Emperor of the Red Chamber

Chapter 30 The cold-faced king VS the wise king
The New Year has just ended, and it’s not yet the Lantern Festival on the 15th day of the first lunar month.

On this day, Emperor Jing'an summoned the third and fifth princes to the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

There are only three father and son in Nuan Pavilion.

There was not even a single eunuch left, and even Tao, the eunuch who served as the royal servant, was all sent away.

Emperor Jing'an first looked at the two princes with his deep eyes, and then got straight to the point: "I have an errand here, which one of you can do it?"

The fifth prince hurriedly said: "Father, if you have any errands to do, just ask me. My son will do his best to handle it well."

The third prince paused and asked, "I wonder what my father has to do?"

Emperor Jing'an looked grim: "I once asked the prince to check the deficit, but the matter was abandoned halfway."

"Currently, the national treasury is in serious deficit, money is being spent like water, and there is still war in the west."

"People can't live without money. If the country is short of money, wouldn't it be in danger of overthrowing?"

"I now want to re-examine the deficit, and I am determined to do so."

"First check the capital, and then check all places across the country."

"We want the national treasury to have at least thirty million taels more silver!"

"You two, who will take this job?"

Hearing that there was an errand, and that it was done so seriously, the fifth prince was originally itchy, thinking that the errand should be quite big, and if he grabbed it, he could use it to attract people's hearts.

As soon as he heard that there was a deficit in the investigation, and that his father was determined to investigate severely, the fifth prince retreated.

This investigation of the deficit involved many noble officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Including many princes, relatives of the clan, heroes with different surnames, ministers of the South Study Room, six ministers...

Some of them also had a deep relationship with Emperor Jing'an, the old father who valued friendship and loyalty.

Some people borrowed money from the treasury because they were really poor. The salary of the Jing'an Dynasty in the Great Zhou Dynasty was very low.

There are also people who spent their money on Emperor Jing'an...

The fifth prince knew that the prince was responsible for checking the deficit a few years ago. At that time, the third prince and the ninth prince offended many people for this, but the prince could not bear the pressure and gave up halfway.

I can’t help but hope that my old father will cause trouble again now.

Although the fifth prince believed that there was astonishing profit to be made from checking the deficit, he would never accept this job.

It is impossible for him to have more than 30 million taels of silver in the national treasury. That would offend too many people...

Then wouldn't the reputation as a wise king that he had managed to accumulate over the years be ruined because of this one errand?

His fifth prince is a wise king, how could he do such stupid things.

But letting the cold-faced king take over this job, the cold-faced king, who was already very unpopular in the court, completely ruined his popularity. Who would want him to succeed to the throne in the future...

The fifth prince was thinking while looking at the third prince, who was also looking at him.

The two looked at each other.

When the third prince saw that the fifth prince was silent and had no intention of taking on this burden, he stepped forward and said, "Father, I am willing to take over this task."

Emperor Jing'an felt happy, but his gray eyebrows were frowning, and he said sternly: "Did you hear what I said clearly? I am determined to investigate this time, from the capital to the local areas, to make the treasury have at least 30 million more It’s two pieces of silver!”

The third prince bowed slightly and said solemnly: "My son, I heard you clearly."

The fifth prince secretly cursed: "The cold-faced king has accepted this job. From now on, when I become the emperor, even if I don't depose him for the past grudges, the Dukes of Zhou Dynasty will also depose him."

Emperor Jing'an looked at the fifth prince and said, "Siji, don't you want to take this job?"

The fifth prince hurriedly said respectfully and politely: "My son naturally also wants to help my father to relieve his worries."

"It's just that the third brother was one step ahead. Moreover, the third brother has investigated deficits before and has rich experience."

"My son, the only thing I can do is not to compete with my third brother for this job. If my father has other errands, just leave them to me."

Emperor Jing'an nodded: "Then you should step back first."

The fifth prince paused before retreating.

After the fifth prince left, without waiting for Emperor Jing'an to speak, the third prince said: "Father, I have something on my mind, and I don't know whether to talk about it or not."

Emperor Jing'an said: "Let me tell you what you think." The third prince said: "My father is wise and must know that this task of checking the deficit is very offensive. It will offend many people. Big guy.”

"I am happy to express my sincerity to my father today. I am not afraid of offending anyone!"

"In the past, the crown prince was not deposed. Although the sons and ministers followed the prince, it was because he was the prince appointed by his father. When the sons and ministers followed the prince, they were loyal and filial to their father."

"Now that the prince is gone, my sons and ministers must be loyal and filial to their father wholeheartedly."

"It will be of great benefit to the father and the great Zhou Dynasty to check the deficit and complete it. As long as the father strongly supports the son, the son will do whatever it takes to complete the task diligently. Don't call the father to the son." disappointment."

Emperor Jing'an came to his senses when he heard this. After coming back to his senses, he stared at the third prince: "I will support you in this matter, and I will hand over the Emperor's Sword to you. Go ahead and do it boldly!"

Changing the topic, Emperor Jing'an said: "However, there are still some special circumstances, which are inconvenient to force, such as the Zhen family in Jiangnan..."

Emperor Jing'an immediately named a list...

The third prince couldn't laugh or cry.

Well, after all, you are still a tolerant old man. You have emphasized that you will be determined to investigate this time, but in the end, you still gave a list of some exceptions.

The third prince paused and said, "In this case, the thirty million taels of silver may not be traced."

Emperor Jing'an thought for a while and said, "Then at least twenty million taels of silver."

After the two reached an agreement, the third prince resigned.

Just as he was about to walk out of Nuan Pavilion, his father's voice came from behind again: "I have another message for you."

The third prince quickly turned around and said, "Please teach me, father."

Emperor Jing'an smiled slightly: "You have given me a good grandson. Although Qingbai has only been with me for a short time, he has already won my heart."

The third prince was overjoyed, and the cold-faced king broke into a rare spring-like smile: "This is Qingbai's greatest blessing."

……

……

The third prince walked out of Qianqing Palace alone.

The cold wind hit his face and body, but he did not shrink, but straightened his back.

From a distance, he saw the fifth prince standing at the door of the south study, and the fifth prince was also looking at him.

He let out a low "heh".

His son Yuan Qingbai will not underestimate his mind or his scheming.

And he will not underestimate his father's mind or his scheming.

He has known for a long time that if he wants to be appreciated by his father, he must be loyal and filial, and work hard without complaining.

He had not planned to fight for that position before, but he was already doing so.

Now that he wants to fight for that position, he has to do this even more.

For that position, he and his son Qingbai fought in a father-son doubles match.

Son Qingbai's strategy can be summed up in eight words: study hard and please grandpa.

And his strategy is: respect loyalty, respect filial piety, and work hard without complaining.

The fifth prince's strategy was roughly opposite to his.

The strategy of this wise king can be simply summarized in eight words: forming parties for selfish gain and forming good relationships.

The cold-faced king felt that he was right and the wise king was on the wrong track.

Moreover, the father has become more and more fond of his son Qingbai. This son has already helped his father score a lot of points in his heart, and he can continue to help him score points in the future...

Of course, this kind of thing is not certain until the end.

He also knew that if he succeeded to the throne instead of the fifth prince, then even if the cold-faced king was not killed directly, he would probably be imprisoned or even assassinated.

Even if his brother, the twelfth prince, succeeds to the throne in the end, his brother will probably not end well.

Fighting for that position has always been cruel...

(End of this chapter)