968 Imperial Examination, the Ninth Prince Leaves Beijing in a Low-Key Manner
April 15th is the day of the Dongling imperial examination, and it is also the day when the Ninth Prince chose to go to Shandong.
I don't know whether the Ninth Prince did it intentionally or unintentionally, but he looked at the Crown Prince and chose a day when no one would come to see him off.
The day the Crown Prince left the capital was the day when Prince Chun got married, and all those with a bit of status were busy trying to curry favor with Prince Chun. The day when the Ninth Prince left the capital was also the day when the first imperial examination was held in Dongling. Not to mention the common people, even the Emperor and all the officials were staring at the Examination Hall, fearing that something unexpected might happen there.
The Ninth Prince left Beijing quietly. At least before that, there was no news that the Ninth Prince was going to Shandong.
On the day after Prince Chun's wedding, when the Emperor hinted that the Ninth Prince was destroying the friendly relations between Dongling and Xiling, the Ninth Prince proposed to go to Shandong to purchase stone for building the imperial mausoleum.
The emperor rejected the suggestion on the spot, saying that such matters should be left to the people below him. The ninth uncle argued that since he was building the mausoleum for the late emperor, he must buy the materials needed in person to prevent the people below from making a fuss and causing the mausoleum to be bombed again.
The emperor was so angry that his face turned blue. He rejected the proposal again and mocked his ninth uncle for being ignorant. He said that he had never gone to Shandong to purchase stones for building the imperial mausoleum and there was no good stone in Shandong.
The Ninth Prince smiled and said, "The Lu family in Shandong has a stone mine that produces very good granite."
The emperor fell into deep thought, and after a while he agreed to the Ninth Uncle's trip to Shandong. The Ninth Uncle immediately suggested setting off the day after tomorrow. The emperor looked at the Ninth Uncle deeply and nodded.
So, when the students entered the Imperial Academy one by one to prepare for the exam, the Ninth Prince and Feng Qingchen set off with a few guards. Except for Nanling Jinxing, no one came to see them off. This was also what the Ninth Prince needed. After all, he was different from the Crown Prince. It was not like he would not come back. |
Not many people left the city today, and no one dared to stop the Ninth Prince's carriage, so the group quickly left the city. As soon as the Ninth Prince left the city, the surveillance personnel following behind him immediately reported the news back to the palace.
"My dear Minister Fu, in your opinion, did the Ninth Prince really go to Shandong just to help Feng Qingchen vent his anger and avenge Feng Zhan?" The Ninth Prince did nothing and just took Feng Qingchen out of the city. This really did not fit the image of the Ninth Prince in the emperor's mind.
His ninth brother never does anything without preparation. He went to Shandong in such a hurry this time that he didn't make any arrangements at all. Could it be that he planned to go into battle personally? As the emperor's uncle, it would be too cheap for him to deal with the Lu family.
“Your Majesty, no matter what the Ninth Prince wants to do in Shandong, we can only let him deal with the Lu family. We can’t do anything else.”
Fu Lin's words touched the emperor's heart, and the emperor immediately asked, "Do you have any countermeasures, Fu Aiqing?"
"I am stupid and have no solution. However, in my opinion, having no solution is the best solution." A charlatan is a charlatan. Although it is a very simple sentence, Fu Lin has the ability to confuse people and make them unable to understand. He puts on an unfathomable look.
Fortunately, the emperor was very patient. He was not angry when he heard Fu Lin's words. Instead, he asked with interest: "What do you mean by no countermeasure is the best countermeasure?"
Fu Lin did not dare to show off anymore and explained, "Your Majesty, the Lu family has been operating in Shandong for hundreds of years and has deep roots. The Lu family's children have long infiltrated all walks of life. All officials in Shandong have to give the Lu family some respect. In Shandong, the Lu family has status, connections, and money.
The Ninth Emperor is the opposite. His uncle has nothing in Shandong. If he rashly attacks the Lu family, it will surely cause a counterattack from the Lu family. At that time, the emperor can just let the officials in Shandong pretend that they know nothing and let the two fight. Anyway, no matter who wins in the end, the winner is the emperor. "
Fu Lin did not mention the rest of the words, but the emperor understood that if the Ninth Prince won, then the emperor could use this incident to hold the Ninth Prince accountable and take over the Lu family's assets at the same time.
If the Ninth Prince loses, the Emperor can use this opportunity to suppress the Ninth Prince and hold the Shandong Lu Family accountable. Similarly, the Shandong Lu Family will no longer exist.
"Good, good idea. No countermeasure is the best countermeasure. Your plan is very good. You are indeed a pillar of the country and have the talent to govern the world." The emperor was very happy. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it would be beneficial for him if the ninth uncle went to Shandong.
The officials in Shandong were his confidants, and he didn't believe that the Ninth Uncle could do anything under his nose.
"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I am unworthy of it. All of this is due to your wisdom. If your Majesty had not kept the Shandong Lu family as a chess piece, nothing would have happened today." Fu Lin flattered the emperor very naturally and described the emperor's mistake that year as the emperor's plan. After making the emperor happy, he brought up the progress of the bloody night case in the imperial city.
Fu Lin's words were very beautiful. In summary, there was some progress and some breakthrough. Under the wise leadership of the emperor, they would soon find the relevant personnel and would never let those thieves do evil again. He also guaranteed with his own head that no vicious cases like the bloody night in the imperial city would occur during the imperial examination.
The emperor was very happy and thought that Fu Lin was very capable and a good official. As an emperor, he had a good ability to judge people and dared to use a young minister like Fu Lin.
Fu Linlian said that all these achievements were made possible because of the emperor's wisdom.
The emperor and his minister had a very pleasant conversation. The emperor was in a good mood and decided to take Fu Lin to the imperial examination site. In order to see the real situation of the imperial examination, Fu Lin suggested that the emperor should go with him, and the emperor accepted Fu Lin's opinion.
During the day's inspection, the emperor was greatly relieved to see that many of the candidates were students from poor families. The emperor was afraid that the children of wealthy families would snatch too many places and leave the students from poor families with no chance.
Looking at the chief examiner and invigilators, each of them adhered to their duties and was serious and responsible, which made the emperor feel very gratified. He believed that this imperial examination would be able to select a large number of talents for Dongling, and these people would only be loyal to him.
The emperor returned to the palace with satisfaction, thinking in his mind about the possible official positions these disciples of the emperor might hold in the future, and how to train them so that they could grow up as quickly as possible and become loyal ministers of the emperor like Fu Lin.
As for the Ninth Prince's trip to Shandong, the Emperor only ordered the Anbu to keep an eye on it, and when necessary, let the Shandong officials take action to promote the struggle between the Lu family and the Ninth Prince. He didn't need to worry about anything else.
Just as Fu Lin said, let the Ninth Prince deal with the Lu family first, and then he will take action after both sides are defeated and take care of them all.
That evening, Wang Jinling learned that the emperor was very satisfied with the imperial examination, but he smiled without saying anything, with a hint of smile in his gentle eyes.
If the emperor knew that most of those students wearing coarse cotton clothes were from aristocratic families, I wonder if he would be so angry that he would vomit blood...
Feng Qingchen said that if you want to make someone suffer, you must first give them hope and then let that hope be dashed.
Your Majesty, will you feel pain when your hopes are dashed?