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

In the Qianqing Palace, the obese Zhu Yousong lay on the dragon bed like a mountain of flesh, snoring like thunder, shaking the bed curtains slightly.

Ever since Chongzhen issued that chilling manifesto against rebellion, Zhu Yousong had been in extreme panic. Deep down, he was filled with fear that Emperor Chongzhen might storm Nanjing, yet he was also reluctant to give up the supreme power and unparalleled status before him.

During this period, he felt like every day was a year. Every day he anxiously asked Ma Shiying when Liu Zeqing, who had promised to come to the king's aid, would arrive.

Yesterday, Ma Shiying hurried over to report that Liu Zeqing's troops were close at hand and would arrive soon. This news was like a reassurance, and Zhu Yousong's heart, which had been hanging in the air all day, finally settled down a little.

He was so ecstatic that he lost control of himself and ended up drunk. Under the influence of alcohol, he indulged himself even more recklessly, engaging in the absurd practice of sleeping with two women. In that frenzied excitement, several young girls newly summoned to the palace met a tragic fate. One of them was strangled to death by him in his loss of control.

After venting the long-suppressed anger in his heart, Zhu Yousong suddenly felt exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.

But just as he was immersed in a sweet dream, a sudden and sharp voice suddenly rang in his ears like thunder: "Stupid pig, get up!"

"Who? How dare you talk to me like that!" Zhu Yousong felt as if he was poured with cold water. He suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes full of shock and anger, and shouted angrily.

"I'm talking to you," Zhu Yousong saw a young man with a slightly raised mouth and a hint of sneer on his face. The smile was filled with endless ridicule and contempt.

"Who are you? Why are you in my bedroom?" Zhu Yousong struggled to sit up. He was fat and usually needed someone to help him get up. But this time, he was so tired that he was sweating. "Tian Cheng..."

"Are you looking for him?" The young man smiled even more and waved his hand lightly. The soldier behind him threw an object to him.

Zhu Yousong took a closer look and was shocked. Wasn't this the head of Tian Cheng, his most trusted personal eunuch?

"You, who are you?" Zhu Yousong couldn't help but understand what was going on. He stared at Tian Cheng's head, his legs shaking violently and his voice trembling with fear. He asked, "What are you going to do?"

"My name is Zhu Ge." The young man smiled slightly, revealing six neat, white teeth. To Zhu Yousong, that smile looked like the smile of a devil. He just said, "Of course I'm here to see you off!"

"What road...what road?" Zhu Yousong's voice trembled more and more, and he stammered, "I am the emperor of the dynasty, how dare you kill me!"

"Emperor? How ridiculous." Zhu Ge's eyes instantly turned cold, and he said coldly: "The current emperor is Emperor Chongzhen. If you dare to pretend to be the emperor, I will kill you!"

"This... this is not what I want to be. They forced me to do it. Yes, yes, they forced me to do it." Zhu Yousong was already scared out of his wits at this moment. He felt a heat between his legs and was so scared that he became incontinent. Urine flowed down his trouser legs.

"It was Ma Shiying, Gao Jie, Huang Degong, Liu Zeqing, and Liu Liangzuo who forced me to do this... And Shi Kefa, they forced me to become the emperor..."

"So you were forced to do this." Zhu Ge sneered, his laughter as sharp as ice knives. "But if you were forced, then after your Majesty issued the anti-rebellion manifesto, why didn't you quickly and voluntarily abdicate?"

"I... I don't have the final say. Ma Shiying controls the court. I..." In order to survive, Zhu Yousong no longer cared about his face and dignity and gave it his all.

"You're truly shameless." Zhu Ge shook his head in disgust, sneering with disdain, "How could Ma Shiying choose a loser like you! How could the Ming Dynasty last long in your hands?"

"I..." Zhu Yousong tried to argue.

"Come here, send our Emperor Hongguang on his way!" Zhu Ge was too lazy to talk nonsense with him anymore and gave the order decisively.

Upon hearing this, the two soldiers quickly stepped forward and grabbed Zhu Yousong like wolves pouncing on their prey.

Zhu Yousong was so frightened that his soul was about to die. He struggled desperately and shouted at the top of his lungs: "How dare you...how dare you do this? I want to see the emperor. He won't kill me. You..."

"Shut up!" Zhuge said coldly, without a trace of mercy in his tone.

The two soldiers grabbed a few pieces of cloth and roughly stuffed them into Zhu Yousong's mouth, then dragged him under a beam like a dead dog. A three-foot-long white silk had already been prepared on the beam. Under the dim light of the palace lanterns, the silk looked particularly eerie and terrifying, as if it was a death rope from hell, waiting for Zhu Yousong's arrival!

"One may not be safe, let's get another one." Zhu Ge looked up at the white silk on the beam, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, but the smile revealed coldness and determination.

"You...you..." Zhu Yousong wanted to say something else, but Zhu Ge lost his patience and punched him in the face. Zhu Yousong felt his eyes go dark and he fainted.

"Shut up!" Zhuge spat in disgust.

Looking at Zhu Yousong hanging on the beam, Zhu Ge showed a barely perceptible smile at the corner of his mouth. Behind him, Han Zanzhou looked at the hanged Zhu Yousong with a complicated expression and sighed deeply.

Zhu Yousong was right. Killing him had never been Chongzhen's intention; it had been Han Zanzhou's suggestion. Zhu Yousong was, after all, the emperor chosen by the imperial court. If he survived, Chongzhen would be in a very awkward position. If he waited until later to deal with him, the difficult situation would likely fall on Chongzhen's shoulders. Therefore, Han Zanzhou believed that the best solution was to let Zhu Yousong end his own life, putting an end to the matter once and for all.

On July 25, Xincheng Earl Zhao Zhilong slowly opened the stone city gate of Yingtian Prefecture. Yan Yingyuan led the Loyal Guard Battalion into Nanjing City like a tide and quickly took over the city defense.

Huang Fei's navy also sailed into the Yangtze River in a mighty manner and successfully took over the defense of the Yangtze River.

Before the Earl of Xincheng could open the city gates, Zhu Ge led the secret guards who had infiltrated the city and, with the close cooperation of the garrison eunuch Han Zanzhou, they captured the imperial city without anyone noticing. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Emperor Hongguang, in despair, chose to hang himself.

Ma Shiying, the Grand Secretary of the Dongge and the Minister of War, the Chief Minister of the Hongguang Court, Ruan Dacheng, the Right Vice Minister of War, Liu Kongzhao, the Marquis of Chengyi, and Tang Guozuo, the Marquis of Lingbi, were thrown into the Tianlao and awaited their fate because they contacted Liu Zeqing, the Marquis of Dongping, to confront the court.