Liu Yanzhi, who was told to the point of his concern, turned red and stopped talking, which was considered to be acknowledging Teacher Zhou’s plan.

After resting for half an hour, the team re-started, and the target was still Beijing. Liu Yanzhi walked half a month ago. He was familiar with the road. It was the hot summer season and it was hard to walk at noon. They only took advantage of the morning and evening to rush around. After walking for more than ten days, they arrived in Zhili.

Teacher Zhou is familiar with history. Cixi left Beijing on July 21st of the Gengzi year. She left the city from Xizhimen and headed straight to the northwest. She suffered a lot along the way. This also led to many folk legends. Cixi was short of food and clothing during the journey to the west. She ate steamed buns as a delicacy, and then she tasted it. Of course, this may not be groundless. According to research, Cixi was surrounded by various false news. When the bullets of the Eight-Nation Alliance landed in the Forbidden City, she realized that the disaster was coming. She walked very quickly. The war was in chaos around the capital and it was difficult to obtain supplies. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare some delicious food for the Empress Dowager Lafayette.

So when they were traveling to the south of the country, they purchased a batch of pastries. Chinese pastries were flour and sugar. A large amount of sugar could ensure that the food was stored for a long time and would not be damaged even in the summer. In addition, they bought some miscellaneous items, which would probably come in handy.

At this time, Tianjin had fallen, Tongzhou was also occupied, and Beijing's gates were wide open. The most brutal battle of defense in Beijing was about to begin. Fighting everywhere, and defeated troops were everywhere. They inevitably encountered several battles. Zhou Jiarui's three strong entourages were beaten to death and injured two. Seeing that it was useless, Teacher Zhou gave the two wounded people a few taels of silver and sent them to make a living.

On July 18, the day before Beijing was besieged, Liu Yanzhi and others sneaked into the capital. At this time, Beijing was still in a mess, with unknown armed personnel everywhere, and the sound of cannons still rumbling in the area of ​​Dongjiaomin Lane. This small land is as solid as a rock under the siege of tens of thousands of Qing troops and the Boxer Regiments.

Due to the Boxer Rebellion, there were a large number of empty houses in the city. The three of them found a place to hide and stocked up on drinking water and dry food. They did not leave day and night, and only waited for the 21st to come.

Two days later, in the early morning, the Beijing defense battle finally began. The cannons were loud, and sometimes stray bullets fell into the city. Fires surged into the sky in the southeast direction, and half of the sky was reflected red.

"It's almost time to set off." Zhou Jiarui took out his pocket watch and looked at it, took a deep breath and said.

Liu Yan looked at the city wall in the opposite direction, where countless heroes were fighting decisively with invading foreign enemies. At this moment, he wanted to stand on Zhengyang Gate and fight side by side with them, but he couldn't, because this behavior was meaningless.

At this time, Lin Huaiyuan had roughly guessed the plan of these two people, so he cooperated very well. Although he was a civil servant, he often rode a horse and would play with his sword in the yard for a while without any trouble. So Liu Yanzhi found him a waist knife and put it on, and he could also hold it up at critical moments.

The three of them wore military uniforms, brought weapons and luggage, and rode horses to the back gate of the imperial city, which was near Di'anmen.

At around six o'clock in the morning, two carriages came out of Di'anmen in a panic surrounded by a group of eunuchs and guards, hurried westward, and rushed to Xizhimen.

"The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are in the car." Zhou Jiarui said.

Lin Huaiyuan's eyes became eager, and he subconsciously wanted to run over and kneel down to pay his respects. Liu Yanzhi grabbed his reins and shook his head. It was obviously not the best time to follow him rashly.

The three followed the convoy, and the escape teams on the street had emerged, and no one noticed the three knights.

The carriage that Empress Dowager Cixi was riding was just an ordinary folk car, without the bright yellow color used by the royal family. Not only did the carriage not dare to look at her, she even changed into a blue cloth coat and dressed up as an old folk woman. This was not the first time Cixi escaped in a hurry. When Master Xianfeng was still there, the British and French allied forces were at the city, so she followed the emperor to Chengde, so she was very experienced.

There were too many people in the palace, and if they wanted to take them away, they would have at least a few thousand people. Now the foreign army has entered Zhengyang Gate, and no one can leave if they are delayed. So she only brought the emperor, queen, concubine Jin, several princes, eldest princes and other people. There were not many guards accompanying him, just twenty or thirty imperial guards, all equipped with foreign guns, and they could withstand a while when encountering chaos.

The few people walked quickly, and in a blink of an eye, they arrived at Xizhimen. There were also wars here. Bullets flew around. Cixi lifted the curtain of the car and saw a small group of foreign soldiers crawling out of the collapsed city wall. The bayonet was shaking. She was so scared that she ordered the eunuchs who were driving the car to leave quickly.

The Japanese army besieged Xizhimen. According to later records, the Japanese army was eager to move closer to the Western civilized world at this time. The military discipline was one of the best among the Eight-Nation Alliance. Another American army with slightly better military disciplines, the Japanese soldiers wearing black tops entered the city. The huge Beijing city made them dizzy and couldn't figure out the direction of the imperial city. An officer asked the people watching the fun on the roadside. The people were happy to point to the southeast and told them that the emperor lived there.

"Thank you for your advice." The Japanese officer who was proficient in Chinese saluted and was about to command his subordinates to move in when he suddenly saw a suspicious convoy on the road. Behind the carriage were a group of senior Qing officials in colorful python robes. The ones accompanied were all elite Qing soldiers. They suddenly became suspicious and ordered their subordinates to lie down and shoot.

The battle suddenly started, and the prince, Beller, fell to the ground in fear. The guards were wary and tried their best to protect the Queen Mother's breakthrough. They used thirteen-fire guns made by Britain, which had many loads and had a fast firing rate. A rapid shot suppressed the Japanese firepower.

Empress Dowager Cixi had just breathed a sigh of relief when she suddenly heard the sound of gunfire. It turned out that the guards fired in a mess. After the bullets were finished, the Japanese soldiers looked up and fought back. They were well-trained and accurate in shooting. In a blink of an eye, seven or eight guards were shot and fell to the ground. One bullet penetrated the cart and penetrated a hole in the curtain. Cixi was so shocked that she held the Buddhist beads tightly and muttered something.

If the Empress Dowager was captured alive by a foreigner, she would not have the face to see Master Xianfeng under the nine springs. Not only would the late emperor lose all his face, but the faces of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty were nowhere to be put. At this time, Cixi couldn't help but think of Concubine Zhen who was ordered to drown in the well by her order an hour ago. The reason she used was to worry that Concubine Zhen would be humiliating to be captured. Retribution came in a blink of an eye. Could it be that Concubine Zhen, the bitch, was at work?

Empress Dowager Cixi was in a state of confusion and regretted it. Suddenly, the gunshots on the opposite side became weaker. The carriage took the opportunity to rush through the blockade and ran through Xizhimen. The city of Beijing was too large, the Eight-Nation Alliance had too few troops, and was facing the threat of street fighting, so no one cared about the fleeing refugees. They luckily passed Xizhimen.

It was Liu Yanzhi who took action just now. He used the same British-made Martini Henry rifle, but his accurate head was much better than the guards. He knocked down the Japanese officers in the first shot, and then the guns did not fail. The sharp reduction in the Japanese firepower was his credit.

The three of them could appear in a noble manner when they rode their horses and followed the team. The accompanying guards saw them helping each other and wore military uniforms. There were too many Qing troops in Beijing, including Wuwei Army, Gan Army, Yi Army, and Eight Banner Green Camp. No one could figure it out. Anyway, they were their own people, so they would not reject him if they said hello.

Empress Dowager Cixi is very familiar with Xizhimen. When she goes to the Summer Palace, she always passes through this gate. When she passes by, the loess road was cushioned and Yiluan was purged, but she escaped from the rain of bullets today. Thinking about the glory of the past, it really seems like a different life.

"Little Lizi, are we leaving the city?" Cixi asked.

The chief manager Li Lianying was sitting next to the handlebar. The scene just now scared him to death. He was still in shock at this moment. When he heard the master’s question, he hurriedly replied: “Go back to Mr. Lady, we are out safely.”

"How many soldiers and horses have been damaged?" Cixi continued to ask. It would be impossible to have no soldiers around her in such chaos outside.

Li Lianying looked back and felt a little cold, and replied, "There are more than ten people."

"Go away quickly." Cixi was even more panicked. If she met another team of foreign soldiers, she would have completely stopped.

The handlebars were whipped, and the carriage accelerated. It started to rain. Fortunately, this was the imperial road that was often walked, so it was not muddy. Those who took the bus didn't feel anything. The royal relatives who were walking behind him were suffering. They ran away and were so tired that they were exhausted that they were almost bleeding. But they didn't dare to stop. Lord Lafayette didn't wait for anyone.

The eldest prince Pu Jun is one of the unlucky guys who don’t have a horse to ride. He is only fifteen years old, and he is very young and energetic. It would be fine if the Lafayette and the emperor and the queen had a car to ride, but he couldn’t swallow his breath when others rode on horseback.

"Hey, which military soldier are you? Give me the horse to ride." Pu Jun pointed at Liu Yan panting and shouted.

Liu Yan glared at him without saying a word.

"This should be Pu Jun, a useless person, so you don't have to give him a good face." Zhou Jiarui and Liu Yanzhi walked side by side and said in a low voice.

"Are you deaf?" Pu Jun continued, "and the one wearing glasses, let your horse out."

Liu Yanzhi raised his gun at Pu Jun with one hand, and scared him so much that he shrank back a few steps and grabbed a guard: "Protect the car!"

The imperial guards ignored him. Not long ago, Pu Jun led a group of Boxers to the palace and yelled to kill Emperor Guangxu. The guards tried their best to stop him to succeed. Therefore, the guards disliked this kid very much. It would be fine, but at least give him face. Now the war is in chaos. It would be better if they don’t attack him, so who would stand up for him?

Pu Jun was furious and didn't know where he got his strength. He caught up with the carriage and shouted in the duck voice that was unique to the boy's voice change period: "God of Lafayette, Lord Lafayette, someone rebelled."

Empress Dowager Cixi was upset. When she heard Pu Jun shouting for rebellion, she felt a sudden slap in her heart. As soon as the handlebars were tightened, she stopped the carriage. She was so shocked that she lifted the curtain. She was about to ask Pu Jun what was going on, but she saw a group of Boxers blocking the road in front, and two mule carts were overturned by the roadside. The naked female corpses were lying across, and the boxers were wrapping the stolen silk on their bodies.

The Eight-Nation Alliance entered Beijing. The Boxer Regiment, who had originally shouted to help the Qing Dynasty and destroy the foreign countries, ran faster than anyone else. They formed a group of soldiers and bandits, and this group of bandits specifically blocked outside the city to rob refugees, killing men and traitors, and did not let go of any of them. They had just done a business and saw that business came to their door, and they immediately looked at the carriage that Cixi was riding. The greed and cruelty in their eyes were so scared that the old lady who turned her hands around and turned her hands to the rain shivered.

"There are girls!" A boxer shouted excitedly at Empress Dowager Cixi in the car.

It's over, and at least it can die decently in the hands of foreigners. In the hands of boxers, the decency of the Qing Dynasty and the Aisin Gioro family is really impossible to leave. Although Cixi is already a sixty-five-year-old woman, she is well maintained and looks like a woman in her forties and still has a little beauty. She is quite confident in this, but this has now become a burden. She would rather die than be insulted by the rioters.

The guards hurriedly protected the carriage, but facing thousands of riot soldiers and the bandit gang formed by the Boxer Regiment, their force was like a mantis armed chariot.

The eldest prince Pu Jun was even more disgusted and stopped yelling. He ran back.

"Yanzhi, the opportunity is here." Zhou Jiarui reminded.

Liu Yanzhi slapped forward, and the rifles in his hand kept firing. The enemy lined up too densely, so he could hit the gun without even aiming. The bandits were knocked down. Not only did they not retreat, but they relied on the number of people to come up. Liu Yanzhi fired all the bullets in the rifle, snatched a red tassel spear that stabbed him, and shaved the spear tassel, killing all directions.

Empress Dowager Cixi's hand lifted the curtain and never let it go. She saw a scene that could only be seen on the stage. A young general with a white robe killed seven in and seven out in the enemy's formation, but saw blood flying, and thieves were picked up by guns. The young general felt like he was in a state of no one, killing corpses everywhere, and ghosts cried and howled.

According to later records, Empress Dowager Cixi's favorite Peking Opera after the Gengzi Incident was "Changbanpo", and more than once the famous martial artist Yang Xiaolou was summoned to the palace to perform this short play.
Chapter completed!