"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Even if there were 100,000 pigs, the rebels wouldn't be able to catch them all in a day!"
In Yiku Palace, Wanli, who suddenly heard the bad news, felt like he had lost his parents.
In fact, he should be thankful for his wisdom and for not leading the army in person. Otherwise, if he was lucky, he would be the second chariot god of Gaoliang River, and if he was unlucky, he would be the second Baozong.
But at this time, he couldn't care less. He just wanted to escape this miserable life, so he lay in Concubine Zheng's arms, motionless, not thinking, just mumbling over and over again: "This is not real, I must be having a nightmare, everything will be fine when I wake up..."
The greatest effect of the Battle of Sanhe was not to wipe out the three battalions of Emperor Wanli's trump card troops in one fell swoop, but to deal a devastating blow to the resistance will of the Ming Dynasty from top to bottom.
In this battle, Zhu Yijun gave his all, taking advantage of the weather, the terrain, and the people. He besieged 10,000 of his own troops with ten times the number of elite troops, but was annihilated in one battle! He lost completely and without any excuse.
At that time, many people did not know that among the 10,000-strong detachment of the local soldiers, there was actually the group’s most elite internal security detachment, and they thought they were all local armed forces of Tangshan.
Therefore, the feeling becomes stronger and stronger, the gap is so big that it makes people despair! It is futile to resist further.
No one is willing to make meaningless sacrifices anymore... Even if dynasties change, it will still be the world of the Han people, so why take it so seriously?
As a result, the balance of victory was completely tilted, and the Ming Dynasty's decline was irreversible. Many officers of the government army also judged the situation and turned back in time.
On the day after the Battle of Sanhe, Wang Huaxi, the commander-in-chief of Yongping and the commander-in-chief of the anti-rebelion movement, invited Du Tong, the commander-in-chief of Baoding, Zhang Chen, the commander-in-chief of Changhua, and a group of eunuchs who supervised the army to his camp in the name of discussing countermeasures.
Wang Huaxi "smashed the cup as a signal, and all the swordsmen and axemen came out", slaughtered all the eunuchs, then announced his resignation and returned home, handing over the seal of the commander-in-chief to Zhang Chen.
The next day, Zhang Chen and Du Tong jointly announced an uprising, and the three armies surrendered to the Jiangnan Group and Zhao Hao...
In the blink of an eye, the Wanli Emperor's army of more than 200,000 soldiers who defended the capital was reduced to only more than 10,000 soldiers under the Imperial Stables and his 3,000 guards.
In order to show their loyalty to their new master and to save the lives of more than 90,000 troops, Zhang Chen Du Tong immediately led his troops to attack Tongzhou. In Tongzhou City, as soon as the news of the annihilation of the three camps came, the defenders fled. The two of them easily captured this warehouse city with 19.8 million shi of grain.
Fortunately, the two men were sensible enough to know that the attack on the capital was of great political significance, and they did not dare to take the credit away from the Tangshan garrison.
However, Zheng Yiluan had no intention of crossing the Chaobai River. He sent part of the army to escort the more than 50,000 prisoners back to Tangshan, and he led the rest of the army to continue building the railway to the northwest step by step, as if he would not stop until he reached Mentougou.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Commander Zheng did not dare to take credit for the conquest of the capital. People speculated that he was probably waiting for Zhao Hao to personally capture the city.
But at this point, unless one is insane, no one will doubt that it will be effortless for the Jiangnan Group to capture the capital.
Rumors spread in Beijing that the Jiangnan Group would kill all the eunuchs after entering the city. They also said that Wanli would be shot to comfort the spirit of Hai Gong in heaven...
The eunuchs and would-be eunuchs were so frightened that they fled overnight. Most of the men without prostitutes in the capital disappeared in the blink of an eye.
~~
At this critical moment of historical turning point, people would not pay attention to the fate of small figures. The eyes of the whole world were focused on Zhao Hao and Wanli.
In late April, the Jiangnan Daily published Zhao Hao's "Letter to Fellow Countrymen".
In addition to reiterating the promise of the "Dockside Speech" - abolishing the imperial system, eliminating the family monarchy, and establishing a nation-state where every citizen has a share of responsibility for the fate of the country, he also announced three things:
First, Chinese people do not fight against Chinese people. We call on the generals of all towns and provinces across the country to learn from Zhang Chen and Du Tong, respond to the uprising, and end the civil war as quickly as possible.
Second, local governments must prioritize the safety of people's lives and property and maintain peace on the ground. In view of the excessive exploitation of the people by the incompetent monarchs and vassal kings, starting from this year, taxes will be exempted for three years! All government and military expenses will be borne by the Jiangnan Group.
Third, urge Wanli to surrender and unconditionally accept the people's trial...
When you have powerful military force to back you up, a powerful article that hits the nail on the head will often work better.
At the end of April, twelve generals, including Yang Siwei, the general of Jizhen; Li Rusong, the general of Xuanfu; Dong Yiyuan, the general of Datong; Ma Gui, the general of Gansu; Yang Shaoxun, the general of Ningxia, and You Jixian, the general of Shandong, announced their uprising one after another.
The Ming Dynasty had less than thirty generals in total, and with the four generals from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong who had already defected, more than 70% of them had now abandoned their emperor...
The remaining less than 30%, such as the Sichuan General, Yunnan General, Guizhou General, Guangxi General, etc., are either in remote areas and have poor information, or are not very smart, but still want to be loyal to our emperor.
Of course, there are also people like Qi Jiguang, the general of Liaodong, who keep silent.
Provincial governors and county magistrates also rushed to hang up the sun, moon and seven-star flag.
Even the governor of Sanbian, Wei Xuezeng, acquiesced to the uprising declaration written by his staff...
What does it mean to be determined by a single order? What does it mean to be the general trend? This is fully demonstrated at this moment.
Of course, the news that the 50,000 soldiers of the First Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army had landed in Caofeidian also greatly accelerated the speed at which the civil and military officials changed their flags...
~~
The bad news spread into the Forbidden City one after another, bringing the dead Wanli back to life.
There was no other way. If he continued to pretend to be dead, he would be killed by the rebels.
He did not have the courage of King Zhou to burn himself to death, nor did he dare to say to the mirror like Yang Guang: "Magic mirror, magic mirror, who is the most..." Oh no, it should be "Good head and neck, who should chop it off?"
You have to find a way to save yourself...
Moreover, Empress Dowager Li no longer chanted Buddhist scriptures and went to the outside of the Yikun Palace to curse him every day. Why did she just be soft-hearted and not depose this unjust and incompetent emperor?
If his younger brother had taken over at that time, how could the ancestral kingdom have ended up in this state?
He even ordered people to drive Zheng, the witch, out of the palace...
But Empress Dowager Li no longer had the deterrent power she once had. Wanli asked Zheng to hide somewhere else first, and then asked her uncle to send his mother back to the palace so that he could quietly think of a solution.
He finally remembered his aunt, Princess Ning'an, who was under house arrest in Chuxiu Palace.
Ning An was also unlucky. She felt sorry for Zhao Shouzheng and wanted to give him a good vacation. It was the first time she didn't spend the New Year with him. As a result, she and her son were locked up by her eldest nephew.
Of course, Wanli didn't dare to do anything to his aunt. He fed her well and served her well, but he just didn't allow her to contact outsiders.
So he asked Zhang Hong to invite her, but Ning An had such a bad temper that she ignored him.
Wanli had no choice but to go to Chuxiu Palace in person to apologize to his aunt.
Chuxiu Palace was a five-room structure with three bright rooms and two dark rooms. Ning An lived in the east room with the best lighting.
She had been clear-headed and sharp-eyed all her life, but she still thought it was too dark. After being placed under house arrest last winter, she ordered Wanli to replace all the windows with glass ones.
It was already late when Wanli went in, but Ning An had just finished combing her hair and was sitting in front of a mirror held by a palace maid, carefully drawing her eyebrows, brushing her temples, and applying powder and rouge.
Wanli was speechless after seeing this, thinking that she was an old widow in her sixties and yet she had no time to rest.
Of course, I have to admit that Ning An is very well maintained, with delicate skin, and looks only in her forties. She is almost two generations older than Zhao Shouzheng...
"If this woman doesn't care about dressing herself up, what's the point of living?" Ning An saw Wanli in the mirror and sneered, "You remember that you have an aunt now?"
"Aunt, you are so heartless to say that." Wanli couldn't hold back his anger and said, "Your good son-in-law is going to destroy our ancestors' kingdom, and you still have the nerve to blame me for keeping you under house arrest?!"
Ning An was silent for a moment, then ordered, "Go serve the emperor some mung bean soup to cool him down. His mouth is full of stench, which is enough to kill him..."
Wanli snorted in frustration. It really stinks.
"I know what you are here for, but it's useless to look for me. I am no longer the chairman of Xishan Group." Ning An said lightly.
"Aunt, you can't do this!" Wanli suppressed his anger and said, "Without your protection and connivance, how could Zhao Hao grow up to be a disaster in the world in just twenty years? You are also guilty of a great sin! If it weren't for the deep relationship between us, I would have..."
"Just give me a zhang of yellow silk." Ning An said calmly: "Crane's Beak Red is also fine. Or if you want to torture your own aunt, I can only bear it..."
"Aunt, it's already this time, how can we not be angry?" Wanli burst into tears again and said, "My death is not a pity, but the country of our ancestors cannot be lost! Aunt, don't forget, you are also the daughter of the Emperor!"
"Then do you know who my mother is?" Ning An suddenly said quietly.
Wanli was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered.
Ning An's mother, Concubine Cao Duan, was framed in the Renyin Palace Incident and was executed by slow slicing - Concubine Cao Duan thus became the concubine who suffered the most cruel punishment in history! Even worse than Concubine Qi who was turned into a human pig.
Ning An was only five years old at the time, but she could already remember things. Later, she and her older sister were sent out of the palace.
A few years later, her elder sister, who had been dependent on her for life, also passed away, leaving her alone, year after year, with no one paying attention to her...
Unexpectedly, she harbored such deep hatred in her heart.
"It was Empress Fang who killed your mother? Grandfather Emperor is still recovering from her injuries." Wanli's clever little brain recalled the secrets of that time and said, "Besides, when the West Palace caught fire later, Grandfather Emperor did not allow the eunuchs to put out the fire and let Empress Fang burn to death. Wasn't that also revenge for your mother?"
"So I shouldn't have any hatred?" Ning An sneered, his eyes bloodshot as he said, "What crime did my mother commit? Why did she have to endure the torture of 3,600 cuts? She exposed her breasts and was cut painfully by the knives. She screamed for three days and three nights but she still hasn't died!"
As she spoke, she suddenly raised her voice and asked, "Do you think there is a way to wipe out this grudge?!"
"So you just let Zhao Hao seize our ancestors' kingdom?" Wanli finally understood that they had been in the same group from the beginning to the end.
"Yes, I knew what he was going to do from the beginning." Ning An smiled grimly and said, "It would be a good thing to let this damned Forbidden City go to hell!"
"Women are so unreasonable!" Wanli was furious, helpless and furious...