"The crux of your highness's current predicament lies in the annual gift. If the annual gift is resolved, your highness's predicament will be solved. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the distribution of the annual gift. Your uncle and the Minister of Revenue, Mr. Sun Yingkui, are old friends. I can pay a visit to Minister Sun in the name of my uncle and ensure that the annual gift is distributed."
Yin Shidan stood up first, bowed to Prince Yu with a confident look on his face, and put forward his suggestions.
Yin Shidan planned to take the upper route and visit the Minister of Revenue Sun Yingkui in the name of his cousin. After the meeting, he would take the opportunity to bring up the matter of Prince Yu's annual gift. It was neither reasonable nor logical for the Ministry of Revenue to withhold Prince Yu's annual gift for three years. In addition, with his eloquence and the relationship with his cousin, he should be able to facilitate the payment of Prince Yu's annual gift.
Everyone said that Yin Shidan's poetry talent was unparalleled. In fact, compared with his poetry talent, Yin Shidan was more confident in his eloquence. Moreover, it was only natural for Prince Yu to receive the annual gift, and the reason and evidence were all on his side.
Yin Shidan was confident that he could convince Sun Yingkui.
After listening to Yin Shidan's suggestion, Prince Yu couldn't help but be delighted, his eyes lit up, Yin Shidan's words made sense, every time he sent people to collect the annual gift, he would contact the middle-level officials in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, and each time they were rejected by the middle-level officials of the Ministry of Revenue. If Yin Shidan could meet and persuade the Minister of Revenue Sun Yingkui, then once the Minister of Revenue has spoken, would the people below dare not execute it? !
However, before Prince Yu could be happy for even a second, Gao Gong poured a bucket of cold water on him.
"If it was when Minister Sun was young, Lord Yin's method might work, but now..."
Soon after Yin Shidan finished speaking, Gao Gong shook his head, disagreeing with Yin Shidan's suggestion, and at the end he couldn't help but sigh.
"Master Gao is saying..."
After hearing Gao Gong's words, Yin Shidan's eyes turned and he immediately thought of the key point. The confidence in his eyes dimmed.
"Mr. Gao is right. When Minister Sun was a censor in his early years, he was not afraid of the powerful and was upright in his official duties. He was upright and had a high moral character and was quite famous. But now Minister Sun is old, and he acts in a compromising manner. He would rather do nothing than offend the powerful. His reputation is no longer what it used to be..." Chen Yiqin also shook his head and sighed.
This kind of thing was not a big deal when Sun Yingkui was an official in his early years. Even without Prince Yu saying anything, Sun Yingkui would have his people distribute Prince Yu's annual gift according to the rules. But it is no longer possible now. Sun Yingkui is old, and the noble character and uprightness of his early years have been eroded by the years. Now Sun Yingkui does things with the purpose of seeking peace and security. He does not seek merit nor is he afraid of making mistakes. As long as he does not offend those in power and can retire smoothly, it is enough.
"So, what can we do?!"
After hearing what Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin said, the light that had just lit up in Prince Yu's eyes instantly went out, and his face was covered with sorrow again.
"In fact, the key to the distribution of annual grants does not lie in the Ministry of Revenue, but in the Yan Mansion." Gao Gong looked up at Prince Yu and said in a low voice.
"Yan Mansion?! So the rumors are true?!" Yin Shidan exclaimed.
Although Yan Song and his son did not clearly stand in line and express their support for who, they secretly supported King Jing. This was already known to everyone, and Yin Shidan naturally knew it. Before, Yin Shidan had heard many times that Yan Song and his son hinted that the Ministry of Revenue withheld the annual gift from Prince Yu, but Yin Shidan did not believe it. Yan Song and his son did not clearly express their support for which prince, but if they hinted that the Ministry of Revenue withheld the annual gift from Prince Yu, wouldn’t it be clear that they supported King Jing? ! Therefore, although Yin Shidan heard this rumor many times, he was unwilling to believe it. He was surprised to hear Gao Gong say this.
Chen Yiqin was different from Yin Shidan. He didn't seem to be surprised by Gao Gong's conclusion. He nodded and said softly, "It should be. Last month, I went to the Ministry of Revenue to urge for the annual gift. The Ministry of Revenue replied that this year is a turbulent year. The northern barbarians invaded the border, the southern Japanese invaded, and the interior was not peaceful. There were many disturbances, which caused huge consumption of the national treasury this year. The regular rewards of various departments have not been paid. Even if the palace is waiting for urgent use, their Ministry of Revenue cannot make the decision. I asked them who can make the decision, but they avoided the question... Now I think they are referring to the Yan Mansion."
Zhu Ping'an was not surprised at all, because it was clearly recorded in history books that Yan Shifan withheld the annual gift from Prince Yu.
However, to Zhu Ping'an's surprise, Prince Yu was not surprised at all by Gao Gong's words, and seemed to have known the news a long time ago. After all, Prince Yu was the son of the emperor, and Yan Shifan secretly ordered the Ministry of Revenue to withhold the annual gift for three years, so it was impossible for Prince Yu to not get any news.
The next second, Prince Yu's words confirmed Zhu Ping'an's guess.
"What Master Gao said is true. I also got the news not long ago. Feng Bao, the eunuch in the palace, is well-informed and told me the truth. He said that without Yan Shifan's permission, the Ministry of Revenue would not dare to issue me the annual gift."
Prince Yu sat up straight and spoke with a gloomy face.
The information obtained by Prince Yu was more accurate, clearly stating that it was Yan Shifan who instructed the Ministry of Revenue to withhold the annual gift.
After hearing this, Zhu Pingan tapped the table with his fingers. Feng Bao had communicated with Prince Yu. It seemed that Feng Bao had secretly moved closer to Prince Yu. Not bad, Feng Bao is indeed a man with a keen political sense.
Zhu Ping'an believed that if he had not known that Prince Yu would aspire to the throne, he would not have dared to place his hopes on Prince Yu at this time.
Ahem...
If Feng Bao knew what Zhu Ping'an was thinking, he would be blushing and confused. He just believed in Zhu Ping'an's judgment. He had always favored Prince Jing, but not long ago, when he saw Zhu Ping'an trying every possible means to not serve as a lecturer in Prince Jing's mansion, but came to Prince Yu's mansion to serve as a lecturer, Feng Bao began to change his mind and secretly moved closer to Prince Yu.
Zhu Ping'an won the title of No. 1 in the imperial examination at the young age, a feat that was unprecedented in the Ming Dynasty. You should know that Yang Ting and Yang Lao, the veterans of four dynasties, only passed the imperial examination at the age of 19. Moreover, after the strategy of turning over the card to sleep with the emperor, the killing of Zhao Daying, and the famous investigation of Taicang, Feng Bao had long been impressed by Zhu Ping'an's talent and ability.
Feng Bao was self-aware. He knew that his talent and ability could not compare to Zhu Ping'an. He also knew that Zhu Ping'an never did anything without confidence. Since Zhu Ping'an bet on Prince Yu, he would just follow him.
Of course, Feng Bao still had his own plans. He was just flirting with Prince Yu and didn't put the treasure on the table. This not only left a good impression on Prince Yu and secured his position, but also left room for redemption if things didn't work out.
"Yan Donglou is so bold!"
After Chen Yiqin and Yin Shidan heard Prince Yu say that it was Yan Shifan who was behind the plot, their faces suddenly changed and they said angrily.