When Zhu Cixiang left the inner campus, it was already dark. March 15, the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, was almost over. By this time tomorrow, Li Zicheng's vanguard will probably be wandering around Beijing!

The day after tomorrow, that is, March 17, the offensive and defensive battle in Beijing will begin. If history does not change, two days later, the Ming Dynasty's sacred capital will fall into the hands of Li Zicheng. Emperor Chongzhen will hang himself on Meishan.

Committing suicide, Zhu Cixiang will also lose everything and become a prisoner of Li Zicheng's subordinates...

When Zhu Cixiang returned to Duanben Palace with a large team of troops, the good mood he had just had when he distributed "options" to people in the inner school grounds was gone.

Although in the past day and night, Zhu Cixiang completed several unimaginable "transactions".

He has successfully deceived Wang Chengen and Wu Xiang, two big figures of the Ming Dynasty, into becoming his "angel investors". He also deceived the innocent Queen Zhou and turned her into his accomplice. He also gave an unknown number of money to Beijing.

Zhuang Yong set a trap and finally issued "options" to Wu Xiang's servants - actually in front of Wu Xiang, and Wu Xiang did not show any dissatisfaction.

But the time left by history is too tight. There are less than four days left before the city is broken!

There are only two short days left before Beijing is surrounded!

Therefore, even if Zhu Cixiang could piece together a team of two to three thousand people, he would not be able to transform them into real elites.

Without elite escort, there is still no absolute certainty in escaping from the encirclement of Li Zicheng's hundreds of thousands of troops.

Therefore, the safest way is to escape tomorrow night before Li Zicheng's army surrounds Beijing.

In this way, in addition to the two or three thousand men he improvised, he could also be protected by three thousand Nanhaizi Jingjun. Song Quan of Tongzhou also had one or two thousand men and horses... If the number was too much, he could gather seven or eight thousand troops.

With so many people protecting us, going to Tianjin Guard is absolutely foolproof. After arriving in Tianjin, if we can bring over some of Wu Sangui's Guan Ning Army, plus Tianjin's defenders and Tianjin Guard's navy, there will be 10,000 to 20,000 people.

Already.

With this capital, he and Chongzhen are no longer naked, and it will be much easier to go to Nanjing to reorganize the country...

If Chongzhen didn't shed tears without seeing the coffin...then he would have to fight in the city of Beijing! But it didn't matter, Zhu Cixi was still a little sure of breaking out of the encirclement. Even if he had to fight in Beijing for a few days, there was still some way to do it.

There are a lot of young men in Beijing. As long as there is money these days, someone will work hard!

And there is plenty of money in Beijing!

"Master Chitose, I've been waiting for you and dinner is ready. Can I pass it on to you now?"

At the gate of Duanben Palace, Dabao eunuch Huang Dabao had been waiting for a while. When he saw Zhu Cihong arriving, he hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

Huang Dabao was responsible for Zhu Cixiang's food. I don't know when the imperial dining room of the Ming Dynasty palace stopped cooking for the emperor, prince, empress, empress dowager, princess and concubine because the food in the imperial dining room was too high.

It's unpalatable, the cost is high, and it's not cost-effective. We might as well start separate groups and let the eunuchs who serve the master take charge.

For example, Zhu Cihong had one hundred and fifty taels of food expenses a month, and he left it all to Huang Dabao, a foodie eunuch, and he did a pretty good job.

"Let's eat something together." Zhu Cixiang turned to Zhu Chunjie, the head guard of the East Palace, Bi Jiucheng, the scribe, Qiu Zhizhong, the accompanying eunuch, and a dozen other guards, "You all come and have dinner with me. Dabao, that's enough.

Do you want to eat?”

"Enough, enough." Huang Dabao agreed.

"Dabao, please come too." Zhu Cixiang smiled and said, "Let's have a fun dinner together. I still have something to say to you."

Seeing that a disaster is imminent, even with the dragon's liver and phoenix's marrow, Zhu Cihong can't taste it. The most important thing is to use the opportunity of eating to stabilize his core team.

Wu Xiang's servants and the trapped heroes of the capital were still on the periphery of Zhu Cixi's power circle. The real core was still the guards around him, the eunuchs close to him, and the officials in the East Palace. Although these people are not good people, they are not good at the moment.

Just use them.

"Zhu Chunjie, Bi Shishu, you have been with me for a day today, do you know what I want to do?" Zhu Cixiang said to his head guard Zhu Chunjie and Shishu Bi Jiucheng while picking up vegetables and cooking rice.

"I know, but, just..." Zhu Chunjie didn't know what to say.

"I know it too." Bi Jiucheng's forehead was covered in cold sweat as he spoke!

Among all Zhu Cixiang's close ministers and eunuchs, they are the two who have the most consistent interests with Zhu Cixiang. Because the eunuchs and teachers around Zhu Cixiang are all old, they may not be able to survive Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen's brain is not good, but his body is not.

That's great, otherwise I wouldn't be able to handle so many official duties and endless mental blows!

Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen was only thirty-three years old this year. If he had lived to be more than sixty, those elderly eunuchs and civil servants would have died long ago. But Zhu Chunjie and Bi Jiucheng, who were young and strong, could no longer become Zhu Cihong's number one confidants.

So as long as everything is safe and sound, Zhu Chunchen will at least be a guard commander in the future, that is, the commander of the Imperial Guard. Bi Jiucheng will not be able to join the cabinet, and in the future, Bi Ge will be old!

But what Zhu Cihong did today was really out of line for a prince!

As a prince, he should not take the initiative to seize military power! This matter is hidden from the Holy Emperor now, but how many days can it be hidden? When the Holy Emperor finds out, the trouble will probably not be small. The deposed prince may not be able to do it, but the people around the prince

Most people will have to follow suit, and maybe even their lives will be involved.

"Just going out of line?" Zhu Cixiang understood what Zhu Chunjie and Bi Jiucheng were thinking, and said with a smile, "I also know that I am going out of line, but I am not afraid!"

"Master Qiansui, you..." Zhu Chunjie frowned and didn't know how to persuade him.

Bi Jiucheng also looked confused.

"Because I have a dream from Taizu!" Zhu Cixiang's tone suddenly became serious, "Taizu told me that Juyongguan has been sacrificed to the rebels by traitors, and the army of rebels will soon arrive outside Beijing! Can we save it now?

Daming, the only one who can save my father is me! For the sake of Daming and my father, what do I have to be afraid of?

And you also know what I have done today... Last month Wu Xiang offered a price of one million military pay. Today he didn't ask for anything. He wrote a letter to Wu Sangui to mobilize troops and dedicated his daughter to him.

This palace! Do you think Wu Xiang would be so easy to talk to without the blessing of Emperor Taizu Gao?"

He is giving encouragement to his closest confidants so that they can unite firmly around him.

While Zhu Cixiang was speaking, the announcement from the eunuch on duty suddenly sounded outside the door of Duanjing Palace: "Master Qian Sui, Mr. Wang Dugong wants to see you."

Wang Chengen is here.

"Invitation," Zhu Cixiang glanced at the people eating at the same table with him and whispered, "The news of the fall of Juyongguan has arrived!"

Wang Chengen had already walked in in a hurry, his face was pale. When he saw Zhu Cihong sitting there, he said anxiously: "Master Qiansui, Juyong Pass, Juyong Pass is really lost! Tang Tong, Du Zhizhi has failed the emperor's favor!"

Zhu Cixiang nodded, "How can what Taizu said in his dream be false? By the way, Wang Banban, have you eaten? If not, let's use some together. Dabao, go get some bowls and chopsticks."

Wang Chengen stepped forward and bowed, and then said: "Master Qiansui, the matter is urgent, how can you still sit still as usual?"

"There's no rush," Zhu Cixiang smiled, "there's still time to eat and sleep... Juyong Pass is still more than a hundred miles away, and the badaling mountain road is steep, which is not conducive to the passage of the army. It is estimated that Changping will be captured tomorrow, and the capital will be surrounded the day after tomorrow.

.You can rest and sleep peacefully tonight. Tomorrow night, you will travel to Tongzhou at night. You will definitely be able to escape from the tiger's mouth.

Wang Banban, don't be anxious, it's useless to be anxious. Let's eat something together and then go back and have a good sleep. Starting tomorrow, I'm afraid I'll have to work day and night again."

After listening to the conversation between Zhu Cihong and Wang Chengen, Zhu Chunjie, Bi Jiucheng, Huang Dabao, Qiu Zhizhong and others all forgot to eat and looked at Zhu Cihong with their mouths wide open. They didn't know what they were thinking.

Zhu Cixiang smiled and glanced at his men: "Everyone is tired, let's take a rest after dinner!

Zhu Chunjie, none of your people are allowed to leave today. They are all resting in Duanben Palace. Early tomorrow morning, you will leave the palace in person and ask Mr. Chen Rui, Li Shichun and Lin Zengzhi to take them to the inner school field.
Chapter completed!