The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 239 Discussions at the Prince An's Residence

Tu Chengyu resolved their seating arrangement in just a few words, and presumably, this will be how they will be ranked in front of him from now on.

Once everyone was seated, Tu Chengyu began to speak.

As you all probably know, His Majesty has sent me to serve under the Crown Prince to help him settle the refugees who have fled to the capital.

"We are aware of this."

"The resettlement of disaster victims is an extremely complicated matter with many issues. Therefore, His Majesty has ordered that each of us be responsible for one aspect, and my responsibility is to maintain the stability of the disaster victims."

Upon hearing this, Quan Wenwei spoke on behalf of everyone, saying, "Maintaining stability is a rather important task, which shows that His Majesty values ​​the Prince very much."

Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "An important job also means taking on greater responsibility. If you do it well, you'll naturally receive a lot of praise; if you don't, you'll get scolded more than others."

“Your Highness is right,” Quan Wenwei continued, “Although Your Highness is young, you have already gone to Jiangnan on behalf of His Majesty in the first half of the year.”

In His Majesty's eyes, the prince was no different from the other princes; if he didn't perform his duties well, he wouldn't be exempted from punishment just because he was young.
Therefore, we must help Your Highness to handle this task perfectly.

"Mr. Quan is right. We cannot slack off in the slightest when it comes to the tasks assigned by His Majesty."

"Your Highness, rest assured, we will do our utmost to help you complete your mission."

Quan Wenwei finished speaking, which prompted a wave of agreement from the others, who all expressed their determination.

Tu Chengyu was very pleased to see this and said with a smile:

"I am pleased that you think this way. The reason I summoned you here today is to discuss something with you."

At this point, Tu Chengyu paused suddenly before continuing:
"My original intention was simply to hear Mr. Quan's thoughts, but since the rest of you have all happened to be here, I'll discuss this with you as well. I wonder if you agree?"

Putting aside those few, they originally wanted to follow Tu Chengyu, so why would they disagree?

Even if some of them didn't like being on Tu Chengyu's side, they wouldn't dare to object after Tu Chengyu asked the question.

Upon hearing this, Jia Lian immediately stood up and expressed his opinion:
"Your Highness, rest assured. Before we came, our families instructed us to follow Your Highness's orders in everything."

When Jia Lian spoke, Jia Rong stood up and stood beside him, clearly meaning the same thing. In that case, the Jia family's east and west mansions would completely follow Tu Chengyu.

Tu Chengyu was not surprised by the Jia family's attitude.

Neither Jia Jing's own words to Tu Chengyu nor the rumors circulating throughout the capital could allow the Jia family to betray Tu Chengyu.

What Tu Chengyu mainly wants to see now is the attitude of Quan Xu and Su Xuanbao.

The reason he asked that question was to see what choice the two of them would ultimately make.

It wasn't that he wanted to force others to take sides; as a powerless prince, he had no need to do something that would make the emperor think twice.

His intention in doing this was to reach an agreement on internal opinions before starting any work.

Because if he doesn't handle his job well, there will be trouble.

Quan Xu and Su Xuanbao happen to be the commanders of the troops, so it would be very easy for them to sabotage the work if they wanted to.

Therefore, even though Tu Chengyu knew that these two wouldn't do anything reckless, he still wanted to see their attitude.

Seeing that the Jia family had already expressed their stance, Quan Xu didn't mince words and said directly:

"Your Highness, this humble servant will certainly obey Your Highness's orders."

After he finished speaking, only Su Xuanbao remained silent in the hall.

Su Xuanbao's identity is rather special. He comes from the Imperial Guard, which is part of the royal guard and can be considered part of the emperor's personal army.

Therefore, his position determined that he could not be loyal to anyone except the emperor.

However, he was also sensible, and he immediately chimed in as soon as Quan Xu finished speaking.

"Your Highness, please rest assured. I was sent by His Majesty to assist you in your duties, and I will naturally follow your lead."

After they finished speaking, Tu Chengyu was very happy.

"Since everyone shares my desire to do a good job, let's have a proper discussion. I'll first ask General Quan and General Su..."

"My father sent you to me to receive his orders. How many men did you bring with you?"

Quan Xuxian said, "His Majesty has sent me with six hundred elite troops from the Beijing Garrison."

Then it was Su Xuanbao's turn: "His Majesty sent someone to deliver an imperial decree, ordering me to lead two hundred Imperial Guards to await Your Highness's orders regarding the demolition."

If you calculate it this way, these two people alone brought eight hundred men with them, which is no small number.

In addition, Tu Chengyu also has three hundred personal guards from the Prince's Mansion, who are the kind of people who are closely investigated in the capital.

If this group were placed in the capital and led by a prince like Tu Chengyu, the emperor probably wouldn't be able to sleep at night.

So Tu Chengyu is very curious now, where did they put the people?

"Where are the people you brought?"

Quan Xu smiled and said, "Your Highness, rest assured, the men we brought are all settled outside the capital. His Majesty has also decreed that these men are not allowed to enter the capital at will while resettling the disaster victims."

It seems the Emperor did take precautions in this matter.

After asking that question, Tu Chengyu then asked all of them:

"Have you heard where the disaster victims who have come to the capital have been placed in during this period of time?"

After Tu Chengyu finished speaking, Quan Wenwei spoke first: "I have inquired about this matter. According to the usual arrangements..."
They were all housed in an open area outside the southern city wall, but the refugees were rather disorganized, and some of the bolder ones would sneak into the capital.

It would be convenient to settle them outside the south city, so they wouldn't have to associate with high-ranking officials and nobles.

"Mr. Quan, have you found out in the past few days whether the final placement location has been determined?"

"I am unaware of this. Prince Qi and Prince Yi have not revealed any details yet. However, Your Highness need not worry, as the arrival of the disaster victims is still a long way off."

Quan Wenwei is right. Anyway, there's still plenty of time, so there's no need to rush.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu let go of that topic and moved on to the next one.

"I ask you, who owns those old houses in the southern part of the city that are almost in ruins?"

No one knew why Tu Chengyu asked that question, and for a moment they didn't know how to answer it.

After a while, Jia Lian said, "Is the place Your Highness mentioned the place where I caught the jewelry thief?"

Tu Chengyu nodded and said, "Yes, I was asking about that area of ​​ruins. Who does it belong to now?"

Jia Lian continued, "Your Highness, that area of ​​ruins has been uninhabited since it was flooded years ago. Now it's mostly homeless people who take a short rest there. So, it shouldn't belong to anyone."

Tu Chengyu was quite satisfied upon hearing the news.

His sudden inquiry about this news was certainly not without reason.

He wanted to take the opportunity to deal with the ruins after the disaster victims arrived in Beijing, so that the capital city wouldn't become like an ancient tomb, with ruins everywhere.

So, he said to Jia Lian the words he had originally planned:
"Since you know a little about this place, then I will send you to investigate and see whose house this area of ​​ruins in the south of the city belongs to."

"It's Your Highness," Jia Lian said, getting up to go out and do his work. Tu Chengyu quickly stopped him, saying:
"Don't rush things. Sit down and listen to the next steps."

Then, Tu Chengyu discussed his next steps with them.

However, there's a lot of exaggeration involved in this discussion.

Of the five people, three and a half couldn't offer any good advice.

Of the remaining class, only Quan Wenwei could still frequently talk with Tu Chengyu and help him come up with ideas.

Therefore, it was less of a discussion and more of a unilateral arrangement by Tu Chengyu.

Once everything is arranged for everyone, today's business is temporarily finished.

However, Tu Chengyu has already left the palace, which means that the task of resettling the disaster victims has already begun.

Therefore, Jia Lian, Jia Rong, Quan Xu, and Su Xuanbao went to Prince An's mansion every day.

Two more days passed, and things started to look promising for Jia Lian's arrangements.

"Your Highness, I have investigated. The ruins in the southern city were originally intended to resettle disaster victims elsewhere."
Therefore, most of the land here belongs to the imperial court. If the prince wants this land, he just needs to make a request to the Ministry of Revenue.

If that's the case, then things will be much easier to handle.

Just as Tu Chengyu and Jia Lian were talking, Quan Wenwei, who was never late, was unexpectedly a little late today.

Tu Chengyu didn't know what to say about this matter. In any case, given Quan Wenwei's usual behavior, there must be a reason why he did this.

Sure enough, when Quan Wenwei walked in and approached Tu Chengyu, he said:

"Your Highness, I have received news that Prince Qi and Prince Yi have already found locations to settle the disaster victims."

Upon hearing this news, Tu Chengyu was overjoyed and quickly said:

Where was the location chosen?

Quan Wenwei said, "The location is right where the last disaster victims were resettled."

Tu Chengyu felt somewhat helpless after Quan Wenwei said that.

Because he had no idea where the last disaster relief was held, since Tu Chengyu hadn't even been born yet when it happened.

Quan Wenwei was also very observant. After he finished speaking, he realized that Tu Chengyu had not understood what he had just said.

So he quickly said to Tu Chengyu, "Your Highness, the place is not far, just a short distance after you go out of the South Gate."

As soon as he said that, Tu Chengyu knew exactly where he was.

Then, Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and said to these people:
"I am going to the South Gate. You may all come with me."

"Your humble servants will obey your orders."

The journey from Prince An's residence to the southern city is quite long.

So Tu Chengyu first had Xiao Xuanzi arrange the carriage before setting off with everyone.

Compared to the day Tu Chengyu left the palace, when Jia Lian and the others walked alongside the carriage, today Tu Chengyu had Xiao Xuanzi prepare several more carriages so that everyone could travel by carriage.

Their carriages traveled south from the inner city, gradually reaching the southern part of the city.

On his way, Tu Chengyu suddenly noticed that the door of a house in an alleyway next to the road was tightly surrounded by people.

Among those besieging the group were some people dressed in official uniforms, who seemed to be joining in the disturbance.

Upon seeing this, Tu Chengyu immediately sent Xiao Xuanzi to find out the details.

Xiao Xuanzi returned shortly afterward.

"what happened?"

Xiao Xuanzi replied, "Your Highness, that courtyard belongs to a junior official from the Ministry of Revenue. I don't know what he did wrong, but the officials are arresting him."

Upon hearing that he was just a minor official, Tu Chengyu lost interest in paying attention and prepared to have Xiao Xuanzi get in the carriage and start again.

But before Xiao Xuanzi could even move, a loud commotion erupted from the place where they had been besieged.

Hearing such a commotion, Tu Chengyu lifted the carriage curtain and looked over, only to see a young man in official uniform running towards the group of people who were surrounding them.

Then they started talking.

Tu Chengyu was quite far away from them and couldn't hear what they were saying.

Fortunately, they spoke quite loudly, and occasionally even shouted a few words. Tu Chengyu himself also had good hearing.

So in the end, Tu Chengyu did hear some of what was said.

Of all the content, the words Tu Chengyu heard most often were suicide and a letter of repentance.

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu immediately realized that the person who committed suicide was likely that wealthy man.

The position of Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was a lucrative one, and people who held that position were generally reluctant to leave.

Someone will hang themselves in that spot.

However, none of this has anything to do with Tu Chengyu.

After observing for a while, he directly ordered them to continue heading towards the south of the city.

The carriages started moving, and the grand procession set off once again.

After walking for a short while, they arrived at the south gate of the capital city.

Looking at the two soldiers, staggering and slumped over, who were taking advantage of the situation at the door.

Tu Chengyu frowned again. This was the southern gate of the capital, so why were these two weak and frail fellows sent to guard it?

However, he had important matters to attend to at the moment, so he decided to ignore the two guys for the time being.

Amidst the envious and fearful expressions of the two city guards, Tu Chengyu led his men out of the south gate.

After coming out, Tu Chengyu parked the carriage in a place where it would not obstruct the road and then got out of the carriage.

After coming down, Tu Chengyu looked at the flat city wall beneath his feet, a place that disaster victims loved to stay in.

It's very likely that in a few days, such a scene will appear before everyone.

At that time, not only will the area around the city walls be packed with people, but the open space across the river will also be densely packed with people.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu looked up at the open space opposite.

Those open spaces weren't always empty.

The reason we see it this way now is because the autumn harvest had already taken place, and the fields were empty since nothing else was planted there.

(End of this chapter)