The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 184 The First Battle in the Struggle for the Throne

Tu Chengyu never expected that his first day back in the palace would be so fulfilling.

He entered the palace in the morning and returned to his own palace at dinner time.

I barely rested all day. I met many people and experienced so much during that time.

Moreover, these events happened one after another, which was unexpected.

This made Tu Chengyu realize that the palace was very different from the place before he left the capital.

First of all, the two empress dowagers in the Eastern Palace have actually reached the point where they refuse to give way to each other in public.

Furthermore, the emergence of the second son to vie for the throne has seemingly created some discord between Empress Dowager Xiaoning and the Empress, who both support the Crown Prince.

As Tu Chengyu witnessed today, Empress Dowager Xiaoning actually embarrassed the Empress in front of everyone, which shows that she was very dissatisfied with the Empress.

Tu Chengyu felt that the atmosphere in the palace now was gone forever.

He wants to live the same comfortable life as before, but that's hard to achieve anymore.

Moreover, given his relationship with the Crown Prince, he would find it difficult to avoid the power struggles within the palace.

Therefore, he can no longer afford to be complacent and must make preparations in advance.

Otherwise, if another incident like today were to occur in the palace, he might not be able to escape unscathed as he did today.

These were all things he thought of randomly while eating.

However, he didn't have a specific idea of ​​what to do.

After all, he had just returned to the palace and did not yet have a detailed understanding of many things.

Therefore, he planned to think about his next steps after meeting with the Emperor and the Crown Prince.

Tu Chengyu had planned it very well, but for the next three days, he did not receive an audience with the emperor.

Even when Xiao Xuanzi was sent to the Crown Prince's residence outside the palace the next day to request an audience with the Crown Prince, it was unsuccessful.

It wasn't until the third day after Tu Chengyu returned to the palace, when the Crown Prince sent someone to him, that he learned what had happened in the court.

It turned out that on the night Tu Chengyu returned to the capital, an urgent memorial arrived from the south, saying that the Yellow River had breached its banks.

Moreover, it is said that this breach is more severe than in the past.

This time, the Yellow River breached its banks, not only flooding the fields on both sides, but also, due to the sheer volume of water, the entire Yellow River broke through its original course and flowed to other places.

According to the information provided by the people sent by the Crown Prince, it seems that the Yellow River did not follow its original course and flow into the sea from Shandong.

Instead, they seized a route south, took control of the Huai River channel, and entered the sea through Jiangsu territory.

As a result, the Yellow River not only harmed the people on both sides of the original Yellow River, but also the people in Jiangnan.

Salt workers, especially those living along the banks of the Huai River, already struggled to survive, and now they had to endure the Yellow River floods.

Therefore, this was a very serious disaster for the prefectures on both sides of the Huai River.

No wonder the Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the court officials had no time to rest for three days in a row, spending every day in court trying to come up with solutions.

However, during these three days, not everyone in the court was focused on disaster relief; there were also conflicts arising from the relief efforts.

The most intense competition was over who should be sent to lead the disaster relief efforts.

Disaster relief is a very troublesome and arduous task.

However, the potential profits and benefits were also enormous. Therefore, all factions in the court wanted to seize this position.

The most intense power struggles were between the chief minister and the second-in-command.

These two powerful figures have been at odds ever since they broke off relations in the imperial court, and they will fight each other even if there is no benefit to it.

Moreover, it involves disaster relief, which can enhance one's own power.

Of course, besides these two factions, the Crown Prince also wanted to get involved.

However, the Crown Prince has only been in this position for a short time and doesn't have many capable people under his command, so he can't compete head-on with these two big shots.

Although he couldn't win in a direct confrontation, the Crown Prince clearly had no intention of giving up.

Therefore, the Crown Prince sent someone to inform Tu Chengyu about the affairs of the court and also asked Tu Chengyu to help him figure out how to get involved in this disaster relief effort.

Since the Crown Prince has this idea, Tu Chengyu, as his younger brother, naturally has to give his full support.

So he hasn't been idle these past few days, having the Crown Prince relay news from the court to him so he can stay informed.

Meanwhile, he secretly inquired within the palace to see if he could glean any useful information.

Several more days passed, until the sixth day after Tu Chengyu returned to the palace, when the Crown Prince sent word that Tu Chengyu should go to the Crown Prince's residence to meet him.

Just as the two factions in the court were fighting fiercely, Tu Chengyu quietly left the palace and went to the Crown Prince's residence.

Tu Chengyu knew about the current Crown Prince's residence, as it was the original residence of the Crown Prince.

The mansion has been vacant since the former crown prince rebelled and died.

Because of the regulations governing this mansion, it was not suitable for ordinary princes to live there, so it remained vacant for a long time.

Later, because the current crown prince wanted to move out of the palace, building a new crown prince's residence would be time-consuming and wasteful of resources.

So the emperor ordered the original Crown Prince's residence to be renovated and the Crown Prince moved in.

When the Crown Prince left the palace, Tu Chengyu was still causing trouble in Jiangnan.

The Crown Prince's residence is right next to the Imperial Palace, so the journey isn't far, but this is Tu Chengyu's first time here.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu was quite curious about the Crown Prince's residence. When he followed the eunuch in, he kept looking around.

However, Tu Chengyu discovered that the layout of the Crown Prince's residence was very similar to that of the palace, so he lost interest after taking a few glances.

Upon entering the Crown Prince's residence, Tu Chengyu followed the eunuchs to the study in the front hall. As soon as he entered, he found the Crown Prince already sitting in the study, quietly waiting for Tu Chengyu.

In preparation for today's meeting, the Crown Prince deliberately left court earlier than he had in the past few days.

The two brothers had not seen each other for half a year. When they met again, neither of them spoke at first; they simply looked at each other silently.

After watching for a while, the Crown Prince finally came to his senses and said, "Little Fifth, it's been half a year since I last saw you. You've grown taller and thinner than before. You need to eat more to make up for it."

Upon seeing the Crown Prince, Tu Chengyu was overjoyed. If it weren't for the current etiquette, Tu Chengyu would have wanted to go up and hug the Crown Prince.

He chuckled and moved closer to the Crown Prince, pulled up a chair, and sat down before saying:

"Brother, don't worry. I may look thinner, but I'm much stronger than before."

After speaking, she stretched out her arm and let the crown prince pinch her arm.

While the Crown Prince was showing concern for Tu Chengyu, Tu Chengyu was also observing the Crown Prince.

Compared to before he left the capital, the Crown Prince appeared to have changed little on the surface.

However, upon closer observation, Tu Chengyu noticed that the Crown Prince had become much more composed than before.

Moreover, he also possessed an aura quite similar to the Emperor's, though this aura was not yet strong enough to be detected without careful observation.

It seems the Crown Prince has experienced quite a lot in the past six months.

Due to time constraints, the two exchanged only a few pleasantries before getting down to business.

Tu Chengyu was the first to ask, "Has the disaster relief team not been decided yet?"

The crown prince shook his head and said, "They're still arguing. They haven't reached a conclusion by the time I came out."

Hearing this, Tu Chengyu unconsciously frowned. He asked:
"Wouldn't this constant arguing delay the disaster relief efforts?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, the Crown Prince said, "As long as the imperial envoy in charge of disaster relief is not determined, it will cause more harm to the affected people."

Xiao Wu need not worry. The imperial edicts for disaster relief in various prefectures have been issued, and relevant personnel from the Ministry of Works have been dispatched. The only debate now is who should go south to coordinate all disaster relief matters.

After all, this disaster area covers a relatively large area, so we need to send a capable person to oversee it.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu finally understood that the person in charge had already left, and now it was just a power struggle.

No wonder the Emperor allowed them to argue for so long in such an emergency. However, since disaster relief was involved, the Emperor couldn't allow them to argue indefinitely.

According to Tu Chengyu's estimate, the result should be reached in the next day or two.

This is probably why the Crown Prince was in such a hurry to summon Tu Chengyu.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked, "Brother, now, whose side do you think has a chance of winning?"

Without hesitation, the Crown Prince said, "Judging from today's situation, the Second Assistant Minister Tang has a better chance of winning."

Upon hearing that he was the second-in-command, Tu Chengyu felt very uneasy.

Because whether it was what He Lizhang said in Jiangnan or what he heard after returning to the capital.

All of this points to the fact that this second-in-command has indeed sided with the second-in-command.

So this Mr. Tang is actually fighting for the second son's place.

If this time, if Lord Tang succeeds and gains control of the disaster relief efforts...

This means that the second prince has interfered in the disaster relief efforts. If this is not stopped, the second prince's power will increase rapidly, posing a great threat to the crown prince.

Conversely, if Lord Tang fails, it means that the second son's first attempt at fighting has ended in failure.

This would not only prevent the second son from expanding his power, but also show others that even with the help of the second-in-command, the second son is no match for the crown prince.

Therefore, the competition for the selection of the imperial envoy for disaster relief was actually the first direct confrontation between the crown prince and the second prince.

Whichever side wins, it will have a profound impact.

However, what Tu Chengyu couldn't understand was why the emperor would allow the second son to fight against the crown prince.

And this happened during such an important time as disaster relief.

Doing so would not only threaten the crown prince's position, but could also cause turmoil in the court.

Tu Chengyu couldn't guess what the Emperor was planning, nor did he have time to do so. His immediate priority was to help the Crown Prince stop the Second Prince.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked in confusion, "Brother, in the message you sent me yesterday, the Grand Secretary was still in the upper hand. How did things change overnight?"

Upon hearing this question, the Crown Prince gave a wry smile and said:
"The Grand Secretary's side had completely gained the upper hand, but today, as soon as court began, a censor suddenly impeached the Grand Secretary's side for nominating the candidate for the disaster relief imperial envoy."

Moreover, they also impeached the prime minister. Crucially, this impeachment was not unfounded; they had solid evidence.

This instantly disqualified the candidate nominated by the Grand Secretary. If the Grand Secretary hadn't muddied the waters at the crucial moment, the Second Grand Secretary might have already succeeded.

From this perspective, it's clear that Lord Tang was very well prepared, which made Tu Chengyu a little nervous.

Tu Chengyu then asked, "Brother, did Father say anything about the ginseng given by the imperial envoy?"

Ultimately, the selection of the imperial envoy still depends on the emperor's confirmation, and the competition among everyone is actually a matter of the emperor's support.

The Crown Prince said, "Father has not shown any favoritism, but after so many days of arguing, there has still been no result, and Father is already very angry."

Today in court, the Emperor clearly stated that if an imperial envoy for disaster relief cannot be determined by tomorrow, the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary will go together to provide disaster relief.

The Emperor said this in anger, but it also shows his determination.

Therefore, we can conclude that tomorrow is the final deadline set by the Emperor for them.

Tu Chengyu then asked the Crown Prince, "Brother, what are your plans?"

The Crown Prince thought for a moment and said, "I discussed it with the officials in my residence and came up with a solution, which is why I asked you, Xiao Wu, to discuss it with me."

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu quickly said, "Brother, tell me the solution you've come up with, and I'll see if there's anything I can do to help."

This is not because Tu Chengyu is arrogant and wants to interfere with the methods that the Crown Prince has discussed.

However, tomorrow's matter is of great importance, and the better the solution can be discussed, the better.

Without much thought, the crown prince directly stated the plan they had agreed upon:

"After discussing it with them, we decided not to compete for the position of imperial envoy, but to fully support the people on the Grand Secretary's side. This would greatly increase the chances of the Grand Secretary's side winning."

At first, the Crown Prince was determined to have his people snatch the imperial envoy position, but now it seems he has given up.

In this way, although the second prince's men were prevented from succeeding, the crown prince did not gain any benefit.

However, given the Crown Prince's current serious demeanor, he certainly won't give up so easily.

So Tu Chengyu asked, "Since you've given up on vying for the position of Imperial Envoy, do you have other plans?"

The Crown Prince smiled and said, "I can't hide it from Xiao Wu after all. I do have other ideas."

As Tu Chengyu had expected, he continued to ask, "What does Big Brother plan to do?"

The Crown Prince said, "I am prepared to compete for the job of receiving refugees and settling the fleeing people around the capital."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Tu Chengyu knew what he was planning to do.

Generally speaking, whenever the Yellow River floods and causes disasters on both banks, the affected people, except for a portion who seek refuge in neighboring prefectures that are not affected by the disaster.

Most of the remaining people had to flee from place to place, and a large portion of them would flee to the capital to make a living.

Therefore, whenever the Yellow River flooded, the capital would prepare to accommodate the refugees.

However, this job was not a good one.

Because the capital city was not originally a grain-producing region, most of the grain was transported from the Jiangnan region.

Therefore, finding enough food would be a major problem when resettling refugees.

Furthermore, the refugees were already quite disorganized, and with the mixed crowd of people, it was easy for trouble to break out when they gathered together.

In the capital city, right under the emperor's nose, any incident could easily escalate into a major disaster.

Besides these, the most difficult thing is that when working around the capital, not only will the emperor be constantly aware of your work.

Even your enemies are always watching you, and the smallest mistake will be blown out of proportion.

Ultimately, resettling refugees around the capital was a task that did more harm than good.

Tu Chengyu could understand the implications of this situation, and the Crown Prince and his men should be aware of it as well.

This puzzled Tu Chengyu, so he asked, "Brother, why do you want to take this job? Don't get yourself into trouble later."

This isn't because Tu Chengyu is cold-blooded and opportunistic, only wanting to gain benefits and not wanting to cause trouble.

Rather, the position of the crown prince is too special, and one cannot easily give others a handle to use against him.

If Tu Chengyu were to do this himself, he would probably take it on without hesitation.

The Crown Prince knew that Tu Chengyu was concerned about him, and said with a smile:

"Xiao Wu, don't worry. I'm not going to personally take on this job. Although there might be some liability if something goes wrong, it won't be a big problem."

Moreover, as the Crown Prince, if I were to shirk responsibility and only seek personal gain when faced with difficulties, instead of putting in any real work, what would my father and the officials think of me?

It seems that Tu Chengyu underestimated the situation this time.

The Crown Prince's perspective on the issue differed from Tu Chengyu's, leading to different conclusions for the two.

Although the two had different ideas, Tu Chengyu chose to support the Crown Prince's decision after the Crown Prince explained it clearly.

Since the Crown Prince already had a complete plan, and it sounded quite reliable, Tu Chengyu didn't say anything more.

He asked again, "Brother, is there anything I can do to help you?"

The crown prince smiled and said, "I've come to you today because I want your help."

"If I can help the Crown Prince, I have no choice but to do so," Tu Chengyu quickly said.

"Brother, if there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."

The Crown Prince said, "I want you to go to court with me tomorrow to help the Grand Secretary with today's impeachment."

Tu Chengyu was stunned when he heard this. He never expected that the matter of impeaching the prime minister would be related to him.

(End of this chapter)