Quick Wear: Random Cheats

Chapter 58 The Princess Takes the Blame and is Granted Death (58)

Northern border of Hebei, Liaocheng, and Prince Ji's Palace.

Prince Ji Zhu Anu, who had received both the message from his confidants in the capital and the official imperial edict, was now summoning all his trusted aides to discuss the matter.

"Your Majesty, I think there is absolutely no need to worry.

At most, we can just wait for two days. If there are any changes in the capital, your trusted confidant there will definitely hurry up and send another letter."

Yao Hong, one of the staff members, said it directly.

Anyway, the imperial edict did not require that we must reach the capital within a few days. A delay of two or three days, saying that we encountered heavy rain on the way or some natural disaster, is completely normal and reasonable.

The world is so big, there must be some storms.

"I understand, Your Highness. What you're worried about is that some things in the capital may have already been settled. The new crown prince has already been chosen from among the princes or grandsons of the emperor who have not yet been enfeoffed in the capital, and the imperial edict was also drafted by the new crown prince.

The purpose was to trick local princes into coming to Beijing.

Then, wipe them out in one fell swoop and directly reduce the power of the feudal lords?"

Another aide, Xun Huai, instantly understood what their prince was really worried about and immediately said it out.

Prince Ji has been running this business for ten years after all.

There are some things that you shouldn't be too shy to say.

"I have often wondered if I've been too cautious, but the discrepancies between these two pieces of information are so great that I can't help but think about it. One piece of information says that my eldest brother was assassinated, and my father vomited blood and suffered a stroke, even vaguely on his deathbed, so I should prepare early.

There was another imperial edict, which also mentioned that the eldest brother was assassinated, but did not mention at all that the father had vomited blood and had a stroke. It only summoned all the princes to come to the capital immediately.

He also told us to prepare well.

The new crown prince will be chosen from among us."

Prince Ji Zhu An said with considerable hesitation, "Based on these two pieces of information, my eldest brother's assassination is undoubtedly true. However, the following content is questionable. Logically, I should absolutely trust the information relayed by my confidants. Furthermore, my father vomited blood a few years ago, and there were some signs of a stroke."

So this time I received the news that my eldest brother was assassinated.

It is possible to have a stroke if stimulated.”

"But then, the imperial edict that followed is very suspicious. Although the edict did not explicitly state what happened to our father, the meaning revealed in the words undoubtedly indicated that our father was in good health and was even planning to personally examine us and choose one of us princes to be the new crown prince.

This is not normal.

It doesn't seem like a decision my father would make.

If we were to choose one of us princes as the crown prince based on our performance, it would undoubtedly be a matter of selecting the most virtuous and capable. However, my father's principle has always been to follow the system of primogeniture. Those of us who are younger have no chance of being chosen, and my second brother has no problems. According to my father's original character, he should either directly designate my second brother to return to the capital and make him the new crown prince, or directly designate my eldest brother's eldest son as the crown prince.

There's no reason to summon all the princes to the capital!"

"Your Highness, please forgive my disrespect. If a father is seriously ill and the doctors are unable to treat him, and his children and grandchildren are away, he will definitely notify them in advance and ask them to return home as soon as possible. Some people will tell him directly, while others may not."

Another aide said something both obscure and straightforward.

What it means is simply that there is another possibility, that is, the current emperor is indeed seriously ill and dying, and asking them to return to the capital to compete for the position of crown prince may be fake, and the real reason is to attend the funeral.

Maybe this edict was issued by the new crown prince.

He wanted to take this opportunity to weaken the power of the feudal lords in front of the spirit.

Upon hearing this, Prince Ji's face turned dark, and the others present also felt that this guess might be closest to the truth.

You can't blame them for having some conspiracy theories.

The point is that they do often encounter conspiracies.

Moreover, they did not think that Emperor Tianwu would resort to sting operations, as that was not his character. Unfortunately, although they were very accurate in judging and understanding people's hearts, they encountered an unimaginable variable like Ding Shui.

If you think in the wrong way, it can only be said that it is not a crime of war.

Because most people, most importantly King Ji, felt that this was the most likely possibility, so they naturally took this as the basic criterion and began to discuss how to deal with it.

In the end, he decided to enter the capital slowly, sending people to inquire as he went. He had to find out the real situation in the capital first.

If you find any danger, retreat in time.

Meanwhile, the princes of other regions also held small meetings to discuss the matter, some urgently and some slowly. However, some did not think too much about it and simply packed up and returned to the capital after receiving the imperial edict.

Some people think too much.

I was wondering whether it would be safer to lead the troops back to Beijing.

But no matter what, there was no news of their father, Emperor Tianwu's death, and this edict was issued to them in the name of their father and the court. Whether out of loyalty to the court or filial piety to their father, they could not directly refuse or disobey, even though they had many concerns in their hearts.

The princes finally set off.

It’s just that some set off earlier, some set off later, some brought more people with them, some traveled simply, and some returned alone with their personal guards.

Some took their wives and children back with them.

Two days later, the confidants of the princes still in the capital, and even their fathers-in-law and mothers-in-law, all dispatched personnel to bring the latest intelligence to the princes who were either worried or wary. This finally dispelled the concerns of some of the overthinking princes, causing them to change their previous hesitancy and fear of returning to the capital and instead rush back as fast as they could.

Previously, they were worried that there was a problem with the imperial edict, that the position of crown prince had actually been decided, and that it would be dangerous for them to return to the capital this time, so they kept dragging it out.

I didn't dare rush back to the capital as quickly as possible.

But more and more new news came, all of which showed that they were really thinking too much. Emperor Tianwu was indeed fine and he really wanted to summon them back to the capital to discuss the new crown prince.

In this case, the kings naturally did not dare to delay any longer.

Some even simply left their carriages and rode back at full speed with a few personal guards, thinking that returning early would show that they had no doubts about the court's will.

Improve your father's favorability.

So within less than half a month, all the princes outside rushed back. When they arrived, Ding Shui immediately called them to the Purple Palace and said straight to the point:

"A country cannot be without a ruler for a single day, nor can it be without a crown prince for a long period of time. Otherwise, the country will be unstable. I have decided to select a new crown prince from among you. I believe you should all be aware of this, so I will not say more. Now I will tell you the method I used to select the crown prince this time.

Your eldest brother still died in unclear circumstances.

So, who should give priority to investigating the murderer and the forces behind the assassination of your eldest brother and eliminate them?

Who is the new crown prince?

Those who are willing to fight for the crown prince position, please stand up. Those who are not willing, please wait in the capital. Or you can help one of your brothers fight for the crown prince position. Make your choice now."

In fact, Ding Shui, the murderer behind the prince's death, had been investigated long ago, but he had never been caught.

This is a good time to use it as a test.

Only those who dare to take action against those people, or even wipe them out, are qualified to be the new crown prince.

Otherwise there will be multiple mascot puppet emperors.

That could be a good thing for officials.

For the people, it was a disaster.

"Father, after the death of our eldest brother, our second brother is the eldest son and should succeed us to the throne. As for investigating the murderer of our eldest brother, we brothers are all duty-bound to do so!"

The King of Chu was the first to step forward and salute.

It's not that he really didn't have the idea of ​​seizing the throne, but he mainly wanted to test whether what his father said was sincere.

Everyone in the royal family has a few tricks up their sleeves.

What a naive person, he was eaten up long ago.

"Don't praise your second brother here. Since the eldest brother is still alive, he should naturally be succeeded according to the system of primogeniture. At the same time, I have trained him for more than ten years. He has enough qualifications and abilities to be the emperor.

But you, I never intended to train you to be emperors, but now the boss has had an accident, and I don’t have more than ten years to train you slowly.

This can only be used to test your abilities.

You must sincerely support your second brother to become the crown prince.

Then you don’t participate in the competition, just help him.”

Ding Shui obviously didn't like people who were too cunning, but he didn't say anything definitive. After all, being cunning was the only way to avoid being deceived and schemed by officials. It all depended on how it was used.

"Alright, this won't happen again. Also, remember, you can compete, but don't engage in infighting."

"Don't try any dirty tricks on me."

"I will always supervise you!"

Although the third prince, King Chu, felt a little embarrassed by Ding Shui's words, he was unwilling to give up the fight for the throne. So after hesitating for a while, he stood up despite the sarcastic gaze of King Wei. Seeing this, other people who had competitive ideas also came out one after another, and finally six princes stood up.

"Okay, then it's the six of you.

Those who are willing to stay in the palace and watch the fun can stay in the palace and watch the fun, and those who are willing to help can help. In the interest of fairness, I will not assign any more people to you.

It's up to you.

Also, please note that I require detailed evidence, legal and compliant, and no torture or forced confession. Case-handling ability is one thing, but the process is more important. After all, what I want to choose is not the position of Dali Temple Secretary, but the position of Crown Prince.

He is the future emperor.

Okay, I'm tired, let's go back!"

At the very end, Ding Shui gave them a special reminder before letting them leave, but he didn't know whether they could understand it or not.

That depends on their respective understanding.

Immediately afterwards, the dozen or so princes present took their leave and left. As they returned to the palace in the capital, they each got busy. Ding Shui's method of selecting a new prince gradually spread in the capital, and then the civil servants could no longer sit still.

I think choosing a prince in this way is too frivolous.

They submitted memorials in opposition.

Criticisms abounded, including allegations of being unethical, disrespectful of Zhou rituals, and leading the way in undermining the patriarchal system of primogeniture, which would likely set a bad example for future generations and sow the seeds of disaster. However, Ding Shui ignored their nonsense. It didn't matter; a decision had already been made, so why would it sway him?

As for their original plan to discredit the King of Wei, it naturally came to nothing.

After all, the purpose of discrediting the King of Wei is to hope that His Majesty will not choose the most virtuous and capable when appointing a crown prince. And while denying the bad character of the current eldest son, the King of Wei, they push the eldest son of the previous crown prince to the front, thus maintaining the patriarchal system and protecting their own interests.

But now Emperor Tianwu has made it clear that he wants to choose a new crown prince by selecting the virtuous and capable.

There is no point in smearing the King of Wei any further.

So the relevant plans naturally died directly.

However, they were clearly unwilling to admit defeat, so many civil officials quickly came up with a new and sinister plan in private. This was to try to sow discord among the six princes competing for the crown prince position, ideally causing them to kill each other and resulting in the death of one or two princes.

In this way, they had conclusive and bloody evidence to prove that the memorial they had submitted earlier was correct.

It is indeed inappropriate to select the most virtuous and capable people.

It will lead to conflicts between brothers and cause far-reaching harm.

Ding Shui knew their plan very well, but did not stop it, because after all, Ding Shui was not the real Emperor Tianwu. Emperor Tianwu might really not want to see his sons fighting each other, or even killing each other.

But Dingshui doesn't care about it.

After all, a kind person cannot be a good emperor.

Ordinary people will not be able to live a good life just because the emperor is kind, because the emperor's kindness cannot radiate to ordinary people. Only those who are close to the emperor can feel and enjoy the benefits of the emperor's kindness.

Ordinary people far away from the emperor.

That depends on the kindness of officials and gentry.

Otherwise, we have to hope that the emperor will use strong means and determination to deal with the gentry and wealthy families, seize the benefits from them and distribute them to them, so that we can live a better life.

If the emperor is kind, he is called the Holy Son of Heaven who rules the country with ease, and it is hard to say how the people live.

Anyway, the officials and gentry must have lived a comfortable life.

With Ding Shui turning a blind eye and allowing everything to go wrong, many civil officials began to secretly contact the six princes who were involved in the fight for the throne. Some of them sincerely wanted to help and gain the credit for following the emperor, while others simply wanted to join in and stir up trouble.

The military generals and nobles were also busy. They mainly helped their relatives and not the princes who were related by marriage.

Anyway, more than 80% of the people in the entire core.

Basically everyone is involved.

Thus, the competition for the new crown prince, with six local princes as the core, officially kicked off on the eighteenth day after the death of the former crown prince Zhu Quan.

Ding Shui took advantage of the time when everyone's attention was focused on this matter and the six princes.

Seize the time to sort out and adjust garbage policies.

For example, permanent household registration.

A military household is always a military household, a son is a military household, and so is a grandson. A craftsman is always a craftsman, and a doctor is always a doctor. Changing is incredibly difficult. The only relatively free option is civilian household registration, as civilians can become officials through the imperial examinations or switch to other household registrations.

But it’s not so easy to turn back.

No matter whether he has talent or not, since his father is in this line of work, his son has to continue doing it, and it is extremely difficult to change careers.

Emperors with a bit of foresight generally worked hard to break down class stratification. Emperor Tianwu, on the other hand, felt the rate of class stratification wasn't fast enough, so he artificially accelerated the process. It was his killing of officials quickly and in large numbers that weakened this point.

The reason why class stratification in this dynasty is not so rapid.

It’s all because he kills a lot and kills quickly!

It can barely make up for the shortcomings in the policy.

For example, the national finances are used to support the royal family. No matter how many generations have passed down, as long as they are still considered royal family by blood, they can at least have a title and a salary.

This is a big move that will definitely drag down the country's finances in the middle and late stages.

There are too many problematic policies.

Dante Shui didn't achieve his goal overnight. Based on practical considerations, he simply made some changes that suited the current era. For example, he abolished the slave class, allowing commoners to freely change careers. The royal family's inheritance of nobility could only be passed down through five generations, after which all members would become commoners and must pass an assessment before they could successfully inherit the title.

For example, the gentry paid taxes and served as officials together.

The tax is distributed among the land, and the fire consumption is levied on the public...

In the feudal agricultural era, many of Yongzheng's decisions were considered quite good, even top-notch.

It is normal for Ding Shui to learn from it.

Of course, in order not to affect the progress of the competition for the crown prince, Ding Shui only wrote down these plans, and the specific implementation would have to wait until the crown prince was selected.

When the time comes, I will let the prince carry out the task or I will do it myself.

I haven’t thought about it yet.

……

At the same time, the conspiracy of those civil servants did succeed. Although several princes were harmonious on the surface, they were fighting fiercely in private. Fortunately, they also knew that if they killed one of them at this time, there would be absolutely no benefit. It would probably only be a conflict between the two, and the fisherman would benefit.

Let the other princes who did not take action and did not die benefit.

So no matter how much you fight privately, there is always a bottom line.

I dare not really harm a brother's life.

Therefore, half a month later, the civil servants who participated in the planning became restless and considered whether to go a step further. Since the princes were too timid to kill them personally, they would do the killing on their behalf.

They should be too skilled in framing others.

In addition, some local forces and members of the White Lotus Sect who planned and participated in the assassination of the prince could no longer sit still.

Because they are about to be completely exposed.

When the former crown prince toured the country, he also captured and punished many local tyrants and officials, and his methods were much more merciful than his father's. Emperor Tianwu directly eliminated them completely, while he confiscated their property and exiled them, or simply confiscated their property and removed their positions. As the saying goes, cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. If he had just eliminated them completely like his father, Emperor Tianwu, it would have been fine.

If everyone dies, naturally no one will seek revenge.

But he did not completely eradicate the problem. Some people might reluctantly accept their fate or even feel lucky, while some people would only harbor hatred and want to take revenge by destroying themselves and the enemy together.

Some, lacking in their own capabilities, secretly contacted rebel forces or groups like the White Lotus, which specialized in rebellion for a thousand years. Some even went so far as to secretly dig up their own ancestral graves in the middle of the night to collect money for revenge. Furthermore, many officials, fearing that the Crown Prince's continued investigation would implicate them, desperately wanted the Crown Prince to return home quickly, deliberately indulging him in the attempt, hoping that the assassinated Crown Prince would return quickly.

Initially they didn't intend to make it such a big deal.

I just want the prince to go back injured.

However, some problems occurred during the process. Someone poisoned the prince and he panicked and fell into the river. Coincidentally, he later developed a lung infection, which took the prince away in one go.

If we really want to find out who the culprit is, we can see that Emperor Tianwu also played a role. That's right, Emperor Tianwu knew about all this and deliberately let it go. He felt that the crown prince was too soft-hearted and needed to be taught a lesson so that he would understand the importance of rooting out the problem.

He thought that nothing would go wrong as long as he was in control of the situation.

But later, accidents happened one after another. The prince fell into the water and was poisoned and sent away directly. This was the fundamental reason why Emperor Tianwu vomited blood and had a stroke after receiving the news. It was because he thought he could control the overall situation.

His eldest son, whom he had painstakingly raised for more than ten years, died.

With a mixture of remorse, grief, and rising anger, it would be strange if he didn't have a stroke.

Of course, these are digressions.

Ding Shui only discovered these hidden secrets after reviewing Emperor Tianwu's memories. The main reason for the restlessness of some local forces and members of the White Lotus Sect who plotted and participated in the Crown Prince's assassination was the relentless pursuit of the six princes. Even after discovering the perpetrators, they persisted, digging deeper. If they continued this pace, they could potentially uproot half of the Southwestern officialdom.

In addition, the White Lotus Sect also suffered heavy losses as a result.

Dozens of dens were destroyed, many hidden spies in the officialdom were eliminated, and even some of the underground banks and brothels used by them to make money were found and destroyed. It can be said that in order to more perfectly complete the task assigned by Ding Shui and successfully become the new crown prince, the princes really worked very hard.

Their in-laws and nobles.

I also put a lot of effort into this.

The southwestern officialdom, where everyone is in danger, and the White Lotus Sect, which has suffered heavy losses, have been extremely anxious for a long time. They have begun to discuss whether they should quickly create a peasant uprising to temporarily divert attention and, if possible, completely erase the remaining clues.

Otherwise I really can't bear it.

If you don't resist now, you might not be able to resist anymore.

Faced with these circumstances, Ding Shui hesitated to take action. She was genuinely worried that the six princes would be unable to control such a dangerous situation. She didn't want to repeat the mistakes of Emperor Tianwu, who had played with fire and assumed he had control of the situation.

So next, Ding Shui began to make full efforts to plan.

All the Embroidered Uniform Guards and Secret Guards were dispatched to the southwest and important outposts of the White Lotus Sect to keep watch. If the situation got out of control, they would carry out decapitation operations, and then quickly mobilize local officers and soldiers to suppress the situation and minimize the impact.

Towards the end of the year, around the New Year.

Southwestern officials officially joined forces with the White Lotus Sect. Some civil servants were aware of this and took this opportunity to start taking action against the two princes who they thought were relatively weak.

Complete the plan to shift the blame.

Ding Shui stared at it nervously.

On the third day of the first lunar month, the King of Chu hosted a banquet and invited some important officials from the southwest, hoping to hold a Hongmen Banquet to catch them all in one fell swoop. However, his plan was discovered. The moment he smashed the cup, thousands of White Lotus Sect members rushed out to kill him.

Ding Shui sent people to rescue him.

It also means that he failed in his bid for the throne.

Of course, it's only temporary. If the other five princes are like him, there is still a possibility of competition.

Afterwards, Ding Shui rescued two princes who were nearly assassinated by civil officials, as well as a noble prince who, in alliance with his father-in-law, secretly mobilized 3,000 troops to confront the White Lotus sect head-on. Only Prince Ji and Prince Qian fared well. The former secured most of the officials by contacting minor officials in the southwest and promising them benefits, while the latter eliminated half of the White Lotus's top brass through poisoning and other means.

In addition, Ding Shui sent out the Embroidered Uniform Guard in time.

Finally stabilized the situation.

All those who should be arrested have been brought to justice.

(End of this chapter)