Since he had arrived in this time and space, Brian Carter had to do something. At the very least, he needed to stop Chongzhen from committing suicide. As for whether he could escape, that wasn’t important to him. If he could escape, he would; if not, he’d hand him over to Li Zicheng. If there was truly no other choice, he’d give him to Wu Sangui. As for whether Wu Sangui would then hand Chongzhen over to Dorgon...

　　He wouldn’t.

　　But he would use Chongzhen as a puppet, then invite Dorgon into the pass to borrow troops to suppress the rebels.

　　During this period, Wu Sangui would act as a powerful minister, consolidating the northern Ming forces into an independent power. He would also use Chongzhen to remotely control the southern ministers, leveraging their fear to gain support. In the end, with the backing of the gentry, he would resist Dorgon. The likely outcome would still be that after defeating Li Zicheng, the two sides would divide the country, at most ceding the northern lands to Dorgon, and once again forming a North-South dynastic split.

　　In short, the most important thing was that Chongzhen absolutely could not die here. That would be the worst possible outcome.

　　However...

　　“You think His Majesty will listen to you?”

　　That eunuch said with a half-smile.

　　This guy was quite something—he didn’t even flinch with a blade at his neck, and he even signaled the surrounding soldiers not to stop Brian Carter from backing away.

　　“I have to at least try.”

　　Brian Carter said.

　　“How should I address you, Lord Eunuch?”

　　He continued.

　　“You don’t even know who I am? How did you become a Jinyiwei?”

　　The eunuch said in astonishment.

　　“Uh, I’ve lost my memory!”

　　Brian Carter replied without changing his expression.

　　“I am David Clark. If you want to see His Majesty, you’ve found the right person. I serve His Majesty.”

　　The eunuch said.

　　“Put that knife away. With your skills, I couldn’t escape anyway. If you accidentally cut me, it’ll hurt. If you want to see His Majesty, I’ll take you. If you can persuade His Majesty to flee south to Nanjing, I’ll even kowtow to you. But let me tell you, you’re not the first—none of those before you succeeded.”

　　He continued.

　　“Man proposes, Heaven disposes!”

　　Having descended from the city wall, Brian Carter finished speaking, leapt onto a nearby warhorse, then hoisted David Clark onto another horse. Urging his own mount, he led the other straight toward the Daming Gate ahead.

　　As for the defense of Zhengyang Gate...

　　There was no hope left. The eunuchs, Jinyiwei, and hastily recruited soldiers couldn’t even hold their weapons steady—how could they face the elite troops who had followed Li Zicheng in conquering the land? It was only a matter of when the latter would attack and the defenders would immediately disband and surrender. In fact, even before this, the outer city’s garrison had been firing blank cannon shots—just gunpowder, no cannonballs, making noise for show. The city couldn’t be defended; whether he was there or not made no difference. Even if Zhengyang Gate was held, so what? There were three gates just between the inner and outer city! And at this moment, hundreds of thousands of Shun troops were still blocking the other six gates on the three other sides of the inner city. Over the course of this night, those gates would be opened one after another.

　　Brian Carter knew he didn’t have the power to turn the tide!

　　So he would just do what he was capable of!

　　Galloping at full speed, he quickly reached the nearby Daming Gate, which didn’t even have a guard. He charged straight through and continued on to Chengtian Gate. Looking at the grand and familiar building before him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional, but he pressed on, crossing the Golden Water Bridge. There were a few guards here, but when they saw David Clark on horseback, they only saluted and didn’t try to stop them. Although, in theory, riding horses in the palace was forbidden, David Clark, as Chongzhen’s most trusted confidant and the highest-ranking military commander in the city at this moment, could get away with some rule-breaking in such extraordinary times.

　　In fact, after news of the outer city’s fall spread, the fate of this city was already sealed.

　　Brian Carter could even see some Jinyiwei already fleeing. At a time like this, no one would care about such minor matters. After passing through Chengtian Gate was Duan Gate, which also had no guards. Next was Meridian Gate, where they ran into a few officials. The latter didn’t even glance at David Clark, hurrying past as if they were invisible.

　　David Clark let out a cold smile.

　　“Lord Eunuch, do you think they’re going to welcome the new master into the city?”

　　Brian Carter said with a smile.

　　“Hmph, abandoning a three-hundred-year-old emperor to follow bandits? A bandit is a bandit—there’s no such thing as a bandit who doesn’t loot. Each of them sits on a fortune and won’t part with a penny, yet they hope to curry favor with the bandits for wealth and status. I’d like to see how they’ll cry in the future!”

　　David Clark sneered.

　　“Ha, ha, well, you’ll have to stay alive to see it!”

　　Brian Carter said.

　　“My life belongs to His Majesty. If you can persuade His Majesty to flee south, I’ll live to see it. If not, I’ll watch from the underworld!”

　　David Clark replied.

　　With that, Brian Carter spurred his horse and charged straight into Meridian Gate.

　　At this moment, the palace wasn’t too chaotic yet. After all, the Shun army had only breached the outer city, and Beijing’s core defenses were actually in the inner city. There were even two—actually three—more walls between here and the inner city. The palace maids and eunuchs hadn’t started fleeing yet, so they quickly reached Qianqing Gate.

　　“Lord Eunuch, His Majesty is looking for you!”

　　At Qianqing Gate, they encountered a eunuch, who said respectfully.

　　“Understood!”

　　David Clark nodded.