Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 216: Lobbying the leaders of grassland tribes, border trade is in turmoil again

With the end of the fourth deduction.

Although Chu Shizhao successfully overthrew Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu this time, he triggered a joint boycott from other princes, which was extremely detrimental to his future development in the court.

This time, although he achieved his goal, he did not consider the chain reaction that might be triggered after overthrowing Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu, as well as the change in the attitude of the ministers in the court. The solution is to make arrangements in advance while overthrowing Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu, and ease the relationship with other ministers in the court to avoid causing their excessive vigilance.

Chu Shizhao concentrated his energy again and started the fifth deduction.

[Before Chu Shizhao was about to report to Emperor Yongjin, he continued to collect evidence of Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu's crimes, and on the other hand, he began to actively communicate with other princes.]

[He used various means to show the other princes that he had no intention of competing for the throne, but only hoped to contribute to the stability and development of the Great Zhou. At the same time, he also revealed some of Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu's evil deeds to the other princes in a timely manner, but without appearing to be too deliberate.]

[After preparing everything, Chu Shizhao sent a detailed memorial and solid evidence to the capital. When Emperor Yongjin saw it, he was furious and immediately ordered the imperial envoy to conduct a thorough investigation.]

[The imperial envoy came to the border, and Chu Shizhao presented all the evidence. Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu could not deny it in the face of the ironclad evidence. In the court, when Chu Shizhao stated the crimes of Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu, he cleverly focused on their destruction of the stability of the Great Zhou, rather than targeting personal grudges.]

[After learning about the situation, the other princes did not feel too much resentment towards Chu Shizhao, because they also realized the harm that Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu's behavior had done to the court.]

[Emperor Yongjin eventually ordered severe punishment for Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu, stripping them of their status as princes and demoting them to commoners. Chu Shizhao successfully resolved the crisis, but in the process, he also spent a lot of energy and resources, and in the fight with Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu, he also suffered some damage. ]

The five simulations were about to end.

But the final result still failed to satisfy Chu Shizhao.

After some thought, Chu Shizhao felt that perhaps now was not the time to report this matter to Emperor Yongjin.

Although after several previous deductions, Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu were finally defeated, the final result was that the enemy was injured by a thousand and their own by eight hundred.

Even though he overthrew these two guys, he ultimately failed to successfully ascend to the throne of crown prince, and even caused dissatisfaction among the ministers in the court and Emperor Yongjin.

Helplessly, he could only decide to put the matter aside for the time being and make a decision when the time was right.

At the same time, in order to prevent the situation from developing out of his control, Chu Shizhao began to secretly make arrangements to deal with the next move that Chu Shiren might make.

After making up his mind, Chu Shizhao immediately called over his confidants and several trustworthy border guards such as Zhang Gan whom he brought from the capital.

"Although Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu haven't realized that we have discovered their crimes yet, the truth will come out sooner or later. Once they find out, they will definitely not let it go. Therefore, we must prepare in advance."

Chu Shizhao looked at the people in the tent with a serious expression.

Advisor Li Feng nodded and said, "Your Highness is absolutely right."

"The Second and Third Princes have great influence in the capital. They are likely to continue to make small moves behind the scenes and sabotage our plans."

"That's right. So, I plan to strengthen the security of this border trade house next."

"Not only should we increase the number of soldiers patrolling, but we should also set up more sentries and traps around the area."

"General Wang, I'll leave this matter to you. Make sure it goes without any mistakes."

Chu Shizhao looked at the general named Wang Xu not far away.

Wang Xu immediately clasped his fists and accepted the order.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I will make sure everything is arranged."

"In addition, we need to strengthen intelligence gathering."

"Li Feng, I'll leave this matter to you. When you return, contact the capital immediately and ask Hengyi to arrange reliable personnel to secretly monitor the actions of Chu Shiren, Chu Shiyu and their followers. If there is any movement, report to me immediately."

"Yes, Your Highness. I will assign more personnel to ensure that the intelligence is timely and accurate."

"By the way, we must not slack off on our cooperation with the grassland tribes."

Chu Shizhao turned around and looked at Zhang Gan.

"We need to let General Dawa and other leaders know that we in the Great Zhou are sincere in cooperating with them, and this robbery is just a conspiracy of a few villains."

"General Zhang, please prepare some gifts later and visit General Dawa and other leaders on my behalf to express our sincerity to them and inform them that we are taking measures to ensure the safety of the trading company."

Zhang Gan nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll make the arrangements right away."

Chu Shizhao continued, “We also need to make arrangements in advance in the court.”

“Keep close contact with those upright and influential ministers and win their support.”

"After that, I will find an opportunity to return to the capital and communicate with the ministers in person to show them our achievements at the border and the importance of the trade house to the development of the Great Zhou."

"..."

After saying goodbye to Chu Shizhao.

Zhang Gan immediately carefully selected a batch of high-quality silk, porcelain and other rare items unique to the Great Zhou Dynasty, and headed to the tribes of grassland leaders such as Dawa.

After some consideration, Zhang Gan first came to the tribe where Keqin Dawa lived.

"Chief Xiandawa, I came here this time because my fourth prince specially asked me to bring you some small gifts as a token of my appreciation."

Zhang Gan spoke with a smile on his face.

Dawa looked at the pile of gifts in front of him and frowned slightly with a puzzled look.

"General Zhang, what does your Highness mean by this?"

Zhang Gan said quickly: "Chief, the Fourth Prince has always respected the heroes of the grassland tribes."

"Your Highness the Fourth Prince feels deeply guilty for the problems that occurred at the trade bank this time. We hope these gifts can express our apologies. We also hope to continue to receive the support of the leaders for the trade bank."

However, after learning the purpose of Zhang Gan's visit, Dawa's face suddenly darkened.

"General Zhang, go back and tell your Highness that although I, Dawa, value profit, I am not a villain who would disregard the interests of my people for my own selfish gain. What I want is the safety of the trading company."

Zhang Gan quickly responded, "Don't worry, sir. My Highness has almost finished investigating the previous incident. When the time is right, I will give you a satisfactory explanation."

"And His Highness the Fourth Prince promised to strengthen the security of the trading house in the future to ensure that similar incidents will not happen again."

Dawa thought for a moment and said, "Well, I still trust the character of His Highness the Fourth Prince. I hope he can keep his word this time."

Seeing a turn for the better, Zhang Gan quickly said, "Please rest assured, leaders. The Fourth Prince always keeps his word."

"This peace talk and trade will benefit both sides. Your Highness hopes to work together with the leaders to achieve mutual benefits for the grassland and the Great Zhou."

After some conversation, Dawa's attitude gradually softened, and he finally expressed his willingness to give Chu Shizhao another chance and continue to support the development of the trading company.

However, during the negotiation process, Zhang Gan also learned from conversations with members of the Dawa tribe that there seemed to be some different opinions within the grassland tribe regarding the trading company recently because of previous events.

"General Zhang, it's not that we are deliberately making things difficult for you. It's just that recently some young people in the tribe feel that although trade with the Great Zhou can bring wealth, it also impacts some traditional things."

Chu Shizhao had already made arrangements for this phenomenon before he arrived.

Hearing this, Zhang Gan immediately explained according to Chu Shizhao's instructions: "Brother, I have to admit that the development of the trade will indeed bring some changes, but it will also allow us to learn from each other and become stronger." "As the saying goes, the brave will die of overeating, and the timid will die of starvation!"

"If we keep on sticking to the rules of our ancestors, how can we make progress?"

"My prince said that if you want to become powerful, you must dare to try and be the first to try something new!"

After listening to Zhang Gan's words, the tribesman felt that what he said made sense, but at the same time he also had his own concerns.

"General Zhang, although that's what I said, some elders in the tribe are still worried. They are afraid that under the influence of this trading company, the culture of our grassland tribe will gradually be assimilated by the Great Zhou."

Upon learning of the other party's concerns, Zhang Gan couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.

His Highness is truly a prophet. He even thought of this.

Thinking about this, Zhang Gan immediately explained: "Everyone, as we all know, this culture is a process of continuous improvement through communication, constantly taking the essence and removing the dross."

"You know, with our mutual exchanges, it seems that your grassland tribe is imitating and learning our culture, but at the same time, we have also learned a lot from the grassland tribe, such as the art of riding and archery, and your Cao grassland tribe's unique food culture."

"Before I came here, His Highness kept emphasizing to me that we must respect the cultural traditions of your tribes and that we must not force you to change anything just because I represent the Great Zhou."

……

Just as Chu Shizhao and his team were trying their best to mediate the relations between the border grassland tribes of the Great Zhou.

At the same time in Beijing.

Ever since Hengyi received the pigeon letter from Chu Shizhao, she immediately sent her trusted men to find out the news.

Soon he began to hang out in large and small pubs, teahouses, casinos and other places where people gathered in the capital.

Don't miss any place where you can obtain intelligence.

In an inconspicuous tavern, the spies heard a few diners whispering.

"Did you hear that?"

"The Second and Third Princes have been secretly recruiting people recently, and it seems like they are planning something big."

At Chu Shiren's house, a middle-aged man who looked like a servant was whispering mysteriously.

"What else could it be? It's probably related to the Border Trade Company. I heard that..."

Having said this, the man lowered his voice again.

Although they didn't know the other party's specific actions, just a few words from the two of them immediately attracted the attention of the spies lurking nearby.

Feeling that there must be some important secret, the spy immediately reported the information he had obtained to Hengyi.

After further inquiries and tracking, Hengyi discovered that Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu were indeed secretly mobilizing manpower.

They not only recruited some underworld thugs, but also won over some young generals in the army.

At the same time, the spies also discovered that Chu Shiren and Chu Shiyu had bribed several important officials and were preparing to launch an attack in the court.

These officials usually had some prestige in the court. After receiving the bribes, they began to collude privately, preparing to write a joint letter at the right time to impeach Chu Shizhao for his actions at the border.

After Hengyi learned the news, he immediately sent someone to the border at full speed to inform Chu Shizhao.

When Wang Xu was strengthening border defense, he accidentally discovered that there were suspicious people secretly surveying the terrain.

Wang Xu led a team of soldiers to patrol carefully along the border.

The terrain here is complex and the mountains are undulating, making it an important line of defense for the border.

"Everyone, be careful. The situation has been unstable recently. We cannot miss any suspicious signs."

Wang Xu instructed the soldiers as he walked.

Suddenly, a soldier whispered, "General, look over there!"

Wang Xu looked in the direction the soldier pointed, and sure enough, he saw several figures moving stealthily in the distant woods.

"Let's go over and have a look."

Wang Xu gave an order in a low voice.

The soldiers approached cautiously, and when they were about to get close to those people, they seemed to notice the movement and wanted to escape.

"Don't let them get away!"

Wang Xu shouted, and the soldiers quickly chased after him.

After a chase, the suspicious persons were finally caught.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Wang Xu asked sternly.

One of them lowered his head and dared not speak.

Another person stammered, "We...we were just passing by to take in the scenery."

Wang Xu sneered: "Are you here to see the scenery in this border area? Tell me, what is your purpose?"

After interrogation, these people finally confessed that they were instructed by Chu Shiren to survey the terrain.

"The Second Prince asked us to take a look at the border terrain, saying it would be useful."

One person said helplessly.

Wang Xu was shocked and immediately realized the seriousness of the matter.

He took these people back to the tent and sent someone to inform Chu Shizhao of the matter.

Chu Shizhao received a letter from the capital that Emperor Yongjin was feeling a little unwell and the fight for the crown prince position became increasingly fierce.

Chu Shizhao sat in the tent and opened the letter sent by Hengyi.

Looking at the contents of the letter, his expression gradually became solemn.

"Emperor Yongjin is unwell. I'm afraid this news will make the situation in the court even more chaotic."

Chu Shizhao muttered to himself.

The letter detailed the illness of Emperor Yongjin and the latest developments in the fight for the position of Crown Prince.

The ministers in the court were divided into several factions. Some supported the eldest prince, some supported the second prince Chu Shiren, and some were optimistic about the third prince Chu Shiyu.

Various forces are fighting openly and secretly, and the situation is as complicated as a tangled mess.

(End of this chapter)