Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 145 Are you a vassal of the Ming Dynasty?

Chongzhen was walking quickly in front. He had to hurry back to the school because the sun was about to set. Once it set, he would have to exchange bodies with Zhu Changgan again.

Before that, he couldn't stay outside to prevent others from noticing.

"Master Zhu!"

"Master Zhu..."

Along the way, people kept nodding at him, and he nodded back.

During his time in the village, although he only taught some children some basic enlightenment, he won the trust of everyone in the village. In addition to his previous performance and his current identity, everyone couldn't help but smile when they saw him.

These days, Chongzhen watched the peasant uprising army and their snowball-like growth, and the shock in his heart was even greater than when the Qing Dynasty entered the Pass.

This was just a small-scale uprising. If it was the kind led by Li Zicheng or Zhang Xianzhong, how big would it be?

In the past, when he was sitting high on the throne, he was unable to make any considerations, but now that he is in the middle of the situation, he can't help but consider a lot more, and he sees more clearly the current predicament of the Ming Dynasty.

How can this be called scabies itch?
It was obvious that the disease had already penetrated deeply into the bone marrow. With such a great trend sweeping over like a raging wave, the Ming Dynasty really felt like it was dying from a long-term illness.

"Dad, stop working and clean up quickly." Chongzhen took a deep breath and pulled Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming, who was burning firewood to prepare dinner.

"Clean up? What to clean up?" King Xiang Zhu Yiming turned his head and couldn't help asking.

"..." Chongzhen scratched his head, "I've made up my mind, you have to go."

Letting Prince Xiang leave was something that Zhu Changgan and Chongzhen had agreed upon. No matter what the situation was, Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming should not take any risks.

Moreover, as long as he was in the mountain stronghold, the chances of King Xiang escaping were very high.

Because what the rebels value is themselves, not the rebels themselves.

After spending these days together, Chongzhen began to have a new respect for Hong Niangzi.

A woman could support so many people, and even develop again amidst the encirclement and suppression by government troops, and more people came to join her than before.

This made Chongzhen feel even more uneasy. His anxiety, panic, and hopes for Zhu Changgan all reached a certain level at this time.

He wanted to stay and see how far this peasant uprising army could develop.

When he was on the throne, he could not see the essence of things because he was too far away and could not see or touch anything. His eyes were also blindfolded by his ministers. Now that he could finally see, Chongzhen did not want to leave just like that.

This is Chongzhen!
A person who would rather hang himself on a crooked tree than run away has his own persistence, or his own stubbornness.

But before he could accomplish what he wanted, he had to send King Xiang away.

"No, why should I leave first..." Prince Xiang stared at Chongzhen blankly, then quickly reacted and shook his head, saying, "If my son Qilin doesn't leave, I won't leave either."

"Father, don't worry. It will be easier for me to leave only if you leave."

Prince Xiang stared at Chongzhen with his eyes like nails, "My son, have you contacted someone outside?"

Chongzhen gritted his teeth, not knowing how to explain for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a man flash out from the back door of the school, "Prince, come to a conclusion quickly. In a few minutes, our people will start attacking the mountain stronghold."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming looked at the man in surprise, then looked at Chongzhen, not understanding why he was with his son every day.

How did he contact the outside world? And from the sound of it, the other party was in contact with a large-scale government army, otherwise they would not dare to attack the mountain stronghold, right?
"Father, I can't explain it to you in a few words. Just listen to me and leave here quickly..." Chongzhen swallowed his saliva and couldn't help but persuade him, waving his hand to signal the people to take Prince Xiang away.

But the man asked, "Aren't you going to leave? Once the government troops attack, there won't be many people left in this stronghold."

"If you can avoid attacking the mountain, try not to. You go first and take the prince out..." Chongzhen smiled, but before he finished speaking, he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside and quickly signaled for silence.

……

a few minutes ago,
The setting sun seemed to be erased bit by bit by an eraser, and the moon gradually rose.

In the small square of the village, Hongniang was glaring at a village man who had just returned from Xiangyang.

The man's name was Chang Wu, and he was explaining something at the moment.

Then, Chang Wu took out a stack of papers from his pocket and handed it to Hong Niangzi, and continued to say something. Suddenly, Hong Niangzi grabbed Chang Wu's neck and lifted him up.

The voice of the girl shouted from far away, "Did Lao Liu ask you to say that?"

Chang Wu's eyes were pinched and bulged out. He struggled desperately and was almost suffocated. "No... that's not the case at all. I used to follow the Sixth Master, but later I followed the Big Boss. This matter is serious and I dare not make any mistakes. When I returned to the mountain stronghold, I didn't go to see anyone else. I came to see the Big Boss first."

Upon hearing this, Hongniang suddenly let go.

Chang Wuda gasped, covered his neck, and was glad that he was wise.

She looked at the paper Chang Wu handed over again, which read:

"In the tenth year of Chongzhen, the first place in the Xiangyang Prefecture case was the prince of Xiangyang, Zhu Changgan... In the eighth year of Chongzhen, the first place in the Xiangyang Prefecture case was Jian Qixian... In the sixth year of Chongzhen, the first place in the Xiangyang Prefecture case was Zhuang Xianming... In the fourth year of Chongzhen..."

During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination was held twice every three years. In order to find out the truth, this man found out all the information about the top candidates in Xiangyang Prefecture for nearly ten years.

There is no need to go further back, because "Master Zhu" was only in his twenties.

"Boss, I visited all the other six people. They are either married or over 30 years old. I didn't see two of them."

"One of them went to study at Donglin Academy last year, and the other one is...Zhu Changgan from Prince Xiang's Mansion!"

"I couldn't get into the gate of Prince Xiang's mansion at all in the first few times. Later, I spent some money and found a few people in the mansion. As a result, a cook in Prince Xiang's mansion told me... He said that Prince Xiang received an imperial decree from the emperor last month, asking him to go to the capital to meet the emperor, and then he went out with the prince. I haven't seen him for a long time... And the time he said he went out roughly matches the time when my son-in-law appeared in our village..."

"Crack!" The wooden stake that Hongniang was holding suddenly broke, and several pieces of paper were almost pulverized in her hands. "Isn't there another possibility that it was the one who went to Donglin Academy?"

"But the road to Donglin Academy goes directly east and downstream. It's impossible to go north and pass by us..." Chang Wu was about to continue speaking, but was frightened by Hong Niang's stare and dared not speak.

"Without solid evidence, there are some things that cannot be said carelessly. Master Zhu is my husband, and this has never changed, whether in the past or now. Do you understand?"

"I understand, I understand..." Chang Wugan swallowed a few times and stopped talking angrily. He thought to himself: Isn't this sufficient evidence?
From Xiangyang to Jiangsu and Zhejiang, you can go directly down the Yangtze River. Going north is obviously the road to the capital. Among them, only the troops from Prince Xiang’s Mansion are going north!

Of course, he didn't dare say this.

"Go down. If I find out that this came from you, you should know the consequences."

"I know, the head is hanging at the east gate of the mountain stronghold!"

Hongniang watched Chang Wu stagger away, stood there for a long time without moving, and turned her head to look in the direction of the school.

Silence, quiet silence... After a long time, she finally clenched her fingers and walked towards that location.

……

When Hongniangzi walked into the school, it was already completely dark. She saw a figure sitting there with flickering eyes.

He's back again!
The wise, rebellious, visionary him, completely different from the stereotyped teacher during the day, is back.

"Master Zhu!"

"Come here." Zhu Changgan greeted her. He had just exchanged bodies with Chongzhen and had not yet fully adapted to the situation when he saw Hongniang pushing the door open.

She was wearing a tight outfit, staring at Zhu Changgan with her big, bright eyes, and asked with her head tilted, "Dad is not here?"

"Oh, maybe he just went out."

Lady Hong didn't dwell on this issue any more. She continued to look at him and asked with a sharp gaze, "My people just came in and told me something. I don't know whether I should tell you."

"Since you have said it, what else can't you say?" Zhu Changgan brought over the coarse rice porridge that had not been touched on the table, took a few sips, and nodded.

The firewood in the stove was almost burned out, revealing the red charcoal inside. When a whistle was blown on the kettle on top, a puff of steam gushed out.

Zhu Changgan went over and picked up the pot. "Would you like some tea?"

Lady Hong looked at his back and said, "Before you entered our village, no one made tea. At most, they would throw the tea into a pot and boil it, or throw it into a bowl... I heard that only those rich families would make tea."

Zhu Changgan smiled, without any pause in his hands, "A zither, a pot of wine, a stream of clouds; a pot of wine for the world, a pot of tea for the great cause... Not only the rich can drink tea, any great cause in the world can be achieved through this tea."

He brought a cup of tea and placed it in front of the other person.

The hot steam rose up and lingered between the two of them, as if they had often drunk tea like this before, but in fact this was the first time.

Zhu Changgan didn't look at him, but took out a pile of things from the bookshelf in the school and put them on the chopping board. "These are some of my views on the development of the situation in the Ming Dynasty. You can read more when you have time."

Red Lady lowered her head, not blinking.

Zhu Changgan took out something from the bookshelf and said, "And this is my opinion on the management of Shanzhai people... maybe it will be useful to you."

"Besides... you are leading this village alone, and the days ahead will be even more difficult. If it develops, it will be fine. If it doesn't develop, and when you really can't hold on any longer, you can ask Xiong Wencan or Sun Chuanting for mercy."

Hong Niangzi finally raised her head and said, "So, what Chang Wu said is true."

"Your last name is Zhu, not Zhu?"

He did not answer immediately. He picked up the cup and blew gently, then took a sip of tea. "Don't mention it, the tea from Siwang Mountain tastes pretty good."

After a while, he replied:
"Yes, my surname is Zhu, my name is Zhu Changgan, and I am the prince of the Xiangwang Mansion."

"Zhu Yonggan, Zhu Changgan... I should have known long ago that this is the same person." Lady Hong stared at the man in front of her in a daze, "But... I just don't believe it. How could you be from Prince Xiang's Mansion? Are all the things you tell me every day false?"

"This is not fake." Zhu Changgan looked up at her and smiled, "There is no doubt about this."

"How can you...a person with such rebellious ideas be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty?"

Until this point, Hongniang still didn't believe Zhu Changgan's identity and questioned with red eyes.

All the peasant uprisings were proud to be able to kill the royal children, because the Ming Dynasty had serious land annexation and the people could not even afford to eat, but the surplus grain in the homes of the royal children was piled up like mountains.

The corpses of the common people were scattered all over the ground, but the royal family of Zhu was extremely wealthy, so the royal family was the primary target of the rebels.

Hongniangzi and her companions also once thought of capturing a member of the royal family as a sacrifice so that the slogans could be shouted louder and more refugees could be attracted to join in.

But she never expected that there was a member of the royal family in front of her, and by some strange coincidence, he would become her husband.

Zhu Changgan smiled and said, "Maybe it's because I have too much time, so I have more time to think about these messy things.

Or maybe I think about it more and gain some insights. "

He gently unfolded a map and continued, "The current situation of the Ming Dynasty must be tight in the north and loose in the south. The court has just defeated the Qing Dynasty. The troops in northern Zhili, Hebei, Shandong and other places are in full swing. In addition, there are troops under the command of Sun Chuanting, the governor of the three borders, in the northwest. So it would be unwise to think about going north at this time."

"I suggest you go south, southeast, to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huguang, and Southern Zhili. There is food and land there. If you take action, there is still hope, but you must be quick, at least faster than Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong. If you lose this opportunity, I'm afraid there will be no possibility of development and growth..."

Zhu Chang spoke lightly about the general possible direction of development.

Be it a casual writing or a spark of light, since I have placed some bets on her, I still want to see her make some waves.

Whether the other party listens or not is her business, and whether you speak or not is your own business.

"You said so much..." After listening to Zhu Changgan's words, Hong Niangzi finally understood something and looked at the man opposite with cold eyes, "You want to escape?"

"Can you escape?" She suddenly grabbed the spear and rushed towards Zhu Changgan with a stern voice.

……

　Ask for a ticket

　　
　
(End of this chapter)