Chapter Two Hundred and Twenty-Three: Staff Luo Yan
Chapter 223
"Crack!"
In the East Palace, Prince Hongli kicked over a square frame of exquisitely crafted lacquered wood with a sullen look on his face. He saw only the decoration placed on the wooden frame, a precious blue and white patterned ceramic vase from the Song Dynasty.
It fell to the paving tiles in the hall with a loud thud and was shattered into pieces.
"It doesn't make sense...it doesn't make sense!"
I saw Hongli, the crown prince of the East Palace, pacing back and forth in the palace muttering something. The angry look on his face frightened the eunuchs and maids in the palace, who did not dare to come over to clean up the mess, and stood tremblingly in the distance.
At this time, a good-looking young man came out of the side hall, wearing a soap-white cloth robe, with his right hand on his back and his left hand holding a volume.
If you take a closer look at this person, he is probably around 20 years old. He has fine features and pretty eyes, his face is slightly pale, and he looks quite thin.
The way he moved his hands and feet was gentle and elegant, with a kind of elegance unique to scholars.
"Mr. Luo."
Seeing this man, the eunuchs and maids in the palace saluted him one after another.
It turns out that this person was Luo Yao, who was second in last year's new department and now the most relied-upon staff member of the East Palace Prince Hongli.
"What happened?"
Luo Yao asked doubtfully.
The eunuchs and maids in the palace were too afraid to speak, and secretly glanced at the prince Hongli who was sitting on a chair far away with a sullen look on his face.
Seeing this, Luo Yao understood in his heart, closed the book and whispered: "You can step aside for now and come back later to clean up."
A group of eunuchs and maids saw the sullen expression on the face of Prince Hongli of the Eastern Palace, and wished they could leave this place of trouble as soon as possible. But after hearing what Luo Yao said, they quickly retreated.
Seeing these people retreating from the inner hall one after another, Luo Yao slowly walked towards the prince Hongli. When he passed the blue and white Song porcelain that was smashed to pieces, he shook his head silently and sighed, and then walked forward again.
After walking a few steps, he bowed his hands towards Prince Hongli and called softly: "Your Highness."
Prince Hongli raised his head and saw Luo Yao. The anger on his face faded slightly, and he said with a hint of apology: "I deeply apologize for disturbing my husband's study."
After saying that, Prince Hongli raised his finger and pointed to the chair beside him, motioning for his trusted aide to sit down before talking.
Seeing this, Luo Yao didn't show any pretense. Shi Shiran sat on the chair next to the prince Hongli, with his spine straight and upright.
"Why is His Royal Highness so angry?"
After hearing the words, Prince Hongli pondered for a long time and said angrily: "My good deeds have been interfered with by Lao Ba once again."
Hearing this, Luo Yao wrinkled and asked in confusion: "Lao Ba? Is this His Highness Su Wang Hongrun?"
After saying that, he murmured in surprise: "That's not the case. There should be no conflict between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Prince Su... Why?"
After hearing these words, Prince Hongli's expression flickered for some reason.
Seeing this, Luo Yao frowned, his eyes flashed, and he asked sternly: "Did His Highness the Crown Prince fail to listen to my advice? Or did he have the idea of taking advantage of Prince Su's huge sum of money?"
Prince Hongli couldn't help but look a little embarrassed when he heard this, and said sarcastically: "I don't want much, God knows that Lao Ba won't give me any face, it's really irritating!"
"This is not a question of more or less... How much does His Highness the Crown Prince speak?"
"One percent..."
"One percent?!" Luo Yao's face changed slightly when he heard this.
You know, although it is not yet clear in Daliang how many precious pearls, jade, lacquerware, and copperware King Su Wang Zhao Hongrun got from the Chu State, according to a rough report, the money and goods were piled up in Xiangfu County.
It's a small hill, so you can imagine its approximate value.
The frivolous 10% that Prince Hongli of the Eastern Palace talks about is really not that much?
Luo Yao hesitated several times before finally letting out a long sigh.
Seeing this, Hongli, the crown prince of the East Palace, blushed slightly and defended himself: "I didn't get him for free. If I get 10%, he will get 10%. Isn't this good?"
"Your Highness the Crown Prince!" Luo Yao couldn't laugh or cry. He shook his head and corrected him: "Your Highness, Your Highness, the money and goods were originally obtained by King Su in the Chu Kingdom. According to the custom, he only needs to hand over half to the Ministry of Revenue, and he can share the rest with him.
The several armies that assisted him in conquering the Chu State were secretly divided. Even the Yushitai would not say anything to King Su because of it... In other words, they were originally the property of King Su. His Highness the Crown Prince wanted 10% of them.
, clearly taking food from King Su’s mouth!”
After that, he saw that the Prince of the East Palace was sullen and silent, so he softened his tone a bit.
He comforted and said: "That's all, Your Highness, please don't worry about other people's things...compared with the money and things, after all, the matter of the eldest son is more important. Your Highness should think about the heaven-sacrifice ceremony in a few days. If
When the time comes for His Royal Highness to perform well, I believe His Royal Highness’s prestige in both the government and the public will be greatly enhanced.”
Luo Yao said a few more words of relief, but for some reason, the Prince of the East Palace remained gloomy and silent, which made him very suspicious.
"Does His Highness the Crown Prince have something else on his mind?"
Upon hearing this, Prince Hongli raised his head and glanced at Luo Yao. After thinking for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Lao Ba... has reduced the financial power of the Ministry of Household Affairs."
…
Luo Yao's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he asked in shock: "It's so good, why does Prince Su want to reduce the financial power of the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Speaking of this, he seemed to suddenly think of something, his face changed drastically, and he said in shock: "Is it possible that His Highness the Crown Prince did not ask Zongwei to convey the idea of asking for 10% of the war profits to King Su, but through the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
"It's worse than that..." Perhaps because he wanted Luo Yao's advice, Prince Hongli no longer concealed anything. He simply smashed the jar and gritted his teeth and said, "Lao Ba had already expected that someone would touch his money, so
I asked the Junshui Camp to send 5,000 soldiers to guard and guard... That idiot Fan Jie, he kept promising me that he would find a way to get 10% of the war profits, but in the end, he actually asked them to do it.
The ministers and ministers of the Ministry went to Chui Gong Hall together to impeach the old man in front of the emperor..."
Luo Yao's face turned pale when he heard this, and his lips trembled slightly as he said, "What happens after...?"
"After that?" Prince Hongli sneered and said angrily: "Lao Ba, together with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry, jointly reduced the financial power of the Ministry of Household Affairs..."
With that said, he told Luo Yao exactly what happened in the morning, and Luo Yao was stunned.
"Brilliant! What a brilliant method!" Shaking his head, Luo Yao sighed: "I can't believe that King Su is still just a child at the age of fifteen. This conspiracy is really brilliant! ... I believe it at this time
At this moment, the establishment of the three armies of Shang Shui Army, Yan Shui Army, and Yanling Army under King Su's command has probably already reached a tacit agreement with the Ministry of War."
"..." Prince Hongli looked at Luo Yao blankly, as if he couldn't keep up with his thoughts.
Luo Yao, however, was still immersed in his considerations and continued to murmur: "With a conspiracy to divide the financial power of the Household Department, he gained the support of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War. What is commendable is that King Su can still rely on this
He negotiated with the Ministry of War alone to resolve the issue of the establishment of the three armies, including the Shangshui Army... but the Ministry of Household Affairs was unable to raise objections... brilliant! It was worthy of defeating Chu Yangcheng Lord Xiong Tuo's 160,000 troops at a small cost.
The Ji family is a hero!"
"Sir!" Prince Hongli was getting more and more uncomfortable listening, and couldn't help but interrupt: "Old Ba is capable, and I naturally know it... I just want to know if you, sir, can help the household department to recover. What’s the situation? Otherwise, the Ministry of Household Affairs will be reduced to the purse strings of the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works. What use does I need from the Ministry of Household Affairs?"
Back then, if you had listened to me... Oh!
Luo Yao silently looked at the Prince of the East Palace and sighed secretly in his heart.
Immediately, he raised his hand and touched his chin, thinking to himself.
King Su is certainly great, but King Yong is no less impressive... Sure enough, King Yong guessed that such changes would happen, so he handed over the household department to His Royal Highness. He waited for His Highness to go to the fire pit. Jumping inside... It's really insidious... King Yong expected that His Highness the Crown Prince would jump into this pit of fire. It seems that King Yong's understanding of His Highness the Crown Prince is much better than mine. He is indeed a brother for more than 20 years. ...But then again, was King Yong gambling too? Although he won this time, if Fan Xiang, the left minister of Hubu, had not angered King Su this time, wouldn't he have just given Hubu to him in vain? Your Highness the Crown Prince?... Or is there something hidden in this?
The more Luo Yao thought about it, the more he felt that this matter might not be as simple as it seemed on the surface, and that there might be some hidden secret that has not yet surfaced.
Suddenly, something moved in his heart. He turned to look at Prince Hongli and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, what do you want with that 10% of the war profits?"
"Why are you still bringing this up now?"
"I think this matter may be very important, please express it to Your Highness."
"..." Prince Hongli was pressed by Luo Yao and had no choice. In desperation, he had no choice but to tell the truth: "I want to win over Yuanyang Prince Zhao Chengxiu and his group of princes... God knows how these people knew that Lao Ba was from Chu. The country has obtained a large amount of money, and as if they smelled something fishy, they all came to me, Daliang, to gossip with me, hoping to gain some profit from it..." At this point, he smacked his lips. He said sadly: "I didn't intend to go to Lao Ba at first, but when those people said this..."
…
Luo Yao had a clear understanding after hearing this. In fact, he had some doubts just now, because logically speaking, Hongli, as the prince of the East Palace, lived in a deep palace and had never been short of food and clothing, so he would not be thinking about Su Wang Hongrun's money. Money and things.
"What is the relationship between the princes and princes headed by Prince Yuanyang Zhao Chengxiu and His Highness the Crown Prince?"
"Every year during spring hunting and autumn hunting, we will meet each other more or less, and the relationship... they still tend to support me. We have always had a good relationship with me. Why do you ask this, sir?"
"Then have your Highness asked how those princes and highnesses knew that King Su had brought a lot of money and goods from Chu?"
His Royal Highness the Prince was stunned and said matter-of-factly: "How do you know? Of course it was the news from Daliang."
I'm afraid it's not that simple!
Luo Yao shook his head slightly.
Did it come from Daliang? Hey! Even the people of Daliang have not yet learned about the money and goods that King Su brought from Chu. Only the ministers in the court knew more or less, but those princes and highnesses were already in a hurry. When we came to Daliang, how could it be that it was passed down orally from the people of Daliang?
If King Yong is secretly fueling this matter, his tricks are becoming more and more sophisticated...
Sighing helplessly, Luo Yao said seriously to Prince Hongli: "That's all, Your Highness, this matter is over. In the next few days, Your Highness only needs to prepare for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven. If this happens, King Yong and King Xiang will
First-class, cannot shake His Highness's status... On the other hand, those are the only few opportunities left for King Yong and others, so I think His Highness should be more vigilant during this period."
"Sir, what you are saying is that the second brother and the others will find ways to plot against me during the heaven-sacrifice ceremony?"
"Ah, nine times out of ten. After all, they don't have much chance..."