Red Mansion Taoist

Chapter 302 Discussion
Not everyone can come to the East Palace. Officials who request to see Prince Li Qiang can only be qualified by officials with higher grades. Officials with lower grades are not even qualified to request a meeting.

At the beginning, some officials came to meet Li Qiang to intercede for Datong Bank and asked Li Qiang to extend his time.

But within a few days, it was reported that the Prince of Xining County and the Prince of Nan'an County went to the East Palace to send a large amount of apology. It is said that these two princes also approached Li Qiang about Datong Bank, which provoked Li Qiang's anger. There is the act of sending an apology.

At this time, no official dared to come forward. There were already rumors in the court about the prince's temper.

The talking heads of the six major merchants behind Datong Bank in Beijing once again gathered at the headquarters of Datong Bank, in the same elegant room.

"This prince is not easy to deal with. I invited the Prince of Nan'an County here, but not only did he not persuade me to become the prince, but I also offended the Prince of Nan'an County!" The Ning family talker said helplessly.

"It's the same on my side. I used my connections to invite the Prince of Xining, but the Prince of Xining made me angry!" The person in charge of the Shu family also said.

Originally, these two incidents brought shame to the two families and should not be mentioned voluntarily.

But the two speakers still took the initiative to speak out, just to tell the other speakers how much they paid for the Chase Bank matter.

"Our Mu family has invited two cabinet bachelors. It is said that they have a good relationship with the prince, but it still has no effect!" The Feng family's talker shook his head and said.

"It seems that we must mobilize the 90 million taels of cash within four months. The cash in the hands of Datong Bank will definitely not be enough!" The Luo family's spokesperson looked at everyone and said in a deep voice.

He also asked people to investigate this matter, but no results were obtained.

Of course all the speakers knew about this. The Wu family, relying on the relationship of the great scholar Deng, was able to sit second and third among the six families, and their upward momentum was very strong.

The Wu family's talker's eyes widened. If things were really like what the Luo family's talker said, there was a big possibility that it was because of this incident.

"Brother Wu, sit down, be reasonable and don't speak loudly. You don't have the bearing of a businessman like this!" the Luo family's talker said calmly.

"I still don't understand why the prince suddenly wants to exchange silver notes for cash. With the reputation of Chase Bank, the silver notes in the prince's hand can be used at will to buy anything!" The person in charge of the Shu family suggested. answered his own questions.

"This is also news I got from the palace. Scholar Deng and the prince had disagreements on government affairs. Academician Deng reported the prince to the Supreme Emperor. With the prince's temper, how could he not retaliate?" explained the Luo family speaker. .

"You said that the prince's matter is related to Bachelor Deng?" the Ning family speaker asked in surprise.

The prince had just taken up his position, but before he could secure his seat, he had an enmity with a cabinet scholar, making them both wonder whether the prince's position could be kept.

The other speakers all looked at the Wu family. Seeing the blank expression on the Wu family's face, they turned to look at the Luo family speaker.

If it is true as what the Luo family talker said, it means that there is a conflict between the prince and the great scholar Deng, which is a major matter in the Daqian court.

The former Grand Scholar Deng went to the Supreme Emperor to file a complaint. The second was Li Qiang, who took the initiative and directly targeted the Wu family's property behind the Grand Scholar Deng's back.

"We have to ask the Wu family!" The Luo family's speaker looked at the Wu family's speaker and said.

Not only the people in the Wu family believe it, but also the other people who tell it.

"Brother Luo, if you don't give a reason today, don't blame me for not giving you face!" The Wu family talker sat down and said.

Academician Deng is a cabinet bachelor, and the power of the cabinet is in the hands of two cabinet bachelors. Although bachelor Deng alone cannot control everything in the court, his disciples are distributed in many important positions, both in the capital and in the country. The influence everywhere is significant.

Before, everyone was still thinking about how to deal with the prince, but now they all thought of a possibility. If Li Qiang loses his position as prince through the help of Deng University, then Li Qiang's exchange of silver notes will be very serious. Maybe nothing will happen.

"Brother Luo, you are implying this. Why do you say that the prince's exchange of cash has something to do with my Wu family?" The speaker from the Wu family couldn't sit still. He stood up and loudly asked the speaker from the Luo family. .

"I think everyone here knows about the relationship between the Wu family and Bachelor Deng!" The Luo family speaker said this and looked at all the speakers.

The other families present were all implicated.

The Luo family's talkers said that Li Qiang had a temper, but that was all to glorify things. It would be better to just say that Li Qiang was petty, extremely vengeful, and the kind that never took revenge overnight.

"Brother Wu, we must give an explanation for this matter, because the Wu family has harmed our interests!" the Ning family speaker said dissatisfied.

The other speakers all looked at the speaker from the Wu family. If the speaker from the Wu family didn't give an explanation, the five families would deal with the Wu family together.

"Everyone, no matter whether this matter is caused by my Wu family or not, do you still have a way out now that the matter has come to this?" The person who spoke to the Wu family was not in a hurry, he asked instead.

If all of you here had not asked people to intercede for Chase Bank, you would have stayed out of the matter for the loss of Chase Bank. But now they have all exerted their strength and been exposed in front of Li Qiang. With Li Qiang's previous temper, how could he let them go.

"If you want to come up with 90 million taels of cash, your Wu family will provide more than half of it, and the remaining five families will share it equally!" the Mu family's spokesperson suggested.

He also understood that even for the sake of Datong Bank, the five of them could not stay out of the matter, but since the Wu family was responsible for the incident, the Wu family should certainly be responsible.

"I have a way, and you don't have to pay any cash!" The person in charge of the Wu family didn't want to spend so much money, he said.

"We won't ask anyone to come forward to mediate. Unless we ask the Supreme Emperor to come forward, no one else can persuade the Crown Prince!" The Ning family spokesperson shook his head and said.

"In fact, as long as the prince's position is unstable, how can he deal with Datong Bank and us without the prince's position?" The person who spoke in the Wu family expressed his thoughts.

"You're right, that's the prince!" the Ning family's talker said, patting the table.

"With the influence of our six families, if we use our full strength, we can still destabilize his crown prince position, right?" The speaker of the Wu family said with confidence.

Everyone in the other five families was silent, thinking about gains and losses.

We are all businessmen and will not do anything without sufficient profit.

"You must think carefully. You have already offended the prince. This prince has a bad temper. He has just become the prince. What will happen to him in the future? The most important thing is that I heard that this prince wants to do business in the name of the royal family. , If he really wants to succeed, how much impact will it have on my interests?" the Wu family spokesman asked.

Without the six major merchants taking action together, it would not be easy to win over the prince with just the strength of the Wu family.

"Do you have a plan?" the Luo family's talker asked.

The people in the Wu family were overjoyed. What he just said touched these few people. "When the prince is in power, we will use the prince to force Datong Bank to withdraw a large amount of cash to control the price of grain in Beijing, and then our officials will submit a letter. As long as there are enough officials who write the letter, we can completely remove the prince!" The Wu family's talk! People reveal their plans.

This kind of thing is possible. If the price of food in the capital rises sharply due to the prince's own fault, and there are several major cases caused by the sharp rise in food prices, even the prince will not be able to explain it.

With the energy of the six large merchants, as long as the plan is implemented, there will be many officials who will submit letters, and even cabinet bachelors such as Deng Dajun will provide help.

Emperor Jingwen had been abdicated before, which made everyone present feel excited. If they could do this, it would be enough to deter all the forces in Daqian and enhance their own influence.

"The Wu family will take charge of this matter, and the Luo family will cooperate with us!" The person in charge of the Luo family responded.

The other talkers also agreed to cooperate, but they all asked the Wu family to be the leader to implement the plan.

The speaker of the Wu family knew that the incident was caused by the great scholar Deng, and that Li Qiang was dealing with the Wu family. He finally persuaded all the speakers to deal with Li Qiang together. He could not be convinced without showing some practical attitude. Public.

"The Wu family will mobilize its influence in Beijing and start working on this matter in a few days!" the Wu family's spokesperson assured.

Li Qiang didn't know this. What he was most concerned about recently was that Lin Daiyu was about to give birth.

One thing that made him very dissatisfied was that the efficiency of the cabinet had slowed down and many government affairs were being delayed, which caused him to waste a lot of time on government affairs. His time with Lin Daiyu was significantly reduced.

"Jin Dong, go ask Academician Tian to come!" Li Qiang thought for a while and decided to talk to Academician Tian.

When communicating with the two cabinet academicians that day, Academician Tian's attitude was relatively good.

He did not want a complete break with the cabinet, at least not in a way that would affect his free time.

If the cabinet cannot help handle government affairs well, there is no need for the cabinet to exist.

Li Qiang saw Academician Tian, ​​who looked exhausted.

"Tan Zhongtang, are you sick?" Li Qiang asked with concern.

"Your Highness, you just haven't had a good rest!" Academician Tian bowed and replied.

"That's good. The efficiency of the cabinet has dropped significantly recently. I specially invited Tian Zhongtang to come here just to ask if there are any difficulties at the cabinet?" Li Qiang asked again.

"Your Highness, the cabinet has been discussing the craftsman's book recently, which has affected the handling of other books!" University Scholar Tian explained.

"I have also worked in the cabinet. The process of the cabinet is not that of an outsider. Many of the experiences were taught by Tanaka Tang. I need to know one thing. Does the cabinet have to put pressure on me in this way?" Li Qiang asked directly.

Academician Tian sighed deeply. He had argued with Academician Deng many times over this matter these days. He had persuaded Academician Deng, but Academician Deng believed that Li Qiang must be suppressed and Li Qiang could not be allowed to do anything. Violate the ancestral system.

According to what Grand Master Deng said, Li Qiang had not received any formal royal education as a prince and did not know how to be a prince. She did everything as she pleased.

The purpose of the Grand Scholar Deng is to make the prince pay attention to his behavior, and it is best to find a teacher for the prince, who can guide the prince on how to be a prince and an emperor.

But judging from Li Qiang's attitude, Li Qiang had no intention of bowing her head.

If both parties don't bow their heads, this matter will definitely become a big deal.

"Your Highness, I will do more coordination with the cabinet to speed up the efficiency of the cabinet!" Academician Tian thought for a while and replied.

"One more thing, this year's palace examination will be carried out as normal, and I will select talents for Daqian!" Li Qiang wanted to give the cabinet some more time, so he changed to another thing.

This year's parliamentary examination has ended, and the cabinet has not dealt with the matter of the palace examination.

The imperial examination was presided over by the emperor, but there was no emperor in Daqian, and the Supreme Emperor was not in good health, so he never paid attention to these matters. In addition, Li Qiang had a conflict with the cabinet recently, so the cabinet kept delaying the matter of the imperial examination.

Li Qiang directly asked for the imperial examination to be carried out normally. It was true that this matter could not be postponed any longer. It was already a little later than in previous years.

"The cabinet will discuss this matter and come up with a charter and send it over as soon as possible!" It is not easy for Grand Master Tian to respond on behalf of Grand Master Deng. This kind of matter must be agreed by the two cabinet bachelors before the charter can be formulated.

"If the regulations are not given tomorrow, there will be no need for the cabinet to participate in the imperial examination!" Li Qiang said coldly.

He was increasingly dissatisfied with the cabinet, and the cabinet's confrontation happened just when Lin Daiyu was about to give birth, making it almost impossible to suppress his temper.

Academician Tian felt Li Qiang's strong dissatisfaction. He bowed out of the East Palace and returned to the cabinet.

The members of the cabinet were still doing their own things. In fact, the cabinet members were not slow in handling government affairs. It was the great scholar Deng who deliberately kept the secrets and always pointed out various problems, which caused the delay in the cabinet's affairs.

"Master Deng, let's chat!" Academician Tian invited Academician Deng.

Academician Deng knew the reason, and he also knew that Academician Tian was called to the East Palace.

The two of them came to a side room and sat down. Academician Tian poured a cup of tea for Academician Deng.

"You and I have known each other for more than thirty years, and have worked together in the cabinet for more than ten years. Now you are very clear about the situation of Daqian. The prince is the only choice, and you and I should give our full support!" Academician Tian said seriously said.

"You mean that I am targeting the prince. Do you know how violent the prince's temper is? Not to mention that he always violates the ancestral system. I went to the Daming Palace to tell the prince about the incident, which caused the prince's revenge. .

If the prince's temper is not suppressed, I am afraid that Da Qian will be destroyed in his hands. What's wrong with me using the cabinet to temper the prince? "Archer Deng said, squeezing the cup in his hand hard.

"The prince took revenge on you?" Academician Tian asked unexpectedly. He really didn't know about this.

"I have nothing to take revenge on. I only have a little money in my house, so what if he takes it all? What he is taking revenge on is the Wu family who has funded me. Although I am indeed partial to the Wu family because of old things, I can guarantee that it has never done any harm." Doing it for profit!" Academician Deng said bitterly.

This was only learned by the Wu family after the Wu family informed the great scholar Deng. For this reason, he looked down upon Li Qiang even more.

(End of this chapter)