In fact, the four dukes have always been the emperor's diehard supporters!
Now that the Duke of Zhenguo is on the verge of death, let’s put it aside for now. The eldest daughter of the Duke of Yingguo, who was supposed to be sent to the palace, suddenly fell ill.

Why did the Duke of England, who was originally loyal to the Emperor, suddenly become hesitant and wait-and-see?

The Duke of England must have noticed something. The only people who could make it difficult for a Duke to make a decision could be the Emperor Emeritus or the Emperor!
How come the current emperor, who has always been ignored by the court as a puppet, suddenly caught the attention of the Duke of England?
What did the emperor do?
Facing Bai Zhuying's question, Qing Huan smiled and said, "Maybe... the emperor knows how to subdue his subordinates."

"You mean, the emperor secretly subjugated some of the forces in the court without realizing it?"

Bai Zhuying said with difficulty: "But before the emperor was pushed to the throne, he was just a prince with a very weak sense of existence, and no one taught him..."

Qing Huan fiddled with the teacup beside her and said, "I don't know about that."

Bai Zhuying stared at Qinghuan deeply, and gave up asking after a long time, but she could conclude that it must be related to Qinghuan!

Thinking about it, Bai Zhuying said, "The fact that the Duke of Ying chose to wait and see shows that the power in the hands of the emperor is at least strong enough to confront the retired emperor..."

Qing Huan reminded: "The emperor is old and has lost his spirit, so he doesn't need too much power, he just needs to let some people see hope!"

Bai Zhuying thought about it and agreed: "Indeed, the emperor does not need to have the power to compete with the emperor emeritus, he just needs to let some people in the court see his existence!
If the emperor killed Qin Shuang, he would definitely offend the Duke of Qing. After the families behind the other six candidates understood the reasons, they would also know that the emperor would not let anyone take over the position of the Duke. Their painstaking plans would be completely wasted, and they would inevitably resent the emperor!

Together with the Duke of England and others who chose to wait and see, as long as the emperor finds an opportunity and grasps the right opportunity, he can bring all these forces under his command!

After your plan, the power in the hands of the emperor will completely surpass that of the emperor emeritus!"

Qing Huan smiled and said, "Since we can't solve the problem, then we should solve the person who raised the problem. To put it bluntly, the predicament of the Zhenguo Mansion all comes from the Emperor.

Once the problem of the retired emperor is solved, the problem of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion will naturally be solved."

Bai Zhuying opened her mouth but could not utter a word, her heart was in turmoil.

I originally thought Qing Huan only controlled the life and death of a duke's son, but I didn't expect that even the royal family and the emperor were under his control!
This wisdom...

After a long silence, Bai Zhuying said with difficulty: "Don't you have any respect for the imperial power?"

Qing Huan raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and said, "I am a Confucian!"

Bai Zhuying was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Qing Huan sighed and said, "The lifelong ambition of most Confucians is to "rule the country and bring peace to the world." The Confucian "country" is not the emperor, and the Confucian "world" is not the imperial power!

People holding knives are often the most restless. Military generals hold military power, and for the sake of national stability, there must be some restrictions on them.

This kind of restriction is not only institutional but also psychological. For example, if a military general betrays the emperor and starts a war, he will be cursed by thousands of people and have no place to hide!
Therefore, from ancient times to the present, military commanders must serve their country with all their heart and engrave these four words in their hearts... This is the restriction that Confucianism places on military commanders!"

Bai Zhuying understood, her beautiful face turned pale, and she said, "So military commanders must be loyal to the emperor, but Confucian commanders don't?"

Qinghuan smiled but said nothing.

Bai Zhuying gritted her teeth and asked, "Is this how Master Zhuang teaches his students?"

"It has nothing to do with the teacher, this is my own heart!"

Qing Huan waved his hand and said, "Confucianism is based on "benevolence". If you lose "benevolence", you lose your heart. "Benevolence" is the limitation that Confucianism puts on itself!"

Bai Zhuying said in a muffled voice: "But Master Zhuang is loyal to the royal family..."

Qing Huan couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Puchi——"

Bai Zhuying said angrily: "Isn't it?"

Qing Huan shook his head and said, "Let me ask you, if in this world, right and wrong are determined only by strength, and justice is not based on human heart, then is there any need for Confucianism to exist?"

Bai Zhuying was stunned: "Right and wrong are determined by strength, and justice is not determined by people's hearts?"

Qing Huan groped with his fingers and said, "When the immortal is born, the world will gradually move towards 'strength is respected'. At that time, the strong will be right and the truth will be right. There will be no justice in the world, and the weak will no longer have any right or wrong!

Isn’t it true that “right and wrong are determined by strength, and justice does not lie in the hearts of the people”?
Confucianism is based on "benevolence". If justice is not in people's hearts, then "benevolence" will have no need to exist, and Confucianism will have no place to stand.

This is why the teacher chose to fight against the immortal, not because of loyalty to the royal family!"

Bai Zhuying stopped talking and lowered her head, not knowing what she was thinking.

Qing Huan smiled, picked up the book, and continued reading. …

Halfway through, Baoqin came in cautiously, lit the candle, and looked at Bai Zhuying with concern.

He tried several times to wake her up, but finally gave up and quietly walked out the door.

"pat-"

The sound of the candle flame popping finally brought Bai Zhuying back to her senses. She looked at the candle flame, then at Qinghuan, and said, "The candle flame is dim. Don't read at night. It hurts your eyes."

These words were spoken softly, no longer in a stern tone, but instead sounded like the earnest concern of a good wife and mother.

Qing Huan put the book down and said with a smile, "I figured it out."

Bai Zhuying nodded and said, “We, including most people in the court, although we keep saying that we care about all the people in the world, our horizons are limited to the royal family and the present.

But Master Zhuang, and you, really look to the world and the future..."

As she spoke, Bai Zhuying stood up, knelt down and bowed, saying, "I... admire you so much!"

Qing Huan couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Before this, Bai Zhuying always saluted by clasping her fists, never performed female etiquette, and never called herself "little girl" once.

Is this... being convinced?
Qing Huan raised her hand and said, "I dare not. The young lady is not an ordinary woman. She is as capable as a man. If not for this, I would not say these words to her."

Bai Zhuying tucked her hair around her ears and said, "I used to think I was no worse than any other man, but now in front of you, I can't help but feel ashamed. Don't say that 'women are no worse than men' anymore!"

Without waiting for Qing Huan to speak, Bai Zhu Ying asked sincerely, "After the Emperor seizes power from the Emperor Emeritus, will he continue to target our Zhenguo Mansion? Will the seven families bear a grudge against the Bai family?"

Qing Huan shook his head and said, "There is naturally a sequence for surrendering to the emperor. Those who surrender to the emperor first take the biggest risk and are valued by the emperor. After the emperor takes power, there will naturally be a distinction between close and distant relatives.

The court has always been about balance. By that time, the seven families will have no time to win over the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, so how could they hold a grudge?

As for the emperor...I'm afraid he would like the Duke of Zhenguo Mansion to exist forever!"

Bai Zhuying chuckled and said, "That's great. Thank you for saving my Bai family from danger!"

Qing Huan smiled and said, "Both parties have their own requests, no need to thank me."

Bai Zhuying's eyes flickered as she said, "I know you are reminding me. Don't worry, your identity has already been processed. We just need to sort out some details to ensure that there are no mistakes or omissions!"

Qing Huan said calmly: "Thank you very much, Miss!"

Bai Zhuying smiled and said, "You just said there was no need to thank me, but now you are thanking me again and again?"

Qing Huan said as a matter of course: "I am a Confucian, I don't blame people for being polite, but Miss is not one of them."

"I can't argue with you."

Bai Zhuying changed the subject and asked, "Can you tell me what the martial arts you taught Yan Qing is about? Why did you leave out the 'marrow cleansing fluid' that is necessary for the initiation of martial arts?"

Qing Huan was silent for a moment, then said, "Anything, from nothing to something, is bound to be accompanied by sacrifice... Miss, have you ever counted how many people have died in martial arts practice since the creation of martial arts?"

Bai Zhuying was stunned for a moment and whispered, "A lot!"

Qing Huan asked again: "Among the one hundred people, how many can enter the martial arts?"

Bai Zhuying tilted her head slightly and thought for a moment, then said, "Back then, Master Zhuang selected the Forest Guards from the Imperial Guards, but only one out of a hundred survived. The Border Army selection was slightly better, but only eight or nine out of a hundred survived...

The pain of learning martial arts is something that ordinary people cannot endure!"

Qing Huan understood this very well, and said, "How far one can go in martial arts depends on one's will and aptitude, but I hope that the introduction to martial arts can be simpler."

Whether it is through riding a horse or any other means to feel the body's strength, one must go through some pain, and the marrow washing fluid makes the body sensitive, amplifying this pain countless times!
To put it bluntly, it forces people to feel the strength as quickly as possible, thus avoiding longer periods of pain.

Only a few can persevere, and even fewer can reach the third level among these few...

However, as long as the base number is large enough, there will be enough people who can reach the high level of martial arts, and they will have an advantage in fighting against immortals! (End of this chapter)