The Capital of the Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City, and side halls.

Zhu Youjian's face was a little flushed, and fine drops of sweat could be seen on his forehead.

Standing behind Zhu Youjian was the eunuch Wang Chengen.

"Cheng'en, I have issued three imperial edicts in a row, but no troops from the south have come to rescue me. Are these civil and military ministers of mine just watching helplessly as the bandits attack the capital? Do they all want to kill me early?

..”

Zhu Youjian's voice was hoarse and his mood was obviously bad.

On the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Youjian received the news that Baoding Fucheng had been captured by the rogue Li Zicheng.

At this moment, a huge crisis came, and Zhu Youjian felt a chill down his spine. Baoding Mansion can be said to be the gateway to the capital. Baoding Mansion was captured by Li Zicheng, which means that the door to the capital has been opened. Next, Li Zicheng can march straight in and attack the capital.

.

Although the imperial court still deployed large armies in Zhuozhou, Fangshan, Liangxiang, Changping, Tongzhou and Miyun, the Tatars of the Later Jin Dynasty invaded the Central Plains several times. The troops stationed in these places suffered heavy blows and never recovered.

In other words, the combat effectiveness of the troops stationed in these places is not particularly strong.

The room is warm, and the earth dragon is continuously supplying heat.

In the first month of the year, the climate in the capital city is extremely cold. Without the heating provided by these earth dragons, it would be unbearable.

Zhu Youjian stood up, got off the imperial chariot, and prepared to head out of the side hall.

Zhu Youjian didn't wear much. The inside of the dragon robe was a close-fitting cotton suit.

Wang Chengen knelt down with a plop.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to worry too much. Lord Hong Chengchou, the governor of the seven provinces, wrote a memorial two days ago. He has decided to dispatch tens of thousands of soldiers from the Nanjing Camp and will rush to the capital soon. I believe Lord Hong not only dispatched Nanjing

The soldiers in the Beijing camp will also dispatch the armies stationed in other places in the south..."

Zhu Youjian ignored Wang Chengen who was kneeling on the ground and still walked towards the outside of the side hall.

The bright light in the sky can be felt in the Forbidden City. The Lantern Festival is a time for lanterns. Ordinary people in the capital still celebrate the festival in the original way. However, the news of the rogue bandits invading Beizhili has reached the capital.

In addition, the wealthy gentry who fled to the capital from all over Beizhili also brought news in a steady stream, which made the entire capital become depressed.

The people in the capital all believed in the emperor and the court. They believed that the emperor and the court would be able to eliminate all threats. A few years ago, the Jin Tatars entered Beizhili to cause rebellion and once threatened the capital. The emperor and the court could not cope with it.

Well, this time they are just rogue bandits with weak combat capabilities. The emperor and the court will definitely be able to destroy them.

The officials in the court were not so confident. They knew more accurate information and knew that Li Zicheng's power had grown stronger and he had millions of troops. If he could not concentrate the Ming army, it would be difficult to deal with it.

"Cheng'en, get up and take a look at the lanterns in the sky with me..."

Zhu Youjian's tone became cold.

Wang Chengen quickly stood up and followed Zhu Youjian toward the outside of the side hall. As he walked, he waved his hand, indicating to the eunuch to hand over the emperor's fur coat. This was clothes from the West, and it was indeed very warm to wear.

Just when Zhu Youjian was about to walk out of the side hall, Wang Chengen quickly handed over the fur coat.

Zhu Youjian pushed away the fur coat, sparks bursting out of his eyes.

"Humph, I once believed that these imported products were very good. I spent countless money to buy the Hongyi cannon and the Franco machine from overseas. But what did these imported products bring to me? The Hongyi cannon

The Eight Banners Army was not able to defeat Hou Jin, and the rogue bandits were not able to be defeated. Now, the capital is in danger, is it possible that I still have to rely on the Hongyi cannon on the city wall to defeat Li Zicheng..."

Wang Chengen's body trembled, but he still insisted on putting the fur coat on Zhu Youjian's body.

"Your Majesty, please calm down. Your Majesty, please take care of your dragon body. I believe that Your Majesty does not need to be too anxious. There are still 50,000 soldiers from the Beijing camp in the capital. If the army from the south is too late to come to the rescue, Your Majesty can mobilize the armies from Zhuozhou and other places to gather in the capital and fight against the rogue bandits."

The fighting started. I made special statistics yesterday. There are still 50,000 troops stationed around the capital. If they are all mobilized to the capital, there will be 100,000 troops stationed in the capital..."

Zhu Youjian snorted coldly.

"Cheng'en, you don't need to say more. Li Zicheng has a million troops under his command, only 100,000 people. How can it be possible to resist Li Zicheng's million troops, unless..."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian's body also trembled. He didn't know whether it was because the weather outside was too cold, or whether Zhu Youjian thought of something unhappy.

Wang Chengen's body also trembled, looked at Zhu Youjian, gritted his teeth and spoke.

"Your Majesty, please obey the authority in urgent matters. If the capital is threatened, the Emperor can issue an order to Lord Wu Zongrui, the governor of Jiliao, asking him to lead the Denglai New Army to the aid of the capital..."

Zhu Youjian turned to look at Wang Chengen, his eyes bursting with anger again.

"Obey power in an urgent matter, huh, obey authority in an urgent matter, I think Wu Zongrui is more terrifying than Li Zicheng. As the governor of Jiliao, Wu Zongrui should have been stationed in Liaodong to resist Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army, but he will Denglaixin

The army regards it as its own army. It not only occupied Liaodong, but also occupied the entire Shandong. Now it also covets South Zhili and Fengyang, my central capital. He has not let it go. If I decree to let him enter the capital,

Wouldn’t it be like handing over the Ming Dynasty to Wu Zongrui..."

Zhu Youjian's anger finally burst out.

As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian was not stupid. He had already noticed Wu Zongrui's alien intentions. He had prepared to attack Wu Zongrui a few years ago, but the Ming Dynasty had always been in turmoil, with natural disasters, bandits, and Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army.

, followed one after another, and the court never had a moment of peace of mind, and Zhu Youjian was unable to free his hands to deal with Wu Zongrui.

As Wu Zongrui's power gradually grew, Zhu Youjian no longer had the chance to take action.

Zhang Sizhi, the chief assistant of the cabinet, once proposed that Wu Zongrui be transferred to the capital to serve as the second assistant of the cabinet. Zhu Youjian was very happy, thinking that Zhang Sizhi could find a way to persuade Wu Zongrui to come to the capital to serve. Unfortunately, this matter will not happen soon.

However, Zhang Sizhi never mentioned it again. Zhu Youjian understood the reason and didn't even bother to ask.

Wang Chengen also made suggestions, believing that although Wu Zongrui's power had grown stronger, he had never shown any signs of rebelling against the imperial court, and his behavior was similar to that of the self-respecting generals in the south. Therefore, as long as he found a way to stabilize Wu Zongrui, let him

It was also a good strategy to station in Liaodong to deter Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army at all times.

Zhu Youjian believed that Wang Chengen's proposal was good. At least after Wu Zongrui became the governor of Jiliao, Hou Jin's Eight Banners Army never entered the north and the Central Plains to plunder, and the court could concentrate on dealing with rogue bandits.

However, Zhu Youjian was disappointed once again. He did not expect that the power of the bandits would also grow. It seemed that they became a behemoth overnight, a behemoth that the court could not deal with.

Many times, Zhu Youjian would reflect and think about whether he had done anything wrong, but the result of each reflection was to deepen his resentment towards the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty.

...

Zhu Youjian, who had lost his temper, returned to the side hall, and his fur coat had been left in the courtyard.

After all, it was much warmer inside the side hall. Zhu Youjian, whose face was a little blue from the cold, moved his body and rubbed his hands that were almost frozen.

Wang Chengen's face turned pale when he entered the side hall, and the muscles on his face were almost stiff.

Wang Chengen wore fewer clothes than Zhu Youjian.

Seeing Wang Chengen who was almost stiff from the cold, Zhu Youjian was a little moved. Among the civil and military officials of the court, the one Zhu Youjian trusted the most was Wang Chengen. He almost always discussed important matters in the court with Wang Chengen.

"Cheng'en, I was so angry just now that I didn't notice that you were wearing thin clothes. Come and warm yourself by the fire. Don't freeze your body..."

Wang Chengen held back his mouth and prepared to kneel down to speak.

Zhu Youjian grabbed Wang Chengen.

"Cheng'en, I see your loyalty. From now on, you don't have to salute in front of me."

Speaking of this, Zhu Youjian forced a smile on his face.

"Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival. The sky is getting dark. I still want to have fun with the people and go to the market to watch the lanterns. Cheng'en, please make arrangements and prepare to follow me out of the palace...

"

Wang Chengen was so frightened that he fell to his knees.

It is not a trivial matter for the emperor to leave the palace, and Wang Chengen cannot bear the commotion that is caused. Although Wang Chengen has gained the emperor's unparalleled trust, Wang Chengen is still very cautious when facing major events.

The situation in the capital is turbulent. Who knows if there are rogue bandits lurking into the capital? Many prefectures and counties in Northern Zhili are occupied by rogue bandits. It is very simple to find a way out. If Li Zicheng sends rogue bandits to sneak into the capital, specially find them.

If there is an opportunity to assassinate the emperor, then the emperor goes out of the palace to have fun with the people, which gives the bandits the best opportunity to assassinate him.

Wang Chengen did not dare to say these words. The imperial guards in the capital were already on the highest alert, and the spies in Xichang did not have any free time. They paid attention to everyone who entered the capital to rest in inns and restaurants, looking for clues, and for those who behaved suspiciously.

If these people cannot prove their identity, they will be executed secretly.

Looking at the panicked Wang Chengen, Zhu Youjian smiled again on his face.

"Cheng'en, don't be so nervous. I'm just talking, but the lantern festival in the harem is about to start. I want to take a break, go to the harem to see the lantern festival, and guess some riddles..."

Wang Chengen nodded repeatedly.

"The Emperor needs to take a good rest. I will go and make arrangements now. The lantern festival in the palace has already been arranged..."

Zhu Youjian looked at Wang Chengen and sighed heavily. He actually had no intention of attending any lantern festival, but there was nothing to be busy with today. On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, all the officials in the court had to take a break and would not go to court tomorrow.
Chapter completed!