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

Chapter 314 Even the Imperial Inspection Team Has Room for Maneuver
To make the acting more realistic, Shen Ye not only had tea with Nian Dongliang, but also specially went out for a meal.

As a result, by the time he returned to Yuqing Palace, it was already afternoon.

After exchanging a few words with Shi Jingrong and the others, Shen Ye returned to his study and silently opened the copy of the Analects that he had kept in his sleeve.

The Analects is only a little over a hundred pages long, but every page contains a name, and every page is a letter of loyalty.

Many of the names on this list were ones that Shen Ye was seeing for the first time.

But there were also some names he recognized!
For example, Zhang Jinsong, a senior official in the Court of Colonial Affairs; and a deputy prefect in Shuntian Prefecture...

After finishing reading a copy of the Analects, Shen Ye frowned slightly.

Because this book of the Analects records mostly officials of the fourth rank or below, and not a single one of them is of the fourth rank or above.

Was it because officials of the fourth rank and above did not need to write pledges of allegiance, or did Suo'etu simply not submit these pledges of allegiance to him?
Shen Ye pondered it quietly and leaned more towards the latter.

Although Suo'etu appeared to have seen through the ways of the world, Shen Ye still felt that his attitude had changed a little too quickly.

It was so fast it was unbelievable.

Shen Ye placed the Analects on the table and began to ponder.

The copy of the Analects that Songgotu gave him was, frankly speaking, a double-edged sword. Although it could intimidate and manipulate the officials who had written pledges of loyalty, making them obey him and use him for his own purposes, it was not the only thing that could be used.

However, if these things fall into the hands of Emperor Qianxi, they will become irrefutable evidence—irrefutable evidence that the Crown Prince is plotting a rebellion.

Shen Ye silently memorized the hundreds of names and official titles, then compared them with the Analects of Confucius. After confirming that there were no errors, he casually threw the Analects of Confucius into the brazier.

With a single spark, the Analects was reduced to ashes and vanished completely.

These pledges of allegiance seemed to hold the fate of those on the list in their hands, but in reality, they weren't that effective.

Those who were willing to write letters of allegiance valued the crown prince's position, which is why they were willing to risk their lives and fortunes.

Therefore, they will generally obey the orders I give them.

If any of them disobey, can one still take the letter of loyalty to Emperor Qianxi to complain?
Not at all.

Rather than keeping this menace around, it's better to burn it.

In any case, he had memorized the names and positions of these people.

It can be used anytime you need it later.

Moreover, these people would never know that what they cherished as their lives had long been burned by the Crown Prince.

Watching a book turn to ashes, Shen Ye sighed softly. He picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and thought of Suo'etu once again.

Will he really be content to retire?
Based on the fact that these letters of allegiance were from officials of the fourth rank or below, Shen Ye felt that the possibility was not very high.

However, once he arrives in Shengjing, even if he wanted to cause trouble, he probably wouldn't be able to stir up any waves.

Just then, Zhou Bao respectfully reported, "Your Highness, Lords Jin Wushan and Gao Youzhen of the Court of Colonial Affairs request an audience."

When Shen Ye heard that the two people were requesting an audience, he subconsciously frowned.

Although he still held the post of observing government affairs at the Court of Colonial Affairs, he rarely visited the Court of Colonial Affairs after returning from the Rehe Imperial Palace.

After all, nothing major has happened at the Court of Colonial Affairs recently.

What are these two people doing here all of a sudden?
"Please come to the living room for tea, gentlemen. I will be there shortly." Although Shen Ye did not want to put too much effort into the affairs of the Court of Colonial Affairs, since the people had come to him, he still had to see them.

After Zhou Bao left, Shen Ye fiddled with the fire to make sure the dust on the Analects book was completely gone before getting up and going to the living room.

As the crown prince, he certainly had the right to treat Jin Wushan and Gao Youzhen as equals.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Both Jin Wushan and Gao Youzhen held Shen Ye, the Crown Prince, in high esteem.

The Court of Colonial Affairs has encountered many difficulties during this period.

These seemingly thorny issues were all resolved effortlessly by the Crown Prince.

This greatly enhanced the status of the Court of Colonial Affairs in the capital.

As Shen Ye helped the two men up, he casually said, "Gentlemen, please feel free to tell me what's on your mind."

"We're old friends, so let's not beat around the bush."

Gao Youzhen and Jin Wushan exchanged a quick glance, and it was Jin Wushan, who was the Left Vice Minister, who spoke first: "Your Highness, we have come here to report on the matter of the Capital Inspection by the Court of Colonial Affairs."

Shen Ye paused for a moment when he heard "Beijing Inspection".

Because the matters of the capital inspection were basically handled by the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate, although officials below the fourth rank in the Court of Colonial Affairs were subject to the capital inspection, it seemed that this had nothing to do with the Court of Colonial Affairs.

What matters concerning the capital inspection do the Court of Colonial Affairs have to report?

After pondering for a moment, he turned to Jin Wushan and asked, "Is there anything we need to do regarding the capital inspection?"

Jin Wushan and Gao Youzhen's visit to Yuqing Palace was naturally pre-arranged.

Upon hearing Shen Ye's question, Jin Wushan said in a deep voice, "Your Highness, according to His Majesty's arrangement, the capital inspection is mainly conducted by the Ministry of Personnel and the Censorate."

"However, during each imperial examination in the capital, the heads of each ministry had to communicate with the Ministry of Personnel."

"During this exchange, we can agree on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the number of personnel in each department!"

At this point, Jin Wushan glanced at Gao Youzhen, his meaning clear: I've already said what I wanted to say, now it's your turn.

Gao Youzhen was a smart man. Now that he and Jin Wushan had come to Shen Ye's place, he couldn't let Jin Wushan fight alone.

Although there are some underlying issues that shouldn't be discussed with Crown Prince Shen Ye, now that they've been brought up, there's no need to hide them anymore.

"Your Highness, although according to the original intention of the capital inspection, those who should be dismissed should be dismissed, those who should be demoted should be demoted, and those who should be promoted should be promoted!"

"But if too many people are dismissed and too few are promoted, then it will not look good for the official in charge."

"Therefore, during the imperial examinations in the capital, each department would privately consult with the Ministry of Personnel."

Shen Ye understood Gao Youzhen's words immediately.

Isn't this blatant manipulation?
However, this is quite normal. If a department in charge dismisses more people than others, then under the same circumstances, if other departments dismiss fewer people, then the subordinates will have opinions about their superiors.

This shows that the leader is incompetent and unable to protect his own people.

This is how a powerful figure secures benefits for his subordinates before disaster strikes.

If a leader doesn't fight for what his subordinates want, then the leader's prestige will be ruined.

In the future, when you give orders, even if your subordinates don't openly disobey, they will inevitably procrastinate.

"How do you plan to discuss this with the Ministry of Personnel?" Shen Ye picked up his teacup, took a sip of tea, and asked with a smile.

Seeing that Shen Ye's expression was normal and she didn't seem angry, Gao Youzhen and Jin Wushan both breathed a sigh of relief.

What they were both afraid of was that the Crown Prince would take this matter too seriously.

Not only did they ignore their requests, they also suspected them of fabricating stories.

Now, instead of scolding them, the Crown Prince asked them what their next steps were.

“Your Highness, in the past, when we discussed matters with the Ministry of Personnel, it was always the Minister who did it.” Jin Wushan rubbed his hands and said with a smile, “Now that we don’t have a Minister in the Court of Colonial Affairs, in order to show that we attach great importance to this matter, we earnestly request Your Highness to step forward.”

Gao Youzhen stood up, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Highness, you are the head of our Court of Colonial Affairs. If you don't step in on this matter, we are afraid that the Ministry of Personnel will feel that we do not value them."

Shen Ye understood that Gao Youzhen and Jin Wushan probably felt that the two of them were not important enough, so they wanted to ask him, the Crown Prince who was overseeing the government, to step in.

The goal, of course, is to secure more excellent spots.

This is understandable, since personnel issues are always a battleground for all parties, and everyone wants to gain more benefits for themselves.

He nodded: "I have no problem with it."

"However, do you have any specific plans regarding how much share our Court of Colonial Affairs should strive for?"

Seeing that the Crown Prince readily agreed, Gao Youzhen and Jin Wushan were overjoyed.

Now that the Court of Colonial Affairs has no Minister, the pressure of the capital inspection rests on the two of them.

If this inspection goes wrong, the resentment of the subordinates will definitely fall on the two of them.

That's why they wanted to ask the Crown Prince to step in and take the blame.

“Your Highness, in the past, when the capital was inspected, the number of outstanding candidates in our Court of Colonial Affairs was no less than half, and the number of those who were dismissed for various reasons was also less than one-tenth.”

"As long as this standard can be maintained, I think no one will have any objections."

Half are excellent, the other half are dismissed!

In other words, 90% of the people from the Court of Colonial Affairs were able to pass the imperial examination safely this time.

Based on the number of officials in the Court of Colonial Affairs, that means dismissing three or four people.

This is not unacceptable.

Shen Ye nodded slightly and said, "Then I will talk to the Minister of Personnel as you two suggested. I haven't been to the Court of Colonial Affairs these days. Is there anything difficult to deal with?"

"Your Highness, everything is going smoothly in the courtyard."

"The envoys sent to contact the Ottoman Empire and other countries have also set off. The northern tribes and the snowy region are now at peace. This is all thanks to Your Highness!"

As soon as Jin Wushan arrived, he immediately began to flatter Shen Ye.

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Old Jin, don't just report the good news and not the bad. Besides, these things are all thanks to His Majesty's wisdom!"

Gao Youzhen hesitated for a moment and said, "Your Highness, as Lord Jin said, everything is going smoothly in our Court of Colonial Affairs. The main problem now is that the court has not paid salaries for five months."

"We can still hold on for a while."

"But there are quite a few complaints from the people below!"

Five months without salary?

Shen Ye frowned. Gao Youzhen and other high-ranking officials were still doing alms, so they lived a relatively comfortable life.

But those who are not in key positions don't get much extra income.

It's not easy to live in the capital. There are so many social obligations during holidays. If we don't get paid, we might really not be able to make ends meet.

Shen Ye was unwilling to take on this challenge.

After all, the distribution of salaries was a matter for the Ministry of Revenue, and his relationship with Ma Qi was only so-so.

He smiled and said, "This matter should be the concern of Ma Qi, the Minister of Revenue."

"If he doesn't pay his salary, you can write to His Majesty!"

I can't say much more.

　The first update of the day is here! Please support me, everyone!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)