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

Chapter 172 Chongzhen: With this black pot on my head, I can no longer be the greatest emperor of all time!

Zu Dashou once again looked at the soldiers in front of him, then waved his hand and said:

"Move all the food out of the city, make sure everyone is well fed and watered, then gather the army and prepare to break out!"

The generals took the order and left, then each got busy.

Zu Dashou looked towards Songshan again, his eyes revealing determination and resoluteness, and then he began to make final preparations.

He knew very well that this battle would be a life-and-death struggle, and he had to give it his all!
At one o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly on the earth. The Ming army had just finished lunch and was preparing to advance after gathering the troops.

"woo"

Suddenly, a loud horn sounded through the sky and spread throughout the camp.

This is a signal that the enemy is attacking!
Obviously, the soldiers on the hot air balloon have discovered the traces of the Jiannu!
In fact, this is true!
At this moment, the soldiers on the hot air balloon were looking in astonishment at the Jiannu army that appeared ten miles away.

With the help of the high altitude advantage of the hot air balloon, they can see very clearly.

However, what surprised them was not the number of Jiannu people, but the fact that there seemed to be some unidentified people mixed in this army.

Due to the distance, they could not see the specific situation of these people and were filled with astonishment and confusion.

But out of instinct, they just passed the news of the Jiannu attack to the soldiers below as soon as possible.

Then the soldiers below will pass it on to the central military tent and then inform the entire army!

But not long after, as the Jiannu army gradually approached, they finally saw clearly that the people walking in the front were countless Ming Dynasty people!
These people were ragged, thin, and had very obvious features. It was obvious at first glance that they were local Han people from Liaodong.

After seeing this scene clearly, the soldier on the hot air balloon's face suddenly changed. He knew the seriousness of the matter, so he hurriedly pulled the rope on the hot air balloon and waved the flag towards the bottom.

Trying to convey this emergency to the soldiers below!
"Ding Ding Ding"

As the bell rang nearby, the soldiers under the hot air balloon raised their heads curiously, their faces full of confusion.

Wasn’t the news of the enemy’s attack reported just now?

The news has been reported to the entire army now, how could something else happen?
But then he became even more confused.

Because the distance was too far, he could not hear what the soldier on the hot air balloon said, nor could he see the expression on his face. He could only determine the message and signal he wanted to convey based on the flag he was waving in his hand.

After figuring out the message conveyed by the flag, he was completely stunned!

Because this is actually a signal to stop the attack!
Not
The enemy is ten miles away, and you're telling me to stop attacking?

The soldiers under the hot air balloon frowned, their hearts full of doubts. They kept wondering what the soldiers on the hot air balloon saw that would cause them to send such a signal?

Before he could figure out what was going on, the soldiers on the hot air balloon rang the bell again and waved the flag frantically.

This time it’s the signal to come down!
It was obvious that he must have discovered something incredible and wanted to convey it personally!

Knowing that the situation was urgent, the soldiers below did not dare to pull down the hot air balloon without permission, so they hurriedly sent someone to ask Zhu Cilang for instructions.

At this time, Zhu Cilang had received multiple messages that all the soldiers on the hot air balloons requested to land without exception, as if there was something important to report in person.

Zhu Cilang's brows furrowed instantly, his face full of confusion.

You have to know that after the news of the Jiannu attack was just conveyed, the army has been prepared and is waiting for him to give the order and then set off.

As a result, the soldiers on the hot air balloons suddenly behaved so abnormally. It was obvious that they saw something very important, otherwise they would never act like this!

Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen's originally calm face showed a hint of uneasiness.

Although he didn't know what had happened, he could tell it was definitely a fatal incident.

Hong Chengchou stood aside, also looking confused.

Because he couldn't guess what was going on.

The other generals who were about to receive the order and leave were also confused at this moment.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang finally spoke.

"Only send the two people on the hot air balloon on the city wall down to report. The others can continue as usual."

When the soldier heard the order, he immediately bowed and accepted it, then turned and left.

Soon, two hot air balloons slowly landed on the city wall. With the sound of friction between the wicker baskets and the ground, the wicker baskets stopped steadily at the designated position.

As soon as they landed, the two hot air balloon soldiers ran towards Zhu Cilang like arrows.

They were in a hurry, panting, and their eyes were full of panic. It was obvious that the matter was serious!
Not long after, they came before Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang.

Just as they were about to kneel down and salute, Zhu Cilang stopped them with a wave of his hand and said:

"No need to kneel, tell me what happened? What did you see?"

The two soldiers looked at each other, then looked at the people in front of them, and then said with a stiff upper lip:

"Your Majesty, please step aside."

They knew that this matter was of great importance, so it would be best to report it privately to the emperor and the crown prince to see what instructions the emperor had.

If they told everyone about this, and the emperor blamed them, they would be in big trouble.

When the others present heard this, they frowned even more.

Their intuition told them that this matter must be extremely important, otherwise the two soldiers would not dare to say such words.

Then they decided to avoid it.

But before they could take any action, Zhu Cilang frowned and shouted sternly:

"Nonsense! Those standing here are all loyal and honest people of the Ming Dynasty. There is nothing we cannot hear. Speak quickly!"

The two soldiers were suddenly frightened, but also a little confused.

Not
The emperor hasn't spoken yet, why did the prince speak first?

So, do they have to listen to the emperor?
Still have to listen to the prince?

Then, the two soldiers secretly looked at Chongzhen again.

There is no way. It is not their fault that they are tactless. It is just that their official positions are too low and they have no idea that the army is now completely under the command of Zhu Cilang.

Chongzhen was too lazy to say any more nonsense at this moment, and just said:

"Do as the prince says."

After getting permission, one of the soldiers said:
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I saw it clearly from the hot air balloon just now. The Jiannu army has indeed arrived, but this army is very special!"

"Because the ones leading the charge weren't the Jiannu at all! Instead, they were the Ming people who were abducted by the Jiannu!"

Another soldier also said:

"I just saw it, and it's indeed the case! Although I don't know the exact number of Ming Dynasty citizens, a rough estimate would put the number at at least 20,000 to 30,000!"

"These Ming civilians were not only driven to the front of the army, but also dispersed throughout the army!"

"I really don't know how to convey this news, so I thought of coming down here in person to report it."

As soon as they finished speaking, the city wall suddenly fell into deathly silence.

Everyone stared at the two soldiers in front of them in amazement, not knowing what to say for a moment.

No matter how much they planned, they never expected that the Jiannu would have such a trick. This really caught them off guard!

The most shocking one was Chongzhen.

At this moment, Chongzhen felt that all the hairs on his body were counting down and his hands and feet were cold!
He originally thought that this war would be a one-sided confrontation between the two sides, but he didn't expect that the Jiannu would actually use such a strategy and use 30,000 Ming Dynasty people as human shields to fight them!

If he gave the order to fire without regard for the lives of these 30,000 civilians, then after the war was over, he, as the emperor, would definitely be cursed by thousands of people!
He will definitely not be the greatest emperor of all time, but he is definitely the greatest tyrant of all time!
After all, looking through history books, there is no emperor who ordered the massacre of his own people.
But what if we don’t do this?
Are we just going to watch the Jiannu use these 30,000 Ming people as shields and attack us head-on?

For a moment, Chongzhen's brain completely crashed!
This move by the Jiannu completely stunned him!

At the same time, Hong Chengchou on the side also frowned deeply, his face full of worry.

To be honest, Hong Chengchou has never been a kind-hearted person.

He had issued an order before when dealing with Li Zicheng.

That is, once a city occupied by Li Zicheng is captured, all the men inside will be killed without any reason!
Because he felt that as long as Li Zicheng's subordinates took off their clothes, they would mingle with the people in the city, making it impossible for them to distinguish between civilians and rebels.

So it’s better to just kill them all and be done with it.

But the situation before is different from the current situation, because these people are real people of the Ming Dynasty, and they are innocent people who were looted from the Ming Dynasty by the Jiannu. How can they all be killed?

Even if they were used as human shields by the Jiannu, it was not their fault, but the Jiannu's fault!

However, if Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang were not here and he had complete control over the situation, then after some hesitation, Hong Chengchou would eventually give the order for direct bombardment!
Because he knew that compared with these 30,000 Ming Dynasty civilians, the lives of Ming Dynasty soldiers were more important!

But now, Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang are both here, so it is naturally not Hong Chengchou's turn to make the decision.

Of course, as a loyal minister and general of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Chengchou could actually take the initiative to stand up and take responsibility at this time, and then give orders "on behalf of" Chongzhen.

Regardless of the lives of these 30,000 people, they continued according to the original plan.

But he didn't dare to do that!
Because if he really did that, after the battle was over, the lightest punishment waiting for him would be dismissal from office!

If the case is more serious, the person may be beheaded in public or his entire family may be exterminated.

So at this moment, Hong Chengchou didn't dare to say a word.

But he also knew that he had to make a decision as soon as possible in the current situation, otherwise it would be too late when the Jiannu army on the opposite side really came.

As for the others, they actually thought the same thing as Hong Chengchou.

Although everyone was secretly anxious, no one dared to stand up and speak.

I was afraid that if I wasn't careful, Chongzhen would make me a scapegoat!

At this moment, Zhu Cilang suddenly turned cold, grabbed the telescope from the soldier next to him, and came to a corner of the city wall.

When I opened the telescope, I could vaguely see the vague figures of the Jiannu army.

Although it is still not very clear, one can roughly see that the front of the Jiannu army is densely packed with ragged people.

Moreover, the way these people are dressed, there is no way they could be Jiannu!
At this moment, Zhu Cilang felt a chill in his heart!

really!

He had oversimplified the war. He had assumed that his possession of flintlock rifles and hot air balloons meant he possessed the strength of a modern army, and that he could easily defeat the Jiannu army.

But he never expected that the Jiannu would use such a method to deal with them.

There were two paths before him now.

The first way is to ignore these civilians and directly order the artillery to fire according to the original plan, but this may kill these 30,000 civilians, and he himself will become a sinner!
The second way was to give up using artillery and flintlock rifles, wait until the Jiannu approached, bypass the people and fight face to face with the Jiannu.

But if this were to happen, the Ming army would definitely suffer heavy losses!

Even if we are not careful, it is not impossible to lose this war!
You have to know that the manpower and financial resources Zhu Cilang invested in this war have reached an unimaginable level.

First, he deployed 150,000 Ming navy and 10,000 Guanning cavalry behind the Jiannu.

Then, nearly 60,000 troops were deployed in Liaodong. Together with the original garrison of Liaodong and reinforcements from the nine borders, the total number of troops was about 230,000.

If we add Abunai's 30,000 Mongolian troops and Qin Liangyu's 30,000 border troops, it means that the total number of troops he deployed in this war exceeded 450,000!

This does not include logistics. If these people are included, the total number of troops in this war will definitely exceed 700,000!
According to the ancients' habit of exaggeration, it is not an exaggeration to claim that there are millions of soldiers and horses!

The amount of food and silver consumed by these armies every day was exaggerated to an unprecedented level.

Just the food and fodder alone consumes more than two million kilograms every day!
There is countless silver!

It can be said that in the history of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a foreign war of such a large scale!
He couldn't lose such a laborious war at all costs!
Because if they lose, then the Ming Dynasty will be really finished!

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang's expression suddenly turned cold. He had already made the worst decision!

Then he threw the telescope in his hand to the soldier beside him and turned back.

When he turned back, these civil and military officials had already started discussing.

But they were divided into two factions.

One group believed that the troops should be divided immediately and a group of elite cavalry should be sent to launch a surprise attack on the rear of the Jiannu army, which might resolve the current crisis.

One faction believed that the lives of the people should be given priority, and they should abandon the use of cannons and flintlock rifles and fight the Jiannu directly.

In short, everyone is talking about general principles, but no one dares to propose the most direct method!
Chongzhen frowned as he listened to everyone's discussion, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.

Because he neither wanted to harm the 30,000 Ming Dynasty civilians nor did he want the Ming Dynasty soldiers to leave their cannons and flintlock rifles unused, he had to fight the Jiannu directly!

Just then, Zhu Cilang came back!
He opened his eyes wide and shouted loudly:

"Shut up, everyone!"

As soon as these words came out, it was like the roar of a tiger or a dragon, instantly shocking everyone to shut up, and then they looked at the young prince in surprise.

Zhu Cilang glanced at everyone coldly and said in a cold voice:

"Now listen carefully, everyone! There were never any 30,000 Ming Dynasty civilians. There were only Jian slaves!"

"Those 30,000 people are not Ming civilians, but Jiannu disguised as Ming civilians to confuse our army!"

"If anyone dares to say they are the people of the Ming Dynasty again, I will kill him now!"

After saying this, Zhu Cilang drew the long sword from his waist and held it horizontally in front of everyone.

The sword's edge flashed with a cold light, which frightened everyone.

Hong Chengchou's eyes lit up.

Yes, who said that those 30,000 people must be the people of the Ming Dynasty?
Maybe it was a fake by the Jiannu?

After all, the Jiannu have always been treacherous and cunning, so it is not impossible to use the Jiannu to pretend to be the people of the Ming Dynasty!
Although this is a bit self-deceptive, what's wrong with self-deception in order to win this war?
Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cilang with surprise at this moment.

He actually understood what Zhu Cilang meant, but then again, was this really okay?
After all, those are still the people of the Ming Dynasty!

Seeing the mixed reactions from the crowd, Zhu Cilang then said again:
"Listen, just follow my orders. After this war is over, I will bear all the blame!"

"If I am guilty, I will blame everyone else. If everyone else is guilty, I am guilty!"

"After this battle, you will only have merits, no faults!"

"Even if there is, it's my fault!"

"Even if I have to face the criticism from the historians later, I will accept it!"

As soon as these words came out, the scene fell silent again!
You know, when doing this kind of thing, the most frightening thing is being treated as a scapegoat afterwards.

No matter what merits you have made now, when the time comes to settle the accounts afterwards, you will still be killed and your clan will still be exterminated.

But if someone takes the initiative to take responsibility, then everything will be fine!
Especially since the one who bears the responsibility is the current crown prince, then these people have nothing to fear!
After all, who would dare to ask the current prince for an account?
Just when everyone was feeling excited, Zhu Cilang suddenly shouted:

"Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan."

When Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan in the crowd heard this, their bodies shook violently and a hint of nervousness flashed in their eyes.

But then they hurriedly stood up and responded in unison:

"Chen is here!"

Zhu Cilang looked at the two of them and said coldly:
"Each of you will take two thousand men to supervise the battle. If anyone retreats during the battle or dares not attack the Jiannu, he will be executed immediately!"

Huang Degong tightened the knife handle in his hand, his facial muscles twitched slightly, and he said in a deep voice:

"I will fulfill my mission!"

Sun Yingyuan straightened his back and agreed with a firm look in his eyes:
"Don't worry, Your Highness, I know what to do!"

Then, the two of them led their troops away.

You should know that in addition to the combat troops, Zhu Cilang also brought 15,000 personal soldiers.

These personal soldiers basically would not participate in the war and were only responsible for guarding the safety of Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang.

Moreover, in terms of loyalty and treatment, they are even higher than the Beijing troops!
These 15,000 personal soldiers were composed of the Jingjun, Jinyiwei, Tengxiang Zuowei, Tengxiang Youwei, Tengxiang Zhongwei, Wuxiang Zuowei, and Wuxiang Youwei. Among them, there were 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 infantry, all of whom were wearing heavy armor.

Others might hesitate and question Chongzhen’s orders, but they definitely wouldn’t!
Zhu Cilang continued to shout:
"Zheng Chenggong, Zhang Shize, Li Xian, Gao Ziqiang, Feiran."

Any general he called out would instantly become energized and stand up spontaneously.

"Chen is here!"

"Chen is here!"

"Chen is here!"

Zhu Cilang glanced at everyone coldly and ordered:
"According to the original plan, there must be no mistakes!"

After hearing this, everyone stopped talking, put on a serious expression, clasped their fists, and left.

These people are all officers of the Beijing Camp, in charge of 30,000 Beijing Camp soldiers and artillery camps equipped with flintlock rifles. They are considered the main force of this war!

Then, Zhu Cilang shouted again:

"Wang Pu, Yang Guozhu, Tang Tong, Bai Guangen, Ma Ke, Wang Tingchen, Wu Sangui."

As soon as he finished speaking, several generals of the border troops stood up.

They all clasped their fists and said:
"Chen is here!"

"Chen is here!"

"Chen is here!"

Zhu Cilang looked at the people in front of him coldly and continued:

"Everyone, I won't say anything more. Just continue according to the original plan!"

When everyone heard this, they all looked solemn and quickly clasped their fists in response to the order.

"I obey!"

At this moment, the hearts of these generals were already completely shocked.

Because they really couldn't imagine that the Crown Prince, who was only thirteen or fourteen years old, would be so responsible!

This really made them look at him with new eyes again!

Just as they were about to accept the order and leave, Chongzhen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.

"etc."

When everyone heard this, they all looked at Chongzhen, even Zhu Cilang.

However, at this moment, Zhu Cilang's eyes were extremely cold, because he felt that Chongzhen was trying to stop his previous plan.

If that's the case, then he can only do something like "fatherly love and filial piety".

No matter what, Chongzhen must not be allowed to stop his plan!
However, Chongzhen then looked at everyone with a serious expression and said:
"Listen up! In my name, issue an order to the three armies. Speak of the Jiannu people, pretending to be Ming citizens, and intend to deceive our army!"

"Tell all soldiers to ignore whatever they see and proceed according to the original plan."

"Anyone who disobeys orders will be executed immediately!"

When everyone heard this, their expressions were shocked.

Because they have already seen clearly that Chongzhen is going to take the blame!
Even Zhu Cilang was quite surprised, as he did not seem to have expected that Chongzhen would take the initiative to take the blame this time.

At this moment, Chongzhen continued:
"The Crown Prince is still young. Sooner or later, the Ming Dynasty will belong to him. He shouldn't have such a stain on his body."

"So I'll be the one giving the order! I can shoulder the responsibility!"

When everyone present heard this, they all bowed and responded:
"I obey!"

Then they left.

Looking at the backs of everyone leaving, Chongzhen sighed in his heart.

Because he knew that he was taking the blame, he probably would not be able to become the greatest emperor of all time.

From now on, he can probably only be a tyrant!

But a tyrant is a tyrant!

Compared with losing the country, what's wrong with being a tyrant?

(End of this chapter)