Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 44: Zhu Chunchen's Tragedy

During these days of military training, Cao Huachun had been wondering what the emperor was going to do. Now he understood in his heart what the emperor was thinking.

This means we are going to take action against the Beijing camp.

There was nothing expressed on Cao Huachun's face, but Sun Yingyuan and Huang Degong had burning eyes, as if they had been waiting for this for a long time.

Zhu Changgan did not go back. At noon, he had lunch in the Yongwei Camp and sat at the same table with the soldiers.

He would occasionally chat and laugh with the soldiers, which made Wang Chengen look dazed for a moment, and he murmured:
"Many people in the court said that the emperor had changed. Now it seems that the emperor has indeed changed."

But he couldn't tell what had changed. Could it be because His Majesty always had an attack at night?
After finishing the meal, Zhu Changgan suddenly remembered something and asked Wang Chengen, "Did Empress Zhou and Empress Yi'an go out to comfort the people today?"

"Reply to Your Majesty, I'm leaving."

Zhu Changgan frowned. Queen Zhou and Queen Yi'an went out to comfort the people again, but his own national fortune value did not increase much?
Is it true that only the first time is the most effective?

Before, he ordered the distribution of porridge, and the national fortune value increased. After that, it only increased by 1 point a day. The same thing happened when he asked the queen to comfort the people. The DIY increased by 100 in ten days, and it also increased by 1 point a day thereafter.

It seems that we still need to take multiple approaches to save the people from dire straits in order to improve the national fortune of the Ming Dynasty.

Half an hour after dinner,

The entire Yongwei Battalion entered into training mode again. This time, with the emperor watching, Huang Degong and Sun Yingyuan also personally took to the battlefield.

On the parade ground of the Yongwei Camp, smoke and dust billowed, and the shouts of people and the neighing of horses intertwined together.

With the 50 taels of silver given by Zhu Changgan, the soldiers of the Yongwei Camp ate better, with meat in their stomachs every day. Their mental outlook was refreshed, and they trained harder.

They originally practiced horse archery, rattan armor soldiers, crooked guns, fire guns, spear formations, archers, etc. Now Zhu Changgan introduced modern cavalry and artillery attacks, and the infantry was only equipped with flintlock rifles, spears, and waist knives.

In addition, on the basis of these trainings, Zhu Changgan asked them to add a five-kilometer armed cross-country run, pull-ups on the horizontal bar, push-ups, weightlifting frog jumps, 400-meter obstacles... to increase physical training.

"Boom boom boom..."

The Red Cannon and the French Cannon that had just been delivered by the Armament Department were emitting flames and smoke, and they were loaded with solid bullets with a direct range of more than 300 steps.

The wooden targets placed 500 meters away were hit with a loud bang. Some of the wood was directly pierced through the middle, and wood chips flew everywhere.

Then the soldiers carrying flintlock rifles came forward, "bang bang bang~"

Team after team fired in three stages.

Holes were punched into the target 50 steps away.

Zhu Changgan counted silently in his mind and roughly estimated that a skilled shooter could shoot about 4-5 times a minute, and an unskilled shooter could shoot 3 times a minute, so the effect was still good.

Looking at the Yongwei Battalion which already had initial combat effectiveness, he nodded his head. After all, the training time was still short, and there was still a lot of room for improvement in the personnel's control over firearms, quality, and weapon quality.

"Cavalry, charge!" Huang Degong gave an sudden order, and thousands of soldiers and horses rushed towards the target like water.

……

at the same time,

In the Beijing camp, Duke Chengguo Zhu Chunchen, who had not come for many days, seemed to have taken the wrong medicine today. He came to inspect wearing armor and riding a horse.

But as soon as he arrived at the Beijing camp, he heard someone crying and wailing in front of his horse.

"Governor... I want to see you!" A large group of officers from the Beijing camp, led by Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, said with tears on their faces, "Governor, you have to make the decision for us."

"The soldiers haven't received their food and wages for a year. The Yongwei Battalion only has 50 people, but they were given taels all at once."

"That's right, Governor. We are the emperor's personal soldiers. Why do they get to eat meat while we have to eat fart and drink wind?" A lieutenant general named Wang said indignantly.

"Please ask the Lord to help us."

"Please, Lord Governor, help us..."

"Hoohoo!"

A large group of people suddenly knelt down in the military camp, each of them feeling heartbroken, as if their mother had died.

Zhu Chunchen jumped off his horse and said, "Hey, brothers, what are you doing?"

He helped Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, up and pretended to wipe his eyes. "The emperor asked me to supervise the Beijing camp. My brothers have no food and money. I feel sad too!"

"I'm so sorry!" Zhu Chunchen knelt down suddenly and screamed to the sky: "Today, I asked for food and money on behalf of my brothers and His Majesty in the court...but His Majesty didn't even ask for it."

"I promise to continue asking His Majesty tomorrow. If His Majesty doesn't give it to me, I will go to the palace to ask for it."

Zhu Chunchen rubbed his eyes vigorously, his heart aching, and he gritted his teeth and said: "Brothers, if you don't eat or drink well, the soldiers will feel hungry, and it hurts in my heart!"

"Master, let's go and ask His Majesty. If he can give money to the Yongwei Camp, then he should give it to us." Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, raised his head and shouted to the people behind him, "Everyone, do you agree?"

"Yes, since Your Majesty can give money to the Brave Guard Battalion, then he can naturally give it to us."

Zhu Chunchen shook his head, "How can you ask His Majesty for it? You can't even see His Majesty."

Li Shouqi, the Earl of Xiangcheng, said in a low voice: "I heard that His Majesty went to the Yongwei Camp again, so let's go to the Yongwei Camp."

"Yongwei Camp? No way..." Zhu Chunchen narrowed his eyes, his gaze flickering.

In fact, he came here today just to please the emperor.

The best way to put on an eye-opener is, of course, to make some noise in the Beijing camp.

At the moment, his soldiers were filled with righteous indignation, which saved him a lot of words. However, he still shook his head and said, "This is not appropriate. You are mobilizing such a large army to go there. What do you call this?"

"This is called mutiny, and your majesty can punish you."

"Don't worry, Governor. We will just say that you didn't know about this. We went there on our own. Even if His Majesty blames us, it won't be on you." Xiangcheng Earl Li Shouqi said hurriedly.

Zhu Chunchen's eyes suddenly widened. "Am I the kind of person who is afraid of taking responsibility? I am thinking about my brothers. I can't just watch them do something stupid."

"Yes, what the governor said is right." Li Shouqi said quickly: "We are not going there in the name of military exercises, but just to let Your Majesty know that there is not only the Yongwei Camp in the capital, but also our Beijing Camp."

"Hmm..." Zhu Chunchen pondered for a moment, and finally nodded, "That's fine. We can have a drill with the Beijing Battalion, that should be fine."

"Make some noise, but never set foot into the Beijing camp."

After Zhu Chunchen finished explaining, he replied with satisfaction. In his opinion, the military drills of the Beijing Army were not mutiny. Even if the incident was reported to the emperor, he would still have something to say.

……

"Prince, why do you look absent-minded?" In the study of Prince Xiang's mansion, Mr. Dugu was explaining the meaning of scriptures to Chongzhen.

"No...no!" Chongzhen suddenly came to his senses and said with a slightly red face.

"Although the prince can use his connections to help you get into the county and prefectural exams, you must at least do well in the exams." Mr. Dugu said solemnly:

"Besides, the provincial examination, which is held every three years, is coming up soon. It is so difficult and the interval is so long. If you miss this one, you will have to wait for the next three years."

"Three years after three years, how can the prince's talent be wasted like this?"

"What you have taught me is correct, sir." Chongzhen blushed and the corners of his mouth twitched.

He is a man who cares a lot about his reputation and values his dignity more than anything else. This is essentially related to his tragic experience in childhood.

It may be because of this that Chongzhen was a person who respected teachers and loved learning. He was also a master of calligraphy and proficient in eight-legged essays.

A traditional wise man.

These days, Mr. Dugu taught him, and he found that he had unknowingly fallen in love with this state of learning, but the conversation with Zhu Changgan in his ears kept worrying him.

Especially today, Zhu Changgan wanted to move against Zhu Chunchen, the Duke of Chengguo. Chongzhen's heart was in his throat and he couldn't calm down. "Prince, let me continue, you..."

Chongzhen was about to continue listening, but his eyes suddenly shrank and he stood up, "Sir, I want to go to the toilet."

“……”Mr. Dugu put down the book in his hand and frowned.

Chongzhen ran out quickly, his Adam's apple rolling constantly. At this moment, his ears were in a mess, and he heard a few urgent calls from time to time, which he heard clearly.

"coming!"

"It's not even dark yet, and the people from the Beijing camp are already here?"

"Quick, report to His Majesty!"

……

In the capital camp,
When Cao Huachun, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong and others heard the scout's report, they were stunned at first, and then quickly informed the emperor.

Zhu Changgan nodded and said, "Get ready!"

Several people followed the order and went out.

"The Beijing camp mutinied." Huang Degong shouted, "Everyone check your guns! Check your artillery!"

"Get ready for battle!"

"Here!"

At this point, all they can do is suppress it.

Zhu Changgan was protected by the Dongchang and Yongweiying. Wang Chengen looked outside, his heart pounding, and cursed, "How dare they? How dare they?"

The small river outside the Yongwei Camp was flowing with rippling waves, seemingly tireless, and the splashing waves were like tears, because blood and dry bones would once again be buried in this riverbed and flow in this river.

"drive!"

In the distance, teams of cavalry and infantry were coming towards the direction of the Beijing camp. Generals such as Zhu Chunchen and Li Shouqi were sitting on their horses. The dust raised by the horses' hooves and the long hair in the soldiers' hands were flashing with a sharp cold light.

"Master, the Brave Guard Battalion is ahead. Should we shout?"

"Shout!" Zhu Chunchen listened to the scout's report and said with a smile, "Since we are training, we must make some noise."

Li Shouqi also laughed and said, "That's right, let's show you the spear formation we practiced two years ago."

"Let your majesty see that we in the Beijing camp are no pushovers either."

"Everyone move!"

"Wow~"

This group of ruffians from the Beijing camp advanced forward, waving their spears in an orderly manner.

From a distance, thousands of soldiers from the Beijing camp began to shout at the top of their lungs.

……

It was eerily quiet inside the Yongwei Camp. All the soldiers seemed to have disappeared at that moment, without making even the slightest sound.

"The Beijing camp is already five miles away!"

"The Beijing camp is already three miles away!"

"..."

"The Beijing camp is already a mile away!"

Only the scouts came back again and again to report the news.

Zhu Changgan remained silent throughout the entire process, and only asked a question when he was about a mile away: "Have you seen Duke Cheng, Zhu Chunchen?"

"Your Majesty, Duke Chengguo is here too." Huang Degong stepped forward and said.

"Are you sure?"

"I cannot be mistaken about the armor he wears."

Zhu Changgan took a deep breath and said, "Then do it. No matter how high the other party's rank is, I don't want you to hold back."

Cao Huachun was a little dazed, "Your Majesty, what you mean is..."

Zhu Changgan did not reply, but his meaning was clear enough.

……

In later generations, scenes of a few hundred people on TV were already crowded, but the thousands of people in the Beijing camp were scattered on the ground, densely packed like ants. It was a spectacular scene.

"Master, do you think His Majesty should consider our Beijing camp now?" A lieutenant general rode side by side with Zhu Chunchen and said, "I heard that His Majesty has tens of millions of taels of silver."

"Yes, your Majesty's treasury now has at least tens of millions of taels of silver." Zhu Chunchen's eyes flashed with greed, "But your Majesty is too stingy!"

"Your Majesty is really amazing. Wang Zhixin and Luo Yangxing were replaced as soon as he said so. What do you think, what if..."

"That's different." Zhu Chunchen snorted and continued:

"After all, the biggest support of the East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is the emperor, but our Beijing Camp is different. We have nobles and civil servants from the Ministry of War involved. How can we just replace them whenever we want?"

"You guys, just keep your guard down. As long as I'm here, no one will dare to touch you."

Xinjian Earl Wang Xiantong rode his horse and said, "Duke, His Majesty has changed a lot recently. I feel like there's something indescribably strange about him!"

"Strange?" Zhu Chunchen frowned and asked, "You are such a rough fellow, when did you learn how to read faces? How did you know that?"

"I can't put it into words. If I have to say, it's the eyes! There's light in your Majesty's eyes. He looks refreshed and energetic, as if he is completely focused on what he is doing."

Zhu Chunchen laughed when he said this. "Get lost, you bastard, you put a table on Chang'an Street and try to fool people."

"Is there light in his eyes? I think it's your eyes that are shining. When you heard that the emperor has tens of millions of taels of silver in his treasury, you were shining."

At this time, a lieutenant general came to report, "Master, the front is the territory of the Brave Guard Camp, should we go in?"

"Stop, just shout outside,"

Zhu Chunchen cursed and shouted to the front: "You guys haven't eaten yet? Shout louder, otherwise how can His Majesty hear you? How can I pay you?"

"Hey, that's right, yell at me."

Before he could finish his words, his eyes suddenly opened wide and he looked up at the sky.

"boom!"

"boom……"

A huge roar exploded in his ears like thunder, shaking his eardrums so that he could not hear anything.

The ground was blown open, and a huge impact force instantly enveloped his whole body, blowing him off his horse. The military horse neighed and was knocked to the ground by the explosion, and the bodies of the soldiers flew everywhere.

Flames, mud, blood, flesh and body parts filled the eyes.

　Thanks to the book friends for their votes
　　
　
(End of this chapter)