"To ascend to the position of Crown Prince, one must either gain the support of new officials such as Yu Yunwen, or overthrow them."

Zhao Gou's voice was calm and composed.

How can we gain Yu Yunwen's support?

"You can't get Yu Yunwen's support."

Why?

"Because Chen Yang and Zhou Chao are both supporting you, and many merchants in the common people are also supporting you, Yu Yunwen cannot support you, because Yu Yunwen and Chen Yang have opposing interests."

"With so many people supporting me, isn't that enough for him to stand against Yu Yunwen?"

"It's not enough at the moment. He is the prime minister and dominates the government. He has the power to directly appoint and dismiss officials in various regions, including the South China Sea, Guangnan West Circuit, Liaodong, Beifu, and the newly emerging Western Regions. The personnel of officials are all in his hands."

"The merchant case gave Yu Yunwen an opportunity, and he took the opportunity to replace many officials in various prefectures and install his own people."

Of the officials from Xu Churen's era, only half remain today.

"If it weren't for Chen Yang, Zhou Chao, and a group of people holding on to the government, the other half would have been replaced very soon."

"Then what should I do?"

"There is another person who is crucial to him, and crucial to you as well."

"who?"

“Your teacher is Shi Ziming!” Zhao Gou said calmly. “He is a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy and a close advisor to the emperor. Over the years, he has been focusing on the development of the school and has not been involved much in court disputes. However, he is one of the people who can influence the emperor. Even Yu Yunwen has to give him face.”

"Then I'll go see him."

"He won't speak well of you to the emperor just because you went to see him. Shi Ziming is a man who clearly distinguishes between gratitude and resentment, acts with integrity and uprightness, has his own plans, and would rather die than submit."

"What should I do? I can't win over Yu Yunwen, and I can't even win over my own teacher."

"Go to Xianzhou to establish schools. Now that you have been granted the title of Prince of Liao, you can request His Majesty to grant you jurisdiction over Shenzhou and establish schools there as well. Half of the money you earn can be invested in building private schools in remote rural areas."

Why is that?

Zhao Gou was somewhat disappointed in his son's lack of ambition; was there even a need to ask?

Of course, you should cater to their preferences!

Help Shi Ziming solve his problem!

His Majesty the Emperor wants to completely reform the education system of the Song Dynasty, but it takes ten years to grow a tree and a hundred years to cultivate a person. Education is an unprecedentedly large undertaking. Even the Emperor, with a wise minister like Shi Ziming to assist him, needs to be prepared for decades.

"Education is something the emperor values ​​highly; it is the future of the Song Dynasty. If you are willing to invest in it, you will soon earn the title of a wise prince, which will only benefit you."

Seeing Zhao Chen hesitate, Zhao Gou sighed inwardly. This nephew was truly useless. He had hoped to use him to counter Yu Yunwen, but now it seemed that the boy was too narrow-minded and short-sighted.

I heard that Zhao Shen is coming back this year. I'll arrange to meet him and see if he's as clever as the rumors say.

"Try to build a good image in Shi Xun's mind, and then try to win over the two most important people."

"who?"

"Tang Ke and Zhao Ding."

"Tang Ke is definitely a pillar of the Song Dynasty. He may not be able to solve thorny problems, but he can definitely patiently develop a certain place very well. He is the second most meritorious person in the new policy and one of the few people who can rival Yu Yunwen."

"I don't need to say more about Zhao Ding, do I? He manages the Royal Bank, and you know perfectly well what his position is in the Emperor's heart."

How can I get to know these two people?

"Tang Ke originally supported you, otherwise you wouldn't have had such a smooth journey in Xianzhou. But because of the Liaodong incident, he suffered a slight setback and went to the Northwest to avoid suspicion. Now he stands on the sidelines, not helping either side."

“You can write to him, but don’t discuss politics, just talk about economics; that’s his specialty.”

"Zhao Ding did the same, only discussing the impact of Jiaozi on the Song Dynasty."

"But I don't really understand any of these things."

"You are the King of Liao, you should have a group of advisors!"

"That's it!"

"Finally, we must both gain assistance and wear down our opponents."

How to wear down the opponent?

"Make good use of Liu Yusi of the Censorate and He Yusi of the Censorate."

Zhao Gou drank a cup of tea and finally said, "Alright, I didn't say anything to you today, and you didn't hear anything either. It's getting late, go back and rest."

Zhao Chen left, and Zhao Gou sat in the elegant garden with the door open, and it began to snow lightly outside.

To be honest, he didn't want to be emperor, and he didn't think he had the ability to plot a coup.

He just wants to have his own opportunities in this great era and do what he wants to do.

But Yu Yunwen went too far, constantly picking fights with his Maritime Trade Office and even planning to establish a new Customs Office to take away some of his Maritime Trade Office's power.

If I don't create a few enemies for you, you'll keep coming after me all the time, and I can't handle it!

Zhao Gou breathed a sigh of relief. He had already made up his mind that he would have a good talk with Zhao Shen once he returned to Tokyo.

Before dawn the next day, Zhao Huan had already gotten up and was sitting alone in Yanfu Palace, drinking tea and thinking about problems.

It started to snow lightly outside, but the palace had underfloor heating, so it wasn't cold.

Zhao Huan, dressed in a snow-white casual outfit and draped in a black robe, was completely absorbed in his work.

Wang Kui'an greeted from the doorway: "Your Majesty."

"Come in."

He went in and bowed.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Liao went to the Prince of Kang's residence last night and didn't come out for about an hour."

Zhao Huan didn't even lift his eyelids, continuing to drink his tea: "I understand."

He had a intelligence report that detailed the movements of all the officials in Tokyo last night, down to the smallest detail they made.

Wang Kuian highlighted some key points, and Zhao Huan nodded. He then sent all of this to the Imperial City Guard headquarters for filing.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!