Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 6 Testing
After a while, Chen Si's men went to various storage points in Yingtian City in groups of seven or eight, carrying letters stamped with "Crown Prince Seal". Zhu Cilang and others came to the lobby of the Ministry of War.

It has only been three or two hours since he woke up, and during this time he has only moved his lips and has not expended much physical energy.

But this body had already been broken by the torture, and now that all the arrangements had been implemented, the breath he had been holding on to suddenly slipped away.

Wang Fuping knew that Zhu Cilang could not hold on any longer, so he gave a few instructions to the servants beside him and whispered, "Your Highness, please go to the back hall and rest first."

Zhu Cilang smiled at Wang Fuping, then waved his hand weakly to indicate that he could still hold on.

He naturally knew that he should rest at this time, and he also knew that with the two sides restraining each other, Wang Fuping was generally trustworthy and Chen Si was still safe for the time being.

But given his current situation, how could he be qualified to be a hands-off boss?

"Brother Wang, my case seems to have implicated a lot of people. Do you have any news about them?"

There are only a few mentions of Crown Prince Chongzhen in history, and now Zhu Cilang knows nothing about his own past.

But according to normal logic, with the title of Crown Prince Chongzhen, it would not be surprising for him to have one or two loyal ministers.

However, given his current situation, he couldn't afford to reveal the slightest flaw in front of these people, so he spoke out to test them.

"this.."

Seeing Wang Fuping's hesitation, Zhu Cilang knew that Hongguang must have taken ruthless action against these people.

"Ugh."

After a sigh, Zhu Cilang closed his eyes.

Since it concerns the throne, it was expected that Hongguang would be so ruthless.

Even he, the Crown Prince Chongzhen, almost died, let alone others?
But being able to think about it is one thing, and feeling extremely disappointed is another.

In the current situation, if Zhu Cilang could have an "old friend" by his side who he could trust and use, it would be of great help to him both practically and psychologically.

As for whether they would question whether they are unfamiliar with people and things
I was tortured! I was hit on the head! Wang Fuping can testify!
Damn Hongguang!
Looking at the bloodstains on his body, Zhu Cilang cursed inwardly, then calmed himself down and tried to regain his composure.

"Your Highness, I have news."

At this time, the lobby of the Ministry of War was full of burly men. Their voices were naturally loud and harsh, but to Zhu Cilang, these voices sounded like the sound of nature.

He opened his eyes which had just been closed, and saw a man dressed similarly to Wang Fuping bowing to him not far away.

"Your Highness, I am Sun Youfu, working in the Ministry of Justice. The tutor Ji Qingyuan, who knelt and cried in front of Your Highness when Your Highness entered the palace, is currently in the prison of the Ministry of Justice."

Zhu Cilang was overjoyed. Could there be better news than the appearance of a tutor who once knelt and cried in front of him?

"Brother Sun, please bring Mr. Ji here."

Sun Youfu said he dared not, and then left the lobby of the Ministry of War with two officers.

After this incident, Zhu Cilang suddenly felt much better, and his thoughts unconsciously drifted to defending the city.

It is said that Yingtian City is easy to defend, but it is really difficult to defend. The key is whether it is possible to integrate the various forces in the city, and whether reinforcements can be found.

Zhu Cilang has already made plans to integrate the forces of all parties, but where will the reinforcements come from?

During the reign of Chongzhen, although the various Ming troops occasionally made changes in executing orders, they were generally able to obey the central government.

However, since the fall of Beijing, the Hongguang regime has been busy with internal strife, and in just a few months, it completely lost the central government's prestige.

Now Hongguang fled without fighting, which was a devastating blow to the already low morale of the Ming army.

Not to mention this "fake prince", even if Hongguang personally gave the order, who would really come to help?
But then again, it seems a bit biased to blame everything on those emperors. Who doesn't want to stabilize his own kingdom?
But they won’t!

After the Jingnan Campaign, the Ming Dynasty had been very cautious about the princes. Except for the crown prince who had the opportunity to inherit the throne, other princes had never received a proper royal education, not to mention the princes' sons who were treated as breeding pigs. It was really too much to expect a few people who had only been taught how to eat, drink and have fun since childhood to turn the tide.

Later generations summarized countless factors that prevented the Southern Ming from holding on to half of the country, but it seems that only the Qing royal family grasped the key to the problem.

These cognitions have never been put on paper, but the princes of the Qing Dynasty would receive extremely strict royal education regardless of whether they had the opportunity to inherit the throne. This shows that the Qing Dynasty fully absorbed the lessons of previous dynasties.

Of course, this will lead to a life-and-death fight between the princes, but in the end the meat will rot in the pot.

If it weren't for the major changes that hadn't happened in thousands of years, it is possible that the Qing Dynasty could have lasted a few more years.

Unable to figure out where the reinforcements would come from, his thoughts drifted further and further away. In the end, Zhu Cilang could only sigh:
"People's hearts are broken and it's hard to lead the team."

Failure to send reinforcements was only a long-term concern, but the person who brought immediate worries had already stepped into the lobby of the Ministry of War.

"My Lord! Fourth Brother! Except for Lord Xu, none of those officials are willing to come!"

The men sent out by Chen Si were divided into two groups. The first group went to various storage points in Yingtian City, and the second group was to invite various nobles and adults to come and discuss matters.

Zhu Cilang had not expected the first batch to be able to control the key storage points. He sent them there just to keep an eye on them. Once an agreement was reached with the nobles and dignitaries, those key storage points would naturally be under their control.

But who would have thought that after those men walked around for a long time, some politely refused, some shouted harshly, but no one went back with them. In front of several dukes' houses, they were driven away without even finishing their words.

Listening to the men's narration, Zhu Cilang finally realized how much weight his identity as a crown prince held in the eyes of those truly noble people.

"Which Lord Xu?"

"It's me."

Zhu Cilang asked instinctively, and then saw an old man in a red robe step into the lobby.

"I have met Xu Yu from the Imperial College..."

Seeing that the old man didn't know how to address him, Zhu Cilang hurriedly said, "Don't be so rigid, just call me Da Lang."

At this time, Zhu Cilang was really in the dark about the top leaders in Yingtian. Finally, an official who seemed to be of high status came. Even though he did not recognize his status as the crown prince, he had to treat him with courtesy.

"I wonder what Dalang wants to do by gathering people here?"

What is intended?

Naturally, he was seeking a way out, but when the words came to his lips, they became: "Your Majesty is in a difficult situation. It was expected that I would be denied the status of the crown prince. Isn't Zhao Gou afraid that Yue Fei would welcome his father and brother back?"

This sentence seemed to be spoken to Xu Yu, but the people present were its real audience.

At this time, Zhu Cilang could be said to be alone, but his biggest problem was that the government had denied his status as the crown prince. Otherwise, how could he rely on these people?

"Boss, this is why Grandpa Yue died."

"Silence!"

A buzzing sound gradually arose in the field, but Zhu Cilang ignored it.

"My father shouldn't have left me in this world." Zhu Cilang's voice became smaller and smaller, as if he remembered something. Finally, he stood there in a daze, oblivious to the people around him.

After a while, Wang Fuping reminded softly at the right time: "Your Highness."

"Excuse me, everyone," Zhu Cilang smiled bitterly, and after dispelling the fatigue on his face, he said in a strong voice: "My father died in Beijing, and I will die in Nanjing. In the underworld, my father and I will be able to face our ancestors, and the Zhu family will be worthy of the hundreds of years of support from the people of the world!"

"Your Highness!"

Before he finished speaking, people like Xiang Rensheng, who were honest and kind-hearted, had already kneeled on the ground with tears streaming down their cheeks, but Xu Yu, although his eyes were slightly red, did not show any expression.

(End of this chapter)