Keyboard Immortal - Chapter 2847

Chapter 1360: Beauty Surpasses All in the Capital

Both knew that the Order faction was in dire straits, already on the verge of collapse under the dual blows of the Proliferation and Annihilation factions.

But they never expected it to fall so quickly; in just a few days, the Order faction was already being pushed back to its headquarters?

Thinking of the familiar faces in the city, Zu’an led Zhao Xiaodie on a whirlwind journey, finally arriving at the gates of Beijing.

At this time, there were already many of Li Zicheng’s vanguard troops outside Beijing, but they hadn’t completely converged. After all, this world’s Beijing was far from the historical one; it was a colossal fortress city, requiring an incredibly large force to completely encircle it.

Therefore, these vanguard troops were stationed outside the city, sweeping away the outer guards and cutting off Beijing’s connection with the surrounding areas.

Zu’an instructed Zhao Xiaodie to stay outside the city as backup, to prevent them both from being trapped inside.

Because they had previously become one, Zhao Xiaodie no longer harbored as much suspicion towards him and didn’t object.

On the contrary, she was very worried: “Going in now is too risky; let’s forget about that mission.”

For her, her lover’s safety was paramount; she didn’t care about the future of Annihilation.

“There’s something I need to verify myself.” If it were just a mission to annihilate, Zu An naturally wouldn’t bother taking the risk, but there were people he cared about inside the city, and the matter was extremely important.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Zhao Xiaodie didn’t want to stop him, so she decided to stay outside the city to find various means of transportation and a safe escape route.

This wasn’t Zu An’s first time in the capital. Even before Li Zicheng’s army arrived, the entire capital was in chaos.

Countless people were trying to leave the city with their families, but they were all stopped at the city gates.

The sounds of kneeling pleas and crying infants contrasted sharply with the cold-bloodedness of the guards.

With the enemy outside, the guards couldn’t possibly open the city gates; a surprise attack by the enemy or the infiltration of spies would be fatal.

Zu An sighed inwardly. Indeed, in any world, ordinary people were the last to receive news; those with connections had already received word and evacuated long ago, never waiting until the army was at the gates to react.

Although the city gates were now strictly controlled for entry and exit, this didn’t stop him. Some officers or other staff could always get through, and he easily slipped in using his myriad transformations.

He made his way to the palace, overhearing many people discussing the upcoming battle.

Although there was some panic, optimism was still the prevailing opinion. After all, the capital was a super fortress even stronger than Shanhaiguan. There were still

tens of thousands of defenders. As long as they held the city and waited for reinforcements from all over the country to arrive, the crisis would naturally be resolved.

Just like the defense of Beijing by Yu Shaobao a hundred years ago…

Zu An sighed inwardly. Things were different now; the key was that morale had collapsed.

The previous annihilation of the main force, coupled with the fall of Juyong Pass, had already caused the high command and soldiers to lose confidence.

Now, many were probably secretly contacting Li Zicheng’s army outside the city, wanting to surrender and sell for a good price.

When the great battle started, it would probably end much faster than expected.

Upon entering the palace, she first went to the inner palace to look for Zheng Dan. Whether due to the impending battle or because she had driven away many of the palace maids and eunuchs, she was now sitting alone by the window, lost in thought.

In the time since she last saw her, her once plump and charming oval face seemed much thinner.

A lingering sadness filled her eyes.

“They all say you’re dead, some say you surrendered, but I believe you’re definitely not like that…”

“Indeed, Dan Dan understands me best.” At that moment, a figure hung upside down from the window.

Zheng Dan was startled, and upon seeing the figure clearly, she was both surprised and delighted: “Am I dreaming?”

She immediately rushed forward to steady the figure, even biting her lip to confirm.

“Ouch~ Gently!”

That familiar feeling brought tears to Zheng Dan’s eyes instantly: “You rascal, I used to always say that to you, now you finally call me that too.”

Zu An climbed in from outside the window; a couple was tightly embracing.

It took a long time to calm her down. Upon learning that the Qing court had the Little Demon Queen and Jiang Luofu on their side, Zheng Dan couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy: “I knew you’d surrender to the Annihilation faction; it turns out they were involved.”

At the same time, she felt a pang of self-pity. The Order faction was truly weak and isolated, with only her as a lone wolf. While Isabella was good, their relationship wasn’t yet confirmed, and their feelings weren’t necessarily deep.

It was a pity Chu Yan was with the Zheng family in Taiwan; otherwise, she wouldn’t be afraid of the Little Demon Queen and Jiang Luofu joining forces.

Zu An chuckled, wondering what this girl was thinking: “I have my reasons for this; I’ll explain later.”

Zheng Dan shook her head: “You don’t need to explain. Whichever side you’re on, I’ll be on that side. I’ll always support you.”

Zu An felt a warmth in his heart. Indeed, they were worthy of being together since Bright Moon City; this unconditional trust was truly priceless.

“What’s the current situation on the Ming court?”

“The court’s high-ranking officials are divided. One faction believes the capital should be moved south to Jiangnan, followed by reforms and governance to leverage the empire’s economic advantages and eventually recover lost territories. The other faction argues that since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the emperor has always guarded the nation’s borders; moving the capital would cause widespread upheaval, leading to widespread discontent and the complete collapse of the country, making it difficult to maintain control of even half the empire.”

“The two factions are deadlocked and haven’t reached a conclusion. On the contrary, Li Zicheng’s vanguard has already reached the city walls.”

Zheng Dan sneered repeatedly, clearly disdainful.

The high-ranking members of the Universal Chamber of Commerce, who previously appeared so prestigious, are no different from ordinary people when faced with extreme crises.

Ultimately, it’s because they were previously powerful and had a high tolerance for error, allowing them to remain calm and composed in the face of any situation.

“By the way, Isabella was heartbroken for you,” Zheng Dan suddenly said jokingly. “At first, she thought you were dead and cried her heart out; then she heard you surrendered, and all sorts of rumors from the merchant guild followed, making her cry even harder.”

Zu An sighed, “It’s tough on a young girl like her.”

“Aren’t you going to see her?”

“Given our current status, seeing her is inconvenient, and there are many things I can’t explain to her right now, so it’s better not to see her. Could you comfort her for me during this time?”

“Tch, letting your own woman comfort another woman, only you would do that.” Although Zheng Dan said this, he still agreed. “By the way, what brings you here at this risk?”

“Do you know a woman named Chen Yuanyuan?”

Zheng Dan’s almond-shaped eyes widened. “You took such a big risk just for a woman?”

“It’s not what you think, this woman is of great importance…”

“Tch, you always manage to justify your womanizing.”

“…”

“I’ve heard of this Chen Yuanyuan. She was the most beautiful woman in the capital from the moment she arrived. Apparently, she was the most beautiful woman among the common people that Consort Tian’s father had collected. She wanted to please the Emperor, but the First Elder is currently overwhelmed with problems and has no time to care about beauties, so she was sent out of the palace. I heard that she was eventually sent to the Second Elder’s residence, but the Second Elder is stationed in Shanhaiguan most of the time, so she must be living alone.”

“Have you seen her?” Zu An suddenly asked.

“I don’t like women, so I have no interest in seeing her. But I’ve heard the palace eunuchs and maids say that she is indeed very beautiful.”

“This woman is probably the key to solving this problem. She must not be an ordinary woman.”