Henry Clark doesn’t have time to talk right now. While gnawing on horse meat, he pulls out arrows one by one, and soon all the arrows are removed. Only then does he sit down on a rock and say, “Get up, all of you. You are all loyal subjects, and I will not forget you. Later, each of you will be rewarded with a title. Also, you, come here and cut this open for me—there’s still a bullet inside that hasn’t been taken out.”

The officer-looking man hurried forward, used a dagger to cut open the already-healed wound, and picked out a lead bullet from inside.

“Your Majesty, where will you go next?”

He asked cautiously while working.

“Next, next we go to Shanhaiguan. Who among you is willing to go south to Yingtian for me, and inform the ministers in Nanjing that I have left Beijing and am heading to Shanhaiguan?”

Henry Clark said.

The Jinyiwei looked at each other, and two of them spoke in unison: “We are willing to go, Your Majesty.”

“Good, write down their names and draft the decree!”

Henry Clark said to Old Harris.

Given the rough conditions, there was no need for so much formality. They simply tore off a piece of cloth, dipped a finger in blood, and wrote. The content was nothing more than: the rebel army has taken Beijing, the imperial carriage has moved to Shanhaiguan, from now on Shanhaiguan will be the temporary capital, and the southern ministers are required to quickly send troops to support the emperor.

“Add one more thing: if Zhang Xianzhong surrenders, pardon his crimes and grant him the title of duke. If he is willing to march north to support the emperor, grant him the title of prince!”

At the end, Henry Clark said fiercely.

Old Harris hesitated for a moment, then quickly wrote it down for him. Then Henry Clark took out the jade seal he carried with him, breathed on it, and stamped it directly on the rough cloth covered in blood-written words. Of course, this wasn’t the real imperial seal, but his personal seal hanging from his waist. In fact, it was even more effective than the real imperial seal—the real one might not be stamped by the emperor himself, but as long as this one wasn’t stamped after his death or capture, it was definitely from him personally.

Chapter 005: Where Is Your Integrity!

“Your Majesty, up ahead is Jizhou!”

Matthew Turner said.

He was the commander of the Jinyiwei who escaped from Beijing, just a hereditary Qianhu. He was originally stationed at Dongzhimen. After the city fell, a few of them hid nearby, not knowing what to do next, when Henry Clark suddenly appeared. Whether it was out of loyalty, habit, or a gambler’s instinct for fortune, no one could say. In any case, the fifty-four of them charged out together.

“The people are devastated!”

Henry Clark looked around with a sigh.

Running all the way from Beijing to here, what he saw and heard along the way made him truly feel what hell on earth was like. No wonder Beijing fell as easily as a child’s game. You could say Li Zicheng’s success was nothing more than giving a gentle push to a wooden building that was already rotten and about to collapse. This country had long since been eaten away, leaving only a hollow shell.

“Plagues and natural disasters are not Your Majesty’s fault!”

Old Harris said cautiously.

Because he thought he was doomed in Beijing, he had spoken many truths, so he was quite nervous along the way—after all, he had bluntly said the emperor was incompetent.

Before them was a desolate village like a ghostly lair. There were hardly any people moving in the whole village, only a few emaciated peasants numbly basking in the sun. Their skull-like faces showed they were alive only by the movement of their eyeballs. Many trees around had their bark stripped off in patches, forming a stark contrast with the fresh green of early spring. Beside a gray-black thatched hut, a big-headed, pot-bellied child sat next to a shriveled female corpse, barely clinging to life.

“Natural disasters?”

Henry Clark dismounted with a bitter smile, picked up the child, and said, “Natural disasters are also my fault.”

After speaking, he got back on his horse, then took the water pouch handed to him by Alice Wright—the young girl who had escaped Beijing with him—and gave the child some horse blood to drink. He always kept this on hand. The current emperor was like an engine running on blood. In terms of nutrition, blood was undoubtedly the most complete, and it was convenient to consume. After a few mouthfuls of horse blood, the child didn’t recover immediately, but at least his life was temporarily saved.

The starving people basking in the sun never got up, just turned their necks a few times like zombies, as if the only thing left in their world was the bit of warmth granted by the sky above.

“Your Majesty, should we go to Zunhua or Yutian next?”

Matthew Turner asked cautiously.

Henry Clark’s original plan was to go to Fengrun. After leaving Beijing, they turned north to avoid Tongzhou and Zhangjiawan, then headed straight east to arrive here. There were two roads from Jizhou: one went to Yutian and then to Fengrun, the other northeast to Zunhua, where the governor of Jiliao, Wang Yongji, was stationed. From Zunhua, they could go straight east to Shanhaiguan. At this time, Wang Yongji had already gone south to Yutian, meaning if they went to Yutian, they would meet him and then Wu Sangui, who would arrive soon after. But if they went to Zunhua, they would miss them and head straight to Shanhaiguan without their knowledge.

“Go to Zunhua!”

Henry Clark decided after a brief thought.