As it turned out, things were indeed this absurd; the long-missing Chuangwang Li Zicheng had suddenly appeared and captured Shenyang.
Thinking about it this way, it is understandable why the Qing Army is so panicked; when your home base is suddenly taken over like that, who wouldn't panic?
It was a pity that the people Zhu Ci sent to scout failed to gather any useful information, as the Manchus themselves were quite bewildered, not understanding what kind of tactic the Ming Kingdom was employing.
Zhu Ci: Actually, this isn't our tactic.
However, even if he said it now, no one would believe him.
He thought for a moment and said, "Send someone to ask Dorgon; if he is able to speak, give him some painkillers."
Although there were no fast-acting Western medicines in this era, there were still many useful ones, such as opium.
This stuff remains one of the ingredients for painkillers in later generations, so it is naturally effective.
As for addiction, how could Zhu Ci possibly worry about that? If it's addictive, then so be it.
However, Wang Chang soon ran over and said, "Your Majesty, Dorgon wishes to see you."
Before Zhu Ci could speak, the Imperial Physician beside him curled his lip and said, "His Majesty is someone he can just go and see whenever he pleases?"
Wang Chang said with some difficulty, "He says he doesn't need medicine, if His Majesty will not see him, he will say nothing."
Zhu Ci simply lifted his chin and said, "Then don't say anything else. Tell him that I am busy attacking Beijing."
At this point, he no longer needed to obtain intelligence from Dorgon.
Since Li Zicheng has already taken Shenyang, he will soon send word to him, of course, Zhu Ci will also send people to contact him. Now that the Manchus' retreat is cut off, the Great Ming only needs to crush them with brute force.
Especially since two of the Manchus' Regents have either surrendered or been captured, can Haoge and Ajige really shoulder such heavy responsibilities?
After resting in Changping for two days, Zhu Ci immediately led his men to continue their journey.
When he saw the walls of Beijing from afar, he actually felt a moment of trance.
The direction they were attacking was Deshengmen. He was very familiar with this name, but at this moment, he felt that Deshengmen was somewhat unfamiliar.
Zhu Ci sat on his horse and watched for a long time, then picked up a monocular: "Hmm?"
Wang Chang, who was by his side, also voiced a question at this moment: "Your Majesty, there don't seem to be any garrison troops on Deshengmen."
Indeed, no one could be seen on the walls of Deshengmen at this time, not only that, but the area around Deshengmen was also completely empty.
Zhu Ci said cautiously, "Send someone to take a look, tell them to be careful of the Tartars' traps."
Wang Chang immediately sent people cautiously toward the direction of Deshengmen, because he was worried about traps, he did not send many men.
Zhu Ci watched as the scout squad he had sent out climbed up the city wall, after a short while, a green flag was raised.
In the flag signals set by Zhu Ci, green represents safety.
Has the Qing Court fled?
After receiving the news that the area was secure, Wang Chang immediately dispatched a large force to take control of Deshengmen. There was no one guarding the tightly closed gates, the surroundings were deathly silent.
After arranging for his men to inspect all areas, Wang Chang said, "Your Majesty, it seems the Tartars have truly fled."
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Is it really this fast? Evil kitty sadly puts down the binoculars. jpg
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 262
Either it's not what it seems, or they've already fled.
With the army already at the city gates, it would be strange if they didn't flee.
Although Li Zicheng still remains in the North, in the eyes of the current Qing Court, Li Zicheng might be much easier to deal with than Zhu Ci.
Having defeated many famous generals of the Qing Army, including the Imperial Uncle Regent, who was known as the God of War of the Qing Dynasty, Zhu Ci had become a terrifying presence in the eyes of the Manchus.
Zhu Ci fell silent for a moment. For some reason, he suddenly felt as if he were punching into cotton.
He had originally thought that attacking Juyong Pass and Changping would be this difficult, so attacking Beijing might be even harder when the time comes.
He had even considered how to achieve victory with the minimum number of casualties.
For a brief moment, he even felt that if the Qing Court sent someone to negotiate, as long as the other party agreed to surrender, he would not be unable to accept it.
Ultimately, this battle lasted too long, too many people died.
As it turned out, did the Qing Court actually prefer to flee rather than surrender? Or did they feel that surrender would lead to no good end?
Zhu Ci quickly shifted his attention and said, "Arrange for people to bolster the defenses and conduct thorough inspections; be wary of an empty fort stratagem."
Although I don't know if the Tartars have read military books, it is always better to be cautious.
Wang Chang nodded vigorously and said with some excitement, "Your Majesty, should I go and tidy up the Forbidden City first?"
Zhu Ci fell silent for a moment, his emotions complicated: "There is no need to rush for now. First, investigate the situation within the city, then appease the people, then prepare the offerings. I must first go to the Tianshoushan Imperial Mausoleum to pay respects to my ancestors."
Wang Chang immediately took the order and departed, but soon Zhu Ci encountered a very serious problem: there was no ritual official.
Leading an army on a campaign wouldn't involve bringing a Ritual Reader anyway, so the problem now was how to perform the sacrificial rites without one.
When Zhu Ci first conquered Fengyang, the sacrificial rites were indeed rushed, but at that time, the entire imperial court was nothing more than a makeshift crew, the Ministry of Rites was held up entirely by Zhu Ci himself.
Moreover, although Fengyang is called the Imperial Ancestral Mausoleum, it actually cannot be compared to the Tianshoushan Imperial Mausoleum at all.
The Tianshoushan Imperial Mausoleum is actually what people in later generations often refer to as the Thirteen Tombs of the Ming. Starting from Chengzu Zhu Di, almost all the imperial tombs of the Great Ming are located here, its significance is extraordinary.
But strictly speaking, Zhu Ci was not a direct descendant of Zhu Di.
Zhu Ci had no choice but to write an edict to have the Ministry of Rites send someone over; oh, the victory report must be sent as well.
However, he could not just sit idly by before the Ministry of Rites sent anyone.
Zhu Ci thought for a moment and decided to visit Meishan first.
This is the place where Emperor Chongzhen committed suicide; after Li Zicheng entered the capital, he buried the remains of Emperor Chongzhen and Empress Zhou in the tomb of Consort Tian.
Meishan was also the Jingshan of later generations. When Zhu Ci was born in his previous life, that tree had long since withered away, the appearance of Jingshan was also very different from how it is now.
Zhu Ci always felt a sense of displacement in his heart; every time he discovered something familiar about this city, those familiar traits would reveal something strange within them.
It made him unable to resist comparing them.
However, by the time he finished comparing them, he himself was somewhat confused.
The only difference was that he discovered the greenery in Beijing during this era was truly too scarce.
No, it would be more accurate to say there was no greenery at all!
Many of the roads in the Inner City were also very narrow, making Zhu Ci extremely uncomfortable; he had already begun to compare the Beijing of the future with the Beijing of the present.
Change it, it must be changed sooner or later!
Zhu Ci stood on Meishan Mountain, gazing out at the entire Beijing Capital.
At this time, Beijing was actually much smaller than in later generations. Perhaps because there were not as many flowers, grass, or trees, combined with the fact that winter had already begun, the entire city appeared dusty and gray.
Compared to Nanjing, the environment was significantly worse.
For a moment, Zhu Ci truly felt a sense of admiration for Zhu Di; after all, it did indeed require a certain amount of courage to abandon the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan to come here and guard the nation's gates.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but difficult to go from luxury to frugality; even Zhu Ci found the current Beijing somewhat lacking.
No, no, he cannot be picky; he truly must stay here to oversee things.
The Mongols, the Jurchens, the Ordos—all of these must be dealt with, Beijing is the most suitable place to do so.
While Zhu Ci was lost in thought, he suddenly heard a familiar voice: "Your Majesty."
Hmm?
Why does that voice sound like the Grand Secretary?
For a brief moment, Zhu Ci even suspected he was hallucinating.
It was just that this hallucination was a bit strange; surely it couldn't be because he missed the Grand Secretary too much?
Zhu Ci turned around with a look of confusion and indeed saw his Grand Secretary standing behind him, wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
As he turned, Fu immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this official greets you."
Zhu Ci immediately walked over with a look of pleasant surprise and helped him up, asking, "Huaizhang? Why are you here?"
Through his sunglasses, Fu looked at the Little Emperor without restraint.
After only half a year, the Little Emperor seemed a bit taller than he had been a few days ago, slightly more tanned, the features on his face had become increasingly distinct.
The Little Emperor had gradually begun to grow from a verdant youth into the appearance of a grown man.
Fu Qingsheng said, "After receiving the victory report of His Majesty conquering Juyong Pass, the Grand Secretariat consulted with the Censorate and decided to set out for here."
According to the analysis from the military general staff, once Juyong Pass is captured, Beijing will essentially be within reach.
Once Beijing is captured, there will be many things to do. Aside from the generals leading the armies in battle, His Majesty will have no useful hands around him; they must come here first.
Of course, it was mainly because Fu could no longer endure it; ever since he met Zhu Ci, this was almost the longest time they had been apart.
Previously, Fu felt that a war of attrition might be necessary here in Beijing.
It was mainly because the weather was about to turn cold, the North gets cold much earlier than the South, so the Qing Army would certainly try every possible way to drag things out until the ground froze, allowing them a moment to catch their breath.
As it turned out, His Majesty was incredibly decisive and resolute, sweeping all the way down to Changping and even capturing Dorgon.
Fu saw that the Emperor would not be able to return in a short time. Furthermore, if Beijing were to fall, he might not even return to Nanjing for the time being, so he simply decided to hoodwink the others into coming with him.
If His Majesty does not return, he will go to find His Majesty anyway.
His reasons were perfectly legitimate, since reclaiming Beijing was also an obsession for many, the proposal passed quite smoothly.
Thus, two Vice Grand Secretaries were left in the Grand Secretariat, the Right Censor of the Censorate remained, the Vice Ministers of the Six Ministries were left behind, while the rest followed.
Aside from Fu Zhi simply wanting to see the Emperor, everyone else, to varying degrees, had the desire to witness history.
They hoped to witness the process of reclaiming Beijing.
As it turned out, despite their rushing, they were still a step too late.
By the time they arrived, His Majesty had already run to Meishan.