Chapter 301: Chapter 301

After a few jokes, Song Yuan quickly got back to the point: "The list given by Chief Historian Chen, I have privately visited them all, and the gifts have been sent out."

Jiang Shaohua nodded slightly and whispered: "I don’t ask them to do anything. As long as they remain silent when I confront Prime Minister Wang, that’s enough."

Mentioning Prime Minister Wang, Song Yuan frowned: "The Heroic Guard Camp’s defeat will definitely lead to General Wei being severely blamed. However, wanting to completely topple Prime Minister Wang through this is probably not easy."

Jiang Shaohua’s eyes flickered, and she said lightly: "A thousand-mile dyke collapses due to an ant hole. Toppling Prime Minister Wang is certainly not easy. But, first suppress his arrogance, and when the Crown Prince ascends the Dragon Throne, he can gradually take over the court. At that time, I’ll have a big tree to lean on."

Song Yuan thought for a moment and asked seriously: "Does the Commandery Princess think the Crown Prince is reliable?"

Jiang Shaohua was silent for a moment.

The Crown Prince was short-lived in his previous life, dying unexpectedly before he could warm the Dragon Throne. The conspiracy, schemes, and assassination involved were shocking.

This cannot entirely be blamed on sinister people. As the Emperor, being too trusting of others, unstable in power, and getting schemed against can also be seen as being incapable of matching the position.

In this lifetime, can she alone turn the tide and change the fate of the Crown Prince’s early death?

From what she knows of Zheng Chen, Zheng Chen probably won’t come to the rescue. Those who aspire to be powerful ministers in Da Liang naturally prefer a foolish child on the Dragon Throne.

"I don’t know." Jiang Shaohua said slowly: "I hope my cousin can become a wise monarch, make all officials submit, and allow the people to enjoy some good days."

It seems the Commandery Princess has limited confidence in the Crown Prince, or she wouldn’t use the word hope.

Song Yuan thought silently and then spoke: "Commandery Princess, rest early, you still need to rise early to enter the palace tomorrow."

Jiang Shaohua goes early and returns late every day, mostly eating dinner in the palace before returning to the Prince Mansion. It shows how favored she is, and she is on the rise.

Jiang Shaohua nodded with a smile.

The next day, Jiang Shaohua got up at the fifth hour, practiced martial arts for an hour, bathed, dressed, and rode into the palace.

The Crown Prince holds a small court meeting every morning in Zhaohai Palace. Civil and military officials above the third rank and members of the Imperial Family above Commandery Prince have the right to attend.

Jiang Shaohua comes every day. The ministers, initially finding her glaring and obtrusive, now reluctantly and gradually have grown accustomed to her presence.

Jiang Shaohua stands in the Commandery Prince’s position, quite close to the Crown Prince, mostly remaining silent. However, no major minister in the palace dares to underestimate her.

Only the repeatedly frustrated Prince Wu’an stares fiercely at Jiang Shaohua, but Jiang Shaohua remains calm, seemingly unperturbed.

The small court meeting always begins with the Pingzhou battle situation.

The Crown Prince held the war report sent to the palace today, his eyebrows knitted into a knot, his voice filled with anger: "The rebel army has occupied Pingzhou, and now they have captured three counties outside Pingzhou. Let everyone speak, what should we do now?"

Duke An, as the Minister of War, was the first to speak, without shirking responsibility: "Your Highness, calm your anger. Pingzhou is far away, General Fan has already led troops to reinforce, but it will take some time to reach Pingzhou..."

The Crown Prince snorted coldly: "Minister Zheng reminded me that this war report has been on the road for half a month. This means that during this half month, the rebel army in Pingzhou may have occupied more places."

This is indeed very possible.

The rebel army in Pingzhou clearly has ambitions. As soon as they gained a foothold in Pingzhou, they began to recklessly expand their territory. Carving up the land to be king, this humiliation, how could a young and fiery Crown Prince swallow it?

Whenever the rebel army in Pingzhou was mentioned, Prime Minister Wang felt guilty and anxious, yet he had to speak: "General Fan has led fifty thousand elite soldiers, and there are more than twenty thousand soldiers in Pingzhou, totaling over seventy thousand forces. They will certainly be able to pacify Pingzhou in the shortest time."

As soon as he spoke, a mocking voice rose: "Prime Minister Wang’s words are indeed light. Pingzhou was occupied by the rebel army, the Heroic Guard Camp lost over ten thousand elite soldiers, and General Du died in Pingzhou. All of this is due to Prime Minister Wang’s selfishness."

Today, leading the charge was one of the main forces of the Empress Dowager Faction, Vice Minister Cheng from the Ministry of Industry.

Next was a familiar fierce battle. The Prime Minister Faction hurried to defend the point passionately. Duke An and others spoke fiercely, demanding severe punishment for Prime Minister Wang. Even the Commandery Princes of the Imperial Family were dragged into these murky waters, some subtly supporting Prime Minister Wang, while others righteous names took Duke An’s side.

Jiang Shaohua coldly watched this farce.

The Empress Dowager Faction, under Empress Dowager Zheng’s direction, vehemently accused Prime Minister Wang. Not to topple Prime Minister Wang but repeatedly remind the Crown Prince that one reason Emperor Taikang was angered to death was Prime Minister Wang’s ’contribution.’

The Crown Prince’s distaste for Prime Minister Wang naturally leads him to rely on Empress Dowager Zheng and favor Duke An and others.

Empress Dowager Zheng may not be adept at governance, but she’s undoubtedly a master of manipulating people’s minds.

Recent stirring has clearly shown the Crown Prince’s dissatisfaction with Prime Minister Wang. Read complete versıon only at 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵⟡𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⟡𝓷𝓮𝓽

The Crown Prince suppressed his displeasure and said in a deep voice: "All ministers, be silent."

"General Wei will reach the Capital City in two days. When he returns, the Ministry of Justice will investigate the reasons for the defeat and then proceed to handle it."

Prime Minister Wang walked out of Zhaohai Palace expressionlessly.

Minister Zhang, Minister Zhou, and Minister Dai closely followed. After leaving the palace, they each took a soft sedan to the Prince Mansion.

On the other side, several officials were also entering and exiting the Zheng Mansion.

People with a keen eye can see that when General Wei arrives in the Capital City, he will face a storm. It’s unknown how long the chaotic and turbulent Da Liang Court will last.

The Crown Prince went to Jingyang Palace to have lunch with Empress Dowager Zheng.

Empress Dowager Zheng was still ill, her face pale, lacking appetite, and after eating a few bites, she put down her chopsticks. She sighed deeply and said: "I have heard about today’s matters in the court. The most important thing right now is for you to smoothly ascend and sit on the Dragon Throne. Don’t pressure Prime Minister Wang too tightly, or it might cause trouble."

This sounded like advice, but in reality, it’s adding fuel to the fire.

The Crown Prince pressed his thin lips tightly and responded softly.

Empress Dowager Zheng, skilled in whispering advice, lightly changed the topic with just a few words.

Two days later, General Wei finally arrived in the Capital City.

General Wei, in his forties, was tall and mighty looking. Among the generals, he’s considered a handsome man.

But this defeat in Pingzhou shattered General Wei’s spirit. When he appeared before everyone, they were shocked.

Gaunt, haggard, down and out... all the words combined were insufficient to describe General Wei, as if his bones had been drawn away, leaving only a numb and painful shell.

"Criminal official Wei Changfeng, before the Crown Prince." General Wei’s voice was hoarse, kneeling long without rising: "Criminal official was defeated in Pingzhou, lost troops and generals, lost Pingzhou, angering the Emperor into death. All of this is due to the criminal official’s fault."

"Please Your Highness grant the criminal swift death. The criminal will repent to the Emperor in the afterlife."