Chapter 112: Liberation

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“I don’t do anything, but I’m guaranteed to be a prince. If I fight, I’ll have to face either life or death. If I don’t fight, I’ll have a free life. Why should I fight in this situation?”

“Isn’t it good to be alive? Why would you want to die? If you are not careful, you will bring trouble to the people around you.”

[1]Here, he is referring himself as 3rd party – you

Ye Shuo was puzzled.

“I am a prince, and I can start my career whenever I want. With my personality, no one will entrust me with important tasks. When the time comes, I can go wherever I want and eat whatever I want.”

“With my father and brothers taking care of things, I just need to eat and drink every day. Do you think it’s uncomfortable to live like this?”

“Look at my father, he has to get up before dawn every day and stay awake until dark. He is always worried about this or that. If he is not careful, he will be scolded by the censors. In order to gain a good reputation as a wise ruler, he cannot talk back when he is scolded.”

“Whenever there is a natural disaster or man-made disaster, if it is serious, the emperor has to issue an edict of repentance, begging God to forgive him. He can’t leave the imperial city more than a few times a year. If he goes out more often, he will be scolded for wasting money and manpower. He has to be on guard against this and that every day, for fear that someone will covet the chair under his butt. He can’t even eat too much of his favorite things…”

Responsible for the rise and fall of a country, every decision concerns the lives of countless people, this, this, this… How can a person live like this!!

Ye Shuo shuddered just thinking about it.

These are just the things on the surface. Ye Shuo didn’t mention that being an emperor also requires one to work hard to have children. The infant mortality rate was high in ancient times. If the emperor had few children, the country would be unstable. He also had to face the clan ministers who formed a group to urge him to have children.

There are indeed many loyal concubines in the harem, but there are also many who are not sincere, and the emperor has to play the role of a seed drill from time to time.

Also, when you reach old age, your body becomes weak. It would be fine if all the children you raise are good, but if there are a few who are too ambitious, you will not have a stable life when you are old.

From the moment you sit on the throne, you can never stop in this life, and all struggles can only be ended by death.

It is indeed beautiful, but it is also very miserable.

Ye Shuo looked at his cousin: “I’ve thought about it, but I really can’t think of any reason. What do you think, cousin?”

Only fools would do a business that is only losing money with no profit.

As for Wei Wen who was standing aside, he was now dumbfounded.

This was the first time in his life that he had heard someone say such a thing.

Who in the world doesn’t know that it’s good to be an emperor?

This has almost become an iron rule that is taken for granted, and even Wei Wen is no exception.

When Wei Wen heard Ye Shuo say this, he thought, “I don’t want to,” and subconsciously opened his mouth to refute.

As a result…Wei Wen couldn’t find any reason to refute at all.

The only thing that can decide a person’s life or death at will is only for tyrants, and it also requires daily hard work.

There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Not to mention those with evil intentions, everyone else must assume the responsibilities that belong to their position.

Taking all factors into consideration, it does seem more cost-effective to be a prince.

As long as you are born well, it will be almost the least worrying thing.

He had power, second only to the emperor, and as long as he was not compared with the emperor, even the emperor’s son had to show him respect.

Wei Wen held his breath for a long time before finally saying, “Don’t you have any ambition at all?”

Power and beauty are what almost everyone pursues throughout their life, and as soon as my little cousin was born, the position of the emperor was within his reach. Who in the world can resist such temptation?

If you give up easily, you will be wasting this opportunity given by God.

Ye Shuo remembered that his father had asked him the same question in his previous life.

Ambition, ambition, people spend their whole lives paying for their ambitions.

As long as you give up your ambition, everything will become easy.

It’s not that Ye Shuo can’t see through it. On the contrary, it’s because he sees too clearly that he feels it’s not worth it.

That position wasn’t worth exchanging so many things for.

“I am a narrow-minded person and cannot tolerate so many things. I just hope that the people around me can be safe, healthy and happy.”

Fate can be very cruel sometimes, so Ye Shuo never dared to expect too much. If you are too greedy, you will have to pay the price.

Wei Wen was silent for a moment, but soon he couldn’t help asking again, “Can you tolerate someone always putting pressure on you? You set too low a standard for yourself, and it’s too simple.”

“What are you talking about?” Ye Shuo was speechless: “There are so many people in the world who are better than me. If I compare them one by one, won’t I tire myself to death?”

It is not that difficult to accept your own limitations. You don’t need to be strong all the time or to be the best in every situation. The most important thing is to figure out what your goal is.

Life is a process of constantly challenging oneself. No matter who others are, they are just passers-by in life.

What Ye Shuo wants to do now is to force these people who are destined to be passers-by to stay. It is equivalent to going against the will of heaven. How can it be easy? He thinks he is super awesome.

It’s like a person who is destined to die, but you use all means to keep him/her for another two years, so that he/she can live a free and comfortable life for another two years. Even if this person dies in the end, at least you broke the predetermined fate with your own hands. Isn’t it worth being proud of?

Wei Wen was completely speechless. Looking at his little cousin’s determined eyes, he seemed to… understand a little bit.

“So, that’s why you’re planning for the little princess’ future so early?”

“Of course.” Ye Shuo nodded.

“It would be fine if nothing happened, but if my mother is destined to suffer the pain of separation in the future, I hope I can avoid such a terrible fate through my own hands.”

Even in his previous life, he had failed once.

Wei Wen was truly shocked by his little cousin’s words.

This time it was Ye Shuo’s turn to ask: “What about you? Do you want to lead the Zhen Mansion to a different ending?”

With his cheap father’s defence, the uncertainty of the next emperor, and the three generations that were almost destined to decline, should he go with the flow and put all his hopes on luck, or should he start to change secretly within the safety line?

Ye Shuo’s plan was never to take the initiative to attack, and the risk would be reduced a lot in an instant.

Besides, if he really wants to stand against his stepfather, given the current situation of his grandfather’s family, the military power in his hands has basically been divided up. There might have been some hope when he was just born, but if he wants to take action now, he is basically seeking death.

What Ye Shuo has to do is just to provide a backup for the little princess and his grandfather’s family. It would be best if it is not used. In case it is used, there will be no room for resistance.

In case my stepfather and the next emperor have any ideas, at least there will be people in the court to persuade them, so that the public opinion will not be one-sided.

For those who don’t care about the life and death of the Duke of Zhen’s family, since the life and death of the Duke of Zhen’s family has nothing to do with them, why should he try to save them?

If it does not concern you, you will just ignore it.

If this is not enough, the worst that can happen is that he will be demoted to the bottom and become a complete commoner from a descendant of the Duke’s Mansion. However, as long as there is one younger generation who is somewhat capable of achieving something, there is still hope of making a comeback based on the foundation prepared in advance in the court.

The flame is out, but the fire is still there, so it’s not like there is no chance at all.

“Another ending…” Wei Wen murmured, then smiled bitterly.

“It’s not that easy. There are always risks involved.”

Ye Shuo did not deny it: “This is natural.”

There are risks no matter what you do. The difference lies in whether you buy futures, stocks, funds or make fixed deposits.

If you just deposit it in a fixed deposit, unless you are extremely unlucky, there is nothing to say.

Wei Wen didn’t answer yes or no, he just asked: “Can the things you said really be realised?”

“Well, basically no problem, I have prepared everything.” Ye Shuo pointed to the pile of handwritten textbooks.

Basic mathematics, basic physics, basic chemistry… Although there is not much content in it, it is the crystallisation of the wisdom of giants in various fields. In ancient times when mirages were called miracles, it was a complete dimensionality reduction attack.

After that, there are advanced mathematics, advanced physics, advanced chemistry, as well as advanced mathematics, advanced physics, and advanced chemistry. Most people in modern times will never understand these things in their lifetime, and the same was true in ancient times. They are enough for a person to learn for a lifetime.

Wei Wen picked up a book and flipped through it. He thought he was knowledgeable enough, but after reading it, he found that he could not understand what was written on it at all.

It’s something I’ve never heard of or seen before.

But because he had read a lot of books, Wei Wen could vaguely judge that these things were not written randomly.

Wei Wen resisted the dizziness and said, “…Are you sure that ordinary people can learn it?”

“That’s not necessarily true. It does require selection.” After all, poor students still make up the majority, and truly talented people are rare.

Technical talents are always in demand wherever they go, whether in ancient times or modern times.

“But if we’re talking about selecting people, is there any problem on your end?”

Wei Wen did not deny this.

It is not without reason that His Majesty is so wary of the Duke’s Mansion. A lean camel is bigger than a horse. Even now, the Duke’s Mansion is still a behemoth in comparison.

As the saying goes, imperial power does not extend below the county level. In ancient times when transportation and communications were not so developed, the emperor’s control over various regions was far less strong than it is today.

What’s more, the old Duke Zhen has been rooted in the border for so many years that it is not an exaggeration to say that he is the local emperor.

After all, there is only one eldest prince, and the other manpower arranged by the emperor with the help of the eldest prince is ultimately limited.

Although most of the border areas are no longer controlled by the old Duke of Zhen, a small part of the old Duke of Zhen still has deep roots.

For example, in the southwest, it still depends on General Xu, who was brought up by the old Duke Zhen, to guard it.

The closer to the border, the more merchants there are trading, and the more complicated the personnel are. Throughout the Zhou Dynasty, there are people from all regions, and all kinds of chaos are particularly serious.

Because of the war, everyone was living a life of today without worrying about tomorrow, so they didn’t care about so many things. Whether they were women or men, they often slept with one today and another tomorrow, and the children they gave birth to ran around everywhere and no one cared.

Especially businessmen, they have loose belts and are promiscuous, and in the end they don’t even know whose child it is after it is born.

There are also young soldiers in the military camp who basically cannot go home for one or two or two or three years, so they simply marry wives locally.

Local women do not have to be chaste like women in other places. If they like a man, they can just sleep with him. If their husband dies, they can just find another one.

Therefore, there are still many unattended children at the border. When the old Duke was in power, he felt sorry for these children and used his own money to set up a charity to provide food for those unattended children. When they reached working age, he would expel them.

This custom remained unchanged until Wei Wen’s aunts took charge of the family, and they still sent silver every year.

Selecting people is not a problem. With General Xu here, it should be foolproof.

I guess my little cousin guessed this, so he came to me.

The combination of the two is definitely the best choice.

As for my little cousin’s brain, he can come up with so many things, which proves that it must be good.

The younger cousin didn’t want to fight for that position. After weighing the pros and cons, Wei Wen felt that what he said was not a lie and he should be safe.

As for Ye Shuo, since his grandfather was confident in his eldest cousin, Ye Shuo had nothing to worry about his own eldest cousin.

I believe that there is no problem with the most basic things such as knowing and selecting people. Every noble family has a set of methods for training death squads, and I believe that my cousin should know it.

Although the selection of people is not that exaggerated, the necessary means are still needed.

Just one point, whether one is good at dancing or not is not important, what is important is whether the person is pure.

Ye Shuo, who is good at handling things, didn’t dare to accept it because the risk was much higher than that of others.

It would be even better if the other party is a fanatic of science and technology. You don’t need to use any tricks. As long as you have fresh knowledge that he has not learned before, the other party will follow you obediently.

After all, since we are looking for technical talents, technology should naturally be the most important. It doesn’t matter if the emotional intelligence is a little low, as long as it is above the passing line, there is no problem.

Given my cheap dad’s character, he will definitely not mistreat capable people.

For a wise ruler, it is basic practice to be eager to seek talented people, not to mention that Ye Shuo hit the pain points of Emperor Jingwen every time.

Flood control, salt making, smelting… Which of these cheap things could my father refuse?

Similarly, Wei Wen could not refuse the road that lay before him.

After a while, he finally nodded.

“I agree.”

“Okay, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

At that time, Wei Wen still didn’t know what his cousin’s words meant.

Just like that, three days passed in a flash. After handing the things to Wei Wen, Ye Shuo set out on his return journey.

The old Duke Zhen didn’t care what the two had discussed behind his back. He only knew that he was finally free.

References

↑1Here, he is referring himself as 3rd party – you