I only wished to take up my fiefdom, but my elder brother forced me to rebel.

The boy waited with his eyes closed for a long time.

It didn't hurt.

He opened his eyes and saw that Lu Yuan was still holding the knife.

The two people were very close together.

Lu Yuan could even see tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes, and his lips were trembling.

This is not the kind of hero who bravely faces death.

He's just a young person who's afraid, who cries, and who feels pain just like when he's actually cut.

But he didn't run away.

Lu Yuan suddenly felt very annoyed.

This kind of annoyance is completely different from the ones I've encountered with Lu Cheng and Han Gou before.

If those people don't listen, beat them up, throw them in jail, there's always a way to make them behave.

But today, Zheng Jingnian died, Chen Xiu died, and yet the number of people is increasing.

He Shen could certainly kill everyone on this street.

But what happens after all the kills are done?

There are countless scholars in the Imperial Academy, the capital's academies, and various prefectures and counties. Are we really going to kill them all one by one?

If they were to kill them, Dayong would become the executioner who caused the decline of Chinese civilization.

This crime is too serious; even Lu Yuan cannot bear it.

"Your Highness."

Su Mingli stood to the side, his face grim.

That's enough.

Lu Yuan turned to look at him, "You also think I'm wrong?"

Su Mingli remained silent for a while before speaking his mind.

"I believe the Royal Academy is correct."

"Mathematics, water conservancy, agriculture, and industry can all be used to govern a country."

"Then why are you stopping me?"

"Because a knife can't prove that these things are useful."

Su Mingli looked at the corpses on the ground. "The more we kill today, the more they'll feel they're doing the right thing by guarding the land."

Lu Yuan had nowhere to vent his anger.

"Then it's your turn."

Lu Yuan lowered the knife. "Someone is holding a knife to your throat, saying that from today onwards, the Four Books and Five Classics are all rubbish, and you have to admit it in front of the whole world."

Do you admit it or not?

Su Mingli's expression changed.

He answered the question very slowly.

"I don't acknowledge it."

"You'd rather die than admit it?"

Su Mingli smiled wryly, "I suppose... I'm afraid too."

"But if it really comes to that, I don't know if I will back down."

Lu Yuan stared at him for a long time.

Even someone like Su Mingli, who had personally witnessed cement, firearms, workshops, and disaster relief, couldn't let go of the teachings of sages and saints.

Lu Yuan finally understood that what was blocking the door in front of him was not a few hundred people, but a rule that had been in place for hundreds of years.

A knife can cut people, but it can't cut the rules.

He threw the knife to He Shen.

Stop.

He Shen seemed not to have heard clearly, staring blankly at Lu Yuan.

"Your Highness?"

"I said stop!"

The military order was passed down.

The soldiers who were pushing people all retreated and sheathed their long swords.

The Confucian scholars did not cheer. Some carried the wounded, some guarded the bodies of their classmates, and some still blocked the entrance to the academy.

This was the first time Lu Yuan had felt a sense of defeat.

He always believed that with money, soldiers, and more advanced technology, there was nothing that couldn't be accomplished.

But seeing the crowds rushing to their deaths, he fell silent.

At that moment, someone shouted loudly from the back of the crowd.

"The chief priest has arrived!"

The Confucian scholars made way for them.

Kong Xiuyuan, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, led several Doctors to the front quickly.

When the old man saw the corpse on the ground, his expression changed visibly. He first asked the people from the Imperial Academy to help treat the injured before walking up to Lu Yuan.

He did not perform the full salute.

He simply bowed.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Lu Yuan looked at him.

"Are you here to block the door too?"

"I have come to collect the student's corpse."

He Shen frowned upon hearing this.

Lu Yuan, however, did not get angry.

Kong Xiuyuan continued, "Your Highness, I also wish to ask you a question. With all these students dead today, will the Royal Academy be able to continue operating smoothly?"

"At least no one is blocking the door."

"What about tomorrow?"

Lu Yuan did not answer.

"And the day after tomorrow?"

Kong Xiuyuan pointed to the scholars who were still rushing to the end of the long street.

"If all scholars in the world believe that Your Highness intends to eradicate their lineage, how long are you prepared to stop killing them?"

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes. "You think that me opening an academy is cutting off the root of all evil?"

"It's not enough to just teach miscellaneous subjects or simply accept students."

Kong Xiuyuan looked at the charter that had been torn in half.

"One can be appointed to an official position without studying the classics or taking the imperial examinations."

"That is to tell the world that the teachings of sages and worthies are no longer the basis for selecting officials."

"Of course they'll ask, 'Why?'"

Lu Yuan pointed to the course board, "These things really get things done."

Kong Xiuyuan nodded and did not argue with him.

"Then Your Highness will prove it to the world."

These words made Lu Yuan's eyes flicker.

Kong Xiuyuan did not continue to pressure him to withdraw from the academy, nor did he demand that he admit his mistake on the spot.

He simply said, "Your Highness said that agricultural administration can govern the people, mathematics can manage finances, water conservancy can alleviate disasters, and engineering can strengthen the country."

"The students of the Imperial Academy believed that techniques could be used, but the fundamental principles should not be lost."

"Since neither side can convince the other, continuing the killing will only result in a few more corpses. Why not just let it go?"

Lu Yuan looked at him. "How do you propose we discuss this?"

Kong Xiuyuan said, "Your Highness has brought people from the Royal Academy. I will summon the doctors, students, and scholars from the capital to explain the principles clearly in front of all officials and common people."

Young Master Liu's face turned green when he heard this inside the academy.

Sending the crown prince to the Imperial Academy to discuss philosophy with a group of people who make a living by studying is no different from sending a butcher to an embroidery workshop to compete in needlework.

Su Mingli also frowned.

He knew all too well how difficult those old gentlemen at the Imperial Academy were to deal with.

Lu Yuan laughed instead.

"it is good."

Kong Xiuyuan was taken aback.

He didn't expect her to agree so quickly.

Three days later.

Lu Yuan turned his gaze toward the Imperial Academy.

"I will personally go and discuss the Dao."

"The title should not be ambiguous."

"Just one thing."

"Is the study of governing a country limited to the classics and teachings of sages, or is any knowledge that can make the country prosperous, the army strong, and the people stable qualified to be included in the imperial examinations for selecting talent?"

Kong Xiuyuan thought for a moment, "What if Your Highness loses?"

"The Royal Academy remains open as usual."

Just as the Confucian scholars were about to get angry, Lu Yuan said again, "However, I will not approve the idea of ​​directly becoming an official after graduating from the academy for the time being."

"What if Your Highness wins?"

Looking at the scholars blocking the entrance, Lu Yuan said, "If anyone blocks the gate of the Royal Academy again on the grounds that miscellaneous studies are not enough to enter officialdom, I will treat it as a mass attack on the palace."

"Continue studying the scriptures; I will not abolish the imperial examinations."

"But we must admit that there are other ways to become an official besides your kind of learning."

Kong Xiuyuan did not agree immediately.

This is not something he can decide on his own.

However, the doctoral students behind them had already looked at each other.

They might not be good at mathematics or water management, but when it comes to governing the country, what is there that the Imperial Academy wouldn't dare to take on?

Kong Xiuyuan finally cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"it is good."

"Three days later, the Imperial Academy will await Your Highness."

After taking a couple of steps, Lu Yuan turned back to look at Kong Xiuyuan and the Confucian scholars all over the street.

"Don't come later and say that I bullied people because of my status as the Crown Prince."

"Bring as many people as you can."

"I am enough for you alone."

The crowd immediately erupted in excitement.

Even Kong Xiuyuan was taken aback.

Lu Yuan had already entered the academy.

In less than half a day, the news spread throughout the capital.

That evening, more than a dozen scholars gathered in the main hall of the Imperial College.

Kong Xiuyuan placed the title written by Lu Yuan in front of everyone, and a white-bearded PhD student was so angry that he laughed after seeing it.

"How could a crown prince who doesn't even attend classes on classical texts come to the Imperial Academy to discuss the art of governing the country?"

Kong Xiuyuan glanced at the post and said, "Three days from now, everyone will give the Crown Prince a lecture on the teachings of sages and worthies."