Could it be that the fourth child really had no one to support him and had given up his position as crown prince long ago?
The emperor looked at Prince Jing who lowered his head and remained silent, with a complicated look in his eyes.
Several more officials came out to support the three princes, but no one cared about Prince Jing.
Then the palace became noisy. Some officials remained neutral and only objectively analyzed the princes. Others naturally wanted to support their own factions, so the palace was divided into four factions.
Among them, the three factions were sarcastic and sarcastic with each other, and they were very verbal and verbal.
Some even rushed to the other party to point fingers, and sprayed the other party's face with spit when they spoke. It was a noisy scene comparable to a street market.
There were also neutral officials who watched the excitement and discussed with each other from time to time.
Some are like old monks who have entered concentration, such as Xia Qing, who didn't even raise his eyelids.
When the eunuch in charge, De'an, saw the commotion in the palace, the emperor also had a hint of anger on his face. He cursed in his heart that these people were really degrading to gentlemen, and some officials even started to push them.
"To report to your Majesty, I have this memorial!"
Suddenly, an unclear voice sounded in the palace. The emperor saw that this person was saluting him and rubbed his swollen forehead.
"It's done! How can you act like a shrew in public in public?"
The emperor patted the armrest of the dragon chair, instantly making the hall quiet.
Everyone quickly knelt down and shouted: "Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
The emperor waved his hand, "Dai Aiqing, what do you want to say?"
"Your Majesty, I heard that the Ordnance Bureau made some weapons half a month ago, which are similar to spears. After testing, they found that these weapons are extremely impractical."
Dai Yuanji, the Minister of War, was quite angry when he said this.
This batch of weapons produced by the Ordnance Bureau should have been reviewed by the third prince, and this matter must be reported to the emperor.
The third prince's heart immediately sank when he heard this. He had already paid back the silver spent on the weapon, so why did he bring this matter up again?
If it weren't for the fact that he was about to become a prince and he was reluctant to use his own money to fill the hole, Tong Shunmin, the Minister of War, was not without responsibility.
The third prince glanced at Dai Yuanji, which faction did Dai Yuanji belong to? He did something bad at this juncture.
He knew very well that his mother-in-law was favored by his father, and if more courtiers supported him, his father might make him the crown prince.
Dai Yuanji must have had ulterior motives when he broke the news at this time.
"Oh? What kind of weapon is it?"
The emperor narrowed his eyes slightly and looked at Tong Shunmin, the minister of the Ministry of Industry. The Ordnance Bureau is under the Ministry of Industry. Why didn't Tong Shunmin report this matter to him?
Tong Shunmin was secretly frightened, knowing that what was supposed to come would still come. Fortunately, the hole had been filled in before.
Otherwise, the emperor would be furious if he knew how much money he had lost.
It goes without saying that the third prince was punished for doing this, but he himself could not escape the blame, so of course he had to cover up for the third prince.
"Tong Aiqing, do you know this or not?"
The emperor's face darkened, frightening Tong Shunmin who was deep in thought.
He hurriedly came out and said, "Your Majesty! This matter has been properly handled. The weapons can only be used at specific times, so it is not a waste."
Tong Shunmin glanced at Dai Yuanji and wondered which lineage Dai Yuanji was from.
Before, he pretended to be a pure minister and refused to surrender to anyone. Now that he is about to establish a prince, the fox's tail is exposed.
"Oh?" The emperor looked at Dai Yuanji with questions in his eyes.
Dai Yuanji saw that the emperor looked at him with doubt, so he was naturally unhappy.
He was telling the truth. If this weapon were thrown on the battlefield, not many soldiers would be killed.
"Your Majesty, you might as well ask the Ministry of Industry to bring the blueprints of the weapons. Your Majesty will know that what I have said is true. This weapon is not practical at all. If it is sent to the border, wouldn't it harm all the soldiers? Master Tong, who are you?
What's your intention?"
Dai Yuanji's righteous words made Tong Shunmin very angry.
Now that the matter has come to this, Tong Shunmin can no longer hide the matter, so she has no choice but to tell the truth.
The third prince understood that although he had filled up the money, Dai Yuanji, an old man, would definitely not let him go.
If I had known this earlier, it would have been better to confess the matter to my father earlier than to tell it to the court.
The lower-ranking officials immediately started talking about it. They were all speculating about what kind of weapon it was and why it was impractical.
Some officials had already gotten the news and were watching the excitement.
A trace of surprise flashed in the eyes of the eldest prince. Whose lineage did Dai Yuanji come from to actually get ahead of them?
The eldest prince glanced at the second prince next to him who was also surprised, and felt doubtful.
Prince Jing glanced at the two kneeling men, and then turned his head away. This appearance of not having anything to do with him dispelled the eldest prince's suspicion.
The Third Prince's lineage is naturally extremely anxious. Even if the Emperor does not punish him today, the Third Prince will lose face, not to mention his reputation for not being rigorous in doing things.
"Sir Dai, please stop spewing blood. Even though the Ministry of Public Security is at fault, the money lost has already been repaid. Those weapons can be remanufactured. How much will be lost? Besides, I didn't say that I would put these weapons into use at the border.
, I don’t know where Mr. Dai heard this from.”
Tong Shunmin felt extremely unhappy when she saw Dai Yuanji clinging to this matter.
He snorted coldly, hating Dai Yuanji in his heart.
"It's easy for you to say that. There was news from the border gate that a batch of weapons should be made as soon as possible and sent to the border gate. Time is tight. I dare to ask Mr. Tong, this batch of weapons cannot be used and they have to be remade. How long will it take? How long will it take to remake them?
It will also cause waste. Now the national treasury is not rich, but I can see that Master Tong does not consider the court at all."
Dai Yuanji was not to be outdone. Since he had raised this matter, he naturally wanted to achieve his goal.
"I just said that the money has been advanced. We can wait until the pig iron is purchased before making it."
"Then you mean that the Ordnance Bureau has no inventory? The government's iron mines have no iron storage? And where did the advance money come from? As far as I know, the weapons made this time took a full two years.
One hundred thousand taels, please explain it clearly, Mr. Tong."
The eldest prince's lips curled up slightly. After talking for so long, he finally got to the point.
When the emperor heard this, his face fell like water, "There are actually two hundred thousand taels? Why didn't you report such a big thing to me? Dai Aiqing is right, where did your money come from? Did you pay for it with your own money?
"
How could the emperor believe this? Two hundred thousand taels is not a small amount. Can Tong Shunmin be willing to fill this hole with money?
The second prince knew about this matter a few days ago. The palace staff said that if this matter was to be exposed to others, his father must be informed of it.
This is a good opportunity to suppress the third child, and the father will definitely be furious.
He did arrange for officials to take part in the third book today, but who would have thought that Dai Yuanji had told him in advance.
He glanced at the eldest prince and noticed a slightly proud look in his eyes. Could it be that Dai Yuanji was from the eldest prince's lineage? 15