Chapter 32 1.final threshold

The city of Beijing was finally captured by the Dashun Army. In fact, it is not appropriate to say "breakthrough". The Dashun army only bluffed at Pingzemen, Xizhimen and other places, fired a few artillery pieces, and pretended to attack the city. The gates of the city were opened by Cao Huachun and Wang Dehua's men. At that time, the inner and outer gates of Desheng and Xuanwu opened at the same time, and the soldiers and eunuchs who guarded the city took off their conscripts and boots and fled, so the Dashun army entered the city calmly. Before the city was broken, Emperor Chongzhen once wanted to break out of the siege. He personally held a musket and asked Wang Chengen to lead a group of trusted eunuchs to protect him and go out.But when he reached the Zhengyang Gate, he was forced to retreat under the pressure of bows, arrows and muskets from the eunuchs guarding the city. The emperor was originally a rare commodity in the hands of the eunuchs. , as a gift to meet Emperor Dashun, I dare not let him get away easily.

Emperor Chongzhen saw that he could not break through the encirclement. At this time, the queen and concubine Yuan had hanged themselves in the palace. He had to draw his sword and kill the princess, and then sent the prince and the other two sons out of the palace to join the home of the patriarch Zhou Kui.After dawn, he and Wang Dehua left Xuanwu Gate, climbed Meishan Mountain, and hanged himself under the old locust tree, while Wang Chengen hanged beside him. The death of Chongzhen declared the end of Zhu Ming's dynasty.Zhu Yuanzhang proclaimed himself emperor in 1368 when Wushen destroyed the Yuan Dynasty. The 16th biography passed to Zhu Youjian. Zhu Youjian proclaimed the first year of Chongzhen in 1628 in Wuchen. Until 1644 Jiashen committed suicide. The earthly branch is combined with "Shen", which is probably God's will.

Cao Huachun, Wang Dehua and others had already made an appointment with Du Xun, once the Dashun army attacked the city, they would open the city gate to welcome the surrender. At that time, the young general Luo Hu was in charge of attacking Dongzhimen in the Dashun Army.This Luo Hu is only in his twenties, and he is so brave in battle, but he doesn't obey the discipline. He has heard people talk about Beijing, how golden the palace is, how beautiful the palace is, and the beauties are like clouds. , rushed in and had a good time, so as soon as he arrived in Beijing, he called for a battle, full of energy for the siege.

On March 19th, just after dawn, he led people to prepare to attack the city. Unexpectedly, the city gate opened "rumbling" before the ladder was erected. He couldn't help it, so he took a group of little brothers Immediately drive straight in. This group of people were all riding tall horses, brave and capable, and once they entered the city, they rode their horses straight to the palace regardless of what happened.At this time, the eunuchs guarding the palace had long since fled. As if they had entered a land without people, they first stood in front of the Huangji Hall and looked up at the scale of the palace.

All the young generals couldn't help being dumbfounded, saying that it's no wonder everyone wants to be an emperor. It turns out that an emperor can live in such a house. In comparison, Qin Wang's Mansion in Chang'an and Jin Wang's Mansion in Taiyuan are simply earth temples. When they arrived at the harem, the group of concubines and court ladies who hadn't committed suicide all hid. There are so many corners in the palace, fake caves, small secret rooms, small alleys, and crooked corners, all of which can temporarily hide people.The generals didn't find the woman at first, but they were stunned by so many resplendent houses and luxurious furnishings. Therefore, Luo Hu jumped three times on the dragon bed of Queen Kunning Palace with his clothes and shoes on, and then rolled from this side. Go there, and then roll back to this side from there, singing nursery rhymes loudly:

"When the emperor sleeps on the dragon bed, the imperial concubine in his arms, the imperial concubine needs to pee in the middle of the night, and the sea dragon king—" The pawn beside him jokingly said: "Lord Luo, the thing about the imperial concubine is a gap." Luo Hu ignored the pawn, but stretched his legs on the dragon bed, and shouted loudly: "As long as I can be emperor for a day, it's worth being buried in the toilet after death." Having said that, those soldiers rolled on the dragon bed and dragon chair in turn... Li Zicheng did not enter the city right away, because the whereabouts of Chongzhen and the crown prince were unknown, and the search had to be stepped up. According to the prior arrangement, the imperial driver had to wait until after the Qing Palace before he was welcomed into the city by all the civil and military forces. When he entered the city, a grand entrance ceremony was held. This is already the third day after breaking the city.

Some situations were foreseen in advance, such as from which gate did the imperial driver enter, which palace did he temporarily stay in, who sent out the police to enter, who was the follower, and where were the other armies stationed?The prime minister, the military adviser and the general all made corresponding arrangements, but they did not expect the city gate to open so quickly, so the situation got out of control. When Li Zicheng sent Li Yan to suppress it with his Shangfang sword, small-scale robbery and The rape was almost over, and there were only the cries of the court ladies, and the laughter of the soldiers who had been suppressed for a long time and had vented themselves.

Although Li Zicheng was very annoyed by this, he didn't want to punish these people.Luo Hu is his confidant and beloved general, punishing him will inevitably leave a shadow on everyone's hearts, not to mention there are too many things that make him happy-fifteen years ago, he lost his livelihood due to the dismantling of the post station, and was forced to serve as a soldier ,rebel.At that time, it was just for my stomach, I thought, if I can have a full meal, I will be a full ghost even if I die.For fifteen years, I have fled here and there, going through life and death, victorious and defeated. At that time, I was exhausted all day long, thinking that this little life would be over sooner or later, and one day, like Gao Yingxiang, he would be captured and sent to Beijing to sacrifice his life. He was taken prisoner, and then tied to Caishikou, where he was cut into fish scales worth 36,000 knives from the imperial court. Right now, he can escape every day, as long as he doesn't die, he will earn money.I never thought that the mighty Ming Dynasty would one day be defeated by me. This is really "as long as the tree stumps are rotten, I am not afraid that there will be no mushrooms to eat." The sky is spinning, isn't that how Zhu Yuanzhang came here?

Didn't Song Xiance and Li Yan advocate the suspension of the march, saying that Zhu Ming would not die for a while? It seems that they also miscalculated. Otherwise, how could the impenetrable Beijing city be so vulnerable?Thinking of this, he couldn't help but get carried away, as if his whole body could fly. Because he was so happy that he couldn't help himself, he naturally didn't care about the minor faults of his subordinates, and only ordered the whole team to enter the city according to the arrangement of the military division.Emperor Yuan Shun escaped from Desheng Gate, and the escape of Emperor Yuan Shun announced the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty; now, Li Zicheng also entered through Desheng Gate to announce the beginning of another new court.

At this time, the inner and outer city gates of Beijing were opened together, and the people all burned incense and bowed to welcome him into the city. Along the way, they saw red paper with the character "Shun" stuck on the doors of every house, and everyone flocked to his gate. Matou looked up at his appearance and praised the bravery of the Dashun Army. At that time, there were crowds of people, and the alleys were empty. When the team arrived at Chengtian Gate, the tall palace gates of the Forbidden City were opened to him layer by layer. Looking from a distance, the majestic and majestic palaces seemed to be in the sky.

At this time, Li Zicheng's emotions were extremely high, he could only feel some buzzing in his ears, his heart was beating wildly in his chest, and when he looked up, he could only see a blur in front of his eyes, and Song Xiance, who was on the side, hadn't noticed any change in the emperor's expression , only urged again and again: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, shoot the arrow at Chengtian Gate." Before entering the palace, the emperor had to shoot an arrow at Chengtianmen himself. This was Song Xiance's prior arrangement, saying that this would be the only way to suppress the evil spirit in the palace.Li Zicheng was reminded by him, and immediately reached out to take the bow and arrow from the guards. He was a horseman and archer, and his arrow skills were very accurate. "If I hit the sky character, I will rule the world." After finishing speaking, he bent his bow and set an arrow, aiming at the plaque of Chengtianmen, but at this moment, the plaque of Chengtianmen with gold letters on a blue background, which was not far away, was a bit unrecognizable, and the three characters were even more blurred, so he had to look for himself. He shot an arrow in the direction of the sky, only to hear the sound of "Suddenly", the arrow flew out, and was actually nailed under the word "Heaven". Everyone couldn't help being stunned, Niu Jinxing quickly said: "Okay, Your Majesty shot the bottom of the word Tian, ​​isn't that what it means to secure the world?" So, everyone cheered and said long live together. Li Zicheng was stunned for a moment, but then he became happy again. He dropped his bow and walked straight forward. He saw five tall buildings protruding from the city tower in front of the very empty Daping. He knew at a glance that this was the Meridian Gate. At this time, all the civil and military personnel got off their horses in front of the Meridian Gate, and only Li Zicheng was still sitting proudly on his horse, and went straight to the front of Huangji Gate. Behind the Huangji Gate is the Emperor Zhengya Huangji Palace.According to the scheduled procedure, he will hold the official ascension ceremony in Huangji Hall, but before the ceremony, he can only live in the Wuying Hall on the right side of the main hall.Today, because it was just a city entry ceremony, he inspected the entire Forbidden City according to the prior arrangement, and he didn't have to rush to see the Emperor's Palace, but he couldn't help it, and he jumped off the black horse very easily without support from the left and right, and then With his head held high, he climbed up the stone steps step by step. Behind him, a large group of civil and military ministers followed with steady steps, and cast solemn and solemn eyes on him from a distance. At that moment, a gust of wind blew in front of him, he trembled, and even shivered - until then, he realized that something was wrong with him. Last night, I discussed with the Ministers of Civil and Military Affairs. I didn't sleep for half an hour before I heard the news that the city was broken. Luo Hu led people to rush into the city first.Then, the inner and outer city gates were opened together, and one wave after another announced the good news, this happened and that happened.Although the guards didn't dare to disturb him, Niu Jinxing listened to the report on his behalf and took timely measures, but the sound of horseshoes and conversations outside the tent entered his ears, and he couldn't sleep anymore, so he got up and washed, and prepared to enter the city , due to lack of sleep, the breakfast was tasteless. Although a large table was set up, I only ate a small piece of jujube cake and half a bowl of millet porridge. Next, he listened to the report on the whereabouts of Chongzhen and the crown prince, because this is a major event that cannot be taken carelessly.But even though the city was broken, there was no news of Chongzhen and his three sons. He couldn't help becoming anxious, thinking, he couldn't let Chongzhen get away.At the suggestion of Li Zhisheng, a minister of the Ming Dynasty, he ordered to offer heavy rewards to find the whereabouts of Chongzhen and the prince. Those who can capture Chongzhen will be named Marquis of Wanhu, those who can capture the prince will be named Earls, those who provide clues will be rewarded with five thousand gold, and the Yijiu who will not report. . After such a toss, he was already a little dizzy. At this time, it was time to enter the city. He was surrounded by people, and he walked for a short distance. He walked for almost half a day. Supported by this kind of excitement, he got carried away and didn't feel that there was anything unusual. He didn't want to jump off the horse. Only then did I feel the dizziness in my head worsened, and I felt like vomiting in my heart.There are so many steps in the palace, and there are also many thresholds, one on the left and one on the right, before going up and down, and going up and down again.After exiting the Huangji Gate, there is the Huangji Hall. The three-story white marble steps are not too high, but at this moment, in his eyes, they are as steep as a mountain. The legs are very heavy, and the eyes look a little foggy.I thought to myself, why are the stone steps so long? After climbing for so long, I haven't finished climbing them yet?Looking at the stone-carved dragon in the middle, it was looking at him with its fangs and claws, as if it was about to fly out to catch him, panicked, and its steps became a little chaotic. He thought, how did this happen? For more than ten years, when he went to war immediately, there were many cases where he was bothered by eating less food, even starving for several days in a row. He had always been able to maintain abundant energy. It seems that there must be too many things these days, too tired, like a wheel war, lack of sleep last night, and eating less this morning, all kinds of reasons come together, and the energy is a bit low. The legs are getting weaker.He pays attention to the left and right. There are only two eunuchs leading the way on both sides of the royal road. Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing are several steps away from him, and they are walking on the narrow steps on the side. It's the imperial way, and only the emperor can walk the imperial way. The so-called ladders are different, and there is a difference between honor and inferiority. Even if my own father and Laozi are there, I can only go on one side. I have been born and died for more than ten years, isn't it for this day?How can I let others stand shoulder to shoulder with me? This is very inappropriate.What are the three-level stone steps? For so many years, what kind of mountains and mountains have not been climbed, and what kind of rivers have not been waded. The small three-level white marble steps are so delicate in workmanship and so stable in placement. Just bear it for a while and it's over. Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and insisted on going up. Song Xiance has been watching his expression from behind.Although he was walking behind Niu Jinxing, because he was on the side, he could still sometimes see the emperor's face from a distance from the side. When he went up the last step, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the emperor's face turning pale, with cold sweat dripping from his forehead. He felt something was wrong, but he couldn't step forward past Liu Zongmin and Niu Jinxing, and he couldn't call others to go up, so he could only be anxious. The three-level white marble steps are finally finished, and the golden palace with carved dragons and painted phoenixes, the golden wall, and the throne are in front of you. Everyone can't help but stop and stand crowded in front of the platform, looking at the emperor in fear, waiting. The emperor stepped over the last wooden threshold to ascend to the hall. Li Zicheng stepped forward in a few steps. At this time, his eyes were more blurred and his head was swollen. He misread the high threshold in front of him. There was still a step and a half away from him, but he took a step to cross it. It was half a step. What a mistake, the leg that crossed many famous mountains and great rivers was tripped by this short, last wooden threshold, unable to hold the center of gravity, only heard a "thump", and fell heavily from outside the hall to inside the hall. This time, the civil and military behind him were stunned... The body of Emperor Chongzhen was finally found—Da Tianzi, who never admitted that he was the king of subjugation, finally ended his life in time. Only the eunuch Wang Chengen was able to die with his own body. It was too late to take up his new post, so he accompanied Chongzhen and hanged himself on a small locust tree beside him. This ending was somewhat surprising, and then the crown prince, King Yong, and King Ding were also found. They were donated by Queen Zhou's father, Jiading Bo Zhou Kui.Zhou Kui enjoyed all the glory and wealth in the Chongzhen era, but he did not try his best to protect his grandsons when the country was in crisis. Of course, it cannot be said that it was not wise for him, because in this case, he wanted to keep these three grandsons, for the sake of It is simply an extravagant hope for a martyred king to leave blood. Li Zicheng can finally rest assured.He fell down in the Hall of the Emperor, although the matter left a shadow in the hearts of him and all the ministers, but the accident was nothing compared to the great joy. After drinking a bowl of ginseng soup served by the attendants, he Immediately he was refreshed again, and he talked like nothing happened. In the afternoon, he had a good night's sleep on the dragon bed in the Hall of Martial Heroes, and then, accompanied by Wang Zhixin and Wang Dehua, he toured around. , discuss and deal with various major issues. This is the first official meeting after entering the city. People from all walks of life have come and there are many things to discuss, but everyone didn’t have the intention of meeting at the beginning. Instead, they sat down and looked around, pointing at the surrounding buildings and furnishings. , Dafa personal emotion. This group of people are all heroes who followed the emperor through life and death.Among the many generals, they wholeheartedly supported King Chuang and remained determined, even when they were defeated and life and death were on the line, they never changed their minds.For more than ten years, they have made great military exploits and extraordinary experiences. Thanks to their concerted assistance, Chuang Wang has gone through ninety-nine and eighty-one hardships, and finally turned into a nine-turn alchemy. Today, they have successfully entered the palace and supported the past. King Chuang walked towards the Forbidden City step by step.The emperor finally sits on the dragon chair, and they can relax. Then, those who have never seen it will naturally want to take a look, even if it is just to touch it; They have this qualification. Before that, they lived at the bottom of the society, they came out of their mothers’ stomachs, and they were hungry all day long. In their dictionary, they only had two concepts of "eatable" and "inedible". It's Chinese New Year, when did you know that there are shark fins and sea cucumbers in the world?People in the village see more rocks than people. Since they opened their eyes, they have lived on the whole piece of yellow land, endless mountains and ridges, and endless dirt. Although they robbed houses and robbed houses and went to the state to cross the government, the Central Plains area has been in turmoil for more than ten years, with thieves passing like a comb and soldiers passing like a grate.The rich gentry kept their food and valuables hidden, tucked away, and some were even buried underground.Therefore, even if they have seen the world, they only bought some food and robbed some money. They know that what is shiny yellow is gold, and what is shining white is silver. , but they are priceless treasures, and they are neither hidden nor concealed, but placed and placed in piles. This is a gem, that is a cat's eye, here is gold inlaid with jade, and there is silver tire covered with lacquer, which dazzles everyone. , dizzy. Among them, even a scholar like Niu Jinxing and a son of an official family like Li Yan couldn't name or use some of the treasures in the palace.Tut tut praises, they all said in their hearts: Mother, people say that the Tian family is rich and honored, this is not false at all, so the emperor did this. Li Zicheng wanted to interrupt everyone's discussion several times, but he stopped talking.He couldn't bear to interrupt them, besides, wasn't he in the same mood as them?At this time, Hao Yaoqi patted Luo Hu on the shoulder beside him, and said: "Good boy, our emperor has not ascended the dragon bed yet, but you have been addicted to the emperor for a long time, and now you should bury the toilet." Luo Hu knew he was ashamed, so he twitched at Li Zicheng, smiled quietly and said, "But my nephew didn't even touch the queen's ass." Everyone then said that Empress Empress, that Empress Zhou was dead, and although Empress Zhang hanged herself after they entered the city, she didn't see her face clearly, so they talked about the concubines and maids in the palace. Fearing that there would be dirty jokes, Niu Jinxing couldn't help frowning when he saw this, he glanced at Li Zicheng, saw that Li Zicheng was also frowning, coughed lightly, and said seriously: "Everyone should listen to what the emperor has to say." Only then did everyone realize that they were too excited, and they couldn't help but keep silent.So, Li Zicheng made an opening remark, and then Niu Jinxing spoke.Today, there are many things to discuss, the first is naturally the emperor's enthronement ceremony. In fact, there should be no dispute about the emperor's ascension ceremony. The participants just listened to the announcement by the president Niu Jinxing who presided over the event, and remembered what they should do.The dates were selected by Song Xiance to observe the sky and check the almanac. They were a few auspicious days that could not be better, and were chosen by the emperor himself; It is also easy to arrange what kind of robes to wear when entering the main hall; but the worship of hundreds of officials is quite troublesome.Originally, since the uncle-grandson ceremony in the Han Dynasty, the court ceremony has a complete set of procedures. At that time, the whip will be fired three times, and the civil and military will be lined up on both sides. What music will be played at any step, and how will the courtiers bow to the music? Dances, tributes by Honglu, and rectification by the censor. For more than a thousand years, although there have been some changes in the change of dynasties, it is generally the same.The demoted generals of the Ming Dynasty who have been hired are naturally familiar with it, but the old ministers of Dashun, those generals who followed Li Zicheng to conquer the world, are really big girls getting on the sedan chair-the first time in their lives.Therefore, Li Zicheng and Niu Jinxing discussed that before they ascended to the top, they had to arrange a rehearsal, and they must not make any mistakes. Niu Jinxing considers these arrangements to be a big deal, and everything is at his discretion, and he is quite sure that he will make this big article well, so at the meeting, he announced according to the rules, played on the spot, and talked eloquently and happily. Finally, he used In an earnest and admonishing tone, he said to everyone: "This is the first major event, and it must not be sloppy. Everyone must listen clearly and remember to do it well. Otherwise, it is not a child's play to have a joke on such a dignified occasion." Li Zicheng looked at Niu Jinxing with satisfaction, and then slowly inspected the crowd, everyone nodded in applause, and promised to study hard, and urged to read the next one after reading one. But there are also some absent-minded people in the audience, like Li Yan.Chongzhen is dead, the Ming Dynasty is over, this is a living fact, but the real big event is not over yet - now the army has completed the occupation of Beijing, and then it should withdraw quickly and be divided outside the city, otherwise, more than a dozen Thousands of horses are crowded in the city, not to mention that there are not so many barracks, even if the army and civilians are mixed, many things that are difficult to prevent will occur; in addition, according to spies, Wu Sangui has led tens of thousands of Ningyuan cavalry to Fengrun, but no one has been sent here. They went to surrender, but they didn't take any preventive measures. If Wu Sangui came to attack, wouldn't they be caught off guard? He wanted to speak several times, but the big topic of ascension to the throne stood in front of him. The so-called country cannot live without a king for a day, and the so-called name is not correct, and the words are not smooth. Ascension to the pole is the most important event today. Only when the emperor holds the enthronement ceremony can he command the world legitimately.For this important event, Prime Minister Niu has spent a lot of time thinking about it. He was still thinking about it during the Northern Expedition, and spent a lot of time discussing with officials of the Ming Dynasty. , repeated scrutiny and comparison, tried to be as strict as possible, have instructions, and even changed the movement of each program. Finally, I finally worked out a set of ceremonies that I thought were the most solemn and solemn, far better than the many ceremonies of the previous dynasties. Please discuss it with everyone, and then ask the emperor for approval.Li Yan thought, since the emperor and every courtier are so serious, why would he dare to interrupt? Niu Jinxing talked for a full two hours, talking about all the arrangements, and repeating the explanation several times. After all the nervous running around these days, when he finished speaking, everyone couldn't hold it anymore, so they had to keep saying yes, and Li Zicheng also agreed. He looked very tired, but he still kept his spirits up. He coughed to get everyone to focus again, and then said happily: "Finally looking forward to this day. Prime Minister Niu said, this is a big article. If it is done well, it will set an example for all nations and the world admires it. If it is done badly, it will be ridiculed. Indeed, this is a big article, and it can only If you do well, you can’t do it wrong, in my opinion, the date should be set on April 17th.” Seeing everyone's attitude of nothing to do, he knelt down and counted the days with his fingers, saying: "There are still more than 20 days left, I think everyone should not do anything else these days, just practice etiquette well." Everyone nodded in obedience, and even asked questions in a hurry, and the crowd was commotion again.At this time, the sound of bells and drums in the distance was leisurely, and it was very pleasant to hear in the silent night sky. Li Zicheng, who was used to listening to the military monitor and watching the stars to tell the time, was not used to the sound of bells and drums for a while, and he did not pay attention to the bells. A few beats, a few drums, but someone seemed to be urging and reminding him to go back to the harem early. In fact, everyone was overwhelmed by the magnificence of the imperial palace. He, the future owner of the imperial palace, may not have the same feeling in his heart, especially when he thinks that from now on, he will be able to accompany these things every day. , his heart cannot be calm.I don't want him to have time to appreciate these and clean them up, but his subordinates took a handful of them first.There are tens of thousands of eunuchs in the palace, and eight thousand palace maids. Although the eunuchs are safe, the palace maids are dying and fleeing. A large part of them fell into the hands of Luo Hu and other soldiers.Although he felt annoyed in his heart, under the guidance of Wang Zhixin, Wang Dehua and other eunuchs, he took stock of the harem one by one, and selected several stunning maids from among the maids after the catastrophe, preparing to enrich his team of concubines.Among this group of women, there was a palace lady surnamed Dou, who impressed him very deeply. This woman was tall and fair-skinned, especially her charming eyes, with a sweet smile that captivated the soul. The concubines in the palace are not comparable. Before this, in order to conquer the country, he had no intention of working hard on female sex. Now that the country is finally unified, he should enjoy the blessings. Chongzhen has so many beauties without blessings. I am not Chongzhen That's useless, not to mention that I'm nearly forty years old and have no heirs yet. If I have worked so hard to conquer the country and have no one to replace me in a hundred years, wouldn't I be too busy? Thinking of this, he raised his hand to stop everyone's discussion. After everyone calmed down, he looked at Niu Jinxing and said with his fingers: "Zhang Xianzhong is not convinced, the south of the Yangtze River is not peaceful, and the Manchurian affairs are not settled. There are still many things to do. The imperial meeting Open tomorrow." When everyone heard this, they knew that the emperor didn't really want to discuss these things, but signaled to rest, so they stood up together, and when Li Yan wanted to interrupt, it was too late.