Volume 2: Residence in the Capital Chapter 240 As You Wish
On the night of the Little New Year's Eve, the family of four of the three generations of the Duke of Zhao's mansion were having a great time. Even though the head of the family and the heir were not home, the atmosphere was still lively. Zhang Shou's family was also having a great time. Two tables were set up in the hall, and the master and servants enjoyed themselves together, making noise until nightfall. However, there were many families who did not have a good Little New Year's Eve, and one of the representatives was the imperial palace.
On the day of Xiaonian Eve, the emperor, as the head of the palace, personally offered sacrifices to the Kitchen God. Of course, this could be done by someone else, but the emperor, who often sighed behind the scenes during the grand court meetings, had no complaints about offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. It was said that Emperor Taizu won his first great victory on the day of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God with the blessing of the Kitchen God.
Therefore, although the second prince's status as a palace official had been withdrawn before, the emperor still summoned him to the palace to participate in the sacrifice ceremony in the evening of that day. However, when the second prince arrived at the Qianqing Gate, the queen also came with the eldest prince. When the mother, son and brother met, they were not as harmonious as before, but were actually hostile to each other.
When the emperor sent Liu Feng to ask what happened to the empress because of her uninvited visit, he learned that the empress had asked the concubine Hu to reprimand the second prince, but the second prince refused to see her! Even though concubine Hu brought up the title of the empress, the second prince still refused to listen and even claimed that his mother favored the eldest son, shouting so loudly that the neighbors and passers-by could hear it.
If it wasn't a great festival, the emperor would have been furious. But at this moment, after summoning the three people, he suppressed his anger and said coldly: "If you two brothers continue to make trouble, let Sanlang and Silang accompany me to worship the kitchen god today. You go back and wake up your brains!"
Although they had just glared at each other like enemies, the first and second princes suddenly changed color when the emperor said this. Not only did they immediately fall silent, but the first prince also quickly walked to the queen and whispered a few words to her, finally persuading the resentful queen to go back. After this, the eldest prince came back with a gloomy face.
Without even looking at the Second Prince, he walked straight up to the Emperor, bowed deeply and said, "Father, I have previously written a letter requesting that the promotion of the new textile machine be entrusted to me, but Your Majesty has never approved it." It was completely inappropriate to discuss such matters today on New Year's Eve, but he had no other choice but to burn his boats and give it his all.
The second prince was about to retort, but when he saw the emperor's cold eyes, he immediately shut his mouth. Sure enough, the next moment, he only heard the emperor say indifferently: "I did not approve the memorials from you and the others, because if I did approve it, it would only be four words, and it would be too late."
Although the emperor had used these four words to scold him before, the second prince felt extremely happy at this moment. The eldest prince now wanted to take charge of this matter himself, so as to maintain his relationship with those local tyrants in Jiangnan? Why didn't he do it earlier! If he had made up his mind earlier and told his father everything, it would be too late for him to make a fuss!
Of course, if only he had listened to Zhang Shou earlier...
The eldest prince wanted to argue again, but the emperor was too lazy to talk about it. He waved to the third and fourth princes to come over, and then took one by the hand and went straight to the sacrificial hall. Since the reign of Emperor Taizu, only the emperor and unmarried princes participated in the worship of the Kitchen God in the palace. As for the royal family members... Haha, who doesn't have a separate palace and his own Kitchen God to worship?
The sacrificial hall was specially set aside during the reign of Emperor Taizu to worship the Kitchen God. Usually, the emperor would lead the way, followed by the princes according to their age. But today, the emperor led the third and fourth princes, and the eldest and second princes fell behind. When outsiders heard about this, they naturally couldn't help but speculate. Even Chu Kuan and several eunuchs from the Imperial Household Department, who had been waiting at the door of the sacrificial hall, couldn't help but take a few more glances.
Although he brought the third and fourth princes to the entrance of the sacrificial hall, when they actually went in, the emperor did not ignore the seniority and kept the two of them with him. Even so, the third and fourth princes, who were left at the end, still received the cold eyes of their two elder brothers. The two of them were much older than the first and second princes, and they had been held in the palm of their father's hand since they were young. They couldn't help but feel very aggrieved at this moment.
They had just bowed respectfully to the two brothers and didn't say a word, so why should they be given the cold shoulder?
They barely made it to the end of the Kitchen God Festival. When the emperor led the way out of the temple, the third and fourth princes hurried over hand in hand. But before they could get close to their father, they were stopped by the eldest prince again: "Father, I only beg you to give me a chance..."
The emperor finally looked gloomy. He looked at the eldest prince and saw that he was looking at him. He sneered and said, "Well, since you want to take the lead in this matter, I will give you a chance. Go to Cangzhou. Cangzhou has the most cotton fields in the whole northern Zhili. You go and promote this new textile machine. I will appoint two capable supervisors to go with you and report your every move."
The second prince wanted to object, but when he heard the emperor say the word Cangzhou, he was so happy that he wanted to laugh out loud. The first prince tried his best to contact the wealthy families in Jiangnan. How could they look down on Cangzhou, a tiny place near the capital? Seeing the first prince's face turn pale in an instant, he couldn't help but shout, "Father, your majesty is wise!"
However, just as he uttered these four words, he was greeted by the emperor's equally cold voice: "According to the old rules of Taizu, anyone who kills slaves without authorization shall be caned forty times. After the first month of the year, you will go to the Zongzheng Temple and receive your forty canes!"
Seeing the Second Prince freeze instantly, the Fourth Prince almost laughed out loud, but fortunately the Third Prince quickly pulled his sleeves and even covered his mouth, so he didn't attract the attention of his father and two brothers. When he watched the First Prince leave dejectedly and the Second Prince also left with a gloomy face, he finally broke free from the Third Prince's hand and ran forward.
"Father, I heard that the new spinning machine was made by the teacher and Lu Sanlang. Why should we let my eldest brother promote it? Isn't it more appropriate for the person who should improve it to promote it?"
Seeing that the emperor didn't say anything, he ignored the third prince who was desperately pulling at his clothes behind him, and said loudly, "Besides, I heard that the first textile machine samples were donated by Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. Even they are more suitable than my eldest brother who is reluctant to give out his products! Since the emperor asked my eldest brother to promote it in Cangzhou, why not let Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu promote it in Xingtai!"
The emperor suddenly looked down at the fourth prince. Seeing that the young prince didn't care about his sharp gaze at all, he asked in a deep voice, "Who instigated you to say these words to me?"
The fourth prince's face suddenly became long, and he said unconvincedly: "I am not a child anymore, no one can instigate me!"
In such a hurry, he completely forgot about the father-son relationship and the monarch-subject relationship, and started to talk to each other: "Don't look at me as a child, I have also asked people what the new spinning machine is used for! They told me that the faster the spinning speed, the spinners can make more money, and if the spinners make more money, they can have enough food and have more children..."
After having more children, he was stuck, but after thinking hard for a while, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"After having more children, we can reclaim more wasteland and produce more food. Then the world will have enough food and clothing, and everyone will know honor and disgrace! The places in northern Zhili that grow the most cotton are Cangzhou and Xingtai. I found this out after asking many people! The teacher and Lu Sanlang refused to tell me, and Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu didn't say anything either. But they forgot that there are so many people in Banshan Hall..."
Hearing the Fourth Prince reluctantly express his feelings in a fairly coherent manner, but then start to ramble on, the Third Prince quickly pleaded, "Father, what Fourth Brother meant is that only when one has enough food and clothing can one know honor and disgrace..."
"I didn't ask you!"
The emperor glanced at the third prince coldly, and when he saw that the third prince immediately shut up, he looked at the chubby young son again. Although he was not much older than the third prince, the fourth prince was very courageous and actually stiffened his neck to look at him.
Finally, he smiled unconsciously: "Your teacher is in charge of Banshan Hall and Jiuzhang Hall in the Imperial College and cannot be away. Lu Sanlang is the head of Jiuzhang Hall. I guess he has no time to study the arithmetic. Both teachers and students have no time to take care of the spinning machine. Since I asked your elder brother to go to Cangzhou, it is not impossible to let capable people go to Xingtai to try, such as Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu..."
The emperor suddenly changed the subject and asked, "But why are you speaking for them?"
If it were anyone else, even the high-ranking civil and military officials in the court, they would definitely be frightened by the emperor's sudden and sharp tone. However, the Fourth Prince has always regarded the emperor as a father rather than a king, and he was not afraid at all.
"Because Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu are too honest. One of them will be my second brother-in-law in the future, and the other can be considered half of my brother-in-law. We can't let them suffer losses!" The fourth prince said confidently, "Otherwise, if we don't reward them for contributing the spinning machine samples, what if they drag their feet and refuse to do anything next time when father asks them for something?"
The emperor laughed at the Fourth Prince's ridiculous reason. He strode forward, touched the Fourth Prince's head, and then looked at the Third Prince and said, "Sanlang, do you think your Fourth Brother is right?"
The Third Prince was a little confused. He was always timid, and speaking ill of his elder brother behind his back was really a challenge to his courage. However, under his father's gaze, he finally said, "Fourth brother, you have a point. I think... I think we can let Zhang Wu, Zhang Lu and others give it a try. If it doesn't work, we can change people!" Well, this should be enough to patch it up.
"Cangzhou sent a prince and two censors. Why do you two brothers think that Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu, one a future consort and the other a future imperial concubine, can control the situation?"
The emperor pressed the issue further, and seeing that the Third Prince was speechless, while the Fourth Prince's eyes were rolling around, he could not help but stand with his hands folded in interest. After a while, he got an unexpected answer.
"Then I will go with you!" The fourth prince tried to straighten his chest, but his words were not so confident. "After all, I am also a prince. Although I am a little young, I can still do things!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The emperor finally laughed. Seeing the Third Prince relieved and loosening his grip on the Fourth Prince 's hand, he thought that although the two were not born from the same mother, they were as close as twin brothers since childhood. He rubbed the two's chubby little heads and said lightly, "You two are very good."
As he spoke, he glanced at Chu Kuan and the other people from the Imperial Household Department. Without his instructions, Xu Liu, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department, and Chu Kuan, the pen holder, took the lead in bowing and said, "We will keep our mouths shut about what happened today."
As for the other people around the sacrificial hall, the emperor didn't care. Since Xu Liu and Chu Kuan were there, he didn't need to worry about them. As for if the news really got out, he also placed enough defense forces around the third and fourth princes, and he was not worried about being ambushed. Even in the Imperial College, he made corresponding arrangements.
At this time, he led the two children down the stairs, one in each hand, and when he returned to the East Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, he pulled the two sons in front of him and smiled slightly, "I have considered handing Xingtai over to Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu. It is rare that you, Silang, think the same as me at such a young age. As for you saying that you will take charge... have you ever thought that this is a challenge to your elder brother?"
The fourth prince was stunned. He hesitated for a moment, and spoke less decisively than before: "Father, do you mean that my eldest brother will think that I am deliberately going against him?"
Seeing that the emperor was only smiling but not saying anything, he couldn't help but feel a little aggrieved: "But it was my eldest brother who did the wrong thing! How could he drag his feet when the emperor asked him for something? As long as he gave it to him earlier and then asked to go to Jiangnan, I think the emperor would agree to it!"
"Oh, do you think I will really agree to him?" The emperor raised his eyebrows with interest, somewhat surprised at his youngest son's sharpness.
"Of course!" This time, it was the Third Prince who interrupted. As soon as he said this, he realized that he was a little rash, and hurriedly whispered, "When I and my fourth brother make mistakes, as long as we are brave enough to admit it instead of making excuses, we will definitely be forgiven and given a chance. This goes for us, and it must be the same for my eldest brother!"
Looking at the two brothers standing side by side, who looked like they were cast in the same mold, the emperor could not help but feel mixed emotions. Finally, he said calmly: "Silang, you have great ambitions, but you are too young. I will not let you leave the capital. Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu have to prove themselves whether they are capable of galloping. I will let them choose and give them whatever they want."
"If they still can't do it, then they can just be rich and idle in the future! We'll announce this matter after the new year!"
The third and fourth princes looked at each other and were satisfied with the result. After all, Zhang Wu and Zhang Lu had always taken good care of them in Banshan Hall, so they were of course very happy to have this opportunity. But the fourth prince rolled his eyes and suddenly asked a question that shocked the third prince: "Father, this time the second sister was betrothed to someone, but why didn't the third sister?"
After hearing this, the emperor was stunned for a moment. When he saw the Third Prince dragging the Fourth Prince behind him, he laughed in silence and walked forward, flicking the Fourth Prince's eyebrows lightly with his fingers.
"You are such a smart kid. Your third brother-in-law asked your third sister to choose by herself. I am too lazy to worry about it!"
