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

Chapter 403 The Strongest Crown Prince in History

Qingping Tower!
The story of Yue Fei is reaching its climax!
The storyteller on stage spoke with great enthusiasm, spittle flying everywhere, while the audience erupted in applause, creating an atmosphere so lively it could roast sweet potatoes.

As is customary, by this time the Third Prince Yunzhi would have already jumped up and clapped his hands in approval. He would even generously shower some silver as a reward when he heard something exciting.

But today, he had a stern face that kept strangers at bay, his eyes were so unfocused they could see through walls, and his mind was not on the stage at all.

He took out the gold watch from his pocket and saw that the hour hand was perfectly positioned at noon.

His heart skipped a beat, and his brows furrowed into a tight knot.
Shen Xingshi was actually late!

In the past, whenever she made an appointment, Shen Xingshi would arrive as punctually as an alarm clock, arriving at the exact time he said he would. What's going on today?
Just as the little flame in the Third Prince's heart was starting to rise and was about to become a wildfire, Shen Xingshi finally rushed in, stumbling and crawling.

"Greetings, Your Highness! Your humble servant deserves to die!" Shen Xingshi said, clasping his hands in a salute while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

The Third Prince's already long face forced a fake smile as he said in a sarcastic tone:
"Mr. Shen, where have you come from? You're so late today. Did you go to the Western Paradise to worship Buddha and obtain scriptures? And what a strange turn of events you encountered on the way!"

Shen Xingshi wiped his sweat and said with a mournful face, "Your Highness summoned me, how could I dare to be negligent! I also wanted to come as soon as possible."

"But today, our magistrate spoke up, saying that from now on, the entire yamen must be on duty on time and off time, so that the Zhengbenqingyuan Division can't find any fault with us."

"He even had someone keep a list of people who were late or left early at the entrance of the government office."

"The government offices in the future probably won't be as free as they used to be!"

He sighed, his tone full of helplessness:

"Before, I could sneak out and visit other people's homes, but now it's like I'm in shackles, harder than climbing to heaven!"

The Third Prince curled his lip and said dismissively, "Is your lord afraid of the Bureau of Clarifying Sources?"

"Fear? How could I not be afraid!"

"Your Highness is unaware of this. Although the Zhengben Qingyuan Division does not directly manage people, once the list is submitted, the court knows exactly who missed their shifts!"

Shen Xingshi lowered his voice and said, "I heard that the Zhengben Qingyuan Division will also issue notices to officials who cannot control their subordinates. Although it won't lead to demotion, it's still embarrassing!"

The third prince said somewhat reluctantly, "According to you, then what about the matter of canceling court..."

"Don't even mention it!" Shen Xingshi waved his hand. "Ever since thirteen colleagues were demoted on the third day, they're all running faster than startled rabbits to get to their shifts!"

Shen Xingshi sighed and said, "Your Highness, we have all studied hard for years and finally obtained a degree and official rank. Who would be willing to have it stripped away?"

"Moreover, the imperial court is currently sharpening its knives, preparing to transfer assistant officials from various prefectures and counties, ostensibly for training, but in reality to replace those who have acted too aggressively!"

"I still feel ashamed to face my demoted colleagues."

"Your Highness," Shen Xingshi glanced at the Third Prince's face and said cautiously, "Could you... think of a way to reinstate them to their original positions?"

The third prince frowned. Although his position was not low, he was a prince of the county.

However, he knew perfectly well that countless eyes were watching the first group of people who were demoted by the Zhengbenqingyuan Division!
You can't just wade into these muddy waters.

The Crown Prince and his father have probably already dug a pit, waiting for some idiot to walk right into it!

Although that's what I was thinking, I still calmly agreed on the surface:

"Don't worry, I remember this. I'll definitely try to mediate and put in a good word for them when I get the chance."

When Shen Xingshi heard the Third Prince start reciting the familiar phrase "there's a chance" again, his heart sank.

Isn't this just a euphemism for "no chance"?
The two remained silent, creating an awkward atmosphere.

In the end, he had no choice but to clasp his hands in a fist salute to the Third Prince and say, "Your Highness, I'll have to trouble you with this matter."

Yunzhi coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, "Is this really going to stay out of this?"

Shen Xingshi knew what the Third Prince was talking about. Although he was somewhat disappointed in the Third Prince, he still said, "Your Highness, people's hearts are now scattered!"

"The team is getting harder to manage!"

The third prince picked up his teacup, took a sip silently, and said nothing more.

As one of the planners of this event, he was well aware that the key to this strike was for everyone to work together.

The emergence of the Bureau for Correcting Roots and Purifying Sources, along with the program to cultivate pillars of society, and the influx of local officials from prefectures and counties to various ministries and temples for training, have already stirred up unrest among the people.

Some are afraid of losing their jobs!
Some are afraid of being included in some kind of "pillar of society" training program!
Some people are not worried about poverty, but about inequality!

Why is it that everyone else is exempt from work and gets away with nothing, while I'm the only one being criticized and made the scapegoat?

They're talking without any sense of the consequences!
With this mindset, one naturally loses the will to fight.

The Third Prince stared at the tea leaves swirling in his teacup, feeling deeply troubled.

He didn't want to accept this outcome.

He had clearly seized the opportunity, found the right people, and planned everything perfectly, so how could the Crown Prince have ruined everything with just a few moves? He forced himself to stay focused and patted Shen Xingshi on the shoulder, saying:

"Brother Xing Shi, you've worked hard. Since things are beyond our control, let's set it aside for now and reconsider our options!"

Shen Xingshi hesitated for a long time before finally rubbing his hands together and saying:

"Third Prince, all the government departments are currently selecting outstanding talents to participate in the National Pillars Training Program. If... if I am selected, you must put in a good word for me!"

"Your Majesty, I still wish to serve you."

Upon hearing this, the Third Prince felt even more disappointed.

This Shen Xingshi is truly a weather vane, always changing with the wind, and when it really matters, he only cares about himself.

He scoffed inwardly, but his face broke into a radiant smile:
"Don't worry, your business is my business!"

Shen Xingshi breathed a sigh of relief, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the Third Prince, and then took his leave.

The third prince watched his departing figure, feeling a wave of helplessness wash over him.
My second elder brother, the Crown Prince, is truly a master at manipulating people's hearts.
With a few casual moves, he turned people's hearts into a disorganized mess.

The dejected third prince pulled a silver coin from his purse and prepared to pay the bill and leave.

The silver dollar glittered dazzlingly in the sunlight, making him suddenly shudder.
Wait a minute, even I'm willing to use these silver dollars, let alone these merchants.

I bet the Crown Prince has already made a fortune.
"Second brother, second brother, your skills are so high and you are so capable of causing trouble. You are one of the strongest princes in history."

He muttered to himself as he walked out dejectedly.

"I just don't know if you can outwit the unassuming Emperor!"

"I'll just wait and see!"

Just as he stepped out of the Qingping Tower, a servant came running up in a panic, still out of breath: "Third Master! Something terrible has happened! I just saw Lord Shen... Lord Shen was taken away by a group of people!"

"We wanted to stop them, but they were carrying the badges of the Infantry Commander's Office. With that kind of presence, who dared to stop them!"

The Third Prince's head buzzed: Oh no, oh no, we've been targeted!
Who arranged this?

Longkodo? The Crown Prince or His Majesty...?

If it's one of the latter two, then he's in big trouble!

He glared fiercely at the servant, about to explode in anger and curse, but then swallowed his anger back.

What's the use of getting angry now? The important thing is to figure out how to get myself out of this mess!

Just as the Third Prince was frantically trying to find a way to shift the blame and save himself, Shen Ye was in the study of Yuqing Palace, receiving an angry head scholar of the Hanlin Academy, Xu Chunping.

This Lord Xu, usually so gentle and refined, was like a cat whose tail had been stepped on today:
"Your Highness, our Hanlin Academy is filled with the elites from every imperial examination; each one is a talent!"

"If they are to be appointed as governors or viceroys, I will not only have no objection, but I will wholeheartedly support it!"

"But sending them to serve as assistant officials to a seventh-rank county magistrate would be an insult to the Hanlin Academy, wouldn't it?"

The man became more and more agitated as he spoke, "This time, the Bureau of Clarifying the Source has transferred nearly half of the Hanlin Academy members. Isn't this ridiculous!"

"They are all future pillars of the nation, how can we treat them like this? Isn't this a waste of resources!"

Shen Ye calmly poured himself a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Lord Xu, calm down. You're absolutely right."

"These scholars are indeed elites who have fought their way out of thousands of soldiers. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the best of the best!"

"However, as the saying goes, there is a sequence to learning, and everyone has their own area of ​​expertise!"

"Lord Xu, don't you think it's like pushing the people into a fire pit to have a Hanlin scholar who has never even seen a land deed settle a land dispute, or to have a talented scholar who can't even tell the difference between the five grains and the five crops?"

“To hand over the livelihoods of an entire county to them directly,” Shen Ye said, raising a finger and shaking it, “that’s not called nurturing, that’s called forcing growth, pushing them into a fire pit!”

"Letting them serve as deputies first is to let them learn through practice. They learn by doing and do by learning."

"Lord Xu should know that knowledge gained from books is ultimately superficial; true understanding requires personal experience!"

"Once they can truly sort out all the trivial matters in the county and mediate all the neighborhood disputes, they'll be qualified to be not only county magistrates, but also prefects and governors!"

Xu Chunping was speechless, his eyes wide with disbelief. He cursed inwardly: You talk a good game!

They clearly wanted to punish those young scholars who participated in the boycott of court, but instead they insisted on talking about training and development!
Xu Chunping had no choice but to rack his brains and try to argue from a different angle: "Your Highness, the Hanlin Academy is, after all, the face of the court. If nearly half of its people are transferred away at once, I'm afraid there won't even be enough manpower to keep it running normally!"

"How about we have the Bureau of Investigation and Verification re-evaluate the number of people?"

"No need!" Shen Ye turned around, her smile as bright as peach blossoms in March. "Giving more places to the Hanlin Academy was something I arranged specifically!"

He walked up to Xu Chunping, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Precisely because the Hanlin Academy is the cradle of important officials, we should let them go out and broaden their horizons. We can't let them become cabinet ministers in the future and then make a fool of themselves with the 'Why don't they eat meat porridge' argument?"

Shen Ye picked up his teacup, smiling innocently, but his eyes clearly said: If you keep nagging, I'll send you out for some training too!
Xu Chunping looked at the Crown Prince's smiling yet treacherous expression and sighed inwardly. This trip had been a complete waste!
(End of this chapter)