sovbooks Chapter 129 Scheme
Chapter 129 Scheme
In order to ultimately win and force the King of Wu out of the game, the Crown Prince will surely use every trick in the book.
What will he do next?
Just as Zhu Gaoxi was devising strategies to anticipate the enemy's moves, Zhu Youdun brought back bad news.
Zhu Youxun begged his father to be his assistant, and the King of Zhou agreed.
In other words, Zhu Youxun would have to follow Youdun around like glue, annoying yet impossible to remove.
"He's afraid of Dahuang. Brother, let Ji Gang handle it. If he can't even handle this small task, then Ji Gang has no reason to stay in the Prince of Wu's mansion," Zhu Gaoxi suggested.
After all, he was his half-brother, and Zhu Youdun was hesitant because he was worried about upsetting his father.
"Give Ji Gang a few words of advice, and he will know his limits and won't go too far."
Ji Gang must have had extraordinary abilities to have risen to the position of Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Zhu Gaoxi believed in his capabilities.
We can't let him linger in the Prince's Mansion all the time. We must do everything we can to lure Zhu Youxun to restaurants and other bustling entertainment venues. Zhu Gaoxi sent Li Hui to the Prince's Mansion to deliver a message to Ji Gang.
If spending money could solve the big problem of Zhu Youxun, Zhu Gaoxi wouldn't mind spending a little more.
Wu Liang was most familiar with the ways of eating, drinking, and having fun, so Zhu Gaoxi asked Li Hui to tell Wu Liang to teach Ji Gang a few more tricks.
We must make Zhu Youxun linger in this den of iniquity.
Zhu Gaoxi didn't believe that Zhu Youxun, a man who was obsessed with power and pleasure, could have much self-control. He figured that if he spent a lot of money, he would eventually find a way to win Zhu Youxun's heart.
Anyone with ulterior motives is easy to deal with; the real danger lies in those who are without desires. Zhu Youxun clearly did not fall into this category.
Zhu Gaoxi was worried about another group of potential rivals: "The Crown Prince might bribe the princes to serve him."
Besides Zhu Song and Zhu Mo, the princes who had not yet taken up their fiefs included Zhu Ying, Zhu Ji, Zhu Dong, and Zhu Yu.
The twenty-third prince, Zhu Ji, was born to Consort Li Xian. He was granted the title of Prince of Tang and was six years older than Zhu Gaoxi.
Zhu Dong and Zhu Yi were the same age, and their birth mothers were Consort Liu Hui and Consort Ge respectively. Zhu Dong was two years younger than Zhu Yi.
Although their birth mothers were practically invisible in the harem and held little sway over the old emperor, they were absolutely not to be offended.
The old emperor's emphasis on having offspring was well-known, and the grandson of the emperor was well aware of this.
If the Crown Prince could incite these princes to attack, Zhu Gaoxi would be hesitant and unable to make a decision.
Because their birth mothers were of low status, the princes were powerless to resist the coercion exerted by the Crown Prince's palace and could only obey and submit to his orders.
They dared not disobey the crown prince, while Zhu Gaoxi was merely the Prince of Wu. Although he was favored by the old emperor, he did not have a legitimate position. Why would they risk offending the grandson of the crown prince to curry favor with the Prince of Wu?
How to prevent it? Zhu Gaoxi was at a loss and asked Youdun for advice.
"They wouldn't dare to harm people directly; Grandfather wouldn't tolerate it," Zhu Youdun comforted him.
"What if they tip us off?" Zhu Gaoxi asked worriedly.
"Then prepare some fake news for them. Anyway, we can't trust them rashly," Zhu Youdun said calmly.
"Will they go to Grandfather and complain?" Zhu Gaoxi asked again.
"In terms of eloquence, they can't possibly be a match for my younger brother," Zhu Youdun said with a chuckle.
He was even more adept at sophistry than his younger brother.
Zhu Gaoxi touched his hair sheepishly and continued his analysis: "They might also come to the vegetable garden to cause trouble."
"The vegetable garden is our territory, why should we be afraid of them?" Zhu Youdun said confidently.
"Perhaps they will try every means to destroy the trust between us. My second brother said that the King of Han and the King of Shen took the initiative to talk to us."
Zhu Yunwen was quite adept at using the tactic of sowing discord, while Zhu Gaoxi had all sorts of loopholes that he could exploit, which gave him a real headache.
"Younger brother, just tell Gao Xu to be careful. Older brother is stubborn and won't listen to reason, so there's no need to worry," Zhu Youdun said jokingly.
Zhu Gaoxi trusted his second brother and You Dun, but still felt that this was too passive. It would be better to take the initiative, defuse the enemy's offensive in advance, or lure the enemy into a trap and lead them into a deep ditch. That would be more satisfying and would not waste the effort and time spent in the exchange of gifts.
"Brother, what good plan do you have?" Zhu Gaoxi asked inquiringly.
"We cannot passively accept attacks and wait for others to come and fight us. This is not the way to win," Zhu Gaoxi slowly said, expressing his thoughts.
"That's right, we have to set a trap for them," Zhu Youdun thought quickly.
"Brother, you are very capable, there is no need to tell me everything," Zhu Gaoxi said, entrusting all his trust to Youdun. "To lure the Crown Prince into action, we need enough bait." Zhu Gaoxi stood up and looked out the window. "Who else but me can offer such tempting bait?"
"This is too dangerous!" Zhu Youdun couldn't help but exclaim.
"I can't keep secrets, so some confidential arrangements are fine for you to keep to yourself, brother. There's no need to tell your brother," Zhu Gaoxi said, stroking the jade cabbage on the table. "How the Crown Prince treats me will be how he treats the other princes. As long as he makes a desperate gamble and does something wrong, Grandfather will be able to make up his mind and not waver."
"Still no good," Youdun resolutely refused.
"Brother, there's no need to worry. The time hasn't come yet, so perhaps we shouldn't take any risks," Zhu Gaoxi said with a relaxed smile.
"Brother, even if we were to use this plan, it should be the older brother who does it," Youdun said earnestly.
"Brother, the person the Crown Prince most wants to eliminate is me. There's no arguing about this."
In fact, Zhu Gaoxi had not yet fully devised the entire plan; it was only a preliminary outline. Fortunately, there was still time to gradually refine it.
Of course, he would never risk his life unless absolutely necessary. He only has one life, and he must cherish it. He's not stupid; he understands that perfectly well.
Seeing that he could not persuade them, he could only secretly resolve to eliminate the hidden dangers as much as possible and avoid such a dangerous situation from happening.
Zhu Gaoxi suddenly remembered something: Zhu Dong and Zhu Yi both died in the twelfth year of Yongle, and both died without sons. Such a coincidence made people feel very suspicious.
Could something have happened that made Zhu Di unable to tolerate it?
For some reason, Zhu Gaoxi always felt that the fighting power of these princes was far more than they appeared to be.
I heard that Consort Liu Hui and Consort Ge Li had received many favors from Lady Lü. Lady Lü is skilled in medicine, so she will surely have opportunities to curry favor with them.
The old emperor was extremely strict in controlling the harem. Within the harem, below the concubines, only prescriptions and medicines were allowed to be obtained according to symptoms.
Not everyone has the ability to accurately describe a patient's condition, but Director Lü was able to solve his urgent problem.
Although Consort Guo Hui is currently in charge of the affairs of the six palaces, she is Buddhist in nature and has no intention of managing them or coveting power. As a result, Lady Lü has become the most powerful and influential woman in the palace.
When it comes to how to use power for one's own benefit, Lady Lü was clearly quite adept. She was skilled in maneuvering and her destructive power was in no way inferior to that of the Crown Prince.
If one wants to make Lady Lü act inappropriately, it would be necessary to deal with the Crown Prince.
Zhu Gaoxi was engrossed in his thoughts when he suddenly felt his stomach growling. He quickly called out, "Yunfei!"
Meatballs, steamed buns, wontons, eight-treasure porridge, and other foods were always simmering on the stove in the kitchen so that Zhu Gaoxi could replenish his energy at any time.
A steaming pot of stew was laid out on the table. Zhu Gaoxi's mouth watered at the aroma, and he called out to You Dun, "Brother, come on, let's eat together, it smells so good!"