As time went on, the popularity of coal stoves and coal balls gradually spread from the capital to the surrounding counties.

Even ordinary bannermen in the inner city had these two things in almost every household.

Many people have also seen the huge market potential of coal mines.

If coal can replace firewood and charcoal and become the daily heating and cooking material for the people, even if it is only supplied to the people in towns and cities, the market will be very broad.

The price of this thing is low, but the market is vast, so there must be room for profit.

This means that there is room for profit.

How could the prince be allowed to monopolize such a lucrative business?

So starting from mid-November, memorials floated into the Palace of Heavenly Purity like snowflakes.

Both civil officials and military generals reminded Kangxi in their memorials that since the status of coal mines was equivalent to that of iron mines, they could not be fully handed over to the hands of the crown prince.

Otherwise, if the prince makes a huge amount of money from it and uses it to recruit people, it will lead to political instability and be detrimental to the country.

They almost said it out loud, they were afraid that the prince would get some benefits and then rebel.

The ones who jumped around the most enthusiastically were the top families in the capital, and Han officials were basically not qualified to participate.

For them, they are qualified to share the benefits of anything produced on the land of Qing Dynasty.

However, Kangxi's attitude was inexplicable. He neither made a public statement allowing them to place people in the coal mining industry, nor did he make a firm statement that no one else was allowed to get involved.

If no statement is made, there will be room for negotiation. Therefore, as the year draws to a close, there are quarrels in the court all day long, and the situation even seems to be getting more intense.

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, good news came from the Third Prince's Mansion.

The third wife is pregnant.

As soon as this news came out, it caused quite a stir in the court and the harem.

But what is strange is that Soetu did not jump up and down and urge the Ministry of Rites to advance the progress of the prince's wedding ceremony.

Kangxi urged him several times, as if it were a routine matter.

However, at this time, everyone in the court was eyeing the fat piece of meat, the coal mine, and few people tried to guess Kangxi's attitude towards the princes.

Yinreng just watched from the sidelines. Before Kangxi made a final decision, he had no intention of getting involved as long as it didn't involve him.

It's not that he has a good temper, but he has long seen through the true faces of this group of powerful people and is ready to make a big move when Kangxi is finally judged.

As a result, things did not go in the direction he expected.

It was the morning court session on the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. It was snowing heavily outside. Yinreng stood below Kangxi. Although the north wind bit his face a little, he was dressed warmly and it was not too difficult for him to endure.

"Your Majesty, I accuse His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of disregarding the lives of innocent refugees and allowing the coal transport team to take their lives. I implore Your Majesty to conduct a thorough investigation!"

Yinreng suddenly raised his eyes and looked at the person who spoke.

It turned out to be the Left Deputy Censor-in-Chief Chen Xian.

Yinreng narrowed his eyes.

"It seems I won't be able to endure until after the New Year."

There were four Left Deputy Censors-in-Chief, two Manchus and two Han. Chen Xian was one of the Han officials. Although he was a bit pedantic, he never participated in court factional struggles.

In his previous life, Chen Xian worked his way up to the position of Minister of Rites, and this person was still alive when he died.

Yinreng guessed that someone must have reported what happened on the coal transport team's way to Chen Xian, and Chen Xian only made a simple confirmation and then jumped out to impeach him.

I just don’t know who helped Chen Xian cover up the impeachment memorial.

Even Soetu didn't hear the news.

Yinreng carefully observed the officials standing opposite him and found that except for Soetu, everyone looked calm, as if they had expected it.

Yinreng lowered his eyelids.

Could it be that a group of people came out to cover it up?

It's not impossible.

Kangxi asked,

"Is there any evidence?"

"have!"

Chen Xian raised the envelope in his hand above his head.

Kangxi already knew the whole story. He just opened it and glanced at it, then handed it to Liang Jiugong and waved his hand,

"Show it to the prince."

“Yeah.”

So in a moment, several pieces of paper describing Yinreng's "evidence of guilt" fell into his hands.

Seeing this situation, those who wanted to get a piece of the pie in the coal mine couldn't help but eyelids twitching.

Why is the Emperor's reaction different from what they expected?!

Yinreng was also a little surprised, but now was not the time to be surprised. He wanted to see what this so-called evidence was.

The paper records the time, place, and basic information of the victim.

Yinreng took one look and smiled.

"Master Chen, I want to ask you a question. If a war breaks out at the border, and you are in charge of transporting food and supplies, and you encounter refugees seeking asylum along the way, will you expel them or divert your attention to resettling them?"

"Expulsion, of course!"

"Then why can't the coal convoy be expelled?"

"But Your Highness, even if we're expelling them, there's no need to take the lives of those refugees, right? They're unarmed and pose no threat to the coal transport team! Besides..."

Chen Xian knelt on the ground, looking at Yinreng gravely.

"They didn't even spare children as young as four or five years old. Your Highness, don't you think their methods are too cruel?"

They are already refugees, and they don’t know when they will die from natural disasters or man-made calamities. Why are those people still unwilling to let them go?

Chen Xian was filled with anger, but he was not afraid because the person he was facing was the prince.

Yinreng's face also darkened.

"Actually, I also want to know what the intentions of those despicable people who instigated the refugees to intercept the coal transport team are—"

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