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

Chapter 439 Finding money is no human endeavor!

Nuomin and Fuerxing were Emperor Qianxi's right-hand men and trusted confidants.

When speaking to his own people, Emperor Qianxi didn't hold back. He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "With the army setting off, provisions and pay cannot be lacking."

"The problem is that the Ministry of Revenue is currently dirt poor and simply cannot come up with that much money for the expedition."

"Eighth Brother has worked hard all this time, and he has only managed to scrape together 1.5 million taels of silver."

"Moreover, this money cannot all be used as military pay."

Upon hearing this, Fu Erxing and Nuomin's expressions also turned serious.

As the two top leaders of the Ministry of War, they knew all too well how important fighter jets were!

That thing is fleeting; once you miss it, you can never get it back!
But when it came to the issue of silver that Emperor Qianxi mentioned... they were truly at a loss!

After all, one was in charge of the soldiers and the other was in charge of the generals; neither of them was in charge of minting silver.

The two exchanged a silent glance and, in perfect unison, chose to remain silent.

Emperor Qianxi looked at their "I can't do it" expressions and sighed inwardly. He knew that this was not their fault, since they were not responsible for making money.

Moreover, nowadays, we still need their help in the war.

"You all go about your business first. I'll figure out a way to deal with the money later."

At this point, as if afraid that the two might have misunderstood, Emperor Qianxi added emphatically, "Don't worry, it won't delay the army's departure in any way."

Nuomin and Fuerxing were intelligent people. Since Emperor Qianxi had already said so much, although they were still very uneasy, they knew they couldn't ask any more questions.

So the two bowed respectfully and quickly left the scene.

"Go and summon Yunsi to me!"

Emperor Qianxi's voice was low, but the anger within it was noticeable even to Liang Jiugong and Wei Zhu, who were standing beside him.

Both of them were quick-witted and realized at the same time that it was not a good time to stay any longer, so they quickly slipped away!
Just as Emperor Qianxi was searching for the Eighth Prince, the Eighth Prince, Yunsi, was at the residence of Grand Secretary Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying had just finished her shift when she saw the Eighth Prince waiting in the living room and wondered to herself: Why is this lord here?

While trying to figure out the Eighth Prince's purpose, he respectfully bowed and said, "Your subject Zhang Ying greets Prince Lian."

The Eighth Prince quickly reached out to help him up, and said sincerely, "Mr. Zhang, you used to lecture us on the Book of Documents when you were in the Imperial Study."

"Speaking of which, you are my teacher. How can a teacher bow to a student?"

"I should be the one paying my respects to you!"

Just as the Eighth Prince was about to clasp his hands in greeting, Zhang Ying quickly waved his hand and said, "Prince Lian, it is my honor to be able to teach you and the princes."

"But etiquette cannot be disregarded in the imperial court."

After exchanging a few polite words, the two took their seats as host and guest.

The Eighth Prince first inquired about Zhang Ying's health, then got to the point: "Mr. Zhang, you should be aware of the current situation facing the court."

"Without silver, the army cannot set out!"

"My father is so worried about the money that he can't sleep at night."

"As a son, shouldn't I share my father's burdens?"

At this point, the Eighth Prince's expression became even more serious: "But, these millions of taels of silver are no small sum."

"Even though I put in all my effort and worked myself to the bone, I only managed to collect one-third of it."

"The military situation is urgent, and I have no choice but to ask Mr. Zhang for help."

A bitter look appeared on Zhang Ying's face as he said, "Prince Lian, I admire your filial piety and sense of responsibility!"

"To be honest, I am aware that the imperial court is short of money."

"Recently, I have been thinking every day about where to get some money so that I can share the burden for Your Majesty and the court."

"It's a pity that I don't have the ability to turn stones into gold, so I have no way to raise this batch of silver."

"Hey!"

Zhang Ying's final sigh perfectly conveyed her helplessness.

However, the Eighth Prince has been in the palace for so many years, what kind of drama hasn't he seen?

They have a very high ability to distinguish between all kinds of pretense and affectation.

He could tell at a glance that Zhang Ying's act was completely insincere.

He decided to cut to the chase and lay his cards on the table: "Lord Zhang, I've heard that there are many powerful families in Jiangnan, whose wealth is comparable to that of a nation."

"And these people have a very close relationship with Lord Zhang."

"I wonder if Lord Zhang could help me make a connection and borrow three million taels of silver from them?"

"If I can borrow this money, I will advise His Majesty to postpone the implementation of the policy of taxing officials and gentry together."

The change from "Mr. Zhang" to "Lord Zhang" was the Eighth Prince's way of expressing his dissatisfaction: Don't push your luck!

Don't treat me like a child just because I called you "sir" a few times.

I was just being polite to you.

What followed was an even more blatant negotiation with Zhang Ying.

Zhang Ying glanced at the Eighth Prince, who had a serious expression, and then said helplessly, "Prince Lian, I think you may have some misunderstandings about the situation in Jiangnan."

"Although Jiangnan is prosperous, there is too little farmland. Most families are content with modest wealth and uphold the tradition of farming and studying."

"The kind of extremely wealthy families you're talking about simply don't exist."

“They would have to pool together hundreds of thousands of taels of silver to sell land and property! Three million taels of silver wouldn’t be enough, even if we killed them!” “Besides, I haven’t been back to my hometown for many years since I left at the age of thirty, and I’m not familiar with the situation there anymore.”

"I would appreciate it if Prince Lian could inquire further."

Zhang Ying's last words seemed polite, but they were actually a combination of soft and firm, a calm and collected rebuke: Don't believe everything you hear!
The Eighth Prince thought to himself: I got this information from Ma Qi and Tong Guowei, how could it be false?

The fact that both of them were giving him their honest advice proves one thing: Zhang Ying, that old fox, wasn't telling him the truth!

He stared at the composed Zhang Ying, and after a moment of silence said, "I will remember Lord Zhang's teachings."

"I'll send someone to Jiangnan to find out more about it later."

"Lord Zhang, I sincerely want to be your friend."

"I believe that once you spend more time with him, you'll understand what kind of person Yun Si is."

Zhang Ying smiled and pretended not to notice the threat in those words.

He said calmly, "Eighth Prince, I also hope that you will get better and better."

"However, there are some things that I truly cannot do."

"Please forgive me, Eighth Prince, and don't force me to do something I don't understand."

After a few more awkward exchanges, the Eighth Prince felt that continuing the conversation would be a waste of breath and decisively took his leave.

Given Zhang Ying's status and age, her son could simply see the guests off.

But Zhang Ying insisted on personally escorting the Eighth Prince, Yun Si, to the gate.

“Father, the Eighth Prince is asking us for help at this time because he has no other choice.”

"By refusing outright, aren't you just creating another enemy out of nowhere?"

"If we can help him, we can not only use him to put pressure on the Crown Prince, but we might also be able to overturn that ridiculous rule that taxes officials and gentry should be levied together!"

After watching the Eighth Prince's carriage depart, Zhang Tingyu asked his father, puzzled.

Zhang Ying glanced at her son and said indifferently, "I am tempted by the conditions offered by the Eighth Prince, but you should know that if we really do it, there will be endless troubles in the future!"

"Think about it, the national treasury is empty, and even His Majesty's Imperial Household Department is almost starving."

"If at this time we were to reveal that we have a huge amount of money, or even that some of us are richer than a country, what do you think the consequences would be?"

"His Majesty is so greedy for money that his eyes are practically red. When he sees a fat sheep, does he still care about martial ethics?"

Zhang Tingyu gasped, cold sweat beading on his forehead—the old fox is indeed spicier!

At that moment, he suddenly realized that his father's actions showed he had a complete grasp of the emperor's thoughts!
He quickly bowed and said, "My son was reckless!"

"You're very good at studying, but you're still far from being good at interpersonal relationships!"

"After this imperial examination, you will embark on your official career. Remember, at all times, listen more, observe more, and speak less."

"A thousand words are not as good as silence!"

After scolding her son, Zhang Ying sighed again.

In truth, he was very willing to cooperate with the Eighth Prince.

However, the price to pay for cooperating with the Eighth Prince would be too high.

If Emperor Qianxi knew how wealthy the gentry of Jiangnan were, wouldn't he have squeezed them dry?
This isn't lending money; it's throwing your life away!
“Father, the Eighth Prince can’t raise the money. Do you think His Majesty should give up on the Snow Region, or go to the Crown Prince for help?” Zhang Tingyu asked again.

Zhang Ying hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know."

"However, given His Majesty's personality, he certainly won't give up on the Snow Region."

"If you ask me, this military deployment is a typical example of wasting manpower and resources, and in the end, it will most likely be a waste of time and effort!"

"But what can we do once His Majesty has made a decision?"

The Eighth Prince left Zhang Ying's house seething with anger. He gritted his teeth and plotted to immediately go and discuss with Tong Guowei and the others, determined to teach this ungrateful Zhang Ying a lesson.

Since he won't take the toast, then let him take the penalty drink!

But before he could go to find Tong Guowei, he received an order from Emperor Qianxi to come to see him.

Upon hearing this news, the Eighth Prince's heart skipped a beat:
The Emperor is looking for him so urgently, it can't be anything good!
The most likely question is whether the money has been raised yet!

He initially thought raising money would be a piece of cake, but reality taught him a lesson.
Those ministers and officials who were usually very close to him are now all keeping their distance.

It was as if they were afraid of getting involved with them!
Finding money is no human task!

"Eunuch Liang, what does Father Emperor want with me?" The Eighth Prince showed Liang Jiugong the respect he always had.

Who is Liang Jiugong? He's a shrewd person in the palace; you can't offend the Crown Prince, and you can't offend the Eighth Prince either.

What if he comes to power later?

So he replied with a smile, "His Majesty didn't say, and this old servant doesn't know either."

"But just now, Nuomin and Fuerxing came by, and I don't know what they talked about, but His Majesty's mood was not very good."

The Eighth Prince understood the situation, but knowing it didn't mean he had no money, and he couldn't conjure it up!

Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, just as he was about to pay his respects, Emperor Qianxi coldly asked, "Eighth Prince, have you raised the four million taels of silver?"

Seeing the Emperor Qianxi's unfriendly expression, the Eighth Prince knelt down with a thud: "Father, I have done my best."

"Unfortunately... we haven't raised the money yet."

　The second update for today is here! Please support, recommend, and vote, everyone!

(End of this chapter)