“If you trust me, then wait here. I want to see His Majesty go to Nanjing even more than you do. If you barge in like this, you’ll only ruin things. I’ll find a way to persuade His Majesty to grant you an audience—then it’ll be up to your own abilities!”

David Clark whispered to Brian Carter.

“You’d better hurry. The inner city won’t hold until dawn.”

Brian Carter said.

Chapter Three: Just Because I Glanced at You in the Crowd

If it were any other Chief Eunuch, Brian Carter really wouldn’t dare trust them, but with David Clark, there was no problem.

He was the only one absolutely loyal to Chongzhen.

Don’t think that the great eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty were truly loyal to Chongzhen—there were plenty of Chief Eunuchs and military supervisors who surrendered to Li Zicheng!

Although there’s still some doubt as to whether Henry Brooks actually opened the gates to the enemy—after all, he’d been retired for years and theoretically shouldn’t have been in Beijing at this time—a whole pile of historical records repeatedly mention him as an important figure in Beijing at this moment. It’s hard to believe so many people would falsely accuse him, so it’s possible he was specially recalled by Chongzhen. After all, he was a senior figure, and in his desperation, Chongzhen might have called him back as a last resort.

As for the other great eunuchs—John Clark, James Clark, Thomas Reed—none of them played any admirable roles; they all knelt to the Prince of Chuang without hesitation.

That’s why there was an extremely comical scene in front of the Meridian Gate…

The great eunuch Robert Clark, after meeting Li Zicheng, exited the Meridian Gate and happened to run into the Minister of War awaiting assignment, Steven Bolton.

“You’re still here? You and Lord Wei have ruined the affairs of the state!”

Robert Clark scolded.

After saying this, he ordered his attendant to slap Steven Bolton.

As a result, Minister Bolton was beaten to tears.

Standing next to Minister Bolton was Lord Wei, the Grand Secretary who had just told Li Zicheng, “Your Majesty pardons me, I shall repay with utmost loyalty”—in reality, Chongzhen’s most trusted top scholar, William White. After shouting those words, he was so disgusting to Li Zicheng that he was immediately handed over to Richard Thompson for imprisonment. Even then, he clung to the window, shouting, “If you use me, I’ll take any post, but why imprison me?”

At this moment, Top Scholar White hurried forward to intervene.

“Mr. Wei, how do you have the face to come here?”

Robert Clark scolded him as well.

Sitting atop the Meridian Gate wall above them was Li Zicheng’s trusted advisor, Charles Bennett, who, after watching enough of the farce, laughed and said, “So this is Top Scholar White?”

William White blushed.

“This is the specially promoted top scholar and prime minister, huh? (He’s really) brought glory to the ancestors!”

Charles Bennett said.

The subordinates of Li Zicheng around them all laughed heartily.

However, it should be noted that the self-righteous Robert Clark was actually the one who opened Desheng Gate to let the Shun army in. He had rendered meritorious service to Li Zicheng, which is why he dared to be so arrogant.

So, in this grand drama where true character is revealed in times of crisis, the eunuchs were no better than the civil officials. In fact, no one was more loyal than anyone else—civil officials, military officers, eunuchs, Jinyiwei, and nobles were all the same. Civil officials were indeed notorious for their shamelessness, but there were also many who died for Chongzhen, such as the Hanlin Academy Reader Peter Scott, who, after witnessing the farce above, went home to write “Crimson Blood at Jiuyuan for the Holy Lord, Two Old Men with White Hair Long for Loyal Souls,” and then committed suicide. Among the eunuchs, there were indeed those like David Clark who followed Chongzhen to the end, but there were also plenty who betrayed him without a shred of decency. Brian Carter would never be so naive as to believe in the loyalty of eunuchs—unless it was someone like David Clark, who was beyond doubt.

However…

“Old Clark really isn’t getting things done!”

He stood speechless in front of the Gate of Heavenly Purity, watching all sorts of people coming and going.

He had already waited a long time. By now, it should have been the latter half of the night, but it was overcast and hard to tell the exact time. News had already arrived that the Shun army had breached Xuanwu Gate.

In fact, it was opened by the eunuch Andrew Clark.

This meant the inner city had already fallen.

During this time, eunuchs kept rushing in to report military news or coming out with imperial edicts. Presumably, Chongzhen was making a last-ditch struggle, but it was all meaningless. All the civil and military officials outside had abandoned him. When Brian Carter entered, he encountered the last group of officials entering the palace; after them, no more officials came in. In the original history, the eunuch delivering the edict to the cabinet found no one there, so he just left the edict on the table and left. The order to the army was given to Edward Harris, the Duke of Chengguo, who was later refused entry even when he personally visited. The latter had already surrendered to Li Zicheng, but was accidentally found with the edict appointing him commander of all military affairs inside and outside the city, so Li Zicheng avenged Chongzhen.

There were even eunuchs carrying food boxes inside—probably for the last supper.

In front of the Gate of Heavenly Purity, Brian Carter felt as if he were watching an old man on his deathbed, witnessing the final moments of the Chongzhen court.

But he still hadn’t received any summons.

Brian Carter hesitated.

By nature, he really wanted to barge in, but with Chongzhen’s stubborn and irritable temper, doing so would only ruin things. He wasn’t a trusted confidant, just a Jinyiwei captain. If he forced his way in, Chongzhen’s only reaction would probably be to have the guards shoot him on the spot, without even giving him a chance to speak. After all, there was still a group of armed eunuchs at Chongzhen’s side. Brian Carter was indeed highly skilled, but he couldn’t withstand bullets. If he forced his way in, there was no guarantee he’d even see Chongzhen, and he’d be risking his life. In that case, he might as well have just dragged David Clark in with him earlier—he must have been tricked by Old Clark.