The struggle for the throne among the nine princes: The incompetent tenth prince has a listening sys

After he finished speaking, the study was quiet for a moment.

The princes exchanged glances. The eldest prince looked somewhat displeased, the fourth prince's gaze was lowered and his emotions were unreadable, and the crown prince's brows furrowed slightly.

Kangxi shifted his gaze from Yin'e's face to Tong Guowei.

"Tong Guowei, what do you think?" Kangxi's voice returned to calm.

Tong Guowei raised his head and replied, "Your Majesty, the Tenth Prince is right. The matter in Huguang cannot be solved by investigation alone; it also requires supplementation."

"Checking is to get rid of the termites, and patching is to prevent the house from collapsing." He paused, his voice lowering even further.

"After I return, I will draft a list of officials to be dispatched as soon as possible and present it to His Majesty for review. The Imperial Study will make the arrangements as quickly as possible and without delay."

"But..." He straightened up, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Huguang is severely in debt. The people are being exploited by those corrupt officials and are living in misery. The treasury is empty and the government offices are dilapidated."

Officials with some ability and connections were unwilling to go. Who would want to go to a poor, chaotic place where they could lose their job at any moment?

After he finished speaking, the study fell silent again.

Lao Ba stepped out from the queue.

He walked to Yin'e's side and knelt down.

"Father, the court supports them, provides them with salaries, and gives them dignity, not so that they can be picky."

"With trouble brewing in Huguang, this is precisely the time when capable and efficient officials are needed. If they say they don't want to go and simply refuse, what use are the laws of the court?"

The fourteenth prince also stepped forward and knelt beside the eighth prince: "Eighth brother is right! Those who are unwilling to go should be dismissed and investigated; there are plenty of people who want to go!"

The two of them worked together to effectively shut down those officials who were "unwilling to go".

If you don't want to go, you'll be dismissed. So, are you going or not? If you don't go, plenty of others will.

Yin'e knelt behind, listening to the words of the Eighth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince, and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.

He knew that the Eighth Prince was just saying that to show his loyalty to Emperor Kangxi.

But those officials were unwilling to go, not because they were lazy, but because they were afraid.

Whoever goes to Huguang is doomed, that's a mess.

Going there and doing a good job doesn't guarantee success; messing it up definitely leads to mistakes.

The Eighth Prince was eager to rebuild his power base in Huguang, and it was important for him to make a good impression on Kangxi.

He cleared his throat and spoke again: "Father, Eighth Brother and Fourteenth Brother are right. There is no reason for court officials to be picky."

However, the current situation in Huguang is special. It's not just a general shortage of officials; dozens of vacancies have opened up at once.

If we just force people to go, they'll all be incompetent and useless. They won't be of any help in Huguang; in fact, they'll make things worse.

He paused, his voice becoming even more steady: "Your Majesty, I believe we must select capable and decisive individuals. Better to have none than to have the wrong one."

Kangxi's gaze swept over the group of people, finally settling on Yin'e and pausing for a moment.

He sat up straight, placed his hands on the table with his hands crossed, and scanned the faces of the people around him.

"I have made my decision. The Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, will preside over the trial of the corruption case in Huguang."

The fourth prince's eyebrows twitched slightly, his forehead touched the ground, and his voice boomed: "Your subject obeys the decree."

"Assistant Judge: Tenth Prince Yin'e."

Yin'e's heart skipped a beat.

Everyone else's eyes immediately focused on Yin'e.

Looking into Kangxi's eyes, he finally understood.

Kangxi summoned him today not to have him listen in or watch the spectacle, but to have him carry out his duties.

It seems that his previous two performances left a good impression on him, and Kangxi also wanted to test himself.

Yin'e immediately touched his forehead to the ground: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Kangxi's gaze lingered on the two men's faces for a moment, then his tone grew even more serious: "You two work together to clarify everyone's crimes."

If they have powerful backers, dig them out for me. No matter who they are, no matter their status.

The last two sentences were spoken very strongly.

"No matter who it is, no matter what their status is," this was said to the fourth prince, but also to Yin'e.

He appointed the fourth brother as the presiding judge because the fourth brother was impartial and unafraid of offending people.

He appointed Yin'e as his assistant in the trial because Yin'e was a member of the Eighth Prince's faction, who could restrain the Fourth Prince and prevent him from taking the opportunity to attack the Eighth Prince's faction.

The two people, one cold and aloof, the other quick-witted, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, kept each other in check, neither able to overpower the other.

The eldest prince's expression was rather unpleasant.

He knelt there, his lips moved, and he couldn't help but speak, his tone filled with resentment.

"Father, as the head of the Ministry of Justice, it is my duty to investigate and adjudicate cases. This case..."

"You'll be responsible for coordinating the cooperation of the three judicial departments," Kangxi waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "You need to make proper arrangements for the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate. Don't worry about anything else."

The eldest prince opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

He kowtowed, his voice squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Your subject obeys the decree."

Kangxi leaned back in his chair, looking somewhat tired.

"Alright, everyone, you may leave. Tong Guowei, Ma Qi, and Zhang Tingyu, please stay."

Everyone kowtowed in unison, stood up, and filed out.

As I walked out of the Qianqing Palace, the sunlight was so bright that I had to squint.

Outside the hall, the sky was a hazy gray, with a few white clouds hanging motionless on the horizon, as if nailed to the ground.

Yinzhen walked up from behind and walked side by side with Yin'e.

His pace was neither fast nor slow, his gaze was straight ahead, and his face was expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Tenth Brother, let's work together well on the case in Huguang. We can't let any of those corrupt officials get away with it. No matter who they are, no matter who's behind them, we'll deal with those who should be dealt with, arrest those who should be arrested, and kill those who should be killed."

Yin'e smiled and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture: "Fourth Brother, rest assured, I will cooperate fully. Although I don't know much about investigating cases, I can still run errands, relay messages, and check accounts. Wherever Fourth Brother points, I will follow."

Yinzhen glanced at him, nodded, said nothing more, turned around, and walked in another direction.

After walking a few steps, he stopped, turned around, and looked at the fourteenth prince who was still outside the Qianqing Gate.

"Fourteenth Brother," his voice came from afar, "don't forget tonight, your fourth sister-in-law is waiting for you."

The fourteenth prince stood under the pillar, watching the fourth prince's back, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said nothing.

The fourth brother nodded, turned around, and left.

Yin'e stood on the steps, watching the fourth prince's departing figure, and narrowed his eyes.

The fourth brother is a meticulous and impartial man, but he is also very cunning and has too many hidden thoughts.

He was going to try the case with the fourth brother, which was both a collaboration and a game of strategy.

He couldn't let the fourth brother find any fault with him, nor could he let the fourth brother think that he was just going through the motions.

His gaze shifted from the fourth brother's back to the fourteenth brother.

"Fourteenth Brother," Yin'e walked over and patted his shoulder, "Be careful what you say when you go to Fourth Brother's residence tonight. You might confide in Fourth Brother, but he might not confide in you."

"Don't worry, we were born of the same mother, I know him."

As Yin'e watched Yinti (the fourteenth prince) leave, he thought to himself, "Looks like I'll be climbing over the wall again tonight."