Listening to the booming sound of cannons coming from the north, Emperor Chongzhen, who was sitting on the dragon chair in Jianji Hall, looked solemn.

He knew that it was the army under the intruder Li Zicheng who was setting up artillery to bombard the city.

Emperor Chongzhen sighed slightly and frowned. He turned his head and glanced at His Highness's three royal relatives, then waved his hand in despair, signaling them to retreat.

Of course desperate!

Let us also say that in the seventeen years since he ascended the throne, the situation inside and outside the customs has become worse day by day. Tatars and rogue bandits have taken turns to fight. There is almost no civilian or military general in the court who can turn the tide.

In February of the year before last, the peasant army under Li Zicheng defeated the Ming army in Xiangcheng. Wang Qionian, the governor of Shaanxi, was defeated and killed. The rogue bandits in the pass were completely out of control.

In March and April, Songshan and other cities outside the pass were successively attacked by the Qing army, and the governor Hong Chengchou was captured and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty. The last elite field army of the Ming Dynasty was destroyed.

Last year, as Sun Chuanting died in Tongguan, Shaanxi, the entire Shaanxi was immediately occupied by rogue bandits.

In the first month of this year, Li Zicheng proclaimed himself emperor in Xi'an and established political power. The Ming Dynasty was actually on the verge of collapse.

Now, Shanxi and Beizhili are all in the enemy's hands. Li Zicheng's army of hundreds of thousands has surrounded the capital, while he and the prince are still in the city. The remaining tens of thousands of capable soldiers in the capital camp have been taken by Li Jiantai for the Western Expedition.

, Emperor Chongzhen simply had no way to escape, and moving south was even more nonsense.

In such a critical situation, the eunuchs in the palace have begun to find other ways to make a living. Many of the eunuchs who were sent to monitor the army at major city gates have colluded with the Shun army inside and outside, and are just waiting for the opportunity to open up the city.

Open the door to welcome the new emperor.

It can only be said that the situation has collapsed to this point, and the Ming Dynasty is probably really going to die!

After the three people exited the Jianji Hall, they walked out of the palace from the majestic Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City. Everyone looked sad and sighed, and the atmosphere seemed very solemn.

"Yonggu, in the current situation, is there any way you can protect His Majesty?" The speaker was Emperor Chongzhen's cousin, Xinlehou Liu Wenbing, who was also worried at this time.

"Hey, the matter has come to this. The bandits have already arrived at the city. What else can be done? If it had been half a month ago, there might have been a glimmer of hope!" Emperor Chongzhen's brother-in-law, Zhou Shixian's senior, Prince Consort Gong Yonggu said with a deathly expression. "

At that time, Northern Zhili was still under control, and even one or two thousand soldiers and horses could protect His Majesty as he marched south safely."

"Yes, now, how can we turn things around with the help of you and my few servants?" Liu Wenbing shook his head in despair.

In such a situation, the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty could only sit back and wait for death. How could the two royal relatives with no power, no soldiers, and no strategy be able to reverse the situation?

The two of them shook their heads and sighed while talking. After they finished sighing, Gong Yonggu remembered Zhou Shixian who was traveling with them.

He originally wanted to ask the other party if there was any way, but when he thought that Zhou Shixian was just a seventeen-year-old child, he simply gave up - they couldn't think of a way, so why bother to trouble a child?

"Shixian, you have to be careful these days, especially at night. There has been a lot of chaos in the capital recently. Last night, when Chen was performing at Chen's house, he was attacked by thieves. Both of his hands were cut off, and he was hanged alive in the end.

On top of the rafters."

"Hey, Yonggu, what are you doing? You're scaring the child." Liu Wenbing immediately interrupted the other party. After Zhou Shixian was selected as the consort, the two of them regarded him as one of their own and were usually very protective of him.

"How could such a cruel thing happen in such a bright world?" Zhou Shixian asked in disbelief with a look of horror on his face.

Seeing this, Gong Yonggu sighed, patted his shoulder and said, "What a simple and kind-hearted child. It's a pity that he was born at the wrong time."

When Liu Wenbing heard this, he no longer asked any questions. He just sighed deeply, with tears in his eyes: "The country is in crisis, and the current situation is so sad and deplorable."

"Wen Bing, stop talking. Let's all go back and guard the city gate. It can be regarded as doing our last bit for His Majesty and the Ming Dynasty. If you die defending the city, it will not be considered as betraying the emperor's kindness." Gong Yonggu's expression

Yiheng said resolutely.

Zhou Shixian watched the two people get on their horses and drive away with whips, and he couldn't help but shake his head in his heart. He knew that these two people were not just talking or showing off, but in troubled times, loyalty and bravery alone are far from enough.

,

Afterwards, he also received his embroidered spring knife from the eunuch guarding the gate, hung it on his waist, immediately got on his horse, and headed east.

Zhou Shixian had been preparing for so long, so naturally he would not stay here with them to die. His plan had reached the most critical moment. After having more than 20,000 taels of silver and more than 10,000 taels of gold stolen from Chen Yan's mansion, he recruited

Warriors, there is no shortage of military pay for breaking out of the city.

Not far to the east of the Forbidden City is the large-scale Ten Princes' Mansion with red walls and blue tiles. This is where the adult princes temporarily reside before leaving the capital to join the feudal vassal. The current Emperor Chongzhen was still the king of faith back then.

I used to live here when I was a kid.

Nowadays, because the princes are still very young and the prince is only sixteen years old, the palace of the ten princes has been vacant. On weekdays, only a few eunuchs from the palace will be sent here to clean, care and guard the palace.

The current situation is that all the eunuchs in the Forbidden City are almost gone, and the ten princes' palaces are even more uninterested. Therefore, the huge "ten princes' palace" has become a secret stronghold for Zhou Shixian to gather troops.

Zhou Shixian quickly rode his horse to the Tenth Prince's Palace and dismounted at the west corner of the palace gate.

When the four capable guards in brocade uniforms guarding the door saw the prince-in-law coming, they immediately greeted him. One of them respectfully took the reins from his hands, another took the embroidered spring knife, and the other two cupped their hands and said:

"Prince-in-law, everyone has arrived. There are several thorns inside. Mr. Xue Qi is almost unable to hold them down."

When Zhou Shixian heard this, there was no movement on his face. After winking at the two Jinyi guards in front of him, he strode towards the palace.

He had expected this situation a long time ago. As long as any soldier of the Ming Dynasty has some ability, who is not arrogant?

But under his men, no matter how powerful they are, they must obey orders and prohibitions. Today, Zhou Shixian will personally deal with these ruffians.

He walked quickly through the large courtyard of the Tenth Prince's Mansion. Inside, there were more than thirty brand-new carts with black awnings, all with double horse shafts. Thirty capable guards in royal robes were on duty. When he saw the Prince Consort walking by,

They all turned around and saluted.

Zhou Shixian has led them to accomplish many incredible things in the past two months, and everyone is convinced by this young prince-in-law. All the Jin Yiwei in the capital who have some ability have been recruited by him, but they are only eighty years old.

Several people.

After passing through the courtyard, Zhou Shixian walked directly to the main hall and saw eight Jinyi guards on duty at the door, and more than thirty fully armed Jinyi guards on the side.

In front of them were fifty or sixty Ming soldiers with incomplete armor and old weapons, but they were still decent, at least not like those on the city wall, who were as slovenly as beggars.

After these Jin Yiwei saw Zhou Shixian, they immediately pushed the door of the main hall inward with a "crash". The Ming soldiers on both sides of the aisle looked forward to it with curiosity on their faces.

Zhou Shixian stood with his head held high and walked towards the inside with sonorous and powerful steps. As far as he could see, on the floor of the spacious main hall of the Tenth Prince's Mansion, there were more than 20 tall and powerful officers standing around. At this time, they were surrounding Zhou Shixian's confidants.

Qixue Laoer was all showing his teeth and claws, and did not look like an officer at all.

These military leaders who are usually arrogant and domineering in the military camp are now gathered together. How can a mere Jinyiwei General Banner be able to suppress them?

Xue Laoer does have some skills and is a capable subordinate, but without some training, he still doesn't know how to deal with larger situations.

When Xue Laoer saw his boss coming, he was originally at a loss because of the noisy soldiers, and looked helpless. Now he simply took reassurance and shouted loudly: "The consort is here, why don't you greet him quickly!"

As Zhou Shixian walked into the hall, the door of the Tenth Prince's Mansion hall was closed again with a "bang" by the Jin Yiwei guarding the door. Everyone's eyes in the hall were focused on the front of the main hall. This man was wearing official robes and had firm eyes.

On the body of the Ming Dynasty Prince Consort who was not angry but proud.

"Xue Changfu, my subordinate, please see the Prince Consort." Xue Laoer immediately knelt down on one knee, cupped his hands and cupped his fists.

Following his lead, some soldiers in the room also knelt down, but some others remained unmoved at all.

Zhou Shixian quickly stood in front of the main seat in the hall, and then looked around, his face was gloomy, his brows were slightly furrowed, and the pressure was even more intense, and he said: "Why, in this world, when you see a first-class Prince Consort, you can't even salute.

?Ah!"

Such a question, especially the increased volume at the end, silenced the soldiers who were still standing. They all knelt down on one knee and performed military salutes towards Zhou Shixian.

The officers who can gather here today, besides wanting money, are probably loyal to the Ming Dynasty in their hearts and unwilling to become thieves.

These people were all selected carefully by Zhou Shixian and asked Xue Laoer, a veteran in the Imperial Guard, to finally finalize the list. Otherwise, Zhou Shixian's official authority might not have such power.

"Everyone, get up." Zhou Shixian looked at the people in front of him, then turned to look at Xue Laoer and asked, "Is everyone here?"

"They're all here, Prince Consort!" Xue Laoer replied immediately, still respectfully bowing his waist and cupping his hands.

And those officers who had just stood up looked at each other in confusion, and they couldn't help but feel horrified in their hearts. Those who knew a little bit about the art couldn't help but secretly horrified in their hearts - Xue Laoer was a ruthless character, and he was so respectful to this young prince-in-law. He was afraid that he was behind his back.

The power cannot be underestimated!

Zhou Shixian looked seriously at the Beijing officers in front of him. He clearly remembered that tomorrow, the night of March 18, the 17th year of Chongzhen, would be the day when the capital city was destroyed and Emperor Chongzhen killed his wife and daughter and hung himself on the southeast branch.

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Chapter completed!