Chapter 249: The Art of the Emperor

Liangzhou Prefecture.

Recently, Chen Ping seemed to have aged over a dozen years; his eyes were sunken, and he was listless.

His mood was terrible.

Ever since that Imperial Edict flew to Liangzhou, his nightmare had begun.

An Imperial Examination pilot program, to be carried out in Liangzhou?

What did the Emperor mean by this? To Chen Ping, this was absolutely a move to destroy his heart! Who in the world didn't know that this Imperial Examination was pushed forward by Governor Liu?

In other words, this was the achievement of the Liu father and son!

The ones who made the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy die by Admonishment, the ones who made the scholars of the world furious, and the ones whom countless eyes were fixed upon, were all the Liu father and son!

And it was actually going to start as a pilot program in Liangzhou?

Where did this put him, Chen Ping?

Liu Dahao was merely the chief official of Yinyang! Yet he was allowed to preside over the major affair of the Imperial Examination for the entire Liangzhou?

This operation was truly thought-provoking.

The thirty prefectures and counties of Liangzhou also began to see the clamor of scholars growing increasingly loud.

Imperial Examination!

We want the Imperial Examination!

In every era, the Noble Class is ultimately a minority; the power of those impoverished scholars in Liangzhou who finally saw hope was now fermenting, and the momentum was astonishing.

Every day.

At the entrance of the Liangzhou Prefecture, a large number of scholars gathered to ask the Liangzhou Prefecture when they would begin preparing for the Imperial Examination.

These people could not wait to board the ship of the Imperial Examination and sail far away with the wind!

"Are they crazy? Are they all crazy? Are they all trying to rebel?"

Chen Ping was furious, his whole body trembling.

Early in the morning, various scholars would start gathering at the entrance. They didn't actually do anything; they just sat at the entrance of the Liangzhou Prefecture, and then either read Sage Books aloud or recited poetry and prose there. You couldn't say they were rebelling, because they weren't! But you couldn't say they weren't, because it was so annoying!

Chen Ping had not slept well for a month.

Indeed.

Since ancient times, scholars have never needed knives to kill!

A group of subordinates stood to the side, looking at each other in dismay.

"My Lord... this Imperial Examination is, after all, the Emperor's..."

"My Lord, why don't we just go through the motions to shut these scholars' mouths, and then..."

Chen Ping slammed the table and stood up, shouting coldly: "Bullshit!"

"Can the floodgates of this Imperial Examination be opened?"

"Can they be opened?"

"If they are opened, what will you bunch of good-for-nothings eat!"

The crowd fell silent as cicadas in winter, their faces bitter.

This was true.

The matter of the Imperial Examination was absolutely not as simple as a single sentence. It involved too many conflicts of interest! If this Imperial Examination were truly conducted in Liangzhou, the first to bear the brunt would be the officials currently serving in the Liangzhou Prefecture... they were the representatives of the various Powerful Clans and interest groups within Liangzhou.

If the dynasty were really to change...

Where would they have a good ending?

"My Lord... then what should we do?"

The group was suddenly at a loss.

Chen Ping sneered coldly: "The Liu father and son are deliberately putting my Liangzhou on the fire to roast! Do they really think that just because the Emperor indulges them, I have no Method?"

"Liu Chang!"

"My Lord, I am here."

Liu Chang ran over eagerly.

Chen Ping asked: "Is Ma Yong still in Yinzhou?"

Liu Chang chuckled: "My Lord, rest assured, we have already taken care of Magistrate Ma; those charges are enough to make the Liu father and son suffer!"

"Good!"

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Ping's eyes.

The matter of the Imperial Examination involved too much. He had been holding his ground because he had received instructions from the Crown Prince. Did they really think that with one Imperial Edict from the Emperor, the Imperial Examination could truly begin?

Dream on!

Whether it was the Noble Class or the scholar-official class, they were all resistant to the Imperial Examination. They were most skilled at feigning compliance while acting in opposition.

The Crown Prince's meaning was very clear.

Stall!

Stall until the Emperor passes away!

At a time like this, who would still care about the affection between father and son?

The Crown Prince needed to use such means to win over all the forces that could be won over. Therefore, his stance was very important.

Looking back at the Jinghua Imperial Palace.

Xie Tianyao had just taken two "Immortal Pills" and felt quite refreshed and ethereal.

In the Yangxin Hall, blue smoke curled, and before his eyes was still that familiar chessboard.

Grand Eunuch Zhou was serving by his side.

In the darkness, that black shadow was still standing there.

Xie Tianyao picked up a chess piece and laughed heartily: "The Grand Canal, the Grand Canal, this Prefect Liu is more and more to my liking... Alas, if I had met him twenty years earlier, how could the world be like this?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou hurriedly laughed: "Emperor, with the Immortal Pill, you are vigorous in your old age!"

Xie Tianyao gave a self-deprecating laugh and shook his head: "You certainly did not disappoint me... This Prefect Liu is indeed a great tool that can be used."

Grand Eunuch Zhou immediately shut his mouth.

These words were spoken by the old Emperor to the Secret Guard.

The Secret Guard nodded.

Xie Tianyao sighed: "What a pity, what a pity... Why can this Prefect Liu not be my son? Why? No matter how sharp a sword is, it must eventually break on the battlefield..."

"The sharper it is, the easier it breaks, is that not so?"

He said with a chuckle.

Grand Eunuch Zhou and the Secret Guard were silent at the same time.

They both understood Xie Tianyao's meaning... Liu Zheng is now the old Emperor's sword! A sharp tool used to clear out that group of decrepit forces in the country! If one spoke of before, when Liu Zheng was just starting out, Xie Tianyao had not taken him seriously. But now... with Liu Zheng's growth, he can already play a game of chess against the old Emperor.

Only then did Xie Tianyao feel that this was a talent for governing the world!

However...

When everyone thought that the Emperor should, at this time, guard against Liu Zheng's sudden rise to clear the path for his own son, he did not do so!

He did the opposite, using Liu Zheng as a sword!

He intended to gather all the glory and all the halos of this world onto Liu Zheng, to make him infinitely glorious, to make him powerful at court, and to make him the focus of the world!

Killing with kindness!

After the sharp tool is used up, it can be killed with kindness!

Xie Tianyao is truly the originator of playing schemes.

At this time, what is the use of killing Liu Zheng? Just like the Song Prince, who is also the number one Feudatory King in the country... Even if the Song Prince dies, the Prince of Shu might stand up, and if the Prince of Shu is gone, there are the Prince of Yue, the Prince of Wu, the Song Prince...

Killing one person.

Cannot change the situation of the Longyan Dynasty.

He wants to use this one person to kill everyone else!

This is the true art of an emperor!

Learning to forge a sword, use a sword, hide a sword, and discard a sword is a skill that a great and ambitious emperor should master.

For example, was Shang Yang of that year not exactly like this?

Shang Yang brought legal reforms to the Qin State and strengthened the Qin State, but in the end, he had to die.

That was a dead end.

A dead end with no escape.

He had no reason to live on. Although Qin Xiaogong left him many ways out before he died, he still had to die. Because he was Qin Xiaogong's sword!

A lethal weapon!

If he did not die, it would be difficult for the Qin State to stabilize.

But after he died?

Qin Huiwen did not abolish the reforms and still followed the iron-blooded rule of law from the Shang Yang period. Because he knew this was a good thing. However, to appease the noble class and scholar-officials in the country, the reforms could stay, but Shang Yang had to be killed!

This, too, is the art of an emperor.

The current Longyan Dynasty.

Is actually about the same as the Qin State of that time.

The noble class and the scholar-official class control everything; to pull the rug out from under them, Xie Tianyao needs someone like Liu Zheng...

And after using him?

Kill him?

That is inevitable.

Who told him to be the one who sticks his head out?

The Emperor does not even need to act; by then, the Feudatory Kings of the world will act!

The art of an emperor.

Is just like this.

Thinking of the boy who had actually started to play chess against him, Xie Tianyao laughed heartily: "It is getting more and more interesting; I am quite looking forward to the day he comes to Jinghua."

On the road.

It was another endless stretch of desert and Gobi.

But at the thought that if the Grand Canal could start from here, Liu Zheng felt filled with ambition.

Even the Sui Dynasty of that year did not have the boldness to excavate the Grand Canal from a desert, right?

Qingyang Shuo chuckled: "Young Master, the situation in Liangzhou, following the Emperor's Imperial Edict, is actually already clear. The scholars of Liangzhou will become our greatest help. But Chen Ping will certainly fight to the death, so Young Master must be careful."

Liu Zheng nodded with a smile: "Sir is referring to Zheng Yuxing?"

Qingyang Shuo said: "Exactly. Although General Zheng has a very good impression of Young Master, he is, after all, a man of the Third Prince. Once the Imperial Examination is out, it is equivalent to the Emperor setting Young Master against the world. The Crown Prince and the Third Prince will certainly not be willing to promote the Imperial Examination either. Haha, this Emperor, when it comes to playing mind games, truly has few rivals!"

Liu Zheng also took a deep breath.

If Chen Ping really just dug in his heels and went against Liu Zheng.

With three hundred thousand of the Liangzhou Army, he would also be difficult to deal with.

Not to mention...

Liangzhou is his own home.

Liu Zheng did not want to see this land devastated by war.

Outwit them!

He must outwit them!

Thinking of this, he smiled slightly.

He wondered if Zheng Yueru had managed to handle that Ma Yong?