Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

The dark night gradually receded, and there was a drizzle in the sky.

Today is the 17th year of Chongzhen, March [-]th.

In the distance, there was the sound of fighting and shouting cannons, shaking the huge palace.Empress Zhou held the young princess in her arms, ordered her servants to close the doors and windows tightly, and covered the ears of the young princess with both hands.Empress Yi'an knelt in the Buddhist hall and closed her eyes lightly, turning a deaf ear to the noise outside her body, and only murmured Buddhist scriptures.But the will of the palace people has long been swallowed up by the rumbling artillery fire. All the palaces and halls are in a mess up and down. The weak palace ladies hide in twos and threes crying in the room. The eunuchs, either paved the way to retreat to the enemy, or packed up their belongings and escaped from the palace, even if they did not surrender, all of them were extremely clear about the current situation in their hearts - stretching for 200 years and covering thousands of territories. The Great Ming Kingdom, which is thousands of miles away, has finally reached the moment of taking its last breath.

The sky is full of haze, and the grayness is rendering the color of doomsday.The drizzle was pattering softly, as if it was the last, helpless sigh of the magnificent Ming Palace.

"Emperor... Your Majesty!"

In the afternoon, the rain did not stop.Wang Chengen walked quickly into the Nuan Pavilion stepping on a series of water footprints, and before he had time to salute, he hurriedly said: "Your Majesty! The big thing is not good! Li Zicheng broke through Xizhimen, and the outer city fell!"

This is not an unforeseen state of affairs.But the moment the news came to his ears, Chongzhen was still breathless like a boulder hitting his chest. "Are the defenders in the inner city here?" Chongzhen gritted his teeth and asked calmly.

"Back... Your Majesty... Li Guozhen, the Governor of the Beijing Camp, has long since fled for his life, and the city guards have also dispersed. At present... there are no soldiers left..." Wang Chengen said with difficulty, his eyes full of sadness color.

Chongzhen's shoulders twitched, and his complexion turned pale again.

"...Understood, you go and wait for the news."

"Yes." Wang Chengen agreed, wiped his face, and left the Hall of Martial Arts in a hurry.

"Your Majesty...you still..." Xizhao was very anxious in her heart, and she was about to persuade her, but she suddenly heard Chongzhen's order and changed the subject: "Dexiu, help me study ink."

"The emperor wants to..." Xi Zhao asked halfway, and her mind was lost, but she didn't ask any more, she rolled up her sleeves, and began to grind ink according to Chongzhen's intention.Chongzhen picked up the pen and stretched out the paper, stopped and stopped writing, and wrote for more than half an hour before closing the pen.

"You send someone to send this edict to the Supervisor of Rituals."

After pressing the big red seal, Chongzhen handed the half-dried imperial edict to Xizhao and said.Xi Zhao took it with both hands, and took a closer look, only to see such words written in the vigorous but sad handwriting on the paper:

I am the parents of the people, so I can't take care of them. The people are my children, so I can't let them be swaddled. I sit in Qinyuqiuxu, the rivers and Chus are filthy, shame the clan, and cause Guizhou Li. The crime is not my bow, who will let it responsibility?Therefore, it is my fault to cause the people to suffer from hardships, to jump through water and fire, to measure them in ravines, and to pile up their remains into mounds.It is my fault to make the people transport the chestnuts and pull the chestnuts, send them off at home, and add a lot of unskilled signs.To make people's houses hang like rocks, fields and soldiers pollute Lai, look at the fireworks but have nowhere to go, cry out in the wind and die, and this is my fault...

My fault, my fault... this is... an edict of guilt! ? "Your Majesty...!" Xi Zhao's chest tightened, and she looked up at Chongzhen, only to see Chongzhen leaning softly on the back of the chair, with a sad smile on the corner of her mouth: "The matter has come to this point, and it is useless to blame yourself. This edict is just right." Daming's final explanation..."

The last... Confession... Xi Zhao held this sinful edict, her eyes turned red, and her hands trembled uncontrollably.Daming has come to this point today, I don’t know how many people should ask for punishment, I don’t know how many people should apologize to the world, but they hide, escape, surrender, no one has to live and die with Daming, no One person must bear the end of Ming Dynasty.The crime is not my bow, who is responsible for it... Maybe this is indeed the fate of the king of a country, but the king in front of him who spends all his time on food and clothing, works hard to govern, this emperor who does not love beauty, does not seek pleasure, this abides by the teachings of the ancestors, And the prince who was suppressing his sincerity, this young man in his late thirties, how could he deserve to die for Daming, who was at the end of his life!Xi Zhao's mind was tensed up into a ball, she looked down at the bloody and tearful words in the sin edict, but she couldn't move her footsteps no matter what.Chongzhen didn't urge him, but just set his eyes on Xizhao, quietly and intently, as if he wanted to imprint his appearance deeply in his eyes.After a long time, just now he lowered his eyelids, exhaled lightly, and said lightly: "After giving this, you can go."

Sunset suddenly looked up.

"Let's go? Where does the emperor want Dexiu to go...?"

"Leave the palace, leave the capital, go anywhere. From now on, you can be Xu Xizhao again."

A few words, simple and simple, as if they were just instructing Xizhao to go to the Minister of Rites to get the scriptures, or go to the Yumajian to pass on an oral order.But in the evening sun, these few words burst like a thunderbolt, causing the internal organs to almost shatter into pieces. "No... no no... Dexiu will always be Zhang Dexiu, Dexiu will never leave, Dexiu will never leave the emperor!" Xi Zhao opened her eyes wide, stepped forward a few steps and approached Long An, her heart seemed to be jumping out of her throat.

"Resisting the decree and not obeying it is a felony." Chongzhen pretended to be stupefied, but the next moment he returned to a gentle expression, "Don't be arrogant, you don't belong to this palace, it's my willfulness that kept you by my side, now How can I let you be buried with me for the country."

"Why did your majesty say that!" Xi Zhao was in a state of confusion, and her words became more urgent as she spoke, "It's obviously Dexiu! It's obviously Dexiu who insisted on staying here! If you leave the emperor, Dexiu will have nothing. , then there is no difference between alive and dead!" Hearing Xizhao's words, Chongzhen just kept shaking his head, but Xizhao's head was buzzing, and the impulse hidden in his heart for a long time surged up layer by layer, and finally that Tao's already fragile rationality was broken.He threw aside the edict of guilt, bent his knees, and knelt on the ground with a bang, firmly grasping Chongzhen's lapel with both hands, no matter how respectful or inferior he was, he uttered the words that had been suppressed for a long time:

"As long as the emperor doesn't leave, I won't leave. If you want to leave, the emperor will go with me! Let's be farmers in the mountains, go to Baoding night market together, taste the drunkenness together, enjoy the autumn leaves and sunset together, Dexiu wishes Serving the emperor for the rest of his life, the emperor will abandon this country, this surname, and everything, and go with Dexiu!"

It was said, it was finally said, although the emperor's answer, Xi Zhao already knew it well.Tears dripped down the ground, and in the blurred vision, Xi Zhao vaguely saw the sadness in Chongzhen's eyes, which also deepened bit by bit.

"Stop talking stupid, you should understand."

The words were choked with sobs, and a tear, like a dim shooting star, slipped quietly across Chongzhen's thin cheek.I understand, the situation in front of me, the emperor's will, everything, Xi Zhao understands everything.But even if you understand, how can you be reconciled; but even if you are not reconciled, what can you do.Xizhao still clutched Chongzhen's skirt tightly, full of words, but couldn't say anything, only intermittent, silent sobbing.Chongzhen let out a sigh of relief, and then spoke again, calming down his mind:

"What I just said is what I have been thinking about for a long time. You don't have to persuade me to leave, and don't force me to stay here. Now that the outer city is trapped, if you don't leave, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave again. From now on, you should be better Live, look at this world for me, exactly, exactly, how to make the country prosperous and the people safe, the river is clean and the sea is clean. Then taste the wine for me and enjoy the autumn, and live the days of idle clouds and wild cranes, which can be regarded as fulfilling this wish for me. .”

"How can Dexiu fulfill the emperor's wish?" Xi Zhao shook her head vigorously, her words were extremely firm, "Dexiu has already made up her mind to follow the emperor, in heaven and earth, and will follow him to the death. If the emperor stays, Dexiu will never run away alone. Any order from the emperor, Dexiu must have nothing to say, except for this one, Shu Dexiu will definitely not follow!"

"You...!" Chongzhen frowned, a little impatience arose in his heart, he saw that he forcefully removed Xi Zhao's hand holding the skirt of his shirt, and got up with a flick of his sleeves, leaving only Xi Zhao's back, and his words became cold. "I have made up my mind, if you don't leave, I will never see you again."

Xizhao looked at Chongzhen's resolute back, his heart swelled, his teeth clenched, he stood up abruptly, and drew out the sword placed by the window with a clang.Chongzhen turned his head when he heard the sound, only to feel a flash of white light, Xizhao had already put the sword on his neck.

"Dexiu has also made up his mind. If the emperor wants to leave Dexiu to die alone, then Dexiu will take a step ahead. On Huangquan Road, in front of Naihe Bridge, and then meet with the emperor!"

"You..." Chongzhen's heart twitched suddenly.With such an unexpected and violent reaction from Xizhao, it's not right to tell him to advance or retreat for a while, and he doesn't know whether to turn to persuasion with kind words or continue to press cold words.The two were in a stalemate like this, they were usually gentle and gentle men, but at this moment, one was more resolute than the other, and the other was more rigid than the other.I don't know how long it took, Chongzhen finally lowered his brows first, turned his back again, sighed faintly, and spoke with three points of helplessness and seven points of desolation:

"I will never be free in this life, but why do you do this?"

Seeing this, Xi Zhao slowly lowered the sword.More than ten years.The strands and fragments in the memory gathered into thousands of emotions burning fiercely in the chest, but when the words came out of the lips, they all fell silent suddenly, leaving only a sincere, sincere sentence. Heavy voice:

"If you leave the emperor right now, Dexiu will never be free again in his life."

Chongzhen's back trembled slightly, his eyes were beyond Xizhao's gaze, and some tears welled up again. "Come on, let's go." After a long time, Chongzhen let out a long breath and said in a low voice, "After tonight, I don't know if I can see the sunset tomorrow. Since you are willing to stay with me to the end, you will get drunk with me tonight." stop."

"But your majesty..." Xi Zhao's eyes lit up, but her face showed a little embarrassment, "You know, Dexiu..."

"Why, it's only been a while, and what you said just now has nothing to do with it, so it became a lie?" Chongzhen half-turned his head and said, but there was no blame or even the slightest emotion in his words.

"Don't dare..." Xi Zhao leaned down and said.Yes, until now, what are you still refusing.Even if there are mountains of swords and seas of fire in front of him, he has long been resolute, but now he is just drunk, so what can he do.

"Your Majesty, wait a moment, Dexiu will go and order the preparation of food and wine."

two

By the time the food and wine were put on the table, it was already dim.According to Wang Chengen's report, at this time Li Zicheng had already taken control of the inner city with little effort—Zhang Jinyan, Minister of the Ministry of War who had vowed to fight the enemy in street battles, took the lead in opening the city gate and surrendering the invading army.The Chuang army drove straight in, while the officers and soldiers turned their backs and abandoned their armor one after another, scattered like birds and beasts.

After a day of light rain, it finally stopped.The inner city is finally lost.

In the Hall of Martial Heroes, the candlelight was dim.No one in the inner city resisted any longer, and even the sound of the artillery disappeared.Both inside and outside the hall are quiet, listen carefully, you can hear the soft sound of water dripping from the eaves outside the hall.This silence made the frightening memory during the day gradually illusory, but once he regained consciousness, it seemed to be the unnatural moment of tranquility before the landslide and tsunami. .

The servants in the palace were all dismissed, and only Chongzhen and Xizhao were left in the empty hall.Chongzhen was sitting upright with his lapel down, and when the wine was served on the table, he poured himself and drank it.In a blink of an eye, it was three cups.

"Your Majesty, drinking like this will hurt your health." Seeing that Chongzhen was about to pour wine from the pot again, Xi Zhao, who was sitting at the same table, quickly reached out to stop him.

"It doesn't matter." Chongzhen avoided Xizhao's hand indiscriminately, and smiled lightly, "It's just that I want to get drunk with you, but I really can't drink alone. Come, you can drink too." Filled his wine glass, "This glass of wine, thank you for your company for the past 14 years."

"14 years..." Suddenly hearing this strange time, Xi Zhao was a little dazed, her hand holding the wine glass stopped in mid-air.

"Yes." Chongzhen didn't wait for Xizhao's response, raised his head, and drank the wine in the cup first, "I met you singing a poem in the west of Qianqing Palace, and I brought you, who was punished to kneel and fainted, to the palace in the middle of the night. It took three years for you to be transferred to the Duzhi Supervisor. Time flies, this year is the 17th year since he ascended the throne..." Chongzhen said quietly, seeming to be emotional. 14 years, as expected, 14 years have passed.At that time, I was still young and ignorant, and I was still close to Zhou Xiye. Liang Yiliang’s father-in-law had not passed away, and the emperor’s temples had not yet turned gray. 14 years ago, everything was still the simplest and purest.Since when did he unknowingly embark on the path leading to this impasse today, or in other words, has there been no other path since the very beginning... Xi Zhao only felt a dull tightness in his chest , he also drank the wine in the glass in one gulp, feeling the strong taste stimulated his mouthpiece, and then slipped past the side of the heart, leaving only a piece of hot burning.

"How can the emperor thank you?"

Xizhao withdrew her thoughts, suppressed the pungentness in her mouth, and looked straight at Chongzhen. "The emperor loves you so much. I don't know if it is the blessings that Dexiu has cultivated in several lifetimes. To be able to have a match with the emperor's master and servant, Dexiu has long been worthy of this life. How can he be worthy of the emperor's thank you."

"Master and servant..." Chongzhen exhaled softly, his eyes didn't know where to focus, and he spoke softly and slowly, but the words were as clear as the sound of gold and stone. "All my life, I have been surrounded by courtiers and servants, as many as a cow's hair, countless, but only you, I don't want to treat it like this." Chongzhen turned his head, his eyes were like stars, and fell on Xizhao's face, "Because you are the only one I can see. Think of it as a friend."

"Your Majesty..." Xi Zhao's shoulders trembled suddenly, and her flesh tightened every inch of her body. In an instant, she suddenly recalled the entrustment of Eunuch Liang that had long been buried in her memory——

As the saying goes, it is too cold to be high, and the emperor sits on the highest position in the country, so one can imagine how cold and lonely he is.From now on, you have to take good care of the emperor, don't let the emperor really become a loner.

Eunuch Liang's entrustment, has he fulfilled it?

Maybe it's really because of myself, the emperor's side is more or less warmer?

...and in the emperor's heart, could he be the only one special...

Xi Zhao felt his chest tremble slightly, and two tears fell down.

"With the words of the emperor, even if Dexiu's body is smashed to pieces, he will still be happy."

Chongzhen looked at Xizhao's moved face, and his smile gradually became stronger, but when he smiled, there was a layer of bleak sadness in his eyes.

"Go to hell with me, are you really willing?"

"How come the emperor still doesn't believe it?" Xizhao calmed down, wiped away her tears, and smiled, "Dexiu has nothing to worry about in this world. If the emperor goes away, Dexiu will live alone in this world, and there will be no more significance."

"No worries, no worries..." Chongzhen murmured while twisting the empty wine glass, thoughtfully.

After drinking a few more cups, suddenly there was a chatter outside the hall.I saw a graceful woman stepping over the threshold and entering with slender steps.Xi Zhao suppressed her drunkenness and looked intently. Isn't this woman Bi Tao whom she hasn't seen for a long time? !

"Greetings to the emperor." Bi Tao stood in front of the imperial court and bowed her knees.

"Why are you here?" Xi Zhao was a little surprised, and turned to look at Chongzhen, only to see that Chongzhen just nodded indifferently, as if she was not surprised by her arrival at all.

"How can there be no one to serve you during the banquet." Bi Tao pursed her lips lightly, as if answering Xizhao's question, but as if not, she stepped forward, holding the pot in one hand and holding the sleeve in the other, and poured wine for Chongzhen and Xizhao. Had a glass.

"It was I who asked her to come here." Chongzhen said without much explanation, he picked up the wine glass and said, "Come, drink this glass." Xi Zhao's head was hazy from alcohol, and she had no time to distract herself from other things , they also raised their glasses to meet Chongzhen, and with a crisp ding, they each drank up the fine wine in their cups.

Bi Tao didn't talk much, as if she really came here to serve the last banquet, with only a pair of almond eyes hanging down, she silently filled the two empty and empty wine glasses again and again.After drinking another three or five cups, she gradually became dizzy, her body fluttered as if she was flying to the clouds, but Xi Zhao's heart was still pressed down like a heavy boulder, and she couldn't relax even for a moment.This is drunk... Xizhao thought to himself.From this point of view, this drunkenness cannot solve a thousand worries.Or is it not drunk enough?Xizhao went to touch the wine glass, but her hands didn't obey her, almost knocking the wine glass to the ground.I don't know who stretched out a hand to help, Xi Zhao looked up along that arm, and what was blurry in front of her eyes was the face of the emperor.Xi Zhao smiled foolishly, and as soon as the words came out, her tongue tied up: "Emperor, Your Majesty... I'm fine... I'm fine..."

"Well, I know." Chongzhen nodded gently, but then signaled Bi Tao to refill Xizhao's wine glass. "Dexiu, do you still remember how many times we have been out of the palace together?"

Xi Zhao half leaned against the table, his mind was already in a mess, and he couldn't answer it.He barely stood up, snapped his fingers, shook his head with a drunken smile, and fell down limply.Chongzhen didn't seem to be expecting Xizhao's answer, staring at the dark blue twilight outside the window, he said to himself: "Do you still remember the first time you came out of the palace, did you perform that trick for me? The jade pendant was clearly tied around the waist, Today I don't want to understand how it got into your hands." Chong Zhen took a sip of his wine and continued talking, his eyes full of nostalgic warmth, "You said that I can trust you, that I have no strategy, There is no superior martial arts, but if I ask in the future, you must be careful, have no distracting thoughts, and answer with sincerity... Is that what you said? Look, I remember every word is not bad. A few years ago in the Fengyang Inn, you said Even if one day in the future, if God's will really does not follow people's wishes, I will always be a sage in your heart. I'm afraid you can't imagine how much comfort you said to me; you can't imagine facing such a court , In such a world, your loyal and pure heart is so precious to me. It's just... God's will really does not follow people's wishes... That future, someday back then, is now very close at hand. Don't blame me for insisting on keeping you. Since I am the sage in your heart, how can I drag down your life together... You could have been free from the constraints of this red wall, you could have started a family, established a family, had children and grandchildren, and lived a life together... A fairy-like free life, you have been with me for too long, enough is enough."

Or because of the drunkenness, Chongzhen, who was usually reticent, seemed to be talking to himself, talking for a long time while drinking.And that Xiang Xizhao was lying on the table half asleep and half awake, but she didn't seem to listen to Chongzhen's heartfelt words, her lips moved slightly, and she only repeated her own thoughts:

"In the afterlife...there is no afterlife...the emperor can't die...the emperor...follow me...the emperor, in this life...you must live well..."

"Even if the person is gone, how can the heart be relieved." Chong Zhen listened to Xi Zhao's non-stop murmuring, a smile appeared on the corner of his lips, seemingly sad, but relieved. "It's been 17 years, and it's time for me to step off the stage and take a good rest."

"Your Majesty..." Xi Zhao still wanted to say something, tried to raise her head and opened her eyes, but finally her eyes went dark, and the whole world went dark in an instant.The face of the emperor I saw last was soft and hazy, and carried countless thoughts through time and space together, and went back to the Qianqing Palace 14 years ago, back to the setting sun, shrouded in brilliant gold, young The moment the two met for the first time.

three

Goooooooooooooooooooooooooo...

I don't know how long I slept, and when I woke up again, Xizhao only felt dazed for a while, and couldn't tell where I was for a long time.The headache gradually began to rage, urging people to wake up bit by bit, Xi Zhao half sat up, rubbed his eyes, only then realized that the sky was already bright, and he was actually in the old house in Baozhu Hutong.Beside the table of the Eight Immortals, Bitao was sleeping lightly with her forehead propped up, three pillars of fresh incense were burning in front of the coffin of her parents. With the accompaniment of the song, this is the final chapter of the long dream song.