." After Gong Yonggu returned home, he wrote eight big characters on the wall, "I have been favored by the country in this world, and I cannot be humiliated." At that time, his wife
Princess Anle has hanged herself, and Gong Yonggu and his five children have committed suicide.
Liu Wenbing's entire family also committed suicide. His grandmother, who was over ninety years old, fell into a well and died.
Seeing that the situation was over, the scholar Fan Jingwen lamented that as a minister he could not contribute to the emperor. He felt deeply guilty and went on a hunger strike. On the 19th, when the capital fell, it was rumored that the emperor had died, or that he had gone on a "southern tour". He sighed: "I don't know where the emperor is."
, I have only one death to repay Your Majesty."
Immediately he hanged himself in front of his wife Lu's funeral hall. After being rescued by his family, he wrote a poem to clarify his ambition: "Who said that believing in the country is not a man? What will you do when the time comes?" He knelt down and cried in the direction of the palace, and jumped into an ancient well in Longquan Lane.
中.He was the only martyr among the cabinet ministers.
Li Banghua, the censor of Zuodu of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, led the censor to the city for inspection on the 18th, but was blocked by the eunuchs. On his way back, he met his colleague Wu Linzheng. They shook hands and cried, encouraging each other to fight for the national calamity!
The next day when I learned of the "national calamity", I cried with my head in my arms, took my seal, official hat, and official uniform, and went to the Ji'an Guild Hall to worship Wen Tianxiang and wrote a fatal poem: "No one has died in life since ancient times, leaving a loyal heart to illuminate history. Today I am riding a dustpan
When he goes to heaven, his descendants will admire his name for generations." Then he hanged himself and died.
Martyrs like them include Hui'an Bo Zhang Qingzhen, East Palace Guard Zhou Jing, Xuancheng Bowei Shichun, Yangwu Marquis Xue Lian, Minister of War Wang Jiayan, Minister of Punishment Meng Zhaoxiang, Du Cha Yuan's left deputy censor Shi Bangyao, Dali Temple
Qing Ling Yiqu, Prime Minister Shen Jiayin of Taipu Temple, Minister Wu Linzheng of Taichang Temple and others.
In sharp contrast, most bureaucrats were greedy for life and feared death, and humbly sold themselves to the new dynasty in pursuit of glory and wealth. Leaders such as Wei Zaode and Chen Yan, the bachelors, went to pay homage to Li Zicheng on the second day after he entered the Forbidden City.
Change the meaning of gate.
Wei Zaode said shamelessly: "I have been in the cabinet for three years, but the emperor did not listen to me, which led to today's fate."
Li Zicheng reprimanded: "You have been favored by the emperor and should die for the country. Why did you steal your life?" He kowtowed quickly, called Li Zicheng "Your Majesty", and said: "If Your Majesty pardons me, he will repay you with courage and loyalty."
Li Zicheng looked down upon this kind of person who courted the Qin Dynasty and the late Chu Dynasty, and ordered the soldiers to imprison him. Wei Zaode did not give up, and shouted through the prison window: "If I can be used as an official, why should I be detained?"
Li Guozhen, the commander-in-chief responsible for guarding the capital and governor of the capital camp, escaped from the battle and asked to see Li Zicheng.
Li Zicheng looked down upon him at all: "You have a heavy responsibility, neither hold on to the capital nor die for the emperor, so you come to see me shamelessly. Why?"
Li Guozhen was so frustrated that he had nothing to say. He repeatedly called Li Zichen "Your Majesty" and said hesitantly: "Your Majesty has risen to the occasion. I am willing to serve your Majesty for the rest of my life." How shameless a person is!
Li Zicheng was furious: "You have failed your monarch, why should I use a disloyal person like you? Do traitors who harm the country still want to survive?"
More than 1,200 other surrendered officials, according to the rebel army's announcement, dressed in green clothes and small hats, gathered at Huiji Gate, reported their names and titles, and waited for Niu Jinxing's recruitment.
These once all-powerful bureaucrats are now sitting on the ground like prisoners, allowing themselves to be teased and insulted by the rebel soldiers.
Later, an eyewitness described their ugly appearance like this: "On weekdays, those who are mature, those who are well-behaved, those who are famous for their literature and talents, those who are sharp-tongued, and those who are high-spirited, all have their heads lowered and their eyebrows lowered, standing upright like puppets, ready to be insulted by soldiers.
They were joking and did not dare to speak out. There were also people who had their hair cut off and became monks, wearing a kerchief on their heads and suffering from diseases. All kinds of ugliness could not be fully described in the pen."
They waited from dawn to dusk without being summoned. They were extremely hungry, thirsty and exhausted. They lay on the ground in a mess and looked ugly. Li Zicheng was very disgusted with these demoted officials and said to Niu Jinxing and others: "The officials are destroying the city."
Those who can die for the country on that day are loyal ministers, and those who fear death and live in vain are unfaithful and unfilial people. Why should we keep him..."
Niu Jinxing also treated these officials who came to wait for appointment with contempt. He touched their heads with his hands and said "one pair" and "two pairs", just like treating animals.
After counting the number, more than ninety people were selected and sent to the outskirts of Song Qi to await dispatch. The rest were taken to Liu Zongmin to await punishment. Liu Zongmin had no intention of interrogating them and imprisoned them. These officials were wearing prison uniforms and were hungry.
Regardless of dignity, he picked up the food discarded by the soldiers and stuffed it into his mouth, which completely disgraced the Ming officials...
Li Zicheng, who had captured Beijing, was so high-spirited that a great dynasty was destroyed in his own hands. This may have been something he had never thought of before, but now it has become a reality!
The officials were dying, and those who surrendered surrendered, but there were still a few people who had to endure the pain. But no matter how painful it was, they had to survive, because this was what His Majesty the Emperor ordered them to do!
They must leave the capital and find King Wu Lie Ding Yunyi!
They are Ding Yuanzhao, Gui Bo, Xu Dezhong and Zhou Xi.
Ding Yuanzhao still carried His Majesty's imperial edict in his arms. He knew that His Majesty must have died for the country at this time. No one was sadder than him, and no one wanted to die for the country with the emperor more than him, but he must live to see it.
to his own son.
How was his wife? Ding Yuanzhao didn't know, but he didn't think about it. Compared with His Majesty's instructions before his death, what was his wife?
He doesn't even care about his own life anymore
The bandit army has just entered the capital, and the capital is now in chaos. It is their only chance to escape now.
The streets were in chaos, and thieves could be seen everywhere. How could we rush out? Uncle Gui thought for a long time but couldn't figure out a way.
Xu Dezhong suddenly blinked his eyes: "I have an idea. I once saw a crazy person before."
He slowly expressed his thoughts, and Uncle Gui's eyes lit up, and then he bowed his head to Ding Yuanzhao: "Master Ding, it seems that I can only wrong you."
There was no expression on Ding Yuanzhao's face. He was still thinking about the emperor: "The emperor has died for his country. What does it matter if I suffer such a small grievance?"
Uncle Ghost nodded solemnly.
Dozens of bandits stood at the gate of the city. They looked towards the city absentmindedly. Those brothers were afraid that they were all enjoying themselves in the city, but they wanted to stay here to guard.
At this moment, I suddenly saw two young men aged only 17 and 18 years old driving an old madman away happily, and they kept picking up dirt from the ground and smashing it. This suddenly attracted dozens of thieves.
of curiosity.
"Master, Master, come and see the madman, come and see the madman." The older boy on the left was not afraid of the rebels at all and said with a smile.
It was the first time someone called him "Master Jun". The thieves immediately became interested and surrounded the old madman walking towards them with smiles.
The old lunatic's face was covered with dirt. He looked at the bandits smiling stupidly and moving his mouth, not knowing what to say.
"Old madman, what's your name?" the leader of the bandit army asked with a smile.
The old madman opened his mouth, and all he could say was "Hehe". The young man following him smiled and said, "Master Jun, this old madman has been in the capital and can't speak."
"Oh? Boy, don't lie to me. Now that the rebels are entering the city, do you want to take the opportunity to sneak out of the city?" the little leader said with squinting eyes.
"Master, what are you talking about?" The young man was not afraid at all: "Before the rebels entered the city, the original military commander here knew this old madman. What do you think we did? We often drove him out to eat cow dung.
"
Having said this, he glanced towards the city gate and pointed: "Look, there is a pile of horse manure there. I'll let him eat it for you to see!"
The bandits looked toward the city gate, and sure enough, there was a pile of horse dung. With a "boom", everyone laughed and unconsciously made way to see the old madman's joke.
"Old madman" Ding Yuanzhao, young men Xu Dezhong and Zhou Xi, walked towards it little by little. As long as they could reach the city gate, they saw hope of rushing out.
At this moment, a loud shout suddenly came from behind: "Master Ding, do you still want to run away?"
Ding Yuanzhao's body froze for a moment. Who recognized him at a glance?
"Don't let him get away, he is Ding Yuanzhao, the former right minister of the Ministry of War!"
The voice sounded again.
The bandits were shocked, and they drew their weapons and surrounded Ding Yuanzhao and the others.
Suddenly, another roar rang out: "All the sixteen heroes of Penghu are here! Kill the thieves! Kill the thieves! Kill the thieves!!!"
Amidst the roar, the ghost uncle wielding a single sword came out desperately to kill.
"Let's go, Master Ding, let's go!"
Xu Dezhong threw himself at the bandit nearest to him like a madman, while Zhou Xi pushed Ding Yuanzhao forward with all his strength.
Ding Yuanzhao took a step forward, gritted his teeth and rushed out. He didn't dare to look back, and he didn't dare to stop for a step. He knew what Uncle Gui and the others would face if they stayed here, but now, his life was no longer his!
Xu Dezhong and Zhou Xi took out the short blades from their waists and stabbed them out suddenly.
After this incident, the bandits were thrown into chaos, but they soon regained consciousness. They slashed at Xu Dezhong and Zhou Xi with swords and spears.
Xu Dezhong and Zhou Xi had never practiced martial arts. How could they be the opponents of this group of wolf-like thieves? Not long after, the two men were chopped down in a pool of blood.
Their bodies were twitching constantly, and they couldn't say a word, but their eyes met and smiles appeared on their lips.
No one had ever looked down upon them in the past, but now they have finally done something spectacular, and their death is worth it.
Then, they slowly closed their eyes. They gave their young lives for the Ming Dynasty.
Uncle Ghost saw these two young lives disappearing in front of him with his own eyes. He had no tears. He had to fight the enemy desperately and continue to block these enemies. He had to buy more time for Lord Ding!
The enemy's swords fell on him one after another, but Uncle Ghost was not afraid at all. Kill him, kill me. As long as you can't kill me, I will always stand here.
Suddenly, a sap fell on Uncle Gui's head. Uncle Gui staggered and fainted on the ground.
When he woke up, he found that he had been tied up and had many wounds on his body, but they were not fatal. Standing in front of him was a gloomy-looking bandit leader.
The ghost uncle actually smiled at him.
"I am Tian Jianxiu, General Quan under His Majesty Yongchang. Do you recognize me?" Tian Jianxiu said slowly.
"Yongchang? What is that?" Guibo was still smiling: "I only know that the current emperor is His Majesty Chongzhen!"
"Bold, you bastard!" the thieves shouted in unison.
Tian Jianxiu asked his subordinates to calm down: "You are very brave. What is your name?"
"I don't have a name, so I'll call him Guibo!" Guibo laughed "Haha": "Do you recognize Wu Lie Wang Ding Yunyi? I am his sworn brother!"
Tian Jianxiu's expression changed. Ding Yunyi? Ding Yunyi! Then he was overjoyed. He actually caught Ding Yunyi's sworn brother?
He calmed down and said, "Why are you so desperate to protect Ding Yuan from escaping? I have already sent people to hunt him down. He won't be able to run far. You'd better tell him as soon as possible."
Uncle Gui was overjoyed. Master Ding ran out? Master Ding really ran out? Then he would have no regrets even if he died. He sneered and said, "Do you want to know? I won't tell you!"
Tian Jianxiu shook his head: "Wang Qingheng, why did your father-in-law run out?"
In the bandit army behind him, Wang Qingheng stood up fearfully: "Go back to the general, I really don't know."
In an instant, Uncle Gui knew why the bandit army recognized Master Ding. It was him, Master Ding's son-in-law who shamelessly betrayed him!
He spat fiercely at Wang Qingheng: "Are you worthy of being called a member of the Ding family?"
Wang Qingheng stood there with his head lowered, not daring to say a word.
"Yes, are you worthy of being called a member of the Ding family?" Tian Jianxiu actually agreed with Uncle Gui's words: "Among the people of the Ding family, needless to say, Ding Yunyi, I heard that Ding Yuanzhao is also a very loyal minister.
.Why did we choose such a shameless son-in-law like you?"
There is nothing more embarrassing than being ridiculed by the master to whom he has taken refuge, but in front of these thieves, Wang Qingheng did not even dare to let out a fart.
Tian Jianxiu turned his attention to Uncle Gui again: "Uncle Gui, I know you are a good man, and I can't bear to hurt you, but I am not the only one who has the final say here. You will be escorted to His Majesty soon.
.I advise you, no matter how hard your bones are, it will be useless in front of Ruhou. When you see him, you will regret why you didn't say it earlier."
"Ruhou? Who is Ruhou?" Uncle Ghost asked.
"He is also General Quan, his name is Liu Zongmin." Tian Jianxiu replied patiently.
"Liu Zongmin? I know what he is." Uncle Gui suddenly laughed loudly: "Isn't he the Liu Zongmin who was feared to be killed by my King Wu Lie? Haha, the clown actually became a marquis."
Tian Jianxiu's expression changed again. He had never seen such a tough-minded person before.
At this time, Uncle Gui said again: "Tian Jianxiu, you can either kill me now or send me to Liu Zongmin to see if all my ministers in the Ming Dynasty are as greedy for life and afraid of death as Wang Qingheng!"
Tian Jianxiu sighed, waved his hand and asked people to take Uncle Gui down. He was silent for a while, and suddenly asked Wang Qingheng: "Why is the gap between you so big? Tell me, if you fall
In Ding Yunyi's hands, what will he do to you? Will he not kill you out of consideration for his relatives? I think he won't let you go, right?"
Cold sweat fell from Wang Qingheng's forehead. He knew that with Ding Yunyi's character, he would never let him go. But what choice did he have now? He had already taken this path, and he could never look back.
Ding Yunyi, Ding Yunyi, will he come to the capital to avenge everyone?!!!