Chapter 113 Dark Hour
Zhao Xiaofei emerged from the Hall of Mental Cultivation. All the officials, except Wei Zaode, approached to ask the emperor what he meant. Zhao Xiaofei replied, "It's all about how to repel the enemy and how to raise funds! Everyone, I'll take my leave now!"
Zhao Xiaofei left immediately after he finished speaking. Wang Chengen then came out and called the other ministers in. The reason Zhao Xiaofei had urged Chongzhen to let the prince go first was to upset Chongzhen. It also made him suspect that he was using the emperor to control the princes, so that he would not be willing to help defend the city.
As for Gong Yonggu and Qi Zanyuan, I guess they thought the same thing! They are Chongzhen's uncles, and Chongzhen won't do anything to them! As for donating the silver, one is to calm Chongzhen's anger, and the other is that since there is so much silver that can't be taken away anyway, it's better to show your presence now! When you get to Jiangnan, let those ministers know who is paying their salaries? Who is the boss!
Just after returning to her own mansion, Princess Kunxing came to Zhao Xiaofei and asked, "Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu just said that they would give all the silver to the emperor. Is that true?"
"Yes! Your Majesty has no money left, and the other ministers are unwilling to donate. If we don't help him at this time, who will? Don't we still have a few thousand taels left?" Zhao Xiaofei said.
"That's not what I meant! I'm asking whether the capital can be saved?" asked Princess Kunxing.
Zhao Xiaofei grabbed Kunxing's hand and said, "I don't have confidence right now! How about you go to Nanjing first? That way I'll feel more at ease!"
"No! Even if I die, I want to die with you! I will not go to Nanjing alone!" Princess Kunxing said firmly.
Zhao Xiaofei looked into Princess Kunxing's eyes and said, "Okay! If the city is broken, I will escape! Will you come with me?"
"Marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog! I will go wherever you go!" said Princess Kunxing.
Zhao Xiaofei sighed and said, "I may not be capable enough to save the Ming Dynasty!"
"Husband! If that day really comes, I will go with you! I won't blame you if you can't save my father and the others!" Princess Kunxing looked at Zhao Xiaofei and said word by word.
"Okay! I'll do my best!" Zhao Xiaofei took Princess Kunxing's hand, pulled her into his arms, and gently kissed her forehead.
Li Zicheng and Liu Fangliang reunited, with Li Zicheng leading his troops and encamping near Deshengmen. Liu Fangliang, on the other hand, camped outside Yongdingmen and near Lianhuachi. This created a situation where the capital was surrounded on three sides and one was left vulnerable. Li Zicheng, looking at the capital approaching, felt a surge of pride in his heart. He asked his military advisor, Song Xiance, "Military advisor! Are you confident we can capture the capital?"
Song Xiance said, "I wasn't sure before I came here, but now I'm very confident! I heard from Tang Tong that there's a plague running rampant in this city. Many soldiers in the Beijing camp can't even stand, so how can they fight? There are rats running around in the Emperor Chongzhen's treasury, how can he pay his soldiers? We can make a feint attack tomorrow to test the waters!"
"Okay! The throne of the world will be passed down in turns. I am no longer a bandit. I want to be the real emperor, and my words are law!" said Li Zicheng.
Song Xiance, Niu Jinxing, Liu Zongmin and other civil and military officials immediately shouted "Long live the city!" Li Zicheng looked out at the majestic city and couldn't help imagining himself sitting on the throne.
The next day, Zhao Xiaofei got up after hearing a cannon shot. He took a carriage to Yanyu Tower, where Wanshan and Zhou Shuai were waiting for him. Today was the last meeting, and Zhao Xiaofei asked, "How is it going? Are you ready?"
"Everything is ready! Weapons and armor have been distributed! They are the most loyal soldiers, and their wives, children and elders have also been sent to Nanjing!" said General Zhou.
"Is there enough ammunition?" Zhao Xiaofei asked Wanshan.
"It's no problem to attack Tianjin!" Wanshan said.
"Okay! I have prepared two jeeps for you, right in the backyard. Once we rescue the prince, leave immediately! This is the badge! Keep it safe! I gave the commander of Chaoyang Gate 30,000 taels of silver, and he guaranteed that we can all pass smoothly." After Zhao Xiaofei finished speaking, he handed the badge to the two men.
"What about the princess? I don't think she will leave until she sees you!" Zhou Shuai said.
"Follow Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu to my house later and tie her up for me." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"What if the princess threatens to commit suicide?" Wanshan asked.
"No! Jixiang Ruyi will be serving her breakfast soon. I put sleeping pills in her food. When you go there, she'll probably be asleep," Zhao Xiaofei said. He had already told Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu not to follow him today. He gave them the medicine and asked them to watch over the princess.
"The other mansions are easy to take! It's just that the Wu family is difficult to attack, and the imperial edict may not work on them. If it worked, Wu Sangui would have gone to Beijing to defend the king long ago!" said General Zhou.
"There are Chen Yuanyuan, Wu Xiang, Wu Sanfeng, Wu Sanfu, yes! Plus Wu Sanmei! There are five people in their family alone, this is too many!" Wanshan said.
"These people in their family are too important to Wu Sangui. If you want to alienate Wu Sangui from the Jianlu, you must take away the most important people in their family! The closer we get to the Wu family, the less the Jianlu will trust Wu Sangui! Isn't Wu Sanmei not very old and not married yet? Let her marry my eldest brother!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Okay then! You should be careful too! Let's go!" Zhou Shuai and Wan Shan said and left.
Zhao Xiaofei traveled directly back to the modern era. He had previously brought his elder brother back to modern Beijing from Nanjing. He asked his elder brother to wait for him at the crossing point. When Zhao Xiaokun saw his younger brother return, he asked, "Has Li Zicheng reached the capital?"
"Well! The bombardment started this morning! History says that Li Zicheng took the capital in two days and two nights. We have to hurry!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
"Don't worry! We have a full set of equipment with us! It should be no problem to wake them up!" Zhao Xiaokun said confidently.
Zhao Xiaofei brought his eldest brother back to the Ming Dynasty and returned to the mansion. Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu came over and said, "Master! The princess and the others have been taken away! And the servants Jixiang Ruyi and Liu Gongzheng are also here!"
"That's good! What? Why bring Liu Gongzheng? Are you going to make things difficult for me?" Zhao Xiaofei was fine at first, but then he thought, what? Why bring that palace maid?
"The princess is very nice on weekdays, and we can't live without her. So we..." Xiao Wen said.
"You two will lose your wages this month! If this happens again, you'll lose all your wages this year!" Zhao Xiaofei was furious. He had never considered taking this old woman with him. He thought, let her stay in Beijing and let fate decide whether she lived or died.
"Young Master! We know we were wrong!" Xiao Wu said.
"Okay! Stop talking nonsense! Get ready, we are going to break into the palace at night!" After Zhao Xiaofei finished speaking, Xiao Wen and Xiao Wu took a breath.
"What? Are you scared?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"Young Master! Let's go with the princess!" Xiao Wen said.
Zhao Xiaofei got angry when he heard this and said, "Get lost!"
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