Chapter 126: Give the Capital's Nobles a Little Shock to the Warriors
Whether the Ming court wanted to pay the Liao soldiers in the capital or not, they had no chance.

"Use the catapult to distribute the silver and copper coins to the brothers in the Zhongwu Camp. We Liao soldiers cannot eat meat by ourselves and let the brothers in the Beijing Camp watch us."

This unit of Liao soldiers began to plunder the farmland along the way near Tongzhou. They did not find much silver, only about 20,000 to 30,000 taels, but a lot of copper coins of various kinds. Excluding the money the soldiers kept on themselves, there were tens of thousands of copper coins handed over to the commander.

There is no large square in front of the imperial city now, only the East and West Chang'an Avenue. Various siege weapons cannot be fully deployed, and the civilians pushed the catapults ordered by the commander to the front of the battle.

The Liao soldiers carrying the boxes put the silver into the bullet bags. After twisting the lever, the three large boxes were thrown into the Zhongwu Camp army formation.

"It's really silver, and copper coins!"

The soldiers of the Zhongwu Camp avoided the point where the big box fell, so that the silver and money scattered on the ground were visible to the surrounding soldiers of the Beijing Camp, and the Ming officials on the city wall could also see it clearly.

After seeing clearly what was in the box, the soldiers of the Zhongwu Camp rushed to the pile of silver and money. Those who were close enough grabbed the things and put them into the gunpowder bags around their waists.

"This traitor Li is so cruel that he actually gave money to the soldiers in the Beijing camp."

"What does Feng Jiahui do for a living? He must have embezzled a lot of money when distributing silver to the soldiers in the Beijing camp a few days ago!"

"Quickly send someone to stop the soldiers of the Zhongwu Camp from picking up the money. If their formation is disrupted, the Liao soldiers will come up."

The speed at which the Zhongwu Camp collapsed far exceeded the imagination of Ming officials. With the point where the three large boxes landed as the center, the crowd soon formed into three groups.

Looking from the top of the city wall, it looks like red ants crowding at the entrance of their nest.

Not only were the lower-ranking soldiers robbing the money, but even the officers with lower ranks followed suit. Under the oppression of the Ming officialdom, even the soldiers in the Beijing camp could not receive twelve months' salary each year.

At this point, the Zhongwu Camp, which still had some fighting power, could not stop the Liao army's offensive.

"Push the catapults across the Jinshui Bridge, beware of the thousand-man army and their retainers, and confiscate the weapons and muskets of the common soldiers."

The Liao soldiers' flag officers quickly issued various military orders.

A lot of Jizhen soldiers came over from Zhengyang Gate. Although the Jizhen soldiers were not strong in combat, the area between Zhengyang Gate and Chang'an Street where the Liao soldiers were located was full of the Five Military Governor's Office, the Five Ministries, the Hanlin Academy and other government offices, so the cavalry could not deploy.

The Liao soldiers did not have any money to throw at the Jizhen soldiers' attack route, so choosing to quickly occupy the imperial city was the most appropriate option.

The Chengtian Gate, the south gate of the imperial city, is ten feet high, and the catapult has to be pushed close enough to ensure that the commander-in-chief can reach the top of the city.

"It's over~ It's all over!"

Duke Yingguo Zhang Weixian was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground. He was the sixth-generation grandson of Zhang Fu, a famous general during the Yongle Dynasty. He was in charge of the Rear Army Commandery and assisted in military affairs in the Beijing camp.

Aside from the Zhongwu Camp, the only ones left in the imperial city were the Han generals in the Jinyiwei who were specifically responsible for maintaining the dignity of the royal family, as well as some of the recently transferred soldiers from the Shenji Camp. These two groups combined were not enough to withstand a wave of Liao soldiers rushing out of the city.

What’s more, there is the invincible Marshal Li.

"Old Zhang, run quickly! Li Ni is almost coming to the city."

A duke named Zhu helped the Duke of Yingguo up, and the two of them walked straight down the city with the help of their servants.

The emperor did not come at all. The eunuch who delivered the message was a eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace. All the officials and dukes were forced to the top of the city wall to show off.

"Son of a bitch, each one is running faster than the other."

After Li Hao, holding two maces, was thrown up, he found that all the high-ranking officials on the city wall had fled, and there were only dozens of eunuchs commanding hundreds of Shenjiying soldiers who were trembling like sieves.

After the soldiers from the Beijing camp fired the first shot randomly, they began to load gunpowder into the bird guns in their hands.

"If you are a man, go and kill Li Ni!"

"Don't retreat. Kill all the Li traitors and Liao soldiers. Your Majesty will pay everyone."

The eunuchs used their shrill voices to force the soldiers of the Beijing camp to come forward and fight. Unfortunately, these soldiers were so shaking that they couldn't even load the gunpowder. How could they have the courage to fight in close combat with Marshal Li, who had been notorious for a whole year?
"Put down your weapons and follow me to kill the eunuchs. All of you will receive double pay. The money in the officials' houses is all for the military pay. Why should the brothers in the Beijing camp risk their lives for them?"

While Li Hao rushed forward to chase and kill the eunuch, he was also quickly persuading him to surrender.

There are a total of thirty camps in the Beijing camp, with ten camps each in the Five Army Camp, the Shenji Camp, and the Three Thousand Camp. The full quota can reach 90,000 people, but most of the people are occupied by the powerful and used as servants, and are oppressed as miserably as the private slaves in Jiangnan.

After Marshal Li beat to death several of the eunuchs who were closest to the front, the soldiers of the Beijing camp began to disintegrate and surrender.

The eunuch supervising the battle was not very good at using firearms, and he was wearing an iron armor that he had found from somewhere. He could only fight with a goose-feather-shaped sword, but he was soon killed by the hard mace.

The desire to receive salary led a considerable number of soldiers from the Beijing camp to follow Marshal Li, and the south gate of the imperial city was soon lost.

Liao soldiers, surrendered soldiers and militiamen entered the imperial city at the same time. Chang'an Street fell into the hands of the Jizhen soldiers, and their hundreds of side-box chariots were finally deployed.

But it was obvious that the Jizhen soldiers, who were slow to move forward, did not dare to attack the imperial city by force. They did not even dare to occupy the Jinshui Bridge. Without equipment such as ladders, they could not take it down.

No one knows what the current situation in the imperial city is. If they attack the city rashly, who knows what serious crimes will be blamed on these border generals.

"Zhou Yuji, the Shang brothers, and the three Lis, quickly lead your men to occupy the gates of the imperial city. I'll be in charge of the palace city."

Li Hao ordered his generals. "General, you can lie and say that Emperor Tianqi has issued an imperial decree ordering the Jizhen troops to retreat to the south city."

Mr. Wang proposed it at the critical moment.

"You go and handle this matter. Once we have taken care of the palace, it doesn't matter if there are thousands of troops outside. I can handle it alone."

The walls of the Imperial City and the Palace City were made of more solid materials than those of Beijing City. After occupying the Imperial City, the Liao soldiers, the surrendered soldiers and the militiamen had a foothold. Li Hao no longer had any scruples and any soldier outside who dared not surrender was chopped in half.

Wang Yingjun took the order and left. He performed quite well during this period and was assigned more than a dozen Liao soldiers and hundreds of militiamen as his subordinates.

While the fight was in full swing outside, the Qianqing Palace was still filled with coughing sounds.

The old eunuch Liu Chao crawled in covered in dust and dirt, slid to his knees in front of the emperor, and said nothing.

Emperor Tianqi was quite smart and had guessed what Liu Chao was going to report, "Failed to defend the imperial city?"

Once the imperial city was lost, all that was left for him to defeat Li Ni and the Liao soldiers was the three unfinished halls and the concave-shaped Meridian Gate.

The old eunuch lowered his head and hummed, "There is one more thing. I want to report it, but I am afraid that His Majesty will be upset. If I don't reply, it will affect the state affairs."

The emperor would definitely not escape, so it was useless to persuade him, so Liu Chao did not waste his words.

Emperor Tianqi struggled to sit up, stared at Liu Chao, and ordered him to speak quickly.

He was not afraid of death. It would be great if his death could make Li Ni bear the reputation of regicide.

"His Royal Highness Prince Xin probably didn't escape. An eunuch saw Prince Xin tied up among the Liao soldiers. The Concubine Dowager is still unclear about his whereabouts."

The cavalrymen who escorted Prince Xin and the Queen Mother to escape did not dare to return to the capital, and the people in the palace did not know whether Prince Xin had escaped safely to the south.

Emperor Tianqi closed his eyes, then his body swayed and he fell onto the couch.

The eunuchs and palace maids who served the emperor closely all came forward, and when they found that the emperor was still conscious, they helped him lie down and then left.

"Liu Chao, find Duke Yingguo Zhang Weixian and order him to try every possible means to escape. Prince Rui is still on his way to his fiefdom, and Li Ni has no time to hunt him down. Ask Duke Yingguo to find a way to take Prince Rui to Nanjing. The Ming Dynasty is in his hands."

Although the thing he was most worried about had happened, Zhu Youxiao's thoughts were unusually clear.

He still has four uncles alive. Logically, Prince Fu would inherit the throne after Emperor Taichang. However, Prince Fu's reputation is too bad. Once he succeeds to the throne, I'm afraid even more people will follow Li Ni in rebellion.

Prince Rui Zhu Changhao was a pitiful man. Except for his love of money, he was better than Prince Fu in every way.

Liu Chao bowed his head and left.

"Serve me and put on the nine-beam crown and robes."

Emperor Tianqi ordered that the three main halls had not been built yet, and Li Nisha came in faster than he could get dressed, so the place where the two would meet might be the Qianqing Palace.

In front of the Wumen Gate of the palace, the catapults had not yet been set up when suddenly a group of Liao soldiers on horseback came from the West Garden with a dozen people.

"Godfather, we have captured several dukes and high officials."

Shang Kexi dismounted, grabbed one of the men by the hair and walked towards the commander.

"Who is this beast?" Li Hao shouted.

The arrested person was silent and hesitant, and Shang Kexi answered for him.

"This is the Prime Minister Huang Liji, a well-known eunuch official who has brought disaster to many people."

Cabinet minister?

Li Hao was not very interested. The civil servants had taken all their embezzled money back to their hometowns and bought land and houses. Some officials from Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Southern Zhili even liked to build gardens. They did not have much money at home in Beijing.

"Are there any dukes, marquises, or anything like that?"

The dukes and marquises who stay in Beijing are the big fat sheep. Most of their property is in their mansions or shops in northern Zhili, and it has been passed down for more than 200 years. They are much richer than civil servants who have only been in office for a few decades.

"As expected by godfather, there are two dukes, one named Zhu Chunchen and the other named Zhang Weixian, both of whom were passed down from the Yongle Dynasty."

Shang Kexi ordered his men to drag the two dukes in front of the commander-in-chief.

Li Hao's eyes sparkled. In his eyes, these two middle-aged people were much more attractive than any peerless beauties.

"I will not make it difficult for you. When the situation stabilizes in a couple of days, I will go to your house to move some things and pay the wages owed to the brothers in the Nine Frontiers."

After stabilizing the situation in Beijing, Marshal Li decided to give the powerful people a little martial arts shock.

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(End of this chapter)