The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 32: First Advisor Wu Sidao
During this time in the mansion, he also learned a lot about the Tenth Master's past. He had also made some judgments about his character and work style. He felt that the Tenth Master was not a wise leader, so he was ready to decline the position tactfully as soon as he saw him. He thought that since he was an old man in his twilight years, the dignified prince would not do anything to him.

But in the past two months, the actions of this Tenth Prince were completely different from before. When they met, she was shocked by his courtesy. This was not at all what she had heard the servants in the mansion say about the Tenth Prince. She even prepared her own proud article to show her respect. Taoist Wu Si was old and experienced, and had seen everything. Of course, he saw the hypocritical posturing behind the Tenth Prince's three visits to his thatched cottage.

But the Tenth Prince can have this kind of thought. As long as he is not a foolish person like Adou, nor an unforgivable person who treats the people like slaves, he can be helped!

After all, apart from the Tenth Prince, no one else rescued him from prison!
The Tenth Prince is young, not the thick-faced and black-bellied old fox. It is already very good that he can achieve this step. Don't have too high expectations for young people, give them time and opportunities to grow. Moreover, the Tenth Prince's pretentious attitude is a bit pretentious and not smooth, but it is not annoying at all. On the contrary, Wu Sidao thinks he is naive and cute.

Wu Sidao smiled and shook his head. Perhaps the days ahead would not be so boring!
In this way, the Tenth Prince treated the wise man with respect, and Wu Sidao was moved by his sincerity and decided to stay and assist the Tenth Prince.

Since he was a counselor, he had to be honest. Without enough information, even the smartest people could not make the right judgment. So Li Yan told him everything that happened after he was sent to Jiangnan for disaster relief, except for the fact that he secretly went out to take private jobs at night. He even told him about the one million taels of silver he handed over to the emperor, but secretly withheld more than one million taels, and the matter of Nian Qiuyue.

Then he told Wu Sidao in detail what he knew about the situation in the court, the aging of Kangxi, the open and secret struggles among the princes, his own position and situation, and his strategy of laying eggs by borrowing chickens.

He talked for half an hour in one breath, his mouth became dry, and he picked up the cup and drank it down with gulps.

While Li Yan was speaking, Wu Sidao had been listening quietly. He only asked about the details when Li Yan talked about the performance in the Imperial Study, and then he did not interrupt Li Yan until he finished speaking.

Wu Sidao listened silently and couldn't help feeling moved. The Tenth Master was so honest with him that he even did not hold back on the matters of withholding money and secretly trying to win over Longkodo and Nian Gengyao. This showed his trust in him.

Although they had only been together for a short time, Wu Sidao discovered many good qualities in this young prince. He had the ability to judge people, trusted those he employed, cared about the people, was greedy for money but not too much, was lustful but not too much. Most importantly, he was broad-minded. He saw the shortcomings of his brothers very clearly, but was able to tolerate them and put them in appropriate positions instead of just thinking about killing them.

We can slowly get a grasp of the difficulties the Qing Dynasty is facing now. Although they are still a little immature, there is hope for the future!

"It's a pity that the Emperor asked me to reflect on my mistakes behind closed doors and not leave the palace for six months."

"Otherwise, I can take you around. Although the customs and practices of the capital are not as elegant as those in the south, they also have their own unique characteristics." Li Yan said regretfully.

Wu Sidao smiled and said, "Your Highness, don't worry. Your current approach of keeping a low profile and accumulating strength is, in my opinion, a very wise choice. The emperor letting you reflect on your mistakes behind closed doors is actually a form of protection."

Li Yan's eyes lit up: "Protect! Sir, the emperor really means this!" "That's right. The quarrels among the princes are now very serious. The Fourth Prince was ordered to recover the arrears of the national treasury, but why did he return empty-handed? That's because most of the princes can't take the job themselves, and don't want the ones who take the job to succeed, so they try their best to hinder them. And when you went to the south of the Yangtze River to provide disaster relief, weren't you also criticized by the princes!"

Li Yan thought that he was as courageous as the fourth brother, but ended up reflecting on his mistakes behind closed doors in the same way. If the emperor was protecting himself, he was also protecting the fourth brother.

"Then Mr. Wu, is the Emperor also protecting Fourth Brother?" Li Yan expressed his thoughts.

Wu Sidao smiled and nodded: "Yes, the emperor can see the current situation clearly and is also upset about it, but he can do nothing about it. He can only use this method to comfort those who are willing to work for the court. Moreover, because the fourth prince was punished first, the emperor was much calmer when facing your matter, and handled it more properly, saving your title of prince."

"Of course, it is also because you, Your Highness, handed over a million taels of silver notes, and your speech in the imperial study made the emperor feel your pure heart, so the emperor did his best to protect you. Otherwise, after the court meeting this morning, Your Highness, you would not be as relieved as you are now."

Li Yan nodded. He didn't understand it at the time, but now thinking back, it makes sense. The old man did this to protect himself.

"Your Highness, think about it. All your wishes have been fulfilled. Longkodo has been appointed as the governor of Shuntian Prefecture, Nian Gengyao has been transferred back to the capital and promoted to a higher rank, Nian Qiuyue has been granted to you as a concubine, and most importantly, your title of prince has been preserved. The full-force attack by the crown prince's family has only resulted in a light punishment of one year of service and six months of confinement, and this punishment also carries the connotation of protection. How could they be willing to accept this?"

"You are so outstanding now that both the Crown Prince and the Eighth Master want to pull you down. However, you are too young and your life experience is not even as good as that of the Fourth Prince. With so many people chasing after you, it is inevitable that you will make mistakes as long as you do things. If you are careless, they will catch you and pounce on you and beat you to the ground."

"The Emperor asked you to stay in the mansion and do nothing, so you won't make any mistakes. The Fourth Prince must have understood this truth, so he went with the flow and stayed indoors. The Eighth Master also understood this, so he didn't want you to hide at home. On the surface, he asked the Emperor to let you out with good intentions, but in fact he wanted to use you as a target to create opportunities for the Crown Prince and others. His intentions are so sinister."

Wu Sidao spoke eloquently, looking like he had everything under control, analyzing the overall situation in the court.

"The Crown Prince's faction and the Eighth Prince's faction are the strongest. Normally, these two are the ones fighting each other. But if another prince stands out during their fight, both sides will temporarily stop and tacitly attack the prince who stood out to eliminate the hidden danger. The Fourth Prince can be considered a member of the Crown Prince's faction, and you, Your Highness, are considered a member of the Eighth Prince's faction. But whether it's the Fourth Prince or you, aren't you being targeted by them?"

"Your Highness, you should cultivate yourself in the mansion recently. Without a target, it won't be long before the Crown Prince and the Eighth Brother start fighting. When they become inseparable, you will be safe!"

(End of this chapter)