The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

Zhu Cilang longed to escape the capital with his mother and the others, but Emperor Chongzhen ignored him, and Zhu Cilang dared not bring it up himself.

Given Chongzhen's personality, if Zhu Cilang had taken the initiative to leave the capital, Chongzhen would have certainly thought that what Zhu Cilang had said before was nonsense to save his own life.

The more urgent the situation, the calmer we must remain. Officials in the capital must work together to defend the city and must not allow the Ming Dynasty, which has lasted for more than two hundred years, to be destroyed in his hands.

The most crucial problem was that Emperor Chongzhen still didn't believe the capital would fall...

Knowing Chongzhen's personality, Zhu Cilang was extremely anxious, but he was completely helpless and could only wait until the capital fell...

March 15th

At Juyong Pass, the northwestern gateway to the capital, the supervising eunuch Du Zhizhi was the first to surrender.

Seeing the situation was dire, Tang Tong, the commander defending the pass, surrendered without a fight. The rebel army marched straight into Juyong Pass, and by this time the Shun army had grown to over 300,000 men...

When the news reached the capital, the people were thrown into chaos, and officials and the imperial palace were also filled with fear...

Many people in the city, along with their families, began to flee the capital of the Ming Dynasty in panic...

In a panic, Emperor Chongzhen issued another edict of self-reproach and a call to arms, ordering all armies in the country to come to his aid.

What good would it do to issue an order to come to the aid of the king at this point? The bandits had already entered Juyong Pass. Who could be faster than Li Zicheng?

Helpless, he then appealed to princes and nobles for donations, but only received a paltry 200,000 taels.

Left with no other option, he summoned Li Mingrui, a Hanlin scholar, to inquire about the matter of moving south.

Li Mingrui patiently advised:

"Your Majesty, you can pretend to go to Shandong to pay respects at the Temple of Confucius. As long as you arrive in Huai'an, you will be safe and sound."

Emperor Chongzhen hesitated. He still wanted to win the support of the civil and military officials; otherwise, he would rather perish with the capital and leave with a good reputation after his death.

Following Li Mingrui's advice, Emperor Chongzhen convened a court meeting. The topic was simple: how to resolve the crisis in the capital.

After the civil and military officials finished their rites, Emperor Chongzhen said:

"The rebel forces are approaching the capital, and Minister Li has advised me to move the capital south. However, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty must die for his country. I intend to send the Crown Prince to Nanjing. What do you all think?"

Instead of announcing his own relocation to the south, Emperor Chongzhen first brought up his crown prince, Zhu Cilang, to see what the civil and military officials would say...

Li Banghua immediately stepped forward and reported:

"Your Majesty, I support the Crown Prince's move south. If the capital is lost, Your Majesty must move south."

Li Banghua was an honest and upright official, loyal to the Ming Dynasty. Feeling that the capital might be lost, he supported the relocation of the capital to the south.

Following Li Banghua, several other officials seconded the motion.

Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Wei Zaode frowned. He had always opposed the relocation of the capital to the south. He quickly exchanged a glance with Chen Yan, who immediately gave a signal to Guang Shiheng, a supervising secretary of the Ministry of War.

Guang Shiheng understood and hurriedly stepped forward, bowed, and began to report:

"Your Majesty, we cannot move south, and the Crown Prince must not go south either. Back then, Lord Yu Qian was just a civil official, yet he was able to lead the capital's army to protect the Ming Dynasty."

Li Mingrui harbors treacherous intentions and may disrupt the morale of the soldiers defending the capital. I request that Li Mingrui be executed. Without executing Li Mingrui, it is impossible to stabilize the people's hearts; without executing Li Mingrui, how can the empire be governed!

To put it bluntly, Guang Shiheng strongly demanded that they follow Yu Qian's example and defend the capital, and that anyone who dared to speak of marching south would be killed.

The surrender faction in the capital had already thought it through. Their property and clansmen were all near the capital, and they owned tens of thousands of acres of fertile land in Tongzhou. How could they possibly go south?

If the capital cannot be defended, the worst that can happen is a change of dynasty. After Li Zicheng became emperor, his civil officials were scarce, but these ministers would still serve as officials...

In fact, many officials in the court supported the relocation to the south, but they dared not express their opinions.

Seeing Li Banghua's strong support, some people were about to step forward to offer their support, but Guang Shiheng's actions immediately silenced them.

With Yu Qian being brought up, which official would dare to support the southward relocation?

Emperor Chongzhen was furious. Just as Zhu Cilang had predicted, the rebels breached Juyong Pass, Guang Shiheng prevented the southward relocation, and even the crown prince was not allowed to go south...

At this point, Chongzhen had no reason to kill all of Shi Heng's men, and impatiently said:

"Your words are reasonable, my dear minister. How about I order you to follow the example of Lord Yu Qian and lead troops to defend against the enemy?"

"what……"

Guang Shiheng was terrified that Chongzhen would not play by the rules and actually wanted him to emulate Yu Qian. He was so scared that he knew he was not cut out for it at all!

Let alone Guang Shiheng, who in the court today can compare to Yu Qian? Lu Xiangshan and Sun Chuanting are both dead in battle, and Hong Chengchou's whereabouts are unknown...

Guang Shiheng hurriedly prostrated himself on the floor and kowtowed repeatedly:

"Your Majesty, you mustn't! I am incompetent, merely a remonstrating official, and know nothing of military strategy. Your Majesty is wise; please reconsider..."

At this moment, Wei Zaode, Chen Yan, Zhang Jinyan, and a large group of civil and military officials stepped forward to speak on behalf of Guang Shiheng...

Frustrated and angry, Emperor Chongzhen flung his sleeves and left...

The matter of migrating south was thus abandoned.

……

On March 16th, Zhu Cilang's prediction came true once again: the rebels captured Changping, where the imperial tombs were located, and sent the eunuch Du Xun to negotiate.

Therefore, the court meeting was convened again, and Du Xun, the eunuch guarding the imperial tombs in Changping, also participated.

Facing the assembled officials and the emperor, Du Xun trembled and prostrated himself, stammering:

"Li the traitor made three promises: to establish himself as king in the Northwest, to provide a million taels of silver to his troops, and to help the court suppress bandits and defend against invaders, but he would obey orders but not summons..."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's eyelids twitched violently; it coincided once again with the Crown Prince's prediction...

Emperor Chongzhen looked at his ministers with weary eyes, and couldn't help but feel a little lost.

To be honest, the conditions are not bad. The Northwest is long gone and extremely barren, so money is not a big deal.

But if I agree, where will the money come from, and how will I face my ancestors?

After a long silence, Emperor Chongzhen finally spoke:

"Gentlemen, what do you think?"

When questioned by Emperor Chongzhen, the ministers remained silent.

This is just another scapegoat search!

Emperor Chongzhen's consistent approach is all too familiar to everyone.

Whenever a major event occurred, the emperor would always push his ministers to the forefront to perform.

If the performance goes well, he can attribute it to his own wisdom, intelligence, and decisiveness; but if the performance fails, he will turn on you without mercy...

The lessons of the past are still fresh in our minds...

The ministers were all thinking about the emperor's past, and Chongzhen was also recalling the crown prince's words, which could be said to have been entirely accurate...

Another long while passed, and still no one spoke. Chongzhen grew impatient and looked at Wei Zaode, asking:

"Your Excellency, do you have a solution?"

Wei Zaode hurriedly stepped forward, knelt down, and said with his buttocks facing the sky:

"Your Majesty, I humbly heed your words!"

The meaning is clear: everything must be done according to the emperor's orders; Chongzhen's questioning was essentially pointless...

Wei Zaode was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the thirteenth year of the Chongzhen reign. He rose to the highest rank of official within four years of entering the bureaucracy, which can be described as a miracle.

He had an excellent manner and knew how to please the emperor, which won Chongzhen's favor. But at this moment, he said nothing.

Chongzhen's gaze suddenly turned icy:

"What suggestions do you have?"

"Your humble servant will heed Your Majesty's words!"

As I said before, Emperor Chongzhen was so angry he almost fainted...

If even the Grand Secretary of the Ming Dynasty behaves like this, who would dare to speak recklessly? In the vast Hall of Supreme Harmony, you could hear a pin drop...

Chongzhen suddenly slammed his hand on the dragon throne and shouted:

"Since you're all feigning death, I will reject all the bandits' demands and resolutely fight them to the death! Guards, take Du Xun out and execute him by slow slicing..."

After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, he stormed off the court, and the assembled officials were immediately thrown into an uproar...

They all assumed the emperor would negotiate with Li Zicheng, so none of them dared to offer any suggestions, fearing they would be held accountable later.

Unexpectedly, the emperor firmly rejected Li Zicheng's conditions and ordered Du Xun to be executed by slow slicing, throwing the court into chaos...