The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Du Gou suddenly realized: "Now that the people know the cause and effect of the matter, they will understand that Mr. Chen's beating of people with the Crown Prince was not an impulsive act, but rather for their sake and to stand up for them."

"Not only will Mr. Chen's reputation be further enhanced, but it will also make the people more aware that not only is His Majesty wise and the officials benevolent, but even the Crown Prince, the heir apparent, keeps them in mind."

"The benefits are simply too numerous to mention."

"That's right," Du Ruhui praised. "You see, now that you've realized this, do you still think Mr. Chen's act of bringing the Crown Prince to beat someone was truly impulsive?"

"No, it's not like that." Du Gou felt like his eyes had been opened. He had no idea that this was how it could be done.

"After this incident, Mr. Chen's reputation has been further enhanced, and His Highness the Crown Prince's image has been initially established in the hearts of the people. His Majesty has used this opportunity to stabilize the equal-field system and curb land annexation."

"That's really... impressive."

Du Ruhui asked again, "Besides these, what else did you see?"

"Huh?" Du Gou was taken aback. "Besides these, is there anything else?"

"Isn't this already killing two birds with one stone?"

"Haha." Du Ruhui chuckled. "Kid, there's a reason I said you lack experience."

"There are two deeper issues that you haven't noticed."

"I don't understand, please enlighten your son, Father." Du Gou was very honest and asked questions when he didn't understand.

Having been taught by Du Ruhui since childhood, he knew he was too young. All his experience came from Du Ruhui, but he had no real experience and could not see things clearly.

In addition, Du Ruhui had emphasized one sentence to him since he was a child.

The world is full of heroes, as numerous as carp crossing a river; we must never underestimate the people of the world.

Ask questions if you don't understand, learn slowly, and let things settle down gradually.

Du Ruhui nodded and explained, "Let's continue with the matter of Mr. Chen leading the Crown Prince to beat someone up."

Who is Mr. Chen?

Du Gou replied without hesitation, "The Ministers of Works and Revenue, in terms of power, are enough to rank among the top five in the Tang Dynasty."

"You're half right," Du Ruhui added. "Besides those things, he's also the person most feared by the powerful clans!"

Without further ado, he continued, "Mr. Chen brought the Crown Prince with him. Who is the Crown Prince?"

"The crown prince of a country, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be the future monarch," Du Gou replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Is the Crown Prince truly the ruler?"

"Of course it's you, my lord!"

"So, Mr. Chen, accompanied by the Crown Prince, stormed into the Wannian County government office and beat people up, from the magistrate down to the lowest clerk, even the dog got slapped three times, and the evergreen tree in front of the gate was cut down," Du Ruhui said slowly. "What do you think those who want to obstruct a thorough investigation, or perhaps want to expand land annexation, will think when they find out?"

Du Gou's mouth dropped open slightly as he listened to these words.

He felt a shock to his brain and couldn't react for a moment.

As one of the top five most powerful figures in the Tang Dynasty and the most feared person by the aristocratic families, Chen Huai'an led the Crown Prince into the Wannian County government office, beating everyone from top to bottom, sparing not even the dogs and trees.

What else can one think when those who want to seize land and obstruct a thorough investigation find out about this?

Du Gou said with difficulty, "They'll probably think, 'Right now, Mr. Chen is only leading the Crown Prince to beat people up, but if something like this happens again... will Mr. Chen lead the real Emperor to kill people?'"

"Now they're even targeting dogs and trees; next time, will they target chickens and dogs too?"

"This is a silent, yet extremely powerful warning!"

Du Ruhui nodded with satisfaction: "So you still think this matter ended somewhat hastily?"

"...I have learned a lot and broadened my horizons." Du Gou exclaimed in amazement, "I didn't realize that what everyone considered an impulsive act actually involved so many twists and turns."

This is truly eye-opening.

Du Gou knew that the court was very complicated, and that he had to be extremely careful in everything he did.

But he really didn't expect that such a simple matter would contain so much profound meaning.

No wonder even Du Ruhui said this matter was very special.

"It's good that you understand." Du Ruhui smiled. "Actually, there's another layer, but it's not that important anymore."

"It's not important, I'd like to hear it too." Du Gou said seriously, "I'm about to enter officialdom, and I'll be dealing with these things sooner or later."

"I may not come into contact with this level of struggle and planning for a long time, but it can broaden my horizons, so please tell me, Father."

"Good." Du Ruhui was overjoyed. "The fact that you can think this way means you've truly grown up."

"The last one is actually very simple. I'll ask you one more question."

"Mr. Chen, do you lack this little bit of credit?"

In a single sentence, he instantly grasped the key point, which enlightened Du Gou.

"I understand. Mr. Chen certainly doesn't lack this merit. For you and Uncle Fang, merit is no longer a very important thing, let alone for such a young Mr. Chen."

"To some extent, the credit is a big problem for Mr. Chen!"

"So he threw them all out."

"Whether he led the Crown Prince to beat people, or the Crown Prince led him to beat people, as the Crown Prince's Grand Tutor, he was wrong from the most basic perspective."

"Mistakes should be punished, and merits should be rewarded."

"The best outcome is for merits and demerits to cancel each other out!"

"Through this incident, Mr. Chen completed a plan that can be described as perfect, so that he, the Crown Prince, His Majesty and his confidants could all benefit, while he himself was able to get out unscathed and not get involved in the mud at all."

Du Gou exclaimed in shock, "I think this is the most terrifying thing!"

"Ha ha ha ha."

When Du Gou said this, Du Ruhui burst into laughter, making no attempt to hide his joy.

Previously, he deliberately mentioned another unimportant issue, partly to see if Du Gou would care and what his attitude would be.

Secondly, he wanted to see how Du Gou would feel after learning about it, and whether he would be influenced by Du Gou's statement that it was unimportant and also feel that the matter was unimportant.

But now, Du Ruhui has the perfect answer.

Yes, the last point is actually the most important.

In officialdom, in the imperial court, in a position where serving the emperor is like walking on thin ice, the most important thing is to know how to withdraw unscathed, to give credit to the emperor, to let credit be mixed with crime, and to try to avoid being tainted by the mud.

Otherwise, when your achievements overshadow your master and there are no more rewards to be given, that will be the time of your death.

"My child, you must remember this: when someone owes you one string of cash, ten strings, or even a hundred strings, he might think about paying you back because he can afford it. But if he owes you a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand strings, he won't think about paying you back; instead, he'll try every means to kill you!"

"Because he can't pay it back!"

"..."