The struggle for the throne among nine princes—I really don't want to be the crown prince.

Chapter 88 You guys are ruthless!
As a prince observing state affairs at the Ministry of Revenue, the fourth prince, Yunzhen, felt a chill in his heart at this moment.

He did a lot of research on the Yellow River breach and knew the true strength and weaknesses of the Ministry of Revenue, so he came up with many countermeasures.

It was all for the sake of showing off in front of Emperor Qianxi.

However, to his dismay, Emperor Qianxi did not ask for his opinion at all, but instead looked at the Crown Prince.

It's normal for the crown prince to receive attention; after all, the emperor not only has to cultivate the crown prince, but also test him.

Especially during turbulent times, the emperor preferred to test the crown prince's adaptability.

However, this time, judging from Emperor Qianxi's tone, it seemed to be more than just a test; it seemed to be asking the Crown Prince to come up with a solution.

At this time, Emperor Qianxi seemed to have no better solutions.

Faced with the gazes of Emperor Qianxi and the others, Shen Ye felt a sense of helplessness.

He knew that Emperor Qianxi meant that he hoped he could turn lead into gold and resolve the current crisis in one fell swoop.

However, he really didn't have the ability to turn stone into gold.

However, he believed he had the ability to solve the current problem.

"Father, I request a private audience!" Shen Ye said calmly after a moment's thought.

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's request for a private audience, Suo'etu, Mingzhu, and the others, who had been bowing their heads, began to show strange expressions.

In their view, what they were discussing were matters of great national importance.

It can be said that there is nothing that cannot be told to others!

With no money available for disaster relief, the Crown Prince is actually going to have a private audience with the Emperor. What is he planning to do?
Could it be that they are planning to make a drastic move in some area in order to obtain the funds for this disaster relief effort?

If that's the case, then we need to be careful.

When Emperor Qianxi asked Shen Ye, he was filled with hope.

After all, this son had twice intervened and both times managed to turn danger into safety.

Not only did they get things done, but they also didn't spend any money, and all their ideas were perfect solutions.

Now, it was time for him to turn lead into gold again, but unexpectedly, he wanted to perform alone.

As an emperor, Emperor Qianxi understood one thing very well: the methods of raising and slaughtering pigs.

For example, the person in the parallel universe, Lord He, was actually a fat pig raised by Emperor Qianlong.

After Emperor Qianlong passed away, Emperor Jiaqing, who succeeded him, enjoyed a prosperous New Year.

At this time, it is not impossible to carry out large-scale criminal punishments, but it is easy to cause unnecessary turmoil.

However, since the Crown Prince had made the request, Emperor Qianxi could not refuse.

He said in a deep voice, "Then come with me to the back hall first."

Inside the Qianqing Palace, as the emperor and crown prince departed, many people began to whisper among themselves.

Someone even asked Ma Qi, the Minister of Revenue, "Brother, does your Ministry of Revenue really only have 400,000 taels of silver left?"

Minister of Revenue Ma Qi said with a bitter expression, "My lords, the Ministry of Revenue really has no silver left in its coffers!"

"We were hoping that the autumn tax revenue would come in this year and things would get a little better, but we never expected it to turn out like this..."

"Brother, the Crown Prince requests a private audience. If things go wrong, it could be..." The speaker trailed off, but his expression conveyed an air of knowing full well what was going on.

The Minister of Revenue naturally understood, but what could he do at this moment?
Even a skilled cook can't cook without rice; the problem is, there's no money!
In the rear hall of Qianqing Palace, after Emperor Qianxi and Shen Ye arrived, he waved to Liang Jiugong and said, "No one is allowed to approach without my decree."

"Those who disobey orders shall be executed!"

Upon hearing Emperor Qianxi's arrangement, Liang Jiugong quickly left.

Looking at the serious-looking Emperor Qianxi, Shen Ye was a little confused.

Was Emperor Qianxi making a mountain out of a molehill? I was just reporting my thoughts to him, what was he doing?

However, his time as the crown prince had already made him accustomed to the fact that it was still necessary to play the chameleon in the palace. He should pretend to be deaf to what he shouldn't hear and mute to what he shouldn't ask.

Emperor Qianxi didn't say anything, and although he had suspicions, he wisely refrained from asking.

Emperor Qianxi was unaware of Shen Ye's thoughts. He glanced at Shen Ye twice before saying calmly, "You want to take action against some corrupt officials, that's one way. However, the timing is wrong!"

"What is needed now is stability, not turmoil in the government and the public."

"With disaster victims in five provinces outside, if there is also unrest within the country, then even the slightest spark will quickly ignite a prairie fire that will be impossible to stop!"

Shen Ye was taken aback by Emperor Qianxi's words.

He also understood what Emperor Qianxi meant.

The purpose of seizing money from corrupt officials is to investigate and confiscate their property. For example, the Cao family was eliminated by the fourth son in a parallel universe for this reason.

Now, Emperor Qianxi thought he should come up with such an idea.

You guys are really ruthless!

However, this is indeed a good method.

With a sigh in his heart, Shen Ye solemnly said, "Father, I do not intend to do it this way."

"Then, tell me your thoughts?" Emperor Qianxi was not disappointed by Shen Ye's answer; instead, his face showed excitement.

After all, it's too late to confiscate property and raise money now, and it could easily cause unnecessary turmoil.

He genuinely hoped that his son could find a different approach and come up with a different solution.

"What I'm thinking of is borrowing money," Shen Ye said calmly.

When Emperor Qianxi heard the word "borrow," he was speechless for a moment.

If he could have lent it out, he would have done so already!

Unfortunately, whenever the imperial court needed to borrow money, whether they were high-ranking officials, nobles, or famous merchants, they all knew how to pretend to be poor.

What they fear is that the money will not be repaid.

So despite all their efforts, they still couldn't borrow the money.

Emperor Qianxi looked at Shen Ye with a hint of disappointment and said, "If it's just a loan, you don't need to bother."

"This is a complete waste of time."

At this moment, Emperor Qianxi's last hope had been extinguished, so his gaze toward Shen Ye was extremely critical!

Shen Ye looked at Emperor Qianxi with a disgusted expression, but she wasn't angry.

He smiled and said, "Father, if I can lend you two million taels of silver, would you allow me to build a mansion?"

When Emperor Qianxi heard Shen Ye mention building a mansion again, a hint of displeasure rose in his heart.

Previously, the Crown Prince had suggested that he, like his brothers, separate from the palace and live independently, but he had rejected the idea. Now that he's brought it up again, it's clear he's still up to no good!
He said coldly, "As long as you have the ability to help me borrow these two million taels of silver, you can choose any place in this inner city to build your Crown Prince's Mansion."

"However, if you can't borrow it, you can forget about your Crown Prince's residence!"

Looking at the displeased Emperor Qianxi, Shen Ye was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "As long as Father Emperor asks the Ministry of Revenue to cooperate with me, I will definitely borrow the two million taels of silver for Father Emperor in time."

Emperor Qianxi said calmly, "Then I'll wait."

"If you can't borrow these two million taels of silver in time, then you'll have to stay in Yuqing Palace obediently for me!"

"Stop daydreaming and always thinking about separating from me and living separately!"

The pause in Emperor Qianxi's words stirred a sense of emotion in Shen Ye.

Regardless, Emperor Qianxi still had strong feelings for the Crown Prince at this time.

The only punishment for the crown prince was to live obediently in Yuqing Palace.

After the father and son made their decision, Emperor Qianxi did not ask Shen Ye how to borrow money. He returned to the front hall of Qianqing Palace with Shen Ye and directly announced that the Crown Prince would be in charge of the disaster relief fundraising.

The announcement was simple, but as soon as it was announced, the atmosphere in the Qianqing Palace suddenly turned gloomy.

　The third update for today is here! Please support me, everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)