Wind rises time and space gate

Chapter 539 Public Opinion
In the capital, rumors were spreading everywhere.

It was said that the prince killed a second-rank minister in order to eliminate dissidents, and then took his anger out on his hearse by sending assassins to hunt down his family. It was also said that the prince had drawn up a list and would liquidate the ministers who were not loyal to him.

All the ministers were worried. Even the common people were talking about the prince's immorality and killing innocent people.

The voices saying that the prince is not worthy of being a king are becoming increasingly loud.

Public opinion became more and more intense. After being persuaded by Mu Liao, the Eastern Palace finally changed its tough attitude and released the news that someone was slandering the prince and wanted to shake his position as the crown prince.

It also hinted that the King of Yue was judging others by his own mean character and spread news that was unfavorable to the prince.

The East Palace spread the word that Jiang and Xiang were the pillars of the country. The prince was heartbroken over his death and went to the closed gate of Jiang's mansion to pay his respects in person. He cried and complained that as the crown prince he could not personally send him back home. He burst into tears and fainted in front of Jiang's mansion.

The prince's performance was very effective. The news of people in the capital discussing that the prince was unfit to be a king gradually decreased. At least, the people stopped discussing it openly.

The East Palace was guiding public opinion outside, and the people also felt that they had misunderstood the prince. The prince had not yet ascended the throne, and the emperor was still in office. How could he kill an important official of the court in public? He also sent people to hunt down his family members and destroy his hearse. Is he still a human being?

How could the prince do such a thing?

When the people thought about it carefully, they realized that the prince was not stupid, so how could he do such a thing? They immediately felt that the prince was wronged. After hearing all the news about the King of Yue released by the East Palace, they immediately followed suit and cursed the King of Yue as a traitor.

The war was over, but the soldiers in the camp outside the capital were still detained and not allowed to return to the capital. Everyone said that the King of Yue had bad intentions.

The Eastern Palace also found some families of soldiers and said that the King of Yue was going to lead them in a rebellion. If the imperial court sent troops to suppress the rebellion, the entire family would be executed. Even the ancestors buried in the ground would be dug up and their corpses whipped.

The people were terrified and rushed to the gate of the Prince of Yue's mansion to protest and demand that the King of Yue release their relatives to return to the capital.

A carriage stopped not far from the Prince of Yue's palace.

There were many people standing or sitting in front of the gate of the Yue Palace. They were all the angry families of soldiers. They cried and threw all kinds of dirty things at the gate of the Yue Palace.

They cursed the King of Yue for harming people, and wanted to kill all nine of their families, and make their ancestors restless in the underworld. They did not want to be traitors, so they asked the King of Yue to let their relatives go home...

The gate of the Prince of Yue's palace was tightly closed, and no one came out to mediate.

The King of Chu lifted the curtain and looked at this scene, dumbfounded. The East Palace was really powerful. Even if the King of Yue wanted to return to the capital, he might not be able to do so. The King of Qin frowned.

"Brother, did the prince win this time?"

The King of Qin frowned tightly, looking coldly at a group of fools who were incited and used thoroughly by the East Palace, and he felt horrified.

The prince not only killed Jiang and Xiang to vent his anger, but also frightened the ministers who were ready to surrender to the King of Yue, and he also reversed public opinion. Not only did he gain the sympathy of the people by acting as a victim, but he also made the people point the finger at the King of Yue, saying that he had evil intentions.

"It all depends on how my father decides."

The King of Chu was somewhat dissatisfied. “The Crown Prince has been killing second-rank court officials indiscriminately and doesn’t take my father seriously. Yet my father has not punished the Crown Prince at all. It seems that the Crown Prince’s position is secure.” He couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged.

At this point, the King of Qin also knew that the Emperor wanted to protect the Crown Prince. But if he did nothing, he was afraid that the Crown Prince would take even more ruthless revenge on him. When the Crown Prince ascended the throne, he and his brother would probably be wiped out.

The King of Zhao, the King of Wei, the King of Wu, the King of Jin and other princes were all shocked by the Crown Prince's actions and were thinking about their own options. The King of Lu was actively contacting the court officials, hoping that even if they did not surrender to the King of Yue, they would at least not become enemies with him.

Now that Jiang Xiang is dead, he is Lao Qi's eyes and ears in the capital.

The court officials who had originally defected to the King of Yue not only did not turn to the Crown Prince because of the death of Jiang and Xiang, but became more determined to follow the King of Yue. The Crown Prince's actions chilled the hearts of the officials, and they increasingly could not see the image of a wise ruler in the Crown Prince.

However, some who were still wavering immediately switched sides to the prince.

They are not as tough as Jiang and Xiang, and the lives of their entire families are tied to them.

The prince staged this incident himself, killed someone, and directed public opinion towards the King of Yue. Many unfavorable news about the King of Yue were spread all over the capital.

Prince Qi was heartbroken at the loss of his relative Jiang Xiang, and was saddened by the loss of his drinking buddy. He then got news that the crown prince had sent people to hunt down Jiang Xiang's family and had disrespected Jiang Xiang's coffin. He was filled with anger and denounced the crown prince in front of all the ministers at the court meeting, saying that he was immoral and unworthy of a crown prince.

Prince Qi has always been known to be an idle royal family member who doesn't care about state affairs. This is the first time he has scolded the crown prince so harshly in public.

This attracted the attention of all the ministers.

Although there are rumors in the capital that the prince was wronged, Jiang Xiang was seriously ill and fell ill just when he returned from the Eastern Palace that day. It is also implied that Jiang Xiang received instructions from the King of Yue and went to the Eastern Palace before his death just to slander the prince.

Even when his family was attacked on the way home with the coffin, they said it was done by the enemies of the Jiang family and the enemies of the King of Yue, but they threw the dirty water on the prince.

It's unfair to the prince.

Such remarks may deceive the ignorant people, but they cannot deceive all the ministers in the court.

Everyone knew the truth. But seeing the emperor's attitude towards the prince, no one dared to speak. Unexpectedly, the indifferent Prince Qi jumped out.

It seems that he is asking for an explanation from his in-laws.

The prince was scolded and felt a little aggrieved. "Uncle Qi said that I sent people to hunt down the Jiang family. This is groundless. How can you call a horse a zebra like those fools? As for saying that I sent people to instigate the families of the soldiers in the suburban camp to cause trouble in the Yue Palace, so that they dared not go out, this is even more unreasonable. Even if I am dissatisfied with the Yue King, I will not take it out on a few servants in his palace."

He acted as if he was being wronged.

Prince Qi's face was filled with sorrow. Why did the prince become like this?
"Prince, God is watching what you do. This time you are forcing the King of Yue to rebel. If one day Da Qi is in turmoil because of this, I wonder if you can bear the responsibility!"

"Uncle Wang, you are too serious. I don't know who persuaded Uncle Wang to say that it was me. I am not that stupid. I know Uncle Wang of Qi lost his relative Jiang Xiang and was in grief for a while, so he said something he didn't want to care about. Everyone in the court knows that the King of Yue treats Jiang Xiang like a teacher and a father. Uncle Wang of Qi is Jiang Xiang's relative, and he spoke for the King of Yue. I can understand and I won't take it to heart."

"You!" You brat! How dare you be so sarcastic and imply that he had surrendered to the King of Yue!

And you even said in front of the emperor that the King of Yue treated Jiang and Xiang as a teacher and a father?

Prince Qi didn't need to look at the throne to know that the emperor's face was livid. The prince was really good. Not only did he not admit his wrongdoings, but he also played a trick of shifting the blame and diverting public opinion.

Good, very good!
I'll see if he can have the last laugh.

There were ministers in the court who were planning to speak for Jiang Xiang and the King of Yue. However, when they saw that the Prince of Qi was humiliated in front of the Crown Prince, they wisely kept their mouths shut.

Emperor Zhizheng's face was livid. He thought about what the crown prince said. He knew that the King of Yue treated Jiang Xiang very well, but how could a mere minister be worthy of the legitimate prince to regard him as a father? Was this not taking him seriously?

His eyes fell on Prince Qi. Prince Qi turned to the King of Yue? He was optimistic about the King of Yue's succession to the throne?

Emperor Zhizheng's gaze lingered on Prince Qi for a long time, then fell on the Crown Prince. Seeing that the Crown Prince looked like he had nothing to do, he frowned.

Nothing that happened in the capital recently could be hidden from Emperor Zhizheng. He looked at the Crown Prince coldly, as if he had nothing to do with it, and was a little frightened by the Crown Prince's change. As expected, anyone who gets involved in power can't get rid of it. He doesn't want anyone to take away even a little bit of it.

Thinking of the secret reports he had received recently about what the King of Yue had done in the northwest, he wanted to intervene, but he was afraid of a war in the country. He didn't know what crazy actions the King of Yue would take if he pushed him too far.

Watching with such cold eyes, the Seventh Elder had already accumulated nearly one million soldiers. And this number was still increasing, and Emperor Zhizheng was getting more and more headaches.

He called on Duke Dingguo and said, "Appoint a team of soldiers to escort Jiang and Xiang back home safely."

He couldn't just do nothing and let the ministers down. He was also worried about causing dissatisfaction among the rebellious son, the seventh son.

Duke Dingguo bowed his hands and said, "I accept your order."

He breathed a sigh of relief. If the emperor stood aside and watched the prince assassinate the Jiang family, he would probably change his mind.

After giving instructions to Duke Dingguo, Emperor Zhizheng sent people to persuade the families of the soldiers at the gate of Prince Yue's Palace to leave, saying that it was the court's intention. They were afraid that the Western Rong would make changes, so they kept them in the northwest for defense. If they caused trouble at the gate of the Prince's Palace again, they would be imprisoned in Jingzhao Prefecture.

The people who were sitting around the gate of Prince Yue's mansion and making trouble finally dispersed.

In those days, the people were afraid of officials and imperial power, and no one dared to risk their lives to confront the court.

In order to protect the image of the prince, Emperor Zhizheng only said that he was not careful and punished him to be confined for three days. However, in private in the imperial study, he scolded the prince for more than an hour before letting him go.

When the ministers saw that the emperor was protecting the prince and acting even more low-key, they were afraid of offending the prince and were called to the East Palace like Jiang and Xiang.

I don't dare to go out easily.

However, the servants of the Prince of Yue's mansion surrounded Caocuo, preparing to leave the mansion and go to the northwest to seek refuge with the Prince of Yue while the people outside had dispersed.

"General Manager Cao, what should we do? Although the people outside have retreated, there is no guarantee that such things will happen again in the future. Now everyone in the capital is afraid of the power of the prince and dare not speak for our palace. I am afraid that the prince will kill us as a sacrifice."

Caocuo had already dismissed a number of the palace's servants. A small number of them went to the northwest, and a few days ago another group of people went with the opera club. Others were arranged to work in the Qi and Lu palaces. The rest were important people in various parts of the palace and could not be dismissed.

"If we all leave, the palace will be empty, and no one will take care of the prince's various properties."

In fact, the secret properties were handed over to the right people, the opera club was closed, and Huixianlou was entrusted to the King of Lu. But the open properties also included various farms and farm servants. They could not be left unattended. Moreover, the palace had officials and guards, and none of them could leave.

Caocuo couldn't leave, because if he left, who would be in charge of the communication between the palace and other places? What if the emperor got angry and revoked the title of King of Yue?

Knowing that everyone was afraid and now dared not even go out of the door for fear of being captured by the prince's men, Caocuo comforted everyone and gave them rewards one by one.

"Don't worry, the prince has left secret guards for us. If we go out to buy things or do things, there will be secret guards to protect us."

And they couldn't leave, because the prince and the palace were sending people to keep an eye on the palace.

"If you are afraid and want to redeem yourself, you can come to me and get your indenture back. The prince has said that you can stay or leave, and he won't charge you for selling your indentures."

Everyone was moved and confused.

If he stayed in the Yue Palace, he was afraid of being liquidated by the prince. If he left the Yue Palace, he would lose the protection of the Yue Palace. If he was killed, who would he turn to for help? After weighing the pros and cons, he finally stayed in the palace.

From then on, the Prince of Yue's Palace closed its doors in Beijing and kept a very low profile, as if it had become invisible.

News from the capital city continued to flow back to Hangu City.

Hearing that the deceased Jiang Xiang and Jiang's family were troubled by the prince, the generals were more determined to follow the King of Yue. Seeing what the King of Yue had done in the northwest, everyone had expectations in their hearts. Who wouldn't want to have a share of the credit for following the dragon?

Be more attentive when doing things.

Ji Changfeng and Kong Zeru, when teaching Changzhi, were eager to teach him everything they knew. Kong Zeru began to teach Changzhi the knowledge that a crown prince should learn, such as "The Imperial Instructions", "The Imperial Model", "The Essentials of Governance", and even taught him the mindset of an emperor...

Ji Changfeng took Changfeng outside to observe the customs and sentiments of the people, let him observe politics and participate in state affairs, and made a long list of books for him, including various miscellaneous books, and asked him to read widely.

Zhao Guangyuan began to take Changzhi to inspect various counties and let him participate in some political practice.

As he grew older, he gradually showed his intelligence, humility and tolerance. The prince was good at both literature and martial arts, which surprised everyone who came into contact with him. They respected Zhao Guangyuan and his son more and more. The reputation of the father and son grew.

Zhao Guangyuan felt proud as he watched his son, whose temperament had changed drastically after studying with the two masters for a short period of time.

Unlike him, his son was born into a wealthy family in the capital and was born with an air of superiority. Instead, he was born and raised in a common people's family. He was closer to the people and could sympathize with and understand them better.

After being raised in modern times for a few more years, the prosperous and peaceful country nurtured him, and he knew better how to govern and how to balance the relationship between the people and the country.

His son will definitely be stronger than him in the future.

He whispered to Lin Zhaoxia by her pillow every night, his words filled with pride.

Lin Zhaoxia laughed at him, "You kept a stern face to your son during the day, which made him think he was doing something wrong and became more cautious, fearing that he would upset you. But you changed your attitude at night?"

"Then I can't let my son get too proud. He's a strict father after all. And he still has a lot to learn."

But he was amazed and delighted by how fast his son was growing.

It's his seed!

"Don't be too strict with him. He is busier than you now. Sometimes I don't even see my son for a whole day. Hele Xiaobao couldn't find him even when he wanted to play with him."

"He has grown up and is no longer at the age to play around." In his eyes, Lin Jingning's children were no different from kids playing with sand and soil.

"He's not that old, so don't let him get too stressed. Praise him from time to time, otherwise he'll always think he's not doing well and be afraid that you'll be dissatisfied. He'll be very nervous every day, constantly learning this and that, for fear of disappointing your expectations. I'm afraid he won't be able to bear it one day."

"Well, don't worry, your husband is watching over you."

No matter how strict Zhao Guangyuan's defense was, the prince's hand eventually reached the northwest. That day, two guards hurried back to the mansion with Changzhi in their arms, bleeding all the way, which frightened everyone.