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

Chapter 93 The Wind Rises on the Green Grass, One Link After Another

The crown prince cannot be too outstanding!

A crown prince who is too outstanding will overshadow the emperor's brilliance!
These words stunned the eldest prince.

In his view, the things the crown prince did were basically matters of great importance to the country.

In particular, the sale of disaster relief bonds turned the tide and solved a major problem.

Such a crown prince is actually feared by the emperor!

Upon hearing this, the eldest prince felt a surge of smug satisfaction, but this smugness was quickly replaced by a deep sense of fear.

If His Majesty treats the Crown Prince this way, what about the other princes?

His Majesty towards them...

With this thought in mind, the eldest prince's expression gradually returned to normal.

He looked at Mingzhu and asked, "Uncle, what should we do next?"

Mingzhu smiled and said, "Just wait. Once the disaster relief work is over, some things might come to light."

At this point, he seemed to be reassuring the eldest prince, saying, "Next, His Majesty may have to settle the Ministry of Revenue's arrears."

"You must not get involved in this matter."

"Most of the debtors are powerful and influential people in the capital."

"And then there are the ministers whom His Majesty trusts."

"For example, which of the three major textile manufacturing bureaus in Jiangnan doesn't owe hundreds of thousands of taels of silver?"

"But did they spend all the money?"

Mingzhu chuckled and said, "No, they did spend some of the money, but most of it was for hosting His Majesty's southern tour."

"His Majesty knows this, and most people know it too."

"The Ministry of Revenue's public granaries are a mess."

"Anyone who touches it will get a headache."

The eldest prince also knew about the Ministry of Revenue's granary, because he had borrowed money from it before.

The Ministry of Revenue was also very generous to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince originally wanted to borrow 30,000 taels, but without saying a word, they readily lent him 50,000 taels.

However, that was last year when the national treasury was relatively well-stocked.

The Ministry of Revenue would no longer dare to lend money like this.

All of this was caused by the conflict with the campaign against Galdan.

Listening to Mingzhu's analysis, the eldest prince asked softly, "Uncle, do you think it's possible to entrust this matter to the Crown Prince?"

Mingzhu hesitated for a moment, then finally said, "I can't estimate it."

"However, it's not impossible."

"We can give this matter a push."

"After all, it is well known far and wide that the Crown Prince is good at managing finances."

Through the back-and-forth questioning with Mingzhu, the Crown Prince's anxious heart gradually calmed down.

At the same time, he also developed a greater respect for his uncle, Mingzhu.

After all, the ability to assess the situation and predict Emperor Qianxi's next move even when he has not done anything is something that no one else can match.

“There’s one more thing you should pay attention to,” Mingzhu said in a low voice. “After this disaster relief effort, the river management department will definitely be impeached by the censor.”

"Go back and think about whether you have any entanglements with the river authorities."

"If you have any, deal with them as soon as possible."

"Remember!"

The Yellow River breached its banks in five places, creating a vast expanse of water. Such a situation will naturally lead to accountability.

The river management department was the first to be affected and had no way to escape.

The eldest prince pondered for a moment, then whispered, "Uncle, I heard that the Crown Prince once took money from the River Conservancy Office!"

Mingzhu stroked his beard and said, "I had the Ministry of Revenue investigate this matter, and it is true that money was taken."

"However, just keep this in mind, and remember, do nothing." "Once the matter concerning the river becomes public, people will naturally talk about it."

At this point, Mingzhu patted the eldest prince on the shoulder and said, "Opportunities are created and waited for. As long as you don't get discouraged, there is always hope."

Shen Ye was unaware that someone was plotting against him.

He was listening to storytelling at Dexinglou at that moment.

With the commencement of construction on the stone-paved road in the capital, a large number of disaster victims found work, and the order in the capital became much more stable.

Shen Yeguan was still serving as the governor of Daxing County, so when he had nothing to do, he would go out for a stroll and listen to storytelling.

Although he said tomorrow would be an auspicious day, Shi Jingrong still felt it was too rushed.

So in the end, the time for Nian Xinyue to enter the palace was set for half a month later.

Although this made Shen Ye's eager heart feel a little cold, he also knew that this was the best course of action.

After all, it's not feasible to decide to let someone enter the palace today and have them come tomorrow. That would seem too hasty and would damage the Crown Prince's reputation.

"Now that Yue Yun has arrived, it's time for a clash between the silver hammer and the golden hammer..."

The storyteller's melodious voice captivated Shen Ye.

Although he had seen everything in his previous life, here he could only listen to storytelling.

Should we find a few people to revive crosstalk?

Just as Shen Ye was lost in thought, he heard someone at the next table say, "Second Master Wu, I don't understand why you have to build two... two railway tracks next to the stone-paved road when you're working on that Sheng'en Road."

"What's that for?"

"Wrapping perfectly good wood with sheet metal and laying it on top costs a lot of money!"

The speaker was a man in his forties with a plump, fair complexion; he looked like someone who enjoyed a life of luxury.

The man known as Master Wu the Second was a dark-skinned and thin man dressed in the uniform of a constable, who was leisurely drinking tea.

Hearing the question from the chubby man, he chuckled and said, "Old Tong, I didn't know what that railway track you mentioned was for at first."

"But now I know."

"That's for transporting goods."

"Yesterday, Lord Yu had people using horse-drawn carriages to transport stones in specially made small iron carts along the newly built railway tracks. Do you know how fast that was?"

"The journey of two li is only about half a cup of tea's time."

"Moreover, the two horses pulled three or four thousand catties of stones."

As soon as he said that, someone immediately asked, "Can it even be pulled?"

"It's impossible to pull it on a normal road, but it's not too difficult to pull it on the railway tracks. However, I heard that the wheels of those specially made carts are hard to manufacture and very laborious."

"But those iron things, once they're made, can last a very long time."

"Just think about it, once this road is repaired, goods can be transported from Chaoyangmen to Tongzhou in just one hour. Can you believe how fast that will be!"

Master Wu's words sparked a discussion among the surrounding people.

Some even said, "No wonder the price of the shares in that stone-paved road suddenly jumped by three hundred taels! So that's why!"

Master Wu said, "What do you think it's because of? It's because we've seen that the benefits of this road will be extraordinary!"

"Those of you who hold shares in Shibanlu should hurry up and put your shares away."

"Once this road is completed, the money will definitely be plentiful."

Master Wu's words drew cheers, and some even suggested that Master Wu should pay for the tea himself.

Hearing these comments, Shen Ye felt a little smug.

It wasn't that he felt a sense of accomplishment; it was simply that the shares he held had suddenly increased by nearly 100,000 taels of silver.

Of course, most of these shares belonged to Emperor Qianxi.

Hey!
Just then, someone said, "We have to thank the Crown Prince for this road. If it weren't for him, who could have done such a good thing?"

This man's words received an immediate response, with someone saying, "The Crown Prince is wise; he will surely become a wise ruler in the future!"

Shen Ye, who had been leisurely watching the show, suddenly twitched at the corner of his mouth.

　Hey everyone, it's almost the end of the month, please support me!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)