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

Chapter 572 Zhengde Grand Ceremony

Chen Ce signaled the maid to bring Zhu Houzhao over, and then asked Madam Wu to go down.

Zhu Houzhao came to Chen Ce with a worried look on his face. Seeing the sketch on Chen Ce's desk, he picked it up curiously and asked, "Little brother, what are you doing?"

"What is this?"

"It looks like a musket."

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Yes, it's a fire gun, but it's different from the traditional Ming Dynasty fire gun. To be more precise, it should be a flintlock rifle, which is more convenient to shoot."

"The role it will play on the battlefield in the future will be far beyond that of firearms."

Previously, Chen Ce invented the chariot and the red cannon. These two weapons can play a huge role on the battlefield, but they are limited to positional warfare.

If the Ming Dynasty fights the Mongols on a battlefield outside the Great Wall in the future, the Mongolian cavalry is very mobile and they will not be foolish enough to fight a positional war with the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, the role that both the chariots and the red cannons could play was very small.

Chen Ce wanted to build a light cavalry equipped with flintlock rifles so that he could gain an advantage in the war with the Mongols.

This was Chen Ce's last contribution to the weapons of the Ming Dynasty. During this period, he was idle at home and it was very difficult for him to go out. He didn't want to just lie in bed and wait to die, so he found something to do so that he wouldn't be so bored.

After hearing Chen Ce's description, Zhu Houzhao's eyes widened with excitement and he said excitedly: "Is this weapon more powerful than the Red Cannon?"

Chen Ce: "There is no difference between strong and weak weapons, they just play different roles."

"What do you want from me?"

Chen Ce was very curious. This guy had a gloomy look on his face just now, how come he seemed like a completely different person now?
Zhu Houzhao then remembered the purpose of his visit to Chen Ce, patted his forehead, and continued to say sadly: "Little brother, if you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that I have something important to talk to you about."

Chen Ce: “…”

You can even forget this, you are amazing, you still have such a big heart.

"what happened?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "I have told you before that the princes and officials on the Japanese island have already regarded the Japanese island as their own world. They arbitrarily bully and kill the people and arbitrarily arrange officials to occupy important positions. The entire Japanese island has almost become their slaves. How can they take the Ming Dynasty seriously? Do they still have the Ming Dynasty in their hearts, and do they still have my father, the emperor?"

"They are clearly seeking revenge, revenge for my father moving them to the Japanese island! They are lawless and have no regard for their father or their emperor!"

"I sent Hong Zhong to the Japanese island to kill people, thinking that it would shock them. But the Japanese vassal group was shocked, but a group of disgusting civil servants came out of the capital!"

"They jointly wrote to the emperor, saying that Hong Zhong had killed people in the Japanese island and bypassed the judicial process, and asked the emperor to severely punish Hong Zhong."

Chen Ce had been listening quietly. After Zhu Houzhao finished speaking, he slowly poured a pot of tea, handed it to Zhu Houzhao and said, "Have some tea."

"Have you asked the Emperor?"

Zhu Houzhao could not handle such a difficult matter, and it was beyond his ability. Moreover, from what Zhu Houzhao said, it was a bit like the Zhengde version of the Great Ceremony Debate.

With so many civil servants forcing him to abdicate, this was undoubtedly a huge political test for Zhu Houzhao. If not handled properly, his prestige among the civil servants would plummet. At that time, the civil servants would be able to seize his power and manipulate him at will, just like Emperor Xian of Han.

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "I asked. I asked my father right away, but what he said was ambiguous. He asked me to ask you first, and then he told me how to deal with it." "I suspect my father may not know how to deal with it either. He is just trying to save face in front of me."

Chen Ce: “…”

You are such a filial son. If the emperor heard you say this, he would probably wake up laughing in his dreams.

Chen Ce was silent for a moment, then said to Zhu Houzhao, "There are two ways to deal with this. I will first tell you how the emperor might handle this."

He didn't care whether he would offend the emperor or not, and he spoke without any scruples. After all, he was so familiar with Zhu Houzhao and Emperor Hongzhi, so he didn't worry about saying the wrong thing.

"Your father would probably suggest that you deal with Hong Zhong first."

Hearing this, Zhu Houzhao became anxious. He said, "Deal with Censor Hong? Isn't that surrendering to these civil servants? What Hong Zhong did on the Japanese island was what I told him to do."

"Now that you've asked me to get rid of him, who will dare to work for me in the future? Who will still obey me?"

Chen Ce pressed his hand, signaling Zhu Houzhao not to rush. He said, "This move is just to stabilize the civil service group first. Although it seems that you have lost in the short term, there is still a long time. In the future, you can find a way to transfer Hong Zhong back to the center and grant him higher authority."

"At that time, the civil servants will only feel that you are patient and have clever means, and will not look down on you."

"But this process takes time. It takes a long time to adjust, and if you are unable to adjust back later, the consequences will be serious."

Zhu Houzhao nodded. So that was what he meant. He would deal with Hong Zhong first to suppress the public opinion storm, and then slowly take action to bring Hong Zhong back.

This requires finding an opportunity in the future and patience, and will allow civil servants to expand their power in a short period of time.

Zhu Houzhao did not like this, it was not in line with his personality, he asked Chen Ce: "Little brother, is there any other way?"

Chen Ce said: "Yes!"

“But there are risks.”

"Don't compromise with the civil servants. Fight them to the end. Train one or two grassroots censors and have them write letters to defend Hong Zhong. Find officials who can make good rebuttals and promote them!"

"In this way, more civil servants will stand in your camp for their own interests and help you fight against those civil servants."

"Find a way to demote or exile the leader of this group of civil servants! This requires a legitimate excuse. You can ask the Royal Guards to investigate secretly."

"But if we do this, if the civil officials resign en masse, the court will fall into chaos. If you win, your power will be stable and the civil officials will be afraid of you. When you ascend the throne in the future, your power will be even more stable!"

There are pros and cons, it all depends on how Zhu Houzhao weighs them.

After a moment of silence, Chen Ce said, "No matter which method you choose, I will support you. You don't have to answer me in a hurry. Go back and think about it carefully."

"This is a war between you and the civil servants. You need to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Once you have made up your mind, come to me and I will help you deal with them!"

After hearing Chen Ce's words, Zhu Houzhao was completely relieved. In fact, he had long been inclined towards the second method Chen Ce mentioned, but he had to go back and discuss these things with Emperor Hongzhi to see how his father would decide.

(End of this chapter)