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

Chapter 220 What? The prince of the Ming Dynasty rebelled?
So, under everyone's eager gaze, Zhu Cilang finally spoke.

"I roughly know what Master Ni is worried about."

"Lord Ni's concern is nothing more than the fear that the loss of control over imperial power could lead to the collapse of the Ming Dynasty's economic system."

"Or to put it bluntly, what if a tyrant ruler were to emerge in the Ming Dynasty in the future and resort to unscrupulous means to amass wealth, printing large quantities of Ming Dynasty treasure notes?"

"And then they didn't allow the people to use Ming Dynasty Treasure Notes to exchange for gold and silver, which ultimately led to another economic collapse. Is that right or not?"

Ni Yuanlu didn't expect Zhu Cilang to reveal what he was thinking in one sentence, and he was shocked at the moment.

But he quickly reacted, then raised his head and said:
"Your Highness is absolutely right. This is exactly what I am worried about. Therefore, I firmly disagree with the Imperial Bank of Ming being under the management of the Emperor."

"If Your Highness insists on doing so, then please kill me first. I would rather die than agree."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere on the scene instantly became solemn again, and the faces of the other ministers were also very ugly.

The emperor and his ministers are fighting with each other and neither is willing to give in. I'm afraid today's situation is not so easy to understand.

And it's not easy for other people to interfere in such matters.

Even Chongzhen stopped talking at this moment, but looked thoughtful, as if he was also thinking about what Zhu Cilang had just said.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang seemed to be thinking about something. After a moment, he continued:
"Master Ni's words make sense. In that case, why not set up a separate government office to be responsible for the printing and issuance of treasure notes and the exchange of gold and silver?"

"The name of this office remains unchanged, still the Ming Royal Bank. However, half of the internal officials will be appointed by Your Majesty, and the other half will be selected from officials in the Ministry of Revenue."

"Master Ni, what do you think of this arrangement?"

When Ni Yuanlu heard this, he was stunned. It seemed that he did not expect Zhu Cilang to make concessions so easily.

You know, he was really prepared to die in response to the protest, but before he could take action, things took a turn for the better!

And if you think about it carefully, allowing the Ministry of Revenue to have half of the personnel rights of the Ming Royal Bank should be the greatest right he can obtain.

Thinking of this, Ni Yuanlu hurriedly bowed down.

"If that's the case, I agree!"

At the same time, Chongzhen was stunned.

Because this is different from what we agreed before!

Didn't we say before that the Ming Royal Bank was directly under the Emperor's management? Why was half of the power now given to the Ministry of Revenue?

The other ministers were also a little confused, and felt that Zhu Cilang seemed a little too easy to talk to today.

But suddenly at this moment, Ni Yuanlu seemed to remember something, his face instantly turned pale, and he cried out in his heart:

No, I fell into a trap!

When he looked up at Zhu Cilang again, Ni Yuanlu saw Zhu Cilang's meaningful smile!
When seeing this scene, how could Ni Yuanlu not understand?

Zhu Cilang's move seems to be a concession, but in fact it is a retreat to advance!
Although on the surface the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Royal Bank also has half of the personnel power, this does not mean that the Ministry of Revenue can control or manage the Ming Royal Bank!

Once those officials from the Ministry of Revenue enter the Ming Royal Bank, will he, the Minister of Revenue, still be able to control them?
At that time, it will be the emperor who has the final say!
After all, no matter how important the Minister of Revenue is, how can he be more powerful than the emperor?
So after all his efforts, he only managed to gain the right to supply talents to the Ming Royal Bank?

In fact, Ni Yuanlu was right. Zhu Cilang was indeed playing the game of retreat in order to advance!

On the surface, it seems that half of the power was indeed given to the Ministry of Revenue, but once the officials of the Ministry of Revenue come to work at the Ming Royal Bank, are they still considered officials of the Ministry of Revenue?

You work in a government office with a royal title, and your immediate superior is the current emperor. Whose official are you?

Who will you listen to then?

The answer is obvious!
Immediately afterwards, the other ministers in the Qianqing Palace also came back to their senses one after another, and their faces became extremely interesting in an instant.

Although many of them have experienced Zhu Cilang's abilities, there are still a few who do not understand Zhu Cilang's abilities.

So when faced with this scene, they felt deeply shocked!
This young prince was obviously only a fourteen-year-old boy, but he fooled Ni Yuanlu, a veteran official, with just a few simple words.

It wasn't just Ni Yuanlu, they were all fooled just now.

If he grows up, who knows what the Ming Dynasty officialdom will become?
At the same time, Ni Yuanlu, who had come to his senses, was in a dilemma.

He knew that he had been fooled by Zhu Cilang, so he agreed to his so-called arrangement for no apparent reason.

But the words have been spoken, how can I take them back?

Moreover, these words were spoken in front of the emperor, the crown prince, the cabinet and other ministers.

What's more, on the surface, Zhu Cilang has already made concessions. If he still refuses to give in, it will be unreasonable and illogical.

For a moment, Ni Yuanlu's face became extremely ugly, turning red and white, and he didn't know what to say.

He was so annoyed by this resourceful prince that he lost his temper.

Although Chongzhen was the last to react, he was also the happiest!
He knew that Zhu Cilang would definitely not let him down. As expected, with just a tactic of retreating to advance, Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue, was speechless and could only admit defeat!

In order to prevent any further incidents from happening, Chongzhen decided to strike while the iron was hot and settle the matter as soon as possible.

So Chongzhen immediately said:

"I think the Crown Prince's suggestion is extremely appropriate, and even Minister Ni, the Minister of Revenue, has agreed. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

As he spoke, his gaze suddenly turned to the chief minister of the cabinet, Xue Guoguan.

Xue Guoguan was stunned by Chongzhen's sudden gaze, but he quickly reacted and hurriedly bowed and said:

"Your Majesty, I think this method is feasible and I fully agree with it!"

Are you kidding? If he doesn't stand up to support Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang at this time, then his position as the Ming Dynasty's number one lackey will be in vain!

Seeing that the Prime Minister had expressed his opinion, how could the other cabinet ministers dare to raise any objection?

They all echoed:
"We also think this method is feasible."

Then, the Duke of England, who had been standing silently by the side the entire time, quickly stepped forward and said:

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, I also believe this method is feasible."

To be honest, until now, the British prince still hasn't figured out what he is doing here.

Because during the whole process just now, he hardly said a few words, he was just busy bowing and paying respects, and he was still worried in his heart.

If he had known it would be so painful, he really wouldn't have wanted to come this time.

But as a subject, he could not disobey the emperor's order. He had no say in whether to come or not, and he felt extremely depressed.

Fortunately, things ended smoothly.

Seeing that everyone nodded in agreement, Ni Yuanlu, the Minister of Revenue, could only sigh inwardly even though he felt helpless.

He knew in his heart that at this point it was too late to turn things around.

Seeing everyone like this, Zhu Cilang finally showed a satisfied smile.

You little brats! Can't I control you guys?
In this way, a series of major issues such as the establishment of the Ming Royal Bank, the promotion of the new version of Ming Treasure Notes and Ming Silver Coins were finally settled.

Then all we need to do is find a suitable place to build the Ming Royal Bank, and the Ming currency reform plan can officially begin!
And all the rights of the Ming Royal Bank were ultimately controlled by Zhu Cilang!
In the next few days, the sky over the capital seemed to be shrouded in a huge haze, with thick clouds pressing down heavily, as if foreshadowing major changes to come.

In this somewhat depressing atmosphere, the Ministry of Revenue and the Cabinet once again discussed currency reform.

After weighing the pros and cons many times, it was finally decided that the exchange rate for the old version of Ming Dynasty treasure notes to the new version of treasure notes was eighty wen.

This means that an old version of the Ming Dynasty treasure note with a face value of one quan can be exchanged for a new version of the Ming Dynasty treasure note with a face value of eighty wen.

Moreover, the exchange rules are limited to treasure notes. The old version of Ming treasure notes can only be used to exchange for the new version of Ming treasure notes.

If anyone wants to use the new version of Ming Baochao to exchange for Ming gold coins or Ming silver coins, they must go to other windows to handle it.

Simply put, Zhu Cilang almost directly copied the operating model of later banks, even the various windows were exactly the same.

At the same time, tax collection work is also being carried out intensively in various places.

In many places, even taxes from vassal kings and county kings were successfully collected.

As the imperial army approached like a steel torrent, the vassal kings who had never paid taxes for hundreds of years now surrendered obediently.

After all, they could see that the court was not joking with them this time.

At the beginning, some princes were proud of their noble birth and did not take taxation seriously at all. Even when the imperial court sent troops to collect the overdue taxes, they ignored it.

In their eyes, as descendants of the royal family, they are born with privileges. What does paying taxes have to do with them?
But the army and the Jinyiwei who went to collect taxes did not buy it, because according to Zhu Cilang's previous instructions, whether they were vassal kings or county kings, they all needed to pay taxes and make up taxes.

But after all, these people are members of the Ming royal family, and they cannot take action directly.

It would be possible to escort them back to the capital, but it would be too troublesome to go back and forth, and they all knew that Chongzhen and Zhu Cilang did not want to see these princes and dukes at all.

So a group of people got together to discuss, and finally they came up with a way to deal with these vassal kings!

Moreover, the method was very simple, which was to first arrest a few royal relatives who took the lead in resisting taxes, and then take them directly to the gate of the prince's mansion.

Let's execute them right here!
Beheading, quartering, and quartering were all used one after another.

When the princes saw this scene, unless they were idiots, they would know that the tax had to be paid.

Although they knew that even if they really resisted paying taxes, these officers and soldiers would not dare to do anything to them. At most, they would escort them back to Beijing and hand them over to Chongzhen for disposal.

But this is what they fear the most!
Although it was already the end of the Ming Dynasty, Chongzhen still had very strong control over the vassal kings.

Coupled with the previous great victory in Liaodong, Chongzhen's majesty was even more difficult to offend in the hearts of these vassal kings.

Now if Chongzhen wanted to execute a vassal king, it would only take an imperial edict.

After figuring this out, how could these Ming Dynasty princes dare to continue resisting taxes?

In this way, the taxes of the vassal kings were collected smoothly.

Overall, everything seems to be moving in a good direction now.

The current Ming Dynasty is like the sky that has been shrouded in haze, but there are signs of clearing up.

But of course, there are still some bad things.

For example, what happened in Henan.

Recently, Zhu Cilang has received secret letters from Henan every few days.

The letter contained all the evil deeds committed by Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and others in Henan.

They led the peasant army to attack cities and villages, burn, kill and loot everywhere in Henan. Wherever they went, villages were reduced to ruins and the people were displaced, causing chaos in Henan.

Almost all the princes, dukes and other royal family members in Henan were slaughtered by Li Zicheng.

According to the estimates of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, at least thousands of princes, dukes and other members of the royal family with the surname Zhu died at the hands of Li Zicheng.

However, when he saw these secret reports, Zhu Cilang was calm and even secretly felt relieved.

After all, it is well known that later generations have never been optimistic about the royal family of the Ming Dynasty, and there is even a saying that "everyone is raising pigs."

They are numerous, and do not work or produce anything. They just rely on the court to spend a lot of money and food for their support, which is really disgusting.

Furthermore, as a time traveler, Zhu Cilang had the knowledge of later generations in his mind, so he naturally felt even more disgusted with these royal family members who lived a life of luxury and did nothing.

So in his opinion, if Li Zicheng could kill all the vassal kings and other royal family members in Henan, it would actually help him solve a big problem.

Once Li Zicheng is defeated in the future, Henan will be peaceful and there will be no need to worry about settling so many vassal kings.

Zhu Cilang even thought about deliberately driving Li Zicheng to another place and letting him massacre the princes and royal family members in other places.

After all, only Li Zicheng could be so cruel.

If these princes and dukes fell into Zhu Cilang's hands, it would be difficult for him to deal with them.

But of course, Zhu Cilang could only think about this kind of thing at most.

After all, wherever Li Zicheng went, it was not only the princes and royal family members who suffered, but also the ordinary people.

Although Zhu Cilang's original plan was to win the Battle of Songjin first and then take action against Li Zicheng, things were not as simple as he imagined.

Although the Battle of Songjin was won, a large number of troops still needed to be stationed in Liaodong after the victory.

Secondly, the border troops of the nine frontiers and the soldiers of the Beijing camp were exhausted after this war and needed at least several months of rest.

In addition, the climate in Ming Dynasty is abnormal at present. Basically, it will snow in the north around October. This means that even if we really want to attack Li Zicheng, we can only postpone it until next year.

Although it is somewhat regrettable, it is not a bad thing for Zhu Cilang.

Because in the meantime, he was doing something else entirely.

For example, collecting taxes owed by the gentry, powerful people and princes throughout the country.

For example, reform the Ming Dynasty’s currency.

In fact, these two things are preparations for defeating Li Zicheng!

After all, to put it bluntly, war is all about burning money. As long as there is enough money and food, why worry about defeating Li Zicheng?
As for the current situation, Zhu Cilang only hopes that Wang Wei's steam forging press can be mass-produced as soon as possible.

Once this batch of steam forging machines is completed, we can officially start promoting currency reform, which is the top priority at the moment!
As long as the Ming Dynasty's currency reform is successful, it will inject new vitality into the Ming Dynasty's economy and provide a solid economic foundation for subsequent wars.

At that time, whether it is fighting Li Zicheng, fighting the Jiannu, or just living a normal life, the Ming Dynasty will have a steady supply of money and food support!

Just when Zhu Cilang was looking forward to reforming the Ming Dynasty's currency, something unexpected happened quietly.
On this day, ten miles away from the capital, a group of ragged disaster victims were marching towards the capital.

A team of officers and soldiers who were patrolling the area not far away immediately rushed over upon seeing the situation.

The leading officer was named Liu Dajiang, who served as a patrol officer in the Beijing camp.

Liu Dajiang first looked at the group of disaster victims in front of him, then pointed in the direction of the capital and said:
"Go five miles further, there's food over there. After you finish eating, someone will take you to the designated place."

Previously, 300,000 disaster victims had been transferred to Liaodong one after another, but considering that more disaster victims might come to the capital to survive, Zhu Cilang did not stop the rescue measures previously formulated.

He also issued an order that the Ministry of Revenue should continue to accept the victims according to the previous procedures.

After recuperation for a period of time, he will be sent to Liaodong for resettlement.

Liu Dajiang, who was on patrol, was just giving a kind reminder. However, as soon as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd of people who looked like disaster victims angrily cursed:
"You bastard, what do you take us for? We are not disaster victims!"

The person who spoke had a face full of anger, as if he wanted to eat Liu Dajiang alive.

At the same time, seeing that someone among the victims dared to scold him, Liu Dajiang immediately became furious and picked up the whip to whip him.

It has to be said that he had never seen such arrogant victims.

He was kind enough to show them the way and let them eat, but they were not grateful at all. They even dared to insult him. This is really like a dog biting Lu Dongbin. They don't know how to appreciate a good person!

How could he bear this?
Immediately afterwards, there was a "snap" sound, and the whip swung over in an instant, hitting the person who had just spoken.

The whip left a long bloody mark on the man's body.

"what!!!"

The man couldn't help screaming, covering the beaten part with his hands and groaning in pain.

Seeing this, the other victims became instantly agitated.

There was anger burning in their eyes, and then they rushed towards the patrol team.

Now, even the soldiers who had been watching from the side without taking any action became nervous.

Because it was the first time they encountered such "brave" disaster victims who actually wanted to fight directly with them, the officers and soldiers!

For a moment, the soldiers present immediately reached for the long swords at their waists, as if they were about to take action at the next moment!
At this critical moment, an angry voice suddenly rang out.

"Stop it! Do you idiots understand what you are doing?"

As the voice sounded, everyone stopped, and even those who had been injured before dared not groan anymore.

Liu Dajiang looked closely and found that the person speaking was a middle-aged man about forty or fifty years old.

Although this man was wearing shabby clothes, he exuded an innate noble temperament and was obviously not an ordinary person.

Look at the others. Although they are all dressed in rags, they have a temperament that ordinary people should not have.

This time, Liu Dajiang was a little confused, because he really couldn't understand the identities of these people in front of him?
Just as he began to doubt the identities of the victims before him, the middle-aged man said again:

"I'm truly sorry, sir. I failed to discipline my family well, and that's why I offended you. I hope you'll forgive me." "Also, thank you for your guidance just now. We'll be there soon."

After saying that, the middle-aged man walked straight towards the direction Liu Dajiang had just pointed, without giving him a chance to speak.

Meanwhile, others followed suit.

However, when they saw Liu Dajiang, there was still a hint of anger and condescending disdain in their eyes, as if they were looking at an inferior person!
Looking at the backs of this group of people leaving, Liu Dajiang just felt that this matter was really too unusual.

These people don’t look like disaster victims at all!

But he didn't understand the situation and didn't dare to act rashly, so he could only report the matter to the Jinyiwei as soon as possible.

About half an hour later, the Jinyiwei learned the news.

Beizhen Fusi.

"What? You said a bunch of disaster victims, all of them delicate and tender, dared to attack soldiers?"

When Li Ruolian heard the news, he immediately realized that something was wrong.

It was not like he had never seen disaster victims before. Those who had fled famine in the past were all pale and thin, with despair and helplessness in their eyes. They were submissive when they saw the officers and soldiers, so how could they dare to fight with them?
This was the first time he had seen such a strange "disaster victim".

His intuition told him that the true identities of these so-called disaster victims were definitely not simple.

Thinking of this, Li Ruolian continued to look at the Jinyiwei in front of him and asked:

"Where are these people now?"

A Jinyiwei in front of him hurriedly reported:

"In reply to your Excellency's words, this group of people went directly to the disaster relief center outside the city and settled down there."

"I was afraid of alerting the enemy, so I didn't take action directly. Instead, I sent people to keep an eye on them and ensure that their every move was under surveillance."

Li Ruo Lian nodded, and then continued:

"Continue to monitor them. If they make any unusual movements, report them immediately."

"Yes."

After receiving the order, the Jinyiwei immediately withdrew.

However, Li Ruolian did not take this matter too seriously. After all, this was the capital city, and it was filled with spies from the Jinyiwei, the East Factory, and the West Factory. Even if these people really had some intentions, what kind of trouble could they cause?
If these people show any unusual movement, they will be arrested immediately.

But it was obvious that Li Ruolian underestimated the identity of this group of people.

Time flies, and night falls in the blink of an eye.

The night in the capital is still dimly lit, and the buildings in the distance are looming in the night, like a hazy ink painting.

At this time, Li Ruolian simply washed up in his own house and prepared to go to bed with his concubine.

The concubine was wearing silk pajamas, had a pretty face, and a lazy look in her eyes, which made Li Ruolian feel distracted.

Dong Dong Dong Dong Dong.
But suddenly at this moment, there was a rapid knock on the door, followed by the anxious voice of the housekeeper.

"Master, Master, someone wants to see you!"

When Li Ruolian heard this, she suddenly felt unhappy. It was the middle of the night, and why wouldn't they let her quiet down?
Then, just as he was about to get up and get dressed, a frightened voice suddenly came from outside the door.

"Sir, something terrible has happened! Something terrible has happened! The sky is falling!"

Then there was the sound of something heavy falling to the ground. It was obvious that the person who spoke had accidentally fallen.

Li Ruolian listened to the noise outside and her expression instantly became nervous.

Because he recognized the voice as that of the Jinyiwei who went to investigate the disaster victims today.

Logically speaking, the Jinyiwei were all strictly trained and would never panic like this under normal circumstances. It was obvious that something very serious had happened.

Thinking of this, Li Ruolian didn't care about what to wear. He just grabbed a coat and put it on and rushed out.

When he opened the door, Li Ruolian saw the pale and trembling Jinyiwei.

At this moment, Li Ruolian didn't bother to question the Jinyiwei for daring to break into his home, but hurriedly asked:
"Tell me quickly, what happened?"

The Jinyiwei's voice was trembling, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying, but in the end he suppressed his fear and said:

"My Lord, I have found out the true identities of those disaster victims. They are all royal relatives, including a prince and three county princes!"

what?
The moment he heard this, Li Ruolian's eyes widened instantly, full of disbelief.

To be honest, he was really scared.

Because according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, vassal kings were not allowed to enter the capital without an imperial edict. If a vassal king entered the capital without an imperial edict, he would be charged with treason.

Especially now, this vassal king actually brought three princes and a bunch of royal family members to the capital disguised as disaster victims. What are they going to do?
In an instant, Li Ruolian realized the seriousness of the matter.

And this matter is not something he can interfere with at all!
However, he was not in a hurry to see Zhu Cilang, but planned to find out the specific circumstances of the matter before reporting it.

Then, Li Ruolian asked in a deep voice:

"How did you find out about this? Tell me!"

Knowing that this matter was of great importance, the Jinyiwei naturally did not dare to conceal anything and hurriedly said:

"Reporting to you, sir, after receiving your instructions, I had several of my men disguise themselves as disaster victims and infiltrate that group of people."

"Then I accidentally overheard their conversation and learned their identities."

"But I still couldn't believe it, so I sent them to look for the tokens again. Unexpectedly, they actually found a few of them. Look."

As the Jinyiwei spoke, he handed a few things to Li Ruolian.

Li Ruolian was stunned when he saw the things in front of him. What appeared in front of him was a gold seal and a gold book.

You have to know that these things are indeed tokens of loyalty only possessed by vassal kings!
At this moment, Li Ruolian felt dizzy. He had no idea what these princes and dukes were trying to do.
Are we really going to rebel?

But looking at their current state, what's the difference between rebellion and seeking death?
As he thought about it, Li Ruolian suddenly didn't dare to think about it anymore.

This involves the royal family, and it is not something he can interfere with!

The next second, Li Ruolian didn't dare to delay any longer and immediately ordered:

"You will immediately take your men to continue monitoring them. You must closely monitor their every move, but you must not alert them. Do you understand?"

"I understand! I'll go right away!"

After receiving the order, the Jinyiwei retreated tremblingly.

Then Li Ruolian quickly returned to the room and hurriedly put on his clothes.

The concubine next to her knew that something big had happened when she saw this, so she didn't dare to say much and just silently helped Li Ruolian tidy up her clothes.

Soon, Li Ruolian got everything ready, put on the official hat that had been prepared long ago, and went straight to the East Palace.

Originally, this kind of thing should be reported to the emperor as soon as possible, but at this time Li Ruolian felt that he should tell Zhu Cilang first.

After all, he already knew that the one who really controlled the Ming Dynasty now was actually the crown prince who lived in the East Palace.

At the same time, the East Palace.

The entire palace was tightly wrapped in the thick, inky night.

The towering palace walls, caressed by the dim moonlight, cast large, mottled and deep shadows, making the East Palace appear even more quiet and mysterious, like a mysterious fortress hidden in the night.

There were guards constantly patrolling around the Eastern Palace, guarding its safety at all times.

Zheng Chenggong is on duty tonight. He is leading his men to patrol meticulously along the winding corridors of the East Palace.

Although he was Zhu Cilang's brother-in-law, Zheng Chenggong did not neglect his duties as a guard in the palace.

Suddenly at this moment, a figure came running from a distance like a gust of wind. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the guard on duty at the door.

The guard looked flustered and anxious. When he saw Zheng Chenggong, he said with a hint of nervousness:
"Your Excellency, Li Ruolian, the Imperial Guard, requests an audience. He says he has something very important to discuss and must see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince immediately."

Zheng Chenggong and Li Ruolian had some friendship, and when he heard that Li Ruolian wanted to see him, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

After all, it's too late now.

However, he also knew that Li Ruolian would not disturb Zhu Cilang for no reason at this time, so he took a step and walked quickly towards the door.

As soon as he arrived at the door, Zheng Chenggong saw Li Ruolian standing there anxiously.

At this time, Li Ruolian not only looked anxious, but also seemed a little flustered.

When seeing this scene, Zheng Chenggong knew in his heart that something big must have happened!

Zheng Chenggong was too lazy to say any more nonsense. He just walked up quickly and said:

"Master Li, please follow me!"

Seeing this, Li Ruolian followed Zheng Chenggong into the Eastern Palace without saying a word.

Along the way, the two men's hurried footsteps seemed particularly loud in the empty and silent palace corridor.

On the other side, in Zhu Cilang’s bedroom, the curtains were drawn low, exuding a soft and warm atmosphere.

At this time, Zhu Cilang and Zheng Xiaomei had just fallen asleep.

Although Zhu Cilang's body has not yet matured and he cannot engage in any substantial intimate actions, he can still do some other things!

After some affectionate exchanges, the two fell asleep.

But who would have thought that at this moment, a soft but urgent call suddenly came from the door:
"My Lord, my Lord, are you asleep?"

This is Ma Bao's voice.

Zhu Cilang has always been a light sleeper, and any slight noise could wake him up, let alone such a call?
So almost instantly, Zhu Cilang slowly opened his eyes.

In an instant, his originally hazy consciousness quickly returned to normal.

Then, Zhu Cilang frowned slightly and asked:
"what's up?"

Ma Bao's voice sounded again outside the door.

"Lord Li from the Imperial Guard has arrived. He said he has something extremely urgent to report to the Crown Prince immediately."

Li Ruolian?
Urgent?
When Zhu Cilang heard this, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

Anything that requires these four words is definitely not a trivial matter!

The next second, Zhu Cilang no longer hesitated, lifted the quilt and prepared to get up to meet Li Ruolian.

At this moment, Zheng Xiaomei next to her was also awakened by the noise.

And she seemed to have heard what was said just now.

Then, without waiting for Zhu Cilang to say anything, she hurriedly stood up, took Zhu Cilang's clothes, and helped Zhu Cilang put them on.

After getting dressed, Zhu Cilang gently patted Zheng Xiaomei's hand and said with a doting smile on his face:

"You go to sleep first. I'll come and accompany you when I'm done with my work."

Zheng Xiaomei nodded obediently and said softly:
"Your Highness, please go quickly. State affairs are important."

Zhu Cilang then said no more and left the bedroom with steady steps.

At the same time, Li Ruolian had been taken to the study in the East Palace.

As soon as Zhu Cilang walked into the study, Li Ruolian was ready to kneel down to pay his respects, but before he could kneel down, Zhu Cilang raised his hand to interrupt him.

"No need to kneel, tell me what's going on."

As Zhu Cilang spoke, he couldn't help but yawn.

I was suddenly woken up in the middle of the night, so it was inevitable that I was still a little sleepy.

Li Ruo Lian took a deep breath, tried to calm himself down, and then said:
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! According to a secret report from the Imperial Guards, a vassal king has secretly entered the capital!"

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang was instantly surprised, and his originally hazy eyes instantly became sharp.

There were also some incredible expressions mixed in.

It was obvious that Zhu Cilang was caught off guard by the news.

After all, everyone knows that according to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, if a vassal king enters the capital without an imperial edict, it will be regarded as treason.

But if that is the case, how come there are still vassal kings who dare to be so bold as to openly defy the ancestral system?
Then, Li Ruolian continued:
"And it's not just one vassal prince who's coming, there are also three county princes, and some other royal family members, a total of thirty-two people."

When he said this, Li Ruolian's voice was trembling slightly, as if even he himself could hardly believe this shocking news.

To be honest, at this point Zhu Cilang didn't know what to say.

More than 30 royal family members came to Beijing without any imperial edict, including a vassal king and three county kings. What on earth were these guys trying to do?
In fact, in recent months, memorials from royal family members requesting salaries have been sent to the capital almost every month, but Zhu Cilang didn't even bother to take a look at them and simply put them aside.

Because he had not figured out how to properly handle these royal family matters, he wanted to delay it as long as possible, and make plans when he really could not delay it any longer.

Anyway, asking for money is impossible!
Even if the Ming Dynasty becomes richer in the future, it is impossible to use it to support these royal family members who can do nothing for no reason.

It is impossible for everyone to raise pigs in Zhu Cilang's place.

However, Zhu Cilang did not expect that a vassal king would secretly come to the capital with a prince and other royal family members.

To be honest, this is no different from seeking death!
You have to know that in the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a precedent of a vassal king entering the capital without an imperial edict. This is definitely the first time in history!

Um.
The ancestor Zhu Di does not count!
In short, no matter what the reason, if the princes come to the capital without an imperial edict, they will undoubtedly die!
Speaking of this, we have to mention the King of Tang Zhu Youjian.

At that time, the Jiannu sent troops to attack northern Zhili and other places, captured several cities in succession, and finally approached Beijing.

When Zhu Youjian learned about this, he became very anxious and wrote a petition to Chongzhen requesting to go to Beijing to defend the emperor.

However, Chongzhen was unwilling to agree at all costs.

Then, no one knew what Zhu Youjian was thinking, but he still led thousands of people from Nanyang to the north to support the king.

Although Chongzhen ordered him to return to Nanyang before he arrived in the capital, he was eventually demoted to a commoner and imprisoned behind the high walls of Fengyang.

Even his throne was inherited by his younger brother Zhu Youlang.

Ultimately, it was because what our ancestor Zhu Di did back then was so terrifying.

After all, he is the only emperor in Chinese history who successfully rebelled as a vassal king and kept his country!

This led to the Ming Dynasty being extremely vigilant against the vassal kings. No matter what your purpose was, you were not allowed to enter the capital without the emperor's edict!
But it is obvious that now there are vassal kings who are not following the rules.
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang pinched his forehead helplessly, feeling a wave of fatigue surging into his heart like a tide.

Then he sat down on a chair beside him and said in a low voice:
"Tell me in detail what exactly is going on."

Immediately afterwards, Li Ruolian told Zhu Cilang in detail how the Jinyiwei discovered them and the content of the conversation they had found out.

After listening to it, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but complain in his heart.

Good guy!
A prince, three dukes, and more than thirty royal family members actually disguised themselves as disaster victims and entered Beijing. This is really outrageous!

Those who don’t know might think that these people miss Taizu so much that they want to retrace his path of begging!
At this moment, Li Ruolian seemed to have thought of something, and quickly took out two things from his arms, then handed them to Zhu Cilang with both hands and said:

"In addition, the Jinyiwei also found these things on those people. I checked them before, and they should be the tokens of King Zhou!"

Zhu Cilang reached out and took the thing that Li Ruolian handed over and took a closer look. Sure enough, both the golden seal and the golden book contained information about King Zhou.

The current King of Zhou is named Zhu Gongyao, and his fief is Kaifeng Prefecture in Henan Province.

According to the age recorded above, he is at least sixty years old this year.

After reading these things, Zhu Cilang had actually guessed why these people came to the capital.

It's obvious that they are fleeing!

Although Zhu Cilang did not take action against Li Zicheng for the time being, he certainly made some plans, asking Sun Chuanting, Zuo Liangyu and others to try their best to trap Li Zicheng's troops in Henan.

This resulted in the disasters suffered by the princes and royal family members in Henan being even more tragic than in history!

If he guessed correctly, King Zhou was afraid of being killed by Li Zicheng, so he brought his sons and clan members all the way to the capital.

(End of this chapter)