My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 62: Altan Invasion
"Your Highness summoned Su Ze to give a lecture?"

The Chancellor of the Chancellery was Zhao Zhenji, who was theoretically the highest official in charge of the crown prince's education.

But in fact, Zhao Zhenji was both a cabinet minister and the Minister of Rites, and was very busy with official duties, so the daily work of teaching the prince was done by the second-in-command of the Zhanshi Mansion, Junior Zhanshi Yin Shidan.

Yin Shidan frowned. He had never had a good impression of Su Ze, and now that Su Ze had become Gao Gong's follower, Yin Shidan was even more disgusted.

Zhao Zhenji did not allow Su Ze to teach the crown prince, and Yin Shidan went along with it.

"Giving lectures to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the duty of the Chancellery."

Yin Shidan glanced at the eunuch Zhang Hong, and the meaning on his face was very clear, that is, "Arranging a teacher for the prince is the job of the civil servants in the Zhanshi Mansion, and it is not something that a eunuch like you can influence."

Zhang Hong was young after all, and his face turned red after being humiliated by the civil servant.

He followed his godfather Li Fang's advice and was transferred to the Eastern Palace to serve the prince.

But his godfather asked him to get close to Su Ze. After Zhang Hong inquired, he heard that Su Ze had never given lectures to the crown prince.

Su Ze doesn’t even come to the East Palace to give lectures, how can I get close to him?
It happened that the "Yuefu Xinbao" was delivered to the Eastern Palace today, and Zhang Hong took the opportunity to tell the crown prince jokes from the newspaper and successfully attracted Zhu Yijun's attention.

Zhang Hong took a breath, recalled what he had learned from his godfather Li Fang, straightened his back and said:
"Su Hanlin was personally appointed by His Majesty to teach at the Imperial Lecture Hall. Lord Yin, what is your intention in not allowing Su Hanlin to come to the Eastern Palace to give lectures?"

Sure enough, this tactic of "taking advantage of power to bully others" made Yin Shidan feel a little apprehensive.

Su Ze's reputation in the capital was at its peak, and even the most powerful censors were defeated by him several times.

With Gao Gong backing him up, Yin Shidan thought about it and decided not to offend Su Ze over such a small matter.

Anyway, it was the Crown Prince himself who summoned Su Ze to give lectures.

Yin Shidan said:
"The Crown Prince's lectures have their own established rules. The lecturers must first submit the contents of the lectures to the Ministry of Household Affairs for review. I will go and inform Su Ze first, and ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to wait for a few days."

Zhang Hong was surprised. You know, the Junior Secretary Yin Shidan was very famous and experienced, and he was very prestigious in the Eastern Palace.

Young imperial lecturers like Shen Shixing had to be very cautious when they met Yin Shidan, and Yin Shidan often scolded them in public for speaking poorly.

But today, when he mentioned Su Ze's name, he actually succeeded in making Yin Shidan back down.

Zhang Hong secretly took note of it. It seemed that his godfather was right. This Su Ze was extraordinary. He must make good friends with him.
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"Lecture?"

Su Ze looked at his good friend Shen Shixing, showing an uncomfortable expression and said:

"Brother Rumo, can you not go?"

Shen Shixing saw Su Ze's expression and said unhappily:

"What do you say?"

Su Ze also sighed, put down the [Model Brush] in his hand, and complained:
"I have a lot of things to do at the History Museum, and today I'm still writing the manuscript for the next issue of the Yuefu New Newspaper. I really can't spare the time for this lecture."

Shen Shixing sighed helplessly:
"Brother Zilin, do you know how many people want to give lectures to the Crown Prince?"

Su Ze picked up the pen and said to Luo Wanhua and Shen Yikuan beside him:
"Brother Yifu, Brother Jianwu, do you want to?"

After Su Ze asked, he saw the two of them looking at him with resentment. Su Ze then realized that he had underestimated the job of being the Prince's Imperial Lecture Official.

To make a king as great as Yao and Shun is the dream of every scholar.

An adult emperor is not so easy to fool, but a future emperor can be.

Being a teacher to the prince is a job that brings both fame and fortune. Only Su Ze would think it is a hard job. Shen Shixing was too lazy to talk nonsense with Su Ze and just said:

"Brother Zilin, you are also an official of the Zhanshi Mansion. Giving lectures to the Crown Prince is the job of the Zhanshi Mansion. You must prepare well."

Su Ze could only nod helplessly. He rolled his eyes and pulled Shen Shixing and said:
"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Brother Rumo, Su has something to ask of you."

Shen Shixing looked at Su Ze, spread his hands and said, "Brother Zilin, are you asking for a manuscript?"

Su Ze nodded like a chick pecking at rice and said:
"Yes, yes! The first article is from this year's top scorer, Brother Yifu. The second article is from Brother Rumo, the top scorer in the 41st year of the Jiajing reign. This will definitely bring honor to the literary world!"

Shen Shixing took out a paper from his sleeve, handed it to Su Ze and said:

"I've already written it a long time ago. I haven't written it in a few years, so my hand has become a lot less polished. I must not mislead the students."

Su Ze quickly took the paper, and after reading it, he slapped his thigh and said:
"Brother Rumo has extraordinary literary talent. If I had read your article earlier, I could have saved myself several years of detours in the imperial examinations!"

Even Shen Shixing felt elated when he heard Su Ze complimenting him like that.

This is the difference between people. People like Shen Yi Guan who is good at flattering people will just think it's normal. Others may even think that he is being neglectful if he is not enthusiastic.

Su Ze kept his distance from the ministers in the court and fought several battles with the imperial examination officials. Although his reputation is still mixed today, everyone from the prime minister to the minor officials acknowledged Su Ze's talent.

Being praised by Su Ze, Shen Shixing, who was so steady, was a little carried away. Su Ze said:

"Brother Rumo, this is my first time lecturing to the Crown Prince. Could I borrow your lecture notes?"

Su Ze naturally had to copy Shen Shixing's teaching plan.

Shen Shixing looked at Su Ze helplessly. Other officials in the imperial lectures tried their best to show themselves in front of the crown prince, but Su Ze was so unconcerned about the imperial lectures that he even copied his own notes.

But facing Su Ze's request, Shen Shixing could only whisper helplessly:

"All previous lecture notes are backed up in the Zhanshi Mansion. I'll go back and write another copy and have it delivered to Brother Zilin's residence tomorrow."

Just as a few people were chatting, there was a sudden commotion outside the history museum.

Shen Yikuan stood up immediately, and after a while, he returned to the public housing with a nervous expression.

"Oh no! Altan has raised an army and is besieging Datong!"

When they heard that Altan had raised an army, everyone present became nervous, and even Shen Shixing's face turned pale.

Su Ze was the first to calm down.

Before he traveled through time, there was no record of Altan Khan raising an army in history books.

It is possible that it was the butterfly effect of time travel, but it is more likely that this uprising did not achieve any special results and ended abruptly, so there is no record of it in history books.

When Su Ze was reading the memorials of the ministers in the Hanlin Academy, starting from the end of the Jiajing period, the Altan tribe would rise up in rebellion almost every year, but the only incident recorded in history was the Gengxu Incident in the 29th year of the Jiajing period.

This invasion was probably just another thunder and rain. Su Ze said to everyone:

"Altan's troops have surrounded Datong. Your Majesty will certainly call for a public discussion among the ministers. Brothers, please hurry and prepare your memorials!"

After hearing Su Ze's words, everyone reacted.

Just like the Gengxu Incident in the 29th year of Jiajing, a letter from Zhao Zhenji led him to his current position as prime minister.

This kind of public discussion by all ministers is equivalent to a national essay test with unified questions. It is the best way to see who has the higher level, and it is also the easiest opportunity for young ministers to come to the fore!
(End of this chapter)