The imperial court is ceding territory from our northern border? Then we'll rebel!

The next day, after the morning court session.

Xiao Jingchen did not return to the Regent's Palace, but went directly to the Imperial Study.

Under the tutelage of the Grand Tutor, Li Chengqian was reciting the Analects with a swaying head.

"...The superior man understands righteousness; the inferior man understands profit..."

Upon seeing Xiao Jingchen enter, the young emperor immediately stood up from behind his desk, somewhat reserved yet delighted, and called out, "Royal Uncle!"

After ascending the throne, at Xiao Jingchen's suggestion, Li Chengqian privately addressed him as Imperial Uncle, rather than Regent. This both brought the two closer and conformed to the proper etiquette between ruler and subject.

"Your Majesty has done a good job with your studies." Xiao Jingchen smiled and patted his head.

The white-haired and bearded Grand Tutor was Zhang Cheng's junior brother, the Imperial Censor. When he saw Xiao Jingchen, he merely gave a perfunctory bow, his face full of aloofness that said, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."

"Your Majesty, that's enough for today's lessons," Xiao Jingchen said to Li Chengqian. "Your Imperial Uncle will take you out for a walk."

"Go out for a walk?" Li Chengqian's eyes lit up. He had been raised in the deep palace since childhood, and after ascending the throne, he was even more bound by various rules and regulations, rarely having the opportunity to leave the palace.

"Your Highness, this... is unreasonable!" The Grand Tutor immediately stepped forward to object. "His Majesty is of inestimable importance; how can he easily leave the palace?"

"Grand Tutor Zhang," Xiao Jingchen turned and glanced at him, his eyes calm, yet making the other feel an inexplicable pressure, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. If Your Majesty wants to govern the world well, you cannot just sit in your study and look at the world described in books."

"I will personally protect Your Majesty. Do you have any further objections?"

Grand Tutor Zhang opened his mouth, but ultimately swallowed his words. He knew that his opposition was meaningless in front of this man.

Xiao Jingchen, along with Li Chengqian, changed into ordinary civilian clothes and, under the protection of Zhao Kuo and a group of plainclothes imperial guards, quietly left the palace.

They didn't go to any scenic spots, but went directly to the slums in the west of the city.

This is the most dilapidated place in the capital. Low-rise houses, muddy streets, and a sour, stench permeating the air.

Li Chengqian had never seen such a sight before. His pretty face was filled with shock and discomfort, and he subconsciously gripped Xiao Jingchen's clothes tightly.

"Uncle...is this...is this also the capital?"

"Yes." Xiao Jingchen's voice was calm. "Those who live here are also subjects of my Great Yan."

They arrived at a soup kitchen. It was built on Xiao Jingchen's orders, specifically to provide relief to impoverished people who could not survive.

At this moment, a long queue had formed in front of the porridge stall. Ragged people held broken bowls, their faces blank yet expectant, waiting for that bowl of thin porridge that could save their lives.

Xiao Jingchen pointed to the soup kitchen and asked Li Chengqian, "Your Majesty, look, what are they doing?"

"They are...getting porridge," Li Chengqian replied softly.

"Do you know who gave them this porridge?"

"Yes...it's you, Imperial Uncle."

"No." Xiao Jingchen shook his head. "It's the Commerce Department. It's porridge made with rice bought with the money we confiscated from those corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen."

He led Li Chengqian and continued walking forward.

They saw that outside the government-run grain stores of the Ministry of Commerce, people were buying winter grain at low prices, and their faces showed relieved smiles.

They saw several farmers who had bought newly made farm tools from the government-run blacksmith shop and were excitedly discussing planting for the coming spring.

They also saw several censors standing on a street corner, spitting as they preached to the surrounding people about the "Great Way of the Sages" and that "the court should not compete with the people for profit."

But the people around them looked at them as if they were fools.

"Have these scholars lost their minds?"

"Exactly! If it weren't for the Regent and the Ministry of Commerce, we don't know how we would have survived this winter! And they're still making sarcastic remarks!"

"Ignore them, they're a bunch of useless bums who only know how to talk!"

The censors were so embarrassed by what they heard that they eventually stormed off.

Li Chengqian saw and heard all of this. A thoughtful expression appeared on his young face.

Everything he saw today, along with the concepts of "gentleman" and "petty person," "righteousness" and "profit" that he had learned from the Grand Tutor, created a powerful impact on him.

Back at the palace, Xiao Jingchen asked him, "Your Majesty, what did you see today?"

Li Chengqian remained silent for a long time before raising his head and saying earnestly, "Uncle, I see... what the Grand Tutor taught me seems... not entirely correct."

"Oh? Something's not right?"

"The Grand Tutor said that a gentleman does not speak of profit. But... but if there were no 'profit' earned by the Commerce Bureau, those people would have no porridge to drink, and wouldn't be able to afford grain and farming tools. They... they might starve to death." The young emperor tried his best to express his thoughts in his childish language. "I think that the 'profit' that can feed the people is more important than the 'righteousness' that the Grand Tutor mentioned."

A relieved smile appeared on Xiao Jingchen's face.

Children can be taught.

"Your Majesty is right." He squatted down and looked Li Chengqian straight in the eyes. "Remember, as the emperor, your first priority is not to be a 'gentleman' in the eyes of others, nor to pursue those illusory 'respect'."

"Your first priority is to ensure that your people have food to eat and clothes to wear. It is to ensure that your soldiers have good weapons to defend their homes and country. It is to ensure that your country is prosperous, strong, and free from foreign aggression."

"This is the greatest 'righteousness' a ruler should possess!"

Li Chengqian nodded as if he understood, but Xiao Jingchen's words were like a seed, deeply planted in his heart.

The next day, the morning court session.

Imperial Censor Zhang Cheng once again stepped forward, delivering a passionate speech listing the various "malpractices" of the Ministry of Commerce, and pleading with the Regent to "pull back from the brink and return to the righteous path of the sages."

All the officials looked at Xiao Jingchen, who was sitting beside the dragon throne, waiting to see how he would react.

However, this time, Xiao Jingchen did not speak.

The one who spoke was the young emperor, Li Chengqian, who sat on the dragon throne.

"Zhang Aiqing".

His childish voice rang out in the hall, sounding exceptionally clear.

Everyone was stunned.

"I think the Imperial Uncle and the Ministry of Commerce have done a very good job."

Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Cheng, who was staring in disbelief below, and said, word by word, "To ensure that the people have enough to eat, that the national treasury is full, and that the soldiers have money to forge weapons—this is the greatest 'righteousness'."

"I support my uncle. From now on, anyone who dares to criticize the Ministry of Commerce will be an enemy of me and of the Great Yan Dynasty!"

The child's voice carried an unquestionable royal authority.

The entire Zichen Palace was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Zhang Cheng's face turned pale, then red, before he finally knelt down in despair. "This old minister... is guilty."

The entire court looked at the young man, who, though small in stature, already possessed the aura of an emperor, and then at the regent beside him, whose expression was calm and who seemed to have everything under control.

A thought popped into everyone's mind.

The Great Yan Dynasty may truly be ushering in a new era.

Standing at the head of all the officials, Zhou Wenyuan watched this scene with tears welling up in his eyes.

He knew that from this moment on, Xiao Jingchen's path to regency would be free of any internal obstacles. With the ruler and his ministers of one mind, their strength could break even metal!

He looked up at the northern sky, his heart filled with anticipation.