The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 516 It's easy for the Crown Prince to oversee the country, but difficult to run a household well.
Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Emperor Qianxi was so angry that he almost lost his temper. His impassioned speech was all for the sake of the country, the people, and the court.

This unfilial son is truly a master at lying through his teeth!

Are you suppressing the Eighth Prince for the sake of the imperial court?

Is keeping the eldest son locked up and studying behind closed doors also for the sake of the imperial court?

When he said that, it wasn't just sophistry anymore; it was blatant shamelessness—he completely abandoned all pretense of decency!
The thought that he had given birth to such a shameless and unfilial son made Emperor Qianxi's face burn with embarrassment, his blood pressure soared, and he almost died on the spot!

But then I thought, I've already done all the three prostrations and nine kowtows, so what's one more hurdle?

He suppressed his anger and snapped, "Fine, fine, tell me, what do you want?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye immediately replied with a smile, "Father, I will gladly accept the Crown Prince's reward."

"However, I have no need for the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and the hundred guards. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your order and keep them for yourselves."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qianxi's tightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed.

He looked at the Crown Prince, hesitated for a moment, and said, "These things are all real benefits for you. If you don't take them now, you might regret it later!"

"I can give you some time to consider it."

Shen Ye knew in his heart:

In the Forbidden City, adding a hundred more guards wouldn't make much difference.

The soldiers I want to raise will not be on land.

As for the Left and Right Chamberlain's Offices, they were merely for show!

Rather than keeping it and inviting envy and endless nitpicking, it's better to hand it over voluntarily and have some peace and quiet.

"Thank you for your concern, Father. I have already made up my mind."

"With the court's guards protecting me, why should I need to pay out of my own pocket to support others?"

Seeing Shen Ye's firm refusal, Emperor Qianxi's lips curled up, but he had to suppress his smile and maintain his composure as he said:
"Since that's what you think, then so be it."

Although he said "as you wish," Emperor Qianxi's beaming expression was impossible to hide.

With the important matter agreed upon, Emperor Qianxi was in high spirits.

He chatted with Shen Ye about the imperial court for a while, downed a pot of old wine, and then, slightly drunk, returned to the palace.

However, before leaving, he made a request: Oh, by the way, before the army sets off, Your Highness, you must prepare the necessary provisions and pay for the 300,000 Green Standard Army soldiers!
That's no small sum.

The battle situation in Lanzhou was critical. If it weren't for the New Year holiday, and the concern that sending troops would cause unrest among the soldiers, Emperor Qianxi would have already launched an expedition.

Even if they drag it out, they can only delay until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month before sending out troops.

Right now, the imperial granary only holds a maximum of two or three hundred thousand taels of silver. Getting six or seven million taels of silver for the expedition is no easy task.

No sooner had Emperor Qianxi left than Shi Jingrong approached him with a worried expression and said:
"Your Highness, how did your talks with His Majesty go?"

"I couldn't refuse the job of regent, so I had no choice but to accept it."

Shen Ye smiled and said, "However, next, we need to get at least five or six million taels of silver for provisions and pay."

"It must be done before the main force sets off."

Shi Jingrong pondered for a moment and said, "Yuqing Bank can probably scrape together enough money to cover this amount."

"If all else fails, Your Highness, the money you earn in a year can cover it."

Looking at Shi Jingrong, who was determined to complete the mission even if it meant going bankrupt, Shen Ye smiled and said:
"Even if we have money, we can't just throw it all away right now."

"Don't worry, I have a way of handling this."

"Your Highness, this is six or seven million taels of silver!"

"Where...where did you get so much silver so quickly?"

Shen Ye smiled and said:

"It's not that the imperial court is short of money, it's just that the money is hidden too well, and ordinary people can't find it."

"I asked my father to take over the Imperial Household Department so that I could dig out the silver."

He patted Shi Jingrong's hand: "Once this is over, we can live a comfortable life for a while."

"You've had a long day, you should get some rest too."

"You'll see, it won't be long before we get busy here."

As expected, Shen Ye's Qingqiu Prince's Mansion was bustling with activity from the third day of the Lunar New Year.

The carriages and horses of princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials who came to pay New Year's greetings stretched for miles.

However, this was nothing to most people.

What truly shook the imperial court were the three imperial edicts issued in succession by Emperor Qianxi.

Firstly: The Eighth Prince, Yunsi, acted improperly and was not sincere in his ancestral sacrifices. He is stripped of his position as Minister of the Ministry of Rites and demoted directly from Prince of the First Rank to Duke of the Second Rank.

This imperial decree caused an immediate uproar in the capital.

The actions were careless, and the ancestral worship was not sincere!
What kind of excuse is that? It's so flimsy!

What's the difference between this and being punished for "entering the door with the left foot first"?
For a time, many people in the capital secretly lit candles and observed a three-minute silence for the Eighth Prince.

Compared to the first imperial edict, the second imperial edict was even more astonishing:
Effective immediately, the Crown Prince shall take charge of all affairs of the Imperial Household Department.

In other words, there used to be three chief stewards in the Imperial Household Department, and above these three chief stewards was the Qianxi Emperor.

Now, the Crown Prince has intervened, taking charge of the Imperial Household Department and reporting directly to the Qianxi Emperor.

This inevitably arouses suspicion among the public:
After all, the Imperial Household Department was an important power in the hands of Emperor Qianxi. Was he giving the Imperial Household Department to the Crown Prince in preparation for the succession?
But Emperor Qianxi was only forty-five years old. No, he had just passed the New Year. The current Emperor Qianxi should be forty-six years old!

Many emperors did not live past the age of forty-six, but this should not include Emperor Qianxi. The current Emperor Qianxi is still vigorous and energetic, and whether hunting or working, he is no less capable than a young man.

Under such circumstances, why would His Majesty delegate power of the Imperial Household Department to the Crown Prince?

Could it be that they want to rest early?

The third imperial edict was to mobilize a large army in preparation for a personal expedition.

During this period, the crown prince served as regent.

Alright, now the Crown Prince not only manages the palace but also controls the court affairs. He's just one step away from ascending the throne!
If Emperor Qianxi, who was personally leading the expedition, were to suffer an accident, this crown prince could directly ascend the throne.

As one of the parties involved in these three imperial edicts, the Eighth Prince was dismissed from his post and stripped of his title, becoming a great victim of injustice.

He knew he had been stripped of his title because of the problem with Ge Li, but he hadn't expected the consequences to come so quickly.

This made him feel very frustrated.

This incident has also caused considerable damage to his reputation.

However, the Eighth Prince was not the type to give up easily after setbacks.

The day after the imperial edict was issued, he took advantage of the opportunity to accompany the princess back to her parents' home and secretly met with Tong Guowei, Ma Qi, Kui Xu and others.

These people are his supporters.

Moreover, they have already made their stance clear, and changing course will not be an easy task.

On the day of the gathering, Kui Xu, a staunch supporter of the Eighth Prince, immediately slammed his fist on the table: "Eighth Prince has been working diligently for the court these past few days."

"I'm not happy about being bullied like this."

"Prime Minister Tong, you are His Majesty's uncle and the Grand Secretary. The Eighth Prince has been treated this way. You must speak up for justice!"

Hearing Kui Xu's loud and boisterous voice, Tong Guowei frowned slightly.

This simpleton is nowhere near as good as his father, Mingzhu!
He only learned some of Mingzhu's tricks, but he didn't learn any of the great wisdom.

Everyone knows you want to curry favor with the Eighth Prince.

But do you need to involve other people?

All he does is talk big, but he never uses his brain!

However, no matter how dissatisfied he was, he couldn't show it, after all, they were all in the same boat.

Moreover, now is not the time to start conflicts.

Tong Guowei said coldly, "Kuixu, even if you are dissatisfied with His Majesty's decision, you have to keep it to yourself."

"Don't even mention you, even your father wouldn't dare say no to the Emperor."

"I'm the only one who heard this. If your father, Lord Mingzhu, heard it, he would definitely slap you across the face!"

Upon hearing this, Kui Xu's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.

He glanced at the Eighth Prince with a hint of frustration, but the Eighth Prince only nodded at him and didn't say anything, so he could only swallow his anger.

He couldn't afford to offend Tong Guowei.

Tong Guowei then slowly said, "I heard that it was the Crown Prince who suggested stripping the Eighth Prince of his title."

"The Crown Prince felt that the Eighth Prince was getting too much attention lately, so he made this request to His Majesty, and it was promptly rejected."

Upon hearing Tong Guowei's words, everyone present changed their expressions drastically, and the Eighth Prince's hand trembled, almost causing him to drop his teacup.

He always felt that he was stripped of his title because Ge Li had messed up his job.

But little did he know that his good second brother had also played a part in this.

You little brat, Crown Prince, you're so good at stabbing people in the back?
He remained silent, while Ma Qi spoke up, "Prime Minister Tong, will His Majesty listen to the Crown Prince in this matter?"

"His Majesty is personally leading an expedition to the Northwest, which requires military funds, so naturally the Crown Prince should oversee the country."

Tong Guowei said with a half-smile:

"I heard that the Crown Prince's conditions also included removing the two of us from our current positions, but His Majesty refused."

Ma Qi's face immediately turned pale.

Although Ma Qi always presented himself as an upright official, he actually valued his official position quite a bit.

He absolutely refused to be removed from his position as Minister of Revenue.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Is it true? How do you know?"

Tong Guowei said calmly, "Why do you think I would know?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Qi's mind raced, and he quickly understood.

The reason Tong Guowei knew about this matter was probably partly due to Emperor Qianxi's influence.

Since Emperor Qianxi wanted to use the crown prince and gave him so much power, he would have left behind means to check and balance the crown prince.

The reason for deliberately leaking the news that the Crown Prince wanted to replace him and Tong Guowei was to make them firmly stand against the Crown Prince and become stumbling blocks for him.

This would have prevented the situation where, while he was still struggling, the Crown Prince had already ascended the throne in the capital in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people, and then remotely honored him as the Retired Emperor!

The wariness between father and son in the face of imperial power has never diminished.

After thinking it through, Ma Qi snorted and said, "It's easy for the Crown Prince to oversee the country, but managing this household well will probably be very difficult."

"Putting everything else aside, I don't believe he can raise six or seven million taels of grain and provisions before His Majesty goes on the expedition, just by relying on his Yuqing Bank."

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(End of this chapter)