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

Chapter 95: Plague and War

Ning Cheng finally left. He didn't know whether Chen Ce could listen to his kind reminder, but he had fulfilled his obligations and responsibilities.

As for what path to choose next, he has no right to interfere.

If Chen Ce continues to be stubborn and covets these empty things, and ends up in prison, I won't be able to save him even if I want to.

His rank, official position and power were too low and too limited, so he had no say in the struggles above. Everything depended on what Chen Ce chose.

Chen Ce looked at Ning Cheng's departing back, shook his head slightly, and then went back to his room for a nap.

……

After Zhu Houzhao returned to the palace, he ran to the Western Garden and found Emperor Hongzhi who was taking a lunch break.

Seeing that his father was taking a lunch break, he did not disturb him and casually opened the documents on the desk.

A village in Weinan, Shaanxi Province was infected with plague, but there was no sign of the disease spreading. Emperor Hongzhi instructed that you should pay attention to it.

The chieftains of Sichuan border attacked the border villages and massacred all the villagers. The Sichuan Military Command requested the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds to fight back against the chieftains. However, Emperor Hongzhi rejected the allocation and ordered the other side to make sure to defend themselves.

The Ministry of Revenue does not have much money now, and life has to be tight. Emperor Hongzhi does not want to start a war in other places except the northwest.

"Hey."

Zhu Houzhao sighed. The people of the two villages all died silently because of natural disasters and man-made calamities. The people of the Ming Dynasty were still so powerless in the face of natural disasters and man-made calamities.

However, Zhu Houzhao forgot about this little thing in the blink of an eye. Emperor Hongzhi had already woken up at this time. When he saw Zhu Houzhao coming, he asked curiously, "Why are you here?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled and said, "I came to see Father. I heard that someone brought up Wansui Mountain. Father, do you want to kill those bastards?"

Emperor Hongzhi: “…”

"Killing people won't solve the problem. When you become the emperor in the future, don't kill people at every turn. This will only show the emperor's incompetence and irritability."

Zhu Houzhao blurted out: "I know, the emperor is the scale and the ministers are the weights. What I have to do is to balance the scales and make them work for me."

Emperor Hongzhi was stunned for a moment. Why did what this kid said recently seem to be becoming more and more philosophical?
Is this child making such rapid progress?
"Father, when will I be given my magnifying glass?"

Emperor Hongzhi said quickly: "I am about to review the memorials, please do not disturb me."

……

At night, the Minister of War Wang Zongyi's residence.

It’s still the same group of people.

The military official spoke first, saying to Wang Zongyi, "Sir Wang, the eunuch Zhang Xian, who guarded Hami, committed suicide. The evidence of the suicide note was handed over to Zhang Zhezhi of the Censorate. Censor Zhang has already returned to Beijing with the evidence."

"Zhang Xian hopes to leave a descendant for his family."

Minister Wang sneered, "What do you want from a eunuch? Kill them all to avoid future troubles."

Everyone was silent.

Wang Zongyi continued, "Has Minister Tu completed the evidence of ear replacement?"

The doctor of the Military Affairs Department replied, "Lord Tu has already made arrangements. The people in the northwest thought that Minister Tu was Wang Yue's student and were not on high alert."

"This time, Minister Tu went to the northwest personally, and he did everything in a very secretive manner."

Wang Zongyi sneered sarcastically, "What a treacherous talent! How could Wang Yue, who was so wise all his life, make such a mistake in recommending such a student, haha."

Then he sighed again and said, "It's a pity that the wildfire in Changping did not affect Wang Yue, otherwise I could have used this to persuade the emperor to kill Wang Yue."

"If these evidences are presented, I wonder if the emperor will be able to make up his mind to kill Wang Yue." "The sooner the better. Tomorrow morning, Wu Jieshi will take the lead and be the first to impeach Wang Yue."

"It's almost the end of the year. If this matter is not dealt with and delayed until after the New Year, it will give Wang Yue more opportunities to fight back. It would be best if Wang Yue could be convicted before the end of the year!"

Several officials from the Ministry of War were a little uneasy and asked Wang Zongyi cautiously, "Sir Wang, will the six ministries and the Censorate plead for Wang Yue?"

Wang Zongyi looked at his subordinates and said indifferently: "Do you really think they don't want Wang Yue to die? If I didn't understand their attitude, would I dare to do these things?"

After he said this, everyone felt much more at ease.

If they really offended the six ministries of the cabinet, they would be in real danger.

Tonight, it is silent.

It was four o'clock the next morning.

The dawn outside the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City is quiet.

Tu Yu and Qi Zhong stood in the team anxiously, looking up at the slightly dark sky, which was pitch black.

The two were both confused and both knew that today's court meeting was unusual.

However, they were not nervous because they were worried about Wang Yue's life or death. Since they had already chosen the team and reached their current position, the little bit of moral bottom line in their hearts had long disappeared without a trace.

They were worried about their own safety and wondered if there would be any loopholes in Wang Zongyi's control arrangements.

Any slightest loophole, once discovered, would be fatal and a heinous crime punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan!
They can't afford the consequences!
But in order to get closer to the civil service group and stand on the same boat with them, they had to do this. They didn't want to bear the name of Wang Yue's students and be a lonely minister in the court.

I don’t know how long I waited, but the Meridian Gate opened.

Civil and military officials attended the court in an orderly manner, and after the whip was blown, the grand court meeting in early December was officially announced to begin.

Emperor Hongzhi finally came to the Fengtian Hall and took his seat.

All officials shouted "Long live the Emperor" and paid homage to Emperor Hongzhi.

This court meeting, led by the Ministry of Revenue, should mainly focus on this year's annual financial meeting.

But most people in the court seemed absent-minded. After the Minister of Revenue finished reporting the financial data, the sky outside was still gloomy, as if a heavy snow was about to fall.

But it was almost noon.

Even the eunuchs in the palace lamented that the weather today was unusual.

The court meeting was about to end.

Wu Yao, the Censor of the Military Department, stepped out and spoke.

He said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "Your Majesty, regarding the military exploits in Hami, I have the audacity to ask, I wonder if the investigation results can be released? I heard that the Ministry of Personnel's external investigators have returned, and the investigators sent by the Metropolitan Procuratorate to Hami have also returned. I hope that the wise emperor will make a quick decision and clear the names of the various departments of the Ministry of War."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded, looked at the crowd, and finally fixed his gaze on the Minister of Personnel Tu Yu, and said, "Minister Tu, did you find anything wrong with your trip to Hami with the Metropolitan Procuratorate this time?"

Tu Yu bowed and stepped out of the line. After paying respect to Emperor Hongzhi, he said, "Your Majesty, I beg the Censorate to explain the situation first."

The Left Censor-in-Chief of the Metropolitan Censorate stepped out and said in a shocking tone, "Your Majesty, when I arrived in Hami, the eunuch Zhang Xian who was guarding Hami committed suicide out of fear of punishment, and he left behind a will and a copy of the account book."

Emperor Hongzhi frowned.

The Censor of the Metropolitan Censorate continued calmly, "Your Highness! Impeach Wang Yue, the commander-in-chief of the defense of Hami, Gansu and Liang, for abusing his power for personal gain, deceiving the emperor, killing innocent people to gain credit, and amassing troops for his own benefit!"

All the evidences were enough to make Wang Yue die without a burial place!
(End of this chapter)