novelaction Chapter 136 Picking Peaches
Chapter 136 Picking Peaches
Chapter 136 Picking Peaches
There are many families like the Tong family. In the beginning, the reason they borrowed money from the Ministry of Revenue was just to support the emperor's imperial edict. However, some families just borrowed a few thousand taels for the sake of face, and their daily expenses still depended on their own output.
Of course, there are more people like Orondei who, after tasting a little sweetness, want more and frequently borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue. Although the Ministry of Revenue has reduced the amount of money it lends in recent years, it is impossible not to lend money because of the imperial edict. Moreover, even Chen Tingjing, a close minister of the current emperor, would not dare to stop it if it did not lend money to the other party.
The Fourth Prince and the Ninth Prince were progressing very smoothly. The accounts and the corresponding borrowing families were listed one by one. The next thing to do was to go to the Qianqing Palace to ask for permission to collect the debts.
However, before they went to the Qianqing Palace, Yinreng sent He Zhu to invite them to visit the Yuqing Palace first.
He Zhu came personally to invite them, so the Crown Prince must have something else to say. Yinzhen and Yin'er did not refuse and went to Yuqing Palace first. Outside the palace, the Zhi Beile Mansion, having heard the news, also started a small meeting, and this time the Eighth Prince also attended directly.
Staff member 1: "Lord Beile, it seems that the Fourth Beile and the Ninth Beile have gathered all the information. Our people also said that they are confidently preparing to go to the Qianqing Palace."
Second staff member: "Yes, they have gone to Yuqing Palace first, I think they are reporting to the Crown Prince. You must seize this opportunity, Lord Beile, because it will never come again. The Emperor must agree to accept the money, otherwise he would not allow the two princes to conduct such a sensational investigation. Now there is a ready-made peach, if you don't pick it now, there will be no next time."
The third staff member: "Yes, yes, Lord Beile, this opportunity cannot be missed."
Zhi Beile was also persuaded by his staff, but said: "Who should I recommend to do this job when the time comes? I have heard that there are changes in Xinjiang. This is a good opportunity to make achievements and cannot be wasted on this trivial matter of collecting cash."
After hearing this, several staff members lowered their heads in thought. Compared with the war in Xinjiang, collecting cash was indeed an exaggeration. Moreover, if this matter was done well, it would be icing on the cake for those who had followed the prince earlier. If it was not done well, it would directly offend these people and would cause the loss of personnel on their side.
At this moment, Li Rulin, an aide, suggested, "Lord Beile, how about letting the Eighth Prince take on this matter? The Eighth Prince has always been on your side. He'll collect the money. If he does a good job, it will earn you a good reputation. If he doesn't, it won't hinder you from going to Xinjiang to make military achievements. And if there really are any problems in the future, you can just hand it over to the Fourth Beile and the others. After all, the Eighth Prince is still young, so if he doesn't do a good job, it won't be a shame, right?"
When Li Rulin said this, the eyes of Zhi Beile and the other staff members lit up, as if someone had cleared away the fog before their eyes. Yes, they still had the Eighth Prince on their side. It was also because the Eighth Prince's presence was too low before, which made Zhi Beile not pay attention to this younger brother. As a result, the staff members also did not take the Eighth Prince seriously. This time, they didn't even think of recommending the Eighth Prince.
The staff and Zhi Beile thought about it and agreed to the proposal when they found it feasible. Everyone was excitedly planning how to ask the emperor to help collect the money, and they did not notice the subtle eye contact between the eighth prince Yinsi and Li Rulin, or the slightly raised corners of their mouths.
There is no time to lose, otherwise things will change. After the plan was ready, Zhi Beile Yinzhen hurriedly took Yinsi to the Qianqing Palace. It would be better for them to get ahead of the Fourth Beile and the Ninth Beile, so that they could be sure to get the emperor's consent.
They were anxious, but the three brothers of Yuqing Palace were not anxious at this time. Not only that, Yinreng even ordered He Zhu to find someone to keep an eye on them. He would not set out until Yinzhi and the others entered the Qianqing Palace.
At this time, Yinzhen and Yin'er looked at Yinreng, who was drinking tea, with admiration, without any of the anxiety they had when they first came in.
When they first came to Yuqing Palace, Yinzhen and Yin'er were still thinking about going to Qianqing Palace to ask for credit, but now they are calmly drinking tea with the prince, waiting for the next protagonist to appear.
It turned out that Yinreng had long guessed that the eldest prince and the others wanted to take advantage of the situation. In order to strengthen the emperor's determination to collect the money in the future and to trick the eldest brother again, Yinreng asked He Zhu to find Yinzhen and Yin'er in advance. The purpose was to persuade them to go to the Qianqing Palace later. If the emperor asked to transfer the matter to the eldest brother, they should not object, or the opposition should not be so strong.
At first, Yinzhen and Yin'er were really confused when they heard this request. Not only did they not understand, they were also a little angry, thinking that the prince was bowing to the eldest prince. However, after listening to the prince's analysis, they calmed down and realized that this method was the most suitable way to quickly and completely recover all the debts. At the same time, it would also deepen the emperor's guilt towards them. Then, as the second brother said, with merit and guilt, it would not be impossible to be promoted to a higher title.
Soon, there was a sound of brisk footsteps outside, followed by He Zhu's voice from outside the door: "Master, gentlemen, Zhi Beile and the Eighth Prince have arrived at the Qianqing Palace."
Upon hearing He Zhu's message, Yinzhen jumped up and said, "Hurry, hurry, they're here. I want to go take a look too."
Seeing such a lively Xiaojiu, Yinreng and Yinzhen looked at each other with a smile, stood up from their chairs, and after tidying up their clothes, Yinreng said, "Let's go," and then he led the way out of the room, and Yinzhen and Yin'er hurriedly followed.
In the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi was puzzled by the arrival of both the eldest brother and the eighth brother to pay their respects. Given the eldest brother's personality, shouldn't he be at the parade grounds or the camp outside the capital at this hour? How could he have the time to come to him? Furthermore, considering the time, the eighth brother should also be at the Lifanyuan.
Yinzhen/Yinsi: "Your son pays his respects to the Emperor."
Kangxi: "Get up, why did the boss bring Xiao Ba here today? What's going on?"
Yinzhen chuckled and said, "I still can't hide it from my father, my emperor. My father is wise and wise."
Kangxi laughed and scolded him angrily after hearing this: "Alright, stop flattering me. If you have something to say, just say it directly. Beating around the bush is not like you."
Yinzhen: "Ah, it's Your Majesty. The thing is, I've seen you've been worried about your debts lately, so I wanted to share your worries. Old Four and Little Nine have been investigating for several days now, but they haven't come to a conclusion yet. I don't think they'll find anything either. So I'm thinking of recommending Little Eight to Your Majesty. Little Eight is meticulous and will definitely be able to get the accounts sorted out more quickly. If Your Majesty wants to collect the money, Little Eight can help you do that. What do you think?"
Kangxi looked at Yinzhen in surprise. He had never expected his usually simple-minded eldest son to come up with such a plan today. He was directly trying to take advantage of the Fourth and Ninth Brothers. A few days had already passed, and judging by the Fourth and Ninth Brothers' personalities, the results of the investigation were almost out. Intervening at this time was clearly an attempt to steal the credit.
Just as Kangxi was still wondering whether this idea came from the eldest brother or the eighth brother, Liang Jiugong trotted in from outside the door and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince, the Fourth Master, and the Ninth Master are here, requesting an audience at the door."
"Oh," Kangxi said, noticing Yinzhen's uncomfortable look, and narrowed his eyes slightly, "Let them in."
Liang Jiugong: "Yeah."
Soon Liang Jiugong walked to the door and saluted Yinreng and the others: "Gentlemen, the emperor lets you in."
Yinreng nodded to Liang Jiugong, and walked into the main hall with Yinzhen and Yin'er.
Yinreng/Yinzhen/Yin'er: "Your son pays his respects to the Emperor."
Kangxi looked at his sons below with an ambiguous expression: "Stand up and take your seats."
Yinreng, along with his two younger brothers, also greeted Yinzhi: "Big Brother" X3
When Yinzhi saw Yinreng and the others, his face was filled with jealousy and the satisfaction of being about to succeed, and the corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Second brother, fourth brother and ninth brother, when did your relationship become so good that you actually come together to pay your respects to the Emperor."
As soon as he said this, Kangxi turned his attention to the three brothers who had just entered. Yinreng's face remained unchanged, and he simply replied politely, "It just so happened that my fourth and ninth brothers came to Yuqing Palace to see me, so I followed them to see you, Your Majesty. My fourth and ninth brothers have something to report to you, Your Majesty."
Seeing Yinreng turning his head towards him, Kangxi completely gave up the intention of continuing to review the memorials, put down his brush and signaled to continue.
Yinzhen and Yin'er stood up and said, "Father Your Majesty, I have fulfilled your mission and have completed the task you assigned to me a few days ago. Here are the detailed accounts and the corresponding list of borrowers. The booklet next to it records the honest officials that Your Majesty has helped over the years."
Kangxi's mood improved a little: "Present it."
In a blink of an eye, Liang Jiugong trotted forward, took the three booklets in Yinzhen's hands and returned them to the imperial desk in front of Kangxi.
Although Kangxi already knew what was going on, he was still furious after seeing such detailed information: "These parasites are truly hateful and abhorrent. These debts must be returned. Who among you is willing to share my worries and do this?"
Yinzhen and Yin'er deliberately hesitated for two seconds, and sure enough, the voices of the eldest and eighth princes rang out: "Your sons are willing."
At this time, Yinzhen and Yin'er also showed surprised expressions, and then Yin'er blurted out: "My eighth brother, you...", but he was quickly stopped by Yinzhen. Then, after seeing Kangxi at the top, the two brothers swallowed all their reluctance.
Of course, everyone in the hall saw clearly what Yinzhen and Yin'er did, but when the emperor made the request just now, they hesitated for two seconds. Just these two short seconds showed that they still had concerns. Hesitation in such a situation could easily lead to missing the opportunity.
Sure enough, after seeing this, Kangxi thought for a few breaths and finally gave this task to Yinzhen and Yinsi.
Yinreng then pleaded for Yinzhen and the others, "Father, isn't this inappropriate? Fourth and ninth brothers were in charge from the beginning, and they know the details better. Why not let fourth and ninth brothers take charge instead of bothering two masters? I acknowledge the abilities of eldest and eighth brothers, but it will take some time for them to get used to the sudden introduction of this matter."
Seeing the prince's objection, Yinzhen couldn't help but say, "Second brother, what you said is wrong. Fourth and ninth brothers are already exhausted from checking the accounts. How can we trouble them again? They have been under enough pressure recently. For the sake of their health, it is better to let fourth and ninth brothers have a good rest."
Besides, the accounts and lists have been thoroughly checked, so anyone can do it from now on. I believe that my eighth brother and I will be able to fully master it in a few days. Don't worry, second brother, we will definitely get things done smoothly and ensure that the treasury is full."
When Kangxi heard the Crown Prince's objection, the uneasy feeling in his heart came back. "What the eldest brother said is right. The fourth and ninth brothers have been working hard recently. They should take a good rest from now on. Also, I remember that the residences of the ninth and tenth brothers need repairs. I'll leave this to the fourth brother. You must hurry up and do it. The renovations cannot be neglected. Moreover, I have already decided that the seventh and eighth brothers will get married this year, and the ninth and tenth brothers will get married in the first half of next year. We can't delay the wedding just because the residences are not repaired."
Seeing that the emperor had brought out all the details about the renovation of the house, Yinzhen and Yin'er had no choice but to kneel down and thank him: "Thank you for your grace, emperor."
The two younger brothers had stopped arguing, and Yinreng had also stopped trying to argue. Seeing this, Kangxi felt much more relieved.
Things were carried out according to his wishes, which gave Kangxi a sense of satisfaction that no matter how capable his sons were, he was still in control of the situation. At the same time, he also felt a little guilty towards Yinzhen and Yin'er.