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

Chapter 261: Return to the country
These days are a good season for spring outings.

Zhu Houzhao came to Chen Ce excitedly early in the morning. The problem of royal salary was solved by Chen Ce, which was undoubtedly a great achievement.

Senior officials in the cabinet and six ministries may not be aware of Chen Ce’s contributions, but Zhu Houzhao knew it all too well.

All of this was planned by the younger brother. He did so many things but ended up not getting any benefit. Zhu Houzhao couldn't stand it anymore.

He wanted his father to confer the title of nobility on Chen Ce, but his father said that this would harm Chen Ce.

But we can't just pretend nothing happened. Did I do all these things in vain?

"Little brother, is there anything you want? Don't worry, you have solved such a big problem for the court this time, I promise to give you the best reward."

"Well... Last time I said I would make you a marquis, but they said they were thinking about you and didn't want you to stand out in the forest and be destroyed by the wind."

"Is there anything else you want?"

Chen Ce really didn't know what he wanted, so he smiled and shook his head and said, "Forget it, I didn't do anything, the credit is all yours, go and claim the reward yourself."

Zhu Houzhao was anxious and asked, "How can that be possible?"

Chen Ce looked at Zhu Houzhao and smiled, "Do you have time these days? Let's go out for an outing while the weather is nice and sunny."

Zhu Houzhao said hurriedly: "Okay! How about tomorrow?"

Chen Ce nodded: "Well, then tomorrow!"

"By the way, did they win the battle in the southwest?"

If we hadn't mentioned this, Zhu Houzhao would have forgotten about it. He nodded and said, "Little brother, you are amazing. Wang Shouren is indeed a talent. He took two losers to the southwest and actually won a great victory!"

Chen Ce: “…”

I wonder what your two uncles would think if they heard you evaluate him like this.

"Although we won the war, the subsequent governance of the southwestern chieftains is still a troublesome matter." Zhu Houzhao sighed.

Although Wang Shouren won a war, he could not destroy all the chieftains in the southwest. After all, the chieftains in the southwest were still under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty still had to spend time and energy to govern them.

Although the southwestern chieftains can be suppressed in the short term, what about in the future?
The chieftains and their people will continue to create unrest in the southwest.

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Let's change the natives into commoners."

"What?" Zhu Houzhao scratched his head.

Chen Ce said: "In the past, the Ming Dynasty's policy for governing the southwest was to use the barbarians to control the barbarians and let the chieftains govern the local people. Decades of actual operations have proven that this model is not very useful."

"Send Han officials to the southwest and let them govern the local people in the southwest."

"The court simply rewards the chieftains and grants them favors, but this obviously cannot make them truly return to their faith."

"The chieftains tried every means to create unrest in order to ask the imperial court for more favors, but the common people below were unable to receive any of the emperor's grace at all."

"Sending people to go deep into the local areas to govern will truly make the natives feel the importance of the imperial court to them. They can be encouraged to cultivate crops, develop water conservancy projects, set up schools, and allow them to take the imperial examinations and serve as Han officials. In this way, within a few decades, the unrest among the chieftains in the southwest will be completely quelled."

Zhu Houzhao scratched his head, not knowing whether his suggestion would work, but it sounded reasonable.

"We need to send an official who can really get things done and can really govern the southwest."

"Didn't Wang Shouren win the war? His ability is obvious to all. The court can take advantage of this victory to promote Wang Shouren and transfer him to the southwest to govern there for a while to see the results." Zhu Houzhao kept Chen Ce's words in mind and said with a smile: "Then I will come to see you tomorrow and we will go on an outing together!"

Chen Ce: “…”

I'm talking to you about serious matters, but this guy should have listened to it. Chen Ce nodded and said, "Oh, see you tomorrow."

When Zhu Houzhao returned to the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Hongzhi was having dinner with Empress Zhang in the Kunning Palace.

These days, Zhu Houzhao felt that his sketching skills had improved greatly. As soon as he entered the Kunning Palace, Empress Zhang invited Zhu Houzhao to dinner.

Empress Zhang was in a good mood today, obviously happy to hear that her two incompetent brothers had won the war in the southwest.

"Mother, please eat first. I have recently learned painting. Let me draw a picture for you and father as a souvenir."

Emperor Hongzhi frowned and said teasingly: "Haha, look at our son. Even if he doesn't become an emperor, he won't starve to death. It won't be bad for him to perform among the people."

Empress Zhang understood the hidden meaning of Emperor Hongzhi's words, glared at Zhu Houzhao and said, "You are the crown prince! Why are you learning these nonsense all day long? Why are you painting? Come and have dinner!"

Zhu Houzhao ignored Emperor Hongzhi and just held the paper and pencil in his hand. There was a constant sound of clicking in the Kunning Palace.

Empress Zhang wanted to say something, but Emperor Hongzhi snorted, "Let him paint! I want to see what he can paint."

Not long after, Zhu Houzhao handed over the sketches of Emperor Hongzhi and Empress Zhang, and then sat down at the dining table to enjoy the meal.

Empress Zhang took her own scroll and after just one look at it, she was so surprised that she completely forgot to eat.

"Your Majesty... this painting is great!"

Seeing Empress Zhang's exaggerated expression, Emperor Hongzhi snorted coldly, "It's just a painting, the court painter doesn't know... huh?"

When Emperor Hongzhi looked at the lifelike and vivid painting, he looked at Empress Zhang's face in disbelief.

It's like they were carved from the same mold!
The palace naturally had painters, but the portraits they drew were never three-dimensional, and how could they be as vivid as Zhu Houzhao's painting? It was as if Empress Zhang was directly printed on the paper.

This is incredible!

Emperor Hongzhi looked up at Zhu Houzhao and saw that he was eating heartlessly. He finally asked embarrassedly, "Where are my paintings?"

Zhu Houzhao pointed casually to the back and said, "It's over there, Father, go and see for yourself."

Emperor Hongzhi: “…”

Empress Zhang quickly stood up and took the scroll of Emperor Hongzhi. Emperor Hongzhi could not help but be stunned for a moment when looking at his scroll.

so similar!
This brat probably learned this from that kid. What else does that monster have not brought out?
"Father," Zhu Houzhao said to Emperor Hongzhi while eating, "I know this painting is not up to par, I just want to leave a memorial for you and mother. When one of you dies first, the other can look at the scroll to remember you."

Emperor Hongzhi: “?”

Queen Zhang: “…”

You are truly a filial son of the Zhu family!

"There is one more thing." Zhu Houzhao said, "What do you think about the subsequent governance of the southwest and the policy of changing the natives to officials?"

Emperor Hongzhi raised his eyebrows and asked Zhu Houzhao, "What do you mean?"

(End of this chapter)