Seeing the bandits defeated, the defenders on the city wall seemed to have lost their strength and sat down leaning against the battlements.
The bandits had been attacking the city for days, putting too much pressure on them.
What they are guarding is not only the city, but also their families and the people in the city.
"Woo!" Someone cried.
The crying seemed to be contagious, instantly covering the entire city.
The cries were mixed with joy, emotion, excitement, and indignation in the hearts of the people. This victory was so rare, and they paid for it with their lives.
vomit--
The crying only lasted for a moment before disappearing, replaced by various vomiting sounds.
Because the scene outside the city was unbearable to look at.
Wherever you look, there are corpses everywhere.
The corpses left behind by the bandits during their days of siege, plus the corpses left behind by both sides in today's field battle, have made the entire capital city surrounded by corpses.
The blood dyed the earth red, and broken limbs and corpses were scattered all over the wilderness.
Chongzhen stood beside Lieutenant General Li, resisting the urge to vomit and said, "Lieutenant General Li, arrange for the people to clean up the battlefield. Although the bandits have retreated temporarily, they will come back sooner or later."
"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant General Li shook his head, forced himself to calm down, and began to arrange people to clean up the battlefield.
"Lieutenant General Li, your men will continue to repair the collapsed city walls. Lao Zhang, you will take a thousand men out of the city to clean up the battlefield."
"Collect all usable armor and weapons, clean them and keep them for future use."
"The horses that were killed will be brought back for meat, and all the soldiers who died in our army will be buried on the slope in the southwest of the city. The bodies of the bandits will all be piled together and burned. If we don't burn them, it will cause plague."
"The rest of you on the city walls, keep your eyes open to prevent sneak attacks from the enemy!"
Seeing that Lieutenant General Li had arranged everything in an orderly manner, Chongzhen no longer cared and hurried back to the imperial city with only a few dozen people.
He was worried about Queen Zhou.
In this battle, not only were the defenders of the capital city withdrawn, but even the defenders of the imperial city were reduced to only a few hundred people, and most of them were eunuchs in the inner court.
As soon as I arrived at the gate of the Qianqing Palace, I saw Queen Zhou and a group of concubines waiting outside the palace.
"Your Majesty!" Queen Zhou's pretty face was filled with anxiety.
She had known that today's battle was a matter of life and death for the Ming Dynasty, so she gathered all the concubines in the harem at the gate of the Qianqing Palace.
Once the capital was captured, she would commit suicide with these concubines without hesitation.
Even if I die, I must maintain the dignity of the royal family.
"Empress, my beloved concubines! Today our army won a great victory, and the bandits have retreated!"
Queen Zhou and the other concubines breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. The former was relieved for Daming, while the latter was relieved because they did not have to be buried with the emperor.
"Okay, all of you go back to the palace. I will drink with you another day."
"As you wish." The concubines bowed and stood up to leave.
"Your Majesty, I am guilty!" After the others walked away, Queen Zhou suddenly knelt down. Her graceful figure swayed in the wind, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.
"Crime?" Chongzhen was a little confused. He reached out and helped Empress Zhou up, then said, "What crime has the Empress committed in charge of the harem?"
"If there is no urgent matter, let's talk about it another day! Now I just want to have a good rest and prepare for tomorrow's court battle. There are bad people in the capital. If we don't eradicate these people, the capital and the Ming Dynasty will not be stable."
Queen Zhou lowered her head and spoke in a low voice: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that the capital will be destroyed and the royal family will be humiliated. So I decided to let my father stay in the palace and die with me..."
Chongzhen was stunned.
I didn't expect this woman to be so strong...
He stretched out his hands and held Queen Zhou in his arms, never wanting to let her go.
After hugging her for a while, Chongzhen remembered something and asked Empress Zhou, "Where is the Earl of Jiading now?"
"In a side room of Kunning Palace."
"I just happened to be looking for him for something, so I asked him to come to the Qing Palace to meet me."
Queen Zhou thought that Chongzhen wanted Zhou Kui to continue donating money, so she couldn't say anything and could only go and inform him in person.
A moment later, Jiading Earl Zhou Kui arrived at the Qianqing Palace.
"Your Majesty, I, Zhou Kui, pay my respects to you!"
This time, he was no longer as rebellious as before.
After all, the emperor’s previous warning is still ringing in his ears.
If he is not careful, the little wealth he has accumulated will probably be lost.
Chongzhen stood up, walked quickly to Zhou Kui, and helped him up personally: "My Lord, please stand up without any formalities."
Zhou Kui glanced at Chongzhen out of the corner of his eye, and when he saw a smile on the other person's lips, he suddenly felt cold all over.
broken!
This son-in-law is probably eyeing his past...
Last time, the emperor took advantage of the opportunity of moving south to cheat him of half of his property. Who knows what kind of trouble will happen this time.
"Your Majesty, I...I really have no money at home. Even if I want to reimburse the court, I can't do anything...!"
Chongzhen said nothing, and ordered Wang Chengen: "Give the father-in-law a seat."
After Wang Chengen brought a chair, Zhou Kui refused to sit down. "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace. I have had hemorrhoids recently and cannot sit down."
Is Zhou Kui sick?
Of course not.
He was afraid that the chair would be charged, so he didn't dare to sit on it.
Chongzhen did not force him, and asked with a smile: "My Lord, I have something to ask you, and I hope you can answer truthfully."
"I will tell you everything I know!"
"Good! I want to know if you, Lord Father-in-law, have any caravans or businesses that trade with the Tatars?"
Zhou Kui hesitated for a moment, then nodded in agreement helplessly.
Chongzhen’s tricks were too sophisticated. He was afraid that his business would be confiscated as soon as he denied it.
"What kind of business?"
"Food, horses, cotton, linen, silk, salt, furs, cattle and sheep..."
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