Li Qing's face turned red with anger, and he almost couldn't hold back his anger.
The Sixth Prince poured the tea slowly and signaled Li Qing not to be so irritable: "Are you from the Fifth or the Crown Prince?"
Li Qing, who had just stretched out his hand to serve tea, paused slightly, stared at the Sixth Prince and said, "What does Sixth Prince mean?"
"Lao Ba, among the brothers, you and Lao Jiu are evenly matched. Oh, no, Lao Jiu is very sinister now." The Sixth Prince chuckled: "Lao Wu thought that if he hid himself, no one would really notice. Him?"
"There are only a few of my father's direct bloodlines. The eldest brother is stationed at the border and is destined to be unable to participate in the fight for the throne. The second brother has always looked after the prince and brother since they were young. The fourth brother and the ninth brother have a good relationship. The only remaining person is the fifth brother. And Lao Qi.”
The Sixth Prince looked at Li Qing jokingly and said: "My compatriots, Lao Qiyi's mother and I, are now united, so besides being a member of Lao Wu, you can only be a member of the Crown Prince, right?"
Li Qing's face looked uncertain.
"Let's join forces!" The Sixth Prince drank all the tea in his cup and said, "The fourth brother relies on the ninth child, and his position becomes more and more stable. We can't touch the ninth brother now, but we can kill the fourth brother first!"
After the sixth prince finished speaking, he stood up and said, "If you are willing." After saying this, he left the eighth prince's mansion.
Li Qing lowered his head and thought, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.
Li Zhao!
If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have suffered such humiliation, let alone be so disgusted by my father, and even lose the qualification to compete.
Both you and the fourth child deserve to die!
East Palace!
The prince's face was ashen. Although he did not lose control like the eighth prince Li Qing, he almost lost control.
When the decree to reward the fourth prince was issued, the government and the public were shocked.
Originally, his status as prince was the most stable, and he was also a prince acceptable to all aristocratic families and scholars in the court.
But what happened last time, he was questioned.
This time, the fourth prince was actually on an equal footing with him, and the prince's prestige was greatly damaged.
The fourth prince now enjoys almost the same rights as the East Palace, so it is inevitable that the powerful officials in the court will not think too much about it.
Your Majesty...will you be dissatisfied with him as the prince?
This is a terrible political signal.
Even many people who originally planned to support him are now backing down.
Although Emperor Wu did not punish him, the potential threats and impacts were far more terrifying than the punishment.
"His Royal Highness, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry wishes to see you!"
The prince was very irritated, shook his head and said: "I just said that I have a disease on the head of the palace, so I'm gone!"
He didn't want to deal with the Du family at all.
The Du family's successive defeats were all trivial matters. The key point was that the Du family did not give him any help, but instead caused him heavy losses. He felt very unhappy.
In the past, when Lao Jiu lived like a loser, he had always been uneasy and always felt that Lao Jiu was a threat.
Fortunately, now, Lao Ninth has really become a leader and has helped Lao Si to rise to prominence.
This made his situation even more unfavorable.
"Master Shangshu said that a little impatience will mess up a big plan!"
"Come back." Upon hearing this, the prince immediately said: "Please come in and talk, Lord Shangshu."
"yes!"
Soon, Du Jie, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, arrived at the reception hall of the East Palace, followed closely by the prince.
"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince."
"Master Shangshu, no courtesy!" The prince motioned for Du Jie to sit down.
Both of them were in a bad mood.
"Your Highness, Prince You... we have to guard against him."
"Master Shangshu is joking. King You is my younger brother. Why should I be on guard against him?" The prince chuckled upon hearing this, acting as if he didn't understand.
Du Jie did not expose the prince's hypocritical side and said: "The palace has issued an imperial edict. King You has made great contributions to the world and the country. The three provinces and six ministries must give a reward regulation. This time... King You's contribution cannot be suppressed! Once the reward is given, Down the line, You Wang Zhao may be able to gain a firm foothold in Jiaozhou."
The prince frowned slightly, this was what he was worried about.
"What's more important is that King You has only two powerful weapons in his hands, but it has already caused rifts between our great families... Maybe... someone will secretly defect to King You's capital."
The prince's heart thumped hard.
This may not be the case.
He knew very well that aristocratic families would never invest in just one person, and they would never put their eggs in one basket.
Who knows how many people these cunning aristocratic families have secretly invested in?
"Your Highness, you must be on guard."
The prince frowned and said nothing, thinking about this matter in his mind.
"What do you mean, Master Shangshu?"
Du Jie breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the prince was finally moved.
"Although I still don't know what King You wants to do, but... I always feel that King You is holding back evil." Du Jie showed a worried look: "I even suspect... that he is here for the noble family... It’s just that I have no evidence.”
"Whether it's a threshing machine or a windmill, I always feel that it's not the most critical. According to King You's last operation, he must have a trick up his sleeve."
"I'm afraid that everyone will be fooled by him. In the end, there will be stupid ghosts protecting him. That will be the real trouble."
The prince felt even more sad. This was not impossible.
"Could it be that Lao Jiu just wants to take advantage of the limelight of these things to steal everyone's money?" The prince's IQ was still online, and he immediately caught the most unlikely point.
Du Jie's expression turned solemn for a moment, but he was a little unbelievable: "He went through such a big circle just to defraud everyone of their money?"
He always felt that Li Zhao's purpose was not like this.
But the prince firmly believed so, because in his impression, Lao Jiu was really poor!
If you want to open up the situation in Jiaozhou, which one doesn't require money?
According to his informant's report, Lao Jiu spent tens of thousands of dollars or more every day.
There was no way he had any money left.
"Your Highness, you must prepare early!" Du Jie reminded: "Perhaps... the next order to fight for the emperor needs to be changed."
"Huh?" The prince looked at Du Jie in astonishment.
"The previous battles for the throne were all in Kyoto, and those who went to get the title basically had no chance of being crowned. But... has His Highness the Crown Prince ever thought about a question? Is it true that the advantage of controlling a state is smaller than that of being in Kyoto? There are still two years until the Ninth Prince reaches adulthood, and two years from now it will be the start of the Emperor's Contest."
"If King You develops fast enough at that time, he might have controlled the entire Jiaozhou. Jiaozhou is the throat of the world and is adjacent to the land of Kyoto. With King You's current style and layout... What can you think of Jiaozhou in two years' time? What does it look like?"
The prince's pupils shrank.
"At that time, King You will be able to defeat everyone with the power of one state. He will be able to control the real power of the army, and he will be able to appease the people and live in peace and contentment. He can also win over the local gentry. Who can rival him?"
The entire East Palace fell silent.
"Perhaps... the future destiny of the Wu Kingdom will change here." Du Jie said slowly: "The key point in the future battle for the throne may not be in Kyoto, but in... the fiefdom!"
"Whoever can 100% control the fiefdom, 100% win over people's hearts, and 100% accumulate wealth and food will be able to stand upright."
"Don't forget, Lord Gonggun also wants a posthumous name. They long for unification!"
The prince's body was shaken as if struck by lightning.
"Farewell!"
