"Thousands of people, all strong men, lined up on the North Wall Street of the Imperial City early in the morning waiting to surrender to the army! With the blessing of our ancestors, the Ming Dynasty will be saved..."
The old eunuch was almost crying with joy. He was wiping his tears while announcing the good news to Zhu Cixiang.
Zhu Cixiang couldn't help but frown when he heard the old eunuch in front of him, who had gray hair and eyebrows and was at least 60 years old, talking about the blessings of his ancestors.
Is that the blessing of the ancestors? It's obviously the ancestors who tricked people!
"Let's go to Bei'anmen!"
When Li Jizhou came, Zhu Cixiang was having breakfast, so he picked up two steamed buns and planned to go out.
The internal officers and guards in Duanben Palace had all gotten used to it, and no one dared to dissuade them. They all packed up and prepared to follow. The old eunuch Li Jizhou was shocked by Zhu Cixiang's behavior. Why go to Bei'anmen?
Although Bei'anmen is still within the scope of the Imperial City, it is just outside the Imperial City! Can the prince go wherever he wants?
And the prince has to go to court to study and listen to lectures! Dr. Zeng reported yesterday that the prince was unwell and needed to rest for a few days. However, Li Jizhou only approved it for one day. Whether he can take leave today can only be decided after he meets Zhu Cihong in person.
The prince will be an emperor in the future, so he cannot delay his homework... If he doesn't study hard now, how will he become an emperor in the future? If he becomes a foolish king, what will happen to the whole world?
Also, why is this prince holding a meat bun in one hand and chewing it while walking? How is this appropriate? When in the Ming Dynasty did a king eat while walking? If the outer dynasty finds out, shouldn't they impeach the Donggong lecturer and the Sixth Bureau of the Donggong?
"Master Qiansui, Master Qiansui, where are you going?" Li Jizhou wanted to stop Zhu Cixiang, but Zhu Cixiang moved faster and walked out of the gate of Duanjing Hall like the wind. He had no choice but to run along and follow behind to persuade.
"Go to Bei'anmen!" Zhu Cixiang said, "Li Julang, you should also follow."
"Master Chitose, you have to go to court in the morning and listen to the officials' lectures in the afternoon. You asked for leave yesterday. You have to go today..."
Because Zhu Cixiang was still young, he did not have to go to court every day. Emperor Chongzhen asked him to go to court every three days. On days when he was not going to court, he would practice martial arts in the morning and essays in the afternoon. Today is the time to go to court and listen to politics.
"No, no..." Zhu Cixiang shook his head, "I have important matters and I don't have time to go to court. Li Julang, didn't I take three days off yesterday? Don't you know?"
One day's leave lasted for three days...it was incomparable to Emperor Chongzhen's diligence!
The old eunuch sighed in his heart, what happened to the prince? Is this going to be the path of a foolish king?
Zhu Cixiang ignored him and just walked quickly. It seemed that he wanted to get rid of this old and confused eunuch, but although Li Jizhou was old, his legs and feet were very good, and he followed him all the way without falling behind.
"Master Qiantose, looking at you like this, you are not sick anymore. I don't dare to hide it for you..."
What's not sick? That's because your medical skills are not good! Zhu Cihong said to himself: My soul has been changed, how can I not be sick? In future generations, organ replacement will be a serious illness. How can soul replacement be a minor illness?
But Zhu Cixi didn't want this old eunuch to ruin his affairs. No matter how hard he tries, Emperor Chongzhen will soon know. But after all, the palace is different from ordinary people, and it takes quite an hour to just walk around! Moreover, the human relations were complicated, and matters involving the prince would affect the whole body, so it was difficult for Emperor Chongzhen to grasp the entire situation at the first time.
In addition, these are also extraordinary times. Maybe what Zhu Cihong did was the emperor's secret order? Anyone who doesn't understand the situation and reports it may risk his or her life.
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang estimated that it would take some time for Emperor Chongzhen to discover the conspiracy between himself and Wang Chengen... By then, Emperor Chongzhen would have nothing to do with him.
"Wang Qi, bring Li Julang up with us." Zhu Cihong heard that the old eunuch was going to expose him, and quickly ordered his East Palace guard Wang Qi to control the old man.
Wang Qi is a burly man, over six feet tall, that is, one meter eighty-six-seven meters tall. It's not long and narrow, but has a wide body, and the front looks like a door panel.
He was a Han general and was selected as a guard of the East Palace because of his majestic appearance. Now that Zhu Chunjie was ordered to go out of the palace to do business, Zhu Cihong appointed him as the leader of the guards in the East Palace.
After hearing Zhu Cixiang's instructions, Wang Qi was stunned for a moment. What is this situation? What does His Highness the Crown Prince want to do?
"Wang Qi! What are you doing standing still?" Seeing the hesitation of the big man, Zhu Cixiang immediately shouted.
Only then did Wang Qi wake up, he responded quickly, walked up a few steps, said "offended", stretched out his big hand and grabbed the old eunuch's wrist.
His wrist was buckled, and Li Jizhou was at a loss. What was going on? What is the prince doing? Just to skip class, is this all?
Zhu Cixiang didn't waste any time talking to Li Jizhou. He strode out of Duanben Palace and walked north, all the way out of Xuanwu Gate and across Wansui Mountain, before arriving at Bei'anmen, the north gate of the imperial city.
Wang Chengen and Wu Xiang had already arrived and were discussing something at the half-opened Bei'an Gate. There were also a large group of Wu family servants, Dongchang Tiqi and Nanhai Zijingjun around. Seeing Zhu Cixi's arrival, the two people quickly stopped talking and went forward to bow to him.
"Wang Banban, how are you? Has Juyong Pass been lost?"
Li Jizhou, who was dragged all the way over by Wang Qi, heard Zhu Cixiang's words and his mouth opened wide in surprise.
Wang Chengen replied: "Taizu's dream turned out to be efficacious. According to the report I received yesterday afternoon, the thief Tang Tong indeed sacrificed himself to Guancheng and took refuge in the rebellion."
Li Jizhou was even more surprised now and looked at Zhu Cihong with wide eyes.
Zhu Cixiang ignored him and just continued to ask: "How many people are coming outside? Have you counted them? Are you strong?"
Wu Xiang replied: "Reporting to His Majesty the Crown Prince, I have sent people to do a rough count. There are four to five thousand people gathered outside, and there are still more people coming. They may not be strong, but they are useful."
"That's quite a lot." Zhu Cixiang nodded.
This number was within his expectations. The population of Beijing in this era was quite large. It exceeded 1.2 million during the Tianqi period. However, in the 16th year of Chongzhen, a large-scale plague occurred and many people died. In addition, the surrounding situation is not good, and the price of food in the city is high. Many people have left, and now there are about 500,000 to 600,000 residents. Because plague and famine are more likely to eliminate the old and the weak, the proportion of strong and strong people in the city should be higher, not less than 100,000.
Moreover, there are no ways to make money in Beijing now, at least no one will pay a penny a day to hire strong laborers. Therefore, the "sky-high wages" offered by Zhu Cixiang, the "big boss", will definitely deceive many people today.
"More than four to five thousand..." Zhu Cixiang smiled, "Admiral Wu, Wang Banban, how much do you two think we can use? And how do you plan to use it?"
If there is enough time, it would be better to have more troops. But now that time is limited, there is no time for training, and there are not many officers available. Naturally, we cannot ask for more, but must recruit troops within a controllable range.
"Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince," Wu Xiang replied, "I have discussed it with Duke Wang and feel that it is appropriate to recruit three military camps with more than 1,000 people. Any more will not be easy to lead. The minister's retainers plus the ancestral family There are only more than a hundred servants in Qi Wuyi's army. According to Qi Wuyi's military system, there are only a few hundred people who can serve as flag commanders and general commanders. Coupled with the internal officials and Tiqi who were transferred from Jingjun and Dongchang, they can only manage at most. One battalion of soldiers and horses. The Chen family, Zu family, Jingjun and Dongchang can provide hundreds of people, and recruiting another 2,500 people will be enough."
The organization used by Qi Jiguang when he was governor of Ji Liao was roughly twelve men per team, three teams and one flag, three flags and one division, three divisions and one bureau, and three bureaus and one battalion. They are commanded by the captain, general manager, general manager, and general manager Qian respectively.
Not counting the officers and accompanying soldiers, there are 972 people. Counting the officers and accompanying soldiers, the number is just over 1,000. 3,000 people are almost the third battalion. However, in the eyes of Wu Xiang and Wu Sanfu, these 3,000 people may not be able to fight. Therefore, the real combat power was concentrated in the Chinese military camp. Including a fire gun bureau, a fighting and musketry bureau, and a cavalry bureau, which is just a thousand people. Once the situation is critical, rely on this battalion to protect Chongzhen and Zhu Cixiang and escape!
"Okay!" Zhu Cixiang nodded and said, "In that case, let's take care of it. We will take 2,500 people today. Those who have worries about their future in Beijing can leave on their own. Only those who have no worries can come and earn a penny a day."
