Travel back in time and become Chongzhen, watch me turn the tide

There were more than thirty tall fellow villagers, of whom twenty-five were strong and robust, the rest were six or seven strong women, four or five lively little boys, and only one girl.

"Are you from the same village? Why are you all so strong?" Chongzhen frowned slightly, with a hint of doubt in his eyes, and asked.

"There were over three hundred of us when we left," a gentle-looking young man in the crowd said slowly. His face was thin, and his eyes held a trace of sadness and fatigue. "The old and weak all died along the way, mercilessly taken by disease and starvation, or tragically killed by bandits along the way. We've survived countless deaths along the way, and now we're the only ones left."

As he spoke, the young man couldn't stop crying.

Only then did Chongzhen suddenly realize why only the strongest men remained. During that long and brutal escape, even the weakest could not withstand the bumpy road, the torment of hunger, and the threats of bandits, and they collapsed on the road one after another. Of the more than 300 people who had made it this far, only about 30 remained. This tragic survival rate was a mere one in ten! These scenes of human tragedy deeply shocked Chongzhen, and he was overwhelmed by an indescribable grief and compassion.

"What's your name? Do you have any achievements?" Chongzhen asked curiously when he saw that the young man spoke clearly and used elegant words, which was quite different from ordinary people.

"Student Gao Zhengyan greets you, sir." The young man bowed slightly and saluted.

"Not bad, not bad." Chongzhen saw this and secretly admired it in his heart.

Although Gao Zhengyan was down and out and his clothes were tattered, he was able to remain calm and composed when facing Chongzhen. His calmness and confidence made Chongzhen quite admire him.

"Alas! When a country prospers, the people suffer. When a country perishes, the people suffer!" Chongzhen sighed to the sky, slowly shook his head, and said in a heavy tone, "It is the people who suffer the most. Then let me ask you, do you want to end these days of suffering?"

"Of course I am willing." Gao Zhengyan answered firmly without hesitation.

"Alright! Then join the army, take up arms, and join us in sweeping the world and restoring peace to the people of the Ming!" Chongzhen suddenly raised his voice and shouted. His voice was as resounding as a bell, full of appeal and inspiration, making everyone's blood boil.

"The army? Haha." Gao Zhengyan smiled wryly and shook his head, a trace of helplessness and bitterness on his face. "Sir, you know, the most casualties during our escape this time were when we encountered soldiers. They were regular soldiers, flying under the banner of Liu Zeqing. They hacked us to pieces like wolves, cruelly using our heads to pretend they were bandits!"

"This..." Chongzhen was speechless for a moment. His face changed slightly, and anger and shame surged in his heart. He thought for a moment, his expression serious, and said solemnly: "I can assure you that my army is different from theirs. My army comes from the people and will serve the people!"

"From the people, for the people..." Gao Zhengyan's eyes lit up when he heard this. He narrowed his eyes slightly, carefully savoring Chongzhen's words. He looked at Chongzhen with a complicated expression, with a hint of doubt and expectation, and said, "Is this true?"

"Of course it's true. I can guarantee it with my own name!" Chongzhen said solemnly and firmly. His eyes revealed an incomparable sincerity and determination, which made people feel trust in him.

"May I ask what position you hold, sir?" Gao Zhengyan hesitated and asked with a bow. Although he was touched by Chongzhen's words, he still had doubts and wanted to further confirm Chongzhen's identity and status in order to judge the credibility of his words.

"Hahaha, you're quite an interesting young man." Chongzhen smiled and pointed at Gao Zhengyan, a hint of teasing and admiration in his eyes. "You're worried that my position is too low and my words won't count, right?"

"I dare not!" Gao Zhengyan said calmly and unhurriedly. His expression was still as calm as water, and he was not at all flustered by Chongzhen's ridicule.

"Okay! Then I'll tell you." Chongzhen's expression grew serious, his aura instantly becoming majestic and solemn. He said solemnly, "I am Zhu Youjian, the Chongzhen Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. I wonder if this position is acceptable to me?"

"Wha...what?" Gao Zhengyan's whole body trembled, as if struck by a bolt from the blue. His eyes widened in surprise, and he looked at Chongzhen in disbelief and said, "How is this possible? Why would His Majesty the Emperor come here..."

"You haven't even kneeled down to speak to His Majesty yet!" Wang Chengen stepped forward and shouted, his voice sharp and resounding, full of authority and unquestionable authority.

"Your Majesty, I… I'm sorry…" Even Gao Zhengyan, who possessed a certain dignity, found the pressure of imperial power unbearable. His legs trembled slightly, and he quickly knelt on the ground, lowering his head, not daring to meet Chongzhen's gaze. Upon hearing Chongzhen's words, everyone present also knelt on the ground, shouting "Long live the emperor!"

"Everyone, get up." Chongzhen bent down slightly, stretched out his hand to pull Gao Zhengyan up, sighed, and said in a heavy and self-blaming tone: "It's my fault that you are displaced!"

"No, no, no..." Gao Zhengyan felt mixed emotions at this moment and didn't know what to say.

"Since losing the capital, I've reflected for a long time. The root cause of this chaos in the world lies in the people's miserable lives. I only thought about suppressing the bandits, but I didn't consider why my people rebelled." Chongzhen took a deep breath and continued, "Back in the capital, I lived in the deep palace, like a bird in a cage, unable to experience the real lives of the people. But since escaping the capital, I have witnessed the miserable lives of the people wherever I went. Those scenes have deeply touched me. You are truly suffering too much!"

"Mencius said, 'The people are the most important, the state is second, and the ruler is the least important.' I used to not understand this, but now I understand that the people are the foundation of the state. Just as water can carry a boat, it can also capsize it. For a stable state, the people must live a peaceful and harmonious life. If they live a stable and happy life, who would be willing to rebel?"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Gao Zhengyan said excitedly. His eyes gleamed with emotion and admiration, and his understanding of Chongzhen also underwent a huge change at this moment.

"I want the people to live a peaceful life, but the world is in turmoil, and foreign enemies have already entered the capital. What we need now is to quell the banditry and drive out the foreign enemies, so that we can develop production with peace of mind!" Chongzhen waved his fist and said passionately, "To achieve this, I need an army, an invincible army, an army from the people, for the people! Will you join?"

"Yes! We want to join!" The people present were all infected by Chongzhen's words, their blood boiling and they shouted loudly.

"Alright! Then the name of this army will be the People's Army!" Chongzhen made the final decision and announced loudly, "Our purpose is to come from the people and serve the people!"

"Is it okay for Your Majesty to do this?" Shi Kefa looked at Chongzhen who was surrounded by the fanatical crowd, feeling a little worried. He turned to Yan Yingyuan and whispered.

"He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. Although I don't understand your Majesty's words and deeds, what I know is that if this army is formed, it will only be loyal to your Majesty..." Yan Yingyuan said slowly with a deep look in his eyes.

"From the people, for the people—that's a good topic..." Hou Fangyu, who had rushed over, muttered softly as he quickly took out a pen and paper to write down the details. As the editor-in-chief of Ming Pao, collecting materials was a daily routine for him, and this scene before him was undoubtedly extremely newsworthy.

The most challenging task at this point was for Zhao Meng's personal guards. Facing the agitated crowd, they felt as if they were facing a formidable enemy, forcing them to exercise extreme caution and not slack off even a little. However, our emperor enjoyed interacting with the common people, which undoubtedly made their protection significantly more difficult. In the end, Zhao Meng and Zhu Tie, left with no choice but to half-pull, half-drag Chongzhen out of the crowd.

At this time, Xie Quanfeng quickly sent people to maintain order and arranged those who were excited and eager to try after being talked about by Chongzhen to line up and wait for selection.

"Sir Xie, the selection criteria for this people's army is not how good they are at fighting. The most basic thing I require is loyalty and obedience to orders. Those scattered soldiers you selected before, who meet my requirements, can be taken. As for those ruffians, even if they can beat ten people by themselves, I don't want them at all!" Chongzhen called Xie Quanfeng to his front and whispered instructions to him.

"Is this... feasible?" Xie Quanfeng asked with hesitation and some concern. He had doubts about Chongzhen's selection criteria. After all, in traditional military thinking, individual combat effectiveness was often a key consideration in selecting soldiers.

"Haven't we discussed the new army's combat methods recently? How could you have forgotten?" Chongzhen scolded with a smile. "This army will be primarily armed with muskets, with the other arms serving as supporting forces. The most important aspect of musketry isn't individual combat effectiveness, but overall coordination. This requires soldiers to have excellent obedience. Only when they can use the muskets as if they were their own arms can they unleash their full power!"

"I understand!" Xie Quanfeng's eyes lit up, his mind suddenly enlightened. He had been communicating frequently with Chongzhen during this period, and had learned a lot about musket tactics. Now, with Chongzhen's guidance, he naturally understood the deeper meaning and purpose of his selection of troops...