Chapter Seventeen: Seizing the Gate

  Outside De Sheng Gate in the capital, an old eunuch wearing red clothes led dozens of people rushing out from the city gate. Seeing the flag of Da Shun from afar, the old eunuch hastily ran forward, dismounted and knelt on the ground.

  "The old slave Wang Dehua respectfully welcomes the Emperor Chongzhen into the capital!"

  The old eunuch knelt on the ground, not even daring to lift his head. At this time, someone burst out laughing and pointed at Wang Dehua, saying: "Old eunuch, raise your head, I ask you, how does this Da Shun Emperor compare to the Da Ming Emperor?"

  Wang Dehua plucked up his courage, lifted his head, and saw that on the yellow horse sat a big man in a yellow robe with golden armor, with a sturdy build and rough features. There was a scar at the corner of his left eye, making him look even more fierce and wild. This was the infamous, unbeatable Little General - Li Zicheng, the Marauding King!

  Wang Dehua stole a glance and hastily lowered his head, saying: "Your Majesty is the founding monarch, how can Chongzhen be compared to you?"

  Li Zicheng burst out laughing, extremely pleased with himself. He looked around and said: "My fellow brothers, follow me into the city and let's enjoy wealth and glory together!"

  After Li Zicheng finished speaking, the people around him followed closely and rushed into the capital from Deshengmen. Just as Li Zicheng was feeling proud and satisfied, his general Li Yan suddenly rode up to his side.

  "Your Majesty, this was just given to me by my subordinate. Please take a look." Li Yan said as he handed over the flyer to Li Zicheng. This was exactly what Gu Zhenhua had scattered while taking a stroll, and it happened to be picked up by the Great Shun Army, which eventually fell into Li Yan's hands. Li Yan was skilled at composing nursery rhymes to win over the people, and as soon as he saw this thing, he felt that something was amiss, so he immediately reported it to Li Zicheng.

  "Haha, what's the big deal? Is it worth making such a fuss?" Li Zicheng laughed nonchalantly.

  Li Yan suddenly became anxious: "Your Majesty, this flyer says that the Dashun Army will pursue and punish those who have been bribed, kill meritorious officials, eunuchs, and high-ranking officials."

  "Li Gongzi, this is true!" General Liu Fangliang said with a smile: "If we don't kill these losers, what will we eat and drink? All officials should be killed!"

  Liu Tichun and Tian Jianshu also followed suit, Li Yan was suddenly furious, his face turned bright red. These generals who rushed into the camp were simply blockheads!

  "Your Majesty, we only have 20,000 troops, and the households of the nobles and high officials in the capital already have several thousand servants. If this proclamation falls into their hands, it will inevitably cause widespread panic, with people fleeing everywhere, and the situation will become even more chaotic."

  Li Zicheng also sobered up a bit, furrowing his brow and saying: "Then what do you think we should do?"

  "Post notices to calm people's minds, especially those of the gentry and nobility, and try to persuade them to surrender."

  "No way!" Liu Fangliang hastily said: "These people have been tyrannizing for so many years, can they still be let off?" The other generals also echoed him, they had gone through thick and thin with Li Zicheng for so many years, and finally broke into the capital, it was time to enjoy. Each of them hoped to enfeoff their wives and sons, who would want to leave the Ming dynasty's nobles behind?

  Li Yan also became anxious and said loudly: "Killing or not is just a matter of one word, first stabilize the situation, then go and capture these people, it's not too late. The Emperor Chongzhen has not been caught yet, at this time making too many enemies is really unwise."

  Li Zicheng finally came to his senses and hastily said: "Li Yan, you immediately lead people to comfort the civilians, and it is essential to catch those who spread the notices. I want to see who dares to ruin my good deed!"

  Li Zicheng gritted his teeth on this side, while the one who started it all was now complacent. Gu Zhenhua first obtained 3,000 bird guns at Wang Gongchang, and then, with the guidance of Ge Jiangshi, found 20 tiger-squatting cannons, 10 佛朗机大cannons, 300 Lu Mi guns, and 100 self-igniting fire guns in warehouse C.

  These firearms were all recently produced, and according to Ge Jiangshi's introduction, these firearms were specially made by Chongzhen's inner court. Originally intended to strengthen the defense capabilities of the capital city, only one-fifth was completed when Li Zicheng arrived.

  Although it didn't help the Ming dynasty turn the tide, these firearms were made with some care. Although they can't compare to the fine pieces in Zhu Chun's mansion, they aren't just crude junk that would explode at any moment either.

  Gu Zhenhua fully carried forward the spirit of Tie Sao Zhou, and loaded all the fire guns and tiger squatting cannons onto horse-drawn carriages. The remaining ten Fa Lang Ji cannons, however, left Gu Zhenhua somewhat at a loss. At Wang Gongchang, he had only managed to get his hands on 100 horse-drawn carriages, and after loading them with firearms, explosives, and manufacturing tools, there were only ten carriages left.

  These ten horse-drawn carriages will be left for the prince and old eunuch Kou Gui, with another six carriages for Ge Jiangshi and others to ride in. The remaining ones are not enough to use. Gu Zhenhua thought about it and only chose two 300-pounder falconets, leaving the rest of the big cannons at Wang Gong Factory.

  "Sir, there is still surplus gunpowder in the warehouse. Do you want to blow up all these big cannons?" Gao Hongtu said with a sly tone.

  Gu Zhenhua was slightly stunned, but immediately shook his head. According to reason, they should be blown up to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. But thinking again, these artillery pieces would likely play a role in the Battle of Pingxingguan, and killing one more Tartar soldier would be a good thing!

  Gu Zhenhua's face sank as he said, "Now that escaping with our lives is the priority, aren't you afraid of trouble, do you want to bring Chuan Wang over here?"

  Gao Hongtu nodded repeatedly and smiled: "Still, sir, you are far-sighted and have a long-term plan, I'll listen to you!"

  As they spoke, the troops had already gathered. Gu Zhenhua quickly calculated that with 100 horse-drawn carriages, minus the drivers, he still had over 300 soldiers. Among them, only eight were truly loyal to him, including Xue Biao. The others included the prince's bodyguards, Gao Hongtu's capital camp soldiers, and some of the Wang Gongchang garrison troops - a typical motley crew!

  Wanting to take these people out of the capital safely is simply a must, no matter how difficult it is. Whether it's a dragon or an insect, it all depends on this one move! Gu Zhenhua said quietly in his heart.

  "Comrades, the bandit king's army has entered the city. Whether we can get out alive, I have no idea. But I can promise you one thing: I will fight with you all to the very end, and I won't abandon or give up on anyone!"

  As soon as Gu Zhenhua spoke, the crowd on the scene was also boiling with enthusiasm, and they couldn't help but shout in unison: "Don't abandon, don't give up! Don't abandon, don't give up!"

  Even the prince's guards were no exception, shouting together. The more dangerous it was, the more a strong leader was needed, and Gu Zhenhua undoubtedly took on this responsibility, igniting a flame of hope in everyone's heart.

  "Everyone is divided into three parts, I will lead fifty people to open the way. Third brother, you and Xie Bin will lead one hundred and fifty people to protect the prince and all the craftsmen, absolutely no mistakes are allowed. General Gao, you will lead one hundred people to take charge of the rear team. Everyone must work closely together, no one is allowed to fall behind, anyone who dares to flee in battle will be killed without pardon!"

  After the order was given, everyone took action and escorted a hundred horse-drawn carriages out of Wang Gongchang quickly. Once on the streets, the chaos became even more severe, with fleeing civilians and scattered soldiers everywhere, like headless flies, bumping into each other in all directions.

  It's actually related to Gu Zhenhua. After those nobles received the flyers, they fled one after another, taking the lead in escaping, and others couldn't sit still either.

  Bureaucrats, wealthy merchants, and eunuchs, all those who sensed danger, fled in a hurry. This group of people was not like ordinary households, with big and small vehicles, gold and silver treasures, and servants guarding them, forming a long procession as they ran, making the streets increasingly congested and chaotic.

  Gu Zhenhua did not expect that such a situation would arise, not only delaying Li Zicheng's time but also blocking himself.

  He looked up at the moon in the sky, it was already past midnight, which meant it was now March 39th. According to historical records, Li Zicheng had entered the city and Emperor Chongzhen had hanged himself on Coal Hill. Thinking of that worn-out "bean sprout", Gu Zhenhua also snapped out of his daze, realizing he didn't have much time left for himself!

  "Get out of my way, whoever dares to block my path will be killed without pardon!"

  Gu Zhenhua let out a loud roar and charged to the front, those who were still on the road were terrified and scrambled to get out of the way, those who couldn't dodge in time fell to the ground, Gu Zhenhua didn't care about anything else, he was like a fierce tiger, charging forward recklessly.

  The soldiers behind followed closely, forcing their way through and opening up a road, with vehicles following tightly, heading straight for Chaoyangmen...

  "Turn one more corner and we'll reach Chaoyangmen!" a soldier exclaimed excitedly, a hint of joy also appearing on Gu Zhenhua's face.

  But just at this moment, a cavalry corps came galloping from the corner of the street, with both men and horses dressed in black, and the general leading them saw the convoy and suddenly had sparkling eyes.

  "General Liu Zongmin is here, you're going to die!" With that, Liu Zongmin shot towards Gu Zhenhua like a bolt of lightning.