The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 159 The King of Xing May Stir Up Turbulence

He Lizhang spoke very sincerely and boldly.

He actually told Tu Chengyu directly about the Prime Minister's current predicament.

If Tu Chengyu had ulterior motives, he could definitely use this information to gain something from it.

However, Tu Chengyu currently has no intention of using this information.

Now he is very curious about what caused the Grand Secretary to set his sights on him, a leisurely prince.

Tu Chengyu was not naive enough to think that someone was telling him such important news simply to gain sympathy.

Given their behavior, they must be trying to get something from me.

While pondering He Lizhang's words, Tu Chengyu asked, "What does it matter to me whether the position of Grand Secretary can be kept? It's no use telling me this."

Tu Chengyu said this mainly because he didn't want to pressure He Lizhang and wanted to see if he could reveal more information.

He Lizhang was clearly well-prepared. He said, "Your Highness, although I have come here partly to advocate for the Grand Secretary, it is also for the sake of the court."

Tu Chengyu asked, "So you're thinking of the court's interests? I'd like to hear what your reasoning is?"

He Lizhang said, "Your Highness, please forgive me, but I must say something offensive again."

Tu Chengyu nodded slightly and said, "It's alright, go ahead and say it."

He Lizhang then said with relief, "Your Highness, the Grand Secretary has been in power for many years. Although he has made some mistakes, he has always been able to ensure the stability of the court."

“Even around the time of the Emperor’s birthday last year, there was almost no turmoil in the court.”

The period around the Emperor's birthday, as He Lizhang mentioned, refers to the time when the former Crown Prince rebelled.

Despite such a major incident, the court remained calm, demonstrating that the Grand Secretary was indeed able to maintain control of the court.

However, the fact that a chief minister could maintain control of the court under such circumstances also shows that his power in the court was not to be underestimated.

If such a chief minister were still under the care of the retired emperor, he would naturally be a good chief minister.

But the one sitting on the throne now is a new emperor who has been on the throne for less than a year.

Therefore, a chief minister who can control the court is not a good chief minister.

Especially with the retired emperor still standing behind him, eyeing him menacingly, the new emperor could no longer tolerate the chief minister.

From this perspective, Tu Chengyu and the Prime Minister may still be in an adversarial relationship.

Tu Chengyu was thinking about these things, but he didn't interrupt He Lizhang.

He continued, "Now that the Emperor has been on the throne for less than a year, things are still not in order, and the court needs stability."

"If the position of Grand Secretary were to be changed at this time, it would surely cause a commotion in the court and would be detrimental to the Emperor's control of the government."

His words made a lot of sense. If the Emperor wanted to maintain stability in the court, he certainly couldn't replace the Grand Secretary at this time.

However, there is also a possibility that the emperor might consider taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to replace the powerful chief minister.

Even if it causes instability in the court, the emperor might think it's worth considering.

Between these two possibilities, Tu Chengyu felt that the Emperor would choose the second one.

If it were the first scenario, the Emperor and the Grand Secretary would have already reached a consensus, and the matter of summoning Tu Chengyu back to the capital would not have been handled by He Lizhang secretly.

So when He Lizhang said that, Tu Chengyu remained unmoved.

He said, "Whether the court is stable is a matter for Father Emperor to consider; it is not my concern."

Even after all this, He Lizhang still couldn't let Prince Su waver in the slightest.

He realized he had no choice but to use his trump card.

So He Lizhang gritted his teeth and said, "Changing the Grand Secretary might not affect the Prince, but it will affect the Crown Prince."

“Say it again.” What Tu Chengyu hated most was that they would bring up the Crown Prince at the drop of a hat.

He Lizhang could naturally tell that Prince Su was speaking in anger, rather than asking him to actually repeat himself.

So He Lizhang stood there obediently, head down, without saying a word.

Tu Chengyu said angrily, "How dare you use the Crown Prince to achieve your goals. If you can't explain yourself clearly today, don't blame me for being impolite to you."

He Lizhang realized that Tu Chengyu was serious, and quickly said, "Your Highness, I would not dare to deceive you with the Crown Prince. What I said is indeed the truth."

Tu Chengyu said, "Whether it's deception or not, I will judge for myself. Now you just need to tell me what you want to say."

He Lizhang immediately said, "Your Highness, I will explain now. The reason I said that changing the chief minister would affect the crown prince is because..."

"It's because the one attacking the Grand Secretary now, the one who wants to replace him, is none other than the Second Grand Secretary, Lord Tang."

"And Lord Tang has been in close contact with the Liu family for the past two months."

"The Liu family?" Tu Chengyu asked incredulously, "The Liu family?"

Although Tu Chengyu did not specify which Liu family it was, He Lizhang clearly understood.

So he nodded without hesitation.

Seeing He Lizhang's certainty, Tu Chengyu felt even angrier.

The Liu family that the two just mentioned is the maternal family of Empress Liu, and also the maternal family of Prince Xing, Tu Chengyu's second brother.

This newly promoted noble family has become entangled with the current second-in-command.

Their relationship was certainly not a simple one between two families, especially since He Lizhang had specifically brought it up.

The meaning behind this is now quite clear.

He Lizhang was essentially telling Tu Chengyu that the Prince of Xing might have designs on seizing the throne and had already taken action.

Not only did they take action, but they also set their first target on the prime minister.

If the people succeed, the second prince's power in the court will surely increase significantly, which will definitely threaten the crown prince's position.

From this perspective, Tu Chengyu is indeed aligned with the chief minister and others.

Tu Chengyu should help keep the position of Grand Secretary.

However, Tu Chengyu found this story somewhat hard to believe.

He simply couldn't understand why the second son would seize the throne at this time.

Even if he harbored ambitions to seize the throne, it would be impossible for him to show them at this time.

At this time, the crown prince had only just been established, and who would dare to defy the world and easily shake the foundation of the country?

Moreover, if the crown prince has not made any mistakes, from the retired emperor and the emperor down to the civil and military officials in the court, no one would agree to replace the crown prince.

Besides, His Majesty is in the prime of his life. Judging from the lifespans of previous emperors, he has at least another ten or twenty years to rule. Even if Prince Xing defeats the Crown Prince, he might not be able to hold onto power for such a long time.

Given so many unfavorable factors, and based on Tu Chengyu's understanding of the second son, he wouldn't be foolish enough to do such a thing.

Since the second son wouldn't do such things, it's highly likely that what He Lizhang said is false.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu said, "He Lizhang, what you just said is suspected of sowing discord among the royal family, which is a matter of losing your head. I hope you think it through before you speak."

Tu Chengyu's original intention was to give He Lizhang a chance to retract his treasonous words.

However, He Lizhang clearly had no intention of accepting this favor. He said:

“Your Highness, everything I have said is true, without a single lie.”

Seeing that he was still so obsessed and unrepentant, Tu Chengyu stopped trying to persuade him.

Anyway, it turned out that this guy was talking nonsense, and someone will naturally deal with him.

However, if what he said is true, then it is indeed very important to Tu Chengyu.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu asked, "Although I still don't believe what you're saying, considering that you're risking your life to say these things, I'll temporarily take your words as true."

"Then I would like to ask, if I continue to investigate the arson case, how will it affect the position of the Grand Secretary?"

He Lizhang said, "The Grand Secretary did not inform me of this matter. He only said that it was a scheme set up by someone else, specifically to deal with the Grand Secretary."

Tu Chengyu said, "You didn't even tell me this little bit of information. How can I trust you and cooperate with you?"

He Lizhang said, "Your Highness, please calm down. I really don't know the reason behind the arson case, but I do know that the Vice Minister may have been involved."

He Lizhang brings up the Second Grand Secretary in everything he does, which shows that he is indeed at odds with the Second Grand Secretary's faction.

However, Tu Chengyu would not easily get involved in their conflict just because they didn't get along.

Although He Lizhang said a lot, letting Tu Chengyu know about some of the things that happened in the court.

However, these were only He Lizhang's personal opinions, and Tu Chengyu would not easily believe him without hearing more information.

Therefore, he said, "Since you won't explain clearly, I won't force you. But I can also tell you clearly that I will continue to investigate the arson case."

"However, I also promise you that I will not spread the results of the interrogation until I have fully understood the information you have provided."

Tu Chengyu made these remarks because he considered the following points.

Although he didn't believe that the second son would cause trouble at this time, since the throne was at stake, things couldn't be done according to common sense, and Tu Chengyu had to be on guard.

Therefore, he planned to continue investigating the case, but he would keep the results of his investigation a secret.

This way, regardless of whether He Lizhang's words were true or false, he would have a backup plan.

This will prevent you from blindly trusting one side and causing unnecessary trouble.

Tu Chengyu's agreement was also a significant gain for He Lizhang.

He quickly bowed and thanked Tu Chengyu.

After the two finished discussing this matter, He Lizhang went to summon several officials under Donghu to learn about the political affairs of Donghu.

Tu Chengyu then led his men back to the inn where they were staying.

Upon arriving at the inn, Tu Chengyu also had someone stand guard outside the door.

He then pulled Quan Wenwei into the room to ask for her opinion.

In the room, Tu Chengyu first recounted what He Lizhang had said, and then asked the question that was most pressing to him.

"How credible is what He Lizhang said?"

The fact that the second son had suddenly appeared and caused trouble made Tu Chengyu very worried, so he was eager to get a more reliable analysis from Quan Wenwei.

After listening to everything, Quan Wenwei thought quietly for a while before saying:
"Based on the information currently available, the students dare not easily assert whether it is true or false."

"But given He Lizhang's future prospects, would he really risk his life to deceive the Prince?"

Tu Chengyu said thoughtfully, "So, what he said is true?"

Quan Wenwei said, "From the students' perspective, there are truths and falsehoods. The relationship between the Liu family and the Second Grand Secretary may be real, but the Prince of Xing's attempt to seize the throne may be fake."

Tu Chengyu said, "You mean the Liu family is doing these things behind my second brother's back?"

Quan Wenwei nodded and said, "That's one possibility."

Tu Chengyu, however, was not quite convinced, because the Liu family's power came entirely from the Empress and Prince Xing.

Therefore, they would not dare to make such a decision on their own in such an important matter.

However, Quan Wenwei also said that this is only one possibility, so Tu Chengyu doesn't need to take it too seriously.

Then he asked, "What about the other possibilities?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Another possibility is that some unknown things happened in the court, making Prince Xing think that the time to seize the throne had come, which is why he rashly came out to compete."

This was something Tu Chengyu hadn't considered.

But what would happen in the court that would make the second prince feel that this was an opportunity to seize the throne?

Did the crown prince make a mistake, or did the emperor fall for the emperor's influence and develop the idea of ​​replacing the crown prince?
If these two things really happen, it will indeed make others feel that the time for a power struggle has arrived.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu suddenly remembered his conversation with He Lizhang earlier.

He also said that the Crown Prince had argued with court officials several times recently and had even punished the second and third princes.

Although the Crown Prince did these things with the aim of protecting Tu Chengyu, they were quite different from his usual style of doing things.

Looking back now, perhaps the Crown Prince had already sensed something, which is why he did something so outrageous.
Tu Chengyu told Quan Wenwei what he had just thought of, and Quan Wenwei shook his head after listening.

"These few things are not enough to shake the Crown Prince's position. However, the Crown Prince's behavior is indeed unusual. Your Highness can inquire whether anything else has happened before this."

Tu Chengyu nodded in agreement, then asked, "Mr. Quan, please continue with the other possibilities."

Quan Wenwei stroked his beard and said, "This third scenario is also the one that the students think is most likely."

Upon hearing him say that it was the most likely scenario, Tu Chengyu instantly perked up. He sat up straight and waited for Quan Wenwei to continue.

Quan Wenwei then said, "That is to say, the Liu family's collusion with the Second Minister this time is not really to help Prince Xing secure the position of Crown Prince at this time."

"They did this simply to convey to the officials that Prince Xing intended to vie for the throne, in preparation for the future struggle for succession."

Tu Chengyu frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Isn't vying for the throne about secretly accumulating strength and then waiting for the right time to come out and fight for it? The fact that the second prince has suddenly appeared now is a reminder to the crown prince, so that the crown prince should be on guard against him in advance."

In response to Tu Chengyu's question, Quan Wenwei said, "Under normal circumstances, it would be best for Prince Xing to secretly accumulate strength, but now that Your Highness is here, Prince Xing has no choice but to do so."

Tu Chengyu thought to himself, "Why is it my business again?"

(End of this chapter)