Prince Gong Yixin had seen people begging him many times, but this was the first time in his life that a mother begged him in such despair. As a prince in charge, Prince Gong Yixin completely felt Cixi's emotions. He knew Cixi's abilities and thought of himself as a decisive person. Crying was never something he thought he and Cixi would do sincerely. Cixi would bleed, but she would not cry.
Perhaps it was because of his deep distrust of Cixi that anger suddenly rose in Prince Gong Yixin's heart. He wanted to push Cixi away and then reprimand her for not knowing when to retreat. At this critical juncture of life and death, she wanted the Emperor to escape Shengjing first. Just as he glared and prepared to speak, he saw Cixi's red eyes from crying, saw Cixi's expression of despair, and cried from the bottom of her heart. Prince Gong Yixin felt all the strength in his body had been sucked out. His nose ached and tears came out of his eyes.
The destruction of the Manchu Qing was a process that lasted more than a decade. Ever since the Taiping Rebellion, the territory that the Manchu Qing could control had continuously shrunk. After the Taiping Rebellion split, the Liberation Army that was even stronger than the Taiping Rebellion rose up. The Manchu Qing court was driven out of Beijing. The upper echelons felt they had reached the end of the road.
Now the last large city, Shengjing, was also besieged. The fall of the country was about to become a reality. Prince Gong Yixin had to deal with the Empress Dowager and lead the court. With the heavy burden of the country on his shoulders, he couldn't cry. He didn't even think about crying. But there was no hope left in the current situation. Facing the crying Cixi, Prince Gong Yixin, who was also a fallen person, couldn't help but burst into tears.
"I let down the ancestors, I let down the Emperor! I let down the ancestors, I let down the Emperor! "Crying, Prince Gong Yixin repeated the same words over and over like a repeater.
Cixi hadn't thought that Prince Gong Yixin would show signs of a mental breakdown at this time. She had always been a very scheming person. She had begged just now because she was facing the crisis of the country and the death of her own son, so she cried with sincerity. But in the depths of her heart, a small part of her thinking maintained absolute calmness. If he couldn't convince Empress Dowager Ci An, then he could only convince Prince Yi Xin.
However, Cixi keenly discovered that Prince Gong's current behavior was not because he had been convinced, but because his heart had collapsed under the heavy pressure. It was very likely that Gong Prince Yi Xin would agree to Cixi's request, but the person who would agree wouldn't be the smart and capable Gong Prince Yi Xin of the past, but a Gong Prince Yi Xin whose mind had collapsed from despair. If that was the case, Shengjing would not be able to hold on.
While Prince Gong Yixin was sobbing, Cixi had already stopped crying. She no longer looked at Prince Gong Yixin with a pleading gaze, but shock.
"Gong Prince, if you feel you have let down your ancestors, let down the Emperor, then raise your spirits and protect Shengjing. You have to understand that Taizu's grave is in Shengjing. The Cantonese bandits have already dug up the tomb of the deceased emperor. Do you want to see the tomb of the great ancestor being dug up as well? "A calm yet angry voice sounded at the door. It was the voice of the Empress Dowager of the East.
According to the current ranking of the small Manchu Qing imperial court, the Empress Dowager of the East, Empress Dowager of the East, stood at the peak of power. Prince Gong Yixin and Cixi were also people with firm temperament. For a moment, they couldn't control their emotions and somewhat forgot themselves. However, after Ci An's shout, the two quickly returned to their normal state.
Seeing that the two people still properly saluted her, Ci An went straight to the main seat and sat down. Looking at the two people standing with their hands hanging down, Ci An's phoenix eyes widened and her tone was quite harsh. "Since we started our family, we have gone through hardships to seize the world. You crying like this will only lose the face of your ancestors. As for this situation, is crying useful? "
Prince Gong Yixin had already dried his tears at this time. He quickly said, "Empress Dowager is right."
"As for the Emperor's matter, at this time, it's not the end of the line. If we let the Emperor go to Qiqihar at this time, the hearts of Shengjing people will waver, and the city that can be defended will not be defended." Ci An discontentedly reprimanded the two people. After that, Ci An paused for a moment. After calculating for a while, she continued to say, "Prince Gong, you choose an elite army and also explore the road. It's not a bad thing to have a backup. "
Cixi's eyes lit up. What she was most worried about was that Ci An would desperately defend Shengjing. If Beijing couldn't be defended, could Shengjing be defended? It was just that several times she mentioned this matter to Ci An, Ci An reprimanded her. Now, seeing that Ci An finally loosened her words, Cixi's heart was finally at ease. As long as they were prepared early, there was hope for them to safely leave Shengjing.
Prince Gong Yixin also had the same idea. Since there was no hope in this world, they had to strive to seek an opportunity to make a comeback. The premise of making a comeback was to at least save their own lives. If their lives were gone, then they would have nothing left.
Coming out of the palace, Prince Gong Yixin began to prepare the elites, waiting for tomorrow morning to find a way to find a gap in the encirclement of the Liberation Army. At this time, there were many things to do. Prince Gong Yixin was busy until late at night before he could lie down and rest. The sky was just beginning to brighten, and the earth-shaking sound of cannons rang out. Prince Gong Yixin quivered and got up from the bed. At this time, the servants of the prince's mansion also ran into the bedroom. "Your Highness, the cannons are firing outside!"
The staff of the Liberation Army almost didn't sleep all night to decide on a plan. At four o 'clock in the morning, all the troops got up. After eating a hot breakfast, they entered the attack position. At dawn, the observation balloon was the first to take off. When the sun shone on Shenyang City, the cannons began.
"Have these birdmen really been soldiers before?" After the first hour of the cannons, the observer couldn't help but ask his comrade next to him.
"Who cares. This time, the order has been given. Those who resist will be killed without mercy!" the comrade replied.
The Eight Banners soldiers were like moths flying into a flame. A batch was destroyed by the cannons, and the next batch continued to move toward the top of the city wall under the command of the officers. The observer on the balloon had a wide field of vision. Seeing this kind of simple suicide, they couldn't help but be a little shocked. But war was so cruel. In order to carry out their own ideals, countless people were driven to step into this slaughtered battlefield. Since the Eight Banners soldiers wanted to resist to the end, the Liberation Army had no reason to let them go.
"The Manchus inside the pass are all gone. What will happen to our families after Shenyang is lost? Back then, we, the Eight Banners, killed so many Hans when we entered the pass. Will they let us go? "The officers of the Eight Banners shouted at the top of their lungs.
The Eight Banners soldiers listened to the memories of history and knew the consequences of failure. The Eight Banners seized the world by slaughtering, so the retribution for failure was to suffer the same fate. Jiangning, Fuzhou, Xi 'an — what was left of these big cities where the Eight Banners gathered? At least there weren't any Manchus left. The Hans continued to multiply, but the Manchus, who stubbornly refused to assimilate into the Chinese culture, naturally couldn't be like the Hans.
But flesh and blood were no match for steel. At ten o 'clock in the morning, the Liberation Army finally occupied the city wall. What followed was a cruel street battle. The Eight Banners soldiers thought that they could resist to the end by relying on the sturdy courtyard walls. But they didn't know that there was a Battle of Stalingrad in the "future" history. In the Battle of Stalingrad, there was a response to street battles, which was the tactic of going through the wall.
When the Eight Banners soldiers focused on defending the courtyard gate, the Liberation Army used simple brackets to fix the explosives on the wall. With a loud bang, the "sturdy" courtyard wall was instantly blasted open. Grenades flew in through the gap. After a series of explosions, the Liberation Army swarmed in through the gap. After rapid rifle fire, it was a battle of bayonets.
At around two o 'clock in the afternoon, the battle reached the outside of the Shenyang Palace. Hearing the violent explosion, the young Emperor Tongzhi was so frightened that he cried out. Cixi hugged her biological son. Both mother and son were trembling.
At this time, there were no more ministers in the golden hall. They were either sent to the front line or ran back home to make a last stand. The encirclement of the 50,000 Liberation Army didn't leave the slightest gap. In order to "present a gift to the commander-in-chief and report to the central government," the troops unhurriedly retreated layer by layer. The attack could be slowed down, but they couldn't let anyone in Shenyang escape. The difference in war capabilities made the Liberation Army have a chance to achieve the purpose of the campaign. Annihilating the enemy everywhere, the Liberation Army's encirclement became tighter and tighter, and the density of the troops became higher and higher.
Just when Ci An and Cixi felt that the civil and military ministers of Manchu Qing had abandoned Manchu Qing, the guard in charge of guarding the palace reported, "Empress Dowager, Prince Rui requests to see you!"
Cixi looked at Ci An, but saw a trace of anger on Ci An's face. At this time, the purpose of Prince Rui's request to see her was probably to take refuge in the palace. But this anger was fleeting. Ci An ordered, "Let him in!"
Not long after, Prince Rui rushed into the golden hall and threw himself in front of the steps. Prince Rui shouted, "Empress Dowager, we can't hold it anymore. Let's break out!"
The layout of the mansions was to protect the palace. Cixi didn't want to blame Prince Rui for defending his own mansion from the beginning. If he could defend his own mansion, he could block the enemy's attack on the palace. But since Prince Rui could run here, Prince Rui's mansion might have fallen. But at this time, Prince Rui didn't say that he died in the prince's mansion. Instead, he ran to the palace and asked to escape. This was intolerable.
But Cixi didn't dare to say anything about this. Empress Dowager Ci An was the real master of the small court of Manchu Qing. She looked at Ci An, but Ci An's phoenix eyes were slightly closed. Her red lips opened slightly, "You still have the face to come here at this time?"
Prince Rui was stunned. He never thought that Empress Dowager Ci An would say such cold and ruthless words. Without waiting for Prince Rui to explain, Ci An ordered, "Drag Prince Rui out and behead him. Hang his head at the palace gate. Tell the Eight Banners that whoever retreats will be punished by Prince Rui! "
Prince Rui was dragged away by the guards in a pig-like howl. Cixi looked at Ci An nervously. This kind of punishment could only be said to be cutting off all means of retreat. Ci An didn't have the slightest intention to escape. After killing Prince Rui, the small court of Manchu Qing had lost its last chance to escape.
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