Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 200 You two should take advantage of this opportunity to study
On August 28, Chongzhen's troops once again captured Wuchang Prefecture without bloodshed. From then on, the capital of Huguang fell completely into the hands of the rebels.

As per custom, Chongzhen sat in the Wuchang County Government Office and judged cases for the people.

Now it has become an old tradition of the "Prince Xin" army. The people are looking forward to Prince Xin, and this is one of the main reasons.

A woman in mourning knelt on the ground and said, "My Lord, there is a high-ranking official in the court who is a third-rank official in Wu Xuechao's family. So he beat my man to death and took me into the Wu family for three years. If it weren't for the king's righteous army entering the city, I don't know when I would have escaped!"

Wu Xuechao looked to be in his forties. He knelt on the ground and kept denying everything, saying that the woman seduced him. However, he was held down by a peasant soldier. "Prince Xin didn't ask you, so you have no right to speak."

Chongzhen looked at the woman's haggard face, which did not look pretty at all, and asked, "Is there any witness?"

"Reply to the king, there was an officer who saw it at first, but he later denied that he saw it."

"Oh, bring this man here."

Soon, an officer was brought over. Seeing the woman on the ground and the wealthy man Wu Xuechao, he clearly understood what was going on.

Old Han held up a knife and said, "Tell me what you saw. If you tell even a single lie, I'll kill you, regardless of whether I see the knife or not."

"Yes, I'll tell the truth..." The officer swallowed his saliva. Prince Xin specialized in killing corrupt officials and wealthy people. Now that he was asking about this case, he had to tell the truth if he wanted to survive.

He described how Wu Xuechao beat Widow Song's man, and how several of Wu Xuechao's followers tied up the man's limbs, leaving him face down, covered in dirt and blood.

How that man knelt down and begged for mercy...

Wu Xuechao told the whole story of how he personally stepped on the other person's head and finally beat him to death with a stick.

"So you were there at the time?"

"This..." The policeman's face suddenly changed. "Your Majesty, I am just a policeman. The Wu family is a wealthy family with high-ranking officials in the court. I will be in trouble if he says anything. If he can beat someone to death, it will naturally ruin my job. Then I will drag him to the alley and do something without anyone noticing. There are too many cases like this in the government office. The reason is that there is a lack of witnesses and the murder weapon cannot be found."

"For telling the truth, I will flog you eighty times."

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty... Ouch, ouch" the officer was dragged away, and soon a miserable sound was audible.

If it were the previous Chongzhen, he would definitely kill this person, but now he has considered more than before. If the other party tells the truth, he will die. Then who will dare to speak in the future?
With the correction from the officer, Wu Xuechao had no choice but to accept it with a bitter smile on his face.

The woman burst into tears and knelt down to thank Chongzhen for standing up for the people.

"Come on, who else is suing the Wu family?"

"I……"

"I... sued the Wu family for beating my son to death."

Soon, several more families came to sue the Wu family. In addition to Wu Xuechao, the case of the old man of the Wu family bullying men and women was also exposed.

"Well, if the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. This is an old tradition!" Chongzhen gritted his teeth and said angrily: "Come here, confiscate our property and exterminate our clan."

"Yes!"

The people who were watching the fun couldn't help but cheer loudly when they heard the words. They followed the peasant army, surrounded the Wu family's courtyard, and quickly dragged out the Wu family's grandfather and the people from the main family.

More than 80 members of the family were all beheaded in public.

In the next few days, this matter was discussed on the streets of Wuchang Prefecture, and whenever it was mentioned, the people all praised it.

But Chongzhen felt very tired after hearing the cases these days, "Is this the Ming Dynasty?"

The biggest feeling in my heart is that even with the constraints of the legal system, there is still a long way to go to talk about fairness between bureaucrats, gentry and the lower-class people.

……

After capturing Wuchang Prefecture, Chongzhen's troops reached a total of 170,000.

The emperor's edict also fell into Zuo Liangyu's hands.

"What? You want me to go to Wuchang to suppress the bandits?" Zuo Liangyu's brows twisted into a "川" shape. "The rebel king has more than 100,000 troops now. How can I possibly suppress them with my limited number of troops?"

"Sun Chuanting has so many soldiers and horses..."

Zuo Liangyu was no fool. He immediately realized the emperor's intention and asked, "Your Majesty, are you trying to test me?"

The deputy general frowned and said, "General, do you mean that the court doesn't trust us?"

"Apart from this, is there any other reason?" Although Zuo Liangyu was not well educated, he had the wisdom to rise to the position of general. "Last time, His Majesty summoned us generals to the capital to watch the military performance. It was a warning to us. If we don't obey your order this time, I'm afraid we will have to face the artillery fire of the five camps."

He had seen the power of the Beijing camp's artillery fire, and he didn't even have the courage to face it, let alone defeat it.

"Order all troops to prepare to march!"

"Marshal, do you really want to fight?"

Zuo Liangyu nodded and said, "We must not only fight, but also fight with authority to let the court know that we are loyal to the court."

"Yes, handsome!"

……

Two days after seeing off Li Yan, Chongzhen finally welcomed another group of people, who brought handwritten letters from an old Huihui.

Request a meeting to discuss important matters.

As the leader of the Left Fifth Battalion of the Huige Army and also an old Hui from the Thirteen Families of Xingyang, Chongzhen had no reason to refuse and agreed to meet him.

The location is inside the Governor's Palace.

Old Han raised his hand and called Miao Haishi over, "You must stay by Prince Xin's side at all times."

"Don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Prince Xin."

The next morning, the Jinyiwei put people on the street under martial law, and when the sun rose, two horses approached.

Old Han welcomed him into the Governor's Mansion.

Chongzhen was already waiting in the yard.

As a guest, the old Huihui bowed deeply and said, "Greetings, Prince Xin!"

"Are you Lao Huihui?" Chongzhen returned the salute. As the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he was so tired of hearing the name Lao Huihui that he never expected to see this rebel leader with his own eyes.

His face is clean and with a few strands of beautiful beard, he looks like a teacher in a private school.

People always say that Lao Huihui has a green face and fangs, but I never thought he is such a handsome man.

Things in the world are so unpredictable. When he was the emperor, he tried every means to find out what kind of supernatural powers this old Huihui had to stir up trouble in Henan and Huguang.

However, the government troops were defeated again and again and were unable to capture him.

Now that he had become a big bandit, it was easy for him to see the other party. Chongzhen looked at the other party's neck unconsciously, and had the urge to chop off the other party's head.

"King Xin?"

"Oh, please come in!" Chongzhen suddenly realized that he had lost his composure. His current position was just a job, so he quickly said, "I have prepared wine and food to welcome you."

"Okay, okay... Thank you, King Xin!" The old Huihui did not hesitate and strode into the Governor's Mansion.

Besides, the other party is also a rebel king. Now I am showing weakness and coming to join him. If I am still suspicious, wouldn’t I be destroying my future?

After entering the hall, the host and the guest took their seats.

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Lao Huihui finally stood up and said, "Prince Xin, to be honest, Lao Huihui came here this time to request a joint force."

"We suffered heavy losses in the battle at Yinghuo Mountain. Now the Ming court is strong and powerful. After much deliberation, we think we must unite to fight against them."

Chongzhen took a bite of the food and said, "Do you want to take a breath under the tree, or do you really want to join forces?" He had heard a lot about the tricks of these peasant armies, so it was naturally impossible for him to believe it easily.

"What are you talking about, Prince Xin? Since I came here in person to ask for a joint force, I really want to join Prince Xin. I don't have any intention of taking a break." The old Huihui stood up and patted his chest. "From now on, I will stand under the Xin flag and will not leave."

In addition to what he heard, he also saw it with his own eyes and realized that this was the only chance for Huige Zuowuying to make a comeback.

Chongzhen smiled and asked, "How many soldiers do you have now?"

"After the battle at Yinghuo Mountain, we only had one thousand soldiers from the old camp, and the other soldiers and horses, totaling less than ten thousand." Lao Huihui continued: "But these ten thousand are all elite, ten thousand are equivalent to fifty thousand."

"Haha~" the old blind man said with a smile: "Okay, okay, since Old Huihui said so, Prince Xin will naturally believe it, but who will be the leader of the Huige Left Five Battalions if they join in?"

"Since we are standing under the banner of Xin, it is natural that Prince Xin will be the leader."

"We have many rules under the banner of Xinzi. If you break the rules, you will be killed without mercy."

The old Huihui said righteously: "When I came here, I happened to see Sun Kewang's troops. I admire the fact that Prince Xin's troops can be so disciplined. If our troops break the rules, they will be killed."

The old blind man listened to the voice and identified the location, "Prince Xin, what do you think?"

The muscles on Chongzhen's face twitched. The atmosphere had reached this point. What else could he say? He could only smile and reply, "Okay, then I'll wait for good news from Lao Huihui."

Rather than letting the Hui people continue to develop barbarically in Henan and Huguang, tying them to their own chariot is also a good idea.

At least it is within sight, preventable and controllable.

"Come on, drink!"

"drink!"

The important matters were settled and both the host and the guests were happy.

……

When Zhu Changgan returned to his body, he was surprised to hear that Lao Hui had surrendered. "Prince Xin's prestige is so strong? Could Chongzhen be born to rebel?"

"This formula seems familiar. Is it Li Zicheng's script?"

Historically, after the defeat, the Huige Left Fifth Battalion first submitted to Zhang Xianzhong for a period of time. Then the following year, Li Zicheng killed He Yilong, and Lin Chengyang unified the Huige Left Fifth Battalion and submitted to Li Zicheng.

But now, in the troubled times, Wang Lin Yangcheng died early, and instead the old Huihui led the people to join Chongzhen's side.

Even Zhu Changgan could not have imagined this plot.

He walked out of the tent, and the soldiers greeted him as they saw him coming out, "King Xin!"

"Prince Xin!"

Zhu Changgan nodded one by one.

Looking at the endless fireflies outside, which were all the tents of the peasant army soldiers, he couldn't help but sigh with a wry smile, "It's fate, who could have thought it would be like this?"

……

However, Chongzhen, who returned to the capital, felt exhausted. While listening to Wang Chengen's report of everything that happened during the day, he fell asleep unconsciously.

I suddenly woke up in the middle of the night and found myself in the Qianqing Palace. I couldn't help but sigh, "Why am I back?"

"Your Majesty, what do you mean? Why did you call him back?" Wang Chengen was serving on the side. When he heard that the emperor had woken up, he quickly got up.

Chongzhen touched the throne and said, "Not everyone can sit in this position."

Now he doesn't want to go back to Kyoto, or to the Qianqing Palace. "Every time I come back here, I always feel like I'm not the master of this world."

"Ten years, how many decades are there in a lifetime? Being an emperor is less enjoyable than being a bandit."

"Your Majesty, I dare not say that!" Wang Chengen was terrified.
The Emperor's illness has relapsed, and this time it is much more serious than ever before.

"Quickly, send the imperial doctor!"

"The Imperial Physician..."

There was a sudden chaos in the palace, and the situation did not improve until the imperial physician took the emperor's pulse and prescribed a medicine.

Wang Chengen pulled Doctor Liu over and asked, "What's going on?"

"Your Majesty has been overworked recently and has a strong heart fire. Just rest for a few days and you will be fine. There is nothing serious!"

Wang Chengen's heart finally settled down. When he returned to the Qianqing Palace, he found that the emperor had fallen asleep again, so he closed the door.

After thinking for a long time, he was still worried, so he came to Chenghua Palace and knocked on the doors of Chen Yuanyuan and Liu Xuanshi.

"Eunuch Wang, what are you doing?"

The two men originally thought that it was the emperor who came, but when they opened the door they found that it was just a eunuch, and they couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Wang Chengen clenched his fingers and said, "I shouldn't say this, but I am your Majesty's best friend. Your Majesty suddenly had hysteria tonight..."

"Ah? How is His Majesty?" they asked in unison.

Wang Chengen relaxed his tone a little when he saw that the two were concerned about the emperor. "Imperial Doctor Liu has examined it. It is caused by the deficiency of Qi and the excess of fire. It is related to the overwork these days. So I hope you two can take advantage of your strength and don't make His Majesty's body suffer from any problems."

The two men's faces suddenly turned red as blood. They pursed their lips and nodded knowing that they were in the wrong. "We can save ourselves the trouble, but if His Majesty insists on doing this, we will..."

Wang Chengen also realized the seriousness of the situation this time, and frowned and said, "Why are you so stubborn? Your Majesty has a body of ten thousand gold dragons, and cannot be overworked, but you can!"

"Can we?"

"Your Majesty cannot move, but you can..." Wang Chengen looked at the two of them with a worried look on his face, "It seems I have to find a master for you."

In the palace, there are masters who specialize in training in this area, but the two of them are shy and have never accepted the arrangements made by the palace. Now that they see that the emperor is not feeling well, they understand that they need to continue their studies.

……

The next day, morning.

While a fire was raging in the south of the Ming Dynasty, something major happened in the north.

Dorgon ordered Ajige to lead the army and Korean sailors to bypass the Guanningjin line and attack Dengzhou Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty while the Mongolian tribes south of the desert had not yet recovered.

A massacre was carried out in Dengzhou Prefecture.

When the news reached the capital, Zhu Changgan was furious. "Well, I was thinking of fighting North Korea after a while, but I didn't expect this kid to be so excited?"

"Have the three large ships of the Military Equipment Department been renovated?"

"In reply to the emperor, the third ship will be ready in the last few steps." Ma Shiwei replied.

"Tell them to hurry into the city. I want to hear North Korea's petition for surrender before it freezes."

"Yes!"

The modified Manila galleon had a reduced carrying capacity, but increased its capacity to carry people, ammunition, and food, and could accommodate more than 500 people at a time.

The three large ships could carry more than 1,500 people and hundreds of cannons at a time.

Twice there were more than three thousand men and two hundred artillery pieces.

Enough to deal with the war in North Korea.

　Make up for last leave
　　
　
(End of this chapter)