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

In Li Banghua's view, the only suitable candidate at present is probably Sun Chuanting.

However, the Shaanxi and Henan areas had just stabilized and had incorporated over 100,000 peasant soldiers, so Sun Chuanting couldn't do without them at this time!
If the peasant army rebels again right after he leaves, that would be a real problem!
Although the risk is small, who can guarantee 100% certainty in such matters?
After hesitating for a long time, Li Banghua slowly raised his head, looking at Zhu Cilang with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and said:

"Your Highness, I cannot think of anyone suitable to be the commander-in-chief for this mission. I hope Your Highness will grant me some time so that I may investigate further."

Upon hearing Li Banghua's words, Zhu Cilang's lips curled up slightly, revealing a hint of cunning that was barely perceptible.

Because his plan finally succeeded!
The next second, Zhu Cilang said:

What do you think of me?

what?
This seemingly casual remark was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

Li Banghua felt a buzzing sound in his head and was instantly stunned!

He then looked at Zhu Cilang with an incredulous expression, his eyes full of astonishment.

As if asking:

Your Highness, are you joking?
Even Ma Bao, who had been silent the whole time, was shocked by these sudden words.

Seeing the shocked expressions on Li Banghua and Ma Bao's faces, Zhu Cilang remained calm and composed.

He picked up the teacup in front of him, took a small sip, then slowly set it down, and said calmly:
"Don't be so surprised. There's a reason why I said that."

"Firstly, the composition of the soldiers involved in this operation is too complex. No matter who is sent, it may not be able to control them, and it will be even more difficult to get them to cooperate in combat."

"Furthermore, although this time we are supposed to be going to fight Li Zicheng, I think we should focus on persuading him to surrender."

"But this time we are facing Li Zicheng's old troops. These people are loyal followers of Li Zicheng for many years, and most of them participated in all the things led by Li Zicheng, including digging up my Zhu family's ancestral graves and massacring the Ming imperial family."

"Under such circumstances, even if these people wanted to surrender, they dared not, because they were afraid that the imperial court would retaliate later."

"At this time, a person of sufficient stature is needed to step forward and pardon all their previous crimes. And besides His Majesty, there should be no one more suitable than me?"

It must be said that Zhu Cilang's words were indeed reasonable, well-founded, and clearly organized.

Li Banghua listened quietly, his expression changing constantly with Zhu Cilang's words.

However, Li Banghua was not stupid. As a veteran official who had been in the political arena for many years, he quickly realized that he seemed to have been tricked by the Crown Prince in front of him!

Because all the reasons Zhu Cilang just gave clearly weren't something he came up with on the spot!

The fluent logic and detailed analysis clearly demonstrate that it was the result of careful consideration!

It's likely that this prince had long planned to personally go to Sichuan to fight Li Zicheng to the death; he just happened to be there today.

Thinking of this, Li Banghua couldn't help but smile bitterly, a smile tinged with helplessness.

"Your Highness, this old minister feels that you actually planned to personally go to Sichuan to fight Li Zicheng from the very beginning?"

"I'm afraid even without this memorial from the Guizhou General, you would still insist on doing this, wouldn't you?"

Li Banghua asked slowly.

Zhu Cilang felt somewhat embarrassed upon hearing this.

He originally thought that with Li Banghua's intelligence, even if he figured it out, he wouldn't say it too explicitly.

After all, even a crown prince like him has his pride!

Unexpectedly, the old man didn't play by the rules and directly brought things to the forefront, which made him somewhat embarrassed.

Despite the awkwardness, the discussion still had to continue.

The next second, Zhu Cilang grinned.

"You've seen through me. Since that's the case, then I won't hide it from you anymore."

"I did indeed plan to personally go to Sichuan to fight Li Zicheng from the very beginning. After all, Li Zicheng is like a malignant tumor, deeply rooted in the land of the Ming Dynasty, constantly eroding the foundation of the Ming Dynasty."

"They even dug up my Zhu family's ancestral graves and killed my clansmen!"

"Therefore, I must personally confront him and fight him to the death, because Li Zicheng is not only a scourge to the Ming Dynasty, but also an enemy of the Ming imperial family."

Li Banghua listened quietly to Zhu Cilang's words, and couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for this young crown prince.

Then, as if he had thought of something else, he asked again:
"May I ask, Your Highness, has this matter been discussed with His Majesty?"

Zhu Cilang shook his head:
"Not yet, but I believe His Majesty will agree."

Li Banghua had no doubt about this, because based on his previous impressions, the Crown Prince must have done something extraordinary, which led Chongzhen to stop interfering in politics and hand over the reins of power to him.

Thinking of this, Li Banghua said again:
"If Your Majesty agrees to this matter, then I have no objections."

Seeing that things were going so smoothly, Zhu Cilang was naturally very happy.

Then, as if remembering something, he looked at Li Banghua and said:
"In that case, I'll trouble Minister Li to personally go and inform the other six ministers and the cabinet of this matter."

Li Banghua gave a bitter smile, his smile filled with helplessness and bitterness.

He felt he shouldn't have come today, not only because he had been tricked by Zhu Cilang, but also because he was being made to be the first to stick his neck out for others!

It's obvious that he'll be the one getting yelled at!
Thinking about this, Li Banghua felt a headache coming on.

But despite the headache, Li Banghua had no reason to refuse since Zhu Cilang had said so.
The next second, Li Banghua sat up straight and then cupped his hands in greeting:

"In that case, this old minister obeys!"

After discussing the specifics further, Li Banghua took his leave.

Looking at Li Banghua's somewhat hunched figure, Zhu Cilang felt a little embarrassed.

After all, Zhu Cilang felt somewhat reluctant to let a man in his seventies go through all that trouble for him.

However, as the saying goes, the capable should do more, so it is reasonable for those with ability to do more work!

Just after Li Banghua left, Ma Bao suddenly approached and cautiously asked:

"Your Highness, are you really going to Sichuan this time?"

His eyes were fixed on Zhu Cilang, filled with anticipation and curiosity.

Zhu Cilang rolled his eyes at Ma Bao, a hint of teasing in his gaze, and said:

"What, you have an opinion?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Bao quickly waved his hand and then said with a fawning expression:

"That's not what I meant. I wanted to ask who you're taking with you on your trip to Sichuan, and whether I should go with you."

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Cilang said, "The others are fine, but you should come with me."

This trip to Sichuan is for fighting, so it's impossible to bring women.

However, Zhu Cilang needed someone to take care of him, so Ma Bao was the most suitable.

Of course, in addition to Ma Bao, the Jingjun troops that Fang Zhenghua had previously trained should also be brought along.

Upon hearing Zhu Cilang's words, Ma Bao nodded happily, his smile as radiant as a blooming flower.

It's worth noting that eunuchs also had idols; their most admired figure was Zheng He, the famous eunuch known as the "Three Treasures Eunuch"!
Following Zhu Cilang into battle, Ma Bao felt he could become like Zheng He.

Then he said excitedly:

"Then this servant will go and prepare now."

After saying this, Ma Bao ran off excitedly.

Zhu Cilang shook his head helplessly, because there was still plenty of time!
However, Zhu Cilang's mood suddenly improved again very quickly.

He stood up, walked to the window, opened it, and took a breath of fresh air.

He knew that with Li Banghua's agreement, the rest would proceed smoothly.

Although there might be some dissenting voices among the court officials, as long as he sticks to his decision, and with the support of Emperor Chongzhen, the six ministers, and the cabinet, things should not encounter too many setbacks.

Of course, he also had to inform Emperor Chongzhen about this matter.

Moreover, judging by the timeline, he probably wouldn't be able to make it in time for the Empress to give birth.

Empress Zhou is now five months pregnant, and if he were to go to Sichuan, the round trip plus the time spent fighting would take at least six months.

In other words, by the time he returns, his younger sibling will probably be two or three months old.

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang couldn't help but laugh.

He was actually looking forward to the birth of this younger brother or sister.
But the thought of Sichuan gave Zhu Cilang a headache again.

The reason is simple: the distance between these two places is just too far!
It's about two thousand kilometers, which translates to about four thousand li.

Such a distance may not be a problem for future generations; it would only take two or three days to reach the destination with a high-speed vehicle.

But you have to understand that this was in ancient times. There were no highways or cars in ancient times.

However, going from Beijing to Sichuan is not actually that difficult; there are only two main routes.

The first route is by land. The army needs to move south first and then enter Sichuan. The main route is as follows:

Beijing, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan.

The army first marched south along the Grand Canal or by land to Henan, and then entered Xi'an, Shaanxi via Tongguan.

Then, from Xi'an, one enters Hanzhong via the Baoxie Road or Chencang Road. Once in Hanzhong, one is essentially entering Sichuan.

This is the traditional route from the north into Sichuan, but it requires crossing the Qinling Mountains, and the road is treacherous, so it is best to proceed cautiously and steadily.

When Qin Liangyu led the White-Spear Army into Beijing, she took this very route!
The second route is by waterway, but it requires combining the Grand Canal and the Yangtze River waterway. However, due to geographical limitations, it is not possible to travel entirely by waterway, and combined water and land transport is necessary.

The specific route is Beijing, the Grand Canal, the Yangtze River, and Sichuan, with more than 80% of the journey taking place by water.

And it's extremely fast; if the wind is favorable, it will arrive in a month!
At first glance, traveling by water seems much more cost-effective, but things are not that simple.

Firstly, the rivers might freeze due to the cold weather, and secondly, these rivers had not been properly maintained for a long time by the late Ming Dynasty, with many sections severely blocked and unusable.

Therefore, after careful consideration, Zhu Cilang finally decided to take the first route.

However, since the area around Hanzhong and Sichuan is mostly mountainous, cavalry may not be needed. Therefore, only 10,000 cavalrymen need to be brought this time, and the rest will be infantry.

Of course, they will also pass through Henan and Shaanxi, and may recruit local cavalry.

In short, this should be the final battle against Li Zicheng!
This battle will determine the fate of the Ming Dynasty and the life and death of countless people!
Once this war is over, everything will settle down, and peace will return to the Ming Dynasty!

Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang's mood improved considerably.

Just as Zhu Cilang was filled with anticipation and hope for the future, feeling that the future was bright, a series of hurried footsteps sounded again.

Turning his head slightly, Zhu Cilang saw that Ma Bao, who had just left, had run back like a whirlwind.

Before Zhu Cilang could ask, Ma Bao excitedly shouted:

"Your Highness, they've been born! They've been born! They've had twins!"

The sound echoed in the quiet, warm room, filled with barely suppressed excitement.

Zhu Cilang was taken aback upon hearing this, his heart filled with doubt.

Because he had no idea what Ma Bao meant by those words.
What happened?
What were the two children born?
Seeing Zhu Cilang's puzzled look, Ma Bao realized he had been too excited and hadn't expressed himself clearly, so he quickly repeated:
"The two tigers from before gave birth to two cubs."

what?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang immediately burst into laughter.

Because this is something he's been looking forward to all along!
Thinking of this, Zhu Cilang could no longer suppress his eagerness. He hurriedly put on his cloak and went straight out.

"Take me to see this quickly!"

At this moment, a tiger trainer appointed by Zhu Cilang to train tigers was already standing respectfully at the gate of the East Palace, waiting for him.

It's obvious he's here to deliver a message!
Zhu Cilang stepped out of the East Palace gate and, without waiting for the other party to bow, eagerly asked:

"So? Did they really have two tiger cubs?"

The animal trainer quickly bowed and said:
"Your Highness, it is absolutely true, and both are male tiger cubs."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Cilang felt even happier.

Then, Zhu Cilang, led by the animal trainer, headed toward the royal animal training grounds.

The Ming Dynasty always had a special agency to manage rare royal animals, which was mainly under the jurisdiction of the following two departments.

One was the Shanglin Garden Supervisor, which was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Household Department and was responsible for the royal gardens, the raising of birds and animals, and the cultivation of fruits and vegetables.

It had a 'Station for Elephant Training' under it, which was later expanded into 'Station for Elephant Training and the Four Barbarian Hall'. Although it mainly trained elephants, it also took charge of training other wild beasts, such as tigers, for the court to watch or use for ceremonies.

The other is the Imperial Horse Administration, one of the twelve administrations of the inner court. In addition to managing horses, the Imperial Horse Administration also manages part of the royal animal park.

The tiger was kept directly in the Imperial Horse Stables because the Imperial Forest Stables had fallen into disrepair and was no longer suitable for raising tigers.

Therefore, naturally, this task was assigned to the Imperial Stables. (End of Chapter)