After saying that, Lin Mo pushed open the door and went inside.
“Brother Lin Mo!” Sun Ruoxi smiled at him.
"Ruoxi!" Lin Mo replied with a smile, "You're absolutely right. You're much more enlightened than your father!"
At this point, we must strike while the iron is hot and break through Sun Mian's last line of defense.
“Your Highness…” Sun Mian blushed and couldn’t speak for a long time.
“Alas, everyone has their own ambitions! Since Lord Sun has repeatedly said he wants to resign, I will grant his request!” Lin Mo continued without waiting for Sun Mian’s response, “However, I think that if all scholars in the world were like Lord Sun, they would be wise enough to protect themselves.”
I really don't know if this is the tragedy of scholars!
"Huh? What? Self-preservation?" Sun Mian asked in surprise.
“What, isn’t that right?” Lin Mo smiled. “What does the Way of the Sages say? The Great Learning states that the way of learning consists in manifesting one’s bright virtue, in loving the people, and in abiding in perfect goodness. Those in ancient times who wished to manifest their bright virtue to the world first governed their own states.”
Wei Maozhen betrayed the nation and attempted to cede territory from the Great Xia to another country. Given such actions, Lord Sun, do you still consider her a wise ruler and wish to remain loyal to her to the death?
Lord Sun, are you simply blindly loyal, or are you simply blind to the truth?
"I..."
"Of course, you may already know this, but you think that my killing of Wei Maozhen violated the proper relationship between ruler and subject, and you want to distance yourself from me. So, what's wrong with me saying that you are a prudent person who wants to protect yourself?"
Sun Mian was speechless. He really didn't expect Lin Mo to have such eloquence, speaking so logically and persuasively.
"Alright, enough said!" Lin Mo said. "Lord Sun, I won't make things difficult for you. If you want to resign, then so be it. Oh, and your three sons, I won't make things difficult for them either."
They may wish to serve me, or they may choose to retire to the countryside with me.
However, Ruoxi and I are mutually in love, and I hope you will grant us your blessing!
"Ah...this!"
"If you don't speak, Lord Sun, I'll take that as your consent!" Lin Mo said with a smile. "Thank you for your kindness, Father-in-law."
After saying that, Lin Mo pulled Sun Ruoxi aside and said, "Ruoxi, hurry up and thank your father."
"Thank you for your kindness, Father!"
"Ah, what!"
Before Sun Mian could respond, Lin Mo took Sun Ruoxi's hand and left, leaving Sun Mian standing there in a daze.
Lin Mo's silence was an implicit acceptance of this, and not an act of harassment.
He's an old man, and one who's been studying for decades; he's a stubborn old man.
You have to give him some face, give him a way out, pretend to be a scoundrel, pretend to be unreasonable, and give in to him a little.
Sun Mian, being quite sensible, didn't waste any more words.
As for resigning from his post, Lin Mo didn't pursue the topic any further, and Sun Mian didn't bring it up again either, continuing to work tirelessly for his son-in-law.
After winning over his father-in-law, Lin Mo still had many things to do.
The states of Dongpango and others are eyeing the Great Xia with covetous intent. To deal with them, it is necessary to unify the internal affairs.
Lin Mo has yet to finalize the selection of a puppet emperor.
It wasn't that Lin Mo wanted to directly declare himself emperor, but rather that, based on Yao Guangxiao's observations over the past few days, none of the surviving princes were suitable!
The first issue is their age.
You know, when supporting a puppet emperor, the younger the better, ideally a three-year-old child, because they're easier to control!
The youngest member of the Zhao family is now sixteen years old.
Ever since Wei Maozhen ascended the throne, these descendants of the Zhao family have all developed invincible "survival skills" in order to stay alive!
They could be described as developing their power in the palace in the most clandestine and underhanded way possible, and even Yao Guangxiao couldn't figure them out in a short time.
On the surface, they all seem obsequious, but in reality, they all have a lot of ulterior motives.
These princes are too difficult to control once they've been promoted to the throne.
What should we do?
Lin Mo came up with a great idea, which broadened his horizons!
The late emperor was not an only child; he had eight brothers, six of whom grew to adulthood.
If the descendants of the late emperor are not suitable, then we can look for candidates among the descendants of his brothers, which will provide more options.
These descendants of the Zhao family were not born with the right to inherit the throne, and therefore were not educated or trained to be emperors.
In ancient times, members of the royal family, who were well-fed and clothed from a young age, could easily develop into gluttonous princes who only knew how to eat, drink, and have fun.
Find someone in their thirties or forties who has spent most of their life eating and drinking, and make them emperor—that would be perfect.
Why not look for the child?
Children grow up, learn, and their thoughts change.
Approaching forty, can I still keep learning? My thinking has become rigid; what new ideas can I possibly come up with?
Use the system to create a dozen or twenty Japanese female teachers for him, then build him a lavish and decadent lifestyle, and let him have his fun.
The only thing to be careful about is to give him a full physical examination every now and then, and send him a whole trainload of nutritional supplements and kidney tonics to help him recover.
Once the order was given, the new emperor was quickly found.
This man was the eldest son of the late emperor's second elder brother, and Lin Mo was very satisfied with him at first sight.
He was a round-faced, long-bearded, sweaty fat man who walked with an air of indulgence towards the object in his arms.
Just based on his fat head and big ears, and his plump and carefree appearance, Lin Mo immediately decided to sculpt ten beauties that only appear once every four thousand years as a reward for him.
Once the new emperor was chosen, Lin Mo arranged for all civil and military officials to come to court and kneel in obeisance the very next day.
During the morning court session, led by Yao Guangxiao, it was decided that the enthronement ceremony would be held three days later.
The proper procedures still need to be followed, including offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, receiving homage, and granting amnesty.
The next step is to announce to the world in the name of the new emperor that he has personally appointed Lin Mo as regent, thus confirming Lin Mo's legitimate status.
This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com