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

Chapter 556 The Last Dance

This matter is a bit complicated, leave it to me.

After Chen Ce said this lightly, no one in the six ministries of the cabinet expressed any doubt, and no one scolded or blamed him.

They seemed to think that this was a matter of course. As long as Chen Ce took action, everything would become simple. No matter how difficult it was, it would no longer be difficult in Chen Ce's hands.

If it were a human being, someone would definitely jump out and ask: Why should we give it to you?
National affairs are no joke. What's more, the Ming Dynasty is now facing the occupation of its territory by others and cannot use force. What right do you have to ask others to return your land to you?
If this fails, the Ming Dynasty will lose territory. I think no dynasty would want or be able to see such a thing happen.

No one can take on this responsibility!

But Chen Ce can!
No one would question Chen Ce. Even if Li Dongyang wanted to ask Chen Ce what to do and what the specific strategy was, Li Dongyang would not be angry if Chen Ce did not answer him.

Because he was well aware of Chen Ce's abilities, Chen Chunjian never fought a battle without confidence. As long as he opened his mouth, Annan would definitely pay the price in the end.

After Chen Ce finished speaking, a young eunuch came to the warm room and whispered a few words in front of Chen Ce. Chen Ce bowed and left.

It was obvious that Emperor Hongzhi wanted to summon Chen Ce alone.

On the way to the side hall, Chen Ce walked slowly on the imperial road along the eaves. He was deep in thought. As far as he could see now, it was impossible for Annan to have any collusion with the Mongols.

When the Ming Dynasty deployed its troops in the south for military exercises, the Mongols immediately pushed their troops in the north. It seemed that the two sides had reached some kind of tacit understanding long ago, which was not something Annan was capable of doing.

Considering that Zhu Jiewei had previously accompanied the Annan envoy Li Yi on a diplomatic mission to the Ming Dynasty, and that a palace coup had taken place in the Annan Palace not long ago, this was already very obvious.

Zhu Jiewei helped Li Yi launch a coup in Annan. The territorial dispute in the south was planned by Zhu Jiewei. She was taking revenge on the Ming Dynasty.

During this period of the New Year, Zhu Jiewei must have gone to the Wo Island and found Zhu Youluo.

She must have figured out that Chen Ce had deceived her in Peiping before.

Not long after, Chen Ce arrived at the side hall of the warm room.

The side hall is connected to the main hall, but there are more bureaucrats in the main hall, so Emperor Hongzhi did not let them come from the main hall.

At this time, Emperor Hongzhi was lying on the couch, so he could hear everything that happened in the front hall.

No wonder he was confident in letting Zhu Houzhao rule the country alone. It turned out that he was supporting the prince from behind.

Chen Ce bowed and said, "Your humble servant greets His Majesty."

Emperor Hongzhi waved his hand, signaling Huai En to bring a stool over for Chen Ce. He stared at Chen Ce and said worriedly, "Chun Jian, you have lost a lot of weight again."

Chen Ce has rarely been able to eat recently, and it is normal for him to lose weight. I am afraid that in a while, Chen Ce will not be able to walk on his own.

This should be Chen Ce’s last dance for the Ming Dynasty.

Chen Ce shook his head and said to Emperor Hongzhi, "Your Majesty, you are the same."

Emperor Hongzhi smiled bitterly and said, "We two...really hurt each other!"

Chen Ce: “…”

Just telling the truth.

Emperor Hongzhi's expression returned to normal, and he said solemnly, "Are you sure about Annan? Can you defeat the enemy without fighting?"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "I already have an idea in mind, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"What should we do?" Chen Ce's answer to Emperor Hongzhi was the same as his answer to Li Dongyang. The operation was somewhat complicated, and he couldn't tell Emperor Hongzhi everything.

Emperor Hongzhi smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, as long as you are sure, I won't ask any more questions."

Chen Ce said softly: "This should be the last thing I can do for the Ming Dynasty."

"From now on, I'm really afraid I won't be able to help you in any way."

Hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi's heart skipped a beat and his expression became sad.

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Your Majesty, don't be sad. If the prince is in trouble, Your Majesty can send someone to my house to find me. As long as I can still think, even if I can't come to the palace, I will help with reference."

Emperor Hongzhi took a deep breath and said, "Chun Jian is a great man!"

The discussion in the front hall ended with Chen Ce's departure. Zhu Houzhao rushed to the back hall and said with a smile, "I knew you were here with my father, little brother!"

"Father, at first glance I thought you and my little brother were both sick, but haven't you had enough rest recently?"

Chen Ce was about to say something but stopped himself. This guy, when will he learn to be more careful? Your father is already so sick, can't you see that?
Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "Yes, I haven't had a good rest during this period."

"How was it? How did it feel to face so many ministers alone for the first time?"

Zhu Houzhao sighed and said, "Father, I still can't do it. You should come after you have rested well."

"I always feel that everything they said today makes sense, and I don't know who to listen to."

Chen Ce smiled and said to Zhu Houzhao: "The Crown Prince has done very well. At least he did not lose in momentum."

"You don't know who to listen to because you haven't properly understood all the national affairs."

"When pushing troops from the northern border to the nine frontiers, we cannot just focus on the north. We must think about what happened in the past and guess the intentions of the Oirat and Tatars."

"You know that we conducted military exercises in Annan not long ago. Before that, the Annan envoy came to Beijing, the Holy Mother of the White Lotus Sect colluded with the Annan envoy, and there was a coup in the Annan court."

"Considering that the White Lotus Sect was previously supported by the Mongols, can we conclude that Annan is now controlled by the White Lotus Sect? That is why the North sent troops so promptly when we were conducting military exercises in the south?"

Listening to Chen Ce's analysis, Zhu Houzhao was stunned. He really didn't expect that there were so many secrets involved.

He originally thought that governing a country was nothing more than listening to the opinions of his ministers and then delegating power to them. At worst, as his younger brother said, as long as he could maintain a balance between them, the power would fall into his own hands.

But this is just governing people, not governing the country.

Governing a country requires the monarch to have his own political wisdom and his own subjective and correct judgment.

An emperor without talent will sooner or later lead the country to destruction!

Now he understood how difficult it had been for his father over the years. It turned out that governing a country really tests the level of a monarch!

Zhu Houzhao was somewhat discouraged. He said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Father, my level is not good enough. You should do it yourself."

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said, "No one is born to govern a country... Well, except Chun Jian."

"Don't be discouraged. I am still here, and Chun Jian is still here. We will teach you slowly and stand behind you to support you. Just do it boldly! Don't be afraid of making mistakes!"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Chen Ce and sighed in his heart. He really didn't want to rely on his little brother for everything...

(End of this chapter)