Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 373 The Emperor's Aura
An Taixuan looked at An Jing and said quietly, "For the sake of Anguo? Do you really think that if you sit in this position, Anguo will be better off? There is no such thing as a female emperor in the world."

An Jing said solemnly, "So, I want to be the number one. I will prove to you, father, and to everyone in the world, that I, An Jing, have what it takes! Please, father, give me this opportunity!"

An Taixuan had a complicated expression. If any illegitimate prince dared to stand up and say these words to him, he would look at him with admiration and give him a chance.

But as a princess, An Jing shouldn't covet some powers.

If An Jing really were to fight for the throne, not to mention what other major powers would think, none of An's royal family members or officials in the court would agree.

Now that Anguo's national fortune has declined, it's already chaotic enough. Isn't this chaotic enough?
An Taixuan was silent for a moment, then asked, "Who gave you this idea?"

An Jing would never have had such an idea in the past. But after going to Yunmeng Sect, he felt unfamiliar with it when he came back.

It was hard for An Taixuan not to suspect that An Jing had come into contact with someone in Yunmeng Sect and had come up with such unrealistic ideas.

An Jing's expression changed slightly, and he whispered, "It was my daughter who acted on her own initiative! My daughter is definitely no worse than the other princes, and she can make the An Kingdom prosperous and strong..."

"I know that the royal family and the officials won't agree, but I will make achievements to gain their approval. More importantly, I will gain the approval of the people..."

"Your Majesty, don't worry about the opposition from the nobles. I have ways to weaken their power and make them do their job. Anguo belongs to the people of Anguo, to our An family, not to those who have the power to control it."

An Taixuan narrowed his eyes slightly, "What do you want to do?"

An Jing said, "We can slowly weaken them by implementing new policies, just like cutting flesh with a blunt knife. We can..."

An Jing took his time and laid out some very detailed plans.

This was a strategy that An Taixuan had never heard of before.

But when listening to these methods, An Taixuan always had a sense of déjà vu.

An Taixuan interrupted, "You didn't come up with this on your own, did you? Lu Zheng went to the State of Chu, and you met him?"

An Jing lowered his head and said, "My daughter went out and saw some things, and she gained some insights."

An Taixuan chuckled and said, "You just belittled the geniuses of various nations. Yunmeng Sect is mostly composed of transcendental cultivators. What have you seen? A young man from the Huang family of Tai'an has also gone to Yunmeng Sect. It seems I need to summon him to inquire about the situation."

An Jing's expression changed slightly when he heard this, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

An Taixuan noticed An Jing's mood change and said with a forced smile, "It seems it really has something to do with him? Where is he now?"

"Chu State." An Jing had no choice but to say.

An Taixuan couldn't help but ask, "Why, I gave you a bad idea and I don't want to come back with you?"

An Jing couldn't help but say, "It's my daughter who has this idea. It has nothing to do with others."

An Taixuan said calmly, "Don't hide anything. You're the only one who doesn't have the courage. Tell me, what's his current situation? Tell me everything you know."

An Jing was stunned for a moment, not knowing why his father cared so much about Lu Zheng.

Seeing that the matter could not be concealed, An Jing could only speak briefly, but still insisted that he had the idea of ​​competing for the throne, and then asked Lu Zheng for some advice.

When An Taixuan heard that Lu Zheng had become a Confucian scholar and had developed a literary mind to save the world, he couldn't help but be surprised.

He glanced at the classic beside him and muttered, "It seems that the publication of this classic is closely related to him. If there is someone behind him guiding all this..."

The Yunmeng Sect actually treated Lu Zheng as a guest. When the classic was published, Lu Zheng happened to be in the Yunmeng Sect.

And with the abilities of the Qi Refiners of the Yunmeng Sect, they are indeed capable of concealing the secrets of heaven and making it impossible to trace the source.

An Taixuan couldn't help but have some doubts.

Compared to An Jing's desire to compete for the throne, An Taixuan cares more about this kind of thing.

After all, An Jing's situation is simply unrealistic, but the impact of this classic is real.

An Jing heard this and said, "Father, do you think there's a force behind Lu Zheng? That's unlikely. He inherited the will of Meng Sheng..."

An Taixuan said calmly, "If it was just the inheritance of Meng Sheng, could Meng Sheng's will come up with these poems? Could it come up with these new policies? These are things that even the Meng family doesn't have."

An Jing thought about it and realized that it was true.

If these things were inherited from Meng Sheng, why didn't Meng Sheng pass them on to his own descendants, but to an outsider?

Looking back, she remembered that Lu Zheng had only said that the righteous spirit was passed down from Meng Sheng.

Everything else I learned came from my predecessors, but I don’t know their specific origins.

An Jing said softly, "No matter what, he was able to cultivate a heart of salvation and cultivate a righteous spirit, which means he had no selfish motives."

"You are good at making excuses for him." An Taixuan said lightly.

An Jing couldn't help but say, "My daughter is just telling the truth."

She didn't want to defend Lu Zheng, but she felt that there was nothing wrong with what Lu Zheng did.

Moreover, Lu Zheng even entrusted some important things to her for safekeeping, so she had no reason to doubt him.

An Taixuan's eyes flickered, and he thought that no matter whether Lu Zheng had any forces supporting him, what he had done so far was definitely not for his own selfish interests.

An Taixuan said quietly, "I hope it was just him. If there were a group of people like him, this chaotic world would become even more chaotic." An Jing suddenly thought of Lu Zheng's words, "There are many people in this world who are willing to speak up for the people. Father, when faced with such a situation, we should come up with a reasonable response. Your daughter is willing to share your worries."

An Taixuan said calmly: "You've been exhausted all the way, go back and rest!"

An Jing's expression changed, and he was not sure what An Taixuan was thinking.

She could only say, "I'll take my leave, Father. Please take care of yourself."

After saying that, An Jing stood up and walked out of the palace.

When he came outside and was blown by a light breeze, An Jing felt cold all over. He didn't know when he was sweating profusely.

So, does the emperor object or not? An Jing was uneasy and lost.

At this moment, a Taoist priest in white robes walked slowly in the palace.

An Jing saw the Taoist clearly and greeted him, "Grandmaster Xu!"

When Xu Shou saw An Jing, he politely replied, "Princess, long time no see."

In the past few months, Xu Shou has been studying mathematics and has just come out of seclusion. He heard that some big things have happened recently, so he came to the palace to take a look.

After all, he also received a salary from the court, and as a person holding a nominal position in the Imperial Observatory, he still had to share some of the worries for An Guo.

When Xu Shou saw An Jing, he couldn't help but glance at An Jing again.

Today, Anguo's national fortune has been damaged for several decades, and because the spread of the classic "New Poetry" has not yet recovered, its fortune is still slowly declining.

Even the personal luck of the officials in the court was weakening, but An Jing's luck was at its peak and was increasing instead of decreasing.

This couldn't help but make Xu Shou a little surprised.

Xu Shou asked, "The eldest princess seems to have returned from abroad. I wonder where she went?"

Upon hearing this, An Jing replied, "I went to Yunmeng Sect for a few months."

There was no need to hide anything like this from Xu Shou. He could probably figure it out roughly by just counting on his fingers.

"I see." Xu Shou nodded slightly.

He had also visited the Yunmeng Sect. It seemed that An Jing had gained some benefits there, which made his own luck even more extraordinary.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and then went their separate ways.

An Taixuan was still in the imperial study, frowning in thought. Seeing Xu Shou approach, he forced a smile and said, "Master Xu is here. Come, come, come, sit down! I've missed you so much during these days when you were in seclusion."

Xu Shou smiled and said, "I am in seclusion contemplating the great Dao, and I am unable to spare the time to help Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

"Hey, what are you talking about? Master Xu's cultivation is more important!" An Taixuan said with a smile, "Looking at Master Xu, you must have gained a lot from this retreat, right?"

Xu Shou said, "Mathematics is an extremely profound subject. Fortunately, I have received some guidance, which has helped me improve. However, I still cannot fully comprehend mathematics."

An Taixuan looked surprised. He knew that Xu Shou had gone to Lu Zheng to ask for advice on mathematics, but he didn't expect Xu Shou to take mathematics so seriously. Moreover, after such a long period of seclusion, he still hadn't figured it out. What kind of arithmetic did he learn?
Xu Shou added, "This is Xu's personal matter, not worth discussing. Your Majesty has been overly worried lately and needs more rest... Your Majesty is the emperor of a country, so you should take care of your health and avoid overwork."

An Taixuan sighed, "I'm sure Master Xu has heard about the recent incidents. Right now, our An Kingdom's fortune is declining, and the situation is changing rapidly. There are too many things to worry about, so how can I rest well?"

He wanted to have a good rest, but he had to take countermeasures to deal with the decline in national fortune.

He planned to use this opportunity to implement new policies to suppress local aristocratic families, benefit the people, and then revive the country and create another prosperous era.

Reform is not easy, and An Taixuan had to work hard.

Even though Lu Zheng has given various reference answers, as Lu Zheng once said, implementing these policies is not as simple as it sounds.

If the new policy is not implemented well, it will further weaken Anguo, and under internal and external troubles, the country may be destroyed.

This is also why some major countries directly banned modern poetry to reduce the impact, instead of choosing to reform and maintain stability like An Guo did.

But An Taixuan didn't care about all this. He accepted the advice of his ancestor, gambled the fate of the country directly, and even planned to drag other big countries into the water.

"If Your Majesty is stable, the country will have no worries." Xu Shou said slowly.

An Taixuan's eyes flickered, and he said softly, "I have something to ask Master Xu."

Xu Shou sat upright and said, "Your Majesty, please speak."

An Taixuan asked, "Can a woman be an emperor?"

An Taixuan couldn't really pretend that he didn't hear what An Jing said, so he wanted to hear what other people thought.

Xu Shou was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then asked, "Your Majesty wishes to make the eldest princess the crown prince?"

An Taixuan paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I didn't mean that. Why would Master Xu say that?"

An Taixuan didn't expect Xu Shou to say such a thing.

"No?" Xu Shou pondered. "Your Majesty, there must be a reason for asking me this. I just ran into the eldest princess and saw that she had an imperial aura. I thought your Majesty had such plans."

(End of this chapter)