My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 126 Chongzhen: They are both fathers-in-law, why is there such a big difference?

Coming back to his senses, Zhu Cilang continued:

"Since everyone has no objections, then let's proceed as above."

"In addition, this disaster relief manual will be printed in large quantities and distributed throughout the country. Disaster relief work in all regions must be carried out in accordance with it."

“This will also be required for future disaster relief.”

When the civil and military officials heard this, they naturally had no objections and all bowed and said:
"The minister obeys the order!"

After the morning court ended, Zhu Cilang did not rush back to the Eastern Palace, but came to Kunning Palace, intending to meet Chongzhen.

After all, such a big thing happened, it would be a bit unreasonable not to say hello to Chongzhen.

And he planned to find something for the harem to do.

After Chongzhen carefully read the memorial brought by Zhu Cilang about natural disasters and man-made disasters in various parts of the Ming Dynasty, his brows immediately frowned.

Although Chongzhen knew that the Ming Dynasty had been plagued by disasters in recent years, he had never expected that the number of people affected would be so large.

I never imagined that 200,000 disaster victims were pouring into the capital.

After a moment, Chongzhen put down the memorial, looked at Zhu Cilang and asked:
“How are you going to deal with these things?”

Zhu Cilang replied calmly:
"What else can we do? The victims have come all the way to the capital just to eat. We can't just ignore them."

"Therefore, I have already built some temporary shelters outside the city and asked the Ministry of Revenue to prepare sufficient food for disaster relief."

"In short, no matter how many victims arrive, I will ensure they don't starve to death."

Chongzhen nodded when he heard this, but then asked worriedly:

"But will there be enough food in the capital? With such a devastating disaster, we may not even be able to harvest the summer crops this year."

"What if the summer grain harvest fails and the capital runs out of food?"

As the king of a country, Chongzhen certainly cared about the life and death of the people, but compared to the people, what he valued more was the stability of the capital.

Compared to the stability of the capital, the common people were not that important in his heart.
Of course, this is not Chongzhen’s fault. Emperors have been like this since ancient times.

When Zhu Cilang saw Chongzhen's worried look, he remembered that he had forgotten to tell Chongzhen what he had discussed with Zheng Chenggong before.

Then Zhu Cilang said:
"Your Majesty, do not worry about the food problem. I have already reached an agreement with the Zheng family. From now on, the Zheng family's caravans will help the Ming Dynasty purchase food from overseas."

"And the Zheng family promised that the grain would cost the same as the price it was purchased for, and that the manpower, material resources, and losses involved would be borne solely by the Zheng family."

"According to preliminary estimates, this grain will be transported to Ming Dynasty in three months. By then, even if the summer grain harvest fails, it will not cause a food crisis."

Chongzhen finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this.

In his opinion, as long as the capital is not in chaos, the Ming Dynasty will not be in chaos.

At the same time, he was secretly glad that Zhu Cilang's marriage with the Zheng family was indeed a very correct decision.

Otherwise, the food problem might not be so easy to solve.

Moreover, the Zheng family is obviously making a losing deal this time. After all, the consumption, supplies, and manpower required to transport grain from overseas to the Ming Dynasty are astronomical along the way.

But the Zheng family chose to take on the responsibility alone.

Obviously, this is all for Zheng Xiaomei's sake.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen continued:
"The Zheng family is so loyal, you shouldn't treat them unfairly. Shouldn't you give them some more rewards?"

Zhu Cilang was amused when he heard this and said:

"Don't worry, father, I know what to do."

"I have already appointed several of Zheng Zhilong's sons as fourth-rank guerrilla generals as a token of my gratitude to the Zheng family."

"Because Zheng Zhilong had seven sons, I appointed seven guerrilla generals in total."

When Chongzhen heard this, he found it a little funny for a moment.

I don’t know whether he was laughing at the fact that Zheng Zhilong had seven sons, or at the fact that Zhu Cilang appointed seven guerrilla generals at once.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang seemed to have thought of something and continued:

"Besides, I intend to make Zheng Zhilong a marquis after he completely destroys the Jiannu navy!"

Chongzhen thought about it and finally nodded.

"He is now considered a relative by marriage, and with his meritorious service, it wouldn't be too much to make him a marquis!"

A marquisate in exchange for 1,800 ships, more than 200,000 naval soldiers, and an endless supply of food. This deal is a lucrative one no matter how you look at it!
But then, Chongzhen suddenly thought of his father-in-law, and a surge of anger rushed into his head.

We are both fathers-in-law, so why does my father-in-law only know how to cheat me?

It's really true that comparing yourself to others makes you feel thwarted!

Suddenly at this moment, Queen Zhou came over and asked with a concerned look on her face:

"Her, such a great disaster has occurred in the world. Your Majesty also wants to do something for the victims. Do you think there is anything your Majesty can do?"

Zhu Cilang glanced at Empress Zhou and then smiled:
"Your Majesty and I have the same idea. I came here not only to find my father, but also to find your Majesty."

When Queen Zhou heard this, she instantly showed joy on her face.

She may not be the most wise queen of the Ming Dynasty, but she is also one of the good queens of the Ming Dynasty.

She knew that the world was in chaos, so she wanted to do something for the world, for her husband and for her son to the best of her ability.

So, Zhu Cilang took a mask from Ma Bao behind him and handed it to Queen Zhou.

Queen Zhou looked at the rather strange thing in her hand and asked curiously:

"What is this?"

Zhu Cilang explained with a smile:
"This is a protective device invented by my son, called a mask."

"I consider that every time a major disaster occurs, there will inevitably be an epidemic, so I have come up with a series of ways to prevent the occurrence and spread of the epidemic."

"This mask is one of the most important things. As long as you wear it on your head to cover your mouth and nose, it can effectively prevent the spread of the plague."

"I want you to have your Majesty lead the palace maids and concubines to make a large number of masks to protect the safety of disaster relief officials and victims."

When Queen Zhou heard this, her expression instantly became serious.

Although she didn't know whether this thing called a mask was as powerful as Zhu Cilang said, she was naturally willing to do it as long as she could do something for the victims.

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang briefly described the process of making masks.

It’s actually very simple. Just add some cotton between two pieces of gauze, sew them together, and then add earrings on both sides.

This thing is basically not difficult.

Although Queen Zhou was the queen, she had always sewed clothes herself, so she understood the method immediately.

Then, Queen Zhou said with a smile:

"Don't worry, my queen will summon all the concubines and maids in the harem to do this."

Zhu Cilang also nodded:
"Then I, your Majesty, would like to thank you on behalf of all the victims of this disaster."

Chongzhen, who was standing by, was naturally relieved when he heard the conversation between the mother and son.

Since the Queen was like this, Zheng Xiaomei, as the Prince's concubine, naturally could not fall behind.

So in the next few days, Zheng Xiaomei went in and out of the palace every day to make masks with Queen Zhou, which was more or less what she did for the people.

Chongzhen and Queen Zhou also liked this daughter-in-law more and more.

On this day, Zhu Cilang had nothing to do, so he took a group of people to inspect the houses built outside the city.

At the beginning, because there was no cement, the Ministry of Works built shacks. Although they were very simple, they could barely shelter from the wind and rain.

However, with the introduction of cement, shacks were no longer built, and instead large houses similar to warehouses were constructed.

Because of the properties of cement, houses can be built very quickly.

The houses currently built are enough to accommodate tens of thousands of people.

As for the shacks built before, since they were so inferior to the houses built with cement, Zhu Cilang planned to use them as temporary toilets.

In addition, in recent days, disaster victims have begun to arrive one after another and have been properly resettled.

Overall, everything is moving in a positive direction.

A few days later, outside the capital.

A group of thousands of disaster victims were staggering towards the capital.

They all fled from Shanxi and Henan, and the hardships they endured along the way are beyond words.

Many people didn't even know the exact direction of the capital, and just blindly followed the crowd in front of them like zombies.

They ate almost all the edible things along the way, from tree bark and leaves to grass roots.

However, even so, many people still fell along the way, and the flame of their lives gradually extinguished in endless suffering.

Zhang Dazhuang looked at the endless line of refugees behind him, and then looked at the unknown direction ahead, and a deep sense of helplessness and sadness welled up in his heart.

He also fled here from Henan. Along the way, he lost his wife and parents, and now he is left alone.

He had wanted to follow his family countless times, but in the end he chose to persevere, because as long as he was alive, there was always a glimmer of hope.

Licking his cracked lips, Zhang Dazhuang took a step forward and continued to stagger forward.

In his opinion, as long as he reached the capital, he would be able to survive.

Suddenly at this moment, a shrill cry came from the crowd in front:

"My child, my child, what's wrong with you? Wake up quickly, don't scare your mother!"

Zhang Dazhuang looked up and saw a woman in her twenties or thirties crying bitterly while holding a child of seven or eight years old not far away.

The child had his eyes closed and his limbs hung limply, seemingly showing no signs of life.

Zhang Dazhuang is no longer surprised by such tragic situations.

In this year of famine, even adults find it hard to bear, let alone those innocent children?

Although the adults had tried their best to save food and drinks for the children along the way, the team had not eaten for three or four days.

At most, they could only drink some water and dig up some grass roots to fill their stomachs, and the children could not hold on any longer.

Zhang Dazhuang shook his head helplessly and prepared to move on.

However, at this moment, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

Several skinny and fierce-eyed disaster victims suddenly surrounded the woman.

Zhang Dazhuang thought to himself, this is not good, these guys might want to eat people!

This kind of thing is not uncommon along the way. Some people are so hungry that they start to do anything desperate. Some people even cut up and eat the bodies of the dead!
The only thing to be thankful for is that these people are not yet so hungry that they want to eat living people.

Sure enough, the next second, the refugees revealed their ferocious faces, and one of them said coldly:

"Sister-in-law, since your child is dead, why not give it to everyone to eat."

"After we eat this child, we will have the strength to walk to the capital to seek a way to survive."

As soon as these words came out, several refugees with shining eyes nearby echoed them.

"That's right, leave everyone a way to survive!"

"The child is already dead and can't feel anything, so why not just eat him?"

"Give it to us now for the benefit of everyone else, otherwise even if you bury him later, we'll dig him out!"

The woman trembled with fear when she heard these horrifying words. She hugged the child tightly and shouted in despair:

"Get away! This is my child, I won't let you eat him!"

However, these hungry victims would never listen to her. One of them even said viciously:
"You stinky girl, I tried to talk to you nicely but you wouldn't listen. So, I'll cook you up and eat you too! That way, we can all survive!"

As he said that, the man reached out to pull the woman. The woman was so scared that she tried to run away with her child in her arms, but how could she escape from those refugees who were as ferocious as wolves and tigers?

After running a few steps, she was grabbed by someone and fell to the ground holding the child.

Just as he was about to continue snatching the child from the woman's arms, a figure suddenly rushed over and kicked him out.

This person is none other than Zhang Dazhuang!

Then, Zhang Dazhuang stood in front of the woman, glared at the refugees fiercely and said:

"You damned bastards! Are you still human? It's ok that you ate the dead along the way, but now the child is still in his mother's arms! You want to eat the child's corpse?"

"Do you still have a conscience?"

When several disaster victims heard this, their faces were instantly filled with disdain.

One of them even shouted arrogantly:

"Zhang Dazhuang, you'd better not meddle in other people's business! You don't want to eat, but you don't allow us to eat? Get out of here if you know what's good for you! Otherwise, I'll eat you too!"

As he spoke, the disaster victims gathered around him.

Faced with dozens of disaster victims with fierce eyes, Zhang Dazhuang was a little at a loss for a moment.

Because he knew that he was definitely no match for these people.

But if he was asked to step aside and let the mother and child be eaten, he couldn't bear it.

Finally, he made up his mind and lamented:

Never mind! Just think of it as one last good deed before I die!

Since his family members are dead, there is no point in him living. He might as well die here!
Just in time to be reunited with his family!
Thinking of this, Zhang Dazhuang became furious and got into a posture ready for a fight.

He wants to use his life to protect the woman and child behind him.

The worst that could happen is that I will be eaten by these evil spirits in the end.

Seeing that the other side was really determined to fight to the death, these hungry victims also became ruthless.

However, just as the two sides were on the verge of a fight, the sound of rumbling horse hooves suddenly came from not far away.

Everyone looked up and saw a cavalry team rushing towards them quickly not far away.

For a moment, everyone was stunned.

After realizing what was happening, everyone quickly fled in all directions.

You know, before, when they passed through some places, they were always driven away by local officials and soldiers.

Even when we got to the vicinity of the capital, the gates of those cities were all closed. At most, there were a few porridge stalls set up outside where people could have a sip of porridge.

So when they saw this situation, they thought that people from the capital were coming to drive them away, and they immediately prepared to flee in all directions.

As for the victims who wanted to steal the children to eat, they could only retreat to the side in disappointment after seeing the cavalry.

However, even so, their eyes were still fixed on the woman and child.

As long as the cavalry leaves, they will continue to eat the child.

The woman probably knew that she was powerless to protect the child, so she could only squat on the ground and cry, calling out over and over again:

"My child, I am sorry for you!"

"I don't want to be a human in my next life. Being a human is too hard!"

At this time, the team was getting closer and closer, and the leader was none other than Zhu Cilang!
It turned out that in recent times, Zhu Cilang had been receiving news that more and more disaster victims had begun to appear near the capital.

But many people collapsed on the road dozens of miles away from the capital.

He felt pity for the victims, so he sent people to build porridge stalls near the capital to ensure that the victims could have a meal there before continuing on their journey to the capital.

He had nothing to do today, so he decided to come and see for himself, but he didn't expect to run into this group of disaster victims.

At the same time, he also noticed what had just happened.

Seeing that the team didn't seem to want to drive them away, the victims finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang pulled the reins of his horse and slowly stopped beside the woman.

He then dismounted, and hundreds of people around him also dismounted at the same time.

The leaders were Li Ruolian, Fang Zhenghua and Zheng Chenggong.

There was no other way. The prince insisted on leaving the city, so they had no choice but to follow him!
Zhu Cilang looked at the crying woman and asked:

"Sister-in-law, what happened to your child?"

When the woman saw the young man in luxurious clothes in front of her, she knew that he was not an ordinary person and was a little at a loss for a moment.

But sadness soon came over her again, and she cried bitterly:

"My child. My child is starving."

Zhu Cilang's heart trembled, and then he looked at the child in the woman's arms.

The child looked only five or six years old, a little boy, and was so hungry that he looked unrecognizable.

Zhu Cilang didn't expect to encounter such a tragic scene as soon as he left the city. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

But at this moment, Li Ruolian suddenly came over and said to the woman:
"Sister-in-law, can you let me see your child?"

When the woman heard this, she looked at Li Ruolian with a vigilant look and asked nervously:
"You...you want to eat my child?"

Li Ruo Lian was startled when he heard this, then he understood the woman's worries. He looked at the victims standing nearby who were staring at him eagerly, and whispered to Zhu Cilang:

"Master, those guys over there have all eaten people."

"If I saw correctly just now, they just wanted to eat this woman's child."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, his eyes instantly turned cold, and then he looked at the victims next to him.

Although these people still look skinny, their eyes no longer look like those of a human.

And it's like the eyes of an evil spirit!

At this moment, a murderous intent filled Zhu Cilang's heart, and he really wanted to kill these people directly.

But when he thought that it was not their fault and they just wanted to survive, he finally endured it.

Then he turned to Li Ruolian and asked:

"What do you want to see that kid do?"

Li Ruo Lian frowned and said:

"It's nothing, actually. I just think the child might not be dead yet."

what?
When Zhu Cilang heard this, he looked at the child in surprise.

But after looking for a long time, he couldn't see anything. After all, the child was no different from a dead person at this time.

But he still held a glimmer of hope in his heart. What if the child was really not dead?
Finally, Zhu Cilang looked at the woman and said:

"Sister-in-law, this servant of mine thinks your child might not be dead yet and can be saved. Please let him take a look!"

"Don't worry, we won't do anything to him. If he really dies, we will bury him."

When the woman heard this, she was stunned for a moment.

Because she was almost certain that her child was dead.

But after taking a closer look at the group of people in front of her, she finally handed the child over carefully.

She felt that given the identities of these people, they would not do something like cannibalism.

And
What if her child is not dead?
Li Ruo Lian carefully took the child, checked his pulse, and listened to his chest. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Zhu Cilang beside him:

"Master, he's not dead, he just fainted from hunger."

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly ordered the people around him to bring water and gave the child a sip of water.

After a moment, the child's eyelids indeed trembled and moved.

Seeing this, the woman immediately wiped away her tears with excitement.

Fortunately, her child did not die!
At this moment, the victims who had wanted to eat the corpses suddenly surrounded them, and one of them said:
"Young Master, is there anything to eat? Please give us something to eat. If not, give us something to drink. We haven't eaten or drunk anything in a few days."

Zhu Cilang glanced at them coldly without saying anything.

Realizing Zhu Cilang's attitude, Zheng Chenggong waved his hand gently.

The next second, dozens of guards around him drew their swords at the same time. The cold light of the swords frightened the victims in an instant.

Then, Zhu Cilang said coldly:
"You guys have been eating people all the way?"

When several disaster victims heard this, their scalps went numb for an instant and they didn't even dare to speak.

And silence is sometimes the best answer!

Zhu Cilang ordered in a cold voice:

"Remember these guys. Once we get to the capital, take them directly to the mines to do hard labor. After ten years, set them free."

These disaster victims were a little confused when they heard this. It was not that they were surprised by Zhu Cilang's punishment, but they were almost starving to death, so why would they care about doing hard labor?
What’s more, it’s been ten years!
But Zhu Cilang no longer wanted to pay attention to them at this moment.

Just as Zhu Cilang had thought before, even though this group of people had eaten humans, Zhu Cilang still couldn't kill them.

Because the people are so hungry that they can't afford to eat and have to eat human flesh, it's not the people's fault, it's his fault!
He couldn't kill these people because of his own fault!

But he couldn't pretend nothing happened, so he had no choice but to let them do hard labor!
(End of this chapter)