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

Only when the wide city gate was left far behind did Chongzhen and others breathe a sigh of relief.

I never thought that I could get out of the city so easily. Although Chongzhen looked relaxed on the outside, his clothes were already soaked with sweat.

Li Ruolian and the others looked at Chongzhen with emotion. Was this still the same indecisive Chongzhen Emperor? It seemed the fall of the capital had deeply affected him, and had also changed his character.

Seeing that there was no one around, Li Ruo Lian untied the ropes on Jin Hyun and his servant.

"Your Majesty!" Jin Xuan threw himself at Chongzhen's feet, his voice choking with sobs as he said, "I was determined to die this time, but I never thought I would see Your Majesty again..."

"Master Jin, be quiet!" Li Ruo Lian hurriedly pulled Jin Xuan up and whispered, "That big guy is really a bandit!"

"Ah!" Jin Xuan hurriedly looked at Tiezhu and found that Tiezhu had his back to them, so he felt relieved.

"Your Majesty, are you planning to go to Nanjing?" Jin Xuan asked in a low voice.

"That's right!" Chongzhen nodded.

"That's great!" Jin Xuan nodded excitedly. It was not that someone had suggested that Chongzhen go to Nanjing before, but they were all rejected by Emperor Chongzhen. Unexpectedly, he finally figured it out now.

"But I don't know whether we should go by land or by sea?"

"Sea route!"

Zhu Youjian remembered that historical records showed that Tianjin Governor Feng Yuanyang had arranged a fleet heading south and sent his son Feng Kaizhang to Beijing. Unfortunately, Feng Kaizhang did not meet Chongzhen, and Chongzhen would rather die than leave.

After Li Zicheng captured the capital, he did not seize the opportunity to send troops to take over Tianjin, leaving Tianjin in a lawless area for a long time. Tianjin had originally been prepared to surrender to the Dashun Dynasty, but refused to surrender after learning of the Dashun's defeat at Shanhaiguan. Before the Qing army captured Tianjin, the military and civilians of Tianjin were still close to the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Tianjin was still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, so even if someone wanted to surrender, the danger was not that high.

Compared to taking the sea route, it would theoretically be faster to get to Nanjing by land, but now the country is in chaos and no one knows what accidents may happen along the way. With only these people, uncontrollable accidents are likely to occur.

If you take the sea route, the time is not much different. Apart from the impact of sea storms, the journey is still quite safe, and taking a boat is much more comfortable than traveling by horse or boat.

Most importantly, historically, the Southern Ming officials supported Prince Fu Zhu Yousong to ascend the throne in May. Chongzhen escaped in time this time and had enough time to rush to Nanjing before Zhu Yousong ascended the throne!

So next they had to go to Tianjin to find Feng Yuanyang, and then go to Nanjing by sea. Chongzhen did not explain this plan in detail to everyone. After all, the situation was changing rapidly, and he could only adapt to it.

"Your Majesty, what should we do with the iron pillar?" Wang Chengen asked as he looked at the iron pillar leaning against a big tree in the distance.

"Hmm..." Chongzhen looked at Tiezhu, sighed, hesitated for a moment and said, "Let me ask."

Although Tiezhu looks a little silly, he is a simple-minded person. If you are good to him, he will be good to you. The most important thing is that he has strong fighting ability. What Chongzhen needs most now is someone like Tiezhu, so he really wants to recruit him for his own use.

And the other most important reason is that Zhu Youjian feels that this guy is his lucky star!

You know, just now at the city gate, it was the small leader guarding the city who recognized Tiezhu and really thought they were the Dashun Army. Otherwise, how could they have sneaked out of Chaoyang Gate so easily?

Chongzhen had only just decided to recruit Tiezhu for his own use, but he'd unexpectedly found himself in a great position. Wasn't that a stroke of luck? He wondered if he'd been given this person because he hadn't given him a special gift. Otherwise, how could Tiezhu have just asked for food?

"Tiezhu, do you want to come with me?" Chongzhen came to Tiezhu and asked with a smile.

"Hmm..." Tiezhu tilted his head to look at Chongzhen carefully and said, "Okay!"

"So happy?" Chongzhen asked doubtfully, "Aren't you afraid you won't have anything to eat if you follow me?"

"You said you would take care of my food. You are a good person and you won't go back on your word!" Tiezhu said with a silly smile.

"So you can tell I'm a good person?" Chongzhen asked in surprise, "How did you tell that?"

"Being with you is just like being with my mother and Gou'er, it's very comfortable! They don't lie to me, and you won't either!" Tiezhu said after thinking for a while.

Although Tiezhu is a little silly, people like him often have a sixth sense that is different from ordinary people. Because of this, it is actually easier to get along with them. If he thinks you are good, then you are a good person.

"Hahaha, you're right, of course I won't! Then just follow me..." Chongzhen patted Tiezhu's shoulder happily and said with a smile, "In the future, whenever I have a bite to eat, there will definitely be a bite for you, what do you think?"

"Okay!" Tiezhu nodded happily, but then as if he suddenly remembered something, he slapped his thigh and said, "Gou'er is still here, I have to call him to come with us!"

"Gou'er? Who is Gou'er?" Wang Chengen asked from the side.

"Gou'er is Gou'er, he's my good friend," Tiezhu said in a deep voice, "Tiezhu can't live without Gou'er, and Gou'er can't live without Tiezhu. I have to tell him to come with me!"

"This... Your Majesty! We must not create unnecessary trouble," Wang Chengen whispered from the side.

Although they had left Beijing, the Dashun Army was still stationed in that direction. They could encounter patrolling soldiers at any time, and all their efforts would be wasted if they were not careful.

"No problem!" Chongzhen smiled and said, "This dog should be his fellow villager. It's probably just a child. There won't be any problem."

Seeing that Chongzhen was determined to do so, everyone could only watch Tiezhu stride away, and then wait anxiously.

About half an hour later, Tiezhu reappeared before the crowd, followed closely by a thin boy of about thirteen or fourteen. Wang Chengen and the others finally relaxed, and even Chongzhen breathed a sigh of relief, though he too was feeling a bit uneasy.

"Are you the person Tiezhu was talking about? Who are you?" The boy had a handsome face, and his big black eyes showed a sense of cleverness.

"Are you a dog?" Chongzhen asked instead of answering him.

"Exactly!" Gou'er looked at Chongzhen and the others, frowned, and said, "You are officials of the Ming Dynasty, right?"

Hearing Gou'er's words, Li Ruolian and others were shocked and drew their weapons.

"Put it away! They're just asking questions, they don't mean any harm!" Chongzhen quickly stopped everyone and said to Gou'er with a smile, "How did you tell that?"

"That's easy." Gou'er curled his lips and said, "Even if you masters try your best to hide it, your behavior will still be seen through at a glance..."

Chongzhen nodded secretly. They were all high-ranking officials. Even if they tried to hide it, it would still be visible if one looked closely. However, the fact that these words came from a teenager made Chongzhen even more interested in him.

"Why did you and Tiezhu join the Dashun Army?"

"We have no choice but to join," Gou'er said, shaking his head with a wry smile. "Both our parents died at the hands of refugees. If we hadn't joined, the grass on their graves would be so tall by now... Besides, back in our hometown of Shaanxi, there's been drought for years and there's nothing to eat. Only in the Dashun Army can we get food. The best outcome for us if we stay in the village is starvation..."

"Tiezhu just said he wanted to follow me, but he had to go with you." Chongzhen saw that the topic was serious and said quickly, "I don't know what you mean?"

"Can you tell me who you are?" Gou'er did not answer directly, but stared into Chongzhen's eyes and said.

"It's better if you don't know," Chongzhen smiled and said, "I just told Tiezhu that if he follows me, I can ensure that he will have no worries about food and clothing. If you agree, the same promise will apply to you."

"I agree!" Gou'er stared at Chongzhen for a while, nodded and said, "But you can't regret it!"

"You are not joking!" Chongzhen said casually.

The corners of the dog's mouth suddenly turned up, and his eyes narrowed into slits with joy!

"We're going on a long journey now. With just our two legs, we don't know how long it will take us to get there," Gou'er said with a smile. "Now that Tiezhu and I have joined the gang, we naturally can't go empty-handed. Come... I'll prepare some gifts for you!"