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

Chapter 397 Arms Trade
After Chen Ce sat down, Emperor Hongzhi asked Chen Ce what he thought of the letter from Prince Jincheng Yi Yi asking for help to send troops.

Chen Ce shook his head and said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Of course we cannot send troops, but we still need to help the Prince of Jincheng."

Li Long, the King of Korea, was no longer worthy of the trust of the Ming Dynasty. In fact, Chen Ce allowed Shi Hong to return to Korea in order to create the Jiazi Shi Disaster and allow the opposition in Korea to overthrow Yeonsangun Li Long.

Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait to ask Chen Ce: "Little brother, since the Ming Dynasty cannot send troops to Korea, how can we help the Prince of Jincheng?"

"Can you think of a way to help Lord Jincheng succeed without sacrificing the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty? And make Lord Jincheng afraid of the military power of the Ming Dynasty and not dare to act as arrogantly as Li Long in the future?"

Chen Ce pondered for a moment and nodded, "Okay."

can?

Is that your simple answer?

Emperor Hongzhi asked in surprise: "What should we do?"

Zhu Houzhao had a smile on his face and looked at Emperor Hongzhi playfully, "Father, father, you see, just because you can't do it doesn't mean that I can't do it either."

Chen Ce said: "We will provide weapons and armor to Jincheng Dajun, and let Jincheng Dajun lead the Korean soldiers to fight."

After saying this, Emperor Hongzhi looked at Chen Ce solemnly, and then said to Chen Ce: "Give the weapons and armor to the Prince of Jincheng?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "It's not giving, it's selling, doing arms trade."

Emperor Hongzhi asked seriously: "This move will make Korea stronger and pose a threat to the Ming Dynasty. Have you considered this?"

Chen Ce said to Emperor Hongzhi: "I am talking about those obsolete weapons and armor, such as swords and spears, and outdated armor. Some are even old items from the Yongle and Xuande periods. They are almost moldy in the warehouse of the Ministry of War, but they will definitely be the most advanced weapons if they are taken to Korea."

"Even if they have these weapons and armor, what threat can they pose to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Moreover, the sale of weapons can be priced at an exorbitant price. This is more profitable than any commercial trade. The court can earn a large amount of profit from it. Why not do it?"

"If Lord Jincheng has our weapons and armor, it will be an advantage in the fight against Li Long."

Originally, the two sides might be evenly matched in strength, or Prince Jincheng might be slightly weaker, but he always stands on the moral side. If he gets the weapons and armor of the Ming Dynasty, I believe the balance of victory will tilt more towards Prince Jincheng.

If Prince Jinseong finally destroyed Yeonsangun Lee Long, he would certainly be wary of the military power of the Ming Dynasty. After all, the Ming Dynasty was able to help them win using obsolete weapons. Isn't this enough to prove the strength of the Ming Dynasty's military? How could Prince Jinseong not live under the shadow of the Ming Dynasty in the days to come?

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to be thinking about something. What Chen Ce said made sense. The Ministry of War had accumulated a lot of obsolete weapons and armor. If Ming Dynasty could engage in an arms trade with Korea, it seemed that it would really make a lot of money.

Zhu Houzhao said to Emperor Hongzhi with a smile: "Father, I think what you said is correct. We can send people to Korea to contact and talk with the people of Jincheng Dajun."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded. This matter was of great importance and he still needed to discuss it with the six ministries of the cabinet. This was all the advice Chen Ce could provide. As for whether or not to help Prince Jincheng, it all depended on the court's opinion.

If the Ming court took action, it would undoubtedly speed up the time for Jinseong Grand Prince to destroy Yeonsangun. Of course, even if the Ming court did not take action, according to Korean historical records, Jinseong Grand Prince would complete the move to restore King Jungjong's rebellion two years later.

Emperor Hongzhi held a small court meeting that evening.

The cabinet did raise objections, believing that the move was somewhat risky. The cabinet was cautious and feared that if this batch of weapons and armor really fell into the hands of North Korea, it would enhance North Korea's military strength.

However, the Ministry of War gave a completely different opinion. Ma Wensheng believed that even if that batch of old weapons and equipment was sold to North Korea, the other side would not be able to cause any waves.

The Ministry of Revenue also thought it was feasible. This move could bring huge profits to the Ministry of Revenue and would not pose too much of a threat to the country. Now the Ming Dynasty needed money everywhere. Why not go into trade, which was such a lucrative business?
In the end, most of the six ministries in the cabinet agreed with this matter, and Emperor Hongzhi no longer hesitated. He immediately ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue to send people to Korea to secretly contact and negotiate with Jincheng Daegun. …

The Ming warships in the waters of the Wa Islands had already assembled in the southeast waters at this time, and a new batch of warships continued to sail to the Wa Islands for military exercises.

Fu Yuan had secretly organized a team of Japanese warriors in the southeast, gave them a large sum of money, and ordered them to launch a surprise attack when the Ming warships arrived at the vicinity of Japan for military exercises.

After learning about Chen Ce's strategic goals for the entire Southeast, Fu Yuan began to walk the tightrope like crazy.

At this time, he had already severed his relationship with the Fu family and was no longer a member of the Fu family. He wanted to help Chen Ce complete this unprecedented great move!

Near the Mid-Autumn Festival in the 14th year of Hongzhi, this batch of warships from the southeast arrived at the Wa islands.

As soon as they approached the vicinity of the Japanese islands, they encountered a crazy attack from a group of Japanese slaves. Three soldiers on the Ming warship were killed or injured, and even more Japanese warriors were killed or injured. Finally, they left.

This matter soon spread to the Southeastern Japanese Defense Office, and the news was quickly sent to Peking via the military post station.

……

On August 14, the city of Peking was already ablaze with lights. Tomorrow was the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the Shuntian Prefecture's provincial examination would be held as scheduled.

British government.

Zhang Mao asked Qian Hong, a famous painter in the capital, to add paintings to the lantern for his grandson.

There was no other way, so Zhang Lun kept pestering Zhang Mao, asking his grandfather to make him a beautiful lantern no matter what.

Qian Hong painted a picture of Chang'e flying to the moon on a white cloth. Once the lanterns were lit, they would just illuminate the full moon, which looked very ingenious.

Zhang Mao smiled and said to Zhang Lun: "Grandpa tells you that if you carry this lantern on the street tomorrow, I wonder how many people will envy you!"

Zhang Lun chuckled and said, "Okay, thank you Grandpa, bobobo."

The little guy kissed Zhang Mao's face a few times excitedly. Tomorrow he would take Tan Simin to show off to that little girl and make the little girl drool with envy!
……

"Brother Chen...I want lanterns."

Chen Ce sat quietly at the desk reading a book. Xiaohua sat on a low stool, also holding a book in her hands, shaking her head as she read, but she was absent-minded. Then she simply lay on Chen Ce's lap and begged Chen Ce to buy her a lantern to set off tomorrow.

Chen Ce thought for a moment, put down the book in his hand, and said to Xiaohua: "Let me make a lantern with you."

Xiaohua said excitedly: "Okay!"

As soon as the bamboo sticks and lamp oil for the lanterns were ready, Chen Ce came to the stone bench in the yard, spread the white cloth on the stone table, and picked up the pen and ink to prepare for painting.

"What kind of paintings do you like?"

Xiaohua shook her head. She didn’t know what she liked.

Chen Ce thought for a moment and said to Xiaohua: "Then I'll draw a few cartoon characters for you."

(End of this chapter)