Dragon's Origin

Chapter 262: Neighbor (Part 2)

The Emperor looked at Wang Sheng's face, as if carefully observing whether what Wang Sheng was saying was true.

After a long while, the Emperor suddenly laughed: "Just kidding, why did you take it seriously?"

"I didn't take it seriously!" Wang Sheng retorted with an innocent look: "Brother, you're the one who took it seriously, right?"

The Emperor was speechless. This Ever Victorious Marquis, whom he had personally appointed, had never given him any face, always meeting him head-on. But what made the Emperor most helpless was that he always came out on the losing end, unable to turn the tables.

"Don't feel uncomfortable," Wang Sheng suddenly said. "Life is like this. Brother, you are a precious person, unlike someone like me from the City of the Carefree who doesn't know how many times I should have died. I can be fearless because I have nothing to lose. I'm just a worthless life, willing to risk everything, daring to bring the Emperor down from his horse, right? Brother, you are a precious porcelain, so don't clash head-on with a stone like me that's not even worth a clay pot. It's not worth it, is it?"

"To be honest, I've lived for so long, and no one has ever dared to say such things in front of me. You are the first," the Emperor said, his nostrils flaring as if they could burst into flames with a single spark. He breathed heavily for a while before suppressing his anger.

"Believe me, that's just an illusion," Wang Sheng said, not giving the Emperor any face at all. "I can guarantee that before me, the major families made you bow your head or even secretly yield in no less than a hundred instances. It's just that you selectively forgot and chose to bully me, this soft persimmon."

Another bloody reality. Wang Sheng didn't care at all about the anger his words might bring to the Emperor. He just said it, without any regard.

"Is there a way to change this situation?" The Emperor actually didn't immediately explode in anger but asked with a沉着 face.

"Yes!" Wang Sheng answered decisively.

"What way?" The Emperor asked eagerly, not even realizing that his hand holding the teacup had clenched tightly.

"Become stronger! To forge iron, one must be strong oneself," Wang Sheng replied irresponsibly. "Brother, if you become stronger, others won't dare to knead you at will."

The Emperor almost smashed the teacup on Wang Sheng's face in anger. Did he need to be told this kind of answer? Did he, as the Emperor, not know that if he became stronger, no one would dare to bully him?

"In fact, aren't you already working in this direction, Brother?" Wang Sheng sat steadily on the fishing platform, unmoving, and asked with a smile: "Otherwise, why would you hold the grand ceremony of enfeoffing vassals as a treasure, working so hard for so long?"

"After all that effort, wasn't it all ruined by your one sentence, 'holding the Emperor hostage to command the nobles'?" The Emperor originally agreed with Wang Sheng's opinion. He and his courtiers were working in this direction, but Wang Sheng jumped out and casually said a sentence that seemed to doom the entire royal family.

This time, the invitation to Wang Sheng was essentially to obtain a possible solution to the problem of 'holding the Emperor hostage to command the nobles.' Since Wang Sheng had already mentioned the grand ceremony of enfeoffing vassals, the Emperor might as well enter the discussion.

"In fact, this may not be a bad thing," Wang Sheng said to the eager Emperor, speaking eloquently: "Before this, although you had the will, you had no way to solve the previous predicament. A grand ceremony of enfeoffing vassals can allow you to break the situation. Isn't that a good thing?"

Wang Sheng sometimes even suspected that he was possessed by Su Qin and Zhang Yi, with unparalleled verbal skills, able to make the Emperor laugh, make the Emperor驚, make the Emperor惧, and make the Emperor worry so much that he couldn't sleep, just with his tongue.

"I don't know much about the royal family, but I can guess some things," Wang Sheng said, ignoring the Emperor's current expression, and continued: "Having been emperors for hundreds of years, yet the Emperor's decree can't even leave the capital, I'm afraid it's related to your royal family's 'getting by' mentality."

"Perhaps you have always felt that as long as you don't show any threat to the major aristocratic families, the royal family can continue to be passed down for a long time, and the royal family can continue to exist," Wang Sheng said, while the Emperor listened quietly, as if Wang Sheng's words had touched his heart: "But think about it, Brother, all of this that you take for granted is just a reward from others. You can have it if they want to give it to you, and you won't have it if they don't want to give it to you."

"A grand ceremony of enfeoffing vassals has reversed this situation. Others have to rush to ask you, it feels good, right?" Wang Sheng asked with a smile: "But people can't be complacent, once they are complacent, they easily become forgetful. Brother, think carefully, in recent times, have there been some unrealistic fantasies?"

Listening to Wang Sheng's words, the Emperor secretly thought about it and suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. Wang Sheng was right. Including him, the royal family and the courtiers seemed to have developed a mentality of thinking they were important figures. The Emperor, being an understanding person, immediately realized how dangerous this was.

"Your court, from top to bottom, has even expanded to the point where you feel you don't have to take the major nobles seriously at all. You seize the marquis residences that were recorded in the history books with imperial decrees, and you can play with me, this insignificant marquis, however you want," Wang Sheng asked with a smile: "When this news reaches the ears of the major nobles, even if they don't know about 'holding the Emperor hostage to command the nobles,' they will just think that the Emperor doesn't take the marquis he personally appointed seriously. Brother, what do you think, at that time, what will those nobles who have tasted the benefits of the fiefdoms think? What will happen?"

The Emperor's cold sweat was already flowing down, and he once again became like the time when Wang Sheng spoke to him about 'holding the Emperor hostage to command the nobles.' Wang Sheng's questions were really easy to answer. When the major nobles know about this, their first reaction will definitely be: How much can the Emperor's words be believed? The second reaction…

"Will the same experience happen to me someday?" Wang Sheng gave the Emperor the nobles' most direct thoughts: "When they feel that the royal family has the ability and possibility to do this kind of thing, Brother, guess, are they planning to immediately take their entire family to a place where the royal family can't find them to avoid disaster? Or completely eliminate the source that may bring disaster to them?"

Looking at Wang Sheng, who didn't even need to threaten him, only analyzing the possible consequences of the development of things, the Emperor was extremely grateful, grateful that he decisively killed the four important officials, and even sacrificed his own good-for-nothing son, which finally prevented Wang Sheng from flying into a rage.

"Brother, what is the Emperor? The Emperor's words are not a joke!" Wang Sheng gave him a little bit of sweetness now that he realized the seriousness of the problem: "The Emperor's words are golden words, that is the golden rule! This is not only for others to abide by, but also for oneself to pay attention to at all times!"

The Emperor didn't completely listen to what Wang Sheng was saying at this time, he only heard the two words "golden words" and "golden rule", and these two words made him feel so comfortable.