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

Chapter 479: The Eternal Sinner Liu Daxia

Chen Ce had a nautical chart. He had the nautical chart that eunuch Sanbao used to travel to the West.

But after careful consideration, Chen Ce did not take it out.

If he took it out now, it would cause a lot of trouble. Liu Daxia might say that Chen Ce stole the nautical chart, and he might find other excuses.

In order to avoid disputes, Chen Ce planned to wait until the voyage to the West was confirmed before sending the nautical chart to Emperor Hongzhi.

As soon as he proposed sailing to the West, Liu Daxia reacted so violently. If Chen Ce took out the nautical chart, who knows how Liu Daxia would use this matter to make a fuss.

Chen Ce looked at Liu Daxia in confusion. He was not angry at Liu Daxia's insults and accusations. Instead, he asked calmly, "Liu Yushi, why are you so angry? I can't be right, right?"

"Did you really burn the eunuch Sanbao's nautical chart?"

Liu Daxia breathed rapidly and said, "You are talking nonsense!"

"Your Majesty, Marquis Tai'an is full of nonsense! He is so arrogant just after being granted the title of Marquis. What will happen to him in the future? I beg Your Majesty to punish Marquis Tai'an!"

Duke of England Zhang Mao could no longer bear to watch this, and he said to Liu Daxia, "What he said is wrong. If you take out the nautical chart, won't he shut up?"

"Why do you always want to punish others?"

"Your Majesty, why don't we go to the Imperial Academy and look for the nautical chart?"

Emperor Hongzhi said in a deep voice: "Well, come here, go to the Hanlin Academy..."

"emperor!"

Liu Daxia said angrily, "No need to go to the Hanlin Academy!"

"I burned the navigation chart of the eunuch Sanbao!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the court was in an uproar!

Did Chen Ce really come up with the idea? Did Liu Daxia really burn the eunuch Sanbao's nautical chart?

You actually burned such precious historical materials?
Liu Jian pointed at Liu Daxia and said, "Liu Shiyong, you...you are a sinner! A sinner for all eternity!"

Emperor Hongzhi also questioned Liu Daxia angrily: "No wonder you refuted Tai'an Hou again and again. You actually burned the sea chart? Liu Daxia!"

Liu Daxia glanced at Chen Ce with resentment. He didn't know how this guy knew that he had burned the eunuch Sanbao's sea chart, but he would definitely not say it casually!
He must be a member of the eunuch party back then, and he must be here to take revenge on me!

Liu Daxia snorted and said righteously: "During the Chenghua period, the eunuch party was in power and the national economy was in decline. However, the eunuch Wang Zhi's followers begged the late emperor to follow the example of Emperor Taizong and go to the West."

"If Wang Zhi and his followers had really persuaded the late emperor to start sailing, how much money would it have cost, and how many people in the Ming Dynasty would have gone hungry because of this?"

"What was the national strength of Emperor Taizong at the time? What was the national strength of the previous emperor?"

"But at that time, the late emperor favored the eunuch party. Our words were mild, so who could persuade the late emperor? The late emperor was arbitrary and the expedition to the West was imminent. Therefore, I had no choice but to burn the eunuch Sanbao's navigation chart!"

"Yes, I am a sinner for all eternity, but I never regret burning the nautical chart! Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

Liu Daxia simply stopped disguising himself. It was up to him to kill or chop him up. These things could be discovered sooner or later as long as Emperor Hongzhi wanted to.

He might as well just admit it openly. It's up to you to kill him or chop him up as you please. He has said this today. As for how future generations will evaluate him, Liu Daxia, that is for future generations to decide!

In short, Liu Daxia did not think he had done anything wrong. In the political environment at that time, he considered himself brave for having the courage to confront the eunuch party.

When he first entered the Imperial Academy, he was full of vigor and fearless. However, after so many years in the officialdom, Liu Daxia's state of mind has changed, and he no longer has the courage and recklessness he had when he was young.

That is why he was so afraid when Chen Ce questioned him, and that is why he argued with him and even spoke ill of him.

But now that things had come to this, Liu Daxia had let it go and simply stopped arguing. He simply told him everything that had happened.

Emperor Hongzhi stared at Liu Daxia angrily: "You!"

Now he could only judge Liu Daxia and said to the Ministry of Justice in a stern voice: "You, the Ministry of Justice, together with the Dali Temple, must thoroughly examine Liu Daxia's crime for me!"

Emperor Hongzhi had no way of telling the final verdict, so the final result would have to wait for the legal trial.

Liu Daxia took off his official hat, placed it carefully on the Fengtian Hall, and strode out of the hall with his hands behind his back.

Things had come to this point, and the court meeting was doomed to continue, so Emperor Hongzhi stood up and left.

All the officials looked at Chen Ce, wondering how he knew what Liu Daxia did during the Chenghua period?
Is this a premeditated political attack against Liu Daxia?

But it seemed that he and Liu Daxia had no grudges against each other before.

We can only analyze who is most likely to take office after Liu Daxia steps down.

Right Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, Hong Zhong!
Hong Zhong, the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Works all had a good personal relationship with Chen Ce.

Could it be that Hong Zhong is the instigator of today's incident?
The officials looked deeply at Hong Zhong again.

Hong Zhong didn't react at first and was now in tears.

You might as well say that I am Chen Ce's man, and he directed this play in order to help me get promoted. At least this way the logic would make sense.

You don't really think that I am above Chen Ce and can order him to do these things, do you?

And even if we take a step back, Chen Ce didn't have any purpose at all, right? He just wanted to promote the feat of sailing to the West.

It’s just that these old foxes have been in officialdom for so long that they always assume that everyone should have a purpose for doing anything and should weigh the pros and cons.

They never thought that Chen Ce had no purpose at all and simply wanted to facilitate the feat of sailing to the West.

After the court was dismissed, all officials left and the six ministries of the cabinet were summoned to the Wenhua Hall. Emperor Hongzhi should have continued to discuss the matter of sailing to the West.

However, after the sea chart was burned, it seemed unlikely to sail to the West now. But Emperor Hongzhi had already spoken in the hall. If the voyage to the West was not successful in the end, his majesty would still be lost.

This is just secondary, after all, everything happens for a reason.

Emperor Hongzhi felt that Chen Ce's suggestion was correct. Going to the Western Ocean could indeed provide a guarantee for the exchange of goods between the Ming Dynasty and the sea barbarians, deter pirates at sea, and demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty. At the same time, it could also help to observe the development of other countries and avoid being too greedy.

Liu Jian cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, since the sea chart has been burned, we can only explore slowly."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "Without the experience of our predecessors, if we go out to sea this time, there is a risk that our fleet will be destroyed. At that time, we may be laughed at by the foreign countries. Your Majesty, we must be cautious in this matter."

Emperor Hongzhi was silent for a moment, then nodded in agreement. He was a little hesitant at this moment, and didn't know how to make a decision.

Xie Qian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, what Lord Li said is true. There are reasons for this. Even if we didn't go to the West, I don't think there would be any rumors. Why don't we just put this matter aside?"

(End of this chapter)