There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Beijing City, Guangqumen.

"Open the door! Open the door! Emergency military report from Shanhaiguan!" A messenger on a horse with an 800 urgent flag came to the door exhausted and shouted.

It is less than 600 miles from Shanhaiguan to Beijing, so it takes a quick horse to get there in one day and one night.

After the Zhenming Army captured Shanhaiguan, the messenger troops sent by the Ming Army quickly arrived in the capital.

After checking the identity information, the city gate defenders immediately opened the city gate and let the messengers in.

Eight hundred miles urgent!
This is the highest level of military intelligence, and no one dares to delay it.

"Brother, what happened?" the gatekeeper asked curiously.

"I don't know either, the military information is all sealed." The ordering soldier replied and immediately galloped towards the Yamen of the Ministry of War.

"What! Shanhaiguan is lost?" Chen Xinjia, Minister of the Ministry of War, received the emergency report and immediately collapsed weakly on his seat. He felt that the situation was lost.

"Shanhaiguan was lost? Who did it?"

"I heard it's the Zhenming Army."

"It was occupied by Governor Lu Xiangsheng and his troops."

"It seems that Ming Dynasty is going to be over. Let's make plans early."

……

Officials in the Ministry of War yamen were talking a lot, and no one was in the mood to go to work anymore. Chen Xinjia heard some discussions, and he didn't want to restrain them.

But things happened and he had to face them. Chen Xinjia immediately went to the cabinet.

Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace.

Chongzhen reviewed the memorial with a sad face. The situation has taken a turn for the worse recently. Both Shandong and South Zhili sent documents asking for help from the Zhenming Army to attack.

But how could he send reinforcements?

The only mobile force left was the 60,000 to 70,000 men led by Hong Chengchou.

This is the last force used to defend the capital and should not be used unless absolutely necessary.

Moreover, even if he ordered it to be mobilized, there would be no departure fee, no supply of food and grass, and the troops could not be mobilized.

The two countermeasures discussed with the cabinet last time to solve the silver shortage problem, including tax increases, were unanimously opposed by the foreign court as soon as they were put forward. They are still wrangling and no imperial edict has been issued.

The second strategy was to borrow money from the royal family and nobles in the capital. Everyone unanimously cried out that they were poor. No matter how much Emperor Chongzhen tried to reason with his feelings, everyone would just say they had no money.

Being forced to panic, the emperor's relatives and noble ministers began to wear tattered clothes to go to court to pretend to be poor.

Of course, it was not completely ineffective. Many royal family members and nobles also donated three to five hundred taels.

The most ridiculous thing is that Queen Zhou's father, the head of the state, Zhou Kui, wanted him to take the lead. The queen sold her jewelry and collected 5,000 taels and gave it to him for donation. He only donated 3,000 taels and withheld the money. Two thousand taels, I really need money rather than my life.

But Emperor Chongzhen had no choice. His good words and persuasion had no effect, and he couldn't make up his mind by resorting to thunderous methods. Even if he made up his mind, no minister would be willing to carry it out.

Everyone still remembers that Xue Guoguan, the former chief minister of the cabinet, killed a person because he forced the emperor's relatives to donate money, and was forced to commit suicide by Chongzhen.

This is Chongzhen's character. Whenever something goes wrong, his subordinates will definitely take the blame.

After doing this, which minister would dare to charge into battle on behalf of Chongzhen.

While he was sighing, Wang Chengen came in with the cabinet ministers and Chen Xinjia, the Minister of War.

When Chongzhen saw that the entire cabinet ministers had arrived, he immediately felt that something was wrong and asked anxiously: "All the cabinet ministers are here together. Is there something big going on?"

Chen Xinjia gritted his teeth and stood up and said, "Your Majesty, something big has happened. Shanhaiguan has been lost."

"What, Shanhaiguan was lost, how did it get lost? Manta was not trustworthy and came to attack again?" Chongzhen felt dizzy and asked quickly.

"It was not the Qing Dynasty, but the Zhenming Army. Lin Feng sent Lu Xiangsheng to lead the Tartar Corps to attack Liaodong by detouring through the grasslands. They defeated the Mongolian Horqin tribe, captured the Qing Dynasty's Yizhou City, and made an emergency landing at Zu Dashou in Jinzhou.

Then, taking advantage of the unpreparedness of the cities in Guanning, he sent his army south and attacked Shanhaiguan in a sneak attack. Now the entire western Liaoning is controlled by the Zhenming Army. ” Chen Xinjiahui reported.

"It's over, it's all over!" Chongzhen sat down and muttered.

"Your Majesty, we need to make a decision now. Should we urgently recruit Governor Hong's 60,000 troops into the city to strengthen the defense of Beijing?" Chen Xinjia asked.

"No, the supply in the capital is very tight now. If Governor Hong's troops enter the city, it will be difficult to guarantee monthly food and salary, and it will be easy to cause trouble." Chief Assistant Fan Fucui said immediately. "What do you think should be done?" Chongzhen asked anxiously.

"The current plan is to hold on to the city and then call on the soldiers and horses from all over the world to be diligent." Chen Xinjia couldn't come up with any good ideas.

"The world's soldiers and horses are diligent, and there are no soldiers and horses in the world now. The governor I originally appointed, Lu Xiangsheng, the king of the world's soldiers and horses, has come to attack the capital. How sad!" Emperor Chongzhen felt extremely desolate at this time.

Yes, how can there be any troops to help? Shanxi and Henan have been lost, and the Zhenming Army is already attacking in Shandong. They have already asked for help. It would be good if they can hold on, but there are no more troops to send.

There is no need to count on southern Zhili, Huguang and other places. Let alone no troops, even if there are troops, they will not be able to pass through the territory controlled by the Zhenming Army.

When Emperor Chongzhen thought about it, he discovered that his capital had been surrounded by the Zhenming Legion, and he had no way out.

Just as Chongzhen and the ministers in the cabinet were looking at each other in Qianqing Palace, unable to come up with a countermeasure, 800 miles from Shandong rushed to the Ministry of War again.

Chen Xinjia, the Secretary of the Ministry of War, was away. When the minister Zhang Jinyan saw this, he immediately felt that the Ming Dynasty was about to end. On the one hand, he sent people to the palace to deliver the message, and on the other hand, he began to contact officials he knew well and began to look for a way out.

Zhang Jinyan was historically one of the first people to surrender when Li Zicheng attacked Beijing. He was so active in surrendering to the rebels, let alone the Zhenming Army.

After all, the Zhenming Army was more formal and never indiscriminately killed or demoted generals. Even their first military leader was the former Ming Governor Lu Xiangsheng, so it can be said that Ming court officials surrendered without any psychological pressure.

As soon as Zhang Jinyan left, the Yamen of the Ministry of War immediately exploded.

"What, even Shandong was lost?"

"It's over. The Ming Dynasty will be over soon. Let's quickly find a way to the Zhenming Army."

"I heard that so-and-so had a good relationship with Governor Lu before..."

……

The officials of the Ministry of War Yamen were no longer interested in working and were looking for opportunities everywhere.

When the news came out, the officials of the Ming court began to panic, and they tried their best to gain connections with the Zhenming Army and proactively contact them about the surrender.

Soon, a more fatal piece of news came out. Because Shandong was occupied by the Zhenming Army, the capital's water transportation was cut off, and there would soon be a shortage of food.

After receiving the news, officials of all sizes rushed to the streets frantically and began to buy food.

The common people who heard the news quickly joined the purchasing ranks.

After coming back to their senses, the grain and oil shops in the capital immediately closed their doors and began to hoard.

The entire city of Beijing suddenly fell into huge chaos.

The Tingfeng Guards established by Zhenming in the capital of Ming Dynasty also began to spread some news quietly.

"I heard that Shanhaiguan has been lost and the Ming Dynasty is about to fall. We must make plans early."

"Not only Shanhaiguan was lost, Shandong was also lost, and water transportation was interrupted."

"I heard that the Zhenming Army is very good to the people, and our good days are coming."

"The Zhenming Army only punished a few corrupt officials and did not commit any crimes against ordinary officials or ordinary people. If you surrender to the Zhenming Army, you will be able to receive your salary normally."

"Yeah, my family has been unable to open the pot for a long time."

"I really hope the Zhenming Army will enter the city soon."

……

Common people and officials are constantly spreading some information they have learned.

"Your Majesty, ministers, something bad has happened, the whole city of Beijing is in chaos." After receiving the news, Commander Luo Yangxing of the Jinyi Guards immediately went to the palace to report.

"What! What's going on?" Chongzhen asked urgently.

"The Zhenming Army occupied Shandong and cut off water transportation to the capital. People were rushing to grab food. Shops were closed and refused to sell. Many places had been vandalized and the whole city was in chaos."

Chongzhen and the cabinet ministers immediately panicked, and they all had a strong premonition of national subjugation.

It was Chen Xingjia, the Minister of War, who had experienced some tests and could still maintain basic composure. He suggested that the capital be immediately controlled to prevent the riots from expanding, and at the same time send people to peace talks with the Zhenming Army to see if there was any improvement.

Chongzhen immediately agreed in panic and sent Chen Xinjia to take full charge of the matter.

(End of this chapter)