Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 321 Yang Shiqi Cedes Territory

"Lord Yu, this matter cannot be resolved! No one can resolve it!"
With the death of the Prince of Han, this matter has become a dead end, a dead end that no one can resolve!

Unless the Crown Prince of Han can swallow the hatred of his father's murder! Unless the Prince of Han comes back to life now! Otherwise, it's all just empty talk!

The Prince of Han absolutely cannot die!

You die! I die! No matter who dies! The Prince of Han cannot die!

With the death of Prince Han, all the plans and schemes that Emperor Taizong and Emperor Renzong had laid out for the next century of the Ming Dynasty would be in vain! Prince Han was the key; he could not die!

Emperor Taizong once said that even if Prince Zhao died, Prince Han could not die! Faced with Yu Qian's question, Yang Shiqi shook his head, indicating that this matter could not be discussed. However, Fan Zhong had no such reservations and answered from another angle. Moreover, Fan Zhong's answer was astonishing, as it involved four heavyweight figures: Emperor Taizong, Emperor Renzong, Prince Zhao, and Prince Han!
Furthermore, from Fan Zhong's words, everyone learned another even more shocking piece of news: the Prince of Han possessed the long-term plans of Emperor Taizong and Emperor Renzong for the future of the Ming Dynasty!

But now the Prince of Han is dead, and he died at the hands of the current Xuande Emperor. This is not just a scandal of patricide! More importantly, the Xuande Emperor has personally shattered the century-old plans of the previous two emperors for the court! This issue has now reached the very top!
For a moment, the somewhat cramped room fell into an endless silence once more. Because Fan Zhong's words were so shocking, no one knew what to do.

More importantly, Yang Shiqi and Fan Zhong did not explain things clearly. They only mentioned the seriousness of the matter but did not explain the cause and effect. As a result, even if everyone knew the seriousness of the matter, they could not do anything to help and could only try to find a solution based on the existing situation. This is the most difficult part!

"General Fan, Elder Yang, since the situation is so serious, you two should explain yourselves clearly!" After a moment, Yang Rong spoke anxiously, wanting Yang Shiqi and Elder Yang to clarify things so they could work together to find a solution. After all, based on the information they had gathered, the situation was truly astonishing!

"My lords, let's make things clear so we can work together to find a solution," Yang Rong said, unable to sit still any longer. The matter Yu Qian had raised was far too serious to be ignored. Therefore, he also spoke up, hoping Yang Shiqi and the other man could explain the whole story.

"Grand Secretary Yang, everyone's asking, why don't you answer it?" Facing the eager gazes of the crowd, Fan Zhong once again posed the difficult question to Yang Shiqi. Instantly, everyone's attention focused on Yang Shiqi.

"Me, say it? How should I say it?"
This is hard to explain!

It's hard to say for sure!

This is something that absolutely cannot be discussed!
"The consequences of speaking out are too great for anyone to bear!" Facing the curious gazes of the crowd, Yang Shiqi told them with a bitter face and a distressed expression that this matter could not be spoken of! Yang Shiqi knew that this matter was absolutely forbidden to be spoken of! Once it was spoken of, it would definitely cause turmoil in the court and the country! It could even lead to the collapse of the world!

After all, the Crown Prince of Han possessed a dragon! A real dragon! A living dragon! A dragon that could soar dozens of feet into the sky!

How was he supposed to say that?! Was he supposed to tell everyone that there was a dragon in the Prince of Han's mansion? Or was he supposed to tell everyone that the Crown Prince of Han had a dragon?

If this were to be revealed and then proven true, what would become of the current emperor?!

Where does this leave Emperor Renzong?!
Where does this leave Emperor Taizong?!
Will the court officials overthrow the current emperor and directly install the Crown Prince of Han as emperor?
Even now that the Prince of Han is dead, wouldn't his former officials once again flock to the Crown Prince's side? Perhaps some opportunistic civil officials would naturally gather around him as well! This is the real issue we need to consider! Because, after all, that's a dragon!

Therefore, at this moment, Yang Shiqi could only tell everyone that this matter could not be discussed! Once this news was released, it would be earth-shattering! The court and the public would be in turmoil! Could it be that the Ming Dynasty was really about to launch another rebellion!?
"What can't be said? What time is it?!" Yu Qian retorted impatiently at Yang Shiqi's hesitation. Yu Qian couldn't understand. Since Fan Zhong and Yang Shiqi were making such a serious point, what exactly was there that couldn't be said? Shouldn't everyone be working together to find a solution at this crucial moment? Now that things have come to this, what is there to hide and what is inconvenient to tell everyone?

Could it be that the hidden matter is even worse than the current situation? Suddenly, this thought popped into Yu Qian's mind. In an instant, Yu Qian's eyes widened, staring at Yang Shiqi in disbelief, wanting to confirm his guess, but he only saw Yang Shiqi's melancholy face and resolute expression!
Seeing this, Yu Qian's mind went completely blank, because he had confirmed his thoughts from Yang Shiqi's eyes. The matter that Yang Shiqi and Yu Qian had been hiding, once exposed, would undoubtedly be far more serious and uncontrollable than the current situation!
"Your Majesty, colleagues."

Now that things have come to this, all I can tell you is that the imperial edict is real!
"Let's all try to stabilize the situation in the court first." After taking a few deep breaths to calm his frustration, Yang Shiqi hesitated before speaking. But before he could finish, Fan Zhong interrupted him.

"Grand Secretary Yang, let's set aside the affairs of the court for now; they're manageable."

"Let's try to quell the Crown Prince's anger first. Otherwise, chaos is imminent!" Upon hearing Yang Shiqi's words, Fan Zhong anxiously interrupted him, bringing the issue back to the crucial question: Would the Crown Prince send troops? How should the court handle this?
Seeing Fan Zhong's anxious expression, everyone, though not understanding the reason, knew that this Crown Prince of Han must possess an incredibly powerful trump card! A trump card that even the imperial army of a million couldn't withstand!

After hearing Fan Zhong's words, Yang Shiqi silently closed his eyes, for he knew that the Crown Prince of Han's trump card was a dragon! Once this trump card was revealed, the world and the hearts of the people would change hands!
"Alas, I'm old, and it's time for me to retire and return to my hometown. Before I go, let me bear this infamy." Yang Shiqi closed his eyes and remained silent for a moment before letting out a helpless sigh. He understood Fan Zhong's anxiety; after all, news of the Prince of Han's death had already spread throughout Beijing and would definitely reach Yunnan within half a month!
If the Crown Prince of Han wanted to avenge his father, it would take some time to gather an army. This meant that the court had less than a month to handle the matter!

"The Crown Prince of Han liked the fleets of Guangdong and Guangxi, and was willing to pay 100,000 taels of silver annually to lease them."

"I'll bear this infamy." Faced with everyone's anxious gazes, Yang Shiqi's seemingly unrelated reply was actually chilling.

Everyone knew that Yang Shiqi was preparing to cede the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to the Crown Prince of Han in order to gain the Crown Prince's forgiveness! Or rather, Yang Shiqi wanted to use the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to exchange for the Crown Prince of Han not raising an army!
However, no one could understand why they would directly cede territory. Couldn't the imperial court fight a war? Why surrender without a fight? How could they know they couldn't defeat the Prince of Han's forces without a battle?
What exactly is that secret?! Yu Qian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth restlessly.

"Grand Secretary Yang~" Faced with Yang Shiqi's answer, the most surprised person was none other than Empress Dowager Zhang, who was sitting on the high platform. She never expected that Yang Shiqi, the Grand Secretary, would actually want to cede the lands of Guangdong and Guangxi to the Prince of Han's Mansion in exchange for peace in the court.

Generally speaking, only when the strength of the two sides is vastly different will the weaker side choose to cut its losses and survive! But now, how could the imperial court be the weaker side? Empress Dowager Zhang couldn't understand the reason, and similarly, this was a principle that Yu Qian and others couldn't understand either.

(End of this chapter)