The army of bandits was approaching, but Zhu Cixi remained calm because he knew that the army of bandits would not reach the gates of Tianjin at once. The west side of Tianjin city is blocked by the Wei River (canal), and the wooden bridge on the river has been burned, so the situation is not particularly critical.
After Hao Yaoqi and his men received the silver reward one by one, they were escorted by "Wu Sangui" and "Yiding Tuqi" to the military camp originally belonging to Tianjin Fubiao in the Tianjin Acropolis. Only then did Zhu Cixiang call Li Ruolian and Wei Zaode, who had taken off his dragon robe, to his side - of course Wei Zaode had not usurped the throne. Because he was handsome and about the same age as Chongzhen, he was captured by Zhu Cixiang and put on a dragon robe to pretend to be the emperor. , to deceive Hao Yaoqi, an honest rebel.
Zhu Cixiang said: "Scholar Wei, Commander Li, you two will leave the city immediately, and together with Wu Xiang, gather the officials, family members, people, soldiers, horses, and supplies outside the city.
The civil servants and their families outside the city, as well as Wang Qingtuo and those who came with him, were all under the supervision of Wei Xueshi, and the military attachés, nobles and their families were all under the control of Commander Li. Wu Xiang was in charge of the army and the gold and silver escorted by Huang Dabao. In addition, Wu Xiang is the commander-in-chief of all the horses outside the city! "
After handing over the matter of gathering people, horses and supplies into the city, Wei Zaode, Li Ruolian and Wu Xiang were given the task. Zhu Cixiang took Wu Sanmei and a few close guards and quickly walked into the courtyard full of corpses and filled with the smell of blood.
The door of the small building where Chongzhen and Empress Zhou lived in the courtyard had been opened. Cao Huachun and Cao Youyi were guarding there. When they saw Zhu Cixiang and others coming, they quickly knelt down and kowtowed.
"Your Majesty, Cao Youyi, goes to see His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Old slave Cao Huachun comes to see the thousand-year-old master."
Before the bloody battle at Tianjin Guard, these two people were somewhat dissatisfied with Zhu Cixiang. But now I am completely convinced!
I can’t accept it! The strength of both of them was almost lost in the bloody battle in Tianjin Acropolis. Zhu Cixiang directly crushed the Tianjin Guards' rebels and deceived more than 200 vicious old rogue camp soldiers into surrendering.
Regardless of whether he uses his fists or his brain, Zhu Cixiang has shown the excellent qualities of a hero in troubled times.
So he is the monarch that Ming Dynasty needs most now!
"Are my father and mother in peace and well?" Zhu Cixiang now acted like a filial son again and asked eagerly about Chongzhen and Empress Zhou.
"Antai, all Antai," Cao Huachun nodded, frowning, "It's just that the empress was a little frightened..."
"Really?" Zhu Cixiang snorted, "Tianjin Wei's rebellion is so abominable that it actually scared my mother! Mr. Cao must be severely punished!"
"I obey the order!" Cao Youyi quickly accepted the order.
This decree was given to him, which meant that his commander-in-chief was still there for the time being.
Cao Huachun said to himself: Prince, you have wronged those traitors... Your Majesty was not frightened by the thieves, but by your father!
The filial son Zhu Cixiang, who didn't know the truth, didn't talk to Cao Huachun and Cao Youyi anymore, and led Wu Sanmei up the stairs to the second floor where Chongzhen and Zhou Hou were.
After going upstairs, Zhu Cihong saw Emperor Chongzhen sitting on a chair blankly. Two old aunts, Wei Qinghui and Wu Wanrong, were standing next to her, but Zhou Hou didn't know where they were?
He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to Emperor Chongzhen: "My son came to see my father, but my rescuer arrived late, which shocked my father and mother."
Chongzhen looked at his son, not knowing what to say, so he just remained silent.
This son...it's hard to tell that he is a filial son! Call him a traitor, but he really isn't. If he were a treacherous son, he could watch himself being beaten to death by rogue bandits. Once he dies, he will no longer be the emperor.
But he didn't do that. Instead, he quickly saved himself and Zhou Hou.
Moreover, Zhu Cixiang's skill in suppressing the rebellion and deceiving the bandits into surrendering was far superior to Chongzhen's father.
With such a method, even if the bandits cannot be quelled and the country is restored to a bright future, at least half of the southern half of the Yangtze River can be preserved and the family and country passed down by Emperor Taizu Gao can be continued.
"Father, where is the queen?" Zhu Cixiang's voice sounded again, interrupting Chongzhen's thoughts.
"Ah..." Emperor Chongzhen then remembered that he had not seen Empress Zhou for a while. He looked around quickly but couldn't find Zhou Hou.
what 's wrong? Why did it disappear in the blink of an eye?
"Where is the queen?" Chongzhen asked.
"Your Majesty, Young Master...the Queen is there." Aunt Wei Qinghui, who was still serving Chongzhen, reminded her and raised her finger to point to the corner.
Zhu Cixiang looked in the direction she pointed and saw a shield standing there.
"Why is there a shield?"
"Master, the empress is hiding behind the shield." Wei Qinghui said in a dumbfounded voice, "My servant and Sister Wu tried to persuade her for a long time, but they still refused to come out."
"I'll go take a look." Zhu Cixiang walked quickly towards the shield. When he arrived in front of the shield, he reached out and pulled the edge of the shield. Sure enough, someone was pulling from behind.
"Queen mother, are you behind?" Zhu Cixiang asked.
"Here you are!" Zhou Hou's voice sounded angry.
"Mother, the thief has been subdued by my son. You don't need to hide anymore."
"Wei Niang doesn't come out!" Queen Zhou said, "There was a man with a sword just now who wanted to kill Wei Niang, and he hasn't left yet!"
"What?" Zhu Cixiang was startled by Zhou Hou's words. He quickly drew out his sword and looked around, but he did not find any traitors on the small building.
Could it be that Zhou Hou was so frightened that he went crazy? This is how to do? The treatment of mental illness will be a difficult problem in later generations, and the four-eyed miraculous doctor must not have been able to solve it! It took a lot of effort to have such a young and beautiful mother, why are you crazy?
"Mother, there is no one else here..." Zhu Cixiang felt a little numb, "What's wrong with you?"
"She is talking about me!" Emperor Chongzhen suddenly spoke.
It's Chongzhen...ah! Zhu Cixiang understood that Emperor Chongzhen must have just thought that the thieves were coming, so he wanted to kill his wife to prevent her from being humiliated.
"Father!" Zhu Cixi also said to Chongzhen in a reproachful tone, "How could you do this? Your mother is your first wife, how could you kill her?"
Emperor Chongzhen argued: "I, didn't I want to preserve her reputation? This is for her own good!"
"Father!" Zhu Cixiang shook his head repeatedly, "Now that the world is in chaos, it is the Warring States Period, and you can no longer use the idea of the peaceful and prosperous times. It is inappropriate to have a big breach of integrity or a small one to starve to death... Now in the city of Beijing There are thousands of civil and military officials who have lost integrity, and not necessarily ten of them have starved to death! Honors and integrity are really not that important! For the king, the continued survival of the country is a big deal! For others, surviving in troubled times is a big deal! Losing integrity is a big deal. What a trivial matter!"
"You, you..." Emperor Chongzhen was speechless for a moment and didn't know how to reason with his son.
Zhu Cixiang is so capable! Now, of course, I should not forgive my father, and then criticized: "The laws of nature and human desires are all used to restrain people's hearts... If in a peaceful world, there is no harm in using it to restrain people's hearts, there will naturally be fewer people who rebel and make trouble. . But these are troubled times, and heroes in troubled times should use all possible means! Only in this way can we revive the Ming Dynasty and quell the invaders!
To revitalize the Ming Dynasty, the most important thing is to quell the invaders and destroy the invaders. As for the means used, it doesn't matter! Even if it is extremely despicable, so what? The winner is the king, the loser is the bandit! The history of Qing Dynasty since ancient times was written by King Cheng. As long as the Ming Dynasty is preserved, no one in future generations will know how bad we are! "
Chongzhen stammered and asked: "You, you...have you learned all the saint's teachings in vain?"
"The principles of saints are used to govern the world, not to fight for hegemony!" Zhu Cixi taught his father, "Now is the time of great struggle, the world is divided into four parts, and all the heroes are rising together. My father and son are just one of the four heroes, and they have not done anything. Qualified as a saint!"
Chongzhen said: "My Ming Dynasty is orthodox!"
Zhu Cixi shook his head, "How can my father be so pedantic? How can we compete with intruders, sacrificial thieves, and Eastern captives? Mother, please judge, if our family and country are managed by my father, will there still be a future?" ?”
At this time, Queen Zhou had come out from behind the shield, stood beside her son, and said angrily: "Your Majesty, think about what Cixi has done these days! Without him, the Ming Dynasty would have been destroyed! The country has been destroyed! Our ancestors have been destroyed. Our foundation will be destroyed in your hands... Even if you die, you will not have the shame to meet your ancestors!"
"This, this, this..."
"Father," Zhu Cixiang saw that Emperor Chongzhen was at a loss and his spirit was about to collapse, so he struck while the iron was hot, "How about this... In this world, sons and ministers fight for their father, and all despicable and shameless things are done by sons and ministers. If you do, father, just cultivate yourself and be a saint and a gentleman!"
"Then, let's do it!" Emperor Chongzhen nodded and reluctantly gave his son Zhu Cixiang the authority to control the government again.
This authorization is different from the power seizure in the previous Huangjimen Incident. Emperor Chongzhen really gave his nod!
