In early September of the 16th year of Chongzhen, the Forbidden City in Nanjing.

In Kunning Palace, Zhu Cihong saluted Queen Zhou and other concubines in turn to greet them.

After Queen Zhou and her entourage were escorted to Tianjin by the Shenshu Camp, they were taken over by people sent by Zhu Cihong and took a boat directly from Tianjin to Nanjing.

The land route from Tianjin to Nanjing had to pass through Shandong. At this time, most of Shandong was controlled by Gu Kecheng, the former camp commander of the Breaking Army. Five hundred cavalrymen from the Shenshu Camp passed by with great fanfare. Wasn't this a suicide attempt?

Zhu Cixiang was very concerned about the safety of Queen Zhou. In order to prevent accidents, he not only sent a thousand elite soldiers, but also sent three warships to escort her all the way south.

Empress Zhou stepped forward and helped Zhu Cixiang up, looked at him kindly for a while, and then said kindly: "I haven't seen you for a few years, and the emperor has grown taller again."

In the past six years since Zhu Cixiang first went south in the 10th year of Chongzhen, Queen Zhou had only seen him a few times in the twelfth year of Chongzhen. Every time they met, the prince changed drastically and became more and more mature.

.

After this great change, the situation in the capital was unclear. In this vast world, the only person Empress Zhou could rely on at this time was Zhu Cixang.

Empress Zhang and Concubine Yuan also laughed and said, "The prince is becoming more and more impressive."

Princess Kunxing, who was wearing a light green dress, also came over, her eyes moved intelligently, and she said with a bit of mischief and mischief: "Brother, you are so tall!"

Zhu Cixiang is sixteen years old this year, already over 1.7 meters tall, and is the tallest among Princess Kunxing and others.

Princess Zhu Ayao of Kunxing is fifteen years old this year. She has a slim appearance, her skin is as smooth as warm jade, her lips are red and not dotted, and her figure is beginning to take shape.

Behind her, stood the third prince Zhu Cijiong and Princess Zhaoren Zhu Yujiao. The third prince Zhu Cijiong is thirteen years old this year and was named the king at the beginning of the year.

Princess Zhaoren is only five years old this year. She has a shaved head and only the braids above her ears. Children in the Ming Dynasty liked to shave their heads, including girls. There were various styles of shaving, including Mediterranean style and shaving style.

It looks like when you wear headphones in an Internet cafe...

However, everyone has different aesthetics, and the wealth of the family also determines the age at which children grow their hair. For example, poorer families may still have a bare head when they are fourteen or fifteen years old, with only two or three small braids.

Some families start growing their hair and wearing hairpins when they reach the golden age of twelve. Some wealthy families usually start growing their hair when they are six or seven years old and become more sensible. Girls start to grow their hair when they are over ten years old.

The girl has her hair styled.

Zhu Cixiang said to Queen Zhou: "My mother has been tired all the way."

After hearing this, Queen Zhou's eyes turned slightly red and said, "I heard that the rebels have begun to attack the capital. I don't know what is going on with your father."

Concubine Yuan Guifei and others on the side covered their faces and cried, fearing that something unexpected might happen to Chongzhen.

Although Zhu Cixiang had received information and knew that the capital had fallen, he did not say it out, but comforted: "Don't worry, mother, the emperor has made arrangements. If the capital cannot be defended, someone will escort the father south.

"

After hearing Zhu Cixiang's words, Empress Zhou felt slightly relieved, her face improved again, and asked: "Your Majesty, do you have a girl you like in Jiangnan?"

Hearing this, Zhu Cihong was startled and said ambiguously: "There are a few confidants."

Wu Zhong, who was standing with his head bowed behind him, raised his eyelids and murmured in his heart: "We've been talking all the way to bed, are you still considered a confidante?"

"How many?" Queen Zhou and others were stunned, and they all said it in unison.

Zhu Cixiang didn't want to get entangled in this matter, so he changed the subject seriously and said: "Empress Mother, Auntie Huang, if you feel bored in the palace, you can take a walk in Nanjing and relax."

Speaking of Nanjing City, several people suddenly became interested. They walked to Tianjin, and there were hordes of refugees along the way. Everywhere was depressed. There was no place as prosperous as Nanjing City.

On that day, when she saw that the people along the way were being brutally harmed, with countless families destroyed and dead, Empress Zhou thought at that time, how could the people not rebel if they lived like this and had no way to survive.

When the group first entered the city of Nanjing, they felt that the originally peaceful world suddenly became noisy, and there was a buzzing sound of sales in their ears. It was very lively.

Princess Kunxing immediately said excitedly: "Brother, can I go out and play too?"

She had been in the palace for more than ten years and had never even been to the imperial city. She had never seen the prosperity of Jiangnan.

Zhu Cixiang smiled and nodded, saying: "Of course, you can buy whatever you like on the street, and the emperor will reimburse you."

At this time, Mr. Zhu exuded a strong aura of nouveau riche, which was very lovable.

All the buildings in the Forbidden City in Nanjing have been repaired long ago. In Zhu Cixiang's harem, only Dong Xiaowan and the three of them live in the Rouyi Palace. Most of the palaces in the palace are uninhabited. Zhu Cixiang allows them to choose freely.

Queen Zhou naturally wanted to live in Kunning Palace, Queen Zhang chose Chunhe Palace, Concubine Yuan chose Jingren Palace with the same name as her palace, and Princess Kunxing and Princess Zhaoren lived together and chose Kunyu Palace.

Zhu Cixiang arranged his third brother Zhu Cijiong to live in the Wenhua Palace, and the Yongwang Zhu Cijiong who was on the way would also be arranged in the Wenhua Palace. The two younger brothers were already in their teens and could not continue to live in the harem.

It will take a few years for it to become a vassal state.

Zhu Cixiang originally lived in Qianqing Palace, but now that Chongzhen is coming to Nanjing, he is already planning to move out and live in Wuying Palace (in front of Rouyi Palace, where he works). He still needs to give him the face he deserves. It depends on what the emperor will do next.

Operated.

.......

Zhangde Prefecture, Henan.

The weather in September has gradually turned cooler, and the sun is shining with warmth. On the bumpy official road, two carriages are speeding towards them, followed by several fast horses guarding them on both sides.

In a large carriage in front of him, Chongzhen, who had his eyes closed to meditate, slowly opened his eyes, tortured by the road conditions and couldn't calm down at all.

He frowned slightly and complained in a deep voice: "What a broken road, it almost knocked out the rice porridge I had eaten for lunch..."

After running all the way, Chongzhen had always been wary of those Qianlong Guards. After these days of observation, he found that these guys were not human at all!

Along the way south, we encountered no less than ten waves of bandits and small groups of thieves who were trying to rob them along the way. These Qianlong Guards were not afraid at all and fought their way through without saying a word.

Their fighting method is extremely rare. They don't use knives or bows and arrows. They seem to have empty hands. They don't know where they took out the short fire blunderbuss. They use one hand to shoot while walking without reloading.

With every gunshot, someone would fall down. In just a few breaths, they had already been wiped out. The robbers and thieves who had robbed the road fled like ghosts.

Qianlongwei arranged Chongzhen in one carriage, and the three eunuchs Wang Chengen, Han San, and Wang Zhixin in another carriage.

Chongzhen was terrified along the way, lest these murderous guys would kill him halfway.

He knew very well that he was familiar with history books. Born in an imperial family, the temptation of power can even kill family ties. Chongzhen believed that he valued emotions, but he did not believe that the prince Zhu Cixi was also a person who valued emotions. Not only that, everyone in the world

, he almost didn’t want to trust it anymore.

Suddenly, the carriage slowly stopped, and the voice of the Qianlong Guard came from outside: "Your Majesty, please get out of the car."

Chongzhen's heart tightened, and he secretly thought that what was supposed to come had finally come.

After being silent for a long time, neither speaking nor going out, I heard another voice coming from outside the carriage: "Your Majesty, please get out of the carriage."

What to see?

Chongzhen said nothing, secretly opened a corner of the carriage curtain, and looked outside. He saw that the outside was full of haze and the fields were desolate. He was even more sure that the prince's men were going to kill the king in this uninhabited land!

"You traitorous son, you will eventually kill your father and usurp the throne!"

Chongzhen cursed secretly in his heart, looking both sad and angry.

After another silence for a while, the desperate Chongzhen finally figured it out. He put life and death aside, the worst he could do was die. Anyway, he was planning to hang himself, so why should he be afraid now?

Chongzhen's heart gradually calmed down and he slowly walked out of the carriage.

Several Hidden Dragon Guards were still scattered near the carriage, and one of them who was very close was the one who had just let him get off.

Chongzhen stepped off the carriage, straightened his clothes, and looked at the cold-faced Qianlong Guard in front of him, standing with his hands behind his back, looking very brave.

The two looked at each other for a full five minutes. Even though he was a well-trained Qianlong Guard, his eyes were full of curiosity at this moment. He secretly asked, "Why is the emperor staring at me like this? Is there anything written on my face?"

Out of strict discipline, the Hidden Dragon Guard did not speak. He also looked ahead and remained motionless.

Chongzhen couldn't hold himself any longer and asked, "Why don't you take action?"

No one answered him, and Chongzhen became even more confused, secretly cursing these idiots if there was something wrong with their brains? Give them a break!

After looking at each other for another five minutes, Chongzhen couldn't help but said: "There is no one here, and no one will know if he kills me."

The Qianlong Guard pointed around and said, "Your Majesty, you are too worried. There is the Yellow River in front of you, and the carriage cannot cross it. We need to change boats to cross."

Chongzhen looked up suspiciously and found that there seemed to be a big river in the distance. When he looked around, he was stunned by the sight in front of him.

The surrounding area was full of dry cracks. In the fields and beside the road, there were all starving people lying on the ground. I don’t know how long these people had been starving to death.

Looking across the plains, the grass and trees were withered and yellow, and the slightly green bark and grass leaves were all gone. There were still a few hungry people struggling to claw at the roots of the trees.

Chongzhen was stunned. He hadn't looked carefully just now and hadn't noticed the surrounding situation. Now that he looked carefully, his heart couldn't help but tremble.

"Where is this?" Chongzhen asked in a trembling voice.

"Zhangde Mansion, Henan."

Qianlongwei replied calmly. They knew that the crown prince ordered the emperor to be taken overland just to let the emperor who grew up in the deep palace see the suffering of the people.

All Qianlongwei members were orphans among refugees. In the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, they and their families walked thousands of miles north to escape disaster. Along the way, local governments expelled them and prohibited them from entering. Their families all starved to death on the roadside and were

Other refugees share the food.

It wasn't until he entered the capital and met Prince Zhu Cihong who helped the people and gave them porridge that thousands of orphans found a way to survive.

Chongzhen continued to walk forward and saw groups of refugees fleeing the famine in the distance, preparing to cross the river south. They all looked haggard and unkempt, like beggars. Some were wearing tattered cotton jackets and had straw ropes tied around their waists. He picked up his own black and worn quilt, with a scrawny, shivering child on it.

He slowly came to the Yellow River (in the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow River passed through Zhangde Prefecture in Henan Province, and the Yellow River water took Suishui and entered Si River. It went through Northern Jiangsu, not Shandong today.)

Due to the severe drought and Li Zicheng's decision to flood the Yellow River in Kaifeng, the water level of the downstream Yellow River dropped a lot, and some sections of the river were even cracked and only shoals remained.

Then a disgusting stench filled the air, and Chongzhen stopped. He found that the river was full of rotting corpses, of both men and women, old and young, exuding a strong rotten smell.

"this……"

Chongzhen stared blankly, his hands trembling. He opened his mouth to say something, but felt his throat was choked and he couldn't say a word.
To be continued...