The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 160 Strategists Often Dream of Conquering a Nation

Although Tu Chengyu did not voice his doubts, Quan Wenwei noticed them.

So he said, "Your Highness, I may have said some disrespectful things, please forgive me."

Tu Chengyu naturally wouldn't stop Quan Wenwei from telling him the truth. He said, "Speak freely, I won't blame you."

Quan Wenwei then explained, "Given the current situation, if the Crown Prince fails to succeed to the throne, then Your Highness will be the one to succeed him, and then it will be Prince Xing's turn."

These words were indeed outrageous, but Tu Chengyu had already made his statement, so he didn't say anything.

Quan Wenwei continued, "Under these circumstances, if Prince Xing has even the slightest thought of seizing the throne, he cannot allow Your Highness to be ahead of him."

"So, the reason why Prince Xing caused such a scene this time is perhaps to tell the court officials that he intends to seize the throne."

"When the officials in the court know what Prince Xing is thinking, although most of them will think that Prince Xing is overestimating himself, it will also leave an impression on the officials that Prince Xing is also capable of inheriting the throne. Therefore, if there is a struggle for the throne in the future, the officials may put Prince Xing first in the worst-case scenario."

"Furthermore, the emergence of Prince Xing will also cause some officials to join his ranks for various reasons, working for him and advocating for him. In that case, Prince Xing's power will inevitably surpass that of the Prince."

"Then at some point in the future, when Prince Xing has accumulated enough power, he will come out and compete with the Crown Prince head-on. At that time, all the officials will only regard Prince Xing as the Crown Prince's opponent, and the rest of the princes, including you, will have to take a backseat."

Quan Wenwei's analysis really gave Tu Chengyu a different perspective.

Based on this conversation, Tu Chengyu felt that his second son might be thinking the same thing.

However, Tu Chengyu still had some questions: Did the second son really have the idea of ​​seizing the throne?

The emperor has only been on the throne for a few months, and the bloody stench of the last royal succession struggle has not yet completely dissipated. How could he dare to harbor such thoughts?

Is this still the same loyal and kind second brother among his brothers? Is the throne really so alluring?
Thinking about these things, Tu Chengyu asked, "Although Prince Xing's actions can achieve the goal you mentioned, Mr. Quan, isn't he afraid of displeasing the Emperor Emeritus and the Emperor?"

Quan Wenwei shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the struggle for the throne is a life-or-death battle. If Prince Xing is truly determined to do this..."

"The displeasure of the retired emperor and the emperor is nothing but a trivial matter to Prince Xing."

"As long as the Emperor does not strip Prince Xing of his right to inherit the throne because of this matter, then it will not have a significant impact on Prince Xing."

"Furthermore, Prince Xing will not admit to the Emperor that he has ambitions to seize the throne. He will only say that it was all a misunderstanding caused by the Liu family and that Prince Xing knew nothing about it."

"In this way, on the surface, Prince Xing is still a prince without desires, but everyone knows what Prince Xing is thinking."

Tu Chengyu nodded thoughtfully and said, "So, this time it was all a show put on by Prince Xing?"

Quan Wenwei nodded and said, "That's true. But the main purpose of this play is that Prince Xing wants to overtake Your Highness's position and make plans for the future."

"If Your Highness has no way to deal with this, it may allow Prince Xing to easily achieve his goal."

Tu Chengyu shook his head indifferently and said, "With the Crown Prince around, I don't care about these things. No matter how fiercely he fights, can he compare to the relationship between me and the Crown Prince?"

Tu Chengyu said this, and this is what he thought.

However, Quan Wenwei clearly did not agree with Tu Chengyu's idea, but he could not say it out loud, so he just looked at Tu Chengyu quietly.

Tu Chengyu looked at Quan Wenwei and seemed to be able to see through Quan Wenwei's thoughts.

He frowned and said, "What, you want me to get involved? Didn't I tell you that the throne belongs to the crown prince? I won't fight for it."

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Quan Wenwei's eyes closed subconsciously.

However, after a short while, he opened his eyes again. Tu Chengyu didn't know if it was just his imagination or a trick of the eye, but he felt that his eyes were not as bright as before.

Quan Wenwei seemed somewhat discouraged, but he didn't give up. He said:

"The student wants Your Highness to compete for the throne, not to fight the Crown Prince, but to protect the Crown Prince."

This was a novel idea. Tu Chengyu said, "Tell me, how do you plan to protect the Crown Prince?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, you can act as a shield for the Crown Prince and protect him behind you. Your Highness, think about it, there are other princes, including Prince Xing, who all want to vie for the throne and will spare no effort to attack the Crown Prince."

“This might not be a big deal once or twice, but if it goes on for too long, the Crown Prince will inevitably become indecisive and give others a handle to attack him.”

“But if Your Highness gets involved and blocks the attacks for the Crown Prince in advance, the Crown Prince can deal with it calmly.”

Quan Wenwei said so, but Tu Chengyu didn't quite believe it.

He asked, "Was it really useful for me to defend the Crown Prince against the attack? In history, didn't Jiancheng and Yuanji also fight against Emperor Taizong of Tang, but Emperor Taizong still managed to seize the throne?"

"In this dynasty, three former crown princes vied for the throne, but in the end, none of them obtained it."

Quan Wenwei said, "The two examples that Your Highness mentioned do not prove anything. The reason why Emperor Taizong of Tang was able to succeed was because his own abilities surpassed those of Jiancheng and Yuanji, and he also controlled a very large amount of military power."

"Therefore, even if Jiancheng and Yuanji joined forces, they would not be a match for Emperor Taizong, let alone having Yuanji act as a shield for Jiancheng to charge in front."

"Furthermore, the three princes of the current dynasty are vying for the throne. On the surface, it appears to be a struggle between the former crown prince and Prince Ping, but in reality, Prince Yong's intentions are not so simple either."

"Therefore, Prince Yong could not be a shield for either of them. Even the former Crown Prince and Prince Ping had to spare some attention to guard against Prince Yong."

"But it's different with you, Your Highness. Since you have no intention of seizing the throne, you can focus on helping the Crown Prince and have fewer worries when dealing with attacks from Prince Xing and others."

"At the same time, the Crown Prince will not be distracted by you and will even help you from behind, so you can effectively block their attacks for the Crown Prince."

These words seemed to make a lot of sense, but Tu Chengyu felt very resistant to them.

Because deep down, he always had a worry: once the arrow is released, there's no turning back.

In the struggle for the throne, no matter what your reason for getting involved, it's difficult to extricate yourself from the situation in the end.

What worries Tu Chengyu the most is that if he gets involved, the Crown Prince might mistakenly think that he also has ambitions to seize the throne, and thus treat Tu Chengyu as an enemy.

It wasn't that Tu Chengyu didn't believe in the Crown Prince's feelings for him, but rather that he was unwilling to test human nature with the throne, because human nature truly couldn't withstand such a test.

Tu Chengyu shared his concerns with Quan Wenwei, who then said:

"Your Highness's concerns are not without merit, but this is not a major problem."

Then Quan Wenwei began to analyze the reasons for Tu Chengyu: "Firstly, because you and the Crown Prince have a deep relationship, with Prince Xing around, the Crown Prince will not easily regard you as an enemy."

"Secondly, because you are young, the Crown Prince will not consider you a threat to him in the short term."

"Third, when helping the Crown Prince, as long as you do not form cliques, do not seek fame or fortune, and are willing to bear the blame for the Crown Prince, then the Crown Prince will not consider you an enemy, Your Highness."

In response to Tu Chengyu's question, Quan Wenwei offered an explanation and provided guidance on how to proceed.

It all seemed so preordained, and Tu Chengyu couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

He asked, "Mr. Quan, it seems you really want me to get involved in the struggle for the throne?"

If Tu Chengyu had asked this question to someone else, it would be certain that Tu Chengyu had a problem with that person or wanted to deal with them. But asking Quan Wenwei this question simply meant that he wanted to understand Quan Wenwei's thoughts.

Quan Wenwei did not answer this question immediately; instead, he asked in return:

"Your Highness, if the Crown Prince were attacked by others, would you stand idly by?"

Tu Chengyu shook his head and said, "I will not."

Quan Wenwei continued, "Since Your Highness will not stand idly by, why are you so resistant to fighting with other princes?"

Tu Chengyu explained, "The struggle for the throne is a mess, and Your Highness does not want to get involved. I want to leave myself a way out so I can retreat gracefully."

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, this is a struggle for the throne, and there is no way out. Either you do nothing, even if the Crown Prince is in danger, then others will believe that you have no intention of getting involved."

"Once you get involved, others will assume you have such intentions and will inevitably treat you as an enemy."

"Instead of being targeted by others, you might as well take the initiative. This way, you'll be prepared and won't cause the Crown Prince to misunderstand."

This is precisely where Tu Chengyu's hesitation lies; he has been hesitant ever since the emperor ascended the throne.

However, since nothing like what happened to King Xing had occurred before, he could pretend that nothing was wrong and fantasize that if he didn't get involved, there wouldn't be any problems.

But now Quan Wenwei has shattered this illusion in person and laid his hesitation bare.

To this, Tu Chengyu could only say, "I will consider it further."

Quan Wenwei doesn't necessarily expect Tu Chengyu to make a decision on the spot.

He served as Tu Chengyu's strategist, and his only strategist.

In everyone's eyes, he was basically in a position of shared destiny with Tu Chengyu, rising and falling together.

Therefore, he had to make some considerations for Tu Chengyu.

For example, just now, logically speaking, a strategist like him shouldn't be so aggressive in pressuring a prince to make a choice.

However, he was quite worried, especially given that Prince Xing was already showing signs of vying for the throne.

The Prince Su, whom he followed, continued to live a carefree life as before, not taking the struggle for the throne seriously.

If this is the case, then Prince Su will lose the initiative and waste a great opportunity.

This was something he, as a strategist, did not want to see.

Of course, Quan Wenwei had his own selfish motives.

That is, if the Crown Prince does not ultimately inherit the throne, Prince Su is the one with the best chance.

For Quan Wenwei, the prospect of helping a prince become emperor was incredibly tempting, especially for someone like him who had studied a wide variety of books.

Therefore, in order to maintain this hope, Quan Wenwei naturally wanted Tu Chengyu to get involved, even if it was just as the Crown Prince's helper.

In that case, even if the crown prince successfully ascends the throne in the future...

Tu Chengyu will be the prince who benefits the most, so this strategist under Tu Chengyu may also have other opportunities.

If he's lucky, the current crown prince, like the previous ones, won't live to see the time for him to ascend the throne.

At that time, Prince Su would be able to seize the power left by the Crown Prince and become the new Crown Prince.

Quan Wenwei could thus reap the greatest benefits, and might even rise to the highest ranks of officialdom, thus leaving his mark on history.

It was this internal and external drive that led Quan Wenwei to force Tu Chengyu to act.

Tu Chengyu did not give a clear answer on the spot, and Quan Wenwei was not in a hurry either.

Seeing that there was nothing more to say, he took his leave on the spot.

After he left, Tu Chengyu looked at Quan Wenwei's back with a complicated expression.

Tu Chengyu was fully aware of Quan Wenwei's complete explanation and the underlying motives.

Before coming to Jiangnan, Tu Chengyu would not have hesitated and would have directly rejected Quan Wenwei's suggestion.

But during this trip to Jiangnan, from what I saw and heard along the way, to witnessing firsthand the salt workers struggling to survive in the salt fields.

Tu Chengyu's resolve wavered.

He couldn't be sure whether his father, the emperor, or the future crown prince would consider these people.

At the same time, he might wonder if he came into this world just to eat, drink, and have fun, to be a parasite.

So what is the point of living a second life?
He had never thought about it this way before, but now he had to consider it.

He thought, what if I could wield some power in this world?

Even if he was the son of an emperor, or the brother of another emperor.

As long as I have even a little bit of power, I might be able to offer these people some help.

Even just saying a word on their behalf when the court is making decisions would be helpful.

These questions, which Tu Chengyu had never thought about before, made him increasingly engrossed in.

By the time he realized what was happening, it was already past midnight.

But at this moment, he still felt no sleepiness at all; on the contrary, the more he thought about the problem, the more energetic he became.

Having lived in this world for over eleven years, this is the first time Tu Chengyu has experienced such severe insomnia.

Tu Chengyu couldn't sleep until dawn the next day, when he finally succumbed to insomnia and fell asleep.

He slept for ages, only to be woken up by Xiao Xuanzi at lunchtime.

However, after lunch, Tu Chengyu went back to his room to catch up on sleep.

This time he didn't sleep for long, only about an hour and a half, before Xiao Xuanzi woke him up again.

Tu Chengyu was originally going to get angry at being disturbed while sleeping.

However, upon hearing the news he brought, Tu Chengyu temporarily let Xiao Xuanzi off the hook.

(End of this chapter)