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

Chapter 198 Jealous Jiao Fang

In September, the autumn wind was blowing, and Chen Ce was sitting in the Tongji Canal in the backyard fishing.

An old man came over with his hands behind his back, sat down in front of Chen Ce, and threw the hook into the river like Chen Ce.

"How did you harvest today, little brother?"

Chen Ce glanced at him sideways and shook his head, "I'm just starting to fish, so I'm not sure yet."

The old man who came was none other than Jiao Fang.

As long as you are willing, it is easy to check who Zhu Houzhao has been in contact with recently.

Jiao Fang was not sure whether this country boy had said anything in front of Zhu Houzhao, so he decided to test Chen Ce.

"Little brother, are you a scholar?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I don't know what the elders mean by scholars. If someone is considered a scholar just because he has read a few books, then I should be one."

Jiao Fang asked doubtfully, "You haven't taken the imperial examination yet?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No."

"Why? Since you are already studying, why don't you take the imperial examination?"

Chen Ce thought for a moment and said, "Maybe you are not confident enough in yourself and are afraid that you will fail the exam."

He didn't know who the other person was yet, but since he was being too attentive, it would be better to answer cautiously to avoid getting into trouble.

Jiao Fang smiled and said, "You are quite modest."

"Now the country is in its prime, and the imperial examinations are flourishing. You are still young, so you should think about serving your country."

Chen Ce bowed and said, "Thank you for your teachings, Master. I will keep them in mind."

Jiao Fang was silent for a while, threw the bait into the river, and asked Chen Ce: "Last year, in the Guizhou provincial examination, the question was how to resolve the dispute between the chieftains in the southwest."

"This policy essay is not difficult. I am so proud of myself. How about testing you?"

Chen Ce glanced at him sideways. Someone from the Eastern Palace?

Zhu Houzhao’s teacher?

He comes with bad intentions!

Chen Ce pretended to be confused and smiled bitterly: "Master, you are flattering me. I haven't even taken the examination for a scholar, so how can I know about the provincial examination? If I could answer it, I would be a juren now. Why should I stay in this place and fish to kill time?"

Seeing that he answered in a steady and sincere manner, Jiao Fang's doubts were dispelled.

I thought Zhu Houzhao was instructed by this person, but now it seems unlikely. How could a commoner know about state affairs?

Jiao Fang also laughed and said, "It is I who am so abrupt."

Chen Ce hurriedly said, "I am very lucky that you can test and teach me. I am sorry for failing to live up to your kindness. I will study hard in the future."

Jiao Fang nodded, neither humble nor arrogant, being kind and modest, and indeed a promising young man.

"Well, that's the way it should be. You should encourage yourself."

Chen Ce blinked and asked Jiao Fang, "You still don't know who the Master is?"

Jiao Fang smiled and said, "I am just a teacher, I don't have any special title."

"Ok."

Chen Ce didn't bother about it. Since the other party was unwilling to answer, Chen Ce didn't ask any more questions. Anyway, he roughly knew that he was the teacher of Zhu Houzhao of the Eastern Palace.

I'm afraid this time they're here to call people to account for issues concerning the southwest.

With just a slight guess, he knew the other party's identity, and there was no need for Chen Ce to ask further. Qian Yue's teacher was Jiao Fang, and the only one who could recommend Qian Yue was Jiao Fang.

In other words, it was Jiao Fang who took advantage of Zhu Houzhao.

However, he might have been humiliated by Zhu Houzhao, so he was looking for who taught the Crown Prince those words, and that's why he came here.

Jiao Fang didn't stay here for long. He had a good impression of Chen Ce, but he didn't think Chen Ce could really teach Zhu Houzhao anything. He was probably just a common friend of the Crown Prince. ...

When Jiao Fang met Emperor Hongzhi, Emperor Hongzhi was discussing matters with the six ministries of the cabinet. Upon hearing that Jiao Fang had arrived, Emperor Hongzhi allowed him in to meet him.

"This old minister pays homage to His Majesty, long live the Emperor."

Emperor Hongzhi said amiably, "Master Jiao, you have come at the right time. The princes from all over the country have jointly written to the court, begging them to return their salaries converted from a few years ago, which totaled more than one million taels of silver. Master Jiao might as well share your opinion."

As everyone knows, the Ministry of Revenue is short of money. Last year's earthquake, the snowstorm at the beginning of this year, and the exemption of land tax due to salt permits meant that the court collected almost no taxes this year.

Jiao Fang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this is the consequence of the salt permit."

Who among you doesn’t know this? But even if you know it, what can you do?

The problem of the proliferation of salt permits was indeed solved, but the people who suffered the most were undoubtedly members of the royal family.

They have the most salt permits and suffer the greatest losses. Your court is plotting against them, and now they are making trouble to force your court to pay them salaries.

Jiao Fang said: "In my opinion, if the other party is not really short of money, they would not resort to this method to jointly submit a letter."

"The Ministry of Revenue may first allocate less rice to the royal family members who are seriously short of money, and use the rest to appease them."

After all, they are all princes of the royal family of the Ming Dynasty. The imperial court has owed them money for a long time. It cannot be dragged on forever. It is time to give them some money anyway.

Jiao Fang's opinion was just what he had always insisted on. After all, he was a veteran of three dynasties and the court still relied heavily on some of his opinions.

Everyone nodded slightly.

Jiao Fang bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Tusi in the southwest have frequently started wars. The imperial court has issued edicts to reprimand them several times but to no avail. The Tusi in the southwest do not take the imperial court seriously."

"Their war has already spread to Han territory. I believe that if we do not suppress it, and if it develops in the future, the consequences will be disastrous."

Since Zhu Houzhao was unwilling to look for Emperor Hongzhi, Jiao Fang had to do it himself.

"Two days ago, the Crown Prince and I were discussing the affairs of the southwest. His Royal Highness occasionally asked about this. I think his concern is not unreasonable."

"It's time to quell the rebellion in the southwest!"

"After in-depth discussions with His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, I believe that Qian Yue, the Imperial Censor of Guizhou, is capable of taking on this important task."

Emperor Hongzhi fell into deep thought, and then asked the Minister of War Ma Wensheng: "Ma Shangshu, what do you think?"

The southwest has always been a mess. The imperial court has suppressed it countless times, but with little effect. The imperial court has issued imperial edicts many times, but still cannot reconcile the conflicts between the chieftains and tribes.

Especially those chieftains were quite hostile to the Han people!

Ma Wensheng thought for a moment. Since the crown prince said so, he had to give the crown prince some face no matter what. Besides, what the crown prince said was not wrong. The chieftains in the southwest have been going too far recently. It is time to suppress them.

Just when Ma Wensheng was about to agree.

Zhu Houzhao appeared out of nowhere and shouted, "Wait a minute!"

Everyone turned their eyes to Zhu Houzhao.

"Teacher Jiao, you remembered it wrongly, didn't you? What I meant was that I don't recommend sending troops to the southwest, and I certainly don't recommend Qian Yue to send troops."

"Qian Yue is a civil servant. A scholar leading troops is not up to the task."

After these words were spoken, Jiao Fang's face suddenly turned pale.

He saluted and said, "Your Highness, I have a deep understanding of Qian Yue. Lord Qian has been inspecting the southwest for several years and has his own experience."

"Your Majesty, the situation in the southwest must be resolved sooner or later. If the chaos continues like this, it will not be a solution."

"I strongly recommend Qian Yue!"

In desperation, Jiao Fang can only bite the bullet and protect Qian Yue. He originally wanted to drag the crown prince into the water, but who knew that this guy would jump out at this time.

However, Jiao Fang did not feel embarrassed, he was still very confident that Qian Yue could win the war. As long as he won, everything would be fine!

(End of this chapter)