The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 145 The Crown Prince is still too young

Prince Yu had always been an object of Emperor Qianxi's attention.

On the surface, he always complied with and obeyed his older brother's every request.

But secretly, she harbored a hundred worries about her older brother.

After all, from the perspective of brothers, he is the younger brother, and the older brother has a higher priority to inherit the throne.

In other respects, they were both sons born out of wedlock, and neither was more noble than the other.

So, this older brother is a thorn in his heart, one that he can neither hold onto nor remove.

However, most of the time, he showed his magnanimity and generosity, so that everyone knew that Emperor Qianxi was a filial son to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, and a good brother who respected his elder brother very much.

However, he was never at ease with this person who could threaten his throne.

Fortunately, Fuquan's abilities are average, and he is also a bit greedy.

This was exactly what Emperor Qianxi wanted; he did not want his elder brother to become a virtuous prince.

A wise and virtuous king is too easily transformed into an emperor!

Fortunately, my brother only wanted to be a rich man.

This time, the Qianxi Emperor was in a very difficult position regarding the Ministry of Revenue's outstanding debt.

He didn't want to be known as someone who had to collect debts for his brother, but there was no money in Taicang, so he couldn't do anything.

If it weren't for the Crown Prince's ingenious idea of ​​creating a national debt, he wouldn't know how to clean up the mess.

Therefore, we can't just give up this money.

After all, that's close to eight million taels of silver!
He knew the purpose of Prince Yu's invitation, but he didn't remind the Crown Prince. He just wanted to see what the Crown Prince would do.

In a way, this could be considered a test for the crown prince.

Zhao Chang seemed to know that this was something Emperor Qianxi was concerned about, so the information from the banquet was sent very promptly.

Seeing his brother pretending to be poor, Emperor Qianxi cursed inwardly.

Of course, no matter what, he's still his own brother, so he wouldn't go so far as to curse his ancestors!
He knew everything about Fuquan's family's finances and also knew that his brother used to use gold cups inlaid with rubies when he held banquets.

Now, they're actually serving the Crown Prince with rough porcelain cups that even ordinary servants in the Prince's mansion don't use! It's really...

Seeing Fuquan weeping bitterly at the banquet, Emperor Qianxi felt even more agitated.

It's not like you, Fuquan, don't have the money to pay your debts. The reason you're putting on an act is just to gain sympathy and prevent the Crown Prince from pressing for repayment!

You're practically halfway to the grave, how come your old face has become so thick-skinned?
However, this situation is indeed a headache.

The reason why Emperor Qianxi didn't want to collect the debts himself was because he was afraid that his two brothers would pull this stunt on him.

As a benevolent ruler, in a situation of utter helplessness, he might have to find a way to clean up the mess left by his two brothers.

When the Crown Prince stepped forward and promised not to pressure Prince Yu to pay the debt, Emperor Qianxi couldn't help but throw the memorial in his hand to the ground.

Silly son!
They seem to have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, like a hornet's nest, so how did they end up falling for their trap?

Why don't you use some platitudes and stall for time?
At the very least, you can't say things like you can't get the money from Prince Yu's family to collect the debt. If you don't go after Prince Yu, how will the others pay?
This grand plan to collect the debt has been ruined in an instant by your foolish son!
However, in his anger, Emperor Qianxi picked up the memorial again and read it carefully, thinking to himself that the options left for the Crown Prince were probably not many.

His two brothers were indeed too difficult to deal with.

However, he was furious that the Ministry of Revenue's debt collection, which he had been so hopeful about, had turned into this mess.

If we don't get our money back this time, we're in for a tough time next time too!
Are we really just going to suffer this in silence?
"Liang Jiugong, have the Crown Prince come to see me today... tomorrow morning!" Emperor Qianxi coldly ordered Liang Jiugong.

He changed the date to tomorrow because he was afraid that the crown prince would drink too much and then behave improperly in front of the emperor when he came to see him.

However, the more Emperor Qianxi thought about it, the angrier he became.

He felt particularly distressed when he saw the requests in the memorials for reductions in taxes and provisions.

You don't know the cost of living until you're in charge of the household! That silly son of yours, he's an idiot!

Emperor Qianxi held back his anger until the next morning. After paying his respects to the Empress Dowager, he waited for Shen Ye to arrive.

Following Liang Jiugong's report, Shen Ye soon arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

"Your subject greets Your Majesty," Shen Ye said respectfully, bowing respectfully.

Emperor Qianxi chuckled coldly, "Your Highness was quite impressive yesterday, actually having Prince Yu and Prince Gong express their gratitude to you."

The sarcasm in those words was obvious even without careful consideration, and Shen Ye wasn't surprised that Emperor Qianxi knew about the situation at the time.

After all, Emperor Qianxi already had a team of spies monitoring all directions.

He smiled and said, "Father, it is not your son who is thanking the two princes, but silver."

"Your subject does not have such a high status."

Emperor Qianxi stood up abruptly, and said angrily, "So you know it's silver!"

"Tell me, since you promised not to go to those two families to collect the debt, what are you going to do about the remaining debt?"

"The Ministry of Revenue's treasury has no silver; how are we supposed to survive?"

Shen Ye wanted to say that life should go on as it is, but he had come prepared with a solution.

So he wasn't angry. Instead, he smiled and said, "Father, the two princes have actually wasted their time. I never intended to ask them to collect the debt."

"Are you going to forgive their debts?" Emperor Qianxi looked at the seemingly nonchalant Crown Prince, a strange thought stirring within him.

The Crown Prince's composure suggests that he may have been prepared all along.

"Father, I do not intend to forgive their debts. In fact, I do not intend to go to the homes of any debtors to collect their debts." Shen Ye said, taking out a memorial from his hand. "This is my proposal on the handling of the Ministry of Revenue's debts. I request Your Majesty's approval."

Emperor Qianxi took the memorial and saw that it contained a piece of elegant small regular script.

Upon seeing these words, Emperor Qianxi knew that they were not written by the Crown Prince.

The crown prince's handwriting was equally vigorous and powerful; clearly, it was not written by him.

This writing must have been done by a woman.

Upon seeing these words, Emperor Qianxi inwardly snorted.

If this rebellious son had any ability, then everything would be fine.

If you have nothing, don't blame me for being impolite!
He looked closely at the memorial and saw that it read "Measures for Handling Unpaid Silver in Taicang".

The opening states: Those who fail to repay their debts are considered defaulters; those who consistently default are considered long-term deadbeats! ...

Upon seeing these words, Emperor Qianxi felt a surge of satisfaction.

These guys nominally owe the national treasury money, but in reality, it's all their own money!
What they owe is all my money!
Emperor Qianxi quickly read through it, and in the blink of an eye, he had finished reading the document, which contained only a little over a thousand words.

The memorial was short, but it contained valuable information.

Because it contains punishments for debtors who refuse to pay their debts.

For example, if an official owes money and doesn't repay it, that's considered a sign of low character. Such a person, while not necessarily dismissed, is barred from promotion, demoted one grade in annual performance reviews, forbidden from riding in a sedan chair, forbidden from dining out, and even more drastically, forbidden from having their family members take the imperial examinations…

The reason for this prohibition is quite clear: low moral character!
For the nobles who borrowed money, they were not afraid of the assessment, but what they feared was the inheritance of their titles. This decree clearly stated that any noble who refused to repay the money would not be punished in this generation, but the next generation would inherit the title at a lower rank.

In other words, you were originally a prince, but by the time your son inherits a count's title, you'll be lucky.

This immediately reduced the succession of titles by a huge margin.

A smile flashed in Emperor Qianxi's eyes as he looked at the memorial.

However, he felt that this proposal still had flaws.

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(End of this chapter)