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

Chapter 222 Chongzhen: I have decided to form the Ming Zhu Family Army!

After realizing what was happening, Zhu Cilang looked at Chongzhen helplessly and said:

"Father, when did I ever say I wanted to kill these royal family members?"

Chongzhen glared and asked:
"Isn't that what you just said? To make them completely disappear from the Ming Dynasty, doesn't that mean to kill them?"

Zhu Cilang touched his chin awkwardly, only then realizing that his previous statement could indeed be easily misunderstood.

So he hurriedly explained:
"Father, you have misunderstood. That is not what I meant. I will not kill them. I will simply relocate them overseas."

"Then we will allocate a place for them overseas and let them establish their own country."

overseas?

Now it was Chongzhen's turn to be full of questions.

But he reacted quickly, and a hint of realization gradually emerged in his eyes, which were originally filled with shock and confusion.

He finally understood Zhu Cilang's plan!

To put it simply, it is to recruit young and strong people from all the royal family members to form an army, and then let this army fight Li Zicheng and the Jiannu.

After defeating Li Zicheng and the Jiannu, the army and their families will be packed up and sent overseas, allowing them to establish a country overseas.

This will not only solve the population problem of the royal family, but also add some soldiers to the country to a certain extent.

It can also restore the image of the Ming royal family among the people!
But then again, are these royal family members really willing to go overseas?

After all, overseas areas are all barbaric lands with harsh conditions, and they are nowhere near as prosperous and wealthy as the Ming Dynasty.

Would they really be willing to give up being members of the Ming royal family and become "savages" overseas?

In any case, if it were Chongzhen himself, he would definitely not be willing to do so.

Besides, allowing them to establish a country overseas is equivalent to allowing them to become emperors overseas, isn’t it?

Chongzhen would not want such a thing!
For a moment, the atmosphere in Fengtian Hall became increasingly solemn.

Chongzhen sat uncomfortably on the throne, his brows furrowed tightly into a "川" shape, and the worries in his heart grew heavier.

After a moment, Chongzhen finally couldn't hold back any longer, and looked straight at Zhu Cilang and asked anxiously:
"How can you be so sure that those royal family members are willing to go overseas? If they resist, will you force them?"

"By then, some of them might already hold military power. How could they be so easily coerced?"

"If we make the slightest mistake, it might trigger a rebellion among the royal family. The Ming Dynasty cannot withstand such a turmoil!"

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he immediately understood what Chongzhen was thinking.

He knew in his heart that Chongzhen was still deeply trapped in the old cognition, believing that overseas places were desolate, difficult and rarely visited, so the children of the royal family would definitely not be willing to go there.

Thinking about this, Zhu Cilang first smiled and shook his head, then said:
"Father, do you think that sending them overseas is a punishment?"

"if not?"

Chongzhen still looked confused.

"Everyone in the world knows that overseas is a desolate place. Compared with the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty, it is a world of difference."

"Aren't you punishing them by letting them go overseas? How could they be willing to do that?"

Hey!
Zhu Cilang sighed inwardly. It turned out that there was indeed a huge gap between the thinking of the ancients and that of later generations.

However, he still patiently continued to explain:

"Father, what you said is all old news. If you had a little understanding of the outside world, you wouldn't make such a judgment."

"There are indeed barren lands overseas, but there are even more fertile lands. Their fertility even far exceeds that of our Ming Dynasty."

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang picked out the important points and roughly told Chongzhen about the overseas situation as he knew it.

Of course, he only said that he had learned all this from Zheng Chenggong. After all, Zheng Chenggong had traveled across the ocean with Zheng Zhilong when he was young and was quite familiar with overseas affairs.

As Chongzhen listened, his expression changed.

Chongzhen was even more shocked when he heard that in some places overseas, grain could be harvested three times a year and there were countless gold, silver and copper mines.

Because in his cognition, Ming Dynasty was the richest country in the world, but he never imagined that there was a place in the outside world that was even richer than Ming Dynasty.

This cognitive shock shocked him deeply and was difficult for him to accept.

At the same time, Chongzhen finally understood why Zhu Cilang was so confident about this matter.

If overseas is really as rich as Zhu Cilang said, then if the royal family members are moved there, they may not resist.

But then, Chongzhen seemed to be struck by another idea, and looked at Zhu Cilang with burning eyes and asked:

"Even if they agree to migrate overseas, what does it mean when you ask them to establish a country overseas?"

"Don't tell me you want them to establish their own country overseas and declare themselves emperors?"

Zhu Cilang raised the corner of his mouth slightly, revealing a faint smile and said:

"Why not? Since they've already gone overseas, they're no longer under the Ming's rule. What's wrong with letting them establish their own country?"

"Besides, they are descendants of the Zhu family after all. Even if they establish a country, they will respect the Ming Dynasty as the suzerain state. What's wrong with that?"

When Chongzhen heard this, his expression instantly became serious, and then he said in a firm tone:

"This is absolutely unacceptable! Even if they leave the Ming territory, they are still our subjects. How can they usurp the throne and claim the throne? How is this different from treason?"

Looking at Chongzhen's stubborn look, Zhu Cilang helplessly gave him the middle finger in his heart.

If they wanted to relocate the royal family members overseas but were unwilling to give them the opportunity to establish their own country, how could they willingly leave the Ming Dynasty?

It’s impossible that they work so hard to conquer their own territory overseas and then give it to the Ming Dynasty, right?
This is too nonsense!

But at this time Zhu Cilang did not want to argue with Chongzhen, so he pretended to think for a while before continuing:
"In that case, how about letting them continue to be vassal kings? They are vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty, and they will still be vassal kings outside the Ming Dynasty."

"In this way, even if they own their own land and countries overseas, they are still vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty, and those countries and lands still belong to the Ming Dynasty!"

After hearing this, Chongzhen pondered for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head and saying:

"That's fine. If I can really do it as you said, I will agree."

Seeing this, Zhu Cilang smiled and said:

"Don't worry, Father. Nothing will go wrong!"

But in fact, Zhu Cilang knew in his heart that whether Chongzhen agreed or not now would not matter in the end.

Because once these princes went overseas, even if they declared themselves emperors, Chongzhen would be unable to do anything to them.

But soon, Chongzhen seemed to remember something important, his expression became stern, and he said again:

"Oh, right. I have no control over other places, but those lands you mentioned, which can produce three crops a year and have gold and silver mines, must not be given to them."

"These lands must be kept for ourselves."

Zhu Cilang was suddenly at a loss for words. He had just said that casually, so why did Chongzhen immediately become concerned about the land outside Shanghai?
You know, the Ming Dynasty is currently facing a lot of troubles!

At the very least, we must first resolve the troubles facing the Ming Dynasty before we can consider overseas colonization!

However, seeing Chongzhen's serious expression, Zhu Cilang didn't want to discourage him, so he could only nod and say:

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I know all these things well. Such rich land must be controlled by me."

"I intend to send the princes to more remote places at that time, but the specific matters will have to wait until Li Zicheng and the Jiannu are defeated before making a decision."

Chongzhen nodded first, and then his originally furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and his mood instantly became much more cheerful.

He really didn't expect that the royal family problem that had troubled the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years could be solved so easily.

Although this plan has not yet been implemented, Chongzhen knows in his heart that if everything goes well, this plan will definitely succeed!

In fact, Zhu Cilang had more detailed plans for this matter.

Those members of the royal family who were willing to go overseas would be allocated land according to the previously agreed terms, and then allowed to develop freely overseas.

As for those royal family members who were unwilling to migrate overseas, Zhu Cilang would not deliberately make things difficult for them, but would allow them to continue to stay in the Ming Dynasty.

However, their titles and fiefs needed to be redefined, and the princes who remained in the Ming Dynasty were not allowed to inherit the title, but could only inherit it by lowering their titles.

In other words, the son of a vassal king can only be a prince of a county, the son of a prince of a county can only be a general guarding the country, and so on.

In just a few generations, these royal family members will become commoners.

In this way, it will not add burden to the country.

Only by implementing these two strategies at the same time can the problems of the royal family members be better resolved.

Then, Zhu Cilang seemed to suddenly remember something, turned his gaze to Chongzhen and said:

"Oh, Father, I have something else to tell you. I plan to bring Prince Tang and his family from Fengyang to Beijing!"

The King of Tang that Zhu Cilang mentioned was none other than Zhu Youjian, who went north to defend the king several years ago and was later imprisoned by Chongzhen within the high walls of Fengyang!
唐王
At the same time, when Chongzhen heard this, he was suddenly struck by memories and instantly remembered the past.

Of course he remembered King Tang and even had a deep impression of him.

At that time, the King of Tang wanted to go to the capital to defend the country without any imperial edict, but he was intercepted by him halfway. Later, when the King of Tang returned to his fiefdom, he was still angry and imprisoned the King of Tang and his family in Fengyang.

Looking back now, Chongzhen also felt that he was indeed a little impulsive at the time.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen nodded and sighed:
"That's fine. I did act impulsively back then."

Zhu Cilang smiled and said softly:
"In fact, what Father did was indirectly saving him. If he hadn't been imprisoned in Fengyang, he might have been killed by Li Zicheng by now."

Chongzhen nodded, looking somewhat emotional.

Because what Zhu Cilang said was absolutely correct. Although the King of Tang and his family were imprisoned in Fengyang and completely lost their freedom, at least they saved their lives.

But on the other hand, his younger brother, the New Tang King, was tragically killed by Li Zicheng not long ago. No one in his family was spared, and not even a bloodline was left behind.

Now, he has become the only descendant of the Tang King's lineage. It's really fate that makes people think about him.

Afterwards, the father and son chatted about some other trivial matters and then went their separate ways.

Chongzhen returned to the harem with a slightly tired step, while Zhu Cilang first returned to the East Palace to change clothes, and then went straight to the clan house.

The functions of the Ming Dynasty's Zongrenfu and the Qing Dynasty's Zongrenfu were roughly the same, with only slight differences in personnel structure.

In the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Clan Affairs had one Clan Leader, one Left and Right Clan Director, and one Left and Right Clan Member, all of whom were first-rank officials.

Its main responsibilities are to manage the royal family genealogy, update and revise it regularly, and be responsible for many complicated matters such as sorting out the relationships among the royal family members, educating the people, formulating posthumous titles, and arranging weddings and funerals.

In short, all matters related to the royal family members are under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Clan Court.

In the beginning, the Clan Court was basically managed by the princes, but later the emperor was afraid of the princes' excessive power and stopped allowing the princes to interfere in the affairs of the Clan Court. So this matter fell on the heads of the nobles.

For example, the current clan leader is concurrently held by the Duke of Ying.

However, it is obvious that the management of the royal family members had become extremely loose in the late Ming Dynasty, so the British rarely stayed in the clan house on public holidays.

After all, the clan affairs office doesn't have much to deal with on a daily basis, and he is just holding a nominal position.

However, when Zhu Cilang stepped into the clan house, he unexpectedly met the Duke of Ying.

The reason was simple. When Wang Chengen went to the clan office to retrieve the family tree, the officials of the clan office immediately informed Duke Ying of the matter.

When the Duke of England heard the news, he was shocked and thought that perhaps the prince or the emperor would come to the clan house in person soon.

If he doesn't show up at that time, won't he be in trouble?

After realizing this, Duke Yingguo dared not delay any longer and hurried to the clan house without stopping.

As expected, not long after he stepped into the clan house, Zhu Cilang arrived.

"Your Majesty the Crown Prince, your humble servant, pays his respects to him!" When the Duke of Yingguo saw Zhu Cilang coming, he hurriedly bowed down, his movements extremely quick and respectful.

Zhu Cilang was quick-witted and quick-handed. Before the Duke of England could bow, he reached out and supported him firmly. With a warm smile on his face, he said:
"Duke Yingguo, we are not in the imperial court right now, so there is no need for you to perform such a grand ceremony."

After hearing this, the Duke of England stood up and said respectfully:

"Your Highness, please."

Immediately afterwards, the two of them walked into the clan residence together, one in front and one behind.

After the host and the guest were seated, Zhu Cilang spoke directly:
"Duke Yingguo, my father and I have just discussed recruiting young and strong men from the Ming imperial clan to form the Ming Zhu Family Army. What are your thoughts on this?"

what?
Form the Ming Dynasty Zhu Family Army?
The moment he heard this, the Duke of England's eyes widened in shock. He even suspected that there was something wrong with his ears and that he had heard it wrongly.

You must know that since the time of Emperor Chengzu, the Ming Dynasty has always been wary of the children of the royal family.

At first, they were allowed to hold some military power, but later even that power was stripped away, leaving only a handful of guards.

The reason for doing this was that they were afraid that they would have evil intentions and intend to rebel. After all, Chengzu started his career by rebelling.

But now, Zhu Cilang actually proposed to form the Zhu Family Army composed of royal family members. This was really beyond his expectations and was simply unbelievable.

Seeing the Duke of England's shocked expression, Zhu Cilang smiled slightly and explained:
"I know what you are thinking, but your worries are unnecessary. Besides, this matter was discussed jointly with my father."

"Since they've decided to do this, they've made thorough preparations. You don't need to worry."

After hearing this, the Duke of England was still extremely shocked, but he didn't know what to say. After all, even Chongzhen had nodded, so what else could he, a nobleman, say?
After a moment's thought, the Duke of England then asked:
"In that case, Your Highness, should we first summon the princes to the capital to discuss this matter together?"

Zhu Cilang nodded:
"Indeed! But it would be quite troublesome to have them travel back and forth, so when they come to the capital, they should bring all the children of the royal family with them."

"Those who are suitable will be directly incorporated into the Zhu family army. Those who are not suitable will be taken back."

"I just learned that there are approximately 130,000 descendants of the imperial clan in the Ming Dynasty."

"It's definitely impossible to enlist all 130,000 of these men. My requirements are not high. Just 20,000 men would be enough. What do you think?"

Two or three thousand people?

When the Duke of England heard this number, he smiled bitterly and felt that the prince was too naive.

Although as long as the emperor issued an imperial decree, not to mention 20,000 or 30,000 people, even 70,000 or 80,000 people could be quickly gathered.

But then again, can these royal family members really fight bravely on the battlefield?

What's the point of having so many people if they have no fighting ability or desert the battlefield as soon as they get there?
Originally, the Duke of England shouldn't have said this, after all, it was a bit embarrassing.

But considering that his entire family was now tied to the Crown Prince, sharing honor and disgrace, he finally gritted his teeth and spoke:

"Reporting to His Royal Highness, I have the audacity to speak frankly. These members of the imperial family have always lived a life of luxury and extravagance. I truly believe they are not up to the task of handling such a major matter."

Zhu Cilang was not angry after hearing this. Instead, he nodded in agreement and continued:
"You are right. I am also familiar with the habits of these royal family members."

"But this is exactly why we summoned them to Beijing. Before they are officially sent to the battlefield, they must be trained and managed uniformly."

"And even if we want to use military force against Li Zicheng, it will be next year."

"Before that, we still have about half a year to train them carefully."

"And then there's no need to treat them as royal relatives. Just treat them as ordinary soldiers."

"As for the specific matters, we will discuss them after they arrive in the capital."

"Once they arrive in the capital, the matters they need to deal with may be extremely complicated. I hope you will spend more time on them then."

Having said that, what else can the Duke of England say?
He quickly responded:

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

Zhu Cilang nodded and continued:

"However, you will need to be the first to propose this matter during the court tomorrow morning."

Immediately afterwards, Zhu Cilang explained some specific matters to the British Duke, who nodded repeatedly.

After the two discussed some other things, Zhu Cilang got up and left.

Time flies, and it is already the next morning, which happened to be the fifth day of the morning meeting.

The Hall of Supreme Harmony was solemn and dignified. The morning light shone through the window lattices carved with dragons and painted with phoenixes, casting golden rays of light.

Civil and military officials, dressed in court robes, filed in.

After they stood still, they discovered that Chongzhen had already been sitting on the throne, and Zhu Cilang was also sitting below the dragon throne.

The father and son, one has an upright posture and a stern expression, while the other has a calm gaze, revealing a bit of composure and wisdom.

Logically speaking, the emperor has recovered and the prince should be relieved of his duties as regent.

However, to this day, Zhu Cilang still sits firmly in the position of regent, which seems a bit unreasonable.

However, the ministers were already accustomed to this.

After all, most of them had personally experienced Zhu Cilang's thundering methods, and no one wanted to encounter this bad luck.

Furthermore, this is an internal matter of the royal family. What does it have to do with these foreign officials?
If I rashly speak too much and offend the future emperor, wouldn't that be courting death?
In this way, the civil and military ministers lined up in an orderly manner and performed the ritual of three kowtows and nine bows to the emperor according to custom.

After the ceremony, Wang Chengen cleared his throat slightly and then shouted loudly:

"When there is something going on, we will start, and when there is nothing going on, we will retreat."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Duke of England stepped out steadily, clasped his hands together and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Chongzhen had already known about the meeting between Zhu Cilang and the Duke of Yingguo yesterday, and knew that they had communicated with each other, so he nodded slightly to the Duke of Yingguo and said calmly:
"What does the Duke of England have to say?"

Then, the Duke of England straightened his back and said in a voice as loud as a bell:

"Your Majesty, Li Zicheng is now acting with impunity and arrogance in Henan. This year, several princes and dukes have fallen victim to his murderous hands, and thousands of members of the royal family have perished at his hands!"

"Such evil deeds are truly outrageous. I believe that we must not allow Li Zicheng to continue to cause such harm. This traitor must be severely punished immediately."

When Chongzhen heard this, a trace of resentment instantly appeared on his face, and he gritted his teeth and said:

"How dare this damned traitor be so presumptuous! He has absolutely no regard for the law and his crimes must be forgiven!"

However, Chongzhen changed the subject immediately, and said with a look of helplessness and disappointment:
"I know that we cannot allow these bandits to wreak havoc. However, the Ming Dynasty has just won a great victory in Liaodong. The situation in Liaodong is unstable and a large number of troops are needed to garrison there."

"The nine border areas are also related to the safety of the country, and military forces should not be mobilized lightly."

"As for the remaining troops, they have to defend the capital and collect taxes from all over the country. It is difficult to mobilize enough troops to deal with the rebels."

"Does the Duke of England have any good ideas for this matter?"

Upon hearing this, the Duke of England pretended to frown slightly and hesitated for a moment before saying:
"I do have a plan, but I don't know if it's feasible."

Chongzhen said quickly:

"Just say it, even if you are wrong, I will not blame you."

The Duke of England then said:
"Your Majesty, I suggest that Your Majesty issue an edict to gather the royal family members from all over the country to form a Ming Dynasty Zhu Family Army to fight against Li Zicheng."

what?
As soon as these words were spoken, the court was in an uproar.

The originally quiet and solemn hall was now filled with discussions. The ministers were whispering to each other and looking at the Duke of England with disbelief, as if they were looking at a madman.

They really couldn't understand what was wrong with the Duke of England to make such bold remarks.

Forming the Ming Zhu Family Army, isn't this a blatant offense against the emperor?
After all, everyone knows that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were extremely wary of the fact that members of the royal family held military power.

Take the King of Tang at that time for example. Just because he raised an army to defend the king, he was stripped of his title by Emperor Chongzhen and imprisoned behind the high walls of Fengyang.

Now the Duke of Ying is actually proposing to form the Zhu Clan Army of the Ming Dynasty. Isn't this simply giving the royal family members military power? Isn't he afraid of history repeating itself and another Jingnan Campaign?
For a moment, the atmosphere in the hall became extremely tense, almost suffocating.

The original discussion also quieted down during the class. Everyone held their breath, not daring to even breathe. They all looked at Chongzhen, waiting for his wrath.

However, Chongzhen was not as angry as everyone expected. After all, all this was planned in advance by him and Zhu Cilang. What was there to be angry about?
Even so, we still need to do enough surface work.

So the next second, Chongzhen's face suddenly darkened, and he looked at the Duke of Yingguo in pretended anger and shouted:
"Duke of England, do you know what you are talking about? You can't just casually propose such a big thing?"

The Duke of Ying secretly laughed in his heart. If he had not known the inside story beforehand, he might have been frightened by Chongzhen's appearance.

But at this moment, he looked calm and continued calmly:
"Your Majesty, this action of mine is truly for the future of the royal family."

"As everyone knows, the number of descendants of the Ming imperial family has now expanded to an astonishing level. There are as many as 130,000 people on the rolls alone, and the number of those not on the rolls is even more difficult to count."

"These royal family members consume a large amount of money and food from the imperial court every year, but most of them do nothing and are idle. They have become a heavy burden on our Ming Dynasty."

"Now that the country is in danger, shouldn't they, as royal descendants, step forward to serve the country and share the country's worries?"

"Therefore, I believe that this move will benefit both the country and the people. I hope Your Majesty will grant my approval."

When the ministers in the court heard this, they were almost petrified.

Not
Is this still the British Duke they know?

When did the Duke of England become so brave?
At the same time, Chongzhen pretended to be in deep thought for a while after hearing these words. After a moment, he suddenly sighed and said:

"After careful consideration, what the Duke of England said seems to make some sense."

"These descendants of the imperial family have received the grace of the Ming Dynasty for over two hundred years. Now that the country is in trouble, it is indeed time for them to repay their loyalty to the court."

"Furthermore, the rebels have always been cruel to the children of the royal family, just like slaughtering pigs and dogs. I don't believe that all the children of my Zhu family are cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death!"

"There must be passionate people among them who also want to serve their country."

"In that case, Duke of England, I agree with your proposal!"

"I have decided to summon all the princes of the Ming Dynasty to the capital to discuss this matter. Do you have any additional comments?"

After saying this, Chongzhen turned his gaze to the Prime Minister Xue Guoguan.

Xue Guoguan stood quietly by from beginning to end, listening carefully to the conversation between Duke Yingguo and Chongzhen without expressing any opinion.

In fact, as early as halfway through their conversation, Xue Guoguan had keenly realized that the emperor was acting again.

Otherwise, given Chongzhen's sensitivity and suspicion, when the Duke of Ying proposed to form the Ming Zhu Family Army, he would immediately order him to be dragged away and punished.

It is obvious that this decision was made after Chongzhen discussed it with the prince.

Thinking of this and noticing Chongzhen's gaze, how could Xue Guoguan dare to hesitate at all?
He hurried forward, bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I think this plan is feasible."

"This will not only enhance the Ming Dynasty's ability to resist foreign enemies, but also deter the thieves and prevent Li Zicheng from acting recklessly."

"More importantly, it can show the people of the world that the descendants of the Ming Dynasty royal family are also willing to sacrifice their lives for the country and change the negative image that royal family members have had in the hearts of the people. It can be said that it kills two birds with one stone."

Although the other ministers still had some doubts in their hearts, seeing that the emperor had already agreed and even the chief minister of the cabinet expressed his approval, they did not dare to raise any more objections.

So they came forward one after another, bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, I think this is feasible."

"I second the proposal. This plan is feasible."

"I also second the proposal!"

In this way, the decision was finally passed with unanimous consent from everyone.

After the court session, the cabinet immediately began to draft the imperial edict.

By noon, the imperial edict had been drafted and quickly sent to all parts of the country.

Soon, the princes from all over the country will receive the imperial edict and then lead their clan members to the capital.

By that time, the Ming Dynasty Zhu Family Army will officially begin to be formed!
(End of this chapter)