In recent days, ministers who criticized the crown prince in public and private have been dying suddenly and inexplicably, which makes people feel that the young prince's temper is not as good as before...

On the sixth day of the first lunar month of the tenth year of Chongzhen (1637), while all the officials were on holiday at home to celebrate the New Year, the Lao Hui thieves headed north of the Yangtze River. Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai, unable to attack Xiangyang for a long time, began to attack Anqing instead. Nanjing was greatly shaken.

Urgent report to the court.

It took six days for the news to reach the capital, and Emperor Chongzhen held an emergency meeting to discuss how to respond.

Anqing is five hundred miles away from Nanjing. It has been the gateway to Nanjing since ancient times and is a battleground for military strategists. When King Ning rebelled, Anqing was the first to attack. In the late Qing Dynasty, after Anqing was captured by the Qing army, they soon captured the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.

Tianjing (Nanjing).

Once Anqing is lost, the rogue bandits can march straight into Nanjing. As the capital of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing has a very high political status. Once it is captured, it will cause a fatal blow to the imperial court.

Zhu Cixiang took the opportunity to ask for orders and led the Yongwei Battalion to go south to quell the rebellion and completely eliminate the banditry in the Central Plains, but Chongzhen did not allow it.

On the thirteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Cihong once again asked for war. Many ministers supported the proposal, but Chongzhen still refused.

On the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Zhu Cihong led his ministers to call for battle three times outside the Wenhua Hall, and there were also signs of mobilization in the Yongwei camp.

After Wen Tiren's death, few people dared to stop Zhu Cihong. With the support of the new chief minister Xue Guoguan, Zhu Cihong asked for war three times, and all the officials supported it. The civil servants really hoped that the crown prince would lead the army south, so that the court would still be theirs.

One word.

Chongzhen was a little panicked. He knew very well that if he let this traitor go south, he might be difficult to control in the future. Since Wen Tiren's death, this traitor has become more and more powerful, and there are already signs that it is difficult to control.

But if he is forced to stay in the capital, I am afraid that there will be a change in the Xuanwu Sect, and the best outcome for him will be to live in the harem...

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month is the Lantern Festival.

Every year during the Lantern Festival, the Ming Dynasty royal family would set up a mountain lantern festival with giant lanterns and fireworks in the palace city. Because its shape resembles an ao, it was named "Aoshan Lantern Festival".

Starting from the Lantern Festival in the seventh year of Yongle, this grand lantern festival began to open with a high profile - "Listen to the subjects going to the Meridian Gate to view Aoshan Mountain for three days." The significance of the monarch and his ministers having fun together is of great significance, and it can be called the Ming Dynasty version of the "Spring Festival Gala".

Preparations for the lantern festival usually start from the twelfth lunar month of the previous year, and various uniquely designed "wonderful flowers" and "cannons" are piled up layer by layer, usually thirteen layers high and several feet high.

On the day of the Lantern Festival, colorful lanterns of various shapes flash on the huge "Aoshan Mountain", gorgeous fireworks are set off continuously, and accompanied by the beautiful music of the Bell and Drum Division, the palace maidens dance gracefully. It is simply a wonderful audio-visual enjoyment.

Tonight, Emperor Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang had no interest in enjoying the lantern festival. Chongzhen summoned Zhu Cixiang in the Wanchun Pavilion in the palace houyuan.

Zhu Cixiang walked slowly, and behind him were a dozen East Palace guards led by Xu Sheng. All of them had superb martial arts skills and quick reactions, and were equipped with a revolver and a miniature grenade.

When he met Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Cixi saluted as usual, but the battle behind him gave people the feeling of forcing him to enter the palace.

Seeing how cautious he was, Chongzhen frowned slightly and snorted: "Are you afraid that I will harm you?"

Zhu Cixi said with a smile: "My son, I am not afraid!"

He is indeed not afraid. Not to mention that more than half of the royal guards in the palace are Li Tingbiao's people. His 500 East Palace Guards are stationed at the Shouhuang Pavilion Campus outside the Xuanwu Gate of the north gate of the Forbidden City. They are all loaded with live ammunition and fully equipped. If anyone wants to be in the palace,

Taking action against him is tantamount to digging your own grave.

Zhu Cixiang is now fully capable of ousting Chongzhen and allowing himself to supervise the country, but he feels it is not necessary.

It is necessary to go south, and in the capital to supervise the country, we can only follow the old path of Chongzhen. In history, the reason why Chongzhen was able to kill this minister, behead that general, and replace dozens of ministers without any effort was because he held real power.

, we have the powerful force of the Yongwei Camp in our hands.

Historically, the Yongwei Battalion was transferred to the south by Chongzhen to suppress the rebellion, and was also responsible for guarding the Fengyang Imperial Tomb and the Nanjing Imperial Tomb. It was divided into several parts.

In the end, Sun Yingyuan was outnumbered and died in Luoshan. Zhou Yuji fought a bloody battle with hundreds of thousands of Li Zicheng's troops at Ningwuguan. In the end, the pass was broken and everyone died. When Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Huang Degong was still thousands of miles away guarding the imperial mausoleum and had no time to go north for rescue.

Historical experience tells Zhu Cixiang that he can only wait for death at home. Even if he leaves the Yongwei camp in the capital, the situation outside will still be more difficult to contain, and in the end he will still be waiting for death.

Chongzhen said lukewarmly: "Everyone please step aside. The prince and I will have a talk alone."

Wang Chengen hesitated for a moment, then led the accompanying eunuchs and palace maids to retreat ten meters away. However, no one of the East Palace guards dared to move, they were still nailed there like nails.

Seeing this, Chongzhen frowned and there was a faint anger in his eyes.

Seeing this, Zhu Cixi waved his hand to Xu Sheng and said, "Go down!"

"Yes!" Xu Sheng clasped his fists and accepted the order. He also retreated more than ten meters away with a dozen guards. Several East Palace guards were scattered around, vigilantly investigating the surrounding environment.

"I really taught a good son!" Chongzhen stared at Zhu Cixiang and sneered.

Zhu Cixiang said nonchalantly: "My father's words are serious, but my son and I have no objections."

Chongzhen stared at him closely and said, "You don't want to be the emperor?"

"Think!" Zhu Cixiang was very direct.

Okay, this traitor finally told the truth! He is so confident! Chongzhen's eyes were filled with fire, as if he was about to explode on the spot.

Zhu Cixi then said: "I want to be the emperor, but not now."

Seeing that Chongzhen looked unkind, Zhu Cihong continued: "The Concubine once said that the emperor has not yet had a rebellious prince, and his sons and ministers will not break this rule."

After hearing this, Chongzhen snorted coldly, his expression relaxed slightly, and said, "Why do you want to go south?"

Zhu Cixi said solemnly: "The Ming Dynasty can no longer withstand the hardships, and I want to save it."

Chongzhen sneered: "You have such a strong tone!"

Seeing that he was silent, after a moment, Chongzhen suddenly said calmly: "What would you do if you became the emperor?"

Zhu Cixi didn't expect him to ask this question. After thinking for a moment, he calmly said: "Let the national treasury have sufficient money and the people live and work in peace and contentment. This is the bottom line for me!"

Chongzhen sneered and said: "Huh! You say it's easy, how can you do it?"

"For example, Daming is a piece of cake..."

"What cake?" Chongzhen was curious.

"Ahem...for example, Ming Dynasty's financial resources are a piece of pastry." Zhu Cixi walked to the middle of the pavilion, picked up a piece of pastry, and said: "Eighty percent of this pastry is owned by gentry, officials, nobles, merchants, etc."

"And when they pay taxes, this is all they give to the court." As he spoke, Zhu Cihong stuffed the pastry into his mouth and gently bit into a small piece.

"On the contrary, the common people of the Ming Dynasty accounted for the majority, but their financial resources were only a pitiful small part. The court's annual tax revenue was squeezed out of this pitiful small part. For a long time, the government forced the people to rebel, and the government forced the people to rebel.

Natural disasters continue, and the likes of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong will only increase in number!"

After all, Chongzhen had been engaged in politics for so many years, and he understood it immediately. He frowned and said: "So, you want to go south to touch this cake? Do you want to take action against this group of people?"

Zhu Cihong swallowed the remaining pastry in one gulp, chewed it hard a few times, and then said: "That's right! If you want to be full, you have to eat big!"

Chongzhen smiled coldly: "Huh! You're not afraid of being choked to death!"

Zhu Cixiang said confidently: "As long as your teeth are sharp and your appetite is strong, you are not afraid of any food that comes into your mouth!"

"Governing the country is not as simple as you think." Chongzhen shook his head. He felt that this traitor wanted to play with fire.

Zhu Cixiang said proudly: "If you are afraid that the food is poisonous and you dare not even eat it, you will starve to death sooner or later. I don't want to be the one who starves to death!"

He looked at Chongzhen and said: "If the son fails, the father can make the third brother the crown prince and just abandon the son. The Ming Dynasty will still be the same."

"You!" Chongzhen pointed at him, intending to scold him, but seeing Zhu Cixi's decisive look, he was stunned, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.

Zhu Cixiang sighed and said leisurely: "My father is the emperor, everything is good, but my heart is too soft..."

Chongzhen's face is full of black lines, is he too soft-hearted? If I were not soft-hearted, I would let you jump around like this in front of me?

Chongzhen thought for a long time and then said, "What do you need for this trip south?"

Zhu Cixi smiled and said: "I only need an indestructible Shang Fang sword!"
Chapter completed!