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

Chapter 323 A big problem can be minimized, but a small problem can also be magnified.
Someone is causing trouble at Yuqing Bank!
My God, is this guy crazy?!
As soon as Li Chunmo turned his head, he heard someone shout loudly, "This is our Grand Secretary's salary book. Why are you preventing us from receiving our salaries?"

"Let me tell you, if you don't get this salary out of me right now, I'll show you what it means to look down on people!"

"Grandpa's fist is specifically designed to beat up dogs!"

The speaker was a middle-aged man in his forties with a small mustache, and his hand was tightly gripping the collar of a young teller.

That attitude was incredibly arrogant.

Li Chunmo recalled the polite demeanor of the teller who had greeted him earlier, and then looked at the arrogant and aggressive man in front of him, and immediately understood a thing or two.

His first instinct was to help the teller out of the predicament.

After all, in his view, the teller hadn't done anything wrong at all.

"Chunmo, what are you trying to do?" The middle-aged man who had just been talking to Li Chunmo stepped forward and grabbed him.

"Go and break up the fight!" Li Chunmo said with a hint of anger in his voice. "The teller didn't do anything wrong. She was just following the rules."

"Does this person really think there is no law in the world? He's so arrogant."

"Are you crazy!" the middle-aged man said in a low voice. "Let me remind you, this arrogant fellow is Tong San, a close follower of Grand Secretary Tong! In the capital, even high-ranking officials don't dare to provoke him."

"Aren't you just asking for trouble by going up there?"

Upon hearing that he was Tong Guowei's close associate, Li Chunmo immediately stopped in his tracks.

Although he was an upright person, he also knew that he had to act within his power when it came to righting wrongs.

If you offend the wrong person, not only will you suffer, but you may also implicate your family.

Although he was quite famous as a reader in the Hanlin Academy, he was nothing in the eyes of others.

At this moment, even though the teller's collar was being ripped off, he still smiled and explained, "Sir, our Yuqing Bank pays salaries in accordance with the imperial court's regulations."

"To prevent anyone from claiming the prize fraudulently, the imperial court stipulates that it is best for the officials to come and claim it in person."

"If someone really can't come, their immediate family member must come with the adult's badge and seal, provided they are authorized to do so."

"You only have your salary book, not a badge or seal to prove your identity. Besides, you're not a direct relative of Grand Secretary Tong, so I really..."

Unfortunately, this Tong San is not one to reason with people.

He raised his hand and slapped the teller several times across the face without any hesitation.

"You keep talking about rules and regulations, who do you think you are? Who do you think you are?!"

Tong San arrogantly shouted, "Don't even mention your Yuqing Bank, I can walk into the lobby of the Ministry of Justice whenever I want and wander around as I please!"

"Hmph, you're like a pig with a scallion stuck in its nose, trying to act like an elephant!"

"Give me the money now, or I'll beat you to death!"

More and more officials gathered at the entrance to watch the commotion, and just as things were getting out of hand, Erlengtai, who was maintaining order, led his men in and rushed in.

"Stop!" Erengtai shouted angrily when he saw the teller being beaten.

Tong San glanced at Erengtai, paused slightly, and then raised his voice again, "This guard, you be the judge!"

"I, Tong San, have been following my family's Grand Scholar Tong for decades!"

"Not to mention the people in Beijing, even among the governors and viceroys from all sides, who doesn't know me, Tong San?"

"I'm here to collect my master's salary, why can't I? Isn't this a slap in the face to the Tong family?"

"Even in the Ministry of Revenue, my maternal grandfather's salary was received by me!"

Erlengtai's expression changed immediately.

He was indeed the head of the Crown Prince's guards, but he knew even better what kind of person Tong Guowei, the emperor's uncle and the chief grand secretary, was.

He was a figure whose every move would shake the capital.

Although he was a confidant of the Crown Prince, he was far inferior to Tong Guowei.

It's fair to say they're not even in the same league.

Tong Guowei's close associates are causing trouble, this is going to be difficult!
If we handle it too harshly, we'll offend the Tong family; if we ignore it, it's clearly unreasonable.
Just as Erlengtai was caught in a dilemma, a voice suddenly interrupted: "Are you saying that to disrespect you or to disrespect Tong Guowei?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously noisy lobby fell silent.

Having lived in the capital for so many years, Tong San had never heard anyone dare to call his hometown by its name!

Only someone of the level of Songgotu or Mingzhu would dare to call someone that!
However, with these two officials either dead or retired, practically no one calls Tong Guowei by his name anymore.

Although he was arrogant and domineering, he wasn't stupid. He didn't dare to retort immediately, but instead turned his head to look in the direction where the voice was coming from.

Then a young man in his twenties, dressed in fine clothes, walked over, followed by a young eunuch.

Seeing this, Tong San's heart skipped a beat: he instantly realized that the person who came might be a prince, and considering that this was Yuqing Bank...

"Greetings, Your Highness!" Someone hurriedly bowed.

Upon hearing that it was the Crown Prince, Tong San's legs went weak. He quickly released the teller and knelt down with a thud: "This servant, Tong San, pays his respects to the Crown Prince! This servant was ordered by my master to collect my salary, but who knew that this dog and this teller would make things difficult for me for no reason."

"I lost my temper and acted rashly."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!" Li Chunmo secretly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Crown Prince appear.

I thought to myself that this matter was probably over.

The Crown Prince could only reprimand Tong San a few times.

It's not worth falling out with the Chief Academician over a mere teller.

After all, this chief Grand Secretary was Emperor Qianxi's maternal uncle.

Even the Crown Prince had to show deference to Tong Guowei.

"You said Tong Guowei sent you?" Shen Ye looked at Tong San and asked calmly.

Unable to fathom the Crown Prince's intentions, Tong San could only brace himself and reply, "Your Highness, this servant is here on the orders of the Grand Secretary."

Shen Ye stared at Tong San for a couple of seconds, then suddenly his tone turned cold: "Since you say that Tong Guowei sent you, then I'd like to ask Tong Guowei if he even knows what rules are!"

He then turned to Erengtai and ordered, "Tie up this dog slave and tie him to the hitching post outside!"

He then said to Zhou Bao, "Take my warrant and summon Tong Guowei to see me immediately!"

These two sentences were spoken calmly, yet they struck like thunder, stunning the entire audience.

Li Chunmo's heart tightened: Something terrible was about to happen!
Even if the Crown Prince ordered someone to beat a lackey like Tong San to death, it would be a minor matter at most.

It's unknown what Tong Guowei and the Crown Prince will think in their hearts, but on the surface, they won't say anything about it.

But the Crown Prince directly summoned Tong Guowei for questioning, which was a clear sign that he had broken off all pretense of civility!

Tong Guowei could ignore the other princes.

However, once the Crown Prince's order arrived, Tong Guowei dared not disobey.

Not coming is an act of disrespect to the Crown Prince!

Not coming is a great disrespect!
Even if he was Emperor Qianxi's uncle, he couldn't withstand it.

Although His Majesty is wary of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince is ultimately only a half-ruler, a fact that everyone knows.

As long as the crown prince stands on the high ground of the rules, then all the ministers have no room to resist.

The title "half-king" is not just a figure of speech.

When a half-ruler unleashes his power, he is still a ruler!

A subject who disobeys the decrees of a sovereign is also guilty of deceiving the sovereign!
However, Li Chunmo felt that the Crown Prince had no need to do this. He was trying to offend Grand Secretary Tong or the Tong family to the point of no return!
However, the Crown Prince's order had already been issued, and he dared not offer any advice at this time.

Tong San was also terrified.

He was able to gain Tong Guowei's trust not only because he was good at flattering, but also because he was exceptionally good at reading people and accurately guessing Tong Guowei's thoughts.

Judging from the Crown Prince's current posture, he's clearly going to make a big fuss!
He kept his mouth shut, afraid that he might say something wrong and give the Crown Prince something to hold against him, which would cause even more trouble.

Let's wait for the Grand Secretary to arrive and handle everything!

However, this time, I'm afraid I'm in big trouble.

Although Zhou Bao didn't know what the Crown Prince was going to do, as soon as Shen Ye gave the order, he immediately ran towards the palace with Shen Ye's warrant.

Grand Secretaries all work in the Southern Study, so if you want to find Tong Guowei, you naturally have to go to the palace.

Shen Ye ignored everyone's expressions and simply nodded to the tellers: "Continue to distribute salaries."

The ten counters were busy again, but this time, the order was surprisingly good without any maintenance from Erlengtai and others. Everyone who came to collect their salary followed the rules.

Some people who didn't have complete paperwork or didn't need the money urgently also quietly left the group.

However, they did not leave immediately, but waited to watch the show.

The Crown Prince tied Tong Guowei's confidants to the hitching post and ordered Tong Guowei to come over, clearly indicating that he was not going to let the matter rest!
A clash between the Crown Prince and the Grand Secretary!
In most people's eyes, that was a rare and wonderful show.

Some people weren't satisfied with just watching the spectacle themselves; they even instructed their attendants to quickly send messages to their relatives and friends, inviting everyone to come and see this grand show.

Of course, there are also people with ulterior motives among them.

As a Grand Secretary, Tong Guowei also had many of his own people.

Upon seeing Tong San tied to the hitching post, some of these people secretly slipped out and ran towards the Forbidden City, hoping to promptly inform Tong Guowei.

Regardless of how this matter is ultimately resolved, at least let Grand Secretary Tong know so that he can be mentally prepared.

When Zhou Bao arrived at the Southern Study with Shen Ye's edict, Tong Guowei had just finished court. Upon hearing the Crown Prince's summons, he immediately sensed something was wrong.

It's definitely not a good thing for the Crown Prince to summon him at this time.

However, he absolutely could not disobey the Crown Prince's edict without a very good reason.

He had no choice but to give Zhou Bao a perfunctory reply: "Eunuch Zhou, please go ahead. I will go as soon as I finish what His Majesty asked me to do."

Zhou Bao gave him a deep look: "Grand Secretary, the Crown Prince is waiting. Please don't keep him waiting too long!"

No sooner had Zhou Bao left than the messenger arrived. He quietly slipped into the South Study and came before Tong Guowei.

(End of this chapter)