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

Chapter 540 Let's see who's using whom as a puppet.
The Qianxi Emperor asked for a name to be given to him, implying: you can keep pushing it, I won't get involved.

As long as the people reported are largely accurate and not too outrageous, I will nod in approval.

On the surface, this appears to be a matter of streamlining administration and delegating power, but the Eighth Prince felt that there was a deeper meaning behind it.

Father's move is incredibly cunning!
Whether it's Tong Guowei's faction supporting him or the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace, they all probably want to compete for this position.

As long as both sides fight it out, hehe, then Emperor Qianxi's goal will be achieved.

What they were arguing about was unimportant; the more noisy the arguments below were, the more leisurely Emperor Qianxi would be.

When the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits!

This will give him more control over the overall situation.

Although the Eighth Prince had guessed his father's plan, he didn't take it to heart.

Let's fight! I'll fight for the crown prince position, and I'll fight for the dragon throne in the future. Do you think I'm afraid to fight you? Who's afraid of who!
Moreover, ever since Emperor Qianxi left the capital, he increasingly felt that:

Although the Crown Prince is nominally in charge of overseeing the country, it seems that the real power of the court has quietly slipped into my hands.

I am the Minister of the Southern Study!

My loyal supporter is the chief scholar of the Southern Study!

What good is it if the crown prince oversees the country?
He's not the emperor!

A crown prince who couldn't even be appointed by the ministers of the Southern Study is no match for him at this moment.

Perhaps this was the balancing act that Emperor Qianxi desired!

Thinking of this, the Eighth Prince was in a great mood.

"Prime Minister Tong, with you in charge, it's truly better than having 100,000 soldiers!"

Tong Guowei smiled gently; these words made him feel at ease.

He said, with a mixture of humility and pride:
"You flatter me, Eighth Prince. My abilities are limited, and I am truly unworthy of your praise."

"This old minister has simply... stayed in the court for a few more years."

How many years did he serve in the imperial court?

That's a very interesting statement. It's practically telling me that Tong Guowei is a powerful and deeply rooted figure!

The Eighth Prince, of course, understood the hidden meaning in Tong Guowei's words and laughed along.

However, there was a hint of unease mixed in with that laughter.

The day after Emperor Qianxi left the capital, the Southern Study remained busy, with various memorials arriving from all directions.

Just as Tong Guowei had finished reviewing most of a memorial and was debating whether to mark it as "read" or "to be discussed further," he suddenly heard the sound of bowing outside.

His pen paused, and his heart skipped a beat. This was a commotion that ordinary officials would not make. He immediately stood up.

Sure enough, the next second, Crown Prince Shen Ye walked in unhurriedly with Zhou Bao and Wei Zhu.

Tong Guowei frowned, thinking to himself: This time, the visitors are probably up to no good.

But then he thought again and he wasn't worried: I am the Grand Secretary who is acting on imperial orders. With His Majesty's backing, the Crown Prince can't do anything to me!

"This old minister pays his respects to Your Highness." Tong Guowei bowed respectfully.

Shen Ye reached out and gently helped Tong Guowei up, smiling as he said, "Prime Minister Tong, there's no need for such formalities."

At this point, he glanced at the table and feigned surprise: "Why are the memorials piled up like this here, Prime Minister Tong?"

"Your Highness, His Majesty has recently been on a personal campaign, and there are many affairs to attend to in various places, so there are more memorials to the emperor."

Tong Guowei answered calmly and steadily, but he had an instinctive sense of vigilance: What is the Crown Prince trying to do?
What kind of trouble are they trying to dig this time?

Anyway, as long as the Crown Prince can't touch me, the Grand Secretary, there's nothing to be afraid of.

Shen Ye nodded thoughtfully, his expression turning serious: "Recently, some people have been telling me that some important memorials have been sent to the Southern Study for several days, but there has been no reply yet."

"I originally thought it was a momentary oversight by the Southern Study, but seeing it with my own eyes today, I understand. Prime Minister Tong, you are doing the work of ten people all by yourself. You simply can't keep up."

Tong Guowei felt a chill run down his spine. What did this mean? Was this foreshadowing?
Could it be that the Crown Prince is trying to use this opportunity, under the guise of "showing consideration for veteran officials and sharing their burdens," to plant his own people in the Southern Study?
He immediately invoked the imperial sword, his tone respectful yet brooking no argument:
"Your Highness is wise to know that all affairs of the Southern Study are conducted in strict accordance with the rules set by His Majesty."

"Without Your Majesty's decree, we would never dare to overstep our bounds."

At first glance, this statement implies that these high-ranking officials must abide by the rules, but upon closer examination, it boils down to one sentence: "Don't even think about placing your own people in your positions."

Shen Ye smiled and said, "Prime Minister Tong is overthinking it. Don't worry, I know the rules. I am here today with absolutely no intention of interrogating the Southern Study."

He abruptly changed the subject and handed over a piece of paper:

"Prime Minister Tong, I have just drafted the 'Rules of Procedure for Meetings at Yuqing Palace.' During my regency, all major matters will be handled according to these rules. Prime Minister Tong, please take a look and familiarize yourself with them."

The Yuqing Palace Council Meeting Procedures? What is that?
Tong Guowei was stunned for a moment. He instinctively wanted to bring up Emperor Qianxi to deflect the criticism, but when he saw the Crown Prince's smiling but treacherous expression, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

No, he shouldn't object so rashly without even reading the details. The Crown Prince might find a pretext to use against him.

This young master may be young, but he's quite shrewd and not easily fooled.

"Your Highness has considered everything very well. Well then... allow this old minister to take a look first." He took the paper and saw that the first clause clearly stated:

"In order to improve efficiency and ensure that specific responsibilities are assigned to individuals, these rules are formulated in accordance with the duties of the various departments of the imperial court. During the Crown Prince's regency, all matters reported shall be handled in accordance with these rules."

Just from this one sentence, Tong Guowei immediately felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet—the visitor was up to no good!

However, when asked to find fault with it, he couldn't.

He pondered it carefully: Was it wrong for the Crown Prince to want to improve efficiency? No. Wasn't this a sign of diligence?
Is it wrong to assign specific responsibilities to individuals? I wouldn't dare say yes. Otherwise, wouldn't that be admitting to previous buck-passing and shirking of responsibility?
As for "reporting to the Crown Prince during the Regent's reign shall be done in accordance with this rule," that is the Crown Prince's legitimate right—if you don't want to report, that's fine, but you can take responsibility for any problems that arise.

He read the second one and broke out in a cold sweat:

"The Yuqing Palace holds meetings daily at 8:00 AM. All matters requiring reporting must be submitted to the Office of Transmission one day in advance for compilation..."

"...For all matters under discussion, the respective departments raising the issues shall first study feasible solutions and list the participating departments and temples before submitting their reports..."

"The regular attendees of the Yuqing Palace Council are: Grand Secretaries, members of the Southern Study, and Ministers of the Six Ministries..."

"During the deliberations, everyone should offer suggestions and express their opinions on the issues. After the deliberations, the Crown Prince will gather the opinions and suggestions from all parties and make a decision."

“The entire process of the Yuqing Palace meeting was recorded. Every day, the Hanlin Academy issued meeting minutes according to the decisions made at the meeting. After all the participants signed the minutes, they were archived and sent to His Majesty for his review.”

After reading half of the rules of procedure, Tong Guowei understood everything—the Crown Prince was trying to sideline the Southern Study!

Originally, memorials were sent to the Southern Study, where they would draft opinions, and the Emperor would make the final decision.

Now, things are really messed up. Each department comes up with its own solutions first, then everyone discusses them openly under the Crown Prince's nose, and finally the Crown Prince makes the final decision.

On the surface, the Southern Study was still involved, but the final decision-making power easily fell into the hands of the Crown Prince.

The right to make recommendations from the Southern Study Room fell directly to the Six Ministries.

In addition, the meeting minutes, which were "fully recorded and signed," were clearly invisible chains that constrained the leaders of the Southern Study and its various departments.

Want to try and smooth things over, play games, or be ambiguous again? Don't even think about it, your name is already signed here!
After all, this kind of thing is irrefutable evidence, and it's easy to settle scores later.

After reading the rules of procedure, Tong Guowei gripped the paper, remained silent for a long while, and finally managed to utter a sentence:

"Your Highness is a man of great foresight, but... is His Majesty aware of your meeting procedures? Does he agree to them?"

If there's really nothing wrong with it, then we can only bring in the emperor for support.

Shen Ye smiled radiantly: "My father appointed me to oversee the country and instructed me to go ahead and do it."

"Right now, I haven't decided on any political matters yet; I'm just setting some rules for... how people should speak and discuss matters in front of me."

He leaned forward slightly, his tone gentle yet sharp:
"Am I, the Crown Prince Regent, not even able to regulate how my subjects report to me? If I can't even make decisions on such a small matter, then what kind of regent am I?"

Tong Guowei was speechless.

The Crown Prince did not actually handle any political affairs, but only established a "reporting procedure"—which was indeed within the scope of his regency authority, and even Emperor Qianxi seemed to have no reason to stop him.

"Your Highness, isn't this procedure... a bit too complicated? I'm afraid we can't discuss many things in a day, which would only delay government affairs."

Tong Guowei struggled to find one last plausible reason.

Shen Ye waved his hand and smiled, "How could Prime Minister Tong forget? I've said before that I only handle major matters. As for ordinary matters within the jurisdiction of each department, there's no need to report them to me; you can handle them yourself."

"If nothing major happens to be discussed all day... that means all the officials are doing their duties diligently and the world is at peace. I should really thank my God!"

Having said that, he smiled, turned around, and left with the words:
"Starting the day after tomorrow, this rule will be implemented. Prime Minister Tong, thank you for your hard work."

Tong Guowei's lips twitched, and he could only bow and say, "Your subject... obeys the decree."

As soon as the Crown Prince left, Tong Guowei picked up the regulations and looked at them carefully again, his brows furrowing in a knot—they were so perfectly in place that he couldn't find the slightest flaw!

Little did he know that these were all "meeting management regulations" copied verbatim from later generations by Shen Ye.

These rules are a system that has been refined through countless examples and trials. How could he possibly find fault with them in a short time?
Just then, Ma Qi rushed in anxiously, waving another copy of the regulations in his hand:

"Prime Minister Tong! These are the rules of procedure issued by the Crown Prince. If these rules are implemented, your Southern Study will be in serious trouble!"

Tong Guowei looked at the anxious Ma Qi, shrugged, and said with a helpless expression:
"Lord Ma, the Crown Prince has made his decision. What can we do?"

"Prime Minister Tong, you are the Grand Secretary! The Crown Prince issued this decision without consulting the Southern Study. You could have easily rejected it!" Ma Qi stamped his feet anxiously.

Tong Guowei looked at Ma Qi, who seemed anxious for them, and sneered:
"Reject? What are our reasons for rejecting it?"

"What the Crown Prince did was not anything concrete."

"He didn't touch any government affairs; he didn't change any personnel. He simply stipulated a 'reporting procedure' for reporting matters to him—this is simply a right within the regency's authority!"

"If we refute even this, do you think someone will accuse us of 'deceiving the emperor and usurping the crown prince' tomorrow?!"

Ma Qi was rendered speechless by Tong Guowei's retort and could only stare anxiously.

He snorted coldly and said, "Prime Minister Tong, is this all you can do to please the Crown Prince?"

Tong Guowei gazed out the window and sighed deeply—this crown prince was far more difficult to deal with than he had imagined…

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(End of this chapter)