"I plan to give up my position as Crown Prince."
Zhao Huan's words were like a thunder in the clear day. Wang Zhi was so shocked that he stared at him with his eyes wide open, as if he was being stared at by Chen and Yi during the day. Wang Zhi also wondered if the guy next to him had been hit by something dirty. Get out of body.
"Brother, are you Shi Lezhi?"
Wang Zhi let go of his shoulders and stood in front of him, waving his hands left and right in front of his eyes, trying to see if the person in front of him was still awake.
"I'm not joking."
Zhao Huan pushed his hand away and said, "Father issued an edict today to make me Kaifeng Mu."
"This is a good thing!"
Wang Zhi said in surprise, and then suddenly realized, no wonder this guy came here so quickly today. It turned out that he was in the Kaifeng government office not far from the prison.
Zhao Huan did not rush to reply to him, but quickly took a few steps forward, widening the distance between him and the guards following him.
Wang Zhi then followed, and the two of them walked side by side towards the Kaifeng government office on the empty street.
The guards of Wang Fu and Zhao Huan followed at a distance of about 20 steps behind and did not come forward to disturb the conversation of the two brothers.
"You know, dad has never liked me. Since my mother left, he has been even more indifferent to me. He prefers my third brother who is the number one scholar. He always takes his third brother with him when traveling and giving banquets. He also lets his third brother watch the libretto. , now the people in the palace and the ministers in the court are all looking towards the third brother, I think when the time is right, my father will depose me as the crown prince and let the third brother take his place."
Listening to Zhao Huan's words, Wang Zhi was also a little resentful. Although he and Zhao Huan were not biological brothers, their relationship was better than that of real brothers. He knew his cousin's situation in the palace.
Zhao Huan's biological mother, Queen Wang, was Wang Zhi's cousin and Wang Zhen's cousin. She was only seventeen years old when she followed Zhao Ji, who was still King Duan, to the capital and ascended the throne. Wang Zhen was the only relative in the entire Bianjing city. , naturally they are very close, so the young Wang Zhi and his cousin Zhao Huan also grew up playing together.
But the good times didn't last long. Queen Wang died of illness when Zhao Heng was eight years old, which was when she was twenty-five. As for what the illness was, Wang Zhi didn't know. When he asked his father, he was scolded, and then Just tell him not to ask again, and the matter will be over.
Later, I heard that my cousin almost drowned in a pond in the palace. Fortunately, a eunuch found him and survived. Wang Zhi only knew that there was such a thing, but he didn't know the specific reason. His parents also told him not to ask any more questions. .
From then on, Zhao Huan never trusted anyone in the palace except his own sister Zhao Jinnu. Zhao Jinnu was a daughter and was quite popular with Zhao Ji. Naturally, no one targeted him, but he was the prince. But it's different. He has more than thirty younger brothers, but none of them are real brothers. It can be imagined that his identity as the prince is jealous of others in the palace. Queen Wang died early, and he was also in the palace. He has no foundation. He only dares to stay in his own palace every day and dare not show his face. Even when he eats and sleeps, he is careful for fear of being killed. It is thanks to his caution that he can survive until now.
It was only in the past two years that I got a wife and gave birth to a son, and my face had some color. Maybe it was because I wanted to avoid being a husband and a father. I also appeared in front of people more often, and occasionally I dared to go out to look for her. When Wang Zhi was playing, Wang Zhi usually took the fun things to him in the palace.
In Zhao Huan's heart, apart from his sister, wife and children, the only relative he has left in the world is this cousin who he has played with since childhood. He only dares to tell Wang Zhi if he has any concerns. Here, he was completely undefended. As for his biological father, Zhao Ji, he was probably hoping that he would die early so that he could pass on the title of prince to his third son, Zhao Kai, who was carved out of his own mold.
Speaking of his third brother Zhao Kai, he has been smart since he was a child. He is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. He also secretly participated in the imperial examination in the first year of Chonghe and won the first prize in one fell swoop. He is unable to do anything better than him and learns everything. No, my eldest brother, who is weak and incompetent by nature, is many times stronger.
Anyone who becomes emperor would want to depose him as the prince and let his third son succeed him, let alone Huizong Zhao Ji who is also proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting.
But for Wang Zhi, no matter how cowardly and incompetent Zhao Huan is, he is still his cousin and his relative. Anyone who dares to hurt him will be beaten, not even the emperor.
Wang Zhi was about to say something harsh when he suddenly thought of something and asked: "That's not right. Since your father wants to depose you as the crown prince, why did he let you become Kaifeng Mu?"
Zhao Huan smiled bitterly when he heard this and said: "I didn't know why at first. It wasn't until I entered the Kaifeng government office today and sorted out the recent cases that I found out. Because in recent years, uprisings such as Songjiang and Fangla have continued, and there has been another uprising with Daliao in the north. Due to the dispute, there is fear that the war will spread around the capital, and refugees are everywhere, and they are entering the capital one after another. Nowadays, the chaos in Bianjing City is increasing, and the imperial court is simply unable to control it."
"Today, there are reports that there are also uprisings in Hebei, Jingdong and other roads, and tens of thousands of refugees are about to enter Beijing. By then, Bianjing will really be unable to hold on, and trouble will break out."
"Daddy asked me to take charge of unsealing matters at this time. Isn't his intention obvious?"
After hearing what he said, Wang Zhi understood. Zhao Ji had always wanted to abolish the crown prince. However, the Song Dynasty had always had the ancestral system of establishing direct descendants and elders. There was no reasonable reason to abolish the crown prince's position. But if the prince couldn't even manage Kaifeng well, how could he leave the Song Dynasty in his hands?
This is a conspiracy, an honest conspiracy. The princes of the Song Dynasty all took over Kaifeng first and then took over the Song Dynasty. What Zhao Ji wrote in this edict is reasonable and the intention is obvious. You can either govern Kaifeng. Don't give him an excuse to abolish the throne, or resign as prince as soon as possible and get out.
"No, cousin!"
Wang Zhi suddenly seemed to have thought of something, grabbed his hand and said hurriedly: "You can't give up this position of prince."
Zhao Huan looked at him and asked, "Why?"
Wang Zhi didn't want to talk to him, and said directly: "It's not up to you whether you want the position of prince. As long as you are the eldest son of the emperor for one day, this position will be yours, even if your father kills you, or you If you resign, how will the world view your successor?"
"As long as you are in this world, the successor will be unjust and unjust. As long as you are in this world, the successor's position will be unstable."
"If I were the successor, what do you think I would do?"
Wang Zhi kept saying "your father", showing no respect for the current Zhao Song official family. Zhao Heng called "father" his son. Who are you? You dare to call your emperor like that?
Of course, Zhao Huan didn't care. He just felt a chill down his spine after hearing this.
Wang Zhi didn't pay attention to his appearance and continued: "You regard the position of prince as your imprisonment, but this prince is also your talisman. As long as you are in power, everyone's eyes will be on you, and they want to take action. There is no chance. One day you are no longer the prince and they want to attack you. Isn’t that easy?"
"Cousin, I understand what you said."
Zhao Huan answered him seriously, and then lamented: "Hey, I really can't manage Kaifeng well. Not to mention the large number of refugees, I just have no way to accommodate the large number of refugees who are coming. There are so many people in the city recently." There are so many idle people and gangsters out there that it’s almost a mess. If some homeless people come again, I’m really powerless..."
"Instead of being dismissed by my father for being incompetent, it would be better for me to submit a letter to resign earlier. As for what happens next, I'll leave it to God!"
"How can my cousin be so cowardly? How can there be any reason to put his life in the hands of others? What's more, you are not alone now. If something happens to you, how will you let your sister-in-law and nephew survive in the palace?"
Wang Zhi hated the iron and said: "Don't worry about the homeless people inside and outside Kaifeng City. I will help you take care of it."
Zhao Huan asked in surprise, "What will my cousin do?"
"My cousin just needs to grant me a piece of land outside the city, and I will help you solve the rest. Don't ask too much, just feel free to be your Kaifeng Shepherd."
"Cousin, this..."
"Cousin, don't you believe me?"
"How can my cousin say this? If you don't believe me, who else can you believe in this world?"
"Cousin, just watch!"
Arriving in front of the Kaifeng government office, Wang Zhi patted Zhao Huan on the shoulder and strode away with Wang Fu.
Zhao Huan watched him walk into the darkness, then turned around in a daze.
…
It was already midnight, and the door light of the palace was still on. The sound of Wang Zhi and Wang Fu opening the door and entering the palace woke up the concierge Wang Xiaoer. After seeing the two people clearly, he quickly stepped forward and said: "Second Young Master You're back, someone came to look for the second young master today, and he sat here all afternoon before going back."
Wang Zhi asked doubtfully: "Who is looking for me?"
"It is said that a steward of the Jiedu family named Zhu is here to deliver the money owed to the second young master."
After hearing what Wang Xiaoer said, Wang Zhi remembered that he had indeed beaten Zhu Ruxian yesterday and asked him to write an IOU. However, too many things happened today and he had forgotten about it.
"What about the silver you owe? Have you brought it?"
"Here he is, I'll send him to the second young master's room."
Wang Zhi couldn't help but feel a little funny when he heard this. Originally, he had no intention of receiving the owed money. He was just trying to scare Zhu Ruxian. He thought that having the IOU would make it easier for him to control him in the future, but he didn't expect that this guy would really take advantage of the 1,600 yuan. One hundred taels were sent over.
This guy is really rich, see you next time...hehe...
Wang Zhi chuckled and was about to enter the hospital. Wang Xiaoer thought of something again and said hurriedly: "By the way, Second Young Master, that man also said what IOU will be collected tomorrow."
Wang Zhi waved his hand without looking back and said, "Okay, I understand. I'll ask Agui to keep it for you tomorrow morning."
After Wang Zhi entered the courtyard and separated from Wang Fu, he did not go to his bedroom, but went straight into the study.
The weak candlelight could only illuminate a desk. Wang Zhi sat cross-legged in front of the desk, grinding with one hand and holding his chin in his other hand, thinking about his next words.
After a while, Wang Zhi picked up his pen and started writing...
