Chapter 257 The Second Prince's Scheme
The capital city, the residence of the Second Prince.
The second prince was furious in his study, and all the advisors hung their heads and dared not utter a sound.
"Useless! They're all useless! We sent so many people and still couldn't kill them."
"They all boast so much, but they have no skills whatsoever. They're fed and clothed, and given gold and silver jewels like they're free. What's the point of keeping you around? We might as well raise a few pigs; we could slaughter them for food at the New Year..."
The experts he recruited from the martial arts world looked unconvinced. "Your Highness, please calm down! Just because they are useless doesn't mean we are useless. I can guarantee that everything will be foolproof if I take action."
"I'll go too! No one in this world can survive ten moves from my Madman's Blade!"
"I'll go too."
Someone shouted, and the others raised their arms in response, ready to go out.
Seeing this, the second prince, with a headache, slumped into a chair, clutching his forehead, and yelled, "Stop right there!"
These people are indeed capable, but they are also difficult to manage. They have no sense of propriety and will act on their own without his orders.
"Does Your Highness have any further instructions? There is absolutely no need to worry about the safety of your men. We will certainly bring back their heads and present them to you!"
The second prince, his throat parched from cursing, picked up his teacup, about to take a sip to moisten his throat, when he heard him mention heads. He immediately lost his appetite and slammed the teacup onto the table with a loud "Bang!"
"Shut up! Don't mention heads in front of me this year. It's not safe for me to be around. The situation in Jiangling is still unclear. Taking any rash action will only alert them."
The mention of heads still haunts him, as if he's impotent again. He recently took two new concubines, hoping they would bear him a son or daughter, and give birth to the eldest grandson of the emperor before the crown prince, thus helping him in his bid for the throne.
The group looked at each other, jostling and pushing each other. They didn't know what they had said wrong that had touched the Second Prince's sore spot, so they simply stopped talking and stood silently in the corner.
The Duke of Yingguo said, "Your Highness, I believe that the Third Prince does not pose a threat yet. We should focus our efforts on the Zhenbei Army and the Crown Prince, and firmly grasp military power in our hands."
The Second Prince scoffed disdainfully, "Hmph! The Crown Prince can't even run a horse straight. What good is an army to him? Would he dare to go to the battlefield? When the enemy forces challenge each other on the front lines, he'll be terrified. Sooner or later, the army under his command will be mine!"
News came back from the exiles that the third brother was close to the Xiao family, who still had influence in the Zhenbei Army. Xiao Xuance had regained his strength and even killed someone from Yanyun Prefecture. They were my biggest threat!
"Your Highness is right. With the Crown Prince gone, His Majesty will surely recall the Third Prince to check and balance Your Highness. Compared to the Crown Prince, the Third Prince is much more difficult to deal with."
The others nodded in agreement.
The Duke of England was not swayed and insisted on his own ideas, earnestly advising, "Your Highness, we must first pacify the internal situation before we can deal with external threats. The Third Prince will not amount to much in the south. Once you have secured your position as Crown Prince, dealing with the Third Prince will be a piece of cake."
That makes sense, and the two sides continued to argue.
Suddenly a pigeon fluttered down and landed by the window.
The guards removed the bamboo tubes tied to his feet and took them inside for the Second Prince.
"Your Highness, a secret report has arrived from Jiangling."
The second prince took a look and suddenly burst into laughter, "Hahaha!!! Heaven is helping me! The third prince is doomed this time."
"You don't need to argue anymore."
"Your Highness, what good news is it?"
"The third prince is colluding with the Marquis of Jiangling to secretly mine iron ore in the western suburbs of Jiangling, intending to rebel. I will expose this news to the court tomorrow and see how Father Emperor will protect him this time."
The Duke of England grasped the key point: "Iron mine? Your Highness, this old minister believes that it is more advantageous to seize the iron mine for ourselves than to report it to the Emperor."
The second prince said displeasedly, "If we can't leak this information, how can we get rid of the third prince?"
If the Duke of Yingguo hadn't been his father-in-law, he would have suspected that the Duke of Yingguo was Zhao Xuan's man; otherwise, why would he have gone to such lengths to stop him from killing Zhao Xuan?
The British Duke explained, "Iron ore can be used to make weapons and exchange for silver, which is a great fortune."
The second prince thought he made sense, but he still didn't want to let Zhao Xuan and Xiao Xuance go.
He wanted the iron ore, and he also wanted to kill them, so he sent several experts to kill them.
The discussion has ended.
After everyone else had left.
The Duke of England stepped forward and bowed to the Second Prince, saying, "Your Highness, the final choice for the Crown Prince is the Emperor. Because of Consort Shu's framing of Consort Xian, His Majesty has always held a prejudice against you. If you can give birth to the eldest son, he will definitely change his opinion of you and consider passing the position of Crown Prince to you. Since ancient times, the eldest son of the legitimate wife has been chosen. I hope to hear news of Your Highness and the Princess Consort soon."
"I understand," the second prince replied dismissively.
I've said it three times already, why are you still saying it? Aren't you tired of it?
He felt nauseous at the sight of Zhang Baozhu's obese figure, and he would regularly favor her on the first and fifteenth of each month. Since she couldn't lay eggs, it wasn't his problem.
The beautiful concubine, no matter who gives birth to his son first, should be given to Zhang Baozhu to raise as her legitimate son.
"This old minister takes his leave." Seeing the impatience in his eyes, the Duke of Ying dared not say anything more, bowed respectfully and withdrew, shaking his head as he reached the door and exhaling a breath of stale air.
He didn't want to take sides with any of the princes, but his youngest daughter threatened to kill herself if he didn't marry anyone but the second prince, thus pulling the Duke of Ying's family into the second prince's camp.
If the Second Prince fails to ascend to that position, the Duke of Ying's mansion will not fare well. Knowing the Second Prince as he does, it's hard to guarantee that he won't discard him after he's served his purpose and turn against the Duke of Ying's mansion. Therefore, while the Second Prince is still not powerful enough, he has his daughter conceive his legitimate son, thus binding the two families together.
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