Tao Mingxing's biggest worry is that the old emperor thinks that these things are his mastermind, although this is a fact, it does not mean that he is willing to be suspected by the old emperor.

What about the patriarch of the Three Dynasties, he is only a courtier after all, and the person he is loyal to can only be the emperor, but because of his selfish intentions for his grandson, he still does the thing of plotting for the dynasty and usurping the throne.

The Holy One did not punish him because he was not involved in this matter on the surface, and the Holy One could not find a proper reason and a proper opportunity to attack, but this did not mean that the Holy One did not do something to him and his son in private.

His two sons-in-law, the eldest son is in the Hanlin Academy, and on the surface he is just doing clerical work, but everyone knows what position he will hold in the court in the future.

He's just a little bit of a no-brainer now.

Not to mention his youngest son, who is just a small four-grade official, he can't get into the eyes of these people at all.

He has been careful for most of his life, not fighting or grabbing, just to seek more lasting blessings for his children and grandchildren.

I thought that as long as I supported my grandson to sit in a high position, their Tao family would become an upstart, a wealthy family under one person and above ten thousand people.

Thinking of this, Tao Mingxing sneered and chuckled.

So he can't support the mud on the wall, how can he toss? After all, it's a pile of mud.

"Father." Tao Yisong looked at Tao Mingxing's back with a solemn face.

Tao Mingxing turned around slowly, looked at his eldest son, who was the most important and had spent a lot of effort cultivating, and said, "We don't have to worry about it for the time being, let's think about how to deal with the aftermath first." ”

"Father, since the 'Shu Embroidery Building' has been handed over to Qiao Yixi, we still don't pay too much attention to the situation over there, the account books of the 'Shu Embroidery Building' have been destroyed, the personnel have been dismissed, and several managers have made other arrangements. Even if they were questioned by the Holy Ones, they would not know anything about it, let alone the things in the accounts. So my son thinks that our focus is still on the second prince. ”

Tao Mingxing nodded with satisfaction, his son's thoughts coincided with his own.

"It doesn't matter if the Holy One is suspicious of us or not, and how suspicious it is. What we have to solve now is how to make the second prince turn over," Tao Mingxing's eyebrows tightened, "Now that the second prince and the third prince have been beaten into the cold palace, the saint will reuse the fourth prince." The news sent back by our people that the four princes had led their troops to the southern Xinjiang to join the Marquis of Zhenyuan. If I'm not miscalculated, the last battle that will decide the outcome will begin, and if you win, the Marquis of Zhenyuan and the four princes will win, and if you lose, the saint will win. ”

Tao Yisong's heart sank, and his gaze at his father was also vague, "Father, you said that the Marquis of Zhenyuan has been guarding southern Xinjiang for decades, and he obviously has the opportunity to cut down the barbarians in southern Xinjiang and eradicate the roots, why don't you do it for a long time, you have to wait until now?" Or is it one of his stratagems? ”

"Not exactly," Tao Mingxing said slowly, "Southern Xinjiang has been able to confront the imperial dynasty for decades, which is enough to show their military strength and strategic means. As far as I know, it is Cen Pingyuan who is leading the troops in southern Xinjiang now? He has been fighting wits and courage with the Marquis of Zhenyuan for nearly ten years, which shows that he is more capable than the previous generals. After all, he is the only general in southern Xinjiang who has been called 'Shoushen' for decades. What's more, the Marquis of Zhenyuan will definitely not use the safety of the dynasty as a confidence, but now the time has come. ”

Tao Mingxing's last sentence was said lightly, but Tao Yisong heard the mystery from it.

"The time has come, father, what do you mean?"

"The dynasty and southern Xinjiang have been fighting wits and courage for decades, and the two sides can be said to know each other and know each other. Shen Jiajun has been in Jinzhou all these years, what do you think they are doing? ”

"Do what?"

"Simulation training. Speaking of which, I still hear this word from the mouths of the people who are far away from the town. In terms of political affairs, Zhen Yuanhou is indeed a good general, and he has been looking for ways to compete with guerrilla warfare in southern Xinjiang all these years. External troubles, although we have never suffered defeats, but this is not a long way after all, the Marquis of Zhenyuan is old, how long can he lead soldiers? How long can the Holy Lord allow the Shen family army to exist? All this prompted him to take the initiative and speed up the suppression of southern Xinjiang.

Internal troubles, this period is just right, because the matter of seizing the heir has reached a white-hot stage, and internal troubles affect external troubles, but in the same way, external troubles can also contain internal troubles. ”

"The Marquis of Zhenyuan is a good calculation."

"So you have to know that in the court, our biggest enemy has never been the third prince and the fourth prince, but the Marquis of Zhenyuan. While we help the emperor solve problems, we are also for ourselves. ”

"Therefore, the Marquis of Zhenyuan borrowed Qiao Lixi's mouth before and said that he wanted to assist the second prince, but he also deliberately set off smoke bombs to put the second prince on the cusp, provide opportunities for the third prince and the fourth prince, and make the internal worries more confusing? Father, according to your opinion, which prince do you think the Marquis of Zhenyuan prefers, the third prince or the fourth prince? ”

Tao Mingxing shook his head, "You still don't know enough about the Marquis of Zhenyuan, he is a pure minister, although the saint does not believe in this, but in fact he is a pure minister." Since Emperor Gaozu, there has always been only one person he has been loyal to, and that is the person who sits on a high position. In fact, to put it in a disrespectful way, the suppression and suspicion of the saint to Zhen Yuanhou is nothing more than his vanity. Because the prestige of the Marquis of Zhenyuan among the people, the prestige in the army, the credit to the dynasty and his methods, are all above the saint.

The high merit is the fear of every superior, but the Marquis of Zhenyuan is in his position, that is, he does nothing, and the foundation accumulated by the elders of the three dynasties is also beyond the reach of the saints. The battle between the two is actually the unilateral self-righteousness of the saint. If the Holy Lord is willing to let go of the knot in his heart, the strength of the dynasty will reach a higher level. ”

Seeing that Zimu was surprised, Tao Mingxing said earnestly: "Never underestimate the Marquis of Zhenyuan, his elders of the Three Dynasties are more worthy of his name than my elders of the Three Dynasties." He followed Emperor Gaozu to defeat the dynasty with one soldier and one horse, and I just knew how to judge the situation after Gaozu founded the country, surrendered as soon as possible, became the first batch of scientific research officials, and slowly walked to this position step by step. ”

"This shows that my father is more powerful than the Marquis of Zhenyuan."

Tao Mingxing shook his head and smiled, "You still don't understand the Marquis of Zhenyuan, the Marquis of Zhenyuan, Wen Taowu, and his talent is not lost to his father." And what makes him even more powerful than me is his sword and horse kung fu, and his proficiency in the art of war, which I can't match. ”

Seeing that his son seemed to have something to say, Tao Mingxing gave him a slightly calm look, "These are facts, you have to see your weaknesses and shortcomings clearly, so that you can understand your situation in the confrontation, see your surroundings clearly, and control the situation." The reason why the Marquis of Zhenyuan is willing to stay in southern Xinjiang all the time is because the dynasty under the leadership of the saint disappointed him, plus he is in southern Xinjiang all the year round, and there is no one in the court who knows Nanjiang better than him, so the Marquis of Zhenyuan is far away from the court, but in the heart of the Marquis of Zhenyuan, the weight of the dynasty is so heavy that you can't imagine, it can be said that the most loyal courtier of the dynasty is the Marquis of Zhenyuan. ”

Tao Yisong has known his father's attention to the Marquis of Zhenyuan since he was a child, but he has not had many opportunities to contact the Marquis of Zhenyuan, whether the two are in court or in private, let alone friendship, there is no intersection at all, so he has never taken his father's words to heart.

As for Shen Huaihao and Gu Jinzhen, he even less looks down on them.

One is a cripple, and the other is a fool who can't even take the position of the son, how can he compare with them.

But today, after listening to his father's words, Tao Yisong had to readjust his mentality and examine the balance between the two sides.

Seeing the cautious look on his son's face, Tao Mingxing stroked his beard and nodded slightly.

In the end, he is the successor he has carefully cultivated, and no matter how you look at it, he has won his heart.

"On the side of Marquis Zhenyuan, we don't have to worry too much, as long as what we do does not endanger the dynasty and does not challenge his bottom line, he will not care who is the crown prince. There are three princes in the imperial dynasty, everyone's talents and qualifications are there, what the Marquis of Zhenyuan has to do is to assist, and he won't care about the rest. ”

Tao Yisong nodded reassuringly, "The qualifications of the second prince are quite stable, at least he can be a conservative emperor, with the assistance of our people, and the Marquis of Zhenyuan has no opinions." The premise is that the second prince can ascend to the throne. ”

"That's what we're going to plan," the conversation returned, "and that's where we're focused." “

"Father, there are a few people below who already have different hearts, although they haven't acted yet, but they are in a negative mood, and the son is afraid that they will affect other people."

Tao Mingxing smiled slightly, "It's just a few ants, don't worry, my father called you here, I have other things to explain." ”

……

The second prince called himself sick again and recuperated in the house.

For tacit reasons, everyone pretends not to know.

It's just that the old emperor asked him to call himself sick last time, and this time he took the initiative to call him sick.

But there are some things that he can't escape by saying that he is sick.

When Tao Mingxing helped him strategize and plan for the future, something he wanted to think that had never happened was inadvertently exposed.

Yes, it was about him leaving Beijing without authorization and going to Jincheng to negotiate with the people of the Marquis of Zhenyuan!

"Smack!"

The jade paperweight in his hand slammed heavily on the polished and smooth marble, missing a corner, and smashed a crack in the ground.

The angry second prince slapped the book case hard, "It must be the third child!" ”

"Your Highness, don't be impatient."

The counselor's words of persuasion did not appease the anger of the second prince, but added fuel to the fire.

The second prince's eyes were scarlet, "Who else could it be besides the third child?" If I cause trouble and expose him, he will retaliate by exposing my unauthorized departure from Beijing, and my father will definitely be furious and ......."

What must be?

He will definitely be disqualified from running for the crown prince.

The second prince didn't dare to say this, let alone say it.

He disappointed his father again and again, and he didn't need to think about it to guess his father's attitude and thoughts about him now.

He can't lose!

Pacing back and forth in the study in annoyance, he suddenly turned around and looked gloomily at the people behind him.

Even though everyone didn't raise their heads, they still noticed the anxiety and anger of the second prince, and shrunk their necks one after another.

"The prince and the princess, what did you say?"