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

Chapter 573: Continued Trouble
Hundreds of civil servants in Beijing, headed by the Secretary of Rites, jointly wrote a letter to the court, requesting severe punishment for Hong Zhong, the Deputy Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

This morning, Ma Qi, the Imperial Censor of the Ministry of Rites, went to the Cabinet to pay a visit to Xie Qian, the Second Assistant to the Cabinet, and requested Xie Qian to inform the Crown Prince of this matter when he met him.

Xie Qian received the Secretary of the Ministry of Rites with a smile on his face. Even though he was an assistant minister of the cabinet, he did not dare to offend this group of censors.

"Sir Ma, the crime of Censor Hong needs the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Dali Temple to come to me to discuss it. Only then can I determine whether Censor Hong is guilty and whether he needs to be admonished to the Crown Prince based on their judgment."

Ma Qi retorted: "Your Excellency is wrong. Hong Zhong is originally from the Censorate. Our office should avoid suspicion and should not get involved."

"The evidence is irrefutable that he killed innocent people and officials on the Japanese island. We have submitted countless memorials to the Qianqing Palace, but the crown prince and the emperor have not responded to this matter."

"Thank you, Lord, for your high moral character and your position as an assistant minister of the Cabinet. If the Emperor and the Crown Prince do not take this matter seriously, will the judicial process of the Ming Dynasty be in tatters in the future?"

"Today the prince may order people to kill Japanese officials, and tomorrow he may find a random excuse to kill you and me."

"I hope you will pay attention to this matter. We have to investigate it! The prince is young, and the emperor doesn't care about state affairs. So many vassal states were killed at will. Where is the law established by our ancestors? Where is the law?"

"If the emperor acts recklessly, will the Ming Dynasty be destroyed?"

Xie Qian was in a dilemma. To be honest, he might not be a match for this group of censors. But the problem was that he didn't want to offend the crown prince easily!
He learned from Li Dongyang that the emperor was ill. The emperor could ignore the ancestral laws and the outside world's abuse, but Xie Qian could not.

His political future cannot be ruined just because of a few words from a few censors.

You have so many civil servants gathered together now, it is obvious that you want to force the Crown Prince to abdicate.

The emperor hasn't passed away yet, can he just watch you bully the crown prince? It won't be long before the emperor fights back, he just doesn't know how.

But no matter what, Xie Qian could be sure of one thing, that is, once the emperor came to settle the accounts, the officials who participated in this forced abdication would probably not end up well.

Xie Qian would not sit around and take part in this palace coup.

"Master Ma, I am not the only one in the cabinet. I suggest you ask Lord Fei. I know all your demands, and I will tell the prince your ideas in person."

After hearing what Xie Qian said, Ma Geshi cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Lord. I will go find Lord Fei right away."

Not long after, Ma Qi found Fei Hong. After Fei Hong heard the purpose of Ma Qi's visit, his answer was the same as Xie Qian's.

Although they all ostensibly agreed to tell the Crown Prince about their demands, it did not necessarily mean that they would side with March and his group of civil servants.

March was not stupid. He certainly knew that these two cabinet ministers might not stand on their side. He just wanted the cabinet to express its attitude, because only in this way could he tell his allies and officials and give them confidence.

As expected, after March came out of the cabinet, he spread rumors in the officialdom, saying that the two cabinet elders supported them, and as a result, more and more officials joined their camp.

……

Qianqing Palace.

When Zhu Houzhao returned from Chen Ce, the first thing he did was to find Emperor Hongzhi.

"Father."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhu Houzhao and asked, "What did Chunjian say?"

Zhu Houzhao said, "Father, tell me first, do you intend to demote Hong Zhong first, and then slowly control the situation in the future, transfer Hong Zhong back, and then compensate him with a higher official, so that the civil servants will know my methods?"

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned by his defeat. Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "It is just as expected!"

Emperor Hongzhi: “…”

As expected, Chen Ce easily knew his plan, so he asked Zhu Houzhao: "What about Chun Jian? What does he think should be done?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "My little brother didn't say what to do. He just gave me two suggestions. This is one of them, which is also what my father planned." Emperor Hongzhi did not comment or speak, and continued to listen to what Zhu Houzhao said next.

He also wanted to hear what other suggestions Chen Ce had.

"My little brother said, there is another way, which is to find a few officials, ask them to support me, and let me promote them, so that more officials will stand by my side."

"Then use the Royal Guards to find evidence of the crimes of these officials who forced the emperor to abdicate, and deal with the officials who led the charge."

"It's just that doing so is very risky. If it's not done well, it could lead to many officials resigning."

"But if it works well..."

Emperor Hongzhi narrowed his eyes and said, "You can firmly grasp the power. Even if you ascend the throne in the future, you can rest assured that all officials will be afraid of you."

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "Yes!"

"My little brother gave me these two suggestions. He said he would support me no matter which one I chose."

"Father, I want to choose the second one. I don't want to wait that long, and I don't want to compromise with these civil servants!"

Emperor Hongzhi pondered for a moment and said, "What if so many officials were dismissed at the same time?"

Zhu Houzhao said indifferently: "With my younger brother here, he will definitely not let this happen. I believe in him!"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded. He naturally believed in Chen Ce. Since Chen Ce had already taken action, he would definitely choose Chen Ce's way.

"Then do what you want. Chun Jian can still help you now, but he won't be able to help you for many times."

"You brothers should fight side by side and win this battle!"

Zhu Houzhao said excitedly: "Okay!"

As he was talking, Huai En came over and said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Highness, two cabinet elders are asking to see you outside the warm room."

Emperor Hongzhi glanced at Huai En and asked him, "What are they doing here?"

Huai En said: "It is said outside that the two elders have already joined the camp of the Six Departments."

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "How dare they!"

Emperor Hongzhi held his hands and said to Zhu Houzhao: "They may not be on the other side's side, but they are being used by the other side."

"Well, since they came to see you, they must be here to explain this matter. Go and meet them."

Zhu Houzhao hummed and said, "Okay!"

After Zhu Houzhao left, Huai'en whispered to Emperor Hongzhi: "Your Majesty, the Queen wants to see you and has sent people to look for me many times."

Emperor Hongzhi sighed and said to Huai En, "Let's go to the harem."

Huai En said worriedly: "Then the prince..."

Now at this time, Your Majesty, you are going to the harem, and the Prince will have to fight alone!
Emperor Hongzhi shook his head and said, "It's okay. My son is already very good and outstanding. He will be able to handle it. Let's go."

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)