Chapter 98: Taking Advantage of the Situation (3)
After a moment of contemplation, Xue Han suddenly took a step back with his right foot, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists to Zhou Cheng, bowed his head and said with the highest courtesy: "I sincerely hope that you can become a king who is not inferior to him soon. For this, Xue Han is willing to devote his whole life to you."
Xue Han's behavior and words startled Zhou Cheng at first, but then a faint smile appeared on his face: "Well, I will."
Zhou Cheng's smile contained a myriad of things. Even though Xue Han's words were a little lacking, Zhou Cheng didn't care, because this was Xue Han. Xue Han was not the same as others. He was a person who inexplicably surrendered and swore allegiance. He had been doing his best from beginning to end, and silently put into action what he said. A long time ago, Zhou Cheng had full faith in Xue Han's abilities and trusted him from the bottom of his heart. For this reason, he didn't care about Xue Han's past at all.
"So, are you interested in taking over the position of Prime Minister?"
Suddenly, Xue Han felt that Zhou Cheng’s words were like a bolt from the blue that hit his brain. He looked at Zhou Cheng in disbelief, wondering if what he just heard was an auditory hallucination?
Receiving Xue Han's surprised look, Zhou Cheng did not hesitate to answer his question: "I want you to take over the position of Prime Minister. Are you willing?"
This time, Xue Han realized that he was not hallucinating, but real. He looked even more shocked. He couldn't believe Zhou Cheng said this. Of course, in the eyes of others, this was normal. When the former prime minister resigned or died, someone could always be found to take over . It was strange that no one had replaced Zhang Ren in nearly half a year. But Xue Han didn't expect it to be so sudden, and the candidate turned out to be him. What Xue Han couldn't believe the most was that Zhou Cheng would bring it up. Xue Han suddenly realized something... Did Zhou Cheng really give up? So he didn't care anymore?
At this time, Zhou Cheng's mood was of course only known to him. How could he not consider how Yin Yin would react after knowing it? However, there were some things he could not do anything about. Just like a country cannot be without a king for a day, the position of prime minister is also a very important figure in a country, so the candidate must be selected again and again. It should be said that if the position of prime minister is always vacant, Yin Yin will be in a shadow. From the perspective of time, it has been quite a long time. Someone has mentioned it every time at the court meeting. At this point, Zhou Cheng can only choose someone he trusts and is capable of taking responsibility, so he chose Xue Han!
Apart from his age and experience as an official, Prime Minister Zhou felt that there was no other candidate for the post of Prime Minister except himself. To be more precise, no one was more qualified than Xue Han for the job. That's right, Xue Han is less than 30 years old and has been an official for less than three years. Apart from his previous work as a medical officer, he has only been a civil servant for two years. Promoting him to the position of Prime Minister would surely arouse dissatisfaction among most people. Furthermore, even if Xue Han became a political official in the court, he would seldom attend meetings. His ability could convince everyone, but his experience would inevitably attract criticism.
Of course Zhou Cheng knew what kind of situation would arise if he promoted Xue Han to the position of prime minister, but he still extended an invitation to Xue Han. As Xue Han gradually understood Zhou Cheng's willingness to promote him, he also understood what kind of verbal disputes Zhou Cheng would face, including that he himself would become the focus of everyone, which was undoubtedly a new challenge for him who had rarely participated in court meetings or various meetings. However, before that, Xue Han had to make a choice and reassess his abilities. Not to mention compared with the current ministers in the court, when compared with the deceased Zhang Ren, Xue Han felt how naive his previous thoughts were. Zhang Ren was worthy of being one of the wise ministers and celebrities in the world today. Xue Han clearly realized this when he was with Zhang Ren, so he was not sure whether he could take over the position left by Zhang Ren.
After thinking a lot, Xue Han finally sighed. He knew Zhou Cheng was waiting for his answer and gave him time to think. He adjusted his thoughts, turned to Zhou Yan, and said: "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty, but I don't think it's appropriate now."
Zhou Cheng was not surprised by Xue Han's answer after thinking about it. It was within his expectations. He said calmly: "Get up first."
At this time, Zhou Cheng exempted Xue Han from the great ceremony, as if those words could be said when Xue Han was performing the ceremony. Xue Han did not say anything, nor did he thank him. He stood up silently.
"Can I understand your words as you are not sure you are competent now?"
Zhou Cheng looked directly at Xue Han. Xue Han did not avoid the gaze but nodded slightly, tacitly agreeing with Zhou Cheng's words. In fact, the main reason was probably that Xue Han did not intend to go into politics, or to be more precise, he did not want to formally step into court politics. He felt that being able to assist him was enough. On the one hand, he was loyal to Zhou Cheng not for official position or power, and on the other hand, he had his own ideas.
"It feels like you, but not like you."
Xue Han would not admit defeat before the start, but he also knew his bottom line after understanding others, or he would admit his shortcomings when he was familiar with them. No matter which aspect, Zhou Cheng admired him very much; he was indeed capable of being the prime minister, and compared with Zhang Ren, Xue Han obviously had some shortcomings; and Zhou Cheng was not clear about the comparison between Xue Han and Wang Ye, but he could vaguely feel it from Xue Han's evaluation of Wang Ye. Therefore, since Xue Han considered himself as the prime minister, there were only these two people. Zhang Ren made Xue Han respect him from the bottom of his heart like a teacher, and Wang Ye made Xue Han have an opponent that he was unwilling to admit defeat but also very much recognized.
"It's okay. If you think you can do it, just tell me, no matter what the answer is."
As if seeing through Xue Han's inner concerns, Zhou Cheng offered some relief. Xue Han nodded with a little gratitude. There were some things he didn't want to say, especially at this time.
