Chapter 19: Night in the Capital (I)
one
The night in the capital was as gentle as water. It was a warm weather, but in the mind of Emperor Chongzhen, it was definitely not a warm time. The Guanning Iron Cavalry was all gone, Hong Chengchou and others also surrendered to Tang Yu, and Emperor Chongzhen had no money left. Although Tang Yu had not yet captured the capital, everyone knew that the Ming Dynasty was really over.
Just two days ago, another general and his soldiers surrendered to Tang Qi, leaving the defense of the entire capital city in vain. The huge capital city was like a ripe peach, waiting for Tang Qi to pick it. At this time, Emperor Chongzhen had no thoughts in his mind. The ministers who used to be busy fighting for power in the hall were now quiet. Emperor Chongzhen could fully imagine that what these ministers were thinking at this time must be how to surrender. I am not the king of a country, but they are all his ministers. I have no way out, but these ministers do not have to worry about their own retreat. In fact, after surrendering to Prince Tang, these people can still enjoy wealth and glory.
The clear night was beautiful. Emperor Chongzhen took a deep breath, breathing greedily. This might be the last breath in his life, which made Emperor Chongzhen feel like breathing greedily. Emperor Chongzhen was not afraid of death. It was very painful for him to be an emperor. The pain made him indifferent to death. Once life is about to end, everything may no longer be obsessed with, and all the pain may no longer be the pain in the heart. Although he was in a bad mood and there was infinite grief in his heart, Emperor Chongzhen really felt relieved.
"Your Majesty, it's late at night..." Wang Cheng'en said softly. This eunuch who was once very greedy for money, this eunuch who was once very good at manipulating the sleeves for power, at this time, may be the only loyal person around Emperor Chongzhen. Once things have reached an irreversible point, not only Emperor Chongzhen will feel relieved, but eunuch Wang Cheng'en will also feel relieved.
Sometimes in life, there is nothing more difficult than death, but not many people can see through this. Those who usually shout about loyalty to the emperor and patriotism may be thinking about how to save their own lives and how to consider their own glory and wealth at this time. Those who can swear to stay with Emperor Chongzhen until death like Wang Chengen may be the kind of people who are looked down upon, the kind of people who do not put loyalty to the emperor and patriotism on their lips.
"Cheng'en... I understand. Look at the night. Isn't it beautiful? I haven't noticed it for a long time. I... just now realized that I may have missed a lot of beautiful things. Cheng'en... I don't want to sleep yet. It's rare that there are no memorials. I want to stay in this night for a while longer." Emperor Chongzhen said in a deep voice. He was not a sentimental poet, nor a hesitant person, but when he knew that time was running out, his heart was inevitably the most vulnerable.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty... This old servant will always be with Your Majesty throughout my life..." Wang Chengen smiled faintly. In the night, this smile was not very obvious, but it could be seen that this smile was very desolate but also very firm.
"I know. I have been with you, Cheng'en, for more than ten years. How could I not know what you are thinking, Cheng'en? It's a pity that Cheng'en didn't follow a promising master. You have suffered a lot in these years..." Emperor Chongzhen turned around and said to Wang Cheng'en with a slight smile. This smile contained some comfort and some relief.
"Your Majesty...I am not miserable. Really, meeting you, Your Majesty, is the luckiest thing in my life. Your Majesty, if there is an afterlife, I still hope to be your slave..." Wang Chengen knelt down, tears streaming down his face. There are some tears in life that are not of pain, but of excitement. Wang Chengen was very excited by Emperor Chongzhen's gentle words. As the saying goes, a scholar will die for his confidant. Wang Chengen, a eunuch, has nothing to do with the literati, but his heart and his behavior may be more upright than those of the literati.
Emperor Chongzhen helped Wang Chengen up. The night was cool, but undercurrents surged throughout the capital, as if a storm was about to come. At this time, the Lord of Changping walked on the capital's once bustling streets. But now the streets were no longer prosperous. Even if there were a few pedestrians on the streets, they were all in a hurry, as if something scary was hidden in the cool night. The hurried footsteps also struck the Lord of Changping's heart.
In the past, Princess Changping would never have been able to leave the palace without permission. But now, when people are in such a panic, the guards guarding the palace have become lazy one by one, and are thinking about their future in their hearts, so Princess Changping finally found an opportunity to run away with a personal maid.
At this time, Princess Changping naturally did not come out to appreciate the night view of the capital, no matter how beautiful the night view was, but Princess Changping felt a burning feeling in her heart. What she wanted to do was to go out of the city to meet Prince Tang who wanted to destroy the Ming Dynasty. What she wanted to do was not for her own destiny, but to hope that Prince Tang could let her father go. Since ancient times, when emperors were killed and their countries were destroyed, they often did not end up well. Princess Changping knew this, but in her heart, she still hoped that her father would be safe.
This might be the only thing that a weak woman like her could do for her father. At this time, Tang Li was also standing in the night of the capital, but Tang Li was standing outside the capital, with a starry sky and a night sky in front of her. The difference was the place where she was standing and her mood. But Tang Li's mood was not happy, but she had a very sad feeling, a dreamlike feeling. In the eyes of others, life, to achieve such a career, what a glorious scene it must be, but for Tang Li, a person who came later, everything was as unreal as a dream.
The tall city walls of the capital, the city walls of the capital that were like huge black shadows in the night, did not feel real in Tang Li's eyes at this time. The soldiers standing around Tang Li, their faint figures in the night, also gave Tang Li a very unreal illusion. Even the women standing beside him, such as Liu Rushi, Yuan'er, Li Xiangjun, made Tang Li feel dazed, as if it was a dream that was about to end.
"Your Highness, why don't you order an attack?" Liu Rushi was very surprised that Tang Qi just surrounded the capital but didn't let his soldiers attack. She couldn't figure out what Tang Qi was thinking at this time. She also didn't understand that the capital had become an empty city without troops, but Tang Qi just let his men surround it and didn't order an attack.
"Because I don't know if I'm dreaming or not. I also don't understand if I'll suddenly wake up when this dream reaches its final climax. Because, no matter in stories or legends, when this moment comes, it usually means the end. So, I don't know if I'll continue this dream..." Tang Qi smiled slightly. He knew in his heart that if he explained this feeling to Liu Rushi and the others, they wouldn't understand. But Tang Qi still said it. It was more like asking himself than saying it to Liu Rushi and the others.
Tang Qi's words were misunderstood by Liu Rushi and the others. They thought Tang Qi was overly excited because he was about to win. They didn't understand the feeling of a time traveler, like Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly. They also didn't understand that people like Tang Qi had some things that those who had reincarnated into the mortal world had seen through. So, Liu Rushi thought it was time to express her concern for Prince Tang. She quietly took Tang Qi's hand and said softly, "Prince, you are not dreaming now. You are making history now, creating a new country and dynasty."
"Yes, maybe what you said is right. I am creating a new history. Perhaps, it is because this nation has too many things that are unwilling to accept this period of history. Many people want to change this period of history..." This time, Tang Rushi murmured in a very low voice, so low that Liu Rushi, who was holding his hand beside him, could not hear it clearly.
"Your Highness, what did you just say?" Liu Rushi asked curiously. Although she was just a concubine of Tang Qi, Tang Qi was very kind to women like them and doted on them. So, generally speaking, Liu Rushi and the others were not afraid of Tang Qi, and would ask Tang Qi for clarification if there was anything.
"I didn't say anything. Look, what are they doing on the top of the city wall..." Tang Qi naturally would not tell his real secret. He changed the subject and pointed at the lights on the top of the city wall and said to Liu Rushi and the others.
At this time, on the top of the city wall, there were bright lights and noisy voices. It seemed that something had happened, which not only attracted Tang Qi's attention, but also attracted the attention of Liu Rushi and several other women. Tang Qi's eyesight was very good. In the light of the fire, Tang Qi saw a woman in white clothes as white as snow standing on the top of the city wall. The woman was so conspicuous in the fire.
Tang Qi felt that the woman seemed familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before. From such a distance, the woman's face was not very clear, but Tang Qi knew that the woman in white clothes as white as snow must be very beautiful.
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