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

Chapter 153 Advice to Emperor Hongzhi
Li Zhen quietly set out from the capital in late February and headed straight to the northwest with Jinyiwei Tiqi.

That night, Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Houzhao found Emperor Hongzhi in the warm room, who was reading a memorial. He came to Emperor Hongzhi with a smile, flipped through the memorial, and said, "Father, do you work so late every day?"

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and put down the memorial, and said to Zhu Houzhao: "The foundation of our ancestors was handed over to you, father. How dare you neglect it?"

Zhu Houzhao was puzzled and asked, "Wouldn't the Imperial Household Department help you a little? You have to do everything by yourself, how tiring it is."

Emperor Hongzhi looked pleased, and he looked at Zhu Houzhao deeply and said, "Isn't it for you? I will lay a good foundation for you, and I will hand over the prosperous country to you in the future."

"Okay, stop flattering me. Tell me, what do you want from me? Are you asking for money again?"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said, "That's not the case. I just have an idea that I want to talk to you about. I'm not sure if it will work. Anyway, just listen to it. Don't scold me if it doesn't work."

Emperor Hongzhi laughed loudly: "I want to hear what shocking words my son Qilin is going to say to me."

He held the teacup, blew a sip of tea, and said to Zhu Houzhao: "Go ahead, I'm listening."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Father, how do you plan to run Hami in the future?"

Emperor Hongzhi was slightly stunned, then he sighed deeply.

Apparently, Emperor Hongzhi had not yet recovered from Wang Yue's death. Since then, the situation in the northwest had not been optimistic. The Turpan people had continuously begun to invade Hami, and the Ming Dynasty's financial and military investment in Hami was greater than when Wang Yue was alive.

He put the teacup aside, closed his eyes and thought for a while before saying, "Let's focus on defense first. The initiative is not in Daming's hands now."

If the Ming Dynasty took the initiative to attack Turpan, it would hardly hurt the enemy at all. On the contrary, it would pay a high military and financial price, which would not be worth the cost.

Zhu Houzhao said: "Can't we solve the Hami problem permanently with great benefits?"

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "How can it be so easy? The dispute over Hami has been going on for a long time. If it could be resolved, it would have been resolved long ago. What's more, it would be a permanent solution that would bring huge benefits."

This is simply impossible.

"how?"

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "What brilliant ideas do you have? From your tone, can you permanently solve the Hami problem with great benefits?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "I don't know if it counts, so I asked you to listen to it."

After a pause, Zhu Houzhao thought about Chen Ce's words for a while, and then he said, "Give up Hami."

puff!
Emperor Hongzhi spat out a mouthful of tea and sternly reprimanded Zhu Houzhao, "What nonsense are you talking about! Hami is the territory of the Ming Dynasty. How can we give it up so easily?"

"If I really do such a thing, not only will I be ashamed of my ancestors, but the civil officials will scold me to death, and the military generals will no longer be loyal to me. Isn't this a coward?"

Zhu Houzhao hurriedly shook his head and said, "Father, you misunderstood me."

"I am not giving up Hami, I am letting the people of Turpan enter Hami. We will restore the tribute system with the people of Turpan."

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at Zhu Houzhao calmly and said, "Go on."

Zhu Houzhao said: "In fact, no one has thought about the root of the Hami problem. Why did the Turpan people invade Hami again and again?"

"Because we closed the tribute trade with the people of Turpan, they went crazy and attacked Hami again and again."

"Why don't we resume the tribute trade with the Turpan people and let them enter Hami on their own initiative to manage Hami on behalf of the Ming Dynasty?" "Whoever is stronger will be allowed to trade with the court."

"In this way, Hami will become our vassal state, and we can also use the people of Turpan to help us resist the Tatars."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhu Houzhao in a daze, weighing the options quickly in his mind.

In recent years, the Ming Dynasty and the people of Turpan have been arguing over the Hami issue, and it seems that no one has thought about the root cause of the problem.

Why did the people of Turpan keep fighting for Hami?
It seems that wars in the northwest have become more and more frequent since the Ming Dynasty closed the tribute trade with the Turpan people.

But... can letting the people of Turpan take the initiative to enter Hami, using barbarians to control barbarians, and implementing a tribute trade system really solve the Hami dispute once and for all?

Emperor Hongzhi calmly asked Zhu Houzhao: "Why did you suddenly start to pay attention to the Northwest issue?"

Zhu Houzhao said as a matter of course: "Didn't the emperor say that I can't lead troops to fight? Since the military method doesn't work, I can only use the literary method."

"Well, my suggestion is not bad, right?"

"Father, look, although we have given up Hami, it is still the territory of the Ming Dynasty. It is just managed by the people of Turpan."

"Even if we attack Hami in the future, we will take back our own territory, and no one will dare to say anything."

"Besides, restoring the trade and tribute between the people of Turpan and the Ming Dynasty may seem like a loss to the Ming Dynasty, but compared to the manpower and military expenditure invested in the northwest every year, this trade loss is actually a gain for us."

"After Wang Yue's death, Hami doesn't have many generals left. If we continue like this, Ming will only lose more than it wins. Instead of wasting time like this, why not try a new route?"

"Father, please think about it carefully. I don't know if it will work. I am just giving you an idea."

"You should go to bed early. I am also sleepy. Don't worry too late. Your health is more important than anything else."

Listening to Zhu Houzhao's words, Emperor Hongzhi felt warm in his heart and said, "I see. If you can make me worry less like this every day, I will be happier than anything else."

Zhu Houzhao left, and Emperor Hongzhi stared at his back carefully for a long time.

These words naturally did not come from Zhu Houzhao, and Emperor Hongzhi was too lazy to find out who taught him, but in any case, as Zhu Houzhao said, these words provided him with a new idea.

Early the next morning.

Emperor Hongzhi summoned officials from the six ministries of the cabinet to hold a small court meeting early in the morning.

Emperor Hongzhi said, "I saw a memorial last night that provided me with a new idea for governing Hami. You may wish to listen to it and see if it is feasible."

When Emperor Hongzhi announced his plan to use barbarians to control barbarians, restore the tribute system with Turpan, and let Turpan people take charge of Hami.

The entire small meeting suddenly went into an uproar.

Liu Jian, the deputy minister of the cabinet, bowed and said, "Your Majesty! The people of Turpan are ambitious and wicked. We must not take this risk!"

However, the Minister of War Ma Wensheng had a different opinion. In fact, Ma Wensheng had wanted to give up Hami for a long time. He always believed that Hami was of little significance to the Ming Dynasty. Instead of defending Hami, it would be better to defend Gansu and Liang. At least there were passes to prevent the invasion of Turpan people.

"Your Majesty, I think this may not be a wrong direction."

Emperor Hongzhi became interested and asked Ma Wensheng, "Tell me about it."

I was delayed by something urgent. Sorry.
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(End of this chapter)