Traveling through time and space to become a child, supporting the family by catching fish and shrim

If the magistrate of Nanhe County were in office, he would surely be furious at such outrageous words and order the officers to beat the man with thirty sticks, and then put him in prison and execute him in the autumn.

But Xiao Yu was different. He was demoted because he offended the emperor.

Even though Chen Lang's words were extremely offensive, they did not make Xiao Yu unhappy.

Sure enough, after hearing Chen Lang's outrageous remarks, Xiao Yu's expression didn't change much. He said calmly, "You are just a little boy, and you dare to speak ill of His Majesty? Aren't you afraid that I will report you to the government and punish you for disrespect?"

Chen Lang bowed his hands towards the sky and said, "Our Emperor Gaozu once issued an edict that all scholars in the world can discuss state affairs, even the emperor."

"How can it be considered disrespectful if Emperor Gaozu allowed it?"

Xiao Yu smiled and pointed at Chen Lang: "Sophistry."

"Well, even if what you said makes sense, how do you know that I will be reinstated?"

Chen Lang said, "I have to thank the stewards at Scholar Xiao's residence. A few days ago, I said I was bored and wanted to read, so they brought me some morning papers and tabloids to read."

"The students' opinions were formed by combining the morning newspaper and the tabloids."

Chao Bao is the official newspaper published by the imperial court. It was not a new thing in ancient times. It appeared more than a thousand years ago and was called "Di Bao" at that time.

After the fall of Wei, the previous dynasty of Dayan, China fell into a state of division that lasted for three hundred years. The military governors were busy fighting wars and naturally had no time to publish newspapers.

Dayan rose from the north and unified China, ending three hundred years of chaos. The official bulletin then reappeared on the historical stage.

However, Emperor Gaozu of the Great Yan Dynasty thought that the name "Dibao" was not nice and that the new dynasty should have a new look, so he changed it to "Chaobao".

It is printed once every month and distributed to all routes, states, prefectures and counties.

As for the tabloids, they come from a wide variety of sources and can be simply understood as the gossip of this era. As for the content above, it can be described as explosive.

The government has never recognized tabloids, but ordinary people still like to read them.

In addition to gossip, tabloids also serialize some stories, some of which are even pornographic.

Ordinary people naturally like it more.

In an era when entertainment was scarce, reading gossip and pornographic stories in tabloids became one of the few sources of happiness for ordinary people.

Xiao Yu said calmly, "The contents of the court newspaper have been carefully reviewed by the cabinet. They are all metaphysical and have no value."

"As for the tabloids, they are even less credible."

"The judgment you made based on this content is simply untenable."

Chen Lang said: "I thought so at first, but after reading the morning papers a few months ago, I suddenly realized something was wrong."

"Because a name frequently appeared in the morning newspaper."

"King Qin."

"The King of Qin's name frequently appears in the imperial court newspapers, and all the civil and military officials insist he's right. If there's no trickery going on, do you believe it, Scholar Xiao?"

Xiao Yu frowned and immediately ordered the housekeeper to bring the morning newspapers for the past two months.

After reading the morning newspaper, Xiao Yu frowned even more tightly.

Just as Chen Lang said, the contents of the court newspapers in the past were all what the emperor said.

However, in the court reports of the past two months, the King of Qin said frequently appeared.

The Prince of Qin is the youngest brother of the current emperor and is not yet 35 years old. A minister once said that if the Prince of Qin had not been too young when the previous emperor passed away, the position of emperor would never have come to His Majesty.

Therefore, after Your Majesty ascended the throne, he directly banished the King of Qin to his fiefdom and sent troops to keep him under strict surveillance.

For decades afterwards, the King of Qin remained obedient, and since His Majesty was preoccupied with making money, his care for the King of Qin became increasingly weaker.

The appearance of the King of Qin's name in the court newspaper further shows that the emperor's control over the cabinet is no longer as strong as before.

After all, given His Majesty's character when he was young, it would be absolutely impossible for him to allow such a thing to happen.

Xiao Yu put down the court newspaper and pondered, "What the King of Qin said is not without reason. Printing his words in the court newspaper doesn't mean anything."

Chen Lang said with a half-smile, "Master Xiao, do you believe what you said?"

Xiao Yu had a blank expression on his face and asked, "What do you want to say?"

Chen Lang said, "Ever since the Shilin Group regained control of the court, officials representing the interests of merchants have been suppressed. If it weren't for Your Majesty's favoritism, I believe these officials would have been expelled from the capital long ago."

"However, the strength of your majesty's protection is also declining year by year. The reason is simple. The children of merchants can never compare to those who have studied hard in the past."

"Plus, local officials tend to favor traditional scholars when admitting candidates. Children from merchant families can only reach the level of Juren at best, and it's almost impossible for them to advance any further."

"With the weakening of the court's voice and the weakening of His Majesty's patronage, it's only a matter of time before the court completely returns to the embrace of the literati."

"Prince Qin seized this opportunity and stood up to speak for the Shilin Group, naturally becoming the leader of this group."

"Prince Qin was very close to ascending the throne back then, and now with the support of the Shilin Group, it's only a matter of time before he sits on the throne."

Xiao Yu stared at Chen Lang for a long time. He didn't understand how a student could have such a "profound" understanding of the court.

His words may sound like nonsense at first, but upon closer inspection, every word is full of wisdom.

His Majesty has indeed caused complaints from scholars all over the world, and because of his endless exploitation of merchants, the merchant class's favorability towards him has also declined.

In addition, as he grew older and his energy declined, his control over the court was naturally much weaker than before.

The King of Qin is young and strong, and he has students from all over the world endorsing him. As long as he really wants to usurp the throne, the probability of success is at least 50%!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yu said, "Even if your speculation is correct, how can you judge that I will be reinstated?"

Chen Lang said seriously, "It's very simple, because of Master Xiao's reputation."

"I believe that even if Your Majesty is so foolish, he wouldn't be unable to notice even this little movement."

"If Your Majesty wishes to curb the King of Qin's momentum, he must promote a group of highly respected individuals within the scholar class to the cabinet."

"Only in this way can we send a signal to scholars throughout the world that Your Majesty still supports scholars, and does not only care about the money in the pockets of merchants."

"Mr. Xiao once defied His Majesty and was banished from the capital. If I were to transfer you back to the cabinet, it would be tantamount to admitting my fault to all the scholars in the world."

Xiao Yu looked at Chen Lang with a strange expression.

Is this a Tongsheng? This is clearly an old official!