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

Chapter 382 Supreme Imperial Power, Those Who Are Willing Will Take the Bait

The infighting among the ministers, especially the mutual impeachments concerning official business,
Most emperors handled the situation in a similar way—giving both sides equal blame, without showing favoritism to either.

However, this time, Shen Ye didn't intend to take the usual path.

He hadn't intended to intervene during the morning court session, but Xu Chunping, like a crowing rooster, jumped out and kept crowing.
Then don't blame him, the Crown Prince Regent, for not giving the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy any face!
"Lord Xu, I made it very clear during the morning court session that no one is allowed to harbor criminals."

"You're so oblivious to my boundaries, constantly pestering me. Do you think I, the Crown Prince Regent, am easy to bully?"

"Issue the imperial decree: Xu Chunping, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, shall be fined for half a year and shall lead all members of the Hanlin Academy in studying the Great Zhou Code for half a year."

"Also, submit a learning reflection to me every three days, and I will assign someone to review it."

At this point, Shen Ye looked up at the sky and said in a relaxed tone:

"Let's stop here for today. If any of you ministers have anything else to discuss, please speak to me privately."

Before he finished speaking, he stood up nimbly.

Before this imperial audience, Shen Ye had originally planned to bring up the matter of "officials, gentry, and commoners paying taxes together."

But after dealing with the Kong family's affairs, he realized that things were not so simple.

The Kong family alone made his path extremely difficult.

If the policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together is forced upon us, the opposition would likely be so strong that it could tear down the Qianqing Gate.

Shen Ye's years of work experience in her previous life told her:
Some tactics are most intimidating precisely before they are used.

If you reveal your hand before you're sure you'll win, the result will most likely be a lot of effort for little gain, and you'll end up losing more than you gain.

What's more—it's really cold at Qianqing Gate today, and Shen Ye doesn't want to freeze into an icicle here any longer!

As he walked toward Yuqing Palace, he instructed Zhou Bao, "Go and invite the Fourth Prince here."

If we're talking about who suffered the most crushing defeat in this imperial proclamation, it would undoubtedly be Kong Yujin.

When he arrived, the Kong family was still doing well;

When they left, not only were their homes dismantled and their people scattered, but even the million acres of sacrificial land were taken away by the Ministry of Revenue.

This unfortunate guy seems to have attended a crash course in bankruptcy.

Although the title of Duke Yansheng is still held, the real power he wields is far less than before.

He certainly didn't dare to argue with Shen Ye, the crown prince, but he was unwilling to just leave like that, so he turned around and went to find Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying, a high-ranking official who rose through the imperial examination system, had always maintained a good relationship with the Kong family.

Not long ago, Zhang Ying's daughter even discussed marriage with a direct descendant of the Kong family.

"Greetings, Prime Minister Zhang!" Kong Yujin greeted Zhang Ying with a bitter face as soon as she entered his duty room, clasping her hands in a respectful greeting.

Zhang Ying was also in a bad mood.

Today, the Crown Prince held court and immediately gave him a dressing down.

Not only did they not give him, the second-in-command, any face, they also gave his son, Zhang Tinglu, a "wilderness survival" training package.

He was demoted to such a remote, godforsaken place, which basically meant his career in government was over.

Although in his heart, Zhang Tingyu was the one who could inherit his mantle, it was no wonder he was upset that his own son was treated this way.

However, facing Kong Yujin, his "fellow sufferer," he still responded politely:

"Duke Yansheng, there's no need for such formalities. We're old friends. Please have a seat."

"Prime Minister Zhang, isn't the Crown Prince going too far in treating our Kong family like this?"

Kong Yujin said in a deep voice, "Please put in a good word for me with His Majesty later!"

As Zhang Ying had tea served, she calmly said:
"The Crown Prince is currently acting as regent, and His Majesty generally does not overturn the decisions he makes."

"Fortunately, the Crown Prince did not touch the title of Duke Yansheng. You should go back to your studies and wait and see."

"Perhaps things will turn around in the future."

Upon hearing Zhang Ying's words, a clear look of disappointment flashed across Kong Yujin's face.

He was truly reluctant to part with those million acres of fertile land and couldn't help but say:

"Prime Minister Zhang, the reason why the Crown Prince treats me this way is mainly because I oppose officials, gentry, and commoners paying taxes together."

"If I were to submit a memorial supporting the Crown Prince's decision, perhaps he would change his mind."

His words clearly carried a hint of threat.

Zhang Ying was no pushover; far from being intimidated, she calmly responded:
"Duke Yansheng, it is your own choice to do what you want."

"But you should also know that the gentry and scholars of the world have always revered the lineage of the Duke Yansheng."

"You can't break their hearts!"

Kong Yujin's expression changed several times; he sensed a hint of pressure in Zhang Ying's words.

Zhang Ying is threatening him!

But he also knew that this was not untrue.

If all the gentry in the land resent the Duke Yansheng's mansion, his future days will be even more difficult.

“Prime Minister Zhang, of course our lineage of the Duke of Yansheng is united with the gentry of the world, but we can’t always make our family pay the price, can we?” Kong Yujin’s words actually had a hint of softening.

Zhang Ying smiled and said, "Duke Yansheng, I was reading history books the other day and found that the title of Duke Yansheng has changed several times."

"I was quite moved after reading it."

"Over the past two thousand years, the lineage of the Duke Yansheng has experienced ups and downs in its esteem, but overall it has always been getting better and better."

"This is just a temporary setback, why are you in such a hurry?"

Kong Yujin was well aware of the family's rise and fall, and he sighed, saying:

"Prime Minister Zhang, this is a huge blow to our family."

"That's a million acres of sacrificial fields!"

Zhang Ying waved his hand: "Duke Yansheng, now that the Crown Prince is overseeing the country, you should return to Qufu as soon as possible." Although Kong Yujin was unwilling, faced with Zhang Ying's order to leave, she could only reluctantly bid farewell, turning back every few steps.

After Kong Yujin left dejectedly, Liu Shixun slipped in and leaned close to Zhang Ying, saying:
"Teacher, today the Crown Prince even dared to cut into the Duke Yansheng, a piece of ancient cured meat. So his next step will definitely be to promote the payment of taxes and grain by officials and gentry together."

"Please make plans as soon as possible, teacher!"

Zhang Ying raised her eyelids slightly and slowly asked in return:

"Shixun, the Crown Prince is currently overseeing the country and is riding high. He seems unstoppable. Do you think it's right for me to confront him head-on?"

"Zhang Tinglu being exiled is a warning I received from the Crown Prince."

Liu Shixun wrung his hands anxiously: "Teacher, we can't just sit here and wait to die, can we? What should we do next?"

"What's the rush?" Zhang Ying stroked his beard, looking like a cunning old fox.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Crown Prince is waiting for the verdict of Lü Baizhou and the others to be released, so he can take the opportunity to promote the taxation of officials and gentry together."

"You continue to urge people to write letters to plead for leniency for Lü Baizhou and others."

"Furthermore, have people continue to impeach Zhen Yan!"

Upon hearing that the impeachment of Zhen Yan was to continue, Liu Shixun's eyes lit up:
"Teacher, don't we have evidence of Zhen Yan's corruption and abuse of power?"

"Should we start from this point?"

"As long as we take down Zhen Yan, the rest will naturally follow..."

Zhang Ying glared at Liu Shixun: "Foolish! You're trying to fight Zhen Yan to the death."

“We used this to force him to submit the ‘Number One Memorial in the World’.”

"If we present this evidence now and push him too far, won't he blow us all to bits?"

"You should know that Zhen Yan has never revealed to His Majesty who ordered him to submit that memorial."

"Aren't you forcing him to take us all down with you by impeaching him now?"

Liu Shixun's expression changed, and he quickly admitted his mistake: "Teacher, it was my oversight."

"Please forgive me, teacher!"

Zhang Ying waved his hand: "You can't blame yourself. Who would have thought that a mere pawn would become so difficult to deal with?"

"We and Zhen Yan are now in a situation where we're like a straw trying to catch a wolf—we're afraid of both sides."

"Nobody wants to fight to the death unless it's a matter of life and death."

At this point, Zhang Ying pondered for a moment, then suddenly revealed a sly smile: "The key to this matter still lies with the Crown Prince."

"Go and contact the Ministry of Personnel and ask them to submit the list of officials who need to be replaced to the Crown Prince as soon as possible."

"Place those key positions with the Crown Prince's people as much as possible."

Liu Shixun looked completely bewildered.

He knew how sought-after those positions were; some were even worth 100,000 taels of silver.

Right now, the Crown Prince is pushing for officials and gentry to pay taxes together, but they are helping him promote his cronies at this time. Isn't this giving the Crown Prince a helping hand?

"Teacher, aren't we just emboldening the Crown Prince by doing this?"

"If that's the case, why should we go to such great lengths to prevent officials and gentry from paying taxes together?"

Zhang Ying glanced at Liu Shixun twice and said calmly:

"If you were the crown prince and saw so many important positions filled by your own people, would you approve it?"

"Of course!"

After Liu Shixun finished speaking, his eyes lit up.

He said to Zhang Ying, "We want the Crown Prince to approve this matter."

"His Majesty's decision to have the Crown Prince oversee the state at this time, while seemingly aimed at avoiding direct confrontation with the ministers, is not without its underlying intentions."

Zhang Ying had an expression of complete control, "but it also served as a test of how the Crown Prince would respond to opposition from the court officials."

"However, no matter what Your Majesty's intentions are, as the emperor, there are some things that you absolutely cannot allow others to touch."

"The right to appoint people is one of them."

"Moreover, it's a key position."

Liu Shixun greatly admired his teacher's far-sighted planning, and after thinking for a moment, asked:
"Teacher, what should we do if the Crown Prince doesn't fall for this trick?"

"If the Crown Prince doesn't choose, we won't lose anything."

Zhang Ying said calmly, "This matter was originally a matter of 'willing people taking the bait'."

Just as Liu Shixun was about to carry out the teacher's plan, Zhang Ying added:
"We can also make a fuss about Tian Wenjing's death."

"Find someone to get a letter of appeal from Tian Wenjing's family."

"Besides mentioning that Tian Wenjing was ill, the content also needs to express their admiration for Lü Baizhou and others who were wholeheartedly devoted to the court and the people."

"Although they were angry about Lu Baizhou and others accidentally killing Tian Wenjing, they still chose to forgive them."

"I implore Your Majesty to be lenient with Lü Baizhou and the others. This is what it means to win people over with virtue!"

Liu Shixun felt a chill run down his spine when he heard about this plan.

He was well aware of how difficult it would be to carry out the teacher's request.

But no matter how difficult it is, he has to do it.

After all, if this move succeeds, it will become extremely difficult to sentence Lü Baizhou and others to death.

If even the deceased's family has forgiven them, it would be against natural law and human sentiment for the imperial court to punish them severely.

He immediately replied, "Please rest assured, teacher, I will definitely handle this matter properly."

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(End of this chapter)