The Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign.

Jiading Earl's Mansion

Zhu Cilang led his troops to the front of the Earl of Jiading's residence. With a wave of his hand, the troops stopped in their tracks.

"Knock on the door. If no one answers, break down the door immediately!"

"Here you go!"

Two Imperial Guards received the order and quickly stepped forward to pound on the door.

"Bang bang bang..."

……

After about a dozen breaths, the small door next to it slowly opened, and a very impatient voice came out:

"How dare you! You dare knock on the gates of the Marquis of Jiading's residence? Don't you have a death wish?"

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guard who was knocking on the door immediately stepped forward, kicked down the servant who had just opened the small door, and quickly went inside to open the main door.

By the time the servants realized what was happening, Zhu Cilang had already led his men into the Jiading Earl's residence...

"Who is it?"

"How dare you force your way into the Marquis of Jiading's residence? Do you have a death wish?"

Several servants reacted and rushed forward to question him, but Fang Zheng pointed his steel knife and shouted sternly:

"Kill them all, leave no one alive!"

"Here you go!"

The servants of the Earl of Jiading's household, relying on the power of the Emperor's father-in-law, committed numerous evil deeds. Killing them was no big deal for them, and they were all dealt with quickly.

"search!"

At Zhu Cilang's command, Fang Zhenghua and Gao Wencai led their men to search every part of the Jiading Earl's residence...

Upon seeing a group of fully armed, unidentified people break in, many people in the inner courtyard were so frightened that they lay on the ground trembling, not daring to put up any resistance.

But the greedy Zhou Kui shouted and tried to stop him, and two steel knives were instantly held to his neck. Zhou Kui immediately chickened out...

Zhu Cilang coldly watched his subordinates plunder gold and silver, never once giving this stingy and greedy grandfather a second glance...

They had all undergone simple disguises, and Zhou Kui did not recognize his grandson.

Of course, he never imagined that his grandson would rob his grandfather.

……

Two incense sticks later, looking at the empty storeroom, Zhou Kui fainted...

Zhu Cilang led his troops away from the Jiading Earl's Mansion, and this time another 800,000 taels of silver sank into the moat of the imperial city.

It's impossible to keep so much gold and silver in one place. The gold and silver that Zhu Chunchen and Zhou Kui robbed from their mansion were all divided into sections and sunk in the river, covered with yellow soil, and then the traces on the bank were wiped away...

These Imperial Guards and their agents who followed Zhu Cilang were all extremely loyal and absolutely obedient to the Crown Prince's orders.

At first, when they saw large amounts of gold and silver sinking into the moat of the imperial city, some people felt it was a pity and their eyes were filled with reluctance. It was all pure silver!

But as the sinking of the silver continued, their gazes had become very calm as they watched the silver sink into the river; they had all grown accustomed to it…

Li Zicheng's crushing defeat at Shanhai Pass will inevitably force him to retreat from the capital quickly.

After the Jurchens entered the pass, the Eight Banners were busy expanding their territory and fighting a major battle with the Shun army, so they would not undertake any major construction projects for the time being.

Zhu Cilang believed that, under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for the Jurchens and bandits to discover the gold and silver buried at the bottom of the moat...

Zhu Cilang's eighty-odd men were all very loyal. After receiving the order to sink the gold and silver into the river, they simply carried out their duties without saying a word or asking any questions.

Although they were a little tired, everyone was excited to see the usually high-ranking nobles trembling under their swords.

After the sinking of the silver was over, Gao Wencai and Fang Zhenghua exchanged a glance, then bowed in unison and asked:

"Young master, where is our next stop?"

Zhu Cilang handed a list to Li Ruolian:

"Follow the list, it must be finished tonight!"

"Here you go!"

Gao Wencai and Fang Zhenghua received the order and immediately led their teams to rob the corrupt officials and nobles according to the list...

Without servants or guards, Gao Wencai and his men encountered almost no resistance and robbed dozens of noble families and corrupt officials, obtaining more than ten million taels of silver.

Ten million taels of silver was an astronomical figure for Chongzhen, but it was still far less than the amount Liu Zongmin had to torture.

The looting did not end there. Zhu Cilang then ordered the looting of the shops of the eight major Shanxi merchants in the capital and the massacre of all those involved.

If it weren't for the eight major Shanxi merchants colluding with the Jurchens, the Jurchens' entry into the Central Plains wouldn't have been smooth, and those unscrupulous merchants should all have died. It's a pity that Fan Yongdou and his group weren't in the capital, otherwise they would all have died.

This time, they obtained over four million taels of gold and silver, as well as tens of thousands of bushels of grain...

Zhu Cilang ordered that more than 300,000 taels of silver be left behind, while the remaining more than 3 million taels of gold and silver were once again sunk into the deep waters of a nearby river.

As dawn broke and the looting ended, Zhu Cilang and his men had been busy all night.

When looting the treasuries of corrupt officials and nobles, Zhu Cilang would secretly take a small portion of the gold and silver into the museum each time. At this time, the museum already contained more than five million taels of silver.

If it weren't for the fear that revealing one's cheat abilities would be too terrifying, then so much gold and silver wouldn't have needed to be sunk beneath the river...

The operation was a great success. The mansions of the powerful and corrupt officials were mostly located in the inner city; otherwise, it would have been impossible to transport so much gold and silver overnight.

A plague raged, and bandit armies besieged the city. All able-bodied men in the city were conscripted to defend it, while the common people hid at home, afraid to go out. Civil and military officials kept their gates tightly shut, and the streets were eerily quiet...

Zhu Cilang and his group did not encounter anyone. It could be said that, apart from their own team, no one knew about the sunken silver in the moat...

After a busy night, everyone was exhausted. Zhu Cilang led them back to Fan Yongdou's trading company to rest, where the more than 300,000 taels of silver they had left behind were piled up.

Having seen so much gold and silver, the crowd's eyes were no longer as bright as before when they saw piles of silver; they had become numb...

Zhu Cilang coughed twice and said:

"Soldiers, the bandits are about to breach the city. After the city falls, we will have nowhere to live. For safety's sake, I will lead you to temporarily seek refuge with the bandits."

Don't worry, it's just a fake surrender. I am the Crown Prince of the current dynasty, and the bandits will not make things difficult for us. We will find an opportunity to go south in the future.

During this period, it is unsafe to carry too much gold and silver. Each person should carry only thirty taels of silver. If thieves search your body, do not resist. Safety first.

I promise you that those who participated in today's operation will each receive a reward of 50,000 taels of silver upon their return to the capital. If you are not present, the reward will be doubled and given to your families.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, everyone shouted in unison:

"I will obey Your Highness's orders in everything I do, and I will absolutely not cause you any trouble!"

Zhu Cilang nodded and clasped his hands in thanks to everyone:

"Thank you all for your trust. I will not let you down."

"There is plenty of rice and grain here. Lord Gao, stay and take charge of starting the fire and cooking. After the meal, rest well. I and Grand Chamberlain Fang will return to the palace to check on things."

"Here you go!"

After saying this, Zhu Cilang mounted his horse and returned to the palace with Fang Zhenghua and two accompanying eunuchs.

At this time, the palace maids and eunuchs had already been dismissed by Emperor Chongzhen, and Zhu Cilang's return to the palace did not cause any stir.

The group cooked a meal at Zhongcui Palace. After resting for an hour, Zhu Cilang went to Qianqing Palace, hoping to see his father one last time.

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Cilang did not see his father, the Emperor, nor was Wang Chengen in sight...

Zhu Cilang knew that the palace maids and eunuchs had been dismissed, but the old king shouldn't have left. Where did he and the emperor go?

"Holy crap, could Father Emperor have already hanged himself on Coal Hill?"

Zhu Cilang hurriedly returned to Zhongcui Palace and ordered Fang Zhenghua to rush to Wansui Mountain to find Emperor Chongzhen…

Fang Zhenghua didn't ask any further questions and immediately took Yuan Bao to Wansui Mountain.

Zhu Cilang then took Wu Zhong to the Chongzhen Emperor's private treasury, wanting to see if his father was there.

The emperor was terrified of poverty; who knew if he might choose to commit suicide using the imperial treasury?

The door to the Imperial Treasury was not locked. Zhu Cilang quickly stepped forward and pushed the door open. There was no one inside, only more than 20,000 taels of silver piled up there.

Zhu Cilang remembered that his father's imperial treasury had more than 70,000 taels of silver, but now there were only more than 20,000 taels left. It must have been distributed to the dismissed palace maids and eunuchs.

Historically, some people have smeared Emperor Chongzhen, claiming that he had millions of taels of gold and silver in his private treasury but was unwilling to use them to reward the defending troops. This is pure nonsense!

If Emperor Chongzhen truly possessed a million taels of gold and silver, the capital would not have fallen, regardless of whether he gave it to Wu Sangui or Li Zicheng…

"well……"

Zhu Cilang sighed softly and slowly turned to return to Zhongcui Palace.

Fang Zhenghua had already returned by this time, but he did not find Emperor Chongzhen at Wansui Mountain.

Zhu Cilang shook his head helplessly:

"Let's go and meet up with Gao Wencai and the others."

"Yes, sir!"

……

永定门

With the lure of gleaming silver, the soldiers on the city walls were indeed in high spirits, shouting "Kill the traitors!"

Emperor Chongzhen was standing on the city wall, his eyes fixed on the densely packed army of bandits outside the city.

Tens of thousands of starving civilians led the way, followed by a large army of bandits, slowly advancing towards the capital city. The bandits were about to launch their attack.

"Guards! Protect His Majesty!"

Upon Wang Xiantong's command, several shield-bearers rushed forward to protect Chongzhen from stray arrows.

"Step aside! I want to see how these starving people will attack the city!"

Emperor Chongzhen pushed aside the shield-bearer in front of him, wanting to see how the bandits would break through the city with the help of starving people.

Emperor Chongzhen was resigned to his fate and had no fear of being harmed by stray arrows from the city walls!