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

Chapter 329 Chongzhen: For the sake of the people, perhaps we should cancel my birthday celebration!
Furthermore, although Luo Rucai betrayed Li Zicheng and surrendered to the imperial court, even causing the peasant army to suffer losses of over 100,000, Zhu Cilang could not be happy about this.

This incident ultimately resulted in approximately 30,000 deaths and 100,000 injuries.

To be honest, the price is a bit too high.

Of course, from the perspective of the imperial court, this was undoubtedly a great joyous occasion.

After all, before formally surrendering, Li Zicheng's peasant army was still the enemy of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the casualties of the peasant army were a great thing for the Ming Dynasty, which meant that the pressure on the court would be greatly reduced.

However, on the other hand, if all 100,000 wounded and disabled people surrendered to the court and became subjects of the Ming Dynasty again, then without a doubt, the Ming Dynasty would have to support them!
Even if Sun Chuanting comes up with a way to maintain the food supply for about four months, the imperial court will still need to allocate food as soon as possible.

Besides food, cotton, medicine, and other essential items were also necessary.

As for how to settle these 100,000 injured and disabled people in the future, let's talk about that later.

The most important thing right now is to ensure that as many people as possible can survive.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang immediately put his cloak back on, took the letter, and went straight outside.

This is a matter of great importance, and even he, as the crown prince, cannot make a decision on his own. He must inform Emperor Chongzhen and several ministers as soon as possible.

As Zhu Cilang walked, he instructed Ma Bao, who was standing beside him:
"Issue the order to summon all cabinet ministers, as well as the Minister of War and the Minister of Revenue, to the warm pavilion to discuss state affairs!"

Ma Bao knew this was a matter of utmost importance, so he dared not hesitate for a moment and quickly replied:

"Slave, you obey!"

He then took the lead and ran away.

Afterwards, Zhu Cilang rode in a sedan chair to the palace.

The heated sedan chair was warm and comfortable, a stark contrast to the cold outside.

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Emperor Chongzhen was lying comfortably on the large bed in Empress Zhou's bedroom.

It must be said that this year was the most comfortable winter that Emperor Chongzhen had ever experienced.

Because this winter, he no longer needs to worry about any political affairs, or whether anyone will bother him for other reasons.

This would have been virtually impossible in the past.

Previously, he had to deal with mountains of memorials every day, as well as various tedious government affairs, such as the military pay and provisions of troops in various regions, the salaries of officials, and disaster relief.

But now, Zhu Cilang has solved all these problems for him.

The current imperial court has not only made up for all the previously owed military pay and salaries, but also prepared ample provisions. It has even won several battles and expanded its territory considerably.

The Ming Dynasty was relatively stable across the country, showing signs of a revival!

This made Chongzhen feel as if he had been freed from heavy shackles, and he was completely relaxed.

Even without Zhu Cilang's explicit instructions, Chongzhen had no intention of attending court.

After all, I've been working hard for over a decade, it's time to relax.

Therefore, the recent court assemblies have been presided over by Zhu Cilang, the Crown Prince who is in charge of the country, and Chongzhen has not even shown his face.

However, the civil and military officials were used to this.

After all, it was clear to everyone that Chongzhen no longer wanted to be emperor. Now, all he had to do was wait for the crown prince to come of age before he would abdicate in his favor.

The ministers in the court were all discussing this matter privately.

Those who knew the inside story thought it was a good thing, after all, the crown prince was young and promising, and was fully capable of leading the Ming Dynasty to prosperity.

However, some people who were unaware of the inside story felt that this was not a good thing. They worried that the crown prince was young and inexperienced, and that it might cause new turmoil.

Of course, this was not something Chongzhen should worry about.
All he has to do now is enjoy his 'retirement' life!
But then again, Emperor Chongzhen was only in his early thirties, which was still in his prime.

Since they don't want to get involved in politics, they must find something else to pass the time.

In the depths of the palace, Emperor Chongzhen's way of passing the time was quite simple: to have children!

Recently, in addition to favoring Empress Zhou and several concubines in the harem, Emperor Chongzhen has also favored two palace maids. These maids are all beautiful, gentle and graceful, and they serve Emperor Chongzhen very well.

This made Chongzhen feel even more pleased, and he estimated that it wouldn't be long before he would give Zhu Cilang a few more younger brothers and sisters.

Empress Zhou didn't care about such things at all, and even took the initiative to promote the two palace maids who had been favored by Emperor Chongzhen to the rank of concubine.

Because as early as when Zhu Cilang rebelled, Empress Zhou's heart was no longer with Emperor Chongzhen.

All she cares about now is her son!

As long as her son can successfully inherit the throne, she will always be the one in charge of the harem. To put it bluntly, sometimes even Emperor Chongzhen has to listen to her, the empress!

Of course, at this time, Chongzhen was unaware of these things; all he could think about was how to 'have children'!
Suddenly, at that moment, Wang Chengen, who was outside the door, whispered a report:

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has arrived. He says he has important matters to discuss with you."

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was speechless for a moment.

You should know that although it was morning, he hadn't actually gotten out of bed yet! In fact, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he didn't plan to get out of bed today.

But with Zhu Cilang's arrival, he probably has no choice but to get up.

Compared to Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou had already finished dressing and grooming herself early in the morning. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly urged him on:

"Your Majesty, Lang'er must have something important to tell you. You'd better get up quickly."

Upon hearing this, Chongzhen reluctantly began to put on his clothes with the help of a group of palace maids.

After busying himself with preparations, Chongzhen dressed himself properly, washed his face briefly, and then went to the front hall to let Zhu Cilang in.

Zhu Cilang had been waiting at the door for quite some time.

After all, he had already reconciled with Chongzhen, so he naturally had to give Chongzhen some face and couldn't just barge into Kunning Palace at the drop of a hat.

What if Emperor Chongzhen was having an affair with Empress Zhou, and I happened to see it? That would be too much to bear.

After all, these two are his parents, and he still needs to respect their privacy.

Upon seeing Emperor Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang hurriedly and respectfully bowed and said:

"My son has met my father."

Empress Zhou knew that the father and son had important matters to discuss, so she stayed in her bedroom in the rear palace and did not appear.

Seeing Zhu Cilang bowing to him with great respect, Chongzhen felt somewhat awkward.

But then he added:
"There are no outsiders here, so why are you and I, father and son, being so polite? Tell me, what's the matter this time?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang became even less polite. He straightened up and said, "Just now, I received an urgent message from Sun Chuanting from Shaanxi. I don't know if it's good or bad, so please take a look, Father."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang took out the memorial sent by Sun Chuanting via express courier from his bosom and handed it to Chongzhen.

What does it mean to not know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing?

Emperor Chongzhen was also puzzled by this. He sat up slightly and reached out to take the memorial.

He then slowly opened the memorial, his eyes quickly scanning the words on it.

After watching for a while, Chongzhen was overjoyed. His slightly furrowed brows relaxed instantly, and his eyes sparkled with excitement. He then exclaimed "Good!" three times.

Because Emperor Chongzhen saw that Luo Rucai's attempt to surrender to the court had caused a major upheaval in Li Zicheng's army, ultimately resulting in the deaths and injuries of around 130,000 people!
This was indeed good news for Emperor Chongzhen!
After all, no peasant army leader had ever truly surrendered to the imperial court before. Luo Rucai should be considered the first. Moreover, there should be no feigned surrender this time, since the cost of using 130,000 men to feign surrender would be too high.

But soon, Chongzhen's smiling face suddenly froze, and then the smile gradually disappeared, replaced by a solemn expression.

Because he saw in Sun Chuanting's letter that these 100,000 wounded and disabled people gathered under the walls of Tongguan, crying and shouting that they wanted to surrender to the imperial court.

Faced with this situation, Sun Chuanting naturally could not refuse them, because if he did, he would be disobeying the imperial edict, and it would also cause all 100,000 people to starve to death under the walls of Tongguan.

Therefore, Sun Chuanting ordered the city gates to be opened, and accepted the 100,000 wounded and disabled civilians.

Following this, Sun Chuanting devised various methods to urgently procure grain and requested the imperial court to allocate grain.

After reading the contents of this memorial, Emperor Chongzhen remained silent for a long time.

He lowered his head slightly, his eyes somewhat vacant, as if lost in thought.

Although he was pleased that Luo Rucai had inflicted such heavy losses on Li Zicheng's peasant army, he also felt deep sympathy for the people.

After all, these people are also his subjects.

They were originally law-abiding farmers, but were forced to join Li Zicheng's rebellion because they couldn't afford to eat.

Now that they have surrendered to the imperial court, they are naturally his subjects again.

However, the food problem is indeed a major issue, and if it is not resolved as soon as possible, these people may not live much longer.

Thinking of this, Chongzhen felt a heavy weight in his heart, as if a large stone was pressing down on it.

After a moment, Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cilang with a grim expression and asked in a low voice:
How do you plan to resolve this matter?

Zhu Cilang said directly:
“It’s very simple. If Sun Chuanting wants grain, give him grain. In addition to grain, cotton and medicine are also essential.”

"In short, give them whatever they need, and do everything possible to help as many people survive! Let them see the court's determination to treat them well!"

His tone was firm and decisive, and his eyes revealed a sense of confidence and responsibility.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. He felt that Zhu Cilang's words made a lot of sense, and that at this time, the hearts and minds of the people in Shaanxi and Henan were still very important.

Then he suddenly remembered something and continued:

"By the way, given what has happened in the Northwest, perhaps we should cancel my birthday banquet this time. I think the two million taels of silver saved can be directly allocated to Sun Chuanting in Shaanxi, so that he can use the money to treat those people. It would be a good deed for the people on my behalf!"

Although Emperor Chongzhen also longed for a proper birthday celebration to demonstrate the current strength of the Ming Dynasty.

However, compared to his birthday celebration, Chongzhen was more concerned about the lives of these 100,000 people.

If his birthday banquet could bring peace to these 100,000 people, Chongzhen felt that the birthday celebration was not so bad.

However, Zhu Cilang shook his head upon hearing this.

“Father, there’s no need for that. These are two separate matters and should not be confused.”

"Besides, the court is not short of money now. These two things can be done at the same time. Moreover, the news about the Emperor's birthday has already been sent out, and the princes and ministers in various regions, as well as the envoys from various countries, are all aware of it."

"If we go back on our word now, it will be too late."

As Zhu Cilang spoke, he looked intently at Chongzhen.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen had no choice but to give up. He sighed softly, a hint of helplessness in his eyes.

Then he continued:

"Even so, I still feel uneasy. Therefore, in addition to allocating the necessary grain, medicine and cotton, I will also allocate one million taels of silver from the Imperial Treasury to Sun Chuanting to settle these people. This will be my way of showing my appreciation."

"how do you feel?"

As Chongzhen spoke, he looked at Zhu Cilang with a questioning look in his eyes.

After all, Chongzhen hadn't forgotten that he couldn't use the imperial treasury's money right now, so this matter still required Zhu Cilang's approval.

When Zhu Cilang heard this, he naturally agreed without hesitation.

He smiled and said:

"Father is wise. With your good intentions, the people will surely feel the care of the court and will be more law-abiding."

Zhu Cilang then continued:

"There is one more thing. I have just ordered all the cabinet ministers and several ministers to go to the warm pavilion. I think I should inform them about this matter."

"If Father has nothing to do, please come along!"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen nodded and said:

"In that case, I will accompany you on this journey!"

In fact, Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen had already discussed this matter, so there was no need to consult with others; they could simply issue the order.

But things are not that simple at all.

After all, everything has to follow rules. In the Ming Dynasty, such an important matter would definitely need to be discussed with the cabinet ministers and the various ministers.

Not long after, Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen arrived at the warm pavilion.

The warm room was decorated very cozyly, with exquisite calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, thick carpets on the floor, and a charcoal fire burning brightly, so there was no feeling of cold at all.

Meanwhile, a group of ministers were already waiting in the warm pavilion!
Upon seeing Zhu Cilang and Chongzhen arrive together, the ministers hurriedly bowed and said:
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty and Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

The voice was quite loud.

Emperor Chongzhen walked to the main seat and sat down, then waved his hand and said:
"All my beloved subjects, rise."

Upon hearing this, the ministers stood up, but their faces showed a hint of doubt, wondering why the emperor and the crown prince had suddenly summoned them.

But their intuition told them that this was definitely not a small matter!

(End of this chapter)