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

Chapter 574 Traitor Candidate

Xie Qian and Fei Hong had been waiting in the warm room long ago. When Zhu Houzhao arrived, they bowed and said, "Your humble servants pay their respects to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Houzhao waved his hand casually and asked, "What do the two elders want to talk to me about?"

Xie Qian and Fei Hong looked terrified and said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Highness, recently the outer court officials have impeached Hong Zhong one after another. Today, the Ministry of Rites came to the cabinet to find us to persuade the emperor."

"But who would have thought that this matter was spread by the Imperial Censor Ma Qi, causing the outer court officials to think that we and Ma Qishi were in the same group. Your Highness, please understand that we are only officials of the Ming Dynasty and would never dare to form a clique for personal gain."

Zhu Houzhao asked suspiciously, "Oh? What Lord Xie meant by that is that Ma Geshi and his gang are forming a clique?"

Xie Qian was stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect that he would say the wrong thing and be caught by the prince.

He quickly explained: "That's not what I meant!"

Zhu Houzhao asked, "What do you mean? Who is forming a clique and spreading rumors?"

Xie Qian broke out in a cold sweat, how could he not have expected that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would grow so fast? Any wrong words could become a weapon for the Crown Prince!
Fei Hong hurriedly said, "Your Highness, no one dares to form a clique for personal gain. Lord Xie was just making a metaphor, comparing this group of officials who wrote to the emperor to a group."

Xie Qian looked at Fei Hong with gratitude.

Zhu Houzhao didn't want to dwell on these matters, so he nodded and asked, "How do you two elders think this matter should be handled?"

Xie Qian remained silent, obviously letting Fei Hong speak.

Fei Hong was Zhu Houzhao's teacher. Even if he said something wrong, Zhu Houzhao would probably not make it too difficult for him.

Moreover, Xie Qian had originally intended to stay out of the struggle between the emperor and the civil officials. He came here today to apologize and had no other intentions.

Fei Hong said, "Your Highness, the root of this matter lies in the Japanese island. As long as Lord Hong can provide evidence of the murder of these Japanese officials, I believe that Ma Jishi and others will consciously stop pursuing the matter."

Zhu Houzhao asked: "What if there is no evidence?"

Fei Hong: “…”

The prince's words clearly showed that he was the one who ordered Hong Zhong to go to the Japanese island and kill people. What would happen if Ma Jieshi and other bureaucrats heard this?
Zhu Houzhao snorted and said, "Will those officials on the Japanese island confess their guilt? The evidence was before them, but they refused to sign and plead guilty. How can I keep them?"

"Do they think that I won't dare to kill them as long as they don't confess their guilt?"

If I say this to others, I'm afraid I'll be criticized again. People will say that since you kill people without any evidence, won't there be false charges or wrongful convictions? Won't you kill innocent people indiscriminately? This is not what a wise ruler should do!

But Fei Hong would not say these words in front of Zhu Houzhao.

He knew Zhu Houzhao's temperament, but still said: "Your Highness, Ma Jieshi and other bureaucrats have submitted their resignations to the cabinet. If so many officials resign together, the government of the Ming Dynasty will be paralyzed."

"I think we should calm them down first. Why not send Lord Hong to the Ministry of Justice for a trial?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "What the elder said makes sense."

"I understand. You don't need to interfere in this matter. If you encounter any problems in the future, send them to the Imperial Household Department and I will handle them myself."

"As for other state affairs, I'll have to trouble you two elders."

Zhu Houzhao's words were very clear. He meant that you just need to take care of other things, and in this struggle between you and the civil servants, you should just choose to watch and not interfere!

After hearing Zhu Houzhao's words, Xie Qian felt relieved. This way he would not offend either side and could stay out of the matter.

Fei Hong looked at Zhu Houzhao deeply and bowed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty." Zhu Houzhao's words were very sophisticated. He kept the cabinet out of the matter today, but if he won the struggle tomorrow, the entire Ming Dynasty would be completely under his control!
Fei Hong was very pleased that the prince had grown up and was becoming more and more unfathomable!

……

After Zhu Houzhao sent away the cabinet, he took Liu Jin to Chen Ce's residence.

When Chen Ce met Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao had already made his choice, which was consistent with Chen Ce's judgment of Zhu Houzhao.

According to Zhu Houzhao's temperament, he would definitely choose the second option and fight against the civil servants to the end.

Chen Ce was very pleased that Zhu Houzhao had grown up and matured. Once he won the confrontation with the civil officials this time, he would rule the country alone in the future and Chen Ce would no longer have to worry.

I believe that Emperor Hongzhi also had this intention, so he let Zhu Houzhao face this pressure alone.

"Zhang Cai, Right Counselor of the Shaanxi Provincial Government."

"Let Liu Jin send someone to contact the other party and ask him to write a letter to support you."

Chen Ce had already found a suitable candidate long ago, and Zhang Cai was the most suitable one. He had been recommended by Ma Wensheng, Jiao Fang and others. He was fully qualified to serve as an official in Beijing, but he refused.

The fact that Zhang Cai was recommended by people from two different factions, Ma Wensheng and Jiao Fang, is enough to show that he is very good at disguise and assessing the situation.

He knew that he was not capable enough and was not suitable to be a high-ranking official in Beijing, as this would expose his shortcomings. Instead of doing that, he might as well pretend to be noble in the local area.

But this does not mean that Zhang Cai does not want to be promoted. He was a Jinshi in the third year of Hongzhi. He has been an official for fourteen years now, but he is still a seventh-rank official in the local area. He wants to be promoted more than anyone else.

This is an opportunity. As long as Liu Jin contacts him, he will definitely fully support the Crown Prince.

With the crown prince's endorsement, he would only need to hold on to the crown prince as a lifeline when he becomes an official in the court.

This is a political speculation. If he loses, he will be liquidated and it may be difficult for him to be an official in the future. But if he wins, the benefits will definitely far outweigh his investment!

And it doesn't matter even if he loses. If the future crown prince ascends the throne, he will not forget the person who supported the crown prince in the past. He will just have to stay at home and idle for a while.

Chen Ce had fully investigated Zhang Cai's character, so he told Zhu Houzhao so confidently at this time.

Liu Jin gasped. As expected, Master Chen already knew what the Crown Prince would do and had made plans for him in advance!

Zhu Houzhao asked hurriedly: "Little brother, have you made all the arrangements? Do you know that I will fight the civil officials to the end?"

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Yes."

Zhu Houzhao asked, "What do we need Zhang Cai for?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I don't know. You just need to let Liu Jin notify everyone. It's his business to decide how to do it and how to submit the petition."

"If he has the ability to debate with a group of scholars and his arguments are well-reasoned, then he is worthy of your promotion."

"If he doesn't have the ability to fight against the civil servants, then you don't have to be important to him."

In other words, this is an examination of Zhang Cai. The opportunity is given to him to see if he has the ability to take it!

Zhu Houzhao nodded and said, "Okay! Liu Jin, you should go to Shaanxi right away!"

(End of this chapter)