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

Chapter 78: Impolite Old Man
The emperor was going to hold a ceremony to worship the heavens these days, so Zhu Houzhao had a rare day off.

In the backyard of Huaihua Hutong, the sun shines down, the blue waves are reflected on the river, and it is sparsely populated, with a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

Zhu Houzhao and Chen Ce sat under a dead willow tree and fished lazily.

He talked about some interesting things that happened recently.

"There was a little guy who really pissed me off. He was so dumb that he couldn't even understand the Analects."

Zhu Houzhao shared with Chen Ce the story of Zhang Mao's grandson Zhang Lun reading the Analects at random.

Chen Ce smiled. The ancients said that knowing how to read and understand words, knowing how to read and understand words means knowing how to break up a sentence.

Zhang Lun has passed the stage of knowing how to read, but still cannot understand punctuation.

Chen Ce said to Zhu Houzhao, "Can we try to teach him punctuation?"

Zhu Houzhao asked Chen Ce in confusion: "What is punctuation?"

Chen Ce would always explain things so patiently, no matter how big or small the matter was, as long as Zhu Houzhao didn't understand, he would teach him everything he knew without reservation.

"For example, when we say a sentence, where does it end, where does it end, what tone does it end with, whether it should quote the words of saints, all these can be expressed with symbols."

Zhu Houzhao was shocked and asked, "So powerful? How can we deal with it?"

Putting the fishing rod aside, Chen Ce took out a dead branch and wrote on the ground, "Isn't it a pleasure to learn and practice from time to time?"

"This is a comma. If you want to pause in a sentence, use this symbol to make a pause."

"This is a rhetorical question mark to express the tone of our words."

"This is the full stop. This sentence is completely finished."

"..."

Zhu Houzhao was not confused by what he heard. Instead, he heard it very clearly and remembered it very clearly. After Chen Ce finished speaking, Zhu Houzhao could not help but gasp.

"So that's how it is. It can be like this."

Hehe, this is good. Okay, this set of things belongs to Zhu. I’ll show it off to Zhang’s family next time.

"A few days ago, I heard that the family of the magistrate of Chun'an County occupied fifty acres of good farmland from the people, and an old friend beat up the whole family and drove them out of Chun'an."

"The Zhejiang Provincial Procuratorate ordered the magistrate of Chun'an to return all the land to the other party and pay compensation of thirty taels of silver. His family was punished with ten strokes of the cane."

Zhu Houzhao said indignantly: "This kind of scum, an unkind official, deserves to be killed!"

Chen Ce said "oh" and asked Zhu Houzhao, "What would you do if it happened?"

Zhu Houzhao said: "If it were me, I would kill the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner and the Magistrate of Chun'an County. Out of sight, out of mind."

Chen Ce said: "There is no way to kill people for this kind of thing, and the punishment is too severe, which will arouse opposition from the bureaucrats."

Zhu Houzhao said: "Then kill the magistrate of Chun'an County. The crime was committed by his family members. Without his support, would his family members dare to do it?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "Where's the evidence? We need to check. By the time the higher-ups send someone to check, all the evidence will be gone."

Zhu Houzhao sighed and said, "This is not okay, and that is not okay. Is it really going to end like this?"

Chen Ce smiled and said, "Isn't it his family who did it? Then punish his family and make sure his descendants will never be allowed to take the imperial examinations."

"What do civil servants care about? Their reputation during life and after death. When they are young, they care about themselves, and when they are old, they care about their descendants. It is more painful to eliminate the hope of his descendants in the clan to become officials than to kill him himself."

“To attack someone, you have to attack their heart. Find out what they care about most, and then work hard on it, so that you can make them feel pain.”

Yahoo?
This is a good idea, little brother. It's ruthless enough!

Remember this. When I ascend the throne, I will attack the things that the civil officials care about the most!

"When I came here just now, I heard people on the road talking about the dispute between Wang Yue and the Ministry of War in the court today." Zhu Houzhao was still chatting with Chen Ce, while looking at the fishing float in the river. Why didn't the float move? Can I catch any fish?
Chen Ce paused for a moment, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Wang Yue is gambling with his life!"

"Why would you jump into a game that's doomed to fail?"

"Hey."

Chen Ce felt sympathy for Wang Yue. He looked at Zhu Houzhao again, then looked at the fish floating in the water and thought about how he could use Zhu Houzhao to ensure Wang Yue's survival.

The Northwest cannot do without Wang Yue. If this old man is still alive, it will be a blessing for you when you ascend the throne in the future.

"Humph, you are playing tricks on me, you are so self-important, do you really think you can understand the turmoil in the court?"

"What does a half-Rada kid know about government affairs? How can General Wang be sure that he will fail?"

At some point, an old man with a white beard sat next to Zhu Houzhao and Chen Ce. He looked no different from an ordinary farmer, but judging from his fishing posture, he was an old man.

“It’s just like fishing. If you don’t know how to fish and you don’t adjust the float correctly, how can you catch any fish?”

Chen Ce and Zhu Houzhao were startled and glanced sideways at the old man not far away, both of them with puzzled expressions.

"When did an old man appear next to this place?"

"I do not know."

Zhu Houzhao said unhappily: "Hey, old man, what do you have to do with our idle chat?"

"My little brother said Wang Yue is not good enough, so he is not good enough!"

These words made the old man very angry.

Zhu Houzhao, you idiot, when did I say Wang Yue was no good? Please don't misinterpret my meaning, okay? !
Do you know how high Wang Yue's status is among the scholars of the Ming Dynasty? The court officials may not like him, but those scholars all respect Wang Yue.

Fortunately, there was no one else here, otherwise I would have been sprayed to death by them.
The old man snorted and said, "Then tell me, what does Wang Yue mean by gambling with his life? What do you understand?"

Zhu Houzhao was speechless and coughed twice. I can’t do it, but I can, little brother.

Come on, little brother!

Zhu Houzhao looked at Chen Ce angrily and said, "Little brother, explain it to him. I don't want to say a word to such a stubborn old man!"

Chen Ce: “…”

Good for you.

Chen Ce glanced at the other party, thought for a moment, and said, "What happened in the court this morning will be known to outsiders at this hour."

"Who spread it?"

"I think the person who spread this news is most likely Wang Yue himself."

The old man exerted force in his hands and lifted the fishing rod, obviously he caught a fish. However, after hearing Chen Ce's words, the fishing rod was suspended in the air and he watched the fish run away.

"Haha, what a shame! You are so good at fishing, but you are just bragging and you didn't catch any fish."

Zhu Houzhao mocked him, but his words sounded a bit sour. Why did the old man catch a fish in a short time, while the two brothers had been here for half a day without any fishing?

"Old man, I am not ashamed to ask you a question. How do you adjust the float? If you answer me, I will give you my landing net."

Zhu Houzhao said to the old man again.

The old man seemed not to have heard Zhu Houzhao's words. He looked at Chen Ce and asked, "How can you be sure that it was Wang Yue who spread the news?"

"Hey! I'm talking to you! You're so rude, old man. Why are you so rude?"

(End of this chapter)