Saving the Ming Dynasty: I can exchange bodies with Chongzhen

Chapter 88 Huang Taiji's Ambition
After sending the eunuch away, Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming felt relieved all of a sudden. "Come on, pass on my order. The whole palace will hold a banquet for a day to entertain the guests."

"Inviting guests?" Chongzhen was a little confused. "Father, it's not necessary, is it?"

"Why not? Going back three generations, no... going back five generations, none of them have come to the capital to see the emperor." Xiang Wang Zhu Yiming said with red eyes: "It's not easy, your majesty finally thought of our Xiang Wang lineage."

In the Ming Dynasty, princes were not allowed to enter the capital, and in the Qing Dynasty, princes were not allowed to leave the capital!
It is hard to say which one is more wise, but both are designed to prevent their own people from coveting the throne. In essence, one is the "feudal system" and the other is the "noble system to secure the capital."

Since ancient times, the emperor "has not only planted plants and trees, but his descendants have also grown into a forest."

He had many brothers and uncles. Although the imperial court used the tradition of "establishing the eldest son as the heir" to quell disputes over the throne, it still could not prevent the princes from coveting the throne.

The Ming Dynasty's "royal vassal system" was a double-edged sword.

The advantage is that it can shield the court from foreign enemies. The disadvantage is rebellions such as the "Jingnan Campaign" and the "Ning Wang Rebellion". After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he killed and reduced the power of the princes, and issued a strict order that "no one is allowed to enter the court without an imperial edict."

It can be said that since the reign of Emperor Chengzu Zhu Di, all Ming princes who were granted fiefdoms in other places lived a seemingly luxurious life of "semi-confinement". Although they had no worries about food and clothing, they were basically like useless people.

According to the Ming system, princes were not allowed to participate in politics, and if they entered the capital without the emperor's order, the Embroidered Uniform Guards could directly take them to the Heavenly Prison.

It can be seen that the "feudal system" of the Ming Dynasty was strict. No wonder King Xiang was so excited and happy. He kept walking around on the spot, "Let's go, follow my father to the ancestral hall to pay homage to our ancestors."

Chongzhen looked bitter, but he had no choice but to follow Prince Xiang to the ancestral hall behind.

The lineage of Prince Xiang was a descendant of Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty (Zhu Gaochi), and he was a descendant of Zhu Di, so Chongzhen was actually unwilling to offer sacrifices to his ancestors in the ancestral hall.

……

Next he burned incense to worship his ancestors, and then... When he finished all this, Chongzhen found that the sun had already set.

Next, the entire afternoon was spent preparing things for Chongzhen for the palace examination.

"Don't move, my son Qilin. Just let your father do it." Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming stopped Chongzhen who wanted to help. "You can read a book or take a walk in the garden at the back during this time."

"But I don't want to study or go out right now. I just want to talk to my father."

Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming looked at him and said with a smile: "We, father and son, have plenty of time to talk. After the prefectural examination, it is the provincial examination. Time is tight, and the most important thing is to spend all the time on studying."

Seeing Prince Xiang's determined look, Chongzhen had no choice but to stand up and go back to the study.

I looked at the book but just couldn't get into it.

He thought of his mother, his biological mother Liu, who died when he was less than five years old.

All of Chongzhen's impressions came from after he ascended the throne. He really missed his biological mother, so he asked several old eunuchs in the palace to select a palace maid who looked similar to him. Then, based on their memories and guidance, the court painter painted a portrait of Empress Dowager Liu's remains.

At that time, Chongzhen cried while holding the portrait, which finally made up for the regrets he had since childhood.

As Chongzhen was thinking, his eyes were fixed on Prince Xiang Zhu Yiming in the yard.

He gently pushed open half of the door, ground the ink quickly, and touched the rice paper with his brush like a dragonfly skimming the water, dot after dot... Finally, a plump old man appeared on the paper.

The King of Xiang was leaning to the left, holding onto the carriage with his left hand, trying very hard to put a box on the carriage. A servant beside him reached out to help, but he refused, "Except for me, no one else is allowed to handle the things for the Crown Prince's exam."

It was the same last time. King Xiang was extremely serious about what he brought to the examination room. He was not at ease even after his servants had prepared it, and still wanted to do it himself.

Chongzhen stared at Prince Xiang's back, and his eyes suddenly turned red.

His vision blurred at this moment. The sudden sound of footsteps woke him up suddenly. Then he wiped his eyes, afraid of being seen by King Xiang or others.

When he looked outside, it was King Xiang who dusted himself off and said in a relaxed manner, "My son, let's go and have dinner together?"

"Father, please go first. I'll tidy up the desk and come right back!" In his hands behind his back was a piece of rice paper, which was the painting he had just made.

After King Xiang turned around, he quickly and gently unfolded it. He was relieved to see that the paper was not damaged.

But then he was stunned again. He didn't even know why his first reaction was to hide it instead of showing it to King Xiang.

……

Beijing,

After supervising the execution of General Wu Guojun and the eunuch Deng Xizhao, Lu Xiangsheng left the capital in a hurry.

He was accompanied by a silver carriage and 5 shi of grain.

Zhu Changgan directly let him take away 400,000 taels of silver.

After doing all this, he called out again
Zhu Changgan concentrated, and blue characters appeared in front of him again.

"Name: Zhu Changgan"

"Main quest: Save the Ming Dynasty Completion: 499/10000"

"The Ming Dynasty's national fortune value: -6666, (the people are living in dire straits, the national fortune is negative, and natural and man-made disasters continue.)"

"The Ming Dynasty has lasted for 105 days"

「Modern lifespan bonus: 105 days」

「Funding reward: 2876712.3 yuan」

"Sure enough, winning a battle is much better than talking to those civil officials in the court." Zhu Changgan said with some excitement.

After two battles, the progress bar increased fivefold, the national fortune value directly increased by two thousand, and the national destiny also doubled.

Compared with before, it is not an exaggeration to say that the degree of completion has skyrocketed.

Zhu Changgan was very excited, "We should enjoy ourselves now, why wait till now?"

"Weng Chengen, go to Chenghua Palace."

"Your Majesty, I just went to Chenghua Palace the day before yesterday, right..."

"I work hard for the country, can't I enjoy myself?"

Wang Chengen's face turned bitter, "Yes, Your Majesty!"

He actually wanted to advise the emperor that he should treat everyone equally and should also go to the empress or the imperial concubine, after all, the empress was the principal wife.

……

When Concubine Chen heard that the emperor was coming, she was naturally overjoyed, her eyes flickered, "Your Majesty, I greet you!"

She stepped forward to massage the emperor's shoulders, her captivating peach blossom eyes staring straight at him. The suppressed power seemed to be drawn out bit by bit from the depths of her soul with difficulty and spread throughout the room.

Zhu Changgan turned around and held the other's hand. His skin was as smooth as cream, as soft as silk and as flexible as a reed. "My beloved, your complexion seems to be more rosy today than yesterday?"

Concubine Chen's face was burning like a fireball. Fortunately, Wang Chengen drove her out. "Your Majesty, this is so embarrassing."

People are always like this.

If you don’t have it, you never think about it, but if you have it, you have to think about it.

After all, Concubine Chen remained reserved. She played a song for the emperor. Suddenly, there were a few faint spring thunders in the sky outside, and heavy rain began to fall like beads with broken string.

Zhu Changgan looked at the sky outside and said, "The Ming Dynasty's national fortune seems to be better than before, and there is more rain than before."

"Of course, there was not much rain during the rainy season in previous years."

In the pond outside Chenghua Palace, the lotus flowers were swaying continuously due to the beating of raindrops. There was nothing but water on the floor tiles, but the heavy rain continued to fall.

"The purple paths are all muddy, the mud is endless."

Next door, a graceful and gentle woman with a high bun and pearl hairpins, and a beautiful appearance was reading a book. She was startled by the sound of thunder and rain. She came to the door and saw the next door. She couldn't help but blush with shame and anger, and her face flushed all the way to the back of her neck.

She leaned back in her chair, frozen in place.

After a long moment, he spat.

……

When Chongzhen came to the Qianqing Palace again, he looked at the memorials and various other things on the desk, turned around and asked Wang Chengen, "When is the provincial examination?"

"Your Majesty, the provincial examination is also known as the 'Autumn Examination' and is scheduled to be held on the 9th, 12th and 15th of the eighth lunar month in autumn." Wang Chengen looked at the emperor, not understanding why he suddenly asked this question.

"August..." Chongzhen murmured, "After passing the prefectural examination, won't I have to go to Wuchang Prefecture?"

The capital of Huguang Province in the Ming Dynasty was Wuchang. Xiangyang, Jingzhou and Wuchang were the three important towns of Huguang Province.

After being stunned for a long time, Chongzhen suddenly remembered that there was something he hadn't asked, and looked at Wang Chengen, "Tell me about what happened in the court today."

Wang Chengen had already understood, "Your Majesty, today..."

"Oh?" Chongzhen's eyes suddenly widened. "Another victory? Where is the victory report?"

Wang Chengen had already prepared the victory report by this time, and he handed it over. Looking at Chongzhen's surprised expression, he couldn't help but feel a little distressed in his eyes.

"Your Majesty has devoted all his energy to the country and has longed for victory!"

Chongzhen looked at the victory report, laughed for a while, and then burst into tears again, "It's not that I have been looking forward to this battle for too long, but that the Ming Dynasty has been looking forward to this battle for too long..."

But then he saw the news that the Yongwei Battalion, the Beijing Battalion, and the White Spear Soldiers were retreating, and he couldn't help but frown.

“Why let them retreat?”

Wang Chengen dared not speak and looked up at the emperor.

Chongzhen clenched his fingers, remembering his previous promise to Zhu Changgan, "Yes, don't get involved. If you want to win, don't get involved..."

"It's good to win, it's good to win!"

He looked at the memorials on the table, and with his current state of mind, he suddenly felt relaxed.

Chongzhen stroked the dragon throne and said, "I have actually been on the throne for ten years!"

He lay on the table and fell asleep.

Wang Chengen looked at the emperor and was about to step forward when he saw a figure coming over. The complexion was as white as jade. It was Queen Zhou.

"You go down first!"

"Yes, Queen!" Wang Chengen handed the cloak to Queen Zhou and slowly retreated.

Empress Zhou had just covered Chongzhen with the cloak when Chongzhen woke up. He turned around and saw Empress Zhou, "Why are you here?"

"Why can't I come?" Queen Zhou's eyes were red. She was resentful towards Chongzhen. After all, he killed her father and brother. As a daughter, how could she not feel resentment and hatred in her heart.

"I know, but... Your Majesty should at least tell me." The queen's eyes were red. She was a sensible person.

Since she married into the royal family, she knew that everything should be based on the interests of the royal family. How could she not know what kind of people her father and brother were?

Even if you tell her, she won't stop you.

"I... have no other choice." Chongzhen really had no other choice, because he did not kill the man himself.

Queen Zhou pounded Chongzhen's body with her little hands and tears flowed uncontrollably.

Wang Chengen listened outside the door, then gently asked the eunuchs and palace maids behind him to stand further away.

……

Customs,

Huang Taiji is leading his troops to put pressure on the Ming Dynasty on the Guanning front to prevent the Guanning Cavalry from supporting the capital.

Under Huang Taiji's step-by-step management, the situation of Manchuria being surrounded by the Ming Dynasty, Korea and Mongolia was reversed to a situation where the Qing Dynasty, Korea and Mongolia joined forces to attack the Ming Dynasty. The balance of power between the two sides changed greatly.

At this time, Zu Dashou stayed inside Jinzhou. Huang Taiji looked at Jinzhou and murmured, "Dorgon and Yuetuo should have met up in Tongzhou, right?"

The original strategy was to meet up in Tongzhou, bypass the capital and reach Zhuozhou, and then divide the troops into eight routes to head west.

Haoge followed on horseback, "Your Majesty, what does this Zu Dashou mean? Is it a surrender or not?"

Since the fourth year of Chongzhen, Huang Taiji has sent people many times to persuade Zu Dashou to surrender.

Zu Dashou later had a meeting with Huang Taiji, who performed the most solemn Jurchen greeting ceremony on him, and personally served wine to Zu Dashou from a golden cup. He also rewarded him with imperial robes, a black fox hat, a sable fur coat, a gold belt, satin boots, and a white horse with a carved saddle.

After this, Zu Dashou maintained an extremely "ambiguous" relationship with Huang Taiji. In the seventh year of Chongzhen, the Later Jin invaded Xuanda. Chongzhen transferred Zu Dashou back for defense three times, but he did not respond.

Therefore, even though Zu Dashou was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, Huang Taiji always believed that he was one of his own.

However, at the moment, the most important thing is not Zu Dashou, but this battle to enter the Pass. In his expectation, when the Qing Dynasty enters the Pass, Chongzhen will inevitably lose his composure again.

They will certainly mobilize elite troops such as Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou, and Sun Chuanting to enter the pass to suppress the bandits. By then, the bandits of the Ming Dynasty will surely spread like wildfire and will be out of control.

"Since the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty broke one of my knives, I will make the other knife even sharper and continue to chop down the mighty tree of the Ming Dynasty."

In addition to entering the Pass this time, Huang Taiji also decided to lure the main force of the Ming Dynasty outside the Pass and annihilate it. This would completely avoid the risk of Li Zicheng, Zhang Xianzhong and other bandits being wiped out after the Eight Banners Army withdrew.

In this way, the Ming army was no longer able to stop the growth of the bandits, and the knife in Huang Taiji's hand became extremely sharp.

Haoge licked his face and said with a smile: "The vast country belongs to the virtuous. Your Majesty is appointed by heaven. The Zhu Dynasty has committed evil and cannot survive. I only hope that Your Majesty will raise an army to attack the Ming Dynasty and establish the Central Plains as soon as possible."

Huang Taiji smiled and patted him, "It will be soon. Now the fortune of our Qing Dynasty is getting better and better, but the Ming Dynasty is in constant turmoil."

"Father Emperor, if many heroes rise up in the Ming Dynasty, won't they be able to fight for supremacy in the Central Plains?"

"No!" Huang Taiji shook his head and said, "Since the beginning of time, there has never been a peasant uprising to seize the throne, not to mention the Ming Dynasty now..."

"Report!"

The Qing Dynasty's messengers rushed over from afar at full speed.

Haoge's face was filled with joy, and he turned his head to look into the distance, "Father Emperor, I didn't expect the report to arrive so quickly."

Huang Taiji looked at the other party with a frown.

In the past, people would shout "great victory" from a distance, but this time... Huang Taiji suddenly noticed that there was no red belt tied on the opponent's arm.

Could it be...

"Get out of the way, get out of the way!"

At this time, the army had cleared a clear path, and the messenger rode his horse to Huang Taiji without any hindrance.

The messenger suddenly jumped off his horse and knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, I want to report to Your Majesty that the right wing army led by Yue Tuo encountered the Ming army and was defeated!"

"The Eight Banners Cavalry suffered more than 13,000 casualties!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place fell into deathly silence!

(End of this chapter)