Swoosh——
It was quiet inside the Qianqing Palace.
The news from the court had not yet reached the harem, and everyone thought that Chongzhen would go south in person. Unexpectedly, the emperor would stay in Beijing to defend the city.
How is this possible!
Although the crown prince Zhu Cilang was young, he was very sensible. He immediately knelt down and cried, "I am too young to be the regent. Please move to Yingtian Prefecture."
Prince Yong and Prince Ding also knelt down one after another: "Father, please move to Yingtian Prefecture!"
Seeing this, the other concubines also knelt down one after another, "Your Majesty, please move to Yingtian Prefecture!"
"Your Majesty, think twice!"
In the blink of an eye, the huge Qianqing Palace was suddenly filled with cries of pleas.
"Silence!" Wang Chengen shouted with a trembling voice after receiving Chongzhen's gaze. No matter what decision Chongzhen made, he would support it unconditionally.
This is his mission!
The noisy Qianqing Palace soon returned to silence.
"I have made up my mind!" Chongzhen said with a cold face, not allowing any doubt.
The prince wanted to say something, but Empress Zhou beside him stopped him. No one could change the emperor's mind, especially at this time.
"Your Majesty!" Queen Zhou took a step forward. Although her voice was weak, her tone was extremely firm. "I will stay in the capital and fight against the bandits with Your Majesty!"
Empress Zhou was not a typical classical beauty. In ancient times, fat was considered beautiful. In the Ming Dynasty, fat did not mean fat but firm. Empress Zhou was slightly thin, with skin as white and smooth as jade. Her facial features were delicate and picturesque. She wore a white dress, exuding a dignified and elegant temperament of a queen mother.
It is in line with modern people's aesthetic standards.
Chongzhen didn't pay much attention to it before, but after seeing how beautiful Queen Zhou was, he couldn't help but take another look.
When Concubine Yuan saw that Empress Zhou was not leaving, she took a small step forward and said, "Your Majesty, I won't leave either! (In order to win favor, Empress Zhou only allowed herself to be called a concubine in front of Emperor Chongzhen, and the other concubines all called themselves daughters.)"
She was not as knowledgeable as Queen Zhou, but she felt that the war was chaotic and uneasy. If they encountered bandits on the way, or the soldiers in charge of escorting them mutinied, they, the women, would suffer a miserable fate.
Even if he escaped to Yingtian Prefecture, he would live out his life alone.
What's the point?
Rather than taking risks, it is better to stay with Chongzhen and share life and death with him.
Concubine Yuan was also very beautiful, although her beauty was slightly inferior to that of Empress Zhou, but she was younger. As for men, their hobbies were always very simple, they only liked young and beautiful women.
Chongzhen didn't have the heart to think about these things. Seeing that both of his beloved concubines had indicated that they were not leaving, he didn't know what to say. He could only wave his hand and said, "Wang Chengen notified the Renshou Palace and asked Empress Yi'an to pack up and prepare to go to Nanjing."
Empress Yi'an was the sister-in-law of Emperor Chongzhen and the original wife of Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao. After the death of Emperor Tianqi, she was honored as Empress Yi'an by Chongzhen and originally lived in Ciqing Palace. When Zhu Cilang got married in the 15th year of Chongzhen, Empress Yi'an took the initiative to move from Ciqing Palace to Renshou Palace.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Wang Chengen did not dare to delay and personally went to Ciqing Palace to deliver the letter.
"The rest of you leave, the prince stays!"
No one dared to disobey and left the Qianqing Palace with heavy expressions.
Soon, only Chongzhen and the prince were left in the Qianqing Palace.
Chongzhen looked at Zhu Cilang with complicated eyes.
If I suddenly have an older son for no reason, would it be too arrogant to just call the other party's son?
"Father!" Crown Prince Zhu Cilang kowtowed.
Chongzhen thought for a moment and asked, "Ciyang, if Beijing cannot be defended and I die, what will you do?"
"Father is the Son of Heaven. With the blessing of God, he will definitely be able to defend Beijing!"
"Stop talking nonsense and answer the question!" Chongzhen was a little helpless. These ancient people only knew how to flatter. If the emperor was the Son of Heaven and was protected by God, then changing dynasties would never happen.
The prince was frightened by Chongzhen's tone, and knelt on the ground trembling and dared not speak. In this situation, as a prince, if he said something wrong, he would fall into an irretrievable situation.
"Since you don't know, I'll tell you." Chongzhen put his hands behind his back, the aura of an emperor filling his whole body, "If I die, the first thing you will do is not to avenge me."
Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was shocked and raised his head in confusion: "Father, I don't understand."
Chongzhen did not explain immediately, but said: "We must not unite with the Jiannu to fight against the bandits. We must first destroy the Jiannu and then the bandits."
"Do you remember?"
"Your son has remembered it, but father..." Crown Prince Zhu Cilang was even more confused.
Logically speaking, if the emperor's father had died at the hands of Li Zicheng, the feud between the Zhu family and Li Zicheng would have risen to the level of family feud and national hatred.
Since its founding, the Ming Dynasty has advocated governing the country with filial piety.
He mobilized the entire country's army to fight against Li Zicheng, which was seen by people all over the world as a way of showing loyalty and filial piety, and it could be said that it was justified.
Even if he didn't cause trouble for Li Zicheng, would the civil and military officials in the court and the people of the world agree?
"No buts!" Chongzhen glared at the prince fiercely and shouted angrily, "We can destroy the country, but we can't exterminate the race! Once the Jiannu enter the pass, do you think Li Zicheng will be a match for the Eight Banners Army?"
Crown Prince Zhu Cilang said nothing. In his opinion, since Li Zicheng was able to fight from Shaanxi to Xuanfu, his fighting ability must be good. Although the Jiannu in Liaodong were good at riding and shooting, their soldiers only totaled 100,000.
Li Zicheng claimed to have an army of 500,000, and a spit from each soldier could drown the Jian Nu army.
Seeing Zhu Cilang's unconvinced expression, Chongzhen was very disappointed. His mind was full of the history of the Ming Dynasty, and he knew Li Zicheng's details very well.
Not to mention how much water there was in Li Zicheng's 500,000-strong army, at least 50% of it was a mob.
In the era of cold weapons, there is a huge difference between the elite and the mob.
Elite troops have more stable morale and can withstand more casualties without retreating. They can continue fighting in adverse conditions and even launch counterattacks.
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