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

Chapter 86 Rotten wood cannot be carved
Tong Guowei did not look at Longkodo, but at the thrush hanging on the tree, or as if looking at the empty space, exuding a kind of wisdom, peace, freedom and indifference!
He said slowly, "Since I left the court, I have been reflecting. I no longer care about the gains and losses in the officialdom, and I am no longer being courted by other princes or fawned upon by officials. I am alone at home, and I have seen many things that I have never seen before. I also understand why I failed and why the Eighth Master failed."

"Before, this Tenth Prince was just a vassal of the Eighth Prince's party. He was rude and reckless. I never took him seriously until the last time the Yellow River burst its banks and he volunteered to go to the south of the Yangtze River to raise funds for disaster relief, and he dragged you with him. Only then did I start to pay attention to him. Later, you told me a lot about your experiences with him, and then I began to pay attention to him."

"But Master Shih confined himself to reflect on his mistakes as soon as he returned to Beijing."

"It was half a year in a flash, and he was out of my sight again. Plus, when the Eighth Master was selecting a new crown prince, I was completely focused on him, and I forgot about him. It wasn't until later that the Eighth Master and I were defeated by the Emperor, and he rose to prominence and was reused by the Emperor. He was in charge of the Plain Yellow Banner and the 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Xishan Ruijian Camp. Only then did I really focus on him."

Tong Guowei said this and took a sip of tea. Longkodo listened attentively and stared at Tong Guowei without blinking.

"Think about it, the Tenth Prince was conferred the title of Prince during his trip to Jiangnan. On the night in Rehe, the Emperor conferred titles of nobility on many people because of the critical situation. The eldest prince is the eldest, the third prince has made great contributions in editing books, and the fourth and eighth princes are very capable. It is not surprising that they were conferred the title of Prince. But the Tenth Prince, an unknown prince, was also conferred the title of Prince. This is incredible."

"The emperor is wise and will never use someone for no reason. He must have done something we don't know about and gained the emperor's approval." Tong Guowei said with certainty.

"And later when we returned to the capital, although the emperor said he would not pursue the matter of recommending the Eighth Prince, almost all the important figures who supported the Eighth Prince were in trouble. Some were demoted, while others were demoted."

"But the Tenth Prince, who is a die-hard supporter of the Eighth Prince, is completely unscathed. You should know that the Taoist priest Zhang Demin, who pretended to be a ghost, was brought to the Eighth Prince's residence by the Tenth Prince, but he was not even scolded. Not only was he not implicated, but he was also reused by the Emperor and supervised the Xishan Ruijian Camp. What a great trust this shows!"

"That's not right, Uncle Six!"

Longkodo was also smacking his lips when he heard this, and suddenly thought of someone: "The Fourteenth Master is also a member of the Eighth Master's party. He even fought with the Thirteenth Master in the palace for the Eighth Master. Didn't the Emperor also use him and gave him the important task of supervising the Ministry of War?"

Tong Tuwei smiled and said, "Xiao Duozi, you noticed this, which shows that you have put your heart into it. But supervising the Ministry of War is just a temporary job. Although it is related to the army, it does not have any military power. The Ministry of War has a Shangshu and a Shilang, and under them are generals from various prefectures, states and roads. The Fourteenth Master cannot mobilize any troops."

"As for the supervision of the Plain Yellow Banner, that is a real 50,000 soldiers and horses, stationed in the Ruijian Camp in the Western Mountains, dozens of miles away from the capital. With one order, they can take over Beijing in just half an hour. Although there is an emperor in charge, who is the emperor? The Qing Dynasty has so many things to do every day, how can he have the energy to care about specific things."

Tong Guowei had a look of understanding, his eyes deep, and he said casually: "The emperor has at most a few spies who report from time to time. As long as they don't go too far, it won't affect the actual power of the Tenth Prince. In theory, each of us officials is in charge of the government on behalf of the emperor. We are all under pressure from the emperor, but it doesn't affect our exercise of power!"

"Your Nine Gates Admiral also holds military power. You must be aware of the difference!"

After hearing this, Longkodo had a look of understanding on his face, and said helplessly: "My nephew certainly knows that this is the difference between heaven and earth! If it were me, I would choose the actual power of 50,000 soldiers and horses of the Xishan Ruijian Camp without hesitation."

"You have real power, but you also avoid getting into trouble in the officialdom!"

Longkodo complained, "Uncle Six, you know that the emperor's management is secondary. Now every department in the court is the main battlefield for the struggle between various forces. The intertwined network of relationships in those departments is extremely complicated, and the forces are fighting to the death. Even my infantry commander's office is interfered by countless forces, and is hindered everywhere. Today this gentleman says hello, and tomorrow that prince hands over a note."

"Even though I am the admiral and seem to have the final say, I dare not punish those people arbitrarily. They all have strong backgrounds. If I am not careful, I don't know which prince or family I will offend!"

Tong Guowei smiled when he heard this. Having been immersed in officialdom for decades, he naturally knew what Longkodo said.

He then said, "The Xishan Ruijian Camp is stationed around the capital, with the duty of protecting the capital. It has always been controlled by the emperor himself. In order to avoid infiltration by various forces, the positions above the deputy governor in the camp are all appointed and dismissed by the emperor himself. The promotion and demotion of officers at all levels must also be approved by the emperor before implementation. The officers in the camp never hold any positions in the court, and are strictly prohibited from making private friends with officials and princes in the court."

"As far as I know, the Crown Prince once captured a deputy governor, but not long after, the deputy governor disappeared from the camp. No one saw him alive, and no one saw his body dead. I wonder where he went?"

"Is this really true?"

Longkodo was shocked, with a layer of cold sweat on his forehead. He didn't know that the emperor controlled the military power so strictly. If you touch something, you will die. If the person who tried to win over the generals was not the prince, but an ordinary minister, I'm afraid his fate would not be much better!
The prince's current situation is not optimistic.
And the Emperor actually gave such an army to the Tenth Master for supervision. This matter is ten times more important than I realized!

Tong Guowei looked at Longkodo with complicated eyes: "Little Duozi, I didn't expect that in just one year, the Tenth Master, who has been very low-key, has reached such a height."

"You are really begging for food with a golden bowl in your hands. How stupid!" Longkodo was shocked.
I had never noticed it before, nor had I thought about it in detail, but I had long discovered the extraordinary nature of Master Shi, and was the first person to come into contact with him, and I also have a deep friendship with him.

But he was always looking east and west. Thinking of this, Longkodo showed an annoyed expression on his face: "But the Tenth Master has no intention of competing for the throne. He even advised me to be an honest official and serve the emperor. I also tried my best to persuade him at that time, but he just wouldn't agree. What should I do?"

Tong Guowei shook his head: "If he has no intention of being crown prince, then why doesn't he stay put and behave himself? He always goes to the Fourth Master and the Eighth Master and keeps good relations with them. If he is only interested in pleasure, why would he advise you to stay put and behave yourself? Who do you want to rely on? What does it have to do with him?"

"Sixth uncle, are you saying that the tenth master already has it in his mind?" Longkodo's eyes lit up and he asked anxiously.

Tong Guowei sighed, "This Tenth Master is really a hidden dragon in the abyss, a mysterious dragon that can only be seen from the head but not the tail. He is steady and calm in his work, and will never show his true identity easily."

"I originally thought it was the Fourth Master, but now it seems that the Tenth Master is the real dragon! He fights without fighting, and only because he does not fight, no one in the world can fight with him. Just wait and see, whether it is the Eighth Master, the Fourth Master, or the restless Fourteenth Master, none of them can match this master."

"This time, the accident with Master Jiu might be because of..." When he said this, Tong Guowei realized that he had spoken out of turn and quickly braked the car.

Longkodo was listening with great interest. When he saw that his uncle was halfway through, he asked, "Uncle, what happened to Master Jiu?"

Tong Guowei was shocked, sat up straight, glared at Longkodo, and severely rebuked him: "This kind of thing cannot be speculated even in private. You dare to ask it out loud, you don't want to live anymore."

Longkodo was frightened by Tong Guowei's harsh words. He kept silent, looked at him aggrievedly, and thought to himself, "You were the one who brought it up!"

"Xiao Duozi, just hold on to this gentleman's thigh tightly, and I, the Tong family, won't have to worry about the next generation."

Longkodo nodded and asked again: "But if that's the case, he doesn't know that I support him and that I'm betting my future on him!"

"Hmph! Xiao Duozi, your little knowledge is too shallow! If this gentleman is a real dragon, he must know everything. Some things are not about whether to say them out loud, and they don't have to be said out loud, but everyone has a tacit understanding in their hearts. Didn't he explain it to you! Do your job honestly and don't think too much. When the time comes, he will protect you. Why don't you understand?" Tong Guowei felt a little disappointed.

"Ah! This is what the Tenth Master meant!" Longkodo was stunned.

Tong Guowei glanced at him and his heart gradually sank. This nephew was even more stupid than he thought. He couldn't even see such an obvious thing. No wonder the tenth master didn't tell Xiao Duozi the truth. With his appearance, he didn't look like someone who could be entrusted with important matters.

If it were me, I wouldn't dare to be honest and open-hearted with him.

If it weren't for the fact that Tong Jia could only point at this person
Tong Guowei sighed and advised earnestly: "Xiao Duozi, from now on you should work hard for the emperor. The other princes are just following orders. Don't get too involved. You are in a sensitive position to supervise the Nine Gates. As long as you keep your position well, you will always be in the initiative. When the emperor really wants to pass on the throne, you can bet everything on it and support a new emperor who is sure to be a stable ruler."

"Sixth Uncle, didn't you just say Tenth Master?"

"Don't worry, he won't place his last hope on you. As long as you don't get too involved with other princes, there won't be any problems. You must also maintain a good relationship with the Tenth Prince, and treat it as a top priority. As for the question of whether to fight or not, don't mention it as long as he doesn't talk about it in the future. If he has something to tell you, just do your job well, that's all."

Tong Guowei shook his head, and became even more worried. He was too worried about his nephew Longkodo. With such a personality, it would be good enough for him to be an ordinary official. If he really took on important responsibilities, he would probably get into trouble sooner or later!
The Tenth Master was right about Xiao Duozi.
Pushing him so hard and putting him in the center of the storm, it's hard to predict whether this will be a blessing or a curse!
For a moment, Tong Guowei lost interest and had no desire to talk anymore. Longkodo also sat quietly, thinking about his own things.

There was only a breeze blowing in the yard, the leaves swaying gently, and the thrush in the birdcage hanging on the tree occasionally chirped, the sound was still pleasant to the ear.

However, Tong Guowei no longer has the leisure and elegance he once had!

(End of this chapter)