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

Chapter 551 Observing the Imperial Clan, I found that their fear of the Crown Prince surpassed that of Your Majesty.

How can we appease the Crown Prince?
Do we all need to study this now?
A wave of sorrow washed over Yarjianga!
The people in front of me are all princes of the imperial family!
He wished he could shake them awake one by one:
Gentlemen!
When your ancestors were fighting alongside Emperor Taizu and Emperor Taizong to establish the empire, they were the kind of people who wouldn't even blink if a knife were held to their throats!
Can't you guys learn from the arrogance of your ancestors?
When they arrived, they were all high and mighty, shouting that they had to get an explanation.
As he left, he was already thinking about how to appease the Crown Prince—how frustrating!

However, we do need to appease the Crown Prince. If we continue to be so confrontational, someone else might have to take his title again.

However, the responsibility for this matter cannot fall solely on my shoulders.

I can't be the only one to take the blame for this, can I?

Thinking of this, Yarjan turned to the man who had just spoken and said, "Yatubu, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want."

"It wasn't me, Yarjiang'a, who instigated everyone to come and seek justice for Prince Yu."

"You all came here voluntarily."

After saying that, he glanced around and lowered his voice:
Instead of blaming each other here, why don't we go home and see if we've gotten caught doing anything wrong in our own household these past few years?

"Yes, let's get it sorted out quickly."

"It would be best to give it to me later..."

Yarjiang'a was about to speak when he suddenly realized something and swallowed his words back.

He originally wanted to say "submit a memorial to Emperor Qianxi", but then he thought, this is the imperial palace, there are ears everywhere inside and outside the palace.

If the Crown Prince's men overheard this, given his temper, he might just imprison me.

Although it was uncertain whether the Crown Prince had any leverage over them, this risk could not be taken.

The members of the imperial clan were still in shock at the imprisonment of Prince Chengshun, and no one spoke for a moment. They all began to think about their own family affairs.

Some even thought that they should close their doors to visitors for a while and hide away to avoid running into the Crown Prince.

Your Majesty, when will you return from your expedition?
In this capital city, the Crown Prince now holds absolute power. We, his people, are hoping that you will uphold justice.

We've missed you so much!
They came in full force, but left dejected.

The imperial family's visit to the palace was a case of "much ado about nothing," a defeat in their first battle.

The news quickly reached the Southern Study.

Hearing that yet another hereditary prince had been imprisoned, the air in the Southern Study seemed to grow heavier.

At this time of day, eunuchs would usually be quietly coming in to change the tea, but today there wasn't a soul in sight.

Has the Crown Prince gone mad?
He's dealing with one prince and one duke a day, isn't he afraid of offending the entire imperial clan?

The Eighth Prince sat opposite Tong Guowei, his voice carrying a hint of something amiss:

"Prime Minister Tong, shouldn't we do something about this?"

Tong Guowei slowly pinched the temples of his tortoiseshell glasses, squinted at them in the light for a long time, and then let out a long sigh.

He felt this matter was too troublesome—the Crown Prince's approach was like an untamed wild horse, too unruly!

The most troublesome thing is when the opponent doesn't play by the rules at all.

Logically speaking, shouldn't the Crown Prince, who is in charge of the country, be able to steadily maintain the status quo, and befriend the imperial family and win their support?
Even if you do nothing, you should at least follow the established rules and stop making a mess of things!
But this man, acting as regent, was so flamboyant and disruptive that it was like setting off fireworks in the capital, causing chaos and upheaval.

He looked up at the Eighth Prince: "Eighth Prince, how should we handle this matter?"

"The Southern Study has never interfered in matters concerning the imperial family."

"Besides, this time they walked right into the trap. The Crown Prince has a firm grip on the evidence, so there's no way we can overturn the case!"

The Eighth Prince knew that Tong Guowei was right, but many of these members of the imperial clan supported him.

That utterly unlucky Prince Shuncheng only went to bolster his reputation because of him.

If he completely abandons the project, he won't be able to explain himself, and who would want to stick with him in the future?
After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice and said:

"Prime Minister Tong, the Crown Prince is so domineering. I'm afraid that if this goes on for too long, he will intimidate all the officials in the court."

"From now on, no one will dare to challenge him!"

"By then, it will probably be difficult for us to control him."

Tong Guowei put his glasses back on his nose and fell into deep thought again.

The crown prince has now used this as an excuse to intimidate the imperial clan.

These arrogant old men with yellow belts, who usually look down on everyone else, are probably too scared to even breathe loudly right now.

As long as the Emperor doesn't return to the capital, they have to obey the Crown Prince's every command and keep a low profile.

What's next?
What happens after dealing with the imperial clan? Surely the Crown Prince won't stop there?

Then, shouldn't the next blow be directed at the civil and military officials?

At that time, how much say will he, as the prime minister, still have?

Tong Guowei's expression grew increasingly grave.

He was also very clear in his heart:
Among the officials who are of high moral character, there are naturally some upright individuals. Not all of them are necessarily problematic, but which family doesn't have a few troublesome relatives or servants?
Even he himself wasn't sure!
If you really look into it, there are a lot of flaws, and any one of them can be used to make a fuss.

But how can we stop them?

Instruct the Infantry Commander's Office and the Shuntian Prefecture to only deal with minor officials and not touch the civil and military officials.

"What do you think we should do, Eighth Master?" Tong Guowei took a deep breath and simply pushed the problem back to him.

The Eighth Prince shook his head with a wry smile.

This time, the Crown Prince used an open and aboveboard strategy, investigating openly and honestly, which rendered his previous methods ineffective.

"Prime Minister Tong, I don't have a good solution right now."

“But if we let the Crown Prince continue like this, our troubles will only get bigger and bigger.” Tong Guowei nodded, then hesitated and said, “Forcibly stopping him is a bad idea, it definitely won’t work.”

"I think it would be better to start from two places: the Infantry Commander's Office and Shuntian Prefecture."

"I'll go sit with the Infantry Commander's office and offer a few words of advice. Eighth Master, you can go to Shuntian Prefecture for tea and have a chat there."

"There's no need to spell it out. Just remind them to 'be mindful of boundaries' in everything they do—just catch a few petty thugs and hooligans."

"Matters involving the dignity of the imperial court should be put on hold for a while, and then 'handled at one's discretion'."

The Eighth Prince looked at Tong Guowei's serious face and secretly admired him.

This move may seem like it did nothing, but it actually turned a raging fire into lukewarm water; it was truly cunning.

Just like in "Journey to the West":

Monsters with powerful backers have all been taken back to heaven by their masters;

The rest of the monsters that were killed by the Golden Cudgel were just wild monsters with no background!

"Prime Minister Tong's insight is truly remarkable; his considerations are indeed thorough." As the Eighth Prince rose, a smile finally appeared on his face.

"I'll go to Shuntian Prefecture now. Please take care of things at the Infantry Commander's Office."

"It's my duty," Tong Guowei smiled. "As long as we can stall until His Majesty returns to the capital, everything will be easy."

Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince couldn't help but cry out in his heart: Father, when will you come back!

After seeing off the Eighth Prince, Tong Guowei's expression darkened even more.

Although he came up with this delaying tactic, didn't the Crown Prince have any backup plans?

We still need to submit a memorial to the Emperor, asking him to restrain the Crown Prince.

On Emperor Qianxi's side, the army had already arrived outside Xining City.

Before the war drums had even sounded, battle reports were already arriving like snowflakes, keeping Emperor Qianxi extremely busy.

No matter how busy he was, he dared not neglect to read the imperial edicts—he had never let his guard down when it came to matters in the capital.

Among a pile of memorials, he focused on those from Tong Guowei, the ministers of the Southern Study, several confidants, and the Crown Prince.

When Emperor Qianxi saw in Tong Guowei's memorial that the Crown Prince was carrying out a "security rectification in the capital," causing panic among the imperial clan, he frowned.

Tong Guowei was a seasoned veteran; he didn't utter a single direct criticism of the Crown Prince throughout the entire piece.

He only said, "Recently, the rectification in the capital has been too strict, causing panic among the imperial family. I fear that people's hearts are unsettled."

Finally, he expressed his deep concern about the stability of the imperial court.

Emperor Qianxi snorted and picked up the Crown Prince's memorial again.

The Crown Prince's memorial was concise, to the point, and without a single superfluous word:

It is said that since the Emperor left the capital, all sorts of evil spirits have emerged. Your subject believes that only a severe crackdown can rectify the social atmosphere!
A crackdown can ensure the people's safety, deter petty criminals, and even more so, deter lawless nobles!
Finally, he gave a detailed report on the cases of Prince Yu, Prince Chengshun, and Qingliang, emphasizing in particular:

Qingliang dares to be so arrogant because Prince Yu indulges him!
If he dares to disregard the Crown Prince today, he will be even more arrogant tomorrow!

Upon seeing this last sentence, Emperor Qianxi's face turned cold.

Although he was wary of the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince was, after all, the rightful heir apparent.

Let alone Qingliang being just the son of a prince, even Prince Yu himself should bow respectfully to the Crown Prince!

"Have I been too lenient with them in the past?"

He muttered to himself, suddenly realizing that the Crown Prince's outburst wasn't entirely without reason.

In his view, the Crown Prince's actions were not wrong—in fact, they were quite timely.

That's the speed—good heavens, one prince a day! That's incredibly efficient at offending people!
Emperor Qianxi put down the memorial, pondered it for a long time, and suddenly felt much better:

The more the Crown Prince offends the imperial clan, the more at ease I feel.

Won't these people become even more obsequious to me in the future?
When I return to the capital, I will show you some favor, and everyone will be moved to tears and shout that the Emperor's grace is boundless.
This... doesn't seem like a bad deal!

He picked up his pen and wrote on the Crown Prince's memorial:
"The capital is the most important place, and I think it is very appropriate to improve public order."

Next, let's look at Longkodo's memorial.

Longkodo was a very practical person; he wrote down everything, big and small.

The Infantry Commander's Office arrested more than 300 people in five days, and now the streets of the inner city are so orderly that "no one picks up lost items on the road and doors are left unlocked at night."

Finally, he emphasized that all of the above was done in accordance with the Crown Prince's wishes.

Emperor Qianxi clicked his tongue in amazement.

I've only been away from the capital for a short time, and you've already treated the entire city like a bathhouse, scrubbing it clean!
Finally, he wrote three large characters: "Understood."

These words seemed casual, but in reality, he had already begun to ponder: Had I been too lenient with them before?

Finally, I saw Yarjiang's memorial.

This gentleman is quite a character; he poured out his grievances in his memorial.

The royal family's joint plea for leniency was met with a rebuttal from the Crown Prince, leaving them speechless. Yet, they still managed a stroke of genius at the end:
"From my observation, the members of the imperial clan fear the Crown Prince more than Your Majesty!"

Snapped!
Emperor Qianxi slammed his hand on the table.

Yarjiang, your words are truly hurtful!
But he read it twice more carefully, and his brows furrowed involuntarily...

Finally, he picked up the vermilion brush and drew a big X on the folded document.

(End of this chapter)