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

Chapter 280 The Crown Prince is not in the capital, so why is Emperor Chongzhen not attending court?
After doing all this, Sun Chuanting immediately summoned two squads of Imperial Guards.

At that time, the atmosphere inside the government office was particularly heavy. Sun Chuanting's face was ashen, and his eyes revealed an unquestionable determination.

Then, he carefully handed the two memorials to the two guards at the front.

Immediately afterwards, Sun Chuanting said in a deep voice:
"Send these two memorials to the capital and Xuanfu immediately. This matter is of great importance, concerning the safety of our Great Ming Dynasty. They must be delivered as quickly as possible without the slightest delay!"

"If you ruin this important matter, you'll have to answer to me with your head!"

His tone was full of authority and urgency, making everyone present feel a sense of unease.

Upon hearing this, the leading commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard quickly clasped his hands in a fist salute, his eyes filled with determination and resolve.

"Rest assured, my lord! I will certainly fulfill my mission! Even if it costs me my life, I will ensure the safe delivery of this memorial!"

His words were resounding, as if they were a promise to Sun Chuanting.

The Imperial Guards then carefully sealed the two memorials into a box.

Although the box was not large, it seemed to bear an immense burden.

They then wrapped the box in several layers of tarpaulin, each layer tightly, for fear that something might go wrong during the journey.

After doing all this, they split into two groups, each mounted a fast horse, and left Tongguan like arrows released from a bow.

Sun Chuanting stood at the entrance of the government office, watching their departing figures, and a wave of emotion welled up in his heart.

Now, all we can do is wait for the imperial court's reply.

He didn't know what decision the imperial court would make.

Should they accept Li Zicheng's so-called 'surrender,' or resolutely refuse and continue to fight the peasant army to the bitter end?
All this is unknown.

He could only do his best to protect Shaanxi!

Because it was his duty, and also his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty!

Even if the road ahead is full of thorns and the hope is slim, he will never back down.

Although Sun Chuanting issued an urgent order for an 800-li (approximately 400 km) journey, given the limited transportation conditions in ancient times, no matter how fast the warhorses were, they still could not reach the speed of traveling 800 li in a day.

At most, it could only travel about 500 li a day, which is roughly equivalent to 250 kilometers in later times.

Therefore, it wasn't until the fifth day that the Imperial Guards who came to deliver the message arrived in the capital.

They endured wind and rain, traveled tirelessly, and dared not slacken in the slightest, only thinking about delivering the letter to the capital as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, another group of Imperial Guards was still trudging along the road and would need about two more days to reach Xuanfu.

"Make way! Make way! Urgent military report! Do not obstruct!"

As they approached the city, the Imperial Guards escorting the memorial began to shout at them.

The sound was like a thunderclap, echoing at the city gate.

When the soldiers at the city gate saw this, how could they dare to stop them?
After all, they knew the importance of urgent military reports; blocking them could be fatal!
So they quickly helped disperse the crowd gathered at the city gate.

The common people were startled by the sudden shout, and with the city guards dispersing them, they also made way for the Imperial Guards who were delivering military reports.

Thus, the Imperial Guards escorting the military report entered the capital without any hindrance and headed straight for the Ministry of War.

According to Zhu Cilang's previous regulations, military reports from any location should be sent directly to the Eastern Palace so that he could make decisions as soon as possible.

However, since Zhu Cilang is not in the capital, the military report can only be sent to the Ministry of War according to procedure.

Meanwhile, inside the Ministry of War.

Li Banghua sat solemnly at his desk, flipping through various memorials that had been submitted to him.

His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes revealed fatigue and worry.

Normally, at this time of year, the Ministry of War wouldn't have much to do.

At this time, almost all the armies were busy preparing for winter, so there were relatively few battles, and the Ministry of War's work was relatively easy.

But things are different now. The imperial court is now waging war in Mongolia, in Shaanxi, and even in the provinces surrounding Henan.

In addition to stationing a certain number of troops to prevent peasant armies from entering surrounding provinces, it was also necessary to send a portion of troops to help the people in Henan Province relocate.

To be honest, this is a massive undertaking.

Countless human and material resources have been invested in it, yet it is still difficult to meet the demand.

Even though the Ministry of War had previously issued orders to the generals to make their own decisions on all matters, many things still required the Ministry of War to make decisions personally.

Therefore, Li Banghua has been extremely busy lately.

He had to deal with mountains of military reports every day, coordinate forces from all sides, and arrange food supplies, often working until late at night before he could rest.

In addition, the situation in Xuanfu also surprised him somewhat.

Not long ago, Zhu Cilang wrote him a letter, which briefly explained the situation in Tumed.

In the letter, Zhu Cilang stated that although the Tumet had not yet explicitly agreed to surrender to the Ming Dynasty, he estimated that the Tumet would not refuse.

After all, the Tumet tribe is just a small tribe with a population of only tens of thousands and a military force of less than five thousand. How could they possibly stop the trampling of seventy thousand cavalry?
With just one command from him, 70,000 cavalrymen would march across the Mongolian steppe and the Tumed would be completely wiped out.

Therefore, it was inevitable that the Tumet surrendered to the Ming Dynasty!

Li Banghua deeply agreed with this, admiring Zhu Cilang's decisiveness while secretly worrying about it.

Because the imperial court may be stationing troops in Tumet next, the Ministry of War will be busy again.

From troop deployment to food supply, from site selection to coordination with local tribes, every step requires careful planning; a slight misstep could lead to new troubles.

In short, it seems that he, as the Minister of War, will be quite busy before the New Year.

With a slight sigh, Li Banghua picked up his brush again to prepare for handling government affairs.

His hands were trembling slightly, clearly due to overwork.

But before he could put pen to paper, an official suddenly rushed in.

"Sir! Urgent military report! It's from Shaanxi!"

The official shouted, his voice filled with anxiety.

An urgent military report from Shaanxi?
Upon hearing this, Li Banghua abruptly stood up. A flicker of worry and shock crossed his eyes, and he quickly said:
"Where is the military report? Bring it here immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the official quickly waved towards the door.

Immediately afterwards, a haggard-looking Imperial Guard was helped in by two soldiers on duty at the gate.

The Imperial Guards had traveled a long way and were exhausted; they could barely stand.

His face was covered in dust and sweat, and his eyes revealed exhaustion and confusion.

Just then, someone brought over a cup of tea. The guard, with trembling hands, accepted the tea and drank it all in one gulp.

After drinking the tea, the Imperial Guard escorting the military report calmed down and carefully took out the box from his arms.

Then, respectfully presenting it to Li Banghua, it said:
"My lord, this is a memorial sent by Governor-General Sun Chuanting of Shaanxi. Please take a look."

"Thanks for your hard work."

Li Banghua nodded, then reached out and took the sealed box.

He gently stroked the sealed box, as if he could feel the weight of the memorials inside. After confirming that the box had not been opened, he slowly opened it and took out the memorials.

Immediately afterwards, he eagerly opened the memorial.

He knew that something urgent must have happened in Shaanxi, otherwise Sun Chuanting would not have sent such a memorial at this time.

After quickly glancing through the contents of the military report, Sun Chuanting's expression instantly turned strange.

To be honest, before opening this military report, he had already roughly imagined what might happen over there.

For example, when Tongguan was about to fall, Sun Chuanting wanted the imperial court to send troops to assist.

For example, if there wasn't enough food, Sun Chuanting would ask for more.

Or rather, Tongguan has already been captured by Li Zicheng!

But to his utter surprise, the memorial contained information about Li Zicheng's surrender.

This is just too ridiculous.

Because Li Zicheng had surrendered six times before, and the court had accepted his surrender, but he rebelled each time.

Every surrender felt like a deception, costing the imperial court dearly.

Now, whenever the topic of the peasant army's surrender comes up, both civil and military officials get a headache.

Those peasant armies were cunning, fickle, and truly unpredictable.

However, the imperial court could not refuse outright, because from beginning to end, the court wanted to resolve the peasant uprising at the lowest possible cost.

And to offer surrender is undoubtedly the least costly option!

After all, the Ming Dynasty was simply too fragile to withstand further turmoil.
Of course, that was in the past. The Ming Dynasty has long since been revived, so its attitude towards peasant armies has naturally changed.

Moreover, it's quite clear that this situation is somewhat special.

That is, Li Zicheng no longer surrendered with empty words, but directly sent 10,000 men to Tongguan, saying it was to express his sincerity.

Although these 10,000 people are mostly old, weak, sick, and disabled, and will consume a lot of the imperial court's food and medicine, in the end, they are also peasant soldiers and ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty!
So strictly speaking, Li Zicheng was also "full of sincerity".

And don't think that these 10,000-plus elderly, weak, sick and disabled people are useless. In fact, in ancient times, population was the greatest resource.

Even if these 10,000-plus people are not doing well, they can at least do some logistical work for the soldiers stationed at Tongguan after their injuries are healed.

For example, cooking or doing laundry.

Although they cannot fight on the front lines, they can provide necessary support to the soldiers at the front, which is helpful for the war.

Even so, Li Banghua realized that this was most likely a trick by Li Zicheng to buy time.

Either they were looking for a suitable opportunity to break out of Henan and then continue to fight against the imperial court.

Or perhaps it was for other purposes, such as depleting the grain supplies at Tongguan, or probing the strength and weakness of the imperial court.

However, regardless of whether Li Zicheng's surrender was feigned or not, Li Banghua, as the Minister of War, had no say in the matter. This was because Li Zicheng demanded that Li Banghua be appointed General of Shaanxi before surrendering, a position that required the emperor's approval.

The thought of Emperor Chongzhen gave Li Banghua a headache again.

It had been about half a month since Zhu Cilang left Beijing for Xuanfu, but during this half month, Chongzhen had not attended a single morning court session.

He first stayed in a Taoist temple outside the capital for about ten days, supposedly seeking immortality and enlightenment there.

Although he returned to the palace afterward, he stayed in the inner palace and did not attend court.

Even when court officials requested an audience, Emperor Chongzhen never paid them any attention.

This caused great concern among the ministers.

Everyone is wondering what's wrong with the emperor?
Why does the emperor stop attending court as soon as the crown prince leaves?

Is it due to physical discomfort, or is he truly seeking immortality and enlightenment?

Fortunately, the cabinet was still in the capital to handle government affairs, so there were no major problems for the time being.

The cabinet ministers are busy every day, handling all sorts of tedious affairs and doing their best to maintain the normal operation of the court.

After hesitating for a moment, Li Banghua decided to go to the cabinet to discuss the matter first, because he was worried that he would not be able to see Chongzhen.

Without saying a word, he stuffed the memorial into his pocket and headed straight for the palace.

Throughout the journey, his mood was particularly heavy, and his steps seemed somewhat hurried.

He didn't know what decision the cabinet ministers would make, nor how the matter would ultimately end.

Meanwhile, inside the Cabinet Office, four cabinet ministers were each immersed in their busy official duties, their brushes scratching on the rice paper.

Various memorials and documents piled up before them like mountains, waiting for them to conquer.

Since Zhu Cilang swiftly and decisively reorganized the cabinet, the atmosphere within it has gradually become more harmonious and congenial.

In the past, several cabinet ministers in this cabinet were constantly vying for power.

A tense and subtle smell of gunpowder often filled the air.

This sometimes leads to delays even in matters of national importance.

But now, the situation is very different.

Although they still occasionally harbor selfish thoughts, things are much better than before when they were at each other's throats and constantly fighting.

Even when they have differing opinions on handling government affairs, they will sit down and discuss them calmly and rationally.

We will never again use disagreements as an excuse to arbitrarily suppress each other, creating chaos within the cabinet.

Ultimately, it was because Zhu Cilang had killed too many people before.
Then they got scared!

They fear that if factional strife continues, they might be the next ones to die.

For example, some say that cabinet ministers hold the highest positions in the government, but wasn't Zhou Yanru also at the highest level of power before?

They just killed him without warning, didn't they?
Even the most powerful cabinet ministers, in the face of a truly strong imperial authority, are people who can be 'dealt with' at any time.

The cabinet was so quiet that you could hear everyone breathing.

The ministers were all engrossed in their work, and only the occasional soft sound of turning pages would break the silence.

However, this tranquility did not last long.

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded at the door, followed by a young eunuch rushing in, panting, to report:

"My lords, Minister of War Li Banghua requests an audience, saying that there are important military matters in Shaanxi that he would like to discuss with you."

Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan, who was concentrating on reviewing memorials, was the first to put down his brush.

Then he slightly raised his head, a hint of doubt in his eyes, and said:

"A military report from Shaanxi?"

The young eunuch quickly bowed and said cautiously:
"That's what Lord Li said, and he seemed very anxious, so the matter must be extremely urgent."

Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition welled up in his mind.

He knew that Shaanxi was always a place with a complex situation, and that Li Banghua's urgent request to see him must mean that something big had happened there.

Could it be that Tongguan has been lost?
Thinking of this, Xue Guoguan dared not delay for the slightest and quickly said:
"Come in quickly, Lord Li."

Upon hearing this, the young eunuch dared not linger for a moment and immediately turned and hurriedly left.

At the same time, the other three cabinet ministers also put down their pens, looked up, and exchanged glances, their eyes filled with solemnity.

They were all intelligent people, and they naturally understood that Li Banghua's sudden arrival at this time, carrying an urgent military report from Shaanxi, meant that something terrible must have happened in Shaanxi.

It's important to understand that their biggest concern now is something happening in Shaanxi.

If anything changes in Shaanxi, it could very well mean that Li Zicheng has already breached Tongguan Pass and entered the heart of Shaanxi.

If that were the case, then the imperial court's carefully laid out strategy against the peasant army would instantly vanish.

After all, once Li Zicheng entered Shaanxi, he could choose to march north and head straight for Shanxi, or he could choose to go south to Sichuan.

Once he goes to Sichuan, the situation will become even more complicated and difficult, making it even harder to deal with him.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts and wild ideas, Li Banghua finally hurriedly walked in.

He looked hurried and walked quickly. As soon as he stepped into the cabinet office, he eagerly raised the memorial in his hand and loudly proclaimed:

"Gentlemen, come and see! This is a memorial that Sun Chuanting just sent from Shaanxi, saying that Li Zicheng wants to surrender!"

what?
Upon hearing this, the four cabinet ministers exchanged bewildered glances, their faces filled with astonishment.

However, they were not surprised by the fact that Li Zicheng wanted to surrender, after all, Li Zicheng had surrendered six times before.

His reputation for being capricious was already widespread, so what was so surprising about his surrender?
What truly surprised them was why this matter had to be sent to the capital in such great difficulty.
After all, everyone knows that Li Zicheng is definitely feigning surrender!
Since it's a feigned surrender, why not just ignore it?

Then just go about your business as if nothing ever happened!

Even though the imperial court had previously issued an edict clearly stating that it would accept the surrender of the peasant army, such matters must be considered in light of the occasion and timing!
Even if Sun Chuanting pretended not to have received Li Zicheng's surrender document and continued to garrison Tongguan according to the original plan, no one would really blame him for such an obviously fake matter!

It was obvious that these cabinet ministers were speaking from a position of privilege, completely detached from the realities of the situation.

Perhaps in the present moment, they would not blame Sun Chuanting for this matter, even if Emperor Chongzhen or Emperor Zhu Cilang knew about it!
After all, Li Zicheng had absolutely no credibility whatsoever!

But then again, who can guarantee that someone won't make a big deal out of this in the future and use it to attack Sun Chuanting?

After all, this is a serious crime of disobeying imperial orders, which could result in dismissal from office at best, or beheading at worst!
Of course, these thoughts only flashed through their minds, and no one carefully considered the consequences of doing so.

The next second, the memorial was delivered to Xue Guoguan.

Xue Guoguan did not hesitate and immediately opened the memorial, then quickly began to browse through it.

Immediately afterwards, Xue Guoguan's brows furrowed, because the surrender terms offered by Li Zicheng this time were truly "full of sincerity".

He first ordered the troops to withdraw, and then sent 10,000 men as a sign of his sincerity in surrendering to the court.

In the end, he only asked for the position of general, and was willing to lead his troops to surrender to the imperial court, and was also willing to assist the court in relocating his peasant army to Liaodong.

To be honest, on the surface, these conditions seem to be impeccable and are almost impossible to refuse.

However, everyone knows that this was not Li Zicheng's true intention at all, but a carefully planned conspiracy.

After Xue Guo finished reading the memorial, it was passed on to the other people in turn.

Soon, all four cabinet ministers had read the memorial, but their expressions were not good. They looked rather strange, as if they were wondering what kind of conspiracy Li Zicheng had this time.
Finally, Li Banghua broke the silence first, and he spoke:
"Now that you gentlemen have read the contents of the memorial, please speak frankly about your thoughts."

"However, I still think this is Li Zicheng's conspiracy. The reason he did this is simply to buy time so that he would have more time to plan his next move."

"Even though we know this is Li Zicheng's conspiracy, it seems we can't refuse his surrender."

"After all, His Majesty had previously issued an imperial edict that all peasant armies that surrendered should be accepted and then sent to Liaodong for immigration and border defense."

"I guess Sun Chuanting also thought of this, which is why he sent this message to the capital."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the four cabinet ministers became even more peculiar.

Because everyone knows that this imperial edict was not actually issued by Emperor Chongzhen, but by Zhu Cilang.

Of course, that's no longer important.

Because, given the current situation, this imperial edict is still very much in line with the current national conditions of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, accepting the surrender of the peasant army and then relocating them to Liaodong would not only solve the problem of the peasant army, a major threat, but also strengthen the border defense forces in Liaodong, which could be described as killing two birds with one stone.

Just then, Xue Guoguan finally spoke:

"Minister Li is right. Although this is probably another conspiracy by the rebels, it is not without its benefits for us."

"At the very least, we can try to mislead the thief, making him believe that we have truly accepted his surrender, thereby lowering his guard."

"In this way, the soldiers stationed at Tongguan can also get a short rest."

"It can also attract more peasant armies to surrender to the imperial court!"

Upon hearing this, Cabinet Minister Zhang Zhifa frowned slightly and looked at Xue Guoguan, saying:

"So, Grand Secretary Xue intends to agree to this?"

Xue Guoguan quickly shook his head and said:

"What are you talking about? The rebel Li Zicheng surrendered on conditions; he needed to be given the rank of a general."

"As for the appointment of a general, this is not something that we cabinet ministers can decide on our own. Of course, we must report it to His Majesty."

But just then, someone suddenly whispered:

"Shouldn't we report this matter to the Crown Prince before making a decision? After all, the Crown Prince said before he left that matters involving military affairs should be reported to him first."

Upon hearing this, Xue Guoguan was taken aback, and then a look of embarrassment flashed across his face.

Because he had really forgotten about it.

The main problem is that Zhu Cilang is not in the capital at the moment, so even if he wanted to report, he couldn't report directly to Zhu Cilang!

(End of this chapter)