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

Chapter 82: Arrogant? Because I am the prince
Li Guang was furious. Just now he was bragging to the young eunuchs under him and teaching them how to be a good person and do things.

Li Guang had just boasted about his achievements when he saw his subordinate, the young eunuch, being beaten up like this. He was completely humiliated for a moment.

He clenched his fists angrily, his fat face twisted, and shouted, "Give us... Your Highness the Crown Prince, why are you here?"

The irritable eunuch Li calmed down instantly.

Li Guang regained his Maitreya Buddha-like smile and spoke to Zhu Houzhao respectfully and flatteringly.

Some of the young eunuchs in the inner palace were not qualified to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. How could Li Guang not know what Zhu Houzhao was like?
Zhu Houzhao sneered and said, "It was this bastard who beat me. Is there a problem with that?"

"I am a bastard, but what is my father? An old bastard, right?"

Li Guang's face turned green, and he was shaking with fear. He said tremblingly, "Your Highness, this old slave, this old slave did not mean that."

Zhu Houzhao pointed at him and said, "That's what you mean!"

"Who gave you the authorization to seize the people's land? Did your father allow you to seize the people's land in the name of the imperial farm? Your father allowed you to bully the people, right?"

Li Guang's face was as pale as paper, and he stammered, "Your Highness..."

Those young eunuchs in the inner palace who had just boasted about Li Guang were now silent.

The old ancestor was so arrogant just now, saying that he was not afraid of the Three Pure Ones, and that he could do whatever he wanted except the emperor and the civil officials.

But he didn't expect that there was also a prince? And a queen?

Zhu Houzhao didn't waste any words, pointing at Li Guang and saying: "Hit me hard!"

Liu Jin and Gu Dayong immediately set up Li Guang, the eunuch, and beat him hard. The underlying meaning was that they could beat him as much as they wanted, and it didn't matter if he was injured or disabled. Whether Li Guang could survive depended entirely on his luck.

He did not order the fight to be fought with all his might, otherwise Li Guang would have surely died today.

Zhu Houzhao was smart. He knew that this minor crime was not punishable by death, and his father also wanted to use this person to make money and enrich the treasury, so he did not think of beating him to death.

If we just change someone, we can have the feast.

Li Guang's wails of pain echoed throughout Wansui Mountain. Despite this, he kept begging for mercy and apologizing, saying that he would never dare to do it again.

When the fight was almost over, Zhu Houzhao squatted in front of Li Guang with his head tilted, and sneered, "Do you still dare to harvest the ten acres of land in Kuihua Township?"

"No, I don't dare anymore."

Zhu Houzhao uttered an "oh" and asked, "Can you still walk?"

Li Guang shook his head and said, "I'm afraid not."

Zhu Houzhao looked disappointed and murmured, "I was thinking of you going to apologize in person, but since you can't leave, there's no point in you staying."

"Give him a try again."

Hit with all your heart, you want to beat Li Guang to death!
Li Guang's body trembled, and he said hurriedly: "Your Highness! I suddenly feel that I can still walk!"

"I will go and apologize in person. I will go in person! Please go easy on me."

Zhu Houzhao nodded in satisfaction, hummed, and said, "If he forgives you, I will forgive you. If he doesn't forgive you, I will still beat you to death, haha."

"Oh, by the way, don't tell him I'm the prince, or I'll still beat you to death."

Arrogant? Because I am the prince.

……

Huaihua Hutong, Chen Ce's courtyard.

On the stone table in the central hall, tea was being warmed on a small red clay stove. The sunlight shone on Wang Yue's weathered face, which was full of wrinkles. It was a face that had gone through too many hardships over the years. It looked very old and unrecognizable. It didn't look like the pampered civil servants.

Wang Yue held the tea and continued the topic that he had not finished in the morning, asking Chen Ce: "Six hundred and seventy-six lives were lost in the northwest!"

"It is said that a general's success is the result of the sacrifice of thousands of soldiers. How can a general not feel sorry for his children?" "Do you know some children? For the sake of a few taels of silver a month, they died under the enemy's butcher knife without retreating a single step. They asked me, if they died in battle, would anyone remember them?"

"I said someone will remember them, the court will remember them, and the Ming Dynasty will remember them."

"But does the court remember them? Does the Ministry of War remember them?"

"No."

"The Ministry of War only reported cold numbers, and only reported those who had made contributions, and even underreported and concealed the facts! They didn't even want to pay the pensions."

"You said that conscience and justice are what the world lacks the most, but am I looking for them for myself?"

"I know they want to force me to leave the northwest. They are afraid that the military commanders will seize power. They hate me."

"Okay, why should we involve those poor children in our personal grudges? The children who died on the battlefield?"

Wang Yue held the teacup in both hands and shook it. The water in the teacup overflowed, but he didn't feel it was hot.

Tears were flowing in his turbid eyes. Such a strong man, a general who was used to seeing life and death on the battlefield, was crying at this moment, so sad and unwilling.

Wang Yue said angrily: "So this time I will return to Beijing, I don't need them to force me, I will come back on my own!"

Chen Ce was silent. He had never been to the northwest, had never seen a battlefield, nor had he seen his closest comrades die in front of him.

This must be painful, he thought.

Not everyone can be a general or a commander-in-chief.

Chen Ce felt that the saying "a kind person cannot command an army" had always been a truth on the battlefield, but who could say that those generals who spent every day with their subordinates were really unkind?

They just don't dare.

Wang Yue stared at Chen Ce and said, "I have taught three students. When I returned to Beijing this time, I hoped they would speak for me."

"But they betrayed me, openly in the court. Do you know how I feel?"

"You said I was stupid, why did I make the court's affairs public?"

"Why did you have to make such a scene in public and force the Emperor to close it down? Let me tell you, I just don't want the Emperor to play it safe!"

"The emperor today is not like the emperor of the previous dynasty. He will handle many things coldly, and finally drag his feet and let things go unresolved."

"If I don't force the emperor, what else can I do?"

Chen Ce paused while holding the tea, took a deep look at Wang Yue, and then -

In awe!

The brave man devotes himself to the game and deserves to be enshrined in the Taimiao!
It turned out that Wang Yue was not unaware of this. He knew it much more clearly than himself. He had already seen clearly the importance of the matter.

But he still did it, risking his life, at the age of seventy-four.

No wonder he became Wang Yangming's idol, he deserves it.

No wonder the Chenghua Emperor Zhu Jianshen compared him to Wei Huo of the Han Dynasty and Fan Han of the Song Dynasty. He should be like this!
Chen Ce was silent for a long time, then he stood up, cupped his hands, and bowed: "Old man, I apologize for my previous disrespect."

Wang Yue glanced at Chen Ce and said with a wry smile, "Alright, sit down quickly, don't do those civil servant things, I don't like these empty words."

Chen Ce looked embarrassed. I was sincere.

"Have you ever thought about the consequences, old man? What if the result is not favorable to you?"

Wang Yue shook his head and said, "I have prepared a coffin in Hami, in the yamen of the Military Commandery. At most, he will just die. What else can happen?"

(End of this chapter)