Chapter 20

Mencius said, "He who uses force under the pretense of benevolence will become a hegemon, and a hegemon must have a large state; he who practices benevolence through virtue will become a king, and a king does not need to be large. Tang ruled with seventy li, and King Wen with a hundred li. He who subdues others by force does not win their hearts, but only because they lack the strength to resist; he who subdues others by virtue wins their hearts and sincere submission, just as the seventy disciples submitted to Confucius."

Today, the lecturer, Mr. Zhang, was teaching the day's lesson in the classroom.

It must be said that this was a very important class today, aimed at teaching the princes the superiority of hegemony or kingship, which might influence the very foundation of the Great Wei's establishment in the future.

Unfortunately, Zhao Hongrun was not the least bit interested.

Looking at the empty classroom, he finally understood why there were only the three of them in the palace school today and why he could not see those lovely princesses.

How tragic...

Zhao Hongrun sighed gloomily.

Who in the world could have imagined that the imagined scenario of princes being surrounded by beauties and enjoying the blessings of the state did not exist in reality? Unmarried princes faced the reality of being surrounded by a group of rough guards or young, handsome eunuchs, and rarely had the chance to interact with young palace maids.

Although the princesses in the palace school were all beautiful, they were, after all, princesses, sisters from the same father but different mothers.

Apart from his mother, the only ones he could interact with were his half-sisters, which was truly a sad story.

Even sadder was that Zhao Hongrun, at the age of fourteen, had once unconsciously dreamed of one of the princesses as something else, and upon waking up, found himself in a mess.

From that day on, Zhao Hongrun decided never to come to the palace school again, because it was a place of torment, like a living hell.

He wanted to leave the palace!

Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace! Leave the palace!

He felt that to prevent his normal physiological views from becoming distorted, he must leave the palace immediately, otherwise... something bad might happen.

"…The Book of Songs says: 'From west to east, from south to north, no one will be left unconquered.' This is what it means."

The lecturer, Mr. Zhang, held a scroll in his right hand, read it, and slowly walked to the side of the three princes, glancing sideways at Zhao Hongrun.

Hmph!

Mr. Zhang snorted inwardly, suddenly tapping the shoulder of the sixth prince, Zhao Hongzhao, with the scroll and asked kindly, "What is the Way of the King?"

Zhao Hongzhao replied solemnly, "The king rules the world with benevolence and righteousness, governs the people with virtue, and is impartial, which is called the Way of the King."

Mr. Zhang nodded, "What is the Way of the Hegemon?"

"To bully the weak with force, to conquer with force, to establish a state with force, and to govern the country with force."

Mr. Zhang pondered for a moment, nodded, and praised, "Well summarized. …Then what is the Way of Heaven?"

"It exists without the existence of Yao and perishes without the existence of Jie, which is called the Way of Heaven." Zhao Hongzhao answered calmly.

"Good!" Mr. Zhang nodded in satisfaction, deeply impressed by the prince's talent, which was indeed rare.

After a moment of reflection, Mr. Zhang turned his gaze to Zhao Hongrun.

It was not hard to see that the look in his eyes when he looked at Zhao Hongrun was very different from when he looked at Zhao Hongzhao, as if there was a hint of unwillingness in his expression.

You are unwilling? I am even more unwilling!

Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes.

Indeed, in the eyes of Mr. Zhang, this eighth prince, Zhao Hongrun, was undoubtedly quite annoying, but there was no choice. He was still a prince, and he had to teach him, whether the unruly prince listened or not.

"What is the Way of the King?" Mr. Zhang asked.

Zhao Hongrun glanced at Mr. Zhang a few times, then smiled strangely and said, "Kill those who do not listen!"

"Ridiculous!" Mr. Zhang almost jumped up, "What is the Way of the Hegemon?"

"Kill those who listen too!"

"You… What is the Way of Heaven?"

"Kill while shouting 'Heaven punishes.'"

"…What is the Way of Confucianism?"

"Tell the other person before killing them."

"…What is the Way of the Emperor?"

"I want you dead, and you must die!"

Hearing this answer that was clearly against common sense, Mr. Zhang was so angry that he trembled all over: "Evil talk! Evil talk! …I will report to His Majesty!"

Saying this, Mr. Zhang could not continue the lesson and actually left the three princes to write a memorial to the emperor, complaining about the eighth prince, Zhao Hongrun, distorting the teachings of the sages.

"Zhao Hongrun, what are you doing…" Zhao Hongzhao shook his head, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Hongrun turned to the sixth prince and asked, "Did I say something wrong?"

Seeing his expression, Zhao Hongzhao thought for a moment and suddenly realized that the eighth prince's words were indeed true, just very straightforward, stripped of the rhetorical veneer that usually concealed the truth.

"This summary is even more profound than my own…"

Beside him, the ninth prince, Zhao Hongxuan, said somewhat unhappily, "Brother, why did you make Mr. Zhang leave? I wanted to learn about the Way of the King!"

"What's the point of learning such pedantic talk? The more you learn, the more foolish you become. If you want to learn real skills, you should find the officials in the court… Remember, practical experience is far more valuable than empty talk. Let's go eat."

"Okay… eat in the palace school?"

"No choice, I'm short on money lately. If it weren't for the free meals, I wouldn't have come today." Zhao Hongrun turned to look at the sixth prince, Zhao Hongzhao, and felt that this sixth brother was a good friend to get close to.

Seeing this, Zhao Hongzhao was slightly surprised but also pleased. He did not expect the eighth brother to invite him.

The three of them left the palace school classroom together.

"By the way, Sixth Brother, are your calligraphy and paintings very valuable?"

During the walk, Zhao Hongrun could not help but ask.

"Supposedly… What do you mean, Zhao Hongrun?"

The sixth prince, Zhao Hongzhao, suddenly felt that the eighth brother's intentions in befriending him were not pure.

"Oh, just asking, just asking…"

Zhao Hongrun laughed it off, but in his heart, he was thinking about how to get some calligraphy and paintings from his sixth brother, as he was really short on money these days.

The three of them gradually walked away.

An hour later, after getting a free lunch at the palace school, Zhao Hongrun had no interest in the afternoon classes, as his "trouble-making" plan was not yet complete.

While Zhao Hongrun continued his trouble-making plan, Mr. Zhang had already written a memorial about his conversation with Zhao Hongrun and had a young eunuch deliver it to the Chui Gong Hall. In the memorial, he indignantly criticized the eighth prince, Zhao Hongrun, for his evil and distorted views, but the Great Wei Emperor, Zhao Yuansi, laughed heartily when he read it.

"That rogue did something good at the palace school today!"

The Great Wei Emperor, Zhao Yuansi, spoke with a teasing tone and passed the memorial to the three chancellors.

It must be said that Zhao Hongrun's strange and novel views made the three chancellors both laugh and cry.

After a long time, the Left Chancellor, Lin Yuyang, sighed, "Though not entirely accurate, it is not far off… The eighth prince's words, though crude, are indeed true."

"Did Mr. Zhang not ask the eighth prince which is better, the Way of the King or the Way of the Hegemon?" The Right Chancellor, Yu Ziqi, felt a strong desire to discuss the matter in depth with Zhao Hongrun as he read the memorial.

"Apparently, he left in a huff before he could ask," the chief eunuch, Tong Xian, explained with a smile.

"What a pity," Yu Ziqi said with a regretful look.

Hearing this, the Great Wei Emperor pondered, "My lords, which is better, the Way of the King or the Way of the Hegemon?"

Since it concerned the foundation of the Great Wei, the three chancellors did not dare to speak rashly.

After a long time, the Chancellor, He Xiangxu, said in a rare serious tone, "The Way of the Hegemon cannot sustain a state for long, and the Way of the King cannot exist without the Way of the Hegemon. Governing the people with the Way of the King and repelling foreign enemies with the Way of the Hegemon, using military might as the skin and cultural governance as the bone, this is the way to a thousand-year dynasty!"

The Great Wei Emperor nodded in agreement. In his heart, he knew that the Way of the King in Confucianism was not suitable for a chaotic world. Without military power, mere benevolence and virtue were useless. Could Confucianism resist a hundred thousand enemy troops?

Sometimes, the Way of the Emperor should lean towards the Way of the Hegemon, just like the seemingly absurd views of the eighth prince, Zhao Hongrun.

For those who submit to the emperor, they should be given rewards and peace, such as the people and officials within the country, to prevent civil unrest; for hostile foreign nations, both diplomacy and military action should be used to establish the prestige of a strong nation, which is necessary to stand in this chaotic world.

In summary, it is eight words: those who follow me will prosper, those who oppose me will perish!

This is the Way of the Emperor!

In comparison, the views of the sixth prince, Zhao Hongzhao, praised frequently in the memorial, leaned towards the idealistic Way of the Sage Kings, which was not suitable for the current situation.

"Speaking of which, why did the eighth prince have the leisure to attend the palace school today?"

Lin Yuyang found it hard to believe.

The Great Wei Emperor smiled inwardly. He had heard that yesterday, Consort Shen had summoned the rogue to the Ningxiang Palace, scolding him severely, which greatly pleased him.

Defy me? I am your father!

The Great Wei Emperor was in a good mood. He thought that Zhao Hongrun would not dare to go to the Ningxiang Palace again in the next few days, making his life even more difficult. Perhaps, unable to bear it, he would come to him and admit his mistakes.

Imagining the scene of the rogue bowing and apologizing to him, the Great Wei Emperor was already considering what to say to advise and admonish his unruly son.

Unexpectedly, a young eunuch rushed in, interrupting the emperor's thoughts and spoiling his good mood.

"Your Majesty, it's not good, the eighth prince and Consort Liu are arguing in the Fangxin Palace…"

"…"

In the Chui Gong Hall, both the Great Wei Emperor and the three chancellors frowned simultaneously.

First Consort Chen, now Consort Liu? What's going on?