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

Chapter 37 Asking Kangxi for Help

Three days later, at three o'clock in the afternoon, Brother Zhang Wu will be executed at the Meridian Gate!
Li Yan left the mansion and rode his horse to the palace. He calculated the time and arrived outside the imperial study at the time of leaving the court.

Li Dequan was waiting outside. When he saw Li Yan approaching the door with a serious look on his face, he was stunned and asked, "Master Shi, what are you doing?"

"Eunuch Li, is the Emperor in the room? Please inform him and tell him that I have something important to report." Li Yan asked seriously without a smile on his face. When he saw Li Dequan, Li Yan knew that Kangxi must be here, but he still asked as a greeting.

Logically speaking, the Tenth Master should still be staying in the mansion to reflect on his mistakes. When Li Dequan saw Li Yan's serious face, he knew that something important had happened. He did not dare to exchange pleasantries and said respectfully, "Tenth Master, please wait a moment. I will go in and report!"

In less than a moment, Li Yan, who had received the signal, entered the study. Kangxi was sitting on the couch reviewing memorials. Without raising his head, he said, "Old Ten, aren't you staying in the mansion? Is the six-month deadline already up?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I have disobeyed your order and left the palace. I have something important to report. I hope Your Majesty will accept it!" Li Yan knelt down with a solemn expression and said angrily.

Kangxi saw that the Tenth Prince had a stern and angry look on his face, so he asked, "What's the matter? Tell me!"

Li Yan angrily recounted the story of Zhang Wu Ge, and also told about his encounter with Zhang Wu Ge and his family in Jiangxia Town, and how Alan came to Beijing as a beggar to seek help. Finally, Qi Qiu said, "Zhang Wu Ge is also very filial. He ended up like this for Old Man Zhang. I beg Father Huang to save Zhang Wu Ge's life!"

Kangxi's face turned serious after hearing this and he said, "If it's as you said, then it's a huge case. It's a serious matter, I can't just listen to your one-sided story, do you have any evidence?"

"Your Majesty, Ren Ji'an is 48 years old this year, while Zhang Wu Ge is only in his twenties. There is a huge age gap between the two. The execution will be carried out at the Meridian Gate at 3:15 p.m. today. If Your Majesty does not believe it, you can go to the execution ground in person and see for yourself." Li Yan said solemnly.

Kangxi heard this and stood up, walked back and forth twice, and shouted to the outside: "Li Dequan, call Tulichen here, and tell him to find a few guards to escort me. I need to go out of the palace for a while."

"嗻"

Li Dequan responded and turned away.

Kangxi looked at the Tenth Master who was staring at him, thought for a moment and said, "I will handle this matter. You should go back home and continue to reflect on your mistakes."

"Father, I am worried about you leaving the palace alone, so I want to protect you." Li Yan expressed his loyalty appropriately.

Kangxi smiled and said, "We have Tu Lichen and the others. Besides, I am only going to the Meridian Gate. What could happen? You should go back quickly. You'd better not get involved in this kind of thing."

"Yes, thank you, Father Your Majesty. I will take my leave now." Li Yan said smoothly, left the study, and quietly returned to the Tenth Master's residence.

Soon, news came that Kangxi went to the execution ground in person, stopped the execution on the spot and saved Zhang Wu Ge. A case in which an official from the Ministry of Justice perverted the law for personal gain and paid money to buy the life of a death row prisoner was uncovered, shocking the government and the public!
In the courtyard of Wu Sidao in the Tenth Master's mansion, Li Yan and Wu Sidao sat opposite each other, drinking tea and discussing politics.

Wu Sidao spoke eloquently: "Your Highness, when the unjust imprisonment in the Ministry of Justice is concluded this time, the prince will be deposed! The prince has been in charge of the Ministry of Justice since the 40th year of Emperor Kangxi's reign, and every autumn, the prince is the one who decides the criminals on behalf of the emperor. This time, the Ministry of Justice is clearing up the unjust imprisonment, which is called investigating the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the judicial offices of various provinces, but it will definitely fall on the prince. If the emperor wants to protect the prince, he will order the prince to clean up the Ministry of Justice, and the emperor sends other princes to go, which means that the emperor has lost the last trust in the prince." "Last time when the treasury was recovering the debt, the prince was the biggest creditor, and then he sold the official position to pay off the debt. Does the emperor really not know? No, the emperor endured it and did not speak out, hoping that the prince would know his mistake and correct it. But this time, the most horrific unjust case since the founding of the Qing Dynasty for 70 years has occurred, and it is related to the prince. Your Highness, think about it, can the emperor still hand over the Qing Dynasty to someone like the prince!"

"After all, the Crown Prince has been the Crown Prince for more than 30 years. His status has been determined long ago, and the relationship is complicated. No matter who removes the Crown Prince, he will not be tolerated by the world, the court, and eventually the Emperor! Whoever takes the charge of deposing the Crown Prince will no longer have a chance to be crowned the heir!"

Wu Sidao came to a decisive conclusion, then picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip.

Li Yan also looked admiring, nodded, and asked, "Sir, who do you think will take over this case in the end?"

“My guess is that it’s either the Eighth Beile or the Fourth Beile, but it won’t be you, Your Majesty. The Emperor didn’t let you go to the execution ground because he didn’t want you to get involved. Besides, your current strength is too weak to bear such a heavy burden.” Wu Sidao said with a smile and shook his head.

Li Yan's face turned red. He was indeed too weak and still growing up. Although he learned from the fourth brother's growth, he looked less and less like the fourth brother or the eighth brother. Thinking about it carefully, he looked a bit like Hongli. Li Yan thought of the fifth or sixth year old nephew in the fourth brother's family. Without the careful teaching of Lao Wu, he wondered if he would be as talented and smart as in the drama.

I remember that in the play, the fourth brother also wanted to compete for this job, but Kangxi initially wanted to give this job to the fourth brother. I wonder if the old man thought about the seriousness of the matter at that time, and whether he thought about protecting the fourth brother.

With an idea in mind, Li Yan asked with a smile, "Mr. Wu, is there any way to let the fourth brother and the eighth brother handle this case together?"

Wu Sidao was stunned when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Your Highness wants to get both of them in at once!"

"When two tigers fight, one of them will be injured. They are both too strong. If they are not weakened, I will never be able to stand out!"

Li Yan said seriously that Hongli was the candidate chosen long ago, and all the ministers in the court knew it. As long as they waited patiently and lived to see Yongzheng go to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures, they would naturally be able to wear the emperor's hat.

There were so many competitors, if he just waited, he would probably never get the chance. He knew that Kangxi still had more than ten years to live, so if he jumped out too early, he would be the first to be killed. For example, the eldest and third sons were beaten down because they jumped too hard, and they never had a chance to be crowned as the heir.

Because I know it is still early, I am relatively calm. Otherwise, I would be like them, rushing in impatiently and getting confused.

Wu Sidao thought for a moment and said, "That depends on Long Kedo."

"Xiao Duozi? How can he do it? He is a prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, and he ranks last in the court and can't even have a say." Li Yan felt that this suggestion was a bit unreliable when he heard it.

Wu Sidao smiled and shook his head: "It's not Longkodo, but Tong Guowei."

(End of this chapter)