My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 102: The Crown Prince (1st update)
Su Ze kept Gao Gong's teachings in mind and stayed in the History Museum obediently for a few days.

The sudden changes in the court these days have indeed made many officials frightened.

On October 17, Emperor Longqing issued an edict to the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Justice, appointing Hong Chaoxuan, the Vice Minister of Justice, as the chief and Shi Duchen, the Deputy Censor of Huguang, as the deputy, to go to Jingzhou to inspect Liao and investigate the crimes of the King of Liao.

The case of King Dai in Datong had not yet ended, and the case of King Liao in Jingzhou had been exposed, and the royal family of the Ming Dynasty was trembling with fear.

This time, the court sent important officials to inspect Liao, but the six departments and thirteen ministries remained silent, and no one dared to write a letter of opposition. It was obvious that they were frightened by the case of Prince Dai.

Luo Zun, the censor who had previously taken the lead in speaking for Prince Dai, was investigated and temporarily removed from his post. He will be punished after the trial of Prince Dai's case is completed.

However, in theory, the emperor's punishment for the censors this time will be lighter than in previous times.

To investigate and question someone means to stop the investigation. If Luo Zun really has no connection with King Dai, he can still be reinstated.

Of course, if it is verified that Luo Zun is indeed in collusion with King Dai, as a censor, secretly forming alliances with the vassal king, that would be a serious crime.

People in the Six Departments and the Censorate were in a panic. The censors who had written letters to speak in favor of Prince Dai were afraid that Prince Dai would make accusations from prison, which would be a disaster for the departments.

But Su Ze rarely calmed down. On October 20, the latest issue of "Yuefu Xinbao" was published.
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East Palace.

Eunuch Zhang Hong walked into the bedroom of Crown Prince Zhu Yijun, holding the "Yuefu Xinbao" in his hand.

"Your Highness, the new report has arrived!"

Upon hearing the new report, Zhu Yijun jumped down from the dragon bed and quickly asked Zhang Hong to read the jokes on page four to him.

The joke in the Yuefu New News this time was about the anecdote of the Song Dynasty poets Zhang Xian and Su Shi. It was about Zhang Xian marrying a young wife at the age of eighty, and Su Shi wrote a poem:
"Eighteen-year-old bride, eighty-year-old groom, white hair against red makeup. Two people sleep together under the mandarin duck quilt, a pear tree overshadows a crabapple tree."

This joke was a little too mature for the six-year-old Zhu Yijun. He looked at Zhang Hong blankly.

Zhang Hong was also very desperate. How could a rootless eunuch like him tell dirty jokes to the six-year-old prince?
Zhang Hong could only change the subject and say:

"Your Highness, the Sea Kingdom Chronicle has also been updated!"

The last issue of Records of the Sea Kingdom had greatly interested Xiao Pangjun, but for the young prince, Records of the Sea Kingdom was more like fairy tales and legends like the Classic of Mountains and Seas, and he listened to it as a story.

"Hey, this time it wasn't Su Hanlin who wrote it, it was someone called Tu Zemin."

Zhang Hong read the article again. It turned out that this was an article that Su Ze asked Tu Zemin to write after visiting him.

Tu Zemin wrote an article based on the interesting overseas stories he obtained from conversations with sea merchants traveling to Fujian.

The article not only confirms the existence of "Nanzhou" written by Su Ze in the previous article, but also describes some of his experiences in "Nanzhou".

Zhang Hong read aloud:

"Nanzhou is thirty thousand miles wide. There are giant trees that tower to the sky, blocking out the sun. The natives live in nests at the treetops, using vines as ladders. There are also red ants as big as finger joints. When they gather together, the sound is like thunder, and they can bite tigers and leopards to death."

"The Red Barbarians' methods of ruling the southern wilderness were particularly horrifying. Whenever they reached a new port, they would cast twelve iron cannons and erect stone pillars engraved with the king's emblem. The cannons fired, and the natives fled. The Red Barbarians looted their gold and silver, then used them as slaves to mine, earning billions of gold and silver. They then cut down huge trees to build ships, which they called 'treasure ships.' Soon, the Red Barbarians' leaders became the richest people in the land."

Xiaopangjun’s eyes were wide open!
First, he was captivated by the jungle scenery of Nanzhou, and he wanted to go there directly for adventure. Then, he heard Tu Zemin talk about the red barbarians plundering the wealth of the natives, and heard that the natives used gold to build temples, his eyes lit up!

After Zhang Hong finished reading it, Su Ze wrote a short commentary as "Editor's Note" after Tu Zemin's article.

The short review introduced Tu Zemin's work experience and praised him for his initiative to open the Yuegang switch.

Zhang Hong added:
"Tu Zemin once served as the Governor of Fujian. He was the first to initiate the opening of the gate when Your Majesty ascended the throne. So, Su Hanlin's earlier work, 'Haiguo Ji', is true!"

Most readers of the previous issue of Su Ze's "Haiguo Ji" regarded it as a mythological story, but after it was verified by Tu Zemin, who had actually come into contact with the red barbarians and worked in Fujian, its credibility increased significantly.

Xiao Pangjun said with shining eyes:

"This Red Barbarian leader has become a wealthy man in the land by robbing the natives of their gold and silver. Why doesn't my Celestial Empire send ships to Nanzhou?"

Zhang Hong didn't know how to answer, so he said vaguely:
"This is a matter of great military importance, and I, Your Highness, do not understand it. I would like to ask the other teachers."

Zhu Yijun nodded. He thought about asking Su Ze directly at the imperial lecture. He ordered Zhang Hong to read Tu Zemin's article twice and asked again:
"Where is this Mr. Tu currently serving?"

Zhang Hong read the newspaper again. The only thing that was not mentioned in the newspaper was Tu Zemin's current position. He could only say:

"I will send someone to inquire about it."

Zhu Yijun nodded repeatedly and said:
"If this Tu Zemin were in the capital, I would ask my father to let him give lectures!"

For the young Zhu Yijun, Tu Zemin's description of Nanzhou, thousands of miles away, was much more interesting than the books of sages.
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Shen Sixiao returned home. Ever since Luo Zunxing was interrogated and convicted, he had been uneasy.

Shen Sixiao was naturally worried that the Dai Wang case would implicate himself and affect his bright future.

He originally wanted to help Luo Zun overthrow Su Ze, vent his resentment of being overshadowed by Su Ze, and get in touch with the Censorate. After the observation period ended, he stayed in the Censorate.

This time, he lost more than he gained. Although the Dai Wang case currently only involved Luo Zun, if Luo Zun couldn't hold on and ended up implicating himself, his future would be ruined.

Shen Sixiao has become much more low-key and no longer attends reunions with his peers, hoping to escape from this storm.

However, Shen Sixiao did not sit idly by. After the connection with Luo Zun was cut off, he found a way to the Ministry of Personnel and got in touch with an official from his hometown in the Ministry of Personnel's Wenxuan Qingli Division.

Shen Sixiao had already made up his mind. He had used his connections in the Ministry of Civil Affairs to appoint him as a county magistrate in a wealthy area. He would make some achievements locally and then find a way to return to the capital after the storm had died down.

This path is naturally more rugged and winding than staying directly in the Censorate, but it is better than those peers who do not know how to study hard. If they are appointed as officials in some remote and poor areas, they will not be able to achieve any political achievements for a few years, and they will be trapped in the prefectures and counties for the rest of their lives and will never be able to turn over.

Shen Sixiao came from a wealthy family. As soon as he passed the imperial examination, he bought a nice courtyard in the capital and had a full staff of servants at home.

When Shen Sixiao returned home from work, his servant put the latest newspaper on his desk.

As a newly-minted Jinshi, Shen Sixiao still had some of the same curiosity as later college students when looking at the college entrance examination questions. He first turned to the second edition and saw the name of Zhang Siwei, a doctor of the Wenxuan Qinglisi, the author of this eight-part essay. A sense of foreboding came over him.

(End of this chapter)