I, Emperor Chongzhen, have extended the life of the Ming Dynasty by five hundred years.

Zhu Youjian looked at Hong Niangzi and a satisfied smile appeared on his face.

As the saying goes, "People die for wealth, birds die for food," and a batch of money and grain was hooked!

"What are you looking at?"

Hong Niangzi glared angrily, her face filled with defiance.

Zhu Youjian first ordered, "Untie her, and then go pour her a cup of tea!"

Without any hesitation, Hong Niangzi loosened her restraints and sat down on the chair.

"You are the emperor, why don't you keep your word?"

Zhu Youjian asked, "When have I ever gone back on my word?"

"snort!"

Hong Niangzi snorted and said, "We agreed on three days, so why did you ambush me tonight?"

"Three days was your time to surrender. In the dead of night, you led your troops in a sneak attack. What else is there to say?"

"You only said three days, you never said we couldn't send troops during those three days!"

"According to you, tonight's actions were still my fault?"

Hong Niangzi rolled her eyes and said, "Anyway, we agreed on three days. If you bring me here and cause any delays, it's your responsibility!"

Zhu Youjian was speechless for a moment. Did this woman not realize that she was a prisoner?

Do you even know who you are now?

"So what if you know? Kill me or torture me, bring it on!"

"Aren't you afraid I'll really kill you?"

"Then stop talking nonsense and just give me a straight answer!"

Zhu Youjian's prepared explanation turned out to be completely useless.

This woman is too shameless. She lost the fight but is still so arrogant. What do you call this? A scholar meets a soldier, and you can't reason with him!

"I don't want to waste words with you. If I release you this time, will you surrender or not?"

Hong Niangzi chuckled lightly, "If I said I would surrender, would you believe me?"

Zhu Youjian immediately straightened his face and said, "This concerns the lives of countless people; it is not a trivial matter. I want to hear the truth!"

Hong Niangzi sighed: "When we were in Dingxing, you saw with your own eyes that Xie Jinrong's family had over a million taels of silver in assets. How much of that was the blood and sweat of countless people? How many families were ruined and destroyed behind that money? And this man was just a county magistrate. Who knows how much the prefect, the provincial governor, and those ministers and vice ministers have embezzled? Your Ming Dynasty is already rotten to the core and beyond saving!"

Zhu Youjian said, "My subjects have broken the law, and I will deal with them myself. This is not a reason for you to rebel!"

"Not rebelling means certain death!"

Hong Niangzi immediately retorted, continuing, "You, the emperor, personally went to Dingxing before Xie Jinrong was brought to justice. But how many Dingxings are there in the world? Can you visit them all? What will happen to the people in those places?"

"good!"

Zhu Youjian raised his hand to interrupt, then said, "I know what you've been through, which is why I've always said that if ordinary people have no other way to survive, it's understandable for them to kill officials and rebel; I can forgive you. But can you guarantee that Li Zicheng's million-strong army consists entirely of people who can't survive?"

"How many of them were lured by profit and took the risk? Like Fan Liuyang, the salt merchant from Dingxing County, were the people he gathered also poor people?"

"I know the people are suffering, which is why I issued the edict that taxes will never be increased. I also know that there are many corrupt officials in the land who outwardly comply but inwardly defy their superiors and deceive the people. I am already cracking down on them!"

"Do you know why I captured you twice, but didn't kill you?"

"Because you and your husband have the people in your hearts, this is the righteousness I desire. If you and your husband are willing to serve me, why should I worry about not eliminating corrupt officials throughout the land?"

"I will ask you one last question: if I were to restore peace and prosperity to the people, allowing everyone to live and work in peace, would you still rebel?"

Zhu Youjian spoke too much in one breath, and Hong Niangzi just listened quietly.

After a long while, she finally let out a long sigh and said, "I don't know, I need time to think about it!"

"Take your time to think it over tonight. I'll let you go back first thing tomorrow morning!"

Hong Niangzi asked in confusion, "What did you say? You're going to let me go?"

"What's the point of keeping you around? Are you just wasting my food?"

Zhu Youjian left after saying a few words.

The door was closed from the outside, and the surroundings became quiet again.

Hong Niangzi looked around; there was a table, a bed, and then nothing else.

She went to the door again, pushed it open with both hands, and gently applied force...

Squeak!

A cool night breeze blew by.

Hong Niangzi was even more surprised that the door was unlocked!

She cautiously peeked out and looked outside; there wasn't even a guard on duty.

Under the moonlight, her shadow stretched long, and she struggled with her inner turmoil for a long time.

In the end, I decided to go back to the house first and then carefully weigh the pros and cons.

An oil lamp was lit on the table, and Hong Niangzi sat beside it, her hands supporting her chin, lost in thought.

She recalled her two encounters with Emperor Chongzhen. He was such a wicked man, full of cunning and scheming. He was nothing like an emperor.

Right now, the door isn't locked and there are no guards outside. What does that mean?

They must have laid an ambush long ago, waiting to catch me red-handed when I was about to escape!

However, as a prisoner, he had no right to negotiate. Yet, Emperor Chongzhen not only did not make things difficult for him, but also showed him great respect in his words, which was truly unexpected.

Looking back at Chongzhen's method of persuading people to surrender, there was no torture or the temptation of high-ranking positions and generous salaries. Instead, it was like talking to a long-lost friend and pouring out one's heart.

Was I really wrong? Was Emperor Chongzhen not as incompetent as legend portrays him?

Hong Niangzi was in a state of turmoil. Ever since the day she started her rebellion, she had been determined to kill that dog emperor Chongzhen and stop the people from suffering.

However, after a brief encounter, it was discovered that this was not the case...

Recalling the past, she had witnessed firsthand countless people being displaced, and in years of famine, the land was barren and desolate, with even the grass roots and tree bark stripped away...

If Emperor Chongzhen had truly been able to eliminate corrupt officials and restore order to the world, would his actions have been right or wrong?

She could never understand this problem.

As dawn broke and the rooster crowed, she finally made up her mind!

As the saying goes, a loyal minister does not serve two masters. Since we have chosen to submit to Li Zicheng, we cannot easily betray him!

Emperor Chongzhen was an enemy; to be merciful to an enemy is to be cruel to oneself!

The next time we meet, it will be a fight to the death. What does it matter if I tell a few lies?

After figuring it out, she pushed open the door and shouted, "Is anyone home? I want to eat!"

After shouting a few times, someone finally came over.

This man was about forty years old and wore a gray-blue official robe. Judging from the style, his official position should not be high.

"I am Sun Cheng, the Prefect of Baoding. By order of His Majesty, I will do my best to fulfill any requests made by Madam Li."

Hong Niangzi said, "I'm hungry, I want to eat!"

Sun Cheng smiled faintly and said, "I'm truly sorry, but His Majesty has instructed that meals will not be provided this time!"

"Let me go if you don't feed me!"

"Can!"

Hong Niangzi was surprised that Sun Cheng agreed so readily.

Without even the slightest hesitation, what's going on?

Her first thought was that the other party was definitely up to something!

Seeing the suspicious look on Hong Niangzi's face, Sun Cheng asked, "Is there anything else you need, Madam Li?"

"That's all. When does Chongzhen plan to let me go?"

"Anytime is fine!"

"Well... I'm leaving now!"

"It's possible, but..."

Hearing the other party hesitate, Hong Niangzi sneered, "I knew it. He definitely wouldn't let me go so easily. Just tell me, how does Chongzhen intend to torture me?"

"Madam Li has misunderstood!"

Sun Cheng waved his hand and said, "Please sit for a while longer, someone is coming to pick you up!"

"What? Who?"

"This man claims to be your adjutant, named Cheng Youde."

Lady Hong stamped her foot in anger: "It's him!"

Sun Cheng nodded and said, "This man was waiting outside the city before dawn, it seems he rushed here overnight, which shows his loyalty to you..."

"Take me to him, I'm going to kill him!"

"Wh...what?"

Sun Cheng thought he had misheard and froze on the spot.

With a dark expression, Hong Niangzi gritted her teeth and said, "I'm going to kill him!"

"That won't do!"

Sun Cheng quickly stopped him, saying, "If you want to kill someone, go back home. You absolutely mustn't do it here!"

"What business is it of yours if I kill my own people?"

"In times of war, envoys are not to be killed; this has been the rule since ancient times!"

"If you want to follow the rules, that's your business, what does it have to do with me?"

"No, no, absolutely not!"

Sun Cheng waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "If this person dies in Baoding Prefecture, things will get complicated!"

"snort!"

Hong Niangzi, filled with resentment and with nowhere to vent, grabbed the teapot on the table and smashed it to pieces.

Sun Cheng was startled and said, "If it gets broken, we'll have to pay for it!"