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

Chapter 229 From Behind the Scenes to the Stage

The snowflakes fell drop by drop, getting bigger and bigger. There are a lot of refugees in Shuntian Prefecture this year.

Chen Ce took out a copper coin from his pocket, thought about it, went to the side and bought a bun and ate it by himself.

The beggar on the street looked at someone who was eager at first, then looked at him with contempt in the end. He thought that the beggar was trying to give him alms.

The thirteenth year of Hongzhi is approaching, which also means that there is less and less time left for myself.

As time went by, Chen Ce realized that he could no longer hide. More and more people knew about him, and he would have more and more troubles in the future. This was also within his expectations.

Wang Shouren returned to the central hall with a thoughtful look on his face. Wang Hua had also finished his breakfast and was about to go to work at the Zhanshi Mansion. He did not forget to ask Wang Shouren, "What does your friend want you to do?"

Wang Shouren said casually, "He said Qian Yue might be defeated in the southwest, so he asked me to volunteer to lead the troops to fight in the southwest."

"Haha." Wang Hua smiled slightly and didn't take it seriously.

Let's not talk about whether Qian Yue might be defeated or not, and how he knew it. Even if Qian Yue was defeated, would the court allow Wang Shouren, who had just passed the imperial examination, to lead troops to fight in the southwest?

This is almost unbelievable. Who is that guy? How can he brag so much?

Wang Shouren was also worried about one thing. If he really wanted to go to the southwest, his father would definitely not agree. So he took this opportunity to ask Wang Hua: "Father, if the court really allows me to go to the southwest, you will not stop me, right?"

Wang Hua smiled and said, "If he has the ability, go ahead. Your father is so happy for you that why would he stop you?"

Wang Shouren nodded seriously: "Okay."

Wang Hua smiled slightly, not taking the matter to heart, and got on the sedan chair to go to the Zhanshi Mansion to take up his post.

Arriving at the guardhouse, Wang Hua, as usual, held a cup of tea and read the newspaper with relish, while his colleagues were also chatting about court affairs.

"The Ministry of War of the Cabinet went to the Imperial Palace urgently last night. It is said that Qian Yue suffered a disastrous defeat in the southwest."

Wang Hua was stunned for a moment, staring at his colleagues in amazement, and asked in astonishment: "Really?"

Did Qian Yue really fail? The key is how did he know? He was not an official of the imperial court, so why did he know the news so early?

How did that guy know such a military secret?
"Of course it's true. I heard from the Ministry of War that Qian Yue's dismissal is a foregone conclusion. The court will also send a commander to the southwest, but it's not yet decided who it will be."

Wang Hua's heart skipped a beat. Would they really let Wang Shouren go?

But then he thought about it again, it was impossible. His son had just passed the imperial examination last year. Even if he had been in the Ministry of War for a short time, he was still a low-ranking official. How could he be qualified to go to the southwest, let alone be the commander? It was too absurd. It was impossible from any angle!
……

Admittedly, it is difficult to push Wang Shouren to command the southwest, but it is not completely impossible.

After Jiao Fang's failure in recommending Qian Yue, the court might not dare to let anyone take the lead in recommending someone. If the crown prince came forward to recommend Wang Shouren, the chances of success would greatly increase.

But the difficulty lies in how to convince everyone that a fledgling who has just entered the officialdom is capable of leading troops and fighting wars?
This requires a veteran to serve as a mascot, and Chen Ce has already selected the mascots, the two uncles of the Zhang family.

Their authority was great enough, they were relatives of the emperor, and they were incompetent enough to control the southwestern army and would not interfere in Wang Shouren's military affairs.

The most important thing is that Emperor Hongzhi knew the character of these two guys, so he was not worried that they would gain power and become a threat to the emperor.

But how to let the two uncles of the Zhang family go to the southwest to command troops is a difficult problem.

While Chen Ce was thinking, Zhu Houzhao came.

Chen Ce had predicted Qian Yue's defeat, but the southwest was now in chaos and the mess needed to be cleaned up!
Jiao Fang has now become a coward and no longer dares to make decisions regarding the southwest. The court is helpless. Zhu Houzhao sees that Emperor Hongzhi is discussing the southwest issue with his ministers day and night, so he comes to Chen Ce for advice.

"Little brother, who do you think is capable of this important task and can go to the southwest to win a battle? Even a small victory will do."

"Now no one in the court dares to recommend anyone randomly." The reason why Emperor Hongzhi did not punish Jiao Fang too severely was because he was afraid that the bureaucrats would not dare to recommend candidates. But even so, the bureaucrats in the court now dare not recommend anyone randomly.

Chen Ce said to Zhu Houzhao: "I have a candidate, Wang Shouren, the chief clerk of the Ministry of War."

Zhu Houzhao listened to Wang Shouren's resume and said speechlessly, "Little brother, please be realistic. A chief clerk who just entered the officialdom this year, do you think the court will send him?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No, so we need someone with strong qualifications to take charge, but he cannot interfere with Wang Shouren's military command."

"The two uncles of the Zhang family."

what?
Zhu Houzhao was confused. Those two uncles who were so incompetent that they were almost useless?

What can they do in the southwest? Wave flags and shout slogans?

Chen Ce said: "They don't need to do anything, as long as they can suppress the southwestern army. The specific command will be handed over to Wang Shouren."

Zhu Houzhao scratched his head: "Why do you think so highly of Wang Shouren?"

Chen Ce nodded: "As long as we can contact the emperor and let him contact Wang Shouren, I believe the emperor will definitely send Wang Shouren to the southwest."

It’s just that no one in the court would recommend this hidden gem. After all, as Zhu Houzhao said, Wang Shouren’s qualifications were too shallow.

But in fact, before Wang Shouren passed the imperial examination, he had already visited Datong, Xuanfu and other places and observed and participated in countless wars.

Is this... really possible?

Zhu Houzhao was still a little unsure, but he still gave Chen Ce face and said, "Okay, I'll try."

Both parties understood each other tacitly.

Zhu Houzhao knew that Chen Ce knew his identity, and Chen Ce also knew that Zhu Houzhao might know that he knew his identity, but they both maintained a tacit understanding and no one made it clear.

"I'm just trying."

Chen Ce smiled and said, "I know. After all, you are a Jinyiwei official and your words are not important. However, as the emperor's confidant, it is enough for you to have a say. As for the outcome, we cannot control it."

Zhu Houzhao chuckled and said, "Yes, that's it."

"However, how can we get Zhang's uncle to go to the southwest? They are not fools."

Chen Ce whispered something to Zhu Houzhao, who widened his eyes, then covered his mouth and laughed: "Haha! Good! I get it!"

Looking at Zhu Houzhao's departing back, Chen Ce smiled. Since coming to the Ming Dynasty, there were not many things that warmed his heart, only these two.

I met a close friend and fell in love with a gentle girl.

Zhu Houzhao returned to the Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Hongzhi asked the Cabinet and the Ministry of War to leave the hall and discussed for another whole morning, but still failed to decide on a candidate.

At first they thought that Duke Yingguo Zhang Mao could take on this important task, but Duke Yingguo is now old. It is ok for him to stay in the Five Military Commandery, but if he goes out to lead the troops to fight and fails, where would he put his face?

As for other civil servants, when they heard that Qian Yue had been inspecting Guizhou for so long and had ended up in such a miserable state, no one dared to go to the southwest anymore.

Emperor Hongzhi was sulking alone. These ministers always talked about being loyal to the emperor and patriotic, but when something really happened, they were no different from turtles!

(End of this chapter)