The substitute prince: Reported the emperor's brother at the beginning

Gao Qingshui, a tough-tempered official, now also realizes the importance of backing.

Judging from his actions in Jiangdong, he must have affected the interests of many aristocratic families. Perhaps many officials in the court hated him very much and had already reported him to Emperor Wu.

As for the Jiangdong issue Gao Qingshui mentioned, Ning Yi thought for a moment and said, "Call Tan Donglin and the other two."

Tan Donglin and the other two have been busy with disaster relief work in the capital recently, collecting and purchasing various supplies and transporting them over.

"Greetings to Your Highness."

Although they hadn't seen each other for several days, Ning Yi knew that they were not being perfunctory or lazy.

"This is the letter Gao Qingshui sent from Jiangdong. Take a look."

The three of them took it, passed it around, and then discussed it together for a while.

Tan Donglin, who was still the leader, bowed and said, "Your Highness, in my humble opinion, Lord Gao has done a good job in Jiangdong."

"But there is also considerable resistance. Your Highness should indeed support him."

Fang Wanhua also bowed and said, "Your Highness, I think the same."

"After all, Lord Gao was providing disaster relief in Jiangdong. Although his actions were detrimental to some people, he was providing disaster relief for the Great Wu Kingdom and also for His Highness."

"If the Jiangdong disaster relief efforts don't have a good outcome, the Emperor will definitely be dissatisfied with Your Highness."

Ning Yi naturally understood this and also knew Gao Qingshui's character.

No matter what he did in Jiangdong, his twenty servants would definitely not hide it or stop him.

Overall, Gao Qingshui did a very good job. He fought hard for himself in Jiangdong, and Ning Yi would naturally protect him in the capital.

"Well, this prince will definitely plead for him in front of the emperor. And with the news about the Imperial Guards, I believe the emperor will understand."

If Emperor Wu still wanted to severely punish Gao Qingshui under such circumstances, then Ning Yi should have quickly built up his own military force. Once the new army was trained, it would definitely rebel against him, the old and confused emperor.

"Indeed, Gao Qingshui mentioned in his letter that we need to gather laborers to build the river embankment, but there are not enough craftsmen to build the embankment. What are your thoughts on this?"

The three of them looked at each other, and it was Tan Donglin who took the lead and said, "Your Highness, I believe that the craftsmen for building the river embankment can be recruited from the Ministry of Works and the public."

"But now the Ministry of Works is using the excuse of repairing the northern city as an excuse and cannot possibly help Your Highness."

This is also what makes Ning Yi depressed. The Ministry of Industry has rejected him several times.

He asked the Ministry of Works to make armor for his guards, but the Ministry refused on the grounds that they were busy with military affairs in the north and that their military needs in the north had to be met first.

Even if Ning Yi reported it to the emperor, it would be useless. You can't let their Ministry of Works ignore the military supplies of the Northern Army and make armor for your prince's mansion, right?

Ning Yi also knew that the northern barbarians were ready to make a move and had been harassing the border frequently recently. There was a high possibility that they would lead their troops south.

Given Emperor Wu's personality, he would naturally consider the military first. Your Prince's guards? They're nothing.

Even the disaster in Jiangdong was not as important as the northern defense line.

The disaster in Jiangdong was just a bunch of unruly people causing trouble. As long as they were given food and waited until spring came, the situation would be completely settled.

However, if the northern defense line is breached, the barbarians can march straight in and attack the capital city.

That could threaten the safety of him as the emperor.

Anything that could threaten Emperor Wu's safety would be absolutely not allowed to exist.

If Ning Yi had not threatened the treatment of the craftsmen in the Ministry of Works and forced some craftsmen to come over, the Ministry of Works would not have agreed to release even these few people.

Ning Yi asked, "What would be the effect if we recruited craftsmen from the public?"

If possible, he really didn't bother to care about the Ministry of Industry's affairs, so that they wouldn't use the defense of the north as an excuse.

Jiang Bingwen, the quickest to speak, said, "Your Highness, I think the other folk craftsmen are easy to talk to."

"But it's almost difficult for this riverbank repairman."

"After all, repairing riverbanks is a highly skilled task. Ordinary craftsmen are simply not up to the task. If there is any deviation, the embankment could collapse and break, with disastrous consequences."

Ning Yi agreed when he thought about it. After all, repairing the river embankment required not only blacksmiths but also carpenters, who could be found in any village in the countryside.

Repairing river embankments is a serious and high-tech job.

"It seems that we can only go to the Ministry of Industry to ask for people."

The Ministry of Works is responsible for repairing roads and bridges throughout the country, and it involves many high-tech jobs.

Tan Donglin smiled bitterly, "Your Highness, we have gone to the Ministry of Works to inquire, but the Minister of Works, Zhao Yinghong, refused to send anyone, always citing the Ministry's busy schedule as an excuse."

They had already contacted the Ministry of Works regarding the disaster in Jiangdong, but it was of no use at all.

Ning Yi sneered: "A minister dares to refuse disaster relief. Let me see how I will deal with him."

See Ning Yi stand up and walk out.

The three of them immediately went over to stop him: "Your Highness, please don't act on impulse."

"Zhao Yinghong is a second-rank minister, so he can't act recklessly."

They were really afraid that Ning Yi would go to the Ministry of Works to cause trouble for Zhao Yinghong like he did last time.

Don't get angry and kill Zhao Yinghong. Emperor Wu will definitely not forgive the Sixth Prince then.

After all, Zhao Yinghong had sufficient reasons for his refusal.

Ning Yi didn't take it seriously: "Don't worry, this prince knows his limits and won't be so reckless as to do anything out of line."

This left the three of them speechless. Do you still know your limits?

Count the number of officials you have killed and the number of people whose property you have confiscated.

"The three of you should go to the Ministry of Works more often to urge them to do so. Use the excuse that Jiangdong needs to repair the riverbank and tell the Ministry more about the disaster in Jiangdong so that they know the severity of the disaster."

Ning Yi changed his clothes and went out. This time he did not go to the Ministry of Works. There was no need. Even if he went to the door and Zhao Yinghong did not give him any help, could he really chop him down?

If that were the case, Emperor Wu would definitely not forgive him.

First, he sat down at Zuixian Garden and told the fawning shopkeeper, "Do you have any information about the Minister of Works?"

"Yes, of course we have it." The shopkeeper said immediately, "Your Highness, please wait a moment. I will bring it to you right away."

Ever since Ning Yi renovated Zuixian Garden, the results have been remarkable.

Whether it is the emperor, princes, dukes, prime ministers, or ministers, they can all get their news in a timely manner.

Even if Ning Yi didn't leave the house, he could know what everyone was doing in the prince's mansion.

Even the palace was under the control of Zuixianyuan, who arranged things layer by layer, tied up and bribed the families of some eunuchs and palace maids, and sent batches of news about various concubines and the queen.

Soon, the shopkeeper brought a copied notebook.

The cover is of the Minister of Works, Zhao Yinghong, and the summary and organization is quite good.

Ning Yi just flipped through them one by one and frowned: "That's all?"

The shopkeeper smiled bitterly: "Your Highness, this Zhao Yinghong, there really is no major problem found."

The records all recorded Zhao Yinghong and the minister having dinner at a restaurant, or some noble person reciting poems and composing couplets.

At most, they would collect some money, and the amount found so far is not much.