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

Chapter 386 Jealousy Makes People Red
Ma Wensheng went to the cabinet immediately. After hearing the news, the three cabinet elders could no longer sit still.

This matter was of great importance, enough to affect all the current arrangements of the Ming Dynasty. The Third Elder was in a panic and had no idea what to do for a moment. He took Ma Wensheng to the Qianqing Palace to meet Emperor Hongzhi in a cold sweat.

As the Minister of Works, Xu Guan could not have been unaware of the news from the Ministry of War. When he heard that the wood of the warships sent to Japan was corroded, his face suddenly changed.

Chen Ce predicted it right again!
Ebony is indeed not suitable for long-term sea voyages!

How could Xu Guan not know the little tricks of the Du Shui Si? They just wanted to squeeze some money out of the Ministry of Revenue, so they insisted on using ebony instead of the more expensive teak.

Now that such a big thing has happened, Xu Guan can no longer sit still.

If this happened normally, it wouldn't be a big deal. After it was discovered, at most the doctor of the Du Shui Si would be demoted.

But the situation in the southeast is grim right now, and the role of this batch of warships in the southeast is really too great. Not only do they threaten the Japanese islands, but their greater role is to demonstrate the military power of the Ming Dynasty to the four barbarians.

But now that the warships have been corroded, this batch of warships that were sent out will have to be recalled, and the Ming Dynasty’s move to intimidate the surrounding areas will appear ridiculous and laughable!

This is the scariest thing.

The Ministry of Industry should take great responsibility!

Xu Guan had no time to think about it. Fortunately, Ma Xun had guaranteed him in front of the entire Ministry of Works. Otherwise, as the Minister of Works, this incident alone would have been enough to bring Xu Guan down!

Xu Guan coldly left a message to the clerk, asking him to go to the Du Shui Si and inform Ma Xun to be prepared to take responsibility. Then Xu Guan entered the palace, sweating profusely.

Qianqing Palace.

Emperor Hongzhi looked gloomy, staring at the cabinet and the Ministry of War with a gloomy expression, and said sternly: "The people from the Ministry of Works! Haven't they arrived yet?!"

Xu Guan staggered in from outside the hall, bowed his hands and said, "This old minister pays homage to the emperor, long live the emperor."

Emperor Hongzhi sneered and said, "Give me an explanation!"

"The Southeast Battleship is under the charge of your Ministry of Industry. Why is it so?!"

Xu Guan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, when the Du Shui Bureau was manufacturing the warship, Master Chen Ce came to the Ministry of Works to persuade the Du Shui Bureau's doctor, saying that seawater is easily corrosive and asked them to use precious teak instead of ebony. However, Doctor Ma insisted on using ebony and criticized Master Chen for interfering in the Ministry of Works' affairs. He also said that he would be solely responsible for any accidents involving the warships..."

There was no other way. It was impossible for Xu Guan to protect the doctor of the Du Shui Si now, even though he was his subordinate. But now that disaster was imminent, who wouldn't flee?

At the beginning, you, Ma Xun, insisted on showing off in front of Chen Ce. You ignored the advice for such a small profit, and looked down on Chen Ce for giving you advice. Now that something is wrong, who can protect you?
After hearing the name Chen Ce again, the expressions of the three cabinet elders and the Ministry of War became extremely complicated.

It seems... all the affairs of the country, big or small, seem to be inseparable from Chen Ce, and he is obviously just a small proofreader in the Sijing Bureau!
Emperor Hongzhi did not accept Xu Guan's explanation. He angrily said, "You are the Minister of Works. Since Lord Chen has given you advice, why don't you consider it carefully?!"

Xu Guan hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, the four departments of the Ministry of Works each have their own work to do. The Du Shui Department is naturally better than me in building ships. Everyone has their own expertise. I naturally have to consider Doctor Ma's opinion. Doctor Ma guaranteed it with his life. How can I not believe him?"

In other words, on one side is a professional official from the Ministry of Works, and on the other side is Chen Ce. Who should I believe?
Of course, these were all Xu Guan's way of shifting the blame. He certainly believed Chen Ce, but the other people in the Ministry of Works did not. Xu Guan did not want to offend those people in the Ministry of Works, otherwise he would not be able to carry out his work in the Ministry of Works in the future. Anyway, if something went wrong, he had Doctor Ma to take the blame, so why not?
Emperor Hongzhi gnashed his teeth and said, "Why didn't the Du Shuisi listen to Chen Ce? Why didn't anyone tell me about this?"

"This beast has ruined the great plan of the country. Let the Ministry of Personnel demote him from his position as a Langzhong and send him to serve as an official in the Tusi states in the southwest in the hope that he can be employed again."

How to deal with Doctor Ma is not a big deal, what the Ming Dynasty should do next is the top priority. Liu Jian bowed and stepped out, asking Ma Wensheng: "Can we let the Southeast warships hold on to the Japanese island for half a month?"

It took only a little over a month for this batch of warships to go out to sea and arrive at the Japanese islands. They have only been training around the Japanese islands for more than ten days. If they return now, they will not be able to have a threatening or deterrent effect.

Therefore, Liu Jian hopes that this batch of warships can stay near the Japanese island for a while longer.

Ma Wensheng hurriedly said, "Mr. Liu, this cannot happen! If the warship really leaks, the lives of more than a thousand soldiers will be lost! These soldiers are the elite of the Southeast Navy!"

Liu Jian is now hesitant. If he comes back in disgrace now, it will obviously not have any effect. The emperor of Japan will not feel any pressure and cannot threaten the other party at all.

Not to mention that it will inspire awe in island countries such as North Korea.

The hall fell silent for a moment. Finally, Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath and said, "What Mr. Ma said is true. The reputation of the Ming Dynasty is important, but the lives of the Ming soldiers are more important."

"They can die on the battlefield, but they cannot die in such a humiliating way in the waters off the Japanese islands."

Finally, Emperor Hongzhi waved his hand feebly and said, "Call them back, and your Ministry of Works will continue to rebuild the warships."

"I order Chen Ce, the proofreader of the Ministry of Finance, to supervise the construction of warships on behalf of me."

The three cabinet elders trembled slightly and wanted to stop it, but they had no reason. After all, Emperor Hongzhi did not promote Chen Ce. But Emperor Hongzhi said that Chen Ce represented the emperor, which was equivalent to an imperial envoy. Although his official position was not promoted, his power was boundless!

Xu Guan let out a long sigh and hurriedly bowed, saying, "As you wish!"

With Chen Ce supervising the work, he felt much more at ease. For some reason, even though he knew that Chen Ce was not a professional official in the Ministry of Works, Minister Xu always felt much more at ease as long as Chen Ce could come to the Ministry of Works.

After the crowd dispersed, Emperor Hongzhi asked Huai'en to go to the Sijing Bureau to summon Chen Ce.

Huai En hurried to the Ministry of Finance. As the eunuch serving the emperor, all the officials were in awe of Huai En. Zhao Zhongping, the Prince's groom, said nervously, "Eunuch, um... Mr. Chen didn't come to the yamen today."

He could only bite the bullet and reply. He could lie to Yang Tinghe and say that Chen Ce was ill, but no matter how brave he was, he dared not deceive the emperor, so he could only "sell" Chen Ce.

Huai En hurriedly said: "We know, we'll go find him."

I rely on?

Zhao Zhongping and Han Douyin looked at each other, their eyes red with jealousy.

They are all officials. If the emperor looks for them today and they are not in the office, they may pack up and leave tomorrow.

But Eunuch Huai'en not only did not think it was inappropriate that Chen Ce was not on duty in the yamen, but he thought it was natural and even went to Chen Ce's house to find Chen Ce in person?

This is more than just Jane in the emperor's heart, this is simply the emperor's sweetheart! How can they not be jealous?

(End of this chapter)