Traveling through ancient times.

Chapter 175 The New Emperor's Determination

However, for some unknown reason, the Lord's temperament has changed drastically since the new emperor returned from an incognito visit two months ago.

How should I put it? In the past, my lord was considered a tough advocate of war, and he was quite radical and aggressive in his actions.

But to those who served him, this man had a very straightforward and kind nature, and it was easy to "serve" him as long as they stroked his fur.

But now, even Zeng Daitomo, who had been with the new emperor the longest, felt inexplicably guilty when facing his master. He always felt that his master had become... gloomy and difficult to understand in many cases.

Especially when faced with the problem of "every family owns a farm", he not only did not suppress it and nationalize it, but instead gave it many conveniences.

This was completely different from what his master, who was still the crown prince, said. Zeng Daban once remembered that his master, who was still the crown prince, had said about the Jiang family master: This Jiang family master was too powerful to be trusted by the master, and he was a bad influence. Once he got the formula for cement, he would...

But now, the head of the Jiang family has handed over the cement formula to the court. But the master does not seem to have the intention to rectify the head of the Jiang family and his farm. Instead, he encourages his arrogance and spreads it all over the country.

Zeng Daiban did not accompany him on the last "secret visit". He even suspected that the woman had used some kind of witchcraft to make her master change his nature.

Of course he didn't dare to say this out loud. At this moment, he looked at his master's eyes looking at him quietly, and he felt inexplicably panicked.

Zeng Daban shouted "Your Majesty" and knelt down, knocking his head on the hard ground. "Your Majesty, I am also thinking about Your Majesty. Now everyone is talking about how the head of the Jiang family broke the rules. She is just a woman, and I heard that she killed her husband and son with her own hands. It can be seen how vicious her mind is. If Your Majesty really lets such a person win the hearts of the people, how can those subjects who strictly abide by the rules be convinced. Your Majesty, the rebellions are rising everywhere now, isn't it because she has corrupted the customs of our Great Zhou?"

While he kowtowed and cried, he carefully watched the other party's reaction out of the corner of his eyes.

A calm voice came from above: "Then according to your opinion, how should I deal with it?"

Zeng Daiban's heart moved. Although he was not sure about the other party's thoughts at the moment, but... this was an excellent opportunity.

So he said in a tone of deep sorrow: "As the saying goes, all lands belong to the king, and all the people in the world are the emperor's subjects. If that Jiang woman really respects the court, she should hand over all her farms to the court. The emperor's title of Lady Zhongguo is a great favor to her. In this way, she can avoid..."

Humph--

Before Zeng Daiban finished his words, he heard a cold snort from above his head.

He couldn't help but shudder.

This suggestion is correct. It is entirely for the sake of the emperor and the court... Moreover, both the court and the aristocratic families are now complaining about Jiang Yizhou and wish to grind him to ashes.

Men are superior and women are inferior. How can a woman be so superior to a man?!

I believe that the emperor must be aware that the current situation inside and outside the court is precarious, mostly because of the impact of the "Tianzhuang" and "Master Jiang" incidents.

Therefore, in his opinion, as long as the head of the Jiang family was dealt with and the farm was nationalized, all problems would be solved.

Based on his understanding of his master, his suggestion was completely in line with the other party's needs and echoed the mainstream view of the current situation.

Zeng Daban stiffened his neck and cried, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please calm down..."

In fact, there was no explicit ban on either eunuchs or concubines in the harem from participating in political affairs.

Therefore, even if what he said did not touch the emperor's heart, it was not a crime punishable by death.

Just as Zeng Daiban was feeling anxious, he heard the emperor speak again, "I thought you were loyal to me after going through so many ups and downs with me, but I didn't expect that you would end up in the same group with them."

Zeng Daiban shuddered, this time he was really trembling with fear, "Your Majesty, I am only loyal to Your Majesty, everything I have is Yours, I will never dare to have any second thoughts..."

The new emperor looked at the people who were crawling at his feet and had served him for twenty or thirty years. Although he was unwilling to believe that he was just a mouthpiece for those people, the facts proved that he almost repeated the same mistakes and became a puppet for those people.

He let out a long sigh and changed the subject: "I remember that Otomo has been with me for nearly thirty years. At that time, I lived alone in the cold palace with my mother. Otomo has always taken care of us and protected us everywhere..."

"Your Majesty, that is my duty, I..." Zeng Daiban's heart skipped a beat when he heard his master recalling the past, but he still responded subconsciously.

The new emperor waved his hand calmly and continued, "I will never forget your kindness to me."

"emperor--"

"Otomo must be over sixty this year, right?"

"Your Majesty, I am sixty-four years old this year."

"Well, it's because I'm old. I know you've already set up a family business outside, so you should pack up and go back to enjoy your old age starting tomorrow."

Zeng Daiban, who had just raised his head, knelt on the ground again: "Your Majesty, please let me stay by your side and serve you. Your Majesty... I just saw that Your Majesty was worried about the rebels, and I was anxious for the moment, so I thought..."

The new emperor interrupted him and said, "Okay, I understand your feelings, let's end it here. Although we are nominally master and servant, in fact, I have respected you as my elder over the years. For the sake of our last face, it is better not to say some things clearly."

"emperor--"

...The new emperor sent away the eunuch who had served him the longest, and then personally drafted an imperial edict on establishing schools across the country, and immediately had it promulgated.

The documents were passed down layer by layer, and the whole Kyoto was in turmoil overnight.

In fact, the imperial court had never prohibited the establishment of academies in local areas, but in local areas, everyone had an illusion that academies and schools were the exclusive property of those aristocratic families. Even the academies opened by the government were essentially monopolized by those big families.

The students enrolled there were all children of wealthy and powerful families. Ordinary people couldn't even get in, let alone study there.

In other words, words have always been firmly in their hands.

But now, the new emperor has issued a decree to establish academies and schools.

In other words, anyone in a village can build their own school, and as long as there is someone to teach, those mud-footed people can learn to read.

The most important thing is that as long as you go to school, you are exempt from the head tax if you are under the age of twelve!

How can this be possible?

As a result, just as the new emperor expected, almost all the ministers in the court opposed his decree the next day.