"The specific situation is not yet clear, but if Juyongguan and Changping are lost, the rebels will reach the north of the city today or tomorrow at the latest."

"We must retreat now, otherwise once the ant bandit army comes and besiege us, it will be difficult to retreat with the strength we have now."

Li Zhifang expressed her opinion with a solemn expression.

Zhao Yue also said solemnly: "Master Governor, General Li is right, the capital will definitely not be able to be defended, and we cannot delay it any longer."

"I will return to the palace immediately and explain the situation to His Majesty. You guys should pack your bags and be ready to evacuate at any time."

Zhu Yunfei thought for a moment and then ordered seriously.

"Cao Gui is back." Zhu Yunfei was just about to go out when a call came from outside the door.

"Quickly, please let Cao Gui come in." Zhu Yunfei stood up and looked at the door.

"In this humble position, I see you, Lord Governor." Cao Gui, who was wearing a bamboo hat and a poncho, followed the guidance of Cao Ming and made a three-step, two-step salute.

"No need to be polite, get up and talk." Zhu Yunfei waved his hands and said repeatedly.

"Lord Governor, the main force of the ant thieves heading towards Baoding set off yesterday and is expected to arrive in the outskirts of western Beijing tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

Cao Gui took the cloth from Cao Ming, wiped the rain off his face, and spoke slowly.

"At present, both Bazhou and Zhuozhou have fallen. The rebel forces led by Liu Zongmin and Li Guo in the direction of Baoding still number up to 160,000 troops, except for those who stayed behind."

"In addition, in the direction of Xuanfu, Li Zicheng's general Zhang Nai and Dang Shousu's troops, with 60,000 troops, have already occupied Juyongguan and Changping."

"This group of troops should have bypassed the Xuan Mansion and gone straight to Juyong Pass."

"This intimidated Du Zhizhi, the eunuch guarding Juyongguan, and forced Tang Tong, who had just arrived in Changping and was not yet stable, to surrender."

"Now Zhang Nai and Dang Shousu's troops have recruited troops from Juyongguan and Changping."

"The military strength has been expanded to more than 80,000 people."

"Moreover, the vanguard of this army is rushing towards the north of Beijing at a high speed. It is expected that it will arrive outside the north gate in a few hours at most."

"Bizhi also learned the news, so he hurried back all the way."

"It was a derelict dereliction of duty for failing to find out the news in advance. Please forgive me, Lord Governor."

After saying this, Cao Gui fell to his knees and bowed his head in apology.

"Although you are responsible for this, it is also an accident. I will fine you twenty military sticks and wait until you are safely back in Shandong before punishing you."

After Zhu Yunfei severely punished him, he turned to Zhao Yue and ordered.

"Zhao Yue, Hao Yaoqi and you two, lead the Dengzhou Guard troops and leave the city immediately to defend Xianghe and Wuqing counties to ensure that our army has a smooth road south."

"Li Zhifang, Qin Shan, you two will lead the musket battalion and artillery battalion to guard Yongding Gate and ensure the smooth flow of the road out of the city."

"Cao Ming, immediately send someone to Tianjin Guard and order the naval battalion deputy general Liu Tong to enter a state of war preparation and prepare for the retreat."

"Tell Zhang Guoyuan to follow me into the palace." Zhu Yunfei divided his troops and braved another heavy rain and returned to the Forbidden City.

At this moment, in the main hall of Fengtian Hall, Chongzhen was convening his ministers to discuss leaving Beijing tomorrow and staying behind.

When all the civil and military officials in the main hall heard Chongzhen's unquestionable words, no one in the court dared to say a word.

"This matter has been settled. Tomorrow afternoon, I will go south for inspection, and the capital will be handed over to you all. I hope you will not let me down."

Wei Zaode, the chief minister of the cabinet who stayed behind in the capital, Zhang Jinyan, the minister of the Ministry of War, Li Yuzhi, the minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Wang Dehua, the eunuch who oversaw the capital camp, Zhang Renxue, the chief military officer, and others were appointed.

Although they were shouting their orders, Wei Zaode and the others had a look of death on their faces.

Staying in the capital is said to be an important task, but everyone knows in their hearts that it means abandoning one's son.

Wang Dehua and Zhang Renxue also controlled 30,000 troops from the Beijing camp.

Now the main garrison is at the west gate and north gate, and Zhu Yunfei's troops are in charge of the south gate.

The east gate is mainly garrisoned by the eunuchs of the palace's East Factory and some of the imperial guards. Because it is in the direction of Jiliao and belongs to the inner city, there is no need to be strict on guard.

Wang Dehua knew very well that the reason why he was left behind was because of his secret discussion with Jin Zhijun, the Minister of War, which led to the leakage of the news of the emperor's journey south.

This made Chongzhen suspicious, and he abandoned her.

The indignant Wang Dehua had just left the palace when he saw his confidant eunuch Wu Daozheng driving a carriage waiting for him in front of the palace gate.

"Sir Admiral, an old friend is visiting and is waiting at the Admiral's Yamen."

Wang Dehua, who had a gloomy face and a pale beard, glanced at Wu Daozheng with a cold look.

"Okay, go back to the Admiral's Yamen." Wang Dehua was not only filled with resentment, but also despair at being abandoned by the emperor today.

He is only forty years old, in his prime, and has not yet finished enjoying his wealth and glory.

He didn't want to die in the capital like this. Wouldn't staying behind mean committing suicide?

"I have seen the admiral in my humble position." In the lobby of the admiral's office, the person waiting for Wang Dehua was none other than Du Zhizhi, the eunuch guarding Juyongguan.

Du Zhizhi can be regarded as Wang Dehua's direct descendant.

The two are not only old friends, but also old acquaintances.

"Why is it you?" Wang Dehua was not in the mood to talk nonsense with Du Zhizhi now.

Du Zhizhi usually didn't do anything in front of Wang Dehua, the eunuch in charge of the capital camp.

"Admiral, it seems you don't welcome me." Du Zhizhi smiled faintly and sat down on the table without fear of Wang Dehua.

"Du Zhizhi, you are so presumptuous." Seeing Du Zhizhi actually sitting in his seat, Wang Dehua's expression turned cold, and he pointed at Du Zhizhi with a cold gaze and scolded.

"Admiral Wang, is this the way you treat guests?" On ordinary days, Du Zhizhi would be as humble as a dog in front of Wang Dehua.

But today, he seemed to be a different person, which shocked Wang Dehua.

"Wu Zhengdao, ask someone to drag this slave down and beat him with fifty military sticks."

"Eunuch Wu, it seems that you didn't tell your admiral about our current status." Du Zhizhi smiled coldly.

"What's going on?" Wang Dehua glared at Wu Zhengdao angrily.

"Forget it, let's talk to Admiral Wang about your situation." Du Zhizhi calmly picked up the teacup on the coffee table and took a sip of tea.

"Admiral Wang, our family has now surrendered to King Dashun. According to King Dashun's decree, we came here specifically to give you a way out."

"Now, Zhang Nai, the general under King Dashun, and Dang Shousu, leading an army of 100,000, have arrived outside the northern city of Beijing."

"Major General Li Guo and General Quan Liu Zongmin with an army of 200,000 are heading towards the west gate and south gate to besiege us."

"Admiral Wang, if you are a smart man, if you lead your army to surrender to King Dashun at this time, you will have a lot of glory and wealth in the future."

"But if you have to resist stubbornly, if the city is destroyed, then there will be only death."

"What? You, you..." Wang Dehua was shocked by Du Zhizhi's words.

"Report, there is a large group of ant thieves outside the city, there are probably one hundred thousand people."

Wang Dehua, who was pointing at Du Zhizhi, had not finished his words of condemnation when a hurried report from a messenger sent Wang Dehua to the ground in fright.

"Quickly, report to Your Majesty quickly." Wang Dehua struggled to stand up and shouted to Wu Zhengdao.

"Admiral, His Majesty has abandoned you and is going south. We can't sit back and wait for death." Wu Zhengdao grabbed Wang Dehua and said bitterly.

"Admiral, let's, let's surrender."

"I, you..." The panicked Wang Dehua was speechless and didn't know how to deal with himself.

"Eunuch Wu, what are you waiting for? Admiral Wang said he surrendered." Du Zhizhi saw that Wang Dehua was in chaos, so he gave Wu Zhengdao a look.

Wu Daozheng understood the idea and shouted repeatedly: "The Admiral has given orders to open the city gate and welcome the king's troops into the city."

With Wang Dehua's tacit approval, Wu Daozheng held a military order and directly opened the north gate of the capital.

Dashun's mighty general Dang Shousu, who had just arrived at the city with 30,000 forward troops, thought this was a Ming army strategy when he saw this scene.

He was so frightened and uncertain that he did not dare to give the order to enter the city.

It wasn't until Du Zhizhi appeared outside the city that Dang Shousu confirmed that this was true.

"Hahaha..." Dang Shousu, who looked up to the sky and laughed, never expected that the magnificent capital of the Ming Dynasty would be defeated by him without a single blow.

"Brothers, go into the city, capture the Dog Emperor alive, and offer victory to King Dashun!"

The inexplicably excited Dang Shousu jumped up on his horse, raised his sword high, and roared towards the capital shrouded in rain.

"Capture the Dog Emperor alive and offer victory to King Dashun!"

"Capture the Dog Emperor alive and offer victory to King Dashun!"
Chapter completed!