Forced to Ascend the Throne after Transmigrating

Chapter 311: Getting Old

But Prime Minister He still didn’t understand how the emperor could make so many people listen to him.

The eldest son at the side asked directly: “Lu Mu, who are you fooling? I can’t understand it even more when you say that. This must be a supernatural power.”

Otherwise, it would be inconceivable to achieve such a goal. From the eldest son’s perspective, it is impossible.

However, He Xiang on the side calmed down.

He has been the prime minister for so many years. Although he cannot tell which words are true and which are false 100%, he is almost right.

This seemingly impossible reason is actually closer to the truth.

He Xiang remembered that the reason why he accepted him as his disciple without any hesitation was simply because he was a student taught by Zeng Mohuai, had no foundation in Shangjing, and had a clean background. At that time, He Xiang accepted him because he was easy to control, young and talented.

The only connection between Lu Mu and the others was his experience of studying under Zeng Mohuai…

Wait, Zeng Mohuai?

Things have come to this point, and the more He Xiang knows, the better it is.

Lu Mu remained silent and nodded.

He Xiang was stunned: “How could it be… How could it be…”

“I remember clearly that Zeng Mohuai is not the kind of person who plays with power, so how could he get involved in court affairs?” If Zeng Mohuai really had this intention, he would not have resigned when Emperor Jingwen treated him with such generous gifts.

Unless there is another reason.

It had been several decades since the incident, and He Xiang could hardly remember it clearly. But now that it was suddenly brought up, he could barely recall something after thinking about it carefully.

“If we were to say what Zeng Mohuai cares about most in his life, it would be his ability. Emperor Jingwen invited him here on the pretext that he could enter the palace at any time and read the palace books.”

“Could it be that His Majesty has accidentally obtained some ancient book?”

Based on our knowledge, He Xiang’s inference can only go so far at best.

Lu Mu was silent for a moment, and then said, “If it was just a few books, how could Mr. Zeng devote himself to it so much? Mr. Zeng has never left the border for twenty years.” ??

Zeng Mohuai had stopped teaching students ten years ago, and now it is Zeng Mohuai’s apprentices who are teaching. As far as Lu Mu knows, it has been only about a year since the emperor ascended the throne, and not only has the previous school been preserved, the emperor has also opened branches in other places.

There are not many branch schools, but they are built steadily, with only one or two schools opened each year. This year is the fourth year, and there should be about four or five schools in total. They are basically located in relatively less developed areas. On the one hand, such places are extremely isolated and not easy to be discovered, and on the other hand, there are relatively few prestigious families.

Lu Mu had a vague guess in his mind that the emperor might have some plans to make changes in the education sector, otherwise he would not have opened a school specifically to avoid those aristocratic families.

It would be fine if it was just the one under General Xu’s protection, and that one could be said to be needed by the emperor. Now the emperor is far less urgent for a useful person than before, but he still took such a big risk, which proves that what the emperor is planning must be extraordinary.

But no matter what, if His Majesty wants to promote it on a large scale, sooner or later he will have to confront the aristocratic families. He can avoid it for a while, but not forever. At that time, it will surely cause a major earthquake, and the commotion will be no less than this expedition.

The saying “emperors come and go, but the clan remains forever” has never been an empty talk.

The power of the noble families was extraordinary, and could almost be said to be the foundation of the entire Great Zhou. However, if the people of the entire Great Zhou wanted everyone to have access to books and be eligible for education, as they did in the past, they could only choose to break the noble families’ monopoly on knowledge and books. There was no other way.

It is simply impossible to ask the aristocratic families to voluntarily give up the interests they have in their hands. This hatred is worse than killing one’s parents, so once the other party finds out, one can imagine how fierce the resistance will be.

However, this kind of thing was just speculation after all. Even if it was true, it was not something he could control, so Lu Mu subconsciously covered it up and did not mention it.

Lu Mu thought for a moment and said, “It was the emperor who impressed Master Zeng with his knowledge.”

After hearing this, He Xiang felt it was even more unbelievable.

Knowledge? ?

What knowledge does His Majesty have?

Several years ago, when the emperor was still a prince, his ignorant appearance was still vivid in people’s minds. Even if he died, Prime Minister He could never forget the pain that the Ninth Prince had brought him.

Even now, I haven’t seen His Majesty read many books!

Prime Minister He was silent for a moment, then he picked up the memorial approved by the emperor and opened it. The handwriting was still the same. Has anything changed over the years?

Lu Mu vaguely sensed something and choked up: “…Actually, Your Majesty is just not good at writing with a brush. Your Majesty’s charcoal writing is pretty good.”

I swear to God, what Lu Mu said was the truth, but it still sounded a bit like a lie.

“…Let’s not talk about that.”

He Xiang exhaled deeply and said, “For the sake of our relationship as master and disciple, please answer my last question.”

“No matter how you think of me, I will still regard you as my teacher.” Lu Mu said this first, and then said: “Please ask me everything you want to know. I will tell you everything I know.”??

He Xiang: “I have been an official for many years, and I have never suffered such a big setback. If I can’t figure it out now, I am afraid I will not be willing to die.”

“Even though His Majesty has shown you great kindness and invited Master Zeng to teach you, and even though you knew each other before I did, why didn’t you hear anything about us for so many years? From the beginning to the end, don’t you have any ulterior motives?”

No matter how sincere a person is, he or she can be selfish, right? Or has His Majesty encountered all these stubborn people? His Majesty is just too lucky, isn’t he?

He Xiang’s question was asked cleverly, and it hit the critical point, between what can be said and what cannot be said.

After a while, Lu Mu looked at the eldest son beside him.

Prime Minister He understood and winked at his eldest son, signalling him to leave.

Although the eldest son was unwilling, he did not resist in the end. Before leaving, he could not help but glare at Lu Mu.

After the main hall was completely empty, Lu Mu finally spoke.

“It’s not that I don’t have any other intentions, it’s that I dare not have any other intentions.”

“The emperor seems to dislike being in charge of things, but he actually knows exactly what should and should not be done. We seem important to him, but in fact, we can be discarded at will. There are too many people who want to replace us and have the ability to replace us.”

Students from several schools came in waves and batches, which made Lu Mu feel uneasy.

“Now that things have come to this, I will not hide anything from you. From the time I learned to read to now, I have had three teachers, including you. Master Zeng has a bad temper, but he is straightforward. Prime Minister He, you, treats us better than your own sons and nephews. Only Your Majesty… At first, perhaps because of His Majesty’s mysterious identity and because we were young, we admired Him the most. But now, as time has passed, I have gradually realised how terrifying His Majesty is. He knows so much, so much that it makes me despair.”

“What His Majesty has learned seems to be endless. I’m not afraid of being laughed at by the teacher when I say this. There have been many times when the students even felt that His Majesty was like a god from heaven.” Moving mountains and filling the sea can certainly be called a godly method.

What Lu Mu didn’t mention was the identity of the emperor. At first, he was the most favoured prince, and then he became a prince. Who could they tell? They were all members of the royal family with the surname Ye. They were all one family. Why would these outsiders join in the fun?

Even if it was leaked, the emperor would most likely not get into any serious trouble, but they would not. However, they would definitely die.

Besides, the emperor was not bad to them from the beginning and did not restrict their freedom. Later, when the emperor really needed them and he himself became the emperor, they would have to be crazy to choose to betray him.

Timidity, fear, reverence, threats, freedom… These combined are enough to make them shut up.

“Teacher, for the sake of our long-term relationship as master and disciple, please listen to my advice. At this critical moment, please do not go against His Majesty.”

“Your Majesty is ambitious and cannot be stopped by you gentlemen.”

In the end, Lu Mu left these two sentences.

He Xiang couldn’t come back to his senses for a long time. He was wondering what a god-like figure would be like.

Prime Minister He was a little bit unable to imagine, but what was certain was that the last time we dealt with Beiting, it must not have been Prince Ding’s credit.

Not long after Lu Mu left, Empress Dowager He’s maid arrived. As expected, the Empress Dowager also wanted him to keep his head down.

He Xiang then gradually realised that he had unknowingly fallen into this situation.

Your Majesty is really good at boiling a frog in warm water!

Even if Prime Minister He was unwilling, he had to listen to the advice in this situation. Otherwise, it would be a question whether the whole family could be saved.

They couldn’t stop him before when they didn’t know the inside story, and now that they know it, they can’t stop him even more.

In about two days, Ye Shuo received the news, and six letters of resignation were placed on his desk. Everything in front of him was not much different from what Ye Shuo had expected, but he still breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as He Xiang and his men behave themselves and do not act recklessly at this critical juncture, they will still be heroes of the Great Zhou.

Ye Shuo pondered for a moment, then looked at Wei Wen beside him: “I remember that Prime Minister He has a great-grandson, the third son of the Minister of Chancellery, and… “

Ye Shuo listed several people in succession, and then said: “Since they are the most outstanding people in their respective families, let’s find a way to promote them.”

This can be regarded as a reward for He Xiang and his companions for their understanding, and at the same time it is also sending a signal – he has no intention of making things difficult for them, and will even protect the honour of their entire family.

After all, we can’t let those who have contributed to the Great Zhou feel disappointed, right?

After hearing this, He Xiang was surprised and happy, but more of it was complicated.

It turns out that without realising it, His Majesty has already become very adept at doing these things. They have always underestimated him…

He stood there in a daze for a long time, as if he was recalling his life as prime minister. After a while, he finally reacted, then knelt on the ground and bent down.

“Thank you, your Majesty, for your grace.”

At this moment, He Xiang seemed to be really old.