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

Chapter 215 Even if the sky falls, the Crown Prince is the tallest.

After the court session ended, Aling returned to the yamen with a dark face, feeling extremely frustrated!
To be honest, he really didn't want to come back. Given his rank, it would take him another two or three years to become a Grand Secretary, and now was the time for him to rest.

But now, he has no choice but to come.

Because the Court of Colonial Affairs is in trouble!
Thinking that after the court assembly, Emperor Qianxi would summon him and give him a severe scolding, he felt a pang of discomfort.

His Majesty the Emperor is too difficult to please!

Initially, he chose Keleng Monastery as the candidate for the Dharma King, but His Majesty disagreed.
To cater to Emperor Qianxi's wishes, he chose Zhedan Temple.

Unfortunately, His Majesty still disagreed, simply stating: "Think about it again."

Should we find another one?

Although Alinga wasn't as cunning as Zhang Ying or Ma Qi, those two old foxes, he was at least quite clever.

If we compromise and choose a new Dharma King, wouldn't that be pointless?

So at that moment, he was in great pain.

"Have you heard? The Crown Prince is now telling everyone he meets that Orondai owes him 60,000 taels of silver."

"I've heard about it too. It's really difficult for the Crown Prince to collect this debt!"

"Your Highness is truly brilliant. The entire capital is now talking about Orondai's failure to repay his debts. I've even heard that some people are secretly criticizing the Tong family."

"It's best to avoid dealing with this kind of untrustworthy person in the future!"

……

Just as she was getting annoyed, the gossip outside reached her ears, and Aling couldn't help but frown.

Their clan had always been in a competitive relationship with the lineage of Suo'etu, so he had never had any goodwill towards the crown prince.

Because his deceased sister and the crown prince's mother were rivals.

Now, he has someone he supports.

Therefore, the crown prince is the one they want to overthrow.

Orondai owes the Crown Prince money and hasn't paid it back. He really hopes the Crown Prince will show some backbone and give Orondai a good beating.

In this way, everything is perfect.

However, the Crown Prince keeps nagging everyone he meets about Orondai, saying that he still owes me 60,000 taels of silver!

This may seem like a casual remark, but it's something we say every day.

If this continues, Orondai will basically be unable to face anyone.

As for the Crown Prince...

Aside from making people think the crown prince is a bit obsessive, there doesn't seem to be anything special about him.

While pondering this, Aling'a went to her duty room, drank a couple of sips of water, and then summoned the two vice ministers of the Court of Colonial Affairs.

Although he was the one being scolded, he couldn't keep taking the scolding all the time.

"My lords, the Emperor is not satisfied with the solutions we have come up with. He wants us to come up with a new plan."

"I beg you two gentlemen to help me think carefully and see if we can come up with a better solution?"

"If there's no better way, I'll have to ask His Majesty for permission to leave."

Aling'a's words sounded very polite, but the implication was clear: if you can't come up with a solution, then you might as well all get punished together!

If I ask for leave from the Emperor, you will be the ones who get scolded.

In fact, Gao Youzhen was also very troubled by this matter.

As the Vice Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, he had been trying to come up with a solution, but the problem was, he couldn't think of one!

He remained calm in the face of Aling'a's seemingly polite words, which were actually laced with hidden malice, after all, he ranked third in the Court of Colonial Affairs.

Even if Alinga is ill, he still has a Left Vice Minister above him, so he is not too worried.

Left Vice Minister Jin Wushan was in his fifties. With his thin face, he gave people a very sharp and mean feeling.

The reason this person was able to become the Left Vice Minister was entirely because he was also a member of the imperial family.

Although he was quite distant from Emperor Qianxi's lineage, he wasn't particularly afraid of Aling'a.

"Your Excellency, I think I have already considered all the possible solutions."

You can only choose one of the two.

"How can we have the best of both worlds?"

"If you ask me, Lord Aling, you don't need to worry. As the saying goes, even if the sky falls, there are always tall people to hold it up. Our Court of Colonial Affairs is overseen by His Highness the Crown Prince."

"Why don't you ask His Highness the Crown Prince for a decision, my lord?"

Upon hearing Jin Wushan's words, Gao Youzhen felt even more wary of his colleague.

This guy usually seems harmless, but when it comes to swindling people, he's ruthless.

The so-called request for the Crown Prince to make a decision is, in reality, just a way to pass this hot potato to the Eastern Palace and shift the responsibility onto the Crown Prince!

Although the Crown Prince was in charge of observing the government, as a subordinate, how could I dare to only let the Crown Prince watch without saying anything?

Therefore, we dare not make decisions on our own initiative regarding the Court of Colonial Affairs; we can only ask His Highness the Crown Prince to make the decision.

When Alinga heard Jin Wushan's suggestion, her eyes lit up.

He was so preoccupied with figuring out how to solve the problem that he completely forgot about the Crown Prince observing government affairs at the Court of Colonial Affairs!
Now, why should I shoulder this burden when it's something that can't satisfy Emperor Qianxi no matter what?
"We might as well go find the Crown Prince!" He hesitated for a moment and said, "Lord Jin is right. His Majesty has allowed the Crown Prince to observe government affairs in our Court of Colonial Affairs, so he is the master of our Court of Colonial Affairs."

"How can we make decisions on our own when it comes to anything?"

“Lord Jin, why don’t you go to Yuqing Palace and report this matter to the Crown Prince?”

Jin Wushan was a cunning fox. Since he made such a suggestion, he naturally knew that if he went to the Crown Prince with such a matter, he would be risking his life and walking into the line of fire.

So he smiled and said, "I will naturally comply with the arrangements made by the Minister."

"However, I'm afraid that my rank is not high enough. If I rashly go to see the Crown Prince, he might feel that our Court of Colonial Affairs has neglected him and is not respectful enough."

"So he won't even see me!"

"If the Crown Prince were to have such a thought, it would be a losing proposition!"

Jin Wushan's words left Alinga with no way out.

He glanced at Gao Youzhen again and said, "Lord Gao, has the Crown Prince not yet decided when to come to our Court of Colonial Affairs?"

“No,” Gao Youzhen said solemnly. “The Crown Prince only said that he would have someone notify us once the time was confirmed.”

Although Aling'a didn't want to go to Yuqing Palace, she made her decision immediately after thinking about the scolding she received in front of Emperor Qianxi today.

"My lords, let's go to Yuqing Palace together and report this matter to the Crown Prince."

Gao Youzhen and Jin Wushan both knew that this matter could not be delayed, so neither of them objected to Aling'a's arrangement.

In about half an hour, the two arrived at Yuqing Palace.

However, to the three's surprise, upon arriving at Yuqing Palace, the Crown Prince was meeting with Yu Chenglong, the Governor of the Fast Passage, and they had to wait.

The palace staff at Yuqing Palace were very hospitable to them, offering not only tea but also snacks.

"My lords, tell me, which section of the next expressway should be built?" Aling'a asked casually while sipping her tea.

He cares about this because he also wants to make a move in this area.

After all, this business has increased more than threefold in a year; who wouldn't be envious?

Although Aling'a is not short of money, his household is also a large family, and as the head of the household, he cannot just sit around and do nothing.

"I've heard that the officials in Jiangnan intend to build a fast passage from Yangzhou to Shuntian Prefecture," Jin Wushan said with a smile, taking a sip of tea.

Gao Youzhen had served as an official in Jiangnan and knew the situation there very well. He said in a deep voice, "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to handle."

"I heard that the canal transport authorities have submitted a memorial stating that the canal transport is the lifeblood of millions of canal workers, and that promoting the fast track might cause instability among the canal workers."

Hearing this, Aling'a couldn't help but say, "What utter nonsense! Have the people in the canal transport office lost their minds? Just because they need to eat doesn't mean everyone else has to go hungry!"

Jin Wushan also cursed, "Some people aren't stupid, they're just evil!"

"They were afraid that the fast lane would encroach on their interests, so they deliberately incited the canal workers to resist the fast lane."

“Our Emperor is not someone who can be easily threatened.”

Although Gao Youzhen cursed the memorial from the Grand Canal Transport Office in his heart, he also knew that no matter how passionately these two officials spoke, they might not necessarily speak up for the Grand Canal Transport Office in court.

Didn't he himself also receive a request from his fellow students to help stop the construction of a fast passage from Nanjing to Yangzhou?
While the three were talking, Shen Ye was also listening to Yu Chenglong's report.

What Yu Chenglong was talking about was the fast route from Yangzhou to Yingtianfu.

Those who wanted to build this expressway were some big merchants from Yangzhou, after all, Yangzhou and Yingtian Prefecture were both prosperous places in the world.

If this expressway is completed, the toll revenue alone will be enormous.

However, Yangzhou is also the starting point of the Grand Canal, and the Grand Canal Administration was afraid that if this fast passage were built, a large chunk of the canal transport would be cut off.

This is just the beginning. If the fast passage between Shuntian Prefecture and Yingtian Prefecture is fully opened, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner's Office will be in a very awkward situation.

The Crown Prince proposed building a fast route from Shuntian Prefecture to Yingtian Prefecture, and they didn't have time to stop him. But now, they are determined to fight to the death for the road from Yangzhou to Yingtian Prefecture.

After all, they couldn't let others take away the interests of their canal transport office!
“Your Highness, if we can’t build this road in Yangzhou, then it will be difficult to advance the construction of other roads.”

Yu Chenglong solemnly said, "The so-called 'one-shot deal' means that many businessmen, even if they are willing to invest, will still have concerns about the canal transport authorities."

"They'll back down if they feel the risk is too high!"

Shen Ye really didn't expect that the construction of the expressway would involve the Grand Canal Administration.

Although he had never been in contact with the Grand Canal Administration, the mere phrase "the fate of millions of canal workers rests on this" was enough to make Emperor Qianxi give it serious consideration.

However, he did not give Yu Chenglong an answer immediately, but smiled and said, "Lord Yu, you should report this matter to His Majesty more often. I will also consider it."

After discussing the operation of the expressway with Yu Chenglong, Shen Ye finally heard some good news: after more than two months of trial runs, the cement seemed to have been produced.

This was originally a report attached by Yu Chenglong, but it surprised and delighted Shen Ye.

He understands the role of cement better than anyone else; once cement is made, it will bring about a revolutionary change.

So his first thought was to go and see.

However, Alinga and the others had been waiting for a long time, and it seemed a bit unreasonable for him not to see them.

In the end, Shen Ye could only arrange a time with Yu Chenglong and then have someone invite Aling'a and the others over.

After the greetings, before Aling'a could speak, Shen Ye said, "Aling'a, have you seen Orondai these past two days? He still owes me 60,000 taels of silver!"

Hearing this, Aling and Zhen were at a loss for words!

　The second update for today is here! I desperately need your votes at the beginning of the month, so please vote!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)