Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 813: Fruit Peel Theory
Outside the palace gate, Feng Fang and many other ministers gathered in a corner, whispering to each other.

"It seems that although His Majesty said nice things, he has already made up his mind to protect this foolish general."

"Yes, this matter is a bit difficult now."

Everyone was discussing the matter, but Zhong Yao was the only one who said, "Everyone, we are all Han officials after all. Although General Da Meng accidentally killed the son of the Feng family, he is a key figure in the army after all, and he did not commit murder maliciously. If Your Majesty really wants to save his life, it is not against the law. Why should we do this and provoke His Majesty's wrath?"

After these words were spoken, many ministers glared at him angrily.

"Yuan Chang, at this point, you can't back down, can you?"

"Yes, in recent years, His Majesty has relied too much on those people he brought from Bingzhou. Cui Jun and the two Xuns are from famous families and are meritorious officials who have served the emperor. They are ranked above you and me, which is fine. But what about Qian Li, Meng Jian, Shi Tao, Zhang Long, Su Mao, etc.? They are just sons of peasants and descendants of merchants, not worth mentioning, but now they are on the same level as us. Fortunately, today is just a small court meeting, and these officials who have been sent to other places don't have to attend the court. Otherwise, it's hard to say what the situation will be like."

"That's right. Many of us ministers are old and frail, but Qian Li and others are in their prime. Among our peers, how can anyone compare to them? Think about it, in a few years or a dozen years, will there be a place for your family and my family in the court?"

"We want to take advantage of the fact that there are many people in the court now to let His Majesty know who is the pillar of the Han Dynasty. Yuan Chang, as the court judge, you are the one who is responsible for this matter. You must not retreat, otherwise, won't our efforts fail?"

Zhong Yao realized that his words almost angered everyone, so he quickly apologized.

"I have spoken out of turn, and I apologize to you all. But now His Majesty is clearly determined, what can we do? To be honest, as the Son of Heaven, you already have the power to grant amnesty. For a meritorious official like General Da Meng, pardoning his crime is not against the laws of the country and morality."

"Well, that's true. I thought that as long as I didn't touch Guan Yu and the others, His Majesty would not tear his face with us. I didn't expect that a mere stupid fool would make him so concerned."

"For some reason, Lord Yang has ignored this matter. If he takes the lead, relying on the prestige of the Hongnong Yang family, it will definitely be much easier to handle."

Just as everyone was sighing, a minister said, "Have you forgotten that even without Lord Yang, we still have Situ Wang here. With him leading us, if we put pressure together, we will surely succeed."

After being reminded by him, everyone's eyes instantly turned to Wang Yun.

"Not bad, not bad. The Wang family of Taiyuan has been gaining popularity in recent years and deserves to be the leader of the noble families."

Wang Yun had been silent before, but now that he saw that all the ministers were nominating him, he kept declining.

"Hey, what virtue and ability do I have to take on such an important task? You are all wise men of today, how dare I talk about being a leader?"

"Minister Wang, there is no need to be too modest. Since the decline of the Yuan family in Runan, after the current emperor ascended the throne, the Yang family in Hongnong, the Wang family in Taiyuan, the Xun family in Yingchuan, and the Cui family in Boling have risen to prominence. Now the Cui and Xun families are clearly on the same side as Your Majesty. Lord Yang is claiming to be ill and cannot leave, so Minister Wang should take the lead."

"Yes, if the prince is unwilling to take on this responsibility, then all of us will have no choice but to return home and wait for death."

"I beg Wang Situ to stop being humble."

Dozens of court officials spoke in unison, and Wang Yun stroked his beard with a smug look on his face.

"Well, since you are so kind, I will respectfully obey your orders. This is not the place to talk. I have set up a banquet in my house. I hope you will come and discuss countermeasures."

All the ministers were delighted. They got on the carriages one by one and headed towards Situ Mansion.

At the residence of Taiwei Yang Biao, Yang Biao, who had announced that he was ill, was dancing with a sword in the backyard. He was seen with steady steps, ruddy complexion, and the sword in his hand, dancing like flowing water. Although he could not be called an expert in swordsmanship, he did not look physically unwell at all.

After a long time, when the dance was over, Yang Biao let out a long sigh.

"Father……"

Yang Xiu came over with a basin of water.

Yang Biao handed the sword to the servant in the mansion, and then washed his face in clean water.

"What's going on? Judging from your expression, there must be some movement outside, right?"

Yang Biao made a joke in a joking tone.

Yang Xiu was obviously not in the same good mood as him. He handed the basin to the servant, helped Yang Biao walk to the pavilion nearby and sat down.

He picked up a knife and peeled some fruit for Yang Biao while saying, "I really can't understand why my father pretended to be sick and didn't go to court. Such a great opportunity was wasted by Wang Yun."

Yang Biao took the fruit from his hand, but did not eat it directly. Instead, he put it in front of his eyes and looked at it carefully.

"This fruit is delicious and juicy, but the peel is hard to swallow. People only want to eat the kernel, not the peel, and always feel that the peel hinders their consumption and is inconvenient. Therefore, they try every means to peel it off. They always think that without the peel, they can enjoy the fruit to their heart's content, or even swallow it whole, but they don't know that there is still a core inside, which makes them feel unhappy. They don't know that although the peel is tasteless, it is more nutritious than the kernel."

Yang Xiu was puzzled when he heard this: "Father, why are you talking about the peel? Who would eat fruit without peeling it? What's so strange about this?"

Yang Biao glanced at him, then picked up another unpeeled fruit.

"Look at this fruit. Even though the peel is still there, it does feel uncomfortable to chew. However, life is full of flavors, and nothing is always smooth sailing. Moreover, the peel is more effective. If you throw it away for no reason, thinking that you have obtained the essence of the kernel, it is actually just a waste of money. If you think that you can chew it with a big mouthful after removing the peel, you will definitely bite the kernel and hurt your teeth, which is not worth the loss."

After saying that, he picked up the unpeeled fruit and took a bite of it.

"Yeah, it's good. Although it has a bit of sourness, if you taste it carefully, it's very delicious."

Yang Xiu was confused: "Ah, father, the situation is urgent now. Wang Yun is not a good person. If he succeeds in this matter, our Yang family will lose its status among the nobles and our reputation will decline. How can you still have the heart to talk about the principle of eating fruit?"

Yang Biao looked up at him, his eyes filled with anger at his lack of fighting spirit.

Then, he sighed, "Alas, if they want to fight, let them fight. He is just a big Meng. Even if we kill him, what will happen? Will it make His Majesty give up, or will it make Qian Li and many other Bingzhou civil officials and military officers willingly submit to the aristocratic families? This is useless and will only offend the emperor and bring disaster upon ourselves. Why should we join in the fun?"

Yang Xiu suddenly realized, "Ah... I understand. The Han Dynasty is the fruit, power is the kernel, and the ministers of Bingzhou are the peel. The emperor is the core! In order to seize power, they peeled off the peel. Once they succeeded, they were self-righteous and arrogant. That was when they suffered the consequences of the core. Moreover, this core is a core that moves on its own."

"Don't talk nonsense. I was just eating some fruit and feeling emotional. You kid, don't think too much. I will punish you by making you copy the Book of Songs a hundred times."

"Ah? You need to copy again..."

(End of this chapter)