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

Chapter 235 Reward Chen Ce
Although the Neichang had no power to monitor all officials and did not know what the clerks and runners from Shuntian Prefecture would do, they were responsible for Chen Ce's safety and would inform Chen Ce in advance of any disturbance.

"Sir, would you like me to call a few more brothers?"

Chen Ce thought for a moment and said to the factory guards, "You don't have to show up. Go down."

"Yes."

It seems that the governor of Shuntian Prefecture has chosen to be Jiao Fang's dog.

Chen Ce never expected that the governor of Shuntian Prefecture would be so short-sighted for the sake of his own future.

He slowly soaked his feet, then knocked on the door of Mrs. Wu next door and said, "Shuntian Prefecture should be here to arrest me soon."

"Don't worry, I'll be out soon."

He knew Wu Shuxian's personality and was afraid that she would do something out of line, so he informed her in advance.

Despite this, Madam Wu still had a look of deep worry on her face. She heard the conversation between Tang Yin and Chen Ce during the disaster relief work in the morning.

Tang Yin said that Chen Ce bypassed the government and provided disaster relief in a private capacity. If the government knew about it, it was unknown how they would deal with Chen Ce.

"Won't something go wrong?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No, you still don't believe me?"

Only then did Madam Wu feel relieved. Of course, she had great confidence in Chen Ce. If Chen Ce said there would be no problem, then there would definitely be no problem.

But even so, she was still afraid that Chen Ce would suffer in prison.

"But your illness..."

Chen Ce comforted him, "It's okay, it'll only take one night... maybe not even that, go to bed early."

Madam Wu hummed.

Chen Ce returned to his courtyard, opened the gate, put on his clothes, and waited quietly for the Shuntian Prefecture officials to come.

A yamen runner walked in with a stern look on his face and said to Chen Ce, "Are you the businessman who provided disaster relief in the north city this morning?"

Chen Ce said: "Let's go."

The bailiff was slightly stunned. Chen Ce said, "Aren't you here to arrest me?"

"Let's go."

The bailiff was unable to react for a moment. It was as if he had known about it for a long time. How could he remain so calm after being caught?
"I won't run away. Can I not be put in the shackles?"

The yamen runner said coldly: "No!"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "Okay, what's your name?"

The bailiff said indifferently: "Are you threatening me?"

Chen Ce asked, "What else?"

"Too arrogant! Put him in the shackles!"

Chen Ce was eventually put on a wooden yoke and taken to the Shuntian government office in extreme humiliation on that winter night.

After entering the prison, Chen Ce said, "I want to see your prefect."

"Haha, do you deserve it?"

Chen Ce sat quietly in the prison, with his eyes closed and without saying a word.

But not long after, Shuntian Prefecture Governor Zhang Chong came into the cramped and cold prison with his hands behind his back. He stared at Chen Ce and said, "You want to see me?"

Chen Ce asked, "What crime did you arrest me for?"

Zhang Chong said calmly: "To win the hearts of the people, his intentions are not right."

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No! Because Jiao Fang, because the victims beat up Jiao Fang's son, he put pressure on you."

"Do you really think this will please Jiao Fang? If I were you, I'd think about it carefully and let him go respectfully."

Zhang Chong sneered, "Should I still praise you?"

Chen Ce said seriously, "Yes." "You dare to speak so arrogantly when you are about to die!"

Chen Ce thought for a moment and said, "It's easy for me to come in, but it's not that easy to get out. Think about it carefully."

Zhang Chong was too disdainful to waste time talking to Chen Ning and left with a cold snort.

……

The Forbidden City is lit.

The snow was still falling, and the snow was particularly heavy this year. The three cabinet elders had not left yet. Because of the salt permit issue, Liu Jian was promoted to the chief minister of the cabinet by Emperor Hongzhi after Xu Pu withdrew from the cabinet.

"Lord Liu."

Li Dongyang looked tired and worried. He looked at the heavy snow outside and said sadly, "Today, the Provincial Government sent a report that more and more disaster victims are pouring into Shuntian Prefecture. How to deal with these disaster victims? We have to come up with a plan and report it to the Emperor."

Liu Jian naturally cared about this matter very much. The finances of the Ministry of Revenue were tight, and with so many disaster victims pouring in, the court could not drive them out.

If the city gates were closed, the imperial court would lose the support of the people, but if they were not closed, disaster victims from the capital would continue to pour into the capital.

How to deal with the issue is urgent, and the emperor is waiting for the cabinet to make a decision.

Xie Qian, who had been silent the whole time, smiled slightly. He said, "I have already come up with a solution in mind. Elder, can you tell me if it is feasible?"

Liu Jian raised his eyebrows. After listening to Xie Qian's suggestion, he couldn't help but brighten his eyes and said, "Good idea. Let's go! Let's go see the emperor!"

After discussion, the three cabinet elders immediately went to the Qianqing Palace to meet Emperor Hongzhi.

Emperor Hongzhi had not yet rested; he was waiting for the cabinet to come up with a disaster relief plan.

Upon hearing that the three cabinet elders had arrived, Emperor Hongzhi immediately summoned them.

"Gentlemen, is there any solution?"

Liu Jian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Yu Qiao has already come up with a solution."

Liu Jian was not greedy for credit. Since the strategy was thought up by Xie Qian, he naturally wanted Xie Qian to take the credit.

Emperor Hongzhi hurriedly asked Xie Qian, "Mr. Xie, what is your plan? Tell me quickly."

Xie Qian said calmly: "Your Majesty, I heard that Shuntian Newspaper and Shuntian Express set up tents in North City to provide disaster relief today."

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned for a moment. Both Shuntian Press and Shuntian Express were Chen Ce's businesses. How could that guy have such thoughts?
Although my power is limited, at least I am not unkind because of my wealth.

I had the impression that this kid was always selfish, but I didn't expect that when his country was in trouble, he would be the first to stand up, which made Emperor Hongzhi very pleased.

But...what does this have to do with the countermeasures Xie Qian mentioned?
Xie Qian smiled and said, "Your Majesty, there are so many disaster victims. It would be wrong for us to drive them out, and it would be wrong for us not to drive them out."

"It is simply impossible to provide relief relying on the power of the imperial court."

"That requires all private businessmen to work together."

Emperor Hongzhi certainly understood the truth, but could he count on these selfish merchants? He couldn't follow the example of Emperor Wu of Han who used the same method to deal with the merchants of the Han Dynasty, by calculating the amount of silk and reporting it to the emperor, right?

Xie Qian said, "Your Majesty, why don't you reward the merchant owners of Shuntian Newspaper and Shuntian Express?"

"The emperor personally awards this, which is the highest honor. If other merchants knew about this, what would they think?"

"I think if this news gets out, the merchants who will come out to provide disaster relief tomorrow will be as numerous as crucian carp crossing the river!"

At this point, Emperor Hongzhi completely understood Xie Qian's plan. He couldn't help but relax his brows, and then smiled and said, "Mr. Xie's mature words for the country are true!"

"If other merchants knew about this, they would definitely follow suit!"

"Okay! Then in my name, I will reward Chen... er, I will reward the business owner of Shuntian Newspaper and Shuntian Express!"

Emperor Hongzhi almost blurted out a sentence to commend Chen Ce.

Although he had known for a long time that the other party was Chen Ce, he could only pretend to be ignorant now. Otherwise, the cabinet would know that he, the emperor, often left the palace in disguise, and who knows what kind of trouble he would cause.

Sorry, I have to take a leave, starting tomorrow, it will be three days, I can only maintain the basic two updates, I have some important things to deal with, but I will try my best to see if I can squeeze out time to write more, I am really sorry

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(End of this chapter)