Xie Ming

Chapter 32 Death of Zhu Chunchen

Song Xiance felt that Li Zicheng would not listen to him and would not follow his advice, so in a fit of anger he hastily left the Qianqing Palace in the Forbidden City.

After he left, King Chuang turned with a glare to Niu Jinxing who was kneeling in front of the hall.

"Niu Jinxing, please speak for me about this stubborn boy when you have time."

"We are generous!"

"But now I am sitting on this throne! The Lord of the World!"

"Song Xiance should also understand the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects, and the difference between the superior and the inferior!"

Seeing that Li Zicheng's words seemed to have murderous intentions, Niu Jinxing was terrified and kowtowed to apologize, feeling that serving the emperor was like serving a tiger!

"Well, apart from Song Xiance, what else do you guys have to say?"

Li Zicheng yawned. He felt a little impatient as he had not rested yet after the night's activity.

"Oh, my Lord! I... I have something else to say!"

Niu Jinxing spoke tentatively and glanced at King Chuang to see his expression.

"Well, okay, if you have anything to say, say it quickly. I still need to catch up on some sleep!" Li Zicheng said.

"Yes Yes!"

"I want to mention Zhu Chunchen. He offered the city yesterday and put forward many conditions. I am afraid that it will be difficult to raise the money for him in the short term!"

"And he is quite ignorant of current affairs, asking for things three times a day, so..." Niu Jinxing's words were hesitant, which could not satisfy Li Zicheng.

"Zhu Chunchen? Are you talking about the surrendered general?"

"My Dashun Army has been in the city for two days. He still dares to cause trouble?"

"Who does he think he is?!"

"You are just a traitor who sells out his master for fame and fortune!"

"Tell him that I have no money right now!"

"What can he do!" Li Zicheng showed his unruly nature without any concealment and was extremely scoundrel.

"I haven't even found the money to pay my own army, so why should I care about it?" King Chuang muttered impatiently.

"Ah? This"

"My Lord, please forgive me for being so nosy. Our Dashun Army has just conquered the capital and has not yet established a firm foothold. Given the current situation, should we try our best to appease them?"

"After all, our army was able to enter the capital without bloodshed, and the soldiers of the original Ming army did not suffer too many casualties!"

"Will we fall out right now?" Niu Jinxing offered a suggestion tactfully.

Hearing this, Li Zicheng pondered for a moment.

"If a violent army is launched, it will be abominable indeed!"

"However, in my opinion, the Ming dog soldiers, who are short of food and pay, may not really obey orders and rebel!"

"Let's put it this way. For the sake of peace and stability, and to solve the problem once and for all, I will execute that guy Zhu Chunchen in secret. You do it yourself!" Li Zicheng's eyes were vicious.

"Ah? This..." Niu Jinxing shuddered when he heard this.

Then he changed his mind and laughed wickedly again.

"Eh? If that is indeed my Lord's intention, I have an idea!"

"Haha, tell me about it." Li Zicheng continued.

"Yes!"

"A few days ago, I was ordered by my master to bribe someone close to Zhu Chunchen with a large sum of money."

"This person was very capable and directly contributed to Zhu Chunchen's subsequent surrender of the city for peace."

"He is the strategist who is highly respected by Zhu Chunchen, and his name is Wu Daoquan."

"This man is insatiable and extremely greedy for money! He is truly a mean person!"

"Last night, this villain tried to enter my house to seek personal gain, but I ignored him and sent him away!"

"Now that the Lord intends to get rid of Zhu Chunchen, why not use him again?!"

"There is a very famous Mingyue Tower in the east of the capital. I will book it tonight and set up the Hongmen Banquet." "Because it is in the open, I think Zhu Chunchen will be caught off guard. Wu Daoquan will secretly lead Zhu Chunchen to the banquet."

"I have soldiers hiding on both sides of the banquet. With just one order, they can immediately chop that old villain Zhu upstairs!"

"No one will know about it, haha, is this good?"

Niu Jinxing stroked his beard and told the story in detail, feeling quite satisfied with the strategy.

"Haha, wonderful, wonderful!"

"Okay, go ahead and do it! Remember to present Zhu Chunchen's head tomorrow!" Li Zicheng said.

"I obey your command!" Niu Jinxing bowed in agreement.

After saying this, Li Zicheng yawned and waved his hands. He did not linger any longer, got down from the dragon throne lazily, walked around the back of the hall, and returned to the harem.

On the night of March 20th, under the Mingyue Tower in the east of the city.

"Uu——!"

Zhu Chunchen was invited to Mingyue Tower and dismounted in front of the door. A waiter from the tower came out and led the horse to the side and tied it up.

"Siyi (Wu Daoquan, courtesy name Siyi), what kind of banquet is this that Niu Jinxing is hosting?"

"My right eyelid has been twitching since this afternoon. Isn't it a bit unsafe for us to attend the banquet tonight alone?"

Zhu Chunchen felt something was wrong, so he went to the door and asked his confidant Wu Daoquan for his opinion.

Unexpectedly, Wu Daoquan just smiled awkwardly in response.

"Oh, my Duke!"

"Right now, the Dashun Army has been in the city for almost two days. The die is cast, and the iron-clad new dynasty has already begun!"

"That Niu Jinxing is a popular figure around Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion, and holds a high position of power."

"It won't hurt for you to get in touch with this kind of person!"

"Li Zicheng has agreed to our terms, but has not yet fulfilled his promise. Don't you want to hear what Niu Jinxing has to say?"

"In my opinion, Niu Jinxing's hosting of a private banquet tonight must be related to the conditions stated in the letter!"

After hearing Wu Daoquan's explanation, Zhu Chunchen felt a little relieved.

"Well, okay, I asked for a meeting several times during the day, but Li Zicheng avoided me."

"Humph! You're trying to trick me like this at last. I want to see what's going on here!"

Having said that, Zhu Chunchen finally stepped into the building.

But just before he entered the building, he suddenly turned around and gave instructions to Wu Daoquan.

"Siyi, don't follow me into the building yet. Go and secretly transfer our personal soldiers to here, just in case!"

Zhu Chunchen lowered his voice and whispered quietly.

"Okay, don't worry, Duke. I'll arrange it right away!"

After Wu Daoquan finished speaking, Zhu Chunchen did not stay any longer. Thinking that everything was safe, he held his head high and ran into the building.

When Zhu Chunchen fell into the trap, the expression on Wu Daoquan's face changed immediately.

He took two slow steps and stopped in front of the building door. After looking around, he signaled to the waiter disguised as a subordinate of Niu Jinxing standing next to him. The two of them quietly closed the door of the first floor of Mingyue Tower from the inner room!
It was the evening of March 19th, at p.m.

The main street in front of Mingyue Tower in the east city of Beijing was deserted with not a single person in sight!

As the saying goes, a dark and windy night is a good time to kill!

In less than a moment, on the second floor of Mingyue Tower, the cup in Niu Jinxing's hand fell to the ground, making a crisp breaking sound.

Immediately, the swordsmen hiding behind the screen and at the stairs rushed forward!

Zhu Chunchen is over fifty years old, but he is still strong and powerful. Especially at this moment of life and death, the fight upstairs is extremely fierce!
Soldiers fell down the stairs from time to time, and the wooden railings, tables and chairs were smashed one after another. Wu Daoquan, who was curled up behind the tent downstairs, was trembling all over with a complicated expression, and it seemed that he had suffered a lot of mental torture.

"Wu Daoquan, you're a traitorous bastard!"

"You have been with me for twenty years. How could I, Zhu Chunchen, be so blind as to believe you?"

"Wu Daoquan, I won't let you go even if I become a ghost!"

Zhu Chunchen cursed hysterically, making a final stand before his death, showing quite a bit of courage!
Another half moment later, Mingyue Tower returned to peace. Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo, who had been hereditary for twelve generations, was dead and beheaded!
(End of this chapter)