20demayo Chapter 415 The Prince is Very Busy
Chapter 415 The Prince is Very Busy
Chapter 415 The Prince is Very Busy
October brings clear skies and crisp autumn air.
Of the six ministries in the court, only the Ministry of Works was relatively busy; the others were extremely busy.
The princes are also making their way into the court officials' hands in a very active manner. At first, they would try to be discreet, but now they are doing it quite openly.
There was nothing they could do; His Majesty the Emperor remained silent, and the princes grew increasingly emboldened.
They believed that their actions were tacitly approved by their father, and that whoever was more capable would ultimately be chosen as the crown prince and take over the Eastern Palace!
This resulted in the six ministries of the court being almost entirely divided up, and a complex network of kinship ties was also involved.
In the unseen shadows, countless spy thrillers may be unfolding.
Even the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of War, which had always maintained neutrality, had some low-ranking officials who were successfully won over and could not remain completely aloof.
On this day, Minister Wu of the Ministry of Works invited Minister Lin of the Ministry of War to go to the palace to meet the emperor. It was time to reaffirm their loyalty.
Today's duty attendant is Xue Xu. When ministers enter the palace to meet the emperor, he must record everything in detail, unless the emperor specifically instructs him to recuse himself.
"Your Majesty, this is the situation at the Ministry of Works recently. Apart from Vice Minister Jiang and Vice Minister Cui, and a few other officials, almost all the staff working below have been met individually by the princes..."
"The situation is similar in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works. Now, even I am somewhat unable to distinguish who is working for whom. It is my incompetence that makes me so..."
Emperor Zhao Yong waved his hand, preventing his two trusted ministers from continuing to complain.
Does the emperor really not know what his sons have done?
From the eldest prince to the fifth prince, what are these grown-up princes doing, and which ones can truly be kept from him?
Many trivial matters can be listened to and then forgotten.
However, the current chaos in the Six Ministries has indeed made the emperor impatient, and it is time to rectify the situation.
"What else has the eldest brother been busy with lately besides his wedding?"
The eldest prince?
As the Crown Prince's wedding date approaches, everyone seems to have gotten used to the comings and goings of people from the Crown Prince's residence.
However, only a careful observer could notice that these people coming and going were not just servants from the First Prince's residence.
Among these people, there were quite a few new faces.
"Your Majesty, the First Prince's wedding is approaching, so he has been in frequent contact with the Ministry of Rites recently. The First Prince has even personally visited the Tong family, the maternal relatives of the Fourth Prince."
Furthermore, the residences of the six ministers should all have received the wedding invitations from the First Prince. Logically, the First Prince shouldn't be sending invitations to his subjects; that's against protocol…”
"Hmph! Doesn't this just show how close he is to his subordinates? The prince's wedding has become a perfect opportunity for him to win people's hearts..."
"What has the third brother been busy with lately?"
The Third Prince... doesn't seem to be as troublesome as the First Prince. Lately, he seems to have become increasingly fascinated with calligraphy and painting.
The mansion was filled with scholars and poets, who spent their days either composing poems or holding literary gatherings.
Let's make friends through literature, regardless of our background!
"What a wonderful idea of making friends through literature, regardless of background... This brings all the scholars and intellectuals to one's side."
Minister of War Lin Shenxuan was somewhat at a loss for words, so he decided to play dumb.
The eldest prince and the third prince are indeed causing quite a stir...
His Majesty the Emperor certainly knew what the Second Prince and the Empress were doing. This child, who used to cause him the most worry, was now grown up and made him feel more at ease.
Alas... how ironic.
The Empress indeed remained calm and collected in the palace, focusing solely on the preparations for her own son's wedding, and not getting involved in anything concerning the eldest prince or any of the other princes.
With no longer coveting the throne, the empress remained very calm.
However, while the Empress's side remained stable, Yang Guozhong, the Earl of Chengen, who had been quiet for a long time, started acting up again, becoming quite close to several princes in the court (except for the Second Prince, who was nominally his nephew).
The Empress had no idea what this man was up to, and she didn't care at all what her nominal brother was busy with. She only hoped that he wouldn't do something reckless and implicate her and her son.
However, the Empress's attention is not on him now, which has allowed him to cause quite a few troubles.
At least this person's relationship with the First Prince and the Third Prince is currently delicate and ambiguous, and it's unclear what he's planning.
The Minister of Works and the Minister of War, these two trusted lieutenants, revealed all the information they had obtained, and the emperor listened with an increasingly furrowed brow.
The eldest prince is busy winning over court officials, while the third prince is cultivating relationships with scholars. Both of them already have their own power bases, and with Yang Guozhong getting involved, the situation is likely to become even more complicated.
"Xue Xu, record today's events in detail, without any errors or omissions."
The emperor suddenly spoke, and Xue Xu quickly agreed, his pen continuing to fly across the paper, meticulously recording the conversation between the two ministers and the emperor.
"Minister Wu and Minister Lin, after you return, continue to keep an eye on the situation in each department, and it would be best to place a trustworthy person in each department."
Of course, finding talent among the existing population is also an option, but we must not allow the princes' infighting to undermine the foundation of the court.
The two ministers, having received their orders, dared not slack off in the slightest. They had already begun to consider whether there were any officials in the remaining four ministries worth trying to win over.
Could it really be completely rotten? Minister Wu was thinking more deeply. He couldn't speak for the other ministries, but he did think of someone in the Ministry of Revenue.
Jiang Changshou, the cousin of Jiang Changqing, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works under his command, was not only good at accounting, but more importantly, he never meddled in matters unrelated to his work.
Lord Wu thought about it for a while, and then he remembered that the person in charge of recording today's events was none other than the grandson-in-law of this Chief Jiang. Lord Wu felt even more that Jiang Changshou was a capable person.
In addition, I have a secret card placed in an inconspicuous position in the Ministry of Rites. All things considered, I can at least keep track of the exact information and movements of the three ministries. The rest will depend on Lao Lin.
Minister of War Lin Shenxuan couldn't think of a suitable candidate for the time being and thought he would go home and continue to think about it.
Even if his Ministry of War is in chaos, he can still maintain control. He has family members working in the Ministry of Personnel, but the rest are all a bit difficult to manage...
The Ministry of Personnel was responsible for the selection, assessment, appointment and removal of officials. The chief examiner of the previous imperial examination was the Minister of Personnel, and the old minister is still remembered by the emperor.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of economic affairs such as household registration, finance, and taxation. It was the same department where Landlord Jiang worked, and he was always extremely busy.
The Ministry of Rites was in charge of matters such as etiquette, sacrifices, imperial examinations, and diplomacy. Naturally, the prince's wedding was also handled jointly by the Ministry of Rites and the Inner Court.
The Ministry of War was responsible for military affairs, including the management and deployment of troops; this was Minister Lin's department.
The Ministry of Justice is in charge of judicial, criminal, and legal affairs. Generally speaking, the Ministry of Justice is not needed for rebellion, but it is good to have the support of an additional minister.
The Ministry of Works is responsible for engineering, water conservancy, transportation, and manufacturing. This is the department under Minister Wu's supervision, who previously had a falling out with the Fourth Prince. Like the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Works is currently a trusted confidant of the Emperor.