Chapter Sixteen: Life and Death Together

  Among the meritorious officials of the Ming dynasty, the Duke of Yingguo was in a superior position, with power even surpassing that of the Prince of Cheng. Even Liu Jin and Wei Zhongxian did not dare to touch them when they were in power.

  But under the nest, there is no intact egg! The aristocratic family of over 200 years has also reached a life-and-death turning point. Just one year ago, Zhang Shizhe had just inherited his father Zhang Zhiji's title, and this young duke hadn't even had time to enjoy the glory of being a duke before he first tasted the flavor of changing dynasties.

  The cannon fire grew more intense, the cries of "Kill!" drew closer and closer, the servants rushed in to report that Xizhimen had fallen, Xuanwumen had fallen, and the rebel army was pouring in...

  Young Zhang Shize was pacing back and forth on the ground, unable to conceal his fear. At this moment, old housekeeper stumbled over, covered in dust all over his body, with a purple bump on his forehead. He arrived at the main hall, knelt down on the ground, wailing and crying out in pain.

  "Master, something terrible has happened."

  "What's going on?" Zhang Shize took a few steps forward and grabbed the old manager's chest, questioning him sternly.

  "Take a look at this."

  The old steward handed a flyer to Zhang Shizhe, who snatched it away and felt dizzy after reading it for just a few seconds, almost falling to the ground. This was the very same flyer that Gu Zhenhua had prepared in advance.

  Only see above written: Da Shun Tian Bing, do not disturb the civilians. First kill the eunuchs, then behead the nobles. Pursue the corrupt officials, flay and disembowel them. Kill all the greedy officials, enjoy great peace.

  Under these sentences was also written a list of wanted persons, with the British public Zhang Shizhe prominently listed, second only to the Duke of Cheng Guo Zhu Chunmin!

  Seeing this, Zhang Shize couldn't help but feel frightened. His rosy face instantly turned pale, and his limbs involuntarily trembled. He muttered to himself: "What to do, what to do, how should I do?"

  Just as Zhang Shizhe was at a loss, a servant suddenly ran in. This guy was even more disheveled than the old steward, with a wound over an inch long on his arm that was still bleeding.

  "His Excellency Guo Gongye, Zhu Chunchen has been killed!"

  "What?" Zhang Shize's voice changed and he said loudly: "Say it again, how did Zhu Chunchen die?"

  The house servant cried and said with a sad face: "I don't know either, I just heard someone outside say that at Xizhimen, he was chopped into minced meat!"

  "Ah!" Zhang Shize couldn't help but cry out in pain, his eyes welling up with tears. He wasn't feeling sorry for Zhu Chunshen, but rather was distressed on his own behalf.

  At this time, the old steward suddenly said: "Master, the one who killed Zhu Chunshen must be Li Zicheng's people. We can't just sit and wait for death."

  "Yes, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!" Zhang Shize shouted somewhat nervously: "Go quickly, gather all the servants, protect me, and fight our way out of the capital!"

  Zhang Shizhe gave an order and several hundred housemen from the British Consulate were summoned to protect him, rushing out towards the east.

  It wasn't just Zhang Shizhe, other high-ranking officials in the capital also received the news. In fact, many people were secretly lucky, thinking that as long as they surrendered, they could keep their wealth and glory. But when they saw the flyers, they were all scared out of their wits and fled with their families to the outskirts of the city.

  The chaos in the capital city has become even more severe, with the defeated Ming army, Li Zicheng's troops, fleeing civilians, and panicked nobles blocking all roads.

  Everywhere is slaughter, everywhere is flames, everything has lost control, people desperately struggle for a glimmer of life, regardless of everything.

  Tens of thousands of people surged to Chaoyang Gate, like a tide, rushing towards the narrow city gate, crazily squeezing through. However, the city gate was only a dozen meters wide, where could it accommodate so many people? The entrance became a sardine can, with cries and shouts filling the air.

  An old man fell down, countless big feet trampled on his body, like a wave, submerged in the sea of people. And such waves are not rare, the elderly, weak women and children were killed or injured most seriously, the ground was covered with dark red mud, emitting a pungent bloody smell.

  Of course, there were also people who were much luckier than them, that is, the guards and servants who followed Gu Zhenhua. They took advantage of Zhu Chun's order to run to Chaoyang Gate first and successfully took over the defense of the city.

  Sun Cheng and Lu Yong saw that the bandit king's troops had not yet arrived outside the city, so they secretly opened the city gate and let the guards protect their families as they fled the city at top speed.

  Just as they were about to leave the city, the vanguard of the Dashun Army also noticed and hastily went to summon the main force to seize Chaoyang Gate.

  Looking at these cavalrymen, Sun Cheng secretly called out: "Second brother, Chu Wang's troops will be here soon, and Fourth Brother hasn't left the city yet, I'm afraid it's going to be troublesome!"

  "Big brother, I'll take some men to meet fourth brother, even if it means risking our lives, we must ensure his safety."

  He Zhonghou on the side also said: "If there was no Zhenhua Yun's tent, we wouldn't have been able to come out so easily. He absolutely cannot meet with any accidents."

  Lu Yong nodded and was about to go choose some men, when he suddenly turned his head and saw that five guards were quietly retreating to the back, gradually leaving the team, turning their horses' heads, preparing to slip away.

  Lu Yong's anger suddenly flared up: "All of you, stop right there!"

  A loud shout, followed by a whip cracking on the horse's buttocks, sent the warhorse galloping away instantly. The five men also heard the sound and were startled, but instead of stopping, they wanted to speed up their escape.

  "Soul is weak!" Sun Cheng, who also noticed this scene, was even more furious. He drew his bow and shot an arrow, which pierced the chest of a guard with a "whoosh" sound, and fell to the ground with a thud. With one shot, he expressionlessly drew out a second arrow.

  At this time, Tang Zhanxiong also reacted and shouted loudly: "Ungrateful rabbit son, wanting to escape, first ask the big knife in grandfather's hand!"

  As they spoke, he rushed up, and some other guards, seeing this scum, were also filled with righteous indignation, and raised the fire guns in their hands. Gunshots rang out. In the blink of an eye, four fleeing guys were killed, leaving only one last one.

  Lu Yong's horse was fast, and he rushed to the front of his head, blocking the way. This guy also knew that he couldn't escape, so he could only roll off the horse, like a hound dog, kneeling in front of Lu Yong, crying and wailing, constantly knocking his head.

  "Spare my life, sir! I just want to save this dog's life. I'm grateful for your kindness, Master Gu, but if we're going to sneak into the city to meet you, isn't that like a moth flying into the flame, seeking its own destruction? Please grant me a way out!"

  "Too late!" Lu Yong sneered: "A treacherous and ungrateful scoundrel, everyone can kill him!"

  With a swing of the waist knife in his hand, he happened to aim at the guy's chest, from the ribcage to the neck, the whole person was cut in half, the corpse thudded to the ground, and fresh blood stained the yellow soil.

  Five lives were gone in an instant, and they died at the hands of their own people. The guards present were all shocked. Lu Yong urged his war horse to move forward, and when he arrived in front of everyone, his face was gloomy and frightening.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, I know some of you just want to take advantage of the situation and think only of yourselves once you're out of the city. But I must say, as human beings, we should have a conscience. We were able to escape safely thanks to Brother Gu's efforts, but can we really clear our consciences by fleeing like this?"

  Lu Yong's question made some people present lower their heads. Sun Cheng also said: "Brothers, everyone should be clear-headed in this chaotic world, where can you escape to? Gu brother is a capable and insightful person, he can lead us out of the city safely, and make us blend in with the crowd, following him will not bring us any harm."

  "Right, follow Brother Gu!"

  "Follow Brother Gu!"

  Tang Zhanxiong and others took the lead in shouting, and the scattered hearts of the guards temporarily gathered together. Lu Yong finally let out a sigh of relief, he called Tang Zhanxiong over and said to him: "Old Tang, I'm appointing you as the captain of the law enforcement team now. If anyone else escapes, their whole family will be beheaded, not one will be left!"

  "Don't worry, I won't go easy on you."

  "Second Uncle, something's wrong! Look over there, it seems like someone is charging towards us on horseback!" Lu Shun suddenly exclaimed.

  Lu Yong and Sun Cheng hastily looked into the distance, and indeed, dust was flying everywhere, a cavalry regiment was rapidly heading towards Chaoyang Gate. Both of them were pale with fright, how could the bandit king's army arrive so quickly!

  "Second Brother, you still have the guts to enter the city?"

  Lu Yong burst out laughing: "What's there to be afraid of? If we knock our heads on the ground, our lives will be over together. If we don't get Old Fourth out, we'll pay with our lives."

  "That's right, good brother, we should share life and death together!"

  The two of them finished speaking and burst out laughing. They immediately chose thirty of their most elite guards and charged towards the city gate...