Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1106 Manipulating Public Opinion
In Wang Yun’s mansion.

Ever since Liu He took advantage of several disturbances among the aristocratic families to gradually undermine the power of the Three Dukes, although Wang Yun was the Minister of Education, one of the Three Dukes, and also held the position of Grand Tutor, with a great reputation and a high status, he did not have much practical work to do.

Generals like Xun Yu, Cui Jun, the Nine Ministers, and even Guan Yu, all followed the routine and performed their duties. However, Wang Yun had some free time. Since returning home from court, he has been basking in the sun and reading in the backyard, feeling very comfortable.

Soon, a man dressed as a servant walked over with his head lowered.

"Master, the eldest son, and Young Master Chen want to see you."

Wang Yun was slightly stunned: "Why are they back? I haven't heard of any news of their transfer, why did they return to Beijing for no reason?"

Wang Yun's eldest son, Wang Chen, is now the prefect of Dongjun in Yanzhou, while Wang Chen is the prefect of Bohai in Jizhou. Both are high-ranking officials in major counties in the Central Plains. In addition, they are young and strong. Wang Yun has high hopes for them. He hopes that they can become new kings in the future, that is, Liu Tai's loyal ministers, so as to further enhance the prestige of the Wang family of Taiyuan.

The servant said, "Master Chen said that there is a matter of life and death concerning the family, and he must advise you in person."

Wang Yun's face immediately darkened when he heard this.

"Hmph, they are treacherously calculating. They are quick with their information, but unfortunately they are using their intelligence in the wrong place. Tell them that now is indeed the moment of life and death for the Wang family of Taiyuan. The prosperity and decline, honor and disgrace of the entire family for the next hundred years, or even several hundred years, will be decided by this battle alone. They are outsiders and are unwilling to participate in the court disputes, which is not wrong. But if they want to drag the family down, I will never tolerate them. Tell them to rest in the inn for a night and return to the government seat as soon as possible tomorrow. Without the imperial edict, they are not allowed to return to the capital. Also, tell them not to forget who gave them the wealth and glory they have today. It is simply unreasonable for them to forget their roots so quickly!"

The servant immediately turned around and left, but Wang Yun was so angry that his chest heaved violently.

"Master, who made you angry?"

A voice with a hint of flattery came, Wang Yun turned his head and saw that it was Taichang Wang Qian, which made Wang Yun's expression ease a lot.

"Degong, what's the situation outside?"

Wang Yun picked up a cup of tea, gently blew away the tea leaves on the surface, took a sip, and immediately revealed an expression of endless aftertaste. The whole person also instantly calmed down from his previous rage.

Wang Qian stood in front of Wang Yun with a look of joy on his face. "It went very smoothly. The Miao family didn't say a few words before Ni Yuan tricked them into revealing what happened last night. In less than half a day, everyone in Luoyang City will know that the current eldest prince, for the sake of a private affair with a common woman, disobeyed the imperial decree, escaped in the middle of the night during the empress dowager's mourning period, and even killed five people."

Wang Yun smiled slightly. He put down his teacup and said, "Well, mobilize the secret agents of the major families and the secret agents in the Imperial College. We must expand the influence of this matter to the extreme."

"Don't worry, Grand Master. I will do my best to portray His Highness as a disloyal, unfilial, unkind, impulsive, irresponsible villain and coward. By then, even if Your Majesty is still willing to believe in your son, I'm afraid that the court and the people will be very excited. Let's see how he can sit on the throne of the Crown Prince."

Wang Qian was so excited when he spoke that he was a hundred times more excited than Wang Yun.

Wang Yun smiled calmly, "Oh, that's wrong. We are the ministers, how can we frame the eldest prince? It's just that the eldest prince has a lack of moral character. We are loyal to the emperor and should help His Majesty solve problems and teach him moral character."

"Ah, yes, yes, Grand Tutor, it is wise, it is exactly about training the prince." Wang Qian immediately changed his words.

Wang Yun waved his hand and said, "Go ahead."

"Yes, I will go right away."

Wang Qian turned around and was about to leave when Wang Yun suddenly stopped him and said, "Wait."

"Grand Master, do you have any other instructions?" Wang Qian asked.

Wang Yun thought for a moment and said, "How have the heads of the private schools and the great scholars been told?"

Wang Qian frowned slightly: "This matter is indeed a bit difficult to handle. Although most of them have written a joint letter and handed it over to the county representatives to be sent to the capital. However, many of these dozens of representatives are still waiting and watching, either because they are skeptical about this matter, or because their nephews and nephews are still in the prison of Luoyang Magistrate, and they don't want to cause trouble at this juncture. Even if I and my colleagues have tried to persuade them, it has little effect. I am afraid that..."

He looked up at Wang Yun and saw that he was not angry, so he continued: "I am afraid that if we don't rescue their sons and nephews from prison, these people may not be willing to stand on our side." Wang Yun smiled contemptuously: "These corrupt scholars are really short-sighted."

Wang Qian was also somewhat puzzled, so he stepped forward and asked, "Why?"

Wang Yun said, "The current Court Judge Zhong Yao has always been close to His Majesty and is a staunch supporter of the First Prince. The most important thing is that, in addition to his position as Court Judge, he is also one of the First Prince's teachers. If the First Prince is in trouble, he, as a teacher, cannot escape the blame for his poor teaching. When we jointly impeach him, he will naturally be replaced as the Court Judge."

Wang Qian suddenly realized what was going on when he heard this: "Yes, Grand Tutor is wise. Once Zhong Yao leaves, we will join forces to push our own people onto the throne of the Supreme Court. Those people didn't commit any serious crimes, so it shouldn't be difficult to release them."

"That's right. Tell the scholars about this matter. They will know what to do next."

After Wang Yun finished speaking, he picked up the teacup again, took a sip, and then let out a long breath, his mouth full of fragrance.

"Great, great." Wang Qian was overjoyed. "In this way, the memorial signed by tens of thousands of great scholars and students will once again be submitted to your majesty through the hands of the Imperial Academy. In addition, we have stirred up a storm among the people in the city this time. Hehe, the will of the people cannot be violated. Even if your majesty is willing to protect him, I am afraid that the eldest prince will not be able to escape."

Wang Yun finally revealed a completely relaxed and satisfied smile: "Okay, this way, everything is ready. Gather all the ministers. When His Majesty returns to court in two days, we must all speak with one voice and impeach Liu Zheng. The prosperity or decline of dozens of families like us in the next hundred years depends entirely on this matter."

"Don't worry, Grand Master. This matter has come to this point. There is absolutely no reason for failure."

"Well, go ahead and do it."

In the Imperial College, in the courtyard where Lu Zhi lived, this famous Han scholar who was about to turn sixty years old was sitting in his study, looking out the window with an expression of deep thought, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

A figure appeared outside the door and tapped on it: "Zi Gan, what are you worried about?"

Lu Zhi was awakened from his deep thoughts by the voice. He turned his head and saw that it was the directors of the Jingyuan Institute, Cui Yan and Cui Jigui. He quickly stood up to greet them.

"It's Brother Ji Gui, please take a seat."

After the two of them sat down, Cui Yan leaned over to look at Lu Zhi's desk and smiled slightly.

"Why, another joint letter has been submitted by private schools from all over the country?"

Lu Zhi nodded, "Yes. In recent days, such letters have been flowing like water, with at least a hundred and at most several hundred a day. Without exception, they all criticize the eldest prince for being absurd, reckless, and unlucky in battle. Many people also brought up the incident in which he and the three generals killed Cao's surrendered soldiers. They almost described the eldest prince as a disloyal, unfilial, unkind, and treacherous villain."

Cui Yan didn't seem to take it seriously. "Some ignorant people were bewitched and instigated to talk nonsense. Why should we take it to heart? Your Majesty has already asked about this matter. This is a matter of state. Our Imperial College is responsible for teaching. Such matters only need to be reported to the court. We are not in charge of them. Why do you bother yourself with troubles, Dean?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhi glanced at him and thought to himself, Cui Yan's academic knowledge is top notch in the Han Dynasty, but when it comes to political strategy and government affairs, he is really not up to par. No wonder after His Majesty established the Imperial College, he immediately promoted him from the position of a provincial governor to the position of the director of the Academy of Classics. This was really a very wise move.

"My dear brother, what you said is wrong." Lu Zhi casually flipped open a letter and said, "My Imperial College is in charge of all the education affairs in the country, and private schools in various places are also part of our responsibilities. The so-called teaching is not just about knowledge, but also about teaching students to distinguish right from wrong, study hard and think well."

"And now, these many great scholars and teachers are still unable to distinguish between loyalty and treachery, blindly listening to others' words, and even colluding with traitors to plot evil. Allowing such profit-seeking, dangerous villains, foolish and unruly scholars to control private schools in various places, wouldn't it be a great harm to our Han students?"

Cui Yan now realized that the matter seemed to be indeed serious, and his expression became serious.

"This... is indeed a problem. But how can we help Your Majesty solve this problem?"

Lu Zhi shook his head and said, "I am also troubled by this matter. I have been thinking about it all night, but I still have no clue."

At this time, several servants came over, each holding a large stack of letters in their hands.

Paper letters are still very expensive today, and ordinary people, and even some small nobles, still cannot afford them. Therefore, as soon as Lu Zhi saw the material of these letters, he knew their origins.

Wang Yun is now in charge of the transaction of paper books in the Han Dynasty. Only the private schools jointly founded by him and those families affiliated with the Wang family of Taiyuan can have such a style.

"Alas, here it comes again..."

Lu Zhi patted his forehead and felt a dull pain and swelling in his temple. Cui Yan's face was also full of indignation and worry.

At this moment, another figure walked quickly and appeared at the door of the study. When Lu Zhi and Cui Yan saw him, their faces changed instantly and they hurriedly took the initiative to greet him.

"Attendant Gong, why are you here? Does His Majesty have any wishes?"

Gong Saner flicked his whisk and said, "Your Majesty has ordered the president of the Imperial Academy, Lu Zhi, and the court judge, Zhong Yao, to go to Luoyang to interrogate the criminals."

When this oral order came out, Lu Zhi was stunned.

"To interrogate the criminal? I am not in charge of the judiciary. Why does Your Majesty want me to interrogate the case with the court judge? And you don't even know who the criminal is?"

Gong San'er said coldly, "I don't know. But Zhong Tingwei has already set off. Dean Lu's doubts can be solved as long as he arrives at Luoyang Prison."

After saying that, Gong Saner turned and left.

Lu Zhi and Cui Yan looked at each other, and saw endless doubts in each other's eyes.

(End of this chapter)