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

The development of the situation far exceeded Liu Zeqing's expectations and plans. He never expected that the visitor would actually dare to kill his deputy general in front of his camp without any scruples!

"Who are you? Why did you kill my general?" Liu Zeqing looked at Yan Yingyuan angrily, but began to ponder in his heart.

There is something strange about this matter, considering that he was working for Emperor Chongzhen!

But before the incident even began, Chongzhen was so anxious to come to his army. Why? He didn't show up because he wanted to see what was going on, but he didn't expect the other side to behead his men in front of his camp after a disagreement. This was a slap in the face!

Aren’t they afraid that they will turn against you in anger?

But people are like this. For a suspicious person like Liu Zeqing, the more you treat him like this, the more he dares not to turn against you directly. At this point, if he does not want to cause a large-scale conflict, he can only show up in person.

"Lord Liu, are you going to rebel?" Yan Yingyuan completely ignored his question and instead asked a direct question.

"What do you mean by rebellion?" Liu Zeqing was a little confused by the question, his face full of astonishment. How could this inexplicably be related to rebellion?

"I've just made it clear that we are His Majesty's personal troops. His Majesty will be arriving shortly. Please, General Liu, come and greet us." Yan Yingyuan's face was stern, as if covered in frost, and he spoke seriously, "And yet, not only did your general not come to invite you, he actually sent someone to attack us!"

"This..." Liu Zeqing couldn't help but take a breath when he heard it, and an ominous premonition arose in his heart.

"General Liu, attacking the emperor's personal army, isn't that rebellion?" Yan Yingyuan wanted to firmly occupy the moral high ground and insisted that Zheng Longfang's attack on them was equivalent to the crime of treason.

"Marshal, General Zheng just wanted to drive them away, but they..." At this time, his subordinates had already hurried over and told Liu Zeqing everything that had happened.

"Hmph! A bunch of trash." Liu Zeqing cursed in a low voice, his tone full of anger and dissatisfaction.

At this moment, he had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong.

Even if Zheng Longfang had tried to drive them away, common sense wouldn't have drastically killed them. However, he couldn't tell if this was just the individual's reckless behavior, or if someone else was behind it. And, most crucially, these people seemed completely unconcerned about whether this action would adversely affect their plan to capture Nanjing!

"Even if Zheng Longfang was wrong, he didn't mean to hurt anyone. General, you killed me, so you should at least give me an explanation." Liu Zeqing suppressed the rage burning in his heart and said coldly, "Even if we come before His Majesty, you must give me an explanation for this matter!"

"Oh? General Liu means that His Majesty wants to give you an explanation." Yan Yingyuan smiled coldly, with a hint of sarcasm and disdain in his smile, and said, "What if His Majesty doesn't want to give you an explanation?"

"You!" Liu Zeqing was choked by this sudden question and was speechless for a moment.

He had long been accustomed to the situation of imperial power being lost. Whether it was the Chongzhen Emperor before him or the Hongguang Emperor after him, which one of them had not treated people like him, who held important military positions, with great courtesy, as if they were guests of honor? What could they do if they refused to obey orders or summons?

But once the situation got serious, His Majesty was the Son of Heaven after all, so how could he easily bow to them? If he showed even the slightest dissenting opinion, it would be a serious crime of treason. Once this heavy hat was put on him, the confiscation of property and the extermination of the whole family would be nothing more than a common occurrence. Were there not many officials whose property had been confiscated by the Jinyiwei in the past?

"Could it be that General Liu really wants to rebel?" Yan Yingyuan did not give him any chance to refute and asked immediately.

"I'm a minister of the Ming Dynasty. How could I possibly harbor any intention of rebellion? Stop slandering me!" Liu Zeqing was helpless. He was the emperor's personal guard, and now he was using this as an excuse to make a fuss. What else could he do? Although he did have some other thoughts in mind at the moment, he dared not put them into action.

"In that case, General Liu, please follow us to welcome the emperor!" After Yan Yingyuan finished speaking, he urged his horse forward, and Zhao Meng, Yao Er and others followed him.

"What are you going to do? Are you going to attack me again?" Liu Zeqing was shocked when he saw this and exclaimed loudly.

"We will escort the general to welcome His Majesty." Yan Yingyuan said as he continued to ride forward, not giving Liu Zeqing any time to react or think.

Yan Yingyuan was thinking in his mind that he would subdue Liu Zeqing before he could fully recover from his shock. This way, he could take away his military power at the lowest cost, thus killing two birds with one stone.

"This is too much! Take this bastard down!" Seeing that Yan Yingyuan was clearly trying to capture him, Liu Zeqing now understood that something was fishy. He turned his horse's head and galloped back, while shouting to his men to intercept him, "Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

At this point, the two sides have completely torn their faces apart, but Liu Zeqing has shown some decisiveness and determination, and is able to let go.

"Beat the drums! All troops, attack! Kill them!" Liu Zeqing was furious. Since the other party was deliberately provoking trouble, he might as well make it bigger. At worst, he could retreat to the Huaiyang region. As long as he firmly controlled the military power, who could do anything to him?

"Uuuuuu——"

At this moment, a low and powerful horn sound pierced the sky and echoed across the empty fields. It was particularly harsh and disturbing.

"Where does the army come from?" Liu Zeqing, who had spent his whole life in the military, was very familiar with the signal conveyed by the horn sound. He instantly recognized that this was a signal to speed up the march after discovering the enemy's traces!

"Report! A large number of troops suddenly appeared on both sides of our army, the number of people..." At this time, the scout came flying and came to report in a panic.

"How many people are there?" Liu Zeqing asked anxiously, feeling extremely nervous.

"Everywhere...everywhere there are over 10,000 people!"

"When did Chongzhen become so cunning?" Liu Zeqing secretly regretted his carelessness and underestimation of the enemy. How could he not understand the situation now? It was clear that Emperor Chongzhen was deliberately trying to attack him! And these cavalrymen in front of him were a trap set by Chongzhen for him.

Just when he was complacently thinking that he would be in an advantageous position again with the Chongzhen Emperor ascending to the throne, he had never imagined that others had already carefully planned in secret and quietly sharpened the blade, while he was like the cattle and sheep on the chopping board, still naively thinking that he had succeeded.

Liu Zeqing was filled with resentment, hating his own greed and ambition, and even more so, hating himself for having looked down upon Emperor Chongzhen. It seemed that the fall of Beijing had truly changed many things, and Emperor Chongzhen was no longer as easy to control as he had been before.

Just as Liu Zeqing was lost in thought, a cavalry force arrived at the front of the two armies like a gust of wind. At the head of the group was a majestic black horse, with a man sitting upright. He said, "General Liu, what are you doing? Is this how you welcome me?"

"Your Majesty, is it really you?" Liu Zeqing looked up and saw who else but Emperor Chongzhen. Compared to before, Emperor Chongzhen's complexion had become darker and his figure had become much thinner. However, his spirit had improved significantly, revealing a sense of determination and courage.

"Why, don't you recognize me anymore?"

"Your Majesty has become darker and thinner. You have suffered a lot during this period." Liu Zeqing was indeed a man with a long history in officialdom. His mood changed swiftly, as if he was turning the pages of a book. In an instant, he said in a tearful voice, "Forgive me for not being able to pay my respects to you in full while I am in my armor..."

"Dongping Bo, weren't you and Ma Shiying going to help me capture Nanjing? Why have you changed your mind now?" Emperor Chongzhen raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a meaningful smile, and said, "Or, are you here to help the emperor and rescue him, and are you helping Zhu Yousong to oppose me?"

"This... I..." Liu Zeqing's face instantly became extremely stiff, his lips trembled slightly, and he hesitated, not knowing how to respond.

"Lord Liu, if I were you, I'd think it over carefully." Emperor Chongzhen's face suddenly darkened, his eyes icy cold as a knife as he glanced at Liu Zeqing. "The world is in chaos right now, and I don't want to infight within my own family. That's why I'm speaking to you calmly, but that doesn't mean I'm not determined to cut the Gordian knot. I'll ask you one last time, whose side are you on?"

"This..." Liu Zeqing's expression changed again and again, like a chameleon, and his heart was in extreme struggle and entanglement.

Liu Zeqing was now surrounded on both sides, and was at a complete disadvantage in terms of military strength. In front of him, two thousand fiercely armed soldiers stared at him with eager eyes. If his answer even slightly contradicted Emperor Chongzhen's wishes, these two thousand tiger and leopard cavalry would crush the allied camp like a surging tide...

If he were to fight to the death, the outcome was predictable. His limited wealth wouldn't be enough to sustain him, and even more fatally, he probably wouldn't even have a chance to escape! But if he chose to surrender now, while military power would undoubtedly fall to someone else, he probably could still save his life...

I still underestimated Chongzhen. Liu Zeqing sighed inwardly, jumped off his mount, and slowly walked to the front of Emperor Chongzhen's horse. He knelt on the ground with a "thump" and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty, your servant Liu Zeqing is willing to follow you. Long live the emperor, long live the emperor, long live the emperor!"