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

The leading officer and soldier was Zhang Xun, a guerrilla general under Sun Chuanting, who was also the supreme commander of these 5,000 men.

Upon hearing the shouts, Zhang Xun quickly stopped the soldiers who were about to fire, thus preventing a massacre from taking place!
Otherwise, if even one person fires, the rest of the soldiers will fire without hesitation!
Immediately afterwards, the surviving peasant soldiers knelt before the Ming army.

After questioning one of the peasant soldiers, Zhang Xun finally understood what had just happened!
To be honest, at this moment Zhang Xun really wanted to order all these people to be killed, because they had gone mad and were no longer like humans, but like wild beasts!
In a fight for some food, 20,000 people killed each other, and only 3,000 survived!

But he can't do that.
Firstly, there was an imperial edict stating that if the peasant army surrendered, they must accept it and were not allowed to harm the peasant army again.

Secondly, he couldn't bear it, since these people were ultimately just trying to survive.

In these chaotic times, everyone is struggling to survive; they are merely victims!

Thinking of this, Zhang Xun had no choice but to order the army to stop and then begin to rescue the peasant soldiers who were still alive.

As for pursuing Li Zicheng, they were not in a hurry, because Li Zicheng was too slow. Even if they were given two days to run, they could catch up.

After calming down the surviving peasant soldiers, Zhang Xun showed them a way to survive.

"Go back along the same route. You will encounter Ming soldiers stationed along the way. They will tell you what to do next and give you food!"

Upon hearing this, the surviving peasant soldiers were filled with gratitude towards Zhang Xun, and then they all swarmed back along the route they had come from.

Of course, Zhang Xun wasn't lying to them, because there were indeed a large number of Ming troops stationed behind their lines.

Because these 5,000 men had to keep pursuing and harassing Li Zicheng's army, but they couldn't carry too much food, their rear was constantly being supplied with food to provide logistical support for them.

If these surviving civilians were to encounter the Ming troops stationed there, they would naturally be able to survive.

However, they will likely not be able to return to Shaanxi or Henan for the time being, and will instead be directly absorbed by the Ming army as transport workers to carry grain.

This is how we dealt with all the peasant armies we encountered in these mountains before!

Then, after glancing once more at the corpses scattered on the ground, Zhang Xun sighed inwardly.

If they had arrived earlier, probably not so many people would have died!
But there was nothing they could do about it; after all, the enemy outnumbered them, and they dared not get too close to the peasant army when they were stationed at night.

As for these corpses, they could only be handed over to the Ming army behind them for disposal, since they were still busy harassing the peasant army!

"set off!"

At a command, the army set off again.

The scene then returns to the capital city.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang was sitting comfortably in the Eastern Palace, completely unaware of the thrilling story unfolding in the Qinling Mountains, thousands of miles away.

After all, the Qinling Mountains are separated from the capital by thousands of miles, making it difficult for news to be transmitted quickly.

However, based on his memories of traveling through the Qinling Mountains in his previous life, Zhu Cilang could roughly imagine the various situations that Li Zicheng and his peasant army would encounter when they entered the mountains.

In his previous life, when he went to the Qinling Mountains, even though flat and wide cement roads had been built there, the mountain roads were still narrow and winding, like a serpentine snake weaving through the dense forest, making travel extremely inconvenient.

Moreover, this is four hundred years ago.

Given that it's currently the dead of winter, I'm afraid many more people will die.
However, Zhu Cilang was helpless in this matter, since it was Li Zicheng who made the decision, and it had nothing to do with him.

On this day, the sunlight lazily spilled into the courtyard of the East Palace, adding a touch of warmth to the chilly winter day.

Zhu Cilang had just finished lunch and was sitting comfortably at his desk in the warm pavilion, casually flipping through an ancient book, pondering what he should do to pass the time.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

The next second, Ma Bao rushed in looking flustered.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang, Ma Bao hurriedly said in a trembling voice:
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! Eunuch Wang just sent someone to say that His Majesty is coming very soon."

Is Emperor Chongzhen coming?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his lips.

Then he looked at Ma Bao and said:
"So what if they come? What's the big deal?"

In fact, Zhu Cilang already knew that Chongzhen would come to the Eastern Palace, but he didn't know whether it would be today or tomorrow!

Just yesterday, he went to the palace to pay his respects to Empress Zhou and Emperor Chongzhen.

During a casual conversation, Zhu Cilang inadvertently mentioned that he was building greenhouses in the Eastern Palace.

When he heard that all kinds of vegetables, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and wheat in the greenhouses were ripe, Chongzhen looked incredulous, as if he had heard a fairy tale.

After all, it was the dead of winter, when everything was withered and dying. Emperor Chongzhen found it hard to believe that Zhu Cilang could grow grain at this time.

However, this cannot be blamed on Chongzhen. Although Chongzhen knew that the Ming imperial family had a long tradition of using hot springs and greenhouses to grow vegetables, he had never heard of using such things to grow grain!

Seeing the disbelief on Chongzhen's face, Zhu Cilang smiled and said:

"If Father doesn't believe me, come and see for yourself tomorrow."

After a moment's thought, Emperor Chongzhen readily agreed, leading to the scene that is about to unfold.

At the same time, seeing Zhu Cilang's calm and composed expression, Ma Bao finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

After all, as far as he knew, the emperor had never visited the Eastern Palace before!

This is truly the first time!
During the Ming Dynasty, the Eastern Palace was not always located within the Forbidden City; its location changed with historical periods and adjustments to the palace's planning.

However, most of the time, the Eastern Palace was still located within the Imperial Palace. Initially, it was the Wenhua Hall, then the Duanben Palace, and later the Ciqing Palace.

The crown prince spent his days here studying classics, history, philosophy, and literature, handling government affairs, and maintaining close relationships with the emperor and court officials.

However, because the emperor did not value the crown princes, their Eastern Palace was gradually moved outside the palace.

For example, Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Houcong, was obsessed with Taoism. Because a Taoist priest predicted that "two dragons will not meet," he avoided meeting Emperor Longqing, Zhu Zaiji, for a long time and moved the Eastern Palace out of the palace, which led to a estrangement between father and son.

For example, Emperor Shenzong Zhu Yijun and Crown Prince Zhu Changluo disagreed on the "succession dispute" and moved the Eastern Palace out of the palace.

When Zhu Cilang transmigrated, he had many ambitions and plans in his heart, so it was impossible for him to live in the palace. After all, there were many rules there and it was inconvenient to move around. So it was only natural for him to live outside the palace.

Getting back to the main point, since it was Emperor Chongzhen who was coming, Zhu Cilang naturally couldn't be negligent.

So he quickly gave orders to everyone in the Eastern Palace to prepare to welcome Chongzhen.

Even Zheng Xiaomei and Qiqige dressed up carefully to welcome Chongzhen's arrival.

There was no other way; after all, Chongzhen was the emperor, the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty, and they had to give him this much face.

Sure enough, Emperor Chongzhen arrived shortly afterward. However, to everyone's surprise, he did not ride in the imperial carriage or even a sedan chair. Instead, he arrived dressed in simple civilian clothes, accompanied by Wang Chengen and a few guards.

Of course, Wang Chengen and his guards were also dressed in civilian clothes, and at first glance they looked like the attendants of some wealthy man.

However, this was only a facade; behind the scenes, countless Imperial Guards were secretly protecting Emperor Chongzhen!
After all, the Embroidered Uniform Guard wouldn't dare let Chongzhen walk out of the palace so openly.

Upon seeing the emperor arrive, Zhu Cilang immediately led everyone to bow down in reverence.

"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."

"This servant greets Your Majesty."

Immediately afterwards, a large group of people knelt down.

Emperor Chongzhen smiled and raised his hand, his face beaming with a kind smile as he said:
"Rise, all of you. I have come incognito this time, so there is no need for such a grand ceremony!"

Upon hearing this, everyone slowly stood up, their hearts filled with even more respect for the emperor's affability.

Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen strode into the Eastern Palace.

As soon as he entered the Eastern Palace, Chongzhen couldn't wait to ask:

"Your Highness, didn't you say before that the grain you planted in the Eastern Palace was ripe? Quickly take me to see it."

His tone was full of anticipation and curiosity.

Zhu Cilang felt somewhat helpless upon hearing this. He had thought that since Chongzhen had come all this way, he should at least rest and have a cup of tea first. However, he did not expect that Chongzhen would go straight to see the greenhouses as soon as he arrived.

However, since Chongzhen had spoken, Zhu Cilang had no reason to refuse, and then said:

"Father, please come with me."

Afterwards, the group arrived in a grand procession at the back garden of the East Palace.

Immediately afterwards, an enormous greenhouse appeared before everyone.

This greenhouse truly deserves the description "enormous".

Because it occupies a full acre of land!

Simply put, it is over fifty meters long and over thirteen meters wide!
This scale might not seem like much in later generations, but it was extremely large during the Ming Dynasty!
Even Emperor Chongzhen was amazed by the sheer size of the greenhouse.

Meanwhile, several farmers who were busy working inside the greenhouse had received an imperial decree that Emperor Chongzhen was coming, so they waited at the greenhouse entrance early in the morning.

These farmers were all simple, honest men, dressed in coarse cotton clothes, with kind smiles on their faces.

Upon seeing Zhu Cilang arrive with Emperor Chongzhen, the group quickly knelt down and shouted in unison:
"This humble subject greets Your Majesty and the Crown Prince."

Although Emperor Chongzhen was not wearing a dragon robe today, who else but the emperor could have Zhu Cilang by his side?
During the three months they spent in the Eastern Palace, they learned quite a few 'skills'!
Emperor Chongzhen looked at the farmers before him and said in a very amiable tone:

"Rise, there's no need for such formalities."

The group stood up, but their bodies were still trembling slightly, their eyes filled with awe and tension.

There was nothing they could do; the person before them was the emperor!
Just then, Zhu Cilang spoke:

"Open the door, His Majesty wishes to go in and see for himself."

Upon hearing this, several people hurriedly stepped forward and carefully opened the greenhouse door.

The door creaked softly, as if telling of the mystery that was about to be unveiled.

The next second, Chongzhen walked straight in.

Zhu Cilang then addressed the crowd behind him:

"You shouldn't come in. Just wait outside."

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly agreed, and then Zhu Cilang went inside as well.

There was no other way; he was really afraid that so many people coming in at once would trample the plants inside, so he decided to let them wait outside.
When Zhu Cilang entered, he saw Chongzhen staring blankly at the scene before him, as if he had been frozen in place.

What first appeared before them was a golden wheat field, planted with wheat.

The wheat ears were full and swayed gently on the stalks, as if showing people the joy of a bountiful harvest.

Next to the wheat was a potato field. The potato leaves were lush and green, and the potatoes on the ground were huge, like sleeping babies.

Next to the potatoes are sweet potatoes, their vines intertwined, forming a small green sea. The sweet potatoes underground must be big and sweet.

Further inside, various fresh vegetables are grown, including bright red tomatoes, fiery hot peppers, lush green cabbages, crisp cucumbers, and other vegetables.

To test the effects of greenhouses on other vegetables and crops, Zhu Cilang ordered the planting of various kinds of vegetables, which are now almost all ripe.

The vibrant scene before my eyes contrasted sharply with the icy, snowy world outside, as if they were two different worlds!

Suddenly, another wave of heat hit him, and Chongzhen snapped back to his senses.

But then came another wave of doubt, because the temperature inside the greenhouse was just too high.

Emperor Chongzhen frowned slightly, turned to Zhu Cilang beside him, and asked:
"How can the temperature in here be so high? I didn't notice it when I first came in, but after standing here for a while now, I feel unbearably hot."

Zhu Cilang patiently explained:

"Father, look at these walls. They are all made of special materials that can block out the cold outside and lock in the heat inside."

"In addition, there are several furnaces here that are constantly burning, providing a continuous source of heat."

As Zhu Cilang spoke, he casually pointed to several stoves nearby.

Chongzhen looked in the direction he was pointing and indeed saw several uniquely shaped stoves not far away, which seemed to be burning honeycomb briquettes.

Emperor Chongzhen nodded as if he had just realized something, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes.

Immediately afterwards, Chongzhen's gaze was drawn to the golden wheat field beside him.

Without saying a word, he walked straight to the wheat field, then reached out his right hand and plucked a plump ear of wheat.

The wheat ears looked exceptionally small in his hands, yet they contained boundless vitality.

This is food that can save lives! (End of Chapter)