Chapter 62

Seeing that Zhao Junchen did not return to his place, Zhu Heyu naturally understood Zhao Junchen's thoughts. His gaze became even colder, but he was somewhat secretly surprised, feeling that Zhao Junchen had changed drastically since returning to the capital, completely different from before.

In the past, Zhu Heyu had impeached Zhao Junchen more than once, and at that time, Zhao Junchen only knew how to kowtow to Emperor Deqing, looking at him with a pitiful gaze, hoping that Emperor Deqing would take charge for him.

But now, not only did Zhao Junchen dare to speak back, but he even had the audacity to counterattack!

In fact, Zhao Junchen had no choice. In his view, Emperor Deqing's attitude towards Crown Prince Zhu Heyu was very subtle. He was jealous and wary of Zhu Heyu's outstanding virtue, yet had to protect him due to his status as the crown prince.

Today, by confronting Zhu Heyu, what Emperor Deqing was thinking was hard to fathom. Was he secretly pleased to see the crown prince suffer a setback? Or was he secretly displeased to see Zhao Junchen defy the crown prince? Even Zhao Junchen couldn't figure it out.

However, Zhao Junchen had no choice but to do this. Times were different now. Since Zhao Junchen had decided to establish his own faction, he had to demonstrate his capabilities in front of the officials. If he continued to beg Emperor Deqing for help as before, not only would the hard-earned reputation he had built be destroyed, but no one would genuinely support him in the future.

Moreover, through people like the Minister of Works, Zuo Lanshan, Zhao Junchen was well aware that Wen Guanliang, Huang Yourong, Shen Changmao, and others had secretly reached an understanding. If the crown prince became too aggressive towards Zhao Junchen, they might take advantage of the situation at any time. At that point, even Emperor Deqing would find it difficult to protect Zhao Junchen. Therefore, Zhao Junchen had to suppress the crown prince's momentum, making Wen Guanliang and others hesitant to act.

However, to avoid Emperor Deqing's displeasure, while Zhao Junchen confronted Crown Prince Zhu Heyu, he also seized every opportunity to flatter Emperor Deqing.

After all, whether the three capital offenses mentioned by Crown Prince Zhu Heyu were indeed capital offenses, major offenses, minor offenses, or even if there were any offenses at all, ultimately depended largely on Emperor Deqing.

...

On the other side, after giving Zhao Junchen a glare, Zhu Heyu continued to list his crimes.

"Second offense, Zhao Junchen has bewitched the holy emperor..."

This time, before Zhu Heyu could finish, Zhao Junchen interrupted, "I beg the crown prince to be cautious with his words."

Seeing that he was interrupted again as soon as he started, Zhu Heyu's face turned so cold it almost froze. He asked coldly, "What do you mean by being cautious? I have just started speaking. Have I said anything wrong?"

Zhao Junchen sighed and said, "Crown Prince, I advised you before that the phrase 'bewitched the holy emperor' should not be used lightly. Only a villain would bewitch the holy emperor, and only a foolish emperor would be bewitched by a villain. If you think I am a villain, that's fine, but the current holy emperor is a rare wise and virtuous ruler. Even if I were a villain, how could I bewitch him?"

Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Emperor Deqing nodded, looking quite satisfied with Zhao Junchen, while Crown Prince Zhu Heyu gritted his teeth and glared at Zhao Junchen without a word.

Zhao Junchen continued, "Moreover, the previous charge of gross disrespect has already been deemed inappropriate by His Majesty. His Majesty's words are golden, so that charge is invalid. The next charge you bring against me should be the first offense."

Crown Prince Zhu Heyu suppressed his anger and continued to read from the impeachment document, "Second offense, Zhao Junchen has misled the emperor, monopolizing the production of soap, competing with the people for profit, ignoring the people's livelihood, and seeking rewards for personal gain, causing the people to resent and react negatively. Tens of thousands of soap makers have lost their livelihoods, and hundreds of thousands of people have lost their means of living. This is a crime of harming the people and violating righteousness!"

As he spoke, Crown Prince Zhu Heyu glared at Zhao Junchen again. Although he changed "bewitched the emperor" to "misled the emperor," he still listed it as the second offense, clearly still considering Zhao Junchen's act of damaging the court and the emperor's reputation a major offense.

Zhao Junchen was slightly taken aback, not expecting Crown Prince Zhu Heyu to bring up such a charge.

In Zhao Junchen's view, the state competing with the people for profit was quite normal; otherwise, how could there be policies like the monopoly on salt and iron? However, in Crown Prince Zhu Heyu's view, competing with the people for profit was a significant offense.

In the end, it was like the saying, "Those who steal a hook are punished, but those who steal a country are made princes." Competing with the people for small profits was a mistake, damaging the court's dignity; competing for major profits was a national policy, necessary for increasing the country's strength.

No matter how profitable soap was, it could not be compared to salt and iron; it was just a small profit.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Junchen finally responded, "I still cannot accept the charge the crown prince brings against me. The inner treasury monopolizes the production of soap, and those who lose their livelihoods are the soap makers. How is this my fault? Should we force the people to abandon the more effective soap and continue using soap nuts to accommodate the soap makers? Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse? Moreover, as the *I Ching* says, 'Heaven moves vigorously, and the gentleman strives for self-improvement.' If soap is better than soap nuts, the soap makers losing their livelihoods is inevitable. If they can strive to improve and create something better than soap, would they still fear unemployment?"

Pausing, Zhao Junchen continued, "Moreover, since His Majesty decreed that the inner treasury should monopolize the production of soap, the inner treasury has been gathering soap makers from all over. Unless a soap maker lacks skill and cannot be used by the inner treasury, how could those with real talent lose their livelihoods?"

Crown Prince Zhu Heyu coldly retorted, "Sophistry! Throughout history, only salt and iron, which are related to the nation's strategic interests, have been monopolized by the state. Other small items have always been left to the people to produce and sell, allowing the people to earn a living. Soap is just a small item. According to my knowledge, it is not difficult to produce, but you misled His Majesty to monopolize it. Isn't this competing with the people for profit?"

As he spoke, Zhu Heyu bowed to Emperor Deqing, "I beg Your Majesty to see clearly. Since the inner treasury monopolized the production of soap, the people's reaction has been very negative. Many soap merchants and makers have lost their livelihoods and have become dissatisfied with the court. Competing with the people for profit has always been a major taboo for the court. Your Majesty must not be deceived by Zhao Junchen!"

Emperor Deqing's brows furrowed. He had only been focused on the silver that soap could bring, but now, hearing Zhu Heyu's words, he also felt that the inner treasury's monopoly on soap indeed had the suspicion of competing with the people for profit, which could harm his imperial reputation.

However, as an emperor who had been poor for a long time, Emperor Deqing was reluctant to give up the profits from soap.

So, he subconsciously looked at Zhao Junchen.

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ps: Third update, two more to go!

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