Chapter 211: The End of an Era (I)
The Nine Gates Commander, whose full name is the Commander of the Nine Gates Infantry Patrol and the Five Battalions. Also known as the Nine Gates Commander or the Infantry Commander, he was a military officer stationed in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty. Since the Nine Gates Commander was in charge of the entire imperial guard of the capital, he must be a close minister.
Old Thirteen, surrounded by his guards, went straight to the Ministry of Revenue on Qipan Street. At that time, the Nine Gates Commander was Ortai's younger brother Orchi. Orchi was not a full-time Nine Gates Commander, but the Minister of Revenue and concurrently the Nine Gates Commander.
From afar, he could see thick smoke and blazing flames rising from the Ministry of Revenue. Old Thirteen felt like his head was going to explode. What he feared would come true!
I almost mustered up the courage to get to the Ministry of Revenue, and saw that the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel had already turned into a fire pit. The six ministries were adjacent to each other, and the courtyards of the other four ministries were also affected. Some officials stood outside and watched in amazement, and only a few tried to put out the fire.
Old Thirteen was so angry that he stepped forward and kicked a few officials who were stunned. After the officials stood firm and turned around, they saw that it was the Thirteenth Master. They instinctively greeted him.
"Where is Erqi? Call Erqi!" Old Thirteen roared.
Seeing Old Thirteen like this, his guards quickly dispersed to ask questions. They thought they would have to search for a while, but unexpectedly, someone soon shouted in despair: "Lord Erqi is here, he was beaten to death by the traitors!"
The world was spinning, and Old Thirteen was completely limp. Fortunately, the official next to him quickly stepped forward to support him. Old Thirteen tried to maintain his composure and said to the official next to him: "Help me over."
There were some bodies outside the Ministry of Revenue, not just the Ministry of Revenue, but also the Ministry of Personnel. When Old Thirteen got closer, he saw that among the officials lying on the ground, there was Erqi. There were several holes in his chest, and the blood that flowed out had completely dyed the patch on his chest red.
One official almost cried out, "Master Thirteen, those thieves rushed in and killed people. We dare to go in after they leave. We can only move the officials out."
"Who else?" Old Thirteen asked in a trembling voice.
"Lord Fumin from the Ministry of Personnel was also killed."
The Thirteenth Old Man was weak again. Fu Cha Fumin was from the Fu Cha family, and he and Er Qi were both Shangshu in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign. They were killed together this time, which shows that the traitors had been planning for a long time!
"Thirteenth Master, there are more rebels who have invaded the Forbidden City!" the official next to him said in panic.
Old Thirteen felt dizzy again. He twisted his thigh hard and recovered from the pain.
Since the Nine Gates Admiral had been killed, the only thing he could do now was to gain control of the military power. Old Thirteen ordered, "Help me go to the Nine Gates Admiral's Office!"
The guards did not help the Thirteenth Prince, but lifted him up and rushed into the Nine Gates Governor's . At this time, the Nine Gates Governor's Office was in chaos. When they saw the Thirteenth Prince coming, the officials such as the deputy commanders rushed over and said, "Prince Yi! What should we do?"
"You all obey my orders!" Old Thirteen shouted.
"Yes!" All the military officers of the Eight Banners responded. In such a chaotic situation, they instinctively huddled around the prince whom Yongzheng trusted the most.
"First mobilize the patrol camp and close the city gates. No one is allowed to enter or leave without a warrant. Which Bu army camps can be contacted now?"
A deputy commander immediately responded: "Everyone can get in touch. But everyone doesn't know what to do now."
"The first battalion will go to the Forbidden City and kill the traitors there! The second battalion will immediately go to the Old Summer Palace to rescue the emperor! The third battalion..."
With Old Thirteen in charge, the Eight Banners military officers immediately felt more confident. In addition, the order was indeed in line with the current situation, so those who received the order left one after another.
Holding back his emotions that were almost boiling to the point of exploding, Old Thirteen quickly asked someone to report the specific news. The more news he knew, the heavier his mood became. Although he didn't know who the enemy was, the enemy was extremely vicious and cunning, and almost attacked the entire capital at the same time.
As they were talking, news came from the First Battalion of the Eight Banners Infantry. They had already come out and were now outside the Forbidden City.
"Where is the second battalion?!" Old Thirteen asked anxiously.
The Forbidden City is of course very important, but Yongzheng is not living in the Forbidden City now. The really important thing is the Second Battalion, which is closer to the Old Summer Palace. They are the ones who can rescue the emperor as soon as possible. Hearing that the Second Battalion has been dispatched and will soon reach the Old Summer Palace, Old Thirteen breathed a sigh of relief.
As the news had shown, the Second Battalion could already see the Old Summer Palace and the raging fire in it. The Eight Banners disciples felt their scalps tingling. Who on earth had the guts to murder the emperor? Aren't they afraid of having their property confiscated and their clan exterminated?
As they approached the Old Summer Palace, they saw a group of Eight Banners troops retreating from the Old Summer Palace and heading towards the direction where the Second Battalion came from.
Facing this oncoming Eight Banners Army, the officers and soldiers of the Second Battalion felt something was wrong. Following an order, the Second Battalion immediately deployed its troops. The more than 300 men on the opposite side did not hesitate and immediately prepared for battle in response to the Second Battalion's combat posture.
Huo Chong did not expect that when he started fighting the Eight Banners Army head-on, Yongzheng had already been killed, the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel had been burned down, and even the people who went to rescue the Eight Banners had succeeded.
Although it is not desirable to start a battle at this time, it is not wrong.
Unlike the complex combat system of the Qing army, the means of warfare in modern warfare are extremely simple and clear, consisting of nothing more than artillery bombardment, gunfire, and bayonet fighting.
Because of this simplicity, Europe persisted for hundreds of years, and coincided with the Industrial Revolution, which allowed these simple means of warfare to be continuously strengthened and thus spread across the world. Huo Chong formed the Han army in such a simple and clear way.
"Sir, you'd better ride your horse first. Here..." Lei Hu advised in a low voice.
"Lei Hu, I brought you here, so of course I have to take you away. Haha, are you afraid?" Huo Chong said with a smile.
Lei Hu shook his head repeatedly, not knowing what to say. After all, the number of people in front of him looked at least more than a thousand. If they were blocked...
"Don't be afraid. If I can even kill the emperor, what else is there to be afraid of?" Huo Chong said.
Looking at Huo Chong's determined expression and feeling the high fighting spirit of the supreme commander of the entire army, Lei Hu felt that his whole body was also full of energy!
Qian Qing privately told Lei Hu to ask Huo Chong to leave safely before he left. Lei Hu could fully understand Qian Qing's thoughts and agreed with them. However, Lei Hu preferred the current situation, where everyone was united, defeated all enemies, and returned to Shandong.
Huo Chong's attitude made Lei Hu sure again that he was not following the wrong person!
Not only Lei Hu, but also the surrounding officers and soldiers were really motivated when they heard that Huo Chong was going to lead everyone into battle personally.
Several three-jin cannons had been transported to the front of the battle. Huo Chong ordered, "Fire!"
With a roar, the battle began.
The Thirteenth Elder gradually stabilized the Beijing Camp. Although there was still chaos everywhere, it was no longer a complete chaos. The First Battalion entered the Forbidden City and was fighting fiercely with the rebels who had invaded the Forbidden City.
The Queen Mother had safely left the Forbidden City under the protection of the guards. Upon hearing this news, Old Thirteen felt much more relieved.
However, Old Thirteen himself did not notice it. He only cared about the Queen Mother's comfort. As for other women in the palace, Old Thirteen did not even think about them.
At this time, the Fifth Battalion sent a message that they had arrived at the Old Summer Palace, and the Second Battalion, which had been ordered to come earlier, had encountered the rebels and had a bloody battle with them.
However, the rebels were so vicious that they broke through the blockade of the Second Battalion and escaped. At this time, the Second Battalion had reorganized its troops and was in pursuit.
Old Thirteen felt his slightly relieved mood fall back into an icy cave, and he mustered up the courage to ask, "Have you entered the garden?"
"Master Thirteen, he hasn't entered the garden yet." The person who came to report the news responded.
It was as if a mountain was pressing down from above, making it difficult for Old Thirteen to breathe. In such a difficult moment, Old Thirteen shouted, "Send me to the Old Summer Palace!"
No one around said anything. Even the smarter ones had strange looks in their eyes, but remained silent.
"Send me to the Old Summer Palace!" Old Thirteen roared.
The people from the Infantry Commander's Office, also known as the Nine Gates Governor's Office, did not dare to stop them and quickly prepared their escort. Old Thirteen got on his horse and headed along the empty streets. At first, it was fine, but when he saw the burning Old Summer Palace, Old Thirteen suddenly began to tremble.
When they got closer, they saw that not only the Fifth Battalion had arrived, but the Third Battalion had also arrived before Old Thirteen. At this time, the troops of both battalions were fighting the fire.
The Thirteenth Brother suddenly stopped shaking, jumped off his horse, and rushed into the Old Summer Palace.
After entering the gate, the officers of the third and fifth battalions came over after hearing the news. When they saw Old Thirteen, they threw themselves in front of him without saying a word, wailing , "Master Thirteen, Master Thirteen. We are sorry to the emperor, we are sorry to the emperor!"
The inexplicable throbbing that had occurred many times today appeared again. If the previous throbbing could be said to be a whim, it could be quickly suppressed by other news. But this time, the throbbing could no longer be diverted by anything else.
Old Thirteen stood there, waiting for the two to speak.
The two men wailed several times before they said the most important words, "The Emperor, the Emperor, has passed away!"
There was no transition or struggle at all. After Old Thirteen understood what he said, he just stood there and fainted.
It was not until Old Thirteen fell to the ground that the people around him realized what was happening. They quickly supported Old Thirteen and shook him with all their might, as if he was dead too.
At this moment, the eighth old man, Aqina, shuddered. This was the first time in more than a year that he breathed the air of true freedom.
With an inexplicable throbbing, Lao Ba shivered violently. He raised his arms and rolled up his tattered sleeves. Goose bumps the size of green beans stood up under every hair. After a long time, his skin returned to its previous state.
The person next to him quickly asked, "Master Ba, where are we going next?"
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll just stay in the capital." Lao Ba replied calmly.
"But……"
Lao Ba laughed at the uneasiness of the people around him, "Haha. But what? The Fourth Battalion killed the bandits and just happened to rescue me. Are we guilty?"
When the commander of the fourth battalion heard this, he knew that since he had chosen this path, he had no other choice. He ordered people to protect Lao Ba first, and then he ordered, "Go to the Forbidden Palace and rescue the emperor."
