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

The 'Great Ming Military Academy' they were going to was actually the so-called Imperial Guard Martial Arts Academy!

After a series of sweeping reforms, the Imperial Guard Martial Arts Academy has now undergone a complete transformation.

It also adopted a management style similar to that of later military academies, which was rigorous and orderly.

Moreover, this place is not a place that just anyone can enter at will; those who can appear here are mostly the best among the imperial family members.

They all held important positions such as officers in Zhu's army.

Zhu Cilang did not expect all these members of the imperial clan to become invincible generals, but he hoped that they would at least not become weak and incompetent cowards, and that they would be able to step forward and serve the Ming Dynasty at critical moments.

Meanwhile, Prince Zhu Yujian of Tang was giving Zhu Cilang a detailed report on the current situation of the Zhu family army.

When the Zhu Family Army was first established, it originally had more than 20,000 members.

However, after rigorous training and assessment, it was found that some people did not meet the requirements, as they were not competent in either military skills or physical fitness.

Therefore, these people were eliminated.

Now, the remaining Zhu Family Army of the Ming Dynasty probably only has more than 18,000 men left!

Of course, those who were eliminated were not wasted; they were directly transferred to logistics or to do some relatively simple jobs.

After all, they have been living in the capital for a while, eating and drinking well. If they were to be sent back to their hometowns now, they would definitely not want to leave.

The situation in the Ming Dynasty is currently turbulent. Apart from the area around the capital, which is relatively stable, other places are either plagued by peasant uprisings or natural disasters. If they go back, wouldn't they just be waiting to die?

It's better to stay in the capital; at least there's still a way to survive!
As they were talking, Zhu Cilang suddenly stopped, turned around, looked at the Tang Emperor, and asked:

"Uncle Tang, in just over a month, the army will be heading to Sichuan to fight the rebel leader Li Zicheng. Who do you think would be the best leader for Zhu Family Army?"

Ok?
Upon hearing this, the Tang emperor was momentarily speechless, his face showing surprise and confusion.

If he remembered correctly, Zhu Cilang had previously told him to lead the Zhu family army to fight a decisive battle against Li Zicheng, so why would he ask such a question now?
Did Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Zhu Cilang still not trust him?
Thinking of this, the Tang King felt a pang of unease, and then cautiously said:
"Your Highness, this matter should be decided by His Majesty. I dare not say anything more. I only wish to follow the arrangements of His Majesty and Your Highness and do my duty to the Ming Dynasty."

That was a perfectly watertight statement!

Zhu Cilang smiled at the Tang Emperor's nervous expression and then comforted him:

"Uncle Tang, your overly cautious manner is rather pointless. Fine, I will speak for you what you dare not say."

"Are you trying to say that I clearly told you before that I would let you lead the Zhu Family Army of the Ming Dynasty to fight Li Zicheng, so why are you asking this question now? Is it because I don't trust you?"

Upon hearing this, the Tang Emperor was startled and quickly bowed, saying:

"Your Highness, please understand! I would never dare to have such a thought. I am loyal to Your Majesty and Your Highness and would never dare to have the slightest disloyalty."

As he spoke, he was about to kneel down and beg for forgiveness.

Before he could kneel down, Zhu Cilang reached out to stop him and continued:
"Uncle Tang, rest assured, my father and I absolutely trust you. This is not a test, but rather I have suddenly had some other ideas."

Upon hearing this, the Tang King secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully the Crown Prince hadn't misunderstood him.

But the next second he suddenly thought of something, his eyes widened instantly, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Your Highness, does His Majesty intend to personally lead another expedition this time?"

The Tang Emperor couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

At first, the Tang emperor was only focused on being afraid and did not understand the hidden meaning in Zhu Cilang's words.

But upon closer reflection, he suddenly realized what was going on.

The reason Zhu Cilang said this was probably because Emperor Chongzhen wanted to personally lead an expedition again!
But thinking about it, it makes sense. After all, this army was composed of members of the Zhu family, and there was no one more suitable than Emperor Chongzhen.

If Emperor Chongzhen had been able to personally lead the army into battle, it would have undoubtedly had a tremendous effect on boosting the morale and combat effectiveness of the troops.

But it's clear that the Tang emperor was overthinking things.

Because Emperor Chongzhen never liked to personally lead military campaigns, he was naturally suspicious and somewhat indecisive, and always felt that personally leading military campaigns was too risky.

If anything goes wrong, the Ming Dynasty's empire will be in grave danger.

Even the last trip to Liaodong was somewhat coerced by Zhu Cilang.

Moreover, in Chongzhen's view, the defeat of the peasant army was already a foregone conclusion, so there was even less need for him to personally lead the expedition.

Sure enough, the next second, Zhu Cilang shook his head and said:
"You're wrong. His Majesty has no intention of personally leading the army this time."

Upon hearing this, the Tang king was immediately bewildered and filled with doubt.

Since Emperor Chongzhen does not intend to personally lead the expedition, what was the meaning behind what His Highness the Crown Prince just said?
Just as the Tang Emperor was lost in thought, Zhu Cilang suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at the Tang Emperor with a deep gaze, saying:
"Uncle Tang, what do you think of me?"

Upon hearing this, the Tang King finally realized what was happening and was utterly shocked!
How could he have forgotten about the young master in front of him?
It should be noted that besides Emperor Chongzhen, there was another person who was more suitable to lead the Zhu Family Army of the Ming Dynasty!
This person is the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, who will be the next emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
At the same time, it was also the prince standing in front of him!
To be honest, from any perspective, Zhu Cilang was indeed suitable to lead the Ming Dynasty's Zhu Family Army to fight a decisive battle against Li Zicheng.

However, the Tang king still had some concerns. After all, the crown prince was the heir apparent, and it would be too much of an exaggeration for the emperor to personally lead the expedition.

Then, after organizing his thoughts, the Tang king spoke:

"Your Highness, please forgive my words, but you are the heir apparent of the country, with an extremely noble status. You must not put yourself in any danger."

"If anything were to happen to His Highness the Crown Prince, it would be a great loss, and I'm afraid His Majesty would not agree to this matter."

Upon hearing this, a barely perceptible smile flashed in Zhu Cilang's eyes.

It's only because this Prince Tang was unaware of the true situation that he said such a thing. If he had known that the Ming Dynasty was now entirely under the control of Zhu Cilang, he probably wouldn't have said such a thing.

It's fair to say that if Zhu Cilang wanted to personally lead an expedition, no one could stop him!
Of course, Zhu Cilang's idea was not a whim, but the result of careful consideration.

Zhu Cilang then walked forward with his hands behind his back, his steps steady and firm.

He said as he walked:
"Uncle Tang, the reason I want to do this is not because of a whim, but because of a variety of factors."

"First and foremost, although the purpose of this trip is to fight the rebels, the main objective is not to fight them, but to persuade them to surrender."

The Tang emperor was slightly taken aback and asked:

"Persuade him to surrender? Why would Your Highness have such an idea?"

Zhu Cilang stopped and then slowly said:

"After all, those peasant soldiers were also subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty. They were forced to rebel with Li Zicheng because of their livelihood."

"Now that the situation in the Ming Dynasty is gradually stabilizing and the court is actively implementing a series of policies to benefit the people, killing them now would not be of any benefit to the Ming Dynasty."

"Therefore, aside from those who are destined to die, it would be best to persuade the remaining peasant soldiers to surrender, so that the imperial court would suffer fewer casualties." The Tang Emperor nodded, but then added with considerable worry:
"Your Highness is absolutely right, but persuading them to surrender is not an easy task, especially Li Zicheng's old camp. After all, many of them participated in the massacre of the Ming imperial family members, and they even joined Li Zicheng in destroying my Zhu family's ancestral graves."

"Under these circumstances, they would certainly be unwilling to surrender, fearing that the imperial court would seek revenge later."

Zhu Cilang smiled faintly and said:
"What Uncle Tang said is correct, so at this time, we need someone of high status to promise them that they will not be blamed for what happened before and to forgive all their past sins!"

"But if you, Uncle Tang, were to say these things, would they believe you?"

The Tang king fell silent, knowing in his heart that he was indeed not qualified to make such a promise.

Although his current status among the imperial clan is not low, in the eyes of the peasant army, he is just an ordinary prince of the Zhu family.

They wouldn't easily believe the court wouldn't hold them accountable just because of a single statement they made.

But it was different for Zhu Cilang, because he was the crown prince and the heir apparent, and his promise was second only to the emperor's edict!
Just then, Zhu Cilang continued:

"In addition, the number of people involved in this operation exceeded 200,000, and if the transport workers are included, the number exceeds 500,000."

"It also included Zhu Jiajun's army, the Beijing garrison, the Qin army, the Sichuan army, and even many soldiers from ethnic minorities. These armies came from different regions and had different cultures and fighting styles."

“In such an environment, it is not easy to get them to unite against the peasant army. It requires a person of sufficient weight to be in charge so that they can coordinate and fight together.”

"And besides Your Majesty, I'm afraid only I am qualified."

At this point, the Tang emperor was completely convinced by Zhu Cilang.

Looking into Zhu Cilang's determined eyes, he couldn't help but admire him secretly, because what Zhu Cilang said made perfect sense!

He even felt that Zhu Cilang absolutely had to go if they wanted to win this war!
Even so, the Tang Emperor still harbored some concerns that Emperor Chongzhen might send Zhu Cilang to Sichuan.

"But Your Highness, would His Majesty agree? After all, you are the Crown Prince, and His Majesty certainly wouldn't want you to take such a risk."

Zhu Cilang smiled confidently and said:

"Uncle Tang, rest assured, His Majesty will definitely agree."

After hearing this, the Tang emperor could no longer say anything.

Although Zhu Cilang had made up his mind to personally go to the Sichuan area to fight the final battle against Li Zicheng.

However, putting this into practice is far from as easy as one might imagine.

The most pressing challenge was to persuade Emperor Chongzhen and the highly respected ministers in the cabinet.

Logically speaking, given Zhu Cilang's current status and position, no one would dare to oppose any decision he made, not even Emperor Chongzhen!
But doing so is somewhat coercive to them, and they will inevitably feel some resentment.

If we can get them to agree to this matter willingly, many subsequent matters will go much more smoothly, and we can save a lot of unnecessary trouble.

This also ensures that during his absence from the capital, the court's various national policies can be smoothly implemented.

After all, the Ming Dynasty has gradually shown signs of stability after weathering many storms.

Those officials who deserved to be killed or punished had already been largely purged during the previous turmoil.

The rest cannot all be called virtuous and loyal ministers, but they can be considered capable ministers who can get things done!
Zhu Cilang relied on them quite a bit, and he couldn't easily use forceful means to coerce them, so he could only try to persuade them!

Even a prince must persuade others with reason!
That day, after having breakfast, Zhu Cilang was pondering whether he should first meet with Li Banghua, the Minister of War, and tell him about his plan to go to Sichuan.
After all, Li Banghua is quite prestigious in the court. If we can persuade him first, and then let him persuade others, it will surely be much more effective.

Zhu Cilang sat at the table, his fingers tapping lightly on the surface, his mind constantly pondering the words and strategies to persuade Li Banghua.

However, before he could take any action, a series of hurried footsteps broke the silence in the room.

The next second, Ma Bao hurriedly walked in and reported:

"Your Highness, Minister of War Li Banghua requests an audience."

what?
Zhu Cilang was slightly taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

He really didn't expect that just when he was thinking of going to see Li Banghua, Li Banghua would take the initiative to come to his door.

But he quickly came to his senses and hurriedly said:

"Invite him in quickly."

Upon hearing the order, Ma Bao hurriedly left the room.

Before long, Li Banghua appeared before Zhu Cilang.

Although it was almost February, the winter chill had not completely dissipated, and the weather was still terribly cold.

Moreover, not long ago, a heavy snowfall descended upon the land, covering the entire capital city in silver and making the weather even colder.

Therefore, as soon as Li Banghua entered the door, he couldn't help but sneeze.

The sneeze sounded unusually loud in the quiet room, making Li Banghua feel a little embarrassed.

But Zhu Cilang didn't care about these trivial matters, and instead hurriedly gave instructions to Ma Bao, who was standing to the side.

"Ma Bao, go and get a bowl of ginger tea to warm up Lord Li."

Upon hearing this, Ma Bao quickly said:

"The slaves obey."

After saying this, he hurriedly retreated.

Upon hearing Zhu Cilang's words, Li Banghua's face was filled with gratitude, and he quickly bowed and said:

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

Zhu Cilang waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down, and then asked gently:
"What brings Minister Li here today?"

Zhu Cilang planned to let Li Banghua finish telling his story first, and then find a suitable time to express his desire to personally lead the expedition.

Li Banghua was unaware of the complex thoughts in Zhu Cilang's mind. Upon hearing Zhu Cilang's question, he quickly pulled a document from his wide sleeve and said:

"Your Highness, I have come here on official business. This is a memorial from General Lin Zhaoding of Guizhou. Please take a look."

A memorial from the General of Guizhou?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang became quite interested and unconsciously sat up straighter.

He then quickly took the folded document, opened it, and began to read it carefully.

As his gaze moved across the memorial, Zhu Cilang's expression gradually became somewhat strange. (End of Chapter)