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

Chapter 565 If the Crown Prince is Unrighteous, Don't Blame Me for Being Unjust
Longkodo was living a very comfortable life in the Infantry Commander's Office.

Although the Crown Prince came up with another crooked idea out of nowhere and created some kind of "Wind Listening Group".

Fortunately, the three-year-long investigation is finally over, and he, the commander, can finally stand up straight and breathe a sigh of relief.

Sigh, as long as I don't force him to dig up old dirt, nothing else matters. He can't be bothered with anything else!
As for the Listening Group... let them listen to whatever they want, he's not too worried.

With so many government offices, they can't just target me, Longkodo, and fleece me, can they? Otherwise, they'd fleece me completely.
Besides, I just got dealt with by the Crown Prince, shouldn't I be allowed to catch my breath?

Everything should be done with the principle of rest and recuperation!
"grown ups."

His subordinates, all smiles, came over and first respectfully poured him a cup of tea, then presented him with a small, gleaming golden bull.

Although the Taurus was only the size of a palm, Longkodo's eyes lit up instantly:

Good heavens, this is solid gold!
He took it and weighed it in his hand. Wow, it's heavy! It's a good thing!

This thing is worth at least two hundred taels of silver.

"This Taurus is pretty good."

Longkodo weighed it in his left hand and touched it with his right, examining the workmanship closely while casually asking:
"Where did you come from? What do you want to exchange it for?"

His subordinates were already used to his straightforward temperament, and bowed slightly with a smile:
"It was a gift from Manager Wang of the North-South Leather Goods Store."

"He said the taxes at Zhengyangmen were too high, and he was struggling to make ends meet!"

"I beg you, sir, to show leniency and make an exception just a little bit..."

Before he could finish speaking, Longkodo slammed the golden bull back to the ground with a "thud," and sternly reprimanded him with a stern face:

"That's bullshit! That's pure nonsense!"

"The taxes at Zhengyangmen are already much lower than last year! He still complains that they're too high? He's clearly trying to evade taxes!"

"Do you know who receives the taxes from Zhengyang Gate now? They go to the Crown Prince!"

"If you lose his money, do you have more heads on your neck, or am I, Longkodo, more resilient? Can you even afford it!"

"Go tell Manager Wang that you can't get this done through me!"

His subordinate shrank back after being given a severe scolding.

I never expected that the commander, who is usually fearless, would be so afraid of the crown prince.

It seems this matter won't be resolved today.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll go and give him a good scolding right away. He's just causing us trouble. He's only making things difficult for you, sir!"

After saying that, he turned around and tried to slip away.

"Stop right there!" Longkodo pointed at the golden bull on the ground. "Take this thing back!"

"Let me tell you, the Crown Prince has stopped this time, but who knows when he might come back next time."

"Before His Majesty returns to the capital, you all better keep your tails between your legs and behave yourselves!"

"Whoever messes up, don't blame me for being ruthless and turning my back on them!"

The subordinate quickly picked up the golden bull and ran away in a flash.

"Alas... all my gold..." Longkodo picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke with a mournful tone.

It's not that he doesn't love gold, it's just that gold is too hot to handle!
If I take it, who knows what trouble it might cause...

As he was swinging his arm, savoring the weight of the gold, he saw his father's personal attendant, Tong Jiu, stride in.

"Greetings to the General." Tong Jiu kowtowed swiftly.

Longkodo waved his hand: "Alright, alright, just say what the old man wants to tell you!"

"The Duke instructed me to inform the Commander-in-Chief: This time, according to the news, the Infantry Commander's Office is involved."

Tong Jiu was Tong Guowei's confidant and had excellent access to information.

Upon hearing this, Longkodo nearly jumped up on the spot, spilling his tea all over himself.

What the heck? What is the Crown Prince up to? Why is he targeting me again?
I, Longkodo, was involved in the previous security crackdown, which I accepted, since I was in charge of half of the security in the capital.

But why did this "listening to the wind" incident start with me? Is it to make an example of someone?

But he's killing chickens way too often!

Could it be that the Crown Prince wants to force me to choose sides between the Emperor and him?

His Majesty has said that under no circumstances should the military power of the Infantry Commander's Office be handed over.

But if I were to side with the Crown Prince, given His Majesty's methods, let alone being his cousin, even if I were his own son, he would still skin me alive...

Two dragons vying for a pearl—so I'm the pearl?!

The thought flashed through Longkodo's mind, and he almost burst into tears.

He composed himself, and with a glimmer of hope, lowered his voice and asked, "Is it just the Infantry Commander's Office?"

“No, there’s also Shuntian Prefecture, Dali Temple, and Hanlin Academy,” Tong Jiu answered readily.

Hearing that there were three other government offices, especially the Shuntian Prefecture, Longkodo breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It's good that it's not just targeting me; having fellow sufferers around makes me feel a little more at ease.

"The Duke specifically instructed that the Marshal must take this matter seriously!"

"This time, when listening to the wind, the Crown Prince invited Marta and her group of old ministers back to have them oversee things."

Tong Jiu continued:
"The Duke said that these people are not good at getting things done, but they are absolutely adept at ruining things."

"Please be very careful and don't let them trick you."

"Make arrangements early if anything happens, and submit more memorials to the Emperor."

When he heard that Marta and his gang of old guys were coming to listen to the news, Longkodo's lips twitched.

He originally planned to wait for the Listening Wind Group to arrive, put on airs, stall for time, and wear them down.

But Martha... even her father would have to call her a senior.

If you try to play tricks on him, will this old man just slap himself a few times?

The Crown Prince is really troublesome...

"Tell the old man that I know."

After Tong Jiu left, Longkodo pondered for a moment, then quickly summoned several trusted confidants and arranged remedial measures.

Regardless, we need to fix the loopholes first, so we can explain things when the Listening Team arrives. After a chaotic and frantic period, we finally finished.

Longkodo sat down at his desk and began writing a memorial to the Qianxi Emperor.

When the emperor went to war, he hoped that His Majesty would fight for a while longer so that he could relax for a few more months.

But now, his longing for His Majesty is like a surging river, completely unstoppable.

Your Majesty, please come back soon!
In Yingtian Prefecture, Jiangnan, the spring breeze in February is gentle, the grass grows tall and the birds fly, and the peach blossoms are red and the willows are green.

In a large mansion by Xuanwu Lake, Zhang Yushu was reading a letter from the capital, his face cold and expressionless.

The letter was written by someone sent by Zhang Ying—if the two hadn't made an agreement, no one would have known that the letter came from Zhang Ying's hand.

The letter contained only one thing: urging him to take the initiative to go to Beijing as soon as possible.

Otherwise, the Crown Prince might have sent someone to "escort" him to the capital.

The reason was that Cen Youguang, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, impeached him.

This clueless guy claims he instigated a bunch of old guys in Jiangnan to do some dirty work.

He deliberately opposed Cen Youguang, making it impossible for Cen Youguang to even suppress the bandits.

If he were in the capital, Zhang Yushu might have wanted to climb even higher; but now, he has no desire to leave Jiangnan.

There are too many things in Jiangnan that he can't let go of.

He was afraid that if he left, everything would spiral out of control.

Especially with this war, it concerns his life and fortune... If the investigation traces back to him, he'll lose his head.

After thinking it over, his gaze fell on the middle-aged man in his forties who was wearing a blue shirt.

"Mr. Zheng, Grand Secretary Zhang is urging me to go to the capital. What do you think, should I go or not?"

Zhang Yushu already had a plan in mind, but he still asked politely.

Mr. Zheng smiled slightly: "Since you have already made up your mind, why bother asking me again?"

Zhang Yushu's book cover twitched, and he smiled too:
"As the saying goes, 'Listen to both sides and you will be enlightened.' Besides, you are the famous Zhuge Liang of Jiangnan. If we don't ask you, who else can we ask?"

Mr. Zheng was very pleased to hear this.

He smiled and said slowly:

“Master, Cen Youguang is no ordinary man. Even though you are in Jiangnan, you can still keep him in check and make him feel constrained in his actions.”

“Once you leave, he will be like a tiger returning to the mountains and a dragon entering the sea.”

“If the people on the other side of Taihu Lake are wiped out, old matters will inevitably be brought up, and it may implicate you.”

Zhang Yushu frowned.

The last incident was really too much for Ge Li to bear; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken such a risk.

But it's too late to turn back now.

He paced back and forth a few steps, then sighed with a wry smile:

"But Zhang Ying said that if I refuse again, the Crown Prince will take action!"

"Am I really going to rebel and become a bandit on Taihu Lake?"

Seeing his worried face, Mr. Zheng smiled and said, "Sir, there is no need to worry. I have a plan that can resolve this situation."

"Although Cen Youguang has now taken over the control of the Yangtze River Navy, there are still some of our people in it."

"It's springtime now, and the southeast winds are blowing most often."

"If we could set fire to the warships of the river-controlling navy when the wind picks up..."

"The Yangtze River waterway is the domain of Taihu Lake."

"By then, cutting off the north and south will be as simple as saying a word to us."

“Cen Youguang will surely be punished for losing his navy.”

"As for you, sir, you can use the excuse of 'appeasing the people of Jiangnan' to continue staying in Jiangnan."

"Until the imperial court handed over the position of Governor-General of Liangjiang to one of our own from the Jiangnan region."

Zhang Yushu felt a little uneasy looking at Mr. Zheng, who had a calm expression.

If the warships are burned, the river-controlling navy will be truly finished.

If those bandits on Taihu Lake were to cut off the north and south... that would be like tearing a hole in the sky!

But his mind raced, and he knew that this could indeed deliver a fatal blow to Cen Youguang.

Mr. Zheng added softly, "Sir, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"Moreover, this way we can also disrupt the canal transport."

"If the grain transported from the south cannot cross the river, the capital will sooner or later face a grain shortage."

"His Majesty is on a western expedition, and the Crown Prince's primary task is to stabilize the court. He has no choice but to yield!"

"Otherwise, even if he were the crown prince, he wouldn't be able to afford to suffer the consequences."

"After this incident, how dare the Crown Prince easily take action against Jiangnan again?"

Zhang Yushu paced around a few more times, then suddenly slammed his fist on the table.

He feigned a compassionate expression and sighed:
"Burning the warships was a heavy loss... and heartbreaking, but I did all this for the people of Jiangnan!"

"Mr. Zheng, let's do as you say."

"However, Mr. Zheng, please be careful not to let anyone notice the slightest flaw!"

Mr. Zheng's smile deepened, and he cupped his hands, saying, "Rest assured, sir, I am always cautious in my actions and will never cause you any trouble."

"Please wait patiently for good news, my lord."

After Mr. Zheng left, Zhang Yushu glanced at Zhang Ying's letter again and muttered coldly:
"Your Highness, since you are so ruthless and have gone too far in bullying people, then don't blame this old minister for being unjust and presenting you with a grand gift from Jiangnan."

"This old minister... was forced into this situation, he had no other choice!"

　The second update for today is here! Please support me at the end of the month, everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)