Chapter 25 Harvest (Part 2)

  It's unclear how much stuff was taken from the capital, and even Gu Zhenhua couldn't say for sure. The goods and ammunition might only be sorted out after they've been counted. The one thing that can be confirmed is that this time it's a double gain of both people and wealth.

  Gu Zhenhua pointed at a horse-drawn carriage behind them and said with a smile: "Sixth Uncle, do you know who's sitting in that carriage?"

  "Who? Could it still be Emperor Niu?"

  "Haha, Sixth Uncle is indeed formidable! Although I didn't guess it correctly, it's almost there."

  "About it?" He Zhonghou's joking words, but Gu Zhenhua actually said about it, the old man was stunned, and couldn't figure out why.

  "Sixth Uncle, the Crown Prince is in the carriage, he's leaving the city with us!"

  "What?" He Zhonghou was stunned, almost falling off the carriage.

  "Zhenhua, you didn't deceive me, did you?"

  "What are you trying to trick me for? There's another eunuch who came out with the prince, and quite a few imperial guards from the palace."

  He Zhonghou's face suddenly changed, and he hastily said: "Quickly stop the car, I want to go and pay my respects to the Crown Prince!"

  Gu Zhenhua was also speechless with laughter: "Sixth Uncle, don't you see what time it is? You're willing to kowtow now, let's talk about it when we have a place to settle down. To be blunt, a prince in distress still has to rely on us, so there's no need for you to take it too seriously."

  "No, no." He Zhonghou shook his head repeatedly: "Zhenhua, the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, and the Crown Prince is the Grandson of Heaven, he's the grandson of the Old Man in Heaven, you can't be disrespectful!"

  Heavens! This old man has really thought of something.

  Gu Zhenhua couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sixth Uncle, now even the heavenly grandson's life is in danger, Li Zicheng may come to kill us at any time, you should hurry up and lead the way for us!"

  "Alas." He Zhonghou could only nod, but the old man was still nervous and fidgety, occasionally sneaking a peek at the carriage behind him, afraid of being discovered. Every time he took a glance, he couldn't help but pat his chest, but he kept turning back frequently.

  This made Gu Zhenhua cry and laugh at the same time, but after thinking about it, he seemed to have gained some special insight. He came from a later generation, where there were no longer any emperors, and the Forbidden City had become the Palace Museum, open for casual visits. Since tasting the overpriced and unpalatable noodles inside, he no longer had any reverence for emperors.

  However, for people in the Ming Dynasty, the emperor was still the most sacred thing, and some people even used the emperor's foot washing water as a medicine! Especially among the grassroots people, the concept of the true dragon son deeply rooted in their hearts.

  Having thought of this, Gu Zhenhua couldn't help but start calculating. His current subordinates include Zhu Chunchen's guards, the Forbidden Army of the Great Ming, the palace guards, and the guards of Wang Gongchang. The troops of three to five hundred people were divided into several factions. What's even more deadly is that before this, they had no connection with each other, but were just temporarily assembled as a motley crew.

  In the capital, in order to survive and escape the city, everyone could still unite against a common enemy. But once they left the city, how were they supposed to lead these people, especially with military supplies, treasures, and even women on the horse-drawn carriages?

  It's hard to guarantee that no one will have evil thoughts, thinking of this, Gu Zhenhua is a headache, wanting to bring these people together is even more difficult than going out of the city, and it's even more brain-consuming.

  The top priority is to quickly regroup, treat the wounded, unify thoughts and gather fighting strength. This prince might just be a useful tool.

  Just as Gu Zhenhua was thinking about his next plan, a horseshoe sound suddenly rang out, and it was Gao Hongtu who brought people to chase after him. He arrived in front of Gu Zhenhua, bowed his hands and said: "Sir, the pursuing soldiers of the bandits have been repelled by us."

  "General Gao, I was worried that the bandits would chase after us recklessly. You've defeated them, it's truly a joyous occasion." Gu Zhenhua smiled and said: "Tell me, how many soldiers did the bandits send, and how did you fight?"

  "To be honest, Li Zicheng only sent a few hundred men out of the city, and they were not just chasing us, but also those fleeing nobles. Only over a hundred people actually clashed with us, our musketeers killed more than a dozen, and the rest retreated!"

  "You've sent such a small number of people, haven't you made a mistake? Is there another batch of troops coming later?"

  "There isn't." Gaohongtu said very affirmatively: "I have dispatched scouts, they are keeping watch along the way, indeed there aren't any more Dashun army troops leaving the city. Actually I think Li Zicheng seems to not take us seriously."

  It's a pretty humiliating thing to say, but for those who have survived the disaster, it's an unexpected blessing.

  "General Gao, we can't afford to be careless at all. Send me more reinforcements right away. At this moment, any slight mistake could cost us our lives!"

  "I understand."

  Gu Zhenhua and his men hastily made their way to Shunyi, while at the same time strengthening their defenses with all their might, fearing that the Dashun Army would catch up. However, Gu Zhenhua did not know that at this time, the Dashun Army was also entangled in a dispute due to their escape.

  Li Zicheng entered the capital, led by eunuchs and surrendered officials, and stepped into the Forbidden City. When he sat in the Taihe Hall for a moment, this king of Shun felt unprecedented glory and satisfaction.

  The supreme ruler of the nine and five! Wealthy in all four seas!

  Li Zicheng only felt his blood pressure rise, and he was a bit dizzy. He hastily ordered all the generals to come to the Taihe Hall for worship!

  Liu Fangliang, Tian Jianshu, Liu Tichun, Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Liu Zongmin, Li Yan, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance and others all came rushing over.

  "My dear brothers, we have been through thick and thin together. Isn't it all for today? From now on, everyone with me... no! I mean, the Emperor, will enjoy the prosperity of our great nation and bask in peace!"

  Li Zicheng had not finished speaking when Li Yan stood up: "Your Majesty, it's not time to enjoy yet. Not to mention the remnants of the Ming dynasty in the south, nor the Jurchen Tartars outside the pass. Just this time attacking the city, we encountered a powerful enemy. General Gao, General Li, General Liu, and I all suffered losses."

  "Oh? There's such a thing? Tell me quickly."

  Li Yan immediately told them about his encounter with Gu Zhenhua, and Li Guo and Gao Yigong also supplemented it. Finally, Liu Zongmin reluctantly said something about the situation.

  "Your Majesty, I think this group of people is absolutely not simple, especially the leader who has both bravery and strategy. If we let them escape, it would be no different from releasing a tiger back to the mountain. Therefore, I suggest that we immediately concentrate our cavalry and must capture them!"

  Li Zicheng furrowed his brow and listened, then said: "In short, it's just a few hundred people, not worth mentioning. As long as the capital is in our hands, the area north of the Yellow River will be settled. At that time, this group of people will be unable to escape, no need to make such a big fuss."

  Niu Jin Xing also hastily said by the side: "Your Majesty's words are correct, the top priority is still to control the capital, to enfeoff civil and military officials, and to reward meritorious ministers. All of you generals have worked hard for many years, it's time to relax a bit, don't worry about those minor bandits."

  "General, this is no ordinary bandit, several generals have been injured by the enemy's hands, especially since they brought a large number of firearms, the danger is great."

  "Everything has its own rhythm and timing. Let's prioritize the capital city first, it won't make a difference of more than a few days either way." Military advisor Song Xian also spoke up from the side.

  Li Yan suddenly became anxious and said loudly: "Your Majesty, after the capital was breached, the body of Emperor Chongzhen has been found, but several princes are missing. I suspect that among those people, there may be hidden sons of Emperor Chongzhen. If the prince escapes to Jiangnan, the Ming court will revive like dead ashes, and all these years of fighting will be in vain!"

  Li Zicheng, upon hearing this, finally came to his senses and hastily said: "Li Yan, I'll give you a thousand cavalrymen. You must eliminate that group of people!"

  Li Yan finally managed to gather a thousand soldiers and hastily led them to pursue Gu Zhenhua, but this delay had wasted time, and Gu Zhenhua's group arrived safely in Shunyi. He Zhonghou led the way, bringing everyone into the farm.

  "Big brother!"

  Just as they were entering the village, Sun Cheng fell off his war horse. Gu Zhenhua hastily dismounted and nearly fell to the ground.

  His lower abdomen, ribs, and shoulders were all injured. Even with his incredible physical strength, he couldn't withstand it. As for the others, they had barely managed to escape with their lives, but now even that last bit of energy was gone. Lu Yong, Xue Biao, and Xie Bin were all on the verge of collapse.

  Gu Zhenhua barely helped Sun Cheng up, and with everyone's support, they finally made it to the room. Everyone was in a terrible state, and Old Man He Zhonghou was also anxious, hastily ordering his subordinates to boil water, prepare clean gauze, hemostatic medicine, and have everyone clean their wounds.

  But just as they were preparing, He Zhonghou suddenly discovered that there was no doctor. Gu Zhenhua understood first aid, but he could hardly save himself, how could he save others?

  Just as He Zhonghou was like an ant on a hot pot, Lu Shun suddenly rushed in and said breathlessly: "Sixth Master, there is a girl who says she knows medicine!"

  At the same time, outside in the carriage, a maid in red clothes pulled Miss's hand and couldn't help but say: "Miss, do you really want to treat those dirty men? If they touch your body, it will be a matter of reputation!"