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

Ideals are full of hope, but reality is extremely harsh. Chongzhen's primary challenge now was how to escape the capital. With a hundred thousand Dashun troops surrounding the capital, how could he escape?

"My dear, are there any guards in the palace?" Chongzhen asked anxiously.

Wang Chengen looked up at Chongzhen and said helplessly, "There were dozens of people before, but Your Majesty dismissed them all..."

At this time, Zhu Youjian and Chongzhen were truly integrated, and he remembered that all the guards, maids, and eunuchs in the palace had been dismissed.

Before hanging himself, Chongzhen ordered all his concubines to commit suicide, including Empress Zhang Yi'an and Empress Zhou Xiaojie. He also personally hacked his own daughters, Princess Zhaoren and Princess Changping, to death. Although Princess Changping's arm was severed after she blocked a sword with her hand, her predecessor was unaware of this incident. Crown Prince Zhu Cilang, Prince Ding Zhu Cijiong, and Prince Yong Zhu Cizhao were sent to seek refuge with Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen by eunuchs Wang Zhixin, Li Zongzhou, and Wang Zhijun, but they were ultimately captured.

"Your Majesty, what are our plans?" Wang Chengen asked worriedly.

Chongzhen fell into deep thought. The most important thing now was to escape from the capital. Only by escaping could he have a chance of turning the tide.

However, how to escape?

Because he had once thought of writing a historical article about traveling back to the Chongzhen period, Zhu Youjian knew the history of the Chongzhen period very well, especially the situation on the day the city was broken.

Historically, on the morning of March 19th, Minister of War Zhang Jinyan took the initiative to open the Zhengyang Gate and allow Liu Zongmin's troops into the inner city. At noon, Li Zicheng, guided by eunuch Wang Dehua, entered through Desheng Gate and passed through Chengtian Gate (Tiananmen) to the inner palace. Before hanging himself, Chongzhen ascended Coal Hill to survey the city, and upon seeing that it was completely surrounded, he decided to commit suicide.

Therefore, it is obviously unrealistic to want to break out of the capital by force at this time, not to mention that Wang Chengen is the only one by his side now.

Zhu Youjian calmed down and considered carefully. He had two options: one was to hide among the common people. He remembered from historical records that Chongzhen was hanged on Coal Hill on March 19th and was not discovered until the 20th. Furthermore, when the Dashun Army first entered Beijing, Li Zicheng issued an order: "Anyone who dares to injure anyone or plunder property or women will be put to death without mercy." The capital had not fallen into chaos after its fall; social order remained, and shops were open as usual. The capital was so large and populous that if Chongzhen could blend in among the common people, he would be difficult for the Dashun Army to find. He could hide quietly for a while, then find an opportunity to escape. However, to hide, he needed a place to hide; the people of Beijing would not take in a stranger. If he hid in the homes of civil and military officials, those officials, who usually appeared loyal, would likely turn against him and hand him over to Li Zicheng.

Another way was to find a way out of the capital. Most of Li Zicheng's men were refugees with poor discipline. They were unfamiliar with each other and had no independent command during the siege. So he still had a chance to get out.

Coal Hill, later known as Jingshan, was officially called Wansui Hill at this time. In the first year of the Yongle reign of the Ming Dynasty, Beiping was renamed "Beijing," and Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di embarked on a large-scale construction of cities, palaces, and gardens in Beijing. According to the saying that "the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise are the four heavenly spirits, regulating the four directions," the north of the Forbidden City was the location of Black Tortoise, and therefore a mountain was necessary. Therefore, soil excavated from the Tongzi River, Taiye Lake, and the South Sea within the Forbidden City was piled on "Qingshan," forming five peaks known as "Wansui Hill." This firmly suppressed the foundations of the Yanchun Pavilion, a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty's imperial palace, beneath the hills. In the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court stored coal on Jingshan to prevent fuel shortages caused by the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty besieging Beijing, hence the nickname "Coal Hill."

At that time, Coal Hill was the highest point in the city, offering a panoramic view of the entire city. As Chongzhen was hesitating, he suddenly saw a massive army slowly approaching the Forbidden City from the direction of Deshengmen. They all wore red-tasseled felt hats, but their uniforms were red, white, and black. Ordinary Dashun soldiers wore white felt hats with red tassels or feathers on top, blue tunics, and short cloth armor or tiered armor. His most elite vanguard battalions wore red, white, and black uniforms. The famous "Three Walls" tactic was carried out by this unit. The "Ming History: Biographies of Bandits" records the Dashun Army's "Three Walls" tactic: "When facing the enemy, they lined up 30,000 cavalry, known as the Three Walls. Those in front turned back, and those in the rear were killed. After a long battle with no victory, the cavalry feinted to lure the officers and soldiers, while the 30,000 infantrymen with long spears launched swift attacks. The cavalry returned the attack, always achieving a decisive victory."

Although the person leading the way could not be seen clearly from a distance, one could guess that it must be Li Zicheng, the King of Rebellion.

By this time, the fighting in the inner city had largely concluded, with only sporadic fighting occurring here and there. Chongzhen waited and watched, wondering if it was due to the Chuang Wang's incursion, but the large Dashun Army had gathered in the area between Deshengmen and Chengtianmen, leaving only a few scattered troops near Chaoyangmen. The Dashun Army, after all, was a refugee force. Aside from the most elite Old Battalion, the rest were largely composed of refugees, resulting in lax discipline and disorganization. This was due to Li Zicheng's prestige; otherwise, by now, there would have been chaos, with looting and burning.

"Let's go to Chaoyang Gate first," Chongzhen said after thinking for a moment. "I think the intruder is about to enter the Forbidden City. Right now, the intruder has too much energy to focus on other things. This is our chance!"

There is no time to hesitate now. Li Zicheng is about to enter the Forbidden City. Everyone's attention is focused here at this moment. There may be opportunities in other places.

"According to the order!"

"Let's try to get out of the city. Your clothes are too conspicuous. You should take off your coat," Chongzhen said, looking at Wang Chengen.

At this time, Chongzhen wore a blue Taoist robe, his hair was disheveled, his right foot was covered with socks and a red square shoe, and his left foot was bare. On his chest was a vest with his famous will: "... I have been cold-hearted and disrespectful, and have brought disaster upon Heaven. This has led to the rebellious enemy approaching the capital. It is all my ministers' fault. When I die, I will have no face to see my ancestors. I will take off my crown and cover my face with my hair. I will allow the enemy to divide the country, but I will not harm a single civilian..."

He looked shabby at the moment, not at all like an emperor; he looked more like a wandering Taoist priest! Wang Chengen's attire, as that of a eunuch in charge of imperial affairs, was too conspicuous and needed to be changed. However, there were no other clothes for him to change into, so Wang Chengen simply took off his outer coat and smeared it with some dirt. Then, the two hurried down Coal Hill and headed north towards Di'anmen.

"Your Majesty!" Just as I walked down Coal Hill, someone suddenly shouted loudly in the distance.

The two were startled and turned around to see a tall man in Jinyiwei uniform rushing over!

"It's Gao Wencai, the chief judge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!" Wang Chengen said in a low voice.

"Your Majesty, it's really you!" The man's face was covered in blood and his clothes were stained with blood. He came in front of Chongzhen, threw away the blood-stained embroidered spring knife in his hand, and knelt on the ground.

"Hurry up and get free of charge!"

Chongzhen was overjoyed. Just when he was worried about having no one around, someone showed up! Historically, few ministers and generals committed suicide after the fall of Beijing. Gao Wencai, the Chief of the Imperial Guard, was one of them. After the fall of Xuanwu Gate, the gate he guarded, seventeen members of his family committed suicide.

"I have failed your Majesty's trust. Xuanwu Gate has been breached! The capital can no longer be defended!" Gao Wencai choked with sobs, "Your Majesty, please leave the city immediately!"

He was indeed a loyal minister. It seemed that in history this captain had once looked for Chongzhen and wanted to escort him out of the city, but when he failed, he returned home and committed suicide for his country.

There was no time for greetings at this time, and the three of them hurried to Chaoyang Gate according to the previously arranged plan.

While there weren't large groups of bandits on the streets, there were scattered refugees in groups of two or three, along with some defeated Ming soldiers. Although Chongzhen was the common ruler of the country, he was also quite pitiful. His daily activities were extremely limited, and he spent most of his time in the Forbidden City. Wang Chengen was no less powerful than him, and this was when Gao Wencai's importance became apparent. After all, as a captain of the Imperial Guard, there was no place in Beijing he hadn't visited. Gao Wencai led Chongzhen away from the main roads, choosing instead to navigate secluded alleys. This way, they managed to avoid danger and even gathered several scattered Imperial Guards.

Seeing that they were not far from the tall Chaoyang Gate, just as they turned into a small alley, a sound of metal clashing could be heard! Chongzhen looked up and saw three Jinyiwei gathered back to back, surrounded by a dozen bandits in tattered leather armor, attacking them fiercely...