Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 227: Oh my God! His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to develop a personal hobby? !

"Yue'er, accompany the Crown Prince to see the lotus flowers in the backyard."

Before Empress Dowager Zou finished her words, Xu Shaoyue's face immediately turned red.

When it comes to caring about His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, she probably cares about him far more than anyone else in this courtyard. However, anyone with a keen eye can see clearly what Empress Dowager Zou is up to, and how could a girl like her not show embarrassment?
"Okay, I'll trouble you then, young lady."

Just when Xu Shaoyue didn't know what to do, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince spoke up at the right time to help her out. Afterwards, she bowed to His Royal Highness, replied to the Queen Mother, and led His Royal Highness to the backyard with a pounding heart.

This was not the first time she had seen her future husband, but the situation was urgent the last time. From the time His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly appeared to the time he left again, it was only half an incense stick of time.

By the time Xu Shaoyue recovered from the embarrassing situation, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already led a large army into the city to fight the enemy. Even though she felt much more embarrassed than she does today, she would not show it in the absence of the other party involved.

The two walked along the way, and in just a moment, a pond covered by huge lotus leaves appeared in front of them. Among the lush greenery, there were indeed several lotus flowers that looked like they were carved from white jade swaying in the wind.

It's time to say something.

But what should I say?

Seeing that she had led His Highness to the lotus pond as ordered by the Queen Mother, Xu Shaoyue knew that she should not remain silent any longer. However, she was quite eloquent in her conversation, and at this moment her mind was blank and she could not utter a single word.

"Are you used to being away from home for so long?"

After all, Zhu Cilang had lived two lives, and even though he had only met the future Crown Princess a few times, he could still guess some of the girl's thoughts from her rosy face.

In this situation, he could not allow the atmosphere to remain awkward, so he took the initiative to strike up a conversation while staring at the uninteresting lotus.

"I'm used to it. The Queen Mother treats me very well, and the palace maids are also very friendly. I just miss my parents and my second and third uncles."

"Well, you'll get used to it."

Zhu Cilang added a sentence after he had only heard half of it.

Afterwards, both of them seemed to realize that this was not the right thing to say, and the lotus pond became quiet again except for the occasional chirping of insects and birds. The two people standing side by side did not make any more noise.

Pig brain!

Why can't you wait for someone to finish speaking?
It must be my adolescent body that is causing all this trouble! Definitely!

Zhu Cilang thought he had seen a lot of things, but he never thought he would make such a mistake in such a situation. But when he was feeling angry, he heard those words as soft as a mosquito's voice.

"Your Highness has sustained new injuries this time?"

"Well," Zhu Cilang raised his hand and touched the marks on his face. He planned to use the battle that day to ease the current embarrassment. But when he was about to speak, he saw the little girl seemed a little timid, and then the words on his lips changed: "It's okay."

If an ordinary woman were here, she would probably give some advice to the Crown Prince, the regent of the Ming Dynasty, like the old scholars such as Xu Yu. If Zhu Cilang then added some impassioned speeches, even if the scene could not be described as affectionate, it would not be as awkward as before.

But neither of them was so pretentious. In Xu Shaoyue's opinion, it was normal to get some minor injuries on the battlefield. And Zhu Cilang probably didn't take the small scratches on his face seriously, so the scene fell into silence again.

"Your Highness, the gentlemen are already next door to receive the imperial edict."

Huh~~~~~.

As the eunuch's report came from afar, Zhu Cilang breathed a sigh of relief. But when he turned around and was about to say hello to Xu Shaoyue and leave, the shy figure appeared in his sight. He made up his mind and said directly, "I already know what the Queen Mother means. If you have the same intention, I will go to your house to propose marriage after I finish my work."

"what!"

When Xu Shaoyue heard the words, she felt a buzzing in her head and her red lips slightly opened in panic. After seeing her look, Zhu Cilang did not ask any questions, but just stood quietly by with a smile on his face.

It is not difficult to imagine what will happen next. If Xu Shaoyue really does not want to marry into the royal family, then since she has been with Empress Dowager Zou for such a long time, she would always have the opportunity to politely refuse. This is also the reason why Zhu Cilang dared to finalize the matter directly.

Generally speaking, marriage is an important matter that cannot be decided by one's own individual. Even if the family is open-minded, the decision can only be made by the elders in the family after seeking their opinions in a tactful manner.

For this reason alone, Zhu Cilang did not have much resistance.

After all, he is the Crown Prince Regent of the Ming Dynasty and the future Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. No matter who chooses a concubine for him, they will definitely choose someone who is virtuous and well-behaved.

Just like Xu Shaoyue, she seemed to be a little lacking in brains, but in any other aspect she was worthy of the position of Crown Princess.

Therefore, before this, Zhu Cilang just let Empress Dowager Zou do whatever she wanted without any objection.

But he wasn't prepared to keep doing this.

Today the Queen Mother can use etiquette and law to influence his marriage, but tomorrow someone may try to use etiquette and law to influence something else.

It is even possible that Empress Dowager Zou, who has been extremely well-behaved during this period, will have some illusions because of this incident at some point in the future, and then make wrong judgments on certain things, forcing Zhu Cilang to take drastic measures.

After all, as a superior surrounded by wolves, he does not intend to give anyone the opportunity to control anything about him for any reason, nor does he intend to give anyone the illusion that they can control anything about him for any reason.

This is probably what being alone means.

After hearing Xu Shaoyue's gentle "hmm", Zhu Cilang went to Empress Dowager Zou and told her that he was going to go to the Duke of Wei's mansion to propose marriage in a while.

During this period, he thanked Empress Dowager Zou profusely, and Empress Dowager Zou did not seem to show any disappointment. The candidates for the current Crown Princess and the future Empress of the Ming Dynasty were finally finalized.

While Zhu Cilang was still declaring his bottom line to the officials in the court using his marriage, several important officials in the court were already waiting in the main hall of the Prince Ni's mansion next door.

Li Yongmao had actually received the news that His Highness had entered the city last night, but he had not been summoned yet. If he had rushed over right after His Highness entered the city, he would inevitably be accused of monitoring His Highness' whereabouts.

But then again, since the Qing army camp outside the city became a prisoner camp, although most of his subordinates were transferred there, half of the troops stationed in Hangzhou were still under his command.

Under such circumstances, it was reasonable for him to learn about the prince's entry into the city. If he did not go, he would be suspected of harboring some resentment.

With these two factors combined, Li Yongmao was in a dilemma. Fortunately, if a person is lost in thought, time will pass very quickly. He was still in a dilemma, but the night outside the window had already darkened. Fortunately, he went back to the bedroom directly, so he didn't have to be in a dilemma anymore.

"Zhu Butang has taken over the Ministry of War, but I wonder what he thinks of the current situation?"

Just when all the ministers in the hall were lost in their own thoughts, Li Yongmao heard a light voice coming from the seat beside him.

Hearing this, although Li Yongmao showed no reaction on his face, he couldn't help but glance at Zhu Datian who was sitting opposite him.

"Warfare is a matter of great importance to a country. Since it is a matter of great importance, it must be reported to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first."

The words were neither soft nor hard and seemed very ordinary, but everyone present had been in officialdom for half their lives, so how could they not hear the true meaning behind them?
So when the words fell, Li Yongmao took the opportunity of turning sideways to pick up the tea bowl to glance at Ruan Dacheng's face beside him, and then just wet his lips with the tea and put it back on the table.

"Humph! Zhu Butang is indeed a pillar of the country!"

"That"

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived~~~~~!"

Just as the two people who had always been at odds were about to engage in a verbal battle, a long groan from a young eunuch was heard outside, and then a figure dressed in Ming Dynasty standard armor appeared outside the hall.

"Congratulations to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on his triumphant return!"

"No gifts, no gifts."

Zhu Cilang motioned to all the ministers to stand up and went straight to the main seat.

I don't know whether he was happy because of the great victory, or because his body was strong from carrying weights for such a long time. At any rate, he was walking with a brisk pace at this moment, and he didn't look as sickly as before.

"When Your Highness returned last night, I wanted to go and congratulate you, but after thinking it over, I decided that Your Highness should rest early after traveling all the way, so I was a little late. I hope Your Highness will not blame me."

At this point in the process, the ministers in the hall should wait for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to speak, but Li Yongmao, who had been an official of the imperial court for half his life, went against common sense and gave an explanation before Zhu Cilang sat down.

Be honest.

This was probably the safest solution Li Yongmao could think of, but after hearing these words, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince just waved his hand lightly and let the matter go, just as he expected.

"The main reason I summoned you all here today is to hear what plans you have after you take up your posts."

The imperial court had to send such important appointments by fast horses day and night, so when they learned that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had summoned them, they had already prepared the answer to this question.

However, among those who were able to meet His Highness today, in addition to those serious court officials, there was also Zhang Yinli, the fourth-rank prefect of Hangzhou.

He had neither been promoted nor demoted, and he became a little uneasy after hearing the words of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, I have been entrusted with the important task of the Ministry of War by Your Highness. After thinking about it for a few days, I feel that the court should make it a top priority to open up the connection between Huguang and the north."

Most of the people present didn't care much about the reaction of the little fourth-rank official. When Zhu Cilang finished speaking, Zhu Dadian, the Minister of War, gave a general speech and then asked someone to bring in a rather large map.

"Your Highness, please see that there are two routes from Zhejiang to Jiangxi, one is from Shangrao, and the other is from Jingdezhen," Zhu Dadian pointed at the map twice, and after seeing the Crown Prince see clearly, he continued, "But once you leave Jingdezhen, you will reach Pengze. The surrounding area is flat and it is not conducive for our army to fight against the Tartars. So I think our army should first take Shangrao, and then use it as a base to advance to Fuzhou."

Following Zhu Datian's explanation and guidance, Zhu Cilang roughly understood his guiding ideology.

The biggest advantage of this route is that it can use mountains and waterways as barriers to minimize the Qing army's cavalry advantage.

However, this road still requires fighting with the Qing army on the plains when reaching Fuzhou, which makes people feel a little worried when they think about it in detail.

But this is nothing. After all, everything is still uncertain at this moment. As long as that group of people can pool their wisdom, they will be able to come up with a perfect plan.

"Well, Zhu Bu Tang is right. When you return to Yingtian, discuss this with the other ministers. If there is no objection, come up with a set of rules."

"Old minister, take your orders."

Zhu Cilang greatly appreciated Zhu Datian's suggestion. After the young eunuch put away the huge map, he turned his attention to Ruan Dacheng.

Seeing that it was his turn, Ruan Dacheng stood up like Zhu Datian. He then bowed and explained his ideas about the Ministry of Justice in detail.

In his imagination, after the war, the Jiangnan area must be full of bandits and robbers, so he planned to use various means and measures to urge the local government offices and garrisons to eliminate them as soon as possible to restore peace and security to the people.

It has to be said that there is no simple person who can leave a mark in history books. Even the seemingly foolish and incompetent Hongguang, didn't he use his keen vision and internal disputes to use the four towns in northern Jiangbei to severely defeat the eunuch party and Donglin?
However, when Ruan Dacheng, who had always focused all his attention on revenge against Donglin, really focused on court affairs, his abilities were truly revealed.

just
"What Ruan Butang is worried about is very appropriate, but what I am most worried about is that someone is colluding with the Tartars to hoard goods, hoping to cause chaos in Jiangnan and prepare for the Tartars' counterattack."

"I understand!"

As soon as the words fell, Ruan Dacheng was startled at first, then a hint of ecstasy flashed across his face. He then bowed towards the main seat and retreated directly.

Li Yongmao did not think much about his reaction, nor did he see clearly. When he was about to report his ideas about the Ministry of Works, he heard His Royal Highness the Crown Prince directly say: "I know very little about the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Justice. From now on, I will rely on you two. However, I have many ideas about the Ministry of Works. I will discuss them with Minister Li later."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present felt a sense of shock in their hearts.

In his early years, Emperor Tianqi entrusted the government affairs to Wei Zhongxian because he was obsessed with carpentry. Our lord will not develop his personal hobbies just because the situation is a little better.

Thinking of this, the ministers couldn't help but glance at the faces of the people around them. Seeing that everyone's face was full of worry, these important officials of the court had to think about how to persuade and remonstrate.

Zhu Cilang seemed unaware of their thoughts. He then called Zhu Guobi, who was stationed in Hangzhou, and Zhang Yinli, the governor of Hangzhou, out of the queue and began to explain everything in detail.

At this time, the court's major policy had basically been decided, which was to try to go south to open up land connections with Huguang. Under this policy, Hangzhou not only had to ensure logistical supplies, but also had to be ready to provide support at any time.

In this way, the burden on the two of them will be much heavier.

(End of this chapter)