After ten years of accompanying me in my studies, the entire court begged me to shut up.

In the sixteenth year of the Hongzhi reign of the Ming Dynasty, in the Left Spring Ward of the Forbidden City.

It was the rainy season, and the northern lands were experiencing continuous rain for days on end.

Yang Shen stared absentmindedly out the window, utterly bored.

He really couldn't understand how he could suddenly time travel while eating hot pot and singing songs.

Fortunately, the identity he was given after transmigrating was not bad; his father was the famous Yang Tinghe, the current Junior Chamberlain of the Imperial Household Department.

With this connection, he naturally became the Crown Prince's study companion, paving the way for his future career.

Of course, to be able to study alongside the crown prince, you can't just rely on your father's connections; you need to have real talent.

Yang Shen was a child prodigy who could compose poems at the age of five, write fu (a type of classical Chinese prose) at the age of seven, and write the eight-legged essay at the age of ten.

That year, he was fifteen years old, and Crown Prince Zhu Houzhao was twelve.

According to the course of history, he will become a key minister in the Zhengde reign.

However, as expected, an unexpected event occurred!

When he transmigrated, he didn't inherit the original owner's literary skills at all!

The original owner, Yang Shen, was a great talent, capable of composing poems, essays, discussing classics and history with ease.

He was a science student, and seeing pages full of classical Chinese phrases gave him a headache...

"Yang, what are you thinking about?"

Zhu Houzhao leaned closer, his youthful face full of thirst for knowledge.

Yang Shen pulled his thoughts back and casually replied, "I'm contemplating life."

"Reflecting on life? What does that mean?"

"Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going...?"

Zhu Houzhao had no knowledge of these things, so he said, "There are a few sentences in the homework that Master Wang assigned that I don't understand."

Yang Shen composed himself and smiled slightly: "Your Highness, please speak!"

Zhu Houzhao pointed to a sentence in the book and asked, "What does this sentence, 'to subdue people with virtue,' mean?"

Yang Shen only glanced at it and immediately felt a headache coming on.

This sentence isn't difficult, but the entire text is written in traditional Chinese characters, making it quite a challenge to read.

It seems that this promising career of accompanying students to school won't last long.

We should think of another way out as soon as possible!

This sentence means...

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.

Zhu Houzhao was instilled with Confucianism's principles of benevolent governance and virtuous rule from a young age. After becoming emperor, how could he possibly be a match for those civil officials?

You should know that the people in the imperial court are all top scholars who fought their way up from their respective provinces, and each of them has an average of eight hundred cunning schemes.

Before he runs away, why not give him a brainstorming session to break free from his mental constraints?

"...This 'fu' sounds like 'axe,' meaning when you can't reason with someone, you use an axe to chop them down!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao's expression became somewhat strange, and he asked again, "If one hears the Way in the morning, one can die content in the evening! Why would one die in the evening if one attains the Way in the morning?"

Yang Shen said, "The so-called Dao is a weapon of mass destruction. When the enemy discovers the Dao, it means that they are not far from death."

Zhu Houzhao frowned and asked, "The Dao... is it a weapon?"

"Indeed!"

Yang Shen nodded slightly and continued, "You can think of virtue as conventional weapons like swords and axes, while the Way is much more powerful! Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching, with the Way preceding virtue, precisely because the destructive power of the Way far surpasses that of virtue. Do you understand now?"

Zhu Houzhao scratched his head, feeling that something was amiss.

However, Yang Shen was a renowned scholar, so he shouldn't be wrong.

Then he pointed to the last sentence and asked, "What does 'A gentleman is not a vessel' mean?"

"This sentence..."

Yang Shen pondered for a moment, then said, "The term '器' (qì) refers to tools and implements, broadly encompassing weapons, equipment, and what we just discussed as morality. The saying 'A gentleman is not a tool' means that although morality is strong, we cannot rely too much on these weapons. We must strengthen our bodies and muscles to ensure we can kill someone with our bare hands!"

Zhu Houzhao suddenly realized: "So this is what the Way that Confucius pursued throughout his life meant!"

Yang Shen nodded and said, "Your Highness has attained enlightenment today; you will surely become a wise and benevolent ruler in the future!"

Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed: "Can I surpass my father?"

Yang Shen smiled and said, "His Majesty is a ruler who maintains the status quo and seeks stability in his actions. Your Highness should be a ruler who initiates new achievements, to build unparalleled accomplishments, and to stand shoulder to shoulder with Emperors Taizu and Taizong!"

Zhu Houzhao was only twelve years old, in the midst of his rebellious phase, an age of boundless imagination.

Yang Shen's words were like a seed that quickly took root and sprouted in his heart, and then began to grow wildly.

For the rest of the time, he lost interest in reading and instead, like Yang Shen, looked out the window, contemplating life and dreaming about the future.

To be on par with Emperors Taizu and Taizong and to create an unparalleled achievement—just thinking about it is exciting!

After class, Zhu Houzhao confidently arrived at the Qianqing Palace.

"Your son greets Your Majesty and Empress Dowager!"

"You must be hungry after studying all day, come and eat!"

Empress Zhang hurriedly stepped forward, took Zhu Houzhao's hand, and sat him down at the table.

Zhu Houzhao, however, couldn't wait to say, "I have learned a lot of new knowledge today."

The Hongzhi Emperor, who was drinking porridge, smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this and asked, "What have you learned?"

Zhu Houzhao replied, "I studied the Analects and also grasped the Dao that Confucius sought!"

"Oh?"

The Hongzhi Emperor became even more interested, forgetting to eat, and asked, "Tell me, what is the Dao?"

Zhu Houzhao is now brimming with knowledge and wishes he could expound it all at once.

Looking at his father, the first thing that came to mind was the phrase "a ruler who maintains the status quo."

But he was still young and his language skills were somewhat lacking; he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

Finally, he thought of a word and hurriedly said, "My father is unambitious; I'll chop him down with an axe, and tonight I'll be dead!"

Upon hearing this, the vast Qianqing Palace fell into complete silence.

The Hongzhi Emperor's face turned ashen, and he was still holding chopsticks in his hand.

With food on his chopsticks, he was about to put it in his mouth when he stopped in mid-air.

Empress Zhang, who was ready to praise her son, was stunned and at a loss for words.

The palace maids in the bedroom were so frightened that they dared not breathe. They all knelt down on the ground, wishing they could dig a hole in the ground and bury their heads in it!

Zhu Houzhao, having finally managed to show off his literary talent, said with lingering enthusiasm, "I have even more powerful weapons, but I won't use them. I can kill with my fists..."

Snapped!

The Hongzhi Emperor finally couldn't hold back any longer and slammed a bowl of rice onto the table.

The scene was instantly a mess, with thin porridge and vegetable soup flying everywhere, and bowls and plates mixed with the floor tiles!

"The traitor!"

The Hongzhi Emperor nearly lost his mind. He jumped to his feet and roared, "I told you to study benevolence, filial piety, propriety, and righteousness, but what kind of twisted logic have you been reading?"

"These words from the Analects are what Lao Tzu said!"

Zhu Houzhao was unaware of the problem and was still relaying Yang Shen's words.

However, his retelling was somewhat inaccurate, and the word order seemed a bit off.

The Hongzhi Emperor's face changed from black to purple, and then from purple to blue.

Is this kid even reading the proper Analects of Confucius? And he dares to call himself Laozi?

He was known for his good temper, but today he was genuinely angry.

He immediately picked up the stool from the ground, thought for a moment, and then put it down.

Then he looked around and saw several memorials on the desk, and picked one up.

"You think you can just kick the nest now? You're too green!"

After saying this, he raised the memorial and slapped Zhu Houzhao's buttocks twice.

Zhu Houzhao, however, was unconvinced and retorted, "That's exactly what Yang, the study companion, said!"

The Hongzhi Emperor was even more enraged, holding up the memorial and saying, "You dare to talk back? Yang Shen has been well-versed in poetry and literature since childhood and enjoys a reputation as a talented scholar. That's why I made him your study companion. How could I possibly teach you these treasonous fallacies?"

Empress Zhang quickly stepped forward to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, please calm down. The Crown Prince is young and doesn't understand..."

"Twelve years old and still so immature? He is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. How can he govern the country if he acts like this?"

Empress Zhang simply pulled Zhu Houzhao into her arms and said, "You might as well hit me instead of him!"

"you……"

Upon seeing this, the Hongzhi Emperor was immediately defeated.

He's still my own son, after all; it hurts me to hurt him.

"You're just spoiling him; he'll be ruined sooner or later!"