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

The right to interpret Chapter 542 belongs to me.

The first meeting of the Yuqing Palace began precisely as the sun rose.

Tong Guowei, Zhang Ying, the Third Prince, the Eighth Prince, the heads of various departments, and the head of the Hanlin Academy were all present.

Although Emperor Qianxi had subtly hinted that they should restrain the Crown Prince.

However, the Crown Prince is currently overseeing the country. They dare not neglect the meeting time he has set.

At least we have to put on a good show, right?
Zhang Ying looked at the vast Yuqing Palace with a calm expression, as if today's events had nothing to do with him.

However, Chen Tingjing, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, had a bright look in his eyes and was full of energy.

If he could secure all fifteen of the imperial examination slots, Chen Tingjing would be remembered for generations in the literary world of Jiangnan and his name would be etched in history!
His family, led by Chen Tingjing, will always be respected in Jiangnan.

Compared to the eagerness of the officials from the Jiangnan region, the others showed different reactions.

For example, Li Youche, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of War who came to attend this meeting, acted as if it had nothing to do with him.

He wasn't from Jiangnan, so he didn't really care about the increase in the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from Jiangnan.

He only made plans silently in his heart:
If Jiangnan can get this done, then he'll have to contact his fellow villagers to help him out.

They tried every means to add a few more spots for their hometown.

Fifteen more at once? I can't even imagine such a good thing. Three or five would be fine too!
No matter how small a mosquito is, it is still meat.

Just as he was pondering this, the gates of Yuqing Palace slowly opened, and the eunuch Wei Zhu walked over with a broad smile:

"Prime Minister Tong, Your Excellencies, His Highness the Crown Prince requests that you enter the palace."

As Tong Guowei walked, he thought to himself, "This pomp and circumstance, this grandeur, I can't find any fault with it."

After all, with Emperor Qianxi away on a distant expedition, the only ruler in the palace was none other than the Crown Prince, who was essentially a half-ruler.

Even without a monarch in power, a half-monarch is still a monarch.

However, he had no idea what kind of show this half-man was going to put on today.

The crowd filed in, and as soon as they entered the main hall, they saw that Crown Prince Shen Ye was already sitting on the throne. Everyone quickly bowed in greeting.

However, while they were bowing, their eyes were not idle; they were quietly observing the layout of the hall.

Something about this main hall feels off today; it looks strange.

The prince still had the same carved dragon and phoenix desk in front of him, but on both sides of the main hall, two rows of tables and chairs were neatly arranged.

On the table to the left, there is a small wooden sign that reads "Cabinet" in bold.

The row on the right is even more amazing; they're also made of wood, but they're inscribed with "Ministry of Rites," "Ministry of Personnel," and "Ministry of War" respectively...

All six departments were included.

After everyone bowed, Shen Ye smiled and said, "Gentlemen, you may rise."

"Today is the first meeting of Yuqing Palace in accordance with the rules of procedure. The meeting will take a long time, so please sit down and talk."

As he spoke, he pointed to the tables and chairs on both sides and said, "Prime Minister Tong, please lead everyone to sit down."

Tong Guowei was taken aback; the Crown Prince had even set out stools.

This approachable and considerate attitude towards veteran officials is truly remarkable.

Tong Guowei quickly bowed and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. We are deeply grateful."

Shen Ye waved his hand:

"Chancellor Tong and all the ministers are pillars of the court who have devoted themselves to the cause. My father and I will do our best to make arrangements that will reduce your burdens."

"Today we only have one topic from the Ministry of Rites, so let them speak first."

Minister of Rites Li Guangdi had already accompanied the emperor on the expedition, and the Left Vice Minister Narshu was reporting on his behalf.

This was his first time experiencing such a scene, but he wasn't intimidated. After all, who among those who could become a vice minister wasn't shrewd and astute?
He began solemnly, "Your Highness, Your Excellencies, the literary tradition in Jiangnan is at its peak..."

“Oh, Lord Narshu,” Shen Ye suddenly interrupted him, pointing to a separate seat on the side of the hall, “There’s a special reporting area over there, why don’t you go there to speak?”

Narshu was taken aback, only then realizing that there really was a reserved seat next to him.

My heart skipped a beat: Why does this feel like I'm on trial?
Although he was a little unhappy, he could only carry his memorial over there.

Beside Shen Ye, four officials of the sixth rank, who looked like scholars of the Hanlin Academy, sat in a seat. Each of them held a pen and took notes quickly, making the atmosphere even more formal.

"Your Highness, Your Excellencies..."

"...Many of the scholars in Jiangnan are exceptionally talented..."

"...Many people in other provinces could at least pass the imperial examinations and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), but in Jiangnan, their achievements would at best only reach the Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations) level..."

"...In order to enable more talented people from Jiangnan to serve the court and be of service to the court, we humbly request that the number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) from Jiangnan be increased by fifteen..."

Once he finished explaining, Narshu felt a great deal of relief.

His task was complete; the debate was now left to the people in Jiangnan.

Narshu glanced around furtively, secretly chuckling to himself:

At this point, almost everyone in the cabinet agreed, and it's unlikely that anyone from the Six Ministries would object.

Wouldn't the Crown Prince's rules of procedure then become a mere formality?
“Naru, the number of Jinshi selected by the imperial court each time is 280. When the court was established, Emperor Taizu had already made a stipulation on this matter.”

Shen Ye said calmly, "The Ministry of Rites has requested an increase in the number of places for Jiangnan. Have you decided which provinces to allocate the places from?"

"Also, did the provinces whose quotas were allocated agree to this?"

Narshu was momentarily stunned! He had originally thought that the Crown Prince would directly discuss "whether or not to add it".

Unexpectedly, the crown prince immediately asked, "Whose bowl are you going to eat from!"

Asking other provinces to give up their quotas? Who would agree to that! The Ministry of Rites didn't even consider this issue in detail.

After all, this matter was handled hastily; there simply wasn't time to inquire at each province individually...

Besides, is there even a question?
Anyone who brings this up is asking for trouble.
Narshu replied, forcing himself to speak:

"Your Highness, the Ministry of Rites intends to keep the quotas for each province unchanged and directly add 15 more to the total of 280 Jinshi!"

Shen Ye's tone remained calm, but her words were like small knives:
"The quota of 280 Jinshi was decided by Emperor Taizu, and even Emperor Father has never changed it. Do you think you can just increase it like that?"

"Moreover, this matter involves the interests of various provinces. Your Ministry of Rites hastily put it to the meeting without communicating with all parties in a proper manner."

"Considering this is the first meeting, we will not delve into it further."

"After returning, we will draft a detailed plan, and then issue a document to solicit opinions from various provinces to see if they have different opinions on giving up the quotas."

"It's not too late to discuss this after we've collected all the feedback."

Narshu wasn't truly dedicated to serving Jiangnan, so he didn't care whether or not fifteen more slots were added.

After all, this isn't his business!

Now that the Crown Prince had refuted him like this, he simply backed down and accepted the situation.

But Chen Tingjing, who was sitting to the side, couldn't sit still any longer!
He immediately stood up and said:

"Your Highness, I think the Ministry of Rites' proposal is excellent! The Jiangnan region has a thriving academic atmosphere, and there are many talented scholars who are unable to serve the court."

"The imperial court should broaden the path for virtuous scholars and give them the opportunity to serve the court."

"Otherwise, talented people will only be lost in the countryside. I urge Your Highness to investigate this matter carefully."

Shen Ye glanced at Chen Tingjing, seeing his face full of "I'm only thinking of the court," and said calmly:
"Lord Chen, the Ministry of Rites is not well prepared for this issue and has not solicited enough opinions."

“I did not reject the Ministry of Rites’ proposal, but rather asked them to complete the procedures.”

"We'll discuss it at the meeting once they've prepared everything."

"Furthermore, according to the rules of procedure, Lord Chen should be in charge of the Censorate. As for the Ministry of Rites, let the Ministry of Rites handle it themselves."

"Lord Chen need not worry about it."

Chen Tingjing's face stiffened, and all the words stuck in his throat.

The Crown Prince's words were utterly disrespectful!

But their explanation was also quite self-righteous:

He did not reject the opinion put forward by the Ministry of Rites, but rather the procedure was wrong.

What can be done?
To have the Ministry of Rites issue a document to each province, asking them to allocate one quota to Jiangnan? Isn't that a joke?
Even a fool would think that this is impossible!

However, if he continued to press the matter, he would have no legitimate reason, since the Crown Prince had already spoken and the Ministry of Rites was not adequately prepared.

This does not comply with the rules of procedure!
It's really giving me a headache!
Before he could think any further, Shen Ye had already stood up: "Today's agenda is complete, meeting adjourned."

His gaze then turned to Tong Guowei: "Prime Minister Tong, from now on, you must strictly control the content of any meetings that are reported."

"Don't report anything that's not fully prepared."

After saying that, he left briskly.

Tong Guowei's face twitched. He never expected that a carefully prepared failure would be so easily dismissed by the Crown Prince with a simple "the procedure was wrong".

The rules of procedure do state that anything not adequately prepared will not be considered!
He didn't take it to heart at the time!

Only now did he realize that these meeting procedures were not rules at all; they were simply a soft knife in the hands of the Crown Prince!
How he uses it depends entirely on his mood.

In short, the power to interpret these rules of procedure rests in the hands of the Crown Prince.

"Prime Minister Tong, these meeting procedures are so cumbersome, it's practically making things difficult for us. In the future, we might as well not report anything!"

Tong Guowei knew that Chen Tingjing was feeling aggrieved, and in fact, he was also feeling bad.

Hearing Chen Tingjing say this, he sneered and said, "Lord Chen, if you think you can handle things in your office and don't need to report them, then go ahead and do it."

"If you delay your work because you don't report it... you can weigh the consequences yourself."

Upon hearing this, Chen Tingjing's face darkened even more, and he turned to leave with a flick of his sleeve.

But Zhou Bao called out to him, "Lord Chen, please wait!"

Chen Tingjing paused for a moment, then stopped and asked, "What is it now?"

"Lord Chen, these are today's meeting minutes. Please take a look."

"If there are no errors in the record, please sign it."

"This record will be sent to His Majesty for his perusal later."

Although Chen Tingjing was holding his breath, he still carefully read through the meeting minutes and saw that the contents were the words of the Crown Prince, his own words, and the words of Narshu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

His words were all written down in black and white, and recorded clearly.

Left with no other choice, he could only sign his name in a flamboyant manner.

Tong Guowei and the others had no choice but to sign their names, thus bringing the meeting to a close.

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(End of this chapter)