Chapter 77: The Great Succession Struggle in the Capital...
"Is the food not to your liking?" Qi Chengming asked calmly, putting down his teacup.
"No...no!" Li Banhui suddenly woke up. He sat up and sat there restlessly for a while before remembering what he originally intended to say. "Your Highness, I didn't come here to spread rumors."
Qi Chengming raised an eyebrow, a mixture of surprise and disbelief: "Oh?"
The spoiled young master's earnest report was something he already knew from the original story, so he wasn't surprised. Was there anything else?
Li Banhui cautiously glanced around again.
The young prince waved knowingly, and Xiao Chengzi, who had been left to serve him, quietly left. Now it was just the two of them again, and they could continue their confidential conversation. However, because the dining table was large, the two sat at different levels, with a considerable distance between them. Even if Li Banhui suddenly harbored rebellious intentions and launched an attack, Qi Chengming would have time to avoid being called for help.
Li Banhui lowered his voice slightly and said solemnly, "Your Highness, I have come to inform you of the progress in the capital."
"Before I left the capital, I heard that a memorial impeaching the prefect of Jinzhou for embezzling public funds had been submitted to the court, and the matter was being investigated. The prefect of Jinzhou was a member of the eldest prince's maternal grandfather's family—the most outstanding member of the family in this generation, who was preparing to succeed Consort Shu's father as the leader."
He knew the Second Prince was unaware of anything happening in court, so he parroted what he'd heard: "My father said it was probably the Third Prince's men who did it. Ever since the Third Prince started attending court... the First Prince has humiliated him, and the Third Prince is furious, making a very bad impression on the ministers. He can't take it anymore, so he's retaliating to eliminate the First Prince's power."
"Wait! Wait a minute...!" Qi Chengming was caught off guard by this barrage of information. He raised his hand to stop them and slowly sorted through it.
Jinzhou, that sounds familiar.
Is it the prefecture that my cousin said suffered an invasion by the Di people and that the imperial army suffered two consecutive defeats?
It's common for prefects to embezzle; these days, no official's hands are completely clean, so it's usually not used as ammunition for mutual attacks. However, Jinzhou is currently embroiled in war, and after a major defeat... If we attribute his embezzlement to grain taxes and provisions, it becomes a serious matter that could cost him his head. If it's true, then death would be even more inevitable.
The eldest prince's influence lies primarily in the military; aside from his maternal grandfather, who is a regional governor, all his relatives have risen to the position of prefect, suggesting they are highly regarded. What if the third prince, unable to contain his anger, were to abruptly eliminate this powerful ally of the eldest prince…
At first glance, it seems reckless, revealing one's malicious intentions, but the damage caused is real. It's unlikely that such a confrontational approach would be taken only as a last resort.
The Third Prince... could he really be that stupid? So enraged that he's acting so recklessly? Isn't anyone around him trying to talk him out of it?
Qi Chengming frowned subconsciously, recalling the original plot.
In the original novel, the seventh prince was relatively inconspicuous in the early stages because he was the youngest. He observed his brothers vying for the throne from the sidelines during the initial power struggle. Although the eldest prince was only fifteen or sixteen, the real vortex of the succession battle began during this period, as the princes vied for the approval of the emperor and ministers.
The moment the princes began their struggle for the throne was when the original second prince was sent to Liuzhou to assume his fiefdom.
The next period will be a chaotic power struggle in the court between the three princes: the eldest prince, the third prince, and the sixth prince.
Yes, it was originally a dispute between the two older princes who had just married. It was normal for them to curry favor with the emperor, occasionally clashing over power. But they were both well-versed in history and wary of ending up benefiting the youngest prince, who was still a young legitimate heir. Emperor Hongren's ambiguous attitude likely stemmed from a desire to see the two older princes temper the youngest.
Aside from his good background, the sixth prince is dull-witted and has an impatient temperament. What advantages does he have?
So while the two princes were fiercely tearing each other apart, they were even more in sync, praising their sixth brother, who was still studying, to the point of undermining him. They seized every opportunity to expose his flaws until the emperor and father were disappointed in him. The sixth prince, unable to resist, often willingly jumped into the trap, only to be beaten up three years later, the very first prince to be eliminated from the capital…
This gave the original male lead, the Seventh Prince, a perfect opportunity to shine. By then, he had already quietly gained enough favor with his father, and the Third Prince had already caused enough annoyance to Emperor Hongren.
Think about it, why did it develop into a chaotic battle between the three princes in the early stages...?
Qi Chengming's gaze sharpened slightly as it landed on Young Master Li's innocent yet somewhat foolish face.
The original plot glosses over this, something like... the Third Prince's men tricked the First Prince badly, but then pinned the crime on the Sixth Prince. So, the potentially brutal conflict between the two princes inexplicably turned into them working together against the Sixth Prince...
So this is the incident.
Qi Chengming was slow to realize the truth. So... what Young Master Li didn't know about the aftermath after leaving the capital was that the eldest prince's maternal relatives were held accountable, but instead joined forces with the third prince to attack the sixth prince.
"My father also said that the person who might have been behind the Third Prince's actions wasn't here this time... otherwise, he wouldn't have done something so foolish." Li Banhui continued babbling on, spilling out all the information he knew from his previous life, mixed with his father's comments, adding in a low voice, "I might have been behind the scenes."
"...I heard that Consort Rong has been feeling unwell lately, and the Empress has also been ill without improvement. His Majesty is searching everywhere for renowned doctors in the countryside."
Li Banhui thought to himself: In his previous life, he later realized that without the wise Consort Rong to keep an eye on him, the Third Prince was nothing at all, and this provoked him to the point of almost losing his temper.
Qi Chengming nodded thoughtfully.
So the truth is that the Third Prince, who had just married after Consort Rong's illness, failed to establish himself in the following months and was almost completely outmatched by the First Prince, so he resorted to all sorts of underhanded tactics. Once Consort Rong recovered—or once the Third Prince's people managed to contact him—they quickly sought advice from their strategist to devise a vicious plan to shift the blame onto the Sixth Prince, thus preventing the Third Prince's political career from being completely ruined.
Only now could the Third Prince's bottom be barely wiped clean.
"Your Highness, I will continue to gather intelligence for you when I return to the capital! Is there anything I'd like to focus on more?" Li Banhui recounted a long series of secrets in the capital, then stared eagerly at the future Crown Prince, patting his chest.
There was something he didn't say aloud:
'Emperor Hongren will eventually succumb to internal and external pressures and attempt to select a crown prince. The Second Prince has developed so rapidly in his fiefdoms these past few years that he will naturally return to the capital to compete for the crown prince position, and miraculously be named crown prince. But even after becoming crown prince, he will still face so many crises…'
Given how things turned out in his past life, and considering Li Banhui clearly retains those memories, couldn't he do something to help the Second Prince? For example, if the Prince did something in the early stages, he wouldn't have to endure so much hardship when he was later named Crown Prince. Heh heh, Li Banhui himself could also latch onto a powerful figure from the very beginning and safely weather that period of family crisis.
"Thank you. Please help me observe how officials from the Six Ministries and those of the second rank and above react when things happen in the future." Qi Chengming did not refuse, and his tone softened.
He urgently needs to obtain more details and information.
The dishes on the table were getting cold, but Qi Chengming was still picking up a bite with his chopsticks half-heartedly, chewing absentmindedly as he pondered.
He had to admit that Li Banhui, the minor antagonist in the original story... played a significant role.
Qi Chengming's list of talented individuals included many ministers who had inexplicably sided with him, maintaining an ambiguous and tacit understanding. Perhaps they had heard about or witnessed the changes in Liuzhou and were looking forward to his potential, or perhaps it was simply due to the long-standing connections of the Marquis of Weiyong's family, or the natural affinity that military personnel held for him.
They might come in handy later, Qi Chengming couldn't deny. But in his current state of hiding, Qi Chengming was completely unaware of the situation in the capital, a gap that could only be filled by Li Banhui.
Even if this villain, who willingly serves as a pawn, is not very useful, he is still the only official Qi Chengming can currently send to the capital for court. Second Young Master Wen doesn't count, Bai Xuan doesn't count, and Doctor Bian doesn't count either.
Moreover, Qi Chengming discovered that... no matter how many shortcomings Li Banhui had, his parroting during retelling was incredibly vivid, and he spoke clearly and accurately about official positions. He boasted that he was indeed quite skilled at intelligence gathering.
"Great!" Li Banhui puffed out his chest proudly, like a child who had finally been praised by an elder, his eyes sparkling with a strange joy, eager to be praised even more.
"Your Highness, I can write down a list of officials attending court in the capital right now! I can write down the ones I know of who have influence over the princes, and I can investigate the ones I don't know about when we get back!"
After saying that, he got so excited that he didn't even finish his meal. He jumped up and rushed outside to ask someone for paper and pen.
Hearing the boy's impatient voice, Qi Chengming suddenly smiled broadly: "..."
Li Banhui is like an overgrown brat, a tree that has grown crooked.
Use criticism to prune and trim its damaged branches, removing and eliminating the rotten growths piece by piece. Also, use praise and encouragement from time to time to fertilize it, guiding it back to the right direction. It will then thirstily absorb those nutrients and grow rapidly.
...Good heavens, he's only a few years old when he transmigrated into a novel about vying for the throne, and he already has to take care of such a grown child. Even his cousin's youngest son, Zhong'er, is more mature than Li Banhui, isn't he?
A space was cleared on the table laden with dishes. Li Banhui stood there, holding his breath, hastily grinding ink, dipping his brush, and began to write. He wrote slowly, stopping every few strokes to think carefully, his brows furrowed tightly. Although his characters were crooked and even worse than Qi Chengming's, his attitude was more solemn than ever before.
Qi Chengming stared blankly at what Li Banhui had written, lost in thought: "..."
A plan gradually took shape in his mind.
Originally, he had only roughly devised a plan to seize the throne and save his life—to recruit the talents of the seventh prince, secretly develop his own fiefdom, accumulate a large amount of wealth, and gather strength to return to the capital in the end to seize the throne.
But what about the details?
He's out there developing as an abandoned prince. When is the best time for him to lie low and make a name for himself? What makes him think that his creations won't become stepping stones for other princes?
Qi Chengming felt a sense of urgency.
He has made many changes in his domain over the past few months, but because it is winter... the changes are far from enough! He must catch up and develop quietly in these two crucial years.
The information brought by Li Banhui reminded him of more details in the original book.
His greatest enemy is the Seventh Prince, the winner in the original novel, based on all odds. The Sixth Prince's defeat became a highlight stepping stone for the Seventh Prince's entrance, so what if he could find a way to disrupt this opportune moment?
Because everyone knows that the First Prince and the Third Prince, as representatives of the civil and military factions, will fight each other relentlessly until both are severely injured and perish, unless a third party intervenes. If they miss this opportunity where the Third Prince was nearly forced out of the game, there will never be another best chance… Therefore, when it's just the two of them, they are nothing to fear.
The order in which the princes exited the story in the original book was: the original second prince, the legitimate sixth prince, the eldest third prince, and finally the seventh prince who ascended the throne without any controversy.
So Qi Chengming came up with a plan...
This time, what if we let the eldest prince and the third prince weaken each other as much as possible first? Then we can leave the mediocre but potentially problematic sixth prince to the seventh prince to deal with. The sixth and seventh princes are the closest in age, and it will only become clear later in the struggle for the throne that the seventh prince is a force to be reckoned with in every aspect. This time, the seventh prince can't just stand by and watch, can he?
That would be the time for Qi Chengming to gather his strength and return to Beijing to compete on the same stage.
He wasn't just a blindly loyal prince who only knew how to obey his emperor and father, and dared to work diligently within the rules. For the throne, he wouldn't hesitate to try any means in the palace, and even his original self harbored some resentment towards Emperor Hongren. His cousin, Qi Chengming, also harbored some unsavory thoughts. Even though the army was clearly a minefield that a prince should never touch, he still acquiesced.
So—where should this detailed plan for seizing the throne begin? How can he ensure that the situation develops successfully according to his understanding?
Qi Chengming pondered in silence for a while, then his eyes lit up.
Three days later.
Li Banhui led a caravan disguised as merchants back to the capital, and the caravan also included a renowned physician—
Dr. Bian.
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