I was ready to die fighting, why did His Majesty yield first?

What is a fatuous ruler?

Gluttonous, lazy, and ruled by lust, a fatuous ruler craves enjoyment.

While he hasn’t yet favored any of the beauties, the number must be sufficient in preparation for the future.

I, as the Son of Heaven, possess the wealth of the land and the vastness of the world. Naturally, the more beauties, the better.

The more concubines, the more it reflects personal ability, the more it reflects the level of fatuousness.

Let’s reach new heights of fatuousness, new levels of incompetence.

Since we’ve already come this far, such an opportunity must not be missed.

Yan Shou immediately straightened his back, looking down at the Grand Tutor with an air of grandeur:

“Grand Tutor, I observe that the east and west palaces are desolate. I am the lord of ten thousand chariots, possessing the wealth of the four seas, a virtuous match for the sages of the past.

All that belongs to the world belongs to me. Now, I intend to issue a decree to the feudal lords of the four directions, ordering each town to select a hundred beautiful women to fill the royal palace.

Let all the beauties of the world enter the royal selection. What do you think?”

“Heh…”

The Grand Tutor didn’t react for a moment.

The contrast was too great.

In the previous sentence, he was still building momentum for the new ruler’s virtuous name, helping him gain prestige and stabilize the court. How could his next sentence be about selecting concubines?

This old minister was about to fight to the death, so why did the Son of Heaven surrender first?

After thinking, the old Grand Tutor frowned again. He felt that things were not that simple.

Since this new ruler wrote that poem at the sacrifice months ago, subsequent actions had caused him to frown countless times.

Was he testing himself, or was he doing something else?

He heard that he was also cultivating a faction among the Imperial Guards?

Was he going to oppose him?

Every action seemed absurd, but he felt that every action had an extraordinary meaning.

After three years of silence, was he preparing to soar into the sky?

Seeing the Grand Tutor frown, Yan Shou was satisfied.

That’s the reaction he wanted!

Shouting and shouting, bowing down at the slightest disagreement, what was all that about?

I want to be a fatuous ruler. Why are you praising me? It’s annoying.

Yan Shou didn’t give everyone a chance to react and immediately said, “Immediately convey my decree to the feudal lords of the four towns and the prefects of each region.

Select a hundred beautiful women from good families, regardless of wealth or poverty, only considering their dignified appearance, gentle temperament, and proper etiquette, to fill the harem and serve.”

Absurd…

Such absurd behavior naturally had to be opposed by the old Grand Tutor.

One or two didn’t matter. The Grand Tutor would risk his reputation to find them. But what was a hundred or so women?

After Yan Shou finished speaking, the wrinkles on the Grand Tutor’s forehead deepened.

“I have heard that when the ruler is virtuous, the people live in happiness, and they follow without being ordered. Now, the selection of beauties may lose the hearts of the people!”

“Please, Your Majesty, reconsider!”

After the Grand Tutor finished speaking, quite a few people followed him in advising.

Some said that there were too many floods and droughts, and it was unwise for the ruler to be fond of women.

Others said that indulging in momentary pleasure would disrupt the hard-earned peace of the world.

In short, if Yan Shou did this, the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race would be imminent.

The ministers stepped forward one by one to advise.

Yan Shou saw clearly that only a few were not following the Grand Tutor’s lead.

As for the military generals, they were probably all boorish men.

Not many of them followed the Grand Tutor, and they must be part of the Grand Commandant’s faction.

My dignified Great Yan has so many talents, yet there are only the Grand Tutor’s faction, the Grand Commandant’s faction, and a neutral faction.

This made me very unhappy. There were too few factions. They had to fight each other. That’s what a fatuous ruler would do.

Which fatuous ruler’s court isn’t chaotic, with various factions attacking each other?

Yan Shou observed coldly. After the ministers advised him, the Grand Tutor finally bowed his head: “This old minister, burdened with the position of Prime Minister and holding a position in the court, has served the ruler for three generations and must speak to Your Majesty!”

“Now, the fighting outside the Jade Gate has not ceased. It is appropriate to cultivate virtue, love the people, cherish wealth, and value the laws.

Nothing is more virtuous than this. Why bother with the mere selection of servants and then indulge in pleasure?”

“This minister is foolish and doesn’t know what is taboo. I hope you will forgive me!”

The old Grand Tutor had found a good reason. The threat of demons outside the Jade Gate was always present, and there were battles from time to time. There was also a rebellion in Jiang Qi.

If His Majesty selected concubines, it would surely burden the people and waste money. Everyone was working hard. How could you be embarrassed to enjoy yourself?

Yan Shou really couldn’t refute it.

It wasn’t so easy to be a fatuous ruler. The Grand Tutor was a powerful minister, but he was also loyal to Great Yan.

He wanted to be a fatuous ruler, but all the loyal ministers under him were watching his every move, and no policies that would ruin the country could pass.

Could there be any goodness in this court? Could it not tolerate treacherous people who were only loyal to him, constantly provoking conflicts, and attacking loyal ministers?

I’m so angry!

Yan Shou himself wanted to be a fatuous ruler, but none of the civil and military officials wanted to be treacherous officials.

There was no unity between the top and the bottom, no power of speech, and no supporting faction.

He couldn’t even be a fatuous ruler and could only be a puppet.

It seemed that he could only take more measures like replacing the commander on the eve of battle, establish his fatuous image, gradually promote those treacherous ministers who liked to flatter him and listen to the ruler, and cultivate his power, so that he could openly and justly be a fatuous ruler.

There were too many strong and loyal ministers in the court, making it inconvenient to exert himself. He had to cultivate his own power in the court.

Yan Shou sighed inwardly. The matter of selecting concubines had to be temporarily abandoned.

When the civil official he had chosen was defeated and the bandits became a threat, he would find an excuse to send all these loyal ministers to the front line.

That way, there would be no one in the court to oppose him.

No, that didn’t seem to work. There were also capable officials among the treacherous ministers.

What if they really did something that benefited the country and the people? How would he get Fatuity Value?

In short, he should send some of the loyal ministers to Jade Gate first. He still had to think carefully about how to deal with it.

At this time, Yan Shou realized that something was wrong.

Why was his, the dignified Son of Heaven, a descendant of the True Dragon, had so little power in the court?

He felt… that as long as the Grand Tutor was there, he was quite constrained.

Should he invite the Grand Tutor to play chess tomorrow?

After thinking for a long time, he couldn’t come up with a strategy and could only plan it slowly.

He decided to dismiss the court first.

…

The Great Wilderness.

The Skyreach Pavilion where Shu was located.

Ever since Yan Shou wrote a poem for her during the sacrifice, Shu had been thinking about it.

Her sister Ling had poetic talent, and Shu also knew a little.

Although she didn’t understand the style, the content written by the Emperor of Great Yan expressed praise.

However, the status of the Sui in Great Yan was special, and she couldn’t figure out what the Emperor was thinking.

Actually, she didn’t care about the affairs of the Great Yan court, but this poem was indeed pleasing.

The poem created an elegant woman like the bright moon, expressed sincere and moving emotions, and even compared her to Chang’e.

As for the fatuous image that Yan Shou deliberately left in the poem, that state of being bewitched and losing appetite, Shu directly ignored it.

Poems must have artistic embellishment. In Shu’s eyes, the so-called fatuous image was a rhetorical technique used by the Emperor to beautify his desire for beauty in the poem at the expense of demeaning himself.

How could a ruler who could write such a beautiful poem be a fatuous ruler?

What’s more, for three years since his accession to the throne, there hadn’t been a single concubine in his harem, which showed that he was not a lustful person.

The court was controlled by the Grand Tutor, and he had no power.

Even if he was fatuous, how fatuous could he be? He couldn’t be fatuous even if he wanted to.

People are like this. If you praise her and make her happy, she will see you in a pleasing light.

Especially the praise from people of higher status had a different meaning.

The Sui were no exception.

The more she thought about it, the more thoughts she had. Shu couldn’t sit still and prepared to enter the painting.

At the same time, she handed Yan Shou’s “Ode to Huai Li Shu” (Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River) to Xi, asking her to use the painting realm to send it to Ling and carefully analyze its meaning.

After all, among all the siblings, Ling had poetic talent and would be able to interpret it more directly.