Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 646 A way out
The sudden news stunned Emperor Chongzhen and Wang Chengen. They never thought that the cannon was actually aimed at attacking Shenwu Gate.

"Nonsense!" Emperor Chongzhen's eyes widened in anger, and he cursed: "Why are there thieves in the city? Aren't the thieves outside the city? Could it be that these thieves grew wings and flew into the capital?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not lie to you. The enemy troops have indeed entered the city. The gates of the capital have been lost, and... and..."

"And what? Why don't you tell me quickly!" Wang Chengen urged anxiously.

The eunuch gritted his teeth and said, "I just came from the Shenwu Gate. I saw clearly from the palace gate that it was the Beijing Camp that brought the thieves into the city. The Beijing Camp outside the Shenwu Gate has surrendered to the thieves. The leader is none other than Sun Tingxun, the Earl of Yingcheng. From what the thieves shouted outside the palace, it was Sun Tingxun who led his men to open the city gate and let the thieves in. Now they have attacked the palace gate and asked the palace gate guards to open the gate and surrender..."

"This..." Wang Chengen was stunned for a moment, and Emperor Chongzhen was even more stunned. He never expected that Zhu Shenzui's troops would actually enter the city like this.

A few hours ago, Emperor Chongzhen was still hoping that the troops from all over the country could arrive as soon as possible to cooperate with the Beijing camp to attack the bandit army, not only to save the capital from danger, but also to capture Zhu Shenzhu alive. But in the blink of an eye, the troops did not arrive, and Zhu Shenzhu broke through the capital, and his troops had already attacked the Shenwu Gate.

Upon hearing the news, Emperor Chongzhen lost his balance, his eyes turned black, his body swayed, and he almost fell to the ground.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Wang Chengen hurriedly supported Emperor Chongzhen, preventing him from falling down, and called out anxiously.

"Thief! Thief! Damn it! Damn it!" After a pause, Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and cursed with a ferocious look on his face.

I don't know who he was referring to when he said "thief" or "deserving to die". Was it Zhu Shenzhui who wanted to clear the court and quell the national crisis? Or was it Sun Tingxun, the prince of Yingcheng, who opened the city gates and let the enemy troops in? Or was it the civil and military officials in the court?
"Your Majesty, there is no time to lose. I will immediately gather people to escort you and the prince out of the palace. As long as we can get out of the palace, there is still a chance to escape. Once we reach Nanjing, there is a possibility of retaking the capital. Your Majesty! Let's go! Let's go quickly!" Wang Chengen's mind was still clear. The situation was now very critical. The Shenwu Gate was attacked fiercely by the enemy army. Since the enemy army had already entered the city, judging from their current actions, they wanted to take over the palace and capture Emperor Chongzhen.

Once the enemy army succeeds, there will be no chance. And now the enemy army has just entered the city. According to Wang Chengen's judgment, the enemy army has not yet completely controlled the capital. It will be too late if we don't leave now.

The Ming Dynasty had two capitals and thirteen provinces, and in addition to the capital in the north, there was also Nanjing.

Nanjing was the birthplace of the Ming Dynasty, and there was also a set of court teams there. In addition, Jiangnan was the richest place in the Ming Dynasty. As long as he went to Nanjing to start a new government, Emperor Chongzhen might have a chance to turn the tables. After all, Emperor Chongzhen was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the master of the Ming Dynasty. Even Zhu Shenzhu, who had campaigned to clear the court and pacify the country, never denied the legitimacy of Emperor Chongzhen. As long as he did not fall into the hands of the enemy and fled to Nanjing, everything was still possible.

"Yes! Yes!" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly realized that Zhu Shenzhui's troops had just entered the city, and the nine gates of the capital were probably not yet completely under his control. Even for the imperial palace, only the news of the attack came from the Shenwu Gate, and there was no movement at the other three gates. Instead of sitting and guarding, it would be better to leave quickly. As long as he escaped from the palace and headed south while the other party had not completely occupied the capital, he would have a chance to make a comeback by running to Nanjing.

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen suddenly thought of the nightmare he had before. Everything he saw in the dream was so real. Looking at the present, Emperor Chongzhen shuddered instantly. He did not want the nightmare to come true. What's more, there were already enemy troops outside the Shenwu Gate. Even if he wanted to hide in Coal Hill, it would be impossible. Emperor Chongzhen, who was usually hesitant, did not hesitate today. He immediately decided to let Wang Chengen summon the palace guards and eunuchs, and organize forces to break out of the Meridian Gate, trying to escape from the capital.

But just as Wang Chengen was about to gather people and Emperor Chongzhen was about to go to the harem to find the empress, concubine and prince to leave the palace, bad news came that traces of enemy troops had appeared at the Meridian Gate.

After Zhu Shenzhui's army entered the capital, Li You's troops and Wang Jinwu began to attack Shenwu Gate. Wang Hai and others were also not idle. On the one hand, they successively captured several other gates, controlled the city gate defenses, and opened the city gates to let the large troops outside the city in.

On the other hand, the troops entering the city continued to advance and launched an attack on the imperial palace from south to north. At this moment, two of the four gates of the palace were in danger, and the other two were probably not much better. It wouldn't take long for Zhu Shenzhui to control all nine gates of the capital. Even if Emperor Chongzhen escaped from the palace, he would never be able to escape from the capital.

"Boom! Boom!"

The continuous sound of cannons rang out again, shocking everyone and making them pale. Emperor Chongzhen was anxious and turned around in a panic with a sword in his hand.

"Your Majesty, this is bad! Shenwu Gate... Shenwu Gate has been breached... The thieves have entered the palace..."

"What!" Emperor Chongzhen was filled with despair when he learned that the Shenwu Gate was breached. He did not expect that the Shenwu Gate would be taken by the enemy army so quickly. Once the Shenwu Gate was breached, there was nothing left to defend the palace. Even if Wang Chengen mobilized all the guards and eunuchs in the palace to resist with weapons, he could not prevent the complete fall of the palace.

Looking up at the black sky and the towering palaces around him in the night, there were bright lights in the distance, and the sounds of shouting and killing became clearer as they got closer. From time to time, there were screams and cries. Two lines of hot tears slid down the cheeks of Emperor Chongzhen, and he instantly lost the thought of escaping. At this moment, he suddenly thought of a person, and that person was the former Emperor Jianwen.

Perhaps when his ancestor, Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, attacked Nanjing, Emperor Jianwen in the palace probably felt the same as himself? Facing an enemy that could not be stopped at all, the situation was irreversible. Let's not talk about whether he could escape in disguise. If he was caught, where would the emperor's majesty be? Where would the face of the Ming emperor be?

Emperor Chongzhen was a man with an extremely complex personality, especially his self-esteem was extremely strong. Even though there was still a glimmer of hope, he had already given up on himself under such circumstances, because he did not want to end up like this as a king. Even if he died, he had to have dignity. This was his last insistence.

"Where is Wang Chengen? Where is Wang Chengen?" Emperor Chongzhen shouted.

"Eunuch Wang has gone to gather people. Your Majesty, please follow me and leave quickly!" Du Xun appeared out of nowhere and urged Emperor Chongzhen anxiously.

"Gather people..." Emperor Chongzhen smiled bitterly, and the scene from his previous nightmare appeared in his mind again.

He looked around and saw that the palace was in chaos at this moment, with palace maids and eunuchs fleeing everywhere, and the shouts and cries of killing in the distance were getting closer and closer. It wouldn't be long before the bandits reached the Qianqing Palace.

At this time, it was useless to gather more people. Even if they resisted, how long could they resist? Emperor Chongzhen glanced at the sword in his hand. He thought of the empress, concubine, princes and princesses who were still in the harem. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he must not fall into the hands of the thieves, and the same goes for his wife and children. Since it was impossible to do anything, let everything disappear. In an instant, Emperor Chongzhen made a decision and looked at Du Xun and said firmly: "Du Xun!"

"The slave is here!"

"Pass on my order, quickly take people to the harem and order the queen, concubine, prince, and princess to commit suicide!"

"Your servant...your servant..." Du Xun was stunned. He never expected that Emperor Chongzhen would issue such an order.

"What's the matter? My words don't work?" Emperor Chongzhen asked loudly.

"Your Majesty... this is absolutely not possible! Your Majesty, the thieves haven't arrived yet. If Your Majesty takes the nobleman away first, there may be a glimmer of hope!"

"Leave? Now that the thieves have entered the palace, where else can I go? I am the emperor of the Ming Dynasty! I must not fall into the hands of the thieves! My family must not be humiliated like this!" Emperor Chongzhen gritted his teeth and said, "When Nanjing was captured, Jianwen was able to sacrifice his life for the country, and his wife and children died with him. Could it be that I am not as good as Jianwen? Stop talking, just do it quickly!"

"Oh, bring me some more kerosene. I want to see Zhu Shenzhui with my own eyes and let him see my determination!"

Du Xun's heart sank when he heard this. He didn't expect that Emperor Chongzhen would be so stubborn. He not only wanted to kill all his wives and children in the harem, but also wanted to burn himself to death.

Moreover, it was very clear from the words of Emperor Chongzhen that he would never leave. He planned to wait for Zhu Shenzhui in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. As for what the kerosene was for, wasn't it clear? After seeing Zhu Shenzhui in person, Emperor Chongzhen would light the kerosene and let the entire Palace of Heavenly Purity be buried with him. This move would let the world know that he would never surrender and create a huge trouble for Zhu Shenzhui.

How cruel! How cruel! He was cruel to others and even crueler to himself! Du Xun had never thought that Emperor Chongzhen would do this. If he succeeded, not only would the Palace of Heavenly Purity be burned in the fire along with Emperor Chongzhen, but the entire palace would also be on fire. How would Zhu Shenzhui explain to the world when that happened? If something like this happened in the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't the Ming Dynasty, which was already plagued by internal and external troubles, be in chaos?
Du Xun's forehead was instantly covered with sweat. He knew that it would be useless to persuade Emperor Chongzhen anymore. This master had already made up his mind, and once he made it, it would be irreversible.

Hearing the shouts and screams getting closer, they knew that time was running out, so Du Xun had no choice but to kowtow to Emperor Chongzhen and accept the order. But just as he stood up after knelt down and saw that Emperor Chongzhen looked dazed, he suddenly pounced on him. Before Emperor Chongzhen could react, Du Xun snatched the sword from his hand and then hugged him tightly.

"Du Xun! Are you going to rebel? Let me go! Let me go!" Emperor Chongzhen never expected that his trusted eunuch would do such a thing. He struggled desperately but couldn't get away. Although Du Xun was just a eunuch, he was very strong and attacked suddenly, catching Emperor Chongzhen off guard.

"Hurry! Why don't you hurry up! If we let the emperor die like this, you and I will both die without a burial place!" Du Xun gritted his teeth and hugged Emperor Chongzhen, shouting to his left and right.

The people around were all Du Xun's godsons and confidants. They were shocked to see their godfather act like this. They came to their senses only when they heard Du Xun shouting. At this time, they had no time to think too much. Du Xun was right. Emperor Chongzhen must not be allowed to self-immolate, and he must not be allowed to do such a thing. Zhu Shenzhui's army had already entered the palace, and the situation of the Ming Dynasty was about to change. If Emperor Chongzhen died like this, then all of them would be in big trouble. The only way to survive was to keep Emperor Chongzhen and offer him to Zhu Shenzhui.

(End of this chapter)