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

Seeing the obvious white and gray marks on everyone's bodies, Hong Niangzi shook her head and smiled bitterly:

"Impressive! If it were lead bullets, you'd all be dead. This musket formation is no joke!"

Seeing Hong Niangzi's dejected look, Xiao Cui quickly comforted her:

"Big sister, muskets are nothing special. If it were a cavalry charge, they could rout them in an instant!"

After a moment of contemplation, Hong Niangzi said:

"It's possible, but it would come at the cost of enormous casualties."

"You know, they only have sixty men. Imagine six thousand musketeers lined up—it's terrifying!"

"Oh……"

Xiao Cui was speechless...

Li Yan, realizing what was happening, cupped his hands in greeting to Zhu Cilang and said:

"Impressive! Now I understand why Your Highness wanted artisans from the Armory. I see..."

Zhu Cilang nodded, smiling without saying a word, looking very mysterious.

Li Yan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. He quickly moved closer to Zhu Cilang and whispered:

"Your Highness, if that day ever comes, will you seek revenge?"

Zhu Cilang smiled knowingly and whispered in Li Yan's ear:

"No, if that day ever comes, you'll enter the cabinet, and your wife will join the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Li Yan trembled instantly; the allure of those words was too great—something he never dared to even dream of…

What if it's true?

The Jurchens beyond the Great Wall, Zhang Xianzhong in Sichuan, the Ming army controlling the Jianghuai region, and the Shun dynasty occupying less than half the country—anything is possible…

"Alas, with such a small force, we cannot escape the clutches of the rebel king."

After a moment of contemplation, Li Yan muttered a couple of sentences to himself.

Although the voice was very low, Zhu Cilang still heard it. He could sense that Li Yan was already moved, and quickly offered a few words of comfort:

"No rush. The best opportunity will come when the Jurchens enter the pass and the Shun dynasty is defeated."

Li Yan was in a state of confusion. He didn't say anything more and left silently.

Hong Niangzi's feelings were also complicated. She came to Zhu Cilang's side, her pretty face flushed, and she clasped her hands in a respectful gesture, saying:

"We lost. Starting tomorrow, we will transfer 3,000 men to train with the Crown Prince's personal guards, and all expenses will be reimbursed."

Zhu Cilang smiled and shook his head:

"Don't take it seriously, I was just joking."

"No, I keep my word and will never renege on my promise. Goodbye!"

Having said that, she left with her guards...

As Hong Nanako's beautiful figure gradually disappeared into the distance, Zhu Cilang smiled happily.

"yeah……"

"It was actually easier than I expected!"

……

After several days of torture, Li Zicheng amassed another eight million taels of silver, which, combined with the remaining one million taels from the previous operation, was enough for the time being.

Seeing his men all smiles and in much better spirits than a few days ago, Li Zicheng finally felt much more relaxed.

He coughed lightly and said loudly:

"My esteemed ministers, the soldiers' pay and rewards have been distributed. We should now prepare for the coronation of the emperor and the bestowal of titles upon officials. What do you all think?"

The crowd shouted almost in unison:

"I second that! I second that!"

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations on finally becoming Emperor!"

Li Zicheng nodded in satisfaction, habitually reached out and silently touched his silk eye mask, then laughed heartily:

"Haha, very good. This matter will be handled by Prime Ministers Niu Jinxing and Song Xianze. How long do you estimate it will take to complete?"

The two quickly exchanged a glance, then stepped forward and bowed.

"Your Majesty, please do not rush. Ascending the throne and becoming emperor is the most important event in the world. I believe that we cannot be careless and must make good preparations. It should be completed in about three months."

The letter of appointment for the Duke of Yansheng of the Kong family has been delivered. He is eager to ascend the throne and become emperor, but he cannot show it on the surface.

All I can say is:

"Granted. I will give you three months. Do not disappoint me!"

"As you command!"

Niu Jinxing and Song Xianze hurriedly bowed and accepted the imperial decree.

Under normal circumstances, Li Yan should have been on the list of officials Li Zicheng prepared for his ascension to the throne.

However, Li Zicheng did not mention him this time, which clearly shows that he no longer attaches much importance to him.

Even if Li Zicheng isn't mentioned, others will, especially Niu Jinxing, who feels the time has come to kick him while he's down.

After a moment's thought, he stepped forward and presented his memorial:

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial to present!"

Li Zicheng smiled and said:

"allow!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"General Li Yan refused to cooperate with the torture. A few days ago, Hong Niangzi led her troops to kill the torture soldiers, causing more than a thousand casualties. This infighting and fighting among themselves is affecting the harmony of the new dynasty. I request Your Majesty to deal with Hong Niangzi."

The soldiers that Hong Niangzi killed included surrendered Ming Dynasty soldiers, soldiers under Gao Yigong's command, and soldiers under Liu Zongmin's command.

It was just a few soldiers who died; the surrendered generals dared not utter a sound, for fear of offending Li Yan.

Liu Zongmin and Gao Yigong knew that their soldiers were harassing the people, but they knew they were in the wrong and did not intend to pursue the matter.

However, Niu Jinxing wouldn't let go of this matter, and he would stand up for Li Yan whenever it was detrimental to him.

Even if he couldn't bring Li Yan down, he still wanted to take the opportunity to disgust him.

The purpose, of course, was to make Li Zicheng dissatisfied with Li Yan, so that Li Yan would not take away his position as prime minister when Li Zicheng ascended the throne and appointed officials.

Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng frowned immediately:

Is this true?

"It is true, more real than gold. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you may ask Marquis Ru."

Upon hearing that he had been dragged into this, Liu Zongmin glared fiercely at the fortune teller; he really didn't want to get involved.

When the rebel leader asked, Liu Zongmin, unable to deceive the emperor, stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, I have never witnessed the deaths of any of my men, and this is merely a guess."

More than twenty of Liu Zongmin's men were killed, but he dared not tell the truth, and his account sounded ambiguous.

Li Zicheng looked at Li Yan:

"Minister Li, what do you have to say?"

Li Yan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed in respect:

"Your Majesty, it is true that the Lady executed the tortured soldiers, but they all deserved it."

"When my wife and I were inspecting the capital, we found that many people were looting ordinary people and even trying to kill and set fires. In a fit of anger, my wife killed them."

"His Majesty is a great hero in the hearts of the people. He requested that the torture be not directed at ordinary people, but the soldiers ignored this and bullied the people of Da Shun everywhere."

"His Majesty is about to ascend the throne, and their actions have severely damaged the new emperor's image in the eyes of the people. They must be severely punished without delay. I believe the lady is innocent."

Li Zicheng initially intended to reprimand Li Yan, but by the end, he was also displeased. How dare he damage his reputation!

But he couldn't believe Li Yan's one-sided story, so he looked at Liu Zongmin:

"Jiexuan, what happened?"

Liu Zongmin awkwardly scratched his head:

"Your Majesty, General Li's statement is not entirely accurate. Among the soldiers killed, there were certainly innocent people. I have failed to investigate properly; this will not be repeated!"

Even though Hong Niangzi did nothing wrong, she could not have killed so many people on her own, including some who had followed her for many years.

Having killed over a thousand people, Hong Niangzi should first tell him that not taking him seriously is akin to having too much merit and overshadowing the master, and she must give him a warning.

Li Zicheng was somewhat displeased:

"Minister Li, when you encounter soldiers harassing the civilians, you should stop them. You can't kill them all. To give the innocent people an explanation, I'm allocating 50,000 taels of silver to you. Your unit will temporarily garrison Changping. What do you say?"

"My lord, I obey your order!"

Li Yan was very unhappy and felt annoyed whenever he saw Niu Jinxing.

Actually, going to Changping is not bad either; out of sight, out of mind.

In the past, Li Yan would definitely not have been willing to completely fade out of the core of Da Shun, but now he doesn't care anymore.