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

Chapter 129 Chongzhen: I want to kill him, no one can persuade me!

At this moment, Zhu Cilang thought of something and called Ma Bao over and ordered:
"Go get Luo Yangxing, and also get Cao Bianjiao and Ma Xianglin to come over."

"Slave, go now."

Ma Bao responded and then left.

Not long after, Luo Yangxing arrived first and politely saluted and said:

"Your servant Luo Yangxing pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang did not say anything, but handed him the memorial brought by Xue Guoguan.

“Take a look at this first!”

Luo Yangxing opened the memorial and frowned instantly, cursing:
"This damned bunch of unruly people actually gathered together to rebel. They truly deserve the death penalty."

Zhu Cilang didn't react much, but continued:
"Luo Yangxing, I want you to do two things now."

"The first thing is to ensure that the news in the memorial does not spread in the capital. The fewer people who know about it, the better."

"Secondly, send a team of Jinyiwei to Shandong immediately and spread the news that the imperial court is assembling an army of 100,000 to eliminate Li Qingshan."

"The wider the spread of this news, the better. We need to let as many people as possible know that the imperial court is assembling a large army to eliminate Li Qingshan."

Luo Yangxing quickly responded:

"My minister obeys."

Then he left.

After a while, Cao Bianjiao and Ma Xianglin also came.

The two of them also hurriedly saluted and said:

"I see His Highness the Crown Prince."

"I see His Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Cilang nodded, ordered Ma Bao to bring two stools, asked them to sit down, and then handed them the memorial.

After reading the memorial, the two men frowned immediately, and at the same time they understood why Zhu Cilang asked them to come.

Cao Bianjiao spoke first:

"These damn guys, the court is in a turbulent time right now, and they actually dared to rebel."

"Your Highness, please allow me to lead the troops to eliminate these rebellious bandits."

Ma Xianglin on the side also said:
"Your Highness, I also request your permission to wipe out these traitors."

Zhu Cilang raised his hand slightly, signaling them to be patient, and then said:
"If the Ming Dynasty is still stable, I will definitely send troops to wipe them out."

"But you all know that the Ming Dynasty is currently in a turbulent period."

"We have to guard against the Jiannu, deal with Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng, and attack the Jiannu navy. We are also busy with disaster relief. It is really not appropriate to mobilize troops any further."

"So this time, I've decided to focus on appeasement. However, even though it's appeasement, I want these rebels to surrender voluntarily."

"Therefore, we still need to send troops to intimidate them and pretend to be laying siege so that they surrender without a fight."

After hearing this, the two of them roughly understood what Zhu Cilang meant.

That is, although troops need to be mobilized, it is basically just a formality. The main purpose is to use the army to deter the rebels from surrendering.

Zhu Cilang continued:
"Listen, both of you. Starting tomorrow, each of you will send 5,000 soldiers and horses to Jinan."

"These five thousand soldiers should not go together, but separately, to create the illusion that the court is continuously deploying troops."

"In addition, once you arrive at the destination, you must choose a place that is most conspicuous to camp, so that the surrounding people and merchants will know that the court is gathering troops to suppress the rebels."

"Also, I will be going there as well. You will all go with me then. Do you understand?"

When the two heard this, they quickly stood up and bowed, saying:

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I understand."

Zhu Cilang nodded.

"Alright, get down! Send the troops out early tomorrow morning!"

"I resign!"

After the two of them bowed, they left.

This kind of thing should be done sooner rather than later. That night, Zhu Cilang sent someone to the palace to get the seal for mobilizing troops, and then drafted an imperial edict and sent it to Cao Bianjiao and Ma Xianglin respectively.

Considering that this time was not for fighting, there would be no military merit, so Zhu Cilang sent another 110,000 taels of silver.

Ten thousand soldiers each received ten taels, which was exactly one hundred thousand taels. The remaining ten thousand taels were given to the officers.

After all, if there are no benefits, where will the morale come from?
In addition, some information about the canal transportation was brought back.

After staying up late to read these things, it was already early morning and Zhu Cilang fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Zhu Cilang did not go to court, but slept in.

It was almost noon when he got up.

At this time, Zheng Xiaomei was combing his hair. Seeing that he still looked a little sleepy, she said with concern:

"Your Highness, you didn't sleep well last night."

Zhu Cilang sighed and said:

"I can't help it. There are simply too many things to deal with in this world. Last night, I received news that a group of people in Shandong were gathering to rebel, so I was busy all night."

"By the way, I might have to go out for a while, so I'll leave the East Palace to you."

When Zheng Xiaomei heard this, she said worriedly:
"Shouldn't this matter be handled by the civil and military officials of the imperial court? Why bother going there in person?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head and said:

"This matter involves the grain transport and the stability of Shandong Province as a whole, so I intend to go there in person!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

After hearing this, Zheng Xiaomei didn't know what to say.

After a simple lunch, Zhu Cilang came to the palace. He planned to say hello to Chongzhen before leaving.

Because he was worried that someone might cause trouble while he was away from the capital, he had to give Chongzhen a heads-up first.

After all, we can't take Chongzhen to Shandong again, right?
After seeing Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang just felt funny, because at this moment, Chongzhen was actually helping to make masks.

It's just that his technique was so clumsy that it was a bit counterproductive.

Seeing Zhu Cilang coming, Empress Zhou, who was busy with a group of palace maids, quickly took the things from Chongzhen's hands, and then said impatiently:
"Your Majesty, please stop helping me. You're only making things worse. It just so happens that Yan'er is here. You should go talk to her."

When Chongzhen heard this, he felt a little embarrassed for a moment.

He originally wanted to do something for the people, so how come he ended up making things worse?
This is too disrespectful to him as the emperor!
But in front of so many people, he couldn't say anything, so he could only follow Zhu Cilang to the garden outside.

At the same time, the eunuchs had already brewed tea and placed several fruit plates.

After drinking a cup of tea, Chongzhen said slowly:

"Tell me, what happened this time?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he said a little embarrassedly:

"What are you talking about, Father? Can't I come and see you and Mother even though I'm fine?"

Chongzhen rolled his eyes at Zhu Cilang and said:

"Can you be so kind?"

Zhu Cilang suddenly felt even more embarrassed.

Sure enough, he still liked the Chongzhen who always called him a rebellious son.

But he quickly reacted and handed the memorial directly to Chongzhen.

"Father, please take a look at this first."

When Chongzhen saw the memorial handed to him, an expression of "as expected" immediately appeared on his face.

He knew that if nothing happened, this unfilial son would never come to him!
Something big must have happened in the court again, and his opinion is needed.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen took the memorial with a proud look on his face.

After opening it and taking a few glances, Chongzhen frowned.

After reading the above content, Chongzhen was so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick.

The next second, he threw the memorial in his hand to the ground, and then swept away all the tea sets in front of him, and shouted angrily:
"Damn it! How dare they do this? How dare they do this? I'm going to kill them. Kill them!"

Chongzhen's sudden rage frightened the eunuchs and palace maids around him, and they all knelt on the ground with fear on their faces.

After all, although they were all sent by Zhu Cilang, they were still the emperor's slaves in name.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang was also confused by Chongzhen's behavior. He never expected Chongzhen to have such a big reaction.

After all, in his opinion, now that Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng had rebelled so violently, the addition of Li Qingshan didn't seem to be a big deal. Was it necessary to be so angry?
He could only comfort her:

"Father, don't get excited. Isn't it just a rebellion? For the Ming Dynasty today, this kind of thing has long been commonplace."

"And I have already found a way to resolve this matter. You don't have to be so angry."

Chongzhen was not at all relieved when he heard this, but instead roared even more angrily:
"How can this be the same? How can this guy's rebellion be the same as Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he felt even more confused.

In his opinion, they are all rebellions, so what's the difference?
Seeing Zhu Cilang's confused look, Chongzhen became even angrier.

He bent down and picked up the memorial, then said to Zhu Cilang:
"Don't you realize what this incident means?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head in confusion.

Because he really didn't know what it meant.

In his opinion, this was just a simple peasant uprising. What other meaning did it have?

But the next second, Chongzhen's face twisted and he gritted his teeth and said:

"They are the heroes of Liangshan. Then tell me, who am I?"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he was a little confused at first, but the next second, a person's name suddenly popped into his mind, and he immediately got enlightened!

Damn!

How could he forget such an important thing?
According to the content of this memorial, Li Qingshan portrayed the peasant uprising he led as the heroes of Liangshan in the Water Margin.

Then correspondingly, wouldn’t Chongzhen become the Song Huizong in Water Margin?

You have to know that Song Huizong was a king who lost his country! And he was a king who ended up in a very miserable state!

In history, Song Huizong Zhao Ji experienced an extremely tragic end after being captured by the Jin army.

It is known in history as the "Jingkang Incident"!
Not only was he subjected to the sheep-leading ceremony, he was also demoted to Duke Hun De by the Jin army and imprisoned along with his son, Song Qinzong Zhao Huan.

In addition, other royal family members and officials also suffered great humiliation and hardship.

His wife and daughter were insulted by the Jin army and given away to other people for fun. It is said that they gave birth to many children of the Jin people!

Even after his death, his body could not rest in peace as it was taken by the Jin army and refined into lamp oil.

It can be said that there is no place to bury the body after death!

It can be said that since Song Huizong, the emperors feared most that someone would link them to Song Huizong.

But now, this memorial is tantamount to comparing Chongzhen to Song Huizong, and the Ming Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, and can even be said to be cursing the impending demise of the Ming Dynasty.
If you think about it this way, it's no wonder Chongzhen was so angry.
If someone compared Zhu Cilang to Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhu Cilang would definitely be so angry that he would slap that person twice.

Seeing that Zhu Cilang seemed to understand, Chongzhen said coldly:

"Let me ask you again, if I am Emperor Huizong of Song, then who are you?"

Ok?
Zhu Cilang was stunned at first, and then he started swearing when he realized what was happening!
"damn thing!"

If Chongzhen is Song Huizong, then wouldn't Zhu Cilang be Song Qinzong?

Wow, this memorial actually directly scolded both the father and the son!

Not
How can these people be so vicious?
You said you want to curse Chongzhen, then curse Chongzhen, why are you cursing me?
At this moment, Zhu Cilang was really speechless, because he had not thought so much before.

But if you think about it carefully, it is really the case.

Now he finally understood why Chongzhen was so furious and determined to wipe out Li Qingshan after learning about this matter.

Because what Li Qingshan did was to compare Chongzhen to the Song Dynasty's fallen emperor, Song Huizong.

If Zhu Cilang had known that there was such a hidden meaning behind this, he would never have come to see Chongzhen so rashly.

Now this is so embarrassing.

For a moment, the father and son looked at each other in silence.

The air around seemed to be frozen, and the silence was frightening.

The eunuchs and palace maids also knelt on the ground, not daring to stand up.

Finally, it was Zhu Cilang who broke the silence first. He touched his nose and then said:

"Father, in my opinion, you may have over-interpreted this incident."

"The reason those people gave them the identities of Liangshan heroes was simply to make it easier for the people to accept them, to imagine them as heroes, and to better win over the people."

"Father, there's really no need to worry too much about this matter. After all, the so-called Water Margin is just a novel."

"Could the Ming Dynasty really perish because of a novel?"

"If that were to happen, wouldn't we be laughed at by the world?"

If Zhu Cilang were an ancient person, he would definitely want to get rid of Li Qingshan and others without hesitation, just like Chongzhen.

But as a time traveler, he didn't really care too much about this kind of thing.

Although I was a little angry just now, the anger almost dissipated after just a moment.

However, Chongzhen was still furious. He said with a look of rage:

"I'm telling you, it's useless for you to say anything now! This Li Qingshan must die. None of him and his men can survive."

"I know that I don't have the final say in this world, but this time you must listen to me."

"Otherwise, I will never compromise!"

After hearing these words, Zhu Cilang felt even more headache.

But immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang patiently began to analyze the current situation for Chongzhen.

There was no other way. He had to convince Chongzhen before leaving the capital.

After all, he had previously promised Chongzhen that he would not imprison him again, so it would be better to focus on persuasion.

But if he couldn't convince him, he would probably have no choice but to imprison Chongzhen again.

For the future of Ming Dynasty, there is no other way.

Then, Zhu Cilang continued:

"Father, Li Qingshan now has at least 30,000 troops. If we want to destroy him, we will need at least tens of thousands of infantry and tens of thousands of naval forces to completely wipe him out."

"But the Ming navy is currently fighting against the Jiannu navy. Where can we transfer the navy from?"

"Let's take a step back and say, even if we really dispatch the navy and gather tens of thousands of troops to encircle and suppress Li Qingshan."

"What if he becomes desperate and flees to other provinces, perhaps joining forces with Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong?"

"By then, we won't just be dealing with Li Qingshan alone, but the three rebel armies of Li Qingshan, Li Zicheng, and Zhang Xianzhong."

"Secondly, if he directly destroyed the grain transport, what would happen to the grain transport of the Ming Dynasty?"

"You have to know that the Ming Dynasty's grain transport affected half of the country's tax revenue and the livelihoods of millions of grain workers and tens of millions of people on both sides of the strait."

"If there's a problem with the grain transport, and the Ming capital can't even supply food, what will we do then?"

"What would the Ming Dynasty do if millions of canal workers rioted again?"

I have to say that Zhu Cilang used a somewhat exaggerated tone when he talked about these things. If you think about it carefully, things might indeed develop like this.

When Chongzhen heard this, he fell silent for a moment.

Although he was still very angry, he had not lost his mind. He knew in his heart that what Zhu Cilang said was not alarmist.

If things are not controlled properly, they could really get to that point.

Finally, Chongzhen calmed down his anger a little, and then asked:
"Then tell me, what should we do about this matter?"

Zhu Cilang continued:
"It's simple. To ensure the safety of canal transportation, this matter must be resolved at the lowest cost."

"So, I decided to recruit them."

When Chongzhen heard this, his face was filled with disbelief.

He originally thought that Zhu Cilang would come up with a good way to resolve this matter, but he never expected that it would be to surrender!
The next second, Chongzhen scolded:
"Impossible! I will never agree to this!"

"These traitors have cursed the Ming Dynasty to its doom, yet you still want to recruit them. Let me tell you, I absolutely disagree."

"Even if I don't keep my word now, I will kill him if I get the chance."

Zhu Cilang was speechless. It seemed like there was no way to get over this hurdle, right?
But he still patiently explained:
"Killing Li Qingshan isn't a difficult task, but if we actually do that, we'll be telling the people of the world that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually believes a fictional novel represents the fate of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't that the most ridiculous thing in the world?"

"How about this, we both take a step back. I promise you that after Li Qingshan surrenders, I'll let you beat him up yourself to vent your anger."

After hearing this, Chongzhen fell silent again.

Because he once again felt that what Zhu Cilang said was right
If he really did this, it would be equivalent to telling the whole world that Chongzhen believed that a novel represented the destiny of the Ming Dynasty.

What would he do if a meteorite with inscriptions on it turned out to be there?
After a moment, Chongzhen suddenly thought of something, then frowned and looked at Zhu Cilang and said:
"Wait, you don't want to go to Shandong in person, do you?"

"Yes."

Zhu Cilang admitted it directly and generously.

"Although I do not intend to mobilize troops this time, I also do not intend to offer amnesty. Instead, I want Li Qingshan to kneel before me and ask for amnesty."

"Simply put, we have to make him surrender without a fight!"

"Otherwise, if we have to recruit every rebel, how will the Ming Dynasty maintain its dignity?"

"From now on, people in the world won't need to study or practice martial arts anymore. They can become officials by simply rebelling. Isn't this the most ridiculous thing in the world?"

Chongzhen fell silent again after hearing this, because he found that Zhu Cilang's plan was more thorough than he had imagined.

However, in the next second, Chongzhen suddenly stared at Zhu Cilang and asked:

"No! You must be hiding something from me!"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he looked at Chongzhen in surprise.

Because he really had something to hide from Chongzhen, but he didn't expect that Chongzhen would see through it!

But then, Zhu Cilang still played dumb and said:
"What are you talking about, Father? What could I possibly be hiding from you?"

Chongzhen didn't say anything, just sat down again, then tapped the table lightly with his fingers, as if thinking about something.

After a moment, he raised his head and looked at Zhu Cilang with sharp eyes.

"Are you planning to take action against the canal transport?"

As soon as these words came out, the expression on Zhu Cilang's face changed instantly.

Because Chongzhen guessed right!
He really intended to take action against the canal transportation!
Last night he spent almost the entire night reading all kinds of information and taxes on the grain transport, and therefore planned to reform the taxes on the grain transport. However, he never expected that Chongzhen would actually find out!
Since that was the case, Zhu Cilang simply stopped hiding it.

Zhu Cilang picked up the tea that the eunuch brought back and poured himself a cup. He took another sip and then said:
"Originally, I didn't intend to tell Father about this matter, but since Father has already guessed it, I will no longer conceal it."

"I spent the whole night reading all sorts of information on the grain transport and taxation, and I feel that the grain transport has reached a point where it must be reformed."

"So this time when I go to Shandong, besides recruiting Li Qingshan, I also want to reform the grain transport system."

When Chongzhen heard this, he immediately showed an expression that said, "As expected."

His personality may not be suitable for being an emperor, but he is definitely smart, so he can see that Zhu Cilang has ideas about the canal transportation.

But then, his brows frowned again.

Because reforming the canal transportation system was not an easy task, the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty had thought about it, but in the end they all gave up without exception.

This is because the officials, interests, and forces involved in the canal transportation were so huge that even the emperor could do nothing about it.

Hey!
After sighing in his heart, Chongzhen asked:

"Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Zhu Cilang did not speak, but instructed the eunuchs and palace maids around him:

"All of you, get down! No one is allowed to come near without my order. Anyone who disobeys my order will be executed!"

When the eunuchs and palace maids heard this, they did not dare to hesitate at all. They bowed and then withdrew.

Although these eunuchs and palace maids are all considered our own people, what I am about to say is too important, so we still need to be cautious.

When seeing this scene, Chongzhen couldn't help but become cautious.

Soon, only the father and son were left here.

(End of this chapter)