Chapter 95: The Emperor's Probationary Period (Please Collect, Please Recommend)

The Roving King's battle flag, red background with black characters, had been flying over every part of Beijing's inner and outer cities and above the Imperial City since the twenty-second day of the third month of the first year of the Shun dynasty's Yongchang era. Although it was three days later than in history, Li Zicheng had still become the master of Beijing as he had wished.

On the third day after the surrender of the three loyal turncoat officials who had held the barbican of Zhengyang Gate, that is, on the twenty-fourth, Li Zicheng held a grand entry ceremony under the arrangements of the founding Grand Strategist Song Xiance. He did not enter through Yongding Gate, then Zhengyang Gate, and then into the Imperial City — this south-to-north route was inauspicious, because in Chinese history, most conquerors of the realm had gone from north to south. Basically, whoever held the north was master of the realm.

So after Li Zicheng took Zhengyang Gate, he returned from Yongding Gate to his temporary palace at Diaoyutai, and waited for the troops who had entered the city first to organize civilian laborers to clear away the earth, stones, and debris blocking Desheng Gate, the northern gate of Beijing's inner city. Only on the twenty-fourth day of the third month did he choose an auspicious hour and enter the city through Desheng Gate. After entering the city, however, he could not go through Bei'an Gate to enter the Imperial City. Bei'an Gate was the back gate, after all — how could a new emperor enter through the back gate? Would that not make him a back-door emperor? A new emperor had to enter the Imperial City through the main gate. So Li Zicheng's route into the city on the twenty-fourth of the third month was very complicated.

That day, Li Zicheng was escorted front and rear by his civil and military officials and his imperial guard troops. After entering Desheng Gate, he proceeded south all the way, then turned east from the Xidan Archway and onto West Chang'an Avenue. Then he took the side road between the Five Chief Military Commissions and the Embroidered Uniform Guard southward, turned to the front of the Great Ming Gate, and only then entered the city through the Great Ming Gate. Along the entire route, the road was "cleared and guarded," with soldiers posted on foot every ten paces. The atmosphere was solemn — only the yellow-earth paving of the road was missing.

Along the entire route by which the Son of Heaven of the Shun entered the Imperial City, martial law was imposed and it was extraordinarily quiet. On both sides of the streets, every household shut its doors, and at the same time had to set out an incense table outside the door, with a yellow paper spirit tablet on the table reading "Long live the Yongchang Emperor, ten thousand times ten thousand years." On each household's door lintel were pasted yellow and red papers reading "Loyal Subjects." Some commoners also came out to welcome the new master, all kneeling prostrate beside the incense tables, not daring to raise their heads or make a sound, and they also had to paste yellow paper reading "Loyal Subjects" on their heads... All of the above was the ceremony for the people of Beijing to welcome their new master, decided upon after Niu Jinxing and Song Xiance had discussed it.

But at that time they had not imagined that this set of ceremonies mastered by the people of Beijing would soon have another use!

Li Zicheng, of course, also had not imagined that he was actually a successor emperor taking over a rotten mess that even Zhu Cilang could do nothing about. So when he entered the city, he was still extremely pleased with himself. Riding on a tall dragon steed, he strove to maintain a solemn bearing, his single eye gazing straight ahead, never turning. But in his heart he could not help thinking of the Chongzhen Emperor and the Ming Crown Prince Zhu Cilang.

Just before Li Zicheng entered the city, relay riders sent by Li Guo and Li Laiheng had arrived at Diaoyutai one after another, bringing Li Zicheng two pieces of good news.

The message Li Guo had sent concerned the ambush at Tianjin to capture and kill the Chongzhen Emperor and his son... He had already sent Hao Yaoqi, leading a brigade of veteran Shun camp cavalry, to contact the Tianjin Circuit Intendant Yuan Yuzong. They planned to ambush the Chongzhen Emperor and his son inside Tianjin city, either capturing or killing them!

Li Laiheng's news was even better: he said he had captured two sons of the Chongzhen Emperor, one Noble Consort, and a loyal eunuch named Wang Cheng'en who had been ordered to surrender.

According to Wang Cheng'en's confession, the Chongzhen Emperor was not on that route, but the Chongzhen Emperor's Crown Prince Zhu Cilang most certainly was! And he had already broken out under the protection of Qiu Zhizhong, the seal-holding eunuch of the Directorate of the Imperial Horses, and Zu Zepu, a Chiliarch of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and fled toward Yongping. After Li Laiheng ordered his subordinates to escort the captured sons of Chongzhen, the Noble Consort Yuan, and the loyal eunuch Wang Cheng'en back to Beijing, he personally led cavalry in continued pursuit.

In other words, Zhu Cilang now also had a double... Who knew whether he was in Tianjin, or had run off to Yongping?

If he was in Tianjin, that was fine. Even if Hao Yaoqi and that Ming turncoat official failed, Li Guo and Tang Tong still had more than ten thousand men. As long as they reached Tianjin in time, how could they fail to take it?

But if he had gone to Yongping, that would be troublesome... This Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was not easy to deal with — far more formidable than Chongzhen. Although Chongzhen was reputed to be a wise ruler, he was actually a foolish emperor. But his son Zhu Cilang was far too cunning! It was outrageous — he could even come up with a despicable trick like the "loyal subject certificate." Who knew how Chongzhen had raised the child?

If he were allowed to reach Yongping and join up with the main force of the Guanning Army, would that not be disastrous?

Just as Li Zicheng was inwardly grumbling that the honest emperor Chongzhen had failed to educate his Crown Prince properly, he arrived in front of the Xidan Archway.

Li Shuangxi, who was escorting him, spurred his horse forward at that moment and handed Li Zicheng a carved bow and three feathered arrows with the arrowheads removed, saying softly, "Imperial Father, it is time to make the Three Arrows Vow!"

Only then did Li Zicheng remember — showtime had arrived!

He hastily reined in his dragon steed, took the bow and arrows, and fired three arrows behind him in succession. Then he recited a doggerel verse that Song Xiance had prepared: "The great army enters the city; let the four classes of people be not alarmed. Every household opens its doors and carries on its business as before. The officers and men of the three armies all return to their camps. Those who harass the common people shall be beheaded without mercy!"

After he finished reciting the doggerel, a proclamation officer immediately repeated it in a loud voice like a bronze bell. He also added the heading "His Majesty has decreed; let soldiers and civilians reverently obey" before the doggerel.

Then the surrounding officers and soldiers and the kneeling commoners all very cooperatively shouted "Long live His Majesty" like a mountain roar...

This was the support of ten thousand people!

The sliver of shadow over Li Zicheng's heart was instantly swept away. He laughed heartily toward the sky a few times, then spurred his horse onward.

Beijing was already in hand, the north was more or less pacified, the Shun had the people's hearts, and the Ming dynasty was finished... The Grand Strategist had already calculated it all. The only hurdle left was the eastern barbarians. As long as he defeated the eastern barbarian Tartars, he, Li Zicheng, would be the common master of the realm.

No matter how capable that brat Zhu Cilang was, he could not save the Great Ming dynasty now!

After traveling for about another half hour, Li Zicheng finally rounded into the Great Ming Gate and appeared before Chengtian Gate — the later Tiananmen.

The Grand Strategist Song Xiance spurred his horse forward at that moment and said to Li Zicheng, "Your Majesty, please shoot an arrow at the Gate of Bearing Heaven, to dispel the imperial aura of the Zhu traitors."

Li Shuangxi once again handed over the carved bow and feathered arrow — this time, of course, the arrowhead had not been removed. Li Zicheng laughed heartily, raised the bow and nocked the arrow, and with a single shot struck the plaque reading "Gate of Bearing Heaven." The civil and military officials and the imperial guard troops following him cheered once again.

"Long live His Majesty! Ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Li Zicheng laughed loudly: "From this day forward, We are the master of the realm, and the Shun is the legitimate dynasty of the realm!"

His declaration was not wrong. From now on, he was the common master of the realm, the Shun was the legitimate dynasty, and Chongzhen and his son Zhu Cilang were the traitors!

But he had not imagined that his position as common master of the realm came with a probationary period!

The probationary period was one and a half months! If within one and a half months he could defeat Dorgon, then he would become the formal common master of the realm, and the Shun dynasty would be secure.

If he could not defeat Dorgon, then Zhu Cilang would have to take up the post again, leading the hundreds of millions of Han people of the realm in national salvation and resistance against the Qing... And during this probationary period of Li Zicheng's emperorship, Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang were in great danger.

Because the people of the realm had not yet seen through Li Zicheng's true face as a non-resisting emperor, abandoning the Ming and submitting to the Shun was the general trend.

The good mood of Li Zicheng, now a probationary emperor, did not last long, because by the evening of the next day, two pieces of bad news related to Wu Sangui arrived simultaneously at the Forbidden City in Beijing.

"Your Majesty... this subject has just received two reports concerning Wu Sangui!" The one who entered the Hall of Martial Valor, where Li Zicheng was staying, to report was General-in-Chief Li Yan.

Li Yan was one of the rare men in Li Zicheng's army who was accomplished in both civil and military affairs. He was from Henan and held the juren degree. Probably because he was rather handsome, he had been abducted by a female bandit leader called Red Lady, and then the two of them had caught fire like dry kindling and gone off together to become outlaws. In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen he had joined Li Zicheng, and now he had risen to General-in-Chief of Li Zicheng's veteran camp, serving as deputy to Tian Jianxiu.

Under Li Zicheng's command, Tian Jianxiu had authority over all the armies, similar to a chief of general staff. Military intelligence reported by the various divisions was first gathered with him, and then reported to Li Zicheng.

At present, Tian Jianxiu was busy arranging the troops entering the city to be garrisoned, so the task of reporting military intelligence upward fell to Li Yan.

"What has happened with Wu Sangui?" Li Zicheng glanced at Li Yan and asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, Li Laiheng reports that on the twenty-fourth, near Yutian, he encountered a large force of cavalry led by Wu Sangui and was forced to abandon the pursuit. Zhu Cilang has now reached Wu Sangui's army!"

"What?"

Li Yan then continued, "Marquis Bo (Li Guo) also reports that on the twenty-fourth, Wu Sangui led a thousand barbarian cavalry raiders in a charge into the Tianjin garrison city, ruining our plans. Hao Yaoqi's three or four hundred veteran camp brothers were all lost in Tianjin..."

(End of Chapter)