Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 23: If there’s going to be an explosion, it’s going to be a big one.

Huan Sheng really wants to make progress.

But in Chang'an, his background was too shallow, and his identity as a Liangzhou native was not a plus at all in Chang'an, but rather a mostly negative image.

Although he handled both big and small matters well, it was difficult for him to be promoted and make further progress.

His sister always said that he was impatient and restless.

Huan Sheng did not think that he was in a hurry for success, nor did he think that his mind was too impetuous. Any person with ambition and determination should be more eager to obtain higher power and higher status.

Chu Shizhao was not in a hurry to answer Huan Sheng.

Because it is not necessary.

He had no way of confirming the significance of Huan Sheng's visit, and his father was in power in the current Zhou Dynasty.

Emperor Yongjin had spies throughout the court and the country, and he could tell at a glance who had contact with whom.

Being eager to show off is definitely not a positive image in the eyes of Emperor Yongjin.

And do I need to talk about the current situation of the Great Zhou Dynasty?
Chu Shizhao saw that the power of the Jiedushi exceeded the normal concept. In the future, the situation of separatist regimes in the Tang Dynasty would appear sooner or later. If there was no Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, there would be Anshi Rebellion in the Zhou Dynasty.

But regarding this issue, do you think that for an emperor like Emperor Yongjin who was adept at political politics, and his father who had been playing with his ministers all his life, he could not see the potential impact?

Emperor Yongjin could naturally see it.

Chu Shizhao could be sure of this from his memory of the simulation.

Emperor Yongjin had always been checking and balancing the entire system within the Great Zhou, so as long as he hadn't passed away, the situation in the Great Zhou could just barely hold together.

Chu Shizhao's high-sounding discussion with Huan Sheng, advocating the "feudal threat theory", is just being clever.

What's more, the Huan family of Liangzhou represented by Huan Sheng was also a beneficiary of the Jiedushi system.

Under such circumstances, it was impossible for Chu Shizhao to talk with Huan Sheng about current affairs or the many malpractices and bad policies in the Zhou court.

You have to know that the existence of such bad policies is bound to have a beneficiary group, and this beneficiary group is the staunch supporters of these bad policies.

Only if you have enough say can you be the leader of these policies. Obviously, Chu Shizhao is not qualified to change the status quo at present.

To put it bluntly, it is futile to keep talking nonsense and making promises in front of Huan Sheng.

This is pure conversation.

It has no practical effect.

Saying it won't change the situation.

What can we talk about then?
We can only talk about cognition and our own ideology.

Talk about classics and culture.

Huan Sheng wanted to test whether Chu Shizhao was really capable and wanted to discuss some practical issues within the Zhou Dynasty, but Chu Shizhao's writing style was just like that of a Tai Chi practitioner.

However, Chu Shizhao was able to have a good time just talking about classics, some cultural cognition, or even some local customs and practices.

Huan Sheng, who was in his young state, obviously did not realize that Chu Shizhao was dealing with him. They chatted for three or four hours before Huan Sheng happily withdrew.

When leaving the Prince of Jin's Mansion, Huan Sheng recalled that he came here to test whether His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin was really capable, but he didn't expect that he didn't get to know anything.

Chu Shizhao was also evaluating Huan Sheng.

He initially thought that Huan Sheng's model was Huan Wen, a powerful official during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. After all, Huan Sheng's trend in simulation and deduction was that he was running towards the position of a powerful official, with almost no room for braking. Secondly, Huan Sheng was not a pure literati. As a native of Liangzhou, he had strong basic riding and archery skills, and could be considered a character with both civil and military skills.

At present, Huan Sheng's situation is not much better. He seems to be a marginal figure in the Yongjin Emperor's reign. He really needs a support point in the court.

But he has never met anyone who appreciates him.

"So, history is really the most complicated thing." Chu Shizhao sighed, "Different times will also create different lives."

"Huan Sheng had been suppressed for too long during the Yongjin Dynasty. When he was given an important position during his brother's reign, he immediately vented out the resentment that had been pent up over the years, and his edge was too obvious, overwhelming the imperial power in one breath."

"Such a person will have different effects in the hands of different people."

"If the emperor uses him, Huan Sheng will be a hard-working wife until her death, and will not dare to say a word."

"When you meet a strong lord, you are a minister; when you meet a weak lord, you are a regent."

Chu Shizhao's eyes were on the documents again. Hai Rui's "The Best Public Security Memorial in the World" had been transformed into the Great Zhou version of "Letter of Advice" under his handwriting.

This is a very risky thing to do.

However, he must improve his reputation.

Time is running out. Once my father passes away, I won’t have such a good opportunity to build up my reputation.

The credibility of the Great Zhou Dynasty itself has been on the verge of collapse under the rule of Emperor Yongjin for many years. If you don't do something to "restore order", you will not be able to win the trust of the people.

The reason why Emperor Jiajing did not consider killing Hai Rui later was that he hoped that Hai Rui could become a "benchmark" in the Ming Dynasty court. Even if he was just a mascot, it would be able to restore some trust in the Ming Dynasty in the hearts of the people.

This is Emperor Jiajing taking advantage of Hai Rui's image and borrowing Hai Rui's credit to "cheat" the people's trust.

Chu Shizhao did not trust the character of his father, Emperor Yongjin, but he trusted his father's political ability.

Moreover, in Chu Shizhao's view, dying in the imperial prison is pleading for the people, which is much more honorable than being stabbed in the spine and thrown on the roadside to die like a stray dog.

You can also leave your name in history books!
There's no point in living like a wimp and servile in this world.

He planned to pawn all the valuables in the Prince of Jin's Mansion and exchange them for food to help the poor people living in poverty outside Chang'an.

Get yourself a coffin.

He took off the dragon robe of the Prince of Zhou and personally presented the letter - "Book of Advice".

If you’re going to explode, make it a big one.

Of course, Chu Shizhao couldn't just pull off such a desperate move without any preparation.

From this perspective, Chu Shizhao's purpose in doing this is too strong.

Therefore, Chu Shizhao decided to proceed step by step. He would first take off his clothes and live in the poorest place outside Chang'an Prefecture. In this way, Chu Shizhao would be able to express his understanding of the sufferings of the people.

Then it would be natural for him to pawn his "property" to provide food relief to the poor people living in poverty outside Chang'an.

In fact, in the memory of the simulation, Chu Shizhao already knew how miserable the people were under the rule of Emperor Yongjin, otherwise he would not have considered risking his life and fighting against the equally hot-tempered Emperor Yongjin.

Or perhaps it was the romance brought about by the [Emperor Gaozu's legacy] that made Chu Shizhao not want to be a mediocre son of a prince.

He is a hero in life and a hero in death.

And this is the true ambition of a real man.

(End of this chapter)