Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

In the quiet and peaceful courtyard, Li Laiheng was lying there leisurely.

Sunlight, like golden threads, slowly filtered through layers of leaves, dappled like a scroll of time, and fell upon his face, casting a gentle glow over him. A gentle breeze blew softly, like a pair of soft, delicate hands, gently touching his face, bringing a touch of coolness and a sense of comfort.

The small courtyard is filled with tranquility and peace accumulated over the years.

Since birth, Li Laiheng has lived on the brink of life and death, enduring countless battles and conflicts, witnessing countless separations and deaths. His current peaceful life feels like a dream, something he's never experienced before. Since his captivity, his freedom of movement has been restricted, but Emperor Chongzhen has treated him like a distinguished guest. Besides eating and sleeping, he spends his days reading. These past two days on shore, this small courtyard has given him a sense of idyllic tranquility, a kind of paradise-like tranquility that has even begun to inspire him to live in this peaceful state forever.

Li Laiheng closed his eyes slightly, his thoughts drifting away. If there were no war in the world, and people could live peacefully in such a tranquil and beautiful place, what a wonderful sight that would be. That ordinary life, working from sunrise to sunset, might not have the grandeur of war, but it had the tranquility and ease of a peaceful and peaceful life.

However, reality did not allow him to indulge in such fantasies for too long. A slight knock on the door, like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, broke the tranquility.

Li Laiheng was startled, his thoughts jolted back to reality. He slowly opened his eyes, a flicker of doubt in his gaze. He wondered who could have disturbed his rare moment of peace at this hour. The knock on the door was slow and steady, with a distinct rhythm that seemed especially clear in the quiet courtyard.

"It's you?" When Li Laiheng opened the door, he was startled by the person who came in.

Standing outside the door was Emperor Chongzhen, and accompanying him were no one else except Wang Chengen and Zhu Tie.

"What? Are you not welcome?" Chongzhen asked with a gentle smile on his face.

"It would be my honor, please!"

This was not the first time Chongzhen came to talk to Li Laiheng. The two had talked many times when they were sailing at sea. Li Laiheng had very complicated feelings about Chongzhen. Before meeting Chongzhen, Li Laiheng had the impression that Chongzhen was incompetent, self-willed, and tyrannical. He believed that the source of all his suffering came from this man. But when he met Chongzhen, he found that he was completely different from the legendary appearance. Chongzhen was gentle in speech and decisive in doing things. He was not arrogant, but approachable. The contact during this period made Li Laiheng completely overturn the image of the emperor he had imagined.

"General Li is so elegant," Chongzhen saw the reclining chair in the courtyard as soon as he entered it, and quickly walked over to it and sat down. "You know what, it's really comfortable!"

There was only one chair in the yard, so Chongzhen lay down on it, and Li Laiheng could only stand aside.

"That's true..." Li Laiheng didn't know why Chongzhen came, so he could only reply indifferently.

"General Li, do you still remember our bet?" Chongzhen said leisurely while lying on the recliner.

"Of course I remember," Li Laiheng nodded. "We agreed to bet that the King of Rebellion would leave Beijing within three months. Now the time hasn't come yet. What? Are you ready to admit defeat?"

"Hahaha," Chongzhen laughed and said, "How could I admit defeat?"

"Really? No, it's impossible..." Li Laiheng was suddenly startled and shook his head. "It's only been over a month. There's no way the rebel leader would leave Beijing!"

"Impossible?" Chongzhen smiled faintly and said, "Wang Daban, come and talk to Lord Li!"

"As you wish!" Wang Cheng'en bowed, turned around, and said with a smile, "What Lord Li said is impossible. It is now known to everyone in the world!"

"This..." Li Laiheng opened his mouth in disbelief.

Li Zicheng captured Beijing on March 19th. It was only early May now, less than two months had passed. Li Laiheng couldn't understand why Li Zicheng wanted to withdraw from Beijing.

On April 13, Li Zicheng and Liu Zongmin led a 100,000-man army toward Shanhaiguan. The Battle of Shanhaiguan erupted on April 21. The two sides engaged in fierce fighting for a day and night. By the morning of the 22nd, Wu Sangui's army was already losing ground, and a section of Wu's troops defending Beiyicheng surrendered to the Dashun army. Seeing the situation dire, Wu Sangui personally led some of his troops and local gentry out of the Shanhaiguan Pass, requesting the Qing army to immediately join the battle...

"Dorgon ordered the Qing army to enter the city through three routes: the South Water Gate, the North Water Gate, and the Guanzhong Gate... Although the Dashun army fought desperately, their strength was changing rapidly, and their troops had already fought Wu Sangui's army all night. Facing the well-rested Qing army, they were quickly defeated, and their general Liu Zongmin was also wounded... Li Zicheng, realizing defeat was inevitable, ordered a swift retreat and fled hastily back to Beijing!"

"It was just a defeat at Shanhaiguan. Why do you say he withdrew from Beijing?" Li Laiheng frowned and asked.

"Li Zicheng did consider holding on to Beijing. On the 27th and 28th, he took preparations for war, ordering the military and civilians to quickly dismantle the sheep and horse walls outside the city and the houses along the moat. However, he later realized that he could not gather a sufficient force in the capital area to hold the city and wait for reinforcements. In addition, the Dashun Army's defeat and retreat to Beijing had caused widespread rumors. To avoid being wiped out by the Qing army, Li Zicheng decided to abandon Beijing and retreat westward..."

"On April 29th, after Li Zicheng's coronation ceremony in Beijing, he immediately led his troops westward!" Wang Chengen sighed. "Before leaving Beijing, he ordered the Ming Dynasty palaces and gate towers to be burned... On May 2nd, Dorgon entered Beijing through Chaoyang Gate!"

"Is this... true?" Li Laiheng asked after being stunned for a long time.

"Li Zicheng should have fled to Shanxi by now. How could it be false?" Chongzhen said with a smile.

"Why is this happening?" Li Laiheng didn't know what to do for a moment and muttered to himself blankly.

"It's not that God didn't give Li Chuang a chance," Chongzhen stood up and said with a smile, "It's a pity that he got a little carried away after conquering Beijing. He thought Wu Sangui would be conquered by him and always had some illusions about him. Even when he went to quell Wu Sangui's rebellion, he still hoped to persuade Wu Sangui to surrender. Wu Sangui sent an envoy who lied about his willingness to surrender, and he actually believed it and sent people to negotiate. He even slowed down the march! As a result, the march that was supposed to take five days arrived on the eighth day, and the Qing army that came to support had also arrived at this time. If he hadn't delayed for three days and hadn't received the rescue of the Qing army, it might have been a different story..."

"It's God's will!" Li Laiheng couldn't help but sigh.

"Now that Li Zicheng has withdrawn from Beijing, I am naturally the winner of the bet between us. Lord Li, do you want to execute the agreement we reached at the beginning?" Chongzhen asked with a smile.

"This..." Li Laiheng had never thought about this problem. He didn't think that Li Zicheng would withdraw from Beijing within three months!

"Your Majesty made the bet with you because he trusts your character. What? Are you going to go back on your word?" Wang Chengen snorted coldly.

"No, I..." Li Laiheng waved his hands repeatedly. Although his understanding of Chongzhen had changed during this period, he still felt a little uncomfortable asking him to follow him!

"My dear, Lord Li is not someone who doesn't keep his promises. He just can't accept the facts for the time being." Chongzhen smiled and waved his hand to stop Wang Chengen. "Why don't we give Lord Li a night to think it over..."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty!" Li Laiheng sighed and bowed.

"General Li, I still have a few words in my heart that I want to say," Chongzhen took two steps towards the gate, then stopped, turned and said to Li Laiheng.

"Your Majesty, please speak..."

"I know that Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong, and even you wouldn't have rebelled unless they couldn't make ends meet," Chongzhen sighed and said, "The reason for this chaos in the world is that I haven't done enough..."

"Your Majesty, how can this be blamed on you..." Wang Chengen said hurriedly from the side.

"If the people of my Great Ming Dynasty could have enough food and clothing, how could they possibly rebel?" Chongzhen interrupted Wang Chengen and continued, "So, for your rebellion and even the attack on my Great Ming capital, I think it is all my own fault..."

"In fact, if Li Zicheng could really rebuild a powerful dynasty like our Taizu did, and let the people live a life of plenty, then I would have no problem retiring. But now it seems that he can't do it at all!"

"And now the capital of our Ming Dynasty has been occupied by foreigners. If we let them take over, the people of our Ming Dynasty will be plunged into dire straits! So I must stand up. It's not that we can't give up our territory, but we must never give it to foreigners!"

"Although I have the ambition to reunite the country, I unfortunately lack the people to help me... General Li, you are a talented general. Your talents should not be buried. I hope you can think carefully about whether you want to join me in rebuilding this shattered country!"

"This..." Li Laiheng was a little dazed for a moment after hearing this!

Chongzhen also knew that he couldn't force it, and he needed some time to digest these words, but just as he was about to step through the gate, Li Laiheng's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Your Majesty! I, Li Laiheng, am willing to follow Your Majesty and help the people of the Ming Dynasty live a life of plenty and warmth!"