Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 525 A Fire in the Palace
"Master! The servant has tied everyone to the Phoenix Tower according to the master's order! Now only the imperial doctor Li Cunde has not been found! Both the empress and concubine Chen have moved to the Phoenix Tower, but...!"

On the throne of the Chongzheng Palace, Huang Taiji, who was still dressed up, was sitting on the throne with a calm expression, while Dehun, the foreman of the guard in full armor, was kneeling on one knee.

"Just what? Tell me!"

The sound of rumbling guns continued to come from outside the palace. On the wide square in front of the Chongzheng Hall, a large group of soldiers of the Eight Banners hurriedly shuttled back and forth, and went to the various palace gates to participate in the defense amidst the shouts of the Shangguan.

"To my master! It's just that Concubine Zhuang refuses to move to the Phoenix Tower on the grounds that the prince is young, and ordered the servants to pray to the master, can she be allowed to bring the little prince to beg for surrender!"

Dehun boldly lowered his head and said.

"Hmph! I love the Xinjueluo family, only warriors who died in battle! There are no cowards who beg to surrender! Concubine Zhuang's family is greedy for life and fears death, but she begs for mercy in the name of the prince! Forget it, I will go there myself! Help me pass!"

After the bony Huang Taiji finished speaking, he slowly got up, Dehun hurriedly climbed up a few steps and stretched out his arm. After Huang Taiji put his right arm on it, Dehun bowed his body and moved his steps carefully. Huang Taiji resisted. Feeling dizzy and nauseated, he tried his best to straighten his body, stepped down the imperial steps and walked towards the harem.

In the main hall of Yongfu Palace, Concubine Zhuang Bumbutai was sitting on the brocade couch holding Fulin, who was only a little over one year old, with a look of fear and tension on her face, but also a little bit of hope and longing.

Just now she categorically rejected Huang Taiji's order to let her go to the Phoenix Tower. This is the first time since she married Horqin into the palace, she dared to openly violate her husband's request.

She knew what it meant to go to the Phoenix Tower.

Huang Taiji had sent people to pile up dry firewood, gunpowder and vegetable oil in the tallest building in the palace, which was intended to be used for self-immolation when the Ming army invaded the palace.

Bumbutai didn't want to die.

Looking down at Fulin who was staring at her curiously with a pair of big black and white eyes in his arms, Bumbutai felt a sharp pain in his heart, and tears dripped down like broken pearls. The court lady Su Mo'er (Lagu Su Ma) also couldn't help sobbing softly.

"Slave to see the emperor!"

Following the chaotic greetings at the door, a cold voice came from the hall door.

"What? I heard that you dare to disobey my will? Who gave you the courage! You don't even listen to my words!"

Standing at the gate of the hall, Huang Taiji had a cold expression on his face, and his eyes were cold when he looked at Bumbutai.

Bumbutai wiped the tears off his face with his hand, hugged Fulin and got up and knelt down, choked up and said: "Your Majesty, my concubine is not afraid of death! I, Borzigit, have never been afraid of death." Dead man! But... Brother Nine is only over one year old! This is your own flesh and blood, you have the heart to watch such a smart child die? Your Majesty! Please let him go! ~~·”

"Elder brother Jiu may not die, but you must go with me! Dehun! Bring elder brother Jiu here, and you can find a suit of bright clothes to change into. Take a few people to protect elder brother Jiu and go out of the north gate to escape! "

After Huang Taiji said sharply, he turned around and walked away with a flick of his sleeves. Dehun gritted his teeth and twisted his body forward, gave Bumbutai a salute and said, "Offended!", and then snatched Fulin from Bumbutai's arms. come over.

Fulin suddenly left his mother's embrace, saw Dehun's ugly and unfamiliar face at first glance, and smelled the familiar smell of his mother no longer, and immediately grinned and burst into tears, his small body Writhing and struggling together with his hands and feet, trying to get back into his mother's arms.

Bumbutai suddenly jumped up from the ground, howling like a wounded beast, and threw himself at Dehun, holding his little master in his arms, but Dehun had no choice but to stretch out his arms to block it. Once, and then with a little push, Bumbutai was pushed down to the ground.Immediately he ordered loudly: "Please invite the mistress to the Phoenix Tower!"

After finishing speaking, he glanced around, carried Fulin in his arms, and ran directly to the north gate of the harem, except for the main hall of Yongfu Palace. Two guards of Huang Taiji approached with expressionless faces, and took Bumbutai who was lying on the ground and howling. After setting it up, go out of the palace gate and go straight to the Phoenix Tower not far to the east.

Su Mo'er wiped away her tears, and seeing that everyone was concentrating on Bumbutai who had been dragged away, she also quietly left the palace gate and followed Dehun to the north gate of the harem.

Accompanied by the violent roar of artillery, a burst of cheers came from the direction of the Daqing Gate. Huang Taiji, who had already reached the top floor of the Phoenix Tower, first changed his face drastically, his sunken eyes suddenly opened wide with all his might, and his body suddenly opened. It became stiff, and returned to its original shape after a while.

Through the huge noise outside, Huang Taiji could guess without looking at it. The Ming army had broken through the Daqing Gate and entered the palace. He had tried his best, but in the end he could not recover from the defeat. The Qing Dynasty was about to perish. All of this happened so suddenly, so suddenly that he still thought it was a dream.

Shouldn't this scene have happened in the palace of the Ming Dynasty?

Whether it is Hauge or Brother Dorgon, it doesn't matter whether they will be able to rebuild the Qing Dynasty in the future.

Taizu laid the foundation for the rise of the Eight Banners, and created the Qing Dynasty himself. He thought it could last all things, but he didn't expect the second generation to die!

I am not reconciled!
God is jealous of talents!God is jealous of talents!

As long as you give me ten years, no, as long as five years, I am absolutely confident to revive the Qing Dynasty!

I really want to live another 500 years!

It was the Qin army who took the lead in breaking into the palace.

Pushing the Qing army from the archway all the way to the Daqing Gate, most of the Qing soldiers lost their fighting spirit in despair.

Hundreds of thousands of Qing soldiers threw away their weapons and surrendered to the Ming army on their knees at the corner of the wall. However, the Ming army, which had been ordered long before the war, did not massacre these captives. The soldiers who surrendered were escorted aside in batches, and the army still drove directly to the Daqing Gate.

Under such a demonstrative effect, the morale of the remaining Qing troops quickly disintegrated. The Ming army set up artillery formations outside the Daqing Gate. A dozen cannons fired only one round, and most of the Qing troops in charge of defense dispersed. A small number of absolutely loyal Eight Banners generals and soldiers continued to retreat, ready to look for opportunities to continue to resist.

After breaking through the defense line of the Great Qing Gate, the brigade of Ming troops poured into the wide square in front of the Chongzheng Palace. A few Qing troops could not resist at all, so they had to retreat to the back of the palace again. Soon, the brigade of Ming troops passed through the Chongzheng Palace and Zuoyi The gates converge to the square in front of the third entrance to the Phoenix Building.

Aobai stood on the high steps in front of the Phoenix Tower with a pick knife in his hand, his torn armor was stained with blood, and on the steps hundreds of Huang Taiji's guards held bows and blades and leaned behind the white marble railing, ready to fight with Ming Dynasty. The army made the last fight, and everyone's face showed a look of despair and unwillingness.

There was also a huge noise from both sides of the palace, and the Ming troops on the east and west sides had also entered the palace one after another.

Facing the Qing army that was still stubbornly resisting, Zhou Yuji did not order the Ming army to rush up and fight. After more than a dozen Flang cannons and General Weiyuan's cannons were placed, he immediately gave the order to fire.

Just after the sound of the cannon, the three-storey Phoenix Building began to burn from the first floor. Under the action of dry firewood, vegetable oil and gunpowder, the fire quickly showed the tendency of starting a prairie fire rapidly. Tongues of flame rushed to the top floor along with thick smoke.

Huang Taiji, who was sitting upright, felt the heat of the fire. Scenes from decades past flashed through his mind. Hai Lanzhu and Zhezhe were leaning on his left and right sides, and in front of them was Bumbutai who was tied up in a ball. .

"Empress, Concubine Chen, will you two still be with me in the next life? Over the years, I have been busy with state affairs, and I am ashamed of you. I hope I can meet you again in the next life!"

Huang Taiji stretched out his arms to embrace the two of them, and said softly in a regretful and guilty tone.

"The concubine will serve the emperor in the next life! The concubine only hopes that the emperor will be a mortal in the next life. The concubine can live with the emperor the life of men farming and women weaving like the Ming people, have more children, and watch the children grow up and marry wives. Give birth to children, take care of husband and raise children, until finally die of old age on the bed!"

Zhezhe leaned close to Huang Taiji with tears in his eyes, and said softly.

"No! My concubine wishes that the emperor will be like this in his next life, a great hero, a great hero! An eternal emperor who will make everyone in the world prostrate on the ground!"

Hai Lanzhu looked up at her husband with beautiful eyes, and her words were full of firmness and confidence.

"Okay! In the next life, I will be a great hero and let the emperor of Ming Kingdom kneel at my feet! Hahaha! Hahahaha!"

With a loud bang, the Phoenix Tower finally collapsed amidst the fire, but the fire was still burning fiercely, and there was no intention of extinguishing it in a short time.

Under the bombardment of the Ming army's artillery fire, the few remaining Qing troops burst into tears after the collapse of the Phoenix Tower. Ao Bai, who had been blown off half of his leg by the flower bomb, struggled to stand up tremblingly from the ground, pulled out The long knife at the waist pointed straight at the spearman of the Ming army who rushed up the steps, and shouted with all his strength, "Baqijian! Come in!"

As soon as the words fell, several spears pierced several blood holes in his body, Ao Bai's eyes widened, the long knife fell to the ground with a clang, and died.

"Send someone to report the victory to the sage! Report the victory to the capital! The slave chief is dead! The queen gold is destroyed! My emperor! Wan victorious!"

(End of this chapter)