Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1099: A Secret Plan
The residence of Taiwei Yang Biao.

Ever since Liu He undermined the power of the three ministers, Yang Biao had been claiming to be ill all year round. Except when summoned by the emperor or for some important matters such as offering sacrifices to heaven, he almost never appeared in the court. Even the grand court meetings twice a month, he rarely attended.

Liu He also maintained a tacit attitude towards this. Not only did he not blame anyone, but he often gave more rewards to the Yang family and promoted many of the sons and nephews of the Hongnong Yang family, making him seem extremely honored and favored.

On this day, Yang Biao, who was nearly 60 years old but still energetic, was fishing at a small pond in the backyard. He sat alone under a willow tree, his eyes half open and half closed, his hand holding the fishing rod, motionless, like a statue.

Suddenly, the buoy trembled suddenly and then sank suddenly.

Yang Biao smiled slightly, his eyes fixed on the float, and did not lift the fishing rod immediately. He knew that the fish had not really taken the bait at this moment, but was just trying to eat the bait. The closer it got to this moment, the more he should not be anxious, otherwise all his efforts would fail.

After taking a few bites of the bait, the fish probably confirmed that there was no danger, so it opened its mouth wide and prepared to swallow the delicacy in front of it completely.

Just then, a loud shout came from behind Yang Biao.

"Father...Father...something bad has happened..."

Suddenly, ripples appeared on the water surface, the buoy shook a few times, and then it returned to calm.

Yang Biao was very dissatisfied and turned around to look at Yang Xiu who was running over in a hurry: "How disgraceful it is to yell and holler! You scared away your father's fish."

Yang Xiu looked dissatisfied: "Such a big thing happened outside, and father still has the leisure time."

Yang Biao dusted himself off, walked to a pavilion nearby, poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip.

"Wow... good tea, good tea. The Zhen family is really amazing. Tea has always been mixed with spices, salt and other things, cooked and drunk. I didn't expect them to invent this method of brewing tea. It looks simple, but it is fragrant and has an endless aftertaste. No wonder they can become the richest merchant in our Han Dynasty."

"Father..." Yang Xiu was a little anxious, but Yang Biao was calm and pointed to a seat next to him. Yang Xiu walked over reluctantly and sat down, taking the cup of tea that his father pushed over to him.

However, Yang Xiu looked at his father's indifferent expression and suddenly realized something. He stepped forward and asked, "Could it be that father has heard about it before?"

Yang Biao took another sip of tea, gently put down the jade teacup, and exhaled a long breath.

"Do you think that I am really old and trapped in this house, so I don't care about what is happening outside? Isn't it just that old man Wang Yun and a group of ministers have impeached the eldest prince? It's just a trivial matter, why are you making such a fuss about it?"

"Is this a small matter? It's obvious that Wang Situ wants to fight for the position of crown prince for his grandson. It concerns the future successor of the country, isn't it a big deal?"

Yang Biao glanced at his son and asked calmly, "Does his Prince Master have the final say on the position of crown prince?"

Yang Xiu was stunned for a moment, then he understood a little: "Father means... Your Majesty has already known the situation, and Wang Situ is just wasting his efforts?"

"Hmph..." Yang Biao snorted coldly through his nostrils.

"My son, do you still remember that your father went to the palace to advise His Majesty to encourage the establishment of private schools among the people and popularize education, but he met Wang Yun outside the palace gate?"

As soon as this matter was mentioned, Yang Xiu immediately became somewhat indignant.

"How could I forget this? Father's suggestion was a great contribution to the country and the people, and it could also be used to expand the reputation of our Hongnong Yang family. But that old thief stole it and got ahead of our Yang family. He united with the major families and quickly opened dozens of private schools. For a time, the court and the scholars praised our Taiyuan Wang family highly. In two or three years, the private schools headed by our Wang family produced thousands of outstanding students, some of whom entered the Imperial College or joined the army. The achievements were not small, and even His Majesty praised them a lot. This great achievement should have belonged to our Yang family. Whenever I think of this, I am indignant."

"Hahahaha..." Yang Biao suddenly laughed out loud towards the sky, making Yang Xiu even more puzzled.

"How can father still laugh?" Yang Biao rubbed his chest, "My son is too short-sighted. Father has been claiming to be ill for many years and rarely even attended court meetings. You are not surprised that I suddenly had the idea to go to the palace to meet the emperor and present the court's opinion that day?"

Yang Xiu was also puzzled: "Yes, I was also a little confused at the time. I just thought that my father had a sudden inspiration and thought of such a big thing, so he acted like this. Could it be that my father had already made arrangements?"

Yang Biao stroked his white beard and nodded slightly: "That's right. Now that things have come to this, I can tell you. What happened that day was not what I thought, but what Your Majesty wanted."

"What does your majesty mean?" Yang Xiu said in horror, "Could it be... could it be that your majesty secretly instructed my father to do this on purpose in order to lure Wang Situ into the trap?"

Yang Biao smiled, picked up the teacup again and took a sip.

"That's right. That day, His Majesty came to my house under the pretext of visiting a sick patient and had a chat with my father. During the conversation, the emperor mentioned that although the Imperial College is large, the number of students it can accommodate is limited. If we can establish more official schools in various prefectures and counties, it will benefit the people and help the court select talented people. This is indeed the fundamental national policy for the long-term stability of the Han Dynasty."

"However, the imperial court now only has half of the country, and wars are constantly going on, which is very costly. If you want to open many official schools, it will be difficult to raise funds at once. Your Majesty sighs repeatedly and is filled with worry."

Yang Xiu suddenly realized: "My father had an idea at that time and proposed that the court issue an order to allow the noble families, important officials of the court, and great scholars of the time to set up private schools and recruit students to fill the vacancies of the official schools?"

"That's right." Yang Biao nodded. "Your Majesty also mentioned that in the past, there were many factions in the court. The major wealthy families used their students and former officials to recruit cliques and fight openly and secretly, which wasted the national strength and was a national problem. The establishment of private schools will inevitably make this situation worse. At that time, I didn't understand your majesty's intentions. After all, my Hongnong Yang family is the leader of the gentry in the world. Once a private school is established, the matter of recruiting cliques will naturally be the first to be affected. Therefore, I just thought that your majesty was warning me and giving me instructions."

"But after Your Majesty left, I thought about it carefully and felt that Your Majesty had other intentions. If it was just a warning, why did Your Majesty have to come to the palace in person? You could have summoned me to the palace, wouldn't that show the majesty of the royal family? Therefore, I tossed and turned, thinking for several days, and finally understood Your Majesty's painstaking efforts. It was to use me to encourage Wang Yun and other people who were already interested in cultivating power outside the court to use their own financial resources to open private schools. Then Your Majesty would use some means to turn private schools into official schools. In this way, you can strike down ministers with two hearts and solve the expenses of the court in opening official schools. Isn't it killing two birds with one stone?"

"Hiss..." Yang Xiu was dumbfounded. "Your Majesty, your intention is so far-reaching. Are you trying to borrow my Yang family's knife to kill his Wang family's prestige?"

After thinking about it, Yang Xiu felt a little happy again: "If so, doesn't it just show that your majesty trusts me, Yang, much more than Wang?"

"Hehe..." Yang Biao sneered, "Trust? Your Majesty is such a great ruler, but the word trust is definitely not what you think in your heart. Whether it's the Yang family, the Wang family, or the Cui family, the Lu family, the Huangfu family, etc., in your Majesty's eyes, they are just tools and chess pieces, no different from the fish in the pond. How can a fisherman trust the fish?"

After saying that, he casually picked up the bait from a ceramic basin on the stone table, waved his hand, and sprinkled it into the fish pond, causing countless fish to scramble for it.

Yang Xiu was shocked: "It seems... this private school is a bait used by Your Majesty to fish for Wang Shi of Taiyuan and others. The noble families like us can stand firm in the court and enjoy eternal glory. We rely on knowledge and land. The former guarantees countless students and old officials, waving flags and shouting together. The latter guarantees that we can enjoy endless luxury."

"Your Majesty used the book sales as an excuse to secretly buy up the farmland of many families including the Wang family at low prices. It seems that the money and grain they earn from selling books far exceeds the output of the farmland, but the output of the farmland is entirely controlled by the family itself. The right and profit of the book sales are actually in the hands of Your Majesty. Once Your Majesty is interested, you can take it back at any time."

"The Imperial Academy has already cut off the channels for our family to recommend talents and recruit students. If the private school is taken away by the court, these two foundations will fall into the hands of Your Majesty. From now on, our life and death will be decided by Your Majesty's words..."

The more Yang Xiu thought about it, the more terrified he became.

He looked at his father and murmured, "Father, why would you do such a thing that would cut off your own roots?"

Yang Biao laughed and cried, "Do you think I am willing to do this? You underestimated your majesty. The emperor today is no longer the man who was ignorant of political schemes when he first ascended the throne. Your majesty can still do it without the help of my Hongnong Yang family, and will also settle accounts with my Yang family. Since we know the outcome of this battle and it is difficult to stand by and watch, do you have any other choice as a father except to help the winner so that you can get a share of the spoils?"

Yang Xiu's eyes rolled and he calculated quickly. Suddenly, he slapped his forehead and said, "I remember now. Those who teased Princess Wusun at the gate of the inn were actually secretly instigated by people sent by His Majesty. The identities of those people..."

Yang Biao scolded in a deep voice: "Shut up! Your father has long told you that you must pretend to be ignorant of what happened that day, otherwise, a disaster will come and the Yang family will be destroyed in an instant. You must never be so clever in the future, remember?"

Yang Xiu said angrily: "I'll remember it..."

(End of this chapter)