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

Chapter 570 People shouldn't be too kind-hearted.

After seeing off Tong Guowei and his gang of old foxes, Shen Ye stretched at the entrance of the palace.

I thought to myself, these old guys, each of them speaks with hidden meanings, their words are full of barbs, they're giving me a headache.

Forget it, so what if the sky falls?

There's a newborn baby waiting at home, that's the real business.

Thinking of this, I turned around and walked towards the Phoenix Palace.

Before I even entered, I could hear a burst of cheers from inside.

That's for sure. The Crown Princess gave birth to the legitimate grandson of the Emperor. Who doesn't know what that means?
When Shen Ye entered, Shi Jingrong was leaning against the headboard.

His eyes were fixed on the little bundle of flesh sleeping soundly beside him.

The little boy clenched his fists tightly, looking like he was trying very hard.

Shen Ye's heart softened suddenly, and she tiptoed over.

With both hands dangling in mid-air, it seemed eager to give me a quick hug!

But after extending his hand halfway, he immediately pulled it back.

Forget it, waking up this little devil is no joke.

In the end, he only dared to gently squeeze the little fist with his fingertips.

It's so soft and nice. But as I squeezed it, a thought suddenly popped into my head:
Being the crown prince is a bit tiring for me.

But can I bear to let this little one suffer the pain of being deposed as crown prince along with me?
Shen Ye knew all too well what kind of treatment the descendants of those deposed crown princes received in history.

According to the alternate history, the deposed crown prince's legitimate son was eventually suspected by the Ten-Complete Old Man and directly accused of treason.

Regardless of whether it's true or not, the past few days in the position of Crown Prince have made Shen Ye realize one thing:

What does it mean to fabricate a crime?

It means that if the emperor thinks you need to be guilty, then you have to be guilty!

Thinking of this, Shen Ye stared at the child even more intently, and his expression unconsciously became serious.

Just as she was getting distracted, Shi Jingrong whispered a reminder:
"Your Highness, please stop touching his little hands. If you do, he'll wake up and whine for another half an hour!"

"No matter how I try to coax him, I can't get him to listen."

Shen Ye quickly withdrew his hand and chuckled, "Alright, alright, let this kid sleep well, I won't disturb him."

When did the Empress Dowager and the others leave?

Shi Jingrong's eyes sparkled; though tired, she couldn't hide her smile.

"The Empress Dowager just left, and two old women are still here to take care of things."

"By the way, the Empress Dowager has issued an edict that my mother will come to the palace to stay for a few days tomorrow."

Shen Ye clapped his hands and said, "The Empress Dowager is so thoughtful! Then I will have Zhou Bao take people to pick up my mother-in-law tomorrow."

The two chatted for a while longer, and Shen Ye touched her son's chubby little hand again before feeling satisfied and strolling back to Yuqing Palace.

The court officials have already proposed increasing the tax; does Shen Ye intend to stop it?
Okay, then come up with an even better idea!

Buying grain?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when I shook my head.

At this critical juncture of food shortage, grain prices have already skyrocketed, so there are hardly any sellers left who are willing to negotiate.
Hoping to raise enough military supplies by buying grain is simply a drop in the ocean, it's too difficult!
Just as Shen Ye was worrying, he caught a glimpse of Cen Youguang's memorial from the Governor-General of Liangjiang's office.

Without even opening it, the overwhelming sense of injustice seemed to emanate from the folded paper.

No wonder, the warships were burned to ashes, and the Yangtze River waterway was cut off just like that.

With this huge black pot being poured on him, Cen Youguang probably won't be able to escape it.

If they're lucky, to put it mildly, they might lose their official position and title.

Bad luck... Sigh, a chill runs down the back of my neck; it might be the end for me.

In his memorial, Cen Youguang cried out for justice while gritting his teeth and exposing the truth:
Not only are there traitors within the navy, but there are probably also some officials and gentry in Jiangnan who are in cahoots with the rebels!
Otherwise, where would so much tung oil come from?
How could a single fire cause such a large-scale fire?
Between the lines, besides resentment, there was only a sense of exhaustion and resignation.

"Your Highness, the Thirteenth Prince's memorial!" Zhou Bao's shout brought Shen Ye back to reality.

Shen Ye immediately perked up: "Quick! Bring it here!"

The tearful memorial from Cen Youguang in his hand was immediately tossed aside.

Forget about canal transport and extra taxes, they're all out of the question!
Even if the sky falls, we should first see what new tricks the thirteenth prince has up his sleeve.

Sure enough, as soon as the letter was opened, the thirteenth prince's smugness was immediately apparent.

Compared to the gloom of Cen Youguang, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, the memorial from the Thirteenth Prince was much more cheerful!
The thirteenth prince was practically strutting around in the letter:
Second Brother Crown Prince, the "Fubo Army" signboard you approved is incredibly effective!
Our business is quite lively now:

Any force willing to fly under our Fubo Army banner can obey orders but not proclamations, and their original territories will remain under their control.
Furthermore, the Qingqiu Kingdom freely accepted all the looted items, and...

According to the thirteenth prince, this is hardly the establishment of an army.

He had clearly created a grand maritime alliance with himself, the crown prince and general in charge of subduing the waves, as its leader.

With this official status, the Cheng family was finally no longer caught between the imperial court and the Westerners, like duckweed adrift.
Even the ordinary pirate henchmen could receive various supplies from the imperial court, so they wouldn't have to drift at sea and starve every day.
Suddenly, I'm officially a government employee...

"Although there are a lot of problems," the letter suddenly shifted its tone, becoming quite frank:

"But at least it's a force with a banner—a rough estimate suggests they can field a force of 100,000 men!" Of course, the thirteenth prince then proceeded to reveal his entire force:

The only ones they could truly command at will were their own five thousand Qingqiu naval troops, plus a small group of newly recruited "unclaimed" pirates.

I have an army of 100,000!
Shen Ye's lips curled up as he looked on: Good heavens, I've become the commander-in-chief of an army of 100,000?

Although only the thirteenth prince's five thousand naval troops could be directly mobilized.
At the end of the letter, the thirteenth prince said that he was sailing out to sea on a warship to meet with the Cheng family.

Seeing the scene of heroes from all sides bowing and prostrating themselves, Shen Ye suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

He jumped up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around the room twice, his eyes growing brighter with each turn.

Finally, he stopped abruptly, grabbed a pen, and began writing a letter to his thirteenth brother:
An idea has come to me!

This maritime alliance might actually solve the food shortage on land!

As Shen Ye was pondering this, Wei Zhu rushed in to report, "Your Highness, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner's memorial has arrived."

Shen Ye opened it and saw that it was a long, rambling piece of text, but it all boiled down to one thing:
I am guilty, but I have no choice.

Because the Yangtze River was controlled by river bandits, the grain transported from the south was blocked in Suzhou and Hangzhou, making it difficult to travel north along the Grand Canal.

The Grand Canal Transport Commissioner requested the imperial court to quickly suppress the rebels and dredge the Yangtze River waterway to allow grain transport ships to cross the river.

A cold glint flashed in Shen Ye's eyes as he looked at the contents.

The Grand Canal Transport Commissioner's memorial was less a plea for forgiveness and more a series of excuses:
It wasn't that he didn't want to share the burden of the court, nor that he didn't want to work, but rather that the current situation made it difficult for him to make any progress.

After all, he only had a few guards protecting the grain transport vessels; they might be able to intimidate some bandits.

But he was no match for the ruthless bandits who had rebelled against the river's navy; he couldn't defeat them.

Upon seeing the line "millions of bushels of grain were trapped in Suzhou and Hangzhou," Shen Ye suddenly sat up straight:

Suzhou-Hangzhou sea area
Shen Ye's plan quickly took shape in his mind. He paced back and forth a few times and felt that the plan was completely feasible.

I've got an idea!

As he paced back and forth, he instructed Wei Zhu, "Go and invite Lord Yu Chenglong over."

Yu Chenglong is the governor of the fast lane, and he has achieved remarkable results in the past year or so.

With Shen Ye's support, preparations are underway to build a fast passage from Tongzhou to the south.

According to Shen Ye and his plan, the ultimate goal of this fast route is Kaifeng.

Once it connects to the heart of Henan, this passage will gradually connect the north and south, just like the Grand Canal.

However, the cost of building expressways is too high. Even though many people are envious of the money that expressways can make, there are too many things that need to be coordinated.

Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had summoned him, Yu Chenglong rushed over in a great hurry!
Upon meeting him, he lowered his voice and advised, "Your Highness, when faced with two evils, choose the lesser one!"

"His Majesty's army is currently engaged in battle; under no circumstances should our supplies be cut off!"

"Otherwise, what will the world think? What will His Majesty think?"

His words were spoken from the heart; only a close friend would say something so blunt and taboo.

Shen Ye understood what Yu Chenglong meant, but shook his head and said, "Lord Yu, I understand everything you're saying."

"But if taxes are levied, even if there is no rebellion, how many families will be destroyed and people will die this spring?"

Yu Chenglong was speechless for a moment, and after holding it in for a long time, he finally cursed:
"Damn Jiangnan! These bastards are wicked!"

Then he cupped his hands and said:
"If Your Highness trusts me, I am willing to go to Jiangnan in person!"

"Within two months, we will definitely open up the Yangtze River waterway and drive back these traitors!"

Shen Ye looked at Yu Chenglong, who was so loyal and devoted, and felt a little moved.

Yu Chenglong's willingness to make such a pledge can be considered a desperate gamble.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Yu Chenglong's abilities, but rather that he didn't trust the guys in Jiangnan.

"Lord Yu, don't worry. The fast track is now in a period of rapid development, and this business can't function without you."

"I invited you here because I want to take a different approach."

"The memorial from the Grand Canal Administration says that the grain supplies are currently stuck in Suzhou and Hangzhou. Since they are blocking the Yangtze River, then we will take the sea route!"

"As long as the grain is transported to Yangzhou by sea, without crossing the Yangtze River, the army's provisions will not be delayed."

At this point, Shen Ye took out a map and said:

"The traitorous river control naval force numbered only ten to twenty thousand, and their ships were all riverboats."

"If we transport grain by sea, without going through the Yangtze River, wouldn't that solve the problem?"

"Once the maritime transport problem is solved, dealing with these traitors who control the river navy will only be a matter of time."

Yu Chenglong had served as an official in Jiangnan. Upon hearing Shen Ye's words, he looked at the map.

After watching for a while, he murmured:
“Your Highness, what you’ve said is only theoretically feasible.”

"However, I'm afraid this commotion won't escape the notice of the rebel forces in the river-controlling navy!"

"Your Highness, the sea is not safe either!"

(End of this chapter)