AWB Chapter 305 The Crown Prince
Chapter 305 The Crown Prince
"Your Majesty, it's too late. The Ministry of Revenue will need at least three days to collect food and fodder, plus the transportation time..." The Minister of Revenue hesitated and did not continue speaking, but everyone present knew the deep meaning of it.
At this time, the emperor was extremely grateful that this shocking news did not come during the early morning court session.
Otherwise, within two hours, a large number of people would migrate south out of panic.
For a moment, the atmosphere in the imperial study fell into a somewhat depressing and heavy silence.
Finally, Prime Minister Li Zhu broke the silence, "Your Majesty, since the prince was framed by a traitor, and now we are in urgent need of people, the situation is extremely critical. Why not restore all the prince's reputation and rights, and let the prince go to the northern border to act at his discretion, perhaps it can solve the current urgent problem."
"Although my family's assets are not very rich, I am willing to donate 100,000 taels of silver for the soldiers who fought bravely in the northern border."
If it were in the past, there would definitely be people in the court who would find various reasons to sing a different tune.
But now, as long as the northern border can be guaranteed not to be lost, let alone letting the former crown prince return and donating some silver, even if the emperor is to be replaced, I am afraid that few of the court officials present will object.
Country, country. Without a country, there is no home. If the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? This basic truth is understood by everyone.
So everyone stood up and agreed with Prime Minister Li Zhu's opinion. Not only that, they were also generous when it came to paying money.
Therefore, in just a quarter of an hour, the money needed to purchase military rations for the Zhenbei Army was almost enough.
An hour later, the prince received two imperial edicts.
An imperial edict explicitly restored his once-lost status as crown prince;
The other was to directly issue an order, asking him to set off to the northern border immediately to take on the arduous but crucial task of raising military rations for the Zhenbei Army.
The prince was delighted when he received the imperial edict and his status was restored.
But at this moment, there was no time to indulge in this joy, as his thoughts were interrupted by the urgent and difficult task of raising military rations.
At this time, the young eunuch who came with him to read the imperial edict keenly saw the prince's embarrassment. He did not dare to hesitate at all, and immediately stepped forward quickly, bowed respectfully, and said: "Your Highness, the Queen Mother said that you may go to the Fan Mansion."
"The Fan Mansion? When the fifth brother returned to Beijing before, he secretly came to visit him. During that time, the thing they talked about most was the woman that Fan Jingrui married on the day he was exiled?" The prince had thought it was just an exaggeration and did not take it seriously.
But now at this critical moment, my mother finally found an opportunity to send me a message, and the woman she mentioned was that woman?
The prince may be suspicious of everyone in the world, but he has complete faith in the queen.
Therefore, he changed his clothes quickly, and without any delay or hesitation, he rode his horse and galloped all the way to the gate of Fan's house.
However, in the end, it was all in vain.
The prince frowned. "Have you ever asked where Princess Yixin went and when she will return home?"
The one who knocked on the door and asked questions was the eunuch who had always been beside the prince. Because he had no access to information about the imperial mausoleum, he didn't know much about many things going on in the capital.
So he looked at the prince cautiously and replied respectfully: "The gatekeeper said that Princess Yixin goes to the 'Royal Women's College' at this time every day and will not return until the evening."
"You hour?" The imperial edict required immediate departure, and there was no time to wait. So the prince only thought for a moment, and then said decisively: "Lead the way to the 'Royal Women's College'."
When Chu Ci heard the report, he was a little dumbfounded. "Who are you talking about?"
"Crown Prince! Although I don't know the exact reason, the crown prince who was imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum was released, but the one outside is indeed the crown prince himself, there is no doubt about that." Due to the lag in official reports, Qianxue did not know that the crown prince had restored his identity. But in her opinion, it was only a matter of time, and it was only a matter of time before the crown prince restored his identity. Therefore, she answered with confidence.
Chu Ci felt helpless when he heard such an answer. What else could he do? What else could he do? At this moment, there was no other way but to invite the person in quickly!
You have to know that the two had never even met each other before, so they were undoubtedly complete strangers.
So, after the greetings, the atmosphere became awkward.
After a long while, the prince still needed help, so he had to suppress his embarrassment and slowly said, "I heard that Princess Yixin is very talented in farming. I wonder if the princess can help the court raise some food and grass?"
Chu Ci heard this and his eyes suddenly turned: "Food and grass? Apart from the Northern Frontier, is there any other place where the war is raging? Or did the food and grass transported to the Northern Frontier encounter some unexpected changes on the way?"
Having said that, Chu Ci looked at the prince with eyes instantly filled with deep sympathy.
The prince felt even more embarrassed when he saw this. If he had not been carrying out his mission as the prince and holding on, he would probably have fled in embarrassment!
But thinking of the soldiers of the Zhenbei Army who were still holding on at the front line, waiting for food and grass support, the prince could only bite the bullet, suppress his inner embarrassment, and asked again: "Does Princess Yixin have any solution?"
"How much?" Chu Ci knew that his space had enough food, but if he accepted the task, it would be too foolish and impulsive. So he asked.
The prince had not held much hope at first, and had never expected Chu Ci to be so efficient and decisive.
Chu Ci was so straightforward, the prince didn't want to let Chu Ci do too much, so he said: "Fifty, no, three hundred thousand dan, regardless of the variety."
At this point, the prince coughed lightly to hide his discomfort, and said: "If possible, it would be best to disguise it as other supplies. Well, but it doesn't matter if it can't be done, as long as you can get enough food, the rest of the problems will be left to me."
Hearing this, Chu Ci stared at the prince for a long time with a burning gaze. His eyes were focused and deep, making the prince feel uncomfortable all over.
After a long while, Chu Ci finally spoke slowly, "I have a way to transport 300,000 dan of grain and grass safely without disturbing anyone."
"Are you serious?" The prince had originally just wanted to give it a try, but he had not expected the results to far exceed his expectations.
At this moment, he even suspected that even if he asked for 500,000 dan, Chu Ci might be able to find a way.
Thinking of this, a hint of regret arose in my heart.
Chu Ci naturally didn't know what the prince was thinking. He nodded slightly and put forward a condition that was incredible to the prince: "However, I have one condition. I must go there in person. Prince, what do you think?"