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

Chapter 238 Spies Everywhere Are Dead but Not Dead

Viscount Nicholas was a little confused at this moment!
This mission was completely different from what he had imagined!

He had originally thought that this mission would be a grand and impressive affair, but the current situation made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

The Crown Prince of the Great Zhou not only showed up, but also killed his Cossack cavalry!

That's not the most critical issue. The most critical issue is the "anti-Rakshasa alliance" that the prince mentioned!
There was something he knew very well: last year, in the war with the Northern Anning Empire, his expeditionary force suffered a major setback and was completely wiped out.

Right now, the Anning Empire is poised to strike, ready to retaliate.

As for the Ottoman Empire, it hated its own country even more.

Why? The reason is simple: it's because their own country has been like a bloodsucking leech, constantly encroaching on other countries' territory, and has long since offended the Ottoman Empire.

Although the Ottoman Empire has its own problems, it may not be able to defeat the Russians in a one-on-one fight.

However, if this so-called "anti-Russian alliance" were to actually emerge, the Ottomans would definitely not stand idly by.

They'll enthusiastically "step in" and lend a hand to their allies—that's the bare minimum!
Viscount Nicholas arrived full of confidence, believing he could extort a hefty sum from him.

But now it seems I might have been overthinking things.

He suddenly realized that he was the one who was teetering on the brink of collapse and in a precarious situation.

In a flash, he said in a deep voice, "It seems that we misjudged this matter."

"Don't worry, let me find out what's going on."

"There might be some unexpected gains."

Glev vaguely knew that Viscount Nicholas and his group also had friends within the Great Zhou Dynasty.

However, he didn't know who this friend was.

But judging from Viscount Nicholas's demeanor, his friend's status is probably not low.

"Viscount, this place is surrounded like an iron barrel, how are we supposed to find out what's going on?" Glev said worriedly, looking at the increasing number of soldiers around him.

Viscount Nicholas did not answer the question directly, but said calmly, "Wherever there are people, there will be loopholes."

"Do not worry!"

To Gleev's dismay, that very evening, Viscount Nicholas found a note sealed in a reed inside the fish he had eaten.

The note contained only one line: "The superiors have no intention of fighting!"

The note was written in Russian, so it was clear that the person who wrote it had studied the Russian language.

Upon seeing this short note, Viscount Nicholas felt much more at ease.

As long as the emperor doesn't want war, everything is negotiable.

He immediately said to Gleev, "Gleev, go and have someone write a protest saying that we have been treated very unfriendly."

"Our Rakshasa Kingdom is very disappointed with this negotiation."

What Viscount Nicholas was unaware was that the Crown Prince's forceful methods had already become the talk of the town throughout the capital!

The Rakshasa Kingdom has always been a hidden danger to the imperial court in the north!
However, the north is covered in ice and snow, and the Cossack cavalry of the Russian Kingdom are like bandits, appearing and disappearing like the wind, making them difficult to find. This is why the Great Zhou Dynasty was helpless against the Russian Kingdom.

This time, taking advantage of Emperor Qianxi's birthday, the people of the Rakshasa Kingdom wanted to swallow up another 500 li of land in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty, making the Great Zhou court and people grit their teeth in hatred.

Emperor Qianxi always considered himself the greatest emperor of all time!
Throughout history, there has never been a wise ruler who was taken advantage of!
The reason he was unwilling to break ties with the Russian Kingdom recently was entirely because the losses from the campaign against Galdan were too great, and the Ministry of Revenue was empty.

Putting aside everything else, they couldn't even come up with disaster relief funds, which shows just how poor the imperial court had become.

To secure the northern border, he even tolerated the fact that his beloved fifth princess was kicked to death by her husband, but the crown prince immediately killed the other side's entourage.

And it wasn't just one person they killed, but several.

This immediately angered Emperor Qianxi.

Recently, he felt that the Crown Prince was very methodical in his work, which is why he entrusted this matter to the Crown Prince.

His purpose was to test the crown prince's abilities.

But to his surprise, the crown prince was incredibly fierce.

There are advantages to doing this, the biggest being that it saves you face.

But he needs more than just that!
What he wanted was to subdue the enemy without fighting and suppress the aggressive momentum of the Rakshasa Kingdom.

Instead of the crown prince killing the person outright.

While this seems like a good plan, the consequences would be dire if the Rakshasa Kingdom went to war...

Just as Emperor Qianxi was feeling troubled, someone rushed over and reported, "Your Majesty, First-Class Duke Aling'a requests an audience."

Although Aling'a was no longer the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, he was still a first-class duke.

His elder sister was Emperor Qianxi's empress and his elder sister was Emperor Qianxi's concubine. It can be said that he had a very close relationship with Emperor Qianxi.

By all accounts, he was the tenth prince's maternal uncle.

So although he lost his position, he still held considerable influence.

Upon hearing "Aling Alai," Emperor Qianxi became somewhat impatient.

This guy is probably here to confess again; I really don't want to see him.

However, considering that this person had served as the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs for a period of time and had had many dealings with the Russian Empire in the past.

Now that the Crown Prince has arbitrarily killed the people of the Rakshasa Kingdom, I should listen to his opinion.

He said in a deep voice, "Let him in."

Facing Emperor Qianxi, Aling'a appeared extremely respectful. He bowed respectfully to the emperor and said, "This servant Aling'a greets Your Majesty."

Emperor Qianxi did not give his brother-in-law, whom he had dismissed from his post, a friendly look. He said indifferently, "Get up."

"Weren't you supposed to be resting and recuperating at home lately? Why did you rush over to see me like this?"

Aling'a, who made a living under Emperor Qianxi, had naturally considered the personality of his brother-in-law.

He said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I have been diligently studying at home these past few days, following your instructions."

"While studying, I realized that I had done some things that were a bit too much, so I have come to apologize to Your Majesty."

Seeing that Aling'a was completely convinced and regretted his actions, Emperor Qianxi nodded.

Although Alinga has many shortcomings, he is, after all, one of her brothers-in-law.

They were much better off than the Songgotu family.

In a flash, he said to Aling, "You know you're wrong and can correct it, which means you haven't wasted your time studying. Go back and study for a while longer before you start working again."

Hearing this, Aling'a felt quite disappointed.

He wasn't thinking about reading more books; he was thinking about getting his official position back as soon as possible.

However, Emperor Qianxi clearly did not want to give him this opportunity.

However, he did not expect that a single sentence would be enough for Emperor Qianxi to reinstate him to his original position.

He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, your words have touched my heart. I also wish to study for another six months before serving Your Majesty again."

"But regarding the matter of the Rakshasa Kingdom this time, I feel that even though I only have a little bit of a foolish opinion, I should still tell Your Majesty."

"If I don't tell you, I will feel I have let you down."

Upon hearing Aling'a's account of the Rakshasa Kingdom, Emperor Qianxi immediately became serious.

He turned to Aling'a and asked, "What do you think about the situation in the Rakshasa Kingdom?"

"Your Majesty, I have heard about what the Crown Prince did this time. From my perspective, the Crown Prince did a very good job, very manly, and it greatly boosted our morale."

Aling'a praised him three times in a row, but Emperor Qianxi's lips twitched slightly as he listened.

This Ah Ling is still the same as always.

Although he has learned to be much more tactful, he hasn't given up the skill of speaking with hidden barbs.

His comments all sounded like compliments, but in reality, he only said one thing: that the Crown Prince had acted rashly in this matter.

Emperor Qianxi was pleased to have some people oppose the crown prince before he died.

He cannot be left all alone.

He didn't want to be Li Yuan, he didn't want to be Li Longji!

Although these two are very famous in history, as can be seen from the Old Book of Tang, they lived a very difficult life.

Like Li Longji, who was once so arrogant and domineering.

If you want to turn your daughter-in-law into a concubine, then you can just snatch her away.

Who dared to fart?

But what happens after he becomes the retired emperor? Even a chief eunuch can humiliate him.

I can't live the life of Li Longji.

He remained silent, waiting for Alinga to continue.

Aling'a understood Emperor Qianxi's temperament well. She knew that if he remained silent and waited for her to speak, it meant that he did not object to her opinion on this matter.

So he continued, “Your Majesty, the Rakshasa Kingdom is different from other small tribes. They have hundreds of thousands of troops, and their weaponry is also very advanced.”

"Although we are not afraid of them, their terrain is treacherous and easy to defend, making it difficult to attack. If we were to start a war with them, it would probably be a long time."

"Now that we have just defeated Galdan, it is time for us to recuperate, and the timing is not very good."

"Therefore, I volunteered to have a good talk with the envoy from the Rakshasa Kingdom and try my best to maintain the agreements we signed with the Rakshasa Kingdom in the past."

Looking at Aling'a kneeling on the ground, Emperor Qianxi understood that Aling'a was doing this because she wanted to be reinstated to her original position.

He was not opposed to appointing Aling'a as the Minister of the Court of Colonial Affairs, after all, he and Aling'a had a very close relationship.

Although he made a mistake, his willingness to make amends is acceptable.

However, considering the Crown Prince's actions, he felt that the Crown Prince was not a reckless person, and under such circumstances, he should listen to what the Crown Prince had to say.

He smiled and said, "Ah Ling, I am very pleased that you have the heart to share my worries."

"How about this, I'll discuss this matter when I'm holding court at Qianqing Gate tomorrow. Why don't you come along?"

Alinga was not surprised that he was not immediately reinstated to his original position.

Being able to participate in the court proceedings at Qianqing Gate was, in effect, an opportunity given to him by the Qianxi Emperor.

If I seize this opportunity, my comeback can be expected in no time.

So he said respectfully, "This servant thanks Your Majesty for your grace. From now on, this servant will do his utmost to serve you and never let Your Majesty down."

Emperor Qianxi waved for Aling'a to leave, and his gaze fell in the direction of Yuqing Palace.

Will the Crown Prince come to report this in a timely manner after such an incident?

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(End of this chapter)