Chapter 183 Offering Fame to Allay Resentment^^
A moment of silence fell over the court.
Emperor Hongren sat in the hall, his face grim, lost in thought. Below, the ministers silently pondered whether this grand drama was over, and whether they should proceed with their usual trivial matters. What new changes would occur in the court after Prince Rui's arrival in the capital?
Many people had their own little schemes in mind.
As the emperor's mouthpiece, Eunuch Fu Man gave Qi Chengming a friendly look, prompting him to speak up.
Qi Chengming touched the heavy memorial in his arms, took two seconds to identify it, and then stepped forward in a clear voice: "Your subject has a memorial to present."
"Oh?" Emperor Hongren snapped back to his senses instantly, his voice calm and collected as a reflex.
Having served in court for many years, he had become a competent imperial machine. No matter the situation, he could ruthlessly and quickly detach himself from emotions.
Then, recalling the schemes he and his two sons had secretly plotted... Emperor Hongren perked up, regaining his composed and dignified demeanor, while most of his apprehension disappeared.
"Your Majesty, I am deeply grateful for your kindness in granting me Liuzhou as my fiefdom and the Lingnan region as my main route. I have lived up to your expectations and discovered high-yield grain varieties that yield seventy to one hundred shi per mu. I have come to present them to you..."
The young prince spoke slowly, and the ministers in the court had different expressions, almost all of them tense and strange.
Some were initially overjoyed, but their joy quickly turned to worry. Some were so nervous that sweat beaded on their foreheads; some trembled with anxiety; some were so anxious that they wanted to speak but couldn't. Yet, no one dared to utter a word, all silently watching His Majesty's reaction.
Several officials, having mustered their strength, looked at the young prince with respect and longing, rubbing their hands together, ready to seize any opportunity to petition for his life when the emperor was furious.
A yield of over a hundred bushels of grain per mu! If this is true... the Second Prince has found such an auspicious omen, he's practically a saint in this era, even if His Majesty is furious, he'll have to hold back!
"Ha! I assigned you to such a remote place as Liuzhou, yet you say I have high hopes for you?" Emperor Hongren asked coldly, his tone unreadable, neither a compliment nor sarcasm, nor the suppressed rage before a fit of anger, nor genuine calm.
If he hadn't discussed this with the second prince in private, Emperor Hongren would have truly lost his temper and would have been furious, severely punishing the second prince for his sarcastic remarks and disrespect towards his imperial father.
But now, he felt extremely comfortable and couldn't wait to cooperate and wait for what was to come.
"Your subject didn't understand at first either, and even cried and made a fuss out of ignorance." Qi Chengming said with embarrassment... He was really embarrassed to praise someone against his conscience. Bah, he should have hailed an old man as a sage ruler.
But Qi Chengming still expressed his gratitude without even blinking:
"It wasn't until my father gave me his final instructions before he left, and allowed me to look through the imperial collection of books, that I seemed to understand something. I even discovered three kinds of high-yield grains, each yielding over a hundred bushels, in Liuzhou and Lingnan! Only then did I understand my father's good intentions..."
"Hiss...!" "How many?!" "This...!" "Three, three kinds?" "Really... three kinds?!"
A commotion arose among the ministers, but most dared not make a sound, and the murmurs subsided into a low whisper. Aside from the reborn officials who knew the truth, the remaining officials were half-believing, half-doubting, but after exchanging glances, many suddenly understood:
'The rumors outside are mostly true! His Majesty's true love really is Consort Hua... The Second Prince is the one he truly favors!'
This must be because His Majesty had already heard about the signs of high-yield crops and secretly arranged a prestigious path for his beloved son. Otherwise, how could the Second Prince have discovered three high-yield grain varieties in just two or three years after being assigned to such a remote place?! This is too much of a coincidence, so coincidental that no one would believe it!
Haha, could it be that the Second Prince is truly a chosen saintly ruler whom the heavens are feeding?
The officials who were unfamiliar with the Second Prince naturally thought that it was more reasonable for His Majesty to make arrangements in secret.
The Minister of Revenue's eyes practically bulged with greed. He raised both hands high, knelt down, and exclaimed with wild joy, "Your Majesty, what a joyous occasion!!"
Qi Chengming knelt down without hesitation. If he hadn't been unable to squeeze out any tears, he would have wanted to shed a couple more in gratitude. He also joined in the impassioned praise, pressing his advantage: "Your Majesty's deep love for his son is something I have felt! I truly... truly... don't know how to repay Your Majesty's kindness, sob...! Now that the results are in, I naturally want to show them to Your Majesty first..."
He can't shed tears, but he can still manage to lower his head and feign a sob.
"Send the memorials to all my ministers!" Emperor Hongren felt as pleased as if he had eaten a ginseng fruit. He was so pleased that he almost couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth. With a wave of his hand, he was determined to make sure that every important minister attending court today could see the memorials clearly, whether they understood them or not, and hear this boast!
That's right, this is what I ordered!
I have painstakingly cultivated my talents and shown such great favor to my two sons from an early age, being so magnanimous as to allow them to share in this great honor and reputation! Is there any more benevolent ruler in the world than me?
Emperor Hongren thought that the history books would record that such auspicious omens, three of them at once, had appeared under his rule, and that it was only because of his wisdom, decisiveness, and diligent governance that these auspicious omens had not been buried...
Oh dear, he'll be able to sleep with three women all night when he gets home!
Emperor Hongren was overjoyed on his throne. Even though he knew perfectly well why he had sent his two sons to Liuzhou back then, and understood the truth about these three crops, his sons' filial piety, even disregarding his reputation as a sage, was something Emperor Hongren naturally accepted gladly.
He's willing to coax me like this; Chengming is such a filial child!
The six ministries below the hall passed around memorials, their expressions shifting rapidly. Some wept with joy, others wailed with grief, and still others exchanged suppressed glances and suppressed elation. Even the two princes, whose shoulders had been tense, took their turn reading the memorials for a while.
"..." The eldest prince lowered his head deeply, too incredulous to speak.
Is the Emperor biased?
...That's impossible!!
From childhood to adulthood, everyone in the palace only knew of his reputation as the eldest prince; they never heard anything about his younger brother, who was two years younger than him. What kind of life did his second brother lead for those ten-odd years? The people in the palace weren't blind or deaf! Who couldn't know?
Why did Father secretly accumulate such a large family legacy for my second brother? It's one thing that this honor wasn't given to my sixth brother, but why didn't Father think of his eldest son back then? This is all absurd!
The eldest prince couldn't believe it no matter how he thought about it. Although it sounded even more absurd that his second brother had three strokes of good luck in such a remote place, the eldest prince just felt that their father was not the kind of person who would bestow a holy title upon his second brother!
The sixth prince beside him was swaying precariously, and the young boy's heart was broken with grievance.
Father... Father actually favors my second brother so much!
He was the legitimate son of the Empress, and from birth he believed that the throne would belong to him. If he hadn't ascended the throne, what good would the fate of a legitimate son have been? So he used to fight desperately for it, but later he was frightened by what happened to his mother and became withdrawn, losing all his ambition.
But even if he has resigned himself to his fate now...
How could Father Emperor be so biased?!
If his father also favored him so much… those grain seeds were good for feeding the people, and he would gain a protective shield. What would his mother's murderous crimes matter then? How could his position not be secure?!
If he had no other choice, why would the Sixth Prince be so anxious and obedient lately?!
The young boy's eyes welled up with tears of grievance. He couldn't help but look up at his father with longing and admiration, his eyes filled with the unspoken cry of the sixth prince:
Father, I can do it too!
"Sigh." Emperor Hongren looked around at the people's reactions and sighed inwardly.
It's useless!
After the memorial passed through the hands of the ministers, it was taken away by Eunuch Fuman. The six ministers had never been so in sync; they all knelt down and shouted their congratulations: "Congratulations, Your Majesty!" "Heaven blesses our dynasty!!" "Your Majesty is wise—!"
Emperor Hongren's expression softened. Not wanting his troublesome sons to spoil his good mood, he took advantage of the moment and instructed the Minister of Revenue to distribute the grain seeds presented by the Second Prince according to the procedures and details reported in the memorial, and to first try planting them in the suburbs of the capital.
This was also a suggestion that Qi Chengming wrote in his memorial to the throne.
The climates of the south and the north are very different. To grow crops successfully in the capital, the effects of different climates and soil conditions must be taken into account. In addition, there are only enough seeds to supply one region for planting at the moment, so trial planting in the suburbs of Beijing is the only option.
"Your subject obeys the decree!" The Minister of Revenue replied with a radiant face, glancing regretfully at the spot where the Second Prince was standing, eager to try his luck.
He wanted to discuss the matter further with the Second Prince after court, but the young prince wouldn't even glance in his direction, and it seemed like he couldn't see it out of the corner of his eye... This made the Minister of Revenue so anxious that he almost scratched his head in frustration.
Qi Chengming stood there without looking to the side, taking the opportunity to take out the second memorial: "Father, I have another memorial to present..."
This memorial did not cause any significant disturbance.
While everyone's attention was still on the grain seeds, Qi Chengming proposed several methods for resettling the displaced people through work-for-relief programs, including building factories and roads, and opening shops with some of the fresh food he had brought back.
Does this sound familiar?
Qi Chengming's memorial was actually written by Xiao Dezi and Xiao Chengzi overnight. The content was essentially the same old method that had been used before in Liuzhou.
The memorial seemed unremarkable, but in reality, the two personal eunuchs racked their brains that night and counted at least a hundred factories and shops that could be involved!
What a huge, sweet pie!
Qi Chengming was unwilling to take the blame himself. He wanted to submit a memorial to the throne, using the honeycomb briquette factory as a model, and then let Emperor Hongren assign the remaining profits. His job was to keep the overall direction in mind and prevent what was meant to be a good thing—to resettle refugees and benefit the people—from turning into a scheme for greedy individuals to devour their wealth.
"I grant permission." Emperor Hongren casually named the Vice Minister of Works to accompany him, thus formally approving the honeycomb briquette factory project. As for how long the subsequent construction would take, he didn't need to reveal that in court so early.
First, you need to make sure your trusted and beloved ministers are well fed, right?
The things the second prince mentioned in those memorials... Emperor Hongren was still deliberating which ones to approve and which ones not to approve.
Shops and factories were fine, but Emperor Hongren was reluctant to build roads with cement or renovate the imperial city, so he simply shelved the idea.
The ministers reacted indifferently, simply assuming that this was His Majesty's response to the previous impeachment of the Second Prince by the imperial censors, a gesture to give the Second Prince a preparatory task, and paid no further attention.
The sixth prince's expression grew even more resentful. The eldest prince's smile also stiffened slightly, as if he was about to break into a daze.
Aside from attending school, their only opportunities to participate in political discussions were occasionally assigned by their father to handle some tasks at the Six Ministries. However, these were all minor matters, far from being of any real importance. Their father was always worried about them.
How come such a perfect job could come about as soon as the Second Prince returned?
Father, this is unfair!!
"..." Emperor Hongren glared at his two rebellious sons below, and recalling their sincere words in private, he was even more annoyed.
"Father, I'm thinking... I'm overwhelmed with so many things to do. Could you ask my elder brother and younger brothers to help me?" the young prince earnestly pleaded.
Emperor Hongren was genuinely taken aback and looked at his second son with suspicion and uncertainty.
"Are you really willing?" Emperor Hongren asked, his expression unreadable. "...Aren't you afraid that they'll do better in the future and surpass you?"
If it were him, he would never have wanted to pass on the credit to others, especially his brothers. But Emperor Hongren thought about it: this son of his had not even clung to the fame of the grain seeds, willing to offer it to his sovereign father, and selflessly assigned the remaining tasks to his brothers, so that they could be proud and bring him glory…
That seems normal?
The young prince nodded sincerely, then blushed slightly: "Your subject is not afraid. Although it may sound hypocritical and empty, it is indeed your subject's wish to do more for the people. How long can one person toil?"
"..." Emperor Hongren's expression was complex, and he remained silent for a long time, deeply shocked. For a moment, everyone looked at him with new eyes.
Whether or not one is wary of the child's talent is one thing... but this second son is actually quite tolerant.
Even he couldn't help but admire such magnanimity and spirit.
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