Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 197 He wants both fish and bear's paw, and his entry starts with flood control

Hengyi was in the study, frowning secretly at the result of the deduction.

Although she did not get a completely satisfactory situation, after several simulations, the failures made her mind clear and she summed up many key experiences.

So that her husband can safely ascend to the throne of crown prince.

Without wasting a moment, she quickly wrote a letter, telling Chu Shizhao in Jinyang all the major and minor events that had taken place in the court, as well as the results of her deductions, and sent it via carrier pigeons.

After receiving the letter, Chu Shizhao in Jinyang immediately gathered all his trusted men together.

Everyone sat together in a serious atmosphere.

Chu Shizhao did not hide anything and simply recounted to everyone the information he had received from Hengyi.

"Everyone, this is the situation. What do you think about the current situation?"

Originally, Chu Shizhao had already made up his mind.

However, in his opinion, some things coming out of his mouth are one thing, and coming out of the mouths of these guys in front of him is another thing.

If he said it himself, he might be seen as being obsessed with profit, and people would directly classify him as the same as the Crown Prince who was plotting to usurp the throne.

But it's different if it comes from someone else's mouth.

If someone else says the same thing, the meaning will be completely different.

No matter whether you adopt it in the end or not, that's what others said and it has nothing to do with you.

Chu Shizhao was thinking about it.

At this moment, the strategist Li Feng, who was lost in thought, suddenly looked up at Chu Shizhao.

"Your Highness, in my opinion, although the current situation in the court seems to be full of crises, it is actually a great opportunity!"

"Oh?"

"What do you mean? Tell me in detail!"

Seeing someone speak, Chu Shizhao immediately followed the other person's words and guided him subtly.

"Your Highness, the court has just experienced the Crown Prince's rebellion. His Majesty must be resentful and will never trust anyone easily."

"This can be easily seen from the fact that Your Majesty politely declined the recommendations of the people in the court."

"But precisely because of this, it seems like there is no chance at all, but in fact, it is a once-in-a-lifetime God-given opportunity!"

"Think about it, if someone can help His Majesty solve his problems and gain his trust at this time, the significance of this will be clear to you, right?"

Listening to the other party's analysis, Chu Shizhao nodded slightly in a pretentious manner.

"You have a point."

"It's just... my father is suspicious by nature. Now, he has just experienced the backstabbing of his most beloved son. It may not be easy to gain his trust at this time, right?"

Hearing what Chu Shizhao said.

However, strategist Li Feng raised his eyebrows.

"Your Highness, I have already thought about this for you!"

"As long as you follow my instructions, I promise that even if I cannot gain His Majesty's trust 100%, at least I can leave a good impression on you!"

"With this foundation, the position of the crown prince will be yours sooner or later!"

Seeing Li Feng so confident.

This time, before Chu Shizhao could speak, several other confidants around him immediately looked at Li Feng with anticipation.

"Stop keeping me in suspense, you bastard!"

"What's your plan? Tell me!"

I saw that the atmosphere around me was almost stirred.

At this time, Chu Shizhao nodded slightly.

"Mr. Li, I am also very curious about what kind of brilliant plan makes you so confident!"

"Your Highness, my plan is actually very simple. All you need to do is volunteer to help His Majesty deal with some difficult government affairs and let His Majesty see your ability and loyalty as much as possible."

"In this case, His Majesty may not say anything at first, but as time goes by, he will not be able to ignore you even if he wants to."

"What's more, there are already many important officials in the court who support you to be the crown prince. If you can make some outstanding achievements, then more people will definitely recommend you!"

"With these achievements and the recommendations from these adults..."

Li Feng paused for a moment before continuing, "By then, even if His Majesty doesn't want to make you the Crown Prince, I'm afraid it won't be possible!"

After listening to Li Feng’s analysis.

Several other confidants also nodded at this moment.

"Your Highness, Mr. Li's analysis makes sense. At this point, we also think that Your Highness should take the initiative!"

“You absolutely cannot miss this opportunity!”

"only……"

Listening to everyone's advice, Chu Shizhao looked embarrassed at this moment.

"Everyone, I know you are all doing this for my own good, but I am only the fourth son of His Majesty after all. Even if we talk about seniority, it is not my turn to be the crown prince!"

"What's more, my eldest brother is now imprisoned by our father."

"I don't want to be accused of usurping power!"

Seeing Chu Shizhao say this.

At this moment, Li Feng on the side suddenly became anxious.

"Your Highness, you can't have your cake and eat it too!"

"Here, I must remind you, don't forget, if you don't kill the snake, you will be bitten by it!"

"It is precisely because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now imprisoned by His Majesty that you must act quickly!"

"Given how much His Majesty values ​​the Crown Prince, there's no telling when he might change his mind and release the Crown Prince."

"Think about it, a large part of the reason why the prince failed this time was because of your interference, Your Highness."

"Given the prince's vindictive nature, do you think that if he turns over a new leaf, he will spare you out of consideration for our brotherhood?"

"Although you care about the relationship between brothers, I am afraid that by then, your brother the Crown Prince may not recognize you as his brother!"

"So, Your Highness, you still have to make a decision on this matter as soon as possible!"

After hearing what everyone said, Chu Shizhao still looked hesitant, but in fact he was already very happy in his heart.

As long as he plans well, he can have his cake and eat it too!
These guys are really getting better and better!
Originally, he was still thinking about how to find a way to not damage his image while allowing these guys to give him advice on how to seize the position of crown prince.

Now, there is no need to think about it. These guys are more anxious than me!

Chu Shizhao listened to everyone's suggestions and nodded secretly in his heart. This coincided with the results of his previous deductions.

Now it seems that he can no longer be the crown prince even if he doesn't want to!
"Okay, since you all said so, let's do it this way!"

"Mr. Li, I will rely on you from now on!"

"Now, can you tell me your next plan?"

Seeing Chu Shizhao compromise.

At this moment, everyone in the room looked at Li Feng again with anticipation.

"Your Highness, if I remember correctly, some counties in Jinyang have just experienced floods recently!"

"So, Your Highness can take this opportunity..."

……

While Chu Shizhao and the others were acting according to Li Feng's plan. At this moment, in the imperial study of the palace.

Emperor Yongjin was sitting on the dragon throne with a worried look on his face.

The incident of the Crown Prince's rebellion had just happened not long ago, and he was still feeling upset. At this moment, he received a report from the local area saying that there was a sudden heavy rain in Jinyang area, causing a flood.

Emperor Yongjin frowned even more tightly as he read the report. He was very upset and had no intention of caring about the flood at all.

Just as he was thinking with a bored look on his face about who to send to fight the flood and provide disaster relief.

However, his eyes inadvertently saw a report from Jinyang.

The person who presented this memorial was none other than the fourth prince Chu Shizhao, who was ordered to guard Jinyang.

Reporting in progress.

Chu Shizhao first earnestly requested Emperor Yongjin to allow him to lead people to the flood-stricken areas to control the flood.

Emperor Yongjin was feeling upset, but when he saw Chu Shizhao's report, he couldn't help but feel doubtful about his fourth son.

This guy just sent people to help me quell the rebellion not long ago.

Now, he has volunteered to go to fight the flood and provide disaster relief.

Could it be that this guy is the same as the good-for-nothing prince?
Are you all thinking about the chair under your butt?

Although he had some doubts in his heart, when he saw the mountain of memorials in front of him and recalled the recommendations of the fourth prince by everyone in the court, Emperor Yongjin immediately came up with a plan.

Since others are saying how capable you are.

I want to see if you are really like what everyone says you are!

Thinking of this, Emperor Yongjin immediately picked up the cinnabar pen in front of him and wrote the word "approved" in the report presented by Chu Shizhao.

……

A few days later, Chu Shizhao received an imperial edict from the capital.

It was just that he seemed to have anticipated all this.

After receiving the imperial edict, the next day he led his men to rush to several of the worst-hit areas.

Along the way, they witnessed the tragic scene after the flood.

Villages were flooded and farmland destroyed.

The people were displaced and cries were heard everywhere.

After arriving at the disaster area, Chu Shizhao was deeply shocked by the scene before him.

The once prosperous town is now a vast expanse of water, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. The victims are in tattered clothes, and corpses are scattered everywhere.

Originally, Chu Shizhao thought it was just a small flood.

At first, he didn't care much.

But now it seems that this is not the case.

The severity of the disaster in these places was far beyond his imagination.

The food and supplies that he had prepared earlier were far from enough.

However, time is running out. If he does not take action immediately, God knows how many people will lose their lives in the next second because of his hesitation.

Thinking of this, he didn't have time to think about it anymore and immediately gave orders to several trusted men behind him.

"Listen carefully, everyone. I will divide you into two teams now."

"One team will go to the local prefectures and counties to gather food and supplies to ensure that the victims have food to eat and a place to live."

"Another team will follow me to check the flood situation and prepare to rebuild our homes!"

After hearing what Chu Shizhao said, several of his trusted aides who were assigned to gather food and supplies looked embarrassed.

"Your Highness, the disaster is so severe that even if we mobilize all the food and supplies from the surrounding areas, it may not be enough!"

"Or, we should report it to the court..."

However, before he could finish his words, Chu Shizhao interrupted him harshly.

"Wait for the imperial court to distribute the food and supplies. I don't know how many victims here have starved to death!"

"Listen to me. If the food and supplies in the prefectures and counties are insufficient, we will gather them from the capital. If that is still not enough, we will look for the surrounding garrisons!"

"Anyway, I only ask for one thing, that the victims must have food to eat and a place to live!"

"understand?"

"understand!"

Seeing that his highness had said so, everyone immediately took the order and left.

……

After arranging the resettlement of these disaster victims, Chu Shizhao immediately led his men to find a high ground and carefully observed the direction of the flood.

Looking at the raging flood, his brows furrowed.

For such a large flood, manpower alone is far from enough, so he must find a quick and effective way to control it as soon as possible.

[Chu Shizhao led a group of people and craftsmen to stand by the flooded river to observe the direction of the flood. ]

[Chu Shizhao frowned, looking at the flood in front of him, thinking about countermeasures.]

[An old craftsman stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Highness, in my opinion, we must first build a dam to block the flood's path."]

Chu Shizhao nodded slightly, but with a worried look on his face: "But this flood is so fierce that ordinary dams may not be able to withstand it."

The old craftsman scratched his head and thought for a while: "Why don't we use boulders and wooden piles to reinforce the dam, and then plant some trees with well-developed root systems on the dam to enhance its stability."

[After hearing this, Chu Shizhao felt that it made some sense, so he ordered everyone to start taking action.]

[However, when the dam was halfway built, the flood suddenly increased, and the surging waves directly washed away the unfinished dam, and the people's efforts were instantly wasted. ]

Although this deduction method seems feasible, Chu Shizhao always feels that it is not reliable enough in the face of such a fierce flood.

Chu Shizhao was not discouraged and started the deduction again.

[Chu Shizhao stood by the river, looking at the flood and thinking about countermeasures.]

[At this time, a young counselor came over, saluted Chu Shizhao and said: "Your Highness, I think that water control cannot be blindly blocked, but also needs to be dredged. We can dig a river channel in the lower-lying areas to divert the flood water into other rivers, thereby reducing the pressure here."]

[Chu Shizhao's eyes lit up, he thought this was a good idea and immediately decided to give it a try.]

[Everyone started to work together to dig the river. After several days of hard work, the river was finally dug.]

[When the flood came, part of it flowed away along the newly dug river channel, and the disaster was alleviated to a certain extent.]

[However, because the excavated river channel was not wide enough, the flood flow rate was still very fast, causing erosion of some surrounding farmland, resulting in the destruction of some farmland.]

It was obvious that Chu Shizhao was not satisfied with this result.

After some adjustments and summarization, he decided to combine the methods of the previous two floods.

[Chu Shizhao first arranged for people to build several small dams upstream of the flood to slow down the flow of the flood.]

[At the same time, we will continue to dig a wide river channel downstream to ensure that the flood can be drained out smoothly.]

[In the process of building dams and digging rivers, Chu Shizhao also organized the people to make a large number of sandbags to reinforce the dams. ]

[In addition, he also arranged for people to plant trees on the surrounding mountains to prevent soil erosion and reduce the harm of floods from the root.]

【After some efforts, the flood was finally brought under effective control. 】

【As the flood level gradually decreases, people's lives are gradually returning to normal. 】

(End of this chapter)