The whole city of Beijing was shaken by rain and mountains.
Li Zicheng's army is about to approach Deshengmen in Beijing.
"As expected, we will treat you seriously!"
Looking at the heavily guarded Deshengmen in front of him, Li Zicheng said with calm eyes and a cold face.
"It seems that the dog emperor is not useless! I thought I could easily enter the city, but now I'm afraid it's a little difficult!"
"Don't be afraid, Your Majesty. There is not even an organized force in the city now. At best, they just arrested some people and went to the city to scare people. We only need to open a small hole, and those people will basically be frightened.
And it’s gone!”
Niu Jinxing on the side smiled and said to Li Zicheng in front of him.
Li Zicheng nodded.
At this moment, a scout from the side ran over on horseback.
"How's it going with Liu Zongmin?"
"Your Majesty, the Zhengyang Gate is also under strict supervision. The city gates are all sealed! The original promise of opening the gate has also been cancelled!"
The scout said to Li Zicheng in front of him.
"His grandma's!"
Li Zicheng's eyes flashed with anger.
"How dare you fool Zhang Jinyan. He promised to open the city gate, but he didn't open it! When I attack the city, I will kill him with a thousand swords!"
"And that Zhu Chunchen, he wrote a very good letter and said that he wanted to open the door for me, but I didn't expect him to be like this. When the door is opened, his whole family will be confiscated and they will be cut into pieces!"
Just when Li Zicheng's army was about to reach the city wall of Deshengmen.
At this time, many militiamen on the city wall also saw the black heads not far away.
"The intruder is coming!!!!"
A burst of shrill shouts almost instantly made all the militiamen energetic.
"No chaos! No chaos! All go to the designated fighting location! All go to the designated fighting location!"
The clerk next to him began to roar, and the surrounding militiamen quickly began to enter the designated fighting location. Some militiamen who knew some skills in using guns were arranged on the city wall to prevent the red barbarian cannons.
But those generals were not in a hurry to fire.
There is not much gunpowder in the capital, and no one knows how long Li Zicheng's army will besiege the city. If they fire as soon as they come up, they may end up with insufficient gunpowder and become passive.
The news that Li Zicheng's army was besieging the city soon reached Zhu Cixiang's ears.
"So fast?"
Zhu Cixiang, who was arranging the city defense, glanced at the sky with some surprise.
It was just after noon now. I originally thought that Li Zicheng's army would arrive near dusk, but I didn't expect that the troops were already approaching the city.
Zhu Cixi took a deep breath.
He said to the Jin Yiwei who came from the side to report the news: "Tell Li Banghua! Defend the city of Beijing at all costs! Anyone who dares to approach the city gate will be killed without mercy! Anyone who dares to escape from the battle will be killed without mercy! Anyone who dares to collaborate with the enemy and betray the country will be killed.
Kill without mercy!"
"Yes! Your Highness!"
Jin Yiwei quickly rode away.
At this time, in the Forbidden City.
Chongzhen also received the news that Li Zicheng's troops were approaching the city, and his face turned gray.
Looking at Wei Zaode who was paralyzed in front of him, Chongzhen sighed slightly, feeling a little unmotivated.
"Push him out of the Meridian Gate and kill him."
Several imperial guards arrested Wei Zaode.
"Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty!"
Chongzhen looked at Wei Zaode's back with absent-minded eyes.
Wei Zaode's voice came to my ears.
In his opinion, everything is in vain.
Li Zicheng's army of hundreds of thousands has been battle-tested for many years, but now there is not even an army that can be called an army in the city of Beijing. How can it stop the siege of hundreds of thousands of troops?
Just a futile struggle.
Thinking of this, Chongzhen sighed slightly.
There was silence for a while.
"Wang Cheng'en."
"I'm here."
"How long have you been with me?"
"I entered the palace at the age of ten and started working under Eunuch Cao. Later, I was transferred to His Majesty's side and served His Majesty. It has been thirteen years now."
Wang Chengen spoke honestly to Chongzhen in front of him.
"Thirteen years..."
There was a hint of emotion in Chongzhen's eyes.
"Tell me, if I go underground, will my ancestors blame me for not being able to defend my country?"
Upon hearing Emperor Chongzhen's words, Wang Chengen immediately knelt in front of Emperor Chongzhen.
"Your Majesty! You must not say such things! Now His Royal Highness is doing his best to defend the city. The city of Beijing will definitely be defended! The Ming Dynasty will be able to be consolidated forever!"
"Hahahahahaha! The Ming Dynasty will be forever solid! Hahahahahaha!"
Emperor Chongzhen laughed a little maniacally, and a trace of sadness flashed in his eyes.
"Since I came to the throne, I have always kept in mind what the emperor said to me and performed my duties to the best of my ability! I do not dare to slack off even a day. I work hard every day. In terms of diligence, I consider myself to be the ancestor of Taizu.
What did we get in exchange? In exchange for bandits everywhere, plague, locusts, earthquakes, floods and droughts all over the place. From the year of Chongzhen to the present day of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, have I ever had a peaceful life?"
After saying that, Chongzhen sat dejectedly on his dragon chair, his face haggard.
Wang Chengen on the side looked at Emperor Chongzhen in front of him, and a trace of sigh flashed in his eyes. He didn't know how to appease Emperor Chongzhen about this kind of thing.
While in the palace, the news quickly reached Zhu Cixiang's ears.
After hearing what Chongzhen said, Zhu Cixiang's expression did not change. He just said lightly: "Father did not do anything wrong, he is just too naive! Let's go! Let's go to Deshengmen!"
After hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, the expressions of several ministers around Zhu Cixiang suddenly changed.
"Your Highness the Crown Prince! Your noble lord, please do not go to the battlefield! If someone is injured, we will be guilty!"
"Yes, yes! Your Highness the Crown Prince! You must not go!"
"What are you afraid of! The city is about to be destroyed! As the prince, should I still be afraid of death?"
Zhu Cixiang glanced at the courtiers around him with sharp eyes, and said with cold eyes.
"If I die, there will be King Yong. If King Yong dies, there will be King Ding. If King Ding dies, there will be King Father! What are you afraid of! I am standing in front of Li Zicheng! Either he dies! Or I die!"
With that said, Zhu Cixi turned over and rode on horseback, and the surrounding guards quickly followed him.
Zhu Cixi quickly arrived at Desheng Gate on horseback.
At this time, Li Zicheng had already asked his men to attack the city. The sound of artillery fire was loud and the shouts of killing were even louder.
All the people were trying their best to leave the city wall.
Zhu Cixiang had already rushed to Deshengmen on horseback.
"Your Highness, what are you doing here???"
Wu Xiang looked at Zhu Cixiang who came over with some surprise.
"Your Highness, this place is dangerous! If you have even the slightest damage to your dragon body, I will be guilty of a grave sin!"
Wu Xiang quickly said to Zhu Cixiang in front of him.