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

Chapter 383 A dead pig is not afraid of boiling water
An hour later, Emperor Hongzhi finally woke up.

There were many people standing at the head of the bed. Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhu Houzhao, whose face was covered with tears, and tilted his head and said, "Get out!"

Empress Zhang was terrified. It was obvious that Zhu Houzhao had made Emperor Hongzhi angry, but she didn't know how big a mistake he had made to make the emperor so angry.

"Father, I..."

Although Empress Zhang and Empress Dowager Zhou wanted to persuade Emperor Hongzhi at this time, they also knew that this was a discussion between father and son, so they walked out consciously.

Emperor Hongzhi stared at Zhu Houzhao coldly and said indifferently: "No matter how you act foolishly on weekdays, your father doesn't blame you, but how can you play with state affairs?"

"It's fine if you just faked the imperial edict. I allow you to do that. Just think of it as your own playfulness. You are my son and the future of Ming Dynasty. As long as you don't go too far, I won't be too disappointed."

"But you clearly know that the relationship between Ming and Korea is tense. The King of Korea negotiated with me, but you colluded with him and released Ren Shihong, a Korean relative, back to Korea."

"If the foreign nations knew about this, it would be a disgrace to the Ming Dynasty and to me! They would only think that the Ming Dynasty is weak and that I am weak and easy to bully!"

"If a country's dignity is lost, how difficult will it be to regain it?"

"My ancestors built the Ming Dynasty with blood and sweat, and raised the prestige of the Ming Dynasty. But now they have lost face in my hands. Even if I die in the future, how can I face my ancestors?"

"Have you ever thought about this? Who told you to do these evil things without permission?!"

Emperor Hongzhi's face flushed, and he became more and more excited as he spoke. He wished he could kill Zhu Houzhao on the spot if Zhu Houzhao was not his biological son.

Zhu Houzhao also knew that Emperor Hongzhi was really angry, but even at this time, he did not betray Chen Ce. He just whispered: "I was wrong, father, please don't be angry. Your health is more important. You just scared me."

Emperor Hongzhi sneered and said, "Isn't it only suitable for you if I die?"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head frantically and said, "Of course not. Father, you can punish me, you can scold me, as long as you are not angry, I can do anything."

Emperor Hongzhi was really angry this time. If it were in the past, seeing his son's pitiful scene, even the hardest heart would have softened into softness.

Chen Ce said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, I asked His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to forge the imperial edict."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Chen Ce in shock, pointed at him and said, "You!"

Chen Ce said calmly: "Your Majesty, please don't be anxious. Listen to me slowly. If this matter is not beneficial to our Ming Dynasty, I will not make such an arrangement."

"Your imperial edict had already been sent out. If it took a long time for you to withdraw it, the Ministry of Rites might have already gone to North Korea by then. There would not be enough time, so I resorted to this desperate measure."

"This matter has nothing to do with the prince, so don't punish him."

Emperor Hongzhi was silent for a moment and asked, "Chun Jian, why?"

Chen Ce said: "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is also very concerned about state affairs and you. He knows that the Emperor is worried about the affairs of North Korea, so he came to complain to me."

"What can Ming Dynasty do to intimidate Korea? It can only send troops to deter it, but Ming Dynasty obviously does not have the conditions to do so now. The situation of Korea and Annan is different. I believe the emperor is aware of this."

"But if we don't do anything about North Korea, they will only become more and more unscrupulous, and we will still have to use force to deter them in the end. How long will this process take?"

"The Ming Dynasty has not yet established its authority in the southeast, and the provocations from the Japanese islands are still fresh in our memory. Although the Ministry of Industry has built warships, this process will still take a long time. What about North Korea?"

"So I asked the crown prince to let Ren Shihong go back to Korea." Emperor Hongzhi thought for a moment and asked Chen Ce, "Is it important for Ren Shihong to go back to Korea? What can he do?"

Chen Ce said: "Create a disaster and overthrow the North Korean regime."

"I have read the historical records of Joseon and speculated that King Lee Long of Joseon was not born to Queen Jeonghyeon. His biological mother should be the deposed queen. Ren Shihong should know this."

Emperor Hongzhi asked in return: "How can you be sure?"

Chen Ce said: "Why did Chengzong imprison Ren Shihong but sent him to Liaodong? I'm afraid it was to hide the secret of Li Long's biological mother."

"Because he knew that once Li Long knew the reason why his biological mother was deposed, he would probably kill all the civil officials!"

When King Seongjong of Joseon arranged all this, he was already dying. He was unable to arrange everything, so he could only hastily arrange for Ren Shihong. In fact, killing him could eliminate the trouble forever, but at that time King Seongjong no longer had the power to mobilize Joseon people to kill Ren Shihong, so he had no choice but to let the Ming Dynasty help him imprison this Korean relative.

It was difficult for Chen Ce to explain these things clearly at the moment. He said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Wait a minute. After a while, there will be a bloody storm in Korea. By then, Li Long will be overthrown as the King of Korea without us having to do anything."

Creating domestic turmoil in other countries is more profitable than sending troops, because sending troops requires strong economic support, which is not cost-effective.

But the premise of all this is that what Chen Ce said can be realized.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty will still become a joke in the end.

Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyes and asked Chen Ce: "What if what you said cannot be realized?"

Chen Ce thought for a moment and said, "Everything has risks. If it can't be realized, forget it. In the end, if we want to deter North Korea, the worst-case scenario is to send troops. Otherwise, they will continue to trade with Liaodong in secret and will not yield just because the Ming Dynasty reprimands them."

Emperor Hongzhi said calmly: "You are completely shirking your responsibility."

Chen Ce said helplessly: "Of course, Your Majesty, if you want to kill me, it's up to you. I don't care. It's just the difference between dying early or late, if it makes you feel better."

Emperor Hongzhi was speechless and said, "It's meaningless if you talk like this."

But now he finally felt at ease, and said to Zhu Houzhao fiercely: "You rebellious son! If I had told you earlier that Chen Ce was the one doing all this, would I have done this?"

Zhu Houzhao: "???"

Huh? Father, what do you mean by this? What are you talking about!

He was speechless.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to remember something and asked nervously, "Does anyone outside know that I fainted?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "Yang Tinghe and Teacher Yang are going to inform the six ministries of the cabinet."

Emperor Hongzhi's expression changed slightly, but Zhu Houzhao continued, "But my younger brother stopped him, and the news didn't get out. Now everyone in the East Palace is forbidden to speak."

Emperor Hongzhi heaved a sigh of relief, looked at Chen Ce deeply, and said, "Thanks to you, Chunjian. If this matter were to get out, the consequences would be disastrous!"

(End of this chapter)