Who taught him to practice swordsmanship like this?

Chapter 110 The Original Sin of the Prime Minister

In the capital city, in the market area just outside the east side wall of the palace, there is a courtyard that had been vacant for a long time, but now new residents have moved in.

This is a property in Hidden Dragon Manor, and it naturally belongs to Su Baichen now.

Su Baichen doesn't usually live here. Apart from checking on his senior brother Feng Linzi's condition every day, he usually stays temporarily in the imperial garden of the neighboring palace.

It wasn't that he liked hiding in the palace or had any ulterior motives there; it was just that he didn't want to be a freeloader there.

He had already discovered that his sister-in-law was extremely wary. She appeared aloof and proud, but in reality, she was unwilling to trust anyone.

It's strange that someone like that could be won over by Feng Linzi in just one month; it can only be explained by fate.

During this period, the entire Liang Kingdom was in turmoil because of one event.

That is, the emperor appointed eunuchs to promote military officials in order to suppress the civil official group.

A month ago, the current prime minister was imprisoned by the eunuch faction. The charges against him were irrefutable: during the previous Northern Wei invasion, he secretly met with Northern Wei officials and leaked the distribution of troops in Baizhou!

It wasn't actually Zhou Sheng who did this, but unfortunately, Zhou Sheng's closest deputy was a mysterious person, and it was that mysterious person who leaked the information to the Northern Wei.

In this way, Zhou Sheng's responsibility cannot be absolved.

After Zhou Sheng was successfully brought down, a massive purge of the officialdom ensued.

The Yiren were definitely captured, and many of Zhou Sheng's real henchmen were also imprisoned along with them.

The entire officialdom was shaken up. For a time, the eunuch faction became arrogant and domineering, while the civil officials were all in danger.

It was under these circumstances that Su Baichen received an invitation from the emperor to go with him to the imperial prison to visit the former powerful minister Zhou Sheng.

"Master Bai, what kind of face do you think Zhou Sheng will have when he sees me?"

The young emperor was probably handling such a major case for the first time, and he seemed quite pleased with himself.

Su Baichen said, "Prime Minister Zhou should be very surprised."

Tang Dezhao laughed smugly, but then suddenly fell silent, saying, "Do you think future generations will regard me as a tyrant?"

At this moment, the eunuch beside him immediately chimed in, "Your Majesty is wise and mighty; future historical records will only record Your Majesty's great achievements!"

Tang Dezhao chuckled: "You're such a smooth talker!"

"Which emperor in history who favored eunuchs has a good reputation?"

The eunuch trembled with fear and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, this old servant knows his mistake, this old servant knows his mistake—"

Tang Dezhao turned his head and said calmly, "What have you done wrong? Even if you have done wrong, it is I who am wrong."

"You are all just trying to curry favor with me."

His tone was icy, like a bucket of cold water poured over the heads of these eunuchs, filling them with extreme fear.

Because they had realized that the emperor they served was not easily fooled; they were merely a knife in the emperor's hand, used to cut down the officials—if that knife became dull or developed its own ideas, the consequences would be predictable.

Seeing this, Su Baichen couldn't help but marvel at Tang Dezhao's truly astonishing growth.

After not seeing him for more than three months, he already exudes an aura of authority without needing to be angry.

Su Baichen quickly followed and entered the prison.

A jailer was already waiting to greet Tang Dezhao in the prison, and then respectfully led him to a rather spacious cell deep inside the prison.

At this moment, the young emperor's somewhat unreliable nature resurfaced.

He said, "Prime Minister Zhou is indeed worthy of being called Prime Minister Zhou; even this prison cell is of the highest quality."

This was an inappropriate joke, but in this context it sounds like a victor's sarcastic remark.

There was an old man in the cell who, despite being imprisoned, did not lose his composure.

"It's a good thing that Your Majesty has grown up and wants to rule personally, but without your veteran ministers, does Your Majesty know how to govern this country well?"

Tang Dezhao chuckled and said, "The position of Prime Minister Zhou has become vacant, and naturally there are plenty of capable and ambitious people willing to fill these vacancies."

Zhou Sheng glanced disdainfully at the eunuchs standing far behind and said, "Relying on these rootless people?"

These eunuchs were at the height of their power, and hearing such words would surely enrage them. They would then whisper in Tang Dezhao's ear, urging him to execute Zhou Sheng.

However----

Now these eunuchs are all bowing their heads and remaining silent.

Tang Dezhao chuckled and said, "How can they say they have no roots? Aren't their roots right here in me?"

Zhou Sheng looked at Tang Dezhao seriously once again and said in a rather surprised tone, "It seems that Your Majesty is truly ready to assume personal rule—in that case, this old minister will give Your Majesty one last piece of advice."

"Ultimately, governing the country depends on scholars. Your Majesty can rely on eunuchs to hold power temporarily, but eunuchs are often short-sighted. If they were to govern the country, the people would likely suffer greatly."

The eunuchs were all angry but dared not speak out.

Tang Dezhao remained noncommittal, but then suddenly remembered something and turned to Su Baichen, saying, "Master Xiaobai, you often have unexpected insights into things. What is your opinion on Zhou Sheng's statement?"

Su Baichen was quite surprised to hear this; he hadn't expected to have anything to do with him here.

But this kind of thing is no problem for him. It's just "online politics," right? He can come up with that kind of thing off the top of his head.

"Prime Minister Zhou said that governing the country depends on scholars, which is not wrong. However, what I want to say is that the only people in this world who truly share the same interests as Your Majesty are the common people."

Tang Dezhao asked curiously, "What do you mean?"

Su Baichen said, "Your Majesty's treasury is entirely replenished by the taxes levied by the people. To increase taxes on the people is nothing but killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. I'm sure Your Majesty, with your wisdom, will understand this."

Tang Dezhao replied, "That's natural; one less commoner means one less taxpayer."

Su Baichen continued, "In this way, as long as the people become richer, His Majesty will be able to collect more taxes into the national treasury, and His Majesty will be able to accomplish more things—therefore, when the people are rich, the country is strong, and when the country is strong, the emperor's authority is enhanced."

Tang Dezhao nodded slowly, then asked, "And what about the scholars?"

Su Baichen said, "Scholars are originally commoners, but they become different when they become officials."

"They no longer had to pay taxes; instead, they received generous stipends from the national treasury."

"At the same time, after they become officials, they will continue to acquire property and compete with His Majesty for the people."

"For every additional tenant farmer under their name, His Majesty and the nation have one less farmer to pay taxes."

"Therefore, Your Majesty, your greatest enemy, and that of all the people, is those 'scholars' that Chancellor Zhou spoke of."

Speaking out about outrageous ideas, who can't do that?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng's expression suddenly changed, and he said with a hint of vulnerability, "Who are you, and why are you using such heretical words to bewitch His Majesty?!"

Emperor Tang Dezhao, a man of strong character, was now completely unconcerned about Zhou Sheng. Instead, he asked with great interest, "So, according to Master Xiaobai, all these scholars are bad people?"

Su Baichen shook his head and said, "That's not necessarily true. What's bad is the group of scholars who rise through the imperial examinations and obtain official positions. They share common interests and will spontaneously unite to protect their own interests."

"Of course, there are also some scholars who truly understand the principles of the classics; such people can be considered perfect." Your Majesty, if you discover such a person, you should cherish him.

Then he looked at Zhou Sheng and said, "Prime Minister Zhou, don't be anxious. I am just suggesting that His Majesty should both use you and be wary of you—after all, the kingdoms of Yong, Wei, and Wu are all cautionary tales."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng slowly closed his eyes and said, "Now I can finally rest in peace."

He finally understood his original sin.

Three days later, the imperial decree was issued, ordering the confiscation of the property and execution of all Zhou Sheng's associates!

Su Baichen appeared at the execution ground as if it were a natural occurrence, holding the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand, waiting for the moment to collect the souls.

But just then, he unexpectedly saw a familiar little thing—

That little black fox!

How did this thing get here?

Upon encountering the fox again, Su Baichen felt a slight stirring in his heart, thinking that perhaps this was fate.

The execution began.

He noticed that the little fox was jumping and cheering excitedly in an inconspicuous corner, as if it were anticipating the arrival of something—

This little guy is definitely no good.

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