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

Chapter 390 Using someone else's name to make a big deal out of something, we can do that too.
After seeing Zhen Yan off, Shen Ye stroked his chin and pondered for a while before having someone call Ma Qi over.

After resting at home for a few days, Ma Qi is full of energy now.

When he was summoned by the Crown Prince, he was pondering the matter of Lü Baizhou.

Nominally, it was because he was too weak to withstand the heavy blows from the Infantry Commander's Office, but in reality, wasn't it because the Crown Prince wanted him to "leave the stage early"?

Couldn't you have Tian Wenjing's family submit a petition to plead for leniency for Lü Baizhou and the others?

Okay, then I'll just give him a good whack and send him on his way!

Let's see if your pen tip is faster, or my board is harder!
The Crown Prince's move was truly ruthless!

After a beating, the person Zhang Ying had gone to great lengths to save was gone just like that.

This made Ma Qi very uneasy.

It seems that during the period when Emperor Qianxi was fasting and praying for blessings, I would better keep a low profile and avoid causing myself any trouble.

Just as he was pondering how to remain "invisible" in front of the Crown Prince, a young eunuch from Yuqing Palace ran over and said that the Crown Prince summoned him.

Although Ma Qi was reluctant, he dared not refuse to go—after all, he had just made up his mind to keep a low profile.

So, he quickly went to Yuqing Palace.

Shen Ye received him in the study, and as soon as Ma Qi tried to bow, she immediately stopped him with a smile:

"Minister Ma, we're practically family! Don't be so polite, sit down, sit down!"

"Quickly bring some tea to warm Lord Ma up."

His words were like a gentle breeze, but Ma Qi felt a chill run down his spine when he thought about how the Crown Prince had just ordered Lü Baizhou to be beaten to death.

He secretly reminded himself: Never offend this guy, we can't afford to mess with him!

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Ma Qi sat down respectfully, only daring to touch half of the chair with his bottom.

Shen Ye wasn't in a hurry to talk about business; instead, he became concerned about Ma Qi's health.

They showed concern and told him to wear more clothes because of the cold weather.

Ma Qi was horrified and felt like he was sitting on pins and needles: Why is the Crown Prince suddenly so concerned about me?
Could it be that I'll be the next one to make a move?

After making wild guesses, he became increasingly uneasy.

However, no matter how uneasy he felt, he still had to express his gratitude.

Finally, Shen Ye changed the subject and got to the point: "Lord Ma, you are the Minister of Revenue. What do you think should be done about the current situation of the Ministry of Revenue?"

Ma Qi understood, of course, that the Crown Prince was referring to the decreasing taxes while expenditures were increasing.

Ma Qi also came up with many solutions to this situation.

However, these methods are either too difficult to implement or have little effect.

When asked by the Crown Prince, he hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your Highness, this situation in the Ministry of Revenue is due to our dereliction of duty, and we have caused His Majesty and you concern."

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, we will discuss this thoroughly upon our return and reduce unnecessary expenditures..."

Shen Ye sneered inwardly, "Bullshit! You think you can fool me with some high-sounding statement? No way!"
He immediately interrupted, "Unnecessary expenditures? Father has been cutting back all along."

"But the deficit in the Ministry of Revenue is getting bigger and bigger!"

"So much so that the Imperial Household Department had to allocate funds to the Ministry of Revenue several times in an emergency."

"Lord Ma Qi, a qualified Minister of Revenue cannot only think about cutting expenditures; more importantly, he must learn to increase revenue!"

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's remarks about what constitutes a qualified Minister of Revenue, Ma Qi knew that the Crown Prince was giving him a warning.

If anyone else said that about him, he would have exploded long ago.

Even Emperor Qianxi dared to retort, "If Your Majesty thinks I am incompetent, then please find someone more capable."

But he really didn't dare say that to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince's financial management skills are well-known throughout the court and the public, and are indeed evident to all.

If he dares to back down in front of the Crown Prince, he might really lose his job.

“Your Highness, the court treats officials and gentry well, but they are acquiring more and more land. If this continues, the court’s tax revenue will only decrease.”

"However, the current implementation of requiring officials, gentry, and commoners to pay taxes together faces enormous resistance."

Although unwilling to speak, Ma Qi was forced by Shen Ye to tell the truth.

He had no choice but to speak up, after all, he was the Minister of Revenue. If he couldn't even see this, pretending to be ignorant would be even more dangerous.

Moreover, this is also his job.

Shen Ye picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said slowly, "I am well aware of the great resistance. After all, this is taking money from the pockets of officials and gentry across the country."

"But we can't not do it!"

"If this trend continues, the imperial court will soon follow in the footsteps of the previous dynasty."

"By then, it will truly be too late to reverse the situation!"

At this point, Shen Ye put down his teacup and said seriously, "Lord Ma, you should have read Zhen Yan's memorial regarding officials, gentry, and commoners paying taxes together, right?"

Ma Qi said, "I have read it!"

"When I hold court tomorrow, I plan to have Zhen Yan present his memorial again. As the Minister of Revenue, you must stand up and support him!"

"This is a major matter for the imperial court, and it is also your Ministry of Revenue's responsibility."

“If the Minister of Revenue remains uninvolved in this matter,” Shen Ye paused, then said coldly, “it only proves that the Minister of Revenue is incompetent!”

These words were so blunt and harsh that Ma Qi felt a chill run down his spine.

These past few days, Ma Qi had been quietly watching the drama unfold, never expecting to be thrust into the eye of the storm. His first reaction was to try and deflect the blame, but when he looked up and saw the Crown Prince's gloomy face, he instinctively swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

But he really can't do the job of charging into battle!

Just as he was quickly racking his brains for a solution, Shen Ye took out a memorial to the throne.

"This is the Emperor's decree. Please take a look."

Ma Qi took the memorial and saw that it contained the Crown Prince's report to Emperor Qianxi. He knew most of this information, so he quickly skimmed through it.

The gaze finally fell on Emperor Qianxi's vermilion annotations:

Go ahead and do it without worry, I'm here for you!

Ma Qi was no stranger to Emperor Qianxi's red-pen annotations.

Seeing the familiar handwriting, he let go of his last bit of inner struggle.

The Crown Prince has even produced the Emperor's edict. If he continues to make excuses, then he would be ungrateful!
Moreover, although he had a large family and business empire, he was not on the same side as the officials and gentry in Jiangnan, so he did not strongly oppose the unified tax payment.

"Your Highness, I will certainly obey His Majesty's and your orders and do this matter well!"

Maqi finally made a statement.

Shen Ye nodded in satisfaction, and then continued, "Father has always said that although Minister Ma Qi has some minor flaws, his abilities are still among the best of the court officials."

"What's even more remarkable is that Minister Ma is utterly loyal to the imperial court!"

"I believe that Father Emperor would never misjudge people!"

Ma Qi thought to himself, "You make it sound so nice, but you just want me to go and charge into battle as cannon fodder!"

But since things had come to this point, he could no longer object, and could only respectfully say, "Since Your Majesty values ​​you so much, I will certainly devote myself to the cause until my dying breath."

"But Your Highness, there are many opponents to this matter, and the resistance is considerable..."

Shen Ye got up and walked over, smiling as he patted Ma Qi on the shoulder and said, "The greater the resistance, the more we need loyal ministers and capable generals like Lord Ma."

"Don't worry, Lord Ma, you're not fighting alone!"

At this point, Ma Qi was truly speechless and could only obediently follow orders.

After seeing off the sullen-looking Ma Qi, Shen Ye picked up the memorial that Emperor Qianxi had given him and weighed it in his hand.

Don't underestimate the length of Emperor Qianxi's edicts; they are as effective as a thousand troops, or rather, more effective than a thousand troops!

Such a useful imperial sword, why not use it?

So after thinking it over, he instructed Zhou Bao, "Go and invite Grand Secretary Tong over!"

Shen Ye treated Ma Qi with courtesy, but when it came to Tong Guowei, he adopted a "respectful and humble" attitude!
Tong Guowei was the chief Grand Secretary, the maternal uncle of Emperor Qianxi, and a Duke. Any one of his titles carried considerable weight.

Shen Ye urgently needs the support of this chief scholar, so he must give him the respect he deserves!

So, Shen Ye personally stood at the door of the study and waited for Tong Guowei.

Tong Guowei never expected that the Crown Prince would be waiting for him at the door of the study!
This gesture pleased him greatly and made him feel extremely comfortable.

Although in terms of seniority, he was Emperor Qianxi's maternal uncle and the Crown Prince's maternal great-uncle!

However, within the imperial court, seniority was the least useful and the least valuable criterion.

"Your subject Tong Guowei pays respects to Your Highness!" As he spoke, Tong Guowei was about to kneel down.

Of course, he was just putting on a show to prove that he was a rule-abiding person.

Shen Ye helped Tong Guowei up and said, "Grand Secretary, this is not the imperial court."

"We're all family, let's skip these formalities!"

As they spoke, Shen Ye affectionately helped Tong Guowei into the study.

Tong Guowei was pleased with the Crown Prince's courteous treatment of him, but he did not let his guard down.

He knew that although the Crown Prince was not an arrogant person, he was by no means an easy target.

Such eagerness today must have some ulterior motive.

He secretly reminded himself that he had to be careful, lest he be sold out by the Crown Prince and end up helping him count the money!

After inviting Tong Guowei to sit down, Shen Ye had tea served while chatting with Tong Guowei about everyday matters.

The chat lasted for fifteen minutes.

They mostly talked about everyday family matters; nothing else was discussed.

Tong Guowei was also very patient; seeing Shen Ye chatting with him, he joined in.

Talking about family matters and recounting stories of the past created a very harmonious atmosphere in the study.

Those who knew better would think these two were grandfather and grandson having a casual chat, but those who didn't would think they were grandfather and grandson.
Shen Ye looked at Tong Guowei, whose expression remained unchanged and who was as steady as Mount Tai, and secretly praised him: This guy is really an old fox!
However, Shen Ye was not in a hurry.

He leisurely had someone refill Tong Guowei's teacup before smiling and saying, "Grand Secretary, I was really bullied by those guys this time!"

"I wrote a memorial to my father, and he sent me to see you."

As they spoke, Shen Ye handed the memorial that Emperor Qianxi had approved to Tong Guowei.

Tong Guowei was stunned, never expecting the Crown Prince to pull such a stunt!
After a moment of stunned silence, he took the memorial and quickly skimmed through it—

Neither the content written by Shen Ye in the memorial nor the Qianxi Emperor's comments mentioned Tong Guowei's name!
However, he had a feeling that he couldn't escape it!

Looking at the Crown Prince's smiling face, he said helplessly, "Your Highness, please give your orders!"

(End of this chapter)