You rascal, stop right there!

Chapter 203: Escape from the Villa, Where to Go

The next day.

Beijing.

At the end of the earth, there were muffled hums of bells, drums and thunder, and then the sound became louder and louder, and all you could see was rushing snow and yellow sand.

The guards sent by Ling Shumo to look for Bai Wan worked day and night until they found out that Bai Wan had appeared in the city disguised as a Taoist priest.

They rested all night, and when they saw the dawn, they both stood there in astonishment.

From another direction, countless Xuanli troops came rushing in from all directions like an avalanche.

Xuanli's army of 100,000 directly bypassed the Dingzhou border defense line and rushed to Shangjing City.

The soldiers on the tower screamed one after another—

"The Xuanli Army attacked the city——"

The city gates were suddenly closed and all the people fled in panic.

The people of Beijing, who had long been accustomed to stability, had never seen such a horrifying scene.

The Xuanli Army advanced in an orderly manner and surrounded the capital. Not only that, they also stationed troops on the other side of the moat.

The commander-in-chief did not attack the capital directly, but sent someone to deliver a letter to the Emperor of Jiaxing.

Xin wanted nothing else but more cities, countless beauties, craftsmen, and gold and silver.

Just four months ago, we were going to three cities, and just a few days ago, we were going to thirteen cities...

This time, not only the cities on the border of Dingzhou are targeted, but also several cities around the capital.

If you count them carefully, you will actually win two-thirds of the country.

After making concessions again and again, they are finally heading straight for the capital!

"…This…What should I do?"

"The enemy is at the gates of the city. The treasury has long run out of gold and silver. If I don't agree, I'm afraid they will just attack and occupy the city! Will I become the king of a fallen country?"

After receiving the letter, Emperor Jiaxing was extremely anxious and walked around muttering to himself.

There is really no way...

He had to hurriedly summon all the officials to hold a court meeting to resist the enemy.

He sat cautiously in the throne room, not even daring to be the first to speak.

All the ministers dared not say a word after hearing this, as the previous killing of the pro-war faction was still fresh in their memory.

Li Simeng's face was very ugly, and there seemed to be thunder in his eyes. He looked at the little emperor and thought for a long time, then slowly said:

"Your Majesty, Xuanli is now at the gates of the city. Even if we agree to cede it, they will definitely attack the city."

As soon as these words were spoken, Emperor Jiaxing suddenly panicked.

Six years ago, Jiaxing was just a vassal king, and had no chance of becoming an emperor. Without Li Simeng and the Empress Dowager Cixi, he would not have become the free emperor.

This minister was a mentor who had been very kind to him throughout his life, in addition to his father, the Emperor and his mother. He shared his passion for calligraphy and painting, and did not require him to work hard on handling government affairs.

He put all his trust...

Emperor Jiaxing quickly grabbed Li Simeng's arm, not caring about the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects in the hall.

"Then what should I do? I...what should I do? What should I do?"

He was only twenty-five years old, but he looked as panic-stricken as a child with nowhere to go.

Jiaxing was crying and full of fear. He was worried and anxious about becoming the king of a fallen country.

"Prime Minister Li... My dear teacher... I trust you the most, only you... What should I do..."

Li Simeng held Jiaxing's shoulders and patted him calmly without any panic:

"Your Majesty, Shangjing City is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and it is heavily guarded. It will not be taken so easily. Don't worry, as long as I am here, you will be fine."

Emperor Jiaxing's heart moved, and his eyes lit up as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

"But your majesty, if you don't want to be the king of a fallen country, you must pass the throne to someone else."

Emperor Jiaxing asked anxiously, "You want me to abdicate?"

No matter how bad the environment was, he had never thought that he would end up losing his throne.

"Can you please not let..."

Emperor Jiaxing felt extremely aggrieved, and there was an awkward smell in his nostrils.

Li Simeng was annoyed for a while, and tried his best to explain to him patiently: "Xuanzong fled back then, and later his son succeeded to the throne to suppress the rebellion. If you don't pass on the throne, not only will you be unable to save the country, but you will also be forced to abdicate."

There was silence for a long time.

Emperor Jiaxing was a little bit lucky again: "Should we go ask the Queen Mother?"

Li Simuang Bo said indignantly: "This is what the Queen Mother meant."

Emperor Jiaxing was stunned for a moment!

What he meant was that if he did not abdicate, the empress dowager would issue an imperial decree to depose the emperor.

He didn't know how long he remained silent, but suddenly he closed his eyes and had to compromise.

"Okay, I abdicate!!"

However, Emperor Jiaxing stopped dead in his tracks just as he felt relieved.

"Then...what about the people in Shangjing City?"

Li Simeng looked at Jiaxing, not joking, and said slowly: "Only by ensuring that the royal family and the noble family are alive can we make a comeback."

"You are a royal family, a king. How can those lowly commoners be compared to the royal family?"

Emperor Jiaxing understood what was going on and nodded suddenly as he looked at Li Simeng.

Just abandon the people of this city. As long as the capital is moved and the city is built, those civilians will naturally give birth to new people, and the population will increase.

How can the lives of common people compare with those of royal relatives, nobles and officials from aristocratic families? Some of them are so ignorant that they can't even recognize a single word.

……

Big win one hundred and twenty-one, February.

When the capital of Daying was besieged by Xuanli, Li Simeng's party and the Empress Dowager Cixi forced Jiaxing to abdicate.

Since he had no prince, the throne was succeeded by his younger brother Qin Chan, known in history as Emperor Xuanxing.

Emperor Jiaxing was named the Supreme Emperor, and he fled the capital with his families, the two Empress Dowagers, his favorite concubines, and some ministers and officials from Li Xiang's party.

Today's Shangjing City has lost its core.

Wan Yan, the commander of the Xuanli Army, learned from somewhere that the emperor had fled with his ministers, and he was furious.

The commander immediately ordered:

All the Xuanli troops surrounded the entire capital city and sent soldiers to shoot and attack the city.

Although he wanted to cede territory slowly, he now felt that directly capturing the capital would be more decisive.

Almost in an instant, Zhang Qian, the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, brought his good-for-nothing son to guard Shangjing.

Even those Taoists who once looked down on others had to pick up their weapons and forcefully press down on the city gates.

Fight with all your might against the murderous Xuanli Army...

Screams...

Cursing...

Crying sound...

In an instant, weapons collided violently and the fight broke out frantically.

And the capital was trapped.

All the people were panicked and fled in all directions.

They were shocked to find that the emperor had abdicated and abandoned them.

All the remaining young and middle-aged guards in the city were resisting with all their might to prevent Xuanli's army from entering the city.

……

Late that night.

A man in tattered clothes, with countless whip marks and wounds on his body, crawled out from the corner of the wall wearing handcuffs and shackles.

He took advantage of the chaos in the imperial city and the withdrawal of the heavy guards, leaving the villa unattended.

He managed to escape stubbornly with his blurry eyes.

The calm and resolute look in his eyes and the blood stains at the corners of his mouth seemed to be able to crush the night sky with ease...