We'll have you impersonate the Crown Prince and create a prosperous era for the Great Qian Dyna

Thinking about this, Zhou Tianze felt a chill run down his spine.

This bastard is clearly a fake prince. He can't understand why this fake one is even more arrogant than the real one.

Even the real prince didn't dare to pull down his pants and spank him in front of everyone.

The way this bastard was looking at him now, as if he wanted to pull his pants down again, made Zhou Tianze feel guilty.

"Father, your health is of utmost importance. I shall take my leave now. I will continue at the court assembly tomorrow."

Zhou Tianze fled in panic.

Upon arriving at Qin Zhi'ang's residence, Zhou Tianze grew increasingly angry.

Why should he, a member of the royal family, be bullied like this by a peasant?

"It's all Father Emperor's fault for being so muddle-headed. He's getting old and can't even tell the difference between his real and fake sons. He might as well have abdicated sooner!"

Zhou Tianze grew angrier the more he thought about it, and slammed his hand on the table.

"Shut up!"

Qin Zhi'ang's voice came, and Zhou Tianze looked up in surprise, only to see his maternal grandfather walking in from outside the door.

Of course, Qin Zhi'ang's expression was also not good. After sitting down, he picked up his teacup with a somewhat solemn expression.

"The Crown Prince has already gained power, Tianze. From now on, whether in public or in private, you cannot be so disrespectful."

Zhou Tianze looked displeased.

"Why should I?!"

"Grandfather, you know perfectly well that he's a fake prince. If the real prince had this ability, how could we have fooled him so easily?"

"The thought of this country bumpkin pulling down my pants in front of hundreds of thousands of people makes me so angry I could vomit blood!"

Qin Zhi'ang took a deep breath and patiently looked at his grandson.

"After you left, the Emperor did not intend to let me go. Of the people we recruited, some were demoted, some were arrested, and five or six out of ten were gone."

"Even I have been targeted by the Emperor."

"The whereabouts of the national treasury funds allocated for flood and drought relief over the years have been brought up again, and the accounts have been audited once more. I almost ended up in jail!"

Qin Zhi'ang spoke lightly, but Zhou Tianze sensed the danger in his words.

Zhou Rui didn't even intend to let Qin Zhi'ang go!

"Then how did you come into this world, maternal grandfather?"

Qin Zhiang sighed.

"Fortunately, I haven't embezzled all the money over the years. I've received a share from the imperial family and those powerful clans. With their interference, even the Emperor can't do anything to me for the time being."

"But our downfall was only a matter of time."

"I've already made up my mind. I'll send your eldest uncle to the west, and your youngest uncle will be a general there. The two of them can look after each other. I'll provide the silver to help them recruit soldiers and quickly establish our own military power."

Speaking of this, Qin Zhiang took out a blueprint from his pocket.

Although this drawing is not the original, everything is clear and there is no concealment or confusion.

And these blueprints were drawn by Zhou Tiancheng at the Duke of Huguo's residence!

He patted the blueprints and looked at Zhou Tianze with a deep gaze.

"Tianze, your grandfather will not give up, but you must understand that we are not the same as before."

"The previous crown prince was a scoundrel, and His Majesty had long lost patience with him. Now the crown prince's reputation has changed drastically, and we have lost His Majesty's favor because of the previous assassination attempt."

"I'm telling you all this so you understand that the situation is no longer what it used to be, and even I am struggling to protect myself."

"Whether this prince is a fake or a real one, so what? You're going to treat him as the real one anyway!"

"Even if it's just an act, make it look real, buy enough time to give your two uncles the chance to build their legions!"

Zhou Tianze opened his mouth with a wronged expression.

"I understand, Grandfather."

Qin Zhiang breathed a sigh of relief.

"At tomorrow's court assembly, you may continue with your arguments, but of course, it may not be effective, since His Majesty no longer supports us."

"However, you also have a task for tomorrow's court assembly."

"We must extract the gunpowder formula from the Crown Prince!"

Zhou Tianze paused for a moment, looked at the blueprints on the table, and his eyes gradually regained their sparkle.

"Grandfather, do you mean we should form our own army and rebel using the things the Crown Prince made?"

Qin Zhiang narrowed his eyes.

"Rebellion? Rebellion against what? Rebellion against whom?"

"It hasn't gotten to that point yet."

"In the past, we didn't need to take these crooked paths; we could just follow the steps. But now it's different. We have to do everything we can to gain an advantage."

"Military power is only one aspect of it."

"Secondly, in the court, I will join forces with the imperial family and powerful clans. If we can get those old ministers involved and contact the retired emperor, even the emperor himself will have to be restrained."

"And then there are the bandits."

Zhou Tianze was taken aback.

These people in the imperial court looked down on bandits.

Especially for someone of his status as a prince, getting involved with bandits is simply tarnishing his own reputation.

But Qin Zhi'ang didn't budge; he looked out the door with a gloomy expression.

"What kind of rubbish novel did the Crown Prince write? It's completely bewildering the bandits."

"But his goal was to clear his name, and it worked quite well."

"Tianze, the outlaws also have their advantages. They control public opinion, and if we can get our hands on them, they can be a key pawn to pressure the Emperor!"

Zhou Tianze couldn't see it, but Qin Zhi'ang discovered the benefits of being a bandit.

He immediately recognized the effectiveness of the public opinion.

But why is it a bandit group?

Because bandits are all lawless and unruly people.

On the contrary, ordinary people would stay at home obediently, and going to the county town was considered a long trip.

And outlaws, constantly on the move, running around everywhere, are perfectly suited for spreading rumors or creating public opinion.

"I plan to have my Ministry of Rites take the lead in organizing a martial arts alliance conference, ideally to directly seize control of the entire bandit world."

"In this way, I will be able to control public opinion throughout the land, and even the Emperor will have to give us some consideration."

"Tianze, you no longer have the chance to inherit the throne by following the established path. We can only try to exert external pressure."

"Every step in this process must be taken with utmost care."

"And you are crucial to this; you absolutely cannot hold me back at this critical juncture!"

"Don't say anything like those disobedient words or disrespectful remarks to the Crown Prince."

"If someone gets hold of something against us, it will only create more problems."

Zhou Tianze breathed a sigh of relief.

He thought he had no chance, but unexpectedly, his maternal grandfather found a way out.

Zhou Tianze nodded immediately.

"Grandfather, please tell me what you want me to do, and I won't do anything rash."

Qin Zhiang breathed a sigh of relief, leaned over and whispered something in Zhou Tianze's ear before sitting back down and giving him another instruction.

"Remember this: we must get our hands on this gunpowder, otherwise, no matter how many soldiers we have, we'll just be cannon fodder!"