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

Chapter 328 Father, the only ones who truly care about the court are the two of us.

Faced with Emperor Qianxi's thunderous rage, Shen Ye remained completely calm!
Before he arrived, he had figured out how to respond to the emperor's anger, and he had already prepared his response.

So at this moment, he was unusually calm.

Emperor Qianxi questioned her sternly, but Shen Ye smiled slightly and calmly replied, "Father, I know that you sent Liang Jiugong over simply out of consideration for our relationship, and you had to go through the motions."

“It’s absolutely not that you don’t want your son to make an example of someone at Yuqing Bank.”

“Your subject did not disobey the imperial decree; Your subject was upholding your principles for Your Majesty.”

At this point, he glanced up at Emperor Qianxi's expression and continued, "If we don't establish a rule for all officials now, then in the future, everyone will send a servant to collect their salary."

"With Yuqing Bank's current limited identification capabilities, they simply can't tell who's who!"

"If it turns out that someone else is fraudulently claiming my salary, it would be a disgrace to the imperial court!"

Emperor Qianxi snorted but didn't say anything more.

Shen Ye continued, "For a high-ranking official like Lord Tong Guowei, who would be short of a little money?"

"They have more than they can spend on ice tribute and charcoal tribute alone."

"Moreover, Lord Tong's family also owns tens of thousands of acres of fertile land, and the annual harvest is no small amount."

"As the Grand Secretary, he knew that the court was in dire straits and that the treasury was short of money, yet he insisted on drawing money from the treasury at this critical juncture."

"Behind this..."

Emperor Qianxi frowned slightly.

Although he felt that the Crown Prince's words were clearly a roundabout way of accusing Tong Guowei, upon closer examination, they were not entirely without merit.

How could Tong Guowei not know that Taicang was short of money?

He knows it too well!

As the chief Grand Secretary and a first-class Duke of Fengguo, his family owned vast amounts of land and shops.

These things alone are enough for him to live a life of luxury and comfort, so how could his family be short of money?

Ironically, after he had almost forcibly pushed the task of distributing salaries onto the Crown Prince, Tong Guowei still came to suggest that the Crown Prince distribute some salaries to the ministers before the winter solstice.

This way, people won't be left without dumplings to eat on the Winter Solstice...

You, Tong Guowei, shouldn't have...

However, Tong Guowei was, after all, a minister he trusted, and although he had some doubts in his heart, he didn't say anything.

Shen Ye could tell what was going on just by looking at Emperor Qianxi's expression.

He smiled and said, "Father, the purpose of this salary distribution is to help those poor officials in the Hanlin Academy and the Censorate who live on their salaries."

"As for the officials in various government departments, which of them is truly short of money?"

"The reason I insisted that they come to collect their salaries in person is twofold: firstly, so that they would be grateful for the court and the Emperor's kindness when they receive their salaries; secondly... I also wanted them to stay away from collecting them for the time being."

"The salaries of the officials are not a small amount."

“They’re too embarrassed to accept it in person.”

"Once you've accumulated enough, you'll naturally become restless."

"In this way, the silver stored in Taicang can stay for a few more days and become more abundant."

Emperor Qianxi nodded, agreeing with the Crown Prince's reasoning.

Emperor Qianxi was always lenient with his officials, who were indeed not short of money.

Their salaries can be paid at any time.

Whether it's early or late, we won't go hungry.

Tong Guowei would never do that!

What Tong Guowei did this time was really dishonest!
Not only did they send people to collect their salaries, but they also instigated people to cause trouble; they were incredibly audacious.

hateful!

What's most infuriating is that he even dared to come here to act like a senior citizen—does he think I'm a foolish ruler who can be manipulated at will?
Once the seed of doubt is planted, it can take root and sprout instantly.

The Emperor Qianxi's eyes turned cold whenever he thought of Tong Guowei.

"I know all of this."

Seeing his cold and stern expression, Shen Ye paused for a moment, then seized the opportunity to say, "Father, the imperial granary is empty, yet we still insist on paying salaries to the officials to save face for the court."

"To be honest, this job is really difficult."

"If it weren't for Your Majesty's constant saying, 'This country belongs to us,' I wouldn't want to take on this hot potato!"

"Your son has studied the classics for so many years and been taught by Father Emperor for so many years. Only now do I realize that although there are many officials in the court, the only ones who truly care about this country are my father and me!"

"Everyone else, who doesn't have their own ulterior motives? They're all calculating and planning for themselves!"

Shen Ye's words sent a shiver down Emperor Qianxi's spine.

In the imperial court, everyone claimed to be a loyal minister, but Emperor Qianxi was well aware that even close ministers like Tong Guowei harbored their own selfish motives and were making their own selfish calculations.

When interests are at stake, all talk of unwavering loyalty, sacrificing one's life for others, and dying for one's cause becomes utter nonsense.

The only ones who truly care about the court are probably the Crown Prince and himself!

Thinking about it this way, most of his displeasure with the Crown Prince's "disobedience" disappeared.

He glanced at the Crown Prince, his tone softening: "I'll let it go this time, but from now on, you must not be willful or act recklessly again."

"Otherwise, if the censors find fault with me, it will be bad, and I will be in a difficult position."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi seemed to realize that his words were a bit harsh, and said with a smile, "It's almost time for dinner. Since you said you wanted to stay for a free meal, then I'll have Liang Jiugong serve the meal."

Seeing Emperor Qianxi's words, Shen Ye knew that his petition was now in good standing.

He quickly said, "Father, please don't worry, I have another gift to present to you."

As they spoke, Shen Ye produced a gleaming gold salary book. Emperor Qianxi, seeing the exquisitely crafted book, paused for a moment and asked, "What is this?"

"This is your stipend, Father Emperor." As he spoke, Shen Ye handed it over with a smile.

Emperor Qianxi had seen all kinds of salaries, but those were all for ministers.

He glanced at it a few times but didn't find anything unusual.

But at this moment, as I picked up my own salary book, a strange feeling arose in my heart.

I... now have a salary fund too?
When Emperor Qianxi looked down at the eight characters on the salary book, a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

Because it clearly reads: "By the mandate of Heaven, may your life be long and prosperous!"

"How much is my annual salary?" Emperor Qianxi asked with a smile, holding his salary book.

Since Shen Ye had prepared his salary book, he naturally also prepared how to answer.

Although the emperor was wealthy, his money was either in the Ministry of Revenue or the Imperial Household Department.

He actually has a limited amount of money that he can freely dispose of.

Therefore, Shen Ye concluded that Emperor Qianxi would absolutely not object to the court "paying him a salary".

"Father's salary has never been fixed throughout history. I think that within the court, a prince's salary is ten thousand taels a year."

"Therefore, I have dared to propose that Your Majesty temporarily set an annual salary of 100,000 taels."

"The silver is deposited in Yuqing Bank, and you can withdraw it at any time."

One hundred thousand taels of silver every year!
Although it wasn't a large sum for Emperor Qianxi, it was his salary, his personal savings that he could spend as he pleased. Thinking of this, Emperor Qianxi felt a sense of comfort.

After all, we're not always free to spend money on ourselves.

Although the censors wouldn't bother him with every little thing, there were always some who were blind to his faults and would often cause him trouble.

This salary is his own private money, and no one can tell him how to spend it.

Seeing that Emperor Qianxi's expression was calm, Shen Ye knew that Emperor Qianxi was satisfied.

However, on the surface, he still respectfully said, "Father, this 100,000 taels of silver is indeed a bit too little. But we have just received our salaries, and if the amount is set too high, I'm afraid someone will object."

"What I mean is that we can add it gradually in the future."

The reason Shen Ye spoke so frankly was because the money wasn't originally his.

This is silver from the Ministry of Revenue!
This money came from the salt tax.

He didn't care how much the imperial court's money was used to pay the emperor's salary.

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand and said, "A salary of 100,000 taels is quite a lot. Let's leave it at that for now."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi seemed to suddenly remember something, glanced at Shen Ye, and said, "You set a price of 100,000 taels for me, how much did you set for yourself?"

"Nothing can be hidden from Father. Your son has set himself the salary of a prince, but I'm afraid that if it's too much, people will have objections."

As Shen Ye spoke, he took out his salary book from his sleeve.

Shen Ye's salary book was the same as the prince's salary book, both were purple-gold, and both had the words "Eating the emperor's salary, serving the emperor faithfully" written on them!

Looking at the Crown Prince's salary book, Emperor Qianxi became more and more satisfied.

He laughed and said, "You're being a bit too cautious. As the crown prince, your salary should be higher."

"Twenty thousand taels is too little, fifty thousand taels is just right."

Upon hearing Emperor Qianxi say this, Shen Ye thought to himself that his father was quite shrewd; this was a classic case of returning the favor!

He smiled modestly and said, "If the price is set too high all at once, I'm afraid someone will come out and make a fuss."

"It's not good if a fly flies in when you've made a good soup."

Emperor Qianxi nodded and then asked, "Now that the Yuqing silver dollars have been distributed, what has been the reaction?"

At this point, he paused for a moment and asked, "If someone counterfeits inferior silver coins, how do you plan to deal with it?"

Although the right to mint coins has always belonged to the imperial court, and the court has never stopped cracking down on private minting, inferior copper coins still appear on the market despite repeated bans.

With silver coins now being issued in quantities of one tael each, counterfeiting is likely to become even more rampant.

Shen Ye smiled calmly and said, "Father, this silver coin is marked as one tael, and its actual weight is also one tael of pure silver."

“This is not the old kind of ‘worth a hundred coins,’ it’s a real silver ingot worth one tael of silver.”

"As for merchants, I have never seen a case of them taking the wrong money."

"Let whoever wants to imitate make it, as long as they are willing to spend enough money."

Upon hearing Shen Ye's words, Emperor Qianxi nodded.

While the father and son were having their meal, Tong Guowei was sulking at home.

Having lost face twice in a row, it's really hard to swallow this insult.

Even if the other party was the Crown Prince, losing face was still losing face. He, a dignified Grand Secretary, had actually become a "chicken" used by the Crown Prince to establish his authority. This made him furious, and he couldn't swallow his resentment.

Ye Keshu, the culprit, is currently kneeling as punishment at the door.

Tong Guowei was looking gloomy when his third son, Longkodo, walked in.

"Why are you here?" Tong Guowei asked irritably.

Longkodo snorted and said, "Father, my elder brother is simply not cut out to be an official. You can't just rely on a weasel to drive the carriage. Let him just live a quiet life and wait to die."

"Leave the family matters to me."

Hearing Longkodo's words, Tong Guowei nearly died of anger. He pointed towards the door and shouted angrily, "Get out of here!"

"Father, do you think I wanted to come back? I was forced into this! I have something to report to you." Longkodo spread his hands: "The Crown Prince has sent Tong San to my place. What do you suggest we do?"

(End of this chapter)