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

Chapter 528 The more I work hard now, the less you'll suffer later.

It might sound satisfying to wreak havoc in the Imperial Household Department, but it could very well cause unnecessary turmoil.

The imperial court is about to launch a military campaign, so the most important thing is to maintain stability.

Besides, most of the guys in the Imperial Household Department were "his own people" personally promoted and trained by Emperor Qianxi.

If the entire organization were wiped out, the first person to react with outrage would probably be Emperor Qianxi himself.

Could his words be a test of me?

As I was about to lead those 300,000 Green Standard Army soldiers into battle, it seemed like this old man was afraid that I would be able to ascend the throne as soon as he left.

Thinking of this, Shen Ye almost burst out laughing, but quickly pursed his lips, his tone filled with righteous indignation:
"Father, to be honest, I was so angry when I looked through the account books that I almost exploded!"

"I really want to raid the entire Imperial Household Department from top to bottom!"

"These lackeys are outrageous!"

"Especially that Feng Heshun, he even uses the golden chamber pot to relieve himself!"

"How much gold must they have embezzled to disregard even the imperial court and Your Majesty!"

Upon hearing Shen Ye's words, Emperor Qianxi's face twitched slightly.

Although he was usually broad-minded, he was still furious when his subordinates treated him so blatantly.

Disregarding him? That's absolutely outrageous!
"But after thinking about it again, I decided to suppress my anger."

"At present, the Emperor is about to personally lead the expedition, so it is really not advisable to start a large-scale war."

"Furthermore, the Imperial Household Department still needs familiar people to keep it running."

"I'm thinking it might be better to keep these guys around for now and let them 'contract' these jobs out."

"In this way, your imperial treasury will receive more revenue, and from now on, they will have no choice but to work diligently."

"If you dare to misbehave again... Hmph, then we'll punish you for both crimes, settling both old and new scores together!"

Emperor Qianxi nodded slightly and hummed:
"These bastards are getting off easy. Your Highness, after I send out troops, you must keep a close eye on the Imperial Household Department for me."

"Don't cause any more trouble."

At this point, he gestured to the stack of ledgers on the table:
"You did a good job this time. You can keep those three gardens belonging to Feng Heshun; they're a reward for you."

Feng Heshun's three residences are quite large, each worth twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver.

Emperor Qianxi was well aware of the significance of this reward; by bestowing it so directly, he was clearly giving Shen Ye a taste of the sweetness.

Upon hearing this, Shen Ye's eyes lit up slightly.

Shen Ye had no intention of being polite about such a favor, and immediately expressed his gratitude with a beaming smile: "Your subject thanks Your Majesty!"

Emperor Qianxi chatted with Shen Ye for a few more minutes about palace matters, then suddenly changed the subject:
"Will this contracted project really be enough to raise enough provisions and pay for the expedition?"

"Father, rest assured, there shouldn't be any major problems."

"I have heard that someone wants to swallow up the business of the three major textile factories in Jiangnan."

"After all, it was doing business with foreigners, and the turnover was in the millions of taels."

"There's also ginseng, gold mining, shops in the capital, and estates and ranches outside..."

Shen Ye rattled off dozens of industries owned by the Imperial Household Department, and Emperor Qianxi's brows gradually relaxed as he listened.

If these businesses were located elsewhere, any one of them would be enough to make a family prosperous.

However, under the management of the Imperial Household Department, they barely made a profit; breaking even was considered a success.

Emperor Qianxi rose from his throne, walked over to Shen Ye, and spoke with deep emotion:

"When an emperor has many ministers, the one he can truly trust is probably his own son."

“Your Highness, if it weren’t for your leadership, even if I knew that the Imperial Household Department was rife with corruption, I wouldn’t have been able to bring myself to take action against it.”

He patted Shen Ye on the shoulder, his gaze distant, as if he could already see the vast land ahead:
"This world belongs to me, and it also belongs to you, but ultimately, it belongs to you."

"I will now cut away these thorns and brambles for you, and build you a complete and impregnable empire!"

"When I go to see my ancestors, I will have something to say – that I have not been emperor in vain."

"The more I work hard now, the less you'll have to suffer later..."

Seeing Emperor Qianxi's heartfelt words, Shen Ye felt a pang in her heart.

Dad's chicken soup was... a bit too salty.

Are you about to embark on a campaign and are afraid I'll give you a "Lingwu ascension to the throne," so you're trying to sweet-talk me?

Rest assured, as long as you still hold those 300,000 Green Standard Army soldiers in your hands, I truly dare not ascend the throne.

The chances of success are too low now!
Shen Ye quickly rubbed her eyes. Although she hadn't prepared a ginger handkerchief this time, she was instantly in character, and her voice softened.

"Your Majesty's deep love for his son has truly moved me deeply."

"The thought of you personally leading the expedition through wind and snow fills my heart with sorrow."

"If it weren't for the fact that I am far inferior to Father in the art of war, I would love to go to war in your place!"

He spoke with such sincerity that he even sniffed at one point:
"Father...you have suffered so much..."

Inside the Qianqing Palace, a touching atmosphere of fatherly love and filial piety prevailed.

Although Shen Ye himself had never commanded a battle, he discovered from the original crown prince's memories that the original owner had received extremely professional military training.

In his youth, he not only frequently received instruction from Emperor Qianxi on the essentials of leading troops, but also had many veteran generals personally teach him.

With this knowledge, as long as Shen Ye doesn't give reckless orders and stays in the rear, there shouldn't be any major problems.

But the problem is, now it's not that he doesn't want to go to war for Emperor Qianxi.

It was clear that Emperor Qianxi himself was not comfortable entrusting the army to the Crown Prince.

However, since Emperor Qianxi wanted to act, Shen Ye had no choice but to go along with it.

The father and son shared a lunch at the Qianqing Palace before parting ways in high spirits.

Watching Shen Ye's departing figure, Emperor Qianxi's face showed a hint of contemplation.

A capable crown prince is a blessing to the world! But this crown prince is too capable...

Ugh!
The raid on the Feng and Shun families shocked the capital, but things quickly returned to normal.

While many people ridiculed Feng Heshun for his "mantis trying to stop a chariot," they also began to secretly plan for the Imperial Household Department to take over the contract.

Inside Ma Qi's residence, he was discussing the contract with his brother Ma Wu.

“Brother, the business of the Imperial Household Department in digging for gold and ginseng is very lucrative, but it’s too ostentatious and attracts attention.”

"We don't necessarily need to fight for that; we just need to secure the mountain products from outside the pass."

"This income doesn't look so conspicuous, and the volume of goods sold is large, making it easy to cover up."

Although Ma Wu was not the Minister of Revenue, he had served as the Chief Steward of the Imperial Household Department and knew it inside and out.

He exclaimed excitedly, "If we can secure this deal, and combine it with our connections with the Rakshasa Kingdom, it will definitely be more profitable than ginseng digging!"

Ma Qi listened to his younger brother talk while flipping through the list of items provided by the Imperial Household Department.

He snorted:
"This time, the Crown Prince is in charge of the Imperial Household Department's contract. Since you have plans, you must make sure you have a foolproof plan."

"We must not be careless, lest we lose Jingzhou due to negligence, and then all our efforts will have been in vain!"

Ma Wu said confidently, "Don't worry, brother, I know what's important."

Even if we don't make money from mountain products, we have to secure this one.

"We'll offer the highest price then and snatch it away honorably. The Crown Prince won't have anything to say."

Hearing his younger brother say that, Ma Qi glared at him:
"Stop, stop, stop! Are you stupid? If you're not going to make money, why would you take on a contract? Isn't that just blatantly telling everyone 'I'm up to something'?"

"Do you think the Crown Prince is dim-witted, or that the one above him... is senile?"

The rest of the sentence was left unsaid, but the meaning couldn't be clearer.

Ma Wu nodded quickly: "Brother is right, I misunderstood."

"Then... shall we take a small cut? If anyone thinks our offer is too high, we'll just say, 'This is to serve His Majesty with loyalty!'"

Ma Qi then nodded reluctantly: "That makes more sense."

At this point, his expression suddenly turned serious.

"Brother, what are you worried about?" Ma Wu, who was always close to his elder brother, couldn't help but ask with concern when he saw his brother's expression.

Ma Qi said in a low voice, "Second brother, the Crown Prince will soon be able to raise enough provisions for the expedition. Next... the Crown Prince will assume the regency."

"The current crown prince is already difficult to deal with. If I let him oversee the country, I'm afraid the days ahead will be even more unbearable."

Upon hearing this, Ma Wu also frowned.

He was a close advisor to the Qianxi Emperor and should have accompanied him on this expedition.

The Crown Prince overseeing the country won't affect him for the time being.

But his elder brother was different—he had to stay in the capital and work under the Crown Prince.

Moreover, it happened at the time when Emperor Qianxi was away on a long journey... This was truly an unpredictable situation!
Several thoughts flashed through his mind, and Ma Wu lowered his voice and said:

"Brother, His Majesty is very likely to take Grand Secretary Li Guangdi away this time."

"Leave Tong Guowei and Zhang Ying behind."

"Your relationship with Zhang Ying is so-so, why don't you take advantage of the New Year to get a word with Prime Minister Tong?"

"Let's see if he has any insightful opinions on the Crown Prince overseeing the state..."

Ma Qi had always been only polite to Tong Guowei on a superficial level.

Deep down, he actually looked down on this brother-in-law of the emperor.

I always felt that he was able to become the Grand Secretary because he was the emperor's uncle.

Otherwise, in terms of talent and learning, the position of Grand Secretary should belong to Ma Qi.

However, for now, he felt that his brother's suggestion was worth a try.

After all... the two of them now have a common "rival".

He nodded and said, "Then let's meet Tong Guowei."

"However, I cannot go to his residence on a special occasion. I will try to have a chat with him tomorrow at Prince Shun's birthday banquet."

"I guess His Majesty will entrust the affairs of state to Tong Guowei before he passes away."

"He might be... even more anxious than I am."

"After all, if anything goes wrong, he will be the one primarily responsible."

Maqi was absolutely right.

At this very moment, Tong Guowei is hosting a banquet.

They invited Zhang Ying and Li Guangdi.

Ostensibly a "small gathering of colleagues from the Southern Study as the year draws to a close," the meal was actually quite taboo.

But Tong Guowei was not afraid—he had already informed Emperor Qianxi before hosting the banquet.

He did this for one purpose only:
They discussed with Zhang Ying how the two should coordinate their actions after Emperor Qianxi left the capital.

The crown prince is to oversee the country, but during his tenure, how can they keep an eye on this increasingly autocratic heir apparent and ensure that the government does not slip out of the emperor's control?

That's a rather delicate matter!

In the past, Tong Guowei didn't need to worry about this—

The Crown Prince had Suo'etu, so Emperor Qianxi used Mingzhu to keep the two in check.

Now that the Crown Prince has lost Suo'etu, the Crown Prince personally taking action... is actually more of a headache.

Therefore, some things must be communicated in advance in order to maintain tacit understanding and tacit agreement.

After all, the matter of "restricting the crown prince" is something that can only be understood implicitly and cannot be explained in words.

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(End of this chapter)