Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 1187 - 174: Fourth Brother Lost the Moment He Let Eighth Brother Go to Qingzhou

On the surface, Qingzhou does not belong to Zhao Yao, but in reality, it has long since become Zhao Yao’s territory.

Besides doing business and building merchant and warships in Qingzhou, Zhao Yao also established an intelligence agency there.

The intelligence agency in Qingzhou predates the one in Swamp Prefecture. At that time, maritime bans were not yet lifted, but Qingzhou was the only place that allowed foreign ships to dock, the only place where foreign merchants could do business in Great Zhou. It was essential to establish an intelligence agency to inquire about the news and intentions of these foreign merchants.

Zhao Yao had high hopes for Qingzhou and made preparations early on. He had a comprehensive understanding of matters concerning Qingzhou.

Prince Chu recalled that Zhao Yao had mentioned to him that his uncle did business in Qingzhou and was quite familiar with its affairs.

"Your Highness, you have a good relationship with Prince Han. If you ask Prince Han, he will definitely tell you."

Prince Chu waved his hand: "No, I can’t ask Brother Ten." Asking Brother Ten would mean involving him in the rivalry between him and Prince Wei.

Several trusted ministers also understood why Prince Chu couldn’t ask Prince Han. Alas, Prince Han is not only on good terms with their Highness but also has a good relationship with Prince Wei.

"Previously, we sent people to investigate Qingzhou, but they came back with nothing." Yang Ling felt increasingly heavy-hearted as he thought of this, "This indicates that Prince Wei very likely controls all of Qingzhou." He dared not think deeply about what it meant to control all of Qingzhou.

"What exactly does Prince Wei want to do in Qingzhou?" Several trusted ministers thought back and forth but couldn’t figure it out.

With a calm expression, Prince Chu said, "No matter what he plans, the fox’s tail will eventually be exposed, and we’ll counter his moves then."

"Your Highness, the fear is that Prince Wei might hit us with a surprise."

"With Prince Wei’s unfathomable scheming, whatever he’s planning in Qingzhou won’t be small."

"Could he be thinking of rebellion?"

"No, Prince Wei won’t be that foolish."

"Then what is he plotting in Qingzhou?"

Far away, Zhao Yao received news of Prince Jing’s death and immediately guessed that Prince Wei would personally escort Prince Jing back to the capital for burial. Sure enough, he was right.

"Ah, Qingzhou, now it’s also a good place. Honestly, I really want to see it."

"Your Highness, I recall you initially chose Qingzhou as your domain."

"Yes, the first place I chose back then was Qingzhou. For that, I even arranged for my uncle to do business there. After he had fully understood Qingzhou, I chose to come to Lingnan instead, which prompted my uncle to write me a reprimanding letter." Zhao Yao doesn’t regret giving up Qingzhou. Compared to Lingnan, Qingzhou is really too small. The things he wants to accomplish can’t be done in Qingzhou. "When I have time, I’ll go and have a look at Qingzhou." It wouldn’t take long to travel by ship from Swamp Prefecture to Qingzhou.

"I’ll accompany you there."

"I’ll take you, but not right now." Zhao Yao furrowed his brows, thinking about Prince Wei’s activities in Qingzhou, "Letting Brother Four allow Brother Eight to go to Qingzhou is already a loss."

Tong Xi didn’t understand, looking puzzled: "Your Highness, why do you say so?"

"Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand." Zhao Yao stood up, patted his behind, and casually plucked a blade of grass, holding it in his mouth, "Let’s go back, and continue working."

"Your Highness, does it mean Prince Chu will be in danger?"

Tong Xi’s question caused Zhao Yao to pause his steps, and after a long sigh, he said, "Oh...that’s hard to say."

"Your Highness, what is Prince Wei going to do in Qingzhou?"

"It’s naturally something significant." Zhao Yao said, "Brother Four should know that Brother Eight choosing to leave the capital at this time is definitely suspicious. If Brother Four doesn’t stop Brother Eight from going to Qingzhou, then Brother Four is really defeated."

"I don’t understand."

"You don’t understand, and Brother Four doesn’t understand either, so..." Zhao Yao shook his head lightly, "Brother Four is not a match for Brother Eight."

"Your Highness, how do you know that with Prince Wei going to Qingzhou, Prince Chu would lose?"

Zhao Yao pointed to himself and said with a proud expression, "I understand the situation in Qingzhou best. When father banished Old Seven to Qingzhou, it was Brother Eight’s scheme, but unfortunately, Brother Four didn’t see it."

"What? Prince Jing was banished to Qingzhou because of Prince Wei?"

"Otherwise, how could Old Seven, with his crimes, have been banished to Qingzhou?" Zhao Yao continued, "Nowadays, Qingzhou is a bustling and lively prefecture, unlike the Qingzhou of old. Moreover, Brother Eight has arranged people in Qingzhou many years ago."

After hearing this, Tong Xi exclaimed with shock, "Your Highness, Prince Wei has long been calculating against Prince Chu, hasn’t he?"

"Yes, the trap has long been set, but Brother Four didn’t realize it." Speaking of this, Zhao Yao’s expression darkened slightly, "I mentioned Qingzhou to Brother Four ages ago. It seems Brother Four didn’t take it to heart." Back then, he told Brother Four that the place of Qingzhou should not be underestimated. He even suggested Brother Four send people to do some business there, but Brother Four didn’t listen to him.

"Your Highness, it’s come to this, you can’t step in to help Prince Chu."

After a long sigh, Zhao Yao said, "Forget it, this isn’t a matter for me to worry about." Saying that, he returned to the North Mountain Laboratory to continue his experiment with rubber. He had been researching how to produce rubber for a year or two, but unfortunately, hadn’t succeeded yet. Just recently, however, there had been a minor breakthrough, and he needed to continue his research.

At this time, in the Imperial Study, Prince Chu was pleading with the emperor to send him with Prince Wei to Qingzhou to bring Prince Jing back to the capital.

An hour ago, Prince Chu was still discussing with his confidants about the purpose of Prince Wei’s visit to Qingzhou. Despite much discussion, they couldn’t come to any conclusions.

Originally, Prince Chu planned to counter every move as it came. But the more he thought about it, the more something seemed off, so he hurriedly entered the palace to request the emperor to send him along with Prince Wei to escort Prince Jing back to the capital.

Soon after, Prince Wei received this news, which completely surprised him.