Chapter 237 Collision

Most of the memorials submitted at this morning's court session were inquiries about the Emperor's health, so Hongzhao compiled them and set them aside for the time being. After all, the two characters "朕安" (I am well) are quite easy to write; it would just require a little more effort.

He pulled one out from his memory, opened it, looked at it, and handed it to his father, the Emperor. “Father, look, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works has submitted a memorial, saying that the Qing Dynasty is now strong and powerful, rich in resources, with cannons and ships, and is already in an unshakeable position. Building more ships would be time-consuming and laborious, and maintaining them would require a continuous flow of money. We should not do anything more.”

Yinzhen paused as he flipped through the memorials, his eyes sharpening as he looked up—"Is this unnecessary? That's exactly what he said?"

“No, that’s not it.” Hongzhao wasn’t trying to deliberately provoke anyone, so he just told the truth: “But that’s roughly the idea. He felt that this matter was a waste of money and useless, so it was superfluous.”

Hearing this, Yinzhen gave a soft "Oh" and turned his gaze back to the memorial.

While others might not have noticed, Su Peisheng could see that the Vice Minister of Works had almost lost his head.

Yinzhen did not say whether he agreed or not. He looked through the document for a long time. It listed all the silver spent on the Zhenyuan ship from the initial simulation to its actual construction, which was indeed not a small amount.

The words on it were densely packed, and staring at them for too long made his vision dizzy. So he simply closed the folded document and threw it aside—"Then you brought it up today to say that you disagree."

"Of course!" Hongzhao said confidently, straightening his back and counting the benefits on his fingers.

“Father, you see, Fu Yu discovered that island when he went to sea. In fact, there were countless other islands that others had already discovered long ago. We only realize the benefits of going to sea now, but others may have already benefited from it more than ten years ago. And these ships are even more so.”

All of these positive developments were brought about by his advocacy and promotion, and he spoke of them with great familiarity, his eyes sparkling with enthusiasm.

"That Japanese land is just a small island, yet it still took us so long, and the battle lines were so long. If we had one more warship, we wouldn't have had to prolong the battle lines and waste so much silver and food. I imagine General Zhao Hui would have already gone to war against Tsarist Russia by now, instead of just returning."

“Rebuilding warships and munitions is costly, but the Qing Dynasty under your rule is no longer the same as before. Countless piles of gold and silver will not increase, they will only gather dust, and banknotes will be eaten away by insects over time. Exchanging these for real guns and ammunition is far more valuable than short-term gains. Whether it is going to sea, going to war, or defending ourselves, it cannot be measured by short-term interests.”

Seeing him arguing so earnestly, Yinzhen's eyes unconsciously softened with a smile. He propped his head up and paused for a while. Seeing that he was really tired of talking, he handed him the iced tea beside him and gestured with his chin—"Finished?"

"I was merely asking for your opinion, but look at your long-winded speech, as if you're trying to convince someone."

He reopened the document he had just put down, this time skipping over the beginning and looking directly at the signature at the end.

"If you want to do it, then do it. Most of these ministers have the same problem: they are timid and hesitant, only thinking about preserving their political achievements for the rest of their lives. The more they do, the more mistakes they make; the less they do, the fewer mistakes they make; if they do nothing, they make no mistakes. If we follow their lead, then we can forget about everything else."

“Since this person does not agree, then there is no need to give him this task. I remember that the Empress’s younger brother is doing a good job, so we can move him up to fill this vacancy.”

If we are to put effort into this in the future, the Ministry of Works will definitely be indispensable. No one can disagree with the Crown Prince's political views except his own uncle, so he will certainly work even harder, which will save Hongzhao a lot of trouble.

"Thank you, Father! I will send this memorial back to him today."

Having resolved one issue, Hongzhao picked up the second one, and was about to speak when a commotion outside made him pause for a moment.

"What's all the noise outside?" Before Hongzhao could speak, Yinzhen frowned and scolded him.

A moment later, Su Peisheng walked in with a bad expression. He glanced at the Crown Prince as he entered, then lowered his head again.

Just one glance was enough to make Hongzhao's heart skip a beat and his expression turn serious.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty the Empress just sent word that... the Crown Princess was nearly knocked to the ground by two concubines while on her way to Yongshou Palace to speak with Her Majesty. The imperial physician has already gone there."

"What! How is the fetus?"

"Is Yingjun alright?"

Su Peisheng shook his head repeatedly. It wasn't that he was speaking in a breathless manner; the father and son were truly identical in their ability to seize every opportunity.

"Her Majesty the Empress said that the Crown Princess and the baby are both fine now, but the baby's condition is not very stable due to the fright."

There hasn't been a grand selection in the palace for many years now, and the few concubines were all selected by the Imperial Household Department. They are all young, and Yinzhen likes their bright and lively appearance and is happy to indulge them if it doesn't cause any harm. But today is different.

"You two are so clumsy and unruly, Su Peisheng!" He waved his hand angrily, and there was no need to say anything more. Those two were probably not going to have a good end.

"Tell the rest of you to stay in Chuxiu Palace and not to come out unless necessary." After he finished speaking, he first stood up and wanted to walk out, but he sat back down without taking a single step.

Although he was anxious about his grandson, he belatedly realized that it was not appropriate for him to go to Yongshou Palace now. He looked at Hongzhao, who was equally anxious, and said, "Go, go and see. Don't worry about this place for now. Make sure she has a good pregnancy."

...

In Yongshou Palace, Fucha Yingjun touched her still flat belly with one hand, while her other hand was held by the Empress Dowager beside her.

"It's alright, don't worry. This is what Physician Zhou Qi is best at. When I was pregnant with the Crown Prince and Jinghua, I was almost out of the womb, but they were still born as strong as two calves."

The fright she had just experienced had left her pale, but hearing her mother's words eased her worries considerably.

To be honest, those two concubines were playing hide-and-seek in the garden. They didn't catch the one who was actually hiding. The little concubine squinted her eyes, made a face, spun around, and jumped out from behind the rockery, landing squarely on the pregnant Crown Princess.

If it weren't for Jinxi being there, she probably would have been knocked to the ground.

Xuexin strode in from outside, glanced at the Empress, and then at the Crown Princess whose complexion was not good. "Your Majesty, the Emperor has received the news and is furious. The two concubines have been sent to the Imperial Prison. The Crown Prince is on his way here and will be here soon."

"I know, go and greet the Crown Prince, don't make him anxious." The Empress waved her hand and told her to hurry up, then gently patted Fucha Yingjun's hand, looking at this child who was no different from her own daughter with incredibly gentle eyes.

"Don't worry about the child. You are a blessed person, and the child in your belly is even more so. He will turn bad luck into good and misfortune into good fortune. This is all just hearsay about Hongzhao. His child will naturally be like him and be a strong person."

"Yes, thanks to Your Majesty's kind words." Fucha Yingjun gradually relaxed her tense body and nodded gently as the Empress comforted her.

Lu Jiaying looked at her and gently shook her head. She reached out and carefully touched her belly. "Don't think your mother is just trying to comfort you. Look at Hongzhao when he was little. A little girl bumped his head and he got such a big bump on his head. I felt so sorry for him. I bet you remember it too."

"Look at the situation now. It's clear that the difference in how much grandparents love their grandchildren. I haven't seen His Majesty treat the women of the harem like this in a long time. It's obvious that he's really angry."

She lowered her voice, speaking as softly and gently as if she were talking to a baby, coaxing Fucha's belly: "This child is blessed, even before being born, he already has the Emperor protecting him like this, isn't he?"