Chapter 563: Death of Li Zicheng (Part 2)

Tian Jianxiu died, Song Xiance died, and senior officials and generals of the Dashun regime died one after another.

Now, whose turn is it?

This is also what Li Zicheng fears most.

It was getting dark, and what Li Zicheng was even more afraid of was the dawn.

After daybreak, countless enemies will appear from all directions.

Now Li Zicheng has fallen into a terrible desperate situation.

On April 13th, it was dawn.

The Huben Guards finally captured Li Zicheng's movements, and large numbers of troops began to emerge from all directions. Li Zicheng knew that this might be his last battle.

He had gone through countless dangers, and he had never been so desperate even when he only had eighteen knights left, but now the terrible despair could not be contained in his heart.

Ding Yunyi, Ding Yunyi, this is the most terrifying opponent in his life!

I have encountered him countless times on the battlefield, but failed countless times. I seem to have no ability to resist in front of him.

Why? Why is this?

Li Zicheng was never able to give himself this answer

There were densely packed enemies everywhere, and everyone in Dashun, whether they were officials or soldiers, had fear on their faces.

Even Li Zicheng could clearly see fear on the face of Liu Zongmin, who had always been fearless.

Liu Zongmin was also scared, Liu Zongmin was actually scared too. Li Zicheng smiled bitterly in his heart.

"Brothers!" Li Zicheng decided to give his men one last boost: "I am with you, whether life or death, I will be with you! Now, we are facing the enemy, and I know that the possibility of victory is unlikely.

But I will charge with all of you to fight a bloody path for us, and we can start from scratch!"

However, he found that his words did not seem to have any effect, and the fear on the faces of the soldiers was not eliminated at all.

"Zong Min, I appoint you as the vanguard!" Li Zicheng suddenly raised his voice: "Go and fight to the death with the officers and soldiers!"

Liu Zongmin also knew that this was a life-or-death moment. He shouted loudly to his subordinates: "Brothers who are not afraid of death, come with me to kill the officers and soldiers!"

His morale barely improved, Liu Zongmin hit both swords with a wave of his hand: "Kill!"

A large number of thieves followed their general and rushed out. But in fact, no matter how many times they rushed out, the outcome they faced was exactly the same:

Waiting for them were the muskets of the Tiger Guards.

In the sound of gunfire, the rebels fell one by one; in the sound of gunfire, Li Zicheng, Liu Zongmin, and all the rebel generals saw only despair.

Boundless despair.

Gunpowder smoke filled the air, gunshots rang out randomly, and scores of bandit soldiers fell into pools of blood. This place had turned into a naked slaughterhouse.

A terrible war, a terrible killing.

The only thing Li Zicheng could do was to watch all of this happening in front of him without being able to do anything about it.

Charge after charge was met with despair again and again. The Tiger Guards soldiers holding muskets expressionlessly killed the enemies who tried to charge forward one by one.

Li Zicheng could even see his own end coming.

Liu Zongmin still worked very hard. He urged the retreating soldiers to charge forward again and again, and commanded his men to charge hard despite the enemy's terrifying muskets.

But it all seems so in vain.

"Straight bitch!" Liu Zongmin suddenly shouted and rushed forward with two swords in hand.

Call him brave or foolish. In short, when he was halfway through the charge, countless muskets hit him. Li Zicheng saw with his own eyes that his most courageous subordinate was knocked off his horse by muskets, and then was killed by countless people.

drowned by footsteps

Liu Zongmin, a native of Lantian, Shaanxi Province, was originally a blacksmith and started fighting under Li Zicheng. Li Zicheng was defeated by the Hu Ben Guards commanded by Ding Yunyi in Tongguan, Shaanxi Province. He and Li Zicheng led the remaining eighteen men to break through the encirclement and hid in Shangluo Mountain. They rose again the following year.

In the 13th year of Chongzhen's reign, he helped Li Zicheng break through the siege of Brazil, enter the disaster-stricken areas of Henan, and gain great momentum. In the 16th year of Chongzhen's reign, he was appointed as a general. In the following year, the peasant army was divided into two groups, the south and the north, crossing the Yellow River eastward and heading straight for the capital.

Hou Zongmin assisted Li Zicheng in leading the North Route Army through Datong and Xuanfu to the foot of Beijing City. On the night of March 17, he commanded the peasant army on the North Route to capture the outer city. On the 19th, the capital was captured. Chongzhen committed suicide.

After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, he implemented the "payment assistance" policy and established the "Rate Town Fusi", headed by Liu Zongmin. The amount of assistance was stipulated as "100,000 yuan for the middle hall, 70,000 or 53,000 yuan for the imperial hall of the ministry, and 53,000 yuan for the imperial court."

There are 530,000 officials in the Department of Science and Technology, 321,000 in the Imperial Academy, and thousands of subordinates each.

On April 13, the Tiger Guards beheaded Liu Zongmin in the capital.

Liu Zongmin's life ended like this.

As soon as Liu Zongmin died, the entire Dashun Army fell into complete chaos.

Li Zicheng still wanted to fight again, but was persuaded by Niu Jinxing, Gao Yigong and others.

And the situation on the battlefield did not allow him to continue fighting.

Li Zicheng failed. This time Li Zicheng failed completely.

Almost all Dashun troops died in this general attack by Huben Guards, surrendered, and were captured. Niu Jinxing, Gao Yigong and others used eight cavalry to fight to the death to keep Li Zicheng from leaving the battlefield and hiding in the capital.

At this moment, Li Zicheng's mood was extremely gloomy. He never thought that he would suffer such a terrible failure.

None of his countless previous failures had dealt him such a heavy blow like today. He was able to escape danger every time and make a successful comeback.

But this time, a voice told him countless times in his heart: It's impossible, it's impossible again!

He no longer desires anything extravagantly. He just hopes that he can escape this disaster safely this time, and then leave the capital and find a place without people to live out his life in seclusion. That is enough.

But the world is so big that he can't even leave the capital now!

The roar of muskets and the shouts of soldiers are still ringing everywhere, including countless miserable cries. Li Zicheng knows that his subordinates are being hunted, but he has no choice. Now he can only

He can hide here like a mouse.

It was getting bright and dark again, and the shouts of death gradually became quieter.

Only when it gets dark can Li Zicheng feel a little more at ease.

"Your Majesty, up ahead is Wang Qingheng's home." Gao Yigong quietly pointed to a mansion in front and said.

"Don't call me Your Majesty from now on, please call me Big Brother." Li Zicheng smiled bitterly: "Wang Qingheng? Why is this name so familiar?"

Gao Yigong hurriedly replied: "That is the son-in-law of Ding Yuanzhao, the right minister of the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty, and the brother-in-law of Ding Yunyi."

"Ding Yunyi?" When he heard the name again, Li Zicheng's expression suddenly changed, but he could not show his fear in front of his subordinates: "Do you want me to go hide with Ding Yunyi's brother-in-law?".

Gao Yigong persuaded: "Brother, Wang Qingheng and Ding Yunyi are not the same people. The time Ding Yuanzhao protruded out of the capital, Wang Qingheng tipped us off. We almost caught him. And he surrendered at all costs.

Among the officials of the Ming Dynasty, he was the most loyal."

Niu Jinxing also persuaded: "There is no other way now. If we don't find a hiding place as soon as possible, we will be caught by the enemy sooner or later. Regardless of whether Wang Qingheng is really loyal or not, we only need to control him

Here, he would have no way to inform and betray us."

Li Zicheng nodded helplessly.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you have suffered!" When he saw Li Zicheng, Wang Qingheng indeed showed his loyalty. He cried loudly: "Your Majesty, after the enemy entered the city, I went everywhere to find you, but

There are rebels everywhere, and I can't find your majesty at all. God is so pitiful, please keep your majesty safe and sound."

Seeing Wang Qingheng's true feelings revealed, Li Zicheng felt relieved: "Wang Qingheng, you are very good. When I get out of trouble, I will definitely reward you heavily."

Gao Yigong looked around carefully: "Wang Qingheng, will the enemy find this place?".

"Don't worry, General Quan." Wang Qingheng replied very firmly: "I am still Ding Yunyi's brother-in-law after all. Even if they are very brave, they would not dare to find this place."

Li Zicheng then breathed a long sigh of relief: "I'm a little hungry, please find me something to eat."

"Yes, yes, your Majesty, wait a moment."

Within a moment, a large bowl of rice was brought in. Wang Qingheng felt a little embarrassed and said, "Your Majesty, there is really nothing to eat at home now. I can only grieve Your Majesty to fill your stomach temporarily."

Li Zicheng also knew that he was telling the truth.

Since Dashun's army entered the city, they have been extorting money everywhere. These officials' homes have been empty for a long time. It is remarkable that Wang Qingheng can still provide these food.

In the final analysis, you still have to blame yourself. You have to bear the consequences of your own mistakes.

"Your Majesty, I'm also hungry. I'll have a bowl first." Wang Qingheng said as he poured a small bowl of rice into his stomach first.

People like Li Zicheng knew that Wang Qingheng did this not to break the rules, but to reassure them that there was no medicine involved.

Since then, everyone has felt relieved.

"Thank you for your hard work, these are already very good." Li Zicheng comforted him a few times. He was really hungry, and he didn't care about the appearance of "Your Majesty". He filled a bowl of rice and ate it.

Niu Jinxing and others were already hungry. At this time, they had no doubts about Wang Qingheng. They ignored the etiquette of "monarch and minister" and swallowed the rice with a bowl in their hands.

With his stomach full, Li Zicheng felt much better. At this time, Wang Qingheng ordered tea to be served again.

Li Zicheng took a sip of tea, put down the tea bowl, and sighed: "I didn't expect that, I really didn't expect that. I, Li Zicheng, dominate the world, but in the end I have to rely on an official from the Ming Dynasty to protect me."

Seeing those people drinking the tea one by one, Wang Qingheng quietly took a step back: "Yes, I am an official of the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, after you entered the city, I had to submit to you in order to save my life. But you? Keep talking to me

I am extorting money and asking for 300,000 taels of silver. Where can I find 300,000 taels of silver?"

Li Zicheng's expression suddenly changed.
To be continued...