From childhood to adulthood, although there has always been an eldest brother weighing on his head, the second prince has never suffered much. Although the mother prefers the eldest brother, he is also her biological child after all, and she naturally holds him in the palm of her hand from top to bottom.
Therefore, he had never experienced such an experience as being punished by kneeling down when he made a mistake. Even if he did something wrong, the queen mother would only say a few words to him lightly.
However, at this moment, he was kneeling on the bitterly cold ground in the coldest month of winter, wearing only a thin cloth - after all, there was a warm charcoal stove in the carriage before, and the carriage was still covered with a thick hood.
, not cold at all. If it weren't for the guards who put a thick cloak on him and stood around to protect him from the wind, he simply doubted that he would freeze to death.
Kneeling on the ground, the coldness spread along the thin skin bit by bit, and spread all over the body in an instant, so that the whole person was shivering, and his lips seemed to have lost any feeling. The second prince didn't know where he got his perseverance.
, only then could he insist on kneeling there. He didn't know how long he would have to kneel before his father was willing to see him. He only knew that he had to hold on hard.
Whether it was the Queen Mother who couldn't bear to see him suffering so much and came to plead for mercy, or the Queen Mother took pity on his grandson and sent someone to say a few words, or the Father finally relented - even if the hope of knowing this was not real.
It's not big, he can only gamble on those possibilities!
He didn't know how long he had waited, but just when he was about to freeze and lose consciousness, he finally heard Liu Feng's familiar voice: "The Emperor has ordered that the second prince be brought in."
The anger that had been holding on to his heart and refused to let go was finally released. The second prince thought that he would collapse to the ground, but the result was that he could not move. All he knew was that his left and right arms were being grabbed by someone.
, and then he was carried in. When he entered the Qianqing Palace, the warmth that hit his face suddenly enveloped his whole body, and he was poured into a bowl of hot ginger soup, and he felt that his whole body was alive.
"Ever since you were a child, you have been half-hearted in everything you do and have given up halfway. This is actually the time when you have the most perseverance. Tell me, why do you come to see me for such an urgent matter as "benefiting the country and the people"?
His father's voice suddenly sounded in his ears, and the second prince shivered suddenly, and then he suddenly woke up. He raised his head, which was still a little numb, and stared at the figure of the emperor in ordinary clothes in front of him.
After a while, he whispered: "Father, I know that I did something wrong before and committed a serious crime. I don't expect my father to forgive me, but..."
His tongue seemed to be frozen, and he finally began to speak more fluently. He quickly shook off Liu Feng, who was waiting for him next to him, stood up unsteadily, and fell to his knees again after two staggering steps. There was no need to pretend.
Tears streaming down my face.
"But although my son is doing bad things, when I went to inquire about Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshop, I thought that if I found out that they had made something good without telling others, I would snatch it and present it to my father!"
He suddenly shouted in an almost roaring voice: "In the whole world, is it the land of the king, the shore of the land, is it the ministers of the king? This world and its people all belong to the father. Of course, the best things should also belong to the father."
Yes! But the eldest brother didn’t know how he got the new spinning machine. He didn’t want to donate it to the father, but took it to hand over to the wealthy businessmen in Jiangnan... What is he trying to do?"
The emperor did not speak, but the expression on his face was obviously much deeper. The second prince saw this expression in his eyes and felt a little more confident for a moment.
"I don't believe that my father is so perceptive, but I didn't see that my eldest brother is making friends with the famous Jiangnan families and local wealthy businessmen these days. I can only imagine how many people will suffer from the common people once the new textile machines are in the hands of these people.
How could my father not think of it? But no matter what the reason, my father did not stop my elder brother, but my son had no choice but to make suggestions."
"No matter how bad my son is, no matter how bad his temper is, he is still better than the eldest brother who is sanctimonious but actually loves money as much as his life! At least my son is an honest man and not as hypocritical as my eldest brother!"
The emperor stared at the impassioned second prince for a long time, then suddenly smiled and said: "Then what do you think we should do?"
The second prince was not afraid of the emperor's cross-examination. What he was afraid of was that the emperor would simply ignore him. What's more, what the emperor asked back at this time was a question he had thought about over and over again after Zhang Shou reminded him. Therefore, his
The answer is natural, quick and timely.
"Father, I think that the blueprints of the new textile machinery should be made public to the world, so that all people in the world who make a living by textiles can enjoy this efficient weapon..." The second prince said as he began to lay out the facts.
To be fair, the consequences of monopolizing new machines by wealthy businessmen and wealthy merchants were extremely serious. Especially when he saw the emperor nodding slightly, he felt even more confident.
"What's more, the land south of the Yangtze River has always been rich and prosperous, and the sea trade has generated countless revenue for many years. It is time to restrict them..."
The smile on the emperor's lips deepened when he heard that the second prince even vaguely mentioned it to prevent Jiangnan and Fujian Guangdong maritime merchants from colluding with the descendants of those who disappeared in Taizu's fleet. However, the excited second prince
Little did he know that it was not a smile of approval, but a smile of ridicule.
"I didn't expect you to have made great progress." The emperor said something calmly, and seeing the second prince immediately beaming with joy, he suddenly changed his words and said, "It's true that I didn't miss your elder brother's actions, but I also didn't miss them either.
Those little moves of yours!”
"If you had spent several lives to find out at the beginning, after your elder brother bought a spinning machine that could spin yarn several times more efficiently than before, instead of having a dead soldier on the left and a dead soldier on the right kill your elder brother, he would immediately kill him.
Come and report in front of me, then, for what you said, I am not unable to commend you for your dedication to serving the public."
"However, after you suffered repeated setbacks and lost several lives, you came to accuse your eldest brother in front of me. Think about it for yourself, what position do you have to accuse your eldest brother and those Jiangnan nobles? It's too late.
It’s too late!”
"Father!" The second prince immediately turned pale. When he was about to say something else, he shuddered under the emperor's stern gaze.
The emperor then sneered again: "You two have been fighting since childhood. One is always superficial and the other is vicious. If you can really work together as brothers as your mother hopes, maybe it will really happen."
It's a pity that none of you are willing to obey the other, and you would rather disrupt the situation than cooperate. But that's all, there are many people who turn against each other and become enemies."
Having said this, the emperor couldn't help but feel a little unmotivated. He sighed softly, and then said calmly: "Today you came out with a sincere heart and made suggestions that would benefit the country and the people. Although it was mostly acting, at least it was good.
You have chosen the only correct path. If you don't come today, I will only give you a house in the capital in the future, and let you go and reflect behind closed doors for the rest of your life."
A scene that took so much painstaking effort was exposed by his father. The second prince was still a little bit sorry for himself, but when he heard the emperor's words, he was instantly distracted, and then he couldn't help but feel lucky. What if he hadn't met Zhang Shou on the way today? He and Zhu Ying, Zhang Shou never said such unpleasant words, he simply could not make the determination he has now.
Even if the result is not as good as originally expected, at least it is not worse. More importantly, he exposed the eldest prince's face and pulled people... no, at least the purpose of pushing people into trouble was achieved!
However, his grandmother, the Queen Mother, had not come forward at all before. Even if he knelt in front of the Qianqing Gate for so long, that was fine. After all, he had never been a favored prince in front of the Queen Mother, but his biological mother, the Queen, was also in Kunqing. Ning Gong avoided seeing her, but this really broke his heart! If it were the eldest prince, would she not come?
The second prince knelt in front of the Qianqing Gate for at least half an hour, and then the emperor made his announcement. Because there were so many people who saw this scene, word spread in the palace in a short while. Those who had not rushed to the Qianqing Gate before were so cruel. The queen was naturally relieved, but she waited around in Kunning Palace, only to hear the news that the second prince had left the palace.
She, who understood the second son's temper best, didn't know that the second prince might have resented her as his mother because she didn't show up!
The Queen couldn't figure it out, and others had no time to pay attention. After the Emperor summoned the second prince and released them from the palace, he reprimanded the second prince for indiscriminate killing, disturbing the people, etc., and ordered him to pay compensation for killing slaves and nuisances without permission. The common people fined him three years' salary, and then deprived him of his princely crown and robes. He was dismissed from the throne for one year, and the forty sticks for killing slaves and slaves were recorded in the account, and he was beaten again after the New Year.
In the eyes of others, this was the most obvious omen. After all, when the two elder princes, the eldest prince and the second prince, were choosing their concubines, the second prince was suddenly treated like this because he caused a series of troubles, and the remaining The third prince and the fourth prince are still too young to be competitive. Doesn't it mean that the master of the East Palace will be chosen soon?
Just after the eldest prince heard the news, he was holding a banquet to celebrate with his party members in the other courtyard. Suddenly, it was announced that the Chief of Ceremonies, Bingbi Chukuan, had arrived. For a while, the music and singing were suspended, the banquet was suspended, and the Chairman The eldest prince who came up was just stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "Everyone, please rest for a while, I will go see Chu Kuan!"
Hurrying to the door of the study, the eldest prince calmed down. The calm and composed expression in front of others immediately softened a bit, becoming attentive but still maintaining his identity. He opened the door, and then smiled and said: "Why are you so interested, Eunuch Chu?" Come to me?"
"I don't go to the Three Treasures Palace for anything..." Chu Kuan drawled a long note with a half-smile, and then said with a straight face, "I follow the emperor's instructions to ask the eldest prince something."
The eldest prince's heart suddenly skipped a beat, but then he forced out a smile and raised his hands and said, "Please feel free to ask, Eunuch Chu, there is nothing I should not say to anyone, and there is nothing I should not say to my father."
"That's good." Chu Kuan nodded as if he was relieved, but his first words were as sharp as a knife.
"The emperor asked the eldest prince, the second prince said that you have obtained a new spinning machine that can increase the spinning efficiency several times compared with before. Is this true?"
Hearing that the second prince failed to spy on the blueprints and machines, and actually brought the matter directly to his father, the eldest prince immediately felt hatred in his heart. But no matter how much he hated it, he also knew that his literary skills were of no use, so he could only bite the bullet and said: " Yes, but I..."
Before the eldest prince could finish his words, Chu Kuan interrupted: "Your Majesty asked, the eldest prince should know that such a good thing is beneficial to the country and the people, so why not offer it immediately and then promote it to the world?"
When he was interrupted, the eldest prince realized that something was not right. At this moment, he felt cold sweat running down his back. He could only barely show a smile: "I am trying to find out whether the spinning machine is so effective, otherwise I am afraid that it will be useless if it is used."
Self-defeating..."
This time, the eldest prince still couldn't finish what he said. He only heard Chu Kuan ask expressionlessly: "The emperor asked, I don't know if it is effective, so you went to discuss cooperation with the prominent families and merchants in the south of the Yangtze River? The world is prosperous,
Everyone is here for profit, and everyone in the world is here for profit. This is so true, but as the eldest son of the emperor, you only care about petty profits, shouldn't you reflect on it?"
As soon as these words came out, the eldest prince immediately knew that something was wrong. It was not that he had not thought about the possibility that the second prince would bring the matter to the emperor, but he always thought that this was just a small dispute between the two people, and it was different from those in the past.
Just like fighting, his father would not care at all, and his mother would only try to persuade him. But he never expected that his father would suddenly intervene from such a height.
"Eunuch Chu, I want to see my father and explain to him face to face... That's not the case. The imperial court has a weaving and dyeing bureau in Jiangnan, but those weaving and dyeing bureaus also requisitioned local craftsmen and used local raw materials. I was also thinking
, if these textile machines can be used to attract wealthy businessmen from prominent families in the south of the Yangtze River to better obey the imperial court..."
The eldest prince racked his brains to find a good reason for himself, but in the middle of the sentence, Chu Kuan smiled at him: "As for the second prince, the emperor directly took back his palace status. Within three years, he will enter the palace."
You must first submit a letter to the palace to request it. But you, the eldest prince, are different. Naturally, you can enter the palace at any time to ask for an audience with the emperor. But, who is a son in the world who would not dedicate his treasure to his father?"
Hearing such an obvious hint, the eldest prince felt bitter in his heart.
Although there is nothing wrong with Chu Kuan's statement in theory, he spent a lot of money to buy the things with great difficulty. If he handed it over like this, wouldn't he lose his wife and lose his troops? What's more, he has already lost his troops.
He has negotiated cooperation with many people, but if he suddenly changes his mind, wouldn't his reputation as the eldest prince be ruined on the streets in the blink of an eye?
Seeing that the eldest prince's expression was gloomy and uncertain, that he was still unable to make a painful decision, and was even planning to fight to the death, Chu Kuan couldn't help but sigh to himself.
King and father, king and father, the king comes first and then the father. The emperor has never been too harsh on his sons, but the eldest prince actually got it wrong!
Zhang Shou, the true inventor of a new type of textile machine, knew that he would stop immediately after making a profit, and even submitted the drawings and promotion plans, but the eldest prince is still stubborn to this day.
Is it possible that he should be asked to tell the eldest son of the emperor that Lu Chan had gone to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu's weaving and dyeing workshops to ask for a spinning machine?
In the final analysis, this is just a cover. The emperor asked his two sons to learn a lesson one after another, but he had to protect Zhang Shou who presented the textile machine drawings intact. Otherwise, why bother to make superficial remarks like this, just directly announce Zhang Shou's textile machine drawings?
Just the drawings!
Alas, Zhang Shou clearly stated in the secret box memorial to the emperor that the money he earned was not only to enable Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu to support their families in the future, but also to get a wife for himself, but what about the eldest prince and the second prince? These princes