Signed to Zhu Cihong, Prince of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 14 14, the British Duke stood up to protect each other, and Zhu Cihong returned to the palace
After saying these words, everyone immediately turned their heads, wanting to see who actually dared to speak for the prince at this moment?
This is a middle-aged man, quite tall, with a heroic look on his brows. He is Zhang Shize, Duke of Great Britain and Admiral of the Beijing Camp.

This British Duke is also an important minister of the Ming Dynasty. His grandfather Zhang Weixian held the military power in the Beijing camp 17 years ago. He strongly rejected Wei Zhongxian and welcomed Chongzhen into the imperial palace. for a while.

But as I said before, after being surrounded by Li Zicheng, Chongzhen’s mentality collapsed, and the eunuchs were fully used to control the military power. As a result, ministers like Zhang Weixian and Li Guozhen who were still able to lead the army lost their military power and could only stand with them in the hall for punishment.

At this moment, after hearing the verbal criticisms from many ministers, the British Duke finally couldn't bear it anymore, and stood up and wanted to say something fair to Zhu Cihong.

Just listen to this British justice: "There is indeed a saying that the two countries will not fight each other. But now Li Zicheng is my Ming's rebel. Where did the 'two countries' come from?" Let me tell you, Ming Exterminating the rebels like Li Zicheng is a matter of course, and any traitor who follows Li Zicheng, like Du Xun, should be killed, so that those vacillating traitors will know the fate of betraying Daming!"

The British Duke’s words were also sonorous and powerful.

In history, after Li Zicheng broke the city, the British Duke led his family to fight and died. He was loyal to Daming, so naturally he was quite resentful towards the traitor who was attached to Li Zicheng.

To put it bluntly, Zhu Cihong just killed Du Xun with a single shot, and that is what the British Duke wanted to do but did not dare to do. Therefore, when Zhu Cihong was criticized by everyone, the British Duke naturally stood up and spoke out for Zhu Cihong.

Hearing the words of the Duke of England, Chongzhen suddenly felt...it seemed to make sense.

That guy Li Zicheng is a traitor within the Ming Dynasty, so he should be hacked into pieces. What kind of etiquette is talked about with this kind of person, isn't that nonsense?

Thinking about it this way, Chongzhen felt that it seemed that Zhu Cihong's son had just killed Du Xun, but it was a very refreshing thing.

Perhaps, Zhu Cihong was actually meritorious?

Chongzhen's vacillation was naturally seen by the Chief Assistant Wei Zaode, and Wei Zaode became anxious immediately.

Wei Zaode, as the chief assistant of Daming, of course has an understanding of the current situation of Daming.He had long known that it was absolutely impossible for the Ming Dynasty to defend the capital, so before Li Zicheng's army surrounded the capital, Wei Zaode had already suggested that Chongzhen take the prince on a "southern tour", otherwise it would be impossible for the prince to take the lead in the "southern tour". OK.

The so-called southern tour, that is to say nice, actually means to run to the south of Yingtianfu (Nanjing City) to take refuge.

But Chongzhen didn't listen.

If you don't listen, you don't listen.

For Chongzhen, this emperor had many shortcomings, but he remembered the ten words "the son of heaven guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country".

When Huang Taiji and Dorgon attacked Shandong, Beizhili and even the city of Beijing several times, Chongzhen did not run past. This time when Li Zicheng came, Chongzhen also would not run away.

Perhaps because of this, Wei Zaode despaired of Daming.

The current idea of ​​Wei Zaode is actually very simple, that is, to break into the city, after the fall of Ming Dynasty, he will not be buried with Daming, but to find a way to survive.

To survive, he must obtain the consent of Chuang Wang Li Zicheng.

Li Zicheng's emissary, Du Xun, was killed just now. If Li Zicheng found out about this after entering the city, Wei Zaode, the chief assistant of the Ming Dynasty who was present, must be to blame, and he would become the target of Li Zicheng's anger.

In view of this, Wei Zaode must be the first to speak up and impeach Zhu Cihong severely, so that after Li Zicheng enters the city, he can also be exonerated on Li Zicheng's side.

Now Chongzhen is a little shaken, and it seems that he does not intend to pursue Zhu Cihong, which is absolutely unfeasible for Wei Zaode.

Wei Zaode thought about it, and hurriedly said: "Mr. Ying, you are deceiving yourself. There is no doubt that Li Zicheng was a traitor back then. But now that Li Zicheng has come to Beijing, if we don't give him back at this time With some respect, what if Li Zicheng besieged Beijing for a long time?"

After speaking, Wei Zaode turned to look at Chongzhen again, and said earnestly: "Your Majesty, for the present plan, we should find a way to appease Li Zicheng, and it is best to let him retreat temporarily. After he retreats, Your Majesty can come from Daming Send troops from other places, and it won't be too late to wipe out Li Zicheng when the army gathers together. As the saying goes, it is not too late for a gentleman to take revenge for ten years, so can't your majesty abandon a prince for the sake of the country of Ming Dynasty?"

No matter what the matter is, as long as it involves such aspects as Jiangshan Sheji, it must be on the outline and on the line, and it cannot be treated carelessly.

After Chongzhen heard this, he was actually shaken again.

Yes, although Zhu Cihong did the right thing, but in order to deal with Li Zicheng, it shouldn't matter if he pretended to reprimand Zhu Cihong first, right?

After all, Zhu Cihong is Daming's crown prince, even if he suffers a little bit of grievance for Daming, so what?
The Duke of England couldn't listen any longer, and retorted: "It's unreasonable! Back then, Jiannu was so rampant, and he invaded Shandong and Zhili several times, and His Majesty never made peace with Jiannu. Now Li Zicheng is just a mere rebel in Daming. What qualifications does His Majesty condescend to negotiate peace with him?"

The quarrel between the two was extremely intense.

Wei Zaode is the chief assistant of the Ming cabinet, and the head of all officials is indeed famous, but the British Duke Zhang Shize is a hereditary Duke, and he is also the top of the Ming aristocratic family, which is completely true.

For a while, the two refused to give in to each other and had a heated argument.

"The prince is guilty!"

"The prince is innocent!"

"The prince is guilty!"

"The prince is innocent!"

Chongzhen: "..."

At this moment, Chongzhen was also very speechless.

At this moment, Wang Huamin suddenly left and returned, and reported the news in a panic.

"Your Majesty, it's not good. Li Zicheng's rebel army is already bombarding Changhua Gate, and Liu Zongmin, the number one general of the rebel army, is personally supervising the battle at Changhua Gate. The troops at Changhua Gate are extremely tight, and I'm afraid they won't be able to defend it!"

After hearing this news, there was an instant silence in the hall, and many important ministers of the Ming Dynasty looked at each other in blank dismay, their faces panicked.

Chongzhen was also in a hurry, and hurriedly said: "Then why are you still standing there? Come on, and quickly dispatch troops to support the Changhua Gate!"

After Chongzhen finished speaking, he subconsciously looked at the Duke of England.

The British Duke's Adam's apple rolled up and down, and he showed an ugly smile: "Your Majesty, the capital is now in dire straits, and I'm afraid there are no extra troops to support the Changhua Gate."

Chongzhen was furious, and shouted: "What should I do? Do I want to watch the Changhua Gate being breached and the bandit army fail to enter the city?"

Duke Ying: "..." Your Majesty, I, Zhang Shize, have been taken over by you. Now you ask me what to do, how do I know?

At this moment, Wei Zaode had an idea in his heart, and said: "Your Majesty, the situation is urgent now, and the prince must be punished immediately, so that we can give an explanation to King Chuang outside the city, and let the capital have a chance to breathe!"

After Wei Zaode finished speaking, the other important ministers of the Ming Dynasty immediately agreed with him as if they had found a life-saving straw.

"Your Majesty, it's time to make up your mind."

"Your Majesty, the prince must be punished!"

"His Majesty!!!"

At this moment, a gunshot sounded suddenly in the hall, which shocked many ministers, and many of them hid behind the pillars in an instant.

Zhu Cihong's voice sounded with a smile: "I just went out to destroy Li Zicheng's bandit army, so some people can't wait to speak ill of me?"

It was Zhu Cihong who returned to Fengtian Palace again!
(End of this chapter)