Chapter 365: Capturing Li Zicheng Alive
Zhao Xiaofei discovered a mechanism, but he didn't dare press it casually. He was afraid that he or his elder brother would suddenly fall into a hole.
"Come here!" Zhao Xiaofei immediately shouted to the soldiers behind him.
"This should be the entrance to the tunnel. Search it carefully!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun left the Hall of Supreme Harmony and waited outside.
After a while, someone reported that there was indeed a tunnel inside, but the soldiers who went down died inside.
"Throw grenades and smoke bombs inside!" said Zhao Xiaokun.
The soldiers started by throwing a grenade inside. They heard the explosion but no screams. So they threw another smoke grenade, a homemade tear gas grenade made by Wanshan.
After a while, many people were forced out. The Kenan Army wore masks and brought these people over.
There weren't many men, and the leader was surprisingly a woman. She looked disheveled and tearful, but her clothes suggested she was wearing the Empress's clothes. Dashun's clothes were almost identical to those of the Ming Dynasty.
"Wash her, I want to ask her some questions!" said Zhao Xiaofei.
The soldiers simply poured water from the water tank next to the palace on her. After a while, the woman was finally able to speak.
She came up and cursed: "You bastard! You Ming court lackey! You shall not die well! I, the Dashun, saved the people from disaster, but you are doing the opposite, you..."
With a slap, a soldier slapped the woman in the face.
"How dare you talk nonsense in front of the prince!" the soldier on the side cursed.
"You will die a horrible death!" Then she stood up and was about to rush towards Zhao Xiaofei.
Zhao Xiaofei had no time to show mercy to the woman. He kicked her in the stomach.
The woman howled and screamed, clutching her stomach.
"Stop screaming, or I'll strip you naked and throw you on the street!" Zhao Xiaofei said fiercely.
This sentence really worked, and she immediately stopped moving. These days, many women would rather commit suicide than be humiliated.
"What's your name? Who are you to Li Zicheng?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"My name is Gao Guiying! I'm the queen of King Chuang!" said Gao Guiying.
"Where did Li Zicheng go?" Zhao Xiaofei asked.
"I don't know!" Gao Guiying said, with a cold look in her eyes.
"You don't want to tell me, right? Come here, this is the queen of the rebel Li Zicheng, and she is given to you brothers to enjoy. Serve the queen well!" Zhao Xiaofei sneered.
"A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated!" Gao Guiying cried.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Zhao Xiaofei signaled the soldiers to stay here. Several soldiers began to tear her clothes like wolves and tigers. Gao Guiying finally broke down and cried out, "I'll tell you, I'll tell you!"
Zhao Xiaofei signaled the soldiers to stop, and several soldiers immediately let her go. Zhao Xiaofei pinched Gao Guiying's chin and said, "Tell me the truth, or I will make you wish you were neither alive nor dead!" Then he pushed her away.
"King Chuang dug a large passage under this palace, but I don't know how to get out. I just wanted to come out and take the princess away, but I didn't expect to be blocked by you in the palace!" Gao Guiying said crying.
"Where is the cave entrance? Go and point it out to the soldiers. If you make a contribution, I can find a good family for you to live with." Zhao Xiaofei said.
"I just want to die quickly!" said Gao Guiying.
Zhao Xiaofei signaled to take her down to find the cave entrance, but Wu Sangui and his men soon found many cave entrances. However, the cave entrance Gao Guiying pointed out was the most valuable, as it contained the most enemies.
After Gao Guiying finished pointing, she immediately took advantage of a soldier's inattention and slammed her head against a pillar, her head covered in blood. She was already dead.
Dozens of tear gas bombs were thrown at once, and there was a constant coughing sound inside.
They were not afraid of death, but this feeling, which was worse than death, made them completely collapse.
"Let me out, I surrender!"
"I surrender!"
"Give me a quick death!"
"You son of a bitch, the imperial court..."
When the cave entrance opened, the rebels ran out in a panic.
This time, the ones who escaped were all big fish, Niu Jinxing, Song Xiance, Liu Zongmin, and other civil and military officials. Li Zicheng was the last to be carried out, having been fainted by the smoke.
"Long live! Long live!"
"Great Ming will win! Great Ming will win! Great Ming will win!"
The soldiers shouted excitedly, some even cried, shouting that they could finally go home.
However, Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin all looked unhappy. So many people had died, and in the end, Li Zicheng was not captured by them. The golden medal of immunity from death flew away from them.
Zhao Xiaofei and Zhao Xiaokun certainly saw what they were thinking, but they didn't say anything.
After cleaning up the Xi'an Imperial Palace and changing the plaque to Xi'an Palace, Zhao Xiaofei called everyone together in the original Hall of Supreme Harmony to discuss matters.
Zhao Xiaofei sat on it. Of course, the dragon throne had been removed and replaced with an ordinary chair. The soldiers knelt on the ground and saluted.
"Everyone, get up! Today, Xi'an City has been captured. There are finally no more rebels in the country, and the people can finally live a good life. You have all made great contributions. I will definitely report to the court to commend you." Zhao Xiaofei said.
Looking at Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin kneeling below, Zhao Xiaofei continued, "I have said before that if you capture Xi'an and capture Li Zicheng alive, the court will reward you with a thousand gold coins and grant you a golden medal of immunity from death. Although it was the traitor Gao who reported you, you have performed bravely in the Battle of Xi'an and suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin, each of you will receive one golden medal of immunity from death."
Wu Sangui, Kong Youde, Geng Jingzhong, and Shang Zhixin's eyes immediately brightened after hearing this. They finally put down a stone in their hearts. Kong Youde was a master of acting, and he immediately cried out, "I, your humble servant, thank you for your grace, Your Highness!" After that, he immediately kowtowed to Zhao Xiaofei.
The other three also kowtowed in gratitude. Wu Sangui said, "We have committed crimes before, but fortunately, Your Majesty has graciously allowed us to atone for our mistakes. Your grace is like a rebirth. We will never hesitate to go through fire and water for the Ming Dynasty!"
In the capital, during a court meeting inside the Forbidden City, Princess Kunxing trembled as she held the memorial announcing victory, tears streaming down her face. The court officials also sobbed quietly. This memorial did not bring joy, but instead plunged everyone into mourning for Chongzhen.
"Father!" Princess Kunxing shouted, and the memorial fell from her hands.
She ignored the ministers standing there and ran towards Jingshan. She wanted to go to the place where her father committed suicide and tell him that his revenge would finally be avenged.
Princess Kunxing knelt before the old crooked tree and cried, "Father, do you see? After years of hard work, my husband and I have finally restored the capital and brought peace to the world. Now the thief has been apprehended and will be brought to the capital. I, your son, will personally oversee his execution! Blood debt must be repaid with blood!"
I've been sick these past two days and haven't updated. I'm really sorry!
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