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

Chapter 553 Territorial Dispute
In the second month of spring, the Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao of the Ming Dynasty got married, and the historians recorded it in the history books.

Also in February, an event of some significance occurred in the southern border of the Ming Dynasty.

There is an enclave on the border between Annan and Langqiongzhao, which is about thirty miles in radius. Before the Xuande period, there had been a lot of disputes over this enclave. Annan said it was their land, and the Ming Dynasty said it was its own land.

However, because this piece of land had never been inhabited, the two sides eventually stopped arguing over it. Emperor Xuande tacitly agreed to give the ownership of the land to Annan in exchange for the South not getting involved in war.

In February of this spring, Annan suddenly began to migrate people to this land and reclaim wasteland to plant crops.

After Tang Yin learned about this, he negotiated with Annan as soon as possible, but Annan believed that Emperor Xuande had tacitly transferred the ownership of the land to Annan, so they could use this land independently without the consent of the Ming Dynasty.

After the negotiations failed, Tang Yin sent a letter reporting the matter to Beiping.

Forbidden City.

Emperor Hongzhi had just finished preparing for Zhu Houzhao's wedding and was feeling increasingly weak. He basically did not hold the imperial lectures scheduled for the following day. Many civil servants wrote to him in protest, but they were all sent back by Emperor Hongzhi.

Today, after looking at the memorial sent by the Imperial Household Department, he had to summon the six ministries of the cabinet to discuss countermeasures.

Li Dongyang cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, Annan's move is tantamount to challenging the sovereignty and territory of our Ming Dynasty. We must not give in on this matter!"

Xie Qian stepped out and said, "What Elder Li said is not without reason, but as Annan said, this is a historical issue. Emperor Xuande tacitly gave this piece of territory to Annan in order to obtain peace and stability on the border."

"Over the years, Annan has indeed not had any war disputes with the chieftains, and it is indeed reasonable for Annan to occupy this land and cultivate it."

Whether it is Li Dongyang or Xie Qian, what they said makes sense.

Emperor Hongzhi was unsure of what to do, so he asked Fei Hong, "Zichong, tell me what you think."

Fei Hong had just joined the cabinet not long ago, and he was also the minister tacitly appointed by Emperor Hongzhi to support Zhu Houzhao in the future, so naturally he had to listen to Fei Hong's opinions.

Fei Hong was silent for a moment before he said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, I dare to ask, if we want to take back this land, but Annan disagrees, should we start a war?"

At this point in time, the Ming Dynasty's economy is developing rapidly, and it is certainly unwilling to start a war that will consume national strength.

The prestige of the little Tatar prince in the north is declining day by day in the Tatar tribe. He certainly hopes to use a war to regain his prestige in the army and in the hearts of the Tatars.

As long as the Ming Dynasty starts a war with Annan in the south, the Tatars may not necessarily wait for an opportunity to strike.

Li Dongyang pondered for a moment and said, "If Annan disagrees, we can only use force to retake it. There is no room for negotiation."

Fei Hong nodded and said, "If we follow what Lord Li said, then we can definitely take the land back. Since we have already decided on the war, why bother thinking about this matter anymore?"

Fei Hong did not refute Li Dongyang. In fact, he did not agree with Li Dongyang's war theory, because the Ming Dynasty was not without enemies in the north. If it faced enemies on both sides, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to take care of both, and its national strength would be severely consumed, which was inconsistent with the Ming Dynasty's established development goals.

However, Fei Hong had only been in the cabinet for a short time, and he was unwilling to offend Li Dongyang and sing a different tune from Li Dongyang.

Emperor Hongzhi seemed to see Fei Hong's intention, so he asked: "What if I don't want to start a war?"

Fei Hong said: "Then we will not deal with this matter and take the land back when the time is right."

Li Dongyang shook his head and said, "What do you mean by the right time? No one can guarantee what will happen to the Ming Dynasty in the future. If we don't take it back now, will there be another chance in the future?"

Xie Qian, who had not spoken for a long time, said: "How about this, we follow Chen Ce's previous strategy and conduct military exercises in southern Xinjiang to let Annan see how powerful we are, and then we can talk about the land south of Langqiongzhao. I believe that Annan will be much calmer by then."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in agreement and said, "Mr. Xie's suggestion is worth a try." "Mr. Xie and Mr. Fei will follow up on this matter."

"Here!"

Li Dongyang looked at Emperor Hongzhi thoughtfully. Logically speaking, he was the chief minister in charge of the recovery of the country, which involved major events concerning the territorial integrity of the country. However, he did not know why the emperor handed the matter over to Xie Qian and Fei Hong.

Is this intended to elevate the status of Xie Qian and Fei Hong in the cabinet?
Li Dongyang couldn't understand it. He didn't seem to have offended the emperor, nor did he do anything wrong to dislike the emperor.

Of course, he didn't know the reason, because the influence of the Chaling Poetry School behind him was too profound. These so-called civil servants all followed Li Dongyang's lead. If Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne in the future, such a powerful force would be eyeing Zhu Houzhao covetously, and Emperor Hongzhi would always feel uneasy.

Therefore, he needed to restrain Li Dongyang's power and intended to increase the status and power of Xie Qian and Fei Hong in the cabinet.

In March, envoys from Java and Malacca are about to arrive in Ming Dynasty to discuss trade cooperation.

Emperor Hongzhi did not have any plans to welcome the two countries. He arranged for Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao to welcome the envoys from the two countries, and asked Fei Hong to cooperate with Zhu Houzhao to handle the matter of welcoming the envoys from the two countries.

Fei Hong hurriedly bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Emperor Hongzhi waved his hand and said, "It's done. Let's all go and do our work."

After the six ministries of the cabinet left, Emperor Hongzhi said to Huai'en: "Go and call the crown prince to see me."

"Here."

Not long after, Zhu Houzhao came to the warm room with his hands behind his back. Emperor Hongzhi was lying on the couch to rest.

"Father, what did you ask me to do?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at his son with a smile on his face and said, "Next month, the envoys from Manchiga and Java will arrive in Ming Dynasty to discuss trade cooperation."

"You will go to meet them on my behalf. Fei Hong will assist you."

Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said, "Father, you are the emperor. Why do you want me to meet them? I won't go."

Emperor Hongzhi said: "Hou Zhao, you are married now. You are a man now. You should help your father share the responsibilities."

"Don't be willful. As the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, you should go and meet them."

"Also, don't go out to play during this period. I have already let you play in the capital for two months. Starting tomorrow, you will come to the warm room to help me deal with memorials."

Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened and he said, "Father! What are you doing? I am still a child! Do you have the heart to let your child do adult things?"

"You handle the memorials yourself. I don't have the ability to do that."

He doesn't want to watch these boring things every day.

Emperor Hongzhi said helplessly: "How come you are still a child? How can you still be a child after getting married?"

"What will you do if your father is gone someday? Learn more now, and I will treat you well in the future. Don't be willful, okay?"

(End of this chapter)