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

"Your Majesty, it's Li Ruolian, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard! We..." Wang Chengen reported in a low voice beside Chongzhen.

Chongzhen's brow furrowed, his eyes gleaming with anxiety and determination. Dressed as a Taoist priest, he lacked the majestic dignity of a dragon robe, yet possessed a certain calmness. He tilted his head slightly, glancing around. Besides Wang Chengen and Gao Wencai, he was joined by three assembled Jinyiwei. Relying solely on these men to rescue Li Ruolian, he knew they would likely fail and risk their own lives. Yet, his innate imperial pride refused to yield.

"Your Majesty, escape is the most important thing..." Gao Wencai sighed as he looked at Li Ruolian, who was still fighting. It wasn't that he didn't want to save Li Ruolian, but in the current situation, he had a clear understanding of what was more important.

Chongzhen pursed his lips, a trace of struggle on his face. He knew Gao Wencai's words made sense, but as an emperor, how could he easily abandon his subjects? After a moment, his eyes grew firm, and he said thoughtfully, "We are not without a chance." His voice, though not loud, carried an undeniable strength.

Li Ruo Lian took a deep breath and steeled himself. He was now suffering from multiple wounds, none of which were fatal, but he was exhausted from fighting all morning. He only instinctively blocked the blows with his embroidered spring sword.

He was ordered to guard Chongwen Gate, but ultimately failed to resist the enemy troops, and Chongwen Gate was breached. He wanted to commit suicide, but was stopped by his personal guards. He had intended to lead his men to search for Emperor Chongzhen, but unexpectedly encountered a large group of enemy troops here, and it seemed that he was on the verge of being defeated.

"Captain Gao, lead a team of soldiers to encircle them from the other side. We must not let these bandits escape..."

Just as Li Ruolian was about to give up, a familiar voice suddenly rang out, followed by the sound of someone charging at the bandits from behind! The arrival of the new force boosted Li Ruolian and the other two's spirits. The bandits, caught off guard by their charge and hearing they were about to be surrounded, were momentarily confused and fled, leaving behind several corpses.

"Your Majesty!" Li Ruolian breathed a sigh of relief, and after seeing who it was, he couldn't help but shout in surprise.

Chongzhen strode forward. Although his face showed signs of fatigue, he still carried the majesty of an emperor. He sighed softly and said, "Commander Li, you have worked hard!"

"Your Majesty! I have failed to live up to your expectations and failed to defend Chongwenmen..." Li Ruolian knelt in front of Chongzhen and said with sobs.

Chongzhen reached out and helped Li Ruolian up, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Why do you say that, my dear Li? Now all the civil and military officials have gone to welcome the rebels. How many people are as loyal to the country as you?" His eyes revealed admiration and emotion for Li Ruolian, as well as anger and disappointment towards those who betrayed his subjects.

"Your Majesty, we shouldn't stay here for long. We should hurry up and leave," Wang Chengen reminded.

Chongzhen nodded slightly, with a hint of determination in his eyes: "Your Majesty, are you going to escape from Beijing?" Li Ruolian asked in surprise.

"That's right!" Chongzhen nodded and said, "We are going to Chaoyang Gate to see if we can get out of the city." His tone was firm, as if he was looking for a ray of hope in the darkness.

"I beg to follow Your Majesty!" Li Ruolian said hastily. He had already lost all hope and wanted to die for his country (historically, he committed suicide upon returning home), so he was naturally delighted to be able to follow Chongzhen.

"I couldn't ask for more!" Chongzhen said happily. Li Ruolian was a military scholar and was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, which was why Chongzhen took the risk to rescue him.

"Your Majesty, the gates of the capital are now controlled by the bandits. We can't rush out. Why don't we change into the bandits' uniforms and see if we can get out of the city?" Li Ruolian suggested.

"Dressed as bandits? Excellent!" Chongzhen's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed hastily. Li Zicheng's army was mostly made up of refugees, most of whom lacked military discipline. After breaching the city gates, they rushed in like a swarm, their organization long gone. At this point, the streets of the capital were teeming with bandits, many of whom were unaffiliated. Perhaps disguising themselves as bandits would allow them to escape the city.

Li Ruo Lian breathed a sigh of relief when Chongzhen agreed. He knew his majesty's character too well: he was someone who would rather save face than live in misery. Although he wasn't wearing the emperor's clothes, his Taoist attire was still very conspicuous.

The bandits had just fled, and they didn't know when they would return. They didn't dare stay for long, so they quickly changed into bandit clothes and disguised themselves as a small group of bandits, swaggering onto the streets. The only people walking on the streets now were the bandits in their armor. Occasionally, Ming officials and civilians passed by, but the bandits didn't bother them too much. Chongzhen and his entourage marched in their armor, and no one approached to question them.

"Do you have any food?" As the group was walking, a bandit soldier who was over two meters tall and as strong as an iron tower stopped them.

"Huh?" Gao Wencai, who was walking in front of the team, was stunned when he heard this.

"I'm hungry. Do you have any food?" the sturdy man said in a muffled voice. As if to prove his words, a rumbling sound came from his stomach.

"Does anyone have any food on them?" Chongzhen asked, just as Gao Wencai was unsure how to respond. A hint of concern crossed his face. After all, in these troubled times, survival was difficult for everyone.

"Your Majesty... Chief, I have some!" Wang Cheng'en hurried forward, pulling out a few steamed buns and a large piece of dried meat and handing them to Chongzhen. Earlier, when changing clothes, Wang Cheng'en had been so attentive that he had even collected the food from the fallen bandits. Even if they escaped the capital, they couldn't go without dry food along the way.

"Are these okay?" Chongzhen handed the steamed buns and dried meat to the strong man.

"Okay, okay, I'm almost starving!" The strong man's eyes lit up when he saw the steamed buns and dried meat, and he hurriedly grabbed them and stuffed them into his mouth.

"What's your name? Why are you the only one here?" Chongzhen looked at the sturdy man and asked curiously. His eyes were full of inquiry, as if he wanted to find something unusual from this sturdy man.

"My name is Tiezhu. I followed them into battle, but once we entered the city gate, they rushed back into the city," Tiezhu mumbled, munching on his meal. "I don't know what happened. I lost sight of them as we were walking..."

It turned out he'd been separated from his own troops. Chongzhen looked Tiezhu over carefully, his face brimming with applause. Tiezhu must have been at least two meters tall, with a massive build, his arms as thick as Chongzhen's thighs! The weapon he wielded was a long, pure iron staff that weighed at least seventy or eighty kilograms. This was a soldier of exceptional bravery! Despite his height and strength, his face still held the youthfulness of a teenager, suggesting he was young, perhaps in his teens.

"Who is your superior? Why do you want to join the army?" Chongzhen asked curiously.

"Shangguan? I don't know. I will fight with whoever gives me food!" Tiezhu said naively.

"Then will you come with me?" Chongzhen inevitably felt a liking for this brave and honest man. His eyes flickered with desire, as if he saw hope for the future.

"Give me food, you're a good person, I'll go with you, but you have to make sure I'm well fed..."

"Enough food, enough food!" Chongzhen nodded repeatedly.

"Your Majesty... Chief, this..." Li Ruolian couldn't help but remind him when he saw that Chongzhen actually accepted this bandit soldier.

"No problem!" Chongzhen smiled and interrupted Li Ruolian. He knew what Li Ruolian was worried about, but a man like Tiezhu was really a simple-minded person and would not cause any accidents.

Li Ruo Lian saw that he could not persuade Chong Zhen, so he could only continue to move forward. Tie Zhu followed while grabbing steamed buns and dried meat and eating them.

As Chaoyang Gate approached, Chongzhen noticed a commotion ahead. A man dressed in Ming Dynasty official attire was arguing with a Dashun Army soldier patrolling the city gate.

"Your Majesty, that is Jin Xuan, the head of the Ministry of War." Wang Chengen said in a low voice.

"Yes." Chongzhen nodded. He knew the young official. He was a second-class Jinshi in the first year of Chongzhen's reign and served as the head of the Ministry of War. He remembered that he was the only official in history who died for his country.

"What's going on?" Chongzhen walked up to a bandit soldier who looked like an officer and asked with a smile. There was a trace of calm on his face, as if everything was under his control.

The small leader looked at Chongzhen and frowned, but when he turned around and saw Tiezhu, his expression relaxed. He smiled and said to Chongzhen, "Brother, great! We've got Tiezhu in our hands... How many delicious foods did you take out?"

"Haha, Brother Tiezhu really likes my place, it's not like what you said!" Chongzhen laughed. It seemed that quite a few bandits knew Tiezhu. Perhaps because of Tiezhu's presence, and the bandits coming from all over the place, even though they didn't know Chongzhen, the little leader no longer suspected Chongzhen.

"We were on patrol here when we ran into this guy who said he was going to look for the Ming Emperor. After I stopped him, he started arguing with us..."

"This diehard, just capture him and kill him. Why keep him alive?" Chongzhen said with deliberate understatement. A hint of coldness flashed in his eyes, as if in these troubled times, only the strong could survive.

"What are you talking about! If I were in such a bad mood, I would have hacked him to death long ago." The small leader sighed and said, "I just received an order. Anyone who dares to hurt people or rob people of their property or women will be killed without mercy... Especially these Ming Dynasty officials, they must not be harmed at will!"

"Who came up with this idea?" Chongzhen shook his head and said, "These corrupt officials should be killed one by one!"

"Brother, don't talk nonsense. This is what King Chuang meant." The little leader hurriedly stopped him.

Chongzhen smiled and said, "How about I help you solve this problem?"

"You?" The little leader looked at Chongzhen in confusion and said, "If you can help me solve this problem, thank you so much. This guy is so damn stubborn, he keeps pestering me!"

"No big deal! Tiezhu, take that official down for me," Chongzhen said, turning around. "Lao Li, you come with us!"

"Okay!" Tiezhu had already finished the steamed bun in his hand and agreed with a buzzing sound. He stretched out his long legs and walked to Jin Xuan's horse in three or two steps. He grabbed his clothes with both hands and shouted, "Get off!"

Jin Xuan was thin and small, and at this moment he was like a little chicken in Tie Zhu's hands, with no ability to resist!

"Tie them up! Tie them all up!" Chongzhen shouted from the side. His face showed a hint of determination, as if at this critical moment, there could be no hesitation.

Li Ruo Lian took the lead and took out a rope to tie up Jin Hyun and the accompanying servants!

"Let me go, I want to see the Emperor of Ming Dynasty!" Jin Xuan shouted while struggling desperately.

"Lord Jin, I'm Li Ruo Lian. His Majesty is right beside you. You must obey his instructions..." Li Ruo Lian pressed Jin Hyun to the ground and whispered in his ear.

"Li..." Jin Hyun was startled when he heard that. He turned to look at Li Ruo Lian, but his eyes were filled with ecstasy: "Really?"

"Talk later!"

"Brother, you kidnapped a Ming Dynasty official in the street. It would not be good if the higher-ups found out." The small leader said worriedly when he saw Chongzhen kidnapped the man.

"Haha, it's okay," Chongzhen said, patting the small chief's shoulder with a smile, "None of these officials are good people. The order only prohibits injuring or killing people, but it doesn't say anything about not kidnapping people..."

"It just so happens that my camp is short of a literate person. I'll take him back and give him a good training. Who knows, he might be of some use!"

"You..." The little leader smiled and shook his head, raised his thumb and said, "Brother, I admire you!"

"Haha... I've been ordered to return to camp and wait for orders. I'll be leaving first." Chongzhen smiled and bowed, "Please be kind and let us leave the city through this way!"

"Leave the city?" The small leader's face changed when he heard this, and he frowned and said, "The army just entered the city, why are you leaving the city?"

"Fuck it! I want to know too," Chongzhen said bitterly. "My brothers fought tooth and nail to get into the city. I was almost at the Imperial City when I suddenly received an order to return and defend the camp. Damn it!"

"You must have offended your superior..." the little leader said sympathetically, his expression relaxed.

"Our commander-in-chief doesn't like me very much..." Chongzhen said with a sigh.

"Alright, you have to bow your head when you live under someone else's roof." The small leader patted Chongzhen on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't be impulsive. At this moment, anyone can find a reason to kill you!"

"Yes," Chongzhen said with a wry smile.

"Let them leave the city!" The little leader had no doubts and ordered his men to make way for Chongzhen and others.