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

Chapter 387 You're not the emperor yet, why are you worrying about the emperor's affairs?

Emperor Qianxi, who had been in power for many years, had so many spies under his command that they were everywhere.

Before Shen Ye could even hear anything, Emperor Qianxi had already figured out the whole story behind the petition.

Staring at the eloquently written petition, Emperor Qianxi curled his lips into a cold smile.

Having been emperor for so many years, what kind of tricks hasn't he seen?

What gratitude and forgiveness, what 'let bygones be bygones'? That's utter nonsense!

To put it bluntly, it's just a transaction where everything is negotiable once the money is in place!

Zhang Ying's move was quite skillful.

Now, the ministers are kneeling and begging for mercy.

The Crown Prince, however, insisted on acting in accordance with the law, like a righteous and incorruptible official!
Now that the deceased's family has submitted a petition, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, they should be treated leniently.

Your Highness, will you follow the law or not?
If dealt with according to the law, it will not only fail to achieve the purpose of making an example of them, but will also make these people even more arrogant.

However, ignoring this petition and insisting on severe punishment would give others cause for criticism.

It's likely that what awaits the Crown Prince next is an even larger-scale kowtow, a thought that sends chills down one's spine.

There's a pit on the left and a well on the right. What should the prince do?

Emperor Qianxi felt that the current situation was so troublesome that even if he personally took charge, he would be stuck in a dilemma, a vicious cycle.

"Your Majesty, a secret memorial has arrived!" Liang Jiugong jogged over and handed over a memorial.

When Emperor Qianxi opened it, he found that it was a report from Longkodo about the Lü family sending him gifts and asking him to investigate them strictly according to the law.

Upon seeing this memorial, Emperor Qianxi's blood pressure spiked on the spot.
Strictly vetting gift-giving according to the law? How could these people even think of that!
He slammed his fist on the table in anger and shouted, "Liang Jiugong!"

Upon hearing Emperor Qianxi's anger, Liang Jiugong scrambled in, but before he could even stand properly, Emperor Qianxi waved his hand and said, "Never mind, you may leave."

Emperor Qianxi originally intended to summon Zhang Ying, but suddenly remembered that he was still fasting, so he had to give up.

At the same time, a secret anticipation of watching the drama unfold quietly rose in his heart:
Your Highness, let's see what you're made of!
Faced with this thorny situation, do you still have the ability to break through? Don't disappoint me!
Unexpectedly, just after Emperor Qianxi finished reading the Ksitigarbha Sutra, Liang Jiugong walked in carrying Shen Ye's memorial.

Emperor Qianxi took it and began to read it with great eagerness.

The Crown Prince's memorial was incredibly long, but it contained only one core message: a complaint!

Father, your ministers have ganged up on me! You must stand up for your son!
Seeing the aggrieved tone emanating from the words, Emperor Qianxi couldn't help but laugh.

At this moment, he seemed to feel that long-lost joy of being a father again!

He read the Crown Prince's memorial twice, then picked up a vermilion brush and wrote on it with a flourish: "Go ahead and do it with confidence, I'm here!"

After writing this sentence, he said to Liang Jiugong, "Go, hurry up and send it to the Crown Prince."

Liang Jiugong didn't know what the memorial said, but since it concerned the Crown Prince, he naturally dared not neglect it. He agreed and quickly withdrew.

As Emperor Qianxi watched Liang Jiugong leave, the corners of his mouth curled up, a smile that seemed unfathomable.

His words actually contained a hidden meaning.

It seemed to be an attempt to encourage the crown prince, but there was nothing else involved.

But in reality, he had already pointed out the direction to the crown prince.

I just don't know if the Crown Prince can figure it out!

If the prince can't figure it out, then he needs to continue to hone his skills!

A qualified emperor must be able to confront and fight against others in a fair and square manner, and to confront them head-on.
When the opponent uses other methods, you should also learn to be flexible and adaptable, rather than sticking to the old ways!
These are valuable insights that Emperor Qianxi gained from his many years on the throne, navigating countless battles and intrigues.

I just don't know if the Crown Prince has inherited his imperial mindset.

Meanwhile, at Yuqing Palace, Shen Ye had not yet received his father's approval, but instead received his former teacher, Wang Yan.

Although Wang Yan's official position was not very high, he was Shen Ye's former teacher after all, so Shen Ye always treated him with courtesy.

After Shen Ye refused his plea for leniency last time, Wang Yan hadn't been here for quite some time.

Shen Ye could guess why he came to her door so suddenly.

But appearances still need to be maintained.

After all, one cannot afford to lose one's image as someone who respects teachers and values ​​tradition.

"Teacher, please have some tea. This is Da Hong Pao tea from Wuyi Mountain, specially sent by the Fujian governor."

While warmly greeting everyone, Shen Ye instructed Zhou Bao, "Please pack half a jin of this Da Hong Pao tea for the teacher to take away!"

"Thank you, Prince!"

Wang Yan felt quite pleased with Shen Ye's actions and smiled more, almost forgetting why he was there in the first place.

After all, the Crown Prince gave him face, so he could confidently boast, "I am the Crown Prince's teacher!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wang Yan got down to business: "Your Highness, are you aware that Tian Wenjing's family submitted a petition to the Infantry Commander's Office?"

“Longkodo told me.”

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Teacher, we're not strangers. Tell me, if no one was pulling strings behind the scenes, would the Tian family have made this thing?"

"Tian Wenjing was a perfectly healthy and lively person just a few days ago!"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's direct words, Wang Yan's expression changed.

But he also knew that pretending to be stupid in front of the crown prince was useless, so it was better to tell the truth.

This crown prince is not someone who can be easily fooled.

So he said frankly, "Your Highness, the Tian family certainly wouldn't have submitted this petition without a reason."

"Although I do not know the specifics of the exchange, in my opinion, the Tian family must have received a large sum of money."

"This petition was probably not written by the Tian family themselves." "Even if Tian Wenjing were alive, let alone his family members, he couldn't have written something of this quality!"

"In short, this matter can be summarized in one sentence: someone wrote it for him, and the money was in place."

Shen Ye remained silent, thinking to himself, "Wang Yan is quite honest today."

Wang Yan became more and more excited as she spoke:
"Your Highness, what you should be concerned about now is not who wrote this petition, but that you can no longer afford to offend the scholars of the world!"

"By asking the Duke of Yansheng to divide his family property, you have already offended the Duke of Yansheng's family terribly, which is like stirring up a hornet's nest."

"Although the Duke Yansheng is just a figurehead, he is still the face of all scholars in the world."

"By all this trouble, you have offended all the scholars in the world!"

“If you continue to be so stubborn, there will be even more gentry and officials who oppose you.”

"Although they dislike participating in the struggle for imperial power, they will find it very detrimental to them if they realize that your future ascension to the throne will be of great harm to them."

"I think they absolutely have to bring out a prince to challenge you!"

"But once Your Majesty can no longer withstand the pressure from the officials, it will be too late for you to regret it."

As she finished speaking, a trace of sorrow appeared on Wang Yan's thin face.

He wore an expression that said, "I'm so worried about the Crown Prince."

Looking at Wang Yan's grim expression, Shen Ye began to ponder the deposed crown prince in a parallel universe.

In a parallel universe, the deposed crown prince received the support of the Kong family and scholars; the Kong family even made some underhanded moves to ensure the eldest son's succession.

But in the end, the deeper the Crown Prince’s contact with the Kong family, the faster he was deposed.

He calmly replied, "Teacher, I appreciate your kindness, but I can only thank you in my heart!"

"But someone always has to do the thing of offending people."

"The court is now spending more than it earns and is dirt poor. If it does not reform, it may die even younger than the previous dynasty."

“Lu Baizhou’s death is not important, but it is related to whether the policy of requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together can be implemented.”

The whole world is watching!

"If the imperial court backs down even slightly on this matter, then there will be no way to postpone it in the future!"

At this point, Shen Ye said, "Teacher, Father Emperor has finally made up his mind. If we give up halfway, I'm afraid there won't be another chance."

Wang Yan was well aware of the crux of the problem, and he also disagreed with the idea of ​​requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together.

After all, he was also one of the officials and gentry.

However, he also knew that the court's expenditures were in deficit, and if this situation was not changed, the court's days would become increasingly difficult.

From this perspective, the crown prince was not wrong.

However, Wang Yan still earnestly advised:

“Your Highness, you don’t need to let go of Lü Baizhou’s matter. Just let the Infantry Commander’s Office handle the case according to the law.”

“If you show a little goodwill, they won’t dare to push their luck or get too close.”

"Throughout the twenty-four histories, there was more compromise than compromise in the imperial court."

Wang Yan was still reluctant to give up, feeling that the Crown Prince had been pushing too hard lately.

The crown prince was merely a regent, yet he did a far more effective job than the Qianxi Emperor.

His behavior will make many people not want him to be the crown prince.

Emperor Qianxi was a powerful monarch.

The court officials no longer wished for a powerful crown prince.

Shen Ye smiled at Wang Yan and said, "Teacher, I've heard a saying—if you can't get something on the battlefield, don't even think about getting it at the negotiating table."

Do you think this statement is correct?

Wang Yan looked at the smiling Crown Prince and sighed helplessly.

He slowly stood up and said, "Your Highness, no matter what I say now, I'm afraid you won't listen to it at all."

"But please heed my advice."

"Those in positions of authority should fulfill their responsibilities!"

"Wei Chen resigns!"

After Wang Yan finished speaking, he rose to take his leave. Shen Ye politely saw him to the door, knowing full well what was going on:

Wang Yan told himself very sharply: You are not the emperor yet, why are you worrying about the emperor's affairs?

What you should do now is to behave yourself as the crown prince.

Instead of binding himself to the emperor's position and focusing solely on reform.

This won't do you any good!

Shen Ye knew that Wang Yan's words made a lot of sense, but Wang Yan only saw that he had done the work of an emperor, but he did not see that there was an Emperor Qianxi standing behind him.

At this moment, Emperor Qianxi was holding a whip, forcing his crown prince to charge forward step by step!

At this point, he had no way out!
Just then, Zhou Bao rushed over, carrying Emperor Qianxi's edict—

"Your Highness, His Majesty's reply has arrived!"

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(End of this chapter)