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

Chapter 228: You agreed to keep the enemy as your own enemy for your own protection, why did you suddenly stop doing that?

Besides, letting these soldiers have their own house in the capital will make them feel a sense of belonging to the capital, thereby better stimulating their desire to protect it.

Although it sounds a bit capitalist, it is the most appropriate solution for this kind of situation.

Besides, Zhu Cilang is already very conscientious. He doesn't charge interest when lending money. Looking around, where in the world can you find a capitalist as conscientious as him!

At the same time, Cao Bianjiao and others were slightly stunned after hearing Zhu Cilang's words, their eyes full of disbelief.

Because they know exactly what this means!
This means that from now on, they can all settle down in the capital!
Thinking of this, Cao Bianjiao immediately bowed and thanked:
"On behalf of all the Guanning Iron Cavalry officers and soldiers, we thank His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Immediately afterwards, several other accompanying officers also hurriedly bowed to express their gratitude.

Zhu Cilang smiled faintly, and then warned:

"After you return, remember to compile the list and submit it to the Ming Royal Bank."

"Soon, you will get the land deeds and house deeds that belong to you."

"Once you get the title deed, this house will belong to you completely and will be your home in the capital from now on."

Cao Bianjiao and others nodded hurriedly and agreed.

After taking a rough look at the layout of several houses, everyone moved towards the shopping area.

The shops here are densely packed, lined up in rows, and of various sizes. It is obvious that they are built to accommodate the trading of various goods.

But of course, people seemed to have little interest in these shops. After all, they were not businessmen and did not have much feeling about the potential commercial value of these shops.

In their eyes, the previous houses were better.

Only Xia Dewu had a shrewd look in his eyes. While carefully examining the layout of the shop, he was secretly thinking about something in his mind.

In his eyes, these are all real wealth!
Its value is much more than that of a house!

After visiting the new city, everyone turned back.

After Cao Bianjiao and others said goodbye to Zhu Cilang, they hurried towards the Guanning Iron Cavalry Camp.

At this time, Cao Bianjiao was only thinking about getting back to the Guanning Cavalry Camp as soon as possible and then telling the soldiers the good news.

Of course, we also need to count the number of people who want to buy a house.

However, in Cao Bianjiao's opinion, this statistic even seems a bit redundant. After all, who would be willing to rent a house when they can buy one?

Buying a house means that the family can take root firmly in Beijing, and if nothing unexpected happens, they can live and work here forever. Who wouldn't want such a good thing?
After all, this is the capital, the heart of the Ming Dynasty. It is much safer than the war-torn Liaodong.

Besides, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has personally promised that the Ming Royal Bank will lend them interest-free money to buy a house. Why not do such a good thing?

Thinking of this, Cao Bianjiao once again urged the warhorse under his crotch.
On the other side, Zhu Cilang and his group did not stay for long and immediately headed towards the capital.

After all this trouble, it was soon noon.

At this time, the sun was high in the sky, and the scorching sunlight was shining down unobstructed. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the temperature was probably around 35 degrees.

Even though Zhu Cilang was sitting in a sedan chair, the stuffy air was always with him, making him very uncomfortable.

Suddenly at this moment, a question came from outside the sedan:
"My Lord, I saw a shop selling ice cream not far away. Would you like to drink some ice cream to cool off before going back?"

The so-called ice cream is actually an ancient drink, usually made of milk, sugar, and ice cubes.

The more sophisticated ones will also add candied fruits, dried fruits, chopped nuts, etc. to enrich the taste and flavor.

The history of ice cream can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. At that time, dignitaries would take out ice cubes stored in ice cellars in winter in the summer and mix them with fresh milk, honey, etc.

By the Song Dynasty, ice cream had become more popular and ordinary citizens could buy it in the market.

Obviously, it was also quite popular during the Ming Dynasty.

At the same time, Zhu Cilang also became interested. He reached out to lift the curtain of the sedan chair and took a closer look. Sure enough, he found an ice cream shop not far away.

The guys in the store were enthusiastically attracting customers, shouting loudly and waving towels in their hands.

There is also a sign hanging outside the store with a big word "Ice" written on it. The word seems to be a little cool under the sunlight.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but become interested.

In fact, ice has been used to cool down the palace in recent times, and the same is true for the East Palace.

A lot of ice is consumed every day.

But Zhu Cilang never expected that in the late Ming Dynasty, ordinary shops could also sell ice cubes.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang immediately said:

"Then let's go and take a look."

After receiving the order, the Jinyiwei who had been quietly following the carriage and disguised as ordinary people suddenly rushed towards the store like an arrow.

Since Chongzhen was assassinated, the security level in the entire capital has been raised several levels, and everyone is afraid that what happened before will happen again.

Even when Zhu Cilang traveled, the number of Jinyiwei secretly accompanying him increased several times.

It is no exaggeration to say that on this trip, there were at least three hundred Jinyiwei secretly accompanying and protecting him. They were like sharp blades hidden in the dark, guarding Zhu Cilang's safety at all times.

Zhu Cilang naturally knew about this, but he didn't care.

After all, in the ancient times with strict hierarchy, it was inevitable that people of noble status enjoyed privileges.

Then the carriage stopped in front of the shop.

The waiter was so frightened by the sudden scene that he stood there in shock. The rag he was using to wipe the table fell to the ground. He even forgot to greet the customers, his eyes full of fear and confusion.

It seems like he still hasn't figured out what happened just now?
The crowd ignored him and surrounded Zhu Cilang as they walked straight into the store, then found a seat by the window on the second floor.

I originally wanted to find a private room, but there were no private rooms in this small restaurant, so I could only sit by the window.

At least there is still a slight breeze, which makes it a little cooler.

At the same time, the owner of this small shop hurriedly ran up to the second floor, because he had already seen clearly that it was obvious that a distinguished person had entered his shop.

But he didn't know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. After all, the nobles were always generous. If he served them well, he would naturally get a reward.

But then again, the nobles are not so easy to serve, and if you are not careful you may bring about a huge disaster.

But since everyone had already come in, the shopkeeper had no choice but to go ahead.

But before the shopkeeper could speak, Fang Zhenghua directly instructed him:
"Shopkeeper, go get some basins of ice and put them around. My young master needs some."

The shopkeeper was startled when he heard this, and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face. He hurriedly said:

"Sir, this much ice will cost a lot of money!"

Fang Zhenghua didn't say much. The next second, he took out a handful of Ming Dynasty gold coins from his sleeve and placed them on the table.

The gold coins sparkled brightly in the sun, looking stunning.

Founder Dao:

"Is this enough?"

When the shopkeeper saw these gold coins, a smile instantly spread across his face, and he said flatteringly:

"That's enough, sir, please wait a moment, I'll do it right away."

After saying this, the shopkeeper carefully put away the Ming Dynasty gold coins and then retreated happily.

There are at least twenty gold coins in this handful, which is equivalent to more than twenty taels of silver, which is equivalent to his income for half a month. How can he not be happy?

Sure enough, noble people are generous when they give!
So not long after, basins of ice were brought up and placed next to Zhu Cilang.

The ice cubes emit a hint of coldness, which is particularly eye-catching in this hot environment.

But to be honest, in such hot weather, the cooling effect of ice is actually not significant. Moreover, this is not a sealed environment, and heat is constantly pouring in, so ice is even more useless.

But looking at these ice cubes, Zhu Cilang still felt a little cool.

Zhu Cilang then reached out and picked up a piece of ice, held it in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully. He saw that the ice was crystal clear, and it was sparkling with colorful light under the refraction of the sunlight.

Suddenly at this moment, an idea flashed through Zhu Cilang's mind.

In his understanding, during this period in ancient times, the ice used by people should have been dug out from the river in winter and stored in ice cellars.

Then wait until summer to use it.

If that were the case, if saltpeter could be used to make ice, wouldn't that be another way to make money?
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang quickly looked at Xia Dewu beside him and asked:
"Do you know how many places in the capital sell ice cream?"

When Xia Dewu heard the question, he hurried forward and replied respectfully:

"In reply to your question, sir, as far as I know, there are at least dozens of places selling ice cream in the capital."

"And every day, these businesses can produce a large amount of ice."

Zhu Cilang was somewhat confused when he heard this, and then asked curiously:

"What do you mean by 'create'? Can anyone actually create ice now?"

Xia Dewu quickly replied:
"Your Highness, it is indeed true! Merchants today use the ancient method of making ice, which is saltpeter ice."

Afterwards, Xia Dewu explained in detail the method of making ice from saltpeter.

When Zhu Cilang heard these words, he was speechless and a look of embarrassment appeared on his face.

Because he really didn't expect that people in ancient times had already invented the method of making ice with saltpeter.

It's said to have been around since the Song Dynasty, making it over five hundred years old. Fortunately, I didn't rashly mention the saltpeter ice-making thing just now, or I would have made a fool of myself.

Sure enough, I underestimated the wisdom of the ancients!

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang shook his head helplessly and gave up the idea of making money by using saltpeter to make ice.

After that, everyone ate a bowl of ice yogurt and left the shop. However, the coolness of the ice yogurt seemed to linger on the tip of their tongues, leaving people with an endless aftertaste.

At the same time, the scene turned to Henan.

It has to be said that during this period in the late Ming Dynasty, the weather in Shaanxi and Henan was extremely bad.

The temperature in other places is probably around 34 or 35 degrees Celsius at this time, but in this area of Henan, the temperature has already exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

The sun emits scorching rays shining on the earth, people feel like they are in a furnace, even the air becomes scorching hot, almost making people faint.

However, in such scorching heat, an army of about 200,000 people was slowly advancing.

I saw that most of the soldiers were farmers. They were ragged and their clothes were tattered and patched.

Most people were holding either hoes or farm tools like sickles. These farm tools seemed a bit crude on the battlefield, but they were the best weapons they had.

And this group of people was none other than the peasant army led by Zhang Xianzhong!

At the front of the army, the leader was tall, with a slightly yellow complexion, a slightly long face, a chin like a tiger, and a fierce and unruly look in his eyes.

This person was none other than Zhang Xianzhong.

In the current situation, Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng are basically entrenched in the Henan area.

Although both of them raised the banner of resistance against the imperial court, they each acted on their own. They were neither friends who shared life and death together nor did they have any deep hatred for each other.

Instead, each of them is busy developing its own power, just like two parallel tracks, winding forward in troubled times.

Unlike Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng always had an obsession in his heart, which was to fight back to Shaanxi, back to the homeland he longed for.

So in recent days, he led his troops to set up camp in the Tongguan area, staring at Tongguan with a covetous eye, trying to break through this important town and enter Shaanxi.

However, Sun Chuanting was so shrewd that he had long seen through Li Zicheng's intentions.

At the same time, he also knew that Tongguan was of great strategic significance, like a vital throat, and the consequences would be unimaginable if it was lost.

So Sun Chuanting stockpiled 20,000 soldiers and enough food in Tongguan early on, and guarded the place like an iron barrel.

Elite soldiers were stationed at every battlement of the city wall, and the walls were filled with various defensive equipment, including rolling logs and stones.

Most of Li Zicheng's peasant army came from the fields and were not good at siege warfare.

So when faced with these 20,000 well-trained and defensive defenders, as well as the tall and solid Tongguan city walls, they were like headless flies, helpless for a moment.

But Li Zicheng was unwilling to leave.

As a result, the two sides fell into a stalemate in the Tongguan area.

On the other hand, Zhang Xianzhong did not have a clear goal like Li Zicheng, and he was wandering around Henan.

Wherever they went, they looted property to strengthen their army.

However, his life has not been smooth sailing. He has been upset by something recently.

That is, in recent times, Zuo Liangyu has been chasing and beating him like a madman.

Although they had fought many times in the past, most of the time they had a close win, and Zuo Liangyu never fought him to the death. Basically, both sides would call off the fight when the fighting was almost over.

At first, Zhang Xianzhong was a little confused by Zuo Liangyu's actions. There were several times when Zuo Liangyu could have killed him, so why did he let him go?
Later, someone cleared up his confusion. It turned out that Zuo Liangyu acted like this because he was playing the trick of nurturing the enemy to protect himself!
And Zhang Xianzhong was exactly the "bandit" that Zuo Liangyu saw as a kept captive.

When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, he was so angry!
We were a peasant uprising army that rose up against the imperial court in order to give the poor people enough food to eat and a good life. How could we become bandits?

Wasn’t Zhu Yuanzhang, the ancestor of the Zhu family, the same as him back then?

Why doesn't anyone call him a bandit?

But no matter how angry he was, after calming down, he had to admit that in the eyes of Zuo Liangyu, a court official, he, the leader of the peasant army, was nothing but a bandit!
Originally, he and Zuo Liangyu had always lived in peace, with each other interacting and maintaining a delicate balance.

But a few months ago, Zuo Liangyu seemed to have suddenly become a different person, and every time he fought with him, he fought to the death.

On several occasions, Zhang Xianzhong was forced into danger by Zuo Liangyu and was almost captured alive.

This left Zhang Xianzhong completely confused, and he really couldn't understand what was wrong with Zuo Liangyu.

What happened to the promise to support the enemy for self-protection? Why not support them now?
Even though he couldn't figure it out, Zhang Xianzhong was too lazy to bother with it anymore.

Anyway, life must go on and the army must continue to grow.

Moreover, after several months of hard work, his military strength is no longer what it used to be.

Although the peasant army still accounts for the majority of the team, the number of people in his old camp is also increasing. Now the number of people in the old camp alone has reached about 30,000.

These soldiers of the old camp have all survived fierce battles with officers and soldiers. After going through the baptism of war, their combat effectiveness is by no means comparable to that of the ordinary farmers who have just joined.

Among them are core members who have followed Zhang Xianzhong for many years and have experienced countless battles.

These people had been following him since the third year of Chongzhen, when Zhang Xianzhong responded to Wang Jiayin's uprising and raised the people of the Eighteen Villages of Mizhi.

He fought with him in provinces such as Shanxi, Henan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi, and always stood firmly by his side no matter in long-distance raids or in fierce and brutal battles with the Ming army.

These people were undoubtedly Zhang Xianzhong's last resort and the basis for his survival in this chaotic world.

Therefore, whenever he encountered a tough battle to siege a city, he always let the newly joined peasant army rush to the front, while his old camp took a steady and cautious approach.

After all, Zhang Xianzhong knew that this old camp was his lifeline and could not be destroyed at any cost.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong was thinking about these troubles while leading his army forward, the scouts who were sent out to gather information in the morning suddenly came back at full speed.

When he was approaching Zhang Xianzhong, he suddenly stopped his horse, quickly dismounted, knelt on one knee in front of Zhang Xianzhong and said:
"Your Majesty, I have already found out that Xinyang City is just ahead."

Xinyang City?
When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, his tired eyes suddenly brightened up, and he immediately asked,
"Have you found out the military strength in this city?"

The scout said hurriedly:

"Before, I and a few brothers disguised ourselves as ordinary people and sneaked in to investigate. We found that the city's military strength was not very large. At most, there were only about 5,000 people."

"However, there are many good things inside, including gold, silver, treasures, food and supplies. My king, do you think we should attack the city?"

As soon as the last few words were uttered, Zhang Xianzhong suddenly became energetic, and his eyes were shining with excitement.

Because he knew that Xinyang City had not yet been conquered by the rebels, and even Li Zicheng had not attacked the city.

This means that there must be a lot of good things in the city. As long as he captures the city, his army will be able to obtain a large amount of supplies.

At the same time, the weather was so hot and the soldiers were exhausted. They needed to find a place to rest and recuperate.

And Xinyang City is undoubtedly the best choice.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong was about to order an attack on the city, a middle-aged man beside him suddenly said:

"Your Majesty, I do not think it is appropriate to attack Xinyang at this time."

The person who spoke was none other than Luo Rucai, one of the main leaders of the peasant army!
Luo Rucai was a very cunning person and was nicknamed "Cao Cao" in the peasant army. He was good at planning strategies and made great contributions to the peasant army.

Moreover, Luo Rucai was good at mediating the relationships between the various peasant armies, which led to everyone being willing to cooperate with him. After taking the city, Luo Rucai was also willing to share the property in the city equally with others.

Therefore, Luo Rucai was very appealing among the peasant army.

The reason why he wanted to follow Zhang Xianzhong was because he knew that it was difficult to support the country alone. In the current situation, only by sticking together can they survive.

Zhang Xianzhong naturally admired Luo Rucai's ability, so when he heard Luo Rucai's opposition to attacking Xinyang, he quickly asked:

"General Luo, why do you say that?"

Luo Rucai was seen stroking his beard slowly and said solemnly:

"Although the garrison in Xinyang is not large, Your Majesty, don't forget that Zuo Liangyu is still chasing us!"

"What if Zuo Liangyu arrives with his army while we're attacking Xinyang? How will we respond if we're attacked from both sides?"

When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, he couldn't help but be stunned. His originally excited expression froze instantly and a look of worry appeared on his face.

I was so focused on attacking Xinyang that I forgot about Zuo Liangyu.

If Zuo Liangyu suddenly leads his troops to attack during the battle, it would be a big trouble.

Although Zuo Liangyu's army had less than 20,000 soldiers, they were well-trained and well-equipped. If a real fight broke out, this group of rabble would be no match for them.

What's more, Zuo Liangyu is now basically merciless to him and is determined to kill him!
Thinking of this, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but hesitate, and a conflicted expression appeared on his face.

After all, it would be a pity to give up such a city that is within his reach. The supplies in the city are what he needs most at the moment.

But if we attack the city, what if Zuo Liangyu comes to kill us halfway through the attack?
Thinking of this, Zhang Xianzhong finally decided to temporarily abandon the plan to attack Xinyang.

But suddenly at this moment, a man from the army behind him came out with an anxious look on his face, then came up to Zhang Xianzhong and whispered:
"My king, this weather is really too hot. We can't stand the heat any more. Why don't we find a place to rest?"

"Also, we don't have much food left. We can only hold out for another ten days at most."

"We must find a way to get food and fodder, otherwise everyone will starve in a few days."

When Zhang Xianzhong heard this, his face suddenly became terribly gloomy, like the sky before a storm.

As a rebel leader who came from a peasant family, he understood the weight of this last sentence.

(End of this chapter)