1006 The Lu Family, the Emperor’s Plan

Just as Feng Qingchen expected, within two days, the Ninth Prince agreed to let the women and children stay. Not only that, the Ninth Prince also greatly improved their status on the island.

The island was short of resources, and all the daily necessities needed were provided by the Ninth Prince. These women and children were not originally part of the island's establishment, and they had to earn their own food, clothing and daily expenses. When they were sick, the military doctors would not see them, and even if they did, they would not get medicine. But now it was different...

The Ninth Prince acknowledged their existence, allowed military doctors to treat them, and allowed them to use medicinal herbs and daily necessities, but they had to do the labor. Women in the military camp were not only able to make a living by their bodies, they also had many other things to do.

Seeing that the Ninth Prince cared so much about them, the generals on the island would definitely agree. They responded to whatever the Ninth Prince said. For a moment, the atmosphere on the island became much more relaxed. It was still under militarized management, but everyone had a smile on their face.

The women in particular seemed to see hope and were radiant. The children were also less reserved and more lively, adding a bit of popularity to this small island.

This atmosphere reached its climax when ten cargo ships sailed in.

This day was happier than the Chinese New Year for the soldiers on the island. The Ninth Prince not only allowed the women on the island to stay, but also transported a large amount of supplies from the land to the island as a reward for the navy.

"Hurry, come and see, there is so much wine, so much cloth, and even sugar and rice. I haven't had a drink in a long time, and my mouth is almost dry."

"The prince is so kind to us. The prince is such a good man."

Except for the soldiers on guard, everyone else was overjoyed, jumping and dancing. Under the command of the general, they ran to the shore in wave after wave to bring back the supplies on the ship.

"How?" It was still the same two words, but this time the Ninth Prince had a smile on his face.

"Very good." Feng Qingchen gave the same answer, but he gritted his teeth.

This man, could you be a little more insidious? He gave me a slap in the face and then a date in return. No one did a better job than the Ninth Prince.

"I have no other choice." The Ninth Prince looked at the joyful soldiers, a hint of fatigue flashing in his eyes.

Dealing with the soldiers on the island these days was not an easy task. This was his first time on the island, and he had met other people except a few senior generals for the first time. Although these people obeyed him, they were not as loyal as he had imagined.

Life on the island is boring. These people stay on the island for years or even decades. If he doesn't use some tricks, these people will sooner or later forget that he is the real owner of the island.

Hearing what the Ninth Prince said, Feng Qingchen's heart skipped a beat and he turned around and asked, "Are we preparing for war?"

"It's always a good idea to prepare in advance. The emperor will not let me go easily with the Shandong group." Although he and the emperor still maintained a friendly and respectful appearance on the surface, both sides knew that they had torn their faces apart, otherwise the emperor would not have directly sent troops to kill him.

"The Lu family's affairs in Shandong are very tricky?" After inquiring for more than half a year, Feng Qingchen also knew that the Lu family was very wealthy and powerful in Shandong, and it was almost impossible to defeat them without bloodshed.

The Lu family supports Shandong's economy, and Shandong's officialdom is more or less closely related to the Lu family. If such a big family falls, Shandong's economy and officialdom will collapse, and then...

If the Lu family falls, Shandong will be in chaos, and the Ninth Prince will not be able to escape the charge of disturbing people's livelihood.

“Even if it’s not tricky, the emperor will make it tricky. Destroying Shandong can bring me down, so it’s a win for the emperor.” The moment he decided to go to Shandong, the Ninth Prince understood that unless he was defeated by the Lu family, no matter who was the winner in the end, the whole of Shandong would be in chaos.

Shandong is in chaos and the people are suffering. Someone has to take the blame, and it's either him or the emperor.

"Your Majesty is truly willing to do this." Just for a power struggle, he watched helplessly as a large province was destroyed and tens of thousands of people were displaced.

"If you can bring me down, the emperor would be willing to give up ten Shandongs, let alone one Shandong. You don't have to worry about Shandong. I have my own plans." The Ninth Prince saw that Feng Qingchen was worried and spoke to comfort her.

If the emperor wants him to take the blame, it depends on whether he is willing to do so. If the emperor wants to sit back and watch the fight, it depends on whether he agrees. If the emperor wants to clear himself of the Shandong incident, he is dreaming!

The emperor wished he was dreaming at this moment. He accepted the defeat of the Nanyang navy. The situation on the sea was changing rapidly and no one could predict what might happen on the sea. As long as the Ninth Prince was still out, he would always have a chance to prevent him from coming back. Even if he came back, he would be charged with the crime of bringing disaster to the country and the people. But who could tell him why the court was in chaos before Shandong?

He had only been in a coma for three days, but the ministers in the court blamed each other, and the memorials accusing his political enemies piled up like a mountain. Most importantly, all of them had evidence.

The more the emperor looked at him, the angrier he got. He was so impatient that he rushed to find him. Looking at Fu Lin kneeling on the ground, the emperor was also annoyed: "Fu Lin, what's going on?"

Fu Lin knelt on the ground, big beads of sweat dripping down his face. He evaded the main point and said, "Your Majesty, Minister Cao is seriously ill and cannot attend the court."

In other words, Minister Cao was unwilling to compromise with the Emperor and unwilling to come out to calm the consequences of the Ministry of Revenue incident. He had to implicate the ministers in the court one by one, causing unrest in the entire court.

As for the evidence in the hands of the officials, well... he didn't know either, but it was not difficult to imagine who was behind it. After all, that person had stirred up trouble thousands of miles away, so how could he stop easily?

"Well, well, well, well, you are too sick to attend court. Pass on my order and have the director of the Imperial Hospital go to Cao's mansion. When Lord Cao is well, he can come back." The emperor was furious.

The Ministry of Revenue found that there was indeed a problem. He asked Fu Lin to go to Cao's house to hint to Minister Cao that as long as Minister Cao resigned, he would not pursue the matter of the Ministry of Revenue anymore. But...

That old guy is ungrateful. He relies on his status and the current political situation and refuses to show up. He won't be satisfied until he has messed up the entire court.

"I obey your order. Do you want to continue the audit of the Ministry of Revenue?" Fu Lin knew that he was not doing his job well, so he asked again considerately.

This question stumped the emperor.

If he doesn't continue the investigation, how can he force Shangshu Cao to resign? But if he continues the investigation, the court will continue to be in chaos. Those officials have indeed made mistakes. If he doesn't hold those officials accountable, he can't hold the Ministry of Revenue accountable either.

The emperor closed his eyes and pondered for a while, then opened his slightly cloudy eyes and nodded heavily: "Investigate, investigate for me."

As an emperor, how could he compromise with his subjects? This time, he had to dismiss Minister Cao and take control of the Ministry of Revenue. He didn't believe that Minister Cao could keep pretending to be sick...

"Your Majesty, I obey your order." Fu Lin received the order loudly. Knowing that the emperor was in a bad mood at the moment, he picked up something that the emperor wanted to talk about and said, "Your Majesty, I have found some clues about the mysterious people lurking in the imperial city..."

A word to the readers: My dears, it's not that I won't update the novel, it's just that these few chapters took me a lot of effort to write and revise to achieve the effect I wanted. After all, the Ninth Prince is not in the Imperial City, but I have to write about the methods he used in the Imperial City, using the affairs of the Imperial City to delay the Emperor and force him to compromise.