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

At the same time, Zhu Cilang finally issued the order.

That is to have the troops that were previously sent to stop Li Zicheng from entering Hanzhong withdraw, and then let Li Zicheng enter Hanzhong.

At the same time, 50,000 troops were dispatched to secretly encircle Li Zicheng from behind when he entered Hanzhong, to ensure that Li Zicheng would not flee back into the Qinling Mountains if he realized something was wrong.

Because what Zhu Cilang wanted was to completely eliminate Li Zicheng in Hanzhong!
If he manages to escape back into the Qinling Mountains with his men, the subsequent encirclement and suppression will be endless, and who knows how much manpower, material resources, and financial resources will be wasted.

After doing all this, Zhu Cilang quietly waited for Li Zicheng to arrive in Hanzhong.

Meanwhile, the camera pans to Liaodong.

As usual, Hong Chengchou sat in his study, focusing intently on handling relevant government affairs.

Outside the window, sunlight filters through the dappled leaves, casting golden shadows on the ground.

It's already April, and even in Liaodong, a land that was once incredibly cold, the weather is gradually warming up.

The entire Liaodong region is gradually recovering, with everything thriving. Wildflowers and grasses along the roadside are sprouting tender buds, as if showing people the vitality of life, which makes people feel relaxed and happy.

Last winter was much better than in previous years.

In the past, Liaodong was as cold and biting as an ice cellar every winter.

Many people even lost their lives due to the cold and hunger.

But last year was completely different. Not a single civilian or soldier starved or froze to death. This was a once-in-a-century event!

This was mainly due to the strong support from the imperial court, which provided a large amount of grain and cotton.

Of course, the coal mine discovered in Liaodong also played a crucial role, as the coal and honeycomb briquettes produced were continuously transported to various parts of Liaodong, ensuring everyone's most basic survival needs.

It has to be said that this is probably the best New Year that the local people in Liaodong have ever had.

Putting everything else aside, at the very least everyone can have a full meal!

Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Because he knew that all of this was thanks to that Crown Prince. Without him, he didn't know what the Ming Dynasty would be like now.

Perhaps Liaodong will be completely occupied by the Jurchens, and the people will live in misery.

Perhaps, the Ming Dynasty will gradually decline amidst internal and external troubles, and will eventually be submerged by the torrent of history.

Fortunately, none of this happened!

Just as Hong Chengchou was feeling quite emotional, a sudden commotion outside the door broke his thoughts.

Judging from the sound, it seems someone just barged in.

The person was shouting:

"Great news! Great news! Lord Hong, this is an unexpected blessing!"

Hong Chengchou hardly needed to look; he could tell who it was just by hearing their voices.

Who else could it be but Zu Dashou?
Sure enough, the next second, Zu Dashou rushed in. His face was flushed, and his smile was almost splitting to the back of his ears.

Seeing Zu Dashou's appearance, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but find it amusing.

But he didn't put down his pen; instead, he continued to edit official documents, the pen scratching on the paper, and then casually asked:
"What could make you so happy? Could it be that Huang Taiji is dead?"

This was originally a casual remark, but when Zu Dashou heard it, he was first taken aback, then suddenly slapped his thigh and said:
"Oh my, Lord Hong, how are you so clever? You guessed it right away!"

"Huang Taiji is really dead!"

what?
Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou paused, and the ink on the document suddenly smeared into a blot, like a suddenly blooming ink flower.

This document is now useless!

But Hong Chengchou couldn't care less about any of that at the moment. He just suddenly looked up at Zu Dashou, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief, and said:

"What are you talking about?"

Zu Dashou strode up to Hong Chengchou, handed him a document, and said excitedly:

"Huang Taiji is really dead. If you don't believe me, look, this is the obituary sent from the Jurchens!"

"The Jurchens have also dispatched a special delegation to Beijing to inform His Majesty of this matter!"

When Hong Chengchou heard this, his mind went completely blank.

He never imagined that his casual remark would become a self-fulfilling prophecy!
The next second, he eagerly took the document handed to him by Zu Dashou and began to read it.

It turned out to be an obituary, and the content was quite simple.

The gist of it is that Huang Taiji passed away, leaving a will that his youngest son, Fulin, should inherit the throne. According to custom, they sent someone to inform the Ming Dynasty that they hoped the Ming Dynasty would agree to this and bestow a title upon Fulin.

Of course, this was just a polite way of putting it; in any case, whether the Ming Dynasty agreed or not, the matter was already settled.

But none of that matters. What matters is that Huang Taiji is really dead!
"Hahahahahaha!"

The next second, Hong Chengchou burst into a hearty laugh, which echoed in the study like a booming bell, instantly startling Zu Dashou.

Because he had never seen Hong Chengchou so out of control. In his memory, Hong Chengchou had always been calm and reserved, and could remain composed no matter what happened.

The way it looks now is quite unexpected.

However, the thought that it was Huang Taiji who died suddenly made Zu Dashou feel relieved.

Because when he first learned of Huang Taiji's death, he laughed much more than Hong Chengchou!
Immediately afterward, Hong Chengchou seemed to remember something, quickly stopped smiling, and looked at Zu Dashou, saying:
"This matter is of great importance and must be reported to His Majesty as soon as possible!"

Zu Dashou nodded, then smiled and said:

"Very well! I will arrange for someone to send the Jurchen envoy to the capital immediately! I'm sure His Majesty will be very pleased when he learns of this!"

The next second, he seemed to remember something and continued:

"Do you think we should inform the Crown Prince again first?"

Hong Chengchou thought for a moment and finally nodded.

"Of course we need to, but His Highness the Crown Prince should be in Hanzhong right now. I'll write a secret letter and then send someone to Hanzhong to inform His Highness!"

Zu Dashou naturally had no objections and immediately nodded in agreement.

Without saying a word, Hong Chengchou pushed aside the official documents he hadn't finished reviewing, picked up an imperial edict, and prepared to write a letter to Zhu Cilang.

Just as he was about to put pen to paper, Hong Chengchou suddenly remembered something, put down his pen, and picked up the obituary document to read it carefully.

After a moment, he raised the obituary in his hand and looked at Zu Dashou not far away, asking:
"Didn't you notice anything strange about this place?"

Zu Dashou looked puzzled upon hearing this and asked, "Is there something strange about it?"

Hong Chengchou found it amusing, but still pointed to a name on the obituary and said:
"When Huang Taiji died, shouldn't his eldest son, Hauge, have succeeded him? Why was it Fulin?"

"If I remember correctly, this Fulin is only six years old now, right?"

"Why did Huang Taiji refuse to let his eldest son succeed to the throne, but instead let a younger son succeed him? Do you think Huang Taiji was that stupid?"

Upon hearing this, Zu Dashou's pupils dilated instantly, and he asked in astonishment:

"Wait. You mean there was an internal strife in the Jurchens, and then someone supported Huang Taiji's young son to succeed to the throne?"

"This is a very big deal!"

He was so happy just now that he didn't think about these things at all, but now, after Hong Chengchou's reminder, Zu Dashou instantly realized the trickery involved!
However, Hong Chengchou shook his head.

"Perhaps that's the case, but there's another explanation: Huang Taiji died too suddenly and didn't leave a will. Then, Hauge, Dorgon, and Daišan fought fiercely for the throne. In the end, they each gave in and let a child who was easier to control become the emperor."

"However, this is just my guess. We'll have to wait for the intelligence from the Embroidered Uniform Guard stationed in Shenyang to get more specific information."

Zu Dashou thought for a moment and then quickly nodded.

"I think what you said makes a lot of sense. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, a young child would not be allowed to succeed to the throne!"

"But this seems like a good thing for us. Do you think it's possible for us to use this to stir up some trouble?"

As Zu Dashou spoke, his expression began to become somewhat agitated.

Previously, it was always the Jurchens who caused him trouble; now it's his turn to cause trouble for the Jurchens!
Hong Chengchou thought for a moment, but ultimately refused:

"For now, it's best not to act rashly. Let's inform His Highness the Crown Prince about this matter first and see what his thoughts are!"

"We can also use this time to figure out what's going on!"

Zu Dashou scratched his head, thinking that Hong Chengchou's words made a lot of sense, and nodded in agreement.

Without further hesitation, Hong Chengchou continued writing the secret letter.

Not long after, the two cavalry units left Liaodong.

One team escorted the Jurchen envoys to the capital, while the other team escorted Hong Chengchou's secret letter to Hanzhong!

Soon, both Emperor Chongzhen and Emperor Zhu Cilang will receive this good news!
A few days later, in the Qinling Mountains.

The weather is exceptionally nice today. Sunlight shines through the gaps in the trees, creating golden rays that warm people's faces.

In the mountains and forests, both trees and weeds have begun to sprout tender buds, full of vitality and life.

Li Zicheng rode a tall, magnificent horse in the middle of the procession, his eyes revealing a hint of fatigue, but more so a long-lost smile!
Just yesterday, for some unknown reason, the Ming army at the front suddenly withdrew.

Without the Ming army's obstruction, the army advanced directly for twenty miles!
Keep in mind, this is equivalent to several days' journey before!
This gave the entire army renewed hope, and everyone became more energetic and their steps became lighter.

Moreover, according to the reports from the scouts sent out earlier, there were no Ming soldiers in sight ahead, only a few scattered Ming soldiers moving around, but with so few men, they could not stop their advance at all.

Upon receiving this news, Li Zicheng finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he didn't know why the Ming army that had previously blocked their path had suddenly retreated, it was undoubtedly a good thing for them.

Because they could finally leave the Qinling Mountains and head to Hanzhong.

Once they reach Hanzhong, they can replenish their food and troops, and then he can finally get a good night's sleep!

However, it's inevitable that some people will have doubts about this.

The Ming army could have stopped them from advancing simply by blocking their path, so why did they suddenly withdraw?
Isn't this just letting them enter Hanzhong?

There must be something fishy going on here!

In fact, Li Zicheng was not stupid; how could he not have thought of this?
But now he had no choice. Regardless of whether there was a trap ahead, he had to lead his army into Hanzhong as soon as possible.

Because if they didn't do that, they would really starve to death!
Dying in the Qinling Mountains is more despairing than the possibility of an ambush.

Therefore, no matter what dangers lay ahead, Li Zicheng had to reach Hanzhong as soon as possible.

And so, Li Zicheng's army began to march toward Hanzhong at an extremely fast pace!
Meanwhile, Zhu Cilang has also been busy lately.

He would personally come to the makeshift training ground almost every day to supervise the Zhu family army's final training.

On the training field, Zhu Jiajun's team members were full of energy and high spirits.

They were wearing specially made bright yellow armor and were practicing diligently!

Logically speaking, training a group of soldiers capable of fighting in ancient times was a very difficult task.

This is because ancient soldiers had to pay attention to troop deployment and individual combat skills.

However, with the widespread use of flintlock muskets, these were no longer necessary.

Because learning to fire a gun is much simpler than learning to shoot an arrow or to deploy troops.

Moreover, the imperial court had long since established a fixed combat method for flintlock muskets.

As long as Zhu's army trains according to the combat model, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Simply put, in battle, the soldiers at the front held shields to block the cavalry charge, while the soldiers in the rear used three-stage firing.

This tactic had been used before against the Jurchens, and it had been very effective.

The Jurchen cavalry fell from their horses one after another under the fire of flintlock muskets, like autumn leaves swept away by the wind.

This combat model is also perfectly capable of being used against peasant armies today.

Moreover, the peasant army is much easier to deal with than the Jurchens!

After all, Li Zicheng came from Tongguan, so his cavalry force must not have been very large.

Zhu Cilang even felt that the soldiers holding shields in the front row were no longer needed, and that the Zhu family army could simply line up and fire.

At this point, some people might ask:

Wouldn't that kill many peasant soldiers? This seems to go against Zhu Cilang's original intentions.

After all, the main reason why Zhu Cilang personally led the expedition was to better persuade the peasant army to surrender!
In fact, Zhu Cilang had already considered this point, so he planned to send people to persuade as many as possible to surrender before the war began.

Only after persuasion to surrender fails will an attack begin!
As for how many people will die next, that's up to fate!

Those who are willing to surrender are the people of the Ming Dynasty, while those who stubbornly refuse to surrender can only be the enemies of the Ming Dynasty!
But when dealing with enemies, one must not be merciful! (End of Chapter)