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

Chapter 446 Why didn't you give me a Heavenly Strategy General position?
Emperor Qianxi frowned deeply, and almost broke the vermilion brush in his hand!

That brat, the Crown Prince, actually dared to make demands of him! What's even more outrageous is that, while he was angry, he realized that these demands were like a new dish developed by the imperial kitchen—it looked strange, but it actually tasted pretty good!

Expanding overseas territories? Isn't that just like providing the royal family with an overseas villa?

If the crown prince can successfully ascend the throne, this would be the icing on the cake.
If one day the world falls apart, at least there's a way out: facing the sea.

The most ingenious thing is that if one day this brat gets so angry that his heart aches and he needs to be replaced, it would be better to simply throw him to the ends of the earth to be an overseas lord, out of sight and out of mind. That would be a solution.

"Pah, pah, pah!" Emperor Qianxi shook his head violently. "What nonsense am I thinking!"
Although the Crown Prince often made him furious, he only thought about replacing the Crown Prince in the heat of the moment; he never seriously considered it.

Anyway, none of the officials knew.

Although the crown prince is troublesome, he does have the ability to govern the country. The future of the court also needs such a wise monarch.

But then again, if these positions were really given to the Crown Prince, wouldn't that kid pull off some earth-shattering act?

Caught in a dilemma, Emperor Qianxi said to Liang Jiugong, "Please have Ma Qi come over."

Ma Qi had served Emperor Qianxi for many years and could be considered one of his trusted confidants. The two had worked together for many years, and whenever Emperor Qianxi was unsure about something, he liked to consult with Ma Qi.

Ma Qi arrived quickly. He had long anticipated that Emperor Qianxi would not last more than three days before reaching a conclusion with the Crown Prince.

After all, the easiest way to solve the problem of food and supplies right now is to ask the Crown Prince for help.

Emperor Qianxi would not waste his time with the Crown Prince indefinitely.

As soon as Ma Qi entered Emperor Qianxi's Sizhi Study, he saw Emperor Qianxi practicing calligraphy.

Ma Qi stood respectfully to one side, waiting for Emperor Qianxi to finish writing.

"Ma Qi, come and take a look. How is my calligraphy?"

Ma Qi stepped forward and saw that it clearly read: Prince of Qingqiu, General Fubo, Governor-General of Overseas Military Affairs!
Seeing these three titles, Ma Qi was a little confused.

He had a vague recollection of where Qingqiu was, but how could someone who was granted the title of Prince use the name Qingqiu?

Wouldn't it be simpler to just directly appoint someone like the King of Qin or the King of Han?
The imperial court already has the General Who Pacifies the Distant Regions, so why is there an additional General Who Subdues the Waves? Is this a prelude to an expedition to the snowy region?
And the Governor-General of Overseas Military Affairs, Your Majesty, are you sure you're not joking? Do we still have military forces overseas?

Despite his doubts, Ma Qi respectfully said, "Your Majesty's calligraphy is vigorous and powerful, and every stroke is a true reflection of the Liu style."

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand and said, "What do you think of these positions?"

"This servant does not know." Although Ma Qi had a lot of guesses in his mind, he simply said "I don't know" when faced with Emperor Qianxi's question.

He truly had no idea what the Qianxi Emperor was doing.

However, he had a vague feeling that this matter was related to the Crown Prince.

"The Crown Prince wants to expand overseas territories and has asked me for these three positions. Do you think it's better to grant them or not?"

The Qianxi Emperor still wore a faint smile on his face.

But seeing those smiles, Ma Qi's heart skipped a beat: The Crown Prince is really bold, daring to bargain with the Emperor.

He wants to be a great general!

However, remembering what Emperor Qianxi had said about the Crown Prince wanting to open up overseas territories, he cautiously said, "Your Majesty, to be honest, I am not very familiar with the situation overseas."

"So for the time being, I couldn't come up with any good suggestions."

"However, I think that if Your Majesty is still undecided, you can look at the following aspects."

"First, is there a significant profit to be made from managing overseas territories?"

"Secondly, does the imperial court need to invest a large amount of money and grain? If too much is invested, then it is unnecessary."

"Thirdly, does it cause any benefit or harm to the imperial court?"

When Ma Qi got to the third point, he originally wanted to ask if it would be of any benefit or harm to His Majesty, but before he could finish speaking, he cleverly replaced His Majesty with the Imperial Court.

Having served in the military for many years, he knows what can and cannot be said.

Emperor Qianxi carefully considered Ma Qi's words and found them reasonable, which made his resolve even stronger.

Besides the benefits the Crown Prince mentioned, Emperor Qianxi had another reason for agreeing to the Crown Prince's request: he wanted to give the Crown Prince something to do.

Emperor Qianxi did not want to relinquish control over matters of the imperial court.

After all, there can only be two suns in the sky, and before I die, I absolutely cannot allow the crown prince's influence in the court to become too great.

The situation is different for overseas territories.

Although he didn't know how far overseas was, the Crown Prince sent his own people overseas, so the threat to him was much smaller.

As long as these people are closely monitored, the crown prince will not have any power to oppose him.

“Ma Qi, you’re right.” Emperor Qianxi paused for a moment and said, “Since the Crown Prince wants to do something, let him go and do it.”

At this point, Emperor Qianxi suddenly changed the subject and asked, "What is your younger brother Rongbao doing now?"

Hearing the Emperor's sudden concern, Ma Qi felt a chill run down his spine and honestly replied, "Your Majesty, I have been studying behind closed doors recently."

In Ma Qi's view, it was best for him to be loyal to Emperor Qianxi.

After all, Emperor Qianxi had many spies under his command, and there might be things that he was still kept in the dark about while Emperor Qianxi already knew.

Lying about trivial matters is simply making yourself uncomfortable.

Emperor Qianxi nodded and said, "Rongbao is a capable man, so let him work with the Crown Prince."

"The title of Prince of Qingqiu is a real one, so let him go to Qingqiu to serve as the chief minister."

Ma Qi was very dissatisfied with his brother's arrangement. He knew very well that his brother's position was simply a punching bag caught between the Crown Prince and His Majesty.

If anything goes wrong, life will be very difficult. But since Emperor Qianxi made the offer at this time, he couldn't refuse on behalf of his brother.

Because those who were able to obtain this position were all people trusted by Emperor Qianxi.

Emperor Qianxi then chatted with Ma Qi about the matter of immediately dispatching troops after the military funds were collected, before dismissing Ma Qi.

The next morning, Emperor Qianxi summoned Shen Ye to the Sizhi Study. With a hint of pride, he showed him the calligraphy he had written the day before: "What do you think of this?"

Shen Ye paused for a moment and said, "Father, the reason I want the Prince of Sanshanpu is actually to make that place a seaport."

"You've given Qingqiu a good place, but it's still not suitable as a seaport!"

Seeing Shen Ye's distressed appearance, Emperor Qianxi's mood inexplicably improved: "Crown Prince, it's a shame you've studied in the Imperial Study for so many years."

"Don't you know that Sanshanpu was called Qingqiu during the Shang and Zhou dynasties?"

"The title of Prince of Sanshanpu is too unworthy of my bestowal. It sounds too rustic, and I cannot bear the embarrassment of it."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi burst into laughter.

Shen Ye was speechless. He hadn't expected that he would make such a mistake.

However, he couldn't help but think to himself, "You think Prince Sanshanpu is bad? Don't you think General Fubo is better than General Tiance?"

Why don't you give me a Heavenly Strategy General?

But he could only keep these things to himself and couldn't say them out loud.

He smiled and said, "Father is wise; your son is not well-versed in his studies."

Emperor Qianxi did not dwell on the place name Qingqiu, but said in a deep voice, "Crown Prince, I can give you these three positions."

"However, I want to make three rules with you: the court cannot provide any support for the development of overseas territories."

"There's no money, no ships, you'll have to rely on yourself for everything."

"If you can create it, that's your own ability; if you can't, don't expect to get any support from me."

At this point, Emperor Qianxi said in a deep voice: "You, as the General Fubo, are not allowed to land anywhere except at Qingqiu Port."

"Otherwise, I will not show mercy."

Shen Ye was quite pleased that Emperor Qianxi had agreed to his request.

He smiled and said, "Father, rest assured, I will certainly obey your decree."

Emperor Qianxi nodded and said, "I will have the Southern Study issue an imperial edict tomorrow regarding these matters. As for the military expenses for the army's departure, when will you provide them to me?"

"I'm telling you, I want to see these four million taels of silver within ten days at most."

"Otherwise, I will take back all the titles I have given you."

"Father, please rest assured, I will definitely prepare the four million military expenses for you on time."

"However, this requires the cooperation of the Ministry of Revenue."

Emperor Qianxi waved his hand and said, "You are the Minister in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. You can discuss anything with Ma Qi. I don't care about anything else, I just want the result!"

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Then I will go find Ma Qi."

Just as Shen Ye was about to slip away, Emperor Qianxi suddenly called out to him: "Yunye, wait a moment!"

Shen Ye didn't know what Emperor Qianxi was going to do, but he still obediently stopped.

Emperor Qianxi waved the paper with three official titles written on it at Shen Ye and said, "After this imperial edict was issued, do you think it was good or bad for you?"

"If the crown prince holds all three positions, some ministers might see it as mere misconduct."

"You have to think about it!"

Emperor Qianxi's words were not meant as a threat. The Crown Prince had always been a high-ranking heir apparent, able to both manage and ignore all matters.

But now, Shen Ye has taken these three positions, which may be seen as unorthodox by some people.

He smiled and said, "Father, these three positions were proposed by your son. I have also considered the consequences. Rest assured, your son will never regret it!"

Emperor Qianxi said nothing more, and waved his hand, signaling Shen Ye to leave.

After Shen Ye left the Sizhi Study, Emperor Qianxi frowned again.

He was probably the first emperor in the world to be forced by his crown prince to accept an official position. It's hard to say whether his decree was a blessing or a curse.

However, from now on, I will have to pay more attention to the Crown Prince.

Thinking about what the Crown Prince had said to him some time ago, a hint of doubt flashed through his mind. Would he really become very suspicious of the Crown Prince in the end?
Is it like Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang?

Just as various thoughts were swirling in Emperor Qianxi's mind, Liang Jiugong rushed in.

"What's wrong?" Emperor Qianxi's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

He had just agreed to the Crown Prince's request, and was not in a good mood at the moment.

Liang Jiugong knelt down with a thud, panting, and said, "Your Majesty, I have just received news that Duke Yansheng, Kong Yujin... has hanged himself."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi suddenly stood up.

At this moment, he had only one thought in his mind: one wave had not yet subsided, and another was already attacking!
Why did Kong Yujin hang herself?

Why can't things ever get any quieter?

(End of this chapter)