Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Don't worry, Your Highness. Times have changed. What happened here is history to us. You can fantasize about it as you like."

Ye Qingzhi explained with a smile,

"We live in the present, so of course we have to keep this a secret. I have only boldly proposed a possible scenario, because His Highness has always said that we should not underestimate anyone."

Upon hearing this, King Jing held her little hand and rubbed it gently, then said with a smile,

“I know what you mean, and I don’t blame you. Your bold assumption has reminded me.

Although the prince is arrogant and a bit impatient, he is not a fool and he is not lacking in ambition.

If I were in the position of the crown prince, I would also do something extremely rebellious to ensure that I could ascend the throne..."

Prince Jing put himself in the prince's shoes and thought about the issue. He felt that what Ye Qingzhi said about raising private soldiers might not be impossible.

To maintain private soldiers, not only does one need money, but if there are too many people, one also needs venues, logistical supplies, etc. If one maintains them in the capital, it would be very difficult to conceal it.

Prince Jing judged that if the prince really wanted to raise an army, he could only raise it within 200 miles of the capital, a place that could be reached in one to three days by horseback.

It can't be too far either, as it will easily get out of control and won't be convenient when you really need it.

When Prince Jing thought about this, he thought deeply about whether the Chen family would be involved, and the manpower that the prince would need. He thought about sending people to investigate the surrounding area immediately to see if there was anything unusual...

After coming to his senses, King Jing couldn't help but laugh, because he thought he had taken Ye Qingzhi's somewhat joking words too seriously.

Could the prince really do such a treasonous thing?

Seeing that Prince Jing was absorbed in his thoughts, Ye Qingzhi did not disturb him but just quietly looked at him with her chin in her hand.

It’s not that I’m obsessed with his handsome face, but no matter how I look at others, they’re not as good-looking as Prince Jing.

It would be better to look at his handsome face, which is a feast for the eyes.

Prince Jing came to his senses, turned his head, and saw Ye Qingzhi looking at him, so he couldn't help but smile at her.

"What are you thinking about, qingqing?"

"I'm helping His Highness to come up with ideas." Ye Qingzhi blinked and spoke pleasantly, "I also want to share His Highness's worries."

"Have you thought of anything?" Prince Jing felt that she was so sweet, so he simply held her in his arms and talked to her, and asked her in a sticky manner.

“I didn’t expect anything new. I just wanted to take down the prince. There’s no need to rush to cut the prince with the knife. I can just slowly cut off the prince’s minions bit by bit.

For example, regarding the case of selling official positions and titles in Fuzhou mentioned by Zhou Shutian, we could just arrest the person involved, and there was no need to involve the crown prince. As long as this line was abolished, some of the crown prince's men would also be eliminated.

As for the matter of the Crown Prince supporting the reselling of private salt, it was simply a matter of investigating and banning private salt. If this was done, it would be like emptying the Crown Prince's purse.

For example, to deal with the Chen family and depose the old minister Chen Shangshu, it would be like removing a powerful figure in the court of the prince.

And the Ministry of Justice did the same thing before, Your Highness, and it was very successful. I think it’s fine to continue doing it this way, so I said I don’t have any new ideas.”

After Ye Qingzhi finished speaking, she spread her hands, indicating that this was all she could think of.

"Youqing and I have the same idea. Great minds think alike." King Jing smiled and kissed her, and he liked her even more.

This kind of career compatibility can really touch Prince Jing's heart, and is also the reason why Prince Jing likes Ye Qingzhi more and more.

"So do you think the prince really has private soldiers? How can we find them out?" asked King Jing.

"I am not good at this, so I can only think of a stupid way, waiting for something to happen." Ye Qingzhi frowned, and the method she thought of was also in line with her lazy personality.

“Once the Crown Prince’s power is weakened, he will be left alone, with no one to rely on.

If the prince really had private soldiers and was forced into such a desperate situation, he would probably want to fight hard, after all, he is already in a desperate situation.

If he wins, he can sit on the throne; if he loses, he will be placed under house arrest or executed. For someone as arrogant and conceited as the crown prince, becoming a deposed crown prince may be even more unacceptable.

Anyway, we are ready at any time. If it really comes to that, we will wait for the prince's private soldiers to go out and then suppress them by force."

"Although your method is passive and clumsy, it is the only way to defend yourself when you can't find it actively."

King Jing commented seriously, then rubbed her little face and said,

"My dear, it's really hard for you to think so much. I will reward you well."

Ye Qingzhi, "...Your Highness, are you sure this is a reward, not for me to serve you?"

"Just lie still. I was the one serving you at that time." Prince Jing said while biting her ear.

Ye Qingzhi,...

Ha ha.

Will you not feel tired if you just lie down and do nothing?

-

In the next half month, Prince Jing joined forces with Fang Yunyan and mobilized several officials from the Ministry of Personnel to launch a thundering attack on the case of selling official positions and titles in Fuzhou based on the evidence provided by Zhou Shutian.

Because the positions being bought and sold were local official positions, the highest of which was the sixth rank, so even though the fire had also started in the court, many people were not involved. Most of them just watched from the sidelines, while others fanned the flames.

The incident of selling official positions and titles in Fuzhou has been exposed. Is the prince afraid?

Of course he was afraid.

Because he knew that once his father knew that he was involved, he would definitely punish him severely, and it would not be solved by being locked up in a small dark room for a few months.

What made the prince feel relieved was that the matter of selling official positions was traced back to the prefect of Fuzhou and the mansion of a Weiyuan earl, and the investigation was not carried out further.

It is just as the prince thought. The emperor cares about the world and is a wise ruler who works diligently and conscientiously. He will never tolerate such phenomena of selling official positions and corruption in the officialdom.

In terms of attitude, zero tolerance!

As for punishment, the whole family will be executed!

Not only the Fuzhou prefect was involved, but also more than a dozen officials and the entire family of the Weiyuan Earl were executed.

The emperor even killed a large local clan in Fuzhou.

Because five members of this big family became officials in some counties of Fuzhou by spending money.

But if we examine their actions, we will find that they exploited the people, squeezed their wealth and money, and the people under their rule were full of complaints.

The emperor was so angry that he almost died when he saw the memorials presented to him.

If they become officials and can love the people like their own children and benefit the people, the emperor may show leniency to them.

To bring harm to one's neighbour in this way is naturally a more serious crime.

The emperor just waved his hand and sentenced the entire family to be executed.

The confiscated wealth was put into the national treasury, and their land was remeasured and distributed to the local people.

Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, a bloody storm started again.

The court was in an uproar over this. Officials from humble backgrounds clapped their hands excitedly and wished they could write three memorials a day praising the emperor for being a wise ruler, having drastic measures, and being able to create a peaceful and prosperous era.

However, officials from other prominent clans felt that they were in the same boat and were afraid that the emperor would use this incident to target their clans, so they all started to smooth things over and wanted to quickly put an end to the issue of selling official positions and titles.

After the emperor used the sword of imperial power to cut through the officialdom and clan circles in Fuzhou, he stopped killing.

He is not a tyrant. What he wants is deterrence, not forcing those big clans to rebel.

After a round of killing, one of the treasury rooms was full again, and the emperor was very satisfied with this.

The low-level official positions that were vacant in Fuzhou's officialdom were just right for this year's Jinshi scholars. Many of them were directly sent to serve as officials in other places without having to queue up in the capital to wait for vacancies.

Moreover, most of these newbies in the officialdom are non-partisan and have personally experienced the emperor's drastic measures in dealing with corrupt officials, so they can't help but become more and more afraid of the emperor and his power.

As a result, they became the emperor's true disciples, hoping to work diligently after taking office and benefit the people.

-

The Fuzhou case, which lasted for a month, has finally come to an end.

In the imperial study, the emperor looked at the memorial handed over by Fang Yunyan, and his expression became increasingly ugly.

"Is the Fuzhou case really related to the prince?" the emperor asked, suppressing his anger.

Some news that could not be made public. When the matter came to an end, Fang Yunyan came to see the emperor.

The so-called informing was also a long-planned plan that was designed from the beginning.

"I dare not deceive the emperor." Fang Yunyan said.

"Prince Jing said that we only need to investigate up to the prefect of Fuzhou, Tang, and the Earl of Weiyuan, and don't continue to investigate further. He should have known in advance that this matter was related to the crown prince.

Because the Fuzhou incident was led by Prince Jing, and the new runner-up Zhou Shutian was also involved, he is from Fuzhou. "

The emperor took a deep breath, suppressed all the emotions in his heart, and said in a deep voice, "I understand, you can leave now."

"I obey your command." Fang Yunyan bowed to the emperor.

"Xuan Zhou Shutian is entering the palace." The emperor read the memorial again and said to the eunuch beside him.

An hour later, Zhou Shutian arrived. He was still dirty and covered in mud. His shoes were even dirtier, with the white edges turning black.

If he was in such a state, even if the censor was around, he would be able to accuse him of being untidy and disrespectful to the emperor.

The emperor did not blame him. Seeing his expression, he asked in a friendly manner,

"Lord Zhou, are you going to the farmland? How is the harvest for the people in the suburbs of Beijing this year?"

"The weather was good in the first half of this year, and the harvest was pretty good. After paying the land tax, the people had enough food left to eat, and they could even sell some of it for some silver, which is really rare."

Zhou Shutian said, kneeling down and kowtowed to the emperor, saying with true emotion,

"The people have enough food in their pockets and live and work in peace and contentment, all because the emperor loves the people like his own children and works hard to govern. The people of the Great Zhao are truly blessed to have such a wise ruler as the emperor."

The emperor felt much better after hearing his flattery, and a smile appeared on his face.

Once this honest man starts to flatter, it sounds particularly genuine and makes people feel more comfortable than the one who always talks.

This week, my dear, you are much more talkative than during the palace examination. You are growing very quickly.

"I have one more thing to report to the emperor." Zhou Shutian said again.

"Oh? You said."

"I have been doing some statistics on the harvests of farms in the suburbs of Beijing these past two days. These farms are usually rented by nobles and tenant farmers for unified cultivation.

Because most farms only distributed a fixed amount of grain to tenant farmers, the tenant farmers were not very motivated, and the grain output was usually about 10% lower than the harvest from the people's own fields.

However, the harvest of one farm was exceptionally good, exceeding that of the average farm by 50%. "

"So high?! Whose farm is it?" the emperor asked in surprise.