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

Chapter 355 Look! There's a purebred traitor here!

At this moment, Zhu Cilang stood a meter away, staring intently at the tiger in the cage, his eyes unblinking, his face full of joy.

The two tigers were enormous, with golden fur covered in black stripes that resembled mysterious runes.

Their limbs are thick and powerful, and their claws are incredibly sharp, as if they could crush a person to pieces with a single swipe.

Two animal trainers stood beside the cage. They were not tall, but they appeared quite calm in the face of the two tigers.

It's important to know that the skill of taming tigers is usually passed down through generations. These families have been engaged in the work of taming wild beasts for generations, accumulating a wealth of experience.

However, because no tigers had been delivered for several years, the tiger trainers' skills had become somewhat rusty.

Therefore, standing next to the tiger, the two animal trainers were somewhat afraid.

But don't get me wrong, what they're afraid of isn't the tiger suddenly coming out of the cage, but rather that the tiger might frighten the prince in front of them.

If the tiger were to frighten the Crown Prince, they would be in serious trouble, and their families might even be implicated.

Fortunately, the tiger in the cage had eaten its fill, so it wasn't angry at the moment and was just lying lazily in the cage.

One of the smaller tigers was almost asleep, its eyes slightly closed, its mouth slightly open, emitting a soft purring sound, as if it were having a sweet dream.

The other, slightly larger tiger had its eyes open and occasionally stuck out its tongue to lick its paws, creating a peaceful scene.

Zhu Cilang watched with curiosity, feeling that the two tigers seemed a little too docile, so he tilted his head and asked:
"Why do these two tigers look so listless? Are they sick?"

Upon hearing this, a nearby animal trainer quickly stepped forward and respectfully said:
"Your Highness, these two tigers are not sick. The reason they are so well-behaved is that we fed them before we came. After they were full, they naturally didn't have the energy to cause any trouble."

"Just like how people get sleepy after eating too much, tigers are the same."

"Also, one of them is a tigress, and she's pregnant with cubs. She'll probably give birth in about two months."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang's interest was instantly rekindled.

Because he knew in his heart that he definitely couldn't get close to this big tiger. After all, tigers are wild and untamed, and he could get hurt if he wasn't careful.

But if the big tiger gives birth to cubs, then he'll have some fun with them.

He can feed them himself and watch them grow day by day; just thinking about it is interesting.

After all, not everyone has the ability to raise tigers.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang immediately gave the order:

"Listen carefully, from now on these two tigers are your responsibility. Make sure the cubs in the mother tiger's belly are born safely. If you need anything, just let us know."

Everyone needs a hobby, and from today onwards, Zhu Cilang's hobby is raising tigers!
Upon hearing this, the two animal trainers immediately knelt down and said in unison:

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will do our best to take care of these two tigers and ensure that the cubs are born safely."

The two animal trainers looked delighted as they said this.

You should know that ever since the palace stopped keeping tigers, they have been in a state of semi-unemployment. The court only gives them a small salary each month, which is just enough to keep them from starving.

To make a living, they have to find other jobs to survive.

what?
Why don't you just resign from your job in the palace?
Please, except for a few who are appointed by the imperial court, the job of animal taming is usually hereditary. How can you resign from this job?
Of course, none of that matters now, because they'll have work to do again.
Suddenly, Zhu Cilang inadvertently caught sight of a member of the Imperial Guard hurrying towards them from a distance.

He hesitated for a moment, as if he had something important to report, but seeing that the tiger was being teased, he did not dare to step forward rashly.

Just then, Zhu Cilang had grown tired of watching it and gave orders to the soldiers around him:
"Take these two tigers away."

Upon hearing this, the soldiers immediately stepped forward and carried away the body containing the two tigers.

As the soldiers gradually carried the two tigers away from the courtyard, Zhu Cilang waved to the Imperial Guard from before.

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guard hurriedly ran to Zhu Cilang and reported:

"Your Highness, we just received news from the Huitong Hall that Luo Rucai and Li Dingguo have met."

Zhu Cilang was not surprised at all when he heard this, as if it were all within his expectations.

That was indeed the case, because he already knew that Li Dingguo had also stayed at the Huitongguan after arriving in the capital, and the two of them lived not too far apart.

Therefore, it was only a matter of time before they met.

So Zhu Cilang asked with a smile:

"Have you found out what they talked about?"

The Imperial Guard continued:

"We found out. At first, they were talking about why the other was here and why they surrendered to the court. Both sides seemed very surprised."

"As for the matters discussed later, I have not yet investigated them clearly because I came here in a hurry to report."

Zhu Cilang nodded, and then said:
"Alright, I understand. Go and find out exactly what they discussed, then report back."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guard quickly replied:

"My minister obeys."

After saying this, he bowed again, then turned and left in a hurry.

At first glance, Zhu Cilang's actions seem like those of a surveillance maniac, constantly monitoring everyone in the capital.

His intelligence network is now like an invisible net, covering the entire capital city, and no movement can escape his eyes.

However, Zhu Cilang knew very well that Chongzhen had failed to make good use of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and lacked sufficient understanding of the situation inside and outside the court, which led to him being deceived by those around him and ultimately resulting in his being betrayed and abandoned by everyone.

Zhu Cilang would never suffer such a loss again!

Therefore, even if it means becoming a surveillance maniac, he would rather be someone who is abandoned by everyone and knows nothing about the situation.

He needed to be fully aware of everything that happened in the capital, because if he couldn't even control the capital, how could he control the whole country?

If Emperor Chongzhen had understood this principle back then, the Ming Dynasty probably wouldn't be in its current state.
For a moment, Zhu Cilang was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

Immediately afterward, just as he was about to go and chat with Zheng Xiaomei, another member of the Imperial Guard rushed in.

Zhu Cilang raised an eyebrow, pondering to himself:

What happened this time?

Without waiting for the other party to bow, Zhu Cilang asked directly:
"No need for formalities, just tell me what it is."

The Imperial Guard paused for a moment, but quickly said:
"Your Highness, it concerns the Jurchen envoy."

Ok?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately became interested.

He knew, of course, that the Jurchen envoys had come to the capital with Zheng Zhilong, but in his eyes, these Jurchen envoys were nothing but a bunch of clowns, so he didn't pay them much attention.

Unexpectedly, the Embroidered Uniform Guard came specifically to report their affairs. Could it be that these Jurchen envoys had caused some trouble in the capital?

Realizing this, Zhu Cilang quickly asked:
"Tell me quickly, what happened?" Immediately afterwards, the Imperial Guard recounted the general details of the matter.

It turned out that after the Jurchen envoys arrived in the capital yesterday, the Ministry of Rites arranged appropriate accommodations according to custom.

However, this very morning, a Jurchen envoy actually tried to see Yebushu!

It should be noted that Yebushu was no ordinary person; he was a hostage sent by Huang Taiji after the Battle of Songjin and had been under close surveillance by the court ever since.

At first glance, it seems that there is nothing unusual about the Jurchen envoy going to see the hostages sent by the Jurchens.

But in reality, there are much bigger problems involved.

Because hostages are hostages and envoys are envoys, the two cannot be confused.

They cannot meet in private without the permission of the imperial court.

Such private meetings could very well involve serious issues such as intelligence sharing and conspiracy planning.

Without the slightest hesitation, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who were lying in wait nearby decisively captured the Jurchen envoy and imprisoned him in the imperial prison.

However, they also knew that this matter involved foreign envoys and was of great importance. Even the Embroidered Uniform Guard did not have the authority to handle it on its own, so they came to ask Zhu Cilang for advice on how to deal with the matter.

Zhu Cilang was speechless after hearing the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He hadn't expected that even at this point, the Jurchens would still be doing such sneaky and unruly things.

To put it mildly, it's because they didn't understand the rules of the imperial court.

To put it more bluntly, they were trying to exchange intelligence and carry out some shady schemes in the capital.

After a moment, Zhu Cilang frowned and asked:

"Have you found out who this person is?"

The Imperial Guard replied:
"We've found out. His name is Sadak Mingan. We initially thought he was a pure-blooded Jurchen, but after interrogating him, we were surprised to find that he could speak Chinese, and he spoke it very well. He doesn't seem like an ordinary Jurchen."

"Later, according to his confession, he was not actually a pure-blooded Jurchen."

"His father was from Wenzhou, Zhejiang. More than 20 years ago, he led his entire clan to surrender to the Jurchens and then joined the Han Eight Banners."

"After he was born, he naturally became a bondservant of the Jurchens and even gave himself a Sinicized name, Xia Siyuan."

Xia Siyuan, Xia Siyuan
Zhu Cilang silently repeated the name to himself, and suddenly felt that it was indeed a typical name of a traitor.

This guy's two names reveal that he abandoned his Han Chinese identity and culture in order to pander to the Jurchens and was willing to become their lackey.

Then, Zhu Cilang continued to ask:

"Did you find out why he went to see Yebushu?"

The Imperial Guard continued:
"I found out that he was afraid his master had been wronged in my Great Ming, so he wanted to come and see him."

"I didn't believe his words at first, thinking it was just an excuse, so I subjected him to severe torture."

"In the end, it turned out that this guy wasn't lying. He really just wanted to see Yebushu. They even found some Jurchen specialties on him, saying they were for Yebushu so he wouldn't miss his hometown!"

After hearing these words, Zhu Cilang almost burst out laughing.

After all, such a loyal traitor is truly rare!
Xia Siyuan was willing to take such a great risk just to see his Jurchen master; his loyalty is truly commendable!

It almost moved Zhu Cilang to tears!
Just then, the Imperial Guard continued to ask:

"May I ask, Your Highness, how should this person be dealt with?"

Zhu Cilang came to his senses and then said calmly:
"After all, he is an envoy from another country, so there is no need to make a big fuss about it. You should release him when you get back."

He paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, then added:
"However, to be fair, I hate traitors the most, and this man deserves to die!"

"Take advantage of the night when no one is around, arrange for someone to kill him, and make sure it's done cleanly so that people can tell it was an accident."

The Imperial Guard was startled by these words and quickly replied:

"The minister obeys the order."

After saying this, he hurriedly took his leave.

Xia Siyuan, Xia Siyuan
Zhu Cilang repeated the name to himself twice more, and felt even more strongly that it was indeed the name of a traitor!
In the face of national righteousness, any act of betrayal is unforgivable.

If this guy is allowed to live, who knows what disgusting things he might do in the future, so it's better to kill him as soon as possible to prevent future troubles!

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was afternoon.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared at the gate of the East Palace.

This person was none other than Li Dingguo.

Li Dingguo stood not far away, looking up at the tall palace gate, his mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

In fact, Li Dingguo did not initially intend to visit Zhu Cilang at the Eastern Palace.

He felt that since he had already surrendered to the court, he should keep a low profile and there was no need to deliberately curry favor with His Highness the Crown Prince.

Moreover, deep down he also felt some disdain for such flattery.

However, when he spoke with Luo Rucai earlier, Luo Rucai advised him that it would be best to come and see the Crown Prince.

It was also said that although he surrendered to the court, his surrender was orchestrated by the Crown Prince.

In a sense, he is now considered one of the Crown Prince's men.

Now that I've finally made it to the capital, it would be unreasonable and inappropriate not to pay my respects to the Crown Prince.

After hearing Luo Rucai's words, Li Dingguo's heart wavered somewhat.

So after some thought, he finally decided to visit Zhu Cilang at the Eastern Palace.

Coming to his senses, Li Dingguo straightened his clothes before heading towards the East Palace.

As soon as he approached, he was stopped by the guards at the door.

"How dare you! This is the Eastern Palace! Get out of here at once!"

The guards stared intently at Li Dingguo, scrutinizing him from head to toe with serious expressions as if they were examining every possible threat he might pose.

Li Dingguo remained calm and unhurriedly took the waist token symbolizing his identity from his waist and handed it to the guard, saying:
"Please inform them that Li Dingguo, the Liaodong Guerrilla General, requests an audience with His Highness the Crown Prince."

Upon hearing this, the guard at the door took the waist token and examined it carefully.

After confirming that everything was correct, one of the guards bowed slightly to Li Dingguo and said respectfully:
"Please wait a moment, General. I will go in and inform His Highness the Crown Prince."

After saying that, he turned and hurriedly walked into the palace.

(End of this chapter)