Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 5: Clearing the Fields
In history, the Crown Prince Chongzhen actually ascended the throne directly after being forced into the palace!
The inside story is no longer known, but from Zhu Cilang's perspective today, the real Zhu Cilang, who had received royal education since childhood, must have been forced to take such a rash action.

Otherwise, if even he could see the huge crisis brought about by ascending the throne, how could that guy not see it?
If they had not entered the palace and ascended the throne, then the actions of Chen Si and others would have many explanations, but once they entered the palace and ascended the throne, the nature of the matter changed.

At that time, no matter whether the people in power in the city fight or surrender, the first thing they must do is to wipe out this group of people.

Therefore, Zhu Cilang had no choice but to deny the request of Wang Fuping and others even though he knew it would damage the prestige he had just established, and he could not even explain the reason.

"Yangzhou has been conquered. I estimate that the Tartar vanguard will arrive in four or five days."

As soon as these words were spoken, the attention of leaders including Chen Si and Wang Fuping was drawn to them, and everyone's faces were filled with worry.

The story of Yangzhou had already spread to Yingtian. Otherwise, the people would still have to pay taxes and grain in the end. Wouldn't it be the same for everyone?
"The walls of Yingtian are tall and strong, and the Tartars are all cavalry. We only need to hold out for a while until the reinforcements arrive. Then you will all be meritorious. By then, it will be no problem to bring honor to your family."

Zhu Cilang's words stirred everyone's emotions, but how could his real purpose be so simple?
"only.."

Seeing that everyone's attention was back on him, he continued, "We will defend the city and wait for reinforcements, but the Tartars have always been brutal, and the people in the nearby counties will suffer."

The Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty fought from outside the Great Wall to inside the Great Wall, and their glorious deeds have long been spread throughout the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty. Now, when hearing Zhu Cilang mention these people, it is inevitable that they feel sympathy for their fellow human beings.

"Brother Wang," Zhu Cilang bowed to Wang Fuping and then said, "Can you select some brothers who are familiar with the roads to pass on a message to the prefecture and county for me?"

Wang Fuping repeatedly said he dared not, and only stopped after Zhu Cilang waved his hand and waited for his next words.

"Each county should defend itself if it can, and evacuate the people if it feels it cannot. Otherwise, the incident in Yangzhou may happen again. Those who dare to fight can also come to Yingtian after this. If Your Majesty punishes you in the future, I will bear all the blame."

Zhu Cilang's motives behind these words were quite complicated. Although most of his intention was to allow the common people to escape the ravages of war, the ultimate effect he achieved was to clear the land and defend against the Tartars.

The Qing army came from afar, and their logistical supply would certainly be under tremendous pressure after accepting the surrender of the four towns in northern Jiangsu. If they could not obtain supplies locally, their military strength would not be able to last long.

This was something that no one present at the scene could have imagined. In their eyes, could His Royal Highness the Crown Prince say these words other than being kind-hearted and loving the people like his own children?
Wang Fuping went to the side to arrange for the personnel to go to the counties to pass on the message, while Zhu Cilang turned to Chen Si and said, "Brother Chen Si, please send people to the residences of the nobles and the adults to pass on the message, saying that I am waiting for you in the lobby of the Ministry of War."

"Aren't you going to the palace?"

"not going."

“I’m afraid there aren’t many left.”

"It doesn't matter. I'll take as many as I can."

Chen Si bowed casually, then turned and went to the group of his men.

Just now, he was forced by the situation to kneel down to Zhu Cilang, and he was already feeling unhappy. Now he was being ordered around by Zhu Cilang, which naturally made him even more unhappy.

Honestly speaking, kneeling was nothing to Chen Si. He had kneeled so many times in his life that he couldn't even count them.

But a moment ago he was still confident that he could hold the prince in his hands, but the next moment he was kneeling before him. Now he had to be ordered around by this kid. This huge psychological gap was naturally reflected in his actions.

Seeing his behavior, Zhu Cilang was not angry, but continued to say to him with his back: "Don't worry, Fourth Brother Chen, there is still something else that I would like to trouble you to arrange for the brothers to do."

"Anything else?"

At this time, Chen Si's tone was already a little impatient. Xiang Rensheng, who was standing next to him, felt that something was wrong and quietly tugged at the corner of his clothes. However, Chen Si not only did not restrain himself, but instead opened his hand and glared at Zhu Cilang.

"Fourth brother, the granary and arsenal in the city still need someone to look after them."

Zhu Cilang smiled even more, and addressed Chen Si more cordially, as if Chen Si's temper was not directed at him. Chen Si was about to turn around, but he heard Zhu Cilang's voice again: "Wait a moment, Fourth Brother."

"What do you want now?!"

"The armory and granary must be guarded by soldiers and servants. If we rush over there rashly, there might be a conflict."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Si was furious. This ignorant guy couldn't finish what he wanted to say in one breath? He had to wait until he made a move before saying the rest of his words. He was clearly making fun of him!
But when he was about to lose his temper, he saw the brothers around him nodding their heads. Then, thinking of the group of officers next to him, Chen Si could only suppress his anger and wait for Zhu Cilang to finish what he was going to say.

"Please ask Fourth Brother to find a craftsman to carve a square seal for me."

"Why are you talking about engraving again?!"

Chen Si's tone became increasingly hostile. Xiang Rensheng, who was standing next to him, raised his hand but then put it down as if he had thought of something.

He was a little confused as to why his fourth brother, who was usually kind and righteous to others, was so irritable. Fortunately, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was magnanimous and did not care about it.

If a conflict arises between the two, how should these brothers deal with it?
"Words are not enough. I will write a letter and stamp it with my seal. Even if the guards do not cooperate, at least they will not conflict with the brothers I sent."

Chen Si was angry, but he could not deny that Zhu Cilang's method was feasible. However, it was absolutely impossible for him to bow his head and accept orders like Wang Fuping did.

"Ok!"

He groaned, then turned around and gave instructions to his brothers.

Wang Fuping, who was assigning tasks to the officers not far away, seemed to be indifferent to the movement here, but he heard all the words.

It is indeed difficult to explain these things in just one or two sentences, and it seems unnecessary to wait until Chen Si takes action before talking about the rest.

He didn't know whether His Royal Highness the Crown Prince did it on purpose, but if he were one of the men under Chen Si, after this incident, he would not turn against Chen Si for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but who could say for sure what would happen in the long run?
Wang Fuping sighed secretly: Chen Si is just a poor guy after all.

After a while, the officers came in groups of two or three, saluted Zhu Cilang and walked out of the yard. Zhu Cilang returned the salute and watched them leave.

After a few groups, some sharp-eyed people were surprised to find that Zhu Cilang's eyes were already red.

"Your Highness is merciful, a thousand times better than that tyrant!"

He originally did this deliberately to win people's hearts by returning gifts.

But when the first group of officers leaving saluted him solemnly, Zhu Cilang suddenly realized something.

The Tartars have already crossed the river. If they encounter scouts...

"Why would they do that?"

After realizing the danger of this trip, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but feel a little confused, but as batches of officials left, he figured it out.

There must be people like Wang Fuping and Chen Si who have ulterior motives, but how could they not have a desire to serve their country when they risked their lives to come to prison at this time?

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, officials and generals surrendered in large numbers, and there were also many people who died for the Ming Dynasty.

Despite these kind-hearted and ambitious people, the Zhu family still lost all their territory within a few years.

The Zhu Ming royal family is sorry for those who died for the country!
(End of this chapter)