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

Chapter 74 The Essence of Governance

Zhu Houzhao wanted to invite Chen Ce to dinner. It was freezing cold and he didn't want to trouble Chen Ce, although he really wanted to eat Chen Ce's food.

It was still snowing in Peking, and Shuntian Prefecture was covered with a layer of white, looking magnificent in its silver glory.

Liu Jin held an umbrella for Zhu Houzhao and carefully reminded him that the road was slippery.

Chen Ce held an umbrella and strolled along the streets of Shuntianfu.

"What do you think is the essence of governing a country?"

Chen Ce opened his mouth and chatted with Zhu Houzhao beside him.

Time goes by very slowly. Although it is freezing cold, it does not seem bleak. The winter scenery of Peking is in full view.

There were disorderly footprints on the street, pedestrians were holding umbrellas, there were neither too many nor too few people on both sides, and the scene was peaceful and harmonious.

Chen Ce was slightly taller than Zhu Houzhao. Zhu Houzhao looked up at Chen Ce, thought for a moment, and then felt that it was wrong. No matter how I answered, it would be wrong. So he simply said, "I don't want to answer, not because I can't answer, but I don't govern the country."

"What's the matter? You want to govern the country? I recommend you to be an official."

Chen Ce looked at Zhu Houzhao and smiled, then shook his head and said, "I don't have the ability to be an official."

Well, don't be so modest, okay?

Chen Ce said: "I think the essence of governing a country lies in governing people."

"Just like Li Tongzhi's support for his subordinates just now."

"Human beings form rivers and lakes of all sizes, and those who stand out from the crowd form temples of all shapes and sizes."

"Everyone has their own pursuits, for power, for money, for sex, for fame, everyone has something they covet."

Zhu Houzhao tilted his head and asked Chen Ce: "Is there no one who has no desires or requests?"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "Of course there are. They can become saints, but how many saints have there been in China?"

Zhu Houzhao seemed to be thinking about something.

"The essence of governing a country is to govern people, is it to control subordinates?"

Chen Ce looked at Zhu Houzhao in surprise. He was not stupid. He was very smart. It was just that the civil officials were unwilling to teach him many things. They all wanted to control him so that when he ascended the throne in the future, the civil officials would still be able to hold power firmly in their hands.

But what they never knew was that this guy was never an emperor who could be bullied at will.

Chen Ce nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

“To manage subordinates, you need to strike a balance. You need to grasp the core interests of the subordinates and make them willing to work for you, but you cannot push them too hard and make everyone else give up.”

"If you need them to help you do work, then you need to figure out what roles these people play."

“Are officials who work hard good officials?”

Zhu Houzhao said: "Of course."

Chen Ce asked again: "Are corrupt officials good officials?"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head and said, "Of course not."

Chen Ce smiled and said, "But is the world necessarily all good and all bad? I don't think so. It should be chaotic."

Zhu Houzhao seemed to be thinking about something.

To borrow a famous saying from a certain emperor, the clear water of the Yangtze River can irrigate crops on both sides of the river, and the turbid water of the Yellow River can also irrigate crops on both sides of the river.

"You should be flexible in employing people. Whether they are good officials or bad officials, as long as they can be employed by you, they are all valuable and should be protected by you."

"The court is the scale, and the officials are the weight. Neither side can be too big. If it leans towards either side, the person holding the scale will be in danger."

"What the person holding the scale has to do is to balance the weight. You have to let them know that you, the person holding the scale, have the ability to make the weight tilt in any direction."

"This way you can do what you want to do, and this way they will be docile and obedient, not daring to oppose you and can only follow you."

Zhu Houzhao chewed it for a while, and his eyes gradually brightened.

No one in the Eastern Palace taught him these principles, but only told them to learn from their father, listen more to the loyal ministers, be close to the virtuous ministers and stay away from the villains, so that the country can be stable and long-term. But Chen Ce told him that this was not the case, the virtuous ministers and the villains were just weights in the hands of the emperor.

The crowd on Zhengyang Street was getting smaller and smaller. Liu Jin had handed the umbrella to Zhu Houzhao without him knowing. He followed behind Zhu Houzhao silently, watching the two people, one tall and one short, slowly moving forward in the snow.

Hey.

Liu Jin sighed, as if he saw the tall boy disappearing in the future, and only the short one was walking alone, facing the vast territory of the Ming Dynasty alone.

Just as Liu Jin was thinking this, the people on the street all moved to the sides.

Chen Ce and Zhu Houzhao also retreated to the corner.

Hundreds of soldiers led the way forward. They looked majestic and murderous.

The Northwest Frontier Army of the Ming Dynasty!

This is definitely an elite army. Even in the freezing cold weather one can feel their cold and murderous aura.

Soldiers in front and behind were guarding a sedan chair, which was carried by six bearers. The Ming Dynasty attached great importance to etiquette, and only high-ranking officials had to be the ones to carry the sedan chair with six bearers.

With such a grand ceremony, it can only be said that some high-ranking official has come to the capital.

Chen Ce narrowed his eyes, turned his head and looked at the team moving away, muttering: "Wang Yue is back."

Zhu Houzhao was surprised and asked, "Who was that just now?"

Chen Ce nodded: "Maybe."

Zhu Houzhao was even more surprised and asked Chen Ce, "He hasn't come back yet, and there's no news from the court. How do you know he will come back?"

Chen Ce thought about it and said, "I guessed."

Zhu Houzhao: "..."

What happened just now was just a small episode. The two continued to go to the tavern. Occasionally, they would come across a teahouse on the way. The old gentleman in the teahouse would start telling gossips about strange people and things in the world, attracting countless guests to stop and watch. When they heard something interesting, some people would generously give some money as a reward.

Chen Ce glanced sideways at the situation around him, then looked at Zhu Houzhao thoughtfully.

"what happened?"

Zhu Houzhao scratched his head and said, "If you like to listen, why don't we come over after dinner and listen? It's really interesting. Listen, he said that Mr. Zhang committed adultery with his daughter-in-law."

Chen Ce: “…”

Kid, why are you paying attention to something so weird? Am I listening to this?
Imperial power does not extend to the countryside. What if you control a kind of public power in the future and can convey the emperor's will no longer through government agencies?

In that fleeting glimpse just now, Chen Ce suddenly thought of a new way of delegating and supervising power.

These occasional thoughts had not yet been perfected, and there was no need for Chen Ce to say so much to Zhu Houzhao. He just buried all the thoughts deep in his heart for the time being.

The restaurant was the best in Shuntian Prefecture. Zhu Houzhao and the Zhang brothers had made a fortune, so they naturally did not hesitate to spend money on eating and drinking.

Originally, Zhu Houzhao wanted to take Chen Ce to a private room, but Chen Ce heard a familiar voice in the lobby.

He said to Zhu Houzhao: "Let's eat in the lobby, find a secluded corner."

Zhu Houzhao said, "Okay."

"Boss, come here."

Zhu Houzhao ordered a lot of Zhejiang dishes, which were sweet. Zhu Houzhao actually didn’t like them very much, but he ordered them to take care of Chen Ce.

"To be honest, I think Brother Tang will definitely win first place in the exam this year!"

"It must be so."

"Nanzhi Jieyuan, he won first place in the first provincial examination, and he is sure to win the first place next year."

The Confucian scholars in the lobby gathered together and chatted animatedly, adding some vitality to this bleak winter in Peking.

Happy Dragon Boat Festival, happy family reunion, and successful college entrance examination



(End of this chapter)