Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

What made Yang Rusong vomit blood even more was that since Yang Chengzu and the others wanted to surrender, they should also surrender as soon as they met.But what's the deal with going around for four or five days before surrendering?This is definitely a waste of my time in rescuing the capital!

But even so, Yang Rusong was unwilling to deceive Yang Chengzu. He confessed to the surrendered emissary that the Runing Army was going to rescue the capital, and that there was a high possibility of a fierce battle with the main force of Li Zicheng's Dashun Army. He also pointed out that this trip was quite dangerous.Moreover, Yang Rusong also let Yang Chengzu and the others choose for themselves: whether to give up surrender and make way, or to rescue the capital together with the Runing Army.

Unexpectedly, Yang Chengzu chose to go to Beijing for rescue without hesitation.He has a new refuge and wants to make meritorious service, but it can also be seen how unforgettable Yang Chengzu's hatred for Li Zicheng is!

So the two armies set out on the road together.But I never thought that as we got closer to the capital, the road would become more and more congested.A large number of people fleeing south began to block the rapid march of the Runing Army.

In the end, even a large number of rout soldiers who fled south began to appear.It was the rout of the three major battalions of the Beijing camp stationed outside the city. They told Yang Rusong that Li Zicheng's Dashun army had already arrived in the capital.

Now Yang Rusong was in a hurry, he ordered the troops to remove all obstacles and rush to the capital as quickly as possible.At the same time, more than 4000 Chu troops from the Beijing camp led by Liu Yuanbin fled south. When they saw the arrival of the Runing army, they also returned to the capital with Yang Rusong's troops and joined the rescue.

At this time, the only official army left outside Beijing was Liu Guqian's Ruzhou Army.Although some soldiers of the Runing Army also fled when the main force of the Dashun Army arrived, there were still more than 6000 people staying with Liu Guqian.This can also be seen.The unity of the soldiers of the Ruzhou Army is indeed much higher than that of other soldiers of the Beijing camp.

But Liu Guqian just suffered from being unable to enter the city.He wanted to bring Xue Lian's family, even Xue Chenglin alone, into the army, and then escort them to escape from Beijing.But because the city gates of Beijing were blocked by gravel, they couldn't be cleared anytime soon.That's why Liu Guqian could only jump with both feet outside the city.

But when the main force of the Dashun Army arrived, even Liu Guqian's Ruzhou Army could not escape.The only remaining officer army outside the city was like a candle in the darkness, attracting the main force of the Dashun army.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Liu Guqian immediately moved his troops outside Yongding Gate, ready to take Xue Lian and the others out of the city at any time.Then he followed the defense line formed by the houses outside the city.They struggled to block the Dashun Army's attack.With such fierce fighting, Liu Guqian persisted until late at night on the 4000th, and at this time the remaining Ruzhou Army only had [-]-[-] people left.

And when Yang Rusong's troops moved to the outskirts of the capital, they found that the Dashun Army had already camped dozens of miles outside the city.Fortunately, Yang Rusong also came to Beijing on the evening of the [-]th, when the Dashun Army had already begun to rest in the camp.

The troops of Yang Rusong and Yang Chengzu are almost all cavalry, and their movement speed is also very fast, so when the distant spies arranged by the Dashun Army returned to the camp to report the enemy's attack, the Runing Army had already entered the Dashun Army In the battalion, the Dashun Army had no time to make any preparations.

at this time.The whole army of the Dashun Army is recharging their energy and recharging their batteries, preparing for tomorrow's siege.There is also a part of the main force of the Dashun Army gathered near Xizhimen, preparing for Cao Huachun to open the door and surrender.Therefore, there are not many Dashun Army troops in Yongdingmen, and they are all surrounded by the Ruzhou Army, preparing for the entire army to be an official army in one fell swoop after dawn.Therefore, there is no defense against the surprise attack from behind.

So when the Runing army rushed to the camp, the Dashun army was in chaos, and was beheaded countless by Yang Rusong and Yang Chengzu.The remaining Dashun army outside Yongding Gate also fled in large numbers.So Runing Army and Ruzhou Army merged together smoothly.

But when the news of Runing's attack on the camp reached Li Zicheng, he quickly mobilized his main force to surround him.Because Li Zicheng was afraid that the support army was to protect Emperor Chongzhen from escaping, the Dashun army absolutely wanted to kill them all.Li Zicheng would not allow this variable to affect his military operations, causing the Dashun Army's dynastic change conference to fail to do its best.Therefore, the Runing Army who was cut off from the back also had no way to escape.

At this time, Xue Lian and Li Zhu, who were still in the capital, felt as if they were shooting themselves in the foot.At the beginning, I wanted to bring more relatives and friends with good intentions, and finally evolved into a big move for a small half of the city.And because of the "City Closure Order" issued by the imperial court, the officers and soldiers looked down on the wind, and the Dashun Army's extreme speed.As a result, Xue Lian's family was blocked in the city.

Facing the siege of the Dashun army, some people joined the fleeing crowd; some even dispersed on the spot and went to find a quiet corner in the city to hide, not to mention the chaos.

And when the Dashun Army had already appeared outside the Yongding Gate, they found that they could no longer escape from the city.Many civilians also began to stay away from this fleeing team, for fear that they would suffer disaster.After all, the Dashun Army came to change the dynasty and would not point the butcher's knife at the people, so as long as they were obedient citizens, their lives should be safe.

Fortunately, this fleeing team was composed of nobles. The fall of the Ming Dynasty also meant the fall of the nobles, and the Dashun Army would definitely wipe them out financially and physically.So from this point of view, nobles are not even as good as civil officials. After all, civil officials can also take refuge in the new dynasty and become officials.

Therefore, the team that was driven into a desperate situation had to make the last effort. They began to clean up the sand and stones blocking Zuo'anmen, Yongdingmen, and You'anmen, and prepared to rush out of the city to fight for the last time.After all, Liu Guqian's troops were escorting them out of the city outside the city.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, Yang Rusong's reinforcements arrived in time, and he brought good news and bad news to Xue Lian and the others.

The good news is: this support army is only the vanguard of the Runing Army, as long as you hold on for a few days, the main force of the Runing Army will arrive.

The bad news is: the arrival of the reinforcements has made the Dashun army attach great importance to it, and they have assembled a large number of troops to follow them, so it has become impossible to escape from the city.

So Xue Lian, Yang Rusong and the others acted decisively and sent all their troops into the outer city, preparing to rely on the outer city wall and desperately defend until the main force of the Runing army arrived.

……

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen, who was in the palace, already felt that the general situation was over.So he asked the palace to temporarily prepare a banquet, summoned his wives, concubines and children, and held the last supper with his family.The taste of this dinner is also indescribable.After the whole family was crying and drinking, and the cups and plates were all messed up, Emperor Chongzhen drew his sword and said fiercely to his family: "This is the end, you can die!"

But Queen Zhou cried and said: "I have served His Majesty for 18 years, but I don't listen to my advice. Move south as soon as possible, so I can have today!" Ning Gong hanged himself from the beam.

……

Blood flowed everywhere in the once solemn inner palace, and it became a execution ground.The maids of various palaces escaped from the palace gates one after another at this time, but they didn't know the way to go home, so they asked everywhere.When the officials and people in the city saw this situation, they all knew that something bad happened in the palace.

As for the warrior battalion guarding the northern wall of the inner city, after learning that the bandit army had entered the city, they also gathered more than 3000 people to go to the imperial city to escort them. Unexpectedly, they learned of the great changes in the palace halfway. Immediately the whole army collapsed.

But the three princes in the palace were overwhelmed with fright. Emperor Chongzhen asked the eunuchs to take them to escape outside the palace and hide in the homes of Cheng Guogong Zhu Chunchen and others, and said earnestly: "You are princes today, and civilians tomorrow Now, in the midst of chaos, you must remain anonymous and not show your presence. When you see an old man, call him an old man, and when you see a young man, call him an uncle. If you save your life and avenge your parents, don’t forget today’s lesson.”

Emperor Chongzhen also issued the last decree, asking all civil and military officials to gather at the prince's residence (that is, Zhu Chunchen's house), and everything should be under Zhu Chunchen's command.But when this decree was sent to the cabinet, there were no cabinet ministers on duty in the cabinet. The eunuch put the decree in the cabinet and reported it to the emperor, but the emperor was no longer in the palace.

It's all done.Emperor Chongzhen staggered out of Xuanwumen (now Shenwumen) and climbed up Meishan (now Jingshan) north of the Forbidden City.This is the highest point in the capital. In the past two days, he has climbed to the top of the mountain several times to observe the situation of the surrounding city guards.Coming here again before he died, it shows that he still has a trace of fantasy in the haze, hoping to see the miracle of sudden descent from the sky here.

But these two days have been miserable and rainy. The night is dark and foggy, and the surroundings are pitch black. Only the sound of rumbling guns can be heard, but the direction cannot be discerned.He woke up a little in the wind and rain, and then realized that miracles are impossible to happen.Looking around again, there was only one trusted eunuch Wang Cheng'en who came with him, everyone betrayed their relatives, what hope is there?

Before leaving the palace, Emperor Chongzhen had already written the will in advance. Because of his confusion, he only wrote one sentence: "I have lost the world, and I dare not go down to see my ancestors, and I dare not finally go to bed." At the last moment, His mind seemed to be clearer again, and he felt that there were still some things to say.So he broke his fingers and wrote on the lapel of his clothes: "I misunderstood the words of civil officials and lost the world. Let the thieves tear up my body, but don't hurt my people." No matter what Emperor Chongzhen thought in his heart at that time, he His last words also prove that when a person is about to die, his words must be good.

When everything was over, Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself next to the Shouhuang Pavilion with Wang Chengen. It was July 16, 33th year of Chongzhen, and Emperor Chongzhen was [-] years old.

On the same day, the Ming Dynasty perished!