King of Han Dynasty of Ming Dynasty

"How long will it take to complete the layout from Kyoto to the prefectures and counties of Daming?"

This is said.

Xie Jin was slightly stunned, then fell into deep thought, and did not answer the question immediately. It was not that he did not want to answer it directly, but he did not have enough confidence and certainty to give an accurate time point.

After all, the area involved is not limited to a certain place or location, but the entire vast territory of the Ming Dynasty. It is imperative that all arrangements be completed and perfect.

Xie Jin had no idea what would happen here, what would happen, and what kind of obstacles and resistance would exist. Even if there were no obstacles and resistance, the territory of the Ming Dynasty was so vast and the relationships here were so complicated that he would have to conduct on-site inspections in many places.

As far as the current situation is concerned, for Jie Jin, the selection of the so-called storytellers for this organization is actually the simplest task.

That's it.

After a long while, Xie Jin shook his head slightly and replied with a very serious expression:
"Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I'm sorry, I dare not make any big promises about this matter. Please give me an exact time point."

"The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and many regions are involved."

"Moreover, this matter involves the later plans of the prince and the crown prince. I dare not be careless and must be cautious. For this reason."

Xie Jin did not speak directly in the following words, but everyone was smart and naturally knew what the other party meant, and he also knew what the other party was concerned about.

to this end.

Zhu Gaoxu and Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi looked at each other, and then Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said:
"It should be easy to find a storyteller with a clean background."

"After all, there are not many people who can become storytellers who have interests connected with certain people in the court. Otherwise, they would definitely not end up as storytellers and become the lowest class of people."

"But there is one thing. In order to prevent these storytellers from being discovered by some people in the subsequent events, the storytellers we are looking for may be turned against us by some people and become the knife in the hands of others to stab us. We will make wedding clothes for others."

"When recruiting these storytellers, you must do this one thing. These storytellers must have a weak spot, and their families must take the initiative to be released to the court as hostages."

"Do you understand?"

“It also has to be possible to do.”

Having said this, Zhu Gaoxu paused, and his gaze towards Xie Jin suddenly became sharp and horrified, and he continued in a deep voice:
"That's what storytellers do."

"As the person in charge of this top-secret matter, you, Master Xie, must bear the brunt of it and must do so."

"Unknown Scholar"

"Any objection?"

Hearing this, Xie Jin could not help but take a breath of cold air. Requiring everyone to leave a hostage in the court to ensure their absolute loyalty to the court, what a shameless, despicable and cruel method!
I have no problem with this.

But if he thought about it carefully and savored the importance of this matter, Xie Jin could understand it.

The competition between the two forces involves so many people and interests. With so many interests entangled in it, one may very likely step into the abyss if one is not careful. It is understandable that they are so cautious and ruthless.

As he thought about it, Xie Jin nodded heavily to show his approval.

Seeing that everything had been settled, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaochi both nodded in satisfaction and asked:
"Master Xie, do you have any questions about this matter?"

"But there is something else that needs to be added. If so, please speak frankly."

"If not, then you can step back and think carefully about today's problem."

"Tomorrow, someone from the Jinyiwei who is responsible for this matter will contact you."

Xie Jin frowned slightly and pondered for a while, then shook his head, bowed respectfully and said:
"Your Highness, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I have no objection. Your Highness and the Prince have explained everything clearly enough. If there is anything I don't understand or am unsure about later, I will ask Your Highness and the Prince for advice."

"Wei Chen retire."

Say it.

Xie Jin bowed and retreated respectfully. He did not stay here any longer. He planned to go home and digest the shocking remarks he had heard in the Prince of Han's mansion today, and think carefully about what he should do and how to plan his subsequent actions.

Looking at the back figure disappearing at the gate, Zhu Gaoxu nodded slightly to Lao He at the gate of the courtyard, and Lao He's figure disappeared soon after. At this, the crown prince Zhu Gaochi who was sitting beside him had an imperceptible flash of brilliance in his eyes, and his pupils narrowed slightly.

Although the prince hid well enough, he did not escape Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, so he looked back with a somewhat intriguing expression on his face, staring at the prince with a smile, but did not say a word.

The prince felt a little uncomfortable being stared at, and a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face. He scratched his head and said:
"Second child"

"You...what do you mean by that look?"

"I'm telling you, don't think too much!"

"I don't have any intentions, let alone any ideas."

"Don't look at me like that, it's creepy."

After hearing what he said and looking at the Crown Prince with a disgusted look on his face, Zhu Gaoxu's expression of restraint disappeared. At this moment, he was shockingly calm and completely unpredictable. He replied:

"Do you have"

"Have you thought about it?"

"You better know it in your heart. At the same time, I hope that the boss can understand how serious the current situation is."

Having said this, Zhu Gaoxu stopped talking and did not say anything more. After all, they were all smart people. Not to mention that the current matter was stated so bluntly, even if it was not stated so bluntly, for smart people, sometimes a look or an expression was enough to explain many problems.

Here.

Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi smiled awkwardly and did not say anything more about the matter, because they were all smart people, and he knew better than anyone what he had been thinking or what little thoughts he had.

At the same time, he also secretly warned himself in his heart to think less about certain unnecessary things, warned himself not to be stupid in this matter, and not to do something that is thankless and may very likely tear the relationship between them apart.

Seeing that he didn't speak.

Zhu Gaoxu naturally did not dwell on this issue too much, and asked instead:
"Boss"

"The countermeasure strategy has been deployed."

"As for the reform of the imperial examination system, the compilation and reform of the imperial examination documents and books, I'm afraid we should also put it on the agenda as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, when Xie Jin completes the layout, we won't be able to keep up with the subsequent layout and arrangements, and then we'll make a fool of ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi immediately collected his thoughts, frowned slightly and pondered for a long time, then looked back and asked:
"Yes! This is indeed a problem."

"But for the current situation, do you have a suitable candidate? Who do you think can take on this important task?"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu looked back with interest and asked with a smile:
"Shouldn't you be responsible for this matter, Boss?"

"After all, who in the court doesn't know that the civil officials are your staunch supporters?"

"And such an important position, are you willing to give it up, Prince..."

"Let me intervene?"

"Aren't you afraid? Have I made any arrangements for it?"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

This is not something Zhu Gaoxu said nonsense.

Just now when Xie Jin left, he signaled with his eyes to let Lao He follow, and then the prince showed that look.

They are all smart people. Who doesn't know what Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was thinking in that moment?
Could anything good happen?
If I tell this to others, I'm afraid no one will believe it.

and so……

This involved the imperial examination and the selection of people to compile textbooks, and Zhu Gaoxu did not want to interfere in it.

After all, those in power are always suspicious, and he had no intention of gaining any benefits from this matter.

Why is it necessary to create unnecessary suspicion in this matter?
Moreover……

Just as Zhu Gaoxu said, most of the civil officials were supporters of the crown prince.

The prince must know better than anyone else who is loyal and who is treacherous here.

Naturally, there is no need for him to waste his time and energy to figure out the matter.

He has already invested so much energy in this matter.

It's time to let this prince in front of us use some of his strength.

Don't let him always push others to do everything, do things behind the scenes and in front of others, and still be the bad guy.

The prince hid behind the scenes to enjoy the fruits of victory, and he always had selfish motives of one kind or another, as if he wanted to do something or had some kind of conspiracy.

This move is totally unnecessary.

Hear this.

Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi also understood instantly that his subconscious action just now had made the King of Han unhappy, or in other words, he had other ideas, so he suppressed his restlessness and said with a smile:

"Ugh……"

"Second brother, this isn't something that happens here, don't you have more experience?"

"Besides, you were the one who brought this up."

"I think based on what is happening right now, you must have had your own considerations in advance."

"Don't worry about who to choose, or who is qualified for this position."

"Let's brainstorm and tell us what we think. What do you think?"

"And... before that."

"Didn't you talk to Jin Zhong about this?"

"Why don't you tell me what you talked about with Jin Zhong, or what kind of advice and ideas Jin Zhong gave you."

"In this courtyard, there are only the two of us brothers, and no outsiders are here. Let's discuss this matter and speak freely without any scruples, right?"

"What do you think?"

This is really too nice to say.

However, this matter, when mentioning the old guy Jin Zhong, made Zhu Gaoxu think of the words the two had said in Jin Zhong's house before, and what Jin Zhong had promised him. Those words were also very nice, but after such a long time, this old guy didn't react at all, and didn't give him any response.

Especially yesterday in the court, the old man's attitude made Zhu Gaoxu feel even more resentful.

As for the old fellow Jin Zhong, he could act like this. If nothing unexpected happened, he had turned a deaf ear to all the previous promises. He should also be concerned about the situation on the prince's side, so he has not intervened and is unwilling to be involved in it.

It just so happened that the prince mentioned this issue here.

It would be a good idea to let the prince have a good talk with Jin Zhong, his hometown, and let these two foxes fight each other.

to this end.

Zhu Gaoxu did not answer the question directly, but looked at the prince who was staring at him, and said with a smile:

"puff"

"Boss, please stop playing dumb with me on this matter."

"Don't tell me what we said to Jin Zhong that time, what we thought and did. I don't believe that given the attitude of that old guy Jin Zhong towards you and his intelligence, he would hide this from you and not tell you what we said to him and what we talked about."

"So, Boss"

"When I'm being asked to be honest with you, why do you have to hide things from me and try to get me to talk? What's the point?"

"Is this what you call honesty and cooperation?"

"Of course. A dog will always eat shit. You are just that kind of person. I can understand that."

"But now that I've come to this, if you still do this, you're not only pretending to be stupid, but you're also treating me like a fool."

"If that's the case"

"Boss, I have to reconsider our relationship and cooperation, or whether it is necessary for me to help you or assist you here."

This statement came out.

The prince's face suddenly changed, and his expression became extremely serious. He waved his hands repeatedly and said hurriedly:
"hey hey"

"Don't, don't, don't"

"Second brother, second brother, this is meaningless!"

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, glared at the prince with disdain, and asked with a chuckle:
"Not interesting?"

"Boss, please understand, is it meaningless that I did this?"

"Didn't you make them first?"

"Why, you are the only one allowed to disgust others, but I am not allowed to fight back or express my own opinions?"

“Oh.”

"You are truly worthy of being the prince!"

"As expected of the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, he is extremely domineering and powerful!"

"Boss, you are really capable"

"Okay okay okay"

"Then I won't say anything. I don't care. I can't afford to offend you, but can't I just hide from you?"

"It's up to you. Do whatever you want. I'll just watch and cheer you on from the sidelines."

"Come on. I'm rooting for you!" (End of this chapter)