Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 117: Not Many Choices in Life
Ning Cheng is a good official and a good person. It is rare that he can still have a conscience after so many years in officialdom.

He has no ill will towards himself. As he said, he is a father, and it is impossible for a father not to love his children.

That's why Chen Ce thought of Ning Cheng and gave him this credit, even though Chen Ce knew that there might be no reward for it.

The intelligence that those spies in the northwest gained from the enemy at the risk of their lives cannot be wasted.

There were two cups of tea on the coffee table, and Ning Cheng and Chen Ce sat next to each other so that there was no distinction between the main and the secondary. Ning Cheng performed many etiquette very well.

When Ning Cheng heard that Chen Ce wanted to give him a credit, he was a little surprised and said, "Give me a credit? What credit?"

Chen Ce thought for a moment, sorted out his thoughts, and then said, "General Wang has been dead for some time. I think the people of Turpan should have known about it by now."

"The northwest is leaderless now. The people of Turpan will definitely take advantage of this period to raise a large force to attack Hami."

"Sir Ning, please submit a petition and ask the court to transfer some troops from Gansu and Liang to Hami to guard against the Turpan people. If they want to catch us off guard, we will surprise them."

"By combining defense with offense, we may be able to win a victory and intimidate the Turpan people."

If Wang Yue were still alive and stationed in Hami, Hami's original military strength might be enough to defend against the Turpan people, but others might not be able to do so, as they might not have Wang Yue's military capabilities.

Since the commander-in-chief is not capable, then just send more troops there, or fail to capture the enemy troops, or set up an ambush in advance, predict the enemy's marching route, and counterattack when the enemy is unprepared. This may not necessarily mean a victory.

That's why Chen Ce told Ning Cheng that Hami needed to send an extra batch of troops to be used as a surprise force.

Ning Cheng pondered for a moment and did not answer immediately. He asked Chen Ce: "How can you be sure that the Turpan people will definitely attack Hami with a large force?"

"If they don't come, the troops transferred from Ganliang, the food and financial resources needed will put pressure on the Ministry of Revenue."

"The memorial I will submit by then..."

Chen Ce did not respond to Ning Cheng's question, but simply said: "If official promotion is a sure thing, then everyone will be a high-ranking official of the second rank."

"I hope Lord Ning will consider this carefully. I think my judgment is correct."

Chen Ce couldn't say that he already had solid evidence. He wouldn't tell anyone about such a confidential matter, and it was impossible for him to tell anyone!

Ning Cheng closed his eyes in silence. Chen Ce said, "Don't worry. It all depends on what Lord Ning chooses. I am just sending you a gift of merit. It is Lord Ning's business whether you can take it or not. But do it as soon as possible. People don't have many opportunities in their lifetime. If you miss it, you miss it."

After Chen Ce finished his reminder, he did what he was supposed to do and lived up to the intelligence that the Northwest spy had delivered at the risk of his life.

He is only capable of so much, and can only do so much.

Looking at Chen Ce's departing back, Ning Cheng was somewhat confused and unable to make a decision.

First of all, he didn't know whether Chen Ce's analysis was reliable. If a spy had found out that the Turpan people would deploy heavy troops to attack Hami, then he would skip Zhang Chong, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and write directly to Emperor Hongzhi.

But the problem is, he's not sure!

You can't just gamble your political career on Chen Ce's promise. Reporting to a higher level has been a taboo since ancient times.

What if the Turpan people didn't attack Hami in the end? Wouldn't the memorial he wrote become a joke? And it would make Zhang Chong, the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, hate him.

But what if the Turpan people really attacked Hami? Then with the merits of this memorial, the position of Shuntianfu Cheng would be his for sure.

Ning Cheng sat in the yamen duty room for a long time, still unable to make a decision.
Ning Cheng took a deep breath and said, "Prepare the sedan chair. I want to visit Mr. Zhang."

After Ning Cheng arrived at the central hall of Shuntian Prefecture Governor Zhang Chong and sat down, Zhang Chong slowly came over wearing his home silk robe.

"Junrui, is there anything you need that brings you to see me so late at night?" Zhang Chong was a fourth-rank official, about fifty years old, looking somewhat dignified and thin.

Ning Cheng went straight to the point and stated his purpose directly.

In the end, he chose to inform the governor of Shuntian Prefecture about the matter instead of taking any risks. Due to his personality, the cautious Ning Cheng was destined not to take any risks.

Zhang Chong smiled slightly after hearing what Ning Cheng said, blew some hot air from the tea, put the teacup down, and said earnestly: "Junrui, I know you are eager to show off and make achievements."

"That's good. Didn't the generals say that a pawn who doesn't want to be a general is not a good pawn?"

"It's good to be enterprising, but you can't be too eager for quick success."

"Warfare is a treacherous path, a place of life and death. The big soldiers cannot guarantee when the enemy will send out troops or how many troops they will send out."

"Just because of Wang Yue's death, the people of Turpan dared to send a large number of troops to invade Hami?"

"Why didn't they dare to do that before? Just because of Wang Yue? Wang Yue was so intimidating to them? An old man in Hami frightened the thousands of troops in Turpan?"

"You can submit a report. I won't say anything, nor will I blame you for reporting beyond your authority. If you succeed, I won't covet your credit, but if you fail, I won't get involved and choose to protect you."

"It's your choice."

Zhang Chong had said it right, and let Ning Cheng make the rest by himself. He only reminded him because Ning Cheng often took care of him, otherwise he would not have bothered to remind him.

All obstacles have been cleared, and there is no problem in reporting to a higher level. The rest depends purely on Ning Cheng's courage and choice.

Choose to believe Chen Ce and write a letter to the court.

Choose not to believe it and pretend it never happened.

After Ning Cheng returned to the mansion, it was the steward of the mansion who woke him up with words.

It was at this moment that Ning Cheng suddenly discovered something fatal. Just as the steward of the mansion said, why should he attach so much importance to the words of a commoner?
He was just a commoner in Shuntian Prefecture! He had read some books, which was undeniable, and he had his own unique talents, but could this talent extend to political and military vision?
If Wang Yue said this, he would choose to believe it without hesitation, because Wang Yue was an experienced general with extremely high military judgment ability.

But what about Chen Ce?

Ning Cheng shook his head helplessly and smiled, then waved to the steward and said, "Okay, I know what to do, go down."

"Here!"

In the end, Ning Cheng chose to do nothing so as not to make any mistakes.

There was not much time left for Ning Cheng, indeed not much, because on the third day, Zhu Houzhao came out of the East Palace.

Early this morning, Zhu Houzhao calmed himself down and almost forgot about the embarrassing moment. He happily took advantage of the break in the Eastern Palace to go to Huaihua Hutong to find Chen Ce.

(End of this chapter)