If you have anything to ask Zhu Cilang, it made Chongzhen feel relieved and hurt. Cilang is still a child and is a dignified emperor. Do you have to ask a child if you have anything to ask?

Isn’t the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty to be handed over to a teenage baby? But what makes Chongzhen pleased is that this baby is his own son and my seed of Chongzhen. I am so proud of having a son!

The contradictory Emperor Chongzhen thought about it for a while, and maybe his son had some unexpected solutions, so he nodded immediately. "Okay, I will consider this."

There are three main opponents in front of Daming, one is Huangtaiji, Liaodong, which is the biggest opponent. At the same time, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong in the pass should not be underestimated. As for other bandits, it is not worth fearing.

Li Zicheng is simply an immortal bird. Every time he is beaten by officers and soldiers, he can always be resurrected in a short time with full blood. This is the most frightening thing about Chongzhen. Such a terrible enemy is really frightening.

Zhang Xianzhong was also difficult to deal with. In the first month of the leap year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Zuo Liangyu at Guping Pass and led his troops to break into Sichuan. On the way into Sichuan, he was attacked by Zheng Chongjian and Zuo Liangyu at the Agate Mountain in Taiping County, with heavy casualties. Then he was pursued and intercepted by Huguang Army, Sichuan Army and Shaanxi Army. The peasant army was severely damaged and retreated to the mountains of Guizhou in Xing'an. He was surrounded by Zuo Liangyu and other troops, and the peasant army was in trouble.

For this reason, Zhang Xianzhong took advantage of the conflict between Yang Sichang and Zuo Liangyu and sent someone to bring Chongbao to bribe Zuo Liangyu, saying, "It is precisely because of my existence that the court valued you. Your subordinates killed innocent people indiscriminately. Some people in the court have long seen it. If I am gone, then it will not be far from your death."

The rabbit died and the dog was cooked. Zuo Liangyu was relaxed when he heard this. Zhang Xianzhong took the opportunity to gather and scatter. With the help of the mountain people, he walked out of Xing'an and met with Luo Rucai and other troops. Zhang Xianzhong also took advantage of the conflict between Sichuan Governor Shao Jiechun and Yang Sichang to concentrate his troops and attack Xinning, which Shao Jiechun defended. Shao Jiechun did not expect that the peasant army was so fast that the official army was about to collapse at a touch. After the peasant army broke through the Xinning defense line, they successfully entered Sichuan.

The peasant army's entry into Sichuan broke Yang Sichang's encirclement plan and also shifted from defense to attack in military affairs. Yang Sichang was stubborn and thought that the government army had surrounded Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and other troops in the junction of Hubei, Sichuan and Shaanxi provinces, and had victory in it. But in fact, when facing military orders, from the governor to the general and then to the soldiers, almost no one was going to implement them. Zhang Xianzhong tried his best to avoid positional wars with the government army, and adopted the strategy of "using the enemy by walking to defeat the enemy". He could travel more than 300 miles a day and night and flow quickly, often causing the government army to lose sight of one thing, be affected by the enemy from both sides, and be exhausted from running.

The most criticized is the Zhang Xianzhong slaughter of Sichuan. According to historical records, Sichuan's population was more than 6 million at the end of the Ming Dynasty. By the time the Qing Dynasty completely occupied Sichuan, there were only less than 600,000 people left! Sichuan's population dropped sharply by 90%.

Compared with the turmoil from the late Eastern Han Dynasty to the Three Kingdoms period, China's population dropped sharply from 40 to 50 million to 70 million, about one-seventh of the original one.

According to the Siku Quanshu compiled by Qianlong, Zhang Xianzhong slaughtered Sichuan and only dozens of households were left in Sichuan. Obviously, this is pure nonsense.

There are currently two views in the academic community regarding whether Zhang Xianzhong slaughtered Sichuan: one is to enter the pass and the Qing army to slaughter Sichuan; the other is to slaughter Sichuan when Zhang Xianzhong slaughtered Sichuan.

Historical materials were compiled by the Qing Dynasty. In fact, the "man-made disaster" that caused the sharp decline in the population of Sichuan in the early Qing Dynasty was actually the result of the joint raging wars of Zhang Xianzhong, Yao and Huang peasants, the remnants of the Ming army, the Qing army, local tyrants, and Wu Sangui rebels. In addition, there were severe droughts, great famines, great epidemics, and tiger disasters.

In fact, Zhang Xianzhong's Daxi regime has existed for a few years and has not been able to occupy the entire territory of Sichuan. His territory is just a small area in Sichuan. Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong has no idea about slaughtering Sichuan. It can only be said that he killed a lot of people.

While declaring Zhang Xianzhong and slaughtering Sichuan, the Qing government took nearly twenty years to attack Sichuan by itself. According to historical records from the Qing Dynasty, three years after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, the Qing Dynasty announced that Zhang Xianzhong was killed in battle. It also claimed that Sichuan was pacified.

However, this is not the case. The Qing Dynasty first captured Yucheng in the thirteenth year of Yongli, the Southern Ming Dynasty.

The fact is that the Sichuan people took tenacious resistance to the invasion of the Qing Dynasty! The Qing Dynasty, who had been in Yangzhou for ten days, and the three massacres of Jiading, brazenly adopted the method of complete massacre in revenge. That is, whether it is the "Zhang Thief" or the innocent civilians, they will be killed.

Civilians and rebels are mixed up, and it is difficult to separate them. They may slaughter the whole city, or slaughter men and keep women! This is an announcement posted by the Qing Dynasty.

In other words, Tuchuan was not done by Zhang Xianzhong alone, and the Qing Dynasty was also one of the executioners.

Fortunately, it is now the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, and Zhang Xianzhong did not enter Sichuan at this time. Everything seems to be still in time.

Zhu Cilang tried his best to reform and tried his best to find a way to not want this tragedy to happen. These are the people of the Ming Dynasty. They must first stabilize the country when fighting against foreign countries. The Qing Dynasty must fight, and civil strife must be pacified. The three major camps must be rectified and the Hu Ben Army must be trained. All the preparations are to avoid the past tragedy happening again.

He really couldn't imagine a good candidate, so Chongzhen summoned his son to his side.

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Cilang is here.

Zhu Cilang didn't want to come, and he still had a lot of things to do. At this time, Emperor Chongzhen hurriedly called him back to the palace, which made Zhu Cilang a little unhappy: "Father, my son is busy. The selection of the Hu Ben Camp is still in progress, and we need to build a steel army. Father, what's the matter with me?"

Emperor Chongzhen was a little disdainful: "What's the use of a team of only 3,000 people in Huben Camp? I'm so kind, I heard that the treatment of Huben Camp has been given. I don't have a penny for you to spend so much money."

First, block the way out. The Huben Camp built by Zhu Cilang is purely a money-burning business. Even if it can be fought, such an army of 3,000 people is enough to raise tens of thousands of people in the Ming Dynasty. You, Zhu Cilang, promised a generous salary to the soldiers, but I, Chongzhen, did not agree.

Zhu Cilang never thought about asking for money from Chongzhen: "The Hu Ben camp built by Father and son ministers do not need a penny for the imperial court."

Chongzhen was stunned: "Don't want me a penny, how can you get so much money to support an army? Let me tell you, no taxes are allowed for the people. Your army is enough for me to support ten."

"Father, you forgot that there is a glass factory in Xishan." Zhu Cilang replied.

Xishan, Chongzhen suddenly remembered that the Xishan Glass Factory should have mass production at this time. It is logical that it should have made a profit, but Chongzhen has been busy with other matters and has long left Xishan's affairs behind.
Chapter completed!