Chapter 185: Money, Money

The newly built Prince Cheng's Mansion was not far from the Su family's house. I don't know if this was planned when the emperor granted the house. Anyway, it only took a quarter of an hour to walk there, and they could barely talk to each other next door.

Because of Prince Cheng's suggestion, this prince's palace is not rich and luxurious, but after all, it is a prince's palace supervised by the Ministry of Rites, so it has everything it should have.

Just like the pavilion in the backyard, located in the middle of the lake, there is no other way except a colorful cobblestone path. You can see everything moving around just by looking up. It is a good place to talk and discuss things.

Prince Cheng was holding a piece of dessert in his hand, but he had forgotten to eat it. He looked at Su Fengzhang and asked, "Sir Su, are you serious? Or are you joking with me?"

Su Fengzhang gave a bitter laugh and asked, "Your Majesty, do you also think this method is not feasible?"

Prince Cheng completely lost his appetite, threw down his snack and said, "It's not impossible, it's absolutely impossible."

"Don't you know who His Majesty is? He cares a lot about face. There are so many bad debts in the national treasury over the years. How could he not know about every one of them?" With only Su Fengzhang in front of him, Prince Cheng was even more rude when he complained about the emperor.

"Let's not talk about others. The one who owes the most is the Crown Prince. If the Emperor didn't allow it, would Minister Xu have lent the Crown Prince so much money? He's a member of the Xu family, the Fourth Prince's maternal grandfather."

Su Fengzhang nodded and asked, "So what?"

Prince Cheng was helpless and said, "Master Su, Master Su, you usually seem like the smartest person, how come you don't understand the truth?"

"From His Majesty's Minister Xu to the petty officials in the Ministry of Revenue, everyone knows the full extent of this money."

"Your Majesty is very concerned about his reputation and would never ask his subordinates for repayment. Minister Xu would like to, but the situation is so complicated that he dare not affect the entire system. If he does, he will lose all his reputation."

"Another thing is, this is all old news. Even if you ask for it, you may not be able to get it back."

"Master Su, I don't believe you can't imagine these things."

Su Fengzhang nodded and said with a smile, "I thought about it before I came here."

Prince Cheng sighed, "Why are you still bringing this up? Even if I'm willing to step in, I can't get it done. Who knows, the moment I take a step forward, the emperor might issue a decree to criticize me."

"If you really have no other options, why not consider my advice? Even though it's a bit embarrassing, at least I've given General Meng Kun an explanation. Otherwise, I'd be extremely uneasy."

In fact, Su Fengzhang has a lot of ways to make money. After all, he is a modern man and has memorized more than one or two recipes in his mind, but they all have one shortcoming, which is that they are too slow.

This is not gunpowder made temporarily to scare people. Su Fengzhang himself does not know how to make either glass or soap. He just remembers a rough recipe. If he really wants to make it, it is not impossible, but the craftsmen need to try and error.

Not to mention how long it will take to figure it out, how to sell it and make a profit after it is figured out is also a problem. It takes too long.

However, regarding Prince Cheng's suggestion, Su Fengzhang still shook his head and said, "I understand your concerns, Your Highness, but this is the best solution right now. If it works, we won't have to worry about the treasury being depleted for a year or two."

Prince Cheng was a little annoyed when he heard this and said, "If Lord Su insists on doing this, I can only sacrifice my life to accompany the gentleman."

Su Fengzhang raised his eyebrows and suddenly smiled, "Your Highness, you misunderstood. Although I want the money, I have no intention of risking my life, let alone challenging Your Majesty's dignity."

Prince Cheng wanted to laugh when he saw him like this. Every time Su Fengzhang frowned, he felt that this guy was going to do something bad.

In the past, Prince Cheng always thought scholars were cunning and untrustworthy, but now, seeing Su Fengzhang, he was very happy and even thought that this gentleman's mischievous behavior was somewhat cute: "Lord Su, please don't keep me in suspense. You are not here to have tea with me, are you?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. On it were listed the names of a group of people. "Your Highness, please look carefully. What can you identify?"

Prince Cheng took one look and said, "They're either royal relatives or high-ranking officials. Even though you're the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue now, any one of them could trip you up."

Su Fengzhang asked again, "Who do you think is the most distinguished among the higher-ups?"

"Of course it's the crown prince. I'm sure he owes the most money in the national treasury." Prince Cheng sneered.

It is not surprising that the prince owes money to the national treasury. When the emperor appointed Xu Shangshu as the Minister of Revenue, it touched the prince's sensitive nerves. You must know that Empress Yuan died early, and her family began to decline, and could not provide much help to the prince.

As the crown prince, he has a noble status, but he has to spend money everywhere to win over court officials and maintain retainers, not to mention that the crown prince himself is also a person who enjoys life. In this respect, he is very similar to the current emperor.

I'm afraid that in the prince's mind, the money in the national treasury is his money. When Minister Xu went to the Ministry of Revenue, he was probably still worried that the Xu family would embezzle money for the benefit of the Fourth Prince, and in recent years he has been finding various ways to ask for money.

Su Fengzhang nodded and continued, "It is indeed the Crown Prince. From the Crown Prince down, the people who borrow the most money are mostly prominent officials, while there are fewer civil officials."

This is not difficult to understand. Most of the noble families have titles. The group of people who followed Emperor Taizu to conquer the world back then, but not every family can become successful from generation to generation. If they decline, they will naturally lack money.

The prince started the trend of saving face when one is short of money, and others followed suit. However, civil officials were less involved because they valued their reputation and most of them were born into noble families.

As for the fifth prince himself, not only did he have a bad record in the past, but he also continued to live in the palace, so he didn't need to.

Su Fengzhang continued, "What surprised this humble official was that Prince Rong's Mansion had very little debt, and the Fourth Prince's Mansion also had very little."

Prince Cheng smiled slightly and explained, "My uncle doesn't like extravagance. Besides the imperial aunt and the princess, there are no other masters in his family. My imperial aunt is from a wealthy family, and her dowry was extremely generous. Naturally, the Prince Rong Mansion does not need to borrow money."

I'm afraid that all the debts owed now were borrowed by Prince Rong just to follow the crowd.

"As for the Fourth Prince... Minister Xu is the Minister of Revenue. I'm sure he wouldn't want his grandson to borrow too much."

The words sound nice, but in fact, both of them suspected that Minister Xu had done something. You know, the Fourth Prince has never lacked money to spend. Did that money fall from the sky? He still has to rely on the Xu family.

The two looked at each other, both understanding each other's suspicions.

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "This is a good thing for us."

Prince Cheng smiled and asked, "What's so good about it? Or do you think the current Crown Prince is easy to offend?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Of course it's a good thing that I don't have to offend two princes at the same time."

Prince Cheng glanced at him and rolled his eyes impatiently: "Su Fengzhang, if you keep beating around the bush, I'll just use some snacks to shut you up and save you the trouble of listening to me."

Su Fengzhang found her threats amusing and continued, "Your Highness is right about one thing. The main reason for not paying back the money is the Crown Prince. He is the one who owes the most money. If he insists on not paying back the money, the others will also follow suit."

"If Your Majesty is decisive and ruthless, taking one or two heads to serve as a warning to others would be feasible. However, given Your Majesty's character, this is absolutely unacceptable. Even word of this cannot leak out, otherwise Your Majesty will have to reprimand me first."

"In that case, it all comes back to the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is currently in the Eastern Palace reflecting on his mistakes. I am an outsider, so it is impossible for me to go to the Eastern Palace to collect the debt. If I really go, I am afraid I will never come back."

"I value my life and have no intention of breaking the law."

Prince Cheng listened and figured out something, and asked, "Master Su, are you saying..."

"That's right." Su Fengzhang said with a smile, "The Fourth Prince has been staying in seclusion in the Prince's Mansion these days, never going out. He must be worried that the loss of his left ear will cause criticism."

Prince Cheng laughed sarcastically, "Fourth Brother and Concubine Xu have repeatedly complained to Your Majesty, but Your Majesty has not punished the Crown Prince. Instead, he has been temporarily imprisoned. It's clear that they want to suppress this matter."

"Your Majesty has doted on Concubine Xu and the Fourth Prince for many years. He must feel guilty for treating them so badly." Su Fengzhang said with a smile.

"What a coincidence! The small amount of money the Fourth Prince owes is nothing to him. But if he can cause the Crown Prince to suffer a severe setback, even if he knows it will anger His Majesty, the Fourth Prince will not let it go."

If we were to ask who hates the crown prince the most now, it would definitely be the fourth prince. Not only did he not gain any credit during this trip to Yunzhou, but he also lost an ear, which was equivalent to directly losing the qualification to compete for the throne.

How could the Fourth Prince be willing to accept this? What made him even more angry and sad was that after returning, although the Emperor tried to appease him many times, he never mentioned the matter of deposing the Crown Prince, and did not even punish the Crown Prince!

The Fourth Prince was so arrogant in the past, and now he is so sinister and angry. If he had not retained his rationality, he would probably have rushed into the palace and killed the Crown Prince directly.

Prince Cheng narrowed his eyes and looked at Su Fengzhang, thinking to himself that one really shouldn't offend literati. If you offend them for a while, they will remember it for a lifetime, and you never know when they might give you a hard time.

"Master Su, are you trying to use someone else's force to counterattack?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "I just want to resolve this matter as soon as possible. Once the prince pays back the money, everything will be fine."

As for where the prince's money came from, he didn't care.

Prince Cheng also thought of this and subconsciously said, "The Crown Prince spends a lot of money every day. I'm afraid he won't be able to pay it back."

Su Fengzhang said, "Since ancient times, a son has to pay for his father's debts. However, I have been thinking that since Your Majesty wants to protect the Crown Prince and is willing to chill the Fourth Prince's heart, he will surely resolve this matter for him!"

Upon hearing this, Prince Cheng was completely shaken and shouted, "How dare you lay your eyes on His Majesty's private treasury?"

Su Fengzhang smiled but said nothing. He didn't know whether the prince could repay the huge sum of money, but he knew that there were many good things in the emperor's private treasury.

Prince Cheng's eyes darkened, and he thought to himself that Su Fengzhang was too bold. He was setting a series of traps for the emperor. Starting with the fourth prince, Concubine Xu would definitely become obsessed and make a scene. The emperor also felt a little guilty and would certainly not dare to be cruel to his son.

It’s hard to say, because the Crown Prince’s frame-up of the Fourth Prince was suppressed for the time being, the Emperor still wants to make up for it.

In this case, the prince would have to be wronged temporarily. The emperor always wanted to have the best of both worlds. Prince Cheng's eyes flashed, and he guessed the most likely choice he would make.

However, he still frowned and asked, "Lord Su, aren't you afraid that His Majesty will be angry if he knows that this matter is caused by you?"

Even if the emperor acknowledged it at that time, he would probably vent his anger on Su Fengzhang, who took the lead.

Su Fengzhang nodded and said, "Of course I am afraid, that's why I came to consult with the prince."

Prince Cheng looked up at him carefully, and laughed heartily at his shamelessness. "How did you know I would help you with this? And how did you know I could do it?"

Su Fengzhang smiled and said, "Of course it's because I trust the prince."

Prince Cheng smiled and agreed immediately: "Since that's the case, I naturally can't let Lord Su down."

"But this matter is confidential. Are you sure the Ministry of Revenue won't leak the news?"

Su Fengzhang said confidently, "I have to thank Lord Ding for sending all the people from the Ministry of Revenue away. Only one or two clerks are left. They are unaware of the inside story. Lord Ding knows, and when the time comes, Minister Xu will naturally shut them up."

Prince Cheng looked at Su Fengzhang with increasingly bright eyes, and said with a smile, "Master Su, Master Su, this is a brilliant move. Not only can it solve the urgent problem, but it can also make the eldest and the fourth son fall out. After this incident, not only will the Crown Prince's vitality be severely damaged, but his reputation among the people will also be ruined. Even better, you and I can both wash away this matter completely."

Su Fengzhang lowered his head and said, "After this incident, Minister Xu will feel more at ease with me."

How could he not be at ease? This was equivalent to Su Fengzhang surrendering to the Fourth Prince. As long as he was still the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and a close confidant of Prince Cheng, the Fourth Prince would certainly not be willing to use him as a shield.

-----------------------

The author has something to say:

New article has started updating~~

Romance-Super A sister PK younger brother honey trap

cell phone:

Click on the author's name - Life is Like a Beginning - click on Honey Trap - click on the collection and you're done~~~ Love you guys