"Father, do you want your son to go to Nanjing?"
After Li Ruolian left, Zhu Cixiang hesitated for a while and said slowly to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this, glanced at the young and weak Zhu Cixi, and said kindly: "My father had this idea just now, are you willing to go?"
A flash of panic flashed across Zhu Cixiang's face, and then he nodded resolutely and said: "As long as it is beneficial to our Ming Dynasty, no matter where it is, I am willing to go!"
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the difference in his words, and then he remembered the court's proposal to move south a few months ago. At the beginning, Li Banghua had strongly recommended that Chongzhen stay in the capital and let the prince go south to supervise the army.
Thinking about it, Wu Renyi and others in the East Palace did not want him to go south, so they must have used a lot of underhanded tactics, which is why he still has lingering fears.
In fact, it is right to think about it. Although the South is rich and stable, it is dominated by the Donglin Party.
If a prince like Zhu Cixi, who has only empty honor but no real power, is allowed to pass away, what good results can there be except becoming Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty?
Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness in his heart, but he still forced a smile and said: "If you go south, you will patrol on behalf of the emperor."
"We will definitely arrange everything for you and won't let you get hurt at all. Otherwise, who will we entrust our kingdom to in the future?"
When Zhu Cihong heard this, a glimmer of suspicion flashed in his eyes, and then he kowtowed in thanks.
Zhu Yuanzhang saw the suspicion in Zhu Cixiang's eyes and knew that he still did not believe that the capital would be safe and thought that the so-called southern tour was an excuse to avoid disaster.
Zhu Yuanzhang thought that it would take some time, and Zhu Cixi also needed training, so he pressed the matter aside and said lovingly: "We will talk about this later. Now we, father and son, will sum it up. Let me tell you, write it down, and first tell the public The rewards for officials are fixed.”
Zhu Cixiang was stunned when he heard this, and said: "Father, the war in the city has not ended yet, is it not appropriate to give a reward now?"
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said: "No, this is just the right time. Once the overall situation has been decided, the rest is just some meritorious affairs and has little to do with the Beijing army."
"Secondly, when the rebels seek peace, people's hearts may become unstable. Now it is very necessary to stabilize their hearts with official titles!"
After Zhu Cixiang respectfully agreed, he wrote and waited for the letter.
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while and then said: "Xinlehou Liu Wenbing is unparalleled in his loyalty and bravery. He defeated the rebels at Changyi Gate and was granted the title of Duke of An. He received a reward of one thousand taels..."
"The prince-in-law Gong Yonggu was loyal and courageous in his duties. He had meritorious service in killing the enemy at Zhangyimen. He was granted the title of Ping Xihou and received a reward of one thousand taels..."
"Fan Jingwen, a great scholar, stayed calm in the face of danger and defended the city for meritorious service. He was named the chief minister of the cabinet and was awarded the title of Grand Master..."
"Wang Jiayan, the right minister of the Ministry of War, made good overall plans and dispatched well. He was granted the title of Minister of the Ministry of War..."
"Jin Xuan, a member of the Ministry of War, has commanded the troops well and has made great achievements in killing the enemy. He is awarded the title of Langzhong of the Ministry of War..."
...
"Shen Zhanran, the minister of the Hanlin Academy, has outstanding talents and has repeatedly come up with ingenious ideas. He was awarded the title of bachelor of the Hanlin Academy and became a cabinet director..."
"Huang Nilu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, Yu Hengqing, was rewarded with a thousand gold coins for his meritorious service in developing firearms, and was appointed as a member of the cabinet..."
Zhu Cixiang suddenly heard that Shen Zhanran, Huang Nilu and others had entered the cabinet as fifth-rank officials. He stopped writing with some confusion and asked: "Father, I know that you admire Zhanran and others, but they have only been in the court for a short time and have low official positions. Now they have entered the cabinet." The pavilion may be criticized and it will be difficult to do anything!"
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he smiled and shook his head and said: "It is precisely because the relationship between the two is not deep that they can be better used by us after joining the cabinet. If we only use some old officials, how can we reform the officialdom!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded thoughtfully and continued to write quickly...
...
At around midnight on March 19, in the "Xijiang Moon Teahouse" in the outer city, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Cixiang and others were hanging around in the hall.
At this moment, he was squinting his eyes in enjoyment, listening with great interest to the old man in the middle of the hall telling the story of how Chongzhen got the help of the golden dragon, saw through the conspiracy of Wei Zaode and others, and captured and beheaded them.
Because it was Zhu Cihong's first time in such a place, he was both nervous and excited. He kept looking at everything around him.
Although Li Ruolian had arranged royal guards everywhere, he still did not dare to relax at the moment and kept a close eye on everyone in the hall.
Only Shen Zhanran looked calm and chatted with the people at the next table from time to time, discussing his views on the current situation.
What they talked about the most was the killing of Wei Zaode, Zhu Chunchen and other nobles at Xisi Archway this morning. Although most people had never seen it in person, they talked about it vividly and shouted happily.
Some people think that just beheading those traitorous ministers is too cheap, and they should light up sky lanterns to relieve their anger.
In addition, some well-informed people also talked about the rebels' request for surrender. Most of them felt that the rebels were too overbearing and must be taught a lesson.
The reason why they are so determined is not only because yesterday's miracle made them believe that Zhu Yuanzhang is the destined emperor and will lead them to victory, but also because they heard that Chongzhen gave very generous rewards to the meritorious ministers this morning.
Especially the rewards given to those soldiers who defended the city with meritorious services made them envious.
Because this morning the Ministry of War not only fulfilled the previously agreed silver, but also promoted some brave soldiers and rewarded them with a lot of land.
Even the soldiers and civilians who died in the battle were no longer deducted from the taels of silver as before. Instead, each person received an extra 5 taels of burial silver.
Therefore, everyone in the city wanted to fight at this moment, fearing that Chongzhen would agree to peace talks, which would cost them the opportunity to make money and perform meritorious deeds.
"Brother, the rebels are really going to surrender. My cousin from Zhangyimen personally pulled up a rebel who presented a form of surrender last night. There were about twenty of them..."
A man with a handsome face was dissatisfied with Shen Zhanran's remarks, so he excitedly told what his cousin had said.
"Yes, I've heard about this too, and I heard that His Majesty is convening ministers to discuss the matter today, and also sent a person named Red Lady down to the city..."
A dark-faced man also echoed.
"No, this is just a delaying tactic. Think about it, our Majesty is so wise and has killed so many corrupt officials, how can he confer the title of king on the rebels..."
Before the swarthy man finished speaking, he was interrupted by a scholar-looking person.
"You don't know. I heard that the rebels seem to be colluding with the Jurchens. If you don't agree to their conditions..."
At this time, a man with triangular eyes said erratically.
"What do the Jurchens mean? Our Majesty is the True Dragon Emperor. If they dare to come again, Your Majesty will definitely kill them..."
As soon as the triangular-eyed man finished speaking, a muscular man immediately retorted.
...
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be listening to a book, but in fact he had been secretly paying attention to everyone's conversations.
He stayed in the teahouse for more than half an hour, and after roughly understanding the thoughts of the people at the bottom, he quietly left the teahouse with Zhu Cixiang and others.
He originally wanted to inspect the outer city again and give Zhu Cixi how to conduct a private visit, but unexpectedly saw an old man about fifty years old with a thin face.
The old man seemed very excited to see Zhu Yuanzhang. He quickly ran over and knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I finally see you!"
