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

Chapter 69 Zhu Houzhao's Shock
Emperor Hongzhi was a good man and a good emperor, and perhaps no one would refute this.

He possessed all the true, good and beautiful aspects of Confucian monarchical virtues. He was good to his family, forgiving to his enemies and kind to his bureaucrats.

When Queen Mother Zhou blamed him, he just accepted it humbly, begged for mercy with a smile, hoped that the old lady would be healthy, and did not argue with her.

Zhu Youtang had a difficult childhood and almost died in the inner palace. If it were not for the protection of Empress Dowager Zhou, he might not have been able to ascend the throne smoothly, and even Emperor Chenghua might not have known that he had such a son.

Later, when he ascended the throne, he was deeply grateful to Queen Dowager Zhou for her help, and he never forgot this kindness.

He was afraid that Empress Dowager Zhou would be bored studying Taoist classics in the harem, so he brought the copy of "Rebirth of the Goddess" that Empress Zhang had finished reading to give to the old lady as a change of pace.

The old lady really loved reading storybooks, but her eyesight was not very good and she was fascinated all day long. That's why Emperor Hongzhi reminded her to take care of her eyes and not read too much during the meal just now.

Empress Dowager Zhou felt that Emperor Hongzhi was saying that she had poor eyesight, which made Emperor Hongzhi laugh and cry for a moment, as she was still so willful at her old age.

……

In the Fengtian Hall, Zhu Houzhao swaggered in with a magnifying glass in his hand.

He wanted to show off to his father, but there was no one in sight for Emperor Hongzhi, so he sat on the dragon throne and read the memorials with a magnifying glass.

The eunuch who was serving beside him was sweating profusely. Is this a position you can hold? You haven't even ascended the throne yet.

If the emperor had a few more sons, who knows what consequences your actions would lead to.

Zhu Houzhao didn't care about those things.

He casually opened a memorial and looked at it with a magnifying glass. The words on the memorial were as big as a bucket and could be seen very clearly.

"I, the Minister of Military Affairs, vomited blood and begged the wise emperor to send Wang Yue back to the capital to report on the affairs of the northwest..."

'allow.'

Zhu Houzhao's hands trembled and he almost threw the magnifying glass away.

I go!

Do you want it to be so accurate?

His younger brother Chen was asking him a few days ago whether Wang Yue was coming back. At that time, Zhu Houzhao didn't know either, and he didn't know what memorials his father reviewed every day.

How would he know about the affairs of the court? As the crown prince, he only needed to study hard with the teachers in the East Palace, and his father would handle the political affairs.

Now I see that my father has approved the civil servant's memorial and asked Wang Yue, the commander-in-chief who is in charge of the seven guards in the northwest Guanxi and the defense of Gan and Liang, to return and report on his work.

How could Zhu Houzhao not be surprised?

Isn’t this what Brother Chen said?
hiss!
He was actually having an affair with my father?

Zhu Houzhao thought of a terrible possibility, but calmed down in an instant.

But then I thought it was still impossible. How could my father have time to leave the palace? He is always busy with palace affairs.

That's what I analyzed based on my own ability.

This... is a bit unbelievable!

Is it possible that knowing everything in the world without leaving home is the realm that Brother Chen has reached? This is too awesome!

But Wang Yue came back, so why did Brother Chen pay so much attention to him? Zhu Houzhao didn't understand.

Just as he was thinking aimlessly, Emperor Hongzhi came towards him with his hands behind his back.

When Emperor Hongzhi saw Zhu Houzhao sitting on his dragon throne with his body tilted and his legs spread out, he did not get angry, and even felt a little amused.

"Can't you sit properly?"

"How can you sit like this? Fortunately, there are no outsiders here."

The eunuchs beside him were all shocked. The emperor did not blame the prince for his presumptuous behavior by sitting on his throne, but instead said that there was something wrong with the prince's sitting posture? "What are you doing here?"

Emperor Hongzhi walked over, looked at Zhu Houzhao with a half-smile, and said, "Are you interested in memorials? I'll teach you how to review some."

Zhu Houzhao quickly waved his hand and said to Emperor Hongzhi: "Father, don't do it."

"Haha, just review it yourself, I'm not interested."

"I'm already annoyed enough with all the homework in the Eastern Palace, and I won't accept the task of reviewing memorials."

The eunuch standing by felt that he really couldn't bear to listen to the conversation between the father and son any more. It overturned his cognition.

From what the prince said, if Queen Zhang gives birth to another child, he will not be the crown prince!

Emperor Hongzhi smiled bitterly and said earnestly: "The country will be yours sooner or later. It is better to learn as much as you can now. When I am gone one day, you will be able to face so many ministers and the affairs of the world independently."

Why should I face it alone? Brother Chen can still help me.

But on second thought, he was not sure if his younger brother could hold on until that time, and he suddenly felt a little depressed.

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Zhu Houzhao's depressed face and felt slightly relieved that his son was still filial and could not bear to hear these things.

So he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm only in my early thirties, and I still have enough time to live another ten or twenty years. I will definitely help you become a talent before I leave you."

"No need to grieve for Father."

Zhu Houzhao made way for Emperor Hongzhi to sit down, and then he leaned on Emperor Hongzhi's shoulder without any moral integrity, and lazily pointed at the memorial and said, "Father, is Wang Yue very powerful?"

Zhu Houzhao opened the memorial, but Emperor Hongzhi was not angry at all. He smiled and said, "Well, it's very impressive."

"Your royal grandfather commented on him like this when he was alive."

"In terms of military vigor, he is no less capable than Wei and Huo of the Han dynasty; in terms of political affairs, he is no less capable than Fan and Han of the Song dynasty."

Zhu Jianshen's evaluation of Wang Yue was that he was comparable to Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Fan Zhongyan and Han Qi. This high evaluation was almost unique in the Ming Dynasty.

He may not be as famous as Wang Yangming, but you should know that Wang Yangming's idol is this 74-year-old old man.

Chen Ce had said many times in front of Zhu Houzhao that Wang Yue was the mainstay of the northwest of the Ming Dynasty, and there was no flattery in his words.

"Why did you suddenly let him come back? Isn't it good for him to stay in the northwest?" Zhu Houzhao asked curiously while lying on the shoulder of Emperor Hongzhi.

Emperor Hongzhi said: "Too many people want him to come back. It is not a good idea for me to delay. The civil officials are getting more and more aggressive. If he comes back, he can come back. It will be good to talk about the Northwest affairs."

"What are you dangling in your hands?"

Zhu Houzhao finally reacted, and then said to Emperor Hongzhi with a smile: "Father, this thing is good and fun."

"Toys again?"

"How old are you? Do you want to have some shame?" Emperor Hongzhi said sternly, "When I was your age, I didn't even have a toy to play with."

Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips and said, "It's really funny, Father, please take a look."

He placed the magnifying glass on the memorial, and every word on the memorial was clearly magnified. Emperor Hongzhi's body trembled, and he was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly said, "Show it to me!"

Didn't you say that you didn't play with toys when you were my age? Why are you trying to steal mine?
Although Emperor Hongzhi had previously fined Zhu Houzhao one hundred taels of silver on the pretext of making trouble, Zhu Houzhao actually didn't care. He had a lot of money anyway, so he could just fine him casually.

How can there be any overnight hatred between father and son?

Emperor Hongzhi took the magnifying glass and marked it on the memorial. The memorial could be seen very clearly. He was gradually happy. If he gave this thing to the Empress Dowager, she would definitely like it.

"Give it to me."

After hearing this, Zhu Houzhao quickly snatched it away and held the magnifying glass in his arms as if facing a powerful enemy!
(End of this chapter)