Volume 2 Southern Continent Volume 2 Southern Continent Chapter 63 Hot Blood (6)

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  "Brother Tiger!"

  Lu Hu is arranging a big camp outside the city gate, although they have already entered the outer city, everyone's heart is not at ease, after all, Beijing is too big, and there are too few rebels!

  There were over 5,000 cavalry in total. Li Shuangxi took away 2,000, while Luo Hu still had more than 3,000 under his command. Moreover, the Ming army that surrendered at the gates of Zhengyi and Xuanwu alone numbered 7-8,000. In addition, fierce battles were still raging at the Zhengyang Gate and other locations, with the defending Ming troops and eunuchs firing small firearms and arrows, wounding many officers and soldiers. The inner city was temporarily unable to be breached, so Luo Hu retreated outside the city, leaving most of his troops near the city gates. As long as he controlled the gates, the city would still be firmly in hand.

  In one or two days, the main force will arrive, and then nothing will be feared.

  At the height of the intense battle, a few riders suddenly appeared and charged straight into the main camp. No one could stop them. Just as someone was about to shoot an arrow, many people recognized Li Shuangxi and shouted in surprise. By the time they reacted, Li Shuangxi had already dismounted his horse in front of Luo Hu's command tent and rushed inside without waiting for anyone to announce him, repeatedly calling out Luo Hu's name.

  "What's wrong?"

  Lu Hu didn't think much of it, he treated Li Shuangxi as his own little brother, and had always taken care of him and Zhang Tai. Seeing Li Shuangxi come in with red eyes, he asked in surprise: "What's wrong? You were sent to block the Chaoyang Gate, how did you end up running back like this?"

  Hearing this, Li Shuangxi's eyes became even redder, and he stuttered, unable to speak.

  "You said!"

  Seeing his appearance, Luo Hu knew it was wrong and immediately shouted at Du Xun who came in together: "What's going on? Hurry up and tell me!"

  "It's...!" Du Xun's face was gloomy, and he stomped his foot, saying: "Where did this unexpected situation come from? General Shao divided his troops to attack, and was in a fierce battle with several teams of Ming army cavalry at Chaoyang Gate when the fake Ming crown prince suddenly appeared..."

  Du Xun is indeed eloquent with his words, and in just a few sentences, he clearly described the situation of defeat.

  "As you said," Luo Hu heard the previous sentence and had already stood up. At this time, he took a step forward, staring at Du Yun:

  "The Crown Prince has returned, doesn't this mean the Emperor is still in the city?"

  "It's probably true, otherwise why bother?"

  "Will Chongzhen follow him?"

  "Now that they're back, they must have made up their minds. So I think, no matter what, they'll take Ming Huang away."

  "Hmm, calculating the timing, it seems to be just in time......" Luo Hu sighed and shook his head, then asked Du Yun again: "So, is the Crown Prince leading the troops personally?"

  "Yes!"

  "Was it he who personally rode out and beheaded a small bandit?"

  "Yes, one sword cuts through all, our army's morale is defeated, and this is where we suffer a great defeat."

  "That man I know, his martial arts skills are not bad!" Luo Hu turned his head towards Li Shuangxi, a hint of anger on his face, and said: "This time, Shuangxi, you've messed things up. This Ming dynasty prince is so brave and fierce, he may become a great threat in the future."

  Li Shuangxi was speechless, he was still furious while fleeing, wanting to gather the remaining soldiers and borrow troops from Luo Hu to take revenge. However, as they fled, they found that all the city gates and key points were heavily guarded by elite soldiers sent by Luo Hu. Although there were not many soldiers, their formation was strict and solemn, and more than half of the outer city had already been firmly controlled by the rebel army.

  Such a deployment of troops is a great talent, and those who have been in the military for a long time can understand it at a glance. At this moment, he was also very disappointed and admired Luo Hu to the extreme. Borrowing troops to avenge himself was not dare to mention, being rebuked face to face, and just lowering his head a few more points.

  "Come on, come on!"

  At the critical moment, it is a test of one's adaptability and decision-making ability. Before Du Xun finished speaking, Luo Hu had already given consecutive orders, his central military officer rushed to him one after another, then Luo Hu gave consecutive orders, deploying troops from which place, deploying how many people, who was in command, how long it would take to gather at a certain place, and with just a few words, the decision was clear.

  However, in a short moment, even Li Shuangxi understood that the previous Jun army had abandoned all its strongholds in the city, and Luo Hu had left only over a thousand cavalry to guard the three outer city gates of Xuanwu, Xi Bian, and Yan Yi, and the rest of the places were not taken care of.

  "I have 2,000 men here, your subordinates can always gather over a thousand remnants, and with more than 3,000 cavalry in pursuit, shouldn't that be enough?!"

  Lu Hu stood with his hands behind his back, full of heroic spirit, issuing orders without any hesitation, decisive and wise, truly the demeanor of a great general.

  At this time, the arrangement was complete, and he had a relaxed face. He walked to Li Shuangxi's side, lightly kicked him with his foot, and smiled: "You guy, you're just like Xiao Tuozi, once you get excited, you dare to charge into battle alone, but as soon as you suffer a setback, you become like a defeated fighting cock... Get up, the sky hasn't fallen yet!"

  "Hutou-ge, you've abandoned the outer city that we just took..."

  "Don't worry!" Luo Hu said with a relaxed face: "Are you kidding me? The capital is right here, it can't escape. It's most urgent that Ming Huang and the Crown Prince have left!"

  Their conversation had just begun when the vanguard started to mobilize. The sound of bugles echoed, but all that could be heard was the sound of people and horses, although it was loud, yet it still sounded orderly. The squad leaders, company commanders, battalion commanders, regimental commanders, and lieutenants, one by one, shouted out orders, and before long, a cavalry unit of three to four hundred men had assembled outside.

  "There aren't many people left, let's set off at once."

  As they were about to set out, Luo Hu's expression returned to its usual serious state. He looked at Li Shuangxi and said, "Shuangxi, are you coming with me or staying behind?"

  "Of course I'll go with you!" Li Shuangxi said without hesitation, standing up and saying: "I want revenge!"

  "Good, with this spirit, we have nothing to fear!" With just a few words, Luo Hu also stirred up Li Shuangxi's emotions. After a moment of contemplation, he turned to Du Xun and said: "You take a few men, ride quickly, and report everything that happened at Chaoyang Gate to the Emperor!"

  "Yes, I'll go at once!"

  As a great general like Luo Hu, Du Xun was very honest and humble, bowing his head and respectfully agreeing, then turning around and walking out. He didn't want to stay here anymore either!

  The fierce battle between cavalry and infantry just now, where is the real rear? Du Heng has been supervising the army outside for several years, how could he have experienced these things?

  After leaving the account, it was indeed seen that the knives and spears were like forests. The cavalry of the big team had already put on their armor and held their weapons, and they lined up in teams under the command of the crowd. He led his own men, under the escort of a small team of cavalry, and rushed towards Changping again.

  When leaving, Du Xun looked in the direction of Chaoyang Gate for a few more eyes, then muttered: "Damn it, what kind of weird thing is this? I really don't understand!"

  After scolding and finishing, he rode wildly again. However, this time's mood was completely different from the one when he rushed south to make great achievements for the new dynasty.

  ……

  ……

  At the same time that Li Shuangxi rushed into Luo Hu's military camp, more than 40 cavalrymen surrounded Zhu Ciyan and entered the imperial palace. Entering the palace from the Chaoyang Gate, there was originally a path because this was the "grain gate", every year a large amount of grain had to be transported into the city, so the road was well-maintained, and besides, there were not many buildings along the way that obstructed their passage.

  More than 40 riders galloped desperately and soon entered the unguarded Dong'an Gate, then crossed the Golden Water Bridge to enter the Donghua Gate.

  When passing by the Jinshui Bridge, I saw that there were corpses floating everywhere in the river. On the bridge and by the river, there were still many palace eunuchs wandering around, with many people looking pale and weeping, apparently also considering throwing themselves into the water to end their lives.

  At the end of the dynasty, these lackeys dependent on the imperial family had neither the ability to reach the sky like the upper class nor could they stand aside like ordinary people. Those who drowned themselves were not a few either.

  Seeing the Crown Prince riding in on horseback, many people seemed to be stunned, until Zhu Ciying rushed over and approached, then many people cheered again, with joy all over their faces.

  At this moment, Zhu Ciyan didn't have the energy to care about them. Seeing many eunuchs and palace people gathering around, he simply waved his whip and shouted: "Don't block the way! You all escape for your lives, otherwise just honestly stay in the palace... Remember, don't seek death!"

  He pushed through the crowds all the way to the vicinity of the Qianqing Palace, but Zhu Ciyan didn't go in. He just took a glance at the people running around like headless flies everywhere and directly said: "Go to Wansui Mountain!"

  "Isn't the Emperor in the Palace of Heavenly Purity?"

  "Can't we go in and take a look?"

  "Don't you see the current situation? If Father Emperor were here, would he allow such chaos? With Father Emperor's temperament, even at this time, it would not be tolerated."

  "That's right!" Liu Wenbing's wound burst open again after this frantic run, and he gritted his teeth in pain, saying to Zhu Ciyan: "However, the prince might as well send someone to take a look at Fengxian Temple, the emperor might be there or not."

  "No!" Zhu Ciwen said: "It must be on Wansui Mountain."

  Gong Yong's eldest son, Ying Wu, was exceptionally brave and had a straightforward personality. He blurted out, "How did Your Highness know?"

  "I knew it." Zhu Ciwen said decisively: "Quickly, if we're late, I'm afraid it will be too late!"

  Rushing through the winding alley, it was still as chaotic as Chongzhen had seen, with everyone scrambling to climb up the mountain on foot.

  Zhu Ciwen only felt his heart pounding and jumping nonstop!

  To be honest, he himself risked his life in this strange and dangerous situation, but at this moment, there was nothing particularly frightening about it.

  Originally, he thought he was just a small person, without such high awareness and integrity, and left as soon as he did. Chongzhen, although the father of this life, really can't talk about deep feelings.

  But at this moment, he was very afraid.

  He was afraid, he worked hard again and again, but still had to see this fierce emperor die for the country...

  He was frightened, and in front of him were two corpses swaying in mid-air...

  He is afraid, and yet things under heaven cannot be done...

  He was afraid that he was just an ordinary modern young man with a hobby of history, and everything he knew might not be on an unchangeable track.

  Under the morning sun, in Beijing's Imperial City on Wansui Mountain in 1644, a soul from over 400 years later, today's Crown Prince Zhu Cizhao, was searching with all his heart and mind for a failed politician he had previously looked down upon. What kind of taste is this? Who can share it with him?

  But it's really lonely...

  "Watch out, young master!"

  Suddenly, someone behind called out, Zhu Ciyan's foot slipped, a cold light flashed on his side, and a precious sword swept across his side at an angle, its blade extremely sharp, like a clear spring.

  Encountering danger, Zhu Ciwen actually laughed, laughing exceptionally happily and also exceptionally radiantly!