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

Chapter 554: Enemies from both sides
Zhu Houzhao didn't care. He continued to laugh and said, "Father, what nonsense are you talking about? You were so young, how come you are gone?"

"So, don't think about being lazy now. I can't handle the memorials well. How can the Ming Dynasty survive without you?"

"But then again, Father, are you tired? You must be tired. No one can stand reviewing memorials until late at night every day!"

"Listen to me, my son. Hand the memorial to the Imperial Household Department and you can worry less."

Emperor Hongzhi sighed softly, but still insisted: "Stinky boy, how old are you to know how to be lazy?"

"This is not my intention. It is Chen Ce's intention. He wants to see you manage the government on your own as soon as possible so that he can feel at ease."

After all, he was unwilling to tell Zhu Houzhao about his physical condition, so he used Chen Ce as an excuse.

He knew that Zhu Houzhao and Chen Ce had a good relationship. As expected, Zhu Houzhao tilted his head and said, "Little brother...Okay then."

"But father, let me tell you this first. I may not know how to handle memorials. You have to teach me."

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "Well, I will teach you well."

"Come, take a look at all the memorials on the table first."

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

Looking at the pile of memorials on the desk, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but shudder and said, "So soon? Father, you didn't summon me here just to deal with the memorials, did you?"

Emperor Hongzhi said, "Go and have a look. If you don't understand anything, ask your father."

"Oh."

Zhu Houzhao had no choice but to deal with the memorials first. Emperor Hongzhi lay on the couch and slowly closed his eyes. He was really... too tired.

……

At the end of February, the Ming Dynasty dispatched more than 50,000 troops from Guangxi and Yunnan to conduct military exercises on the border of Annan.

The Ming Dynasty's advanced firearms, such as the Red Cannon, were all fired at the border of Annan, and the deafening sound continued to echo around Annan.

The Royal Palace of Annan.

Li Yi, who had just ascended the throne, was inevitably frightened and asked Zhu Jiewei in panic, "Now the Ming Dynasty is constantly firing firearms on the border of Annan. The deafening sound has spread throughout Annan, and the people in the country are in panic. Why do you insist on doing such a dangerous thing on the Ming Dynasty?!"

"Do you really want the Ming Dynasty to attack Annan and not be satisfied until Annan is destroyed?"

"You know, the officials are not convinced by me now. They all think that I harmed my elder brother. Now I have created so many troubles. Do you want me to step down sooner?"

Zhu Jiewei didn't care. He said to Li Yi, "Why weren't you worried when you sent people to open up that piece of land?"

"So many people have their own fields and income because of this piece of land. Why don't you complain?"

"Don't worry, the Ming Dynasty will not really launch a military attack on Annan." Zhu Jiewei said confidently, "I have already informed the little Tatar prince that he has deployed troops in the northern border. If the Ming Dynasty really wants to launch a war against Annan, the northern Tatars will invade the Ming Dynasty. They dare not fight on two fronts."

"Annan learned many advanced technologies from the Ming Dynasty, such as architecture, handicrafts, agriculture, and commerce!"

"First, you should focus on developing the domestic economy. Also, build the money house that belongs to Annan as soon as possible."

Li Yi asked in confusion: "Why do we need to develop money houses?" Zhu Jiewei said: "Of course, it is to connect with the Ming Dynasty for business. In addition, these money houses can lend money to private merchants to earn interest income... Well, these things cannot be built in a short time, but since Annan wants to catch up with the Ming Dynasty, it is natural to learn from the Ming Dynasty's development experience in all aspects."

Li Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "Let's not talk about these things. Let me ask you, do you want to deal with the Ming Dynasty? Do you want to exhaust the entire country of Annan?"

Zhu Jie smiled slightly and said, "You think too much. I am just thinking about you, Annan."

Just as Li Yi said, Zhu Jiewei just wanted to disgust the Ming Dynasty. He wanted to see what the Ming Dynasty would do after this land was incorporated into the name of Annan.
If they dare to use force, then use Annan to drag them to death! As for the lives of the people of Annan, she doesn't care at all.

If they didn't dare to use force, then they would just swallow their losses. As long as Emperor Hongzhi was unhappy, she would be happy! She wanted revenge on Emperor Hongzhi!

"Anyway, don't worry. I'm helping you expand your country's territory without you having to pay the price of war. Shouldn't you be grateful to me?"

Li Yi sneered, he didn't believe that Zhu Jiewei was so kind, but he couldn't turn against Zhu Jiewei now. Annan Kingdom had developed rapidly in the past two months, and all the reforms that borrowed from the Ming Dynasty were personally handled by Zhu Jiewei, so Zhu Jiewei couldn't get into trouble!
……

Reviewing memorials and handling state affairs was really tedious. Zhu Houzhao felt like going on strike after only handling it for half a month.

Officials from the two capitals and thirteen provinces would report every trivial matter to the palace.

Today, Zhu Houzhao dragged his tired body to the warm room to deal with memorials.

"Father."

"Father, wake up!"

Emperor Hongzhi opened his eyes and asked Zhu Houzhao, "What's wrong?"

His son is a smart prince. He has been handling memorials to the emperor in a very capable manner in the past half month. Although he is still a little unfamiliar with the subject, he can make independent judgments on many matters, and his comments are very well-written.

It's better than when he first ascended the throne. When he first ascended the throne, he had to rely on the cabinet for everything. It was because Emperor Hongzhi suffered this loss that he let his power fall into the hands of others. He didn't want to see his son follow in his footsteps.

So when he realized that he didn't have much time left, he began to train Zhu Houzhao to run the government personally as soon as possible.

Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "The Tatars and Oirat people in the northern border are stationed in the northern border, and it seems that they are going to invade us!"

"Father, I have made a note to have the nine frontier commanders be on high alert. Once the enemy starts to attack us, we must immediately assemble our army to counterattack!"

Emperor Hongzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Zhao'er, haven't you studied military books? Since ancient times, military affairs have been a matter of life and death. Don't start it lightly."

"There is always a purpose behind a war. The Oirat and Tatars suddenly deployed troops in the northern border. Have you ever thought about the reason?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "What reason could there be? If they are not of my race, their hearts must be different!"

Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and said, "As for military affairs, you need to summon the six ministries to discuss and listen to their opinions. You can handle the internal affairs yourself. Even if you make a mistake, it's no big deal. At most, you can just change it next time."

"But once a war is launched, it will consume a lot of food and money from the country. Besides, it is easy to start a war but difficult to stop it."

"So we must be extremely cautious when it comes to war. Go and summon the six ministries to the warm room to discuss."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Okay then."

"Someone, go summon the six ministries of the cabinet... Yes, summon Marquis Tai'an as well!"

(End of this chapter)