The Fierce Teacher of Zhenguan: Starting with Teaching the Crown Prince to Make a Comeback

Chapter 44 is about not acting according to their expectations.

"Your Highness may also privately promise them that once their sentences are served, you will provide them with land and houses to support them in their old age."

"In this way, Your Highness has both upheld the law and fulfilled your duty. You have demonstrated to the world the Crown Prince's determination to eradicate corruption, and you have also proven to those around you that Your Highness has not forgotten past favors."

"This is true political maneuvering—not cold-blooded, but ruthless with warmth."

Li Chengqian stared blankly at Li Yichen, the struggle in his eyes gradually turning into clarity.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Yichen, his voice low.

"If it is confirmed that Wang Shun and Wang Da have indeed embezzled funds... I will personally plead with the Emperor to spare their lives."

“Alright.” Li Yichen nodded. “If Your Highness can act in this way today, the reputation of the Crown Prince will not be damaged but rather enhanced.”

Li Chengqian smiled bitterly.

"I used to think that being the crown prince meant being cold-blooded and ruthless. But today I realize that true political maneuvering is about retaining a touch of humanity even in ruthlessness."

Li Yichen looked at him, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes.

"Power is not about killing, but about balance. It is not about abandonment, but about control. It is not about being ruthless, but about knowing when to be ruthless and when to be benevolent."

Li Yichen looked at him, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

He knew he had to praise him.

He needs to be made confident.

Because Li Chengqian was a rebellious person, he was prone to giving up on himself once he suffered a setback.

If he feels he has lost today, if he feels incompetent, then all his previous plans, patience, and schemes will have been in vain.

No one can save a crown prince who has given up on himself.

But a crown prince who regains his confidence and starts using his brain can rise to great heights.

So Li Yichen deliberately said he had won.

Actually, we can only say that we didn't lose this game.

The real battle is yet to come.

"I understand." Li Chengqian nodded slowly, took a deep breath, and his eyes gradually calmed down.

Li Yichen looked at him and said calmly, "Your Highness has already made progress by thinking of this. But it is far from time to relax."

"Liu Shi is just a pawn; the person behind him hasn't even shown their face yet. If we rush to eliminate him, we'll only alert them. We should wait until they continue to make their moves—until they think they have victory in their grasp and reveal all their methods—before we can close the net."

Li Chengqian frowned: "But if they stop here and only use Wang Shun and Wang Da as a pretext to spread rumors of corruption in the Eastern Palace, wouldn't my reputation be ruined?"

“They won’t stop,” Li Yichen said with certainty.

“Liu Shi failed to force His Highness to lose his composure today, which will only make them more anxious. Next, they will definitely use more insidious tricks—most likely two: rumors and evidence gathering.” He paused, then continued, “Rumors are the cheapest to spread, but the hardest to guard against. They might say that His Highness’s foot ailment has worsened, that he has lost his mind, that he pretends to be wise during the day but whips the palace servants at night; or that His Highness still secretly possesses Hu clothing and Hu utensils and is secretly communicating with surrendered Turkic generals; they might even dredge up Cheng Xin’s past affairs, embellish them, and spread them in a way that is utterly unbearable to hear. As for evidence gathering—they will investigate His Highness’s past whereabouts, question former members of the Eastern Palace, and try to find solid evidence of His Highness’s dealings with the Prince of Han and Hou Junji, so that they can firmly pin the charge of forming a faction on him.”

Li Chengqian's throat went dry: "If that's really the case... am I just supposed to let people slander me?"

"Slander?" Li Yichen's lips curled into a sneer, revealing a hint of disdain.

"Your Highness, we cannot deal with rumors by simply making excuses. We must fight fire with fire."

"This is the essence of game theory—not just responding to each move, but luring them out of their hole, turning small troubles into big traps, and making them jump in on their own!"

Li Chengqian's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He felt that the plan was too risky, yet he couldn't help but be drawn in by its insane logic.

"Luring the snake out of its hole?" Li Chengqian asked, puzzled.

“Your Highness, have you forgotten where we are? This is not a street brawl, this is a game of strategy. When dealing with rumors and evidence gathering, we must not be passive and take the hits, that would play right into their hands. The most skillful strategy is not to defend ourselves, but to control the course of the game, and even change the rules of the game.”

He walked to the desk, dipped his finger in tea, and drew a few simple squares and arrows on the shiny surface.

“Your Highness, please consider this matter as a ‘multi-stage dynamic game.’ The other side made the first move by having Liu Shi expose the wrongdoing, aiming to force you to lose your composure and damage your image of reformation. This is their first gain. If you mishandle the situation, they will win a great victory.”

"But you held firm, which is our first victory. However, the game is not over yet; it has entered the second phase. The other side anticipates that you will be eager to purge the Crown Prince, retaliate against Liu Shi, or desperately cover it up. But their real trump card is hidden behind your reaction."

Li Yichen tapped the square representing the other party with his finger.

"The reaction they expect is: if you severely punish Liu Shi, they can portray you as retaliating against those who remonstrate with you; if you protect Wang Shun and Wang Da, they can confirm your hypocritical protection; if you frantically block the news and clean house, they can take the opportunity to spread more rumors, and even muddy the waters, throwing out the fatal charges they really want to fabricate, such as forming cliques and colluding with foreign vassals, in the chaos, making it difficult for people to distinguish the truth from the falsehood."

"Their superior strategy is to provoke you into action, thereby finding weaknesses in your actions."

Li Chengqian stared at the simple "chessboard" formed by the water stains, feeling a chill mixed with enlightenment rising within him.

"So, by remaining still, they've been left without a way to attack?"

"It's not that we don't move at all, but that we don't move according to their expectations."

A calculating glint flashed in Li Yichen's eyes.

"Our optimal strategy is to go against the grain. They expect us to be chaotic, but we insist on extreme stillness and righteousness."

"First, we will neither reward nor punish Liu Shi, nor utter a single word about him. He is fulfilling his duties as an imperial censor, and the Crown Prince will verify what he says. By keeping him out of the loop, we will prevent him and those behind him from figuring out our true intentions, and from guessing whether we are enduring humiliation or simply ignoring him. This will make them, who are eager for quick success, feel anxious and uncertain."

"Secondly, regarding Wang Shun and Wang Da, as mentioned earlier, we should handle them swiftly, accurately, and decisively according to the law, and do so in a grand manner, proactively requesting the Dali Temple to intervene and supervise, fully demonstrating the Crown Prince's self-examination and self-correction, and his impartiality. This will not only instantly resolve the accusation of 'inconsistency between words and deeds,' but also characterize this incident as a meritorious achievement of the Crown Prince's anti-corruption efforts, thus gaining points for us. We should proactively end the issue of embezzlement in a way that is favorable to us, so that they can no longer make an issue of this matter."

“Third, and most importantly,” Li Yichen’s voice was lowered, carrying a tempting, bait-like quality.

“We need to proactively create a larger ‘target’ to attract them to invest more resources and reveal more of their intentions.”

"Aren't they trying to gather evidence of 'forming a clique'? Aren't they trying to dig up information about Han Wang and Hou Junji? We can deliberately expose a seemingly fatal 'flaw' that is still under our control."

(End of this chapter)