Chapter 40: The Art of Emperor!
Xiao Yan smiled bitterly when he heard this. He was the emperor, but he just wanted to complain, but he had to replace the person before he even opened his mouth.
"Your Majesty, you have misunderstood. I am just complaining. After all, being the regent is not like playing house. I must be cautious."
"In fact, I thought I had countless capable ministers under my command and could leave any task to them. Since I became regent, I realized that I was totally wrong."
The old emperor was very pleased to hear this.
"Yes, you have grown up and are no longer the naughty child you were before. The road to governing a country is long and there are still many things you need to explore."
"The art of being a king does not lie in killing. No matter how many people you kill, it will be useless. You may kill some people and use them for your own use, but it will only be mental suppression."
"I heard that you have killed a lot of people recently?"
Xiao Yan did not dare to hide anything and nodded, saying, "That's right, I killed those who deserved to be killed."
"Father said that the art of being an emperor is not about killing, so what is it about?"
The old emperor raised himself up slightly and said earnestly: "Yan'er, remember, the art of being an emperor lies in showing kindness, and the combination of kindness and power is the kingly way."
"Killing is sometimes a sign of incompetence. It can only calm people down temporarily, but not forever. In this respect, you are not as good as Hu Zhenghe!"
After hearing this, Xiao Yan was enlightened. He realized that he had been thinking about how to suppress the opposition voices in the court through killing.
He was indeed somewhat autocratic, and even some dissenting voices were suppressed directly by him, which would lead to more dissenting voices in the court.
"Father, you are right. I have indeed killed quite a few people during this period, and it has had a certain effect, but there are certain hidden dangers."
"But you said that I am not as good as Hu Zhenghe. I am a little dissatisfied. Hu Zhenghe has been in charge of government for many years, so naturally many people will listen to him."
The old emperor smiled and said disapprovingly: "Then why do you think these people would listen to Hu Zhenghe?"
"Just because he is the Prime Minister? Although the Prime Minister has a high status, this is not enough, right?"
"Most of them are because they accepted Hu Zhenghe's kindness. How did they get to where they are today? Wasn't it Hu Zhenghe's support that got them to where they are today?"
"So this is to show favor to the other party, so that the other party can be used by you!"
Xiao Yan nodded when he heard this. This was indeed the case. He had neglected this point. Before, he was only thinking about how to win back the three people the emperor had left for him.
But they overlooked the fact that the people working below also need to be won back.
"I understand, thank you for your guidance, Father."
The old emperor smiled and shook his head, saying, "This is just the beginning. You still have a long way to go. I don't know how far I can accompany you, so there are still many things that you need to experience and comprehend on your own."
"We have never had such a crisis since the founding of the Great Zhou, so this matter is left to you to handle. Remember your promise, the Great Zhou will always be named Xiao!"
Xiao Yan immediately bowed and said, "I will remember this!"
The old emperor nodded and said, "Put me down. I am tired. You can go now!"
After Xiao Yan laid the old emperor down, he hurried to open the bedroom.
I made the right decision to come here today. The old emperor's words really inspired me a lot.
Not only can he support his own people, he can also poach Hu Zhenghe's people.
Although Hu Zhenghe has done a favor to these people, it depends on the size of the favor. If they can accept Hu Zhenghe's favor, then they can accept their own.
So I still need to plan this matter carefully.
Night, East Palace.
"Tianya, how is the investigation going?"
Duan Tianya took out a note from his flower seeds and handed it to Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan read it carefully and became more and more frightened the more he read.
"Is there any solid evidence?"
"have!"
Duan Tianya took out a letter from his flower seeds and handed it to Xiao Yan, who read it carefully.
"This letter is the secret letter between Guo Youzhi and the commander of the Imperial Guard. For some reason he did not destroy it, and it was stolen by his subordinates!"
Xiao Yan smiled slightly: "It doesn't matter whether he destroys the letter or not. He kept the letter to leave a way out for himself."
"What do you think about this?"
Duan Tianya took a deep breath and uttered a word: "Kill!"
Xiao Yan was inspired by the old emperor today, so he shook his head and said, "I think we should not kill him!"
"These people may seem like treacherous officials, but if they can be used by me, then the situation will be different."
Duan Tianya narrowed his eyes slightly. He didn't expect that Xiao Yan would think of this trick.
"Your Highness, these people are not clean. If they are really recruited to your side, I am afraid they will cause trouble for you."
Xiao Yan laughed: "Hahaha, they are greedy, but they don't have any other thoughts."
"Such people can indeed be used by me. If they can get things done, I can still tolerate some petty greed."
"Besides, how many officials are truly incorruptible? I cannot say there are none, but they are very few!"
Duan Tianya also started to think about it. This matter was indeed as Xiao Yan said.
Did they sit in this position today just for fun? Of course not!
"Then your highness, what should we do about this matter? After all, they are touching the military power this time!"
Xiao Yan shook his head and said, "They have just gained control of the military power, so I don't think they will be that stable, so don't panic!"
"Send someone to investigate Guo Youzhi now, especially why Guo Youzhi would work so hard for Hu Zhenghe!"
"If this matter is thoroughly investigated, then Guo Youzhi will most likely become an orphan."
Duan Tianya looked at Xiao Yan with admiration. He did not expect that Xiao Yan had such a broad mind.
"Yes, I will investigate right away and will definitely give you a satisfactory answer!"
Xiao Yan smiled slightly and said, "Go ahead. After this matter is done, I'm afraid Hu Zhenghe's power will suffer a huge blow."
Duan Tianya did not dare to delay: "Yes, I will obey your order!"
After Duan Tianya left, Xiao Yan began to think again.
If Hu Zhenghe has any evidence against Guo Youzhi, how should he deal with it? If Hu Zhenghe is desperate and bites Guo Youzhi to death, how should he save him?
He would never believe that Hu Zhenghe recruited Guo Youzhi for his own use simply out of kindness.
Just as the old emperor said, the combination of kindness and severity is the right way to go. Simply showing kindness will not work.
We still have to wait for news from Duan Tianya before making the next deployment.
"Guo Youzhi, Guo Youzhi, I hope you won't let me down. You are a very important chess piece now. I like you very much!"
"Hu Zhenghe, I just don't know if you can handle my next move. I hope you can still laugh when the time comes, and don't beg for mercy so easily."
